"Only 2 more sleeps"

Only two more sleeps til Christmas, I have my niece Laura's daughter Xanthe and another niece Emma's daughter Lucy staying with me for a few days. They kindly wrapped some of my Christmas presents for me. The older one Xanthe loves wrapping presents and they did a great job. They are both very excited about Christmas, and are counting down the days until Christmas. I can remember being very excited about Christmas as a child, it was absolutely the best time of the year. My parents always made it so special, there were six children in my family and in the 1950's and 60's money was always in short supply. Yet as I said my parents really made it a special time for all of us. Santa's gifts always arrived unwrapped under the tree on Christmas morning regardless of how early we awoke. My mother has told me sometimes it was only a few hours after they had gone to bed that we were all awake and rearing to open our presents. In those days many of the toys that we received had to be assembled before being put under the tree, that's why my parents had only managed a few hours sleep before we were eager to wake them and get started with the serious business of opening our gifts. Pretty much every year we would ask how did they know which of the unwrapped presents belonged to each of us, we were always amazed how they could know when it was Santa that had brought them!   

Now days I know the real story of Christmas and how God allowed his son to come to earth, born of a virgin, to be our saviour and king. I am so thankful that He loved us enough to do this. Knowing this yet I still get excited about Santa coming and sharing this special time with the children.  I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and may your New Year be filled with happiness and joy.

Santa's helpers wrapping presents.

Christmas

Christmas is under a week away are you ready? I am not, I still have a few presents to buy and the wrapping of presents to be done. My tree is up and decorated, and the house is tidy. I have been really bad I haven't posted my Christmas cards yet. I love Christmas, especially seeing the excitement on the kids faces when the tree goes up and presents appear under the tree. Check out this site for some great gift packaging ideas http://blog.closetomyheart.com/2014/12/19/personalized-packaging/  Our family has our Christmas celebration on Boxing Day as it got too hard for everyone to get together on Christmas Day because both of my sisters have remarried and the kids wanted to see both mum and dad on Christmas day. This has worked really well and we have a great time together. We alternate each year between my sister's home and my niece's home.

 

Pretty Tags

I caught up with a few friends today for morning tea which extended to about 3pm. I wanted to make them a little gift and thought I would make a decorative tag for each of them. Two of them love sewing so I thought that would be the theme of their tags. The dresses and dress dummies are cut using the Artiste Cricut cartridge. The scissor charms are from the Base and Bling range. The birdcage is from the Hello Tweety Stamp Set and the bird charm is also from the Base and Bling range. The ribbon are inked using the pigment inks to match the tags. 

Congratulations

This is a rather simple card but there was something about it that really appealed to me. The flowers are heat embossed with white embossing powder and then placed on the white dry embossed card stock. A pretty little bow just finishes off the project. Now I have to wait for an occasion that calls for a congratulations card.

Secret Santa Gift

I attended a CTMH Christmas party on Monday night and had to bring a secret Santa gift. It had to be something made with CTMH products, we were allowed to add chocolates or wine if we wanted. I made 5 cards and a cute little bag to hold them, still I felt it need something extra so I added a small bottle of wine. It was a fun evening Santa arrived mid way through the evening and we had the opportunity to have a photo taken with him. If you see something you like I would appreciate a comment.

December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Stamp of the Month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Denise's Blog, Scrap Stamp Share http://scrapstampshare.blogspot.com/2014/11/cutie-pie-ctmh-december-stamp-of-month.html 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.

December's stamp of the Month is Cutie Pie S1412 if you spend $75.00 you can have this stamp for just $5.00 this month only.

Isn't this a fun stamp, this would be great for a variety of different themes not just birthdays or cake making. I love finding other uses for the stamps, when I saw the cake stand stamp it made me think of a birdbath. Here is how my idea looks made into a card. The flower stamps are Hostess Reward It's The Little Things B1451, the hello stamp is in A Garden Occasion A1119 and the oval around "hello"  is actually a circle from The Chantilly Workshop on the Go C1553 that I manipulated to make an oval. The grass stamp is in the Buggy Love Seasons and Nature B1441 and the birds are from Hello Tweety B1420.

