At this time of year, we’re all excited to give gifts to the people we care about. We love each and every member of our Close To My Heart family, and we’re thrilled to offer you amazing deals on top-of-the-line crafting products through our VIP Customer program!
We first introduced this program back in October, and we’ve seen an INCREDIBLE response! We have a great gift for those who sign up to be a part of this awesome program before the end of the year, including an invitation to sign up for an exclusive workshop event, just for VIP Customers!
As a member of the VIP Customer program, you can sign up with an annual fee of $35 USD* and you’ll receive $15 in VIP Credit, just for signing up! Through the end of the year, we’ve increased the sign-up credit to an amazing $25 in VIP Credit, making it even easier to decide to become a VIP!
On top of this awesome sign-up bonus, a VIP Customer program membership is truly a gift that keeps on giving! All through the year, each purchase you make allows you to earn 15% back in VIP Credit from the total amount of that purchase. You can then use that credit on your next order or save it for as long as you like, allowing you to save big on your favorite papers, stamps, tools, and more! In addition, you’ll also be able to receive one FREE Stamp of the Month set each month with a qualifying purchase!
As if these savings weren’t enough, there’s even more to love about the Close To My Heart VIP Customer program. Over the course of a year, we will offer a variety of different specials, just for our VIPs! Our first ever VIP special will be a workshop and virtual event that will take place on February 25, 2021, and trust us, it’s going to be something you won’t want to miss!
This VIP-only workshop features an exclusive stamp set and sticker sheet to help you create unforgettable cards and layouts! By participating in this exclusive workshop, you’ll not only get to create one-of-a-kind artwork, but you’ll get to spend a fun-filled afternoon crafting along with experts from the Close To My Heart Home Office, Makers, and your fellow VIP Customers! If you’re a VIP Customer, you’ll be able to order this workshop kit starting January 1—you’ll want to be sure to order your workshop kit as soon as you can (by February 1 at the latest) so you can have it ready to assemble during the live event.
We know you’ll love all the great perks of being a VIP Customer with Close To My Heart, and we can’t wait to help you start saving on all your favorite crafting supplies. Talk to your Close To My Heart Maker about signing up today!
*All monetary values are reflected in USD. If you live outside of the United States, please contact your Close To My Heart Maker for prices specific to your market.
It’s the time of year when old memories are celebrated and some of the best new ones are made! From Christmas morning snapshots to New Year’s party pictures, your memories of the holiday season are special and deserve to have a place of honor in a festive album. We know you’re always looking for new ways to preserve these moments, and memories made during the 2020 holiday season will be no different. Today, we’re going on an in-depth dive into the Jingle All the Way Album Workshop, and we’ll see how easy it is to preserve our dearest memories with this delightfully whimsical album!
The Jingle All the Way album is an absolute treat to create. With 20 beautiful pages, this album provides the perfect backdrop for your favorite holiday photos and stories!
The kit includes all the papers, embellishments, and Memory Protectors™ you need to create all 20 pages! The only additional supplies you’ll need to complete your very own Jingle All the Way album are some adhesive and a journaling pen!
Because the Jingle All the Way album features the Jingle Joy paper packet, the designs and color themes are cohesive throughout, but each page retains its own individual flair. The workshop also includes a few pages that feature Flip Flaps™ Memory Protectors™, so you can include even more of your favorite pictures and stories than would fit on a single page!
With space for a photo on top, and another photo or journaling inside, Flip Flaps™ are a great way to tell a full story while incorporating a fun, interactive element to your scrapbook!
Flip Flaps are exactly what they sound like—clear pocket flaps that you attach to a page that flip up to reveal additional photos, sentiments, or designs—and they’re something you can only get at Close To My Heart!
Another stand-out feature of the Jingle All the Way Workshop Kit is the coordinating Cricut Design Space™ file link provided in the instructional guide (download the guide here!), which allows you to create these gorgeous glittery snowflakes and add a touch of glam to complement your holiday photos!
