Just Wanted To Say...

Hello all!  Anyone who knows me, knows that I am famous for making things work out from "mistakes"!  Take this cute card.  It was a Krazy Kreations card kit I received while I was at the Scrapbook Expo in Chantilly.  By the way, you must go there if you've never been!  It was amazing!

Anyhoo, the kit comes with a card to attach the panel to.  I got the panel all ready to attach to the enclosed card...and attached the thing upside down!  I almost panicked until I realize that it was an easy fix!  I just cut off the card front, trimmed the card close to the panel, inked the edges with black ink and attached it to the purple card I had in my stash!  I had extra dots from the outline sheet that came with the kit.  And you see the neat glitter reflection from the center flower and leaves?  Krazy Kreations have glitter sheets that you can color on with alcohol markers!  The kit came with a portion of the flower outline sheet and a piece of the glitter sheet.  It was so easy and I love the affects!

So, I hope you enjoyed my "master piece" from my "mistake"!  And we all know that there is no such thing as a mistake in papercrafting!

Have a Happy 4th and be blessed!
Debra

Something Old, Something New

Hi everyone!

Wanted to share a few cards I made with a card kit that I've had for almost 10 yrs!  That's pretty bad.  How many remember the direct sales company, MemoryWorks?  I loved that company because it sold scrapbook supplies from all the major companies.  The papers, embellishments and ephemera would all be there together so it was super easy to coordinate everything!  Not to mention, as a consultant, you got products for 20% off...including the great sales!!  Good times....anyway....

My first card was made with the card base, flowers, and sticker from the old kit. The bling is from CTMH.   The new purchases are the patterned paper from DCWV Watercolorist and the glitter tape is from Design Your Life.

I love this tag!  Would you believe the only thing new is the CTMH Bitty Sparkles!  Everything else was in the kit...except the dragonfly stickers which are from another very old stash. 😀  Oh, and the pen used to make the dragonfly trail and the chalk used to color the bird.  Ok, I think I'm done with the new stuff now!

My last card was super easy.  The card base and buttons are from the kit.  The baker's twine is from an old CTMH stash.  The new item is the sentiment from Fun Stampers Journey.

So there you have it.  Something old and something new.  And isn't it great how they work together so nicely!

Til next time...keep scrappn' (and crafting!) and stay blessed!

Debra

June Stamp of the Month

Adorable Hello Foxy June SOTM!  Get it during the month of June for only $5 with a $50 or more purchase!

Congrats, Grad!

Happy Memorial Day!  Our county schools had their graduations over the weekend.  This is a card I made for one of my friend's daughter!  The school colors are red, white and blue.  I used Paperwishes paper, CTMH glitter tape, CTMH white enamel gems and Copic markers to color. I was tickled to find this Penny Black Grad! stamp set!  It was perfect for this card!

National Scrapbooking Month - Live Beautifully

Trust me when I tell you...this picture DOES NOT do this paper pack justice!!  It is one of the prettiest packs CTMH has designed in some time, in my humble opinion!  Celebrate National Scrapbooking Month with this beautiful paper!

May 2017 SOTM

LIVE, LOVE LAUGH May 2017 Stamp of the Month is perfect for the true colorist among us!!  Sweet little flowers drawn in each letter gives the crafter a ton of possibilities for coloring and coordinating the stamp set with other paper products!  Check out the following layout...

...And with a qualifying purchase of $50 or more, you can get this adorable stamp set for $5!

Mother's Day Card

Hi all!  It's been a while since I've been online.  My sewing "business" has taken wings and has left little time for crafting.  However, with Mother's Day right around the corner, I wanted to see if I could come up with a card that would make my Stepmom proud!

I am really getting into Heartfelt Creations paper packs!  The illustrations are lovely and you can do as little or as much as you want to the card and it will come out beautiful every time!  The paper pack I used is Classic Rose and the stamp set is Blushing Rose.  I colored with colored pencils, outlining the petal with a pink gel pen.  I used Paperwishes die-cut frames and Dazzles.

I've got time to try and make another one but really like the way this turned out.  Have a blessed day!

