May 3, 2018Celebrate, Create, Memory Keeping

A Mother’s Day Freebie

Close To My HeartBeautiful Friendship, free, free pattern, Freebie, mother's day, national scrapbooking month, pattern, Scrapbook Pattern 2 Comments

A Mother's Day Freebie #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhbeautifulfriendship #beautiful #friendship #mother #Mother'sDay #mom #loving #compassionate #strong #admire #fondest #memory #taughtme #scrapbooking #layout #nationalscrapbookingmonth #May #free #freebie #pattern #cuttingdiagrams What better way to pay tribute to our amazing mothers during National Scrapbooking month than with a free scrapbook pattern?

This pattern made its original debut with our Surf’s Up scrapbooking Workshops on the Go^®. Paired with the new Beautiful Friendship collection and sentiments to celebrate one of the most special relationships of all—we just love how the finished layout turned out! It goes to show just how versatile and timeless our scrapbook patterns really are!

Download Pattern and Cutting Diagrams

To create your own layout, download the pattern and cutting diagrams above. You’ll notice that we didn’t follow the pattern exactly as we created our layout, and you can do the same. Instead of using a small photo on the large mat, we went ahead and used a large photo to turn this into a highlight of a special person. The journaling on the left page was changed into what you see, three large descriptive words, that we cut using our Cricut^®, as an extension of our title. And then, we added a whole bunch of journaling on the right page where we answered three prompts: What I admire most about you…My fondest memory of us…Something you have taught me…

As we celebrate our mothers and National Scrapbooking Month this May, let’s remember the reason behind every layout. Document your relationships, and the love behind them, with every memory.

Scrapbook patterns #ctmh #closetomyheart #scrapbook #patterns #layouts #MakeItfromYourHeart #howtobook #how-to

For even more timeless scrapbooking patterns, check out our Make It from Your Heart™ volume 3 how-to book! If you love the free patterns on the blog, you’re sure to be blown away by the beautiful, one-of-a-kind, patterns in this book.

Recipe

12″ x 12″ My Mother Layout
E1033 My Acrylix® Inked Alphabet Stamp Set, X7233B Beautiful Friendship Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5946 Linen Cardstock, X5985 Smoothie Cardstock, X5957 Sapphire Cardstock, Z2826 Heather Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7233C Beautiful Friendship Complements, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z4196 White Ribbon, Z3290 Cricut^® Flower Market Digital Collection, Z3389 Cricut^® You Are Here Collection

Cricut^® Shapes:
Flower Market
1¾” Title <b> (p. 35, #MD715B0)

You Are Here
½” <font> “lovingcompassionatestrong”

Leave a comment

May 1, 2018Celebrate, Create

May is Postcard Perfect!

Close To My Heartcut above, national scrapbooking month, Postcard Perfect 6 Comments

It’s finally May, which means it’s officially National Scrapbooking Month! To celebrate, we’ve created a special paper packet, coordinating cardstock packet, a stamp set, and a Cut Above^® layout kit to highlight all of your Postcard Perfect moments! Take a look at everything we’ve got going on, including bundles of products grouped especially for this month’s celebration, here. We will be sharing artwork created with this aptly named suite of paper products all month long on all of our social media sites, so make sure to follow us here, on the blog, as well as on Facebook and Instagram for continuous art inspiration!

To kick things off, feast your eyes on this completed Postcard Perfect Cut Above^® layout kit:

Paired with your journaling pen and adhesive, this three two-page layout kit is the perfect way to document some of your favorite time in the sun. The kit comes with beautiful base pages, stickers and die-cuts (cut paper shapes), photo placeholders, four Memory Protectors™, and a set of instructions showing you how to piece everything together.

This picturesque kit is a must have if you’re planning on preserving any of your summer fun. It’s only available during the month of May, while supplies last, so don’t miss out and get it while you can!

If you want to get this kit FREE, become a Close To My Heart Consultant or host a qualifying party any time this month.

