Christmas is Just Around the Corner

Christmas will be here before you know it! I LOVE Christmas... I mean I really LOVE Christmas! I think I was a Who in a past life because I just live for the holidays. That being said, my birthday is at the end of November so I try really hard not to get excited about Christmas until after that - or else I would be listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas albums in July... which has happened before... Anyways, last year I sent out a few home made Christmas cards to select people in my life, not because they are more special, but because I started making my cards so late that I didn't have time to make enough for everyone. So this year I have started early and you should too! Today's post focuses on the cards I created using Close to My Heart's Reason for the Season stamp set and the Yuletide Carol Paper Pack. The Yuletide Carol Paper Pack is filled with very traditional/classic Christmas themed papers. I absolutely loved working with it. My inspiration for these cards came from Jamie Llewellyn at Scrappin' in Harmony and Pamela O'Connor at Reflections of my Art and Soul - Thanks for the great inspiration ladies! I hope some of these cards can inspire you to get started on your own Holiday cards. Remember if you would like to purchase any of the products I used for these cards you can do so on my website. And don't forget to check out this month's promotional offers!! And here are some close ups of the cards:

This design was taken from the Annual Inspiration Book - I only changed the blue shimmer paper to silver and turned the wall hanging into a card. I love how it turned out. I used silver shimmer trim (Z1799)around the edge of the card, the Yuletide 
Carol Paper Pack (X7187B), glacier and kraft cardstock. 

Yuletide Carol paper

Yuletide Carol paper, gold shimmer trim

Yuletide Carol, gold shimmer trim

Thanks for stopping by!!- Kiera

September Cross Canada Blog Hop

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome to our September Blog Hop featuring our Favourite New Products from the new Annual Inspirations.  I had a similar post about a couple of awesome things earlier in August so this post is my flavour of the month Products!! To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local consultant to place an order, or if you do not have one - I will gladly assist you :)

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Julie Here. 

If you came from Carol's Blog then you are in the right place! 

This month I am loving our Brushed Paper Pack and our new Pixie colour!

As some of you know I love mini cards so I created a few with the Brushed paper pack. My inspiration for the cards came from Lisa Stenz. (Check out her beautiful cards on her blog) 

Supplies can be purchased on my website. (Brushed Paper Pack X7190B, 3x3 White Daisy Envelopes Z1475, Your Own Kind of Wonderful Stamp Set D1627, Lagoon Z2195 & Pixie Z2644 Inks, Black & White Daisy Card Stock)

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Christine of Chris' Creative Life.

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring Trick or Treats, for Halloween.  So mark October 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Thanks for Stopping by!! - Kiera

Flash Post - More Seaside Cards!

Supplies - Seaside Paperpack, Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Lagoon Ink, Flamingo and Aqua Dots, Aug. SOTM, and White Daisy, Kraft & Gypsy Cardstock. Remember you can buy all of these supplies from my online store kiera.ctmh.com - If you have any questions about how these were created please let me know, 
Thanks for stopping by!! - Kiera

Cleaning House - Free to be Me (May Promo)

I LOVE this paper pack!!! I can not describe how beautiful the papers are, especially the gold dot vellum piece. I had to steal an extra sheet from another package because I love it so much. I bought this pack originally in May because it was a steal at $5 and then I won a pack off of a colleagues' blog so I have had lots of opportunity to create some inspiring projects! Here is a quick look at what I created. All of the ideas were taken off of pinterest, so a big thank you to all the various bloggers whose ideas I have borrowed. 

These mother's day cards feature the Free to Be Paper Pack and the Mother's Day Stamp set. I used Lagoon and Cranberry Inks as well as the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge

These cards feature the Free to Be Papers, the May Stamp of the Month 'You've Got a Friend, and black and lagoon inks.

Layout I made featuring all the papers. I still have to add my pictures to fully love it. 

Hope you had a chance to get this wonderful paper pack and made some excellent projects with it! Remember only 2 more days until our new idea book is available online!!

Thanks for stopping by!! - Kiera

Cleaning House - Ariana Scraps

I made a few cards up with some of the scraps I had from my Ariana Paper Pack. Hoping to make a layout too but I just have the cards for now.

Here are the cards closer up and with variations. 

