CTMH Australasian SOTM Blog Hop – This Moment

On January 1, 2015January 1, 2015 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Stamping18 Comments

Hello and welcome aboard our Stamp of the Month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Doris Taylor’s blog Creative Inspirations , 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.

I apologise if this is a repeat post for you. I had accidentally pressed publish for my first draft and of course once that happens you can’t take it back, unfortunately. Gotta love technology sometimes!

Today I would like to share with you some cards which features the January SOTM This Moment which is available exclusively throughout January for $33 or for just $5 when you spend $75.

This stamp set would be perfect for wedding and Valentine Day layouts but I didn’t have any suitable photos so I made some cards instead using the Heartstrings papers as they were a good match with this stamp set. The Heartstrings papers are from the Seasonal Expressions catalogue which is available until the end of March. I have also kept the cards simple by sticking to the papers, stamps and coordinating cardstocks and inks.

For the first card I have matched up the Cranberry and Lagoon cardstocks with the patterned papers from the Heartstrings paper. For the target I have cut the outer two shapes with the Art Philosophy cartridge and then stamped the same image on scrap White Daisy cardstock – twice with Cranberry and once with Whisper ink. I then fussy cut out the circles and layered them on to create the striped effect. The arrow and the sentiment have been stamped and fussy cut out and placed on the card.

I was searching for some inspiration and went to the tried and true Make it From Your Heart Volume 1 and found pattern number 27. I have mixed the patterned paper with the script paper and later realised that I had the script the wrong way but I was looking at the flourishes! Anyway, I have stamped the images with a mix of Whisper and Cranberry ink and the main image has been matted with Cranberry and Whisper cardstock.

Finally here is a very quick and easy card utilising the gorgeous Heartstrings papers. I have place a matted trim of coordinating paper across in order to place the simple stamped Hello that has been matted on Cranberry cardstock and then finished with a bow from the retired Ariana Assortments.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Cranberry, White Daisy, Whisper, Lagoon

Paper – Heartstrings B&Ts

Inks – Cranberry, Whisper, Lagoon

Ariana Assortments (retired)

Cricut Cartridges – Art Philosophy

This Moment is only available until 31st January from your CTMH consultant here. I’d love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Anne Patterson’s Blog Mummy you made this?

Happy Crafting

Patricia

Out of the Box with CTMH and Kaisercraft.

On December 28, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Christmas, Crafts, Cricut6 Comments

Welcome back.

I hope you all had a good Christmas. I had a lovely relaxing day and I am now getting back into crafting.

I normally use only CTMH products but the local Spotlight store had a special on Kaisercraft wood kitsets so I bought a few to have a play with. Apart from the kitset and mod podge everything else I have used in these projects is CTMH.

I love the CTMH papers and the Yuletide Carol papers are just gorgeous and I felt fitted well with this advent calendar. I have tried to create a picture of a living room with the stockings hung by the tree and the parcels waiting to be opened. I have sponged all the edges with Desert Sand ink and I love how the wood has turned into an antique gold colour. I have cut out the centre from the patterned paper and lined it up so that it would be the centre of the box. I used the red patterned paper to line the boxes (there are a number of You Tube videos that show you how) and after sponging the edges with Desert Sand ink I modpodged them all. The numbers came with the pack and I have sponged them all with Desert Sand ink and then using Liquid Glass adhered them to the front of the little boxes. The Christmas tree has been cut in 3 sizes from the Artbooking Cricut cartridge in the green paper from the Yuletide Carol paper pack, and I have adhered them with foam tape to try and create some dimension. The boxes have been made from the Artiste cartridge and I have tied them up with the metallic bakers twine. The Santa is from the Yuletide Carol Complements that I have stuck onto some White Colonial cardstock and cut out. I used tabs of Colonial White cardstock to adhere to the box. The Merry Christmas is from the Artiste cartridge.

Here is another kitset this time featuring a bird on a cage.

