Balloon Animals goes Baby-themed!

Balloon animals aren't only for birthdays!!!  Here, I used the elephant balloon animal to make these cute little baby cards. We've got a few friends who are expecting this spring, so I can't wait to send these out once their new bundles arrive!

The glacier version is a bit more "masculine" with the clean edges and the mini staples holding the twine in place.  The pink version is a bit more delicate with the scalloped edge and no staples (I just used liquid glass to hold the twine in place).  I love how the Georgie Patterned Paper and Whisper Paper Fundamentals create such dimension in this card. 

 

The sentiment stamp can be found in the sets accompanying the Artfully Sent Cricut Cartridge.  This set is an invaluable tool for any cardmaker.  There seems to be a stamp for every occasion!  The sentiment here is actually two different stamps, so you can change out what you are congratulating the recipient for.

 

Remember, this stamp set is only available during the month of February.  It can be purchased for $17.95, or ONLY $5 with any $50 purchase.  Contact me to order yours today!

Close To My Heart Materials used to create this card:
S1602 - Balloon Animals Stamp Set
X7203B - Georgie Paper Pack
Z3128 - Paper Fundamentals, Basics
Z3102 - Fundamental Assortment, Glacier
Z3035 - Extra Thick Twine, Pixie
Z3039 - Extra Thick Twine, Glacier
Z2027 - Mini Stapler
Z1851 - Scallop Border Punch
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
Z3168 - Cricut Artfully Sent Collection
X254 - Cards and Envelopes, White Value Pack
CTMH Cardstock in White Daisy, Slate
CTMH Exclusive Inks in Whisper, Glacier & Pixie
Retired Pink Puffy Hearts

March Parent & Me Workshop - Easter Bunny Bag & Card

It's hard to think that Easter will be here soon since we can't seem to get past winter here in Virginia!  Every time we think we may have seen the last of the snow for this season, the weathermen show more snow in the forecast! 

In an effort to wish Spring to come sooner, I started thinking about Easter and bunnies!  At the March Parent & Me workshop, the kids will be creating an adorable Easter Bunny treat bag and card. 

Here is a close-up of the elusive Easter Bunny escaping into the "bunny hole."  Children will have several options of spring-themed paper to choose for their background.  If you are planning to mail this card, a small scalloped circle can be exchanged for the pom-pom.

The back of the Bunny Bag is also decorated with a large white pom-pom tail.  At the conclusion of the workshop, each child will be given a little treat to put in his/her Bunny Bag.

The workshop will be held on Sunday, March 23rd at 2:00 pm.  Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited, so purchase your kit today to reserve your spot!  The RSVP and payment deadline is March 16th.

The cost of the workshop is $6 for one bag and one card and is designed for children ages 5 & up along with their caregiver. Additional cards can be made for $2 each.

Easter Bunny Bag & Card

Bunny Bag & Card $6.00 USD Bunny Bag & 2 Cards $8.50 USD Bunny Bag & 3 Cards $11.00 USD

Not local to the area, contact me to purchase the kit (with an added fee for S & H) so you can create your own version at home!  I am happy to help you out via e-mail or phone with any questions you may have.

ABC Blog Hop - Letter "D" for Door Hanger

Welcome to the Everything ABC's Blog Hop!

For this hop we are featuring the letter D. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their "D" element will be featured in their post.

If you have just hopped onto my blog, please start at the beginning at Linda's blog ~ Scrappy Therapy.

If you came from Jenny Gilbert at Jen's Creative Classroom then you're on the right track!

"D" is for Doorknob Hanger!  For Valentine's Day, I made these cute little doorknob hangers to hold a couple goodies for my kids.  They enjoyed waking up to a special treat hanging on their door.

I started by cutting out the doorknob hanger shape from page 25 of the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.  I used a 12x12 piece of Cotton Candy Cardstock, so I selected the fit to page option on my Cricut.  This allows the image to cut as large as possible within your paper size. 

The cricut cuts little slits (score lines) into the image so you know where to fold.  Once folded up, I secured the flaps with my Tombow adhesive. 

Once all sides were secured, the hangers were ready to be decorated!  Just to give you an idea of size, the hanger is 3 3/8" wide by 7 5/8" tall.  The opening is just over 3/4" deep and is just over 3" tall. 

I decorated the back part of the doorknob hanger by stamping hearts randomly (both hearts are included in February's Stamp of the Month - only available until the end of February!!!).  I used ink to match the cardstock to give it the tone on tone look.  I also cut an extra heart out using Cricut just to enhance the strength of the doorknob cutout (after all, I am planning to stuff these with Valentine's goodies). 

