Monday, November 25, 2019

Hanukkah card and a sketch challenge

I am participating in Freshly Made Sketches challenge #412 this week and was inspired to create this Hanukkah card.




You can find the sketch along with variations by other card makers on the Freshly Made Sketches Blog. I used the Close To My Heart Lights of Hanukkah stamp set along with Carolina and Silver Glitter papers. I cut the frame using the Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts and then added some sparkle to the lights using the Silver Stickles Glitter Gel along with some Silver Glitter gems.



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

Supplies Used:
B1684 - Lights of Hanukkah stamp set
X6039 - Carolina cardstock
Z3239 - Silver glitter paper
Z6508 - Bluebird Exclusive inks
Z6505 - Carolina Exclusive Inks
Z4260 - Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts set
Z3562 - Silver Stickles Glitter Gel
Z4191 - Silver Glitter gems

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

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


Sunday, November 3, 2019

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!

Saturday, November 2, 2019

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!