I have sponged the entire cage with Desert Sand ink and the edges of the bird before mod podging the sorbet coloured paper from the Seaside paper pack. The paper went really well with some paper flowers that I had purchased last year in a special bundle from CTMH. The large flower has been cut using Art Philospohy using the pattern from Cathy Derouche (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzs8Sc-BLO4) out of Sorbet cardstock and the edges have been sponged with Sorbet ink. The paper flowers all coordinated so well with various shades of sorbet to a deep pink with different shapes. I have cut the leaves from Art Philosophy in Olive cardstock and inked with New England Ivy ink and then I have shaped then before placing them on the cage. The smaller leaves are from the paper flower packet. I have finished off with some bling with clear sparkles and the clear sparkle flourishes.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Sorbet, Colonial White, Ruby, New England Ivy, Olive

Paper – Yuletide Carol, Seaside

Yuletide Carol Complements

Inks – Sorbet, Desert Sand, New England Ivy

Cricut Cartridges, Artiste, Art Philosophy, Artbooking

Clear Sparkles

Clear Sparkles Flourishes

Liquid Glass

Foam tape

Metallic Bakers Twine

I hope that you enjoy what I have done today. Tomorrow I will be working on something for the January 2015 SOTM blog hop. So watch this space…

Have a good week and Happy Crafting.

Patricia

More Christmas ideas from CTMH

On December 21, 2014December 21, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Christmas, Close to My Heart, Cricut4 Comments

Welcome

This is my last post for the year featuring Christmas craft ideas seeing as it is Christmas Day on Thursday.

I have been inspired by Joy Tracey to make my version of her Artiste ornament. For the instructions please click here for a link to her blog and the video that she has made to show how this is done. My version has used Glacier and White Daisy cardstock and I have finished off with a silver sequin and a licorice epoxy bubble. I bought the silver sparkle tulle from the local variety plus store to complete the ornament.
I have also made some more simple gift tags this time using the Art Philosophy cartridge to make boot shapes. The boots have been cut out with Ruby cardstock and the trims in White Daisy and Black cardstock. It is hard to see on this photo but I have also put a piece of the white shimmer trim on the boot top for a bit of sparkle.

I also cut some White Daisy cardstock to back the boot so as to be able to write to and from on it. I have used the stamps from the Holiday Tags stamp set and stamped the images in Ruby ink.

A hole and some slate bakers twine finished off these very quick and easy tags.

Materials used:

Cardstock – White daisy, Glacier, Ruby, Black

Inks – Ruby

Stamps – Holiday Tags

Cricut Cartridges – Art Philosophy, Artiste

Ribbon (NLA)

1 1/4 punch (available while supplies last)

Silver sequin

Licorice epoxy bubbles (NLA)

Slate bakers twine

Liquid glass

White Shimmer trim

These tags and other crafts that I make are available for sale at Gift Hutt in Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and may Santa bring you more craft supplies to keep you busy in the New Year!

Happy Crafting

Patricia

CTMH Studio J

On December 14, 2014December 14, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Close to My Heart, CTMH SOTM, Digital Art, Scrapbooking, Studio J Digital Scrapbooking4 Comments

Welcome back.

We are coming up to Christmas and lots of photos will be taken so this week I will be featuring the awesome Studio J from Close to My Heart. This is great software that is FREE to use and you just pay for the layouts and/or a JPEG file. You can use pre-designed layouts and just add journalling and photos or you can design your own layouts and add embellishments.

For those that have followed me for some time you will remember that I used to do a lot of digital scrapbooking with Creative Memories StoryBook. Now that is no longer being supported I have switched over to Studio J. Last month we had a very special deal where we could get a double layout for just $5 which normally costs $12 so it was a very special deal for us. New Zealand pays a lot more for their CTMH products but when we have the same deal as Australia, Canada and the United States we certainly win big time. I took the opportunity to have a play with some layouts and also get some photos printed.

First up I used a pre-designed layout using the Skylark papers from the last catalogue. My photos of the orchids went really well with the colours of Skylark and I really didn’t need to add a lot to this layout to detract from the photos.

Then I had some photos I had taken of my daughter a few years ago and had already scrapped them in her album but I wasn’t happy with what I had done so thought I would have another go with them online and I am very happy with the result except for a typo which I can look at fixing at a later date. I love that there are a lot of papers and colours from past CTMH releases to choose from and here I have gone for Olivia which went well with the photos – very earthy and ethereal.

