Color Dare and BFT- For My Sister

Many of you may already know I have a twin sister- she has been so good to me these last few months as I have battled with my health and felt less than adequate as a wife and mother.



I decided to make her a quick card with a note to let her know how much I appreciate her. I used the Colour Dare and BFT challenge prompts for inspiration!

The card was made using some leftover Cranberry patterned paper from the retired Heartstrings Paper Packet.



I used Liquid Glass in the centre of the flowers, which were stamped in Pear ink and then coloured in the centre with Honey ink.


I stamped the sentiment in Cranberry ink at the top of my card and now I am ready to write a special message inside for my sister.

CTMH supplies used:
Cardstock: Colonial White, Honey
Ink: Cranberry, Honey, Pear
Paper Packet: Heartstrings
Stamp set: Friend In Me
Tools: Liquid Glass

Artbooking In April- Love My Boys Mini Album

This is the first post for my Artbooking In April series- using the Cricut Artbooking cartridge to create paper perfection!

My first creation is the 8x3.5 Love Mini Album featured on page 46. Everything is ready to be cut at 8" so set the Cricut machine to 8" real dial size OFF and everything will cut in proportion for the album to be completed. The hardest part is choosing what cardstock and papers you want to use!



Instead of a typical love album for my husband, as I made him one earlier this year, I created an album for my boys to tell them how special they are to me.

Here is the front of my album- I have used the now retired Heartstrings paper, as well as Black, Lagoon and Ruby cardstock throughout the album.



The first page has some photos of me with my boys, as well as this wonderful envelope page. I have included a letter to each of my boys in this envelope, talking about their births and all of their wonderful qualities that make them unique. I printed all of the photos in black and white to keep the colours continual, as the photos I chose were taken over a time frame of three months.



I have wanted to use this poem in my scrapbooking for ages, and so this album was the perfect opportunity to use it! I simply printed it from my computer using white cardstock and adhered it to the album page. The blessed and bread tag were part of the mini album Cricut cuts, and I added some baker's twine.



On the back of the doily page I added one of my favourite photos of the boys together, and then on the sweet page I matted a photo of me and my boys during my son's 5th birthday.



These pages show more photos of my boys with their beautiful smiles, and all I added were some more Cricut cuts and a strip of washi tape. Did you notice the LOVE cut out on the side? It is part of the page and such a fun pop of interest to the page.



I can't have a project without my favourite shimmer trim, so that made an appearance on this page along with one of the stickers from the Heartstrings complements.



How awesome is this double heart page? I used this to share some photos of my boys playing together, and talk about why I love these photos.



A journaling tag from the Heartstrings complements filled the back of this space. and then the overlay on the right page was perfect for this photo of the boys kissing each other goodnight.



Some more glitter and Heartstrings complements are on these pages, as well as the Cricut cut Hugs frame. The stamp is from a special Convention stamp set- we get so spoilt as Close To My Heart consultants!



The back page has a bold title, as well as a recent photo of my boys on holiday. I love this photo so much that it is a canvas on our wall at home.



This mini album is so special to me, and I hope my boys will appreciate it. It was a definite labour of love but I had so much fun picking which photos to use, and the colour scheme was perfect for two little boys. I would love to know which page is your favourite!

CTMH suppplies used:
Cardstock: Black, Lagoon, Ruby, White Daisy
Cricut: Artbooking
Embellishments: Heartstrings Complements, Lagoon Hearts Washi Tape, Neutrals Metallic Baker's Twine, Silver Geometric Washi Tape
Ink: Black
Paper packs: Heartstrings, Teal Glitter Paper
Stamp sets: What A Day (Convention), Your Own Kind of Wonderful

ABC Blog Hop- G

Welcome to the Everything ABC's Blog Hop!

For this hop we will be featuring the letter G. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their G element will be featured in their post.

If you came from Pam's Blog then you're on the right track!

My G technique is a Grid Background. This is a fun background that i use a lot on masculine cards, but today I thought I would show you the results on a more feminine card using the Heartstrings collection.

I took a 4x4 square of white cardstock and turned it to face me like a diamond, then scored it at every half inch from the middle and then down each side.



I repeated the score lines going the other way to make a grid.



I then stamped the grid using a retired background stamp to get the crosshatch look, then finished by placing the cardstock directly onto my ink pad and finger walking over the back of the cardstock to get heavy saturation. The crosshatch background stamp still shows through but this way you also get a lovely rich background colour. The colour is off in this photo but you can still get the idea of how to make the grid scoring stand out.



