Month: August 2013

The Wait is Over: Close To My Heart has launched in New Zealand

On By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Crafts7 Comments

Hello

I am very excited to announce that Close to My Heart has arrived in New Zealand.  I am now an independent Close to My Heart Consultant and my new website is up and running at:

www.patriciamanhirescreatingwith.shopctmh.co.nz

Please pop in and check it out – you are able to purchase directly from the site. There is an extensive range of products with the promise of more to come in January with a new product launch guide.

A Christmas catalogue is due to come out shortly which should also be exciting.  I realise that the scrapbooking products are different, compared to what Creative Memories offered, and I will be looking to go around some craft fairs introducing the new products for you to touch and see.

There is only a couple of days left to receive the A Chocolate Affair Stamp of the Month set for FREE.  I can’t wait to get my set and can see some luscious cards coming up when I get my set.  Here is the link for more details:

A Chocolate Affair Stamp of the Month Set

This is such an exciting opportunity and I can’t wait to get started.

So happy crafting

Patricia

 

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Die-cut Butterfly Cards

On By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Crafts, Die Cuts, Marianne Craftables, Marianne Creatables5 Comments

Welcome back to a short and simple post today.

The earthquakes have settled down and I have continued to make some more cards while waiting for the launch of Close to My Heart in New Zealand on the 1st September, and the opening of Make Shift.

Today my theme for cards is the lovely Marianne Craftables CR1205 butterfly.  I have tried to use a lot of different colours and techniques with these cards to show off the gorgeous butterfly.

Butterfly magic Butterfly magic Butterfly magic Butterfly magic Butterfly magicThe materials I have used here are:

Mariannes Craftables CR1205

Cuttlebug and embossing folder – Swiss Dots

Marianne Creatables Branches LR0151

Marianne Creatables LR0107

Fiskers small and medium flower punch

Creative Memories Custom Cutting System  – ovals

Kaisercrafts greeting stamps

Close to My Heart Pink Glitter Gems

Kaisercraft Blue Pearls

Metallic paper from the local Variety Plus shop

Bazzill Bling cardstock – Diva

Peelcraft stickers

Scrap paper and cardstock from my stash

Base cards from http://www.cardmakers.co.nz

Marianne dies from http://www.kalsbeek.co.nz

I thought I might leave a couple of cards without greetings so people can use the card for whatever reason they need.

I hope you enjoy my offerings.

Happy Crafting

Patricia

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Stay Calm and Keep Crafting!

On By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Crafts, Greetings9 Comments

Hello there

I  felt this title was really appropriate after being shaken about over the last day or so.  We had another big earthquake – this time it was 6.6 yesterday afternoon and then we had a series of aftershocks of over 6 about 5.30 pm.  Very unsettling!  The aftershocks have continued today and although I don’t feel most of them there are still some good sharp jolts.  I am getting to know the light fittings in minute detail as they are a good indicator that we are having another shock.

However, we cannot live waiting for the big one to come so hence the mantra “Keep Calm and Keep Crafting”  so I have continued to keep crafting.  We are very close to making a special announcement for Make Shift so I have to keep working hard making cards.  Today I am going to focus on one card  and show you how I have made it.

Here is the completed card:

Elegant Anniversary Card

 

For the base card I have used a lovely cream linen finish card from www.cardmakers.co.nz.

I then embossed an A5 sheet of cream metallic cardstock with the Nellie Snellen embossing folder HSF005.

Embossed cardstock before trimming

 

The embossed card was then trimmed to  10 cms by 14.5 cms to fit onto the base cardstock with a small edge around it.  I find that my CM personal trimmer is great to get a good square cut.  The cardstock I buy from the Cardmakers is slightly larger than the A5 cards, which is good as I like the layered look of the embossed card over the base card.  It gives it an extra texture and dimension.

Trimmed embossed card on the base card

 

I then die cut the lovely oval frame from Marianne Craftables CR1204.  This is a beautiful frame that comes with a flower as well.  It sits in well with this embossed folder.