As I said before you can also get your photos printed to then add later to layouts. You can get all sorts of sizes – 8″ x 6″s, 7″ x 5″s, 6″x 4″s, 4″ x 4″s, 3″ x 3″s , 2″ x 2″s and a number of other different combinations. Different size photos make for more interesting scrapbook layouts. Even at $12 a double 12″ x 12″ getting your photos printed this way is good value for money and so much easier sorting out the photos in the comfort of home. I bought a few of these layouts to cut out later and here is an example of one.

A couple of weeks ago for the SOTM blog hop I did a layout using the Brushed B&Ts and the Cutie Pie stamps and said that I had ordered the photos from Studio J.

Well here is the completed layout with the photos that I had printed. Doesn’t it make a big difference and I like the fact that I can get specific sizes printed and organise the layouts in advance. I have also done some journalling and will look at it for a while to see if I need to embellish it more.

I am sure you will enjoy using Studio J and to help you get started there are also videos on YouTube here that will help you get more out of the programme. Create an account here and then start playing…

Have a good week and happy crafting.

Patricia

CTMH Quick and Easy Masculine Cards

On December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Stamping6 Comments

Welcome to my new followers and I hope that I inspire you with my creative endeavours.

Today I am taking a break from Christmas ideas and thought I would show you some very quick and easy cards using the Seaside papers, the Seaside Greetings and the Treasure Friendship stamp set. I love the understated colours of the Seaside papers and the rustic maritime feel to the papers and how the stamp sets coordinate so perfectly with the papers.

My first card was extremely quick and easy to do. I just used a combination of the papers – the rustic stripe and the knot paper and then a strip of the blue spots,and then just added the square durable studs and a birthday greeting in Desert Sand ink. The knot paper looks like a rope when using a thin strip on each end of a strip of coordinating paper. How simple is that and I am sure any man would love to get this card!

My next card was another one based on my favourite pattern from Make if From Your Heart Volume 2 pattern 28. This time I have used the blue spotted paper and for the centre strip I have used the Glacier coloured Whimsy Paper Fundamentals paper – which is a shiny and stunning patterned paper and it coordinated well with the green Pear cardstock and the stripped paper strip with the Teal shimmer trim.

As I finished this card I put it aside and then glanced round to find the sun shining on the card and the Paper Fundamentals paper literally gleamed in the sun. I have tried to capture the effect but you really need to buy this paper to really get the full effect. Straight on the paper looks just like patterned paper, but here you can see the quatrefoil pattern really glow.

My final card I looked at doing a similar card to what I had done earlier in the year here, but this time stretching myself to use the Sorbet colour instead of the usual greens and blues. I stamped the shells with Sorbet and Desert Sand inks and fussy cut them out and placed them on the lovely marine paper background. Again I have used the same Paper Fundamentals paper for the top part and then placed the orange zip strip across. I stamped the sentiment in Sorbet ink on Colonial White cardstock and then matted with Glacier and Sorbet cardstock. I think the colours work really well together and it is good for me to challenge myself to work different colours and combinations.

I must admit Close to My Heart make it so easy to mix and match totally different colours with their Reflections range so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Colonial White, Pear, Glacier

Papers – Seaside B&Ts, Whimsy Paper Fundamentals

Inks – Sorbet, Desert Sand, Pear

Stamps – Treasure Friendship, Seaside Greetings

Square Durables Studs

Green and Blue Epoxy Bubbles

Teal shimmer trim

As you can see the list of ingredients is very small and all materials are available on my website here. The finished cards are available for sale at Gift Hutt.

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

Great Gift Ideas from CTMH

On December 1, 2014December 1, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Cricut, Paper Crafting7 Comments

Welcome back.

I have been really busy with making lots of cards, tags and general gift items to sell at Gift Hutt. I have been seeing a lot on Facebook where people have gone to YouTube for inspiration to make boxes and general gift basket type items and I thought I would have a look through the CTMH Cricut cartridges and see what I can come up with. The Artiste cartridge came up trumps with a purse box and I could also coordinate cards and envelopes to match the edging. I was able to get 5 little cards and envelopes to fit into each purse to make a fabulous Christmas or birthday gift.

