A Taste of Summer in Autumn

On May 24, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Cricut, Scrapbooking, Stamping2 Comments

Welcome back

This week I will be featuring a layout that I have done with the gorgeous bright and vibrant papers A Taste of Summer that are part of the National Scrapbooking Month from CTMH. We are just going into autumn in New Zealand and these papers are a lovely reminder that spring and summer are just a few months away.

At the last minute CTMH added a stamp set to match which has added to the fun.

Here is a layout that I have done for my workshop that will be at Gift Hutt on Sunday 31 May.

For this clean and fresh layout I have used pattern 11 from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 1 book. I love how the Thistle and yellow Canary works so well together and the lemons go so well with all the colours. The lemons have been stamped with Canary ink and then rolled around the edges with Sweet Leaf ink. The leaves have been cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge in New England Ivy cardstock and I have crumpled them a little to make them look like leaves from a lemon tree. The title has been cut from the Artbooking cartridge in Canary and shaded with Slate cardstock. I have used strips of Paper Fundamentals thistle coloured paper to anchor the two pages together. I love the journalling stamp from the Artbooking cartridge and have added it here to balance the layout.

Materials used:

Cardstock – White Daisy, Thistle, Canary, Slate, New England Ivy

Papers – A Taste of Summer, Paper Fundamentals

Stamps – A Taste of Summer

Inks – Canary, Thistle, Black, Sweet Leaf, New England Ivy

Cricut Cartridges – Artbooking, Art Philosophy

Topiary Ribbon

We will also be doing three cards and I have had a request to teach how to do the Bokeh technique which is very popular with the CTMH consultants at the moment. This technique replicates the background created in photography when focusing on an object. It is easy to do and the hardest part is working out which colours to use. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube on how to do this technique.

This card has been made using Flaxen, Sweet Leaf, Bamboo and White Daisy inks on the background and I have used the retired A Happy Hello stamp set as well as the Artfully Sent Just to Say stamp set for the flower and the sentiment.

For this card I have used Pixie, Thistle and Gyspsy inks with White Daisy pigment ink for the background. The heart comes from the Hostess stamp set Paper Bird and I have used the rock and roll technique with Thistle and Gypsy inks.

For the last card for the workshop I have used Flaxen and Lagoon inks with White Daisy pigment ink. The bird is from the Paper Bird stamp set and I have again used the rock and roll technique for the bird using Flaxen and Lagoon inks.

Here is another card that I have done using the same colours as the first card. This time I have stamped the flowers from the Happy Autumn stamp set in Desert Sand ink onto the background and then trimmed the cards to make the three panels from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 book pattern 28. I have backed the panels with Sweet Leaf cardstock and used the Flaxen coloured paper from the Paper Fundamentals for the trim across the card. The tags are stamped in Flaxen ink using the Holiday Tags and Perfect Fit – Frames 2 stamp sets. I have finished off with a Flaxen coloured butterfly from the Junebug Puffies which is still available on the While Supplies Last tab.

Materials used:

Cardstock – White Daisy, Thistle, Gypsy, Sweet Leaf,

Paper – Paper Fundamentals

Inks – Desert Sand, Glacier, Lagoon, Pixie, Thistle, Gypsy, Flaxen, Sweet Leaf, Bamboo, White Daisy pigment ink.

Stamps – A Happy Hello (NLA), Holiday Tags, Perfect Fit – Frames 2, Artfully Sent Just to Say, Happy Autumn, Paper Bird

Thistle Ribbon

Junebug Puffies

Cricut Cartridge – Art Philosophy

All these products are available on my website here.

The workshop will be held at Gift Hutt, 136 High Street, Lower Hutt on Sunday 31 March at 10 am to 4 pm.

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

Feeling the Love with CTMH

On May 17, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Stamping10 Comments

Welcome

I have run out of wedding anniversary cards at Gift Hutt and had some fun today making some more – plus I got carried away and made a couple of wedding cards. I am really starting to get into the Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge and doing more with it.

