Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Cutie Pie SOTM Cards

Today is the last day to get your Cutie Pie (December Stamp of the Month) stamp set!



Both of these fun cards were made using Close to my Heart’s Brushed Paper along with some Silver Sequins and of course the adorable Cutie Pie stamp set. The card below also incorporates some painted metal flowers from the Brushed Assortment, and the Heart Embossing Folder.




I’m off to spend some time with my family and ring in the new year. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year celebration tonight and a 2015 filled with blessings! xoxo

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Guest Designer Valentine's Card



I was honored to asked to be a guest designer for the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge Blog this week. The sketch they sent me to use was so much fun. Here is the card I made using the sketch as inspiration. I used Close to my Heart’s new Heartstrings Paper and Compliments on my 6" x 6" card. It is a little hard to see, but I also used the adorable new Heart Embossing Folder. The swirls were cut using a combination of images from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. I combined them in Design Space. Here is the Design Space file if you’d like to use the image. The best thing about this card is that it was easy to make. There was no stamping involved. (Just a lot of 3-D Foam Tape.) *Ü*


Thanks for stopping by today. If you’d like to make a project inspired by the sketch above, be sure to share it on the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge Blog.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas



I just realized that my Christmas post never posted. I am so sorry about that. 

I hope you and your family had a very Merry Christmas and I wish you all a blessed New Year!

With Love,
Lisa and Family

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Christmas Gifts for the Neighbors


Every year I make a little something for our neighbors to let them know how much we appreciate them. This year I opted to not make something from scratch in the kitchen (if you know me, you know about my lack of culinary skills) so I gave all of our neighbors a box of yummy peppermint bark from Costco. I did spend some time to make the gift look pretty though, so I guess I can say that I did “make” part of the gift. It’s all about the packaging, right? LOL.


I used Close to my Hearts fantastic cupcake boxes to wrap the gifts. I filled a cellophane bag with the Peppermint Bark and tied the top with some Cranberry Striped Twill Ribbon. I slipped the bag into the box and then decorated it. I created a fun poinsettia flower for the outside of the box by cutting a flower shape from the Artiste Cricut cartridge at 1.25", 1.5", and 2" from a piece of Cranberry cardstock. I inked the edges with Cranberry ink and rolled the petals in a bit using my fingernail. Then I adhered them on top of each other with a small piece of 3-D Foam Tape. I scored, cut, and inked some Olive cardstock in the shape of holly leaves as well. I added a large Clear Sparkle to the center of each flower and adhered them to the boxes with a little note printed on White Daisy cardstock that I hand cut into a banner shape.

Here is the Design Space file if you’d like to make the flowers. (The file can only be used it you have the Explore machine and the Artiste Cricut cartridge.) I hope you were able to make some fun neighbor gifts this year too.

Happy Christmas Eve! xoxo

Friday, December 12, 2014

Cutie Pie December Stamp of the Month Layout


The December Stamp of the Month is one of my all time favorites. It’s called Cutie Pie and contains lots of adorable little cupcakes and cute phrases. When I was at the CTMH Team Builders event last month, they shared some great artwork that was created by the Corporate Art Department. I was lucky enough to win some of the sample artwork made using this fun stamp set.

This is the single page layout that I won. Isn’t it cute? I am not sure who the adorable kiddos are, but the layout was too cute to not share with you.


It looks likes they used the Cutie Pie stamp set, along with some Brushed paper and Brushed Metal Assortments, the journaling pen, and a few Gold Sequins. The cupcakes were colored using the ShinHan Touch Twin markers.


Did you know you can get this adorable stamp set for just $5 with a $50 order? Be sure to order your Cutie Pie stamp set soon because it is only available during the month of December. 

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Simply Inspired Blog Hop - Seasonal Expressions


Welcome to this month’s Simply Inspired Blog Hop. This month we are featuring projects using new products from the very first Seasonal Expressions mini catalog. If you arrived here from the fabulous Blythe Shupe’s blog, you are on the right path. If you get lost along the way, feel free to click here for a list of all of the blog hop participants. 


I know this card is VERY simple, but every time I tried to add something fun to it, it ended up taking something away from it. Sometimes clean and simple is just the best way to go.

I used the beautiful paper from the new Heartstrings Collection for the background of the card. Then I cut the “LOVE” shape from page 35 of the Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge booklet. I adhered it to the card base with some Foam Tape which gave this simple card the perfect amount of dimension. (A little tip when needing thin strips of Foam Tape is to use CTMH’s Non-Stick Micro-Tip Scissors. It makes cutting the tape SUPER easy with no sticky residue left on the scissors.)


The sentiment and flowers came from my new all-time favorite stamp set called Happy to Be Friends. I love the fonts and sentiment combinations that you can make with this set! I stamped the flowers on a piece of scrap cardstock and cut them out. After adhering them to the card, I added a couple of Clear Sparkles to finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by. Now hop on over the the always amazing Bren Yule’s blog to see her wonderful creations.

Sunday, November 30, 2014

AMAZING December Promotions and a Cyber Monday Sale to knock your socks off!

There are so many promotions happening this month that I am not sure where to start. In fact, you can TRIPLE DIP and take advantage of the first three special promotions today!


Cyber Monday Sale - 20% off Cricut Collections

For the first time ever, Close to my Heart is offering a Cyber Monday Sale TODAY ONLY! There has never been a better time to buy CTMH’s exclusive Cricut Collections because today only, they are all 20% off! Whether you love scrapbooking, card making, or creating 3-D projects, our four exclusive Cricut Collections make the perfect addition to any craft room! The sale starts at 11pm (PST) on November 30th and ends at 10:59pm (PST) on Monday night.

If you are not sure which Collection(s) to get, feel free to visit my Cricut Collection page here for more info.

You may place your order on my website here or if your subtotal is $150 or more, feel free to contact me and I will be happy to enter it for you on my end as a party so that you can earn hostess rewards (free goodies)! Be sure to check out the other promotions below, because you will be able to triple dip and take advantage of all THREE promotions today and save even more!


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Deal of the Decade - Celebrate the 10 year anniversary of My Acrylix Stamps


Celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Close to my Heart’s revolutionary My Acrylix clear stamps with us! With a qualifying purchase of $50 during the month of December. you are eligible to purchase as many C and/or D-sized stamp sets as you like from the Annual Inspirations catalog for just $10 each! That’s a savings of up to $7.95 per stamp set! Remember that there is no limit to the number of eligible stamps you can purchase at this discounted rate! Plus, a $50 purchase will also qualify you to receive the December Stamp of the Month (see below) for just $5!

*Offer valid December 1-31, 2014. Shipping/handling is calculated based on the full retail price of the discounted items (C-sized stamp set - $13.95/D-sized stamp sets - $17.95.) 


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December Stamp of the Month - Cutie Pie
Add a little frosting to your order this month!





It’s a sweet, sweet December deal ~ Place an order totaling $50 or more and you’ll qualify to receive the adorable December Stamp of the Month called Cutie Pie, for just $5! This set of sugary stamps will be perfect on your cards and layouts featuring your favorite sweet faces. It’s only available during December — so act fast! Click here to order your December SOTM.


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Seasonal Expressions is Here!
Enjoy four months of fabulous products!


It’s finally here! The Idea Book you’ve been waiting for! Full of unique ideas and bright, detailed photos, this themed seasonal book is sure to delight! From now through March, you can order some of the most charming Valentine’s- and spring-inspired papers, stamps, and embellishments you’ve ever seen. The vivid colors and patterns will give your layouts and cards a fresh look and plenty of pizazz. See the contents yourself online here or contact me for your own copy.

Stop by my blog tomorrow evening for a blog hop highlighting some fun projects using new products from Seasonal Expressions 1.

December Project Kit - Holiday Packaging and Gift Tags


December’s Creative Club will be held on Thursday, December 18th at 7pm. This month I will help you with some last minute gift wrapping ideas. Each kit will make (3) gift boxes and (6) tags. (The tags fit perfectly inside the smallest box.) Wrap your gifts with love this Christmas! The recipients will love both the gift and the beautiful wrapping!


The project kit is $30 and includes all of the following: 
Additional products needed to complete this project:
Ink Pads: Cranberry, White Daisy, Chocolate
Adhesive of your choice
3-D Foam Tape
Artiste Cricut Collection (All pieces will be pre-cut for you, but you will need this if you would like to make more without buying additional kits.)