The purse, envelopes and cards are all found on page 31 of the Artiste booklet. The purse was cut at 3.6″ and just fitted onto the 12 x 12 mat. I cut one out with Pixie and the other out with Cotton Candy cardstock. I then used Cricut Craftroom to size the envelopes and cards to match – unfortunately I cannot give exact measurements as it took a bit of manipulation to get the sizes to match. I now use CCR all the time as it is easier to use the layers to check the sizes and these came out perfect on the first cut.

For the Pixie purse I have then traced the shape of the areas I wanted covered with the diamond patterned paper from the Brushed Reflections range and then cut them out and glued them onto the purse with liquid glass and trimmed any excess with sharp scissors. I have added strips of pink and the new white shimmer trim onto the front and then placed the vellum flowers from the Brushed Complements onto a piece of scrap White Daisy cardstock and then fussy cut it out and glued it onto the front with liquid glass and topped the flowers off with silver sequins. For the flap I have used the diamond patterned paper and this time change it the other way and cut a small trim of 3/4″ and then placed a strip of the white shimmer trim over it and placed it on the flap and then trimmed the ends to match the flap. I have placed a flower from the Brushed Assortment pack on the front and used one of the small hook & loop dots available from CTMH to help hold the purse together. Finally I have cut a strip of matching cardstock size 6/8″ x 10 inches and glued the edges to the inside of the purse for a small strap handle.

The Cotton Candy purse has a strip of patterned paper – 1″ wide then trimmed with Cotton Candy cardstock 3/4″ wide and then finished off with a strip of white shimmer tape and then placed along the bottom of the purse on the front and two sides. I then used the A Budding Friendship stamp set and stamped 4 of the small flowers with Cotton Candy ink and overstamped the edges with the edge stamp in Black ink. These are great little stamps as they end up looking like a watercolour and ink image and there is no need to be really fussy with the outcome. I have done the same using the small leaf stamps in Pear ink. I then arranged three flowers over the trim and coordinated the leaves around the flowers. I have used liquid glass again as I have found that over time the glue tends to melt – particularly in my warm and sunny Gift Hutt. For the flap I happened to have a spare envelope that I tore as I was getting it off the mat and it fitted perfectly on the flap and I trimmed it down to fit the flap, and I have just used the white shimmer trim as a strip to tie in with the rest of the purse. I then glued another flower and set of leaves in the centre of the trim. To finish the flowers I have place silver sequins and pink glitter gems to add a little bling.

As I said the cards and envelopes came from the same page and I have used CCR to size them. I have kept the cards simple using the Brushed papers and the stamp from the Fabulous You stamp set and

The shapes for the sentiment have been cut out using the Art Philosophy cartridge and again I have used CCR to ensure that the White Daisy shape matches with the larger patterned paper shape as I have found that cutting two shapes only 1/4″ difference will not exactly match up on all sides. To coordinate with both purses I have again made the trims from patterned paper, coordinating cardstock and white shimmer trim – can you tell how much I love this new trim! This is now available from the new Seasonal Inspirations catalague just out today.

The envelopes were very easy to assemble and I have just added a small amount of double sided tape to use when giving the card to someone.

Both these purses will be available for purchase at Gift Hutt for $15 each.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Pixie, Cotton Candy, White Daisy

Paper – Brushed B&Ts

Brushed Assortments

Brushed Complements

Stamps – Fabulous You, A Budding Friendship

Inks – Cotton Candy, Black

White Shimmer trim

Cricut Cartridges – Artiste, Art Philosophy

Happy Crafting

Patricia

CTMH Australasian SOTM Blog Hop – Cutie Pie

On December 1, 2014December 1, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Crafts, CTMH SOTM, Scrapbooking18 Comments

Hello and welcome aboard our Stamp of the month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Doris Taylor Creative Inspirations, 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 a scrapbook layout and of course some cards which features the December SOTM Cutie Pie which is available exclusively throughout December for $33 or for just $5 when you spend $75.