If scrapbooking isn’t already part of your holiday traditions, this year is the perfect time to incorporate it into your celebrations the festive season! This may be more important than ever during the 2020 holiday season, as many of us will be taking a different approach to our holiday traditions and gatherings. The Jingle All the Way Album workshop kit is perfect for experienced scrapbookers, but it’s simple enough for new crafters—even kids—to enjoy. Creating a holiday album with loved ones can be one of the new memories or traditions you establish for years to come!
Celebrating holiday moments from other years alongside the memories made this year can be a great way not only to remember those happy times, but also find great joy in the present. Whether you’re creating this album to document past holiday memories or celebrate new ones from this year, Jingle All the Way is the perfect way to preserve them! What memories will you document with Jingle All the Way? Let us know in the comments, below!
October is here, which means it’s time to get our spook on! Today, we are sparing you the tricks and are sharing with you all of the treats from our new Got Candy? collection! We also have a sneak peek into the goodies in store for our upcoming live virtual crafting event later this month!
Our Got Candy? event will take place on October 21 and 22 on the Close To My Heart (Official) Facebook page. Spend time crafting with us, get to know our product, or simply stop by to get inspired! This event is open and FREE for anyone to watch! An instruction guide for all of the project we are making will be posted on our Facebook page one day before the event, so you can follow along with our Home Office experts as they create these projects live. We’ll also be doing some exciting giveaways, so be sure to mark yourself as “Going” on the event page to be eligible to win!
Purchase the whole collection as a bundle and save 20%! This handy bundle of hauntingly charming products will be used to create all of the projects at our Got Candy? virtual eventlater this month.
On the first day of our two-day crafting extravaganza, we’ll be making a wide variety of goodie bags! To add yet another treat to this awesome day, Close To My Heart President Monica Wihongi’s 9-year-old daughter, Maya, will be joining us as a guest crafter! Maya loves crafting and is excited to share this experience with all our event participants!
These fun treat toppers and holders are incredibly simple to put together and make a perfect project for kids and adults alike. Get everyone in on the fun and follow along with Maya as she shows you how to put these too-cute treat toppers and totes together!
Tiny treat bags aren’t the only goodies in store for our Got Candy? Facebook event. On the second day, we’ll be making some delightfully spooky scrapbook layouts. With three two-page layouts and one single page, you’ll be able to document your best Halloween memories with hauntingly beautiful style!
From fun nights of trick or treating to an unforgettable Halloween bash, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got a way to preserve all those great moments. Got Candy? is the answer to your Halloween memory keeping needs, and we know you’ll love creating these layouts along with us!
These pages are easy to make, and once they come together, they look AMAZING! It doesn’t matter if you’ve been crafting for years, or if this is your first foray into memory keeping—anyone can follow along and create these beautiful layouts! With simple cutting guides for beginners and a few more advanced elements to interest veteran scrappers, our Got Candy? event projects have something for everyone!
We can’t wait for you to join us on October 21 and 22 for the Got Candy? virtual crafting event! Remember, you need to mark yourself as “Going” on the Close To My Heart (Official) Facebook page at least 48 hours before we go live on the 21st in order to be eligible for the event giveaways. Can’t wait to see you all there!
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!
Scrapbooking is more than just a hobby. It is the preservation of memories, a way to pass on a precious legacy to all you hold dear. Even the smallest, most simple moments can turn into powerful memories that can bring joy to you and your family for years to come. Whether you put it together for yourself or as a special gift for a loved one, the Days of December album is a must-have!
The idea behind a photo-a-day project is to go about your regular activities and to then take a photo of what you consider is the highlight of your day. This 6″ x 8″ album is simply bursting with festive cheer! Each page provides plenty of room to tell your stories through your own photos and words.
Get ready to have some fun this Christmas season as you document your most treasured holiday moments each and every day in December! In case you need a little help getting started on this beautiful Days of December album, below you’ll find a list of 31 photo prompts and ideas, one for each day. For those of you who did this with us last year, you’ll remember that we provided a similar list of photo prompts then, too. (Click here to see last year’s list.) We intentionally made this list different from last year’s so that we can have both to reference—that’s a total of 62 photo ideas to pull from!
Use these prompts in chronological order, switch them up, or pick and choose your favorites to use in conjunction with some of your own ideas. The important thing is to enjoy the moments, capture the memories as you make them, and then preserve them to treasure for years to come. We are memory keepers, after all!
