Fireman Birthday Party!

I think I have mentioned before that my youngest son is crazy about fire trucks and firefighters!  When it was time to plan his birthday celebration, there was no question what the theme would  be!!!  So, I got right to work and designed this birthday invitation.

I used the new Ruby Cardstock from Close to My Heart for the base and printed all of the info on White Cardstock.  I was lucky to find the striped paper in my stash - it is ANCIENT and didn't have any label, so I can't remember who it's by.  This finishing touch was the firetruck I cut with the Boys Will Be Boys Cricut cartridge.  My son loved it!!!

Next, I got to work on a banner to use at both parties (We always have one with family, and then a "kid" party for friends).  I used my most favorite Cricut Cartridge in the world, Art Philosophy to cut the scalloped circles, and circles.  The lettering is from the Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge, and the firetrucks are from Boys Will Be Boys again.  I found the great fire hat online and printed it on the computer. 

And, what's a party without goody bags?  So I filled them up with some sweets, sparkly red pencils, and bouncy balls, along with these mini-composition books that I decorated for the theme.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

I hope you enjoyed our little fireman party post as much as I did!  There were lots of smiling faces!!!

Supplies Used (CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper:  Ruby CS, White CS, Black CS, Star Patterned Paper - Bo Bunny

Embellishments:  Ribbons - WalMart

Other:  Art Philosophy Cartridge, Boys Will Be Boys Cartridge, Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge

Giraffe Banner

I created this banner for the daughter of a very good friend who was getting ready to move out of state.  I thought it would be a great decoration for her new room and since she and my oldest son are giraffe lovers, a great way for her to remember us.  I used a giraffe image that I found on a clip art site and loved how perfectly it worked with the green polka dot and brown papers I had chosen.  The giraffe print ribbon was also a huge score!!!  Love how it turned out!

Materials Used (CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper:  Cocoa CS, Colonial White CS, Green Polka Dot - Recollections

Embellishments:  Ribbons- Wal-Mart

Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

Zebra and Hot Pink Banner

I wanted to share my latest banner with you.  I made this for the daughter of a friend who is redecorating her room with a zebra print and hot pink theme.  I found the perfect paper for this project - hot pink sparkle zebra stripe and paired it with black and white cardstock.  Sooo cute and sparkly!!!  As with all of my banners, I used Close to My Heart's Art Philosophy Cartridge for the Cricut.  Makes cutting all the components for my banners super fast and easy!  I hope you like the end result as much as I did! 

Remember to contact me for all of your custom invites, thank yous, banners, and favors.  I can't wait to work with you!

Here is a close up view of the rolled paper roses I created as embellishments.

Materials Used(CTMH unless mentioned)

Paper:  Zebra stripe - Michaels Recollections, Black CS, White CS, Cotton Candy CS, Blush CS, Hollyhock CS

Embellishments:  Ribbon- WalMart

Other:  Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge

Happy Halloween!

We love Halloween!  There's nothing better than picking out or making costumes with your kids and then seeing the joy they get from showing them off!  So fun!

This year we decided to celebrate our middle son's birthday with a trip to see Hotel Transylvania with a couple of his friends.  It was a really fun afternoon and the kids loved the movie!  If you haven't seen it yet, you chould check it out!  Instead of traditional goody bags, I decided to create spooky coffins for the treats in our Frankenstein pinata.  I used the new Artiste Cricut Cartridge form Close to My Heart for the coffin boxes, spider webs, spiders, and skeletons hiding inside.  I love how quick and easy it was to make something special for my son and his friends! 

Materials Used (CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper:  Whisper CS, Slate CS, Black CS, White CS

Ink:  Slate

Embellishments:  Black Embroidery Floss

Other:  Liquid Glass, Artiste Cricut Cartridge

Custom Party Supplies from Heidi Scraps!!!

I am so excited to share my new venture with you!!!!  I have decided to combine my love of crafting with creating custom party supplies.  As I shared in my last post, I recently designed custom ladybug invites for my niece's upcoming birthday.  I have also made a ladybug banner for her big day!  Check it out!!!! 

I can't wait to see it with all of the red, white, and black party gear!!! 

Anyway, I am now offering my services to create custom party/shower/wedding invitations, banners, cupcake toppers, and party favors.  I will be sharing my designs here as I fill orders, and can't wait to get started!  If you have a special occasion coming up, I would love to help you out!  We can discuss your party theme and I will design something fabulous for you!  Simply email me at HeidiScraps@charter.net.

