Way Easy, Way Fast!!!

These cute pages were made by Kim Gilmore using some Christmas base pages, which were the pre-curser to our Level 1 Kits. We carry them in all the different paper kit designs. They are so simple to use. Each one includes 4 ready-made layouts, 2 extra coordinating cardstocks, 2 extra matching design sheets, and 2 sheets of matching stickease.

Using these ready made layouts are so simple. Just crop your pictures and stick them down; it can't be easier! Kim used some retired base pages that were along the same lines, but were packaged according to color instead of a design set. They didn't include extra matching paper, cardstocks, or stickease, but were so popular that the company started making designs just like them using the different paper pack. I'm SO glad they did!

In fact, almost 6 years ago, when I started with Close to My Heart, I made up a BIG portion of my daughter's scrapbook using these base pages and the Level 1 kits. I created 112 pages in just 9 days - not 216 hours, but 9 actual calendar days when I had to grocery shop, teach my kids, do laundry, and everything else in a normal routine.

When Close to My Heart says that it makes scrapbooking faster and easier, they aren't kidding!!!

By the way, many of the Level 1 kits are on sale at my website, marji.myctmh.com. Have you checked them out?

Christmas Card Workshop - November 28; 10 AM

This workshop will be completed in only a couple of hours and you'll leave with 8 hand-made Christmas cards that are easy to re-create. Email me with your desire to participate in this workshop and follow up with pre-payment so I can order your supplies. The supply fee for this workshop is only $7. That's less than $1 per card!

Christmas Layouts

Isn't that sleigh cool!!!??? I think, but I'm not sure, that she cut it out of some of the B&T using a Sissix machine. She also used glitter glue on the "skis". I love the way Alissa used little circle punches of the kids' faces as extra accents!

She also added the clear sparkles to the title and the sleigh along with ribbon and stick ease. This is a basic layout, with B&T as the base and coordinating primary colors as mattes for the title and pictures.

The second layout is also quite simple, with cardstock (9 x 12) and 2 coordinating B&Ts (1 x 12 and 2 x 12) vertically next to the cardstock. Again, she used mattes, ribbon, and stick ease to complete the look.

Christmas Layouts

Even when paper is retired, the ideas can be used again and again - and I know there are still some of you with retired paper still a part of your collection. I know I still have some - including this Hollydays pack. (Yes, it is one of my favorites!)

Kym used a picture as a title for this cover page for her Christmas book. The layout is actually a calendar layout and she added some "days" under the picture to show how the trip fit into the month's activities.

In these layouts, she displayed her Christmas card choice as well as some other cute-cute portraits that weren't chosen.

Her left layout used the green pattern paper (B&T) as the base and has one 2 x 12 B&T running vertically about 3 inches from the left edge on it. The right layout was built on white cardstock. A 9 x 12 made up the right side and a 3 x 12 strip made up the left. A 1 x 12 strip of the paper on the right ran through the middle of the paper on the left as an accent. Added to the basic layout are ribbon and stick ease pieces along with Cricut letters. Kym used edge anchors as accents on the red mattes on the left page and connected the two pages by using matching paper for her matte on the right layout.

Layouts from Julie

Thanks so much to Julie Armstrong for these layouts using the Evensong paper pack and stick ease.

These layouts are so easy, but so well-organized. The same layouts can be used again with a different paper pack to create an entirely look.




The first left layout uses a 4 x 12 piece, an 8 x 8 cardstock and another 4 x 8 cardstock. Add some accent paper or stickease and a design paper matte to complete the image.

The first right layout holds a 6 x 12 cardstock and a 6 x 12 design sheet. Matching accents, along with coordinating mattes make this an easy, inviting layout set.

The second set has a few more pieces but is still terribly simple. For the right layout, use a 4 x 12 design piece, a 5 x 12 cardstock (the red) and two 1 x 12 strips of cardstock (top and bottom borders for the other cardstock). The bottom corners are created by cutting a 4 x 4 square directly down the middle horizontally (from the bottom left corner to the top right corner). The right layout is made with three sections of 4 x 12 paper - 2 different cardstock pieces and 1 b&t (design sheet). The set is connected and completed through the accents and stick ease that is added.

Ornaments - these can be used for all kinds of tags!

These are elegant and so simple to put together. Thanks KEVIN, for sharing them with us!

To create this, punch 20 identical circles using matching design paper mounted on cardstock (to get the desired thickness), and coordinating cardstock. For each circle, you will fold up 3 sides until they meet at the point, creating a little triangle in the center.

Once they all have their little tabs, you can begin attaching them. Five go together to create the top and another 5 make the bottom. On both of these sections, the points will go together and the side tabs are the ones that are attached. The middle section is made up of 10 circle/triangles. Half of them are sitting on bases and the other half are sitting on points (as shown in the picture). Again, the side tabs are the ones attached, but alternate the triangles with every other one pointed up and the others pointed down to make a full ring.

You can attach the middle ring to the top one by adhering the top 5 bases of the middle ring to the unattached bases (5 of them) of the top section. Then do the same to attach the bottom section to the rest of the ornament.

I suggest using a firm glue for this project - ideally, use Liquid Glass! The items that have been tried that DON'T work include Tombow Adhesive, hot glue gun, CM tape runner, and Elmer's glue. Alene's Sticky Glue might work, but the Liquid Glass from CTMH definitely does!

Double Flap Card

This card is set up sort of wierd. I cut the base 4 1/4 inches wide, but only 9 inches wide. The fold is 3 1/4 in from the left edge of the front. You can barely make out the edge of the card in this first picture. I cut a piece of the Everlasting B&T 6 x 3 and folded it in half to make the second flap of the card. I adhered that folded card on the inside of the base so that the 3 x 3 "mat" would be in the center of the card and the fold was on the right.

The artwork is on a 2 inch square card, mounted on Cranberry 1/4 inch larger (square), on White 1/2 inch larger, and Cranberry again 3/4 inch larger. So the measurements are, respectively, 2 1/4 square, 2 1/2 square, and 2 3/4 square.

The main artwork is a montage of stamps on a 2 x 2 block. I used Christmas Scripts, December Word Puzzle, Ho Ho Ho, Holiday Jubilee, and Shining Star and my final of this card actually had a much fuller look to the main artwork as I kept adding stamps. The sentiment inside is from Peace On Earth. If I had it to do again, I think I would put the first part of the sentiment on the white flap under the artwork flap and then add the rest of it, as is, on the inside of the second flap.

This card was also inspired by some I saw on a bulletin board, but there were several that looked the same so I couldn't pinpoint just one person as the originator. Frankly, I think it is an Originals design. Have you used that? They make directions easier to follow than mine and offer diagrams so you can see exactly what you are cutting and what you're going to do with it!

For this card, I used Aspen paper (LOVE IT!) along with some words from the "December Word Puzzle" (stamped in Outdoor Denim with the cards distressed in the same.) The background for it was stamped using one of the "Jingle Borders" in Juniper and I love the way those colors go together!

This card goes together quick and easy!

Stinkin' Cute Snowman Card!

This card was inspired by one created by CTMH consultant Laurel Seabrook, but mine turned out totally different from hers by the time I was through. First I started with the Christmas Memories snow man which is a "two-step" or "base-n-shade" stamp set. First I stamped the shadow of the image, then I added his scarf and hat fill-in. No I didn't match up the gaps perfectly, but it didn't end up mattering. Once I have the shadow and the fill in, (in Juniper and Moonstruck, respectively) I stamped the outline of the snowman in Outdoor Denim. I also stamped the "White Christmas" from the Holiday Jubilee Stamp Set in Juniper. After I finished this stamping, I cut out the snowman (making his arms a little thicker than the single lines that they are) and cut the "White Christmas" in a square.

Once I finished the main artwork, I began working on the background. I stamped the trees on a white 3 1/4 x 2 3/4 card, using the 3 trees from the December Word Puzzle stamp set. On my block, I put 2 together and 1 off to the side. I stamped them all in Juniper.

I used the same basic idea with the snowflake background on the Twilight paper. I put the snowflakes on the block in a non-patterned manner and turned it with every impression (in Juniper) to give it a fully random look. Since I'm covering the center, there was no need to stamp there.

The Twilight 5 x 3 3/4 cardstock covers the 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 base. I layered a 1 x 3 3/4 Outdoor Denim strip across the Twilight.

I stacked a 3 3/4 x 3 1/4 piece of Moonstruck Cardstock and then put the white tree stamped card centered on that. I mounted my sentiment on a Twilight piece just a little bigger than the sentiment, and adhered my snowman using 3d foam squares. Once he was set where I wanted him, I trimmed off the extra bit of him at the bottom, but some of the gals at my workshop left him whole. I used a snowflake punch from the Martha Stewart collection at Walmart and some glitter foam paint that I found at Hobby Lobby for the final embellishments.

Unique Christmas Tree Card

This card looks so elegant, but it was SO simple to make. I can't take credit for it as I found the exact design on a CTMH consultant board, but I don't have the name of the consultant in my file. That's not like me and I'll try to update this posting with the proper credit if I can.

Just a note here: I love the way the consultants in this company are so willing to share their ideas and inspiration with each other. I've gotten SO much from my CTMH sisters, especially in my often non-creative times. I find I can brainstorm variations, but can seldom dream up a design from scratch. The best way to thank those who have inspired me is to give them full credit for their creations. Sort of like virtual applause! So even though this card is mine, the brainchild belonged to someone else and I'll tell you who as soon as I can!


Evensong is the paper pack I used. The green mat for the artwork is actually the Evensong Creative Basics, but since that is no longer available, the green print from the regular Evensong pack works just as well. This card starts out as paper punches. I used a circle punch from the Martha Stewart collection. (Walmart) I punched 5 from the red along with one of the stars, and 3 from the green print. I used them all upside down except for 3 of the greens and the star on top. I only used one stamp set with this card - the December Word Puzzle. LOVE THAT SET! I stamped the Noel in Chocolate. I stacked the circles above the Noel on a 3 x 4 card which I stacked on a Creative Basics green paper measuring 3 1/4 x 4 1/4. I covered the entire cardbase with a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 piece of the red print. Then I embellished with a few sparkles, a Holiday red bigger brad, and the circles (also from the December Word Puzzle) stamped in Tulip.

Okay, now that I've finished the instructions, I searched through the CTMH bulletin board and found the consultant who created the design. She is Lisa Aquino, a Canadian CTMH consultant.

Snow Guy Double-Flap Card

This cute little card is worth the effort! I had never thought of stamping on design paper, but it turned out great! Use the "All Decked Out" Stamp Set. To make this, you will need to stamp all of these parts onto white paper, except the hat and scarf. Stamp the medium circle about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of a 3 x 4 card. You'll stamp the swirly stamp along the bottom of the medium circle, all the way across to either side of the snowguy bottom. Fill in with the swirly, but make sure you turn the stamp from time to time so all the swirls won't look exactly the same.


When you stamp the scarf and hat on the design paper, cut it out, removing all the extra swirly stuff. (I don't want to spend all that extra time cutting, do you?) Stamp the smallest circle on an edge of the white paper and add the face in black. Cut it out completely. Cut the medium circle out, too, only cut the circle up to the swirlys and then along the top of them. (See the card for the full look.) I started the card with a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card base, and centered it with a 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 plaid piece. I cut a white cardstock piece that measured 6 x 4 and folded it in half to make it 3 x 4. This piece I centered on the plaid, closer to the top edge. I covered it with a Twilight cardstock piece that measured 3 x 4. The cut snowman bottom and swirlys go at the bottom of this Twilight piece. The snowman head will go above the body, with about 1/4 inch of margin between the two circles. Put the scarf and hat in good positions over the head.

At this point you will want to add your sentiments. I used the "Peace on Earth" stamps. I actually cut the sentiment into pieces to make it fit this way. I stamped this section inside the 3 x 4 card that is sitting on top of the plaid paper. The second part of the sentiment was left in tact and I stamped it on the inside of the cardbase.

I finished the card off with a Autumn Terracotta photoclip that holds the 3 x 4 flap closed.

What a simple card. Special thanks to consultant Tiffani Hughson for sharing this design! The red is stamped using White Daisy with the "Jingle Borders" stamp set. The green and red cardstock start out as 5 1/2 x 3 1/4. I created a template with another scrap of cardstock and then cut both the red and green at the same time with one stacked on top of the other. That way, even if my curve wasn't perfect, it would still have a parallel look to it. I used the two ornaments from the December Word Puzzle stamp set and embellished them with chocolate Waxy Flax and free-hand black lines. Would love to see your take on this card! Please post it in the comments!