Close To My Heart 2014 Spring/Summer Idea Book PREVIEW!!

Close To My Heart 2014 Spring/Summer Idea Book!!

New post with photos added 1/14/14!  Click HERE!
Merry Christmas, everyone!  My present to you is a small sneak peek of the "hot off the press" 2014 Spring/Summer Idea Book from Close To My Heart!

I believe that you will absolutely fall in love with the color combinations and themes found in this brand new catalog.  I am so excited to share what I have found out so far.  I'll have copies to give out to my customers during our Scrapbook, Stamp and Socialize January crops and be taking orders in advance of the February 1st official reveal.

There will be 7 new collections!!  That's right, brand new paper packets with coordinating inks, stamps, and embellishments to create with!  So you can get started thinking about which inks that you might need, I've listed the collection name and coordinating colors for you right here!

Skylark

• Bamboo
• Desert Sand
• Juniper
• Kraft
• Lagoon
• Skylark Yellow
• Sweet Leaf
• White Daisy

Ivy Lane

• Bamboo
• Blush
• Hollyhock
• Ivy Lane Green
• Ivy Lane Purple

Ariana

• Ariana Coral
• Ariana Green
• Ariana Grey
• Crystal Blue
• Outdoor Denim
• White Daisy

Balloon Ride

• Cashmere
• Colonial White
• Creme Brulee
• Crystal Blue 
• Juniper
• Saddle
• Sky
• Sorbet

Jubilee

• Cashmere
• Cocoa
• Colonial White
• Cranberry
• Honey
• Indian Corn Blue
• Kraft
• Sweet Leaf
• Topiary

Timberline

• Bamboo
• Chocolate
• Colonial White
• Goldrush
• Lagoon
• Ponderosa Pine
• Twilight

Lollydoodle

• Cocoa
• Cotton Candy
• Juniper
• Pear
• Slate
• Sorbet
• Whisper
• White Daisy

I would recommend picking 2 collections to order that have a coordinating color.  This will allow you to order 1 ink pad that goes with 2 paper packets and give you the ability to mix and match.  For instance, the delicate green of Sweet Leaf can be found in both Skylark and Jubilee.  Sorbet, an orange shade is featured in Balloon Ride as well as Lollydoodle.  The light, creamy shade of Bamboo is found in 3 collections; Skylark, Ivy Lane, and Timberline.

I also recommend getting an extra pack of neutral cardstock to extend your paper collections.  This trick allows for the use of White Daisy or Colonial White as the background of your 12 x 12 layouts, while stretching your color and patterned papers.  At only $9.50 for 24 sheets, it's a great way to stretch your scrapbooking dollars.

Are you getting excited already?!  I can't wait to place my order and share these gorgeous collections with you over the next 7 months!

I look forward, with great excitement, to paper crafting in 2014!

Scrapbook, Stamp & Socialize Holiday Cookie Swap and Social

This weekend, we held the First Annual Holiday Cookie Swap and Social for our Scrapbook, Stamp & Socialize group in Jacksonville.  It was such a fun time filled with games, a Create & Take, and of course cookies!  There were 8 paper crafters that attended this first time event.  

The rules were simple...

Bake:  Each guest will choose their favorite cookie recipe and bake 1/2 dozen for each confirmed guest, plus 1 dozen extra to share at the party.

Bring:  Separately package each 1/2 dozen cookies that you will be sharing. Please bring the dozen to share on a platter or plate for the cookie buffet table.

Print:  Please bring copies of your recipe to share.  Each package should include a copy of the recipe.

Swap:  Each guest will get to take home 1/2 dozen of each cookie!

If 12 people sign up, each person will make 7 dozen cookies; 6 dozen will be split up into 1/2 dozen package and 1 dozen will be to sample at the swap!

Just look at this spread of goodies!  We had appetizers as well as cookies to munch on.  Our hostess also provided a hot cocoa bar and other assorted beverages.

There was a table set up for all of the fabulous baked treats that we were going to take home.  Everyone had packaged their treats to share in pretty boxes or bags that included the recipe of how to make them.

We played games such as Christmas Trivia and Gingerbread Cookie Word Scramble.  We also did a lot of talking about paper crafting!  There is even a plan in the works for the group to do a field trip to a local stamp store.

Finally, as a Create & Take we stamped white gift bags with snowflakes and make a gift tag in the shape of an ornament using the CTMH Frosted paper collection.  Watch for pictures and instructions for this project in an upcoming post.

Happy Holidays!

CTMH Laughing Lola Matchbook Style Post It Note Holder

CTMH Laughing Lola Matchbook Style Post It Note Holder

For November, I have featured the Laughing Lola paper packet from Close To My Heart in the Create & Take that my Scrapbook, Stamp and Socialize group have done together.  You can view the cute gift bags that we made earlier in the month here. 

