Exploring the 2022–2023 Core Products Catalog—We’ve Got You Covered

Close To My Heart2022, 2022–2023 Core Products Catalog, alphabet, arrows, brackets, butterfly, buttons, Celebrating You, Chasing Sunshine, core catalog, cover, Create, dots, embellishments, Flower Shoppe, flowers, Four Seasons, Hearts, melon, numbers, pearls, sequins, Smell the Flowers, sprigs, stars 10 Comments

It’s official! We’ve just released a new Core Products catalog full of beautiful products that we are eager to share! This catalog includes a wide variety of new embellishments, stamps, Thin Cuts, and six new paper collections to facilitate endless crafting fun!

To help you dive right into the wealth of new creative possibilities this catalog has to offer, we’ll be taking a look at some of the incredible embellishments and stamps that came together to create our beautiful Core Products catalog cover!

Exploring the 2022–2023 Core Products Catalog—We've Got You Covered #ctmh #closetomyheart #crafting #diy #scrapbooking #cardmaking #makeitfromyourheart #cardstock #stamps #thincuts #embellishments #papers #stickers #seasonal #holiday #memorykeeping #papercrafting #

To start off, we want to put a spotlight on our new color of the year, Melon! This gorgeous orange-pink hue is available in cardstock, ink pads, re-inkers, sequins, pearls, dots, adhesive-backed flowers, ribbon, shimmer brushes, shimmer trim, and glitter paper; many of these new products can be seen in the collection of clusters that form the decoration of the Core Products catalog cover.

Another standout feature present in force on this catalog cover is the selection of seasonal papers from our Four Seasons paper suites, along with our Celebrating You and Flower Shoppe collections. These fun patterns add variety in textures and provide pops of color throughout the page. Our Four Seasons collections have everything from springy florals to crisp winter accents and each collection makes a stunning addition to any project. With the Flower Shoppe collection, you can bring a delicate touch to all kinds of accents, while Celebrating You is the perfect way to add celebratory flair to cards, scrapbook pages, and other papercrafts!

Our Four Seasons papers are available in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter collections for year-round crafting, and each of the exclusive paper collections included in our 2022–2023 Core Products catalog include their very own coordinating sticker sheets and coordinating cardstock packs, making it even easier to add your favorite patterns, images, and colors from these collections to your creations!

For even more floral fun on this cover, we’ve also incorporated some stamped blossoms, specifically from the Smell the Flowers and Chasing Sunshine Stamp + Thin Cuts sets!

These classic flowers coordinate seamlessly with the aforementioned Four Seasons—Spring and —Summer collections, but they also work great to create beautiful embellishment bouquets independent of those papers! For the flowers featured here, we’ve chosen to embellish a few of them further with glitter glue accents for additional pop and shine. This element is a game-changer and really elevates the overall appearance of the artwork.

Looking for even more bright spots in this cover artwork? Look no further than our bouquet of Rainbow Acrylic Flowers! These vibrant acrylic blossoms are available in a variety of sizes, and of course, a whole spectrum of colors!

Along with our Rainbow option, these floral shapes are also available in black paperboard, white acrylic, and wood grain paperboard! If you’re looking for embellishments beyond flowers, you’ll love our new selection of alphabets letters, numbers, hearts, stars, arrows, brackets, and buttons, all of which are also available in these same materials!

Adding to our garden motif is a variety of die-cuts created with our Butterfly Layers and Sprigs & Leaves Thin Cuts sets. With a handful of fresh leaves and a kaleidoscope of beautiful butterfly die-cuts, this cover art piece practically springs to life right before our eyes!

These Thin Cuts are a delight to use and coordinate beautifully with not only our Four Seasons—Spring and —Summer paper collections, but our Flower Shoppe paper collection as well!

These are just a few of the elements that make the 2022–2023 Core Products Catalog unforgettable, and we hope this post has given you some ideas of how you can maximize your use of the new products available in this incredible catalog!

What’s your favorite new product in this catalog? Let us know in the comments below!

