We’re at it again! Last week we shared a fun way to dress up a girl’s room using beautiful large paper flowers, and, as promised, today we’ve got some inspiration on how to use papercrafting to decorate a more boyish space. (It can be done!)
The Urban paper collection is one of our absolute all-time favorites. We love it so much, in fact, that we brought it back for a second time around! Whether you missed it when it made its debut, or you love the designs just as much as we do, now is your chance to stock up!
We paired these classic Urban patterns with a few of our other go-to products and came up with some really fun, trendy, and even purposeful, décor pieces. Take a closer look.
Our chipboard frames and monograms are a great way to showcase personality in any given space. The patterns found in the Urban papers and stickers provide just the right amount of warmth, edge, and attitude to do just that!
We backed this third frame with some cork board to effortlessly add or move photos, notes, and other mementos around. With a little bit of personal thought and inspiration, you could easily turn one of these framed pieces into a vision board!
For those of you who, like us, also love all things scrapbooking and cardmaking. We put together a workshop that uses these designs to create this stunning artwork:
We love National Papercrafting Month, and we absolutely love with our Urban collection. Don’t forget, you only have until January 31st, while supplies last, to get your hands on this go-to classic!
Some Kinda Wonderful is a whimsical, playful paper collection with bright colors and unique designs. Though you may initially look at it and think “little girl,” these papers and embellishments can be paired with all sorts of other photos as well! It really is some kinda wonderful! 😉
Here we have photos of college besties getting together to surprise their friend on her birthday. It’d also be super cute to use this collection with photos from any girls trip, like a trip to the spa or the mall.
On the flip side, this collection also has colors that work well for photos of boys at any age—including black glitter die-cuts.
All we can say is, there’s a whole lotta potential in this one paper collection!
Which of the two layouts is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!
In honor of April Fool’s day, I, Sticky Boy, have decided to bring everyone’s attention back to the things that matter most: namely, me. To that end, I’ve taken over Close To My Heart’s blog, Facebook, Instagram, and website. I figured it would be a good prank to give the world a little more of me. 😉
And since the holiday happened to fall on a Saturday, it gave me the ideal opportunity to take over the Home Office, too. If you’re curious about how a clear stamp like me could manage so much mayhem, check out the story on our Instagram account. Let’s just say, I’ve got some serious skills. 🙂
Everyone’s going to find some pretty awesome surprises when they get back on Monday morning…
…they’re going to get a little extra motivation…
“Teamwork is the ability of common people to follow the orders of an uncommonly talented stamp. Like me.”
“The difference between me and successful people is that they don’t have short, stubby, little legs.”
“Leaders are like eagles. Wait, no they aren’t. Leaders RIDE eagles!”
…and they’ll enjoy some new & improved bathroom signs.
In fact, I’ll be “popping” up all over the place.
Of course, there’s nothing anonymous about this, so I left my calling card to make sure everyone knew what I was up to today.
As for Brian and Monica, I had some very special plans for them. I left a message on Brian’s door and just a few sticky notes…
…and I gave Monica’s family photos a little makeover.
Stay tuned on Facebook and Instagram to see what I’m up to the rest of the day—and Happy April Fools!
It’s me, Sticky Boy, and I’m here to officially announce that Stampaganza is back! In case you don’t know what that is, let me explain. For every two stamp sets you purchase, you can get one of equal or lesser value for free—free, my friends, FREE!
Now, everyone loves free, but when it comes to Close To My Heart’s My Acrylix® stamps, you’re getting an exceptionally good deal, if I do say so myself. My Acrylix stamps, like moi, are one of a kind. We’re made with special, high-quality materials, which means you can’t find anything like us on the shelves of your local craft store. When it comes to affordable, easy-to-use, and versatile stamp sets, we’re the clear winner. (Ah ha? See what I did there? 🙂 )
Now on to my favorite stamp sets!
As you know, I’m a pretty energetic little stamp. That’s because I guzzle the good stuff. I love the My Acrylix Treats of Friendship stamp set because it just gets me. I mean, it has a donut in it! Donuts are round, sticky, and sweet, like me!
And just like me, these diamond stamps are one of a kind. If you like the ba-BLING like I do, make sure to get your My Acrylix Diamonds Are Forever stamp set. It’s a real gem! 🙂
Now I’m going to share with you something I haven’t shared before—I’m a bit of a romantic. I think the lovey-doveyness of the My Acrylix I Do stamp set is just awesome. I hope that someday I’ll find a Sticky Girl to be my sweetie forever.
