Scrapbooking Your Seaside Summer Holidays

Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking

If you’re leaving your heart in the sand this summer, we want to help you bring it home! Scrapbook all of your favorite moments from your endless days at the beach with the coastal themed Cape Cod paper collection.

Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking

Summer is officially on, and with it come days packed full of memories in the making. A refreshing trip to the beach tends to be a common theme for these hot months. Whether it’s by an ocean in your back yard or a planned trip to a paradisical location far away, so many of us long for the renewing feeling of the sand hugging our toes while our noses get kissed by the sun.

The Cape Cod paper collection will give your best beach trip photos a beautiful home, where you can return to the sea, time and time again, any time of year.

Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking

The beautiful coastal style of beachy materials in the Cape Cod patterned papers, stickers, stamp sets, and embellishments designs communicate the same relaxed feeling you find at the ocean.

The patterned papers and sticker sheet are each 12″ x 12″. Complete with sand, driftwood, palm trees, and turquoise blues, these coastal designs are part of a classic trend that never goes out of style. Even if you don’t make it to the ocean this summer, snatch up the Cape Cod collection while it’s available, now and through the end of August.

Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking

The Cape Cod–Scrapbooking stamp set plus Thin Cuts are a hot commodity right now and are going fast! Everyone is just loving on the cute seahorse and crab and their coordinating dies that make it that much easier to cut their shapes out!

Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking

No scrapbooking layout is complete without a few embellishments! The Cape Cod embellishments are made up of light blue acrylic shapes and coordinating kraft and white paperboard die-cuts. These on-point themed acrylic shapes and die-cuts are ideal for creating one-of-a-kind coastal scrapbook pages. You can use them as they come or customize them as needed. For example, we sponged a bit of ink on a white starfish die-cut, colored a palm tree with markers, and drew lines on the wings of a few seagulls with a white gel pen.

Several of these same natural seaside elements are found in the downloadable Cape Cod svg digital art collection, where you are free to cut them in any size and out of any paper design or color that you prefer, allowing for even further customization.

Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking

SVG images are digital images that are resolution independent and infinitely scalable. That means that you can resize them to any scale (large or small) and they will look clear and crisp every time. Once you save them to your device, access these images with your choice of design software. If you have a Cricut® cutting machine, you can access these files on Cricut Design Space™ and manipulate them there before cutting them out.

Use any of the svg images from the Cape Cod digital art collection to create or add onto your beach themed scrapbook pages or simply use the two-page layout we designed for you! Because it comes as an svg file, like explained above, you can make these pages as large or small as you’d like. When we designed the layout, we had the standard 12″ x 12″ in mind but, if you’d prefer a smaller layout, like a 6″ x 6″ for example, you can scale it down and adjust the photo count and sizes as needed.  

Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking

If you prefer a bit more guidance for scrapbooking your days in the sun, we’ve got you covered with the Cape Cod scrapbooking workshop! Pair the materials in the Cape Cod scrapbooking workshop kit with a few additional supplies (listed on our webpage and on the included guide) and create three coordinating 12″ x 12″ two-page layouts!

Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking
Scrapbooking Time By the Beach #closetomyheart #ctmh #ctmhcapecod #scrapbooking #dayatthebeach #beachdayscrapbooking #vacationscrapbooking #beachscrapbooking #seasidescrapbooking

The featured technique in this workshop is embellishing with white gloss spray. As you can see in the layouts above, the white gloss spray can create a water-weathered-like effect on the woodgrain patterned paper or emulate the white foam of a crashing wave.

The beach is a popular summertime destination. Whichever route you choose, bring and keep your memories from the beach home with the beautiful Cape Cod paper collection. Time wasted at the beach is time well spent, especially when you can be brought back through a well-kept scrapbook layout!

Mermaid Tails & Fish Scales, Oh My!

Every girl wants to be a princess mermaid! Everywhere we look, we are inundated with a sea of little girls (and some not so little girls 🙂 ) donning some sort of tribute to the beautiful mythical creatures. Mermaids are so popular that they have incorporated themselves into everyday, useful items: from mermaid tail blankets to mermaid tail swimwear, dressing up as a mermaid is no longer just for costume. And at Close To My Heart we love them too! (Have you seen our Make Waves collection?!)

Because we’re sure you’ll have plenty of reasons to scrapbook memories surrounding this trend, including a trip to the beach or a tropical getaway, we want to share with you how to duplicate the fish scale pattern we created in this layout from our Seasonal Expressions catalog.

Mermaids and Fish Scales #ctmh #closetomyheart #mermaid #magic #magical #stardust #mythological #fishscale #fishtail #fish #tail #scale #girl #girly #sea #ocean #beach #water #getaway #vacation #technique #cricut

The technique is quite simple, but the end result will be stunning!

STEP 1—Consider the space you will be covering up with scales and decide what size circles you want to use.

Mermaids and Fish Scales #ctmh #closetomyheart #mermaid #magic #magical #stardust #mythological #fishscale #fishtail #fish #tail #scale #girl #girly #sea #ocean #beach #water #getaway #vacation #technique #cricut

Once you know the size of circles you will be using, a little basic math comes in handy in figuring out how many you will need to cut in order to fill your space. In our example layout we have a 12-inch piece of cardstock and 1¼-inch circles. So, 12 divided by 1.25 equals 9.6, which means we roughly needed 9½ circles per row. To cover the bottom four inches of our paper with this pattern, we needed 7 rows (of 9½) circles. That made 67 circles, which we cut with our trusty Cricut®. (If you don’t have a Cricut®, a hole punch will work, too!)

Of course, math isn’t for everyone so if you’d rather wing it, go for it! 😉

STEP 2—Lay your circles down starting with the top row.
Mermaids and Fish Scales #ctmh #closetomyheart #mermaid #magic #magical #stardust #mythological #fishscale #fishtail #fish #tail #scale #girl #girly #sea #ocean #beach #water #getaway #vacation #technique #cricutSTEP 3—Add a second row.

Mermaids and Fish Scales #ctmh #closetomyheart #mermaid #magic #magical #stardust #mythological #fishscale #fishtail #fish #tail #scale #girl #girly #sea #ocean #beach #water #getaway #vacation #technique #cricut

You’ll want to attach these circles off-center, covering up the lower half of the circles in the row above.

STEP 4—Continue adding all of your rows, one by one.
Mermaids and Fish Scales #ctmh #closetomyheart #mermaid #magic #magical #stardust #mythological #fishscale #fishtail #fish #tail #scale #girl #girly #sea #ocean #beach #water #getaway #vacation #technique #cricutstep 5—Trim your edges, and you’re done!

Told you it was easy! Now go make some mermaid tails of your own and let us know how they worked out for you in the comments below!


Recipe:

 12″ x 12″ Mermaid Page
D1764 My Acrylix® Make Waves—Scrapbooking Stamp Set, X7227B Make Waves Paper Packet, X5941 Bashful Cardstock, Z3146 Watercolor Paper, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, X7227C Make Waves Complements, Z4142 Make Waves Sequins & Gems, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush Set, Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape, Z3389 Cricut® You Are Here Collection

Cricut® Shape:
You Are Here
1¼” Title <RandR> (cut 67, p. 42, #M46F6E)

Leave a comment

New Thin Cuts!

We’ve just launched four new sets of our exclusive Thin Cuts metal dies! These new Thin Cuts coordinate with four stamp sets in our Annual Inspirations idea book: My Acrylix® School Kids, My Acrylix® Wreath, My Acrylix® Sweet Birthday, and My Acrylix® Swirly Seashells.

The great thing about our Thin Cuts is that they save you so much time—no more fussy-cutting! They also make it SO much easier to cut duplicates of the same shape.

Here is some artwork to show you what we mean.

Use our new Thin Cuts metal dies to easily cut shapes for your stamp sets! #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhthincuts #diecutting #scrapbooking #cardmaking #teacher #classroom

Adorable, right? We absolutely love our My Acrylix® School Kids stamp set, and with the new coordinating Thin Cuts, you can make lots of these cute little kiddos in no time. Don’t they just make the most adorable student name cards?

Use our new Thin Cuts metal dies to easily cut shapes for your stamp sets! #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhthincuts #diecutting #scrapbooking #cardmaking #teacher #classroom

If you’re a teacher, these Thin Cuts could give you a fast way to decorate name cards, cubbies, and more. You can color in your students’ miniature look-alikes—or get your students in on the fun!

Use our new Thin Cuts metal dies to easily cut shapes for your stamp sets! #ctmh #closetomyheart #ctmhthincuts #diecutting #scrapbooking #cardmaking #beach #ocean

Creating duplicates of the same shapes also comes in handy when you want to really deck out a scrapbooking page. Here we used the Swirly Seashells Thin Cuts to make all these little seashells. Since we didn’t need to spend nearly as much time trimming out the seashells, we had more time to add beautiful watercolor details to them instead.

We’ve shown you artwork made using two of the four new Thin Cuts sets, and given you just a small taste of the possibilities! Check out our promotions page to learn more about this limited-time offer!

Recipes

School Name Tags
D1706 My Acrylix® School Kids, E1030 My Acrylix® Handwritten Print, Z3255 Whimsy Fundamentals, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3216 White Twine, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3188 Paintbrush SetCC1158 Thin Cuts—School Kids

12″ x 12″ Seashells Page
C1664 My Acrylix® Swirly Seashells, Z3255 Whimsy Fundamentals, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5788 Raspberry Cardstock, Z3237 White Glitter Paper, Z2506 Adventure Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pads Set, Z2507 Sea Glass Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pad, Z2503 Basics Exclusive Inks™ Mini Pigment Pads Set, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z3274 Clear Sparkles, Z1263 Bitty Sparkles, Z3132 Watercolor Paints,Z3188 Paintbrush SetZ2066 Ranger™ Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Z2088 Ranger™ Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder, Z555 Craft HeaterCC1155 Thin Cuts—Swirly Seashells, Z3167 Cricut® Artistry Collection, Thread

Cricut® Shapes:
Artistry
3 ¾” Shift+Icon-1 <Z> (cut 2, p. 31)
4″ Shift+Icon-1 <Z> (p. 31)
1″ font <Seashells Seashore>
¾” font <by the>

Leave a comment

An Elegant Way to Put Your Memories On Display

As the end of July draws near, some of you have probably started to place your summertime memories in albums. But have you ever thought about hanging them on the wall? Our Designed Décor products are perfect for preserving memories while still leaving all the creativity to you! What’s really fun about this line is that the products allow you to showcase your photos while using even more of your favorite paper packets, stamps, and embellishments at once. Of course, the Designed Décor line can also be used with minimal or no embellishments, and the products will still add simple elegance to any photos. That’s what’s great about Designed Décor—YOU get to determine how many details you want to add and the overall effect you want to create. We decided to try our hand at creating a very embellished Designed Décor item, just for fun. 🙂 Our artist started with our display tray, let her creative gears run wild, and produced stunning results!

1507-mifyh-1

Isn’t that a gorgeous memento to hang on your wall? Right off the bat you can see that our display tray can be a great way to use up leftover scraps and embellishments you have lying around. Our artist cut the “Life” letters from the My Crush® For Her Book and used 3-D foam tape to make them pop. How creative is that? We also love the way the artist cut photos in half to share between two windows. And the journaling on the Picture My Life™ Jackson Scrapbooking Program card. And the landscape scenes created using the Seaside paper packet and fence stamp. Sorry, we’ll try to contain our excitement. This display tray’s just got us reeling!

1507-mifyh-3

Like an intricate scrapbook page, the small details really make this display tray special. Embossed letters using the My Acrylix® Keyboard Uppercase stamp set provide a gritty texture similar to sand, and what better pictures to use with the Oceanside sequins than actual pictures of the ocean? The sequins tie the cool colors of the display board together wonderfully.

1507-mifyh-2

Just look at all the details in this corner of the display tray. The Cricut®-cut wave, the layered seashells shaded with watercolor pencils, the perfectly placed sequins, the metal Seaside Assortment pieces. And what an inventive way to use Glacier thick twine! The net and starfish add such a unique, dimensional element to this piece.