This first card has been cut at 7″ (although I had to resize it a little on Cricut Craft Room) using the gorgeous Blossom papers using the sentiment key on page 35. I just can’t get enough of this paper and the matching stamp set Shower Flowers and had some fun stamping and cutting flowers out to put on the card. I have finished the card with some clear sparkles and a couple of little butterflies from the Junebug Puffies which are still available under while supplies last.

These cards are so easy to make and this one is based on a pattern from CTMH Head Office and I have changed it to an anniversary card and added some aqua dots. The card has been cut from the Blossom floral B&T papers at 4 1/2″ Shift+sentiment <w> (pg 12).

I still have some remnants of the lovely Skylark papers and this corner of the paper was perfect for an anniversary card. I just added some extra ribbons with Glacier cardstock and a strip of Teal shimmer trim and some aqua dots.

This card was made using a cut from the the Art Philosophy cartridge which I resized in CCR to fit the base card. I then used the Hide/Contour function to just cut out the oval in White Daisy cardstock for the centre. I stamped the sentiment first and then embossed with the Dots embossing folder. To finish off I have used some of the Blossom complements flowers and a a little Junebug Puffy butterfly.

This card has been made using a pocket card cut from the Artfully Sent cartridge. I have cut this card using the CCR to size to fit the 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ card out of Pixie cardstock and then placed it over the heart papers from the Whimsy Fundamental papers. It fitted perfectly. I used a pre-cut heart (sorry I can’t remember the size but I think it might have been 2″) and stamped the lovely heart stamp from the Hostess stamp set Paper Bird. I added the sentiment from the Artfully Sent Just to Say stamp set in Black ink. To finish I added a Pixie extra thick twine bow. I have found using glue dots very effective in adhering the twine onto the cards. Much quicker and easier than using liquid glass.

Finally I did my first pop up card from page 35 and was very happy with the outcome. I cut the base card at 7″ in Glacier cardstock after making some minor adjustments in CCR. I am finding I use CCR all the time to do my die cutting as it is easy to size and layer my cuts. The ‘pop up’ has been cut from the blue base paper from the B&T papers. I then cut the icons from Lagoon cardstock and added them to the card. The sentiment, Mr & Mrs, on the front has been cut from the Artiste cartridge page 61. I have stamped the sentiment from the Happy Couple stamp set on a cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge (page 25) that I had cut a while ago and I can’t remember the size sorry.

Here is the inside of the card.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Glacier, Lagoon, White Daisy, Pixie, Colonial White

Paper – Skylark (NLA), Blossom, Whimsy Paper Fundamentals

Stamps – Shower Flower, Happy Couple, Paper Bird, Artfully Sent Just to Say

Inks – Glacier, Lagoon, Sorbet, Smoothie, Flaxen, Black Pear,

Cricut Cartridges – Artfully Sent, Artiste, Art Philosophy

Embossing folder – Dots

Pink Extra Thick Twine

Teal Shimmer Trim

All products I have used (except for Skylark papers) are available for sale from my website here, or just click on any of the highlighted words above.

All these cards will be available for sale from Gift Hutt and the website is now up and running, although I still have lots of photos to upload.

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

Happy Mother’s Day from CTMH

On May 10, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Close to My Heart, Stamping7 Comments

Welcome and Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there.

I have had a lovely day with my family and started getting my next workshop sorted using the gorgeous Taste of Summer papers and matching stamp set. More on that at a later time.

Here are some cards that I have made using the Artfully Sent cartridge. I have backed the card with Pixie cardstock and cut the leaves in Pear cardstock from the Art Philosophy cartridge. The flower is from the A Budding Friendship stamp set and I have stamped it with Pixie and Black inks. The sentiment has been stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with silver Ranger embossing ink. I have coloured the flowers with the ShinHan Touch Twin marker Tender Pink and finished off with an extra thick Pixie twine bow.

