Spring Bada-Bing Crop is now open for registration!

Welcome Spring! Announcing Spring Bada‐Bing Crop – a 2 day event! Friday, March 13th from 6:00pm to 11:00pm and on Saturday, March 14th from 8:00am to 11:00pm. We will be at &Yet (110 Gage Blvd #100 – back side of Bellerive Place strip mall). Friday only is $15.00, Saturday only is $45.00, and BOTH days are $55.00 ($5.00 savings). Space is limited, accommodating up to 30 people, so make sure you are the first to register.

Come bid farewell to the winter dulls, welcome the singing birds and green trees, and create some new scrapbook pages and cards with me. Scrap all day with your friends, make new friends too, and learn new techniques along the way.

Throughout the day we will be playing a game of bingo. This is something fun for you to participate in to help keep you motivated and on track. This isn’t required, just an option for you to participate in. Each bingo you call will get you a ticket towards the grand prize drawings at the end of the night! There will also be a prize for the first black out completed.

“Take 5” – For those of you who want to look through and get rid of your old, gently used, or unused supplies – have I got incentive for you. Bring those unwanted items and put them on a table. Throughout the day I will say “Take 5” – you will then have 3 minutes to get to the table and chose 5 items that are new to you!! How fun will that be?? All left overs will be donated to our local children’s ward at the hospital.

Cards for Children – The cards can be blank, themed, or cards that you write a special note on. I will send them off once a month. I encourage you to do this. These cards will be given to the children. If they are blank, the children can write or color in them and send them off. If they have encouraging thoughts, they will be hung in the child’s room! This will be a bingo square and for doing a card, you get an extra ticket* towards the grand prize drawings. *(Limit 10 tickets).

Queen and Princess of the Crop ‐ there will be one Queen and one Princess crowned at the end of the night. She who has the most completed pages will be the queen and she who has the best layout will be the princess. (I will call upon my nobles for a total page count at 7pm, at that time; I will also call for the layouts to be considered for the princess's crown). Of course the queen and princess get a prize; they will also get an extra ticket for the grand prize drawing.

Tag decorating contest – at your station, you will have a plain tag to decorate in any way you’d like. Turn it in to a journal tag, gift tag, a card, name tag, page embellishment – possibilities are endless. Have your tag turned in and completed by dinner. Winners of course, get a prize plus an extra grand prize ticket. I will be asking a local professional paper crafter to come in and judge your tags.

Grand Prize Drawings: At the end of the night I will draw some names to win some grand prizes. Winner MUST BE PRESENT to win. Limit one prize per winner. Remember, the more tickets you have in the drawing, the better your odds!! How do you get your name in the grand prize drawing? There are a few ways:

• Pre‐register for the crop via phone, snail mail, or E‐mail on or before Friday, March 6th 2015. 

• Bring a friend (preferably pre‐registered as well). 

• Bring/make a card for the children’s hospital. 

• Be crowned the Queen or Princess of the Crop. 

• Complete a bingo row or black out. 

• Participate in the optional “Make and Take” Class. (I will have a layout AND a card for you to make). 

• Participate in the optional tag decorating contest. 

• Fill out the optional Crop Survey 

• Bring goodies for Take 5.

Coffee and water, light snacks on Friday, Saturday lunch, and dinner will all be provided, please bring your favorite beverages along with any snacks throughout the day.

There will be a crop survey handed out to you all. Your feedback at the end of the day would be greatly appreciated, but not required. I would just like to know how you felt about the day and any suggestions that you might have for my next event.

Please come and go as you’d like! I hope to see you all there! Thanks so much!  Please mail or give your reservation to me as soon as possible. Many thanks!

Spring Bada-Bing Crop is here!!! Save the date and your pennies! March 13th and 14th. We will once again be at &yet. Crop will close at 30 scrappers!!!
Friday only $15.00
Saturday only $45.00
Both Friday AND Saturday $55.00 ($5.00 Savings)
More details to follow.

Make sure I have your email address so I can send you the flyers!! mboyus@gmail.com

Come shop with me, fly with me, craft with me!