I enjoy designing or discovering simple, easy projects that can be made together as a group. This project was a happy discovery found on the Splitcoaststampers website.  However, I needed to make mine fit a 3" x 3" Post-It note page, so I modified the measurements a bit.

• For the cover; cut a piece of Gypsy cardstock to a 8 3/4" by 3 1/8" rectangle.  Score it at 3 3/8", 3 3/4" and 7 3/4".

• Fold where you scored.  Staple once at the short fold about 1/4" in at the center point.  Hide the staple with a 3 1/8" x 1/2' strip of coordinating patterned paper.  I used the zip strip from the top of one of the B&T papers in the Laughing Lola pack.

• Adhere your Post-It note pad to the base, lining it up with the other 2 score lines.

• To decorate the top, cut a 2 3/4" x 2 3/4" square in Laughing Lola Gold cardstock.  Then cut an accent square in a coordinating B&T paper at 2 5/8" x 2 5/8" and adhere on top of your cardstock for a layered effect.

• I also used my CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge to cut out a decorative shape in White Daisy cardstock (page 26) <Shape1> and Black cardstock for the border (page 26) <Layer, Shape1>.

• I stamped the sentiment "A Note For You" from the Just For You stamp set and finished it with a couple of Sparkles from the Black & Gray assortment.

A quick, easy, and very pretty gift for anyone with a desk!  This would make a wonderful stocking stuffer or present for a teacher.

CTMH Laughing Lola and Art Philosophy Gift Bag

The Laughing Lola paper pack from Close To My Heart has a deep, rich color palette that is perfect for Autumn and Winter.  The shades that are predominately featured are Black, Laughing Lola Gold, Laughing Lola Purple and White Daisy.  However, there are splashes of Lagoon, Slate and Gypsy that really pop out and make great accents to the paper.

In my paper crafting group in Jacksonville, Scrapbook, Stamp and Socialize, I always provide a complimentary Create & Take project for us to do together as a group.  It features one of the paper packets from the current CTMH Idea Book and shows off ways to combine and use the papers, coordinating stamps, inks and embellishments.  For this class, I was also expanding upon ways to utilize the Cricut and specifically the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge, so I created this adorable little gift bag to show off both products.

I used Gypsy cardstock for my bag as I needed to cut out multiples for my group, however, any of the coordinating shades of cardstock that come in the paper packet would look amazing for this gift bag.

Supplies used:

CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (including coordinating "Thanks" stamp and scalloped circle Dimensional Element)
Gypsy Cardstock
Laughing Lola Paper Packet
Slate Satin Polka Dot Ribbon
Gypsy Ink

Recipe:

Bag:  Shift, Font Layer, <Square1> at 5 1/2" (page 23)
Decorative base layer:  <Square2> at 2 1/2" (page 33)
Swirls:  Shift, Font Layer, <Circle5> at 2" (page 60)
Scalloped Circle:  <Circle3> at 2" (page 41)
Rose:  Shift, Font, <Banner1> at 3" (page 68)

Instructions:

Cut all pieces as directed.  Stamp "Thanks" on scalloped circle of card stock and adhere to Dimensional Element.  Adhere the following pieces to unassembled bag in this order:  decorative base layer, swirls, scalloped circle.  Assemble and glue bag.  Attach rose.

I filled a cellophane bag with chocolate nuggets and tied it off with a big bow using Slate Satin Polka Dot Ribbon.  This is the perfect "just because" gift for anyone you know!  I hope that you have been inspired to make one today.

CTMH Babycakes is NOT Just for Babies!

CTMH Babycakes Card by Create with Care

I have to admit that when I first received my Close To My Heart Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book and saw the Babycakes collection as I was flipping excitedly through the pages, my heart sank just a bit.  I thought to myself, "Oh no, I don't have children, so I will never use this paper".  Granted, it's patterns were absolutely adorable with fun alphabets and precious animals, and the coordinating My Stickease had sweet phrases such as "Naptime" and "Baby Love".  However, I quickly passed it by, thinking that it wasn't applicable to me.

CTMH Babycakes Paper Collection

CTMH Babycakes My Stickease

I was WRONG!!

I took a closer look and saw that the reverse side of each coordinating paper has great stripes, dots and patterns that can go well with so many projects.  Plus the colors of Chocolate, Slate, Buttercup and Sunset work fabulously together all year round!

I couldn't wait to share my discovery with the ladies that I teach in my Scrapbook, Stamp and Socialize group.  Many who, like myself, don't have children or their children are grown.  Since our next meeting included an in depth Cricut 101 class with a light focus on the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge, I decided to combine these two wonderful products and have us make a cute all occasion card together.

