Our National Scrapbooking Month celebrations are in full swing around these parts, and what better way to get everyone to join in the festivities than with a free downloadable scrapbook pattern, complete with cutting diagrams and all!
Making its original debut with the Daydream Workshops On the Go®, we paired this timeless 12″ x 12″ pattern with our gorgeous You Are Enough collection!
The You Are Enough collection is a celebration of life and all of its perfect imperfections. “You are enough” does not mean that you are or have to be everything. You don’t have to be perfect, just be who you were designed and made to be. Our You Are Enough collection features beautiful stone designs with stunning rose gold accents and a gorgeous sticker sheet full of positive affirmations, enabling incredible artwork that celebrates everything that life has to offer!
Along with providing products that you will consume and not just collect, we also pride ourselves in being the “let me show you how®” memory-keeping company, and in providing the most comprehensive scrapbooking and cardmaking patterns. When you download the Daydream scrapbooking pattern, you will find that it also comes with cutting diagrams, making it even easier to create these pages from any of your favorite papers and embellishments, not just what we are showing you here. All of our patterns lend themselves to any memories that are special enough to preserve.
Download this free scrapbook pattern below and let us show you just how easy scrapbooking can be!
For even more timeless scrapbook patterns, check out our Make It from Your Heart™ pattern books! If you love the free scrapbook patterns we share on the blog, you’re sure to be blown away by the patterns and inspirational artwork in all of our how-to books.
We’re jumping right into the new year and celebrating National Papercrafting Month with the All Around Creativity special, featuring four gorgeous wreath kits that are only available from Close To My Heart through the end of the month. There are so many different ways to embellish these beautiful wreaths, so we figured we’d have some fun and share with you four simple ways that we’ve added color to the plywood bases.
Adding color to wood doesn’t need to be super messy or take a huge amount of time. It can be quick, easy, and clean. To start off, we’ll take a peek at one of the easiest wood-coloration techniques. This method uses an Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad and will only take you a few minutes from application until it’s completely dry!
Simply select the ink color you’d like to use and gently swipe the stamp pad over the surface of the wood with quick, dabbing motions, going with the grain. Going with the grain helps you to emphasize the natural beauty of the wood, while also protecting your stamp pad from getting scratched up or caught on the wood. As you’ll see in the video below, we left some of the wood grain visible for a more stained look, but you can make it as light or as dark as you’d like.
To achieve a softer, mottled look, try sponging the ink onto the wood.
Cut a Round Sponge into quarters. While gripping the point of one quarter with your fingers, gently load your sponge with ink by pouncing it on your stamp pad. Because the sponge absorbs the ink, it may not look like you have a lot on there, but you’ll have more ink than you think!
Once you’ve got your sponge inked and ready to go, use the same pouncing motion you used on the stamp pad to apply the color to the plywood. The ink will dry lighter than it looks while you apply it. For a darker, richer tone, you will have to apply additional layers of ink.
This next technique uses TriBlend™ markers. When using an alcohol-based marker to color wood, you’ll want to go in the direction of the grain and use a steady hand to achieve even color throughout.
Because you have greater control over color distribution when you use this method, you also have more control over the appearance of the colored wood. For instance, if you want a softer, lighter look, use a light hand and don’t go over the same spot too many times. For darker and richer tones, add more color layers to really get the pigment into the wood.
If you’re going for a darker color, don’t jam the marker tip into the wood, as this may damage your marker. Instead, go over the same area of the wood multiple times for color layering and try using a lighter shade of your TriBlend™ marker.
The last technique we’re showcasing today adds a bit of sparkle to your art. Heat embossing! (We went there, and it’s beautiful!)
First, place your wreath over a piece of scratch paper so you can catch any excess embossing powder. Then, begin by rubbing the surface of the wreath with an anti-static pouch. Apply VersaMark™ ink to the wreath, a few sections at a time, using the same pouncing motion you saw in our first technique. While the ink is still wet, sprinkle embossing powder over it, shake off any excess powder onto your scratch paper, and heat set with a heat tool. (Use your scratch paper to easily funnel your excess embossing powder back into its container for future use.)
We absolutely love these wreaths and National Papercrafting Month, because it really gets us thinking outside the box! We can’t wait to see all the different ways you choose to add color to your wreaths.
Remember, you can only get these gorgeous wreath kits until January 31, and if you buy four or more you even get a discount! Make sure to take full advantage of the All Around Creativity special while you still can. For a few of you who may be on the fence, we are giving away four of these kits to four lucky readers! For a chance to win, you must do two things. First, make sure you are subscribed to this blog. If you are not, find the blue button on the sidebar that says “Subscribe to list” and follow the prompts once you’ve clicked it. Second, leave us a comment below telling us what types of crafts you like to work out, outside of scrapbooking and cardmaking. You have until 12 p.m. (MST) Thursday, January 9, to submit your entries. All winners will be notified by email. Good luck and happy crafting!