Not only is our Designed Décor line perfect for creating seasonal décor with family memories, but it’s also great for showcasing everyday pictures—and in a way that will catch the eye of all your guests. Even if you don’t use as many embellishments as the piece above, Designed Décor provides a great medium for beautifully displaying photos and memories. So go ahead! Take a look at our Designed Décor line, and choose the perfect piece to add to your home. Then sit back, relax, and let the compliments roll in. 🙂

Recipe

Life Is Better in the Summer Display Tray
C1594 My Acrylix® Treasured Friendship, C1595 My Acrylix® Hello Summer, D1609 My Acrylix® Seaside Greetings, B1416 My Acrylix® Keyboard Uppercase, X7192B Seaside Paper Packet, X7185B Scaredy Cat Paper Packet, Z3068 Picture My Life™ Jackson Scrapbooking Program, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2114 Cocoa Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2165 Juniper Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z1142 Brown StazOn™ Ink Pad, Z3081 My Crush® For Her Book, Z1750 Display Tray, Z3014 Seaside Assortment, Z3039 Glacier Thick Twine, Z3041 Oceanside Sequins, Z2068 Ranger™ White Super Fine Embossing Powder, 3505 Watercolor Pencils, Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection, Pen, Hot Glue Gun

Cricut® Shape:
Artbooking
1 ¼” Border <y> (p. 53)

Leave a comment

Come Sail Away: Using Thoughtful Details to Drift Back to Cherished Memories

Examining the intricate patterns on a seashell, feeling wet sand seep between your toes, hearing the laughter of family members as someone slips into the surf—these small, simple moments are what create lifetime memories. They are the sunshine that gives us hope amid life’s hurricanes.

The small and simple details are also what help a scrapbook page capture these small, simple moments from family escapades. Details help us slow down, examine the heartfelt artwork, and reminisce about cherished days past.

The page shown below is a wonderful example of this. It was created using our vintage Seaside paper packet, which serves as a foundation for the addition of many meaningful details.

Ocean Bliss

Notice the intricate chevron stitching on the Colonial White cardstock portion of the page. The pattern switches direction in the middle of the page and again at the bottom. The stitching gives texture to the page, and switching the direction of the pattern helps capture the eye even more.

Now, if you look closely, you’ll also notice the streaked finish on the “Beach Bum” and “Good Day Sunshine” stamps, which adds to the weathered feel of the Seaside paper packet. You can replicate this effect in your own artwork by sliding your stamp in a downward direction across an ink pad to create a streaked look. Then simply stamp the image as normal.

Embossing is another thoughtful detail you can add to your page. The gold embossing on the title pairs well with the golden tones in the Seaside paper packet and enhances the nautical theme by creating what looks like glittery sand.

You can see this same beautiful embossing on the card below made from the Seaside paper packet:

Hello Summer Card

The card really catches your eye with that gold embossing, doesn’t it? The gold sequins bring out the shimmer of the embossing even more, as does the lovely anchor charm from our Base & Bling line.

The use of Glacier thick twine adds an additional nautical feel to the card, creating the impression that this was the very rope that pulled the anchor up from sea.

The subtle seashell pattern on the Glacier cardstock ties everything together, making for a memorable card that will surely add sunshine to anyone’s day.

As you work on your crafts this summer, remember this—in life (and in crafting), it’s the small and simple things that matter most. So don’t forget to incorporate small and simple details into your artwork! After all, these are the details that will end up meaning the most when others look through your albums and receive your cards. Why? Because these are the details that really matter.

Recipes

12″ x 12″ Ocean Bliss Page
Reflections: Half & Half—Tags
E1029 My Acrylix® Marquee Uppercase, C1595 My Acrylix® Hello Summer, X7192B Seaside Paper Packet, Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2164 Sorbet Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2642 Flaxen Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z2118 Desert Sand Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z2012 Sequins Gold Assortment, Z3039 Glacier Extra Thick Twine, Z2066 Ranger™ Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Z1852 Stitch Guide, Thread

Cricut® Shapes:
Art Philosophy
½”, ¼”, and ⅛” <Heart1> (cut several, p. 26)
½” and ⅛” Shift+Layer <Heart1> (cut several, p. 26)

Artbooking
3 ½” Photo Mat 1 <AllStar> (cut 3, p. 83)

5 ½” x 4 ¼” Hello Summer Card
Make It from Your Heart™ Vol. 2: Pattern 27
C1595 My Acrylix® Hello Summer, C1594 My Acrylix® Treasured Friendship, X7192B Seaside Paper Packet, Z1375 Kraft Cardstock, Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Pad, Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad, Z2014 Base & Bling Journey Charms, Z2012 Sequins Gold Assortment, Z3039 Glacier Extra Thick Twine, Z2066 Ranger™ Princess Gold Embossing Powder, Thread

Leave a comment