It's Your Day

I've been enjoying the April SOTM a lot, and I wanted to do some cards that were simple but still had an impact using the floral sprig.

Paired with the Feels Like Home Paper Packet, I was able to create these quick and easy cards.

I simply added a strip of cardstock and then a strip of the patterned paper, and then used the floral sprig stamp to do first and second generation stamping around the side. I popped up the sentiment using foam tape and used the Stitched Circle thin cuts for more interest.

This is such a quick and easy pattern- I decided to use the same idea but with the more masculine side of the paper packet!




Thanks for stopping by today!

Feels Like Home Australasian CTMH Blog Hop Live

Hello and welcome aboard our Featured Paper Packet Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop.

If you have arrived here from Doris 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 creation which features Close To My Heart’s April Stamp of Featured collection, Feels Like Home.

I used the floral paper to show that it can still be used for more masculine layouts- here is a photo of me and my Dad on Father's Day. I used a black background to match with my floral kimono, and used the HOME cut aparts to create the ME title.



I used a combination of the cut aparts and floral stickers to create the other accents, and kept the photo mat as a simple grey.



If you do not have a consultant please contact me or place an order here.

I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Maz.

Favourite Tool

I thought I would share one of my favourite tools today for the Heart 2 Heart Favourite Tool challenge on their blog.


 I do a lot of dry embossing but struggle with where to put the sentiment- this is where the circle diffuser comes in! It leaves a blank space in your embossing so that you can stamp a sentiment, frame an image...the possibilities are endless.

Here is my card using the diffuser.



As you can see, the sentiment is on a smooth piece of paper with the embossing folder surrounding it. I also stamped a wreath image before embossing to further frame the sentiment.

I also heat embossed the sentiment with silver embossing powder to make it shiny and stand out.



Thanks for stopping by today, and make sure to swing by Heart 2 Heart Challenges to share your favourite tool with us!

Invitation Only

This week the theme at Heart 2 Heart challenges is Invitation Only.

This may mean you create an invite, or maybe you want to share a project inspired by an invitation only event.

I was very lucky to be invited to the Waitangi Day reception at Government House in Wellington. For those of you outside of New Zealand, Waitangi Day is is the national day of New Zealand, and commemorates the signing, on 6 February 1840, of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Every year, 1,00 people from New Zealand get chosen by ballot to be invited to this event, which is held in the capital city of New Zealand and includes free food, drink and entertainment for the afternoon.

This was the perfect excuse to use my new Loving New Zealand stamp set!

This stamp set was such a perfect match with my layout.




 I was also inspired by the floral pattern of my dress and I watercoloured the flowers from the Feels Like Home Paper Packet to create this double page layout.



I absolutely love the heart shaped New Zealand flag and I mirrored this with the love heart paper, although I was careful not to overshadow the watercoloured floral paper.

I'd love to see your Invitation Only project over at Heart 2 Heart!

S1902 Heartfelt Sentiments CTMH Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our February Stamp of the Month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop.

If you have arrived here from Vandra 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 creation which features Close To My Heart’s February Stamp of the Month, Heartfelt Sentiments.

I had to create a layout focusing on the gorgeous main stamped image- which quickly turned into a double page layout using the suggested colours of Sugarplum, Sapphire and Sage. I also added a few accents of Ballerina.



Here's a close up of the full stamped image- I coloured it using Sugarplum and Sage ink, and also used my Sugarplum Shimmer Brush on certain flowers to add some extra sparkle.



I also stamped and fussy cut one of the smaller sentiments from this stamp set and layered it between two of the photo mats.



To add some extra interest, I cut some vine thin cuts in Sage cardstock and added some hexagons that I had embossed with the Rose Embossing Folder.




This exclusive Stamp of the Month is only available during February. It can be yours for just $7.50 with a qualifying order of $75 or for $30.50 if ordered separately from your CTMH consultant.

If you do not have a consultant please contact me or place an order here.

I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop, Creating with Kara Davies.

I'm also sharing this page with the Double Trouble Challenge  and The Paper Girls for my sparkly touches on the main floral sentiment image.