Okay, okay, enough with the mushiness.
Because taking over the blog today was so fun, I think I’m going to stick around a bit more. How about a good ol’ game of Spot Sticky? Here’s what I’m thinking: I’m going to sneak into a few blog photos during the month of March. The first person to leave a comment saying where I am will get a Sticky Boy stamp! In order to win, you’ll need to be specific!
In the meantime, tell me below what your favorite stamp set is. I want to hear your opinions! Then stay tuned for later blog posts and try to spot me in the photos.
Good luck!
Recipes
5½” x 4¼” I Like You a Latte Card Make It from Your Heart™ Vol. 2: Pattern 20
C1616 My Acrylix® Treats of Friendship X7199B Sangria Paper Packet 1385 White Daisy Cardstock X5643 Chocolate Cardstock Z3127 Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Z3126 Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Z2165 Juniper Exclusive Inks™ Pad Z2111 Chocolate Exclusive Inks™ Pad Z888 Black StazOn™ Ink Pad Z2012 Sequins Gold Assortment Z3132 Watercolor Paints Z3188 Paintbrush Set Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® L 5½” x 4¼” You’re One of a Kind Card Make It from Your Heart™ Vol. 1: Pattern 25
C1629 My Acrylix® Diamonds Are Forever X7202B Kaleidoscope Paper Packet X5930 Slate Cardstock X5929 Whisper Cardstock Z3146 Watercolor Paper Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Pad Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad Z3130 Silver Foil Tape Z2068 Ranger™ White Super Fine Embossing Powder Z3132 Watercolor Paints Z3188 Paintbrush Set Z3167 Cricut® Artistry Collection
Cricut® Shape: Artistry
1½” Icon-1 (p. 13)
5½” x 4¼” Bride and Groom Card
D1636 My Acrylix® I Do X5776 Peacock Cardstock 1385 White Daisy Cardstock X5763 Smoothie Cardstock Z2649 Peacock Exclusive Inks™ Pad Z2172 Whisper Exclusive Inks™ Pad Z2105 Black Exclusive Inks™ Pad Z2196 Smoothie Exclusive Inks™ Pad Thread
To learn more about Stampaganza, talk to your Independent Consultant or find an Independent Consultant by going to closetomyheart.com and clicking on “Find a Consultant” in the top right corner.
Onward we go with our birthday celebration this month—just because we can. (Hey, everyone needs a reason to celebrate in January!) We’ve discussed the important matter of capturing birthday memories in your scrapbook pages, so now we’ll delve into the other delights you’ll need for the day of the event. Today’s special: birthday cards!
Even after the cake is all gobbled up and the decorations torn down, a card can stick around for a long time. It can be a gift in itself, as deserving of a child’s attention as any of the others they open on their special day. Using some of the suggestions below you can really show your love by the thought and care you put into your cards.
The wacky Love Ya Silly stamp set is a definite crowd pleaser! These little fellas add a lot of personality. You can create all sorts of adorably hilarious scenes with them.
Tie your card together by repeatedly using the same color. Here we’ve used a piece of Topiary striped washi tape, Topiary mini chevron ribbon, a sheet of Topiary from the Paper Fundamentals Enchantment assortment, Topiary and Pear cardstock balloons, and a green epoxy Bubble as an eyeball. We’ve even added a touch of Topiary to the stamped sentiment using the super-trendy, eye-popping ombré stamping technique. Does your recipient have a favorite color? Use it!
Try daring color combos—this card features the same stamp in a wide variety of colors.
Also, try mixing and matching stamp sets for variety. Could you tell that this card uses three different sets? The trail of slime the monster left behind didn’t come from the Love Ya Silly set at all; it was actually done with the Brushstrokes set, the same set used to create the colorful background.
Have you got a little one that’s ecstatic over anything with an engine? Try a stamp set like this!
Paper-piece your stamped images to compose a complete image that really stands out. Use your markers to shade in some details and to highlight others to give your card dimension.
Use repetition to make an appealing pattern. Here we’ve repeated the number six in a visual triangle to create lovely aesthetics.
Think outside the box with your embellishments. Using your Close To My Heart products in a wide range of ways—even with paper packets outside of their family—will lend exciting variety to your projects!
Cards are the right way to send a special greeting on that all-important day of the year. Make yours irresistible birthday gifts all in themselves for the kiddies in your life. Is there a better way to pull out their birthday smiles?