Here is the recipe:

Pg 23:  Cut 4" Card from the <Oval 1> key out of Colonial White cardstock
Pg 33:  Cut 3 3/4" Scalloped Square from the <Square 2> key out of the yellow B&T paper
Pg 21:  Cut three 1 1/4" circles from the <Circle 1> key out of Sunset card stock
Pg 21:  Cut three 1" circles from the <Circle 1> key out of the polka dot B&T paper

Using your paper trimmer, cut a 4" x 1/2" strip out of the striped B&T paper.

Using the sentiments from the stamps that come with the CTMH Art Philosophy bundle, stamp the phrase "Have a day filled with..." on the yellow scalloped square in Chocolate ink and "Joy", "Love", and "Hope" inside the Sunset circles also in Chocolate ink.  

Assemble as shown in top photo and add a Durables Artisan Stud as an accent in the center of the circles.

That's it!  A super easy card using Cricut and CTMH to show that Babycakes is not just for babies!

I hope that you are inspired to think outside the paper pack by this project.

Do you BUNDLE?

The latest and best way to get a discount on your cable bill, is by adding phone and Internet service.  The cable companies call it a bundle.  Did you know you can bundle when you scrapbook?!  You absolutely can!  Close To My Heart has several different ways for you to save money by bundling.

Let me show you how:

CTMH New Product Starter Bundle

New to paper crafting?                                   

This New Product Starter bundle is the perfect way to get some basic tools and materials to help you jump right in and start creating.  The item number Z1972 includes the following items:

SureCut (TM) Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (Z1783; $34.95 retail)Memory Protectors (R) Clear Value Pack (qty. 50) (Z4115; $22.95 retail)

Outdoor Denim My Legacy (R) Faux Leather Album (Z1346; $24.95 retail)

3 album posts and screws, 1" (1011; $2.50 retail)

White Daisy Cardstock 24-pack (1385; $9.50 retail)

Total Retail Price: $94.85

Your Discount Offer: $90.00     

Have a Cricut?  

All Close To My Heart Cricut cartridges (with over 700 images per cartridge!) come bundled as a collection with 3 coordinating stamp sets as well as 3 sheets of coordinating Dimensional Elements shapes!   

The Art Philosophy Collection is a great foundational cartridge complete with basic shapes, numbers, an alphabet and images for most of life's occasions.

The Artiste Collection features an amazing amount of 3-D images such as boxes, bags, cupcake holders, and party favors.  It truly is a party in a box!

The Artbooking Collection is our newest and is designed to make scrapbooking easy.  With one key, you have 14 coordinated images fitting a specific theme such as birthday, school days, Halloween and many more!

Total Retail Value:  approximately $125.00

Your Discount Offer: $99.00

Want everything you need in one kit?  

Workshops on the Go is the answer! These cardmaking or scrapbooking kits include all the materials that you will need to make 15 greeting cards or 2 two-page scrapbooking layouts.  The kits come complete with paper, embellishments and a coordinating stamp set!  

There are 2 cardmaking kits; one featuring the adorable Laughing Lola paper collection, and a second one featuring the pretty holiday paper, Frosted.

For scrapbooking there are 6 kits!  One for each new paper collection in the Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book:  Laughing Lola, Sarita, Babycakes, ProPlayer, Huntington, and Frosted.




Total Retail Value:  $36.78 (cardmaking kit) or $41.46 (scrapbooking kit)
Your Discount Offer:  $24.95 or $29.95



See how easy it is to save by bundling?  Get more bang for your paper crafting buck by purchasing a bundle of goodies with Close To My Heart and me, your Independent Consultant!

Jacksonville, FL is Close To My Heart!

Thank you Jacksonville, FL paper crafters for being such a welcoming bunch of ladies!  

When my husband and I moved to the city in December of last year, we didn't know a soul.  I really wanted to make friends in my new home, but as many of you know, the city is so big and spread out and people are busy going about their lives, it is very hard to make a personal connection.

I decided to reach out to those that I had a common interest with: paper crafters!  I've always found scrapbookers, card makers and stampers to be such wonderful people that enjoy getting together to work on their projects.  I personally, get so much more scrapbooking done in a social setting then I do at home on my own!

Utilizing meetup.com, I decided to organize my own group as a way to meet new people with the same interests.  I set up Scrapbook, Stamp and Socialize in the Jacksonville area to reach out to other paper crafters and make new friends.


Just before we relocated, I had joined Close To My Heart as an Independent Consultant, so I  have been able to use the fabulous supplies that I have access to and the techniques that I have learned to share my love of scrapbooking, stamping and card making with those that attend our group.

I'm pleased to say that there are now over 50 members in the group!  Ladies from all over Northeast Florida that love to get together and have a great time creating things with paper.  We meet at least once a month to do a Create & Take together and to spend time working on our personal projects.  We also do group workshops together such as card making and scrapbooking.  

I am so grateful for the new friends that I have made and thrilled that we were brought together because we all love to play with paper!