Close To My Heart Adventure

Trish and I are combining two things we love: Die Cuts & Close to My Heart! 

There's nothing better than getting the new CTMH idea book and perusing through the ideas and new paper packs they offer. We've been a fan of Close to My Heart for years and have decided that being a consultant is not only a great way to get the discount and to share our love for the company's stellar products, but also a way to create a beautiful, consistent die cut line. We select the paper packs that "speak" to us, decide on the theme or themes and begin designing, cutting and embellishing. 

When you purchase a die cut from us that we've created from CTMH's line, you can then order from me, the consultant, coordinating paper packs, stamp sets, inks, markers, cardstock and embellishments! We're basically adding to the genius that is Close to My Heart. Everything at Close to My Heart coordinates with each other, and we've coordinated our die cut sets with their perfectly matched product!

Here are a few items from CTMH's Stella Collection...We call our line "Paradise."

And from CTMH's Footloose Collection...This is "Splash!"

And from CTMH's Cruisin' Collection..."This is Road Trip!"

And also from CTMH's Cruisin' Collection..."This is Theme Park!"

We are having so much fun combining the ease and vibrancy of Close to My Heart's papers and stamps with our ideas. This is so much fun!! Watch our etsy site for our latest designs! We'll be uploading our CTMH designs next week! xoxo - erin

For more info about the Close to My Heart direct sales company, go to http://www.closetomyheart.com/ . 

For Back Stage Originals products, visit www.etsy.com/backstageoriginals . 

My Story...Mixy-Matchy Album

Fun chipboard shapes can be painted, stamped or covered with paper to create wall art or books! Here is my latest creation I put together using our 5 large chipboard shapes - You can purchase these shapes HERE .

I used the Lucky collection from Close to My Heart, ink, jute, and book rings to keep it all together. So much fun to play with chipboard! xoxo - erin

More on Simple Gifts for Home Decor

This little gem was created by Trish in about 20 minutes. Take our rounded corners chipboard rectangle, cover with pattern paper or cardstock, add one of our die cuts, punch holes for ribbon, add ribbon and BOOM! You have yourself a lovely gift for a friend, your mom, co-worker or teacher...or yourself! I love this idea! Share the word with your friends and fellow crafters... HERE. And then get shopping HERE!

We love YOU, our followers and customers! Your enthusiasm inspires our creativity! What have YOU done with our diecuts? Post your card, layout or home decor on our facebook page HERE. We want to hear from you!!!

Chic enough for home decor? We think YES!

Die Cut: $2.95
Frame: $1.00 (of course, we found this one at a garage sale for just .50!)
Scrap of paper: .25 and in your stash already!!
Framed cupcake and sentiment for your bestie? PRICELESS!!

Now, think if you took this framed gem and sold it online? It would sell for $12 or more in a boutique or even your own Etsy shop! And think how many different gifts you could create for birthdays, Christmases and "thinking of you" moments! An inexpensive option to a store bought item. In this economy, we need all the help we can get!

But your cupcake or other piece now! Click here to shop!
xoxo - T & E

Love YOU layout

Trish worked on a new collection...COFFEE! And to start with, she created this lovely 2 page layout, just in time for Valentine's Day!

Look for the pieces on our Etsy site - HERE.
Have a great week!!

Chipboard Fun

We're selling plain heavy chipboard pieces for your projects, so you can take YOUR creativity center stage! With each set of chipboard pieces we add to our "Chipboard Fun" tab on Etsy, we'll show you a sample here on our blog and Facebook fan page.

We've added a set of 5 chipboard tags and also a set of 4 door hangers. Each is cut from acid free heavy chipboard.

These are so much fun to work with. These are heavy so they work great with paint, ink, distressing, brads - and make great gifts!

You've seen the mini album we created with the chipboard tags... (previous post) ...now see our door hanger!

Both samples are for sale in our Etsy shop! Happy crafting! xoxo - T & E

Twinkie Chan Giveaway!

We all know how much Erin loves Twinkie Chan...and she just posted about a giveaway! Click HERE to read about it and enter!! Boom! Or click HERE...or HERE. Just in case you missed the first one. Yay!

I've Got a Crush on You

My favorite tag die we have is this one. It's quirky, shaped weird and makes me happy. In fact, when I borrowed Trish's once upon a time, I decided to buy my own. Now we both have one! This tag album is made from our heavy chipboard tag die, and in our new section "Chipboard," we will sell them in packs of 5, the perfect number for a mini album.

With Valentine's Day nearing, I opted for a love theme, using Bo Bunny's Crush collection - papers, cardstock stickers and added frills from my own stash - fabric flowers, brads, bling and ribbon. So cute. And it took me about 90 minutes from start to finish.

The fun part about our samples, is that after we photograph them and use them on our site, we see the sample. This mini album will be up for sale in about a week for $11.95. So, if mini albums aren't your forte', buy this one and personalize it with pics and journaling and give it as a gift to your sweetheart!

Also, if you purchase this album, it includes extra coordinating cardstock and extra ribbon pieces. So, keep an eye out! Happy Shopping!! 

Meeting of the Minds

Alrighty, Trish and I met today for only about 25 minutes and it was amazing. She has microphones, cell phones and Valentine's Day goodies and I am in LOVE! We went over cost and pricing as well...realizing that some of the die cut collections are created by using a Cricut, the Accucut, a stamp, bling, pearlies and freehand cutting. Seriously? That's a lot of work!!

So, we had to raise the prices on a couple things, but truly, this makes sense. So many of these creations couldn't be duplicated unless you have several different die cutting machines. We're not tooting our own horns or anything...it's the truth! Trish is just the bomb when it comes to bringing these pieces together. (This is Erin writing here!!)

I hope you enjoy the new stuff that will come out next week, and we also brought a few things back that sold right away. We're planning on making samples soon that will give you some ideas on how to use our products, AND, we'll even let you purchase some of the samples! Woot!

Thanks for following us! xoxo - E

Trish has been BUSY creating and by next week, we should have an explosion of new items up on Etsy! This is so much fun!

Keep Watching for MORE Goodies!

We sold 4 MORE items today so far and we're put some more up! Here's one of my favorites...

shop now!

Our First Sale of the New Year!!

 Yay! We sold 5 items today! Thank you Jen Marchand for visiting our shop and getting us all giddy! Just added another 2 items to enhance those Harvest pages...enjoy! And THANK YOU for visiting Back Stage!

Etsy is Up and Running!

Yep. It's true. We've uploaded 7 items for SALE on our Etsy shop! Visit HERE. In fact, here's one of our favorites...We can't get enough of the coffee/cocoa/tea theme!!!

Just a reminder that we always create in a non-smoking, pet-free home and use acid and lignin free paper. And, every product is inked and embellished BY HAND so that every item might be a little different, making your page/card/creation unique! Enjoy our stuff! We love to create it!

The Rebirth of Back Stage Originals!

Back Stage Originals was reborn today, January 1, 2012, when Tricia Hafer and Erin Collins decided to quit making creating harder than it really is. We LOVE die cuts and die cutting and designing. We love it when we find a piece of art to complete the perfect card, wall decor or scrapbook page. It's even more fun when we get to CREATE that piece and share it with you!

In the next few weeks, we'll be sharing our product, asking you questions and filling our Etsy store! Stay tuned and share our blog with your crafty friends! xoxo - T & E