Congratulations!

Congratulations to Blondena's Boutique who posted on January 31, 2010 at 4:17 p.m. She shared her heartfelt way of telling those special people in her life how she loves them:

I tell my family that I love them every chance that I get. We lost our only son to a mining accident and I know that the last words I ever said to him were I love you and take care. Our family truly believes that you need to tell your loved ones everyday how much they mean to you because you never know when or if it will be the last time you will see them. I have scrapbooked for a long time and have made cards for a long time too and love to use them to show how much my loved ones mean to me. It just takes a second to let them know how much they mean. Whenever you hang up the phone or say goodbye in person remember to say I love you and give them a hug and kiss. It will mean the world to them.

Thanks Blondena's Boutique! You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

And thanks to all who shared comments on this blog. We have enjoyed reading each and every one! We hope you will continue to celebrate National Papercrafting Month with us every January. Happy papercrafting!

January 31: We Love Papercrafting!

As National Papercrafting Month draws to an end, we want to express how much we LOVE this month. Papercrafting is in our hearts and in our souls. This card was created to showcase our love of papercrafting. Sharing our passion for papercrafting is the best way to show appreciation and love.

Comment on how you show your love to the special people in your life. Alas, comment away! This is your last chance to comment to win a free Felicity Collection. It’s been a fun ride and we’ll miss you! But check back just one more time to see if you won!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Lynayawho posted on January 30, 2010 at 4:32 p.m.. What makes her laugh? Here is what she said:

My husband always makes me laugh. My children tend to come up with funny things to say all the time as well.

You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of today's posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) tonight. Good luck!

January 30: What Makes You Happy?

How about laughter? The occasional giggle, silliness for no reason, or late-night crack-ups all boost our spirits and remind us of how good life can be. We all have had a free five minutes where we looked up a silly website and found ourselves laughing out loud! A good compilation of giggle-inducing websites can be found here. Check it out, then send it on to a friend. Share the giggles.

What makes you giggly, silly, or happy? What websites or blogs boost your happiness? Give us a comment and you’ll be entered to win some happiness of your own, the Felicity Collection.

Congratulations!

Congrats to Lorrinda who posted on January 29, 2010 at 10:00a.m. Lorrinda told us the following about her favorite tool:

I am a bit of a tool junkie, but if I have to pick just one, I'd pick my CTMH micro scissors. I have other scissors, but I always reach for those ones first because they are super sharp and better for detailed cuts.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Only a few opportunities remain! Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Have a splendid day!

January 29: Ruffle Technique No. 2

You may recall that in an earlier post we showed you how to create an adorable ruffled ribbon using Tombow® Mono® adhesive. Let’s kick it up a notch by doing some handy, dandy stapling!



We featured this layout in yesterday’s post to illustrate how you can pair mismatched photos and stories. Today we’re zooming in on the ruffle detail so we can show you how it’s done.



The first two steps are the same as Ruffle Technique No. 1: cut a long piece of ribbon, and run a line of adhesive where you will put your ruffle. Step 3 is almost the same, too, as you press the ribbon into the adhesive, then fold it back on itself, then press it down some more. The difference here is that you want your folded parts to be bigger so that they can be stapled. And step 4 is the most important one of all: get out your stapler and staple down those ruffles! We recommend our pivot point stapler for this step.


What makes this stapler unique is the way the head rotates 360 degrees, so you can staple at any angle without having to bend the edges of your page. You have to admit, when we said “handy, dandy stapling,” we really meant it!

Do you have a favorite tool? What papercrafting gadget do you find simply indispensable? Weigh in on the discussion by commenting here. Remember, your comment will enter you in a drawing for the Felicity Collection, an entire papercrafting kit that even includes a My Acrylix® D-size stamp set! Stop by tomorrow to find out who won and for the final two days of our drawing.

Super Congrats!

Congratulations to Doreen who posted on January 28, 2010 at 3:43 p.m.. Doreen told us what she is working on:

I tend to write about both feelings (mine and/or my daughter's) and the event. Sometimes, I'll use hidden journaling for my own feelings and I'll use her answer about how she feels on the page.

I'm working on a "ready, set, (don't) go" layout for my daughter's first day of preschool that will include my own feelings (sad, happy, proud) of her first day as well as her own feelings about starting full day Kindergarten. thanks!

Doreen, we wish we could see your journaling and pages when completed! For your comment, you have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) each day. Happy Papercrafting!

January 28: Journaling Switcheroo

Sometimes you have gorgeous, amazing, inspiring photos, but no story to go with them. Sometimes you have a fascinating, memorable, touching story to tell, but no photos to go with it. Sometimes you have both, and that’s a golden opportunity.



The journaling in this layout reads:

It was pretty hard for me to have you go to school. We have always been close, and I enjoyed our days hanging out with each other. We would do our errands and then go play with friends. We had a good thing going until you had to go and grow up and you have gotten so big independent. You were so excited to start that I couldn’t help but get a little excited too. It made it easier for me to watch you get on the school bus and drive away. You have made some good friends and love learning; you make me pretty proud to be your mom.

The story of a mother’s changing relationship with her son as he began attending kindergarten isn’t exactly illustrated in the photos. The pictures aren’t of the school bus receding in the distance or the mother and son interacting in the pre-kindergarten days. But the photos still support the story, because they are about the mom and son and school. The artist could have written about the counting game they played or her volunteer hours at her son’s school. But instead, she shared the much more important story of how she felt toward her son as he grew up.

As you scrapbook your photos, look for opportunities to journal about the stories that aren’t necessarily events. Celebrate your relationships by writing your inner thoughts, and illustrate those with whatever photos seem to go along with them, regardless of the event.

