Thanksgiving at our house!

I've been busy with work recently but was able to carve out some time to decorate the house as we are hosting Thanksgiving here. I also wanted to do up some crafty items for our Thanksgiving table as well as a gift for each person coming to the house. I am happy to share the results with you. I was inspired by the Build-a-Plaid stamp set and ideas shared by some wonderful Close To My Heart consultants.

Here are the final results. I will share the process and the products used below.

Thanksgiving table setting

Buffet food labels

I had fun using the Build-a-Plaid stamp set to create the design for the pumpkin gifts, napkin holders and food signs.

I stamped the design on a piece of French Vanilla 12x12 cardstock. To achieve the plaid pattern I aligned the paper on my mat and chose the distance for the repeat (1 1/4"). I then stamped across in the Pewter ink with the largest plaid image, rotated the paper 90 degrees and then stamped across again with the largest image. I then repeated the process with the next plaid image this time using Pebble ink aligned about 1/4" away from the first plaid. I finished this with a thin line stamped in Charcoal ink on the opposite side of the Pebble image.

Step 1 - Pewter plaid image

Step 2 - 90 degree rotation

Step 3 - Pebble plaid image

Step 4 - Charcoal line

I then cut this into 1 1/4" strips for the pumpkin and a 3/4" strip for the napkin holder. I used 4 strips for each pumpkin which I adhered the bottom together using Liquid Glass then put a treat bag in the center before adhering the top together. I made the stem and vine from chenille pieces. 

For the food signs I simply used the larger plaid with Pewter ink and the line with Charcoal ink along one corner of the rectangle. The frame is cut from Kraft paper using the Stitched Rectangle Thin-Cut set. The pumpkin, napkin rings and food signs are embellished with stamped images from the Family Time November Stamp of the Month set and leaves cut with the Layered Leaves Thin-Cut set (retired).

I hope you like the table setting. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies Used:

D1886 - Build-a-Plaid stamp set

S1911 - Family Time Stamp of the Month set

X6046 - French Vanilla cardstock

Z1375 - Kraft paper

X6034 - Sangria cardstock

Z2832 - Pewter Exclusive Ink

Z2833 - Pebble Exclusive Ink

Z2831 - Charcoal Exclusive Ink

Z4260 - Stitched Rectangle Frames Thin-Cuts

Best Friends Furever

Our furry friends play a huge role in our lives, and we love to document our favorite memories of our pets. To help you do this, Close To My Heart has created a brand new, one-of-a-kind Cut Above Kit! This 6" x 8" layout kit is the first of its kind and features reversible die cuts, so you can choose dog or cat-focused titles and accents for this quick and easy project.

Close To My Heart has also designed a matching paper packet, sticker sheet, and two new stamp sets, to use in a wide variety of crafting projects. There is also a workshop kit which combines the coordinating items in a kit that you can use to create four pages and four cards.

Best Friends Furever Cut Above Kit

Best Friends Furever Paper Pack

Best Friends Furever Coordinating Cardstock

Eat Play Love Stamp Set

Kitty Cuddles Stamp Set

Best Friends Furever Workshop Kit with Stamp Sets

Best Friends Furever Workshop Kit

As part of this special, you can purchase each exclusive item individually at full price, but Close To My Heart is also offering the Best Friends Furever Workshop Kit with Stamp Sets at a 20% discount. Click here to shop the items that are part of this special.

Family Time

I am in love with the Stamp of the Month for November from Close To My Heart. The Family Time stamp set is perfect for card making and scrapbooking. The 18 images in this stamp set work well with thank you cards, family scrapbook layouts as well as the Thanksgiving holiday.

I used this stamp set to create our family's Thanksgiving card this year. I based it on a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 4 How-To book along with some scraps from our Hawthorn collection and some gold sequins for embellishment.

This stamp set is available for purchase from my website for $18.95 or for $5.00 with a $50 purchase during the month of November.

