Tag: New Zealand

a kiwi thinking of you

On By patriciamanhireIn Patricia's Creations10 Comments

Kia Ora Koutou

Welcome back and today I am sharing a large 6″ x 12 card I have just completed for a work mate of my husband who has been unwell. The brief included having a Maori theme and had to be big enough for all the staff to sign. My husband was very impressed with what I made!

I downloaded a koru image from Shutterstock and then converted the jpeg to an svg and then used my Cricut to cut it out. Because this was a masculine card I kept to a blue, green and black colour combination and the blue and green flowers are not too feminine. To finish with the New Zealand theme I added some polished paua.

I found this a challenge as it was totally outside my comfort zone but I am so pleased I managed to make this card. I hope my husband’s workmates like this card.

Happy crafting

Ka Kite Anu

Patricia

Close to My Heart New Zealand

On By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart9 Comments

Welcome back

I am so impressed with Close to My Heart designing stamp sets for Australia and New Zealand and have had this New Zealand set sitting around for a while waiting for a time to make some cards with them.  These stamps encapsulate the essence of New Zealand with lovely detailed images of a sheep, Kiwi and mountain ranges.  The sentiments are great as well.  I have teamed them with the lovely Timberline papers that evoke the colonial past of New Zealand.  And I have used my Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge to cut out some tags to do something different from what I normally do.  I normally use Desert Sand to distress but today I decided to try Cashmere and I was really pleased with the end result as that colour worked in really well with the Timberline range of papers.

CTMH NZ stamps

For this card I have  distressed the edges the tag  with Cashmere ink.  The image has been stamped with Black ink and coloured in with Sweet Leaf, Sky and Buttercup alcohol markers.  This tag has been matted onto some New England Ivy cardstock that brings out the image really well.  I have cut some scrap pieces of tartan paper and dovetailed them using scissors from the Timberline paper pack to create the ribbons for the tag.  The sentiment is inked with black and the card has been finished with some green epoxy bubbles.

DSCF1116

This card was very quick to make.  I have cut the blue paper and woodgrain papers from the Timberline paper pack and distressed the edges with Cashmere ink.  I have used the zip strip to thread through the tag and attach to the card.  The tag has been distressed with Cashmere ink and the Kiwi and the sentiment was stamped in Chocolate ink and then some sparkles from the Black and Tan sparkles assortment finished off the tags.

DSCF1117

This card has been created using the pattern from the Made it From the Heart Volume 2 book page 46.  This is such an easy pattern to use for all occasions.  I have added some Lagoon cardstock behind the very masculine looking papers to add a pop of colour.  The zip strip has been matted with Lagoon and Chocolate cardstock which picks up the colours in the strip.  I have again used Cashmere to distress the tag and the kiwi and sentiment has been stamped in Chocolate ink.  To finish off I have used a Slate twist tie and some tan epoxy bubbles.

DSCF1118

Finally for this card I have used Cashmere cardstock and after cutting to size I have embossed it with the Quatrefoil embossing folder and distressed the edge with Cashmere ink.  The blue paper from the Timberline paper packet has been trimmed to size and then distressed with Cashmere ink.  I then cut a thin strip of Slate cardstock and using Slate ink I have stamped tone on tone using the arrow stamps from the Catch You Later set to echo the zip strip I later added.  I have stamped the sheep and sentiment with Slate ink on the tag and then distressed the tag with Cashmere ink.  I have attached the card using grey Bakers Twine and finished off by using some scraps of zip strip ad paper to create some banners to place at the top of the card.

Materials used:

Cardstock – Colonial White, Cashmere, Slate, New England Ivy, Chocolate, Lagoon

Papers -Timberline paper packet

Inks – Slate, Cashmere, Black, Chocolate

Green and Blue epoxy bubbles

Sparkles Black and Tan Assortment

Grey Bakers Twine

Stamps -New Zealand Greetings D1601, Catch You Later D1580

Embossing folder – Quatrefoil

Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge

Slate twist ties

Alcohol markers – Sweet Leaf, Sky, Buttercup

For further information please check out my website here or feel free to contact me.

I hope you all have a good week and I will catch up with you next week.

Happy Crafting

Patricia

Make Shift is all Go

On By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Crafts8 Comments

Hi everyone

I am so excited to announce, after several months of hard work, we have finally managed to get a lease signed on a shop in Lower Hutt and Make Shift is now a real shop!.  We open the beginning of next month and we are in a great location with a wonderful shop layout with two workshop areas in the back.  I would like to thank my fellow Collective who helped to make this happen through lots of trials and tribulations.  They have been amazing and deserve to make a success of this venture.   So if you happen to be in Lower Hutt, Wellington make sure that you come and visit us.  The address is 8 Margaret Street, opposite Queensgate Shopping Complex.  We would love to see you there so please spread the word as we would really love to make this a success and a place for local people to sell their handcrafted creations.