For the next card I have been inspired by the card in the Annual Inspirations Book and used the lovely Mother’s Day stamp from the Flowers For Mum stamp set. I have heat embossed with Ranger silver embossing powder and coloured in the flowers with the ShinHan Touch Twin markers, Turquoise Blue and Cerulean blue Light. The edge has been sponged with Glacier ink to help it stand out from the Blossom background. I love the different papers from the Whimsy Paper Fundamentals pack and here I have used the Glacier and Flaxen colours. This was a very quick and easy card to make.

The next card is a scene card from page 37 of the Artfully Sent cartridge. I have kept the colour scheme simple with Flaxen cardstock and the Flaxen paper from the Whimsy Paper Fundamentals pack and White Daisy cardstock. Another simple card finished off with the butterflies on page 14 of the Artfully Sent booklet.

Finally I have done a quick card using the Blossom papers and the gorgeous stamps from the Flowers for Mum and Happy to Be Friends sets from the Seasonal Expressions 1 booklet. These stamp sets are still available for a year while stocks last. The extra thick twine bow in Glacier just finishes it off.

Materials used:

Cardstock – White Daisy, Flaxen, Pixie, Pear

Papers – Blossom, Whimsy Paper Fundamentals

Stamps – A Budding Friendship, Flowers For Mum, Happy to Be Friends

Inks – Versamark, flaxen, Glacier, Smoothie, Black, Pixie

ShinHan Touch Twin Markers – Tender Pink, Turquoise Blue, Cerulean Blue Light

Extra Thick Twine – Pixie, Glacier

Embossing Powder – Ranger Silver

Silver sequins

Shimmer Trim – Silver

Cricut Cartridge – Artfully Sent, Art Philosophy

All these products are available on my website here or just click on any of the highlighted text to go straight through to the website to order.

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

CTMH Blossom Is Made for Mothers

On April 26, 2015April 26, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Scrapbooking, Stamping9 Comments

Welcome Back

This week I will again be featuring Blossom papers from the new Seasonal Expressions 2 catalogue, I just can’t help myself as it is so beautiful even if it is not pink.

To start with I have done a double page layout featuring the pattern No 2 from the Make it From Your Heart Volume 2.

I have cut the background image from the blue floral patterned paper using Accent 4 page 46 of the Artiste Cricut cartridge and used the hide/contour button to remove the centre cuts. This was then cut in half to put on both sides of the double layout. I love the combination of Kraft cardstock with the blue from the Glacier cardstock and blue patterned paper and this layout was very quick to put together. I then glued some Glacier extra thick twine along the bottom of the blue patterned paper. The ‘love’ sentiment has been cut from the Artbooking Cricut cartridge in Sorbet and then lined with Slate cardstock for a dimensional look. I had some fun stamping flowers from the Shower Flowers stamp set which I have stamped on White Daisy and Glacier cardstock for variety and also to try and tone in with the background paper. I finished off with some of the new Coral Reef sequins and a small Glacier twine bow.

This layout would be suitable for a Mother’s Day or baby layout.

This card has been based on the pattern No 29 from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 1 book. I love embossing and this Flowers for Mum stamp set just begs to be embossed. The larger lower has been stamped with Blush ink (NLA) and the smaller flowers have been stamped with Glacier ink and then I have used the coordinating stamp to emboss with silver. I actually prefer it when I haven’t quite matched the stamps as it seems to give the flowers more dimension The small flowers in the sentiment stamp have been coloured in with the ShinHan Touch Twin marker Tender Pink. I have matted the Glacier cardstock with some Blush cardstock to match the flowers. The Blush worked in well with the beautiful striped zip strip.

Finally – I have been doing more boxes and thought I would show you what I have done with some Base and Bling. I haven’t done a lot with the Base and Bling as there is a lot of people making jewellery around where I live so I thought I would do something different with it. I cut a flower from the floral paper and then layered it with another sorbet coloured flower and then glued the glass cover on it. I then attached it to the box with the Glacier extra thick twine. This would make a lovely box to put jewellery in to give as a gift.