I was really looking forward to getting this stamp set as I had the perfect photos to do a scrapbook layout with them. I have some photos from when my family went to the Sweet Pea cafe for a High Tea and was waiting for the opportunity for scrap them. I have ordered my photos from Studio J while they were on special last month at just $5 per layout. I was able to order a mix of sizes and then sorted out my layout to match the photo sizes. Studio J doesn’t just do scrapbook layouts – you can also do photos and you can get them in lots of different sizes from 2 x 2, 3 x 3, 3 x 4, 4 x 4, 6 x 4 , 5 x 7 and larger photos in a 12 x 12 page and just cut them up when you get them for your layouts.

For this layout I have used the pattern 10 from the Make it From Your Heart Volume 2. I love the How To books from CTMH as they make it so easy to get stunning layouts without too much effort. After all why invent the wheel again.

I have used the Brushed paper pack and I am getting low on supplies now so had to do a little juggling but I am happy with the finish. I have gone with Juniper and Pear accents to cut down on the pinkiness of the overall layout.

The cute cupcakes screamed paper piecing so I have stamped the base image on Cotton Candy cardstock and then again on the yellow flowers on the large flower patterned paper and just cut out the cupcake wrapper and then stamped again on the pink diamond paper and cut just the frosting out and then adhered the shapes on the base cardstock. These images were really easy to fussy cut out and because of the double layers I did not need to use foam tape to add dimension. I have topped the cupcakes with a clear sparkle coloured in with Carmine Shinhan Touch Twin markers to coordinate and add a touch of bling to the overall layout.

On the other side I have stamped the lace doily image from the Sweet and Lovely Artbooking Cricut Bundle, which worked in really well with the cupcakes and overall theme, with versamark ink onto a precut shape from the Artbooking cartridge in Cotton Candy cardstock and embossed in white embossing powder. I love the effect of the lace doily and it just fitted well with the overall theme of High Tea. The ‘sweet’ stamp has come from the same stamp set and I have stamped three images in Juniper, Canary and Cotton Candy inks and then fussy cut them out.

I will probably tweak this a little once I get my photos and may add some of the new Pixie Extra Thick twine that has just been released with the new Seasonals Catalogue out today.

After finishing the layout I had to make a card using the same lace doily and this time I have cut it in half to create the effect of a lace tablecoth and then paper pieced another cupcake and the cake plate to add onto it. I have used the Damask embossing folder to create a textured table cloth and paired the table cloth with the pink diamond paper. I have used the zip strip as a border and placed a piece of the beautiful new white shimmer trim for some extra bling. Again I have topped the cupcake with a coloured sparkle. I love this little sentiment which is guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone.

For this card I have used my favourite pattern from the MIFYH Volume 2 pattern 28 and this time I have trimmed the yellow flower paper with Cotton Candy cardstock and some more white shimmer trim and then used my scallop edge punch on the green trim to place at the top. It now looks like curtains in a wind0w (my imagination is working overtime).

Finally I have used the same pattern and turned the card into a portrait card (I know the measurements off by heart now!). This paper is gorgeous and goes from yellow to a deep pink with a bubble effect. This time the trim has been made using Canary and Cotton Candy cardstock with the white shimmer trim. The cake dish has been stamped directly onto the White Daisy cardstock and the cupcake has been paper pieced with the pink diamond paper. I have popped this cupcake with the new thinner foam tape which is lovely as it is a more subtle dimension. I have just realised that I need to put a pink sparkle on the top and will do that tomorrow. I love putting the sequins on to lift the card a little with some bling.

Cutie Pie is only available until the 31st December from your CTMH consultant here. I’d love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Anne’s Blog, Mummy you made this?

Materials Used:

Cardstock – White Daisy, Juniper, Canary, Cotton Candy, Pear

Paper – Brushed B&T Duos

Stamps – Cutie Pie, Sweet & Lovely Cricut Bundle Artbooking

Inks – Black, Juniper, Cotton Candy, Canary, Versamark

White Shimmer Trim

Cricut Cartridge – Artbooking, Art Philosophy

Embossing Folder – Damask

Scallop edge punch

White Embossing powder

Clear Sparkles

Silver Sequins assortment

Shinhan Touch Twin marker – carmine

Have a good week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

More Christmas ideas from CTMH

On November 23, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Christmas, Close to My Heart6 Comments

Welcome again

Wow it is not very long now until Christmas although my North American friends have Thanksgiving coming up shortly. I am still working on Christmas ideas and I absolutely love the Yuletide Carol papers with the Victorian feel to the papers and they are so versatile for lots of different projects.