I added a stamped sentiment onto the cardstock as well as an embellishment.



Here is the finished card using the Grid Background technique. I would love to know what you think!



The Heartstrings cardmaking WOTG and paper are only available until the end of March, so if you love these papers and stamps as much as I do then be sure to order through your consultant or click here to shop with me.

Your next stop on our Everything ABC'S blog Hop is Diana Saunders of Farmer Di Stamps.

In case you get lost along the way…go to Scrappy Therapy for a complete list of participants!

CTMH supplies used:
Cardstock: White Daisy
Embellishments: Heartstrings Assortment, Stuck On You Puffies
Ink: Cranberry, Lagoon, Slate
Paper pack: Heartstrings
Stamp sets: Heartstrings Cardmaking Kit, Universal Backgrounds
Tools: Score Board
WOTG: Heartstrings Cardmaking Kit

Choose Happy S1503: CTMH Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop.

If you have arrived here from Tracey's Blog, you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post.





















Today I would like to share with you a creation which features Close To My Heart’s March Stamp of the Month, Choose Happy.

This stamp set can be purchased in March for $33, or just $5 when you place an order of $75! If you don't have a Close To My Heart Consultant you can shop with me.

Today I am sharing this card featuring the spotlighting technique- something I haven't tried before but was keen to do.

 I started off by inking up a background stamp in Chocolate, and then I also stamped it in Hollyhock. I used the woodgrain frame from the SOTM to frame a piece of the pink image, and adhered it on top of the brown floral stamped image. I also triple stamped a sentiment from the SOTM on top of the pink raised piece.



Some gold shimmer trim and a gold butterfly puffy tied the card together, and I matted the floral stamped background with some Heartstrings paper.
 

I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Creative Inspirations.

14 Days of Love- Day 11

Each day for 14 days I will be bringing you a project inspired by love!

I always love getting mail that isn't a bill, so when I saw the adorable mailbox project in the Artiste booklet, I knew I had to create a love letter mailbox to put some sweet love notes inside. 

This mailbox was cut using paper for the main part, and then cardstock accents. 

I love the flag that is included with this cut out project- I decorated it by stamping a sentiment from the Lifting Spirits stamp set and attaching it to the mailbox with a brad.

The flag can move up and down, so now my boys and husband know when I have put a note inside the mailbox! I plan to use this for encouraging notes, to let the boys know of some family fun nights and also to express my feelings as I can write things better than vocalising them. 

What would you put in this mailbox? I would love to know!

CTMH supplies used:

Cardstock: Ruby, Whisper

Cricut Cartridges: Artfully Sent, Artiste

Embellishments: Mini Medley Accents

Ink: Hollyhock, Lagoon

Paper: Heartstrings

Stamp set: Lifting Spirits

14 Days of Love- Day 10

Each day for 14 days I will be bringing you a project inspired by love!

Today's Love card is inspired by Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #94.

I used some strips of the Heartstrings paper pack as well as some shimmer trim and washi tape to create the background of this card. The sentiment was simply stamped on top.



The little heart was cut from the Cricut and adhered using EZ Dots.

This is a great card to use up strips of paper you have lying around, and also a fun way to create a card for any theme. Use different strips of patterned paper to create birthday, Halloween or Christmas themed cards- the possibilities are endless!

Come join us this week at Atlantic Hearts and be inspired by the sketch, we would love to see what you create.

CTMH supplies used:
Cardstock: Ruby, White Daisy
Embellishments: Lagoon Hearts Washi Tape, Teal Shimmer Trim
Ink: Lagoon
Paper: Heartstrings
Stamp set: Hello Wonderful

14 Days of Love- Day 8

Each day for 14 days I will be bringing you a project inspired by love!

Today I would like to share a project inspired by Stampin' Nerd- a pull-out gift card box! Please click here for a full tutorial as she explains it better than I can.

 

The instructions give you this adorable box with a gift card slot, so that you can box up a gift card for a Valentines gift, wedding anniversary gift, or a date night voucher. here I have used a mall gift card for our date night gift so that we can use it to see a movie together than get a coffee at our local shopping centre.

I made a tag to attach to the box using one of my favourite stamp sets and some masking.

I attached it to the box using some ribbon and embellishment, and now it is ready to be given to my husband for a special and unexpected date night! 

