Offers Ending Tonight

Wow! Despite having a routine, it is hard to keep track of the days and it is so hard to believe the end of May is here.

There are a few offers that are ending tonight–well, in the early morning of June 1 for those of us on the East Coast. All offers end at 1:59am EDT on June 1, 2020.

Let's start with the National Scrapbooking Month special Blue Skies.

National Scrapbooking Month–Blue Skies

As shared on the first page of the flyer, "Special discounts, bundles, and workshop kits are available through May 31. All individual items in the Blue Skies collection will be available through June 30." If you would like a bundle or workshop kit, the best value is to shop today.

Blue Skies Flyer Page 1

Blue Skies Flyer Page 2

Blue Skies Flyer Page 3

Love for Mother, three stamp sets celebrating the moms in our lives is also ending tonight.

Love for Mother

In case you missed it, CTMH held a Virtual Crop Celebrating Moms on the CTMH Official Facebook Page where they showed how to create the page in the photo above.

Love for Mother Flyer

If you watched any of the videos from the National Scrapbooking Day event on the Official CloseTo My Heart Facebook Page, you saw the ladies were wearing some really cute shirts.

SVGs to Support Operation Smile

If you would like to be able to create your own fun, crafty and cut shirts, just donate $10 to Operation Smile via my Consultant Website. Once there click the shopping cart in the upper right corner. Enter 10.00 or more in the box to the right of "Operation Smile Donation", then click "update" to the left of the amount. Click the "Check Out" button and complete the transaction. In a few days you will receive an email with how to save the SVGs to your computer. Please see my May 14th post for all of the details.

Speaking on National Scrapbooking Day, if you caught any of the videos (I posted direct links to all of the videos on May 7) and want to create the cards or layouts, there are still some National Scrapbooking Day Workshop Kits available (while supplies last).

Finally, the May Stamp Of The Month will also be gone at the end of today.

Time to Celebrate Stamp Set

I hope your May was good and your June will be even better. Thanks for visiting today.

Save the Dates - Upcoming CTMH Facebook Lives

Close To My Heart announced a series of new events that will be happening on the Corporate Facebook page.

Close To My Heart Corporate Facebook Page Events

These events will be a great opportunity for everyone to craft along with CTMH staff from the Corporate Office. When you join in there is the chance to learn some new techniques and tips and enter to win exciting giveaways!

The events are completely free and open to everyone to view, however the events will be centered around workshop kits or bundles, so you may want to purchase the workshops if you want to craft along during the event. Each event will begin at 4:00 pm (EDT) and will last for 2–3 hours. The virtual events will be saved to the Facebook page and available for viewing afterwards for anyone who is unable to join live.

The upcoming events are:

• June 16 – Aurora Cardmaking Workshop Kit (G1205)
• June 23 – Aurora Scrapbooking Workshop Kit (G1201 or G1203)
• June 30 – Brushed Bundle (CC6204) - available on June 1
• July 7 – Stitched Together Cardmaking Workshop Kit (G1206)
• July 14 - Stitched Together Scrapbooking Workshop Kit (G1202 or G1204)
• August 11 – TBA – Cardmaking Workshop - available on July 1
• August 18 – TBA – Scrapbooking Workshop - available on July 1
• August 26 – 28 – TBA – Scrapbooking and Cardmaking workshops

*TBA – to be announced at a later date; some are "TBA" because they are collections from the July-August 2020 catalog; the late August dates could be a surprise special similar to National Scrapbooking Day, I'm not sure and am only guessing.

I have heard that during some past Facebook Live events there was some spam activity in the comments and links were posted asking for payment. Please be cautious about clicking on links posted in the comments, especially any that request payment. Please be aware that Close To My Heart will not post links asking for payment in the comments of the Facebook Live videos; this event is free and you only need to purchase a workshop kit if you want to create the projects that the CTMH staff will be creating during the Live event.

I hope you will be able to create along with us (I hope to be able to attend each one) during the Facebook Live events. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me by using the Contact Form to the right. Have a great weekend!

Memorial Day Weekend Sale - Home & Hero Stamp Sets

In case you missed my post yesterday, Close To My Heart is having a Memorial Day Weekend Sale.

Memorial Day Sale

The sale started yesterday at 5:00pm EDT and continues until 1:59am on Tuesday, May 26, while supplies last.

While there are many, many more items on the Memorial Day Weekend Sale, I wanted to take some time to highlight the stamp sets that are prefect for memory keeping and cardmaking to honor our Country, its Veterans and Active Duty personnel.

Loyal & True (CC52019)	Memorial Day (CC52020)
Memorial Day Stamp Set Bundle (CC52021)
Poppy Sentiments (CC42018)	Courage (B1437)
Hero's Pride (C1315)	Army (D1069)
Home of the Free (D1292)	Hero (D1474)
Home of the Brave (D1576)	Real Heroes (D1782)

There are over 70 items (as of 10pm Friday) available during the Memorial Day Weekend Sale. You will find papers, embellishments, tools, stamps and more. While on my Consultant Website, be sure to check out the Clearance area. I am fairly certain some new items have been added since I last looked and there are some great deals.

Even though our celebrations are likely to be much different this year, I hope you find time to honor the fallen and enjoy this Memorial Day. Have a great weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend Sale

Close To My Heart is having a Memorial Day Weekend Sale.

Memorial Day Sale

The Memorial Day Weekend Sale begins on Friday, May 22 at 5:00pm EDT and concludes on Tuesday, May 26 at 1:59am EDT.

Sale items will be posted on my Consultant Website when the sale begins later today.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend! I hope your weather is nice!

May–June 2020 Hostess Rewards Stamp Sets

Close To My Heart introduced this supplemental catalog on May 1, 2020. Within its pages are some beautiful new products, but I am writing today to share information about the stamp sets available exclusively with Hostess Rewards.

Cover May–June 2020 Catalog

In addition to only being available with Hostess Rewards, they are only available for the life-cycle of the May–June 2020 Catalog – until June 30, 2020.

Thoughtful Bouquet (C1859)

Made with Heart (C1860)

Spa Day (D1943)

In addition to exclusive stamp sets, there are a variety of products available with Hostess Rewards. All of the Hostess Rewards details are listed on the Party page of my Consultant Website.

Since we are not "back to normal" (will we ever be?), if you would like host an online gathering – either on Facebook, Google Meet or Zoom – we can create a fun evening or afternoon event. You can reach me via the Contact Form to the right.

More Let's Stay Home

In late March 2020 I told you about the first Let's Stay Home stamp set.

Let's Stay Home (CC3212) - set of 28

Close To My Heart recently introduced two additional stamp sets for documenting what we are going through now.

The Great Indoors (CC5217)

On Repeat (CC5218)

If you are looking for inspiration, the CTMH artists have some fantastic ideas. Here are some samples created with The Great Indoors:

created with The Great Indoors (CC5217)	created with The Great Indoors (CC5217)
created with The Great Indoors (CC5217)	created with The Great Indoors (CC5217)

Call me crazy, but I think a couple of the stamps would be prefect for a housewarming or "congratulations on your new house" card. And the chocolate bar wraps would be great for dressing up treats to take to the pop-up drive-in movie theaters I have been hearing about.

There are some fun ideas for using On Repeat too:

created with On Repeat (CC5218)	created with On Repeat (CC5218)
created with On Repeat (CC5218)	created with On Repeat (CC5218)

Look at that cute roll of TP on the On Repeat stamp set.

While you are visiting the Let's Stay Home promotions page of my Consultant Website, but sure to check out the FREE SVG downloads. Two are perfect for applying vinyl to the cover of your albums; while the third is great for using with the Paper Pals.

Later This Week - Virtual Crop - Celebrating Moms!

I'm just taking a moment to remind you that Close To My Heart is hosting a FREE Virtual Crop - Celebrating Moms! on the CTMH Facebook page later this week.

Virtual Crop – Celebrating Moms!

The event is on Thursday, May 21. It begins at 7pm EDT. Between now and then be sure to click the event link and mark yourself as "going" to be reminded of the event in your Facebook Notifications.

There is no purchase necessary to participate; feel free to shop your stash to create during this event. If you want to create the page as it is shown above, list of CTMH products used is on the event page. Scroll down to the Details section (you'll have to click "see more" for the full list). I also shared the product list on May 9 when I first shared information about this event.

I really hope that you will be able to craft along with us on Thursday evening.

Legendary Father’s Day

As with Mother's Day, Close To My Heart has a fantastic Father's Day planned too.

Legendary Father's Day

Close To My Heart designed two stamp sets for us to create for Father's Day; there are even more savings when you purchase the bundle.

Legendary Father's Day (CC6205)	Someone to Look up To (CC6206)
Legendary Father's Day Stamp Set Bundle (CC6207)

Here's the flyer with all of the details about Legendary Father's Day.

Legendary Father's Day Flyer

As always, I have a PDF of the flyer that you will find here.

I hope you have a chance to create  this weekend. Thanks for the visit!

Extended through May - SVGs to Support Operation Smile

Hello! If you donated to Operation Smile to get the Crafty SVGs pictured below, please check your email for a message with the subject line "Operation Smile Donation Thank you! - Free SVGs". If you do not find it in your In Box, please check your Spam folder.

SVG images

If you missed my post about how to get your own SVGs, be sure to use the form to the right and either "Follow" or "Follow by Email" to be notified when a new post is published.

But no worries. CTMH has extended this offer until the end of May 2020. When you make a $10 or more donation to Operation Smile (no product purchase necessary) via my Consultant Website by the end of May, you will receive the SVG images shown above (without a watermark).

To donate, visit my Consultant Website and click the shopping cart in the upper right corner. Enter 10.00 or more in the box to the right of "Operation Smile Donation", then click "update" to the left of the amount. Click the "Check Out" button and complete the transaction.

Watch any of the videos over on the Official CloseTo My Heart Facebook Page, or visit my post from earlier this month which contains links to all of the National Scrapbooking Day videos to see the SVGs on a shirt. If you would like to re-watch the segment where the SVGs were discussed, watch Segment #2 and skip to 1:21:00.

Thanks to everyone who donated so far. As of yesterday over $10,000 has been raised. That's 42 smiles! I cannot wait to hear how many more lives we are able to change!

Have a fantastic day!

May–June 2020 New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the Close to My Heart New Product Blog Hop brought to you from same the group who present the SOTM Blog Hop. Today we are featuring items created with products from the new CTMH Idea Book May–June 2020 catalog.

On this hop we have just shy of 20 CTMH Independent Consultants sharing their creations. If you just happened upon my post, clicking the link to the next blog (often found near the bottom of the page) will take you full circle.

Cover May–June 2020 Catalog

You should have arrived here from ***Miss. Carrie's Creations***. If you get lost along the way, Melinda also keeps a list of all blog hop participants on her blog at If You Bling It.

I decided to select bright colors to create my birthday cards. In my sleep-depravation – I am working on my "cut yourself" Album Retreat kit – I decided to try something I have not before: Texture Pastes. I could not find my Stencil Sheets (Z4244), so I tried using Clamshell packaging. It worked OK, but I look forward to trying it again with the Stencil Sheets. I mixed one drop of Bluebird Re-inker into a dollop of Texture Paste on my glass cutting mat and mixed then applied with a Palette Knife.

To create the stack of presents, I used the Thin Cut to cut five from White Daisy and stamped in each other. Then I used a craft knife and my glass cutting mat to cut each apart. I moved the pieces around until I was happy with the look. I cut five more from White Daisy and applied the pieces to create the new stack.

card created with Party Time Stamp + Thin Cuts

I felt the stack of presents need something to make it stand out from the background so I cut an oval from Vellum. I am not sure you can see it in this photo, but IRL I think it helps.

Since I used five colors, I had five new stacks. I created another card; my goal was to make it different from the first. I used The Celebrate Embossing Folder (on your Consultant's Website) on Carolina paper then used a nail file to expose the white core.

card created with Party Time Stamp + Thin Cuts

I added bling and made the stack stand out from the background by cutting an oval from Silver Glitter Paper.

Before you head to where ***Crop Craft Create from Megan Lawrence***, the supplies I used to create my project are listed below.

All supplies are from Close To My Heart except where noted:

• My Acrylix™ Stamp Sets: Party Time Stamp + Thin Cuts (Z3729)
• Cardstock: White Daisy (1385), Lemonade (X6035), Carolina (X6039)
• Specialty Paper: Vellum (Z3367)
• Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pads: Lemonade (Z6517), Candy Apple (Z6509), Clover (Z6507), Carolina (Z6505), Bluebird (Z6508)
• Exclusive Inks™ Re-inker: Bluebird (Z7508)
• White Cards & Envelopes Value Pack (X254)
• Embellishments & Tools: Silver Shimmer Trim (Z1799), Texture Paste Transparent Matte from the Texture Paste Trio (Z4246), Palette Knives (Z4247), Celebrate Embossing Folder (Z3624)
• Die-cutting & Embossing Machine (HB1080, available with Hostess Rewards, see page 4 of Close To My Heart Core Products or Party with Us!)
• Cricut® Maker™ (HB1076, available with Hostess Rewards, see page 4 of Close To My Heart Core Products or Party with Us!)
• Cricut® Collection: Cricut® Artbooking Digital Collection (cartridge) (Z3298) - if you do not have a Consultant, please shop for the digital collection via my Cricut® Affiliate Link, otherwise ask your Consultant for their affiliate link; I used the following shapes:
• Polka Dots Overlay (#M45202)
• Supplies not from Close To My Heart: glass mat, craft knife, nail file (emery board)

If you do not have a CTMH Independent Consultant, you may purchase most of the supplies I used at my Consultant website; the digital version of Artistry may be purchased via my Cricut® Affiliate Link.

I enjoy reading your comments. If you have a few minutes, please share what you think of my cards. I hope you are enjoying the hop featuring new products from CTMH. Thank you for hopping with us!

So you do not have to scroll back up, the next stop on the hop is ***Crop Craft Create from Megan Lawrence***.

You're Invited to a Virtual Crop Celebrating Moms!

Close To My Heart is having another FREE event on their Facebook Page. During the May 21 virtual crop we will be creating this page (you may have seen a preview during the National Scrapbooking Day events).

Virtual Crop – Celebrating Moms!

This layout uses the same pattern as in the photo I shared when I posted information about Love for Mother.

Love for Mother

The page in the top photo uses papers from the Blue Skies Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet (CC5205). The page in the bottom photo uses papers from the March–April 2020 Catalog, specifically I recognize papers from Yesterday & Today (X7254S) and the Mix-In (X9013). Unfortunately the Mix-In (X9013) is sold out, but I think papers in the current Mix-In (X9015) would be a good substitute.

The virtual crop is scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2020 from 5pm to 6pm MDT (that's 7pm to 8pm EDT). Here's a link to the Event on the Close To My Heart Facebook Page so you can RSVP as "Going".

Here are some details and a list of supplies used to create the layout in the first photo, but feel free to come and create with colors that coordinate with your photo and supplies you have on hand.

Main colors on page: Sapphire, Canary, Flamingo (exclusive to Blue Skies), Candy Apple
Photos Needed: (1) 4" x 6" (P)
Theme: Mother

Supplies used:

• All That I Am My Acrylix® Stamp Set (CC42014)
• Blue Skies Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet (CC5205)
• They used the following papers: Sapphire floral, Flamingo plaid, and the Sapphire one that has the words up in the left hand corner
• Blue Skies Coordinating Cardstock (CC5212)
• They used 1 sheet of the Canary and 1 of the Flamingo
• 1 sheet White Daisy Cardstock (1385)
• Candy Apple Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z6509)
• Sapphire Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad (Z2848)
• Stickles™ Glitter Gel – Silver (Z3562)
• Loose Sequins – Silver (Z4304)
• Acrylic Hearts (Z355)
• 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151)
• Glue Dots® Micro Dots (Z2089)

Additional Materials Needed:

• Trimmer
• Scissors
• Adhesive

I hope you will be able to join the fun on May 21. I may have a previous commitment, but don't let that stop you. Since the Virtual Crop will be recorded and on the CTMH Facebook page after the event, if you have a conflict, you can watch and create later too.

Thank you for visiting today. Have a great day!

National Scrapbooking Day Recap

I hope you were able to join us on the Official CloseTo My Heart Facebook Page on National Scrapbooking Day. If you were not available on Saturday or had to leave early like me, I posted links to the videos below.

National Scrapbooking Day

Before we get to the videos, I would like to point out something that was shared on Saturday. Each of the Home Office presenters were wearing fabulous shirts. It turns out that we can get the SVGs, giving us the opportunity to create shirts for ourselves.

SVG images

When you make a $10 or more donation to Operation Smile (no product purchase necessary) via my Consultant Website by the end of the day on Friday, May 8, you will receive the SVG images shown above (without a watermark). To donate, visit my Consultant Website and click the shopping cart in the upper right corner. Enter 10.00 in the box to the right of "Operation Smile Donation", then click "update" to the left of the amount. Click the "Check Out" button and complete the transaction. Watch any of the videos below to see the SVGs on a shirt. If you would like to re-watch the segment where the SVGs were discussed, watch Segment #2 and skip to 1:21:00.

Here are links to the videos in the order the day unfolded; CTMH was awesome in giving a description and timestamp to help us skip to the topics we are looking for:

National Scrapbooking Day Segment #1

• Blue Skies Collection + Art, Blue Skies Cut Above Kit.
• Welcome 1:14:25
• Blue Skies overview 00:8:00
• Blue Skies 6X8 Album 00:15:00
• Blue Skies Cards/Layouts 00:19:10
• #1 Create: Blue Skies Cut Above 00:27:00
• Subscription Craft with Heart overview 1:02:00
• Consultant Feature 1:06:50
• Giveaway #1 & 2 1:16:00

National Scrapbooking Day Segment #2

• Home Wreath, Chari Pack from Persnickety Prints.
• Let’s Stay Home Promo
• Mother’s Day 00:4:15
• #2 Create: Home Wreath 00:11:27
• Persnickety Prints 00:01:00
• Giveaways 1:16:45
• Op Smile 1:21:00

National Scrapbooking Day Segment #3

• Cardmaking Bundle #2
• #3 Create: ‘Forever Grateful’ cards 00:5:25
• Consultant feature 00:1:14
• Giveaways 1:18:00

National Scrapbooking Day Segment #4

• Cutting Prep for Aurora, Stitched Together & Mixed Layouts.

National Scrapbooking Day Segment #5

• Assembly of Aurora Layouts
• Giveaways 53:20
• Assembly of Stitched Together Layouts 58:00
• Giveaways 1:34:00
• Assembly of Mixed Layouts 1:37:30
• Giveaways 2:14:15
• Consultant feature 2:16:00

National Scrapbooking Day Segment #6

• Stacy Julian - Story Starter Class.
• Giveaways 1:10:00

National Scrapbooking Day Segment #7

• Cardmaking Bundle #1
• Consultant Feature 1:54
• Giveaways 2:03
• Consultant Feature 2:00
• Giveaways 2:17

If after watching the videos you decide you would like to purchase a bundle, some are still available here on my Consultant Website. This is while supplies last.

Finally, if you were not able to watch all of the videos, CTMH posted the names of all of the winners on slides in the National Scrapbooking Month May 2020 Album. Those who won the New Consultant Kit Giveaways are listed here. I scanned through the names and did not see anyone I recognize, but I will caveat that with I always have my mom check my lottery ticket before I throw it away. [insert grin]

As always, thank you for visiting today. Have a wonderful Thursday!