The Days of December album kit is only available through the end of November, while supplies last. Make sure to grab yours while there is still time! <3
Just in time for all of those sun-bleached memories you’re creating, our beloved Seaside collection is back now and through the end of August! With updated colors—including brand new French Vanilla—, a new 12″ x 12″ coordinating sticker sheet, and a new workshop, our timeless Seaside patterns have just the right amount of beachy bliss to capture the feeling of cool ocean breezes and all that this radiant season has to offer!
This stunning stamp set, with its realistic line designs and versatile sentiments, is not just beautiful but also very easy to use in both scrapbooking and cardmaking. (We’ll show you how we’ve paired it together with the rest of the Seaside collection to make scrapbook pages and cards in the available workshop, below.)
Here it is! Featuring our exclusive colors, French Vanilla (new!!), Glacier, Lagoon, Raspberry, Smoothie, Sweet Leaf, and Toffee, this dreamy paper packet comes with 6 refreshed patterned paper sheets, 2 each of 3 double-sided designs, and 1 new coordinating sticker sheet! The zip strips are also new (and super cute)! Click on the individual thumbnail images to take a closer look!
(You can get a FREE Seaside paper packet by becoming a Close To My Heart Consultant or hosting a qualifying party in July!)
These cardstock colors coordinate perfectly with those in the Seaside paper packet. Each coordinating cardstock pack comes with 12 sheets, three each of French Vanilla, Lagoon, Smoothie, and Toffee; all 12″ x 12″.
Paired with this downloadable workshop guide, the materials in this kit come together to create the gorgeous scrapbook layout, pages, and cards you see here:
12″ x 12″ layout:
12″ x 12″ pages:
4¼” x 5½” cards:
3″ x 3″ cards:
We love this collection so much that we want everyone to have one of these kits to create this artwork. To help with that effort, we’re giving three of the dreamy Seaside Workshop kits away to three lucky winners! To qualify for an entry to win, first make sure you are subscribed to this blog. Then, leave us a comment below telling us what you love so much about this collection or, if you’ve been with us for a while, let us know what other retired collection you love that you would like to see make its way back. You have until 3 p.m. (MST) tomorrow (Wednesday, July 10) to get your entries in. All winners will be notified via email shortly after that—so keep an eye out, it really can be you who wins!
AND REMEMBER…Seaside is only available for a limited time and only while supplies last! Act fast and get your favorites from this collection before they run out and it goes away for good! GOOD LUCK!
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!
We did it again, friends! One of our favorite retired paper collections, Zoe, has received a modest makeover, getting updated colors, a new 12″ × 12″ coordinating sticker sheet, and a new workshop. The updated Zoe collection is available through the end of May. With its sunny disposition, this collection is sure to brighten anyone’s day and any scrapbook album!
As if this stamp set isn’t perfect enough for all those sunny moments you wish to hold onto, the shapes outlined in red coordinate with our Cricut® Artistry collection—making it that much easier to create unique, custom cards and layouts! You’ll find sizing instructions for cutting the coordinating shapes on the packaging of the stamp set.
Here it is! Featuring our exclusive colors, Canary, Heather, Mint, Smoothie, Sweet Leaf, and White Daisy, this paper packet comes with 6 refreshed patterned paper sheets, 2 each of 3 double-sided designs, and 1 new coordinating sticker sheet! The zip strips are also new! Click on the image to take a closer look!
These cardstock colors coordinate perfectly with those in the Zoe Paper Packet. Each Zoe Coordinating Cardstock pack comes with 12 sheets, 2 each of Sweet Leaf, Smoothie, Mint, Canary, Heather, and White Daisy; all 12″ × 12″.
It’s easy to think that memory keeping needs to be done in a straight, chronological line, scrapbooking your photos as they happen … hopefully, but you can share your photos in many other fun and creative ways. That’s what makes the Story by Stacy™ product line so special. As it’s name suggests, these products invite us to explore the stories behind the photos we take to uncover the details that make them personal and interesting. Story by Stacy™ products encourage us to consider taking a different approach, one that focuses on your unique memories of the subject or topic of your album.
