February Stamp of the Month

Welcome to the CTMH Australasian Stamp of the Month  Blog Hop, if you have arrived from Denise's blog "Scrap Stamp Share"  you are in the right place, if you arrived here by chance I hope you enjoy this hop. You can continue the hop by clicking on the link at the end of this post.

February's Stamp of the Month is Balloon Animals S1602 and what a beauty it is. The pack contains 13 wonderful stamps both animals and sentiments.

This card was so much fun to make, it's called a "Pop Up Card" you can find a video here  which shows you how to make it. It may look difficult but it is really quite easy. I used Glacier cardstock and scraps of paper that I have had for a while. To match the papers I used Glacier, Sorbet, Champagne and Desert Sand ink. My niece's daughter is starting Kindy next week and I thought I would send a card to mark the day. I love how the card stands so well so it can be displayed.

                                      

You adhere white cardstock to the back to write your message. 

This card will fit in a C6 envelope when folded. 

I really like how we can manipulate the CTMH Acrylix Stamps. I decided to use the elephant image for this card and thought the "I didn't forget your birthday" stamp would be perfect as we know elephants never forget anything. Unfortunately this stamp didn't fit within the frame. By slightly stretching the frame stamp when you place it on the acrylic block, the sentiment will now fit within the frame. I stamped the elephant twice in Sorbet ink Z2164 then cut out the head and two of the legs and adhered them with the foam tape to give it a 3D look. Two Bitty Sparkles Z1263 were used for the eyes of the elephant. Sadly the "I didn't forget your birthday" stamp is now retired.

To go along with the above card I decorated one of the Designer Creations Paper Bags Z2037

 

To continue to hop please go to Wendy's Expressions of the Heart  to see what lovely project she has created. Thank you for joining in the hop and please leave a comment as we read them all and really appreciate you taking the time to comment.

January Card Buffet

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Year's Day, our family celebrated together with much frivolity and catching up with each other. I held my first card buffet for the year last Saturday and here are a few of the cards that were made. I always have a selection of different cards for the ladies to choose from.

This first card uses Black, Cranberry, Canary and Lagoon ink, and some black ribbon to finish it off. I love having a few generic cards that I can send to friends for no particular reason.

This card can be used for a girl or boy's birthday, the Shin Han markers make colouring the images so easy. The tip to colouring with the markers is don't go over the black image line, always colour within the lines and you wont get any bleeding.

The Daisy White ink looks great stamped on dark cardstock, I coloured the clear bling gems with the yellow Shin Han marker so it matches the yellow paper.

I really like how this card turned out, the colours are fun and bright. I stamped the Mason Jar on white cardstock with Slate ink and used my bonefolder to curve the side edges of the jar to give it a more 3D look.

This is a really fun card for a child's birthday, the animals look great standing on top of each other.

Enjoy your weekend and I hope you have some time free for crafting,

"La Vie En Rose" Blog Hop

Welcome to the CTMH Australasian "La Vie En Rose" Blog Hop, if you have arrived from Wendy's Expressions from the Heart  you are in the right place, if you arrived here by chance I hope you like what you see. You can continue the hop by clicking on the link at the end of this post.

We are showcasing the "La Vie En Rose" collection, the papers are just beautiful and the compliments pack will add lovely embellishments to any project.

X7201B

X7021C

My niece had a baby girl in August 2014 and I am embarrassed to say I have only just scrapped these photos. Isn't she a beautiful baby, she is my mum's 16th great grandchild. Her big sister was very happy to show her off. It was a labour of love to do this layout. I used layout 10 from Volume 2 of  the "Make it from Your Heart" book  as my inspiration. The Cricut cut outs are from the Artbooking cartridge and the stamped images are from the Stamp of the Month December 2013 "Special Care"

This second project is a Joy Fold Card and you can find instructions here to make the card. This card will fit into a standard 4 1/4" x  5 1/2" envelope. I used the January Stamp of the Month Beloved Bouquet S1601 as it perfect with the La Vie En Rose papers. I stamped the rose 3 times using Pixie Ink Z2644 on Pixie Cardstock, then layered them after cutting two of the roses slightly smaller. This gives the rose the 3D effect. Topiary Ink Z2155 was used for the leaves.  3D Foam Tape Z2060 was used to adhere each layer of the rose and then adhere the rose and leaves to the front of the card. The stamp set Holiday Tag Occasions D1560 was used for the sentiment.

All products used in these projects can be purchased from my CTMH online shop here.

Thanks for joining our Blog Hop, to continue go to Lauren Moore's blog and see what lovely project she has created. If you like what you see please leave a comment, we do appreciate your comments.

January Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to our January Australasian Stamp of the Month blog hop.  If you have arrived here from Jenny Gilbert's The Creative Heart you are in the right place if you arrived here by chance I hope you enjoy the hop. When you want to continue the hop just click on the link at the end of this post. January's SOTM is Beloved Bouquet S1601 and it is a lovely stamp set. I am sure you will see some great projects as proceed with this hop. As you can see it has a Valentine's Day theme but as with all of Close To My Heart stamp sets this one is also very versatile and can be used for lots of different themes.

My first project is a layout with photos of flowers from my garden, I had a lot of fun creating this layout. I used the Kaleidoscope Paper, Pixie, Pear and Thistle ink and the Handwritten Print Alphabet stamp set.. 

This card is my second project, it's a very simple card. I stamped the image three times and added the flowers made from a punch which I have had  for a number of years. I used the Flamingo Dots for the centres of the flowers and the Pixie Extra Thick Twine for the bow.

To continue the hop go to Vandra's blog  to see what she has created. Thank you for joining our blog hop please leave a comment as it encourages us to be more creative.

Kaleidoscope Blog Hop

Welcome to our blog hop, today we are sharing projects made with the Kaleidoscope Paper Pack X7202B and accessories X7202C. If you have arrived here from Vandra's blog  you are in the right place if you arrived here by chance I hope you enjoy the hop. These papers and accessories are so pretty and colourful and can be used for all sorts of projects. 

 I have made some cards which really showcases the papers, I decided to use more than one of the papers in all three cards. I used the December stamp of the month S1215 and the Shin Han markers for this card. 

I used  the Quatrefoil Embossing folder Z1926 and Green Shimmer Trim to embellish this card. The Flower in the centre of the card is one of the clear stickers from the Accessory pack which I adhered to white Daisy cardstock and then cut out. I used the foam tape to lift the flower off the card.

For this last card I used one of the Botanical Background stamps D1645 and then coloured it with the Shin Han markers. A little bit of bling and a sentiment finishes off this card.

Click here to go to Wendy's blog, and see what great project she has created. We all enjoy your comments so please leave a comment before you continue on.

New Cards

Hello, I'm sorry but I have been neglecting my blog again. Here a few of my recent cards, which I really enjoyed making. These have all been added as samples for my card buffets. I try to have a variety of styles so my customers have a good choice of cards to make.

"Urban" Blog Hop

Welcome to our blog hop, where we are showcasing the Urban Paper Pack, if you have arrived here from Maz Wood's blog  you are in the right place if you arrived here by chance I hope you enjoy the hop. The Urban papers are very versatile, the colours are quite masculine but these papers can be used for all sorts of layouts.

I have created an Easter layout, quite often Easter layouts are done using pastel colours mostly because in the Northern hemisphere it is spring at Easter but I thought the Urban paper pack would work really well.  I used layout 7 from Make It From Your Heart Volume One as my inspiration for this layout. The Easter bunny and flower stamp sadly are no longer available, the Artbooking Cricut cartridge was used to cut Happy Easter and the book page. The stamp set that comes with the Artbooking Cricut cartridge has the lined page stamp as well. I used the Shin Han markers to colour the flowers and the Easter bunny. There is always an egg hunt for the kids at our family Easter get together and getting a good photo of all the kids with their Easter baskets is always a challenge.

To continue the hop click here to go to Mez's Craft Room to see how she has used this great paper pack, I am sure you are getting lots wonderful ideas. We all love receiving your comments so please leave a comment.

Card Buffet

Sorry that I have been missing for a while, but it has been quite busy at work and I have had to work extra hours, plus I went away for a week during October consequently my blog has suffered.

Have you heard of a card buffet? What is a card buffet I hear you ask, it is a workshop where you have the opportunity to feast on an array of cards that you can create. For this workshop I have baskets with kits all prepared for you to make up to 6 different cards all you need to do is stamp the images and then put the card together. I love giving and receiving hand made cards. Here are a few samples from this month's Christmas Card Buffet. If you are interested in coming along to one of these workshops please let me know.

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to this month's Blog Hop. If you arrived here from Britt's blog you are in the right place, if you happened upon this hop by accident no worries just continue on by following the link at the end of the post.

October's stamp of the month is Twinkle S1510 and what a great stamp it is. I love everything about Christmas and this stamp set is no exception. It will make terrific cards and all sorts of crafty creations.

One of the many things I really like about our "Acrylix" Stamps is how easy it is to manipulate them. With this card I shaped the light strand into a gentle wave on my block and then stamped the image, rather than having a straight line. I stamped the light bulbs and fussy cut them and adhered them with foam tape, I liked this look better than stamping them directly onto the paper. Adding the little stars made it appear as if  the lights were twinkling. To finish off I used the Merry Everything stamp with the label stamp which I also fussy cut and adhered with foam tape. I sometimes think less is more and I felt that way with this card. 

  
I enjoy decorating bags for gifts rather than wrapping them, so for my last project that is what I did. You can buy small brown paper bags in shops like Red Dot or the Reject Shop and they are quite inexpensive. I stamped 7 of the ornaments, which I trimmed slightly then added the stars which I stamped in Honey ink adding the stamped Christmas Love image on top to created the flower shape. The white cricut cut out is from the Art Philosophy cartridge which can be found on page 66, it was cut at 4". For the bow I used Striped Twill Ribbon Z1987.

One of the other things I like about our stamps is how you can mix the stamp sets with other sets. In this card I also used the stamp set Make it Merry D1617 which you can find in the Holiday Expressions Catalogue. I also used the star and heart from the Zoe Workshop on the Go Kit G1096. I first stamped the scooter in black then I stamped it again in Cranberry and cut out bits and adhered them with the foam tape. The Christmas tree was stamped using Topiary ink and the ribbon was coloured with a ShinHan Marker. For the greeting I cut a 2" white circle and a 2 1/4" scalloped circle in cranberry cardstock using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge. The stars were stamped using Honey ink and Joy in Cranberry ink. I added a little bling to the card by placing Bitty Sparkles on the hearts and stars. The red gingham paper is from the now discontinued Jubilee Paper Pack.

Thank you for joining us and I hope you are enjoying all of the great ideas, now please hop over to Maz's  blog and see what lovely project she has created. Please leave a comment as it encourages us to be more creative each month.