This is definitely one of our favorite times of the year. A very happy start to national scrapbooking month to you and all of our scrapbooking friends!

Leave a comment

April 24, 2018Celebrate, Community, Learn

Gearing Up for Convention in Las Vegas!

Close To My Heartconvention, Convention 2018, Stacy Julian, Story by Stacy 7 Comments

Gearing Up for Convention #cmth #closetomyheart #convention #NorthAmerican #party #LasVegas #lasvegas #vegas #Vegas #craft #crafting #scrapping #scrapbooking #diy #learn #business #crafters #community #storybystacy #ctmhstorybystacy In case you haven’t heard, the North American Close To My Heart Convention this year is at the Red Rock Resort in fabulous Las Vegas! We couldn’t be more excited to get to see many of you there and for the opportunity to share some new products and ideas for the upcoming year!

A can’t-miss two-day event, Convention is packed with incredible business classes and speakers, creative sessions, new product demonstrations, trainings, and so much more. Every part of this event is designed to help you create the success you want in every area of your Close To My Heart business. You will leave with tons of great ideas, inspiration, and motivation to take your craft, your team, and your business to new heights! We want you to succeed!

Best of all, at Convention you’ll connect with seasoned sales veterans and passionate crafters who will share imaginative trade secrets and cutting-edge techniques in an atmosphere of fun and friendship. The relationships and memories forged and reinforced are bound to be among the greatest rewards you’ll bring home.

One of this year’s special guests is none other than our good friend, Stacy Julian. Watch the video below for a sneak into something new you can expect.

Convention is the biggest party Close To My Heart hosts every year. We get tons of Consultants together in one location to do what we love most—crafting and talking about it! But, really, there is so much more to Convention than that. Underneath all of the beautiful paper and trim, the purpose of Convention is to help you grow as an individual and as a Consultant.

As you gear up for Convention, we encourage you to come with some in mind. Time will fly by once we’re there and, before you know it, it will be over and you will have more memories to scrapbook. Make the most of your Convention experience by thinking ahead of what you wish to get out of it. (What do you want to achieve? Who do you want to meet? What do you hope to learn?)

The Close To My Heart Convention is the best place to fuel your passion, spark your creativity, and ignite your business! If you haven’t signed up yet, what are you waiting for? Come celebrate and create with us by registering today, while you still can!

Create-Convention-2018

Convention is only open to current, active Consultants, but the good news is that you still have a few days to take advantage of an awesome sign-up special! Become a Consultant today and then join us for Convention!

Leave a comment

March 27, 2018Celebrate

Be Brave, Be Bold, Be You…Giveaway!

Close To My Heartbirthday, Contest, giveaway, Jeanette, Jeanette Lynton 444 Comments

A wise person once said, “People will always remember how they felt around you. Build people up.” That thoughtful person was none other than our beloved founder and CEO Jeanette Lynton.

Today happens to be Jeanette’s birthday and to celebrate we are giving away an inspiring stamp from our upcoming Seasonal Expressions 2 catalog! (That’s right, this stamp is not available for purchase until May!)

Be Brave Be Bold Be You Giveaway #ctmh #closetomyheart #be #brave #bold #you #birthday #jeanette #lynton #myacrylix #stamp #giveaway #free #contest #win #pink #bashful

We are giving away five Be You stamp sets here on the blog, another five on our Facebook page, and another five on Instagram. Follow us on those other platforms to learn how to increase your chances to win!

To enter the drawing on the blog, it’s an easy two-step entry. First, make sure you are a subscriber! If you are not, simply push the blue “Subscribe to list” button on the sidebar. Second, and this is important, leave a comment below with a small birthday message for Jeanette. That’s it! Winners will be selected at noon (MDT) tomorrow.

