Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - January: This Moment

Welcome to the January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month’s set is This Moment, a set of 12 stamps.

If you have come here from {Jilena Paskett’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 60 independent Close to My Heart consultants participating. Click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move through the Hop.

The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here. You can use this list to pick up where you left off.

Let’s get started!

My swap group decided to use one of the papers from Seasonal Expressions 1 for this month’s assignment, so I had the Heartstrings paper to use with this valentine-themed stamp set. I knew right away I wanted to do something that didn’t look like a valentine.

I thought it might be nice to have a card for any occasion so I went with the “Hello” sentiment as the focal point for my card. I stamped it in Lagoon ink near the right edge, and then stamped the arrows in Whisper. I added the Hollyhock cardstock for a little pop of color, and I edge-distressed it with scissors to add some other texture. I did the same to the edges of the B&T above and below the sentiment.

I love the Teal Shimmer Trim and thought it was a great way to add a bolder shade of the Lagoon. I pulled the metallic string out of the Slate Baker’s Twine and tied the arrow from the Base & Bling Charms into the knot in the twine.

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart:

S1501 This Moment stamp set
X7193B Heartstrings Paper Packet
Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z2172 Whisper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z1918 Teal Shimmer Trim
Z1921 Baker's Twine Neutral Metallic Assortment
Z2024 Base & Bling Signature Charms
Z534 Micro-tip Scissors

Now “Hop” on over to {Lori Brown’s blog} to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s site to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through January 31st. Click here to order yours today!

New Albums Available!

Have you seen our new My Legacy™ albums? Read on to learn more about them! 

My Legacy™ Post-Bound Albums

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Trendy canvas album with 1½" bindings for holding 12" x 12" projects. Ideal for showcasing classic 12" x 12" scrapbook layouts side by side in Memory Protectors featuring lay-flat seam. Sturdy binding ideal for securing thicker layouts. Memory Protector capacity varies depending on thickness and weight of layouts. Non-expandable. Available in Ruby Floral, Lagoon Chevron, and Black.

My Legacy™ D-Ring Albums

Trendy canvas album with 1½" bindings for holding 12" x 12" projects. Perfect for using divided Memory Protectors™ such as Picture My Life™ layouts. Memory Protector capacity varies depending on thickness and weight of layouts. Non-expandable. Available in Lagoon Chevron, Ruby Floral, and Black.

Click here to order or for additional information.

Totes To Go

Our new rolling tote and shoulder tote are now available to order! Watch this video to learn about all the fantastic features, and then contact me or shop here to get yours today!

Make your life faster, simpler, and easier with Close To My Heart’s rolling tote. Simply pack it and go to any crafting event, knowing that all the right tools and tricks are stored safely inside.

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - December: Cutie Pie

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month we’re featuring the December set Cutie Pie, a set of 11 stamps. 

If you have come here from {Dawn Ross’ blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 60 independent Close to My Heart consultants participating. Click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move through the Hop.

The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here. You can use this list to pick up where you left off.

Off we go!

This month’s set is just fun. I mean, who doesn’t love cupcakes, and when you pair this set with the Confetti Wishes papers you have the perfect combination!

I was inspired by a sample layout on page 41 in Make It from Your Heart Volume 2. I loved how they used photo frames for pictures rather than just photo mats. I wanted to add a bit of pizzazz so I cut mine from the Canary Paper Fundamentals and placed two of them with the embossed side up, while the last one has the patterned side up for a little contrast.

The other great thing about the photo frames is they have cutouts. I put small pieces of our Purple Shimmer Trim behind them to make them stand out. I also ran a strip under the edge of the banner with the sentiment for a little more bling.

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart:

S1412 Cutie Pie stamp set
X7189B Confetti Wishes Paper Packet
Z2033 Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment
44751 Archival Black Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2462 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Peony Purple Marker
Z2464 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Tender Pink Marker
Z2461 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Peacock Green Marker
Z2465 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Turquoise Blue Marker

Z1919 Purple Shimmer Trim

Z1936 Purple Glitter Gems
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape
Z1836 Non-Stick Micro-tip Scissors
Z1906 Cricut® Artbooking Collection

Now “Hop” on over to {Beth Naumann’s blog} to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s site to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through December 31st. Click here to order yours today!