Hat Lady Birthday Card

I was looking through my stash to find the right elements to put together for my stepmom's birthday card.  She loves to wear hats to church on Sundays and thankfully, I remembered a set of hat lady Dazzles I got...years ago, of course!  The next thing was looking for the right paper and I had totally forgotten about the beautiful floral pattern paper I got ages ago from www.paperwishes.com!  I think this has to be one of the reasons I love papercrafting so much.  The product really never gets to old to use!lol

February SCT365 Challenge

Hi everyone!  Well, I finally got my layout finished for the SCT365 February Challenge.  I've had this particular paper pack from Karelyn Siegler for at least 3 years.  I didn't have time to look for multiple pictures so I was thrilled to find this picture of me and my girls in a stack of photos.  And I wanted to tweak the sketch (which is a double page layout) to just a single page and with one photo instead of three...or was it four?  At any rate, I love the outcome!  Now, it I get a little bit more me time this weekend, I may get a card done as well!  Wish me luck!

Good evening everyone!  When I read the following post on Close To My Heart's blog today, I couldn't help but get a little teary eyed!  I think it's because my grown daughters have asked to see a scrapbook of their childhood.  One in which I am, sadly, very behind in completing!  After reading this, I am going to make a conscious effort to get at least a small book made for each of them by their birthdays!  

Enjoy!

February 23, 2017

11 Reasons Your Children Will Want to Have Baby Books

In a day and age that makes taking and printing photos so easy, you would think that more and more parents would preserve these photos in books and scrapbooks. However, it seems that most photos nowadays don’t leave our computers or social media accounts—and at times, even our cameras!

The art of printing our family photos, writing down our stories, and placing them all together in the safe arms of an album seems to be a dying art—and it’s something that our kids are going to miss someday. When they want to see what they were like as babies and toddlers, the years they will remember very least, they will have nowhere to turn.

Here are 11 reasons why your children will want to have baby books:

1. They will know where to find photos of their childhood.

You may know where your favorite pictures of your babies are on your computer or on Facebook, but in 10 years will your kids know where to look? Not so much, unless they can grab their baby album off of the bookshelf.

2. A baby book is tangible evidence of your love.

When your kids go through the emotional highs and lows of the teenage years, the baby books you made for them will remind them—and you—that, despite what it might seem like at times, you love them with all your heart. 

3. Your toddlers will love to look through their baby books.

Though you may think your kids won’t value their baby books until they are older, chances are they will actually love them as toddlers. Toddlers love to see pictures of themselves as babies; it’s part of a phase where they begin to discover their own identity. Also, baby books make some of the best bedtime stories!

4. They will love to look at their baby pictures when they have their own kids someday.

When your kids start to have kids of their own, it will be so much fun for them to look through their baby books and see how their traits and mannerisms were passed down to their own kids.

5. They will want to look through their siblings’ baby books.

Nothing bonds siblings together quite like looking through each other’s baby books. They will laugh at silly pictures of each other. And even though they may not have memories of their siblings because of age differences, they will get to see those memories through your eyes.

6. They will love to show relatives who come to visit their baby books.

Your in-laws or grandparents might live far away, but you can help them feel more connected to your children by showing them the baby books you’ve been working on when they are in town visiting—and once your kids are old enough, they will love to be the ones to pull out their baby books and talk your visitors through each page. 

7. Life goes by lightning fast, and baby books make it easy to stroll down memory lane anytime they want.

Childhood flies by, so your kids will want to revisit their old memories. And if you’re a young mom, just trust us. You will want to revisit those baby pictures over and over again. Especially once puberty hits. 

8. You will forget the stories, even if you preserve the photos.

Though you may save all your photos in one way or another, the stories that go along with those photos will be lost unless you document them in a book. And moments from those sweet baby years are moments both you and your children will want to remember forever, even the small ones.

9. They will love to see your perspective.

You may think baby books are all about your babies, but they’re also a time capsule of you as a mom. As your babies grow into parents themselves, they will love to look back on your perspective as a new mother. Even seeing your handwriting will bring back good memories.

10. They will cherish their baby books more and more with time.

A baby book is something that increases in value with age. Just imagine how much that book will mean to your kids when they have grandkids and great grandkids! It’ll be a family treasure!

11. They will turn to their baby books in difficult times.

When life gets your kids down, they will turn to their baby books for comfort, to reminisce about the good old days, and to gain some perspective (though you may not see them doing this as teenagers because that would be so embarrassing!  )

Recipes 

12″ x 12″ Baby Girl Page 
Z3255 Whimsy Fundamentals, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3272 Baby Girl Complements, Z1151 3-D Foam Tape

6″ x 8″ 5 Months Layout
C1675 My Acrylix® Twins Rule Stamp Set, Z3294 Memo Fundamentals, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z2865 Juniper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3271 Archival Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3273 Baby Boy Complements, Z9979 Everyday Life™ Album—Stripes, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3252 Memory Protectors™ 6″ x 8″

12″ x 12″ The Best Day Page 
Z3255 Whimsy Fundamentals, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, Z3273 Baby Boy Complements, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3167 Cricut® Artistry Collection

Cricut® Shapes:
Artistry 
2″ Banner (cut 16, p. 1)

6″ x 8″ Pocket Scrapbooking Layout
Z3221 Picture My Life™ Watercolor Cards—Clear, Z3144 Pictures My Life™ Overlays—Gold & Silver, Z9979 Everyday Life™ Album—Stripes, Z3132 Watercolor Paints, Z3226 Waterbrush—Medium Flat, Z3192 Memory Protectors™ 4″ x 6″, Z3191 Memory Protectors™ 3″ x 4″
 
12″ x 12″ Cut Above™ Little One Layout
Z3320 Cut Above™ Layout Kit—Little One, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z5206 My Legacy™ D-ring Album—White

6″ x 8″ Beautiful Life Story Layout
B1548 My Acrylix® Journaling Prompts Stamp Set, Z3294 Memo Fundamentals, 1385 White Daisy Cardstock, X5770 Glacier Cardstock, Z2872 Whisper Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z2841 Glacier Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad, Z3273 Baby Boy Complements, Z9979 Everyday Life™ Album—Stripes, Z1979 Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen, Z3252 Memory Protectors™ 6″ x 8″

True Crafters!

Good morning!  If you are a True Crafter, you are going to LOVE this week's blog post from Close To My Heart!

February 9, 2017

19 Signs You’re a True Crafter

1. You don’t particularly like to tell your husband how much you spend on crafting supplies.

2. You always keep the door to your crafting room shut because . . .

via someecards

3. You believe embellishments are a girl’s best friend.

via scrapbook.com

4. You subscribe to crafting and homemaking magazines . . . and may even scrapbook your favorite magazine pages.

via Giphy

5. You believe there’s no such thing as too much glitter. Because it’s the truth.

via Giphy

6. At any given time, you’re working on 10+ projects simultaneously, but you WILL finish them all…one day.

via The Happy Scraps

7. When someone asks, “Where did you get that?” and you get to say, “I made it,” it’s basically the best.

via Giphy

8. You don’t throw away ANY scrap paper. Honestly, who would do that?

via Giphy

9. Your heart melts when you stumble across family members randomly looking through your scrapbooks.

via heckyeahreactiongifs.tumblr.com

10. You lose track of time (and reality) when you’re crafting.

via Queen and Company

11. You don’t understand anyone who thinks that storing their photos on their computer or on social media is “good enough.”

via reactiongifs.com

12. Martha is your Queen Bee.

via pwdart.tumblr.com

13. Trying to clean your crafting room is basically impossible.

via craftstorageideas.com

14. You frequently see things at the store and think, “Sheesh, I could make that myself for half the price!”

via Sewing Rabbit

15. If you spot something cute for a project “you might one day do,” your willpower goes right out the door.

via A Girl and a Glue Gun

16. Using your favorite crafting materials to create a gift for a friend is like giving them a little piece of your soul.

via Queen and Company

17. The problem is always the size of your crafting room, never the size of your stash. ALWAYS.

via U Create

18. And speaking of your stash…no one needs to know just how much stuff you have.

via Craftaholics Anonymous

19. You will make all the things forever and ever.

via Kathy R. Jeffords

If this describes you, then welcome! You have found your people! We’re a company that loves crafting so much we make it possible for people to earn a living by crafting in their own homes!

Becoming a Close To My Heart Consultant is easy and super affordable. It only costs $75 (USD) to join, and when you do, you get a box full of supplies PLUS $50 (USD) in Select Product Credit to buy even more stuff! And this month only, you can join for even less if you were a former Consultant. We want you back, friends! 

As an Independent Consultant, you’ll not only get to work your own hours from home doing what you love, but you’ll also get an AMAZING Consultant discount on our exclusive products! And anyone who joins this month gets three stamp sets for FREE, a retail value of over $50 (USD)!

We want you to succeed (and to wake up each day loving your job), so we have tons of online resources and training courses to help make this dream job a reality. There’s nothing to fear!

To learn more about the perks of becoming a Consultant, and the exclusive deals we’re offering to those who join this month, visit my website at http://debrablake.closetomyheart.com !