Recipe:

2022–2023 Core Products Catalog Cover
Z4671 The Merriest Season Stamp + Thin Cuts, Z4670 Autumn Air Stamp + Thin Cuts, Z4668 Smell the Flowers Stamp + Thin Cuts, Z4669 Chasing Sunshine Stamp + Thin Cuts, X8032S Celebrating You Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X8033S Flower Shoppe Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X8034S Four Seasons—Spring Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X8035S Four Seasons –Summer Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X8036S Four Seasons—Autumn Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X8037S Four Seasons—Winter Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet, X6036 Ballerina Cardstock, X6030 Evergreen Cardstock, X5968 Lagoon Cardstock, X6035 Lemonade Cardstock, X6065 Melon Cardstock, X6051 Sundance Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z6523 Avocado Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6528 Capri Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6520 Flamingo Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6517 Lemonade Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6535 Melon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6510 Nectarine Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6521 Sundance Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4654 Springs & Leaves Thin Cuts, Z4653 Butterfly Layers Thin Cuts, Z4641 All-purpose Tags Thin Cuts, Z3943 Circles Thin Cuts, Z4636 Scalloped Circle Frame Thin Cuts, Z4620 Small Circle Shaker Window Thin Cuts, Z4617 Stitched Heart Thin Cuts, Z4569 Small Circle Shaker Window Foam + Acetate, Z1513 White Gel Pens, Z3563 Diamond Stickles™ Glitter Glue, Z6040 Woodgrain Die-cut Arrows, Z6035 White Acrylic Flowers, Z6033 Rainbow Acrylic Flowers, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z4632 Orange & Yellow Dots, Z4626 Red Dots, Z8025 Melon Ribbon, Z4644 Melon Loose Sequins, Z5038 Die-cutting & Embossing Machine

Leave a comment

July 5, 2018Celebrate, Learn

Stampaganza 2018!

Close To My Heartabcs, album, alphabet, campaign, letters, mini album, my acrylix, numbers, sale, set, Stampaganza, stamping, stamps, summer 8 Comments

We did it again! Stampaganza is back! For every two stamp sets you purchase at full retail price during the month of July you get a third of equal or lesser value FREE! Any of our current stamp sets found in our Annual Inspirations and Seasonal Expressions 2 catalogs are up for grabs. AND, to make things even more exciting, we brought back our popular alphabet and number Solos stamp sets just for this sale!

Celebrate this Stampaganza with us as we highlight some of the Solos sets in a fun summer album, below!

stampaganza #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhstampaganza #stampaganzaxctmh #solos #solosstampsets #stamping #stamps #free #July #sale #summeralbum #marveloussummer #summer #album #numbers #alphabet #abc #letters #numerical #MyAcrylix® #MyAcrylix

Features: Solos “a”, Solos “e”, Solos “h”, Solos “i”, Solos “l”, Solos “y”

These first two pages are the title and subject introduction of this album, where we get invited into a little girl’s “marvelous summer” adventures. In the pages that follow, we recount 10 of Ali’s favorite summer memories doing all of our stamping using only the number and alphabet Solos. Can you spot your favorite?

Features: Solos “1”, Solos “2”, Solos “e”, Solos “i”, Solos “m”, Solos “p”, Solos “s”, Solos “w”

Features: Solos “3”, Solos “4”, Solos “b”, Solos “c”, Solos “e”, Solos “g”, Solos “i”, Solos “k”, Solos “n”, Solos “o”

Features: Solos “5”, Solos “6”, Solos “a”, Solos “c”, Solos “e”, Solos “f”, Solos “i”, Solos “k”, Solos “m”, Solos “r”, Solos “s”, Solos “t”

Features: Solos “7”, Solos “8”, Solos “a”, Solos “d”, Solos “e”, Solos “g”, Solos “m”, Solos “r”

Features: Solos “0”, Solos “1”, Solos “2”, Solos “9”, Solos “a”, Solos “c”, Solos “f”, Solos “l”, Solos “r”, Solos “t”

Just remember, these stamp sets are only back until the end of July, so make sure to snatch up your favorites before they are gone! (You really can’t ever have too many fonts 😉 )

Which stamp set is calling your name this Stampaganza? Tell us in the comments below!

