December Deals!

Only 22 shopping days until Christmas! Close to My Heart is a great place to shop for the crafters on your list.

The December Stamp of the Month features adorable "Special Care" labels which can be cut with the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge. These stamps are perfect for cards, scrapbook pages, gift tags and anything you'd like to add a message of of love to.

This stamp set is available until December 31st only. With a purchase of $50 or more, you can have this stamp set for only $5! (Regular price: $17.95)

Remember, the products from the Close To My Heart Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide are still available, until December 31st, and have great products for all kinds of projects: cards, scrapbook pages, mini-albums, tags, bags and more!

Get something for all the crafters on your list, then get something for yourself! With every $100 purchase from the Fall/Winter 2013 Idea Book or Holidays from the Heart Gift Guide, you can choose a "Star" item from the Gift Guide for FREE! Choose from the Sparkle & Shine Paper Packet, Sparkle & Shine Complements Dimensional Elements, Magical Days stamp set, Santa Claus stamp set, Mary and Babe stamp set, Trim the Tree stamp set, Charming Chevrons stamp set, Banner Wishes stamp set, Lifting Spirits stamp set, Lots of Love stamp set, or Angel Friends stamp set.

There's still time to host your own Gathering in December too! This time of year is so busy, but you can invite friends and family to shop through your Online Gathering and earn free Hostess Rewards for yourself! Contact me today to set up your own Gathering!

Note: To guarantee delivery before Christmas, place your order or host your Gathering no later than December 9th.

Happy October!

October is my favourite month of the year! There's lots to celebrate this month. Birthdays, Thanksgiving, Halloween, fall festivals and it finally begins feeling like autumn weather. I love crunching through the fallen leaves, watching the salmon run and taking advantage of the cool, crisp weather to get the last of the year's gardening done.

Though I'm delighting in picking pumpkins and decorating with corn stalks, in my scrapping life, I begin to think about the next big holiday: Christmas!! Now is the time to get Christmas cards, home decor, scrapbook pages and hand crafted gifts ready for the most wonderful time of the year.

This year, start your Christmas crafting with a bang using October's Stamp of the Month: Scandinavian Wishes. This gorgeous stamp set reminds me of warm woollen sweaters and cups of hot chocolate. Perfect for cards, pages and gift packaging, this will be a stamp set you come to again and again over the years.

To start making  your own Scandinavian Wishes, simply place an order of $50 or more in regularly priced product and add the Stamp of the Month for only $5. Aren't placing a qualifying order this month, but still want the stamp set? Scandinavian Wishes is available at the regular price of $17.95, but only in October.

Want to make the items seen in the photo? In addition to the October Stamp of the Month, you'll need Frosted Paper Packet, Frosted Assortment, Baker's Twine Harvest Assortment, Bronze Shimmer Trim, Stitch Guide, Scallop Border Punch, Cricut Artiste Collection, and of course inks!

A Joyful Noise

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas? Probably not.

I usually find myself scrapping Christmas photos in the fall, but this year, thanks to Studio J and more time for scrapping, I'm a little early.

This page presented a bit of a challenge. It's about my son's class trip to a seniors' residence to sing carols. I didn't have many good photos to use and the few that I did had lots of children crowded around.

To tell the story, I decided to focus on the best photo which shows my son holding the music and singing. The background (other kids and an ugly wall) was too distracting, so I just trimmed tightly around the image of my son and matted it on a 6" x 4" piece of cardstock.

To drive home the singing theme, I stamped sheet music (Universal Backgrounds) on the mat. It think the effect is great! The photo takes up the same visual space it should as per the sketch, without any of the clutter in the original photo.

Speaking of the sketch, this layout is based on the sketch for the Purple Pumpkin August Sketch Challenge. I really like the sketch and can see how it would be great for cards and other layouts as well. I think this is one I'll be visiting more than once.

This layout is also a good example of how CTMH products mesh well with product from other companies. This layout includes products from S.E.I., Stampin' Up, American Crafts and Colorbok as well as Close To My Heart. Does that seem like a lot for such a simple layout? Would you be surprised to learn SIX different Close To My Heart products were used on this page? Yes there were!

Just for fun, here's a little challenge: Name at least four CTMH products used on this page. The first person to correctly post four products will win a little prize! You have until September 3rd to figure it out. Good luck!!

Sneak Peek Days 6 & 7

Sorry for dropping the ball there...life gets in the way of blogging sometimes....

But here's a double-dose of what you can expect from the new Idea Book: THE PAPERS!!

I know this is one of the first things people rush to once the Idea Book is in their hands. They must see what new colours, patterns and  combinations CTMH has come up with. The wait is over.

Laughing Lola is a fun, energetic mix of Black, Gypsy, White Daisy and three exclusive new colours: Laughing Lola Blue, Laughing Lola  Gold and Laughing Lola Purple.

Complementing the Laughing Lola paper packet are the Laughing Lola Assortment (four satin paper clip bows and nine printed gems in three sizes) and Laughing Lola Complements Dimensional Elements (two 12" x 6" chipboard sheets).

Laughing Lola can be described as  "a touch of class and a lot of sass!"--to quote the coordinating Paisley Perfect stamp set.