Today I will feature three different ideas for using these gorgeous papers.

First up are three cards that I have made using patterns from Make it From Your Heart Volume 2 and inspiration from the Annual Inspirations book. I have also used wet embossing to create the shiny effect on these cards. I have been making cards for 20 years now and the first technique I learnt was wet embossing and I was so thrilled to see CTMH bring back embossing powders and I have finally had the chance to use the powders that I have bought.

For this card I have embossed the baubles from the Holiday Cheer stamp set with gold powder on Ruby cardstock and then fussy cut them out. This card is similar to one that I did earlier on and I changed it a little to make it easier to cut up for classes. The bow has been cut out of the Artiste cartridge and finished with a bling gold gem.

This card has been inspired from the Annual Inspirations Book and using the pattern from MIFYH book Volume 2 pattern 28. This is such a simple card design but is so versatile and here I have used two different papers and also Ruby cardstock for the panels. I have stamped the Noel from the Noel stamp set and the sentiment is also from the same stamp set. I love the Curlicue stamp set from the Artfully Sent cartridge and now have a supply ready to go. The frame has also been embossed with gold embossing powder. The holly wreath is from the Noel stamp set and I have stamped it on scrap Colonial White cardstock and fussy cut it out to place at the top and coloured in the ribbon with the Shinhan Touch Twin Carmine marker.

This card has also been inspired by the Annual Inspirations book and the MIFYH book Volume 2 pattern 23. Very quick and easy to do but a stunning card just topped off with gold sequins.

I then made some tags using different tag shapes from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge and using the Yuletide Carol papers decorated them to make little packs for sale.

I have used a number of different stamp sets – Seasons Tweetings, Yuletide Carol WOTG and Sweet Salutations.

Finally I have decorated some Kraft bags with the Yuletide Carol papers and Cricut cuts from the Art Philosophy and Artbooking cartridges. I bought the Kraft bags from my local $2 shop and I am pleased how they have turned out. It is always good to stretch myself out of my comfort zone of cards and scrapbooking. And they did not take very long to make!

For this bag I have cut the deer out of the Artbooking cartridge and put the washing tape directly onto the bag for a softer look. The bauble is from the Home for the Holidays SOTM set from October. The ‘T0 and From’ for the gift tag is from the Holiday Tags stamp set . I think this stamp set is one of my favourites because it is so versatile for lots of different projects.

This particular paper is my favourite paper – it is so whimsical and on the back is the most beautiful roses and it is hard to decide what side to choose. This time I have put the washi tape onto the same colour cardstock to create a stronger colour. I have used Ruby chevron ribbon (free from last months Ribbon special) and Slate chevron ribbon.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Ruby, New England Ivy, Cocoa, Colonial White, Cashmere

Paper – Yuletide Carol

Stamps – Home for the Holidays (NLA), Holiday Tags, Just to Say… Cricut Collection, Yuletide Carol WOTG, Curlicue Frames Cricut Collection, Seasons Tweetings, Sweet Salutations, Noel

Inks – Ruby, Versamark, New England Ivy

Cricut Cartridges – Artiste, Art Philosophy, Artfully Sent and Artbooking

Embossing powder – gold

Washi tape – Ruby chevron, Topiary mini chevron

Ribbon – Ruby chevron, Slate chevron

Shinhan Touch Twin marker – Carmine

Gold sequins

Gold shimmer trim

Bling Gems Gold Assortments

Most of these products will be available for sale at Gift Hutt. I also have some kits available for sale for the cards. Please feel free to contact me through this blog – they can be pre stamped and just ready to put together if you would prefer.

As usual all these products (except for the Kraft bags) are available from my website here.

