Home is Where the Heart Is

Challenge for the Heart 2 Heart Challenge site - their theme this week is "Home is Where the Heart Is".
I have a wonderful friend who has just moved into a new home, so this theme is very appropriate for her.

To create the card I used the Artfully Sent cartridge to cut the beautifully intricate house and garden layer in smoothie cardstock, and also cut the sentiment layer from Outdoor Denim.
To create the background I cut three cloud icons from the Artiste cartridge at 1" and arranged them on the plain card base, then spritzed with my spray pens in gypsy, topiary and pacifica.

I used the last of my Outdoor Denim chevron ribbon behind the negative sentiment to add some texture and pattern to the lettering.

Lastly I added some clear sparkles to give a little rainy bling to the card.

The completed project:

Thanks so much for coming to visit my blog! Happy crafting!

 

Year >> Noted Kit

The Year Noted Kit is a limited time only product exclusive to Close to My Heart. I've used it as a snapshot of 2014, filling it with 24 of my favourite photos from the year. I had them printed as either 6x4" or 3x4" snaps to match the format of the mini book.
The kit comes with two sheets of patterned paper in Desert Sand, Light Orange and Light Green (it's kind of a minty shade). Also included are two sheets of White Daisy, a sheet or Light Orange and a sheet of Light Green. Plus of course the 24-piece stamp set with sayings such as "This Year's" "Next Year's" and "accomplishments".
Available only in January 2015: the papers and stamp set. Add this kit to your order for $10 this month.
Available as part of our main range: the Mini Book either in Black or Kraft. You can add this to your order for $5 this month, although RRP is $18.

Have a look at the contents of the kit:

Have a look at my finished project:

Browse my Close to My Heart shop for more awesome crafty items.
Contact me to place an order worth $75 so that you can add your Year Noted kit for just $10 or $15.

Christmas Gift Ideas 4... Organisation

The best thing you can give a crafter who has it all is an organiser. After all, even if she has shelving and useful plastic wheelie boxes at home, how is she to transport it all to crops and workshops?
This post features some of the organisational solutions Close to My Heart offers the beginning or lifetime crafter.

The My Acrylix Organizer

1. The My Acrylix Organizer - $27.50. This sturdy, stackable case holds up to 15 My Acrylix stamps sets in their envelopes, or mix n match with a few stamp pads, scissors and basic tools. A great go-to box for a small selection of items when you know what you will need!






The Medium Organizer

2. The Small Organizer - $27.50. (14.5 x 10.5 x 2"). This stackable case is handy for daubers, pigment ink pads, and small items such as ribbon embellishments and pens.

3. The Medium Organizer - $35.50. (14.5 x 10.5 x 5"). This stackable case is a great size for most events. The height is perfect for eight stamp pads, ink bottles, spritz pens, stamp cleaners, etc.




The Large Organizer

4. The Large Organizer - $45.50. (14.5 x 10.5 x 7.5"). This case is great for EVERYTHING - the My Acrylix stamp sets fit standing up, and you can stack 11-12 stamp pads in the front sections, along with bone folder, stamp cleaner, etc.

5. To add to the small organizer, inserts can be bought for your daubers ($24), pigment ink pads ($24), craft boxes ($14.50) and blocks ($14.50).

In this picture you can see that Fancy Melissa has stacked two Small Organizers ontop of a Medium Organizer.

Christmas Gift Ideas 3... Home Decor

This is the third in my series of posts for Christmas gift ideas. Close to My Heart has many options for the crafty and not so crafty women in your life, at different prices to suit everyone's Christmas shopping list. Today I'm featuring DECOR... the options to make your home look stunning with little or no effort, but which can also be dressed up as much as the recipient desires to suit her personal taste.
1. Red magnetic Chalkboard - $54. Framed chalkboard with magnetic surface, sawtooth hangers on back. Interior dimensions 14.5 x 12". This board does not come with magnets... but yesterday's post features the most beautiful ideas for magnets from CTMH consultant, so if I were you I would be making my own!











2. Designed décor Shadowbox (Colonial White or Black) - $54. Wooden frame with hinged back that opens for easy loading. Sawtooth hangers on back. Interior dimensions 12x12", total depth when closed 1.25".

3. Designed Décor White Colonial Frame - $50. Wooden frame with honeycomb wire. Sawtooth hangers on back. Interior dimensions 12 x 14.5".













Click here to see the original post

4. Display tray (black) - $32.50. Wooden display for a favourite 12x12" scrapbook page, cut up, or 4x3" photos, or Picture My Life Cards. Includes hangers. Outside dimensions 13x13.25x1".


5. Event Calendar - $13.50. Many people don't realise that we sell good quality card calendars for your home - blank and ready to be adorned with your favourite photos and events! This one is 18x4".
Here you can see a page of the Event Calendar made up for April. See the original post by clicking here.