Special Edition Blog Hop: Artfully Sent

Welcome to a special edition Blog Hop! 

We’re celebrating the release of Close to My Heart’s new Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge! Just like all of our other Cricut cartridges it features over 700 images, comes with 3 exclusive My Acrylix Stamp Sets, and also comes with a pack of 12x12" White Daisy Cardstock which is perfect for card bases or using to stamp sentiments on.

If you have come here from {Priscilla Gotham’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 40 independent Close to My Heart consultants participating. Click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move through the Hop.

The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here. You can use this list to pick up where you left off.

Let's get started!

Artfully Sent certainly includes many designs to help you quickly and easily create a beautiful card, but to be honest, it was the stamp sets that I was most excited about! One of them is nothing but sentiments, and I can always use a new sentiment set. Another one has elegant border frames. I chose to feature these two stamp sets rather than one of the new card patterns. 

My card still came together pretty fast even though I decided to create the frame for the sentiment by embossing it in gold. I thought the gold was perfect for a Christmas card and the Yuletide Carol papers.

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart:

Z3017 Cricut® Artfully Sent Collection
X7187B Yuletide Carol Paper Packet
Z891 VersaMark™ Ink Pad
Z2066 Ranger™ Princess Gold Embossing Powder
Z2170 Ruby Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
Z1848 Red Shimmer Trim
Z1985 Gold Shimmer Trim
Z2023 Bling Gems Gold Assortment



Now “Hop” on over to {Dana Kessler’s blog} to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s site to get a glimpse into the many things you can do with this new cartridge! Click here to order yours today!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - November: It's the Little Things

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month we’re featuring the November set It’s the Little Things, a set of 15 stamps. 

If you have come here from {Katy Taylor’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 60 independent Close to My Heart consultants participating. Click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move through the Hop.

The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here. You can use this list to pick up where you left off.

Off we go!

Attending a Close to My Heart event is always very inspiring, and my team’s Thriving 30 Celebration in Boise in September was no exception. One of the projects we did while I was there included creating our own background paper. I know how to do this, and I’ve done it in the past, but it had been a while.

When I pulled out this month’s stamp set to start thinking about what I wanted to create, I immediately saw a great opportunity for creating my own background paper. There are plenty of colors in the Pathfinding palette to make a vibrant and interesting pattern.

I wanted a lot of the stamped paper to show so I chose a card pattern that would let it be seen. This let me use smaller pieces of the patterned paper from the kit, but you can see them well, too. I had originally used a plain piece of Barn Red cardstock for contrast, but then I changed it to a piece of the Barn Red from Paper Fundamentals, and I liked that better. If you look closely you can see the embossed design.

The flowers did require a bit of what we like to call “fussy cutting,” but I didn’t mind because the results were worth it. A little piece of 3-D Foam Tape to pop up the center and a few Sparkles were all I needed to finish it off.

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart:

S1411 It’s the Little Things stamp set
X7186B Pathfinding Paper Packet
Z2031 Paper Fundamentals Enchantment Assortment
Z2104 Barn Red Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2174 Champagne Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2101 Autumn Terracotta Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2137 Olive Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2123 Goldrush Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2641 Glacier Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z1753 Sparkles Brown & Tan Assortment
Z1151 3-D Foam Tape
Z1836 Non-Stick Micro-tip Scissors

Now “Hop” on over to {Melissa Laverty’s blog} to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s site to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through November 30th. Click here to order yours today!

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop - October: Home for the Holidays

Welcome to the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! This month we’re featuring the October set Home for the Holidays, a set of 7 stamps. 

If you have come here from {Jen Rubio’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 70 independent Close to My Heart consultants participating. Click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move through the Hop.

The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here. You can use this list to pick up where you left off.

Off we go!

I love it when I am able to use something from my stash for a project! 

My October swap assignment was “no limits,” which means I had to use a pre-determined paper packet with the Stamp of the Month to create anything I wished. I had tossed around a few ideas with picture frames, but when I went to my stash to find said picture frames, I didn’t have enough of the same color. However, I found these tins I’ve had for ages and knew right away they were perfect!

Once I had the tins my idea came together pretty quickly. I cut the background paper and rounded the corners. I used the Art Philosophy cartridge to cut out the ornaments – one from Champagne cardstock and a slightly smaller one from Background & Texture paper. I stamped the ornament in Ruby and then cut out the center. I stamped it again in New England Ivy and cut out the tree.

I used one layer of 3-D Foam Tape under the tree and a double layer of it under the ornament. I tied a piece of Baker’s Twine to the top and tucked the long piece behind the background paper before adhering the whole thing to the inside of the tin.

To finish it all off I put a Bitty Sparkle in the star on top of the tree and attached a piece of the zip strip off the B&T for the sentiment. Finally, I attached the bow and loop to the back of the tin with Liquid Glass.

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart except for the tins:

S1410 Home for the Holidays stamp set

X7187B Yuletide Carol Paper Packet

Z2170 Ruby Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z2135 New England Ivy Exclusive Inks stamp pad

Z1263 Bitty Sparkles

Z1921 Baker’s Twine Neutral Metallic Assortment

Z1987 Cranberry Striped Twill

Z679 Liquid Glass

Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

Z1836 Non-Stick Micro-tip Scissors

Z1686 Cricut© Art Philosophy Collection

Now “Hop” on over to {Nancy Womersley’s blog} to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s site to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through October 31st! Click here to order yours today!

National Stamping Month: 30 Years of Happy!

Welcome to a special edition Blog Hop! 

September is National Stamping Month, and Close To My Heart is ready to celebrate all month long! 

If you have come here from {Carol-Anne Grenier’s blog}, you’re in the right place! There are more than 35 independent Close to My Heart consultants participating. Click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move through the Hop.

The Blog Hop is a great big circle. Start here and work your way around. If you get lost along the way you’ll find a complete list of participating consultants here. You can use this list to pick up where you left off.

Not only is it National Stamping Month, Close to My Heart is also celebrating its 30th Anniversary by offering this exclusive C-size stamp set. The possibilities are endless with all the fun shapes and designs!

I kept it really simple when designing my artwork. I random-stamped tone-on-tone flowers to create a fun background, stamped a sentiment, tied on a piece of Baker’s Twine, and the Canary card was done. I love the star patterned paper in the Chalk It Up set, so it was perfect for the Rock Star sentiment in the stamps. It also gave me an opportunity to use our new Enamel Stars. Finally, I used a 1-inch circle punch and a piece of the Paper Fundamentals to make a circle pendant from our Base & Bling line. I stamped the camera image in Archival Black Ink, heat set it with a craft heater, and then it sit for a bit. I applied some Liquid Glass over the image and set in the glass cover. A couple of charms finished it off.

Here is what I used. All products are Close to My Heart:

X5772 Canary Cardstock
1385 White Daisy Cardstock
X7184B Chalk It Up Paper Packet
Z2033 Paper Fundamentals Whimsy Assortment
Z2643 Canary Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad
Z2173 Slate Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad
Z2195 Lagoon Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
44751 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ stamp pad
Z2010 White Enamel Stars
Z1921 Baker's Twine Neutral Metallic Assortment
Z1964 Base & Bling Circle Pendant—Faux Antiqued Silver
Z1966 Base & Bling Circle Glass Covers
Z1940 Base & Bling Chain—Faux Antiqued Silver
Z679 Liquid Glass
Z1999 1" Circle Punch

Now “Hop” on over to {Maria Myers’s blog} to see her work, and be sure to visit each consultant’s site to get some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! Don’t forget, this exclusive stamp set is only available through September 30th! Click here to order yours today!

*September is National Stamping Month, and Close To My Heart is ready to celebrate all month long! When you spend $30 on any current retail-priced stamps during the month of September, you qualify to receive the exclusive C-sized stamp set #30yearsofhappy for FREE! This special offer is part of our celebration of National Stamping Month and in honor of our on-going celebration of our founder and CEO Jeanette Lynton’s 30-year anniversary in the scrapbooking and stamping industry. The exclusive stamp set features 30 mini images and sentiments perfectly suited for 30 days of happy stamping! Plus, make sure you check out Close To My Heart’s Facebook page and Instagram during September to follow all the ways we’re celebrating #30yearsofhappy for a full 30 days!