When you scrapbook, do you tend to write more about events or about feelings? Give us a one-sentence summary of a story you haven’t scrapbooked yet but would like to. Then go scrapbook it!

All commenters will be entered in our daily drawing for the Felicity Collection papercrafting kit. Check back tomorrow to see if you’re the lucky winner!

A BIG Happy Congratulations!

Congratulations to Aleisha Mollenwho posted on January 27, 2010 at 9:35 AM. Aleisha shared her thoughts on happiness:

I have always realized that the mood of one person can affect the whole group. Twice last week, I hung out with the same group of friends, but the mood was vastly different each time because of one person's attitude. I regard happiness as a choice and try to make the choice to be happy where I am and when I am to make others happy as well. :)

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. we will put a Felicity Collection in the mail for you right away.

If you are not our daily winner, don’t worry, you could be! For a chance to win the Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Good luck!

January 27: The Pursuit of Happiness

Many men and women assume that adulthood means giving up the childlike pursuit of happiness to take on responsibility. They often think that pursuing their own happiness is a sign of selfishness.

While adults are expected to sacrifice immediate pleasure for long-term payoff, there is no reason they should not pursue happiness. Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project calls the idea that it is selfish to be happy “the biggest myth” about happiness.

Nancy Montagna, Ph.D., and Robin Carnes, MBA, assert that no one should believe it is selfish to be happy. “Happiness is not selfish because happiness is contagious,” they write. In other words, by making yourself happy, you help make others happy as well.

It calls to mind that fridge magnet that says, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” People are learning that in order to care for others, they have to care for themselves first.

Have you ever realized that your own happiness needs to be a priority? Tell us what you learned. One lucky commenter will win a free Felicity Collection papercrafting kit. There are only a few days left in National Papercrafting month, so be sure to visit this blog everyday for more inspiration and chances to win!

Super!

Congrats to Shirleyhood who posted on January 26, 2010 at 11:52 a.m.. Shirleyhood told us how she mixes and matches her paper packets:

I find that Silhouette can go with just about anything! I like to use it with the Perfect Day solids!

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Happy day to you!

January 26: Expanding Possibilities (a.k.a. Mixing Paper Packs)

Let’s pretend Close To My Heart is giving away a paper and stamp kit every day this month (we are). And let’s pretend you are the lucky winner (you could be!). How will your brand new Felicity Collection fit in with the rest of your stash? Watch this video clip from Art & Soul®, our online CTMH TV show. Then tell us about a time you mixed and matched paper kits. What did you combine, and was it a success? We’ll pick one comment as the winner of the entire Felicity Collection.

To watch full webisodes of Art & Soul, click here.

Congratulations!

Thanks for sharing your gratitude with us! We are, well, grateful! Congratulations to Stacie who posted on January 25, 2010 at 3:03p.m. Stacie shared who she would send her gratitude to and why:

I would send one to my boss. If I need to take off for the kids, he always says "go ahead" and will ask if everything is okay. He also understands that some moments like award days or class parties or field trips are so important for the kids as well as the parents and shouldn't be missed. I'm so thankful that I can be there for most of those special moments.

Yay! Stacie, thanks for sharing. You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) each day. Happy Papercrafting!

January 25: Feeling Grateful, or, The Man Card, Part II

Some cards just naturally lend themselves to being sent to a man. But not many. If you missed our first installment on the elusive man card, you may want to check out the Jan. 5 post. But you can see another example of a masculine card here.

Now, you could certainly send this card to someone of the female persuasion. But frankly, papercrafters tend to have ten gazillion cards that could be sent to someone of the female persuasion. Not so with the man card. It can be tough to create something manly when so many papercrafting goods are…well, so cute. But once again, we’ve shown that it’s possible to use the Felicity Collection to produce a card you could send to a man without wondering if he’ll hurry and hide it so his buddies don’t see it. Oh happy day!

Time for our daily drawing for a free Felicity Collection papercrafting kit. Tell us about some unexpressed gratitude you feel right now. If you could blink your eyes and have a thank-you note magically written, stamped, and in the mail, to whom would you send it and why? Come back tomorrow to see if your comment was drawn.

Too Cool! Congratulations!

Congratulations to Angela who posted on January 24, 2010 at 6:50 p.m.. Angela told us how she boosts others felicity:

I try to sincerely compliment 10 people per day, including strangers. This helps me see good in others that I might not ordinarily look for. It spreads cheer to those I compliment. I also try to thank people who share their skills or serve me even in small ways.

Congrats Angela! You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) each day. Happy Papercrafting!

January 24: Are You a Felicity Booster?

Spiritual leaders worldwide have told their followers that true happiness comes through service to others. Making others happy makes you happy, they say.

We believe that’s true. Serving others is one of the best pick-me-ups around. Sometimes, though, we don’t give ourselves credit for the service we do every day. Sometimes we are the answer to a prayer, and we don’t even realize it. Sometimes, we spend most of our time serving others, and yet we don’t think about how we make them happy (and maybe the recipients of our service don’t realize it either!).

What service do you do that you don’t credit for? Here are a few ideas to get your mind turning:

• You let a car turn in front of you, even though you were in a hurry, too.
• You searched up and down to find your son’s missing teddy bear so he could sleep peacefully.
• You saw that someone at the grocery store was 12 cents short, so you gave them a quarter so they wouldn’t have to put something back.
• You got a phone call from an upset friend and you sat down and listened.
• You saw an elderly man with a walker fumbling to open the door of the library, so you opened it for him.
• You noticed that someone’s hair looked nice, and you told them so.
• You made salmon for dinner, even though you hate seafood, because you knew it was your husband’s favorite dish.
• You made anything for dinner and shared it with anyone at all!

