The Next Chapter: Stampin' Up!

Today I officially begin the next chapter of my papercrafting adventure!  I'm really excited to be demonstrator with Stampin' Up!  They have been very generous and welcoming to us former Close To My Heart Makers.

I hope you'll join me for this next chapter!  In fact, my first class will be Sunday, May 5!  Check out (and bookmark) my NEW WEBSITE where you can find the May 5 class info (and can RSVP).  If you're a former CTMH customer/VIP, once you create your Stampin' Up! account (with the email you used with CTMH), then you should be able to find/search CTMH products there.

Aren't the new 2024-2026 In Colors just delectable?  I look forward to sharing lots of fun projects with them!

My blog will be under reconstruction for the next few days as I finish the transition.  Please come back often!

You Are Close To My Heart

 As this final chapter with Close To My Heart closes, THANK YOU for being part of my community!

I made versions of this shaker card for my VIPs to let them know how much I have appreciated them and our time together while inviting them to the next leg of this journey (pun intended with the color of the year, Journey), and I wanted to share some virtual hugs here for you too!

Stay tuned for the next chapter, beginning May 1!

I’d Go Anywhere with You Card

Here’s a fun corner fold card using the let’s go anywhere collection! I used a combination of both the card and scrapbooking stamp sets with coordinating thin cuts.

I hope you’ll continue to follow me as I transition from Close To My Heart as they close their doors to Stampin’ Up!  I’m really excited about their commitment to expanding scrapbooking and the pieces of CTMH that they are bringing into their line of products.

Happy Birthday Hexagon Shaker Card

Today we are celebrating a special someone's 23rd birthday, and here is the card that I sent her so that she would have it for her actual birthday earlier this week.  (Blue is her favorite color!). I used the retired Let's Celebrate collection (including a few stickers) to create this shaker card.  (The shaker window is at the bottom right.) 

As you can see from the back side of the card front, I used lots of 3-D foam squares for the card panel and a small round circle of acetate for the hexagon cut.  I filled it with a variety of loose sequins from my collection.

If you look closely, you can see the sparkles I also added to the card front since it was being hand delivered rather than mailed.

I will definitely be making this card design again!  I hope you enjoy this celebratory card too!

The Santa Justa Lift Layout

At my April scrapbooking class, we created this layout based on a Make It From Your Heart sketch using the Let's Go Anywhere collection.

I love how this layout uses a variety of photo sizes, and I taught some ways to get creative with photo collage apps to make two 3"x4" photos on one 4"x6" print.

Happy Birthday Card with the February Stamp of the Month Set

This card was so fun to make for a dear, sweet friend’s birthday!  She loves violets, so I knew that I wanted to use the February 2024 Close To My Heart stamp of the month, Say It with Flowers. I decided to use the retired postage frame Thin Cut and the retired Sweet Memories periwinkle pattern paper because blue is her favorite color.

After stamping flower bouquet in Jade ink onto the Periwinkle patterned paper and coloring the leaves with colored pencils, I grabbed my Blue Belle, Green Apple, and gold shimmer brushes to splatter the front of the card.

I stamped the floral image with Harbor ink on White Daisy card stock, and then used a blending brush to add color with periwinkle and a bit of harbor. After fussy cutting the flowers and adhering them, I added some detail and dimension with a white gel pen. Can you see how I use 3-D foam tape for the two larger flowers?  A pair of  Honey Butter enamel dots finished off this card. 

I stamped at the birthday sentiment in Harbor ink also. 

Thank you for letting me share this birthday card with you!

Welcome to the World Card

Here's a sweet baby card that I taught at my recent card class using the Let's Go Anywhere cardmaking stamp set and Thin Cuts paired with the Honey Bunny collection.

We used the light side of Seabrook for our heart die cut and stamped the coordinating world heart stamp in Sage ink.

This card design was copied from the card on p. 22 of the March/April CTMH Idea Book.  I love how much inspiration these catalogs provide!

Let’s Go Anywhere Aqueduct Layout

Here is my final layout of our stay in Evora.   Thanks for letting me share this part of our trip with you!  Seeing the Roman aqueduct and following it into town (as it seemed to get lower and lower) was a really neat experience.  I continue to marvel at how old structures in Europe can be and how young our country is by comparison.

Once again, I let my photos drive my design.  I was really happy to be able to add the picture of the wall with the pretty bougainvillea onto this page (even though it was across from the Cathedral).  

Let your pictures guide your design and you tell your stories!  As always, please let me know if I can assist you in any way.

{Layout 24/52}

Let’s Go Anywhere Church & Chapel Layouts

Hopefully you aren't sick of my travel layouts yet!  I've only got a few left to share of our time in quaint Evora.  We visited the Church of St. Francis. 

We actually visited the Chapel of the Bones first, but I’m adding this layout second because I like the flow better.  I really love how the neutrals work with my photos, so I kept the color pop of the passports to a minimum.  

Both of these layouts are a little plain, but I think it's important to highlight the photos, especially of sacred places and spaces.

{Layouts 22 & 23/52}

Twisted Ribbon Technique Card (Times Two)

The twisted ribbon technique creates a pretty card!  It's not hard at all to make but is a little time consuming.  You need over 12" each of two different 0.5" strips.   For both cards, I used the April stamp of the month, Little Hedgehogs, and the Honey Butter collection.

On both card bases, I used a blending brush to add Sage "grass" and Glacier "sky."  I colored both hedgehogs with varying shades of grey markers.  I think my first card is pretty in pink with two of the zip strips from the paper suite, the cute littlest hedgehog, and the pink flower.

The second card uses the Glacier butterflies and Honey Butter polka dots, the medium hedgehog, and a "daisy."

Which card do you prefer?

Let's Go Anywhere Workshop Layout 3: Évora

Don’t worry if your photos need to be different sizes than the suggested photos in a sketch or kit. I used five 4 x 4 photos instead of the recommended 3 x 3, and I think my layout is lovely.

Don’t forget my team’s motto, “ A mistake is an opportunity to embellish!” Don’t look too closely to find my stamping mistakes!  Your layouts don't have to be perfect to be worthy!

{Layout 21/52; halfway to my yearly goal!}

Fractured Card

This card design is all the rage so I couldn't resist making a fractured card at my recent, final Close To My Heart card class. 

I used the Honey Bunny collection with the April stamp of the month, Little Hedgehogs, minus any hedgehogs, to say hello.

Although it doesn't show well, after coloring the flower with pink and yellow markers, I added highlights with Flamingo and Honey Butter shimmer brush.