I am still going to be selling all of the wonderful Close to My Heart products and will be sharing those projects and ideas here too.

Supplies Used (CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper:  Black CS, White CS, Enchanted Dots - Reminisce

Embellishments:  Ribbon - WalMart

Ladybug Invitations

My niece is turning two at the end of the month, and I just finished her birthday invitations.  They have decided on a ladybug theme so I was up to my elbows in red, white, and black!  After a trip to the local scrapbook store for supplies I was able to get creating.  I am so pleased with the results and can't wait to get to work on the birthday banner to coordinate.  I will post that when it is done!

I just love the little ladybugs I cut with the Doodlecharms Cricut Cartridge! 

Moonlight

Things have been very busy around here - didn't intend for so much time to go by without posting!!!  I think we are getting into a routine now and hopefully that will lend itself to regular posting!  :)

My Fall Catalog Open House was on the 15th, and it was a blast!!!!  I had several friends here to crop for 12 hours and I think everyone got quite a bit done.  It's so nice to feel like you are making progress, isn't it?!  With each new catalog, I usually create layouts for the new papers using a variety of the new embellishments.  So there were lots of fun things on display at the Open House.  I will be sharing that artwork here over the next few weeks, so you can feel like a part of the group!

The first thing I wanted to share is a two page layout using the new Moonlight papers and Moonlight Complements Dimensional Elements.

I just love the great colors in this kit!  It truly could work for just about any fall or Halloween layout!  The Moonlight DE images are really fun too, with lots of great sayings and images to add character to your projects.

To add just a little "pop" to my layout, I chose to cover several of the DE shapes with Liquid Glass.  It adds a little shine and dimension.

I can't wait to use these pages for pictures of this year's Halloween!  My oldest son is going to be Frankenstein and my middle one will be a "mad" scientist, so this will be just perfect!!!  :)

Supplies Used (CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper:  Moonlight, Black CS

Embellishments:  Moonlight Complements Dimensional Elements, Liquid Glass

Hoot, Hoot...

I have seen so many owl themed projects on Pinterest and elsewhere lately that I decided I needed to jump on the bandwagon! I made these owl pillowboxes as a thank you for my son's preschool teacher. The note inside says "Hoot, hoot, hooray - thanks for a great first day!" and I filled it with individually wrapped Lifesaver candies. Hope she liked it as much as I liked making it!Here's the details: I cut the pillow box using the Cricut and Close to My Heart's Art Philosophy cartridge at 5 1/2 inches. Then I cut 1 inch circles from some left over paper scraps from one of my favorite retired paper packs, Typeset. The eyes are 1 1/2 inch Colonial White circles and the black part was cut at 3/4 inch. For the beak and feet, I cut hearts at 1 inch. I just attached everything with some Tombo adhesive and "fluffed" the feathers a little. Super easy and cute, right?!

Supplies Used (CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper: Typeset(retired), Colonial White CS, Black CS, Creme Brulee CS

Embellishments: Clear Sparkles

We love to read!

My sons and I all love books, and reading has been one of our favorite "together" times. When I saw the new Scholastic Paper Packet, I was inspired to create a layout that will showcase our love of reading. I especially loved the papers printed with the stacked books and old style library cards and envelopes. I don't have the perfect photos yet, but with school starting next week, I figure we will all be doing even more reading so there will be plenty of chances!

This layout is from the new book, Make It From Your Heart, Volume 1. It is filled with tons of inspiration and ideas, as well as patterns for 16 two page layouts, 2 single page layouts, and 12 different cards. For just $7.95, it is a resource you won't want to be without!!!

This was the first time I worked with the new Burlap Ribbon and it was so great! It didn't fray until I wanted it to, and didn't have the yucky odor that other burlap seems to have. I can't wait to use it for lots of other projects!!!!

Supplies used (CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper: Scholastic Paper Packet, Ruby CS, Outdoor Denim CS

Stamps: Atomic Caps (retired), Atomic Lower Case (retired)

Inks: Saddle, Outdoor Denim

Embellishments: Burlap Ribbon, Durables Studs Square, Memo Assortment

Other: Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge, Cricut Artiste Cartridge

Design Team Sneak Peek

I have been MIA for a while, but it has been for a good reason. I was selected to be a member of the design team for the Inks Outside the Box blog, Creative Moose! I am so excited to be working on several projects using the gorgeous new Avonlea Paper Packet(CTMH) which will be featured there sometime this fall!!!!

