February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

 

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

 

We are featuring February's Stamp of the Month - called A Happy Hello...it is jammed packed with 15 individual stamp images.  If you have come here from Tracey Pierce's blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here with me and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog - simply click here.

This month we have 68  Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring the Stamp of the Month combined with lots of other wonderful Close To My Heart products. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work everyone has to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

 

I'm a huge fan of the Stamp of the Month concept and the stamp sets on offer...  not only can you purchase them at a discount price but they are some of the most versatile sets you will find in the Close To My Heart range and this set is no exception.

 

 As you travel through this blog hop you will certainly discover that this set is a "must have" for exactly that reason! To highlight this, I have created 2 cards one with a contemporary feel and the other a little on the shabby chic side.

 

 

For my first card I created a "splattered" background onto some White Daisy Cardstock with Cotton Candy , Sunset and Hollyhock inks and built the card design from there. The floral images from the stamp set were also stamped in this ink combination and then fussy cut with some slight alteration to the original image shape. The centre of each floral image was then embellished with Black Epoxy Bubbles. The geometric border was created using the Triangle Border Punch.

 

The Shabby Chic style card was created combining the Stamp of the Month - A Happy Hello with the Amour Stamp Set that can be found in the Seasonal Expressions idea book/catalogue. Using my beloved Deluxe Trimmer !!!...  I created a tag shape and used it as a base to build my stamped images onto. The leaves were all stamped in Juniper Ink and the floral shapes in Cotton Candy Ink and then cut with another of my all time favourite tools - Micro-Tip Scissors... and pieced together and adhered to the tag/card using Bonding Memories Glue Pen.

 

Thanks for visiting my blog and taking a "peek" at my card projects..... and if you haven't already been there?? -  now is the time to "Hop" on over to Angela White's  blog and see the art work she has created for you... don't forget to visit all the other Consultants at their blogs to view some great crafting inspiration and fun ideas! Remember, the Stamp of the Month is only available until the end of February!  Contact your Close To My Heart Consultant (or click here) to see how you can purchase this stamp set and receive a discount!....order now and create your own floral masterpieces.

Friday Friend Feature #14

Today's Friday Friend Feature is showcasing 3 very similar, yet different cards from the very talented Alicia. Alicia has broken away from the traditional themed Valentines cards that depict hearts and roses... and come up with something fun and quirky using the "Love Ya Silly" stamp set found in the Seasonal Expressions idea book/catalogue.

Aren't they just the cutest??!! The colour palette of Thistle, Lagoon and Pear looks so fresh and funky - the spotted paper comes from a combination of Close To My Heart paper packs - Confetti Wishes, Wanderful and Brushed... and Alicia has added a touch of sparkle to her cards with some Teal Shimmer Trim and sweet little accents from the Junebug Puffies pack.

If you would like create your own version of these cards simply follow the sketch below - Alicia and I would love to see what you come up with and you are welcome to post your finished cards to my Facebook Page.

Hope you have had a happy Friday and get the opportunity for some paper play this weekend!

G'day - It's Australia Day

In celebration of Australia Day I thought I would whip up a quick card to showcase a couple of the exclusive Aussie Themed stamps in the Close To My Heart range.

The Cute Koalas and Australian Thanks are two of my favourites and the perfect stamp sets to give your cards a "true blue" Aussie feel. I combined them with a computer generated sentiment ( font = Hooteroll) to create this Australia Day card.

To further add to the celebration - today only - anyone who places an order of $50 or more in my Online Shop will go in the draw to win the Cute Koalas stamp set for free!

This is another card I created some time ago with this set... to find out all the details simply click here!

However, for the "G'day" card... I paper pieced the sweet little Koala using Whisper Cardstock and a red patterned  B&T Duo paper - both found in the Heartstrings Paper Pack. When paper piecing small intricate images I find my Close To My Heart Tweezers to be my best friend... they have such a fine point that is makes it easy to pick up even the tiniest piece of paper or accent.

The Aussie Flag toothpicks where purchased to decorate some lamingtons for afternoon tea today but I thought they make perfect embellishments for Aussie themed cards too! I used some 3D Foam Tape to adhere both the Koala image and Flag to the card.

