Free To Be Me

This month, CTMH celebrates National Scrapbooking Month with a brand-new paper packet! Free To Be Me is a beautiful collection of 6 sheets of 12" x 12" double-sided patterned papers, 6 sheets of cardstock with a glossy resist pattern on one side and 2 sheets of patterned vellum. It's gorgeous!

Best of all, Free To Be Me is only $5 with qualifying purchase!

Check out this layout I made with Free To Be Me patterned papers and cardstock as well as the stamp sets from Ivy Lane Workshop on the Go Kit and Designed Decor Frame Kit.

This layout was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest by Sherri Funk for My Mind's Eye.I loved the circles and the white space really lets the papers pop!

With a little help from my Cricut and a couple of fun stamps, this page came together quickly and easily.

A fun stamping technique used on this page is over-stamping. To create the canvas texture on the stamped ribbons, first I stamped the ribbons (or pennants or banners--whatever you like to call them) from the Ivy Lane WOTG stamp set in Whisper Ink. I stamped all three close together on a single scrap of Colonial White Cardstock. Then I stamped directly over all three ribbons with Slate Ink using the canvass stamp from the Distressed Backgrounds stamp set. From there, I just trimmed out the ribbons and added them to the page. Over-stamping is a quick and easy way to add a little extra interest to solid stamped images.

I also used the same canvas stamp to create the large photo mat. I simply cut a piece of Colonial White cardstock to size and stamped around the edges of the cardstock in Whisper Ink. The little bit of distressed texture it adds to the page is a great contrast to the sleek design.

Love this layout? I'll be offering it as a free make-and-take at the upcoming Saturday Scrappers, or if you would like to host your own Gathering, I can show you and your guests how to make this layout. Contact me today to book your Gathering before May 31st!

Sneak Peek: Day 4

My latest home decor piece using the Display Tray.

I love seeing my scrapbooking around my house. Whether it's mini-albums in a basket, a favourite layout in a picture frame or a canvas on the wall, I get a lot of joy out of seeing something I've lovingly made, that's celebrating the people I love, displayed in my home.

The designers at Close To My Heart know exactly how I feel and have neatly organised several new products to make embellishing my home as easy as embellishing a scrapbook page. With Designed Decor (home decor with heart), crafters are encouraged to create artwork with substance.

Turn your crafting projects into enduring works of art with our new Designed Decor products. These art and memory displays are durable enough to last from your child's first finger paintings through junior high art class and beyond.

Designed Decor Black Frame

The mini clothes pins and hooks, sold separately, are ideal for clipping artwork or photos to our new wired frames.

Use the Designed Decor Black Frame, with five wires, to organise and display precious photos or important pieces of paper--like tickets, notes and business cards.

The Designed Decor Colonial White Frame uses honeycomb wire for displaying artwork, photos, accents and more.

Both frames come with sawtooth hangers on the back.

In addition to the Display Tray and the Hinged Display Tray seen in previous Idea Books, the Autumn/Winter 2013 Idea Book introduces the Designed Decor Flip Stand Album.. This clear acrylic stand has rings for displaying photos up to 6 1/2" x 5 3/4". The stand also has a slot for inserting a background image.

Designed Decor Frame Kit

 The Designed Decor Frame Kit comes with everything you need to create a stylish, decorative art piece to display in your home. The kit includes a Designed Decor Colonial White Frame, My Acrylix Frame Kit Stamp Set (B size), 33 Kraft Paper Die Cut Shapes, 6 Mini Wooden Clothes Pins and 1 yard of Baker's Twine Hemp.

This is an excellent project for a workshop Home Gathering! Your family and friends will love crafting this stunning frame to display in their own homes.

It's easy to set up your own Workshop Gathering. Contact me to select a date. Invite your family and friends. Confirm how many kits you need 2 weeks before the Gathering. Get your crafting space ready. On the Gathering Day, I will arrive with everything your and your guests need to create the project, including additional inks and stamps, and will provide instruction and guidance to help your guests create a special keepsake--and having fun crafting the whole time!

Contact me today to book your own Gathering with the Designed Decor Frame Kit!