Happy crafting

Patricia

Close to My Heart Artfully Sent Christmas Card

On November 17, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Christmas Cards, Close to My Heart, Cricut, Stamping6 Comments

Welcome back

I have been very busy doing more Christmas cards and lots of other goodies for Gift Hutt. Today I would like to show you a card made using the new Artfully Sent Cricut cartridge. I have been having problems using Cricut Craftroom so had not been able to do much for a couple of weeks, but finally yesterday I was able to cut again. I am still getting used to the new cartridge and I have seen some amazing pieces of artwork on various Facebook groups I belong to.

For this card I have cut out the scene card on page 47 of the booklet at 7″ out of Glacier cardstock. I then cut out a piece of White Daisy cardstock at 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ to use for the scene. This is the first time I have sponged a background and it is not perfect but still gives an idea of creating the scene. There are a number of different videos on YouTube if you would like instructions on how to do this. To create the snow hills I have used scrap cardstock shaped to create the hills and I have used a combination of Glacier and Indian Corn Blue inks for the snow and added some Outdoor Denim for extra depth around the moon. To make the moon I cut out a circle from a post it not at 1 1/2″ and used that to sponge the colours around to create the moon. I softened the moon by sponging lightly over with Glacier ink. I then stamped the Santa Claus from the Santa Claus Holiday stamp set with Slate ink to create the depth of the image.

The trees were cut out of New England Ivy cardstock using the Artbooking Cricut cartidge. I wrinkled the trees a little to create some dimension and then I used some white liquid applique on the trees for a snow effect (available on special while stocks last). The deer and cute little bird has been cut from the Artfully Sent cartridge in Chocolate cardstock and I ripped a piece of green paper from the Yuletide Carol paper pack for the effect of grass in the foreground and the ripped edge has come up looking like snow. (Unfortuanately, CTMH do not provide glitter for sale as some prisma glitter over the applique would have just finished the project of so well – extra sparkle would have been good.)

Here is a close up view of the scene I have created:

I stamped the sentiment from the Holiday Cheer stamp set using Glacier ink on White Daisy cardstock and matted it with New England Ivy cardstock and placed it on the front. I then placed white enamel stars for a snow effect on the front.

My technique could do with some practice but I am still happy at how the card has turned out for my first effort. And the good news is that CTMH provide 5″ x 7″ envelopes to match so this card will be for sale at Gift Hutt and would make a very special card to give someone.

Materials used:

Cardstock – White Daisy, Glacier, New England Ivy, Chocolate,

Paper – Yuletide Carol

Inks – Glacier, Slate, Indian Corn Blue, Outdoor Denim

Cricut Cartridges – Artfully Sent, Artbooking

Stamps – Holiday Cheer, Santa Claus Holiday

White enamel stars

I have some more Christmas ideas coming up and will post them over the next week.

Have a great week and Happy Crafting

Patricia

Sustainable Christmas Tree with CTMH

On November 10, 2014November 10, 2014 By patriciamanhireIn Christmas, Close to My Heart, Crafts7 Comments

Welcome

I have just had a very productive morning this morning crafting with my aunt. She had seen this idea on Pinterest of using corks from wine bottles and making a Christmas tree and we finally got around to making them up.

We made two trees – the first one I decorated with the stickers from the Cut Above Holiday Treat Bag kit. These packs are great for treat bags and they come with lots of stickers to decorate.

When my aunt was working at a rest home she collected the used wine bottle corks and today we got together to make up the trees. She had bought a small oval box from the local $2 shop and filled it with sand. She then covered it with some gold coloured textured wallpaper to create the base of the tree. This came up really well and looks just like a log of wood. Then we got the hot glue gun out and glued the corks together. We first glued the six bottom corks together and then worked our way up to the single cork at the top. The corks were different sizes and shapes which makes for an interesting tree shape. I made the mistake of putting the stickers on first but I should have left them to after the tree was completed and then I could have coordinated them better and also they would have been straighter as well. Never mind it still came up well. My aunt had the star and we cut a groove at the top and glued the star in place.

It didn’t take very long at all and we were very pleased with the result.

And here is the second tree my aunt made using different brads. As you can see it is quite effective.

I hope that I have inspired you to create something different and out of the box.

Happy Crafting.

Patricia

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Patricia's Creative Corner

Tag: Close to My Heart

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