So yes, today we are celebrating Australia Day in our own backyard with lamingtons, some "snags on the barbie" and a lazy day by the pool soaking up the sunshine... how ever you decide to celebrate...  I hope you have a great day!

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge # 91

I am very excited to announce that I have joined the lovely ladies over at the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge Blog...  and I be will creating projects based on some of the fun sketches they post for you.

This is the current sketch:

I am a great fan of sketches, they are the perfect foundation from which to build your art work creations. However, for this week's challenge I decided not to stray too far from the original design and created a card with the same basic fundamentals.

The border of circles was formed by using a combination of different sized circles and spotted paper found in the following Close To My Heart paper packs - Brushed, Snowhaven and Wanderful. The little daisies in the centre of each circle is a stamp from the Hopping By Stamp Set - as the name suggests, this is an Easter themed stamp set but I love the little Spring additions of flowers and sweet butterfly...it makes this set so much more versatile. The sentiment comes from one of Close To My Heart's Hostess Reward sets called "A Variety of Thanks".

This is a real deviation from my usual card making style but I rather love it's crisp clean look. Although, I will say...  I was very tempted to add some faux stitching to the white areas with a black marker!! - He He!!

Don't forget to pop on over to the Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge and take a peek at all the inspiration the Design Team as for you - play along with us and post your creations based on this sketch too... it is a lot of fun!

 

Home is where the ART is...

Inspired by a post from Close To My Heart's Make It From Your Heart blog highlighting "She Art" and the sweet little 6 x 6 Display Canvas I decided to try some mixed media crafting myself. It is so much fun combining stamps, papers and ink in a non-traditional way...  that it is very easy to get addicted. Today, I am going to showcase one of the projects I have made...  and be prepared to find more mixed media blog posts from me in the future!!

To create my Home Décor project I simply cut a 6 x 6 square of paper to use as a base and built my design from there. My square was cut from the newsprint style paper from the Heartstrings Paper Pack. I used a combination of 4 different paper packs to create my scene - Hopscotch, Brushed, Snowhaven and Heartstrings. Most of the paper piecing was created using some of the new stamp sets featured in the Seasonal Expressions Idea Book/Catalogue. However, the house was cut from shapes using my Paper Trimmer and Scallop Border Punch. I didn't use a pattern of any kind I just cut the basic outline of a house...  along with roof, door and windows until I had a design I was happy with.Creating the clouds was one of my favourite parts of this project. I LOVE to get inky! Using the stamp set Rain or Shine and the base & shade stamping technique I was able to create clouds with texture. I stamped the base shape stamp in Crystal Blue Ink then the outline shaped stamp over the top in Black Ink . Next I dabbed some small dots of White Daisy Pigment Ink into the centre of the cloud shape... as this ink is more dense in consistency it gave the clouds a "fluffier" appearance.

To give the design a touch more of a whimsical look, I added faux stitching and doodling with a fine tip journaling pen (.5mm)... I used the  Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ . The quote was computer generated and printed on White Daisy Cardstock. I took the quote from page 163 of the Annual Inspirations Idea Book/Catalogue - I thought it was just perfect for my little house creation! You will find the My Creations 6 x 6 Canvas Display featured on this page too!

Everything was adhered to the base with Bonding Memories Glue Pen and I used the larger Bonding Memories Glue to add this base to the canvas rather than Mod Podge^®
To seal my design I sprayed some Matte Finish Lacquer ( the type Folk Artists use ) over the entire finished piece.

I have also given you a "sneak peek" of February's Stamp of the Month called "A Happy Hello" ... I used it to stamp the leaves. This stamp set would be ideal for creating mixed media gardens - take a look at the complete set at my online shop. I suggest getting your wishlist together now so you can purchase this set at the discount price of $5 once the calendar ticks over to the 1st Feb!!

Projects such as this canvas, are a great way to use your leftover scraps of paper and let your creativity flow... give it a try I am sure you will LOVE the results!

 

Friday Friend Feature #13

Welcome to the first "Friday Friend Feature" of 2015! Today I wanted to share some cards made by the consultants in my team of Crafty Chicks. The cards we are featuring use some of the girls favourite Close To My Heart products.

