Make Your Own Clear-Embossed Background: Idea Book Inspiration

Do you ever find yourself with the creative version of writer's block?  Personally, I like to look at Pinterest or how-to books for ideas to get my creative juices flowing, but another thing I like to do is use the Close To My Heart catalog for inspiration.  The catalogs used to be called Idea Books, and even though the name is gone, the purpose is not!

As soon as I saw page eight of the September & October seasonal catalog, I knew that I wanted to recreate that card!  The catalog occasionally offers an Artwork Tip, and this card featured a tip of using clear embossing powder to create a unique background.  Here's the original idea from the catalog:

This card was created using Bloom with Grace products from Close To My Heart: patterned paper, coordinating cardstock, and cardmaking stamp set.  While I don't have that particular stamp set, I do have the paper and a stamp set that includes a pumpkin.  I decided to {mostly} recreate the CTMH card but put my own spin on it as well!  I played around with the sizes of all of the pieces, and I came up with the following measurements:

Following the Artwork Tip, I randomly stamped some pumpkins in Versa Mark ink and then sprinkled clear embossing powder over them.  I heat embossed the pumpkins to create my own background.

After adding all the other pieces to the card, I took it in a different direction.  Since I don't have the Bloom with Grace Cardmaking stamp set, I used Gobble Till You Wobble instead (it's a retired stamp set).  I finished the card with some adorable Wood Hearts and Gold Embellishing Thread. 

While my version isn't exactly the same as the card featured on page eight of the September & October Close To My Heart catalog, it is inspired by the ideas presented in the book.  If you've found yourself inspired by something in one of the catalogs, drop a comment or a picture below; I'm always looking for new ideas!  If you like the products that you see, please consider shopping with me at jessicadipzinski.closetomyheart.com. 

You can watch me create this card in my YouTube video, linked below.  Happy creating!

Mixing It Up with Gnomes!

We are in the process of packing up our house to move and there are tons of things to do, but it's Gnome Matter!  I really wanted to play with my new Gnome Matter stamp set from Close To My Heart today, so those pesky to-do items can just wait.  Instead of packing, I created this one-page scrapbook layout for a picture of my husband and son, which was taken at my daughter's birthday party a few years ago.

Since I didn't have any other pictures of my son from that day, I didn't really want to make the layout have a birthday theme; however, the picture of the two of them was too sweet to not scrapbook.  I decided to use my new stamp set with the gnomes.  There are so many adorable ideas out there for using these gnomes on cards, but I haven't seen anyone use them for a scrapbook page yet.  Why not use them for this layout of my two guys? 

The paper for this layout comes entirely from the July-August mix-in paper packet.  Now, if you're not familiar with the mix-in papers, then you might be excited to know that they are designed to coordinate with both of the other paper packets in the July- August catalog (Summer Vibes and Timber).  It's quite a smart idea because it can really stretch your use of the themed paper packets.  However, if you're like me, then you'll love the mix-in papers all on their own, too!  I always love the mix-in papers the best out of each catalog!

In addition to the Gnome Matter stamp set + Thin Cuts (currently--July 12--out of stock but coming back soon, though the stamp without Thin Cuts is available) and mix-in papers, I used an older stamp set (Watercolor Impressions) for the splotches in the background.  I stamped them around the page in Lagoon ink and then added some Lagoon Shimmer Brush splatters, too.  The banners are also stamped in Lagoon ink and cut from the Beautiful Day stamp set.  

Overall, this page came together very quickly, and you can watch me create it here on my YouTube channel:

If you like what you see, I would love for you to shop with me at jessicadipzinski.closetomyheart.com!  I've linked all of the items that I used for this page.  Have a wonderful day and happy creating!

Summer Vibes from Close To My Heart

The weather has been beautiful, swimming in the pool has been glorious, and the break from schoolwork has been welcome.  I have definitely been feeling the Summer Vibes!  Close To My Heart just released their July and August catalog, and the Summer Vibes collection truly captures those summertime feelings.

I've had a chance to play with the paper collection and make a few scrapbook pages and cards.  The timing of this new collection was perfect for me as I was just about to scrapbook some beach days from a camping trip.  

Not only are the papers and sticker sheet perfect for any sort of beach, pool, or summer day, but the acrylic shapes are AH-MAZING!  They come in an assortment of pink and yellow.  There are fun shapes like a sun, a flamingo, leaves, hearts, flip flops, and so much more!  

The stickers have both shiny and matte elements to them, making them beautiful and eye-catching!

The other thing that I love about the Summer Vibes collection is that it is neither masculine nor feminine; it's just summertime!  I have two daughters and one son, so sometimes I struggle getting paper to work for either the girls' scrapbooks or my son's.  Here you can see how the papers worked perfectly in my daughter's scrapbook for the same beach day.

 

If you've been feeling the Summer Vibes, too, please consider shopping with me at jessicadipzinski.closetomyheart.com!  There are so many ways to play with this paper collection: paper, stickers, acrylic shapes, SVG files, stamps, coordinating cardstock, and workshops for both cards and scrapbooks.  

Challenge: What's Old Is New

The other day I posed a challenge to myself, and I have to give credit to my children for inspiring it.  They were complaining that they were bored and there was nothing to do.  My typical response to these sorts of complaints is to tell them to go "shopping" in their own closets for toys and crafting items that they haven't used in a long time.  Hey, pot, it's me, kettle!  How many times do I overlook stamps, embellishments, Cricut images, and everything else in my own crafting stash?  Therefore, I decided to create a scrapbooking layout using something I had never used before.

Using my Artistry Cricut cartridge from Close To My Heart, I cut the floral wreath from the Background option (page 21). I have an old school Cricut with physical cartridges, so I don't know the name of this particular image for those of you with digital Cricut machines.  

I cut the wreath out of Green Apple cardstock at 10.75", and then I hoped that the little flower image on that same page would match the flowers in the wreath.  Alas, it did not, so I had to cut the wreath a second time in Peach cardstock and fussy cut them out.  

To add some dimension to the page, I cut more flowers (from the Icon-1 option) in both white cardstock and Peach cardstock.  Close To My Heart's cardstock is two-toned, so one side is a lighter shade than the other side.  My wreath flowers were cut using the lighter shade of Peach, so I made the extra flowers the darker shade.  I popped up several of the flowers with foam tape, added a bunch of sparkle with my Clear Shimmer Brush, and sewed on three heart-shaped wooden buttons.  

I am currently obsessed with the wooden buttons from Close To My Heart!  The package comes with several sizes of both circles and hearts; some of the buttons even have a stitched pattern around the perimeter.  They're amazing!

The "friend" sentiment is from an old Close To My Heart stamp set called Friendship Word Puzzle, and there is a little flower stamp on that set.  Originally I stamped three yellow flowers around the sentiment, but I didn't like them.  To cover them up, I used the little butterfly stamp from the Details I Love stamp set, which is currently available; I also used the three lines from that set to put a spot for journaling at the bottom of my page.  The butterflies are stamped using the rock n' roll technique, and I just love how they are both yellow and pink!  The final touch was splattering some sparkle from my pink Shimmer Brush.  

This challenge really made me think outside of my usual box of tricks, and I am pleased with the final result!  I've had this cartridge for many years and I've used it many times, but I've just never cut out this image (or really any of the fun background cuts) before.  Just like my children, I am delighted to find that something "old" is now new and exciting again!  

If you'd like to see this page come together, please check out my YouTube process video (linked below).  I've linked all available supplies for this project to my Close To My Heart website (hover over the names of the items to find the hyperlink).  If you decide to take on this challenge for yourself, I'd love to see it; please leave a comment or picture below!

Seas the Day: Carpe Diem Scrapbooking Style

I have to admit that I am a little late to the game when it comes to Close To My Heart's Seas the Day paper packet.  Fortunately for me, I recently had an opportunity to play with this paper and its matching sticker sheet, and now that I've fallen completely in love with it, I might have to grab some more before it's totally gone.  It's summer, and I am totally digging this collection for our family's beach scrapbook pages.  This paper collection was from the March-April catalog, but it is still available online...WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!  I am going to have to take the advice of this paper collection's name and Seas the Day!  (You've heard of dad jokes, right?  My students often tease me for what I call my teacher jokes.  This would be one of them!)

I like to scrapbook our family's pictures chronologically, and I was just about to work on a layout for a camping trip that involved a lot of beach days when this paper arrived in the mail.  It felt like a sign, so I immediately got to work.  I used a layout template from the old Close To My Heart pattern book called Imagine.  It called for more pictures than I had to use, but since I loved the paper so much, I decided to let the paper and embellishments take the place of some of the pictures. 

The white and blue water print (with the anchor sticker) on the left page and the journaling spot on the right page were actually supposed to be 3.5" x 4" pictures.  The journaling was supposed to be on strips of paper coming down the left side of the right page.  However, I just replaced one picture spot with my journaling box since those journaling strips would've covered up too much of the beautiful paper (and I was short on pictures anyway).  

This double-page layout came together very quickly, and I give all of the credit to the awesome stickers!  I really didn't have to do much to make these pages special; the stickers and the paper did all of the work for me.  Overall, I was swept away by a tide of love for this paper packet and its matching sticker sheet (yes, that's another teacher joke)!  

This paper packet taught me a lesson, and that is to take advantage of an opportunity when it presents itself; if you're lucky, you might get second chances, but that's not a guarantee.  I did get really lucky that this paper collection was still available, even though it's from the previous catalog.  It's always a good idea to Seas the Day!

If you love what you see, please consider clicking on the links for the paper packet or shopping with me at jessicadipzinski.closetomyheart.com.  Thank you for creating with me!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Heart 2 Heart Challenge

Hello again!  I recently discovered the Heart 2 Heart Challenges blog (http://heart2heartchallenges.blogspot.com/), and since I made a layout using the rainbow-striped paper from the Stitched Together paper packet the other day, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share it with you! 

This layout is nearly 100% made of Close To My Heart products (the exceptions being the dark blue mat behind my picture and the gray string in my tag), and I had so much fun playing with my newest goodies from CTMH!

I used a mixture of paper from both the Stitched Together paper packet and the coordinating mix-in paper and cardstock.  Those rainbow stripes are so fun and playful!  The white flowers on the blue strips of paper are one of the zip strips from the paper packet; I just cut the strip in half and both pieces fit perfectly onto my page.  The zip strips are half-inch bonuses that can be cut off of the 12 x 12 paper and used for embellishment. 

Let's talk about my favorite part of this layout (besides that rainbow paper and my husband and daughter, of course!):  THE FLOWERS!  Aren't they just gorgeous?

My Stitched Together paper packet came with a sticker sheet, and the pale pink flower, small red flower, and dark blue leaves are stickers.  I wanted to layer some MORE FLOWERS (why not?) onto those stickers, so I pulled out my Beautiful Day stamp set with Thin Cuts.  You can see here that I've stamped the Lagoon small flower and green leaves and then layered them with the stickers.  I did this again at the top of the page with my journaling tag. 

To finish the page, I randomly stamped the small flowers and dots and created splatters with my Mint Shimmer Brush.  This is one of my favorite pages, and I think it is because the rainbow stripes compliment the gorgeous flowers so perfectly!