Materials used:

Cardstock – White Daisy, Kraft, Sorbet, Slate, Blush, Pear

Paper – Blossom

Stamps – Shower Flowers, Flowers for Mum

Inks – Glacier, Lagoon, Blush (NLA), Sorbet, Pear, Sunset, Versamark

Embossing Powder – Silver

Cricut Cartridges – Artiste, Artbooking

Coral Reef Sequins

Glacier Extra Thick Twine

ShinHan Touch Twin Marker – Tender Pink

Base and Bling

All these products apart from the Blush products are available to purchase from my website here.

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

Having fun with Scaredy Cat and Seaside Papers from CTMH

On April 19, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Close to My Heart5 Comments

Welcome

Just a very quick post today as I really should be working on my new website for Gift Hutt, but I am now in a routine with this blog.

Here are a couple more boxes that I have made as gift baskets to sell in Gift Hutt. One of the new arrivals into the shop was this lovely bright orange bib and I instantly thought of Scaredy Cat papers and also the lovely foxes on the Artfully Sent cartridge.

I had some fun decorating the boxes and used the gorgeous foxes from the Artfully Sent cartridge and cut them in a combination of Sunset, Black and Thistle cardstock, and added a little Thistle chevron ribbon to link with the Thistle cardstock and the patterned paper from the Scaredy Cat range.

Then sentiment Cherish has come from the Artbooking cartridge.

Here is the box with the bib and a lovely moulded soap in the shape of pig and teddy bear to make a lovely gift for a baby shower or a new arrival.

I also made a little 3″ x 3″ card out of Kraft cardstock as I didn’t have that colour combination in store. The tag is from the Tagged with Love stamp set from the new Seasonal Expressions 2 catalogue and it is a lovely and versatile set and perfect for baby boxes.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Sunset, Thistle, Black, Kraft

Papers – Scaredy Cat

Stamp Set – Tagged with Love

Inks – Thistle, Black

Ribbon – Thistle chevron

Shimmer Trim – Purple

Cricut Cartridges – Artbooking, Artfully Sent

The Seaside papers in combination with some Blossom papers also make a lovely baby themed box. Here I have used the gorgeous spotted papers and distressed them with some Desert sand ink to make it look aged, and I have then added a strip and ribbon from the new Blossom range to make it look like a gift box. Again I have added a tag tied with the lovely Glacier extra thick twine. The pram has been cut using a Memory Box die that I have had for some time.

Here is the box with a bib in it and I added a green car soap in later when I took it into the shop

Materials used:

Cardstock – Glacier

Papers – Seaside, Blossom

Stamps – Tagged with Love

Inks – Lagoon, Desert Sand

Clear Sparkle

Glacier extra thick twine

Non CTMH – Memory Box die – Pram, Boxes from local discount store

I am so happy how these have turned out and plan to do some more boxes for Mothers Day.

All products from CTMH can be purchased from my website here. The completed boxes and contents are available for sale at Gift Hutt – a new website is still being built and I am hoping it will be live in the next week when I can get this post done!

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

Close to My Heart is More Than Just Scrapbooking

On April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Close to My Heart, Crafts, Cricut, Stamping10 Comments

Welcome back

I was reading in a blog the other day that Close to My Heart (CTMH) seemed to be more about scrapbooking than anything else and I just wanted to say that CTMH is much much more than that. Close to My Heart provides a huge range of products for all your papercrafting needs, including cardmaking, 3 dimensional projects, home decor items as well as the traditional scrapbooking. I have been papercrafting for 20+ years and I have personally found the CTMH products to be superior to anything that I have used in the past. The quality is excellent and the company are great to work for. How many companies would make page protectors to fit another company’s albums! CTMH did just that to help ease the previous Creative Memories Consultants transition from CM to CTMH. Plus they have created stamp sets specifically for the Australasian market. And they have just created a new stamp set to go with a fabulous new paper pack they are releasing next month after a suggestion from a consultant.

