Christmas Card Buffet

I recently hosted my first ever card buffet. I created a dozen different Christmas cards with a huge variety of themes from reindeer to gingerbread men and even a VW bug!? The ladies had 2 hours to create and the more they made the more savings the earned per card. It was hit overall and everyone really had fun!

Here is a picture of the cards, minus one that was left out of the photo.~

This picture illustrates how the cards were set in crates or boxes with kits to make the card along with the materials needed to complete it. Most required a stamp set and inks, but others needed thin cuts, markers, craft heaters, embossing folders and more.

Here are the ladies having fun, but mostly getting to work....serious business you know!

One of the aspects that the ladies enjoyed the most is that all the ideas were already thought of for them. The could simply look at the master card and recreate it. I try to come up with interesting ideas and wanted to explore all sorts of stamp images as well as use a variety of papers. Sometimes the ideas came from strange items. Like the Merry VW bug card. On a recent shopping trip to Michaels I came across these adorable magnetic closing boxes for 50% off. The image of the little cars decked out for the holidays was my inspiration for this card. I think the post office should seriously make this a stamp design. I would buy it! None of these card kits were left in the box...well not many cards were left at all at the end of the night!

Happy crafting!

Golden Pine Cones

I just returned my spooky Halloween decor to the storage boxes and yet I found myself shopping over the weekend listening to Christmas music playing throughout the store! What? I still have Halloween candy in a bowl on my kitchen counter and we haven't eaten any turkey yet! Then again, I do realize the time it takes to prepare for Christmas~ all those handmade cards, projects and scrapbook pages waiting to be filled with memories. That is why you will find Christmas papers and stamps filling every inch of my desk.

Today I'm sharing one of the cards I made with a sketch in mind from Freshly Made Sketches Blog. I wanted to submit it, but simply ran out of time to photograph and post it earlier before the deadline. I used the lovely Oh Deer papers and some of the complements. I used the Perfectly Pine stamp with those sea glass branches, but instead of just stamping the pine cones I opted for some golden kraft complements. I also used a bit of some Uptown gold embossed polka dot paper layered on some sea glass Oh Deer papers. The shiny gold is just lovely and makes me warm up to the idea of Christmas music playing in the stores already!

I hope you are inspired to use some of these paper collections and the Perfectly Pine stamp set. These products will only be available until the end of December. Thanks for visiting!

Welcome to September

September is National Stamping Month. Close To My Heart is celebrating with a special Create Kindness Stamp Kit.

 Find more details on the Current Specials tab.

You can also find more details about the Stamp of the Month on the Current Specials tab. The Stamp of the Month is a beautiful set that will allow you to show gratitude as well. It's called Blessed Beyond Measure and features some autumn images and sweet sentiments.

Lastly, the newest Holiday Expressions Idea Book goes live today! In this book you will find all those familiar paper collections in various holiday themes. You can view the book online or contact me if you would like one for yourself. All products are available to order now!

Take a look at the four paper collections being offered in this new book.

 Jeepers Creepers

City Sidewalks

 Oh Deer!

Swan Lake 

I've heard the month of September referred to as "Stamptember"! That seems fitting for this month considering all of the new Holiday products and specials happening this month. Happy creating friends!