Come back tomorrow as I will be sharing an anniversary layout using some of my favourite CTMH items.

CTMH supplies used:
Cardstock: Whisper, White Daisy
Embellishments: Red Enamel Hearts, Slate Diagonal Striped Ribbon, 
Inks: Black, Cotton Candy, Cranberry, Slate
Paper packet: Heartstrings
Stamp set: Love Clusters

14 Days of Love- Day 7

Each day for 14 days I will be bringing you a project inspired by love!

Today's feature is the fantastic Heartstrings WOTG Cardmaking Kit. This kit features everything you need (apart from inks and blocks) to create 15 stunning love themed cards. Here is the kit when made according to the instructions.

I changed things up a bit- this is the beauty of the kits. You get  a lot of product and some instructions, but you are free to change things up.

 

The first card I changed by using silver shimmer trim instead of the twine, and using a silver heart puffy instead of a red one.

This second card I loved except for the sentiment, so all I did was change that for another stamp included in the card kit.

For the last card, I stayed true to the design and simply changed the silver puffy for a red one.

These cards are a fantastic way to create cards for your loved ones. You can purchase the kit here or contact your local CTMH consultant.

14 Days of Love- Day 5

Each day for 14 days I will be bringing you a project inspired by love!

This card is the corresponding Card Sleeve to match the pocket sleeve I shared with you yesterday. Isn't it great to have a card to match a gift card holder?

 

I was inspired by Close To My Heart's Instagram #colorcrush challenge to use Gold and Silver together on a card. 

I backed the cut outs with Heartstrings paper, and added silver and gold shimmer trim, then all I needed was a fussy cut stamped sentiment, as these cards do all the work for you!

CTMH supplies used:

Cardstock: Cranberry, White Daisy

Cricut: Artfully Sent

Embellishments: Gold Shimmer Trim, Silver Shimmer Trim

Ink: Lagoon

Paper: Heartstrings

Stamp set: This Moment (January SOTM)

Welcome to 2015!

I hope you all had an amazing time with your family and friends over the festive season and took lots of photos, and you are all now relaxing and taking in the sun where ever you are.
 

January constant campaign special

In celebration of National Paper crafting Month, Close To My Heart invites you to reflect on the things that make you who you are and on what you want to accomplish in the coming months. Then, with the help of the Year >> Noted paper kit, record your experiences and goals! During the month of January, with a qualifying purchase of $75, you are eligible to purchase the exclusive Year >> Noted paper kit (which has a retail value of over $37 AUD / $44 NZD) for only $10—that’s over 80% off retail! Or, for an additional $5, you can order the Year >> Noted paper kit with an accompanying My Creations™ kraft mini book. The paper kit for both options includes a C-size stamp set, stickers, cardstocks, and B&T Duos™ papers, all specially designed to coordinate with the My Creations™ kraft mini book so you can have a yearlong scrapbooking experience. This means you will receive over $52 AUD / $62 NZD worth of product for only $15 if you purchase the kit with the accompanying mini book! But the fun doesn’t end there—included on the sticker sheet, you will find a large golden seal. Once the year is done and all the pages are filled, seal up your book and create a mini time capsule that you can open years from now. Remember, this deal is only available for January, so make sure to get your own Year >> Noted paper kit today for the perfect start to a crafty year!

Dates: Offer valid 1 January 2015–31 January 2015.

January stamp of the month

Only $5.00 with an order of $75.00

January Hostess Promo

During the month of January, all Gatherings that reach $500 AUD / $550 NZD or higher will be eligible to receive up to 50% more Hostess Rewards! This means an additional $45AUD / $57.50 NZD, giving you the opportunity to earn up to $215 AUD / $322.50 NZD in select free products. This offer is only available during January and is the ideal pairing for your National Papercrafting Month Gatherings, so join in the celebration and watch your earnings grow!

Dates: Offer valid 1 January 2015–31 January 2015.

Workshops for 2015

My workshop dates for January are as follows:

Sunday Workshop: 11th January 10-4pm at the Cashmere Club

Please RSVP by 9th January and deposit $20 into bank account 12-3147-0242884-01 with your name as reference.

Heartstrings cardmaking kit:

Come along to make three cards for $15!

7:30pm on 23rd January. Location TBA on payment.

Spaces limited- secure your spot by paying into bank account 12-3147-0242884-01 with your name as reference.

 

 

 Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to attend the workshop or cardmaking class. I look forward to helping you with your crafting goals this 2015!