For those of you who have been fortunate enough to meet Jeanette, or even hear her speak, you know she lives her life just as she encourages. The way she builds up the people around her is memorable, and her example reminds others to spread that same care and compassion. When you’re around this incredible person, you can’t help but feel an instant uplifting connection. We would love to hear some of your experiences below, so please share!

Be brave. Be bold. Be you.

Leave a comment

March 8, 2018Celebrate, Create

Hello Spring!

Close To My Heartalphabet, banner, easter, free, printable, printables, season, seasonal, spring, Thin Cuts, wreath 14 Comments

Even though we knew it was coming, as it does every year, spring is sneaking up on us fast! Technically it won’t be spring for another couple weeks, so there’s still time to pull out and sort through all of those brightly colored decorations. (Phew!)

And because spring is all about new beginnings, we have a few fun things in store for you to add to your stash! Just keep reading! 😉

First, we want to show you how to dress up a wreath you may already have with a fun pennant banner made using our Block Alphabet Thin Cuts dies (which are 25% off through the end of the month as part of our Die-namite! sale).

If you look closely, you’ll see that we layered each of our letters with silver foil. Using our Thin Cuts, we cut our sentiment out twice, once out of White Daisy cardstock and then again out of silver foil paper. The silver foil letters were cut in half and then attached to the White Daisy using an adhesive runner. Then, we attached the letters with thin 3-D foam tape onto individual pennants that would later form our banner. To make the pennants, we simply cut 1½” x 3¾” rectangles and dovetailed one of the ends.

Attach the pennants to white twine using a hot glue gun to spell out your words—one word per strand of twine. Make sure to leave enough twine on the ends to tie the banners to the wreath.

You can make a banner like this one for pretty much any occasion just by changing the sentiment. From welcoming a new season, to holidays, or birthdays—the Block Alphabet Thin Cuts give you the tools for spelling out whatever it is you want to celebrate in style!

And since we are talking seasonal décor, we have a special treat for those of you who’ve made it this far: two FREE printables for the upcoming Easter season.

hello spring #ctmh #closetomyheart #hello #spring #pennant #banner #wreath #thin #cuts #diecuts #thincuts #dies #alpha #block #letters #alphabet #home #decor #decoration #decorating #diy #easter #hesirisen #myredeemerlives #printable #redeemer #lives #matthew28 #risen #resurrection #floral #flower #watercolor #free #printable #printables

Download your 8″ x 10″ printable here:

He is Risen
My Redeemer Lives

As we celebrate this season of new beginnings, we thank you for reading and sharing this blog. Our hope is that the inspirational artwork ideas and tips we present here help crafters of all types to discover their creativity and to exercise their creative muscles in new, exciting ways. Happy Easter!

Recipe:

Z3351 Adventure Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3366 Silver Foil Paper, Z3386 Thin Cuts—Block Alphabet, Z3216 White Twine, Z3372 Adhesive Runner, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, 12″ Wreath, Hot Glue Gun

Leave a comment

February 13, 2018Celebrate, Create

A Valentine for You: FREE Card Patterns!

Close To My Heartcard, cardmaking, free, Fundamental cards, pattern, valentine, Valentine's Day, whimsy, White Pines 5 Comments

Free Card Patterns #ctmh #closetomyheart #whimsy #fundamental #paper #packet #free #cards #patterns #pattern #happy #heart #likeanartist #artist #believe #make #difference

We have an early Valentine for all our loyal readers—three free card patterns for you to celebrate along with us and share the love!

Free Card Patterns #ctmh #closetomyheart #whimsy #fundamental #cardmaking #card #diy #pattern #free #white #pines

We’ve taken these patterns, which originally made their debut with the White Pines Workshops on the Go^®, and created new cards using our Whimsy Fundamentals creative collection and some cardstock—and we just love how they turned out!

These timeless patterns can be used for every celebration and occasion with the right combination of papers, Complements, and sentiments. If you’re not sure how to mix and match these products, we’ve taken the guesswork out of the equation for you! For effortless coordination, simply choose one of our creative collections from our idea books and stick to just those products within the suite when making your cards. It really is that easy!