How do you boost others’ felicity? What ways do you make people happy, perhaps without even realizing it? We’d love to hear. Please leave a comment telling us about your unrecognized service. We will choose one commenter to win a free Felicity Collection papercrafting collection. Have a happy National Papercrafting Month! Keep checking back every day in January for more chances to win.

Happy Day!

Thanks for sharing your tiny tweaks that produce tremendous transformations! And congrats to Tammy Wynard who posted on January 23, 2010 at 10:29 p.m. Tammy's tiny tweak method is:

My Tiny Tweak are organizational shelves and baskets. I can't stop buying them - in all sizes. When things have a place to go, everything looks and feels better. Some are cheap-cheap, some are not - but they all do wonders for my household items and scrapbook supplies.

Tammy, you have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Happy crafting!

January 23: The Writing on the Wall

Have you ever watched any of those home makeover shows? You know, those ones where decorators get a budget of 99 bucks and a time limit of 48 hours to redesign an entire room to make it fun, inviting, and fabulous? One of their secrets is to repurpose materials already on hand to make something entirely new.

That’s what we’ve done to create this wall hanging.



We took a 12" x 12" scrapbook page featuring the surname Hudson. Then we added photo hangers and tied on some ribbon.



Ta-da! From scrapbook to wall in just 60 seconds! It’s like magic!

Tell us about your tiny tweaks that produce tremendous transformation, whether it be in the papercrafting world or home decor. You’ll be entered into today’s daily drawing for the Felicity Collection. Visit here tomorrow to see if you won!

Wowza!

Congratulations to Carabear19who posted on January 22, 2010 at 12:06 p.m. who shared with us how she personalizes her home:

PICTURES!!! I have every wall in my house covered with family photos. The very first thing I do after the holidays is pick the best photos from the year, print them, and frame them. I love walking the halls of my house and seeing all the beautiful memories!

Carabear19, you have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) each day. Happy Papercrafting!

January 22: Personalize, Customize, Tailor, Adapt—Make it Unique!

It’s natural for people to want to leave their mark on their space. Just walk through a few different homes or an office full of cubicles and you’ll see what we mean. Take the corporate Close To My Heart office, for example. A tour through the workspaces and you’ll find oversized ceramic chess pieces, a miniature paper birdhouse, glittery monograms, a gargantuan self-portrait, and even a live tarantula. (Full disclosure: Actually, the tarantula died—probably of old age—but the cage is here, ready for the next occupant.)

We want to share this cute (non-spider-related) way to make your mark, whether it’s in your apartment, office, or somewhere else.



Whether you adorn your wall hanging with your family name, or a favorite quote, or just an inspiring word or two, this is a quick way to brighten up your space and tag it as belonging just to you. And you don’t even have to get anywhere near an arachnid!

For today’s drawing, we’d like to know how you personalize. Is it through your artwork? What papercrafting projects have you done recently to customize your space? One commenter will be picked at random to win a Felicity Collection papercrafting kit in honor of National Papercrafting Month.

Blissful Congratulations!

Congratulations to Shruti who posted on January 21, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. You told us your bliss is:

Every time I hear my child giggle I feel the bliss. I even find bliss in shopping, scrapbooking and last but not the least my family.

You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) each day. Happy Papercrafting!

January 21: Follow Your Bliss

Joseph Campbell is credited for coining the phrase “Follow your bliss.” He was not talking about hedonistic self-indulgence. Instead, he urged people to examine themselves to determine what made them happy, and then to work and sacrifice so that they could live it.

“If you do follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living,” Campbell told interviewer Bill Moyers. “When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in your field of bliss, and they open doors to you. I say, follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.”

How do you know when you’ve found your bliss? Many authors point to the state of “flow,” an intense, energized state of happiness that is sustained during an activity. Perhaps you come alive when you teach history to teens, or you get in the zone shooting hoops, or you get in the groove while playing saxophone. Time flies for you, and you feel happy and successful.

Once you’ve identified your bliss, it is time to follow it. This might mean stepping in unknown directions, trying new things, making sacrifices of present comfort for future reward. But those who follow their bliss eventually come to feel, as Campbell did, that they are on the “kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you.”

What is your bliss? Do you know what it is? What changes do you need to make to follow it? Tell us about your search for bliss. One comment on today’s post will be chosen to receive a free Felicity Collection papercrafting kit. Visit this blog tomorrow to view the winner and find more great tips every day throughout National Papercrafting Month.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

Thanks for sharing your favorite embellishments with the world! And congrats to Julie Anne who posted on January 20, 2010 at 7:53 p.m.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Happy crafting!

January 20: Captivating Clusters of Exquisite Embellishments

One of the hippest trends in papercrafting right now is clustering embellishments. Grouping several different accents together on your project can really give it a “wow” factor! Check out these clusters of embellishments on the “Life, I Love You!” layout we featured yesterday.



See how the groupings contain a variety of accents? We have stamped flourishes, diamond-shaped and round Sparkles, and stamped images that have been cut out and popped up on 3-D foam tape. The combination of all these accents creates a focal point that is much more powerful than any individual accent.

The flourish stamps from the Felicity Collection make it easy to create beautiful embellishment clusters.

Just link the flourishes together (you can mask parts of the stamp with paper, if needed), and then sprinkle Sparkles along the swirls. Add popped-up flowers, aligning them with the flourishes as if the swirls were vines. Voila! A fabulously beautiful embellishment cluster!

