Organizing with Evernote

I love to use Evernote to organize all sorts of things!  I have all of my Close To My Heart stamps organized in this awesome free tool.  I've also started organizing my sewing patterns and I can't wait to finish that project - no more buying the same pattern two (or three) times!  I can also keep notes and pictures of projects I've made using each item.  

I put together a quick little tutorial covering the basics of Evernote and how I put my stamps in it.  I also give you a sneak peek of my sewing pattern organization that is just in the beginning stages.  I hope it helps you and if you have any questions, just leave me a comment and I'll do my best to answer.

How I Organize My Stamps

Hi!  I've had some questions about how I organize all my stamp sets.  I have a very small space for all my non-sewing crafting and I share the space with my husband so keeping things contained is a must.  The Close To My Heart stamps (which are the majority of my collection) come in a very sturdy plastic envelope that is closed with a snap on the back.  I discard the care card and stamping cushion that come in the envelope and then remove the snap.  I created a video to show you how I do that:

I then store all my stamps in a CTMH Large Organizer (well...I have quite the stamp addiction so I have two organizers) numerically.  I keep an Evernote database of all my stamps by keywords so all I have to do is search for a certain image and Evernote will tell me where to find it.  I've been keeping my stamps like this for over a year and it's working great!

If you have any questions about my process or supplies used, just leave me a comment.  You can purchase the large organizer on my website - link on the sidebar.

Want a Huge Discount on CTMH?

When I signed up as a consultant with Close To My Heart two years ago it was as a hobbyist.  I love CTMH products and between my personal crafting and making cards for various charities I knew I could easily spend the $300 ($234 after my consultant discount) every three months to keep my consultant status.  And...I was right!  I have no problem spending that amount on the staples I use all the time (cardstock, card bases, envelopes, ink, etc.).  In addition I earn awesome extra rewards called Select Product Credit (SPC) that I can use on anything that you can use hostess rewards to purchase.  Speaking of hostess rewards...I usually save up my quarterly purchases and create a "gathering" with myself as the hostess.  That usually nets me another $40 in free stuff and I can also purchase one item at 50% off.  All told I end up with $345 in product for $234 plus I get 50% off another item -  I usually use that on one of the big ticket items like the Cricut cartridges or a new album.  As a consultant I can also order items one month before they show up in the catalogs and I can purchase the Stamps of The Month at least a couple months in advance which is great because that means I don't have to place a $50 order every month to get those stamps and can instead place one big order so I get the hostess rewards and a larger SPC.

Why am I telling you all these secrets?!?  Well...CTMH has a new consultant kit that just came out yesterday with some really neat features.  This is a much better deal than when I signed up two years ago!  The kit costs $75 and you get all the items shown below plus $50 in SPC credit to spend!

• Medium Organizer (Z4139, qty 1)
• My Acrylix^® Block 2" × 6½" (Y1010, qty 1)
• My Acrylix^® Block 1” × 3½" (Y1002, qty 1)
• My Acrylix^® Block 2" × 2" (Y1003, qty 1)
• Non-Stick Microtip Scissors (Z1836, qty 1)
• My Acrylix^® Stamp Scrubber (Z1782, qty 1)
• My Acrylix^® Spritz Cleaner (1778, qty 1)
• Bonding Memories™ Glue (1512, qty 1)
• 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151, qty 1)
• Sponge (Z697, qty 1)
• Customer Order Forms (W101, qty 1 pack of 25)
• Annual Inspirations Idea Book (WC1161, qty 5)
• Seasonal Expressions 2 (WCS1163, qty 5)
• Cardstock Sampler (W1136, qty 1)
• Paper Fundamentals Sampler (W1137, qty 1)
• Annual Inspirations B&T Duos™ Sampler (W1138, qty 1)
• Seasonal Expressions 2 B&T Duos™ Sampler (W1144, qty 1)
• Artful Textiles—Petite Perks Incentive Stamp Set (W2034, qty 3)
• Gathering Invitations (W1129, qty 1 pack of 25)
• Desk Pad (W1140, qty 1 pack of 50)

I'm really loving the $50 SPC so you can buy what you want rather than getting paper or stamps in your kit that you don't want.  I have to admit that I am still trying to use the paper that came in my consultant kit because it just wasn't my favorite and I think there is one stamp set that came in my kit that I never used.  I would have much rather been able to pick and choose what I wanted.

Another great thing if you sign up in April is if you submit $350 in sales during your first 30 days* you get your choice of either a free Cricut cartridge or an additional $100 in SPC!!  *The 30-day period begins five days after the New Consultant Kit has been shipped. Offer valid April 1, 2016 (9:00 am MDT) – April 30, 2016 (11:59 pm MDT). 