January Special – National Papercrafting Month

In celebration of National Papercrafting Month, Close To My Heart invites you to reflect on
the things that make you who you are and on what you want to accomplish in the coming
months. Then, with the help of the Year >> Noted paper kit, record your experiences and goals!
During the month of January, with a qualifying purchase of $50, you are eligible to purchase
the exclusive Year >> Noted paper kit (which has a retail value of over $24 USD/$27 CAD) for
only $5—that’s over 80% off retail! Or, for an additional $5, you can order the Year >> Noted
paper kit with an accompanying My Creations™ kraft mini book. The paper kit for both
options includes a C-size stamp set, stickers, cardstocks, and B&T Duos™ papers, all specially
designed to coordinate with the My Creations™ kraft mini book so you can have a yearlong
scrapbooking experience. This means you will receive over $34 USD/$37 CAD worth of
product for only $10 if you purchase the kit with the accompanying mini book! But the fun
doesn’t end there—included on the sticker sheet, you will find a large golden seal. Once the
year is done and all the pages are filled, seal up your book and create a mini time capsule
that you can open years from now. Remember, this deal is only available for January, so
make sure to get your own Year >> Noted paper kit today for the perfect start to a crafty year!
*Offer valid January 1, 2015 (9:00 am MST)–January 31, 2015 (11:59 pm MST). Shipping/handling is calculated based on the full retail price of the discounted items (without My Creations™ kraft mini book: $24.56 USD/$27.02 CAD; including My Creations™ kraft mini book: $34.51 USD/$37.97 CAD).

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January Special – EXTRA EXTRA Hostess Rewards

During the month of January, all Gatherings that reach $350 USD/CAD or higher, will be eligible to receive up to 50% more Hostess Rewards! This means an additional $30 USD/CAD, giving you the opportunity to earn up to $230 or more USD/CAD in select free products. This offer is only available during January and is the ideal pairing for your National Papercrafting Month Gatherings, so join in the celebration and watch your earnings grow!
*Offer valid January 1–31, 2015. All Hostess Rewards items will be shipped FREE to qualifying hostesses. However, the hostess will be charged shipping on any amount they go over the Hostess Rewards amount. See page 3 in Seasonal Expressions for more information on
the Hostess Rewards program.

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 January Stamp of the Month:  This Moment

This Moment SET OF 12  $17.95 USD/$19.75 CAD S1501
Purchase this D-size stamp set—available for one month only—for just $5 with your qualifying purchase.  That’s over 70% off retail! Simply place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products to qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.
RECOMMENDED BLOCKS: 1″ × 3½” (Y1002), 2″ × 2″ (Y1003), 3″ × 3″ (Y1006), 2″ × 3½” (Y1009)

What a slacker I am!

This is simply unacceptable to me!  Blog site is under construction!  I promise something fun and creative before this weekend is over!!!

I am a goal getter!!!

Can you help me out?? I am just $64.00 away from my BIGGEST goal yet!!!! Place an order at my online business store and save $4.00 in shipping!!! "While supplies last" and "retiring" items count towards your purchase too!!!

 Don't forget, I now offer punch cards!!!!

 MaryJo's Close To My Heart business page!!

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

Oh man oh man!  Looking over my 101 goals and looking back on the last 45 days, I am realizing that there are a few goals that I ALREADY dropped the ball on!!  I can blame being lazy, I can blame the weather, I can blame lack of time, I can blame lack of money,  but whatever the REAL reason, I can blame ONLY me.  While I am feeling down on myself and like a total failure, I know that GOALS can be picked right back up from where I left off.  That is what I am exactly going to do!!

Starting February 13th, (FINALLY, a nice day to be outside), I ran my mile - the pledge I have neglected for at least 2 weeks.  Not only did I run, I ran with Oliver!  He loved it but was very confused at what the heck was going on - that is because I never run with him.  Guess what my furry friend?  You're in for a treat!!

I am holding myself accountable, and while doing so, I am sharing with you what I have "failed" on or not followed through with. I ask that you please keep encouraging me and believing in me!

6) 100 day run challenge - yeah that didn't last long - I did soooooo good at the beginning of January then I just stopped.  2/13 marks day 1...again...

