Win a FREE Album Retreat Bundle for May!

May Album Retreat #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhcorememories #ctmhalbumretreat #scrapbookingtechniques #scrapbooktechniques #scrapbooking #littlemomentsbigmemories

National Scrapbooking Month is almost here! If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that we do a lot to celebrate our love for preserving memories, and this coming May is no exception! In fact, May is so full of creative opportunities that we are spilling over into June with our fabulous virtual May Album Retreat!

Album Retreats are events unique to Close To My Heart, where we get together to make the pages of a 12″ x 12″ album. We offer a bundle of materials you will need to create 11 beautiful 12″ x 12″ two-page layouts over the course of three days of instruction. At May’s Album Retreat, we will be creating a “Core Memories” themed album, where each layout is intended to frame and preserve major moments from our lives that help shape who we are.

Get an up-close look at the pages of the album with our Creative Arts Manager, Karen Pederson:

We love Album Retreat for many reasons. For starters, the albums we make are full of techniques and free instruction! From shading with alcohol markers to distressing embossed paper details, every page in May’s album features a technique that we will teach live, during the event. We pride ourselves in being the “Let Me Show You How” company, and this is a wonderful opportunity to do just that.

Album Retreat also provides an opportunity to share new and exclusive products. In the product bundle for this May’s retreat you will find two exclusive stamp sets, including a reusable versatile alphabet stamp set, exclusive acrylic shapes and die-cuts, a coordinating embossing folder, Thin Cuts die, and stencil set, and a sneak of patterned papers that will not be available for months!

May Album Retreat #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhcorememories #ctmhalbumretreat #scrapbookingtechniques #scrapbooktechniques #scrapbooking #oneofakindexperience

The main reason we enjoy our Album Retreats so much, however, is because we get to spend time creating with all of you! We host the retreat live on Facebook and read every one of your comments and questions. Oftentimes, we’ll read and answer questions on camera for the benefit of everyone participating.

To join us this May, simply purchase the May 2023 Album Retreat Bundle. There is no separate registration fee! As we get closer to the event date, we will invite everyone who has purchased the bundle to join a private Facebook group where the retreat will be hosted virtually.

The retreat will be held May 31–June 2, from 2:00 pm to approximately 8:30 pm (MT) each day. (That’s 1–3 June, 6:00 am–12:30 pm (AEST) for our friends in Australia and New Zealand.) The last day to order your bundle is May 9, and that’s only if we don’t run out of them before then, so mark your calendars if you haven’t ordered yours already!

May Album Retreat #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhcorememories #ctmhalbumretreat #scrapbookingtechniques #scrapbooktechniques #scrapbooking #dayslikethese

Hosting a retreat like this virtually has its perks. Not only do we get to have as many of you attend as would like to, because there is no limited seating, but once the feed is no longer live, Facebook saves the videos so you can return to watch them repeatedly at your own convenience!

And, just like last time, we want everyone to have a chance to join us, so we are giving away a FREE Album Retreat product bundle, here on the blog! That means that one lucky reader will not only get a bundle of select and exclusive products, but they will also have access to the private virtual retreat we are hosting on Facebook in May!!

May Album Retreat #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhcorememories #ctmhalbumretreat #scrapbookingtechniques #scrapbooktechniques #scrapbooking #memoriesweremadehere

For an entry into this contest, there are two requirements: First, you must be subscribed to this blog. (It’s an easy step that often gets overlooked, so make sure that you are actually subscribed because we do check!) Second, share this blog post on Facebook with the hashtag #ctmhcorememories. That’s it! You have from now until 3 pm (MT) on April 24 (7 am (AEST) on 25 April). The winner will be notified via email later next week! [This contest is now closed.]

Get a quick glimpse at some of the interactive elements from May’s gorgeous album, below!

See you in May!

Win a FREE Album Retreat Bundle!!

Win a FREE Album Retreat Bundle! #albumretreat #travel #vacation #getaway #journey #roadtrip #love #family #crafting #friends #scrapbooking #album #layouts #ticket #map #atlas #memorykeeping #document #love #staycation #epic #car #train #airplane #boat #cruise #safari #tour #tourist #beach #mountain #nationalpark #hotel #b&b #destination #passport #goingplaces #albumretreat

One of our most popular events is coming up! We’re talking about none other than the February Album Retreat, of course! We love Album Retreat for so many reasons, but mainly because we get to spend time creating with all of you! Join us for three days of instructional fun with some of our favorite Home Office personalities and create a 12″ x 12″ album in the process!

Album Retreats are events unique to Close To My Heart where we get together to make the pages of a 12″ x 12″ album. We offer a bundle of materials you will need to create 11 beautiful 12″ x 12″ two-page layouts over the course of three days of instruction. For February’s Album Retreat we will be creating a travel themed album featuring a variety of interactive elements—flaps, sliders, pockets, and MORE!

To join this February, simply purchase the February 2023 Album Retreat Bundle, which includes the papers, stickers, an exclusive stamp set, and embellishments needed to create the album. There is no separate registration fee! As we get closer to the event, we will invite everyone who has purchased the bundle to join a private Facebook group where the retreat will be hosted virtually.

The retreat will be held February 1–3, from 2:00 pm to approximately 8:30 pm (MST) each day. (That’s’ 2–4 February, 6:00 am–12:30 pm AEDT for our friends in Australia and New Zealand.) The last day to order your bundle is January 10, so mark your calendars if you haven’t ordered yours already!