Leave a comment

March 13, 2018Create, Learn

Block Alphabet Thin Cuts Technique

Close To My Heartalphabet, bashful, block alphabet, cards, cricut cuttlebug, die cuts, die-cutting, dies, Thin Cuts 3 Comments

Our Die-namite! sale is in full swing, so why not share yet another way to use our Thin Cuts!

For those of you stumbling across our blog for the first time, Thin Cuts are our special line of metal dies that you can use to cut paper shapes by running them through a die-cutting machine, like the Cricut Cuttlebug™. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and some even coordinate with specific stamp sets. You can create exact shapes, over and over again, without using scissors! And the only thing better than that is that they are on sale through the end of the month at 25% off individual sets and 30% off select bundles! (For a complete list of our Thin Cuts, click here.)

Now let’s talk about that super cute card sending everyone out there HUGS. We made the card above using our Block Alphabet Thin Cuts and a partial die-cutting technique. The step-by-step instructions below will guide you through the process of re-creating this card, or one like it with a sentiment of your choice!

Materials Needed:
X7228B Gimme Some Sugar Paper Packet
Z3350 Whimsy Fundamentals
X5941 Bashful Cardstock
1385 White Daisy Cardstock
Z3386 Thin Cuts—Block Alphabet
Z3274 Clear Sparkles
Z1263 Bitty Sparkles
Z4014 White & Gold Twine
Z3372 Adhesive Runner
Washi Tape
Die-cutting Machine

Prepare and Cut.

To replicate our card exactly, you will need the following pieces:

1 standard card base
2″ x 4¼” White Daisy cardstock
2¾” x 4¼” light Bashful cardstock (our cardstock is 2-toned and we used the light side for this piece)
3½” x 4¼” Bashful cardstock
4¼” x 4¼” white flowers on Pixie paper from Gimme Some Sugar paper packet

Step 1. Planning your letter placement.

With a pencil, lightly draw a line 1″ from the right edge on all four cardstock pieces.

Step 2. Attaching the alphabet Thin Cuts.

Again, with a pencil, lightly mark 1 3/8″ from the top of the cardstock. Align the top of the alphabet Thin Cuts with this mark and the left edge slightly over the line you drew in step 1. You should be able to see the pencil line on the inner edge of the die. Once your dies are aligned, secure them with washi tape.

Tip: make sure your letters are in the correct order. The first letter should be on the shortest paper and the last letter on the longest.

Step 3. Partially cutting the letters.

As our preferred die-cutting machine, we used a Cricut Cuttlebug™ for this step. If your machine is something different, adjust as needed.

Layer a platform and a C-size plate and align the edges. Place the White Daisy cardstock on top of this combination so that the line you have drawn is about 1/8″ below the bottom of the plate. This will put the right half of the cardstock on the plate and leave the left half of the cardstock hanging off the plate. Adhere the piece in place with washi tape so it will not move when it’s run through the die-cutting machine. Anything below the plate will not cut through.

Layer a B-size plate on top and run the paper through your die-cutting machine. You should end up with a partially cut letter, still attached on the left.

Repeat this step with all of your letters.

Step 4. Trim off the excess.

To get a clean, straight edge, trim along the pencil line with a paper trimmer. DO NOT CUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH! Leave the part of the letters that are supposed to be attached uncut.

Tip: for the center line of the S, trim with scissors.

Step 5. Assemble your card!

Erase any remaining pencil lines and build your card. Attach your letters to the white flower Pixie paper starting one inch from the left with the S on the bottom, followed by the G, then U, and then the H.

Tip: embellish with twine before attaching this front to the card base.

That’s all, folks! Use this technique to make a standard-sized card with any custom sentiment, anything between 4 to 6 letters long, using our Block Alphabet Thin Cuts!

Share any comments or questions regarding this technique in the comments below!