16) substitute every side of fries - FAILED!  I am weak.  I caved in.  Good thing is I have cut back on my consumption though.  Next time I go out to eat and fries are an option...I will say thanks but no thanks.

18) Turbo Jam - I at least took it out of the package. Sigh.

22) Walk Oliver once a week...we are in the 7th week of the year, he's be "walked" once - changing this now too.

24) Journal food/exercise intake - you would think this is the easiest of them all since I am at my desk/computer/phone ALL day but no - there have been a few days I didn't journal.  I loved seeing my calories written down - it dropped me 4.6 pounds.  I want that feeling back!!  Journaling started over (and I set my alarm on my phone to go off daily to remind me to journal).

25 and 26) 32oz of water and daily vitamin.  While this hasn't knowingly happened daily - I can say my daily water intake has increased and I more than likely have consumed my daily amount but not recording it is me not knowing.  And I know I haven't taken a daily vitamin like I should.  (My daily reminder should say journal AND vitamin).

29) Can you believe I did not treat a friend to lunch in January??  Guess 2 friends in February get treated!! =)

30) Make 12 layouts a month - I made 6 in January.  This needs to be kicked up a notch - no excuse since I go to a monthly crop anyway!!

38) Self portrait of myself once a week - I wanted to do this to watch myself shrink.  I took one picture of me in January.  Sigh.

45 and 46) Keep up on laundry and dishes - while I have done this AND got my husband on board, this hasn't been as successful as I had hoped for.  We have both, as a team improved on this though and let me tell you, it is soooooo nice coming home to an empty sink or a hall cleared of laundry piles. We are getting there!!

50) Deep clean banos once a month - well, they haven't been DEEP cleaned in January, cleaned yes, but not DEEP clean.  I do believe I can add "calories" to my day by doing high level chores!!!

51) Take Oliver to the dog park - I WILL blame the weather on this one.

52) Keep up on the backyard - both my hubs and I have done this chore and it SUCKS but that is part of owning a dog and having young children.  I wanted this to be a weekly chore - again, I can blame the weather but this weekend looks to be nice so you will see me out there picking up!!

55) 2 pieces a month for PPD - there will be 4 extra pieces done in February and I have them picked out already.  This is very important to me and my business partner.  I will not let her down.  I will jump for joy though because....we have had about 5 orders already this year!!! 

57 and 59) Go on a date once a month with Jeff and Trenton (errands do not count) - sigh. I have let the 2 most important men in my life down. =( I think I should double this up in February!

61) Read to my kids EACH night - My daughter...sob....can...read...sob...on...sob...her...own.  She'd rather read herself or sing with me.  But that is ok.  We still do our nightly "thing" - and Trenton, well he's just going through something...he just wants to cuddle, doesn't focus on books, AND wants to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed.  When we lay him down - wait for it...he screams!  We let him cry it out - but then he wakes up about 3:00am wailing! 

63) Weekly monthly challenge - while this has been done faithfully by me weekly, there have been 2 occasions where I neglected to register a debit transaction AND before my bank set me up with an NSF fee, my account is set to take money from savings to the checking account to avoid the NSF.  Each time though, I DID replace the amount of money in there.  So, I guess this is still going?  I haven't exactly failed this one?!

64) 40 day love challenge - boo on me!   Nothing happened between Jeff and I, we haven't bickered in a long time - I just dropped the ball on this one too.  He is so very important to me!  I WILL be picking this back up TODAY!! Valentine's Day.

68) Do not touch money from weekly challenge - see above.

83 and 84)  Are you still reading this?  How depressing!! I am so done typing my failures out.  Well, if you are still reading - nope, haven't recycled all I can NOR used reusable/declined bags at the store.  Man!  What is wrong with me. =(

Well, that is all I needed to do, type, re-read.  I am back in the game and I hope my next "failure" post isn't about failing on any of my goals.  I hope its a post about a "Nailed It!" pin from Pinterest! Pinterest "Nailed It!" Images  < ------------------  I needed this laugh!!

Ciao Bellas and Bellos,

MJ

Introducing my Monthly Club Meet

New Monthly Close To My Heart Club Forming!!

