Featured Paper Blog Hop-’Tis the Season

Welcome to our Featured Paper Blog Hop! We will be showcasing items from our ‘Tis the Season Paper Pack with various projects created by talented Close to my Heart Consultants. If you are visiting from Ramona’s blog then you are on the right track, if not please start at the beginning with our hostess Carol.

I absolutely loved the Deluxe 'Tis The Season WYW when I first saw it, but I was worried that the layouts would be too wintery since I live in New Zealand where we have our Christmas in summer.

This layout in particular I was drawn to, and I decided to change up some of the elements whilst still keeping the overall feel of the layout.

I swapped out the snowflake paper for another great pattern within the kit, used New England Ivy cardstock instead of Candy Apple, and changed the snowflake embellishments for ornaments. All of these items I switched to are still in the kit so I was not using any additional supplies.



I still kept all of the parts of the layout I was originally attracted to, such as the stamping, the title, the numbered photos and journal boxes.



Swapping out the snowflakes for the ornaments included in the Complements was an easy switch and added some bling to my page!



Switching out a paper or embellishments is a great way to get something extra out of any WYW kit and I hope that this will inspire some of you to recreate previous layouts with new paper and embellishment combinations.

Next check out Erica’s blog and I'd love for you to leave me a comment!

Shake Things Up!

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 21 of us highlighting the ways you can use our Shaker Card products. This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Vandra's Blog, you are on the right track!

As soon as I saw the wreaths in the Season of Joy Cricut cartridge, I knew they would create a perfect frame for a shaker card. I cut the Noel in New England Ivy and Candy Apple cardstock at 3.5" to fit our shaker card frames, and I also sponged the frame in New England Ivy ink before I placed the acetate sheet on top so that it blended in better.



To fill the shaker, I used the silver loose sequins but I also used the star pattern from the Shaker Window and Confetti Thin Cuts to cut some gold stars in order to match the gold framed background.



Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Tamara's Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

Products used:
Cardstock: Candy Apple, New England Ivy
Cricut Cartridge: Season of Joy
Embellishments: Loose Sequins-Silver, Shaker Window Foam and Acetate
Paper Packets: Gold Glitter Paper, 'Tis The Season
Thin Cuts: Shaker Window and Confetti

‘Tis the Season CTMH Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our November Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Kara then you are in the right place.

If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post.

Today I would like to share with you a creation which features Close To My Heart’s November Featured Paper Packet, 'Tis The Season.

This Christmas themed paper packet is great for scrapbooking my Christmas photos, and I saw the bold sentiment from the matching Complements and knew I had to use a photo from Christmas Day last year where my boys were wearing their new sunglasses.



I added some of the Complement stars and used a sticker to add the date to my layout. The Christmas memories was stamped and fussy cut. I also stamped some stars for extra detail. (Notice I'm wearing one of the old CTMH Base and Bling necklaces!)



I used some of the Gold glitter paper to look like a gift wrap bow, and added a Poinsettia I cut from the Season of Joy Cricut cartridge. I used the light and dark sides of the Candy Apple cardstock plus a base layer of Ruby to get the different shades. I added some white gems in the middle for dimension.



I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Doreen's Blog.

Products used:
Cardstock: Candy Apple, Ruby, White Daisy
Cricut cartridge: Season of Joy
Embellishments: Black and White Dots, 'Tis The Season Complements
Ink: New England Ivy
Paper Packets: Gold Glitter Paper, 'Tis The Season
Stamp set: Christmas Countdown

Noel Christmas Card

I'm well and truly into Christmas card making mode, and I am loving the is The Season Paper Packet for all of my backgrounds.

I've been trying to use challenges for inspiration, and so this week I made a card based on the following challenges:

Craft Rocket- Christmas is Coming
Happy Little Stampers- Anything Goes With Dies
Double Trouble- Christmas with Tic-Tac-Tuesday


I chose the bottom Tic-Tac-Tuesday line and went with stamping, red and plaid plus I used a die and made a Christmas themed card.



The Noel sentiment is die cut from my Cricut machine, and I stamped the holly leaves and fussy cut, then added the berries directly onto the cardstock.

This card was then blinged up a bit, and now it is ready for sending!

Products used:
Cardstock: Candy Apple, White Daisy
Cricut Collection: Season of Joy
Embellishments: Grey Gems
Ink: Candy Apple, New England Ivy
Paper Packet: 'Tis The Season
Stamp set: Christmas Countdown

Christmas is Love

Who doesn't love glitter and glitz- and it's especially awesome on Christmas cards.

I found a red glitter stocking in the new Christmas embellishments I have and the idea of this card immediately came to mind. I used some of the other stocking stickers on either side and joined them all with gold threaded twine. The stamped sentiment seemed to be a perfect fit for this card too!



I added extra bling with some gold glitter gems and some gold shimmer trim that I cut in a zigzag.



I'm playing along this week with the Heart 2 Heart Glitz and Glam challenge.

Products used:
Cardstock: Candy Apple, White Daisy
Embellishments: Gold Glitter Gems, Gold Shimmer Trim,  'Tis The Season Complements, White and Gold Twine
Ink: Candy Apple
Paper: 'Tis The Season
Stamp set: Love With All The Trimmings

Merry and Bright

I'm getting well into the swing of things with my Christmas card making, and I really enjoy taking inspiration from sketches and challenges.



Today I combined the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and the Heart 2 Heart colour challenge to create this Christmas card.



I used the beautiful red tinsel embossing powder to create the sentiment, and then the rest of the card flowed from there! A background Christmas stamp helped to anchor the three strips and I used layered stitched circles for dimension. n order to get a touch of Nectarine, I finished off the card with some black and orange stars from the Hello Pumpkin Complements.

I hope to start sharing a lot more Christmas cards- my craft room is covered in Christmas themed paper right now!

Products used:
Paper: Tis The Season Paper Packet, Enchantment Fundamental Paper Packet
Cardstock: Ruby, Charcoal, Mink
Ink: Black, Versamark
Stamp set: Merry Trimmings, Merry and Bright
Embellishments: Hello Pumpkin Complements, Red Tinsel Embossing Powder
Tools: Stitched Circles Thin Cuts

Australasian September SOTM

Hello and welcome aboard our September Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop.

If you have arrived here from Doris then you are in the right place.

If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post.

Today I would like to share with you a creation which features Close To My Heart’s September Stamp of the Month, Just Treats.




Using this stamp set and the new 'Tis The Season Paper Packet, I was able to create these 5 Christmas cards in just 20 minutes!



I took four different paper patterns from the 'Tis The Season Paper Packet, and the word printed pattern is from the coordinating Christmas List PML cards, as well as some New England Ivy and White Daisy cardstock.



I stacked the patterned paper and cut it a random angles, keeping each stack together. I then shuffled each patterned paper piece until I had five different pattern mixes.



I glued each pattern mix to the backing piece of White Daisy cardstock for stability.



I then matted each pattern on the New England Ivy cardstock and added a stamped sentiment from the September Stamp of the Month to finish off the card.



Full instructions and measurements to make these cards can be found here.

This exclusive stamp set is only available during September. It can be yours for just $7.50 with a qualifying order of $75 or for $30.50 if ordered separately from your CTMH consultant.

If you do not have a consultant please contact me to place an order.

I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Doreen Watkins.