Download the patterns below and share some love this Valentine’s day with a handmade card from the heart! ❤

Download Patterns

For even more timeless cardmaking patterns, check out our newest how-to book, Make It from Your Heart™ volume 4, which just debuted this January! If you love the free patterns on the blog, you’re sure to be blown away by the beautiful, one-of-a-kind, patterns in this book.

Recipes

4¼ x 5½ You Make a Difference Card (Vertical)
Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, X5948 Heather Cardstock, Z3354 Inspire Complements, Z3361 Whimsy Ribbon Pack, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

4¼ x 5½ Like an Artist Card (Horizontal)
C1685 My Acrylix^® Inspire Stamp Set, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5948 Heather Cardstock, Z2805 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3354 Inspire Complements, Z3361 Whimsy Ribbon Pack, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

4¼ x 5½ You Make My Heart Happy Card (Vertical)
A1192 My Acrylix^® Happy Heart Stamp Set, Z3350 Whimsy Fundamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, 1386 Black Cardstock, X5948 Heather Cardstock, Z2805 Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3354 Inspire Complements, Z3361 Whimsy Ribbon Pack, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape

Leave a comment

February 8, 2018Celebrate, Community

Watch Parties to Remember

Close To My Heartevents, Family, food, friends, get-together, parties, party, television, together, tradition, traditions, tv, view, viewing, watch, watching Leave a comment

There’s no better way to enjoy your favorite TV shows than by throwing a watch party with your family and friends! It might be a Super Bowl party, a girl’s night to watch the Oscars, or a get-together for the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. Whatever you’re getting together to watch, the point is you are getting together, having fun, and making memories—which you should definitely include in your memory keeping!

Sometimes our watch parties become a family tradition, like the one featured in this layout. Include photos of the people that were there, but don’t forget to also add shots of the snacks, decorations, and any other happenings that mark the event. The sights, sounds, and tastes are all part of the experience and make those memories special. These pages use our All-Star Complements with Basics Fundamental and the Stargazer paper packets, creating a simple layout highlighting a family Super Bowl party worth remembering.

Sometimes, watch parties include activities before or after the actual watching. These may seem like everyday events to you, but in the long run these moments are what life is all about. The little every day things we do that make us, and celebrate, who we are. In the page above, we share some inspiration for the upcoming winter games. Stargazer Dots and All-Star Complements pair perfectly for whatever team you’ll be rooting for during the next few weeks.

As you prepare to throw your own watch parties, check out this video, where our very own Jill Broadbent shares theme party ideas for tomorrow’s Opening Ceremonies. Complete with décor, food, and crafts, all you need to do is take a quick trip to the grocery store and get out your favorite Close To My Heart paper and cardstock.

Preserving what matters most includes the traditions we create with friends and family. With the Oscars in a few short weeks and a royal wedding in May, there are plenty of memory making watch party opportunities heading our way!

How do you celebrate these, and other, TV milestones? Share with us, in the comments below!

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Super Bowl Sunday Layout
S1802 My Arcylix^® Sunny Thoughts—February Stamp of the Month Stamp Set, X7229B Stargazer Paper Packet, Z3353 Basics Funamental Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, 1386 Black Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7229C Stargazer Complements, Z3356 All-Star Complements, Z4143 Stargazer Dots, Z3386 Thin Cuts—Block Alphabet, Z3389 Cricut^® You Are Here Collection

Cricut^® Shapes
You Are Here
2½” Icon-2 <GameDay> (p. 48, #M282C66F)

12″ x 12″ Let the Games Begin Page
X7228B Gimme Some Sugar Paper Packet, X7229B Stargazer Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, 1386 Black Cardstock, X5946 Linen Cardstock, Z3356 All-Star Complements, Z4159 Thin Cuts—Block Numbers, Z3389 Cricut^® You Are Here Collection

Cricut^®Shapes:
You Are Here
1″ <font> “LETTHEGAMES”
1½” <font> “BEGIN!!!”