There has been interest in me starting a new club.  If you are interested in joining the new club please read on...

The minimum monthly order is only:
$25 (plus S&H & tax) if we have 6 ladies (which works out to a 6 month commitment, March - August).  If more ladies join the monthly dollar amount will reduce, and the months will extend.  If there is a month where you CANNOT make it physically to club, please turn in your order with payment prior to the day club meets.   You will still receive the activity with directions that we make.  So you really will not miss out on anything. 

Each month you will take turns being the Hostess.  
Once we figure out how many people we have, I will assign you each a Hostess Month.
     -You will earn at least $25 in FREE Close To My Heart Hostess Rewards * when it is your turn to be the hostess. 
     -You can choose from stamp sets, paper packets, ink pads, markers, cardstock, acrylic blocks and more.
Benefit:  When it is your month you can collect outside orders from friends and family to increase the amount of FREE goodies you get. 

As the hostess, you will host a Home Gathering where the club members either come to your house OR you can decide to host at my house.  We will alternate our activity, whether it is a few cards, an altered item, or one layout.  (Please note, I will provide the main supplies for the activities). Then we will have time to place orders.  These sales count towards your Hostess Month.  

     -The rewards get better as the orders increase in amount. 
     -When you hit $250 in sales you will earn $40 in FREE Hostess Rewards * and one half priced item or a half price Hostess Collection!!

In addition to being the hostess, all members will receive: 
* FREE Idea Books before other customers!!
         -Spring/Summer 2014 (if you don't already have it)
        -Autumn/Winter 2014 (you will get it in July when everyone else receives it in August)
        -Spring/Summer 2015 (you will get it in January when everyone else receives it in February).
* A FREE gift just for joining!!
* Stamp of the Month for FREE during hostess month!! (My treat)
* One month of being the hostess earning at least $25 in FREE Hostess Rewards.* Hostesses average $40 plus one half-priced item or more!!
* Periodic sales, challenges, sample products and goodies from me!!
*Budget Your Supplies!! Plan ahead!! (This month I will order A, B, and C, next month I will order D, E, and F and so on).
*Did I say earn FREE Hostess Rewards *!!
*See New Products Before Other Customers!!

PAYMENT - I accept Debit/Credit Card, Check or Cash.  If you give me your credit card number I will keep it on file and charge it each month at the time the order is placed.  I will need the #, the Expiration Date, the 3 Digit Security Code on the back, and your zip code.  Payment is expected the night of group OR one day after.  The hostess is counting on you, just as you will count on other members when you are the hostess.  

Operation Smile Donation:  Please also let me know at the time you place your order if you are ok with rounding the total up to the nearest dollar and donating the change to Operation Smile.  It is a wonderful foundation that helps fix facial deformities in children around the world.  (Example: Your total comes to $23.75.  You could donate $0.25 and make it $24.00 even).  It only takes $250 for one surgery, and it will change a kid's life forever!!

*Hostess Rewards select product credits are redeemable for:

·  My Acrylix Stamps

·  My Acrylix blocks

·  Exclusive Inks pads

·  Exclusive Inks marker sets

·  Exclusive Inks re-inkers

·  My Stickease^® assortments

·  Complements

·  My Reflections paper packets

·  All cardstock packs

·  Workshops on the Go kits

Hostess Rewards

When your order total reaches:	Reward Yourself with selected Close To My Heart Products*:	And receive 50% off:
$150 – $249	$25 in free products	------------------------------
$250 – $349	$40 in free products	1 current Idea Book item
$350 – $449	$60 in free products	1 current Idea Book item
$450 – $549	$80 in free products	2 current Idea Book items
$550 – $649	$100 in free products	2 current Idea Book items
$650 – $749	$120 in free products	3 current Idea Book items
$750 – $849	$140 in free products	3 current Idea Book items
$850 – $949	$160 in free products	4 current Idea Book items
$950 – $1,049	$180 in free products	4 current Idea Book items
$1,050 or more	$200 or more** in free products	4 current Idea Book items

 

Ciao Bellas and Bellos,

MJ