Supplies Used:

S1911 - Family Time

Z7249B - Hawthorn Paper Pack

9044 - Make It From Your Heart Volume 4 How-to Book

Z4235 - Loose Sequins - Gold

X5957 - Sapphire Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

X6033 - Paprika Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

X5950 - Toffee Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

X5961 - Saffron Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

X5959 - New England Ivy Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

I hope you like the card. Thanks for stopping by!

Holly Jolly

I know it's not quite Christmas time yet but I am so excited to share with you the featured paper collection for November from Close To My Heart - Holly Jolly. This collection contains some beautiful, vibrant colors, embellishments and stamp set brimming with holiday cheer. I had so much fun creating this layout with this collection.

I used a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 How-To book to start. I added some stickers using foam tape under them to raise them up and add dimension. I finished off with a few enamel dots from the Holly Jolly collection.

Supplies Used:

Z7250S - Holly Jolly Paper Pack + Sticker Sheet
Z7250D - Holly Jolly Coordinating Cardstock
Z3549 - Holly Jolly Dots
9042 - Make It From Your Heart Volume 2
Z3341 - Thin 3-D Foam Dots

Click here to shop the Holly Jolly collection.

Hope you liked the layout! Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine card for Man Card Monday!

Trying something new here and challenging myself to do some more blog posts with the artwork I have been creating lately.

For today's post I am sharing a card I made for my husband for his upcoming birthday. I had fun creating this card using a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Vol 4 how-to book along with color inspiration from the Love of Color book. I used the Build-a-Plaid stamp set to create the pattern.

D1886 - Build-a-Plaid stamp set

I loved the combination of Sapphire, Toffee and Lagoon ink for this plaid. The colors worked well for a masculine card. There are so many different plaid patterns that can be made with this set - I love it's versatility.

Hope you liked the card. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

9044 - Make It From Your Heart, Volume 4 How-to book
9045 - Love of Color How-to book
D1886 - Build-a-Plaid Stamp Set
Z3545 - Hawthorn Cardmaking Stamp Set + Thin Cuts
Z2848 - Sapphire Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2828 - Toffee Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2895 - Lagoon Exclusive Inks stamp pad
X5957 - Sapphire Cardstock
X5950 - Toffee Cardstock
Z3323 - White Burlap Ribbon

Days of December Special

Close To My Heart has a new special available starting today, October 15th, through November 30th. The Days of December Special is a great way to commemorate your sweetest holiday moments in a special album. Close To My Heart has brought back this popular project, updated to feature the brand new paper from the Holly Jolly collection, plus cardstock and embellishments to match!

With this special you choose between 2 different workshop kit options: one that includes the Holly Jolly Scrapbooking Stamp and Thin Cuts and one that does not.

Days of December Workshop Kit with Stamp Set

Days of December Workshop Kit

Holly Jolly Scrapbooking Stamp Set + Thin Cuts

To complete your project you will want to have the following additional materials on hand when completing your album.

Z3549 - Holly Jolly Dots
Z4219 - Black 6" x 8" Everyday Life Album
Z4189 - Intense Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z6509 - Candy Apple Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z6513 - Green Apple Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z4223 - Red Shimmer Brush

Click here to shop this special today!

Apple and pumpkin picking time!

Just went apple and pumpkin picking this year but since I am still catching up on my scrapbooking this layout is actually from 2 years ago. Perfect timing, I know! I used a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 3 How-to Book as a starting point. I am continuing to use the products from the Hawthorn collection this month in my crafting.

I wanted to use the Hawthorn paper in a way I had not yet done with this layout. I had been working with the Sapphire leaves and Saffron dot paper so far and wanted to focus more on the Fern chevron patterned paper and hexagon paper.

I am in love with the new Layers Leaves Thin Cuts set and had lots of fun creating some leaves for this layout.

I combined the leaves I created with some leaves from the Hawthorn Complements to give a different look to the embellishments. I used 3-D Dots to add some dimension to the title and leaf clusters.