The lower part was decorated by placing a piece of silver shimmer trim (this is essentially glitter tape - self-adhesive!) around the top of the opening.  I cut out a shape from my CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge (p. 47) in contrasting color (pink for the red hanger, and red for the pink color) to serve as a backdrop for the fox image (also from the Stamp of the Month Set).  The foxes and hearts were stamped on White Daisy cardstock and matted using Slate cardstock. The entire image was adhered using 3-D foam tape onto the front of the hanger.  I also used my blending pen to color in the flower on the girl fox, and the nose on the boy fox (using the cotton candy ink pad). 

Here is the completed project - ready to be stuffed and hung on my children's doors.  While I decorated mine with a Valentine's theme, this image can be cut on any color paper and can therefore be made to fit any theme you can imagine!

I also created a little mini card to go into each doorknob hanger.  The card is the heart cutout card image from p. 26 of the CTMH Art Philosophy Cartridge (cut at 2 3/4").  I outlined the cutout with a Ruby heart cut from the same page.  The middle heart is popped up on 3-D foam tape so that it actually comes through the opening. 

Close To My Heart Supplies Used for Doorknob Hangers:
S1402 - February Stamp of the Month: Wild About Love
Z1799 - Sliver Shimmer Trim
3174 - Blending Pen
Z2173 - Slate Exclusive Ink Pad
Z2193 - Cotton Candy Exclusive Ink Pad
Z2170 - Ruby Exclusive Ink Pad
Z1151 - 3-D Foam Tape
1514 - Tombow Adhesive
Z1686 - Cricut Art Philosophy Collection
CTMH Cardstock in Ruby, Cotton Candy, Slate and White Daisy

Additional CTMH supplies used for Mini Cards:
B1416 - Keyboard Uppercase Stamp Set
Z1911 - Stamp Set from Designed Décor Frame Kit (for arrow)
Z2105 - Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Retired Washi Wonders Hostess Stamp Set

All items can be purchased by visiting my CTMH website!

Thank you for stopping by to check out my "D" project.  Your next stop on our Everything ABC'S blog Hop is Cary Magnani at My Heart's Design.

Here is the complete lineup in case you get lost along the way :)
1. Linda Norman- Scrappy Therapy
2. Lauren Moore- CTMH Craftings
3. Michelle Battitori - Michelle's Handmade World
4. Catherine Nowak ~ Catscrapbooking
5. Jenny Gilbert - Jen's Creative Classroom
6.  Lisa Plummer - Flaunt Your Creativity
7. Cary Magnani - My Heart's Design
8. Shalana Glass - Scrappin with Shalana
9. Pam Trostle - Pam's Crafty Creations
10. Michele Pryor - Michele's Ink It Stamp It
11. Sharon Chapman - PaperFiesta
12 Anita Autore Cards and Coffee

February Parent & Me Workshop - Bookmarks

February is "I Love to Read" Month.  But in this house, we don't need a special month to love to read!  My daughter is a voracious reader and has to be told to "put the book down and go to sleep" most nights.  My son doesn't read on his own, but he loves being read to.  It's amazing how a kid with seemingly endless energy will cuddle up next to me in our big reading chair and listen to me read book after book after book!

Because of our love for reading, and the theme for the month, I thought it'd be a great idea for kids to make their own bookmarks.  Kids who already love to read will enjoy having their very own handmade bookmarks to mark their spots as they read.  This would also be a great option for kids who don't enjoy reading quite as much.  They might be more likely to pick up a book and start to read so that they can use their new handmade bookmark!  These bookmarks would also make great handmade gifts to friends or family who love to read.

Attendees will make 2 monogrammed bookmarks each, but have the option to make additional sets.  There are three sets to pick from. 

The first set uses the new Timberline paper and is a masculine mix of brown, gold and blue-green.  I made this set for my 4 year old son. 

The second set uses the retired Chantilly paper and is a feminine mix of pastel pinks, greens and yellows.  This set I made for myself!

The third set uses the new Lollydoodle paper and is a fun and bright mix of pink and turquoise.  My daughter made this set for herself.

The workshop will be held on Sunday, February 23rd at 2:00 pm.  Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited, so purchase your kit today to reserve your spot!  The RSVP and payment deadline is February 16th.

The cost of the workshop is $8 for one set of bookmarks, and is designed for children ages 5 & up along with their caregiver.  If you and your child would like to make more than one set, additional sets may be purchased for $5 per add on set (up to 3 total sets).  Please specify in the comment section which kit(s) you and your child would like to make.  Your choices are Timberline, Chantilly or Lollydoodle.

Workshop Kits

1 set of 2 bookmarks $8.00 USD 2 sets of 2 bookmarks $13.00 USD 3 sets of 2 bookmarks $18.00 USD

Not local to the area, contact me to purchase the kit (with an added fee for S & H) so you can create your own version at home!  I am happy to help you out via e-mail or phone with any questions you may have

January Workshop - Photo Memory Game

Almost every one of us has played the game Memory at one point in our lives, either as children or as an adult playing with another child.  In January's workshop, come create a personalized Photo Memory game for someone you love.  Not only is this a great activity with your own children, but this would make a great gift for another special child in your life.  This set makes a great baby shower gift too!  While babies are not yet old enough to "play" the game, the cards are great for babies to look at and recognize people and pets who are part of their lives.

Inside the adorable storage box, you will find 24 - 3" x 3" cardboard tiles.  This allows you to create 12 pairs of pictures. 

You decide what type of pictures you'd like to use - close-ups, scenery shots, action shots, etc.  I used close-ups of family members (including grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc.).  The set that I created uses the Polka-dot side of the Babycakes paper set for the back of the cards.  If you prefer, the paper flips over to the alphabet print shown above.

My daughter had fun just flipping over the cards trying to find matches without formally playing the game.  Here she discovered the match for her cousin!

 The two canine members of our family reserved their own spots in our Memory game as well!

 

The cost for this workshop is $20 and includes 24 tiles, storage box and all materials to decorate your box and tiles.  All paper will be precut and ready to assemble. 

 

This workshop will be held on Thursday, January 23rd at 8 PM.   Light refreshments will be provided.  Space is limited, so purchase your kit today to reserve your space!  The RSVP and payment deadline is January 14th to ensure timely arrival of all materials.  You will receive a confirmation e-mail within 48 hours of your payment.

 

Not local to the area, contact me to purchase the kit (with an added fee for S & H) so you can create your own version at home!  I am happy to help you out via e-mail or phone with any questions you may have.

January Parent & Me Workshop - Mini Accordion Scrapbook

I'm excited to announce January's Parent & Me Workshop - a mini accordion scrapbook album.  This is a great introduction to scrapbooking for children.  The album is 6" x 6" and unfolds to approximately 24".  When unfolded, the album can stand on its own to be displayed. 

 

The album uses the Chantilly Paper and accessories for a fun floral look.  My daughter designed our album as a Mom & Me book, but this can be done with almost any theme - cousins, sisters, friends, etc.  When folded together, a beautiful deep red ribbon keeps the album closed.

Here are the first four pages of the unfolded album.  Once again, my daughter helped design the pages of this album.  I provided her with choices, and she selected what color paper to cut the cricut shapes out of, which stamps (all are from the Happy Thoughts stamp set that coordinates with the Chantilly paper) and ink colors to use, and where to adhere her embellishments.

The other four pages of the album. 

Just to give you an idea of the thickness of the album, the front and back covers are heavy duty cardboard.  This protects the album from become bent, and also allows it to stand on its own when unfolded.

Here are a few pictures of my daughter creating her scrapbook album.  Here she is adhering the letters to her cover page.  The title can be altered based on the theme of your book.

She carefully stamped the leaf image on the corner piece.  I had in mind to use the small flower shape, but she wanted to use the leaf image.  It turned out much better than my suggestion :-)  Once again, CTMH's My Acrylix stamps and blocks allow for easy placement of stamped images - very kid friendly!

She selected the flying blue bird embellishment, from the Chantilly Dimensional Elements pack, for the corner of her picture.

Once all her pages were designed, she spent some time deciding placement within her album.  She put serious thought into what pictures and papers looked best next to each other!

 

The cost of this workshop is $20 and includes a 6" x 6" accordion scrapbook, all materials needed to decorate the scrapbook (all papers will be pre-cut), and use of stamps and inkpads.  Some embellishments may vary in color or shape.  You will need to bring 8 pictures that can be trimmed (or are pre-trimmed) to 4" x 4" size. 

The workshop is designed for children ages 6 & up along with their caregiver, and will be held on Sunday, January 26th at 2:00pm.  Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited, so purchase your kit today to reserve your space!  The RSVP and payment deadline is January 14th to ensure timely arrival of all materials.

Not local to the area, contact me to purchase the kit (with an added fee for S & H) so you can create your own version at home!  If you'd like to add the stamped images to your scrapbook, the stamp set and ink must be purchased separately.  I am happy to help you out via e-mail or phone with any questions you may have.

Product Spotlight - Polar Pals Card Kit

With the holidays coming up, so many of us purchase gift cards for our children's teachers, coaches, bus drivers, dance instructors, etc.  While the recipients love these gift cards, most of the time our children do no more than sign their name on the card and hand it to their teacher, coach, etc.  Wouldn't it be great to get them more involved in this process and feel vested and proud of their gift?  Close To My Heart has the perfect solution - My Originals Polar Pals Card Kit.

Purchase those gift cards that teachers and coaches enjoy receiving, but have your children personalize a gift card holder to make the gift more meaningful and heartfelt.  The Polar Pals Card Kit comes with 12 blank tri-fold cards that the kids can decorate.  Below are a few examples that my daughter and son created with our kit:

We used one extra product on our cards, but it is certainly not necessary.  We elevated the large stickers (penguins, snowmen, trees and polar bears) with CTMH's 3-D Foam Tape to add a little more dimension to the card. 

My kids love these shaker bubbles!  They have a raised surface and are filled with little metal stars that move around when you shake the card.

Here are a few pictures showing my children creating their gift card holders.  My daughter was a little confused about why we were making these so early!  This first picture really shows off the spring underneath the gift card holder.  My son loved this feature and kept opening and closing his card to watch the gift card pop up!

 

The kit is $18.95 (plus tax and shipping) and comes with 12 blank cards (4 different designs), 12 envelopes, 12 shaker bubbles, 12 adhesive springs (so that the gift card pops up when you open the card - how fun!!!!) and 1 sheet of stickers.  The kit also provides a guide for optional layouts, but the possibilities are only limited by your child's imagination!

To order your kit, please visit my Close To My Heart website.  Already attending one of my workshops in December, let me know by November 30th and I can add this to your order!  Any questions, feel free to contact me!

December Parent & Me Workshop - Holiday Photo Block Collage

My daughter was the inspiration for creating Parent & Me workshops.  She just recently attended her first scrapbooking crop and LOVED every minute of it!  While I didn't get very much of my own scrapbooking accomplished, I enjoyed helping her express her creativity through the pages she designed.  It was a day that I will cherish forever!  Later that evening, I decided to pursue CTMH as a career - not only to help my friends on their creative journeys, but also to provide our next generation with opportunities to begin theirs!

At my first Parent & Me workshop, we will be creating a holiday photo block collage.  Not only is this a unique way to display family memories from the holidays, but it will also provide entertainment for kids and adults as they flip and rearrange the blocks to discover new pictures! 

My daughter helped create the version you see here.  We selected 6 pictures of my children with Santa over the years.  Using the Sparkle & Shine Paper pack and the Santa Claus stamp set from the Holidays from The Heart Gift Guide, as well as several embellishments, we created a beautiful and fun décor item!  Shown are two of the six layouts as well as a few close-ups to show details. 

My daughter loved adding the rhinestone "bling!"

One of the hardest parts about these crafting adventures with my daughter is to let her take the reigns.  She did all of the stamping for this project, and I let her decide which paper to put with which stamp.  She also placed the rhinestones where she felt they should be.  I had to bite my tongue as I thought, "Don't you want to move that to the left a bit!?!?".  In the end, she was proud of her final product, and I'm extremely proud of her for creating such a wonderful photo collage!  This will be a permanent holiday coffee table decoration for years to come! 

My vision for these Parent & Me classes is that we as parents can provide a helping hand to our children as they work, but that we let them be in control of their creations!  I feel this is the best way to foster independence and to allow them to develop their own creativity.  The outcome may not be quite what we envisioned, but it will be what our children envisioned and that is the most important thing!

Here are a few pictures of my daughter creating her photo block collage!  CTMH's My Acrylix stamp sets use a clear block system which is easy to use for both adults and children.  It was a piece of cake for my daughter to see exactly where she was stamping her image.

The cost of this workshop is $25 and includes 9 photo blocks with storage base, all materials needed to decorate your blocks and base (all papers will be pre-cut), and use of stamps and inkpads.  It is designed for children ages 6 & up along with their caregiver, and will be held on Sunday, December 15th at 2:00pm.  Light refreshments will be provided. Space is limited, so purchase your kit today to reserve your space!  The RSVP and payment deadline is November 30th to ensure timely arrival of all materials.

Not local to the area, contact me to purchase the kit (with shipping and handling added) and you can create your own version at home!  You will need a few extra supplies to complete your project - ink color(s) of your choice and a holiday stamp set!  I am happy to help you out via e-mail or phone with any questions you may have.