Stamp Camp: A Year of Flowers

Recently I hosted a stamp camp where we made 12 cards featuring A Year of Flowers bundle (stamp set and dies) with Regals cardstock and 6"x6" DSP.

If you're interested in this workshop for yourself, please reach out to me!

Snow Days Layout

The cold weather we're having makes we want to stay in and scrapbook!  Here's a throwback to a 2020 hike we attempted but couldn't complete because of ice.  The Snow Days scrapbooking workshop (layout #2 of the kit) was perfect to remember this fun day.

Holiday products don't have to be for holidays only!

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Mackinac Island Layouts

It's gotten cold here, so I'm enjoying remember some summer fun!  My husband and I took a lovely day trip to Mackinac Island this summer, and I used the Close To My Heart/Stampin' Up! Enjoy the Ride collection to preserve these memories.

The first layout was based loosely on a CTMH sketch,  but the second layout was completely my own design.  When I have a lot of photos, I tend to use a grid design to fit them all in.

The third layout followed the scrapbooking workshop directions pretty closely.

The fourth and final layout was also based on a sketch.

I love how these turned out!  Thanks for letting me share them with you!

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Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop Layout #3

Happy Halloween!  Here is the third and final layout from the Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop kit, which I used for Christmas Day highlights.

Again, I love how fast and easy this came together!  I still have lots of product left to be able to create a few more projects.

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Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop Layout #2

Here's the second layout from the Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop kit (actually the first one in the instructions) that I used to scrapbook Christmas Eve.

I really liked the paper weaving stripes but felt that the top row needed to be extended across both pages.  Fortunately there is enough extra paper that isn't used in the three layouts that i was easily able to do that.  I also love how you can make your photos work for the sketch rather than follow it 100% exactly as instructed. 

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Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop Layout #1

Using the Reindeer Memories Scrapbooking Workshop kit has made it really easy for me to scrapbook the highlights of last Christmas.  (Anybody else now humming or singing "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart...?"  You're welcome!)

I made the layout pretty much exactly as instructed and even refrained from adding any extra embellishments from my stash.  It was very quick and easy!

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Enjoy the Ride Scrapbooking Workshop Layout #2

Using kits is such a fun (and easy) way to get photos on layouts and in books/albums for my family to enjoy!  Here is the second layout from the CTMH (now SU!) Enjoy the Ride scrapbooking kit.

Our family's Mother's Day get together provided the perfect photos to coordinate with this layout.  I am loving the squares on yet another layout, and of course I made the kit my own to fit my photos. 

NOTE: If you were a CTMH customer prior to its close, if you create an account with Stampin' Up! using the email you had your CTMH account with, then you can find the CTMH items that Stampin' Up! procured.

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Enjoy the Ride Scrapbooking Workshop Layout #1

I have loved the Close To My Heart scrapbooking kits, and the Enjoy the Ride collection is no exception!  I love the fun summer colors and theme to this kit.

This kit helped me get some photos scrapbooked that have been printed but not used.  I love that it was so fast and easy!

If you are a former CTMH customer, you can find the CTMH exclusive products on the Stampin' Up! website if you create an account using the same email you had with your CTMH account.  This kit and the new Lake Life kit are now available!

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Let's Go Anywhere Workshop Layout 2: Évora

After we visited the temple, we stumbled upon the gorgeous public library.

I love how the busy patterned paper complements the whimsy of the children’s section of the library.

This layout is the second featured in the now unavailable Let’s Go Anywhere scrapbooking workshop kit.  (Spoiler! Stampin' Up will start carrying some of our workshop kits in the near future!)

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Let’s Go Anywhere Workshop Layout 1: Évora

When I saw the Let’s Go Anywhere collection, I knew I wanted at least one of almost everything because it’s perfect for my photos from my trip to Portugal a few years ago that haven’t yet been scrapbooked. (Hopefully you won’t get tired of this collection!)

Unfortunately, the scrapbooking workshop is no longer available, but I wanted to share my layouts with you anyway, because (in my opinion) they are so beautiful.  Almost everything else is still available, so be sure to check out this collection before the end of the month.