I hope you like the layout. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

9043 - Make It From Your Heart Vol 3 How-To Book

X7249S - Hawthorn Paper Pack + Sticker Sheet

X7249D - Hawthorn Coordinating Cardstock

X7249C - Hawthorn Complements

Z3523 - Layered Leaves Thin Cuts

Anniversary Card and a sketch challenge

Spent some time today card making and working on an anniversary card for my husband, Mike. I was inspired by this sketch from the Mojo Monday card sketch blog. 

I used the paper from the Hawthorn paper pack along with stamps from the Hawthorn Cardmaking Stamp Set with Thin Cuts. I tweaked the sketch slightly in that I used a slightly larger circle in the center and added a banner with the additional sentiment. This came together very quickly and easily.

I am so pleased with how this came out! I hope you like it too! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies used:

X7249S - Hawthorn Paper Pack + Sticker Sheet

X7249D - Hawthorn Coordinating Cardstock

Z3545 - Hawthorn Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts

Z2848 - Sapphire Exclusive Ink Pad

Z2831 - Charcoal Exclusive Ink Pad

Z2805 - Black Exclusive Ink Pad

Fall is in the Air

Popping in here to say hi and share a recent card I made. I had so much fun working on this card - the colors of fall are among my favorite colors to work with.

My card is based on the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches Challenge: Challenge #405 - A Sketch by Judy.

I used the stamps from the October Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart - Autumn Air. I stamped the leaves and acorn in Intense Black Ink and the sentiment in Charcoal and Pewter inks. I colored in the leaves and acorn with our watercolor paints. I drew the dashed line with a journaling pen and used an embossing stylus to create the border about 1/8" around the outer edge. I used 3-D foam tape to adhere the card front to the card base and added some gold sequins for a little sparkle.

Supplies Used:

S1910 - Autumn Air Stamp of the Month

Z4189 - Intense Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Z2831 - Charcoal Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

Z2832 - Pewter Exclusive Inks

Z3132 - Watercolor Paints

Z3224 - Waterbrush - Small Round

Z3505 - Dual-tip Stylus Embossing Tool

Z3341 - Thin 3-D Foam Dots

I hope you like the card and are inspired by it.

Thanks for stopping by!

It's time to spread some Holiday Cheer!

I know it's not even Halloween yet but it is never too early to start thinking about Christmas and planning for your holiday crafting. The Holiday Cheer special from Close To My Heart is a great start to creating some fun holiday tags and ornaments to decorate your tree or add something extra to your gift packages.

With a few fun bundle options - including various papers, complements, special digital art files, and exclusive stamp sets - you can customize your ornaments and tags to spread holiday cheer! As an added perl, we're offering these kits at a 30% discount when you purchase them together! 

Holiday Cheer Tag & Ornament Kit

Holiday Cheer Tag Kit

Holiday Cheer Ornament Kit

Whimsical Holiday Stamp set

Traditional Holiday Stamp set

This special goes through November 30th or while supplies last. Click here to see the Holiday Cheer special.

Welcome to Fall!

I am so glad we are finally getting some cooler weather! Fall has got to be my favorite season of the year. I love the colors, the smells and the temperature this time of year. I think that is why I love the featured paper from Close To My Heart for the month of October. The Hawthorn collection is perfect for this time of the year with its warm, earthy tones and vintage designs. We recently spent the weekend up in Burlington, Vermont with Meghan and I am already looking forward to scrapbooking the pictures with this collection.

Hawthorn Paper Pack

Hawthorn Coordinating Cardstock

Hawthorn Complements

Hawthorn Picture My Life Cards

Click here to see all the elements of the Hawthorn collection.

The Stamp of the Month for October from Close To My Heart is the Autumn Air stamp set. This set of 14 images goes so well with the Hawthorn collection and this season.

This stamp set can be purchased for $18.95 during the month of October or for $5.00 with a $50 purchase on my website. Click here to see the Autumn Air stamp set.