We pride ourselves on our “Let Me Show You How” philosophy. That is one of the reasons we love providing free, downloadable patterns, whether that is right here, on this blog, or on Closetomyheart.com.
Whenever we offer a workshop kit for sale, the instructions are available as a free downloadable PDF file right on our website. These instructions come fully equipped with additional materials needed lists, cutting guides, featured techniques, step-by-step assembly instructions, project photos, tips, AND patterns. Without any obligations or commitments, you can visit our site, find these workshops, download the files, and use the patterns in them at your discretion.
Even though these timeless patterns are designed with specific products in mind, we stand behind their versatility and encourage you to use them time and time again. With different papers, embellishments, and subjects matters, the finished results will always be unique.
THE WORLD IS YOURS:(You can download the instructions and patterns for these layouts here, or on our website here.)
In each of our seasonal catalogs, you will find one scrapbooking and one cardmaking workshop for every paper collection offered. The scrapbooking workshops walk you through creating three coordinating 2-page layouts while the cardmaking workshops come with several card designs and patterns to make anywhere between 12 and 16 cards. Outside the catalogs, we also have regular monthly specials. Often, these promotions will include a workshop—this is where you will find instructions and patterns for other things as well, like mini albums and the occasional papercrafting project.
If you’re ever looking for a pattern, revisit some of your old workshops or come and visit us here or on our website. Remember, the patterns on our site are only available while the workshop kits they are featured in are, so make sure to grab them while you can!
What better way to wrap up National Scrapbooking Month than to give our readers a free scrapbook pattern? 🙂
This pattern originally debuted with our Moon Doggie papers, but we decided to pair it with our National Scrapbooking Month Live Beautifully paper packet and stamp set—and we love the finished look! It goes to show how scrapbook patterns are truly timeless.
Download the pattern above, and then create your own layout. Though the photo sizes on this pattern are not standard, you could easily replace the 5 ½” x 8″ photo on the left page with a matted 5″ x 7″. For the 4″ x 2 ½” photos on the right page, it is easy to trim ½” off of a 4″ x 3″ to fit the space.
For even more timeless patterns, check out our collection of affordable how-to pattern books, many of which are only available until the end of July. We know you’ll love them!
At the heart of scrapbooking is the idea of preserving memories and telling stories in a meaningful way that will last. Scrapbooks are a great way to preserve your family’s history and be artistic at the same time.
Our Live Beautifully paper packet, which is only available this month as part of National Scrapbooking Month, features vintage-inspired designs that are perfect for heritage scrapbooking.
The beautiful flowers on this page were trimmed right out of one of the Live Beautifully papers. To really make them pop, we curled up the edges and attached them using 3-D foam tape. They look like they’re blooming right off the page!
This page also shows how the All About the Gold Fundamentals make a great companion to your Live Beautifully papers. They are 12″ x 12″ clear overlays with gold foil designs; on this page we used the diagonal stripes design. These overlays work really well with the gold foil accents featured in the Live Beautifully paper packet.
And while we’re talking about gold, let’s not overlook gold glitter paper! We used it to mat our photos here, and we love the results! Gold glitter paper looks really elegant with sepia or black and white photos. We finished the page off with some gold foil accents from the Springtime Complements, including the title.
Which additional products do you like to use with the Live Beautifully paper packet for your heritage scrapbooking? Tell us in the comments below!
May is National Scrapbooking Month, and to celebrate, we’ve created a whole new Cut Above® layout kit to help you create not one, not two, but FIVE layouts!
It’s called Live Beautifully, and it is all about living a beautiful life, dreaming big, and inspiring others.
If you’re not familiar with our Cut Above layout kits, you get everything you need to assemble scrapbook layouts in one convenient kit: base pages, pre-cut pieces and die-cuts, stickers, and photo placeholders—all you need is adhesive and a journaling pen! Each of the five layouts in the Live Beautifully kit can be assembled in 15 minutes or less—they’re that easy!
Cut Above is the perfect solution for those who enjoy the art of scrapbooking but are looking for a quicker alternative. Even if you’re a die-hard decorative scrapbooker who loves to spend hours on a layout, this kit is a great way to catch up on documenting your stories without sacrificing quality.
Let’s take a closer look at the layouts this kit creates:
Gorgeous, right? You’d never guess these come together so quickly! The gold foil accents really add a special touch, and if you want, you can pop up pieces with 3-D foam tape to add dimension.
If you want to get this kit at a discount, buy the kit in a bundle with an album, adhesive, and journaling pen—that way you save 20% and you have everything you need to make and store your pages!
Cardmaking is about so much more than pretty paper. It’s about creating and celebrating beautiful relationships. Take a look at this short video to see what we mean:
Don’t you love the way this video captures the spirit of cardmaking? Not only do you get to make something beautiful with your own two hands, but you also get to give those cards to others and brighten their day. Even little cards can make a huge impact on someone. That’s why we created the Create Kindness card kit.
What better way to celebrate National Stamping Month than with this mini card kit that includes everything you need to complete 24 cards!
Here’s a list of the products included in the kit:
24 – 3″ × 3″ card bases with envelopes (6 of each color)
24 –white cardstock circles
8 –mini stamp sets (4 for the front of the cards, 4 for the inside)
1 – Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ mini stamp pad
1 – 2″ × 2″ My Acrylix® block
1 – My Acrylix® mini stamp organizer
This kit isn’t just for beginners either. If you already have the block, ink, and organizer, you can also purchase the stamps and cards separately. There’s stamping happiness to be spread all around! 🙂
What’s really fun about these stamps is that you get to color them with whatever you’d like! We colored these ones with ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ markers, but you could use anything you have in your crafting stash. Get creative!
We hope you join us in using handmade cards to create a little more kindness in the world. You may feel like you’re not doing much, but when we all do our part, we’ll make the world a better place.
Homemade bookmarks would be a great gift for your kids’ teachers as they head back to school, for your friends who love to read, or for your book club buddies. They’re also just a fun way to get you even more excited about the books you’re reading.
Here at Close To My Heart, we’re all about preserving stories, so it’s no surprise that we really love to read! We thought it would be fun to ask around the office to find out what everyone is reading lately. Jeanette is currently reading The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, following the same schedule as our Consultants and our Training department. Here’s what the rest of the Home Office is reading:
Fiction
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
A Nation Divided by Robert Marcum
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley
Fantasy
Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett
Mistborn: Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
The Mayfair Witches Series by Anne Rice
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Non-Fiction
Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter
What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Eisenberg Murkoff and Sharon Mazel
The Hour of Land by Terry Tempest Williams
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Painters of Utah’s Canyons and Deserts by Donna L. Poulton and Vern G. Swanson
The Buddha Walks into a Bar by Lodro Rinzler
Self-Improvement
Broadcasting Happiness: The Science of Spreading Positivity and Creating a Spiral of Success by Michelle Gielan
The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man’s Quest to Be a Better Husband by David Finch
May Cause Miracles by Gabrielle Bernstein
Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success by David Maxfield, Joseph Grenny, and Kerry Patterson
Fearless by Max Lucado
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin
Work Rules! by Laszlo Bock
Creativity
Big Magic: Creative Living beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life by Pat Williams
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
National Book Lovers Day is the perfect excuse to make some cute bookmarks and then curl up with a blanket, a cup of hot tea, and your favorite book—but first, tell us what you’re reading right now by leaving a comment below!
It’s May, and that means it’s one of our very favorite times of the year—National Scrapbooking Month! To celebrate, we’ve created a very special paper packet and coordinating stamp set called Happy Times. We’ve got all sorts of beautiful artwork lined up for you featuring these wonderful papers, so be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube all month long!
In honor of this very special month, we’ll be sharing tips and tricks from our Art Studio about how to create amazing scrapbook pages. Today we’ll start with how to achieve good color balance.
This first page shows an example of color overload:
This can happen so easily when we want to focus on a given color—pink in this instance. With a pink page base, pink flowers galore, pink gold foil floral paper, a pink title, pink photo mats, and pink stamping, we have officially ended up with too much of a good thing! 🙂 Besides that, by going with so many patterned papers, the page also looks super busy, so that the details of the page get lost.
Take a look at what happens on a more balanced page:
Your initial impression might be that there is no pink at all, but then a handful of pink features pop right out at you, don’t they? This is because the color pink is now in contrast with the background of the page, which is a super neutral woodgrain and a duo of minty papers, all from the Happy Times paper packet. Thanks to this contrast, you can even see the beautiful pink flowers the little girl is holding in the photo, which were almost completely lost in the previous example. You can also see the stamped flowers much better. Here are the two pages side by side so you can really see the difference:
The page on the right really lets the photos take the spotlight, which is what this scrapbook page is really all about.
So here’s today’s tip in a nutshell: When you want to highlight a specific color, start with a neutral background, limit your favorite color so it really pops, and add a complementing color for contrast. As the artwork above shows, the Happy Times paper packet includes a wide variety of colors and patterns so you have everything you need to create balanced scrapbook pages right at your fingertips.
Tell us your favorite color in the comments below, and then stay tuned for more inspirational artwork as well as more scrapbooking tips and tricks throughout the month!
Recipe
12″ x 12″ Hello World Page (more balanced) Make It from Your Heart™ Vol. 2: Pattern 14
CC1064 My Acrylix® Happy Times, CC1063 Happy Times Paper Packet, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5760 Cotton Candy Cardstock, Z2193 Cotton Candy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2128 Hollyhock Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2650 Fern Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2012 Sequins Gold Assortment, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3169 Cricut® Artbooking Collection
(You can download the instructions and patterns for these layouts 