Since I have been with CTMH my paper crafting has gone to a whole new level and I have been able to stretch and challenge myself to do a lot more projects that I would never have thought I could do. The support and inspiration from the other CTMH consultants has been amazing as well. It really has become a big international family with consultants sharing and supporting from Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Here are the reasons why I love CTMH

Stamps – There are over 100 different stamp sets for all sorts of different occasions. CTMH stamps are clear acrylic stamps that come in a little package for easy storage. I have always preferred clear stamps as I like to see where I am stamping. However, the ones I have used previously were good for only a couple of uses and then they warped and lost their stickiness. I loved the images but couldn’t use them! Plus the prices are excellent value for money with prices ranging from $6 to $33 (NZ$). And there is also the SOTM set which is available for just $5 when you spend $75.

Papers – the papers are gorgeous and beautiful to work with. They mix and match so well and the paper packs with coordinating cardstock are excellent value for money at just NZ$18 per packet. Enough for 2 double page layouts and lots of cards. I also love the fact that they cater for masculine themes really well as those are hard to find.

Cardstock – there are 40 different colours to choose from and you can buy them in packs of single colours or in a colour range. They work well together across the colour spectrum and I like the white core as it gives other ways to add more dimension to your projects. Plus this adds to the uniformity of colour throughout the packs. and they are easy to manipulate and roll into flowers.

Inks – there are inks to match all the cardstock colours. I have found the ink pads to be lovely and juicy and give a good impression every time. And there is NO smudging unless my hands are hot and sticky. I have used other products and have got frustrated with the smudging. I am not sure how these inks would go on other cardstock as they are designed to work with the CTMH cardstock and I no longer have other products to use to see what they would be like.

WOTG and How To Books – I am more of a cardmaker than a scrapbooker and I LOVE LOVE LOVE these WOTGs and books. These are great to get me inspired when I have a creative block and they are easy for newbies to scrapbooking and cardmaking to use. My books are well-thumbed and I have used them heaps.

Embellishments – CTMH provides a range of embellishments to match the papers, stamps and cardstock. There is a selection of ribbons, bling, sequins, washi tape, bakers twine and shimmer trims. I have found over the years that it is easy to hoard a lot of different embellishments and it is good having a smaller range that works on a wide range of products. Plus there are a lot of cheap imports coming into the country and CTMH are unable to compete with them and they should compete with them. I almost exclusively use CTMH products but occasionally I will add a non-CTMH product. I really don’t need anything else.

Designer Creations and Design Creations – there are a range of boxes, bags albums and frames for you to decorate with and make great gifts for friends and families.

Cricut Cartridges – I don’t know what I would do without my Cricut cartridges. Just about every time I sit down to craft I turn my computer on and get into Cricut Craftroom to make something for my projects. I love the fact that you can size the images to fit and you are not limited to the size of a die. Plus I was always losing my dies on my desk. I was told at the start of my CTMH journey that you will only need these cartridges and they were right. I haven’t needed to really look at any of the hundreds of other cartridges that are available as I have all that I need.

There are other products available such as the Picture Your Life and Base and Bling to add more variety to your crafting. These products can be used on their own or incorporated into your other projects such as scrapbooking and cardmaking.

Here are a couple of cards and some decorated boxes using CTMH products to show how versatile they are.

These cards have been made with the new Blossom papers from the new Seasonal Expressions 2 catalogue. These were very quick and easy to make using the beautiful papers and the coordinating stamp set Shower Flowers. I have used stamped the images and then fussy cut them out to layer them to make the flowers. Isn’t that zip strip gorgeous and just finishes off the cards so well.

With this card I have stamped the leaves with Glacier ink first on the base card and then layered the flowers on top. The sentiments are from the Happy to Be Friends stamp set from the last Seasonal Expressions catalogue. This stamp set is still available for about a year before it is retired.