I used my alphabet Thin Cuts to add the towns name. I also added some extra photos with a 3 x 4 flip-flap that I had in my stash.  (I am super excited to announce that Stampin' Up! will be starting to carry flip-flaps at some point in the future!)

The arrows on the bottom right are pointing to my dad! That gives a lot of perspective on the size of the temple.

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The Bee’s Knees Meets Cape Cod Meets Dream Maker

Although this card does not include any of the Dream Maker paper, I used a sketch from the Dream Maker card making workshop, and I LOVE how it turned out.  (I hope you do too!)

Each of the triangles is half of a 2“ x 4 1/2“ rectangle, cut on the diagonal. I ended up adding some really old, retired paper from my stash that happened to be out on my work table, and matches the Lagoon in Cape Cod. I had a lot of fun using an onion bag, sponge, and periwinkle ink to make the pretty textured background at the top of the card front.

I stamped the crab in Periwinkle and the coral in Toffee (from the Cape Cod Scrapbooking stamp set & Thin Cuts). I love the sentiment from the July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees, so I stamped Hi in Bluebird on a Stitched Rectangle Thin Cut panel.  A little acrylic "sea glass" shell from the Cape Cod embellishments finished off this card perfectly (if I do say so myself). 

Hope you're all having a great summer!

The Bee’s Knees Meets Cape Cod

This card is a CASE from the Cape Cod cardmaking Workshop, but with several twists, including the addition of the soon to retire, close to my heart color of the year, Melon.

I splattered the card front with Toffee shimmer brush.  Then, I stamped the Hi sentiment (from the July stamp of the month, The Bee's Knees) in Lagoon and the rope in Toffee from the Cape Cod Scrapboking stamp set.  Using the Thin Cuts from that collection, I also stamped coral in Toffee and the seahorse and shells in Melon. The faux washi tape is a piece of one of the zip strips from the Cape Cod collection.

I really love this color combination of Glacier, Lagoon, Toffee, and Melon. Be sure to grab our color of the year before it is gone!

July CTMH Specials

How in the world can the year be half over already?!?  We have moved into the dog days of summer as July begins.  Here are peeks at this month's Close To My Heart specials.  (You can find everything HERE.)

First, we have a brand new Idea Book with exclusive products for July and August!

The Bee's Knees is July's stamp of the month, and this set of 15 stamps is only available through the end of the month for $5 with a minimum $50 purchase (or FREE if you're a VIP with a $50 purchase) or for $18.95 if you'd prefer not to spend $50 to get the discounted price.

The Bring Back My Pack special is featuring the beautiful For Always collection, and is available while supplies last until the end of July.

We have a new special collection called Memory Lane with its own beautiful paper pack, stamp set, and scrapbooking and cardmaking workshops.  Again, these items are available while supplies last, but through the end of August.

Again, you can find all this (and more!) right HERE!
 

Cosette Scrapbooking Workshop: New Orleans

When I bought the Cosette Scrapbooking Workshop, papers, etc., I planned to use them with our photos from our trip to Paris, but that was a bigger undertaking than I was ready for.  Instead, I decided that they would be a good fit for our trip to New Orleans (Spring Break 2018).

My first layout will use 4"x6" flip flaps on the right page to add more photos of the beautiful cathedral and our visit to Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.

After I started layout 2, I realized that I would like to add a photo of the Bourbon St. sign that I took but hadn't yet printed, so I just jotted a note on one of the included photo place holders, and I will add that photo when I get it printed.  (I also had a lot of fun journaling our dining experiences on this page on the various tags.)

Use your favorite photo collage app to make 3 x 4 photos!  Also, don’t be afraid to use those photo placeholders in the kit as photo mats. Just cut your pictures a quarter inch shorter on two adjacent sides.

I have one more layout to make of this trip of our stop to tour the USS Alabama and our visit to the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery.  Our scrapbooking workshops are such a fun way to create three related (or unrelated) gorgeous layouts!

Loving Málaga & Spain

 This layout came together very quickly with the awesome recently retired Are We There Yet? scrapbooking workshop.  Each of our featured paper suites comes with an exclusive cardmaking workshop (complete with exclusive stamp set with Thin Cuts) and an exclusive scrapbooking workshop to create three two-page 12"x12" layouts.