I wanted to share a few "peeks" at my artwork until I can share it all with you when it is published on the Creative Moose site.

I created this super sparkly snowflake using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge. I cut it five times and then layered the cut images to create dimension (works great if you want a dimensional look and don't have chipboard to match the size you want). Then I covered the entire thing with tons of Prisma Glitter. To add to the winter feel, I cut apart one of the Parlor Velvet Rub-Ons and placed it just under and to the left of the snowflake. Reminds me of a cold winter wind!

This clock was created using the brand new Artiste Cricut Cartridge. I love how easy it was to create an embellishment that goes with the heritage feel of this layout! I used the Parlor Velvet Rub-Ons again and added a few Mocha Opaque Adhesive Gems.

Hope you enjoyed your "sneak peeks" ! I will be back soon with more new artwork to share!!!

Celebrate National Stamping Month with Close to My Heart

At Close to My Heart, we like to celebrate all of life's little moments, so we're offering you a super deal to celebrate National Stamping Month in September. Starting now, through September 30th, you can get the awesome It's Your Life double Stamp Set for just $5! Simply place an order totaling $35 for any products in the new Fall/Winter 2012 catalog, and you will be able to add this super cute set to your order for JUST $5! With a retail value of $39.95, that's a steal!!!!!

Orders can be placed on my website or through me directly at HeidiScraps@charter.net.

Enjoy!!!!

Introducing...

the BRAND NEW Fall/Winter Catalog from Close to My Heart!!!!

I am so excited to finally be able to share all the wonderful new products and fabulous artwork with you!!! You will be so excited to see all of the possibilities that await you and your crafting!

Simply go to my website and click on shop and you will be able to view the entire catalog, page by page. Then, you can choose to go ahead and place your order right there and it will be shipped directly to you! Or, if you prefer, you can email me at HeidiScraps@charter.net and I can assist you with placing your order.

I also have a special offer for TODAY only! Any order of $100 or more placed through me by email will receive FREE shipping from me. Since this is a special offer just from me, orders with free shipping cannot be placed online, but must be placed through myself personally.

Happy shopping and check back soon for sample artwork with new products!

New Fall/Winter Catalog Is Coming!!!!

Here it is!!!! The new Autum/Winter 2012 Close to My Heart Catalog is in my hands and it's gorgeous!!! It will go live on August 1st and then you'll be able to see all of the wonderful details for yourself. Close to My Heart's annual Convention was held last week in Dallas, TX and that's when this beauty was revealed. I wasn't able to attend, but was eagerly soaking up all of the exciting new info from those who did.

Some highlights for you to look forward to:

• 
  
  a New How-To Publication called Make It from Your Heart that's filled with brand new scrapbooking and cardmaking patterns


• 
  
  six gorgeous new colors to work with


• 
  
  New alcohol based markers in all of the CTMH colors and with complementary shades


• 
  
  Studio J is updated with lots of new patterns and Express Collections (10 unique two-page layouts plus a front and back page to complete a scrapbook in a snap)


• 
  
  No more memberships for Studio J - all layouts will be just $6.95!!!


• 
  
  Tons of great new papers, stamps, and embellishments

AND..........

The new Cricut Artiste Collection!!!!!!! I am soo thrilled with this amazing new cartridge for the Cricut - exclusive to CTMH. The cartridge, with 700 images, includes themed projects, cards, a great font, shapes, and TONS of 3-D items. You will be able to make all kinds of boxes, purses, party supplies and more with the touch of a button!!! If you liked the Art Philosophy Cartridge, this one will blow you away!!!

To see all the images on the Artiste Cartridge you can download the handbook here.

But... that's not all! When you purchase the amazing Artiste Cartridge, you will also get an assembly handbook that will guide you in putting together all of your 3-D items, 3 D-sized My Acrylix Stamp Sets that coordinate with the images on the cartridge, and 3 12"x9" Dimensional Elements chipboard sheets with images found on the cartridge as well. One of the chipboard sheets contains 6 pages for a mini album - just cut the coordinating shapes, adhere and decorate!!! It truly is a must have for any crafter and a great deal too at just $99 for everything!!!