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

July 18, 2017Create, Learn

Stamping ABC’s

Close To My Heartabc, alphabet, ideas, stamps, technique, tips, tricks 3 Comments

Here we are, in the middle of Stampaganaza 2017, with more stamping tips and tricks for you to carry up your sleeve and share with your friends! Today we’re giving you the ABC’s of working with alphabet stamps. Most of us have at least one font that is our go to, so go grab it and try the following out! (If you’re looking for a new favorite, check out our new Storybook Alphabet—July Stamp of the Month!)

A is for Alignment
For our first trick, we will tell you to stamp your letters one at a time instead of spelling out entire words on a stamping block. A lot of people do this (and we do too, sometimes!) but we find it easier to pull off crisper and cleaner letters when they are stamped individually. If you’re afraid that your letters won’t line up straight, use a ruler and a pencil to lightly draw a line to act as a guide for where you will be stamping. As for spacing between the letters, just eyeball it! Artists are definitely not perfectionists!
B is for Background
Never underestimate the power of a strong backdrop! Alphabet stamps make great backgrounds and can send subtle messages through artwork. Align your letters using the tips we’ve already mentioned, but throw them in the back for a fun and easy way to personalize your crafts.
C is for Center (Sorry Cookie Monster, maybe next time)
Our final tip is about centering your words in your artwork without having to pull out a ruler. If you are trying to center a word on a piece of paper, like in our Hello tag above, start stamping from the middle letter of the word. We started with the first L in “HELLO” and then worked our way out from there, playfully staggering the letters slightly up and down.

Remember your ABC’s—they can make a world of difference when you stamp! If you’ve got some alphabet tips of your own that you would like to share, please do so in the comments below!

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Counting Sheep Page
S1707 My Acrylix^® Storybook Alphabet—Stamp of the Month, E1034 My Acrylix^® Marker Alphabet Stamp Set, B1484 My Acrylix^® Jennifer’s Hand Stamp Set, Z3254 Enchantment Fundamentals Paper Packet, Z3255 Whimsy Fundamentals Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5752 Juniper Cardstock, X5777 Fern Cardstock, X5789 Sea Glass Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2813 Sea Glass Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2849 Peacock Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2865 Juniper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3273 Baby Boy Complements, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

4¼” x 5½” Love Card
E1027 My Acrylix^® Framework Alphabet Stamp Set, X7221B Prickly Pear Paper Packet, X7219B Little Dreamer Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5788 Raspberry Cardstock, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2865 Juniper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2806 Emerald Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3216 White Twine, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z1151 3-D Foam Tape, Z3285 Cricut^® Flower Market Collection

Cricut^® Shape:
Flower Market
1¾” Background <c> (p. 33)

2¾” x 1¾” Hello Tag
B1484 My Acrylix^® Jennifer’s Hand Stamp Set, X7221B Prickly Pear Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5777 Fern Cardstock, Z2896 Smoothie Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3272 Baby Girl Complements, Z3189 White & Gold Ribbon, Z3169 Cricut^® Artbooking Collection, Glassine Bag

Cricut^® Shape:
Artbooking Collection
1¾” Photo Mat 1 <AllStar> (p. 83)

Leave a comment

Make It from Your Heart

Tag Archives: alphabet

Exploring the 2022–2023 Core Products Catalog—We’ve Got You Covered

Stampaganza 2018!

Features: Solos “a”, Solos “e”, Solos “h”, Solos “i”, Solos “l”, Solos “y”

Features: Solos “1”, Solos “2”, Solos “e”, Solos “i”, Solos “m”, Solos “p”, Solos “s”, Solos “w”

Features: Solos “3”, Solos “4”, Solos “b”, Solos “c”, Solos “e”, Solos “g”, Solos “i”, Solos “k”, Solos “n”, Solos “o”

Features: Solos “5”, Solos “6”, Solos “a”, Solos “c”, Solos “e”, Solos “f”, Solos “i”, Solos “k”, Solos “m”, Solos “r”, Solos “s”, Solos “t”

Features: Solos “7”, Solos “8”, Solos “a”, Solos “d”, Solos “e”, Solos “g”, Solos “m”, Solos “r”

Features: Solos “0”, Solos “1”, Solos “2”, Solos “9”, Solos “a”, Solos “c”, Solos “f”, Solos “l”, Solos “r”, Solos “t”

Like this: