Cyber Monday CTMH Sale!

Did you stay home and warm on Black Friday but now need a start on your shopping? Cyber Monday is coming and I have some great offers for you!

When you submit an order of just $30 you receive your choice of any embellishment or supply item up to $3.00 for free! Look for Opaques, Sparkles, Envelope Flats and more!

When you submit an order of just $60 you receive a second choice of any embellishment or supply item up to $4.00 for free! Look for Filigree Charms, Waxy Flax, My Creations A-door-ables and more!

When you submit an order of just $90 you receive a third choice of any embellishment or supply item up to $5.00 for free! Look for Mini-Medley My Accents Collections, Brad Assortments, Dimensional Elements and more!

When you submit an order of just $100 you will receive all of the above and the November Constant Campaign, “A Little More Thanks,” also kicks in! You receive the Stamp of the Month, “A Little Thanks,” for free and a second stamp set of your choice, also for free!

This Cyber Monday special is available only through me, personally. Please email me (betsygully@gmail.com) with your order from 8:00am through 11:59pm on Monday, November 29th only. Close to my Heart requires that I collect shipping & handling and tax on all free items. This sale is NOT available through my website.

Need ideas for the scrapper or crafter in your family?

Studio J 5-pack is a great introduction to digital scrapping. A Studio J® 5-pack, priced at $55, includes 5 two-page layouts, 5 Memory Protectors®, and free shipping and handling. It’s the perfect way to try out Studio J for the first time, and it makes a great gift. (3 and 12 month memberships are also available at even greater benefits and savings.)

Protect and showcase your treasured scrapbook pages for a lifetime in one of Close To My Heart’s archive quality My Legacy® albums. Just $24.95 they are available in six contemporary colors. Our post-binding albums are more beautiful and durable than ever.

A Close To My Heart gift certificate is always a wonderful gift to allow your favorite scrapper or crafter to choose exactly what she wants with no uncertainties about color, duplicates or personal tastes. A Gift Certificate can be purchased in any amount. Gift Certificates do not count toward Cyber Monday sales.

Stocking Stuffers!

I love Christmas. Besides looking forward to seeing family, shopping, eating, partying and honoring the birth of Jesus, it's also a great time to be a paper crafter. I get to design and make my own Christmas cards. I love sending out cards that mean more to me than a pretty picture and a pretty saying. I know that not all recipients appreciate the time and effort it takes to make my cards, but the process of making them and thinking about the friends and family I'll be sending them to is very important to me, a tradition I adore.

Besides making cards there are so many other holiday things to make by paper crafting. I'm certainly not as creative as so many of the crafters I admire, but I do have fun! This photo is of five items we are creating in my next workshop. They can be small gifts for people you want to acknowledge with a little something or they can be stocking stuffers, or perhaps, like the ornament or notebook, you can keep it for yourself. However they are used, they are sure to be appreciated!

Let the holidays begin! I so love this season!!

Happily Exhausted!

Today was the final of my three holiday card classes. It's been a long three days as we tried to squeeze so much fun into each class. Hm... Might try for a little less fun next time!

Our prepped cards were all lined up on the piano one through ten. Grab a box, pass it around and we're off!

This is our Saturday class, number three. Alyssa, my partner in crime, managed one end of the table and I managed the other. It was her first time to really teach and she was fabulous!

Without a doubt all the stampers were tired at the end of the class, but happy with their cards! My favorite quote of the day? "There's not a single card I don't love!"

Holiday Card Workshop

Today we had the first of three Holiday Card workshops. Every participant received a thank you gift from me before we jumped in and made 20 holiday cards, ten designs, 2 of each. We had yummy Christmas cookies and non-stop Christmas tunes. Don't shame me for breaking out the Christmas tunes too early, it's necessary to have the appropriate music when making Christmas cards! We had so much fun!

There are some workshop plans in the CTMH book "Wishes" but I felt uninspired by them. Instead, Alyssa and I looked at all the cards in "Wishes" and picked out individual cards that appealed to us. It was a little more work but I am so pleased with what we came up with!

All these cards use the Mistletoe Level 2 paper packet and the Creative Basics Mistletoe Collection. The card above was my design, focusing on the papers themselves. The pretty little poinsettias are part of a collection called Mistletoe Level 2 Assortment. I adore them! The sentiment is from the Tannenbaum My Acrylix stamp set.

This card is Alyssa's design. The sentiment is from Christmas Melodies.

This is also Alyssa's design and also uses the Christmas Melodies My Acrylix stamp set. On both cards the berries are filled in using red stickles. So cute!

Another card by Alyssa. Did I mention I am starting to feel inadequate? LOL! I really love this stamp set, I Believe. It also has a reindeer, santa and sleigh, stocking & snow flakes. Very versatile!

And this card was designed by..... you guessed it! Alyssa! She used the My Acrylix stamp set, Adorn-able and added the pearl Opaques for a little added pop.

Final card was my design (finally!). If it seems familiar it's because it's one of the cards I featured on the November blog hop. This tree is alway a hit! The stamped and glittered trees are part of the Holiday Trinkets My Acrylix stamp set. The second generation stamping gives the appearance of depth, as if the trees are fading off into the mist.

If you are counting you may have noticed that I have only posted six cards. The final four are being held back and will be revealed December 1st for the December Paper Trail blog hop. Mark your calendars and check back for the remaining workshop cards. Thanks for stopping by!

Holiday Cards - Do You Still Send Them?

I've been participating in some craft shows this fall and along with my other items presenting cards for sale. They are not moving as well as I would have liked. I hope that doesn't mean people are not sending Holiday cards... I so love getting them!!

This is one of my favorites made with Mistletoe Level 2 paper pack. The glittery ribbon came with my Mistletoe Creative Basics. I've been investing more & more in corner and border punches, totally in love with them! Mary Jane taught me to do the accordion flower a few months ago and I have made tons of them since. Do you ever get "stuck" on something so fun you just have to keep making it? This card also includes My Acrylix stamps, St. Nick and Peace on Earth.

Did I tell you? Martha Stewart corner & border punches used for this card. I just can't resist! The beautiful musical paper is another part of the Mistletoe Level 2 paper pack. My Acrylix stamps are A Timber. Its a very sweet little set!

Two of our new colors are featured on this card, Pacifica and Sky. I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the card stock with snow flakes and then lightly sanded the top, leaving the white core to show. I love how easy it is to get this beautiful effect. My Acrylix stamps used on this card are from the Ice Crystals set.

This is one of my favorites! I love round cards and CTMH makes it so easy! I added paper from Magnifique Level 2 paper pack, using the pretty light patterned back of a much bolder pattern. I used the strip of embossed Pacifica cut off of the One of a Kind card and added my sponged, colored & glittered image from My Acrylix Snow Days and Thank You.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are sending real cards out this holiday season. Snail mail means so much more!

November Paper Trail Blog Hop - Mistletoe!

Welcome to the November edition of the Paper Trail blog hop! We are a group of Close To My Heart consultants working together to bring you cards, layouts, and other art featuring a different Close To My Heart paper packet each month. If you arrived here from Terri's My Frame of Mind you are on the right trail!

This month we are featuring the paper packet Mistletoe and it's beautiful holiday papers. I did some paper folded Christmas tree cards. The inspiration comes from Joyce. You can see her video here.

My daughter Alyssa got busy with Mistletoe and created a mini-album. It's a perfect size to put in a CD envelope and mail some holiday memories to family or friends.

A small Velcro tab holds the album closed.

Plenty of room for some journaling on the left - photo on the right.

Every page has room to tell the story of the photos you place inside.

The very center has room for 3 photos.

Close up of right side of center & Santa
.

I love the ornaments designed for a journaling spot!

And a lovely sentiment for the last page.

Thanks for stopping by. You're on your way to Karen's Inky Fingers blog now for some more great ideas. Just click on her blog.