To get your New Autumn/Winter 2012 Catalog, please email me at heidiscraps@charter.net or click on the shop with me link at the top right side of my blog on August 1st to see the new catalog online.

Scooby Doo Party Supplies

A friend recently asked me to help out with the decor and thank you cards for her son's birthday party. I was both touched and flattered that she would think of me, especially since she is one of the most creative people I know! You can check out her amazing photography skills at Lorri Christine Photography.

She purchased a printable Scooby Doo themed kit from Etsy, which made my job super easy! I was able to assemble the printed elements and add a little flair to jazz them up.
Above are the thank you cards, which I mounted on Pear Cardstock and added a few orange, green, and purple brads to. You can also see the cupcake toppers - I backed them with scalloped circles cut in Pansy Purple and Pear Cardstock cut with the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge.

My favorite part of the project was making the birthday banner. I backed the letters to the words "Happy Birthday" with circles cut in Sunset and Pear CS with the AP Cartridge ( I love how easy it is to cut multiple images for a project like this!) There were Scooby Doo images for each end of the banner and I printed these twice each and hand cut Scooby so I could pop him up over the original image for some dimension. Then I added some more pop by accordian folding a strip of Pansy Purple CS and creating a rosette to go underneath. I love the dimension!!!
Between the words Happy and Birthday, I gave the same treatment to an image of the whole Scooby gang in the Mystery Machine.

I tried and tried, but couldn't get the whole banner in one photo! It was pretty big!

If you like what you see, I would love to create fabulous accents for your next party! I can do custom invitations, thank you cards, banners, cupcake toppers, cupcake wrappers, party favors... for just about any occasion. Please contact me at heidiscraps@charter.net to make arrangements for your next party or event!

Supplies Used (CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper: White, Pear, Pansy Purple, and Sunset CS

Embellishments: Purple Satin Ribbon - Michael's, brads - my stash, toothpicks

I love CTMH!!!!

It has been very busy the last few weeks as we prepared to go away on a family vacation in Northern Michigan. We had a wonderful time, and now it's time to get back to "work". I say "work" because my job is sooo much fun! I still can't believe that I actually get paid to do my favorite thing!!!! Sooo lucky!

For the month of July, CTMH is offering a fabulous deal! With any order of $75 or more on my website, you will recieve a paper pack and coordinating embellishment for FREE!!!! What a deal! Each week the Perfect Pair is different. This week (through 7/20) you will receive the Lucky Paper Packet and Lucky My Stickease. You will be able to create tons of fully embellished projects with just those supplies! I hope you will take advantage of this wonderful deal!

Check out what I just got in the mail today!!!! This is the charm that CTMH sent me to celebrate my five year anniversary with the company! It feels so good to work for a company that appreciates people and makes them feel special. I LOVE my job and everything that CTMH offers to its consultants. Can't wait to celebrate another five years!!!! Thanks CTMH!!!!

Lucy Layout

When a new Close to My Heart catalog is released, I always try to create at least one layout for each new paper pack. Since I usually scrapbook pages for my children (and I have three boys), I tend to struggle a little with the more feminine papers, and when I saw Lucy, I was pretty sure I wouldn't have anything to match. Luckily for me, my sister gave me these ADORABLE photos of my niece and I was saved!!! It was so much fun working with pink and flowers!!!

I kept the layout pretty simple: just used the awesome patterned papers from the Lucy Paper Packet and the Lucy Complements Glittery Rub-Ons. I just love the rub-ons!!! They go on so easily and have a great glittery effect that is just perfect for girly pages. I used the flower vine border on the strip of pink paper and the bouquets in the corners of the layout.

To finish it off, I cut the title on the Cricut with the fabulous Art Philosophy Cartridge. Hope you enjoy!!!

Supplies used (CTMH unless Mentioned):

Paper: Lucy, Blush CS, Colonial White CS

Inks: Blush, Sweet Leaf

Embellishments: Lucy Complements Glittery Rub-Ons

Teacher Gifts Part 2

Here is the second note paper box I did for my middle son's teacher thank you gift. She is super fun loving and has such a bright personality that I just couldn't resist using the colors and papers from the Dotty For You paper pack that was the special from Close to My Heart in May. I followed the same pattern as I did on the first box, just changed up the colors and patterns. And, as you can see in the second photo each note paper is stamped in the lower corner with a butterfly. (Yes, all 150 sheets!!!) I hope she loved it as much as we loved her!