And just to show that CTMH is not limited to cardmaking and scrapbooking I have decorated a couple of kraft boxes from the local discount store. I have some baby clothing for sale at Gift Hutt and thought I might make some boxes to do up to make gift boxes for baby showers or for a new arrival. A lovely aqua baby cardigan had just come in and I immediately thought of the Blossom papers and they were a perfect match.

Here is the baby gift box. I have cut the lace heart from the Artiste cartridge and used the Cricut Craftroom to manipulate the size to fit the shape of the lit. I traced the lid onto a piece of paper and then cut it out with scissors to get the base shape. The bow is cut from the Artiste cartridge.

And here is the contents – including the cardigan and a very cute handcrafted soap moulded into a baby basket. I have got cards to match this at Gift Hutt and the ribbon was purchased through Gift Hutt. This gift basket would be great to keep all the little mementos that we collect when we have babies – like the first booties, tooth, hair cut etc.

With Mother’s Day coming up I have done a gift basket for filling with lots of goodies from Gift Hutt.

This time it is hexagonal and I have used the Artbooking cartridge to cut the shapes on the top and then decorated the with the flowers from the Shower Flowers stamp set over the embossed Flaxen cardstock.

The tag is from the new Tagged with Love stamp set from the new Seasons Expressions catalogue. I have cut this out from Kraft cardstock and stamped with Black and Lagoon inks.

Here is a view of the top:

As you can see there is so much more to CTMH than cardmaking and scrapbooking. Almost all the products I have used are from CTMH and can be purchased from here.

These views expressed here are my personal opinion only.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Flaxen, Glacier, White Daisy

Paper – Blossom

Stamps – Happy to Be Friends, Tagged with Love, Shower Flowers

Inks – Glacier, Black, Pear, Sorbet, Sunset, Lagoon, Flaxen

Cricut Cartridges – Art Philosophy, Artiste, Artbooking

Embossing Folder – Diamond

Extra Thick Twine – Glacier

Sequins – Coral Reef

Liquid Glass

The only products I have purchased are the kraft boxes and the blue ribbon

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

Australasian CTMH SOTM – Typed Note Blog Hop

On April 1, 2015April 1, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, CTMH SOTM, Stamping21 Comments

Hello and welcome aboard our Stamp of the month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Mandy’s blog, Hall of Indulgence then 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 some cards that I have made which features April Stamp of the Month Typed Note available exclusively throughout April for $33 or for just $5 when you spend $75. (New Zealand)

I have been looking forward to this stamp set for a long time as it is going to be such an asset to my ever growing stamp collection. This is great for both cardmaking and scrapbooking projects and if I had not already scrapped my old school photos this would have been perfect for my old black and white photos.

First up I have used the new Jackson papers that is available from the new Seasonals Expressions catalogue which has also been released today. This is a very masculine paper and I have cut out an envelope using the Artfully Sent cartridge and then added some trims using scraps of the same paper and Cocoa cardstock to turn this into a satchel into which I have added a fussy cut out typewriter from the stamp set with a message. And yes that is a strip of Timberline that was in the last Idea Book that I had kept just in case, as you do, and this was just perfect for the project. I just needed to trim it to fit. I have added some Licorice Opaques which unfortunately are no longer available.

Here is the inside of the card. I don’t normally put anything inside but I had put a little smudge on the edge so I decorated the edges with strips of the Jackson paper and then stamped the birthday image inside.

Next is a card that I have made with the gorgeous new Blossom papers that is also in the new catalogue. I have also used the new Shower Flowers stamp set to decorate this thank you card to make it more feminine. This stamp set is designed to go with the papers and here I have used the matching colours – Sunset, Pear, Glacier with a touch of Honey for the flowers and then fussy cut them out. I love using the new extra thick twine to finish off cards and here I have used liquid glass to adhere the twine along the sides of the beautiful zip strip. To finish I have used the new Coral Reef sequins on the small flowers.

The typewriter image goes so well with the Chalk it Up papers and here I have embossed the Flaxen cardstock with the arrows embossing folder and then sanded it to get the white core to add some dimension. I then matted various layers with the Chalk it Up B&T papers and some more Flaxen cardstock. I used some retired black twine to add some interest to the background. I stamped the typewriter image on some scrap Colonial White cardstock and fussy cut it out. Finally, I stamped the birthday sentiment with Flaxen ink on the paper.

Finally, I have used the now retired Hopscotch papers using a favourite pattern from the Make It From Your Heart Volume 2 pattern 28 and using the same techniques as before but this time as I had very hot and sticky hands the typewriter image smudged a little so I used a scrap piece of Hopscotch papers to paper piece the paper onto the typewriter. The little pointed finger was a fun element to add to the card. For the sentiment I have used Sunset ink as it seemed the only colour that would stand out.

Typed Note is only available until 30th April from your CTMH consultant. I’d love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Lauren’s blog, CTMH Craftings

Materials used:

Jackson Card

Cardstock – Cocoa, Colonial White

Papers – Jackson, scrap of Timberline

Inks – black

Cricut Cartridge – Artfully Sent

Opaques – Licorice (NLA)

Blossom Card

Cardstock – Kraft, White Daisy

Papers – Blossom

Stamps – Shower Flowers

Inks – Sunset, Pear, Honey, Glacier

Sequins – Coral Reef

Extra Thick Twine – Glacier

Chalk It Up Card

Cardstock – Flaxen, Colonial White

Paper – Chalk It Up

Ink – Flaxen, Black

Embossing Folder – Arrows

Black twine (NLA)

Hopscotch Card

Cardstock – Colonial White, Flaxen, Sunset

Papers – Hopscotch

Ink – Black, Sunset

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

The Art of Hidden Journalling from CTMH

On March 29, 2015March 23, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Close to My Heart, Scrapbooking12 Comments

Welcome back

Keeping with the scapbooking theme here is a layout that I have done with some hidden journalling. I prefer to hide my journalling, as for me it seems to take away from my artwork. I have taken my inspiration from the layout in the Make It From Your Heart Volume 1 pattern 08.

Here is my layout using the Chalk It Up B&T papers, Complements and Assortments as well as the Artfully Sent Cartridge and Artbooking Cartridge.

I love the envelope that looks like a satchel and used my Artfully Sent cartridge to make the envelope. I cut three different images – two the same size using Desert Sand cardstock and the herringbone paper and another one in the herringbone pattern that I used CCR to make a little smaller. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the work in progress but I had to have the front in the herringbone pattern so I trimmed the top of it off the paper just before it folded over then adhered the herringbone paper image onto the Desert Sand image. I then put the smaller herringbone image on the top of the Desert Sand image and turned it over to create the satchel. I then used Desert Sand trims to create the straps and finished off with the black sparkles from the Sparkles Black and Grey Assortments.

Here is the journalling inside the bag. The little hook and loop dots are so useful for closing this little envelope/satchel.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Lagoon, Sorbet, Desert Sand, Flaxen

Papers – Chalk It Up

Complements – Chalk It Up

Assortments – Chalk It Up

Cricut Cartridges – Artbooking, Artfully Sent

Hook & Loop Dots

Sparkles Black and Grey Assortment

Thank you for looking and I hope that you understand my instructions.

Watch out for the Australasian CTMH SOTM blog hop coming on the 1st April.

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

CTMH Hopscotch Layouts with a Touch of Artfully Sent.

On March 22, 2015March 22, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Close to My Heart, Scrapbooking8 Comments

Welcome back.

Today I have another couple of layouts using the Hopscotch papers that are due to be retired at the end of the month. I am going to miss this papers as the colours are gorgeous and the papers are really fun.

Last Easter my daughter had a craft making session with her friends, where they decorated up some Easter eggs and made them look like dinosaurs. I took some photos, as you do, and when CTMH had a special a while back on Studio J I got these photos printed in different sizes. The colours in the photos matched perfectly with the Hopscotch papers – particularly the Sorbet and Flaxen colours.