Sarita is a collection of striking patterns and colours including Colonial White, Cotton Candy, Goldrush, Gypsy, Lagoon and Outdoor Denim. For those of us who love bright colours and striking patterns, this is a must have.

The Sarita Assortment includes 10 etched wooden shapes and four embossed metal icons. The Sarita My Stickease Assortment has the same bold colours and patterns seen in the papers with two titles, journaling spots, borders and also includes pennants, flowers, arrows, feathers and more.

Pro Player is the paper packet I've been waiting for to document the techno-love in my home. The video game inspired papers feature Black, Outdoor Denim, Pacifica, Ruby, Slate and Whisper. With fun digitised patterns, Pro Player is excellent for documenting boys and their toys.

The Pro Player Assortment has 10 corrugated cardboard shapes and six metal-rimmed enamel badge buttons. The Pro Player My Stickease Assortment touches on all things digital--whether your techno-geek is a Guitar Hero,attached to their cell phone, or if you're an X Box widow, there's a fun sticker to tell your story.

Babycakes says it all. These papers are sweet and adorable, just like the new arrivals in your life. Cute giraffes, fun alphabets, soothing stripes and dots are perfect for pages, cards and mini albums about babies. The Buttercup, Chocolate, Colonial White, Slate and Sunset colour scheme is gender-neutral and great for childhood themes.

Babycakes Complements Canvas Shapes add texture to your projects along with cute animals, borders and popular titles. The Babycakes Assortment coordinates perfectly with the papers, but will find it's way into non-baby themed project too! You'll love them so much you'll want to use them on everything! These 12 wood-rimmed badge buttons are adhesive backed and come in three sizes.

Huntington embodies everything I like about autumn-themed papers: heritage, vibrancy and fall colours. The colours, Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red, Cashmere, Champagne, Cocoa, Desert Sand, Olive, and Slate, are the ones I go to again and again for all my pages. My favourite, pattern looks like a large damask, but has an unexpected, large, vibrant flower. It adds fun and whimsy to traditional patterns.

The Huntington Assortment includes four printed canvas shapes and six printed wooden spool tops. Texture and unique ephemera in one package.

The Huntington My Stickease Assortment plays up the vibrant reds and oranges of the colour palette along with the cooling green. Banners, pennants, flowers and leaves are all perfect for your autumn pages and cards.

Frosted isn't your typical Winter/Christmas paper. With cool tones and hot patterns, Frosted strikes and interesting balance of traditional and fashion forward. Champagne and Colonial White combine with two new colours, Frosted Grey and Frosted Turquoise in geometric circles, chevrons, diamonds and, of course, snowflakes.

The Frosted Assortment isn't theme specific, but combines with the papers beautifully. Six felt flowers in three colours (pink, dark grey, and cream) will add elegance and beauty whether you're doing a page about a December Rose or a Spring Bloom.

The Frosted My Stickease Assortment is what you'll turn to for Christmas cards and winter pages. Snowflakes, snowmen and winter images abound in this set of two sticker sheets.

In addition to the My Reflections products described above, each line comes with new My Acrylix stamp sets designed to coordinate with the paper themes. And of course, each has a Workshop on the Go, which includes the paper packets, exclusive stamp sets, embellishments and an instructional brochure all at a discounted price.

There's your first taste of the colours and themes in the new Idea Book. Keep visiting my blog this week for more glimpses at great new products and The Big Reveal on August 1st!

Sneak Peek: Day 5

If you have a Cricut, you're going to LOVE CTMH's new offering. If you don't have a Cricut, beg, borrow or steal one because you're not going to want to miss out!

Take your scrapbooking to never-before-seen levels with the new Cricut Artbooking collection! With oodles of images in each of 15 layout themes, you can create several coordinating pages for each theme using just two keys and one dial size. Images include accents, borders, titles, overlays, photo mats--in standard photo sizes!--and more.

The Cricut keys are optimised for creating 12" x 12" pages in a jiffy. You'll love creating ten themed mini books, also optimised for several different sizes using just two keys and one dial size.

Celebrate birthdays, new baby, vacations, friends, sports, Halloween, Christmas, and more. When you're finished cutting, use the coordinating stamp sets and Dimensional Elements shapes to add even more pizazz!

The Cricut Artbooking collection includes the Cricut cartridge with 700 images, font, mini books and layouts; three My Acrylix D-size stamp sets; and three 12" x 9" Dimensional Elements in coordinating shapes.

Cricut Artbooking Bundle

You'll find pages, cards and mini books throughout the new Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book featuring Artbooking die cuts. If you can't wait one more week until the new Idea Book comes online, check out my Close To My Heart Board on Pinterest. New images are being posted almost every day.

Not ready for Artbooking? CTMH has two other Cricut collections: Art Philosophy (basic brackets, frames, flowers and font) and Artiste (featuring themed projects, interactive cards and more). Whether you're a new or advanced crafter, there's a cartridge for you!

Did you know the Cricut collections are designed with CTMH stamps in mind? Whenever you see a stamp image outlined in red, that shape can be cut with one of the Cricut cartridges. Just refer to the note under the stamp to see which cartridge is needed. Also, on the stamp carrier sheet, you'll find the settings you need to cut the shape to exactly the right size. CTMH has made using the Cricut cartridges, coordinating stamps and shapes fast, simple and easy!