A few weeks ago we shared a handful of ways you can use Story by Stacy™ workshop kits for the holidays. If you missed that blog post, check it out here. Because this month’s special features these amazing kits at a discount, we have a few more ideas for how you can document one-of-a-kind stories in the mini album format with Story Starter. Keep in mind, we’re showing you how to do this with Story Starter, but you could plug these ideas into any scrapbooking format. So many possibilities!
Idea #1: Where I Stand
In this mini album, the storyteller has documented some of the places she’s been, but with a fun twist. All of these photos show shoes and the place where she’s standing. The ground you’ve walked on is also part of our journey. These kinds of photos could be taken anywhere, and in this Story Starter album, sharing the memories and stories about her shoes and where she is gives it an unusual AND intriguing perspective. This is an easy one to take photos for since it could be anywhere—standing at work, in front of your house, on a vacation—literally any place that you go. These types of stories showcase your experiences in a new way, and it reminds you of the places you’ve lived, worked, or traveled.
Idea #2: Happy Places
This Story Starter album is full of photos and memories of places that make this storyteller happy. For her, it’s the beach. Each photo is paired with a memory about what makes these places special, and pops of color are added with the bright colors of the Hello Pumpkin Complements and accents of Sapphire and Mint cardstock to match the photos. This is another fun topic because happy places are unique to you! Think about where you feel like your best self—happy, whole, and content. That’s the perfect subject for a happy place themed album.You could create an entire series of Story Starters just to document the places that make you happy. Or, consider ways you can include other people in this kind of storytelling. You could do a Story Starter album with your family members, highlighting the places that each person loves with a photo and their own stories about that place.
Idea #3: Hometown
Another place you will definitely have stories about is your hometown. A mini album like Story Starter is a great canvas for capturing the things that you love about where you’re from, and the writing process will help you document detailed memories about that particular place. Did you notice what’s on our album cover, “(208)”? It’s an area code! Even the area code is something that’s unique to just that one place. Maybe your hometown is famous for something or has a nickname? As you write your memories and gather photos, think about the community, the landmarks, and even the people. How are those things a part of who you are?
The Story Starter format is also a fun place to try including different kinds of small photos. With the 4″ x 4″ size, you could use small instant photo prints, like we’ve done here, to illustrate your memories.
Feeling inspired to create yet? Just in case you need a few more ideas, take a look at the list below and the examples from Stacy Julian, on her blog.
My Playlist
Music often plays a part in our favorite moments. Think about your favorite songs and write down why you love them. Then use a photo to illustrate the moment. If you don’t have a photo to pair with the musical memory, try including pictures in other ways. You could take a photo of the album cover or the artist. How you listen to music is also part of the experience. Is it on your phone? A record? A casette tape or CD? You could include those kinds of pictures and stories as well.
Memories about Movies/TV Shows
Are there shows you like to watch on a weekend? Any movies you never get tired of seeing? Just like how the music we listen to tells us something about the time and place we live in, so do the movies and shows we watch. You can probably easily list some of your top faves, but have you ever thought about WHY you like them? Use the Story Starter writing process to think about the memories you associate with the movies you love.
A Day (or Week) in the Life
Approach this kind of topic in a new way with Story Starter. Start by first going through the writing portion. Take some time to think about what a day or a week looks like for you. What are the highlights? What are your habits or routines? Do any particular sounds, tastes, or feelings come to mind? Then group those memories together and find (or take) photos to represent them.
Check out these blog posts from Stacy Julian, the Stacy behind Story by Stacy™ products. She used Story Starter albums to tell some fun stories about herself and other memories. Click the links below to learn more about each of these topics.
With all of these ways to share your story, we know you have so much to document with Story Starter! This December take advantage of the great discounts on Story Starter workshop kits and their coordinating stamp sets. Get individual workshop kits and stamps at 20% off the retail price or, because we know you’re going to need more than one, purchase select Story Starter bundles at 30% off their retail price! Not only do these make for great gifts, but they’re an easy way to create timeless treasures with your memories. We can’t wait to see what you create, and when you’re done, make sure you share your story!