Leave a comment

February 1, 2018Celebrate, Community, Create

Sweet and Simple Class Valentines

Close To My Heartcandy, flag, pencils, tag, Valentine's Day, Valentines Leave a comment

In less than two weeks, our children will be off to school to swap valentines with their friends. As the crafty moms of these precocious little people, we immediately volunteer to make these sentiments of affection ourselves because, why not? And then you find out from your child’s teacher that he has 25 friends in his class. No problem, you’ve got this! DIY valentines don’t have to be complicated to be cute or clever.

Here are two ideas for quick and simple school valentines you can make yourself that your child will be happy to share:

Simple and Sweet School Valentines #ctmh #closetomyheart #simple #easy #school #valentine #day #pencils #hearts #flags #xo #tags #bee #mine #together #short #sweet

School kids love new pencils—it’s a thing. There’s something special, a sense of pride even, when a child gets to use a pretty new pencil to do their schoolwork.

Embellish your pencils with a flag made from some of your pretty paper and, presto! All that’s left is for your child to sign the back of it.

If you’re set on a sweet valentine, pick your treat and add a tag.

To make life easier, we used our Basic Tags Thin Cuts for this one. A few simple layers or a cute stamped sentiment will finish the job!

Celebrating Valentine’s Day is about sharing your affection for the people you care about, not about how long it took you to make their treat. As you prepare to make it a special day, keep your child’s class treats simple—simple enough for them to help with! They will enjoy being part of the process and you will be making memories worth a lifetime!

XOXO

Heart Flags
A1189 My Acrylix^® Short & Sweet Stamp Set, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5984 Pixie Cardstock, X5975 Cranberry Cardstock, Z3238 Gold Glitter Paper, Z3239 Silver Glitter Paper, Z3317 Thin Cuts—Basic Hearts

Tags
B1581 My Acrylix® We Belong Together Stamp Set, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5984 Pixie Cardstock, Z3238 Gold Glitter Paper, Z2459 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Pastel Green Marker, Z2464 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Tender Pink Marker, Z3189 White & Gold Ribbon, Z3317 Thin Cuts—Basic Hearts, Z3344 Thin Cuts—Basic Tags

Leave a comment

January 25, 2018Celebrate, Community

Australia Day Giveaway

Close To My Heartaussie, australasia, Australia, australia day, cricut 249 Comments

We’re taking our month-long papercrafting celebration to the other corner of the world today—g’day Australia!!

Some of you may be unaware, but the Close To My Heart family is made up of quite a large group of Aussies, and today, 26 January (AEST), is Australia Day in the land down under! While the holiday has evolved over time and is celebrated differently than it has been in the past, and as we reflect on our love for our mates, we want to celebrate all things Australian with—drum roll please—another giveaway!

We’ll start by choosing six lucky winners, each of whom will win one of these Australian themed stamparoonies…

Aussie Greetings

Love You Mum

Anzac Day

Go Wild

This Is Paradise

Aussie Expressions

AND, for our grand prize…

ONE lucky winner will win a Hello AU/NZ digital Cricut^® collection! Featuring 20 layered images, this collection has shapes, overlays, and names for Australian (and New Zealand) states and territories, as well as a local flower, slogan, and coordinating icon for each. The collection also includes extra images about Australia (and New Zealand), including the country’s flag.

So how do you win? It takes 2 steps. One, make sure you are a subscriber of this blog, promising you’ll pop around. And two, leave a comment below telling us what you love about Straya (that’s Australia for our non Aussie-speak mates) or being a true blue Aussie. It’s that easy! Winners will be chosen randomly by 10 a.m. AEST on 27 January (that’s 4 p.m. MST on January 26). No worries, you do not have to be Australian to win!

Take it easy and have a good one!

Leave a comment

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: