We have an early Valentine for all our loyal readers—a free card pattern! Celebrate along with us and share the love this Valentine’s Day, and anytime, with a personalized handmade card!
Making its original debut in our Blossom Workshops on the Go® cardmaking guide years ago, we paired this timeless pattern with our lovely Perfect Match collection to create four cards, two that are romantic themed and two that are not.
This classic pattern can be used for every celebration and occasion with the right combination of papers, embellishments, and sentiments. If you’re not sure how to mix and match these products, we’ve taken the guesswork out of the equation for you! For effortless coordination, simply choose any one of our creative collections and stick to just those products within the suite. Another option is to pick a color combination from either of our Love of Color volumes, and to strictly work with products within that color palette. (Making cards can be that easy! 🥳)
The flower card above was made using one of the Ballerina color combinations: Ballerina, Pewter, Carolina, and Sugarplum. If you look closely, you’ll notice that even though we picked this combination, we left Sugarplum (one of our retired colors) off and added White Daisy. It still works!
The Hello card on the right was made from one of the Candy Apple combination options: Candy Apple, White Daisy, Lagoon, Sapphire, and Black.
Download the free pattern below and share some love this Valentine’s Day, and beyond, with a handmade card from the heart. ❤️
For our last post of the year, as we wrap up 2020, we are sharing a free downloadable scrapbook pattern, complete with cutting diagrams and all!
Making its original debut with our Unforgettable collection a few years ago, we paired this timeless 12″ x 12″ pattern with another blast from the past, our revamped Blossom collection!
The Bring Back My Pack—Blossom collection features the Blossom paper packet, sporting the same classic paper designs that made it popular the first time around, with a refreshed color palette and several coordinating products—including a brand new sticker sheet and stamp set, Cherished Blossoms! We also brought back a popular stamp set that originally debuted with the Blossom collection, Shower Flowers.
We 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 Unforgettable scrapbooking pattern, you will find that it also comes with cutting diagrams to make 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 how easy scrapbooking can be!
For further inspiration, take a look at how we adapted elements from this 12″ x 12″ pattern and used them to create a 6″ x 8″ layout.
Happy New Year!
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!
Just in time for the holiday season, we’ve paired the exclusive products from our Seasons in Motion special with a couple of FREE card patterns to add a little animated spice to our holidays!
In order to achieve the animated effect, layer the stamped images with either an animation sheetor a paper piece you can now cut using the new animation window Thin Cuts die!
Also part of the Seasons in Motion special, which we used to create our example cards, is the Holiday Stack! The Holiday Stack is a pack of 48 6″ x 6″ patterned papers with designs from some of our past favorite 12″ x 12″ patterns.
These are not the original 12″ x 12″ papers cut into quarters, keeping the patterns the same size, but, rather, shrunken down versions of the classic favorites made to fit a 6″ x 6″ square!
Download our two free animated cardmaking patterns, here, and delight your loved ones with animated cards this coming holiday season!
We’ve got a FREE card pattern for you today to get you thinking outside the theme park as you craft with our magical Happiest Place collection!
With so many unique elements and designs, the Happiest Place collection is simply bursting with creative potential. When you combine that with a versatile card pattern, it’s easier than ever to create the cards of your dreams!
The pattern we’re sharing today made its original debut years ago with the Pear & Partridge cardmaking Workshops on the Go®. This classic pattern helps you take the Happiest Place collection to new heights and provides the perfect starting point for truly great cards.
Pattern and color combinations like the ones in this “You’re the Koalaest” card are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what can be done with the Happiest Place collection and the Pear & Partridge card pattern.
By combining the My Acrylix® A Koala-ty Day stamp set with the fun abstract designs and eye-catching silver foil stars on the Happiest Place papers, you’re left with an absolutely adorable card! Part of this card’s charm is the simple Glacier on Glacier color scheme, relying on the variation in patterns to set them apart.
If you want to get a bit more adventurous with your color combinations, then cards like this “Gnome-body Loves You Like I Do” card are a great way to go!
This card was also made using the Pear & Partridge pattern but with a completely different effect than the Koala card. By using the same pattern and simply switching up the color combinations and stamped images, you can easily create a countless number of unique cards. For this example, we chose the delightful My Acrylix® Gnome Matter stamp set paired with some brighter colors. Even though the Gnome Matter stamp set isn’t part of the Happiest Place collection, they fit together like two peas in a pod!
All it takes to create a card that’s all your own is a great pattern and a little imagination.
Using the exact same pattern from above, we created this sweet “Celebrating You” card. In order to get some added milage from your card patterns, consider turning them on their sides, changing the orientation from landscape to portrait.
With simple color combinations from the Happiest Place collection, the Pear & Partridge card pattern, and our Floral Celebration—August Stamp of the Month (available August 1–31), this adorable card has it all!
Proof that less is more, the timeless Pear & Partridge pattern is a great starting point for any card maker, regardless of experience. Click on the link below to download this free pattern and gear up for some serious crafting fun!
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.)
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!
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!
Let mom know just how much she means to you this Mother’s Day with personalized, hand-made cards (we have a free pattern below!) and scrapbook pages using any or all of three exclusive stamp sets designed specifically for her from our Love for Mother special!
A heartfelt card or fun scrapbook layout using these stamp sets from our Love for Mother sale is the perfect way to show a little extra love on her special day.
Not sure where to start? No worries, we’ve got you covered! Use the free card patterned below to duplicate one of our examples.
We used this pattern, which made it’s original debut with the Lollydoodle cardmaking Workshops on the Go™, and created a card using our Mix-in and Yesterday & Today papers (for a full list of products used, see the recipe provided at the end of this post).