Order additional kits without the stamps for just $20 more!

Use the cupcake box and the “takeout” box for wrapping homemade treats or other gifts.





The box below holds all of the gift tags perfectly. Use it to store your tags and then when you have used them all, use the box to wrap a gift for a loved one.



The (6) gift tags are perfect for labeling presents or add one to each of the gift boxes above to make them even more special. The recipients of these gifts will love receiving such beautifully wrapped goodies!


 Project kits also include these two stamp sets:



Thank you for the great response.
Kits are now sold out.

To find out more about my monthly “no-commitment” Creative Club, click here. You do not need to be local to participate.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Special Cyber Monday Sale - 20% off all CTMH Cricut Collections!


Oh my goodness! Close to my Heart just announced their very first Cyber Monday sale and it is a GREAT one! All of CTMH’s Cricut Collections will be 20% off on Monday, December 1st only!

PLUS there will be an AMAZING promotion to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of My Acrylix stamps in December as well. To celebrate this milestone anniversary, if you purchase $50 from the Annual Inspirations Catalog, you will qualify to get as many C and/or D sized stamp sets from the Annual Inspirations Catalog for just $10 each!

You can place your orders directly on my website on December 1st, or if your subtotal is $150 or more, feel free to contact me and I will enter the order as a party and you will earn hostess rewards (free goodies!)

I am so excited about these promotions! Cyber Monday is definitely the day to get your “creative” shopping done (for your loved ones and for yourself!)

Friday, November 28, 2014

So very thankful...

I hope all of my U.S. friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. I know I sure did! We had family here for the day and shared a wonderful meal (I am still in a food coma), played some fun games, and reflected on all of the blessings that we enjoy! I am truly thankful for so much!

One of the things that I am thankful for is my Close to my Heart family. I was privileged to be able to attend an event in Utah a couple weeks ago for Directors. It was not only a great time of learning, but I was also blessed to be able to spend some time with CTMH sisters that I don't get to see very often.

Two of the wonderful people I was blessed to be able to spend extra time with were Amy McGrew and Brenda Rose. These ladies are so incredibly talented and creative and they are both such sweet, caring gals. Imagine my surprise to open up my mailbox this week to find some “happy mail” from each of them. They both sent me such beautiful cards that I had to share them with you.

This first card was created by Brenda Rose. You MUST check out her blog. This girl has some crazy, awesome talent! I just love the fun cluster of flowers and leaves with the adorable owl tucked behind. Brenda used the Pathfinding paper, Pathfinding Assortments, and Lifetime of Happiness stamp set. Thank you sweet Brenda!!! xoxo



This next card was created by Amy McGrew. Amy is such an amazing gal. She is an inspiration to me in so many ways. I LOVE spending time with her at CTMH events and incentive trips! I wish she loved closer to me, although if she did, we’d surely get into trouble with too much shopping and too much crafting. (Although is there REALLY such as thing as too much crafting? LOL.)  Be sure to check out Amy’s awesome blog.

Amy also used the Pathfinding paper, which is one of my favorites.  She used the Thankful Heart stamp set and some Sparkle Flourishes as well. Thank you Amy! Love you my friend! xoxo



Would you like to see a few photos from our Team Builders event? I didn’t take many photos during the class sessions, but I did take a bunch during the extra fun “spoiling” time that CTMH blessed us with.

This is a photo of my roomies. I brought them each a matching pair of jammies. I made shirts that had all of our names on them in addition to some fun CTMH words such as: creativity, heart, friends, scrapbooks, ink, and Sticky Boy. (You’ll find out more about “Sticky Boy” soon!) 


Check out the SUPER cute name tags we each received! 
LOVE that each one was handmade and hand-penned!


A little peek at our agenda and cute pen we were given.


We were each given a beautiful scarf to keep us warm. (Let me tell you that this Southern CA girl was SOOOO grateful for this gift! It was cold!)


CTMH had the Waffle Love truck come on Friday. 
BEST. WAFFLE. EVER! Enough said!


Oh yes! They had table massages and chair massages. Can you say “Pampered?” Man, this guy was good!!


This was the whole group that attended. What an amazing group!
I LOVE MY JOB! *Ü*