Recipes:
4 ¼” x 5 ½” Monster Happy Birthday Card
B1419 My Acrylix® Joyful Birthday, B1470 My Acrylix® Love Ya Silly, D1522 My Acrylix® Glamour Lowercase Alphabet, D1635 My Acrylix® Assorted Edges, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2031 Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Assortment, Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2172 Whisper Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2502 Enchantment Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pads Set, Z2501 Adventure Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pads Set, Z1806 Green & Blue Epoxy Bubbles, Z1929 Topiary Mini Chevron Ribbon, Z2002 Topiary Striped Washi Tape, Z1767 Chalk Marker
4 ¼” x 5 ½” Love Your Face Card
B1419 My Acrylix® Joyful Birthday, B1470 My Acrylix® Love Ya Silly, C1608 My Acrylix® Brushstrokes, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2033 Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment, Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2640 Thistle Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2644 Pixie Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2193 Cotton Candy Exclusive Inks™ Pad, 44751 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® Le Pen™ Journaling Pen
5 ½” x 4 ¼” Sending Birthday Wishes Card
C1605 My Acrylix® Happy to Be Friends, C1570 My Acrylix® Lifting Spirits, B1438 My Acrylix® Banner Wishes, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, 1272 Cranberry Cardstock, X5929 Whisper Cardstock, X5772 Canary Cardstock, X5759 Pacifica Cardstock, Z2116 Cranberry Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2192 Pacifica Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Pad, 44751 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2468 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Warm Grey 7 Marker, Z2467 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Warm Grey 4 Marker, Z3009 Chalk It Up Assortment, Z1848 Red Shimmer Trim
5 ½” x 4 ¼” Happy Birthday 6 Card
C1603 My Acrylix® A Bunch of Thanks, D1522 My Acrylix® Glamour Lowercase, C1605 My Acrylix® Happy to Be Friends, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5759 Pacifica Cardstock, Z2192 Pacifica Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2116 Cranberry Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2643 Canary Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z3009 Chalk It Up Assortment, Z1806 Green & Blue Epoxy Bubbles, Z3017 Cricut® Artfully Sent Collection (stamp set)
Sticky Boy has made a big splash on his Facebook page debut, and so many people have been asking about his whereabouts and how they can get their OWN. But what do we really know about the mysterious fellow? To satisfy the public outcry, we managed to secure an exclusive interview with the enigmatic figure. We sat him down together with Close To My Heart Founder and CEO Jeanette Lynton to find out more about who he is, where he came from, and what he’ll be doing next.
Interviewer: We’re so delighted to have you both here with us for this interview. Sticky Boy, I think there are a lot of people that would like to get to know you better. Would you take a minute to introduce yourself?
Sticky Boy: Oh sure. But before I do that, there’s one thing I’d like to clear up first—even though I am celebrating my tenth birthday as a clear polymer stamp this month, I’ve actually been around quite a bit longer than that. You could say I’d already been “around the block” a few times before I really became the stamp I am today. You know what I mean?
Jeanette: What he means is that long before he became a polymer stamp, Sticky Boy started as a hand-drawn figure on a sketch pad. I doodled out this little figure in order to illustrate an idea I had to my husband, David, who also works for the company and has been in charge of stamp production all these years. We all liked it so much that we decided to turn him into a stamp.
Interviewer: And that is how Sticky Boy was born?
Jeanette: Well, not really. See, back then he was made into a wood and rubber stamp.
Sticky Boy: True, true. That earliest version was not exactly what you would call a “sticky” boy. If he had had a name it would probably be “stampy boy” or something much less catchy.
Jeanette: The name of the stamp was actually What’s Up, and I believe he was every bit as popular as you are now, Sticky Boy.
Sticky Boy: I don’t know about that. Did “What’s Up” have his own Facebook page?
Jeanette: No, but plenty of people were stamping him onto pages of their own making. It was fun to stamp a whole scene for him. People got really creative with him and some of his friends, like another popular stamp character, Frank.
The “What’s Up” stamp from the 2001–2002 Close To My Heart Catalog & Idea Book.
Sticky Boy: Please, let’s not change the subject. This is supposed to be about me.
Interviewer: True, true. So how did the name Sticky Boy come about?