Michelle's card showcases the gorgeous Heartstrings Paper Pack and Happy To Be Friends stamp set...  both are new products featured in the Seasonal Expressions Idea Book/Catalogue. Don't you just love the 3D flower Michelle as created using shapes from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge ? - it is certainly the star of this card!

Alicia has been busy creating cards with one of her favourite stamp sets called Your Own Kind Of Wonderful and once again, shows how versatile and co-ordinating the Close To My Heart paper range is. Alicia has combined the Yuletide, Snowhaven and the Fundamental Whimsy Assortment paper packs into her card projects. She has used Slate Ink to stamp her images and some Gold Bling Gems to embellish her designs.

Veronica has been busy creating too and I love the cards she has made with some of the latest Close To My Heart product releases. How clever is the card with all the little dry embossed squares? The 6 embossing folders used are all exclusive to Close To My Heart - Arrow, Chevron, Scallop, Floral, Damask and Diamond... but you can view the full range here. The Thistle Diagonal Striped Ribbon adds a nice touch of colour and finishing element to this very elegant card. Veronica's second card was created using the stamp set included in the Artiste Cricut Collection and papers from the National Papercrafting Month special release called Year >> Noted - click here to find out how to add these papers to your crafting collection... but you have to be quick !!!... the Year >> Noted pack (includes papers, C-size stamp set and gold foil stickers) & is only available until the 31st January.

 

I hope you have enjoyed and been inspired by this art work, created by some of the consultants in my team... be sure to leave them an encouraging message in the comments section below. If you would like to know more about becoming a Close To My Heart Consultant in my team and join all our crafty fun - simply click here or contact me a lotfam@iinet.net.au.

 

Hope you have a great weekend of paper play!

National Papercrafting Month - Blog Hop

Welcome to our National Papercrafting Month Blog Hop!
 

We are featuring the exclusive collection of Close To My Heart products released for National Papercrafting Month - bundled into a pack called  Year >> Noted...it includes 6 sheets of paper/cardstock, a sheet of gold foil stickers and a stamp set.  If you have come here from  Pam Trostle's  blog... you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here... with me and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog - simply click here.

We have over 20 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring this awesome and value packed Year >> Noted Collection combined with lots of other wonderful Close To My Heart products. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work everyone has to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

This pack has been designed to co-ordinate with the My Creations Kraft Mini Album to help you create a little time capsule booklet - where you can record your experiences, goals and achievements. However, if this is not your thing, don't despair... this is a fabulous pack for any scrapbooker or cardmaker!

I teamed the collection with one of my favourite stamp sets - Lovely Birthday and some Kraft Cardstock along with a new sketch to create this trio of cards.

I really love the pastel colour palette of the papers ...it makes very pretty cards. I used the 1/2 circle shaped stamps in the Year >> Noted Stamp Set to create the scallop edge and the arrow images to embellish this card using Desert Sand Ink. It was trimmed with a thin sliver of Gold Shimmer Trim and finished off with some Gold Sequins and Aqua Dots in the centre of the flowers.

I used the sketch again to create this variation of the same card just substituting the paper patterns and using the gold foil stickers from the Year >> Noted Paper Pack instead of the stamp set. Gold Foil is very trendy in the papercraft world at the present moment and there are almost 100 individual gold foil stickers in this pack - while that in itself is amazing!!....you can even stamp on these stickers - how cool is that?

 

This next photo/card really illustrates the glistening sheen that gold foil can give to your projects. I even cut a small portion of the sticker carrier sheet into a thin strip to add a little extra shine.

 

Thank you for visiting my blog and taking a "peek" at my card projects.....and if you haven't been there?? - now is the time to "Hop" on over to Vicki Price's  blog and see the art work she has created for you... don't forget to visit all the other Consultants at their blogs too and view some great crafting inspiration & more fun ideas! Remember, the Year >> Noted Paper Pack is only available until the 31st of January!  Contact your Close To My Heart Consultant (or click here ) to find out how you can add this pack to your crafting collection.