Some other good things to know:

*At $250 in sales you earn 3 FREE exclusive stamp sets not available to order - this is available for new consultants that join any time of the year.

*Shipping is charged on free items, and shipping/tax is added to the kit cost. 

If this interests you, just contact me at the link on the sidebar and I'll give you more information.  I am a hobbyist so you will not get any pressure from me to sell anything.  If you just want to sign up to get the awesome kit and $50 in SPC and then never do anything further as a consultant, I am fine with that.  However, if you want to run this as a business, I can certainly get you networked with some awesome women who are doing awesome things!  You can earn all expense paid vacations for two (this year was a Caribbean cruise and last year they went to Hawaii!), exciting awards, and do it all while making good money and having fun!  

Great Workshop

We had the best time at my church last night making cards!  About 30 ladies joined in and made the cards that I featured last month.  I think it went really well and they whipped those five cards out so fast!  I think we are going to do a Christmas Card Workshop probably in November and I think this time I'll design six or seven cards since they finished these last ones so quickly!

I wanted to share some of the fun alterations the ladies made.  I love it when someone takes an idea and makes it their own.

However, the best part of the night for me was when one of the ladies came up to me to thank me for presenting the workshop and she told me, "I didn't think I'd be able to make these cards, but I did!"  For me showing someone what they CAN do is the greatest thrill!  That's why I love to teach paper crafting and sewing.  People can do so much more than they think they can.  I told the ladies last night that perfection is not allowed and there are no mistakes.  I hope they know how proud I am of them all that they stepped outside their comfort zones and created something that will bless the person they give it to.  I know I was blessed by them all!!

Women of Foundations Card Workshop - Fluttering By To Say Hi!

Here is the final card in the Women of Foundations Card Workshop for February 2016.  This card is really fun and I think it can be sent for all sorts of occasions.  This particular card will probably take the most time to put together but I think it's worth it!  

Here is the list of supplies and the cut measurements in case you want to make this card with your own paper:

White Daisy Card Base

Slate Cardstock by Close To My Heart - 5.25" x 4"

Georgie Paper by Close To My Heart - one piece 4 5/8" x 2 3/8" and another 3.5" square

White Daisy Cardstock - 3" square

A Tree Stamp Set by Close To My Heart A1124 (unfortunately this one is retired but here's a current stamp that is very similar and really cute!  Keep Your Chin Up A1167)

1/8" Silver ribbon from Affray

Sparkles

Slate Ink by Close To My Heart

Lagoon Ink by Close To My Heart

And here's a video showing you how to put it all together:

Women of Foundations Card Workshop - Thinking of You Card

Here is another card in the series of cards for the Women of Foundations workshop coming up in February.  This particular card uses the Sangria paper line from Close To My Heart as well as the January Stamp of the Month, Beloved Blooms.  I really like this stamp and there is so much you can do with it!  I stamped the rose in Sorbet and Eggplant ink and then stamped the sentiment in Versafine Black Onyx and heat embossed it with some Ranger Clear Embossing Powder.

Here are the specifics on supplies and cutting sizes:

Colonial White Card Base by Close To My Heart
Sangria by Close To My Heart base - 5.25" x 4"
Sentiment Mat - Eggplant Cardstock by Close To My Heart - 2.75" square
Beloved Blooms Stamp Set by Close To My Heart - S1601 - (available only through January 31st for $5 with a $50 purchase or you buy it on it's own for $17.95)
Eggplant Ink by Close To My Heart
Sorbet Ink by Close To My Heart
Versafine Black Onyx
Sentiment Panel - Colonial White Cardstock by Close To My Heart- 25." square
Ranger Clear Embossing Powder
Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Squares

And here is a video to show you how to put it together:

Women of Foundations Card Workshop - With Gratitude Card

This is another post in my series for the Women of Foundations card workshop.  This card is called With Gratitude.  You can never have enough thank you cards is my thought!  I really like this simple little card because you can make a whole bunch out of a very little amount of patterned paper.

Here's the supplies list with cutting measurements:

Skylark Pattern Paper (retired CTMH paper) - 2" x 5.25"
Mat - CTMH Cocoa Cardstock - 2.25" x 5.25"

Stamp Set:  CTMH Thanks D1361 (retired set)
Ink:  CTMH Cocoa Ink
Sentiment Panel and Mat: cut from Cricut Artiste Cartridge (pg 65, accent 3)

Here's the video that will walk you through putting this card together: