Cards that Say It with Style!

Close To My Heartall the best wishes, cardmaking workshop, circle pattern, It's Your Birthday, National Stamping Month, nsm, plaid stencil, quadrant pattern, say it with style, sending you a hug, stencils, you go girl 2 Comments

Say It with Style #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhsayitwithstyle #sayitwithstyle #ctmnnationalstampingmonth #nationalstampingmonth #cardmaking #cardsentiments #cardstencils #stencils #cardfront #slimline #cardmakingworkshop

Somehow it’s already September, but we don’t mind one bit because stamping is in the air! It is officially National Stamping Month, and we are celebrating in style with brand new coordinating stamp sets, Thin Cuts, stencils, and more!

Let’s take a closer look at all the exciting things Close To My Heart President, Monica Wihongi shared on our Facebook page a few days ago.

STAMPS + THIN CUTS:

In our Say It With Style special, there are four stamp sets with coordinating dies that cut the shapes you see outlined in blue.

You Go Girl Stamp + Thin Cuts

It’s Your Birthday Stamp + Thin Cuts

All the Best Wishes Stamp + Thin Cuts

Sending You a Hug Stamp + Thin Cuts

Each of these stamp sets is available on their own or paired with their coordinating Thin Cuts.

STENCILS:

For additional flair, we have two new sets of card front stencils, designed for both standard and slimline size cards!

These were hard to see in the video because they are made of a clear, plastic material. Here, we are showing you a digital grey rendition, instead, so you can really get the detail that each of these stencils has to offer.

The striped stencils are designed so that you can flip them and cross the patterns as you stencil to create a plaid. The quartered circles stencil pairs of each size are intended to line up with each other and complete the patterns when they are used together.

WORKSHOPS:

At the crest of our Say It with Style special are four cardmaking workshops, complete with downloadable cutting guides and instructions, that put all these wonderful new products to use!

Each of the workshop kits comes with the materials to make 16 cards, four cards of four designs, including one of the Say It with Style stamp sets with their coordinating dies, around a dozen cardstock sheets, card bases and envelopes, and a set of embellishments (either die-cuts or acrylic shapes) just right to complete each look. That is 64 cards, ready to deliver your messages in style!

Additionally, the workshop guides will walk you, step-by-step, through how to use the plaid and quadrant stencils to create the background patterns on each of the cards.

The kits available for each of the workshops are available for purchase with or without the stencils, each at 20% off their retail value. Once you own the stencils, you won’t need to purchase them again for use in another workshop. They are made of a sturdy, see-through plastic material that can be used time and time again.

And, if you’d like to purchase all four workshop kits, there is an all-inclusive bundle that is even more discounted, at 30% off the retail value!

EVENT:

We love the chance to celebrate stamping month with anyone who would like to join in, so we are hosting a two-day event where we will be creating the artwork from these workshops live on our Facebook page!

Join us on October 6 at 2 p.m. MDT and on October 7 at 11 a.m. MDT and learn how to use the stencils, get all of the cutting done for all four workshops, and assemble as many of the cards as we can get to!

Like Monica said, you don’t even have to buy the bundles to watch (but why wouldn’t you want to?). Join us on our Facebook page, here, to see how we use all these great products and let’s enjoy some crafting time together!

May 17, 2023Celebrate, Create, Learn

Scrapbooking Dreamy Layouts with Flair!

Close To My Heartcurling technique, Dream Maker, flower technique, Karen Pedersen, national scrapbooking month, nsm, Perfect Day, Scrapbooking month, technique, video, watercolor, watercolour 8 Comments

Dream Maker Paper Collection #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhdreammaker #scrapbooking #cardmaking #memorykeeping #watercolorpattern #watercolourpattern #patternedpaper #minialbum #watercolordesigns #watercolourdesigns #nationalscrapbookingmonth #nsm #nsmdreammaker

May is National Scrapbooking month, and we are loving celebrating the worthy pursuit of memory keeping along with you and our beautiful Dream Maker collection, designed especially for this special seasonal occasion!

The exclusive Dream Maker collection features a twelve-sheet paper packet along with several coordinating products—a 12″ x 12″ sticker sheet with gold foil accents, specialty marble-like printed cardstock, exclusive black paperboard die-cuts, a four-pattern stencil, and a stamp set complete with sentiments, accents, and beautiful backgrounds!

And, because creating is our favorite, we went ahead and turned these gorgeous products into projects, putting together three Dream Maker workshops, complete with downloadable instruction guides! The kits for these workshops, paired with a few additional supplies, create some of the dreamiest artwork!

Make three coordinating 12″ x 12″ two-page scrapbook layouts, the pages of a 6″ x 8″ album, or even a set of 16 cards (we still love scrapbooking’s cousin in May! 😉).

Today, we are hyperfocusing on one of the projects from one of the workshops to really give you a sampling of what you can expect from this Dream Maker collection!

The Perfect Day layout from the Dream Maker scrapbooking workshop is absolutely stunning! Upon first look, the striking background base pages look as if a talented artist spent time water coloring them. If you inspect them closely, you may notice that these backgrounds were actually built using our patterned papers!

The thinner lined patterned paper was used for the 12″ x 12″ base pages. They were layered along the bottom with a zip strip (an extra ½” accent paper found along the top of our pattern papers), followed by an ⅛” wide strip of black cardstock, and completed with a 4¾” wide faux watercolored rainbow striped paper.

Notice how the faux watercolored rainbow stripe paper coordinates perfectly with the base page, with the rainbow progression matching up from left to right. One fun element of this layout is how the right page mirrors this same color scheme, with the color strips going in the opposite direction. The flowers also follow this same color pattern.

Pairing black with the bright colors from our dreamy scape creates a sophisticated contrast that we are here for! Black is an elegant, low-energy shade that provides our eyes and mind a visual place to take a break from the excitement created by all the bright-colored patterns.

No matter how hard we tried, photos just don’t do these beautifully crafted pages justice. We hope you’ll get your hands on these products and create these pages to see them for yourselves. In the meantime, believe when we say that this layout is also packed with dimension!

For starters, the photos were all attached to black cardstock mats with 3-D foam tape. When the matted photos were attached to the base pages, the center mats were attached with foam tape again—the photos are truly popping out at you!

The chic flowers along the top of the photos were also attached with foam tape. They were stamped using the Dream Maker stamp set, hand trimmed, and then curled to create a beautiful, dimensional, more life-like effect.

Even though this curled leaf effect was difficult to photograph, it is quite easy to achieve, so we asked our dear friend, Creative Arts Manager Karen Pedersen, to show us just how to do it. Take a look in the short video below!

We will be making this layout, along with the other two layouts from this workshop, during a free Facebook Live virtual event on July 10, beginning at 2:00 p.m. MT. Visit our Events tab on our Facebook page for the dates and times that we will be hosting free events for the 6″ x 8″ album workshop and the cardmaking workshop, too!

We’d love to see you there!

September 15, 2021Create, Inspiration

Map Your Journey with a Paper Piecing Stamping Technique!

Close To My Heartjourney, map, National Stamping Month, nsm, paper piecing, piece, piecing, puzzle, September, stamping, states, technique, united states, us, usa 11 Comments

September is a very exciting month for us at Close To My Heart. Not only do we celebrate National Stamping Month, but it’s also the month that we launch our new annual catalog!

In this year’s Core Products Catalog, you will find lots of new and exciting products, among them a new series of stamps called Map Your Journey. With versions for all our current markets (USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan), we thought these stamp sets would be a fun way to share with you yet another stamping technique, in addition to the 10+ techniques we shared last week. (If you missed it, make sure to check that post out: Stamping Techniques to Keep Up Your Crafty Sleeves!)

Today we will take the imprint of a stamp that has many parts or lines to it, like a map 😉, and create a final image by piecing together a variety of papers, kind of like a mosaic. This technique is fittingly known as paper piecing. The technique is much harder to describe than it is to do, so let us show you and see for yourselves!

The first thing you’ll want to do is figure out what colors or patterns you want incorporated into your final design. In our case, with the map, we thought it would be best, because of all the details that we are not cutting out, to use four solid cardstock colors.

Once you’ve chosen your color and pattern scheme, stamp your image onto all your chosen papers using the same ink color. We used White Daisy, Shortbread, Scarlet, and Papaya cardstock and the Exclusive Inks™ Mocha stamp pad.

This next step is also easy, but maybe a bit more time consuming, depending on the image you are working with. Cut out all the shapes from each of your papers, except one. The one you do not cut into pieces will act as your base later, when you put it all back together.

When you are cutting your shapes, make sure to cut them out exactly the same between papers. For example, our cutout of California should be the same shape and size in each of our cardstock colors. Essentially, we are creating a puzzle and its puzzle pieces. The pieces need to fit together for this technique to work.

The final step is to put those puzzling skills to use and assemble the paper pieced image on your base.

As a tip, we suggest playing around with the placement of your paper pieces, first, before attaching them.

And there you have it! Another stamping technique to add to your repertoire!

How are you spending your National Stamping Month? Let us know in the comments below, and, as always, happy stamping! ❤️

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September 1, 2021Celebrate, Create

Celebrating All Things Slimline Cards!

Close To My Heartbubbles, cards, circles cluster, critter, fish, fishy greetings, gnome, mini garden gnomes, National Stamping Month, nsm, September, slimline, Slimline Celebration, stars cluster, thoughtful critters 89 Comments

National Stamping Month is here! Celebrate with us in a Slimline Celebration! With so many great deals on slimline stamps and Thin Cuts metal dies, it’s bound to be one of the biggest bashes of the year!

The Slimline Celebration special includes three exclusive stamp and Thin Cuts sets, one stamp set of just sentiments, and two exclusive Thin Cuts dies, all of which have been designed specifically for slimline cards! Let’s take a closer look at all the amazing stamps and Thin Cuts available through this Slimline Celebration!

One of the stand-out stamp and Thin Cuts sets in the Slimline Celebration is the Mini Garden Gnomes set! Some of our most popular stamp sets over the past year have been from our gnome collection, and this miniature gnome set is sure to be a fast favorite.

With a fun assortment of sentiments, images, and icons, the Mini Garden Gnomes Stamp + Thin Cuts is the perfect way to step up your slimline creations!

Along with our mini gnomes, we also have Thoughtful Critter Stamp + Thin Cuts! This adorable set includes a variety of woodland creatures with a handful of playful sentiments.

These stamps and metal dies make it easy to create unforgettable slimline cards that dazzle every time!

In addition to the too-cute Thoughtful Critters, our Slimline Celebration also includes the Fishy Greetings Stamp + Thin Cuts. This stamp and Thin Cuts set is yet another way to add some whimsical delight to your slimline cards!

The last stamp set included in the Slimline Celebration special is the My Acrylix® Slimline Sentiments stamp set. This set includes twice as many stamps as a normal set would have and is comprised entirely of sentiments tailored specifically for slimline cards!

These sentiment stamps include options for both vertical and horizontal cards, and look incredible no matter where they’re placed! These stamps are perfect for card fronts and interiors, alike, making them a quick, easy, and versatile option as you create your own slimline cards!

For some extra pizzaz, the Slimline Celebration special also includes two stand-alone Thin Cuts (dies) to help you create gorgeous backgrounds. With the Stars Cluster Thin Cuts, it’s quick and easy to create a stellar foundation for your card, while the Circles Cluster Thin Cuts allows for versatile creation right from the start.

For even more fun, all the stamps and Thin Cuts you’ve seen here today are available together in the Slimline Celebration Product Bundle at a 20% discount, and to top it all off, we’re also hosting a special National Stamping Month virtual event on September 24, via Facebook Live!

This event is open to all crafters to watch, but in order to fully participate, viewers will need to purchase the Slimline Celebration Cardmaking Workshop Kit (CC92112), which includes all the stamps and Thin Cuts available through the Slimline Celebration special, along with Clear Sparkles, cardstock in various colors, and 12 slimline cards and envelopes.

As a special treat, we’re giving away five Slimline Celebration Cardmaking Workshop Kits to five lucky readers! All you have to do to qualify for this giveaway is make sure that you’re subscribed to this blog and leave a comment below telling us about your favorite part of the Slimline Celebration special, or who you’d love to give a slimline card to! You have until noon on Friday, September 3 (MST), to subscribe and leave a comment. All winners will be notified via email (the one you are subscribed with!).

Good luck and happy National Stamping Month!

Recipes

3½” x 8½” Swimming by To Say Card (Vertical)
CC9217 Fishy Greetings Stamp + Thin Cuts, CC9214 My Acrylix® Slimline Sentiments Stamp Set, X5978 Glacier Cardstock, X6062 Harbour Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3885 Distress Watercolor Cardstock, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4189 Intense Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4521 Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide™ Ink Pad, Z5030 Lagoon Loose Gems, Z2481 Coral TriBlend™ Marker, Z2486 Dull Green TriBlend™ Marker, Z2519 Gold Yellow TriBlend™ Marker, Z2474 Ice Grey TriBlend™ Marker, Z2480 Orange TriBlend™ Marker, Z2496 Pale Pink TriBlend™ Marker, Z3557 Cool Mint Stickles™ Glitter Glue, Z3563 Diamond Stickles™ Glitter Glue, Z3789 Hibiscus Stickles™ Glitter Glue, CC9218 Circle Cluster Thin Cuts, Z5038 Die-cutting & Embossing Machine, Z2089 Glue Dots® Micro Dots

3½” x 8½” Happy Birthday Card (Vertical)
CC9216 Thoughtful Critters Stamp + Thin Cuts, CC9214 My Acrylix® Slimline Sentiments Stamp Set, X6057 Capri Cardstock, X6062 Harbour Cardstock, X6063 Papaya Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z4189 Intense Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2481 Coral TriBlend™ Marker, Z2478 Earth Brown TriBlend™ Marker, Z2519 Gold Yellow TriBlend™ Marker, Z2496 Pale Pink TriBlend™ Marker, Z3563 Diamond Stickles™ Glitter Glue, Z3789 Hibiscus Stickles™ Glitter Glue, CC9219 Star Cluster Thin Cuts, Z5038 Die-cutting & Embossing Machine

3½” x 8½” You’re the Best Card (Vertical)
CC9215 Mini Garden Gnomes Stamp + Thin Cuts, CC9214 My Acrylix® Slimline Sentiments Stamp Set, X6053 Avocado Cardstock, X5951 Espresso Cardstock, X5978 Glacier Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3885 Distress Watercolor Cardstock, Z6523 Avocado Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4189 Intense Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z4521 Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide™ Ink Pad, Z5026 Clear Loose Gems, Z2475 Brown Grey TriBlend™ Marker, Z2481 Coral TriBlend™ Marker, Z2486 Dull Green TriBlend™ Marker, Z2478 Earth Brown TriBlend™ Marker, Z2476 Fair Skin TriBlend™ Marker, Z2519 Gold Yellow TriBlend™ Marker, Z2496 Pale Pink TriBlend™ Marker, Z3557 Cool Mint Stickles™ Glitter Glue, Z3789 Hibiscus Stickles™ Glitter Glue, Z5038 Die-cutting & Embossing Machine, Z2089 Glue Dots® Micro Dots

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May 26, 2021Celebrate, Create, Inspiration, Learn, Memory Keeping

Create an Entire Album in Less than 2 Hours!

Close To My Heart3-2-1, 321, 6 x 8, 6" x 8", album, formula, national scrapbooking month, nsm, scrapbooking, technique, you are enough 4 Comments

Scrapbooking Made Quick #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhyouareenough #youareenough #nsmyouarenough #nationalscrapbookingmonth #nsm #scrapbooking #scrapbook #scrapbookingtechnique

If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and beautiful way to scrapbook your photos, then we’ve got just the thing to make that happen!

A little while back, we shared a speedy scrapbooking technique that we called the 3-2-1 Formula to make 10 6″ x 8″ two-page layouts. Since it’s national scrapbooking month, we decided to pair this speedy scrapbooking method with the exclusive You Are Enough collection and share with you our gorgeous results!

(Click on the individual images to enlarge.)

Now, let’s revisit the steps to making this album! As the name implies, this is a formulaic project. That means that you will follow a simple formula to cut all of your patterned paper and then assemble your layouts. As you will see, you will continue to have a lot of creative freedom to add your own flair to each of your pages. No two albums will look the same, unless you make them that way intentionally.

Here’s what you’ll need:

5 sheets of patterned paper* (in a variety of coordinating patterns)
4 cardstock sheets* in coordinating colors (coordinate with your patterned paper)
10 White Daisy cardstock sheets*
Coordinating embellishments

*If you are not familiar with Close To My Heart products, all of our cardstock and patterned papers come in a 12″ x 12″ format, and that is what we will be using to make this project.

Step 1: Creating Base Pages. The very first thing we cut are base pages, from the White Daisy cardstock. From 10 sheets, you should be able to get 20 6″ x 8″ pieces.

Step 2: Cutting Patterned Paper. Before measuring and cutting anything, trim all the zip strips from each of the patterned paper sheets. The zip strip is the extra ½” accent paper along the top of each Close To My Heart patterned paper sheet. Cut each of these in half and set them aside. Next, cut the remaining 12″ x 12″ paper in half, to 6″ x 12″. Here’s where the 3-2-1 comes into play. Cut these two half sheets of patterned paper into strips of 3″ x 6″, 2″ x 6″, and 1″ x 6″.

(Half of this example is showing what the pattern is on the back side of this sheet. Each one of our patterned papers has a double-sided coordinating design, for additional creative flexibility.)

Step 3: Creating Photo Mats from Cardstock. For a more polished look, we like to add photo mats behind most, if not all, of our photos. That is what we make with the four sheets of coordinating cardstock.

Cut each cardstock sheet into six 6″ x 4″ rectangles. You should have a total of 24 when you are done. If you’d like to have a few 3″ x 4″ mats, simply cut these in half. Please note that the photos you will be mounting on these mats will have to be trimmed down a ¼” in both height and width to fit.

Step 4: Putting It All Together. You’re going to need a bit of space for this part, so make sure to clear your table or a place on your living room rug or somewhere else you can keep your project safe. Lay out all 20 White Daisy cardstock base pages. Next, distribute the strips of patterned paper and cardstock mats. Each page should get one 4″ x 6″ photo mat, or two 3″ x 4″ mats, and one strip of each size, 3″, 2″, and 1″. If you’d like for the pages that will be facing each other in your album to match, keep that in mind as you distribute your papers. Lastly, decide how you want to attach these pieces to your pages and get to it! Move the components around until you are happy with your pages. Experiment with different arrangements and consider whether you want 3″ x 4″ or 4″ x 6″ photo mats on your layouts, or a combination of both.

Step 5: Embellish! Using coordinating embellishments, add your finishing touches!

If you like our finished album and would like to recreate it using our same papers and embellishments, make sure to get your You Are Enough papers, cardstock, and butterfly sequins while you still can! This collection is only available while supplies last and it has been flying off our shelves, fast! If you want to make an album like this using other papers and embellishments, that’s completely okay, too! The beauty of the 3-2-1 technique is that it can be used with any coordinating papers and embellishments you like.

As we begin to wrap up another National Scrapbooking month, we hope you enjoy creating scrapbook pages that you love and that best suit your photos and memories!

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May 12, 2021Celebrate, Create, Inspiration, Memory Keeping

FREE Scrapbook Pattern with You Are Enough

Close To My Heartaffirmations, butterflies, butterfly, free, gemstones, National, national scrapbooking month, nsm, pattern, scrapbook, scrapbooking, you are enough 7 Comments

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!

You Are Enough #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhyouarenenough #ctmhnsm #nsm #nationalscrapbookingmonth #youareenough #freepattern #scrapbooking

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!

Download free pattern and cutting guides, here.

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.

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May 5, 2021Celebrate, Create, Memory Keeping

You Are Enough National Scrapbooking Month & Giveaway!

Close To My Heart6 x 8, 6" x 8", affirmation, album, brave, butterflies, butterfly, cardmaking, diamond, enough, Foil, gem, gemstone, giveaway, gold foil, national scrapbooking month, nsm, Rose Gold, scrapbooking, shine, stones, strong, workshop, you are enough 461 Comments

It’s time to party, because National Scrapbooking Month is officially here! We started things off with a bang last weekend, with a two-day National Scrapbooking Day Celebration virtual event, where everyone was welcomed to follow along and create beautiful scrapbook pages, cards, and even a mini album with us! If you missed out on any of these projects and would still like to participate, the instructional segments are available under the past Events tab on the Close To My Heart (Official) Facebook page. (For example artwork photos and information about the product bundles to make these projects, visit our website, here.)

We’re thrilled to continue our National Scrapbooking Month celebrations with a new and exclusive patterned paper collection and suite of coordinating products, only available for the month of May and while supplies last. The gorgeous You Are Enough collection is built on a foundation of affirmation, encouragement, and celebration of all the beautiful qualities we admire in our loved ones and ourselves! It was inspired and designed around a gemstone concept, making it a perfect complement to treasured memories.

Start with the incredible You Are Enough paper packet, which features 12 double-sided paper sheets, two each of six double-sided designs—that’s double the number of designs and sheets than in our other paper collections!

You Are Enough Paper Collection #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhyouareneough #ctmhnsm #ctmhnationalscrapbookingmonth #nsm #nationalscrapbookingmonth #scrapbooking #minialbum #cardmaking #papercrafting

The beautiful coordinating stickers and cardstock feature stunning rose gold foil accents and designs. (Click on the thumbnail images for a closer look!)

Increase your crafting potential with a coordinating stamp set, pocket cards, and sequins!

My Acrylix® You Are Enough Stamp Set

(*Outlined images coordinate with Thin Cuts metal dies.)

You Are Enough Picture My Life™ Cards

You Are Enough Sequins

Since May is National Scrapbooking Month, after all, we’re celebrating with not one, but two scrapbooking workshops!

You Are Enough Scrapbooking Workshop Kit

Use the materials in this kit to create four coordinating 12″ x 12″ two-page layouts and one single page.

You Are Enough Album Workshop Kit

Use the materials in this kit create the 6″ x 8″ scrapbook pages of the You Are Enough album. (Album not included.)

We may be celebrating scrapbooking this month but we certainly have not forgotten our amazing cardmakers! (We love handmade cards, too!)

You Are Enough Cardmaking Workshop Kit

Use the materials in this kit to create 24 standard size cards, 2 each of 10 designs and 4 unique designs.

If you’re not quite sure where to begin, let us help you out! We are giving away FIVE You Are Enough Paper Bundles, right here, right now! That five sets of the You Are Enough Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet and the You Are Enough Coordinating cardstock! For a chance to win, you must be subscribed to this blog AND leave us a comment below letting us know what you like most about this amazing You Are Enough collection! All entries must be submitted by 4 p.m. tomorrow, May 6 (MDT). The five lucky winners will be notified via e-mail (we use the mail address you are subscribed with, so make sure it is up to date to not miss out!). (In order to subscribe, simply click here.)

We have so many exciting things lined up for this year’s National Scrapbooking Month! Keep up with all of our festivities by continuing to follow us here, as well as on Facebook and Instagram (@cmthofficial).

Happy scrapping!

Join us and create the artwork from all three of the You Are Enough workshops along with us on June 21, 23, and 25 on the Close To My Heart (Official) Facebook page. See you there!

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September 23, 2020Celebrate, Create, Inspiration, Learn

Scrapbooking with Animated Stamps

Close To My Heart6 x 6, animated butterfly kisses, animated safari animals, animated scrapbooking, mini albums, national stamping day, National Stamping Month, nsm, stamping technique 1 Comment

Animated Stamps #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhcreativityinmotion #scrapbooking #memorykeeping #animatedsafari

We are continuing our National Stamping Month celebrations today by using our innovative, animated stamp sets in scrapbook layouts!

Before we show you those, we hope some of you joined us over the weekend when we went live on our Facebook page in celebration of National Stamping Day! We had a great time spending the day crafting together, making animated cards specially designed for the free event, as well as sharing stamping techniques from our very own stamping experts!

Stamping Techniques #ctmh #closetomyheart #nationalstampingmonth #nsm #stampingtechniques #youbrightenmyday — My Acrylix® You Brighten My Day Stamp Set (CC92011)

Each of the techniques in the charts below were demonstrated on camera using the exclusive National Stamping Day stamp set, You Brighten My Day, for you to follow along and add them to your personal stamping arsenal!

stamping-techniques-chart-1 Download

stamping-techniques-chart-2 Download

If you missed the live party, you are in luck! Watch the free replay by clicking on the link, here. Learn more about Close To My Heart, spend some time crafting with us, and pick up a few techniques along the way—all at your own speed!

Now, how about those scrapbook layouts we promised?!

Animated Stamps #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhcreativityinmotion #scrapbooking #memorykeeping #animatedsafari #lion #loveyousomethingfierce

For this 6″ x 6″ layout, we paired the Bright Stack, which is made up of some of our favorite 12″ x 12″ paper patterns shrunk down to 6″ x 6″ proportions, with the Animated Safari Animals stamp set. On the left page, we used the Border Tab stamp set and coordinating Thin Cuts to create a journaling tag that pulls out from behind the photo!

Similarly, in this second 6″ x 6″ layout, we paired the Bright Stack papers with the Animated Butterfly Kisses stamp set. We created a sense of cohesiveness throughout the layout by making our animated window a square to match the square photos on the opposite page, used the same patterned paper for the borders along the window and the photos, and printed the photos in black and white to match the black and white animation.

Animated Stamps #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhcreativityinmotion #scrapbooking #memorykeeping #animatedbutterflykisses #butterflykisses #butterfly

You’ll notice that both of these layouts were photographed outside of their Memory Protectors™. If you want to access the animation, or other interactive elements, of the pages without pulling them out of their protectors every time, you will need to have a plan before you assemble them.

One approach for access to the interactive parts is to attach these pieces to the outside of the Memory Protectors™. It’s fairly simple. If you’d prefer to keep everything tucked inside the protectors, however, there are a couple of other options.

Another way for access to the moving parts of an animated page, is the use of a craft knife. With your page in the protector, figure out where you would need to pull the tab from. Make two small marks on the protector where the top and the bottom of the slit will be, and remove your page. Then, put a few pieces of scratch cardstock under where these two marks will connect. Using a ruler, connect the marks with the craft knife to cut the slit. Remove the scratch cardstock and put your page back inside the protector, now with a slit. Pull the tab through the slit and have it rest on the outside of the protector, with the rest of the interactive element still inside. When you’re ready to animate the window or pull a journaling tab, then pull the tab through the slit.

This last idea comes from one of our viewers of our National Stamping Day! She used our Flip Flaps™ Memory Protectors™ and combined both of our ideas. She attached the interactive elements to the outside of the page while keeping them safely tucked inside a small attachable pocket-size protector!

We are purposefully showing you these stamp sets used in 6″ x 6″ layouts, not because you can’t create something amazing and fun in a larger format, but because we have some new 6″ x 6″ album options that we didn’t get to mention in our last post, A Look Inside the New Annual Core Catalog!

New to the Everyday Life™ line is this gorgeous Scarlet 6″ x 6″ album, featuring an o-ring closure and a soft, faux-leather cover. Also new this year, available for the first time as individual items, are the bright and beautiful Story by Stacy™ 6″ x 6″ albums!

We hope you are enjoying your September and really taking advantage of all the craftiness we have to offer now and through the end of the month! We’d love to hear what you’re up to in your craft rooms, so please leave us a message below!

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May 19, 2020Celebrate, Create, Inspiration, Memory Keeping

FREE Scrapbook Pattern with Blue Skies!

Close To My Heartbeautiful day, Blue Skies, free, hot air balloon, Make It From Your Heart, national scrapbooking month, nsm, pattern, pinwheel, rock & roll, rock and roll 6 Comments

As we continue to celebrate National Scrapbooking month with beautiful creations using our featured Blue Skies collection, we thought it would simply make sense to also give you a free scrapbooking pattern to go with it!

Making its original debut in the Magic Moments workshop guide years ago, we paired this timeless 12″ x 12″ pattern with our beautiful Blue Skies papers, stamp sets, and Thin Cuts dies that are available now and through the end of May.

The instructions available as a free download below have been slightly revamped so they can be used for any occasion with the right combination of papers, accents, and a little creativity!

As usual, we encourage you to make this, and any, pattern your own by being flexible with its parts. Take a close look at our completed layout for some examples.

Both our journaling and title on the left page are in the general area of where they aught to be, based off of the pattern. However, we allowed ourselves some creative flexibility by not making these exact rectangles and added some details to really make them stand out.

We stamped our title using the Beautiful Day stamp set paired with our rock & roll stamping technique. To achieve this colorful effect, you have to slightly overlap and blend one ink color, or color hue, with another. First, ink your stamp in a base color. In order to add another color to the outer edges, you gently roll your already inked stamp in the second color. Only make contact with the stamp pad on the edges where you want to add the color. You have to rock and roll your block to achieve this look. (In our case, we rolled the top and bottom of our stamp in two different colors for an even more vibrant look.)

Free Scrapbooking Pattern #ctmh #closetomyheart #blueskies #nsm #nationalscrapbookingmonth #memorykeeping #storytelling #freescrapbookingpattern #freepattern

In our example layout, you can also see that we added several bright accents throughout, using the Thin Cuts from the Blue Skies collection, livening up the artwork even further.

Another way you can make these patterns uniquely yours is by creating your own patterned paper. The pattern you see above, and that we used on both sides of our layout, we created by repeatedly stamping the border from the Blue Skies stamp set onto cardstock. It really can be that simple!

At Close To My Heart, we take pride in providing the most comprehensive patterns for scrapbook layouts. When you download this pattern, you will notice that it also comes with cutting diagrams to make it that much easier to create these pages!

Download this free scrapbooking pattern below and have a wonderful National Scrapbooking Month full of Blue Skies and memories worth preserving!

Download Pattern.

For even more scrapbook patterns, check out our Make It from Your Heart™ pattern book series. If you love the free patterns on the blog, you’re sure to be blown away by all the patterns offered in our beautiful how-to books!

Recipe:

12″ x 12″ Beautiful Day Layout
CC5202 Beautiful Day Stamp + Thin Cuts, CC5201 My Acrylix® Blue Skies Stamp Set, CC5206 Blue Skies Paper Packet, CC5212 Blue Skies Coordinating Cardstock, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2843 Canary Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z6513 Green Apple Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2895 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2848 Sapphire Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3553 Acrylic Hearts, Z4196 White Ribbon, CC5204 Pinwheel Thin Cuts, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3226 Medium Flat Waterbrush, Z2496 Pale Pink TriBlend™ Marker, Z2485 Light Green TriBlend™ Marker, Z2483 Light Yellow TriBlend™ Marker, Z2491 True Blue TriBlend™ Marker, Z2089 Glue Dots® Micro Dots, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Z3440 Dual-tip Permanent Glue Pen, Sewing Machine

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