2016 CTMH Retiring Lists & Dates

The 2016 Annual Inspirations Retiring List is here!

Every year CTMH retires older products in order to make way for new and exciting products that will be coming out in the next idea books. The list of products from our 2015-2016 Annual Inspirations catalog that will be retiring was released last week.  These items will no longer be available after July 31 and are available while supplies last.  As you look through the list, you will notice CTMH is retiring three of our beloved Cricut® collections, as well as our incredible rolling tote.  If you would like to earn any of these items at half-price, contact me today!

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DATES TO REMEMBER

- July 31 --

2015-2016 Annual Inspirations Idea Book & Products RETIRE

-- August 1 --

2016-2017 Annual Inspirations Idea Book & Products  RELEASE

-- August 31 --

2016 Seasonal Expressions 2 Idea Books & Products RETIRE

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And now for the lists....
(Please note -- you can click on any image to enlarge the list to make it more readable.)

Also, remember according to the new CTMH policy, all stamp sets will be retiring along with the Idea Book they are released in -- including any Cricut Compatible sets.  That said, CTMH reserves the right to "save" sets from retirement and this go-round, they plan to do exactly that.  Below are the lists of stamp sets that will not be retiring July 31st.

To order these retiring items or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Until next time, design with {heart}!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop -- Balloon Animals

Welcome to the February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

If you came from visiting Brenda Lapp, then you are in the right place.  If you just happened upon my little corner of the blog world, simply start here and continue hopping until you return here -- our fun hop is one big loop for your viewing pleasure. 

The month's featured stamp set is S1602 Balloon Animals (pictured below).  This set is only available until February 29th and is only $5 with a $50 Close to My Heart purchase.

Personal side note --- Balloon Animals hold a special place in my heart.  My husband's uncle is a clown who specializes in balloon animals.  On the morning of my wedding, my husband-to-be called my cell phone and asked if it would be okay if his aunt (a face-painting clown) and uncle did their thing at our reception.  So there I was at the church about to step into my dress faced with two options -- I could either have a Bridezilla moment and say no way (along with a string of other similiar phrases) or I could take a deep breath and simply roll with it.  I was about to marry the love of my life, and nothing was going to take away from that.  So I smiled and told my other half that his aunt and uncle were more than welcome to do their thing -- but without their clown costumes.  A girl's gotta draw the line somewhere, right??  Having Aunt & Uncle Bubbles "perform" at our reception (sans costumes, of course!) turned out to be a memorable, enjoyable experience for everyone -- balloon hats all around!

Now back to my project...

For today's layout, I used the Kaleidoscope paper packet along with a sketch from the Magic How-To Program / Book to create this fun scrapbook layout perfect for any celebration in life.  The top-center square of the right page opens into a fun mini-album great for capturing extra pictures and memories without taking up valuable real estate on the overall layout.  The Magic How-to Program is filled with lots of wonderful tips and tricks for creating interactive elements on your pages.  I highly recommend adding the Magic book to your scrapbooking tools.

Pop-out Mini Album
revealed by untying white ribbon bow 

Supplies used:

*Balloon Animals SOTM stamp set
*Artbooking Cricut collection
*Artistry Cricut collection
*Kaleidoscope paper packet
*12" x 12" White Daisy cardstock
*12" x 12" Pear cardstock
*12" x 12" Canary cardstock
*12" x 12" Pixie cardstock
*Canary Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Gypsy Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Pacifica Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Pear Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Pixie Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*Sunset Exclusive Inks stamp pad
*White & gold ribbon
*Gold sequins assortment
*Marvy Uchida LePen journaling pen

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Thank you for visiting me at jd Designs and for hopping with us on the Close to My Heart Stamp of the Month February Blog Hop!  Next up on the hop is Lela N. I hope you'll hop on over to her blog for more inspiration.

Until next time, design with {heart}!

December Spotlight Collections -- White Pines & Kaleidoscope

This month's Close to My Heart will, again, be featuring TWO spotlight collections!  That's double the spotlight inspiration for you!  First up, we have White Pines -- a subtle, understated Christmas collection with warm winter flair.  And for a pop of color and fun, we have Kaleidoscope -- a soft, bright collection with beautiful patterns.

White Pines
#ctmhwhitepines

Kaleidoscope
#ctmhkaleidoscope

To order these or any of our other fabulous Close to My Heart products, please visit http://jddesigns.ctmh.com.

Stay tuned throughout the month to my blog and my Facebook page for lots of fabulous Kaleidoscope and White Pines inspiration.  And be sure to follow #ctmhkaleidoscope and #ctmhwhitepines all month long for all the fun!

Until next time, remember to design it with {heart}!