 Lastly this card I made awhile ago but never got the chance to post it, it comes from the Idea Book. I used the Ivy Lane paper, gypsy, pear, hollyhock and lagoon ink. Gypsy, white daisy and pear cardstock and the Mar. SOTM and Doodle Signs Hostess Stamp.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!! Please leave me a comment below!

Cleaning House - Timberline

We go camping every year in Algonquin Park so I was very excited to see the Timberline Paper Line!! I bought the Workshop on the Go kit that comes with a great stamp set. Here is what I came up with for the my camp layouts. Plus I got four (2 of the moon ones) cards out of the scraps! I put some pictures in the first layout but still need to add to the others.  Let me know what you think!

I used materials from the Timberline Workshop on the Go kit as well as the complement pictures. The stamps on the cards are from the March Stamp of the Month set. Thanks for stopping by!!
- Kiera

Cleaning House - Skylark

I Finally had a chance to sit and catch up on some scrapbooking! I wanted to use up my paper packs from the old Idea Book to make way for the new ones that I ordered. Today's focus was using up my Skylark paper pack. I talked about this line in my last post - like I said 'I am really going to miss it!' Its just so beautiful. When I signed up as a consultant I received the Skylark Workshop on the go kit, among numerous other things!! (Let me know if you want one for yourself). At first I thought the WOTG kits were a bit expensive but now that I used this one almost entirely I can see the value you get out of it. I created 3 great layouts and 3 cards plus all the WOTG's come with a full size stamp set you can use over and over again!

I still have to add photos to the pages, but tonight I just wanted to focus on making the layouts. Sometimes I get a brain block when I am trying to create a layout for specific pictures. I loved the freedom of just creating. Lets take a look at what I came up with...

I scraplifted this idea off of pinterest, there are numerous versions of it on there. To see some other variations follow the link to my pinterest page on the top, left hand side of my blog.

The page on the left I copied out of our Idea Book and then made the right page to go along with it. Pages like this are excellent for using up scraps. I tend to piece pages of scraps together onto a white sheet of 12 x 12 paper so I get the most out of a kit. 

The page on the left was posted as part of an earlier post but I thought I would include the second page that goes along with it. These pages are not a great match but I was trying to use up my paper pack and I think they still look quite nice together.

I hope you were able to gain some inspiration! Happy scrapping!     - Kiera

Cross Canada Blog Hop July 2014

Welcome to the Cross Canada July Blog Hop!!! This month's theme is mini summer albums.  To purchase any of the items seen in our blog hop today, contact your local Close to My Heart consultant to place an order. 

We hope that you will take the time to leave comments on our posts, as we love to get feedback from our viewers....whether it was something that you really liked or some new technique that was used that you would like to learn how to do....by leaving us comments, we get to hear what you like, and what you want to see. Thank you… now on to our hop! 

If you have just hopped onto my blog, you can start here as this is a circular hop, but if you want to follow us across Canada then please start at the beginning and join Deanne at My Little Piece of the Puzzle. If you came from Carol's Blog then you are in the right place! 

This is my very first time participating in the Cross Canada Blog hop and I am very excited to share my project with you! I used some of our Picture My Life cards as the basis of my project and added some stamping. I made this album with my niece so I wanted to keep it simple, the PML cards did most of the work for her which was nice. Here it is...

Your next stop on the Cross Canada Hop is Christine of Chris' Creative Life. If you get lost along the way, you can head to Michelle's Blog as she has the complete blog list. 

Thanks for hopping along with us - we hope we were able to inspire you to get creative using some of the designs, products and techniques seen along the way. We hope you will join us again next month when we will be featuring alternative uses for Picture My Life cards.  So mark August 15th on your calendars and hop along with us.

Gathering Project

Happy Canada Day Everyone!!!
Today's project is for a home gathering, I am posting it online with the instructions so anyone who missed this gathering has a chance to create the project at home! Interested in making fun projects with friends, consider booking your own home gathering - contact me today! If you would like to purchase any of the product used please visit my online store.

Stamping
Outside: Stamp Believe in Yourself on Kraft cardstock (3” x 2 ¼”) with Lagoon ink.
Inside: Stamp chosen sentiment on inside of card base with Lagoon ink using Banner Wishes Stamp Set.

Background

a) Trim Sweet Leaf and Lagoon cardstock (1” x 4 ¼”) strips using craft scissors.
b) Assemble and mount background pieces from bottom to top onto the card base. (Brown 1 ¾” x 4 ¼”, Green 2” x 4 ¼”)
c) Adhere Teal Shimmer Trim.
d) Mount Skylark paper strip (1 ½” x 4 ¾”) and Kraft cardstock sentiment onto Lagoon cardstock. (1 ¾” x 5”, 3 ¼” x 2 ½”)
e) Add embellishments. I cut the flowers using the Artbooking cricut cartridge.

Product Wish List

Skylark Paper Pack	X7177B	9.95
Teal Shimmer Trim	Z1918	4.95
Skylark Assortment	Z3000	5.95
Believe in Yourself Stamp Set	C1574	13.95
Lagoon Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad	Z2195	5.25
Banner Wishes Stamp Set	B1438	9.95
Black & Grey Epoxy Bubbles	Z1935	3.95
3x3 My Acrylic Block	Y1006	8.50
My Acrylix™ Spritz Cleaner	1778	4.25
My Acrylix™ Stamp Scrubber	Z1782	12.95
Card Bases & Envelopes (50)	X254	14.95

Borrowed Designs!!

We all do it right??? Take our inspiration off of pinterest and other blogs?! Well I found the greatest designer and blogger ever!! Go and check out Maureen at Something to Scrap About! I am just in love with the stuff she comes up with! Here I have taken her concepts and copied (with minor alterations) as best as I could. Thanks Maureen for some fantastic ideas!! Please check out Maureen's originals here (for mother's day card) and here for moon card.

Wedding Card Workshop

I am hosting my first card workshop today... ok my mom is the only attendee, but I wanted to practice first! We are going to be making a few wedding cards because we have some weddings this summer. Most of the cards feature the Happy Couple Stamp set.
Here they are:

                                                                               

Card Kit Inspiration 2!

I had a request for a few more ideas to go along with the petite perks Delicate Wings stamp set. Here I created 3 more 3x3 cards, I just love little cards - don't you??? I find sometimes that I have to get myself into a crafting mood before I am able to create great projects, these little 3x3 cards are a small canvas that don't take much thought, it usually helps me get started! Please use these cards as inspiration, especially those of you who have received my card kit as a hostess' gift. If you would like step by step instructions email me! If you would like a kit of your own, book a party with me :)

Products: Lollydoodle paper pack scraps, Delicate Wings Petite Perk, Inks: Gypsy, Pear, Outdoor Denim, Hollyhock, Cardstock: Brown, Pear

What have you created with this stamp set?? I would love to see your work!

Atlantic Hearts Challenge # 61

Two weeks in a row! Yahh! I wanted to say a big thank you to the Design Team from Atlantic Hearts, I received so much blog love from the last challenge!!! It was so nice to see so many people on my blog, it's the most traffic I have ever had! I am really excited to share my new card that I created for this challenge. I was trying to create a wedding card but I am not sure what it turned out to be in the end, oh well - I like it. Come play along here!!
Products used: Stamp - The Happy Couple & Doodle Signs, Card Stock - Lagoon, White Daisy, Black, Lagoon Glitter Ribbon
Thanks for stopping by!

Lollydoodle Card Workshop on the Go Kit

I finally got around to finishing up my Lollydoodle WOTG kit!! I loved this kit when I first found it in the catalog because it is very me - the colours and the sayings. I also thought the cards were nice and modern looking, owls seem to be so in right now. I purchased the kit with my last order and was so happy when it arrived! I have to say though - the cutting is intense for this project, lots of little squares to cut out! BUT... look how beautiful they turned out! Definitely worth it.
For those of you who are unaware of Close to My Hearts Workshop on the Go Kits, they come with all the product you need to create 15 cards (paper, card bases, envelopes, instructions and embellishments,  plus a full size stamp set!!) If you feel like you may want some help putting the kit together, let me know and we can set up a workshop night to complete it! Get some friends together and I will help you all put them together! Message me for details!
Currently we have 2 card kits available the Lollydoodle one featured above and Ivy Lane. Both are 24.95. Both of these card making kits are retiring at the end of July so if you really love one, get it now!