Happy Halloween!

There is no cuter way to celebrate your Halloween memories than by preserving them on these three wonderful layouts made using the Cats & Bats Workshops Your Way Scrapbooking Kit. They were super fun and easy to put together. 

(Click on the images for an enlarged view.)

Click on image for enlarged view.

The layouts incorporate the wonderful patterned paper, black glitter Complements, pocket cards, and various stickers. All of them add to some fun and festive layouts, perfect for Halloween photos.

Click on image for enlarged view.

Have no fear! You don't have to come up with the layout designs on your own, unless you want to. Instead, you can download a guide through this link and use the cutting diagrams and assembly directions to recreate them yourself. If you choose, you can create to your heart's desire and design layouts from scratch.

Click on image for enlarged view.

As you can see, some of this patterned paper and Complements can be used outside of Halloween. I personally love the black and white striped pattern and teal (Lagoon) polka dot papers. I have used them for other projects.

This image contains a visual of the contents contained within the kit. You can find details of the Cats and Bats kit here. I love how CTMH packages these products in a quality and cost-effective manner.

If you would like to add the Cats and Bats products to your next order, let me know!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Heart 2 Heart Challenge: Signs of the Season

This week at Heart 2 Heart, we are sharing artwork representative of "Signs of the Season".  Of course the first thing that comes to my mind is fall, changing leaves, etc. But what do I know? I live in Texas! LOL At least it has been a little chilly. I'm thankful for that. 

I decided to take out my Happy Day Cardmaking Kit and made this card, one of twelve cards (two designs). A stamp technique, called "masking", was used to make the leaf  image appear to be in the foreground of the stamped flower. Returning to one of my childhood passions, I enjoyed coloring in the images...with watercolors. Those two techniques will be highlighted in a future post.

One of the fun products incorporated into this card design is the Leaves Embossing Folder. By taking the piece of cardstock and running it through my Cuttlebug, I got the fun pattern used on the background of the card. Doesn't it look fabulous? It's super easy!

There are a lot of fabulous items contained within the kit to include:
1 - exclusive workshop stamp set (B-size)
2 - Falling for You sheets
4 - cardstock sheets (2 Espresso, 1 Saffron, 1 White Daisy)
1 - White & Gold Ribbon (Z3189)
12 - White Card Bases and Envelopes

Additional supplies needed to make this card and the others:
Archival Black Exclusive Ink Stamp Pad (Z3271) - so the watercolor doesn't cause the ink to bleed
Watercolor Paints (Z3132)
Waterbrush - Medium Round (Z3225)
Leaves Embossing Folder (Z4031)
Thin Cuts - Basic Circles (Z3318)
Thin 3-D Foam Tape (Z2060)

You can find details, or can place your order, on my website.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Link up to us by visiting our blog. Scroll to the bottom and click "add link". Be sure to use Close To My Heart products in your creation. Let me know you joined by making a comment here. I want to see what you share!

Have a blessed week!

Be a Cut Above the Others this Christmas!

As mentioned in a previous post, I enjoy gifting team members at events where we gather. I designed this card as a point of inspiration and Christmas card idea for them. I hope you enjoy it too!

Believe it or not, this card was pretty simple to assemble. The card base and tags were pre-designed, as included in the kits shown below. I stamped the sentiment on the circle, paper-pieced Santa's hat using Cranberry cardstock, and used the ShinHan markers to color the other parts of the image.

That piece was 3-D on top of the polka dot tag and the glitter bow was added for the perfect finishing touch. It came together quickly and can be duplicated easily.

This Cut Above Card Kit - Merry Everything includes materials to make 10 vertical 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cards, including card bases, envelopes, and die-cuts. ($9.95)

The Cut Above Tag Kit - Merry Everything has materials to make 10 foil-stamped gift tags, including tags, die-cuts, and white twine.

Here are some samples, created by the Art Department, in their simplest form. They are super cute! 

The sentiment images are not included. You can find a variety of them here for just $2.95. 

I used Little Saint Nick. Choose the ones you love best! (Look through the first two pages in the link.)

If you would like to purchase the supplies used to make this card, contact me directly or purchase the products on my website.

19 and Counting!

No, no...I don't have 19 kids (LOL) but today does mark 19 years since I became a Close To My Heart Consultant. We had just been married four months to the day, and were living in Florida, when I decided it was time I needed to continue purchase the fabulous products I had fallen in love with a couple of years before and so the story began!

I have shared many times how being a member of the Close To My Heart family, and having a team of my own, has blessed me. I have never looked back and truly can't imagine my life without CTMH. It has provided me a creative outlet to fill time spent alone, remove myself from the everyday responsibilities of work and life, and to design artwork gifted to friends, family and team members without breaking the bank!

My Mom was my first team member and I am thankful that we get to gather each year for various CTMH and team events that take place throughout the country. I love sharing my love for papercrafting with her, knowing my interest in crafts comes from her. She's actually the person who introduced me to D.O.T.S. (the former name of CTMH) many years ago. For that, I am grateful!

Thank you for being part of my Close To My Heart journey by following me on social media. If you are one of the fellow Consultants, home office staff members, or customers I am blessed to know because of my choice 19 years ago...THANK YOU FOR BLESSING ME!

I'm excited to celebrate my 20th anniversary at Red Rock Casino and Resort in Las Vegas, June 2018. It's going to be a BIG team celebration. Why not join me?! I'd love to have you! Of course, if you enjoy being my customer, I am totally fine with that too! :)

Here's to 19 more!

Card Topper + Kettle Corn = A Fun Goodie!

One of the things I enjoy about creating with Close To My Heart are the fun treats I can make for anyone I want, at low cost.

This was a little goodie I made for team members who attended the Album Retreat last weekend. I always work to provide something that is purposeful or can be used and what's better than a bag filled with kettle corn?! LOL Plus, the kettle corn is delicious!

The "game changer" stamp set is exclusive to leaders with CTMH and I love the message. Of course I had to add on the bear from the Punny Pals stamp set which is a focus of our special this month.

If you ever need a little treat for friends, family members or co-workers, this makes for a great one! You can change out the colors, theme, and/or message to suit your needs. (I did use a quart ziploc bag. The topper measures, 5" x 7" and is scored to be 2 1/2" x 7".)

Be a game changer today!

Close to My Heart 2017 Album Retreat

I had the pleasure of attending my second Album Retreat, hosted by Close To My Heart, this past weekend in Scottsdale, AZ. It was a fabulous event hosted by my faves of the home office.

I was blessed with the opportunity to share in this enjoyable weekend with nine team members and two sister Consultants who are my dear friends, plus plenty of others!

Here are just some of the photos taken during the retreat:

Debi and I couldn't resist playing some checkers on the giant checker board. :) 

Not only did we have fun, we were way productive as we created 22, 12" x 12" scrapbook layouts that incorporated a variety of techniques that I'll be sharing in upcoming classes soon! I'm going to work on getting photos and journaling on them so they are complete. Stay tuned as I post them in the very near future.

If you would like to join my team, or have questions about the opportunity, visit this area of my website and/or please contact me. Our Consultant Kit is a great price, contains fabulous products, and we always have a special each month for new team members. I'd love to have you join the fun my team and I are sure to enjoy throughout the year, and especially as we gather together physically. The next CTMH event I will attend will be in Dallas in December. We'll also join in Salt Lake in February for Teambuilders and in Las Vegas in June for our 2018 National Convention. I know you'd love to join me, wouldn't you?! :)

YOU can Make a Difference in a Child's Life!

Have you ever heard of Operation Smile? It is a non-profit organization that provides facial surgeries to children who have a cleft palate. It costs just $240 for one surgery. Check out these smiling children who have been blessed by a contribution. Aren't they awesome? Unfortunately, I am aware of too many of these situations where children want to be free of hardships based on their appearance and you can help!

If you are not aware, Close To My Heart is regularly donating to Operation Smile through the purchase of stamp sets and this month, through our "Share a Smile" special. You can also always make a donation through my website or by contacting me directly. 

Allow me to share ways on how you can support this worthy cause:

ROUND-UP MATCHING

Every time you place an order, you can round up to the nearest dollar (or higher), giving the extra as a donation to Operation Smile. During October, your round-up donation will go even further because Close To My Heart will be matching all round-up donations, up to $10,000! ($20,000 will provide for 83 surgeries!) The round-up option is provided upon checkout when placing an order through my website. Contact me with questions.

If $1,000 in donations/round-ups is submitted through my website before the end of the month, I will be entered in a drawing to serve Operation Smile on a future mission! That would be an awesome opportunity! 

PURCHASE A PUNNY PALS STAMP SET AND THIN CUTS

With the purchase of every "Punny Pals" stamp set, Close To My Heart will donate $7 of the proceeds to Operation Smile. 

And, for this month only and while supplies last, you can get a coordinating set of Thin Cuts for cutting out the adorable animal shapes. Even better, Close To My Heart has designed an exclusive card kit that includes the Thin Cuts along with card bases, envelopes, paper pieces, and instructions that you can use to create these endearing cards that are sure to bring a smile to anyone's day.

Here is an image that includes the kit contents:

To complete the cards as designed, you'll need these additional products:

• D1751 My Acrylix® Punny Pals Stamp Set 
• Z899 Black Memento™ Ink pad
• Z3132 Watercolor Paints 
• Z3224 Waterbrush—Small Round 
• Y1003 2" x 2" My Acrylix® Block 
• Z2060 Thin 3-D Foam Tape 
• Z3372 Adhesive Runner

PURCHASE A SHIRT

Wear one of our "Simple Smile" or "Make Someone Smile" t-shirts with pride, knowing that $10 of every shirt purchase is donated toward Operation Smile. These shirts are exclusive to Close To My heart and represent the company's mission to celebrate life and share what matters. (You can find a sizing chart and prices through the provided links.)

YOU MIGHT WIN!

Finally, when you participate in our Share a Smile promotion by purchasing any of these special items or rounding up your order in support of Operation Smile™ you will automatically qualify for a chance to win a not-yet-released stamp set from our upcoming 2018 Seasonal Expressions 1 Idea Book! CTMH will be choosing winners throughout the month of October, so any time you place an order, you can be a winner!


Thank you for considering supporting Operation Smile while you also benefit with these fun items. Contact me with any questions.

Share a Smile Blog Hop

Welcome to our "Share a Smile" Blog Hop where we are featuring an adorable card kit that incorporates the "Punny Pals" stamp set (and coordinating Thin Cuts), where a portion of the proceeds from the purchase of some of the associated products will be donated to Operation Smile. YOU can make a difference in a child's life through this special offer or by making a donation to this worthy cause. (Contact me if you would like further information on how to do so.)

If you are arriving here from Krista's Blog, you are on the right track. You can find a complete list of participating Consultants by clicking here.

This was a quick and easy card made using the red and white patterned paper from the Beary Christmas paper pack.

A little bit of green glitter paper, a Gold Heart Clip and two gold sequins was all it took to make this fun card. And isn't this li'l guy CUTE? 

Thank you so much for stopping by! Head on over to Michelle's Blog and see what she has created with these cuties! I know you'll continue to find great uses of these li'l guys as you make your way around the hop.

Here's a quick glimpse at the contents of the kit and the adorable "Punny Pals" stamp set. You can find complete details through this link.

I hope your week is off to a great start! Happy hoppin'!