Fun holiday treats and a tutorial

Hi everyone! Hope you have been having some fun getting ready for the upcoming holidays! It's been busy around here! I just had both girls home for the Thanksgiving break and hated to send them back to school, but they will both be home soon for their winter break from college. As I get ready for the holiday here I have been working on some treats for my friends and my coworkers. I really enjoyed creating these test tube hot cocoa treat holders for everyone and wanted to share the process with you. You will find a PDF file with the instructions at the end of this post.

I started with a piece of 12" x 12" cardstock and cut it into 2 6" x 12" pieces. Each treat holder uses 2 pieces. You could easily just do 1/2 of the holder with 2 test tubes for a variation.

I scored each piece lengthwise and widthwise according to the directions. I then cut away the extra cardstock and cut along some of the score lines to make the tabs. I used double-sided tape to adhere the tabs to make the box as well as to adhere the two boxes together to make the holder. I punched two 1" circles for the test tubes and then punched a handle at the top for carrying the holder.

I wrapped some strips of cardstock around the box then added some stamped images as well as ribbon for decoration. To add a little bling I used a Shimmer Brush on the cup cap, cup band, and the holly berries.

I filled the test tubes with hot cocoa mix, crushed peppermint candies, mini-chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows. 

Download the PDF with the instructions here

I hope you like the treat holders and would love to hear if you made some! Thanks for stopping by!

Close To My Heart Supplies Used:

Z7250S - Holly Jolly Paper Pack

Z7250D - Holly Jolly Coordinating Cardstock

Z7251S - Cedar and Pine Paper Pack

Z7251D - Cedar and Pine Coordinating Cardstock

Z3537 - Perk Up Stamp Set + Thin Cuts

Z4230 - Candy Apple Striped Ribbon

Z3293 - Clear Shimmer Brush

Z4223 - Red Shimmer Brush

Additional Supplies Used:

Scoring Board

Double-sided Sticky Tape

1" circle punch

Punch for handle

The test tubes I purchased through Amazon. You can probably get them anywhere but make sure you get ones with a screw on cap.

Reindeer Crossing

I have enjoyed crafting with the December Stamp of the Month from Close To My Heart - Reindeer Crossing. This set of 10 stamps is so perfect for card making and scrapbooking this wonderful time of the year.

I used a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 4 How-to Book as a starting point. The papers from the Cedar & Pine Collection are perfect with the stamp set. I stamped the reindeer with Toffee ink. The pine cones and sentiment were stamped in Intense Black ink. The pine cones and branch were colored in with TriBlend markers. I finished the card off with some ribbon to add a little sparkle to the card.

I hope you like the card. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

S1912 - Reindeer Crossing Stamp set

9044 - Make It From Your Heart Volume 4

X7251S - Cedar & Pine Paper Pack

1385 - White Daisy Cardstock

Z2828 - Toffee Exclusive Ink

Z4189 - Intense Black Exclusive Ink

Z2478 - Earth Brown TriBlend marker

Z2485 - Light Green TriBlend marker

Z4194 - White & Gold Skinny Ribbon

Cedar & Pine

I cannot believe that Christmas is almost here! I have been getting busy finishing up some crafting for the season as well as getting ready for both Meghan and Nicole to be home for their winter breaks from college. I am excited to have both of them home!

I took a little break from the craziness to do some scrapbooking with this month's featured paper pack - Cedar & Pine. I love the traditional colors and festive designs in this collection.

I was inspired to create this layout from a recent post on the Close To My Heart blog all about using your scraps. You can see the whole blog post here. The Cedar & Pine papers were perfect for these pictures from an evening out in Boston with our girls.

I added a little bit of splatter to the French Vanilla panels using our watercolor paints and brush before I adhered the strips and photo mats. The title was cut using our Block Alphabet Thin Cuts and I added some Gold Glitter Gems for a little sparkle.

Supplies Used:

X7251S - Cedar & Pine Paper Pack

X7251D - Cedar & Pine Coordinating Cardstock

Z3132 - Watercolor paints

Z3225 - Medium Round Water brush

Z3386 - Block Alphabet Thin Cuts

Z3312 - Gold Glitter Gems

Click here to see the whole Cedar & Pine Collection.

Hope you liked the layout. Thanks for stopping by.

Hanukkah card and a sketch challenge

I am participating in Freshly Made Sketches challenge #412 this week and was inspired to create this Hanukkah card.

You can find the sketch along with variations by other card makers on the Freshly Made Sketches Blog. I used the Close To My Heart Lights of Hanukkah stamp set along with Carolina and Silver Glitter papers. I cut the frame using the Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts and then added some sparkle to the lights using the Silver Stickles Glitter Gel along with some Silver Glitter gems.

I hope you like the card. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies Used:
B1684 - Lights of Hanukkah stamp set
X6039 - Carolina cardstock
Z3239 - Silver glitter paper
Z6508 - Bluebird Exclusive inks
Z6505 - Carolina Exclusive Inks
Z4260 - Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts set
Z3562 - Silver Stickles Glitter Gel
Z4191 - Silver Glitter gems

Thanksgiving at our house!

I've been busy with work recently but was able to carve out some time to decorate the house as we are hosting Thanksgiving here. I also wanted to do up some crafty items for our Thanksgiving table as well as a gift for each person coming to the house. I am happy to share the results with you. I was inspired by the Build-a-Plaid stamp set and ideas shared by some wonderful Close To My Heart consultants.

Here are the final results. I will share the process and the products used below.

Thanksgiving table setting

Buffet food labels

I had fun using the Build-a-Plaid stamp set to create the design for the pumpkin gifts, napkin holders and food signs.

I stamped the design on a piece of French Vanilla 12x12 cardstock. To achieve the plaid pattern I aligned the paper on my mat and chose the distance for the repeat (1 1/4"). I then stamped across in the Pewter ink with the largest plaid image, rotated the paper 90 degrees and then stamped across again with the largest image. I then repeated the process with the next plaid image this time using Pebble ink aligned about 1/4" away from the first plaid. I finished this with a thin line stamped in Charcoal ink on the opposite side of the Pebble image.

Step 1 - Pewter plaid image

Step 2 - 90 degree rotation

Step 3 - Pebble plaid image

Step 4 - Charcoal line

I then cut this into 1 1/4" strips for the pumpkin and a 3/4" strip for the napkin holder. I used 4 strips for each pumpkin which I adhered the bottom together using Liquid Glass then put a treat bag in the center before adhering the top together. I made the stem and vine from chenille pieces. 

For the food signs I simply used the larger plaid with Pewter ink and the line with Charcoal ink along one corner of the rectangle. The frame is cut from Kraft paper using the Stitched Rectangle Thin-Cut set. The pumpkin, napkin rings and food signs are embellished with stamped images from the Family Time November Stamp of the Month set and leaves cut with the Layered Leaves Thin-Cut set (retired).

I hope you like the table setting. Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies Used:

D1886 - Build-a-Plaid stamp set

S1911 - Family Time Stamp of the Month set

X6046 - French Vanilla cardstock

Z1375 - Kraft paper

X6034 - Sangria cardstock

Z2832 - Pewter Exclusive Ink

Z2833 - Pebble Exclusive Ink

Z2831 - Charcoal Exclusive Ink

Z4260 - Stitched Rectangle Frames Thin-Cuts

Best Friends Furever

Our furry friends play a huge role in our lives, and we love to document our favorite memories of our pets. To help you do this, Close To My Heart has created a brand new, one-of-a-kind Cut Above Kit! This 6" x 8" layout kit is the first of its kind and features reversible die cuts, so you can choose dog or cat-focused titles and accents for this quick and easy project.

Close To My Heart has also designed a matching paper packet, sticker sheet, and two new stamp sets, to use in a wide variety of crafting projects. There is also a workshop kit which combines the coordinating items in a kit that you can use to create four pages and four cards.

Best Friends Furever Cut Above Kit

Best Friends Furever Paper Pack

Best Friends Furever Coordinating Cardstock

Eat Play Love Stamp Set

Kitty Cuddles Stamp Set

Best Friends Furever Workshop Kit with Stamp Sets

Best Friends Furever Workshop Kit

As part of this special, you can purchase each exclusive item individually at full price, but Close To My Heart is also offering the Best Friends Furever Workshop Kit with Stamp Sets at a 20% discount. Click here to shop the items that are part of this special.

Family Time

I am in love with the Stamp of the Month for November from Close To My Heart. The Family Time stamp set is perfect for card making and scrapbooking. The 18 images in this stamp set work well with thank you cards, family scrapbook layouts as well as the Thanksgiving holiday.

I used this stamp set to create our family's Thanksgiving card this year. I based it on a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 4 How-To book along with some scraps from our Hawthorn collection and some gold sequins for embellishment.

This stamp set is available for purchase from my website for $18.95 or for $5.00 with a $50 purchase during the month of November.

Supplies Used:

S1911 - Family Time

Z7249B - Hawthorn Paper Pack

9044 - Make It From Your Heart Volume 4 How-to Book

Z4235 - Loose Sequins - Gold

X5957 - Sapphire Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

X6033 - Paprika Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

X5950 - Toffee Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

X5961 - Saffron Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

X5959 - New England Ivy Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad

I hope you like the card. Thanks for stopping by!

Holly Jolly

I know it's not quite Christmas time yet but I am so excited to share with you the featured paper collection for November from Close To My Heart - Holly Jolly. This collection contains some beautiful, vibrant colors, embellishments and stamp set brimming with holiday cheer. I had so much fun creating this layout with this collection.

I used a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 How-To book to start. I added some stickers using foam tape under them to raise them up and add dimension. I finished off with a few enamel dots from the Holly Jolly collection.

Supplies Used:

Z7250S - Holly Jolly Paper Pack + Sticker Sheet
Z7250D - Holly Jolly Coordinating Cardstock
Z3549 - Holly Jolly Dots
9042 - Make It From Your Heart Volume 2
Z3341 - Thin 3-D Foam Dots

Click here to shop the Holly Jolly collection.

Hope you liked the layout! Thanks for stopping by!

Masculine card for Man Card Monday!

Trying something new here and challenging myself to do some more blog posts with the artwork I have been creating lately.

For today's post I am sharing a card I made for my husband for his upcoming birthday. I had fun creating this card using a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Vol 4 how-to book along with color inspiration from the Love of Color book. I used the Build-a-Plaid stamp set to create the pattern.

D1886 - Build-a-Plaid stamp set

I loved the combination of Sapphire, Toffee and Lagoon ink for this plaid. The colors worked well for a masculine card. There are so many different plaid patterns that can be made with this set - I love it's versatility.

Hope you liked the card. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

9044 - Make It From Your Heart, Volume 4 How-to book
9045 - Love of Color How-to book
D1886 - Build-a-Plaid Stamp Set
Z3545 - Hawthorn Cardmaking Stamp Set + Thin Cuts
Z2848 - Sapphire Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2828 - Toffee Exclusive Inks stamp pad
Z2895 - Lagoon Exclusive Inks stamp pad
X5957 - Sapphire Cardstock
X5950 - Toffee Cardstock
Z3323 - White Burlap Ribbon

Days of December Special

Close To My Heart has a new special available starting today, October 15th, through November 30th. The Days of December Special is a great way to commemorate your sweetest holiday moments in a special album. Close To My Heart has brought back this popular project, updated to feature the brand new paper from the Holly Jolly collection, plus cardstock and embellishments to match!

With this special you choose between 2 different workshop kit options: one that includes the Holly Jolly Scrapbooking Stamp and Thin Cuts and one that does not.

Days of December Workshop Kit with Stamp Set

Days of December Workshop Kit

Holly Jolly Scrapbooking Stamp Set + Thin Cuts

To complete your project you will want to have the following additional materials on hand when completing your album.

Z3549 - Holly Jolly Dots
Z4219 - Black 6" x 8" Everyday Life Album
Z4189 - Intense Black Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z6509 - Candy Apple Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z6513 - Green Apple Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Z4223 - Red Shimmer Brush

Click here to shop this special today!

Apple and pumpkin picking time!

Just went apple and pumpkin picking this year but since I am still catching up on my scrapbooking this layout is actually from 2 years ago. Perfect timing, I know! I used a sketch from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 3 How-to Book as a starting point. I am continuing to use the products from the Hawthorn collection this month in my crafting.

I wanted to use the Hawthorn paper in a way I had not yet done with this layout. I had been working with the Sapphire leaves and Saffron dot paper so far and wanted to focus more on the Fern chevron patterned paper and hexagon paper.

I am in love with the new Layers Leaves Thin Cuts set and had lots of fun creating some leaves for this layout.

I combined the leaves I created with some leaves from the Hawthorn Complements to give a different look to the embellishments. I used 3-D Dots to add some dimension to the title and leaf clusters.

I hope you like the layout. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used:

9043 - Make It From Your Heart Vol 3 How-To Book

X7249S - Hawthorn Paper Pack + Sticker Sheet

X7249D - Hawthorn Coordinating Cardstock

X7249C - Hawthorn Complements

Z3523 - Layered Leaves Thin Cuts

Anniversary Card and a sketch challenge

Spent some time today card making and working on an anniversary card for my husband, Mike. I was inspired by this sketch from the Mojo Monday card sketch blog. 

I used the paper from the Hawthorn paper pack along with stamps from the Hawthorn Cardmaking Stamp Set with Thin Cuts. I tweaked the sketch slightly in that I used a slightly larger circle in the center and added a banner with the additional sentiment. This came together very quickly and easily.

I am so pleased with how this came out! I hope you like it too! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies used:

X7249S - Hawthorn Paper Pack + Sticker Sheet

X7249D - Hawthorn Coordinating Cardstock

Z3545 - Hawthorn Cardmaking Stamp + Thin Cuts

Z2848 - Sapphire Exclusive Ink Pad

Z2831 - Charcoal Exclusive Ink Pad

Z2805 - Black Exclusive Ink Pad