Over Malaga

One of the many perks of being a CTMH Maker is the opportunity to receive products early with project instructions (and Facebook Live events to make them with CTMH Corp).  This layout came from the Jan.-Mar. Idea Book catalog launch event featuring the recently retired Are You There Yet? collection.  I can rarely participate live, but they are recorded (which is still lots of fun). 

Because I had so many photos, I decided to add five more 4"x6" pictures using a Pocket Plus Memory Protector (Design 1).  Here is the left page with the additional Pocket Plus Memory Protector.  (You can find all our options for pocket scrapbooking HERE.). I love that they really don't add any more "bulk" to your books.  Also note how I added a skinny journaling strip directly to one of my photos to tell a little more about that particular one.

Here's the back of the Pocket Plus Memory Protector and the right page.  I did add an Are We There Yet? Picture My Life 4"x6" journaling/artwork card.

Consider adding more photos with Pocket Plus pages!

Title Page Challenge

As I am working on getting myself organized this year, I've been inspired to create more (which is a great thing) and am working on better systems to manage my creations (still a work in progress).  I have several albums started that lack title pages, so the current Lasting Memories Layout Challenge #633, to create a title page, was just the inspiration I needed.

I pulled two favorite family photos from 2021 off my bulletin board by my craft desk.  These (retired) Close To My Heart "Lovely" Picture My Life cards matched really well, so I played around with the design and mounted everything on (retired) Blue Bell cardstock.  I added Blue Bell shimmer trim and glitter gems, plus stamped the year with my (retired) Daisy alphabet.

It feels really good to get (somewhat) organized and to create a layout that immediately went into an album!  If you're also a scrapbooker, then I know you can appreciate my sense of accomplishment right now.  

As always, thanks for letting me share with you!

As You Grow Wyoming Layouts

One of my current big projects is to continue scrapbooking our travel photos from our trip out west this summer (plus two other big trips from years past...).  I really liked how well the As You Grow collection paired with photos from our time in Wyoming at Jackson Hole and Yellowstone National Park.

On the left page, I used an old gold metal clip to attach the bulletin from the church service we attended.  I am kicking myself for not getting a picture of my mom and me to mimic the one my dad took when I was about two years old at the same location!  In our defense, it was really cold that morning!  

The right page for this layout (which is also the left page of the next layout) uses a 12"x12" Memory Protector #4.  I used a few Picture My Life cards plus patterned paper.

I used stickers from the collection also as embellishments and my Daisy Alphabet stamp set to help add to my layout.

As you can see, the As You Grow collection isn't just for babies and toddlers!  I love how it looks with my travel photos too.

Map Your Journey- USA: North Dakota Layout

Our family had a great time on our awesome American adventure this summer!  One highlight was going to North Dakota and hiking its highest peak, White Butte.

I used the As You Grow collection along with the Map Your Journey- USA stamp set.

I love using flip flaps to add more photos to my layouts.

Here's a close up of the Map Your Journey stamped accent.  I fussy cut both South and North Dakota from coordinating cardstock and then popped up ND with 3D foam tape.

I also used a few wooden arrows to accent the layout.

Thanks for letting me share part of our adventure with you!

2021-22 Core Catalog New Product Blog Hop

September marks the beginning of the Close To My Heart year with a brand new, incredible Core Catalog!  Our blog hop group is featuring our favorites from the Core Catalog, which will be available through August 2022.  Grab your wish list and hop along to see so many amazing new products and ideas. (If you're already hopping, you've probably arrived from amazingly creative Katy's blog.  From here, you'll visit my Heart2Heart Challenges teammate Lauren's blog next.)

I finally decided to use the pretty As You Grow paper pack, sticker sheet, coordinating cardstock, and Picture My Life cards to scrapbook my aunt's memorial service this past weekend.  You'll notice that I haven't journaled (yet) because my thoughts are too private for the world wide web.  (Thanks for understanding.)  I do want to stress how important journaling is to document the stories and people behind your photos.  No one wants to inherit "strangers in a box."

I embellished both pages with NEW Papaya shimmer trim.  Though this collection has a baby motif, I thought that the "love you forever" sums up my love for my aunt and my extended family.  My aunt loved to garden, so the botanical theme is perfect to celebrate her life.

Since it was hard to get 23 of us to look at the camera (especially since two are under four years old), I wanted to use two of the many family photos.  Flip flaps of course came to my rescue, and on the 4x6" Picture My Life journaling card, I will document who exactly was in attendance- and who had to attend virtually unfortunately due to COVID-19.  Also note that the actual service bulletin can be pulled out of the top-loading page protector.  The poem is adhered at the middle and bottom to provide a pocket to pull out the bulletin.

Thanks for letting me show you a little bit of the pretty As You Grow collection.  If you only saw babies, I hope I've inspired you to think again!  Please leave a comment before hopping to Lauren's blog next.  

{Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.}

National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop

 Close To My Heart just keeps cranking out the hits, I mean, kits!!!  In addition to the five National Scrapbooking Day bundles, they are also offering an amazing National Scrapbooking Month collection, You Are Enough, which is the focus of this blog hop.  You will get so many great ideas!  (If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Maureen's blog.  From here, you'll visit my creative friend Cat's blog next.)

You can get the various pieces of the You Are Enough collection individually or purchase bundles to save.  I ended up getting a bundle because my wish list cost more than the bundle, but the bundle gave me more products for less money!  (SCORE!)  My bundle really came in handy for this hop because due to unforeseen events, I didn't get the crafting time I was expecting this weekend.  (Life, am I right?)  I decided to grab my Picture My Life cards (which I probably wouldn't have purchased outright but were included in my money-saving bundle) and use some of the 3"x4" cards on actual standard-sized greeting cards.

My first card uses a Blue Belle PML 3"x4" card that I layered onto a 4"x6" PML card (cut down to 4"x5.25" to fit my card front).  I added a strip of Sangria cardstock with the pretty rose gold pattern from my You Are Enough bundle and the pretty butterfly You Are Enough sequin.  (They catch the light and change colors in such a pretty way!)

For my second card, I followed the "be you" motto and embraced the crookedness (although if I had realized it was crooked, I would have added a bit more slant to make the crookedness work).

The top of this image shows one side of the 3"x4" PML card, and the bottom left shows the other.  I trimmed off 3/4" off of each end and turned them over to build my card sentiment.  I added strips of Blue Belle shimmer trim (not included in the You Are Enough bundle) AND I die cut the smaller butterfly from the You Are Enough collection from Blue Belle glitter paper (also not included).

For my third card, I cut down the "You Sparkle" card and then layered it onto a Glacier 3"x4" card, also trimmed down.  I adhered it to a piece of the Sangria rose gold cardstock (4"x5.25") and then added another butterfly sequin.  It didn't sparkle as much as I would have liked, so I swiped my clear shimmer brush across the sentiment.  (Unfortunately, my picture doesn't do the sparkle justice.)

Hopefully your takeaway is that you don't have to use products exactly as they are intended (and that you can create something pleasing even when you're short on time).  I'd love for you to leave a comment before you hop on to Cat's blog next.  Thank you!  Remember, YOU ARE ENOUGH!

{Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.}

Heart2Heart Challenges: Just Add Water

The newest Heart2Heart Challenge, Just Add Water, can be either about the water or use water.  I decided to make a fun lake day layout.

After ordering my pictures, I decided that Pattern 3 of the Make It From Your Heart, Vol.. 3 how-to book would fit my photos nicely.  I knew that the Summer Vibes collection was perfect for lake day memories.

I cut the kayak from the CTMH/Cricut You Are Here collection (the base piece is black cardstock, and the overlay is Lemonade).  YOu can see how I used some Summer Vibes stickers to accent my page.

The journaling box is actually a (retired) PML card from the Stitched Together collection.  All of the fun yellow embellishments are Summer Vibes acrylic pieces (attach with glue dots or Liquid Glue).

How are you going to Just Add Water?  Join us all month long at H2H!  A new challenge is posted each Monday, and challenges are open for the entire month.

New Product Blog Hop: July/August 2020

In addition to our core (yearly) idea book (which expires as the end of next month), Close To My Heart is offering a new idea book every two months.  This blog hop features exciting new products from the July/August Idea Book.  (If you're already hopping then you've probably arrived from Lauren's blog.  From here, you'll visit Gina next.)

All of my layouts use the Summer Vibes collection and feature my family's visit to Dortmund, Germany, where our daughter studied abroad last summer.  (Her dad, sister, and I flew over at the end of her summer semester to travel with her through parts of Europe.)  My first layout was inspired by 12x12 Sketch 155.

One of the perks of being a CTMH consultant is that I have access to project guides, which I used to create many of these layouts.

The little Picture My Life card on the right page is actually from the (retired) Stitched Together collection!  While it doesn't match Summer Vibes exactly, they have enough of the same colors to be able to pull in a few of those pieces.

In addition to the cute Summer Vibes stickers, have you noticed the pink and yellow acrylic shapes?  I also used black & white dots to accent my layouts. Don't worry if you don't have beach pictures for this collection!  I think it blended nicely with our travel photos.

TIP:  Use a ruler to trace the diagonal to cut the squares in half for this layout.

Use Page Protector Plus pages to add more photos to your layout.

Another Stitched Together PML card to accent this Summer Vibes layout (sketch from Make It From Your Heart, Vol. 3).

I had to use the red checkerboard pattern for my food layout!

Thanks for letting me share part of our trip with you and the NEW Summer Vibes collection!  I will be showcasing cards from this collection soon, so please come back.  Please leave a comment before hopping on over to Gina's blog.  Thank you!

{Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.}

Aurora Scrapbooking, Part 2

If you saw my Aurora post yesterday, then  you already know that I decided to use the Aurora collection to scrapbook our visit to Mont St.-Michel in France.  Here are the rest of my layouts.  (Whew!)

Did you notice the gold shimmer trim cross?

The right page is a pocket page and both the left and ride page use some of the Aurora Picture My Life cards...

 as does the left page (back of the pocket protector).

Please let me know if you have any questions!  Thanks for letting me share.  Also, TODAY is the last day to purchase items from the May/June CTMH Idea Book!

May/June New Product Blog Hop

It's time to highlight all of the amazing goodies in the May/June Close To My Heart Idea Book with an extra special blog hop!  {If you're already hopping, then you've probably arrived from Krista's blog.  From here, you'll visit Gina's blog next.}

My projects, our stay in Caen, France, featured the Stitched Together paper collection plus the adorable wooden buttons

Since I didn't have stamps to go with this collection, I ended up fussy cutting pieces from the gorgeous floral print, kind of like applique.  (I love how it turned out!)

I also used some of the corresponding PML cards.

Here is the left page with the memory protector plus on the right...

...and the right page with the backside of the memory protector plus on the left.

 I added in stitching on the buttons and doodle some stitches on my journaling with my black journaling pen.

For the pretty border on the left, I used my paper trimmer to cut the strip to the butterfly and then opened the track, moved my blade past the butterfly, and continued cutting.  Then, I went back and fussy cut around the butterfly's body.

The right page uses one of the PML cards with a flip flap to add "hidden" journaling.

Thanks for letting me share a twist on the Stitched Together collection with you.  I'd love a comment before you hop on over to Gina's Little Corner of Stamping Heaven!  Thank you!

{Click HERE for all the hop participants and their blogs.}