Boxing Week Specials

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. 

Close to My Heart is celebrating Boxing Week with four days of different deals where you'll save 50% on select items. The fun starts at 2:00 pm (PST) on Monday, December 26, with a selection of deals that will last until 1:59 pm (PST) on Tuesday. Then, a whole new set of deals will begin!

Check every day from Monday through Thursday at 3:00 pm (MST) to get a jump start on each day's sale ! These deals are only available on my website while supplies last, so be sure to shop early!

At the beginning of the sale, visit my website and click on Promotions to see each day's deals. Happy shopping!

Michele

Flower Market Key 48 Brings Christmas Delight

Welcome!  And Holiday Wishes to You!

I created these cards which featured in my newsletter and the CTMH video I shared on this post. 

 

Here are some of the details that you might not "see" in the photo and how I made them. 

(You can also click on the photo to see it larger.)

From left to right:  

Card 1.  The top of the card is a piece of white cardstock, dry embossed the with snowflake embossing folder.  This folder retires on December 31st.  With the card folded shut, I used my small hole punch to create a notch and then a second one on the right side (just through the top layer) so I could secure the twine without glue. 

Card 2.  I also dry embossed the wood paper with the snowflake embossing folder and then carefully ran my white daisy ink pad over the paper to enhance their details.  I did heat set the ink...because I am impatient and didn't want to "wait" for it to dry before I continued my project.  I also added whisper gray sponging to the jar edges and then used my Warm Grey 4 Shin Han marker on the left side, carefully outing on the edge and creating a shadow on the lower left.  I then used the colorless blender to soften the ink.  Instead of using the ribbon that cuts with the jar, I added the white and gold twine.  To add a bit more shimmer, I dabbed my Shimmer Brush on each of the berries.  

Card 3.  Finally, this card is inspired by the layout that is shown in the video.  On the design space file, you will see that I have created the layout and the card for you to cut.  I couldn't let a good inspiration fall to the wayside!  The pattern is a reversed and of course the elements are smaller.  I used foam tape under the bow and for that bit of sparkle, yes you guessed it...Shimmer Brush.  I added mini sparkles too.  I just love the wood veneer trees from the Oh Deer assortment.  These too will be retiring Dec 31st so I may need to stock up for some summer outdoor layouts as well.  

Hope you have enjoyed this post and have had a chance to take a look at my newsletter.  I have started a new section call "Inspiration Corner" and hope to include creative ideas for in upcoming editions.  

Happy Holidays!

Michele

Flower Market Cricut Cartridge Key 48

This video fits in perfectly with my December theme of Brown Paper to Beautiful!  Here's one project that they created using key 48 on the Flower Market Cricut Cartridge.  After cutting out some holly leaves, a spray of berries and pine sprig, the package was tied with baker's twine and decorated for the season. 

 To see more of what you can create with this key of the Flower Market Cartridge, key 48, take a look at this video.



If you own the Cricut Explore and Flower Market Cricut Cartridge, you can access these files and create the card and scrapbook page shown in this video. The link is here. 

Merry Crafting!
Michele

SOTM Blog Hop: Thoughtful Flowers

Welcome to the Blog Hop for December.

If you have arrived here from Michelle's Blog, you are continuing through the hop which is a big circle of fabulous artwork!  When you are ready to move on, you will be traveling to Melissa's Blog.

This stamp set of eight different floral images and simple sentiments brings a bit of spring into the middle of winter.

To create my cards, I took out my heat embossing supplies and water colors.  I added a tad bit of shimmer with our wonderful shimmer pen!  I had just a few minutes to play and I like how they turned out.

This stamp set is available only during the month of December.  You can purchase this set for $5 with a qualifying purchase.  Contact your consultant for information or you can shop on my website as well. 

Now remember when you are finished here, you will be visiting Melissa's Blog.

Enjoy the hop,

Michele

Flower Market Cricut Cartridge Blog Hop

Welcome to the Flower Market Cricut Cartridge blog hop!  We have some fun artwork to share with you as you take tour through our blogs. 

If you have arrived here from Terrie's Blog, you are on the right track.  After viewing my artwork, you will be traveling on to Lauren's Blog.

When I first think of Flower Market, I think of the summer farmer's market and the big bouquets for purchase.  But this Cricut cartridge really has something beautiful for all seasons. I created with Christmas and winter in mind. 

This holiday card display is created using a wooden hanger that I white washed, hung three pieces of ribbon.  Then I "built" the floral spray on a 1" wide piece of chipboard that is just the length of the bottom rod.  For some of the cuts, I layered two or three of the same cuts to add more stability to the item.  The easiest way to do this is to leave the cuts on the Cricut mat and glue them together.  Keeping the cut on the mat makes it easier to glue them together.  I layered different elements together attaching with the hot glue.  When the floral spray was complete, I hot glued it to the hanger.

You can purchase the Flower Market Cricut Cartridge from your consultants website or if you don't have a consultant, you are welcome to shop with me.  (Ask your consultant about the CTMH Cyber Monday Cricut Craze Special)

Now remember to visit Lauren's blog and continue on to see all the fun crafts you can do with the Flower Market Cartridge. 

Happy Holiday Crafting,

Michele

Black Friday Special and Bags O Joy!

 Shop Black Friday 

from the comfort of your own home, 

in your p.j.'s

with the warm beverage of your choice!

For Black Friday this year, you’ll have the opportunity to get amazing crafting supplies at an amazing price with Close To My Heart! For 24 hours only, CTMH will feature themed mystery boxes filled with retired Close To My Heart products, all at a major discount!

These mystery boxes will have five different price points ranging from $35 to $150, with some mystery boxes being offered at 50% off the retail value! 

All mystery boxes will be available beginning November 25, 2016 at 12:00 am (MST) while supplies last—so grab a box for your stash before they’re gone! 

AND

When you purchase $50 on my website before 9 a.m. on Black Friday, I will send you a Bag O' Joy filled with a generous $35 worth of AMAZING stamping and scrapbooking supplies, sorted and coordinated for fun projects!  

Purchase $50 between 9 and noon, and I will send you a $25 Bag O' Joy!  

Shop after noon on November 25th to 11:59 p.m. (MST) and any purchase amount, I will send you a $10 Bag O' Joy.  
(While supplies last.)  

AND

When you join my Facebook event indicating your are "going", I will put your name in a drawing for a special Bag O' Joy.  Invite a friend to join as well and when they join the party, you will receive an additional ticket for the drawing!   

Surprise Stash AND Bags O' Joy!  What could be better for Black Friday?

 
Enjoy the holiday season!
Michele

Planner happy!

Do you know a planner?  Someone who likes to be organized?  What about someone who likes to journal or color?  

The Close to My Heart Planner is a wonderful gift

You can add it to your Black Friday Shopping List and be eligible for a Bag O' Joy.  (See this post for Bag O' Joy info.)

Discover your inner artist while staying on top of your schedule with our new 2017 planner system. Featuring seasonal designs you can color by hand, this exclusive planner system combines the worlds of work and play to give you a planner you can truly make your own.

The planner comes in three different bundles.

Just the insides

If you have a favorite cover and just want to update to 2017, you can purchase the Planner Pages.  Includes monthly and weekly calendars, designs you can color, pages for notes, a clear pencil bag, and three gold paperclips.  CC2017

Need a cover

that is versatile and goes with everything?  Choose the Striped Everyday Life planner bundle.   Includes the Everyday Life™ stripes album and the 2017 planner pages, which come with a clear pencil bag and three gold paperclips.  CC1178
 

 Color of the Year: Sea Glass 

So fresh and cool looking! Includes the Everyday Life™ Sea Glass album and the 2017 planner pages, which come with a clear pencil bag and three gold paperclips.  CC1177

Get your planner today because this planner system is only available while supplies last!

And here's a sneak peek of some coloring I have already started in my planner.

Enjoy your planner whether it is for organization or play!  The beautiful, neutral colors of this planner allow for you to design and add your favorite themes and colors to each page.

Need coloring tools to add to your gift?  Check out our Shin Han Markers, watercolors and watercolor pencils. 

Shop here today. 

Happy planning,

Michele

Craft supply organization with Workspace Wonder

Workspace Wonder™ is Close To My Heart’s unique storage solution for crafting supplies and tools. Here’s how it works: Determine which crafting supplies you need to store, purchase the coordinating Workspace Wonder trays and stacks, and then stack them on top of each other to create a storage system that works for you!

What’s great about Workspace Wonder is that you only purchase the parts you need, and you can continually rearrange or add more parts as your needs change. Transform your crafting space and organize your supplies in a way that works for YOU with Workspace Wonder.

Take a look for some options that might work for you.



Is organization on your to do list in January?  Put Workspace Wonder on your Christmas list and share my website with your Santa!

Here are the different elements that you should consider.

Stamp pad stack holds 5 stamp pads.  $9.95

Marker stack holds 25 markers.  $9.95

Tool Cubby  $9.95

Large tray, 8" × 12" × 1"; holds up to 6 marker stacks, stamp pad stacks, or tool cubbies.  $12.95

Small tray, 4" × 8" × 1"; holds up to 2 marker stacks, stamp pad stacks, or tool cubbies.  $6.95

Paper tray, 12" × 12½" × 2"; holds paper and cardstock.  $18.95

And here are just some of the ways you can configure your Workspace Wonder sets.

Feel free to contact me with questions or more information!  I would love to help you get organized so your creative space allows you to BE creative!

Michele

Flower Market Key 8: Nautical Theme

In this video, we walk you through all the shapes you can create with the “8” key on our Cricut® Flower Market cartridge, which is designed to help you create a perfectly coordinated scrapbook layout, card, or 3-D project. The artwork featured in this video is a nautical, boat-themed scrapbook page and a sympathy card.



Isn't is great that you can use a "winter" paper and create such beautiful nautical themed projects.  I love the diversity!

Happy Cricuting,
Michele

Color and Be Happy

As the color club continues, Close to My Heart continues to bring us stamps that are so much fun!  Seashells...take me away to the beach, sound of the waves, sand in my toes, and yes, Puerto Vallarta is in my future.

C1664  $13.95

And you know what is even better?  This stamp set now has thin cuts that coordinate with the Swirly Seashells.  No more fussy cutting!

CC1155  $18.95

What is so much fun is to see how different the seashells turned out with the same set of markers.  These are the cards created by the color club last month.  Sorry girls, you had to fussy cut since I didn't have the thin cuts yet. 

If you are interested in color club, here or to go, let me know.  I can set you up with some beautiful stamp images that are fun to color...and make into cards.

Be Happy,
Michele

Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: New Year's Cheer

Welcome to November and the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

If you have arrived here from Krista's Blog, you are on the right track.  Remember this is one big circle.  When you have finished your time here, you will hop on over to Tracie's Blog and see what she has created using this stamp set.  Now what happens if you get lost on the way?  Well visit Melinda's Blog here for a complete list of consultants who are participating.  Find your place and continue on. 

Now for the good stuff.  The stamp of the month for November is called New Year's Cheer but has so many possibilities for celebrations.

I did a little Pinteresting to find some inspiration as I sat down to play with this set.  Bubbles, circles, and sparkles seemed to be a theme so here they are in three different cards.

To create the circle, I did have one small circle from the Emoji's stamp set but I wanted another medium sized so I remembered a trick...you can use the backside of a stamp image for a shape.  Take a look at the "gas pump" image on this old SOTM.

It was the perfect size so I turned it over on a block and stamped with the back of the stamp to get another circle.

I used a monochromatic theme and did second generation stamping to get softer "bubble" colors.  The inks I used were Sapphire, Juniper, Glacier and Slate.  Here is each card close up.

Three cheers!

Reminds me of Lawrence Welk.  

And a little bit of shaking going on.  

I used a 2 x 2 flip flap to create a shaker element for the front of this card.  Because I was going for silver, I used the back side of the All About Gold Fundamental overlays.

All of these cards have the addition of the shimmer pen to add a bit more sparkle to the celebration.

The stamp of the month is available through November and is $5 with a qualifying purchase.  Ask your consultant for details.  If you do not have a Close to My Heart consultant, you are welcome to contact me or visit my website to shop.

Now don't forget to move on to Tracie's Blog for more inspiration using this stamp set.

Cheers to you!
Michele

Style, Organization and Relaxation

How do these words all fit together? 

2017 CTMH Planner

That's how!  Yes, the long awaited planners have arrived and CTMH has combined the current craze for coloring AND planning into one stylish product. 

You can choose from 3 different bundles.  

 Planner with the Black Stripe Everyday Life cover.  Same inserts, just an awesome stylish pattern.   CC1178  $31.90

Planner with the Seaglass Everday Life cover.  CTMH color of the year goes with so many different themes and is oh so cool and classy!  CC1177  $31.90

 Do you love the Black and Gold Everyday planner you got last year?  Then you just need the inserts.  Each bundle includes monthly and weekly calendars, designs you can color, pages for notes, a clear pencil bag, and three gold paperclips.  And of course you get to color your pages to your personal taste.

These items are available while supplies last so don't delay!  If they are on your Christmas wish list, share this with your Elf so (s)he can order in time! 

Shop here for your planner selection. 

Let the planning begin!

Michele

City Sidewalks: Digital Cricut Collection Blog Hop

There's a hidden gem tucked in the Holiday Expressions and you will find it here!  Welcome to the City Sidewalks Digital Cricut Blog Hop.

Did you find it?  It is on page 43.  If you came here from Corinna's Blog, you are continuing on a loop to see the wonderful artwork created with this Cricut collection.  After enjoying the artwork here, you will move on to Darlys' Blog.    What happens if you get lost along the way?  Take a look at the list of hoppers and find where you left off here on Melinda's page. 

You can dress up your artwork in holiday style with the festive images from the mini digital Cricut collection.  It coordinates with our City Sidewalks paper packet so you can complete your Christmas projects in less time. 

My artwork features a set of 6 gift tags using City Sidewalks. 

The first three tags include Cricut cuts from our City Sidewalks collection.  One of my favorite images is the swirling wreath on tag number three.

In addition to the Cricut cartridge and the paper packet, I used Z3090 Red enamel gems, M1152 Mini Christmas, and D1697 Perfect Presents stamp sets. 

Now that you have been introduced to this gem, move on over to your consultants website and add the digital collection to your cart!  If you don't have a consultant, you are welcome to shop on my website. 

And also remember it is time to move on to Darlys' blog to see what she has created! 

Enjoy crafting for the holidays with Close to My Heart products.

Michele