It’s not just Sparkles and stamps that make great clusters, though. Try arranging ribbon, buttons, Heartfelt™ die-cuts, journaling spots, and Mini-Medley accents together. The sky’s the limit when you begin experimenting with this fun and easy technique!

We’ve mentioned a few of our favorite embellishments. Now we would love for you to tell your friends and family about what embellishments you just can’t live without. Mention your favorite embellishments on your own personal blog, Twitter, or Facebook page (or the like) and include a link or mention of this blog (www.nationalpapercraftingmonth.blogspot.com). Then come back here and leave a comment that you have shared your favorites with the world. Your comment will enter you into a drawing for a free Felicity Collection papercrafting kit!

Congrats!

Congrats to Trishkj who posted on January 19, 2010 at 1:50 p.m. She said about how she includes a bit of herself in her artwork,

I use my own handwriting as much as I can in my scrapbooks. Also, I have my kids take pics of me when we are at an event, so that I am included in our family albums. This has had a great dual effect - my kids are learning photography skills! Bonus!

Trishkj, you have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day.

January 19: Life, I Love You!

Simon & Garfunkel’s “59th Street Bridge Song” is a classic happy song. Its lyrics inspired the title for this layout.

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobblestones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.

Ba da, Ba da, Ba da, Ba da...Feelin' Groovy.

Hello lamp-post,
What cha knowin'?
I've come to watch your flowers growin'.
Ain't cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in' doo-doo,
Feelin' groovy.

I've got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, I love you,
All is groovy.


One of the best things about scrapbooking is creating a layout that includes you! Now, some papercrafters do this all the time. Others of us scrapbook our kids, parents, cousins, and friends, but somehow neglect to scrapbook themselves.

Comment here for a chance to win a free Felicity Collection—a Close To My Heart exclusive just for National Papercrafting Month 2010! Tell us how you incorporate a bit of you into your scrapbook layouts or papercrafting projects. Remember to come back tomorrow to see if you’ve won, and to find out about one of the techniques used in this layout!

Yay for You!

Congrats to Corrie W who posted on January 18, 2010 at 9:29 a.m. You shared your three happy records, which are:

Song-Here Without You by Three Doors Down
Book-Guess How Much I Love You
Color-Teal

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Thanks to all of you who shared your happy records with us. It made us happy to read them.

January 18: Happy Records in 6 Minutes

Wait. Before you read any further, gather up some supplies: paper or your journal, a pen, and a timer.

Hang on. You’re still reading. No fair reading on until you follow the above instructions.

All right, have you got them? Good. Set your timer for three minutes. When I say go, write a list of as many songs you can think of that make you happy. Maybe it’s the toe-tapping beat, or the memories attached to that tune. Whatever it is that brings a smile to your face, write it down. Ready? Go!

Time’s up, pencils down. Now set the timer again, this time for two minutes. When you start the timer, write as fast as you can a list of books or stories that make you happy. They can be self-improvement books, classics, novels, poetry, or any genre. You’ve only got two minutes this time, so hurry!

Wow, that time went by fast. For the final exercise, it’s going to even go faster, because we’re only giving you one minute to complete the last brainstorming session. Record the color or colors that make you happy. If you have a few extra seconds, make a list of items that are that color. When your 60 seconds are up, give yourself a pat on the back—you’ve made not one but three Happy Records!

Paint a room or wear some earrings in your happy colors. Pull out one of the books on your list and eat some popcorn while you read. Turn the stereo up full-blast and dance in your living room. Be happy!

But before you put on your dancing shoes, leave us a quick comment telling us three things that make you happy—one from each of your Happy Records. You’ll be entered to win a Felicity Collection papercrafting kit in our daily contest. What a bonus!

P.S.—The papercrafter in you is probably itching to create a project from your Happy Records. Go right ahead! You can create a mini album or a layout or a jar full of strips of paper, each printed with something that makes you happy. The sky’s the limit!

Congratulations!

Congrats to Jgo who posted on January 17, 2010 at 9:40 a.m.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day.

January 17: Bless Your Nest

We created this card to congratulate someone moving into a new home.
Homes are our sanctuaries, be they cottages or mansions, tents or castles. We’ve assembled a few quotes about homes and happiness, courtesy of quotelucy.com and quotegarden.com.

“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.”
—Thomas Jefferson

“He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home.”
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Home, the spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest.”
—Robert Montgomery

“There’s nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.”
—Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

“A man travels the world in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”
—George Moore

“Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.”
—Christian Morganstern

“Peace - that was the other name for home.”
—Kathleen Norris

“Where we love is home. Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

“Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.”
—Henry Van Dyke

What do you love about your personal sanctuary or your home? Leave a comment here and we’ll draw one winner to receive the Felicity Collection papercrafting kit. We’re doing the drawing every day this month, so come back tomorrow to see if you’ve won and to enter again!

Super Cool Congrats to You1

Congratulations to Mary "GramMe" who posted on January 16, 2010 at 9:11 PM.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. we will put a Felicity Collection in the mail for you right away.

If you are not our daily winner, don’t worry, you could be! For a chance to win the Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Good luck!

January 16: Felicitous Friendships

Thelma, Gladys, and Edna are stranded on a desert island. They find a genie's lamp and agree they’ll each get one wish.

Thelma and Gladys both wish they were at home.

Edna then says, “Gee, I'm kinda lonely ... I wish my friends were here.”

Good friends are priceless, aren’t they? Do you have friends celebrating National Papercrafting Month with you? How are you celebrating? Tell us to be entered for a chance to win the National Papercrafting Month Felicity Collection. Check back tomorrow to see if you’re the lucky winner!

Way to Go!

Congratulations to Gretel who posted on January 15, 2010 at 11:33 a.m.

You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) each day. Happy Papercrafting!

January 15: Enriching the Colors of Stamped Images

We don’t want to brag or anything, but there’s something we can easily do with clear My Acrylix® stamps that rubber stampers can’t. It’s called double (or triple) stamping.

Check out the stamping on the layout we featured yesterday.




See how rich the Autumn Terracotta is on the letters and bird images? And see how crisp the flourishes are, even though they are stamped atop dark or patterned paper? The only way to achieve this kind of color saturation is by stamping multiple times. Ink up your stamp, line it up precisely with the original image, and stamp on top of it. Then repeat, if necessary, until you reach the color you want.

Rubber stamps can’t do that. Even if you mount a rubber stamp on an acrylic block, you still can’t see precisely where it will be placed. But with My Acrylix®, the stamps and the blocks are crystal clear. You can stamp in the exact same spot time after time, which can achieve color saturation that is impossible to reach any other way.

If you’d like to receive the Felicity Collection, with gorgeous B&T Duos® papers and a versatile stamp set, you can buy it for $34.95 US/ $40.95 CAN, or receive it free with select purchases. (See your Consultant for details.) Or you can enter to win it here by commenting on this blog post.

Tell us about your favorite colors. What are they, and what do they represent to you? We’ll draw one winner at random, so come back tomorrow to find out if you won.

Super Congratulations to You!

Love that you love to scrapbook! Thanks for sharing with us why. And congratulations to Doe Ray Me who posted on January 14, 2010 at 1:35 p.m.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Happy crafting!

January 14: Why Do We Scrapbook?

As we celebrate papercrafting this month, let’s turn our attention for a moment to scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is one of the many arts of papercrafting, and scrapbookers are as devoted as any hobbyists to their pastime.


We asked a few avid scrapbookers to answer the question, “Why do I scrapbook?” Here are some of their answers:

“I scrapbook because I love the art and creativity that I can put into the layout. I also scrapbook to remember ages and stages of family members.”
—Cindee

“I love to do things with my hands; I’m a tactile-oriented artist and am drawn to art forms that I can touch and move around with my fingers. It is very satisfying to look at something and say to myself, ‘I made that. That’s entirely my creation.’ Techniques used in scrapbooking can be used in and applied to the other forms of art I enjoy so much.”
—Laura

“Besides being a creative outlet, scrapbooking is a way for me to connect with my friends and sisters. I love to take photos, and scrapbooking is a way I can display those photos that doesn’t take focus away from my shots, but enhances their beauty. It offers me the opportunity to interject my own personality into my photo albums. Scrapbooks, for me, are essentially journals with sass. Scrapbooking is also a way to pay attention to simple everyday moments—memories that may be overlooked but are just as important as the big events.”
—Carlie

“I love having an idea and seeing it come to life. I love working with my hands and learning newer and better ways to make things.”
—Katie

Why do you scrapbook? Leave a comment here telling us your motivations. We’ll reward one lucky winner with a Felicity Collection, available in January 2010 only as our way of celebrating National Papercrafting Month.

Yay to You!

Thanks for sharing your your creative projects that make you happy! And congrats to Michelle G. who posted on January 13, 2010 at 10:48 p.m.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Happy crafting!

January 13: Papercrafting and Felicity: The Link Between Happiness and Creativity

If you’ve been following this blog, you know that January is National Papercrafting Month, and that Close To My Heart is celebrating with a fabulous papercrafting kit called the Felicity Collection . You’ve learned that “felicity” is another word for “happiness.” So, papercrafting…happiness…where’s the link?

Scientists have conducted numerous studies on happiness and its ties to creativity. J.R. Minkel wrote in the Scientific American that creativity increases when people feel happy. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi studied the phenomenon of “flow,” when a person is fully engaged in creative work. He noted that people emerge from such creative absorption “feeling good” and wanting to repeat the experience. And Robert Epstein, a pioneer in research about creativity, wrote, “greater creativity breeds greater happiness. The creative process is itself a source of joy for most people. And with new creative powers we're also better able to solve the little problems that beset us daily.”

So, if creativity is linked to happiness, how do we become creative? Not everyone is a Picasso or a Galileo or a Henry Ford. For those of us who are less self-assured when it comes to creativity, Psychology Today offers this advice: get a hobby. “Hobbyists are amateurs - that is to say, the most intrinsically motivated of lovers. They court their pastime, not for conquest or for gain, but for pure pleasure. Hobbies are, quintessentially, forms of play.” In other words, passing time with your hobby is the same as doing what you love, and doing what you love is what makes for happiness.

Now you can see where we’re going with this: happiness --> creativity --> hobby --> papercrafting --> happiness. No wonder our paper kit is called Felicity!

Nothing makes us happier than giving away free products. You can win the Felicity Collection by leaving a comment on this post. Tell us what creative projects you do to make yourself feel happier. One lucky person will win—you got it—Felicity.

Hooray!

Congratulations to Marcie who posted on January 12, 2010 at 7:53 PM.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. we will put a Felicity Collection in the mail for you right away.

If you are not our daily winner, don’t worry, you could be! For a chance to win the Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Good luck!

January 12: It’s Sew Easy: Stitching on Paper

There’s something about stitching that makes a papercrafting project special. Maybe it’s the texture. Maybe it’s the look. Maybe it’s the dimension. Whatever it is, a few stitches can take a card or layout from “cute” to “adorable!”