I have used the Hopscotch complements and assortments to finish of the embellishments as well as using the negative of the Sweet cut from Artbooking along with You’re the Bomb stamp set which is also retiring at the end of this month.

The Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge is so versatile and here I have used the sleeve function to cut out the envelope to hold my journalling card for my daughter to complete when she can. I have used the journalling card from the Artbooking Cartridge stamp set Take Note. This stamp set is only available as part of the Artbooking Cricut cartridge and I use this a lot for my journalling. Here is a close up of the sleeve and I have used strips of the Hopscotch papers to create the patterns.

Here is another layout using small strips of paper to embellish the layouts. I have taken my inspiration from the Magic book but added my own twist. I have also used Artfully Sent for the letters FUN and Artbooking cartridge for the embellishment and the Artiste cartridge for the Easter title.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Flaxen, Colonial White, Sorbet, Cotton Candy, Glacier

Papers – Hopscotch

Complements – Hopscotch

Assortments – Hopscotch

Stamps – You’re the Bomb, Take Note

Inks – Black,

Cricut Cartridges – Artbooking, Artiste, Artfully Sent

Gold Sequins

Glacier Extra Thick Twine

As I said these Hopscotch papers and the You’re the Bomb are only available until the end of the month so be in quick so you are not disappointed. You can click here to go straight to my website to order.

There is another Seasonals Expressions coming out next month and I have had a sneak peak and there are some gorgeous new products coming so watch this space…

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

CTMH Brushed Layout

On March 15, 2015March 15, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Close to My Heart, Crafts, Paper Crafting16 Comments

Welcome

I have done a lot of cards recently, but I did find some time to do some scrapbook layouts a couple of weeks ago. I am more of a cardmaker, but I do enjoy scrapbooking and I am so thankful that CTMH has a great range of how to books to inspire me.

For this layout I have used the Performance pattern on page 48 – 49 of the Magic book. This is the first time that I have used hand stitching on a layout and I am happy with the outcome. I am going to look at getting my sewing machine out and have a go with that as well. I have used the stitch guide to punch the holes and some embroidery floss and stitched it by hand.

I don’t normally mix up Colonial White and White Daisy but sometimes rules are meant to be broken and I am happy with how the Colonial White cardstock highlights the photos above the pink of the background papers and the White Daisy base.

Here are close ups of the flowers and butterflies. The flourish has been cut using the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge (page 59 Font Layer) and I played around in Cricut Craftroom to get the size right. The flowers are from the Artiste cartridge (page 55 Accent 1>Shift) and I have cut several different sizes to create some depth with the flowers. The butterflies are from Artbooking (page 62 Icon)and I have stamped them with using the rock and rock technique with Canary and Pixie inks with the butterfly stamp from the Brushed WOTG set. I have used the script stamp from the Armour stamp set and lightly and randomly stamped onto the Colonial White cardstock in Bamboo ink and then distressed the edges with Desert Sand ink. I love how this has turned out.

I have hidden the journalling in this pocket. Sometimes I struggle to put journalling on a layout as it seems to detract from the artwork so putting them into pockets makes it easy to create layouts.

I originally stamped this sentiment with Black ink but it didn’t look right so I then stamped the sentiment with Cotton Candy ink onto some scrap Colonial White cardstock. I fussy cut out the letters and then adhered them slightly to the left of the black letters to create a shadow and actually it looks so much better for it and I will be doing this again.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Colonial White, White Daisy, Pear, Cotton Candy, Pixie

Papers – Brushed B&T Duos

Stamps – Brushed WOTG, Your Own Kind of Wonderful, Artiste Stamp set

Inks – Bamboo, Black, Cotton Candy, Desert Sand

Cricut Cartridges – Artiste, Art Philosophy, Artbooking

Clear Sparkles

Gold Glitter gems

Stitch Guide

I am doing this late at night so hopefully I haven’t missed anything.

Happy Crafting

Patricia

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Patricia's Creative Corner

Tag: Close to My Heart

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