Hosting a retreat virtually has its perks. Not only do we get to have as many of you attend as would like to, because there is not limited seating, but once the feed is no longer live, Facebook saves the videos so you can return to watch them over and over again at your own convenience!

We want everyone to have a chance to join us, so we are doing something extra special today and giving away one FREE Album Retreat product bundle! That means that the lucky winner will not only get a bundle of select and exclusive products but will also have access to the private virtual retreat hosted on Facebook in February!!

For an entry into this contest, there are two requirements: First, you must be subscribed to this blog (Yes, we will check!). Second, share this post on Facebook with the hashtag #ctmhgoingplaces. That’s it! You have from now until 3 pm (MST) on December 30 (7 am (AEST) on 31 December). The winner will be notified via email on January 3.

If you’re reading this and have already purchased a bundle, try to win the retreat for a friend! These types of events are a great way to invite others to learn about and fall in love with the art of scrapbooking!

This Album Retreat is sure to captivate you with interactive elements on every single layout! Get a glimpse of each pull, tuck, turn, and more in this stunning travel album!

See you in February!!

UPDATE: Our lucky giveaway winner is Cathie McKenzie! Congratulations, Cathie!

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Join Us for a Myriad of Coloring Techniques Using Ink Pads!

Join Us for a Myriad of Coloring Techniques Using Ink Pads #albumretreat #scrapbooking #ctmh #closetomyheart #technique #scrapbooking #crafting #memorykeeping #album #community

We’re at it again! In just a few weeks we’ll be hosting our next virtual Album Retreat!

At Album Retreat, members of our Home Office team go through the step-by-step process of creating the layouts for an entire scrapbook album! That’s 11 two-page 12″ x 12″ layouts, a total of 22 pages, over the course of three days!

We pride ourselves in making all of our Album Retreats chock-full of artistic techniques for our participants, and April’s artwork is no exception! Every layout of our upcoming Album Retreat showcases at least one technique using our Exclusive Inks™ stamp pads!

Join Us for a Myriad of Coloring Techniques Using Ink Pads #albumretreat #scrapbooking #ctmh #closetomyheart #technique #scrapbooking #crafting #memorykeeping #album #community

To give you a small preview of what you can expect, we’ve asked our Creative Arts Manager, Karen Pedersen, to share one of the retreat’s techniques and show us how to create the colorful background of this layouts that we will be making.

As you can see, we’re painting with ink, and so much more!

To participate in this event, simply purchase the April 2022 Album Retreat Bundle—there is no separate registration fee! As we get closer to the event, we will email everyone who purchased the bundle with an invitation to join a private Facebook group where the event will be hosted. We anticipate the event will run from 2:00 pm–8:30 pm (MDT), all three days (April 20–22). The last day to order the retreat bundle is April 2; we will begin shipping ordered bundles shortly after that date.

Get a closer look at April’s Album Retreat artwork by clicking on the individual thumbnails below. Treat yourself and join us for a few days of creativity you surely won’t want to miss! We look forward to creating with you!

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From Jill: Album Retreat Awesomeness

Hi! Jill Broadbent here to share the highlights of one of my favorite weekends of the year—Album Retreat! We held another amazing Album Retreat in Salt Lake City this past weekend. With 200 creative Consultants, we got comfy-cozy and created 12 pages in just two and a half days! The album was themed to tell important stories and let the attendees dig deep to document moments from their life. From birth to bucket lists, we covered every milestone along the way. I love the process of telling stories and tying them together with beautiful products and techniques. Check out our Instagram video for a quick look at the album we created!

We were also inspired by a message of storytelling from Stacy Julian. We love when she comes to share her passion and inspire us to be better keepers of our family history.

We loved Album Retreat! #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhalbumretreat2015 #stacyjulian

Another highlight was the photo bus! Consultants lined up for a turn to load into the back of a VW bus that was decked out as a photo booth. Can you tell we had a lot of fun with it? 🙂

We loved Album Retreat! #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhalbumretreat2015 #stacyjulian

Honestly, my favorite part each and every time we host an Album Retreat is seeing the satisfaction from Consultants as they finish page after page and leave with an album ready to share with those they love. The pages are beautiful because we work hard to share fresh techniques. What makes them masterpieces, though, are the personal photographs and journaling.

We had many generous hearts at the Album Retreat, too. As we frequently do, we held an auction at the event as a fun way to raise money for Operation Smile. After auctioning off several pieces of beautiful artwork, we raised over $3,000—enough for 12 smiles! We feel so blessed to be associated with this important charity, and we are grateful for the kindness of those who donated their works of art as well as those who purchased it—all for the sake of changing the life of a child.

If you’ve ever wondered about attending Album Retreat, I can promise you it is well worth the investment. But, don’t take my word for it! Here are a few social media posts from some of our attendees!

View this post on Instagram

Fuzzy cutting done! #ctmhalbumretreat2015

A post shared by AlexG (@scrappingaudess) on

http://instagram.com/p/9wn9UFIR3b/?tagged=ctmhalbumretreat2015

http://instagram.com/p/9y0VrGJsXU/?tagged=ctmhalbumretreat2015

http://instagram.com/p/9y-3MprEUS/?tagged=ctmhalbumretreat2015

Join us next time for a fabulous weekend of scrapbooking fun! We can’t wait for you to come!

Until next time,

Jill

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