 Here is another card  I made using the cupcake stamps. I saw a similar card on Pinterest, and liked the way it looks like a shelf of cupcakes. Don't these cupcakes look good enough to eat.

Please leave a comment and then continue the blog hop,  over to Patricia Manhire - Patricia Manhire's Creative Corner http://wp.me/p2MuRN-Bc

Cyber Monday Cricut Sale

Cyber Monday Only: 20% Off All Cricut^® Collections!

For the first time ever, Close To My Heart is offering a Cyber Monday Sale on Monday, 1 December 2014. There has never been a better time to buy Close To My Heart’s exclusive Cricut® Collections for 20% off the retail price. Whether you love scrapbooking, cardmaking, or creating 3-D projects, our four exclusive Cricut® collections make the perfect addition to any craft room! Sale starts at midnight (AEDT) on 1 December and ends at 11:59 pm Monday night.

This is the selection of  Cricut cartridge bundles available. The regular price is $130.00 but now only $104.00 with 20% off. You can buy these from my CTMH website.

 

Christmas Ideas

With Christmas just 4 weeks  away I have been spending more time at my crafting table. Here are a few more ideas for Christmas crafts. The blue bag is made using 2 sheets of 12x12 Christmas paper, the tag is cut from the Artiste Cricut cartridge and then stamped with the ornament stamp. The brown paper bags are quite cheap to buy and when you decorate them with Christmas paper and stamps they look great. I made these 2 Christmas cards last year but didn't use them, so they will be going out to someone this year.

 Her are the instructions to make this bag, you will need 2 sheets of the same double sided 12x12 paper. Score and fold at 3" on 3 sides of the paper and 2" at the top of the paper on both sheets. Make sure you score both sheets of paper the same. The 2" scored section will be folded down to become the contrast at the top of the bag, On one sheet cut the 2 squares where the score lines intersect at the bottom of the page, these 2 3" squares are not needed. With the other sheet of paper cut in from the sides to the intersection on both sides making 2 flaps. Take the sheet with the squares removed and glue a piece of coordinating card stock measuring 3"x 6" to the flap. This forms the base of the bag. Align the second sheet of paper so the flap covers the other flap with card stock and glue together, the card stock will now be hidden. Stand the bag up and glue the side flaps. To finish punch 2 holes at the top on both sides and thread ribbon through to make handles. I did not come up these instructions, they were kindly shared by another CTMH consultant.

Pink and lime green seem to be the new in colours for Christmas rather than the traditional green and red. I think they are nice for a change.

Thankful

The Americans and Canadians set aside a special day for thanksgiving, we don't do that here in Australia but I am thankful each day for the many blessings that come my way. A few months ago my sister set me a facebook challenge to post 3 things I was thankful for, over 5 days. I was surprised how easy it was to come up with 3 things each day. They weren't necessarily big things usually it was the little things that was so special, like a straight run home on the freeway after work on a Friday afternoon. It was my birthday 2 weeks ago, and I wanted to send a few "Thank You" cards to my wonderful family and friends who celebrated  my birthday with me, here are 2 of them.

Supplies:
Top card  "Chalk It Up" Paper Pack X7184B and Assortment pack Z3009, Corner Rounder Z1912, Casual Expressions Occasions stamp set D1525, Stitch Guide Z1852, star punch that I have had for many years.

Christmas Cards

Christmas is fast approaching and as always there is so much to do before it arrives.These are a few quick cards I made, I think the embossed cardstock really makes the cards pop.

 

Simple but Sweet

 I enjoy making a variety of cards these two are quite simple but rather sweet I think. I really like the white background with just a bit of colour. I am trying to make a few each week so eventually I will have at least one in my card box for every month. There are some months when I have multiple birthdays in the same month, so the plan is to have enough in my card box to pick the right one for each recipient.

Stamp Of The Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Stamp of the Month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop.
If you have arrived here from  Vandra's bloghttp://vandractmh.blogspot.com/2014/11/its-little-things-s1411-ctmh-stamp-of.html  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.