6. Monthly Calendar - $13. And finally, my favourite best-kept-secret-gift-idea from the entire catalogue - 12 blank calendar pages, 12x12". I get to decorate every page like a scrapbook (12" square) and stamp month names, and add special birthdays... I can't wait to make this gift for a few of my special family members! I have three to make (unless I keep adding recipients to the list) - I'd better get cracking...
The picture featured is of another of Jen Patrick's beautiful calendars, and you can see the original post by clicking here.

Christmas Gift Ideas 2: Jewellery

This the second in my series of Christmas Gift Ideas posts. This post centres around the wearable craft range Close to My Heart have available.
There are many types of jewellery at different price margins. My favourite is the pendant necklace. I have been running Base n Bling Parties where each guest gets to make a pendant for $20, which is very affordable. It is a little cheaper if you buy the pieces in bulk. The components of the necklace are: chain ($10), pendant ($8 or $10 for a pack of three), clear glass cover ($3 or $5 for a pack of three), charms ($7 or $8 for a pack of six) and icon sticker ($7 for a sheet of 28-32). If you have many gifts to make, this is definitely the way to buy your supplies. Throw in a bottle of Liquid Glass ($12) and Christmas is SORTED!

Here is a picture from Hey Girl Scrap.com. You can see the creator is ready to gift a lot of crafty friends with their own beautiful necklaces!

For a slightly different (and even quicker) handmade gift, you could choose to create a cuff. I have been running classes for these are $15 per person. The components you will need to complete a cuff are the oval cuff ($8, either gold or silver), the oval glass covers ($5 a pack of three), and an icon sticker ($7 for a sheet of 28-32).

 

I have seen some other beautiful ideas with our Base n Bling items too. Here is a photo of the beautiful fridge magnets created by a sister consultant - Angela Mansfield - in the USA. She has used our bases, icons, covers and charms, but added strong magnets to the back with Liquid Glass. What a beautiful idea!

 

I have also seen our charms used frequently on cards, as drawer pulls on 3D boxes, and as wine charms. They're actually very versatile wee items.

Christmas Gift Ideas 1: Mini Albums

This is the first in a series of posts to help you get sorted for Christmas. The topic of this post is MINI ALBUMS.

Close to My Heart have a selection of Mini Albums available, all with different themes and at different prices, so there will be something to suit everyone.

The Hip Pics Album is a gorgeous little book, white daisy cardstock pages inside which are spiral bound, with a solid Kraft outer sleeve. This book, at $14.50, is perfect to give as a gift to crafty teens, or to fill and gift already decorated. Below you can see a short video I made of a Hip Pics album created for mother's day. This can be easily adapted for any occasion, and at $14.50 it's the kind of album you could easily have a whole collection of.

 

The Short Stack Album is a similar size, but gives you more options on the inside. Again it is spiral bound for durability, but the pages here are all Kraft, with no pre-cut slots. Photographs and messages are not slipped into this album but rather adhered ontop of each page. Again at $17 it's something that would make an excellent gift as is, or as a finished project. Below is a video showing the Short Stack album I created as a snapshot of the kind of Christmas food which is special in our home.

 

The My Crush Holiday Happenings Book ($29) is one of many different styles we sell of My Crush books. These are fabulous little books for journaling and for photographs. The Holiday Happenings book is just over 6x8" and has 30 pages. There are also additional embellishments that can be purchased which co-ordinate perfectly with this book. A My Crush bundle makes a brilliant Christmas gift for a crafty friend or teen.

Here is a video of a consultant opening up her Holiday Happenings set, and showing us what is inside:

Watch below to see what American Consultant Pam Korte has done with her Holiday Happenings My Crush Book and Assortments.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gc-1-rzm_nE

There are two assortments that co-ordinate, The Badge Buttons and the wee Pockets, both priced at $10.

Christmas Card Ideas... FAST CARDS!

If you are looking for some more Christmas card ideas and are running out of time, look no further than the current Close to My Heart Annual Inspirations book.


1. Buy a pack of Pear and Partridge Picture My Life Cards and stick them onto a plain card background. If you want to go crazy (and this does look beautiful), add a surround of Kraft cardstock and a bit of washi or some bling. There are 44 4x6" cards, and 78 3x4" cards in the set, which costs $24 - a very affordable way of making quick cards.

2. Buy the "Cut Above" Holiday Card Kit for $22. You will have enough product to make 10 beautiful cards with a completely fail-safe system. Add the Merriest Christmas stamp set to your order for $18 and you will have four very versatile Christmas sentiments which will look good on any card.

3. Buy the "Cut Above" Christmas Card Kit for $20. Again this is an absolutely fail-safe method of making 10 beautiful cards - so simple that you will have your children make their own cards this year - or even the ones for the whole family.