Our timeless card patterns can be used for every celebration and any occasion with the right combination of papers, Complements, and sentiments. If you’re not sure how to mix and match these products, we’ve taken the guesswork out of the equation for you! For effortless coordination, simply choose one of our creative collections from our idea books and stick to just those products within the suite when making your cards. It really is that easy!
Download the pattern above, and share some love this Mother’s Day with a handmade card from the heart!
For even more timeless cardmaking patterns, check out our cardmaking how-to book, Make It from Your Heart™ volume 4. If you love the free patterns on the blog, you’re sure to be blown away by the beautiful, one-of-a-kind, patterns in this book!
With Thanksgiving just a little over a week away, and Christmas shortly after, we thought we’d share in the holiday spirit with a free downloadable scrapbook pattern! <3
This timeless pattern made its original debut with our Back Country collection a few years ago but, as you can see, it can be used with any papers and for any occasion. Above, we paired the pattern with the Hawthorn paper collection from our September–October Catalog. (For those of you who didn’t get a chance to purchase the collection during these months, you are in luck! We recently started offering product on our website under an Online Only menu, and there are a few Hawthorn Paper Packets left—so grab one while you still can!)
Believe it or not, the layout below was created following this same pattern and paired with the Cedar & Pine collection.
If you look closely, you’ll notice that all we did was turn the pattern upside down. When you do flip or rotate a pattern, just make sure that the title and journaling fall somewhere on the page where it visually makes sense (to you). We didn’t like where the journaling box landed when we flipped our pattern and created this second layout, so we moved it. We also added another photo to this Christmas layout by splitting one of the designated 4″ x 6″ photo spots into two 3″ x 4″ photos.
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 even easier to create these pages!
Download this free scrapbooking pattern below and have a wonderful holiday season full of memories worth preserving!
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!
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!
Today is the day, if you haven’t already, to discover the simplicity of scrapbooking in pockets! That’s right. Scrapbooking CAN be fast, simple, and easy. By using Memory Protectors™ with multiple pockets, you can quickly catch up on your scrapbooking or just add photos, art, journaling, and other keepsakes in this trendy blocked style to any of your albums. But where do we start?
Too often, we get so eager to try out a new memory keeping approach only to end up staring at the Memory Protectors™ and their empty pockets, not quite sure how to begin. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, we start without a plan and find that something about our completed pages just isn’t quite right. If you take a look below, you’ll see that we came up with different ideas to get you thinking about how to create a pocket page or layout, and to get you up to speed on this popular style of scrapbooking!
1. Start with a set of photos.
We all have stashes of photos, mainly on our electronic devices. Print out some of your favorites and give this approach a try. Once you’ve got your photos, choose a color scheme by pulling from the colors in your photos first and then, if you’d like, add one or two colors that coordinate. Lastly, choose accessories or embellishments for the finishing touches.
If you aren’t quite sure how many photos to use, consider the 50-50 rule where you fill 50% of your pockets with photos and the other 50% with patterned papers or pre-made pocket cards—ensuring a well-balanced page and layout.
2. Start with a color scheme.
This approach is very similar to the first, only the color scheme comes first and then the photos. When you have an album that you are wanting to add on to, the color scheme is often predetermined by what’s come before. In this example, we chose our colors first, then came up with the photos, and polished off the layout with some sequins as our accessory. If you don’t have enough, or any, photos that you’d like to use to match your color scheme, manipulate the colors in the photo. If you’re not savvy with photo editing software or want to keep things simple, print your photos in black and white.
As you’re deciding on what photos to use, keep in mind that you are not bound by the orientation or size of the pockets of your Memory Protectors™. In both of the examples that we’ve shown you so far, we cut a 6″ x 8″ photo in half and inserted the parts into two of the pockets. You can get really creative and do all sorts of things with pockets that you can’t quite get away with in a traditional layout. 😉
3. Start with a story.
This third method is for the storyteller. You start out with a memory or story and then find photos that accompany it. In this example, the story is about Grandma Joann and her garden. The reminiscence and words came first, then the photos, and lastly the embellishing accessories.
If a 12″ x 12″ album is too big to fit on your shelf, there’s also the 6″ x 8″, Everyday Life™, option. All of the ideas that we’re sharing today translate into any size of pocket scrapbooking.
4. Start with an event.
Our last approach is to begin with an event, like a birthday party, vacation, holiday, family gathering, etc. Think about the story behind it and develop it. This is where the 5 W’s (who, what, where, when, why) come in handy. As you develop the story, write it down and choose photos that support it. Finally, add an accessory for embellishment.
5. Come up with a pattern.
If the ideas that we’ve shared so far are overwhelming, find a pocket layout that you like and break it down into a pattern for you to recreate and personalize (it’s pretty easy to do this with pockets). Here’s what the pattern of our very first example looks like:
We used this very same pattern to create the layout in our second example. Did you notice? We rotated each of the pages 90 degrees counterclockwise and came up with this:
Flip a pattern, turn it on its side, switch the order of the pages—if you have the Memory Protectors™ to support your pocket idea, then go for it! One of the great things about pocket scrapbooking is that you can change the contents of the pockets around however many times you need to, making it a lot more forgiving than traditional scrapbooking.
All you need to be a successful pocket scrapper are the pocket Memory Protectors™, pre-made pocket cards, your photos, and a plan. Pair any of the ideas that we’ve shared with you today with our Picture My Life™ pocket cards and get caught up on your scrapbooking in a fast, simple, easy, ANDtrendy way!
(You can download the instructions and patterns for these layouts 
