Hello 2013! New Year, New Beginning, New Video & Card For 7 Kids College Fund

Hi friends. Sit down and grab a cup of coffee as this is going to be a long post. Of course, I'll have a brand new card for you and video too! I made another blog post for today of Are You Ready for 2013?! that I invite you to read.

Are you ready for a chance to win my online card class, The Season of Love, for free? Just leave me a comment here and I will choose a few winners on Friday.

I have been so blessed being a part of the crafting industry and have met some wonderful people along the way, as well as having amazing opportunities presented to me; and now I'd like to share with you those opportunities that have been presented to me in 2013. I would love to have you on this journey with me!

1.  I have decided to leave my design work for Stampin' Up! for the time being. I don't know what the future holds there but I always have a tendency to go back to my roots. I will miss my colleagues and the fun that we all had, and again, the amazing opportunities that Stampin' Up! has afforded me. Stampin' Up! is really very hard work and I admire every single demonstrator that I've ever met, BUT I need to free up some time. The below sounds very busy but it's not at all and I must get back to the gym, per doctor's orders, to strengthen my core. Strong core = strong back. For those of you who do not regularly follow me, in the past 15 months, as of this writing, I've been on an operating room table 34 times due to rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. It's not fun. You will definitely want to check me out on eBay for exclusive demonstrator only items and so much more that I will be selling in the very near future with most product being brand new.

2.  My online card classes were so successful last year that I have decided to really focus on them this year and have 11 classes planned out for you! They are fabulous! I love to teach and it is so much fun for me to be able to do this for you. The Season of Love class that starts on January 10 will be the only class this year that is $24.95. After that, the price per class will range between $14.95 to $19.95. I have some of the most gifted women in the industry guest designing for me during the classes, vendor discounts and prizes from your favorite manufacturers, and we are just going to have a lot of fun. I am also always very generous with my prizes as well. There are so many great things happening this year at Cindy Coutts Designs! Check out the new Cindy Coutts Designs Card Classes! My classes are a work from your stash concept. We will have a daily forum, participant gallery, and daily PDF handouts. However, these handouts are exclusive to Cindy Coutts Designs and may not be shared or posted on the internet as this is exclusive material for you. Before each class starts, I will have a "supply list" of the products that I am going to use but there is always a substitute or similar product that you will have on hand. The daily forum will be monitored for that day for any questions and each daily class will also have it's own gallery. How exciting is that? Once you purchase the class, you will have lifetime access! A daily email newsletter will also be sent to you so that you will know when content is up and ready to go. My classes are completely self-paced. You are going to love them!

I can't wait for you to see the new website so please go and sign up today! We can chatter before class and you will still have the opportunity to win prizes throughout the course. Everybody who participates in the daily lesson will receive an exclusive Participant badge. A "supply list" will be posted approximately 14 days in advance so if there is a product that you really want, you can easily purchase it with my vendor discounts or receive it via a prize giveaway!

This is such a crazy week finalizing everything with the website, graphics, everything. 

3.  I will be continuing my design team work for the Clean and Simple Stamping Blog, Fall to Layout, and I usually post on Monday on this blog and at the challenge blog. New challenges will continue to be posted every Friday and I know that Natasha also has some surprises up her sleeve as well.

4.  I have been asked to be a design team member for 7 Kids College Fund, which is an awesome online store. This is such an honor! And again, we have so much planned for you in 2013. The new design team is stellar and it's a privilege to work with all of them. They have fabulous and your favorite up-to-date products at a price point lower than other online stores with new product being added daily, as well as new vendors. Very exciting. I cordially invite you to check out our challenge blog for an opportunity to win prizes and/or a generous $25 gift certificate to the store. The challenge is posted every other Wednesday and is always so much fun. You can check out the store blog, where a design team member will provide you with daily inspiration and it's also the place to check out what's happening in the store for sales. You can also follow our Facebook and Twitter too! This card and video also counts as my very first challenge card for January 2, so I'm a day early, but I won't let you know what the challenge is until tomorrow when I revise this part of the blog post.

5.  A couple of weeks ago, I came across a new to me stamp company of Inspired by Stamping and just about fell off of my chair! It's a perfect match made in heaven for my personal style and I adore Joanna, who owns the company. You must check it out. Right now there's a 20% off of all Valentine's Day and spring stamps. Joanna has asked me to be a senior design team member. Hooray! You will be able to see an entirely different look to my work. The stamps are awesome and every single set has a Silhouette cut file or coordinates with Spellbinders. It doesn't get much better than that! I would like to dedicate an entire blog post to the company and my fellow design team members which I will do this week.

6.  I have also had the honor by several stamp manufacturers to "ghost design" for them and am so blessed that the owners of these companies have the confidence in me enough to do this and complete the task at hand. 

7.  My Faith on Friday series will alternate with my Clean and Simple Tuesday so each week one series will be posted. I would also love for you to play along in my Cindy Coutts Designs Challenges! These will be posted the first Saturday of every month and of course, I will have guest designers and vendor prizes too! The challenges will consist of technique, color, sketch, inspiration, ways to use it – we have no boundaries. If the challenge really takes off, I'll be looking for a design team!

8.  Invited Sponsors. Invited Sponsors are industry giants who have chosen to sponsor my blog for its upkeep but more importantly, I believe in their product. 

9.  Magazine publications. I had a very strong year being published numerous times in every single industry magazine (as well as 3 covers) and it was very surprising but great at the same time! Then I moved and that took me out of 9 months so the next time you see me in a print magazine will be this time next year. I just didn't want anybody to think that I dropped off of the face of the earth!

10.  With the new year and all of my new endeavors comes a new blog look! Pretty cool, isn't it. Check out everything that I have to offer you!

As you all know, I'm so hooked on Our Daily Bread Designs December Release, but did you know that they somehow managed to outdo that release with their January 2013 products that are available for purchase right now?! The card and video I'm sharing with you today uses the December release. LOVE IT and I hope that you will too. It's a very cool winter card. 

Below is my video and still pictures. Thank you so much for stopping by to visit me today and don't forget to read my other blog posts. I had a lot to say! God bless you and have a wonderful day. Hugs ~ 

Oh, and please excuse the half hour time length of this video. I'm out of practice and it's a pretty detailed card 🙂