Happy Easter

Hopping by today to wish you a very Happy Easter and to share one of the paper pieced cards I have been making to accompany my Easter gifts.

Paper piecing is a great technique for using up all your small paper scraps and the large Easter Egg image in the Hopping By stamp set is perfect for doing just that!

I used 3 different paper packs to piece together my multi-coloured egg - Brushed, Blossom and Hopscotch and they all worked so beautifully together. I loved the stitching featured in the image design and decided to continue this throughout the card by adding faux stitching around the white mats using the black Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen. The card was then finished off with some scallop edging, created with the Scallop Border Punch , a touch of glitter using paper from the Teal Glitter Paper Pack and some coloured sequins...a mix from both the "new" Oceanside and Coral Reef packs.

The little vase of tulips in the background of my photo was inspired by this art work image from the new Seasonal Expressions #2 idea book/catalogue ( released yesterday!!)

 

 

I love up-cycling old jars and bottles and using the Glacier Extra Thick Twine to do this is just so so clever!!! I knew the minute I saw this idea I would see lots of twine creations coming out of my craft room. If you want to try this yourself ?? - don't forget Close To My Heart now have 4 colours of extra thick twine to choose from - Flaxen, Thistle, Pixie and of course Glacier - they are all available from my Online Shop.

 

 

Creating these little home-décor masterpieces is very easy, all you need to do is apply a thin layer of Liquid Glass to the surface of the jar/bottle and carefully wind the twine all the way around the outside until it is covered - don't you love how simple that is??!

 

I hope you have a lovely weekend and the Easter Bunny brings you something "eggs-tra" special

 

Seasonal Expressions #1 - Blog Hop

Welcome to our Seasonal Expressions #1 Blog Hop! 

 

This blog hop is featuring  products in Close To My Heart's "inaugural & brand spanking new"  Seasonal Expressions Idea Book/Catalogue - whatever season you are experiencing in your life - birthdays, weddings, anniversaries...you are in the right place to find the perfect artistic tool for preserving and celebrating your memories. The Seasonal Expressions products debuted on the 1st Dec and are available right through until the 31st March 2015.

If you have come here from Lauren Moore'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 almost 40 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations featuring these new products combined with other wonderful Close To My Heart products on their blogs. Be sure to check out all the fabulous art work they have to share - just click on the link at the end of this post to begin the journey!

 

The Seasonal Expressions is jammed pack with so many adorable goodies that I found it difficult to decide which one to feature today. However, being a huge fan of the Picture My Life™ collections I decided to show you just how great and versatile these collections are. The new Picture My Life™ Heartstrings Program is a condensed version of the previous collections containing 20 – 4" × 6" Cards (2 each of 10 designs) and 36 – 3" × 4" Cards (2 each of 18 designs). While the cards are designed for pocket style scrapbooking the condensed collection does not include Memory Protectors which of course reduces the cost. The cards are an ideal accompaniment for traditional scrapbook layouts, card making and papercraft creations....and packaged this way provides ease of use for these type of projects.

 

 I used 3 of the 3" x 4" inch cards in this layout (commemorating our 32nd Wedding Anniversary) that was subsequently framed within the Designed Decor Black Shadow Box. One was used as the title, I cut a heart shaped embellishment from another, then resized the third, cutting it into a narrower shape and rounding the corners with the Corner Rounder tool. This layout was created using a variety of new papers and embellishments along with die cut shapes and an additional title from the Cricut® Artbooking Collection. The diamond look sparkle seen in this layout is White Shimmer Trim , one of 2 new additions to the Shimmer Trim range.

I created the card below with one of the 3" x 4" cards and a resized 4" x 6" from the Picture My Life Heartstring Scrapbooking Program combined with papers from the Heartstrings Paper Pack. I love how the new Seasonal Expressions products co-ordinate with existing products from the Annual Inspirations Idea Book/Catalogue. The cute Stuck on You Puffies, Brushed Flower Assortment and Aqua Dots worked a treat all mixed together. This card was finished off with some faux stitching done with the Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journalling Pen.

Thanks for visiting my blog and if you haven't already been there?? -  now is the time to "Hop" on over to the lovely Lela Norris's Blog  to see what she has created...and don't forget to visit all the Consultants at their blogs to check out some great crafting inspiration and other fun ideas! 

 

 

Christmas Craft Time

My favourite part of preparing for the holiday season is the sharing of recipes and gift making ideas. I don't fancy myself as a cook however, there is something about the festive season that sees me spending a lot of time in the kitchen!!... I love trying out new recipes from my friends especially gingerbread and chocolate treats! Then the fun part begins...packaging these treats up in little boxes and bags to pass on as Christmas gifts.

If this is something you like to do too? - why not join me this week for a Christmas Craft Night? - this is a great opportunity to make your Teacher Appreciation Gifts or something a little more personalised for your Work Place Kris Kringle  - see details below.....YOU MUST RSVP!

I have all sorts of Crafty Fun to share with you -  you can make Holiday Treat Bags, decorate Bon Bons, sample the Cut Above Christmas Card Kits, fashion some Base & Bling Wearable Craft and/or create ornaments, tags, bags and boxes from my pre-prepared kits. Here is an example of some of the creations we will be making, all put together with the lovely Snowhaven range of papers.

All these ideas have been shared with me by fellow Close To My Heart Consultants and I look forward to passing them onto you - a great big circle of creative love!! My favourite creation was the paper pine cone I did however, decide to go "big" (10cm) and make this a home décor piece rather than an ornament for my Christmas tree. It was a little more time consuming but the result was so worth it...imagine a bowl of these in different colours on your table at Christmas! The Close To My Heart art department created this gorgeous bowl of paper pines cones from the Pathfinding Paper Pack - simply select a Paper Pack of your choice and you will be well on your way to creating your own home décor masterpiece in no time at all.

Thanks for visiting my blog today - looking forward to the "paper play-time" with some of you on Friday but wherever you may be - I wish you a fun crafty week!!

Gift Giving Ideas

If you are looking at creating personal and exclusive handmade gifts for your family and friends this Christmas??... be sure to check out Close To My Heart's "colour-ready" My Creations range in my online shop - there are some great goodies to choose from... mini albums, boxes, bags, and frames just to name a few. In my last post I shared one of the Hip Pics Mini Album with you and today I wanted to show a Pennant Frame that showcases one of my favourite photos of my youngest daughter.....a gift for her Grandma.

Decorating this frame was a quick afternoon project...my cricut machine cut out all the pieces and I just pieced it together! The frame, flowers and leaves were all cut from shapes found on the Art Philosophy Cartridge and the title and overlay (decorative edge around the photo) are featured on the Artbooking Cartridge. It was all adhered together using my favourite adhesive - Bonding Memories Glue. This all-purpose glue is perfect for safely bonding photographs, artwork, and more. It is acid free and creates both permanent and temporary bonds. I was really happy with my flower centres which came together when I applied Black Epoxy Bubbles on top of Gold Bling Gems - it really made the flowers pop and how great does the variegated paper from the Brushed Paper Pack look, made up as flowers??? - very effective! I love, love, love! this paper pack!!! I also have a pack to send to one lucky reader of my blog...to be in the draw, simply leave a comment below or add your name to my followers. I will randomly chose a winner and announce it here on Friday the 14th November.

Over the next few weeks I will be conducting Christmas Craft Classes full of "create & take" type projects such as this, along with decorative boxes for your Christmas baking treats and many more gift giving ideas. If you would like to attend one of these classes or schedule a gathering to create these projects, with your friends and family - please feel free to email me at lotfam@iinet.net.au I'd love to "show you how".

Thanks for stopping by today - don't forget to leave a comment and be sure to pop back on Friday and see what my crafty friends have been up to.
 

Single Page Sketch Layout

Every now and then I come across special photos that not only deserve a place in my memory albums but also need their own place in the limelight....and the gorgeous Designed Décor and My Creations range of products from Close To My Heart provide the perfect way to do that. This range is not only trendy and fun but it is also very functional. One of my favourites is the Designed Decor Shadow Box they come in Black or  Colonial White - wooden frames with a hinged back that opens for easy loading and have a magnetic closure.

I've just designed a simple Single Page Sketch that I can adapt and use time and time again to create interchangeable layouts to showcase in my frames. In the Black Shadow Box Frame I made an affirmation layout for my youngest daughter to place in her study - she is just finishing up her final year at University and now, while she is searching for employment, it is even more important that she doesn't give up on her Dreams!.

I love how a bit of random stamping and some layering of paper trims made with the Scallop and Chevron Border Punches can create a layout that looks like a mixed media piece of artwork without all the preparation and mess!! The "splotch" stamp image found in the stamp set from the Brushed Workshop on the Go Scrapbooking Kit makes it so easy to added a painted look to cardstock that is almost feels like "cheating" - Fun, Fun, Fun!! My "Dream" title and other stamped embellishments were fussy/hand cut using my trusty Micro Tip Scissors - I use them so much I think I have to put them as No. 1 on my Top 10 list of favourite products...do you have a "go to tool" or a No. 1 favourite?? if so, leave me a comment below... I'd love to hear what is your most treasured tool.

This is the Sketch I created, along with the layout I have placed inside the Colonial White Shadow Box Frame for my own study - a favourite photo of my girls that I simply treasure. The large "smile" title was cut from some of the 3 x 4 cards in the Picture My Life Seaside Scrapbooking Program using the font found in the Art Philosophy Cricut Collection - the heavier paper adds a little more dimension and makes the title pop! I "blinged" this layout up with a couple of different embellishments, the puffy stickers from the Chalk It Up Assortment and some White Enamel Stars .

If you have a favourite photo or some other artistic handiwork you would like to feature in your home just log into my Online Shop and click on the 3D Gifts and Decor Section and you will find a variety of  display frames to suit your own personal decorating style - even the very on trend Chalkboard and Shabby Chic Wire Frames.

Happy Decorating!