Die cut oval frame

 

Die cut adhered onto the card

 

I then die cut all the embellishments out of the cream metallic card.  I have found a heavier weight of card better for most of these embellishments.  I have used Metallic quartz board from Direct Paper 285 gsm for these die cuts.  For the roses I have used a lighter weight metallic paper from the local $2 store as this paper is much easier to roll up for the flowers.

Die cut embellishments for the card

 

The dies I have used are:

Marianne Creatables Branches LR0151

Marianne Creatables Ivy – LR0206

Marianne Creatables English Rose  LR0162

To adhere the branch I have used my CM adhesive pen as it has a fine nib but any good adhesive pen would work.

Die cut flourish with dots of glue on the back to adhere to the card

I trimmed the bottom of the branch and placed it to follow the curve of the oval frame.

Unfortunately the photo of this placed on the frame has been corrupted and I am unable to show you this step.

I then placed the ivy over the flourish and here you can see the flourish on the frame.

Ivy placed on the card

The rose leaves were then placed over the ivy and branch.

Rose petals adhered to the base of the card above the other die cuts

 

The roses were made by using my quilling tool to roll the die cut flowers into a rose shape and using a quick drying glue to hold them into place.

Die cut rosesThe roses were then glued into place over the rose leaves and ivy.  Here are some close up images.

Roses on the card Roses glued onto the card

 

To finish off the card I have placed a Peelcraft greeting on the oval.  Here I have used a ‘happy anniversary’ greeting as I need to make some anniversary cards to add to the range of cards for Make Shift.  But an elegant Happy Birthday would be lovely as well.

Once again here is the finished card:

Elegant Anniversary Card

 

Depending on the greeting used this card could be either a landscape or portrait card.

Before gluing everything together I played around with all the elements to ensure that I ended up with a pleasing arrangement.

I love the simplicity of the cream on cream and the metallic finish makes this card very elegant.  It could be suitable for a lot of occasions depending on the greeting and die cutting numbers in gold could personalise this even more.  (I am so looking forward to getting my Cricut and CTMH Cricut cartridges to add a greater dimension to my cards – couldn’t resist putting this in as we have a date to start on 1st September).

Here are another couple of variations including a cream and gold card using a gold base card:

Elegant Anniversary Card Elegant gold and cream Anniversary Card

The dies have been purchased through www.kalsbeek.co.nz.  They have a great range of the Marianne Creatables and Craftables products and many more products to make fabulous cards.  I have found their after sales service to be excellent.

Despite a couple of reasonable aftershocks I have finally managed to finish this post so I hope that you have found it useful and easy to follow.

So don’t forget to Stay Calm and Keep Crafting

Patricia

 

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The Final Countdown to Close to My Heart New Zealand

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Greetings, Scrapbooking3 Comments

Hello

I would like to welcome all my new followers to my blog and I hope that you enjoy coming on my creative journey with me.  I would also like to thank those who take the time to read my posts and also leave comments as well.  I really appreciate the feed back that I am getting.

I was very excited to receive an email this morning from Close to My Heart informing me that we are very close to the launch in New Zealand – the first week in September to be precise.  I can’t wait to start and am starting to de-stash in order to have space and money for my new CTMH products.  The Cricut cartridges look so awesome and I am very impressed with the cards and scrapbook layouts that are coming through from the Australian consultants.

In the meantime I have been doing some scrapbooking and cards.  I am getting through my son’s album and I am now up to his 3rd birthday.  I have used the It’s a Boy stack pack to complete his second year and I am waiting for the cricut cartridges to make some titles to complete them and then I will post a few pictures on here.  I love the colours of this stack pack and they went very well with the photos of James.  I am looking at doing his next album using the Pro-player WOTG kit.  The colours are great and I love the coordinating stamps and shapes that go with it.  It is more appropriate for an older boy as well.

I have also made some more cards for Make Shift.  I haven’t done many get well cards so I have made these using up some of my stash and am pleased how they have turned out.  I am a little disappointed in my Chloe die from Memory Box though.  The cut shape doesn’t seem to pop out quite as easily as my other dies.  I will keep persevering with it and see how it goes.  Anyway, here are the cards:

Get well card - love this combination of yellow and red Love the combination of red, grey and yellow Love this combination of yellow, white and dots Red and white simplicityMaterials used are:

Fiskars flower punch

Memory Box die – Chloe

Cuttlebug embossing folder – Swiss dots

Stampendous Get Well Stamp

Kaisercraft greeting stamp

Red and Yellow scrap cardstock

Stampin’Up ink – Real Red

Bling from the local $2 store

Marianne Creatables flower and leaf set – sorry I seemed to have mislaid the name of this die.

Coloured paper from my stash

I am pleased with the colour combinations and the simplicity of these cards and I hope that you like them too.

Have a good weekend everyone and Happy Crafting.

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Black and White Photo Challenge :Texture

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Digital Art, Photography9 Comments

Welcome

I have been inspired to join this Black and White Photo Challenge by my friend, Amanda from Unique So Chic.  She has been doing the most amazing things with her photos and photoshop so I thought it was time for me to give it a go.

So here are my efforts:

Raindrops on geraniumsFor this image I chose a photo of rain drops on geraniums and changed it to black and white.  I then used my Memory Manager’s Filters/Stylise function to create a negative embossed effect.

I did the same for the next photo of a daisy and the embossing was a lot stronger on the single flower.  The little raindrops have come up a lot stronger in this image and actually I feel that this has come out a lot better.

DaisyFor my last effort I have used the Filter/Surface and Frosted Glass function.

Daisy in the WetThis has made the daisy look quite fuzzy, but the raindrops still stand out.

I can see this is going to be challenging which will be good for me to stretch my imagination and do something completely different with my photography.

I hope you enjoy my efforts.

Have a good day and Happy Snapping.

Patricia

http://sonelcorner.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/black-and-white-photo-challenge-texture/

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Rugby Father’s Day Cards for Make Shift

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Cardmaking, Creative Memories, Greetings3 Comments

Hello

Wow, we are getting so close with Make Shift opening for the public.  It has been a lot of hard work, but it is going to be so worth it.  I would like to thank my fellow Collective Members who have been amazing in their commitment and resourcefulness to help get this dream up and running.  It has been an incredible journey and I would love to think there is far more to come as well.

We have Father’s Day coming up next month and living in a rugby mad country  I have made some special themed cards for Make Shift.  In New Zealand, the All Blacks are our national rugby team and in the process of de-stashing I found some All Black stickers that I had bought to do some All Black layouts after we won the Rugby World Cup in 2011.  (James took so many photos of the victory parade that I ended up doing a photo book instead!)  These stickers became my inspiration for some cards instead and I am pleased how they turned out.  I kept to a simple black and white theme as it emphasised the clean lines of the stickers which meant they were very quick and easy to make.  I have also chosen the sentiments so that the cards could be suitable for both Father’s Day and birthdays.

Here they are:

All Blacks card All Blacks Card All Blacks card All Blacks card All Blacks cardBefore going on to listing the materials used I would like to make a special mention of where I get my base card stock from.  Because I make lots of cards I do not have the time to cut, score and fold all the base cards, so a few years ago I discovered Cardmakers in Christchurch.  Nicky and Joe Arts provide a huge range of basic cards, bulk supplies, die cut cards and many other essential supplies for cardmakers.  They have been amazing with their service, which has been even more remarkable since the earthquakes in Christchurch meant they were unable to access their premises in the Red Zone.  Despite this massive disruption I have always had my cards delivered promptly and they will give you extra cards when you order a bulk supply of cards.  They do deliveries overseas as well so please take the time to support them by visiting their website and checking out their great deals at:

www.cardmakers.co.nz

Materials used for these cards:

Cuttlebug embossing folder – swiss dots

Peelcraft All Blacks stickers

Peelcraft stickers – silver lines

Creative Memories Epoxy stickers – Enchanted

Stampin-Up stamps – Best Dad Ever

Memento ink – black

Black and White Cardstock.

Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting

Patricia