The featured technique on this layout was sponging, which you can see on the fun tag accents (that were all either die cuts that were ready for me to use or stickers from the workshop kit).  Fun and easy!

Málaga Beach Layout

Last summer, I actually made this layout in preparation for my Europe 2022 trip (learn all about it HERE), and finally got pictures and journaling added to it.  

After putting it into my album, I realized that I needed to add the location, since it's the first layout of the new "chapter" in Malaga, so I added the city name as a banner on the bottom of the left page.  

I really love how it turned out!  I inked up the top half of the letters in Capri and the bottom in Bluebird (with the tail of the "g" also inked in Sapphire) to achieve this ombré effect.  I think it added the perfect finishing touch.

Don't be afraid to stamp directly onto your layouts, but if you are worried (or need the contrast like I did here), stamp on another piece and then added it to the layout.

Add a Video to Your Layout

Recently I was in a class by Stacy Julian (Google her if you don't know her!), and she showed how you could add videos to your photo layouts by adding QR codes.  GENIUS! 

I decided to give it a try on this layout featuring photos of our visit to Seville when Macey and I stumbled upon a group giving a flamenco performance!  (I was happy to tip them since we hadn't been able to get a flamenco dinner reservation.)  Such a fun, unexpected moment!

This layout was made with the Are We There Yet? Scrapbooking Workshop kit.  If you hurry, you may still be able to find it on my website!

To add your own videos via QR code, follow these steps:

1. Upload your video(s) to YouTube.  You can make them private or public.
2. Copy the YouTube link.
3. Find a free QR code generator, and add the link there.
4. I pasted my QR codes into a Google Doc so that I could measure their size to fit my space.
5. Print the QR code on cardstock or photo paper.

That's it!  How easy peasy is that?  How fun would it be to listen to baby's first words, watch a dance recital clip, and so much more!  What do you want to try this with?

Barcelona's Gothic Quarter

This layout will go in my album between Là Sagrada Familia and Park Güell.  It features our walk through the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.

This layout came together so effortlessly thanks to the "Are We There Yet?" scrapbooking workshop.  You get everything you need but your basic tool kit (adhesive, scissors, etc.) and suggestions for additional products to make your layouts extra special.  This workshop kit features sponging techniques.

Be sure to grab anything you love from the January-March Idea Book because they will be retiring soon!

Happy 2023 with Close To My Heart (and Me)!

Happy 2023!  (Are you as surprised as I am that the new year is here already?!?  Where does the time go?)  Do you set goals or resolutions in the new year?  I don't really, but it is a good time to reflect and think about ways to do and be better.  I am looking forward to getting back into a better crafting groove.  I'm really excited about the newest Close To My Heart catalog, available now until the end of March!

The new "Are We There Yet?" collection (featured on the cover) is going to be perfect to use with photos of my big trip last year!

January brings an adorable "Frosty Days" stamp of the month featuring cute wintry woodland critters and trees.

The newest special offers three different, fun collections called "It's the Little Things."  Fun 6"x6" patterned paper pairs with three different stamp sets and stickers for three different workshops: a 12"x12" scrapbooking workshop (three 2-page layouts and one single layout), a mini album workshop (twenty 6"x6" pages), and a cardmaking workshop (two each of 18 different cards).  Learn more HERE- click on the Promotions tab!

Carryover specials include Now & Forever and Workshop Wow: Four Seasons.  (Click on their names to learn more.)

I look forward to sharing more of my artwork with you and getting back to regularly scheduled, in-person classes.  You can learn more about them on my Facebook page HERE. 

Best wishes to you and yours as we begin a new year together!  Happy 2023!

November CTMH Specials

Close To My Heart is offering some very fun and festive specials this month!  (You can find them all HERE under the Promotions tab.)

The November stamp of the month, Christmas Snowflake Mandalas

From Me to You tags & stamp sets

Seas & Greetings (with a winter and tropical option)

Carryover specials:

These Are the Days calendar/scrapbook kit

Picture This Christmas card kit