This month's Stamp of the Month "It's The little Things" S1411 is available exclusively throughout November for $27 or for just $5 when you spend $75.

This stamp is great for making cards, decorating a layout or as I have used it, to decorate one of the Home Decor items. I love the versatility of all the stamps. This is one of the Pennant Frames, the photo is of the many birds that come to play in my bird birth. The little honey eater birds are just beautiful and have a great time splashing in the bird bath. It really is the "little things" that bring such joy to our lives.

 I covered the frame with paper from the Brushed paper pack X7190 and have added butterflies from the Your Own Kind of Wonderful stamp set D1627, a bird cut from the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge and one of the Black Flourishes Z1749. I used complimentary inks, of course you would use whatever matches your project.

To continue on the bog hop, hop over to  Mandy's Hall of Indulgence http://hallofindulgence.com.au

Inky Fingers

I spent some time last weekend making a few cards, there is such a lot of inspiration to be found on Pinterest and other blogs. I have a table set up in my lounge room in front of the window, a bird bath sits just outside my lounge room window and it is such a pleasure to  see the birds washing themselves and splashing in the bird bath. Some days I wonder how I manage to create anything becuase my table is always cluttered with papers, inks, and all manner of card making paraphernalia. Here are a few of the cards I have recently made.

Another Boy's Card

Making boy's cards isn't always easy but if you have the right stamps it doesn't have to be difficult. This card was relatively easy, just some stamping and a little colouring in. This style of card is called an easel card because it stands up like an easel once opened. I made this card for my niece's son, he loves playing video games.

Creative Projects

I love surfing the internet for new ideas, Pinterest  is my favourite  for getting lots of ideas for new projects. I am amazed by at how talented some people are. Some days I spend way to much time on the computer, but I always come away with great ideas. Here are few things that I have created recently.

This is a 6x6 canvas that I decorated for Christmas. The flower, leaves and letters are cut using the Artist Cricut cartridge from CTMH, I added some stamping and a little bling to finish off the project.

I love making boxes, these are 2 quick and easy boxes to make. Wouldn't anyone love receiving a beautifully decorated box with a few Ferro Roche chocolates inside. They are one of my favourite chocolates. This cute little box on the right holds 12 tea lights, there is a great tutorial on Sam McDonald's You Tube site for making this box.

"Thinking of You"

One of my friends has been unwell, and will be off work til the end of the year. So I decided to make a card for her, hoping  it would brighten her day. I planned on posting it so it needed to be pretty flat. I have wanted to try this technique for a while, the background is created using an acrylic block and three different ink colours.

           

Supplies:  White Daisy Cards and Envelopes X254

                 White Daisy Cardstock z2163Outdoor 

Denim Cardstock  Z2140

      Crystal Blue Ink Pad Z2117 

Pear Ink Pad Z2197

Canary Ink Pad Z2643

Your Own Kind of Wonderful Stamp Set D1627

2"x2" Acrylic Block Y1003

"Thinking Of You" from The 30 Years of Happy National Stamping Month Promotion

Cards

I am spending the weekend with friends scrapbooking and wanted to make a small gift for them. My friend Karen loves all things to do with tea making and paraphernalia. As CTMH doesn't have any stamps with tea pots or cups etc, I searched the internet for images and found some beautiful ones. Here are the cards that I made. For Colleen I found beautiful images of vintage posters. I love making cards, sometimes choosing colours and embellishments for the card is easy other times nothing seems to match the image.

I am really happy with the end results. I found the lovely teapot stick pin at  littlescrapshop.etsy.com, she has some very beautiful embellishments for card making or scrapbooking. I also made the box for the cards to go.

Photo Album

I created this album for my niece Cara to add photos of her new baby Genevieve. It was a fun project to do, there are so many of the CTMH stamps that you could use for a project like this. I got the idea for the chest of drawers from Pinterest and was so easy to make. These are just a few of the pages in the album. I will be posting the album to Cara tomorrow.