Check out the various kinds of stitching on this Washington, DC, My Reflections® Memory Keeper box. We hand-stitched around the perimeter of the circle. We used a needle and thread to fasten on the buttons. And the stitching on the ribbon was a cinch—the ribbon just came like that!




We asked our experts for their secrets. Here are their hints:

• When hand-stitching, start by punching a row of tiny holes with a paper piercer. It’s much easier to get evenly spaced stitches that way, and you can even use a ruler to make sure the line is straight or use the My Acrylix® Simple Stitches stamp set (C1234 $18.95 US/ $22.50 CAN) stamped in a tone-on-tone color of ink as a stitching guide. Once you’ve punched the holes, just go back through them with a needle and thread.

• If you use a sewing machine for your stitching, you just use a regular needle and regular stitches. The secret lies in this: Avoid sewing through adhesive. If you adhere paper together, just make sure to do it in a spot that won’t be stitched.

• If you do get adhesive on your needle, gently clean it with a solvent such as Goo Gone.

Do you want to know the other secret? You can get the look of stitching by using a stamp such as the new My Acrylix® Togetherness set (D1402 $22.95 US/$26.95 CAN).

And if you really want to make it look like real stitching, use your paper piercer to make holes between the stamped stitches. Everyone will think you did it with needle and thread!

Have you stitched on a papercrafting project? Tell us about it. Your comment will enter you to win a free Felicity Collection, full of yummy paper and delectable stamps. Check back tomorrow to see if you’ve won, and to read more about National Papercrafting Month.

Big Congratulations!

BIG congrats to Kellen's Mom who posted on January 11, 2010 at 11:47 a.m.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Good luck!

January 11: A Special Box for Special Treasures

Raise your hand if you possess one or more of the following:

• Hand-collected sea shells
• Brochures from a vacation long past
• Elementary school projects involving beans, macaroni, cotton balls, and/or lots of paste
• A stack of letters from a special someone
• Dried flowers or leaves from a nature walk

All those things—and many more—are known as keepsakes, mementos, souvenirs, or memorabilia. We hold onto keepsakes because they are a powerful way to evoke memories.

Close To My Heart has a special spot for all your mementos: the My Creations® Memory Keeper. Personalize it with paper, photos, and embellishments, so that just a glance at it will bring a nostalgic smile. Look at this Memory Keeper box—it holds art exhibit brochures, museum ticket stubs, subway passes, a bracelet bought from a street vendor, a coffee cup sleeve, and more. Even before you open the lid, memories of Washington, DC, come flooding back.

What are some of your cherished keepsakes? Tell us here in the comments for a chance to win the Felicity Collection, a special kit designed just for National Papercrafting Month 2010. Come back tomorrow for more!

Congratulations!

Thanks for sharing your resolutions! And congrats to Liz G. of MI who posted on January 10, 2010 at 3:33 p.m. (We love sunshine, too.)

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Success to you all in 2010!

January 10: Resolutions for a Happier You

As you celebrate the theme of National Papercrafting Month, “Felicity,” take a moment to reflect on your own felicity. How can you make your life a little happier?

We often make resolutions at the beginning of the year to do things that will make us happier. January is a great time to set goals, but more important than making them is following through on them. Have you ever noticed that we only follow through on goals we actually want to accomplish? If the resolution you’re thinking about gives you that “Uh-oh, after January 1 my life is over” feeling, (a) it’s probably not going to make you happier, and (b) you’re probably not going to accomplish it. As you set your resolutions for 2010, consider whether they will really make you happier. Find goals that will improve your life in ways you want to improve—and then shoot for the stars!

What are some of your resolutions for the New Year? Your comment on this post enters you into the daily drawing for the entire Felicity Collection, including B&T Duos® paper, die-cut 12" x 12" paper, and a stamp set with images and an alphabet. Remember to come back tomorrow to see if you were the lucky one, and to enter again!

Way to Go!

Congratulations to Janett Smiley who posted on January 9, 2010 at 10:31 a.m.

You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) each day. Happy Papercrafting!

January 9: Stipple Brush Tutorial

Ready to try a new tool? Pull that stipple brush out of your distressing kit.

Stipple? What does that even mean? Never fear, my friends, we will show you how to use a stipple brush for some super-fast distressing! Remember that wall hanging we showed you yesterday? Let’s zoom in on the edges:



Shabby chic-alicious, you’ll no doubt agree. And yet, totally easy.

1. Grab a stipple brush from your Distressing Kit or set of Texture Tools. If your not sure what a stipple brush looks like it is the third one in from the left in this set of Texture Tools.

2. Add a few drops of re-inker to a craft jar.

3. Dip the tip of the stipple brush in the re-inker and brush from the outside of the paper toward the center. Keep a piece of scratch paper behind your project to catch stray ink.

Seriously, folks. That’s it. Instant distress (the good kind, we mean).

So tell us, have you ever used a stipple brush before? If so, how? If not, do you think stippling might lie in your papercrafting future? One of our lucky comment-leavers will receive a free Felicity Collection papercrafting kit! Keep coming back for our drawing every day this month!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Special T Scrapbooks who posted on January 8, 2010 at 11:11 p.m.

You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m.(MT) each day. Good luck!

January 8: Simple, Easy, Gorgeous

Ever had some paper in your stash that’s just too cute to use? You know, those special background and texture papers that you can’t quite bring yourself to mar with a paper trimmer? That paper that would look so cute on a card, if only you had a recipient who would appreciate it enough to actually send it to? That paper that would make a darling layout, if only you had the beautiful, studio-quality photos to pair with it? That paper that your friend asked if she could use, and you artfully gave her a different piece that wasn’t quite so favorite?

Time to get that paper out and put it up on your wall! For inspiration, take a look at this wall hanging:



So simple, so easy, so gorgeous! Here’s a quick step-by-step using the Felicity Collection.

1. Cover three 9" x 9" squares of cardboard with yummy background and texture paper (B&T Duos®).
2. Cut a 12" x 12" die-cut paper in half. Adhere to the two outer cardboard squares. Add some hand-stitching if you like (or you can do the stitching before adhering so you don’t have to go all the way through the cardboard).
3. Embellish the center cardboard as desired. We used stamps and paper from the Felicity Collection, a Foundry® bookplate, Dimensional Elements Simple Alphabet, and some hand stitching.
4. On each cardboard square, set two eyelets along the top and tie a 10" length of ribbon through them to make a hanger.
5. Ink edges until shabby chic-alicious effect is achieved!

Contact a Close To My Heart Consultant if you want to get the products used to make this wall hanging.

If you’d like to win the Felicity Collection, leave a comment here telling us about a favorite papercrafting project you display in your home. And come back tomorrow for another daily drawing!

WOWZA! Congratulations!

Congrats to Matt and Stef who posted on January 7, 2010 at 5:46 p.m.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Have a WOW kind of day!

January 7: “Felicity” (According to the Experts)

We’re a stamping and papercrafting company, not a dictionary company. So when we named our National Papercrafting Month kit “Felicity,” a few of us crept off quietly to consult our dictionaries. Others just smiled and pretended to know what “felicity” meant but were too lazy to look it up. For those souls—you know who you are—we’re sharing what we found on Wordsmyth.net .

FELICITY: (noun) /fE lI sE ti/
1. An instance or condition of great happiness; bliss.
2. A cause or source of great happiness.
3. A talent for appropriate and pleasing behavior, esp. expression, or a display of this talent.

Aha! Papercrafting bliss! We like it! We bet you do, too. How’d you like to win the Felicity Collection?



Comment here and tell us what happiness means to you. You just might be the lucky winner! Come back tomorrow to see if you’ve won and to enter in another great giveaway.

Let's Give a Hear-Hear to Our Daily Winner!

Three cheers to Fran who posted on January 6, 2010 at 2:49 PM.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. we will put a Felicity Collection in the mail for you right away.

Want a kit for yourself? Just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Hooray!

January 6: Handmade Gift Idea: Recipe Holder (a Step-by-Step Tutorial)

Christmas might be over, but you’ve got a whole year’s worth of birthdays and holidays coming. This project is a quick and easy gift that you can keep on hand for any gift-giving opportunities that sneak up on you.


Here’s a list of raw materials:

Felicity Collection
Barn Red Exclusive Inks® Pad
Cocoa Exclusive Inks® Pad
Garden Green Exclusive Inks® Pad
My Creations™ Display Album
HeartFelt™ Wonder
Bitty Sparkles
Sponge

And here are the instructions, step-by-step:

1. Cover the display album with background and textured or what we call B&T Duos® paper. We gently removed the album covers from the binding in order to cover the entire surface. Then we used a craft knife to cut holes for the binding. You can also just cover the front of the album without covering the part with the album rings.
2. Adhere a piece of die-cut B&T paper to the front of the album. We sponged the edges with Cocoa ink.
3. Stamp “Favorite Recipes” and the flourish image with Cocoa ink. You can double stamp to get a really dark image, if desired.
4. Stamp bird image in Barn Red ink and leaves in Garden Green ink. Trim. Attach Bitty Sparkle to bird’s eye. We sponged the edges of all the images with Cocoa ink.
5. Adhere felt branch over flourish stamp. Use 3-D foam tape to adhere bird and leaf images. The foam tape is the “secret ingredient” that makes the stamped images match the depth of the felt.

One of the fun things about papercrafting is that you can take everyday, functional objects (like recipe holders) and turn them into works of art. Have you ever decorated something functional using papercrafting supplies? Do you use it more or less because of its handcrafted nature? Tell us and be entered to win a Felicity Collection, complete with B&T paper and stamps. We’ll be continuing the daily drawing through the end of the month, so come back every day in January!

Congrats to You!

Congrats to Di Crawford who posted on January 5, 2010 at 6:47 p.m.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Happy Man-Card Making!

January 5: The Man-Card, or, How to Use a Female-Dominated Craft to Produce a Gift for a Male

The man-card. It can be elusive, you know. If you’re a papercrafter, chances are your stash is filled with products that get tagged with adjectives like “adorable,” “gorgeous,” and “darling.” It’s generally harder to find products that are “rugged,” “handsome,” or “drenched in sweat.”

Lucky for you, we know how to disguise our “elegant” products as “debonair,” and our “cute” stamps as “dapper.” Want evidence? Check out this card:

We cut a piece of die-cut circle paper, leaving just the attractive, curvaceous edge and manly hues of Twilight, Bamboo, and Desert Sand. A sepia photo lends Old World charm, while Antique Copper brads hint at the manly arts (we’re not sure what they are, but we know they include power tools). And we stamped the otherwise adorable birdie in dark Twilight and sponged the edges in Chocolate for a musky, masculine look. The man in your life will never suspect how absolutely adorable that same bird is when stamped in a light shade of Amethyst! Just remember not to spill the beans.

Do you have any tricks for making a man-card? Tell us about them! We’ll draw a winner at random to receive the Felicity Collection—a Close To My Heart exclusive kit just for National Papercrafting Month. Come back tomorrow to see if you won!