I am also excited about getting my Consultants kit from Close to My Heart and my first order.   I am like a kid in a lolly store with so much to choose from lol.  And the papers (especially the Chantilly papers) are so lovely I didn’t want to cut them up to make cards.  But I did manage to steel myself to make the first cut and here is one of the first cards that I have made with my new products.
Chantilly card

Materials used are from CTMH (of course):

Chantilly paper

Chantilly Complements

Pink Glitter Gems

Sparkles Clear Flourish – small

Sentiment from the You are My Happy stamp set

Inks – Desert Sand for distressing and Cotton Candy for the sentiment

Cardstock – Bamboo

The You be Happy stamp set is an exclusive stamp set that is only available for this month and it is great value for only $15 when you spend $75.  This set has a retail value of $77 so it is great value and a good stamp set to get started.

I will be busy making more cards for Make Shift and will look at doing some workshops there for those who are interested in learning how to use these great products to make some amazing cards.  I am planning to do a chocolate themed workshop which should be a lot of fun.  I will keep you posted.

In the meantime I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Happy Crafting.

Patricia

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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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

 

More Sad news

On By patriciamanhireIn Creative Memories, PhotographyLeave a comment

Welcome back.

Raindrops on Bower Vine

I was really sad to hear today that Creative Memories in America will be closing down at the end of the month.  My thoughts go out to all the Creative Memories Consultants as I know what they are going through, as we have been through it all down under just a very short time ago.  We are fortunate that we have been given a lifeline by Close to My Heart.  I hope all the Consultants find another door opening for them like it has for us here.

My thoughts also go to the families of the firefighters lost in the wildfires in Arizona, USA, as well.  It is tragic when men, in the prime of their lives, fighting the ferocity of nature lose their lives protecting others.

Patricia

 

Join the Make Shift Journey

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Cardmaking, Crafts8 Comments

Hello there.

I am so excited about sharing this new venture with you.  I am part of a Collective of talented and dare I say it crazy craft people who will be opening a pop up shop in the Lower Hutt CBD.  This is part of a Hutt City Council initiative to revitalise the CBD and they have been fantastic in their support with this venture – Thanks Cyndi Christensen.

Please check out our Facebook page and like us to follow our journey to opening the shop and beyond.

https://www.facebook.com/MakeShiftShop/posts/345234165604842?notif_t=like

There will be a wide range of products for sale and we are starting to advertise on Facebook for craftspeople to sell their products through the shop.  The interest so far on our Facebook page has been phenomenal.  We are still working through the Terms and Conditions and the application form but they are not far away and will be posted on our Facebook  page.

I am still really busy making cards for Make Shift and have really struggled to make cards for young children.  There are not a lot of cute and funky stamps for children so I popped down to the local $2 shop and bought some stickers that I thought were suitable.  I have also used bright primary colours together for a striking effect.  I am particularly pleased with how the circus cards turned out.

Here they are:

Child's birthday card Child's birthday card Child's birthday card Child's birthday card Child's birthday card Child's birthday card Child's bithday card Handcrafted card Handcrafted card Handcrafted card Handcrafted card

 

I have used a range of products here:

Cardstock -some Bazzill and some Stampin‘Up and some I had in my scrap drawer.

Stampin’Up stamps and inks

Hastings Rubber Stamp greeting

Creative Memories Shape Maker System – jigsaw

Creative Memories Custom Cutting System – circles

Creative Memories Rotary Trimmer

Creative Memories Tape Runner (this is only while my stocks last)

Circus and car stickers.

Thank you for visiting and come back often as I will keep you posted on our progress with Make Shift.

Have a great day and Keep Crafting

Patricia

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Photo of the Day – Paris Daisy

On By patriciamanhireIn Art, Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Creative Memories, Photography, ScrapbookingLeave a comment

My photo of the day. These Paris Daisies are amazing. They have self seeded in my garden and have given such great colour and lots of inspiration for my photography.
I will also take the opportunity to update what is happening with Creative Memories and Close to My Heart as I have noticed that people are searching for answers about CM products in NZ. Brian O’Callaghan was on Facebook on Friday night (he was the MD of CM and is involved with setting up CTMH in Australasia) and stated that they are looking into trying to continue with getting the pages and protectors here, but there are no promises that they are able to procure them for our market.  There are issues with patents and copyrights with CM USA.  There are lots of products on Trade Me, but do be very careful as there are some price gougers out there asking for $150 or more for one set of pages and protectors.

I have no more information as yet regarding the launch of CTMH in New Zealand.  I am hoping to know more later in the week and will keep you posted here.  Their range of products look exciting and I can’t wait to see what is released Down Under.  I am particularly excited that there is lots of card making products.  I am busy making lots of cards for our shop and it will be great having a new range of products to play with.  So it is still a matter of watching this space…

I hope you are all having a safe and happy weekend.

Patricia

Wow – Great News

On By patriciamanhireIn Cardmaking, Close to My Heart, Crafts, Creative Memories, Digital Art, Photography, Scrapbooking2 Comments

Hello there

I have just received news that Creative Memories Australia and New Zealand has been bought out by Close to My Heart to  start their Australasian business.  I wasn’t really sure about Plan B, but I have had a look at the catalogue from America and it is amazing.  I love the fact that there is plenty of scope for my stamping and card making as well as for scrapbooking.  There is a lot more decorative products, plus there is also digital products as well.  It is also in a good financial position as well, which is very critical after what we have been through over the last few weeks. I still have a lot of questions about the structure and set up but I will now definitely be looking at this very closely.

So watch this space…

Happy Crafting

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