Jeanette: Well, it was a little over ten years ago and we had made the decision to transition from wood and rubber stamps to the beautiful clear polymer stamps. We were trying to come up with a name for the new line of stamps. We were revolutionizing the industry as the first to bring this new stamp process to the direct sales market and they needed a catchy name. In a meeting, David, threw out the name “Sticky Boys.” We obviously didn’t agree on the name for our brand, but he didn’t want to let it go!
Sticky Boy: I think it’s a perfectly good name!
Jeanette: Of course you do, but we went with My Acrylix® instead. As part of that whole process, we were choosing which sets would make the transition and which ones would be retired. What’s Up was on the list of sets to retire because he didn’t really fit anywhere in the new collection.
Sticky Boy: What you mean is that you were worried I was going to show up all the other stamp designs and make them jealous.
Jeanette: Sure, we’ll say that. It was David who decided to use the What’s Up design as a prototype of the new My Acrylix® stamps. And that is really how Sticky Boy was born. David was able to keep his beloved stamp image AND his brilliant name for the new stamps.
Interview: That sounds like a great partnership.
Sticky Boy: Well, there are a few details she left out. See, I didn’t love being stuck to a wooden block all the time—it made it really inconvenient to go places, and one of the things I love most is traveling. I asked Jeanette for advice about what to do, and she came up with the idea for the polymer stamps. So you could almost say that I’m the one that gave her the idea. But now I can go pretty much anywhere!
Interviewer: While we’re on the subject, there has been some discussion about how difficult you can be to find. Can you tell us how this little game of yours got started?
Sticky Boy: Happy to. One of the great benefits of being a clear polymer stamp is that you can look right through me when you’re stamping an image. That is a really great feature, but it does make me a little harder to see. Back when I first made the switch, David got the idea that it would be fun to bring me to Convention to introduce the new stamps to our Consultants. So we put our heads together and came up with the idea of a hide-and-seek type game. It let me travel and it let our Consultants see the quality of the clear stamps, too, so it was really a win-win. And it was so much fun that we had to try it again the next year, and the next…
Interviewer: … and that’s how a tradition gets born. Jeanette, what did you think about this idea?
Jeanette: Well, I know how important it is to let David have his fun. I indulge the boys in their little game, though if I had my way, I’d let everyone take a Sticky Boy home with them!
Sticky Boy: Aww, but that takes all the fun out of it!
Celebration of Sticky Boy’s tenth birthday, complete with all of his favorite sticky treats.
Interviewer: Well, we are running short on time. Sticky Boy, what plans do you have for the future?
Sticky Boy: Well, I’m having a blast with my new Facebook page, and I have got some really fun ideas for what to do there, but other than that, the biggest thing I have planned is next year’s Close To My Heart Convention, of course.
Interviewer: That’s going to be at the Disneyland Hotel® in Anaheim, California, next July, right? How will you be dressing up this time?
Sticky Boy: I think I’m going to keep that a surprise for now. But yes, I am really looking forward to going back to the Disneyland® Hotel—there are so many fun hiding places there.
Interviewer: When will people be able to register for the event?
Sticky Boy: Our Consultants can register for Convention starting in January—so it’s coming right up! I hope everyone can come!
Interviewer: Is there anything else you’d like to say before we wrap up?
Sticky Boy: Oh yeah, just one last thing. I want to make sure everyone knows about the Deal of the Decade special that is going on. You can get C- & D-size stamp sets for just $10 each with a qualifying purchase. It’s a great deal going on for my tenth anniversary celebration, so I hope everyone takes the chance to get some great new stamps. I can vouch for them—they are every bit as fun to craft with as I am, even if they don’t enjoy the same level of celebrity.
Jeanette: Yeah, and they don’t have quite as much of an ego, either.
Interviewer: Well, thank you both very much for your time. It has been a pleasure! I look forward to seeing more of you both in the coming year.
Jeanette & Sticky Boy: Likewise.
There you have it! You heard it from Sticky Boy—December is a great time to get a deal on stamps, so get yours before it’s too late! Oh, and be sure to check out Sticky Boy’s Facebook page for more fun to come!
Sticky Boy visits Jeanette at Convention ten years ago.
It’s been a right party at the first-ever Australasia Convention in the land down under! The excitement of Sticky Boy, crafting sessions, and good friends combined with the reveal of the newest idea book has made for a lovely celebration of the joy that comes from being part of the Close To My Heart family.
Here’s a small glimpse into what it’s been like, brought to you by some of our wonderful Close To My Heart employees that are helping out with Convention down in Australia:
