Gina's Little Corner of StampinHeaven

I received a Hooligans Level 1 kit (X7129A) in one of my bundles I purchased from convention.   This kit is so cute but I really don't have any cute little trick or treaters at home anymore.   I pulled out the pre-printed base pages and stickease and immediately thought  - "this kit does NOT have to limited to Halloween!"   My daughter, Kayli attended the Young Life camp at Windy Gap this past summer and she came home with lots of pictures.  The camp is nestled in the midst of the hills of North Carolina and her pictures the captured beauty.   There were also some great pictures of Kayli and her friends - moments captured in time.   It had been a while since I scrapbooked with a Level 1 kit.  I had forgotten how fast you can put these together!   Simple, Easy & Fast - I did both of these layout in under an hour.   The stickease that accompanies this kit is not "Halloweeny" and they were perfect for these pages.  When your creative juices are running on low

Next month, October, we are going to be Jumping for Joy!  Why?  Because anyone that Host a Close To My Heart Gathering (party) with sales of $450 gets bumped to the next level of rewards!   That is awesome because the next level means you can choose $100 in FREE select Close To My Heart products!  So, do you wonder what $100 in rewards looks like?   Here is an example of what a Hostess might choose: Shown in the picture is a My Reflections Level 1 kit, a My Reflections Level 2 kit, Level 2 My Stickease, a combo pack of cardstock (24 sheets - 4 sheets of 6 colors), a D-size stamp set, 3 My Acrylix blocks, 3 Exclusive ink pads and a marker!  That is a ton of stuff! From all of this alone you could really generate some layouts and cards. BUT WAIT!   Not only do you get $100 in FREE product, you can choose ANY 2 items at 1/2 price!  So, to help you create all of those layouts, get our new Magic book at half price.  You will need something to store all of  those beautiful layouts in s

I used to NEVER make cards.  My paper crafting abilities were pretty much limited to making scrapbook pages.   Why was it easier to make a 12x12 layout than a small card?  For some reason I was intimated by that small card that didn't even include a picture!  Yet every time I went to purchase a card I cringed at paying $3.75 - $4.50 for a card.  I would think to myself "With all those scraps I seem to hang onto, I could easily make a card for much less!"  I had all of these beautiful papers and embellishments from Close To Heart that would make beautiful cards.  I needed to be using them! Then, Jeanette Lynton came to my rescue!   She introduced her first "How To" book for cardmaking called  Originals .   The front cover alone will entice anyone to open it up and just breathe in the ideas.  The artwork in the book was enough to inspire even the least creative mind!  A couple of years later, Jeanette introduced us to her 2nd book,  Wishes .   These are two of t

I think we all feel a little behind when it comes to scrapbooking.  I know I do!  I FEEL organized.  I THINK I am.   ha ha I will immediately download pictures that I've taken at special events, weekend trips and more. Then I assign them to certain folders with titles and dates.  I know those pictures are there - on my computer when I'm ready to scrap them.  Nothing wrong with that except I'm accumulating more pictures than I have time to scrap!   I have found that I will scrap the more recent events first and those other photos?? Well they just get pushed lower on the priority list.   I'd have to sit down, sort through them and then select the ones I want to print for my layouts.   If I'm sending them to print I feel like I already need to know the layout I'm using so that I will know if I need a 8x10, 5x7 or a regular 4x6.  Oh it's hard to decide! If the picture is particularly good, I'll order at least a 5x7 and ALSO get the 4x6.  Who knows... I may

One of my very good friends and a very talented customer, Mandy LaCroix created this layout using CTMH Cherry-O Paper.    This paper was introduced in our Summer Idea Book and was one of my favorites!   Mandy loves to create gift books for friends and family.   This is a page she designed for a new baby.    Mandy actually mixed in paper from another paper pack with this layout.   The green matting underneath the Tulip Cardstock is B&T is from the paper pack Daydream .    One paper pack will go a long way for pages and cards but when you mix them with other paper packs you can stretch their use even more!   To accent the 8x10 photo that will go onto this page Mandy used her Bowl of Cherries stamp set  that came in the Cherry-O WOTG kit .  Mandy used the 2 nd  Generation and Rock n Roll technique to stamp her Cherries.   First, using the 2 nd  Generation technique, she inked the Cherry with Tulip ink and stamped it on a scratch paper.  Next she rolled the edges of the cherry int

Have you seen the newest craze in card making?  It's Clear Cards!  Clear Cards create a new twist on dimension in card making. They are so fun to work with but to some, it might be a bit intimidating.  Where do you begin?  What type adhesive do you use? Will it show? How do you layer?  All these questions will be answered at my Clear Christmas Card Workshop.  We'll make 4 cards (2 each of 2 designs) using the Mistletoe Creative Basics paper and three stamp sets:  I Believe, Nature's Gift  and Adorn-ables .  Inside the cards, we will stamp a sentiment so you can't see it until you open the card.   For more information on this workshop, go to November 11th on My Calendar. Deadline to RSVP for this workshop is October 10th.

Sometimes it is hard to think about Christmas this early but every August I start planning my annual Christmas Card Extravaganza workshop. This year, I have two very different workshops planned!  Tomorrow I'll be featuring my 2nd Christmas Card workshop with Clear Cards so be sure to come back! For my annual Christmas Card workshop, I chose our new Mistletoe paper. This paper has a vintage Christmas look to it. Next, I needed to choose a stamp set or two to use.  Since July's CTMH convention I have had many new Christmas stamps that I have been waiting to use.  I had so many choices it took me a while to decide which two I would use. I finally settled on Adorn-able and Father Christmas .  Adorn-able reminded me of the old glass ornaments that we used to hang on the tree when I was little.  All sparkle and shine.  I used the Glitz Glitter Gel to make my ornaments sparkle like the ornaments of old.   The other stamp I used, Father Christmas, is totally vintage - perfect for

And it is September's new stamp of the month Thriller !   Create some FUN Halloween party invitations and cards with this stamp.  I have to admit, when I first saw this stamp I wasn't sure how to use it.  After some trial and error I finally created a " thrilling " clear card!    For my clear card below, I used the paper from the new Hooligan's paper pack.  This is such a fun paper pack!   I stamped the vampire image onto Lagoon card stock with Versamark ink and then heat embossed Black embossing powder onto it.  Note: Heat embossing does not work directly on the clear card unless you are going for rippling warped affect.  (part of my trial and error)  I added a knotted ribbon from the new Mini-Medley Accents - Sunset collection .  When you open the card, you will see "Scary Halloween to You!" hidden underneath the vampire. For my second card, I used the  Wishes  - Pieced Togethe r pattern for this 6x6 card.  Again, using Hooligans paper, I stamped