March SOTM Blog Hop - This Happened

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring March's Stamp of the Month, which is This Happened, a set of 26 stamps.

If you have come here from Krista's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here 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. 


This month we have 22 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one!

I had some photos from Valentine's Day that needed to be scrapbooked, and this stamp set definitely lends itself well to scrapbook pages for journalling. I also had some of the I Heart Us range that I thought was a perfect match for love themed photos, with the sweet hearts paper and the heart embellishments.




The left hand page features quite a lot of the cut outs and complements from the paper range, as well as a PML card from the I Heart Us Picture My Life Cards. 




I used the March SOTM on this page to add the highlights tab with the date, and also the journalling lines checking off all of the highlights of our Valentine's Day together. 




The right hand side features more of the same I Heart Us complimenting items, and the Black and White Dots clustered around the hearts.




I got a bit clever to create this title, masking off the 'Love This" stamp to change it to 'Love Is" snd then seperating the What Matters title to create my own PML card title. 



The result is a two page layout that highlights all the great fun we had on Valentine's Day!

Now hop on over to Kathy's blog to see even more great ideas featuring this month's Stamp of the Month.

Thin Cuts Blog Hop

Welcome to our Thin Cuts Blog Hop!  We will be featuring all the awesome Thin Cuts available to you in the current catalog.

If you have come here from Brandi's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here 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. 

This month we have 19 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I had a hilarious set of photos of my boys playing in a ride-on car and I was waiting for the perfect car stamp to go with it- then luckily this stamp and thin cuts set came along!

I had to also use the I Heart Us paper packet to create a sense of fun in the layout.

The blue stamped sentiment is also from the Cruisin' To Adventure stamp set and the main black sentiment is from the I Heart Us Scrapbooking stamp set- both such funny and perfect sayings.




And here's a close up of the cute blue car that I created using the stamp set and matching thin cuts- so easy!

 

Now "Hop" on over to Michelle's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!

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!

Featured Paper Blog Hop-I Heart Us

Welcome to our Featured Paper Blog Hop! We will be showcasing items from our I Heart Us Paper Pack with various projects created by talented Close to my Heart Consultants. If you are visiting from Debi's blog then you are on the right track, if not please start at the beginning with our hostess Carol.

I fell in love with one of the layouts shown in the Workshops Your Way I Heart Us Scrapbooking Kit and I knew it would be perfect for the photos of my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary.

The love that my grandparents still have for each is other is so lovely to see, and all the bright colours in this layout pair well with the colours of the cake and my dress.



The LOVE title was so accurate, and look at how well the blue colour matches the blue fondant on the cake! My grandparents are retired dairy farmers and their sons have taken over the farm, but they still make sure to visit regularly to keep an eye on things so of course we needed a cow themed cake.



I am definitely very blessed to still have my grandparents around, and I loved the bright and cheerful hues of this layout for such a fun and joy-filled day.



Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog and look at my layout- I'd love to know what you think.

Next, check out the talented Erica's blog!

I Heart Us Australasian CTMH Blog Hop

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

If you have arrived here from Vandrathen 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 card which features some of the embellishments from Close To My Heart’s February Featured collection, I Heart Us.

When I saw the big bold rainbow on the cut apart sheet I knew I had to try the dappled watercolour background I've been meaning to practice. I fussy cut the rainbow and then added it to a blue washed watercoloured paper with speckles of gold and swashed with the clear shimmer brush.



Here is a close up of the speckled, glimmer effect that this technique has.


This collection is available in the current catalogue and Individual components can be ordered from your CTMH consultant.

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

Seasonal Expressions 1 New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to our Seasonal Expressions New Product Blog Hop!  We will be featuring lots of new goodies from the catalogue, so grab a cuppa and see what beautiful new items are available.

If you have come here from Sandy's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here 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. 

This month we have 17 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using the new products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I have just started to make a mini album of a trip I did with my boys over the October school holidays here in New Zealand, and luckily it contains a lot of the new products on the pages!

The title page features an adorable little plane, which is from the new Cruisin' to Adventure stamp set and also comes with matching Thin Cuts! The adventure awaits sentiment is also from this stamp set.




The star, cloud and plane stickers are form the new Something Fierce collection, as is the strip of patterned paper. The journal box is also from that collection.

Lastly, the title and the clouds were cut from my trusty Cricut. I sponged the clouds to make them stand out more.

On to the second and third pages!

This double page layout is of Rainbow's End, the local amusement park. This was a great opportunity to use some of the rainbow paper and embellishments from the I Heart Us Paper Packet. The washi and crosses stickers are also from that range.



I stamped the 'sunshine and rainbows' title from the January SOTM as it worked so well with the theme of this page.

Lastly, I cut another title from my Cricut and this page was completed in a matter of minutes.

Now "Hop" on over to Katy's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas!

Products used:
Album: Everyday Life Album- Black
Cardstock: Carolina, Sapphire, White Daisy
Cricut: Artbooking, You Are Here
Embellishments: I Heart Us Complements, Something Fierce Complements
Ink: Emerald, Sapphire, Pewter
Paper Packets: I Heart Us, Something Fierce 
Stamp sets: Crusin' to Adventure

Sunshine and rainbows

Its 2019 and I'm back into the swing of things in my craft room!

There's a whole new Ideas Book full of amazing goodies, and this beautiful striped paper immediately caught my eye. Paired with rainbows, it was just the happy pop of colour I needed to get my crafting mojo started for the year.

I used the sketch from Atlantic Hearts to create a cheerful rainbow card.



The paper and the rainbow chipboard piece were a perfect pairing with this sentiment from the January Stamp of the Month.  I added some holographic sequins for extra sparkle and texture.

I am also entering this card into Double Trouble Challenge #18- pairing the circular sequins with squares and rectangles, plus linking up with Atlantic Hearts. I also think this fits the optional twist of birds, as the song "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" has a line about birds flying over the rainbow.

Thanks for stopping by on my first post of 2019 and I hope to share lots of crafty goodies with you this year.

Products used:
Cardstock: Bluebird, White Daisy, Willow
Embellishments: I Heart Us Complements, I Heart Us Sequins
Ink: Bluebird
Paper: I Heart Us Paper Packet
Stamp set: Card Captions