Hip Hip Hooray to Our Daily Winner!

BIG congratulations to Amber Towns who posted on January 4, 2010 at 9:08 a.m.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with the “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information and we will put it in the mail for you.

Leave a comment at the end of each daily posting For your chance to win. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Happy Papercrafting!

January 4: What Is National Papercrafting Month?

National Papercrafting Month turns two this January 2010. Yup, the big two years old. Close To My Heart started National Papercrafting Month in January 2009 as a way to celebrate stamping, scrapbooking, cardmaking, home décor creation, and anything else crafted with paper. We offer exclusive, specially designed products available just for the month of January, available only through your Close To My Heart Consultant.

This year, we present to you the Felicity Collection, filled with regular and die-cut B&T Duos® paper and a darling stamp set! One lucky winner will be drawn from our comments today to receive the entire collection FREE. Just tell us about your favorite crafting hobby. Are you a papercrafter, a knitter, a quilter, or…? Are you a multi-crafter? (It’s like a multi-tasker, except you get less done. Hee hee!) Let us know!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Joyce who posted on January 3, 2010 at 2:30 p.m.

You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Good luck!

January 3: Effortless Paper Piecing

Paper piecing. Are you ready to try it out? Ok. You need adhesive, paper, and scissors. But the secret weapon—the one that makes it all so easy—is a stamp.

Let’s grab one of our favorite stamps from the Felicity Collection: the large flower. Pretty cute as-is, don’t you think? Oh, but we’re going to kick it up a notch.

1. Stamp on your base paper.

2. Stamp the same image on your accent paper.

3. Cut out part of the accent image, following the stamped lines. In this case, we’ll cut out the center of the flower. And while we're at it, we will cut out the base flower image too.

4. Adhere cut-out piece right over the base image.


You’ve mastered Tricky Technique #1! Ok, so maybe “tricky” isn’t the right word for this quick and easy technique. But “tricky technique” sounds so impressive! And the look you get makes people think you’re tricky. Just keep our secret weapon (the stamp, remember?) on the down-low.

For our giveaway today, we’d like to know your favorite Close To My Heart stamp set for paper piecing. And if you’re new to it, take a peek on your Consultant’s MyCTMH site and pick a set you’d like to use for paper piecing. We’ll draw a name randomly to choose a winner of the Felicity Collection. Remember to come back tomorrow for more ideas and giveaways!

Congratulations to You!

Congratulations to Andrea Green who posted on January 2, 2010 at 6:15 p.m.

You have won a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. We'll send you your Felicity Collection right away.

For a chance to win your own Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Good luck!

January 2: A Sweet Way to Ruffle Your Ribbon

This card has tons of dimension, ranging from edges sponged with ink, to hand stitching, to buttons and brads, to elements popped up on 3-D foam tape. But the finishing touch is the ruffled ribbon down in the lower left corner.
Have you ever made a ribbon ruffle on a papercrafting project? It’s easier than you think.

1. Cut a length of ribbon considerably longer than the area you want to cover.
2. Run a line of adhesive with your Tombow® Mono® tape runner.
3. Start at one end and press the end of the ribbon into the adhesive, then lift it up and fold it back on itself a little before pressing down another section of ribbon into the adhesive. Keep ruffling the ribbon until you’ve reached the desired length, then snip it off.
4. Be sure that both ends of the ribbon are well-adhered.

Leave a comment here to be entered in a contest for a free Felicity Collection papercrafting kit in honor of National Papercrafting Month. Tell us about a way you’ve used ribbon in a craft project, and we’ll put your name in the drawing. Then come back tomorrow to see if you’ve won!

Congratulations to Our Daily Winner!

BIG congratulations to Tammy who posted on January 1, 2010 at 12:25 PM.

You have won yourself a FREE Felicity Collection. Just send an email to ctmhoffice@closetomyheart.com with “National Papercrafting Month Winner” in the subject line and your contact information. we will put a Felicity Collection in the mail for you right away.

If you are not our daily winner, don’t worry, you could be! For a chance to win the Felicity Collection, just leave a comment at the end of each daily posting and you will be automatically entered. Comments will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. (MT) each day. Good luck!

January 1: Close To My Heart Celebrates National Papercrafting Month with a Giveaway!

Hello there! We at Close To My Heart are celebrating one of our favorite times of the year—National Papercrafting Month. We originated National Papercrafting Month in 2009, and it has become a holiday celebrated everywhere. Each day throughout the month of January, we’ll be showing original artwork, sharing design secrets, and reveling in papercrafts of all kinds!

Did you know we have a special kit just for National Papercrafting Month? It’s named the Felicity Collection, and it contains exclusive regular and die-cut B&T Duos®, three amazing color schemes, and a stamp set that includes bitty birds, funky argyle patterns, flirty flourishes, and even an entire alphabet!



You know you want it! Now, before you start drooling, here are four easy ways to get it.

Option 1: Buy it outright for $34.95 US/$40.95 CAN.
Option 2: Buy $60/$70 of stamps and get it FREE!*
Option 3: Spend $125/$145 on (almost) any Close To My Heart products and get it FREE!*
Option 4: Win it right here by posting a comment to this blog! With the New Year here, what things are you looking forward to saying “hello” to? Tell us and be entered to win the entire Felicity Collection FREE!

Comments will be closed at 11:59 p.m. (MT). Come back tomorrow to see if you won and to enter again, because we’ll be giving away one Felicity Collection every day this month. It’s our way of saying “Happy Papercrafting Month” to you!

*For details on qualifying purchases, click here.