I hope that today your tummy is full of good food, your spirits full from the company of good friends & family and that your heart is full of gratitude for all the blessings in your life. I am so grateful for you! Happy Thanksgiving!
That’s right, it’s time to prepare for Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday Specials from me and Close To My Heart! You’ll have to wait until early Friday morning for some of the surprises, but for right now, I’ll leave you with my personal special for you… This year–Friday, November 24 through Monday, November 27, 2017, you can save on purchases–even Gift Certificates!* Spend … Read more Black Friday is Coming!
I absolutely love making these bag toppers. They are the perfect way to add a creative, handmade touch to a gift AND it prevents the recipient from being able to peek in the bag! Plus, they are fairly easy to create, too. Which when you’re on a time crunch (always the case during the holidays, … Read more No Peeking Christmas Bag Topper
‘Tis the season! Black Friday advertisements have already begun. Early Black Friday deals are even being offered. Holiday shopping is definitely upon us. Have you ever made your wrapping for your holiday gifts? From simple boxes to darling totes, creating your own holiday wrapping can be easier than you might think (especially if you own … Read more DIY Holiday Wrapping
Close To My Heart released a wildly popular stamp set in their Holiday Expressions Catalog. This stamp set, The Thought That Counts, contains some fun, light-humored sentiments for creating your own holiday tags. As you can tell from the light blue line outlining the tag image, it perfectly coordinates with CTMH’s Basic Tags Thin Cuts. … Read more The Perfect Handmade Gift Tags
My annual 12 Weeks of Christmas is under way. If you aren’t currently on our mailing list, you’ve missed 5 weeks of holiday greeting card tutorials. But never fear–there’s still time to get in on the FREE holiday tutorials! Tomorrow begins the first of DIY holiday gift tutorials. Sign up to be on our mailing … Read more DIY Holiday Gift Ideas
It’s the final 2 days to take advantage of CTMH’s October Specials. First, there is the October Stamp of the Month: Christmas Tunes. You can get this stamp set for only $5 with a qualifying $50 order. That’s a savings of $12.95! Here’s a cute card created with this set. I received this card from … Read more Last Call for CTMH October Specials!
Have you seen the cover of Close To My Heart’s Seasonal Expressions Catalog? It’s got a darling Christmas Village on it. So cute that many have been asking how they can create their very own Christmas village! Well, today Close To My Heart has answered the many, many requests on their blog. The winter … Read more A DIY Christmas Village Tutorial
Are you local to the San Jose area? If so, you should mark your calendar and plan to get some holiday shopping done early! Plus, if you are one of the first 50 shoppers to arrive, you get yourself a *FREE* Goody Bag filled with a wonderful surprise from each of the 16 vendors at … Read more Holiday Boutique
It’s one week until Halloween. If you are looking for a fun project to do with the kids that’s a little different than the traditional pumpkin carving–then this is your answer! These Melted Crayon Pumpkins are super easy and are so cool to create. The supplies you’ll want are: White or Tiger Striped Pumpkin (or … Read more Melted Crayon Pumpkin Tutorial
Halloween is a little less than 2 weeks away…are you ready for it?! Today I thought I’d share a really quick and easy Halloween project idea. It’s a Halloween gift bag created with Close To My Heart’s Cats & Bats Collection. I found some cute little gift bags in black and orange at Michaels and … Read more A Cute & Simple Halloween Gift Bag
This month Close To My Heart is trying to give more to Operation Smile–the organization they’ve supported for nearly a decade. In fact, just this weekend while I was at a scrapbooking retreat hosted by Close To My Heart, we raised nearly $10,000 through an auction. It was enough to save a mission to Mexico … Read more Punny Pals Halloween Boxes
As promised, here is another fun project using the Cats & Bats Scrapbooking Stamp Set + Thin Cuts dies. This Booo Box Card is not only a card but a fun treat, too! I had a lot of fun using both CTMH’s *NEW* Silver Foil Paper and Vellum Paper. Each had a great effect when … Read more Booo Box Card
Today’s card is a fun one. It has just the right amount of technique to it as well as simplicity in it’s design. This particular card is one I received from Jamie B. in our holiday card swap. I love that she embossed the spider webs. It gives it so much more dimension while still … Read more October 31st Halloween Card
Halloween isn’t here yet, but you’re sure to find Christmas decorations and crafting supplies already in the stores. So how would you feel about some Christmas Tunes? Maybe a Christmas Tunes Stamp Set from Close To My Heart? You guessed it! This month’s Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month is called Christmas Tunes. … Read more Christmas Tunes Stamp of the Month