Boxing Week Sales - Final Day

We are down to the last and final day 5 of the super special Close to My Heart year end sales!

Everyday you will find new products at 5 pm (EST) while others go away, so make sure to check back very day to see whats on sale. 

Click Here ... and see all products that are currently on sale!

More New Boxing Weeks Sales - Day 4

We are down to day 4 of the super special Close to My Heart year end sales!

Everyday you will find new products at 5 pm (EST) while others go away, so make sure to check back very day to see whats on sale. 

Click Here ... and see all products that are currently on sale!

Card Making Class of 2016

Another year went by so fast. A big "Thank You" to all my lovely card making students. You ladies are wonderful and I am bless to be able to teach you every month some new techniques. 

All the fun and laughter we have, in good times and in bad times you are there for each other. 

It is an honor for me to be part of this group.

I wish all of you a 

Happy and Healthy New Year

and I am looking forward to some wonderful times together in 2017!

Thank You all from the bottom of my heart....

Carolyn, Debbie, Jackie, Jan, ...

 ... Karen, Lin, Linda, Margie, ...

 ... Marsha, Maureen, Nancy, Nikki,... 

... Pam, Ruth, Sandy, Shirley and Vicki!

If you would like to join our group, please contact me. We would love to have you join our fun Wednesdays.

Merry Christmas ... Frohe Weihnachten

From our house to yours

we wish you 

A Merry Christmas 

and

A Happy and Healthy New Year

Thank you all for your support during the year. Many of you have join my blog this year and many more have were engaged in the blog hop throughout 2016.

I hope I could inspire you along the way. Keep crafting and I am looking froward to meeting you here again in 2017.

Thank You and God Bless my friends!

Look out for "Boxing Week Sale"

Christmas is almost here and to make your crafting even more special, Close to My Heart is surprising you with some super special deals right after Christmas. 

The super sales will start on Monday, December 26th at 3:00 pm (MST) so 5:00 (EST) and last until Thursday, December 30th 2:59 pm (MST)/ 4:59 pm (EST). 

During this sales event, you will be able to order a selection of current and retired products for 50% off! You will be able to order these products directly from my website....CLICK HERE!

The fun starts at 5:00 pm on Monday, Dec 26th and will run each day for 24 hours, which means everyday up until Dec 30th will be filled with new product special. They only last while supply last and only for 24 hours, so make sure to submit your order before the 24 hour of that day run out. Yes, every 24 hours new 50% off products for you to choose from. I am sure there will be something in it for everyone. No email orders, all orders have to be placed directly on my website....CLICK HERE to get to the site!

Remember, every day new offers starting Dec 26th and ending on Dec 30th!

Have fun shopping! 

Christmas Card in Red

Here is a wonderful example of a simple but so versatile stamp set. This set is called "Perfectly pine" (A1191) from Close to My Heart and I used it a lot this season. If you are interested in this set, make sure to order it before Dec 31st, otherwise it will be gone!

Now back to the project:

I started this card with a white card base and a piece of red cardstock about 1/8" smaller on each side than the base.

I used a piece of grey cardstock for my stamping. First I stamped the pine branches in white pigment ink onto the grey. I stamped around two edges of the rectangle and let it dry overnight. I also stamped a few snowflakes in second generation stamping over the entire piece.

After everything is dry (the white ink needs to be super dry otherwise your second color will smear) I took my "New England Ivy Ink" and stamped the branches on top of the white, slightly offset of the white one.

You want to offset the second color so the white shows through and it looks like there is snow on the branches and needles.

To enhance the impression of snow, I used a white gel pen and added a few strokes on the selected branch parts and needles.

I die-cut the ornament out of red metallic paper and added a little piece of silver thread to the top. I adhered the threat on the back with some tap and adhered the grey cardstock to the center of the red piece. I created a little bow from an extra piece of silver thread and added it to the top of the card.

All that is left it to stamp a sentiment on the inside and decorate the envelope and this Christmas Card is done.

Christmas Card - Oh Deer

"Oh Deer" is one of the seasonal paper packages of this years Close to My Heart Seasonal Holiday book..... the name is so funny and the paper is so cute. So here is a card I made with this special paper:

 For this card I pulled my Cricut machine out and tested the new Close to My Heart exclusive cartridge "Flower Market" plus one of the others.

I had the machine cut out the shape of the ornament (desert sand cardstock) and the pine branches (new england ivy).

The snowflake was cut with the new thincut dies (glacier).

I used a piece of "Oh Deer" design paper for the top of the card and a piece of glacier cardstock for the bottom. A piece of golden glitter paper brings both parts together.




I used a clear shimmer pen to add some sparkle to the snowflake and a glitter gel pen to add the detail to the top of the ornament.

The ornament is attached with some foam dots to the card. I decorated the pine branches and snowflake as seen in the picture and added a little bow from white-gold twine to the top. 

 Last but not least, a nice stamp was placed to the inside and this little gem is done.

Love to find out more about these and other techniques and products? Would you like to join on of my monthly classes and create cards and more on your own? Please contact me for more information and schedules. I would love to hear from you. 
You can also leave me a comment below.

Stay tuned for more to come.....

Golden Christmas Ornament Card

Here is another favorite die-cut of mine. I picked it up together with the bells...and I am glad I did. :-)
Wonderful ornament that make each card even more special.

I started out with a cream colored card base. Next I picked a dark green cardstock, yes it is dark green and not blue. I stamped little pine branches in white ink around the edges of the paper and added it in the center of the base.

The top layer is a piece of cream cardstock. I stamped the pine branches with the cones in green and added the phrase to the bottom. 

The ornament is cut from gold foiled cardstock and adhered underneath the branches. A little red bow is added to the top of the ornament and another beautiful card is done.

Please contact me if you have questions about techniques, products, ....
I would love to hear from you. Or simply leave me a comment below...

Christmas Bells are ringing

Christmas bells are ringing....

I found this die-cut a while ago at my local craft store and I couldn't resist it. 

I started with a cream colored card base. Next I used a piece of desert sand cardstock and added snow in pigment white ink to it.

The top layer is another piece of cream cardstock which I stamped with green pine branches. I used red glitter glue to create the little berries.

I added the phrase and adhered my bells to the branches. The bells were cut from gold-foiled cardstock.

A little bow finishes of this card.

Stay tuned for more...

A Christmas Tree

A beautiful die cut doesn't need much embellishment since it speaks for itself, don't you agree?

This is a die-cut from Crafters Companion and I love the size and the detail of it. I cut a piece of my favorite cardstock color "desert sand" at 4" x 5 1/4" and ran it through my die-cutting machine. 

Next I used the matching ink to stamp a star background to the top of the card. I added a piece of gold glitter paper to the bottom part of the tree and punched a little star to go on top of the tree.

The die-cut piece was added with foam dots to a cream colored card base.

A little bow made from white-gold twine is added to the tree trunk.

The sentiment was stamped in cocoa ink on cream cardstock. I cut fins on each side and waved it with my bone folder. I used second generation stamping for the stars on the sentiment and added it with foam dots to the card.

Finally it is time to pay attention to the inside. I stamped the phrase to the inside and used again the stars and second generation stamping to decorate the inside.

Simple but elegant....love it...how about you? Let me know below what you think about this card.

Stay tuned for more....

Christmas Cards - Vellum Covered

Here are a few more samples of the card I showed here on Monday. I do like how the vellum tones down the colors and give the picture a cozy and mustery look. 

This close-up shows a little more how the vellum and the pictures are attached to the card base. Vellum is hard to adhere since the adhesive usually shows through. I added an extra 1/4" to the left side of the vellum, bend it to the back and adhered the 1/4" to the front of the card base. Now I place the picture right on top and the vellum is secured and I don't have to worry about adhesive showing through.

The vellum stays nice attached to the front and creates a peak-a-boo effect.

Stay tuned for more Christmas cards to come....

Christmas Cards - Sugar Candy

The last days of 2016 are rolling by and another year full of exciting projects comes to an end. Here are some of the Christmas cards we made in class. 

 I found these cute picture of delicious food and beverage items just perfect for the Holiday season. 

I didn't want to cut the pictures apart, but I felt they needed some tweaking...

First I cut a piece of vellum 4 1/2" x 5 1/2". I used white pigment ink and snowflake stamps to create the illusion of falling snow.

After letting it dry over night I folded 1/4" of the vellum over on the left side.

Next I took my card base and adhered the 1/4" of the vellum to the left side of the base, leaving the rest of the vellum loose. (check back here on the blog this week for more details)

 The picture is about the same size than the card base. So I adhere it directly to the base covering the tab on the left of the vellum behind it. Which means the vellum is now securely added to the base and moves like a page in a book.

I stamped my "Merry Christmas" greeting with VersaMark ink and added red glitter embossing powder to it. After heat setting the powder, I cut a little fin at one and and adhered it with foam dots to the vellum.

....and we can't forget the inside. So a nice greetings stamp and a few decorations and this card is done.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this card. If you have questions about the technique or products, please contact me HERE!

Stay tuned for more to come....

We like to add some New Members to our Hop in 2017!

Our "A Year of Card Technique's" blog hop is returning in 2017 and we are looking for more crafters who like to try some new techniques each month and join our fun little group. This year was so much fun and I gained a lot of inspiration and new knowledge. Here is part of the 2017 start...

January Hop: Shaving Cream Marbleizing
February Hop: So Sketchy ...

If you are interested, please let me know! This is such a fun group to join and it is only once a month. So come join us for some crating time in 2017!

A Year of Card Techniques ~ December Blog Hop ~ Gold or Silver

Welcome to

Can you believe it's month twelve of a Year of Card Techniques?

Here are the links in case you missed a month:

January February March April May June July 

August September October November

Be sure you've hopped and commented on each month for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Stampin Up or Blitsy.com (Winner's Choice)

This last month of the year we are focusing all our attention on metallic's, whether it's foil, embossing powder, inks or cardstock, anything metallic and since it's December we just had to make it holiday too.

Now on with the projects:

Just a little metallic, glitter or sparkle can change a card to an even more wonderful creation. Here is a variety of cards I made in the last few week that all have some glamour in a special way...so lets see what we have

 I love our Close to My Heart cardstock "desert sand". It always looks to me like a mat gold color and especially when you ad some white or golden ink to it. Here I stamped some white snowflakes on the paper.

But the main showcase are the gorgeous bells. I die-cut them from gold-foiled paper and arranged them on top of some pine branches I stamped before. 

I added some berries with red glitter glue and a golden bow to finish this card off.

Sometimes we celebrate in December and I thought this little cute makes for a great card.

I used a clear shimmer brush to enhance the "Happy" and the snowflakes on the card.

After stamping some blue snowflakes on the card base, I added a piece of silver mirricard in the center before I added the little penguin picture to it. I used a second picture to fuzzy cut the little guy and added it with some foam dots on top of the first picture...give him a little more dimension. 

Remember the vellum projects we made last month? Here is a little combo of both techniques. I used a piece of vellum that was about 1/4" bigger than my picture. I stamped snowflakes in white pigment ink on it and let it dry over night. The 1/4" strip on the left was adhered to the base while the rest of the vellum was simply folded upfront. I place my picture in the center of the card base behind the vellum. I embossed "Merry Christmas" on a strip of white cardstock with some red glitter powder and added it to the front of the vellum overlay. Love the look and how the vellum tones down the bright colors of the picture.

 Glimmer and sparkle doesn't have to be a lot. Sometimes just a little goes a long way. In this example I used just a strip of gold glitter paper to make a transition from the design paper to the cardstock part. I also used my clear shimmer brush on the snowflake again and a glitter pen for the top of the ornament. 

The little bow is made from twine that is a mix of white and gold twine.

Here I set a piece of grey cardstock on a piece of red and centered it on my card base. I used a pine branch stamp from Close to My Heart (my favorite one) to stamp around the edge. First in white, then in green on top of the white. I added some extra snow effects with a white gel pen on some of the branch parts. 

The ornament is a die cut from red metallic paper which stands out from the grey so beautiful. 

Here is another example were I used the same ornament die cut. This time I cut the ornament from gold foiled paper. 

Hard to see, but the background of this card is a very dark green cardstock piece that I stamped with white pigment ink. I used a small pine branches stamp all along the edges.

Again, it doesn't have to be a lot of glamour, but a little bit can never hurt. 

Last but not least, my favorite "gold cardstock" desert sand again. I used a tree die to cut the center. I stamped a few stars in "desert sand" ink around the top of the tree. (I made a few more items where I used gold ink, but these will be shown later on the blog....gift ;-))

I adhered a piece of gold glitter paper to the base of the tree where the pot is and a little star on the top of the tree as well. The twine is a white and gold twine and I used gold ink to stamp the stars on the sentiment.

The piece of desert sand cardstock is placed in the center of a cream colored card base with foam dots.

Using metallic's, glitter and type of glamour is so much fun and there are so many more projects I made, but there is only so much space here LOL....stay tuned for more and please continue to hop along.

Please leave a comment and hop over to Amanda!

Today's Line up:

Theresa ~ http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com

Lisa ~ http://lisaslittlerascals.blogspot.com

Kim ~ http://katydidcards.com

Jearise ~ http://lorbysworld.blogspot.com

Sharon ~ http://piece-ofheart.blogspot.com

Claudia ~ http://ClaudiaHenderson.blogspot.com  (You are here!)

Amanda ~ http://salnclts76.blogspot.com

Debbie ~ http://pawstoscrap.blogspot.com 

It's the Little Things - Special of the Month

Let's celebrate the little things you love ...

So often it's the little things that matter most - and what better way to celebrate the little things in life than with adorable mini albums? Whether looking for a meaningful gift idea or a treasured keepsake, these mini albums are a fast and easy option, and this month you save 30%-off the retail of the products you need!

There are three beautiful bundles available for you:

1. Blush Mini Album Bundle (CC1198)

This includes the "Mini Album Blush", the "Life" cards - Hello Gorgeous, the "Life" overlays in gold, Memory protectors Mini 4x4 and 2x2

Your Price: $18.95

2. Blue Jean Mini Album Bundle (CC1197)

This set includes the "Mini Album Blue Jean", the "Life" cards - Enjoy, the "life" overlays in black, Memory protectors Mini 4x4 and 2x2

Your Price: $18.95

3. Adventure Mini Album Bundle (CC1200)

The last set available includes the "Everyday Life Album Stripes", the "My Crush Adventure Calls", your choice of Memory Protectors

Your Price: $19.95

The "little things" make some very special gifts, so don't wait to long and get them just in time for Christmas. 

The offer is valid until December 31st, while supplies last.