As before, no gift is complete without a card, so I kept with the bright theme and created this one which was inspired by the wonderful Vicki Wizniuk. Love her work! It is hard to tell in the photo, but the centers of several of the flowers are raised using pop dots. The satin bow was so easy to tie following the tutorial on Vicki's blog - just click on the Free Templates & Links button at the top of her page and then find How to: Buttons and Bows. She makes it sooo simple!!!

Hope you enjoyed my Teacher Gifts as much as I enjoyed making them!

Supplies used (CTMH unless mentioned)

Paper: Dotty For You, Cotton Candy CS

Stamps: Bohemian Alphabet, Hooray Bouquet

Inks: Cotton Candy

Embellishments: Basic Assortment Buttons, Natural Hemp, Satin Ribbon - Michaels

Teacher Gifts!!!

With the end of the school year, things have been very busy around here! We had a week of really fun activities at school followed by a three day long soccer tournament. I am finally catching my breath and trying to get caught up on my posting!

I love making handmade gifts, especially to thank my sons' teachers for all the hard work they do during the year! This year, I created boxes of personalized notepaper (From the desk of Mrs...) with matching pens. This is the first set I did for my third grader's teacher. She is very understated and likes lots of neutrals, so the retired Silhouette papers from Close to My Heart seemed perfect! I personally love them so much that I have been hoarding them for a while now and only using a bit at a time!

The boxes were inspired by the amazing Lisa Stenz, who created them some time ago and was extremely generous to share her designs on her website. I am always inspired by her gorgeous designs!

Of course, the gift wouldn't be complete without a matching card, so I set to work on that and came up with the one above. I am so pleased with how it turned out! The flower is very dimensional and was created using the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge and computer paper. I cut eight of the flowers from the computer paper and then crumpled and inked before layering them and attaching them to the card with a brad. Then I had to get creative again because I wanted a black button but didn't have any. So I just used a black Sharpie marker and colored a white one. Turned out pretty well!! Tied it with some Natural Hemp and glued it over the brad.

I will be back soon with the other note box I created.

Enjoy!

Supplies used (CTMH unless mentioned)

Paper: Silhouette (retired), Black CS

Stamps: Bohemian Alphabet

Inks: Bamboo and Vanilla Cream

Embellishments: Basic Assortment Buttons, Natural Hemp

Other: Black Sharpie Marker

It is one of my favorite times of year - STAMPAGANZA from Close to My Heart! If you aren't familiar with it, you will be sooo excited! During the month of June, buy any two stamp sets and you will get one set of your choice FREE!!!! If you are anything like me, your wish list is probably a mile long, so this is a great time to chip away at it without breaking the bank. You can visit my website at : heididefina.ctmh.com or email me at: heidiscraps@charter.net to get started!

Hero Layout

I just love the pictures on this layout!!! My youngest is totally into firefighters and everything that goes with them! His favorite show right now is Fireman Sam and I am so grateful that it is on demand, or we would really have an unhappy boy!

The layout uses the awesome Superhero papers from Close to My Heart and they are perfect for my fun loving little boy! To add some dimension to my stars (which were cut using the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge) I used an embossing stylus to create a crease from each point to the center of the star and then pinched the points. You can see the effect you get in the photo below. Such a fun and easy technique! Hope you are inspired to scrap the heros in your life!!!

Supplies used(CTMH unless mentioned):

Paper: Superhero B&Ts, Moonstruck, Sunny Yellow CS

Inks: Moonstruck

Embellishments: Embroidery Floss -White, Blue Assortment Buttons, Dimensional Elements - Banners

Other: Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, Liquid Glass

Heidi

A Little Thank You

To show my appreciation, I always include something handmade in my customers' orders. It's usually a card, but sometimes I get extra creative and make tags or other small items. I like to leave the cards blank inside so they can be reused. Above is one of my recent thank you cards. I decided to feature the beautiful Pemberley papers and used the Cricut Art Philosophy Cartridge to create the scalloped border and butterfly. To give the buterfly some dimension, I curled the wings over a pencil and then adhered only the center to the card. Quick and simple, but I like it! :)

Heidi