Celebrating Connections

 

This week at Heart 2 Heart, we are all about celebrating connections!

The layout I am sharing with you today has multiple layers of connection.

First- the layout shows the connection between myself and my wonderful fiance. We are celebrating here for a 40th birthday- another connection. And this layout was inspired by one of my scrappy friends Laura, which is the final connection!

I used the brand new You Are Enough Cardstock to create this layout. The photo does not do it justice as it is a stunning rose gold foil. I pieced together 13 squares of the cardstock, mixing foil and plain, at 2.5 inches square. I added a photo mat in Sapphire Cardstock, and created a beautiful butterfly embellishment using the new Layered Butterflies Thin Cuts then matted the squares on White Daisy and Blue Belle Cardstock. Lastly, I stamped the celebrate title in Sapphire Ink using the Party Girl stamp set.

We would love to see your card, scrapbook page or paper project celebrating connections!

Australasian Blue Skies NSM Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our Blue Skies 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 May Special, Blue Skies. There are so many options with this special, including a paper packet, album workshops, stamp sets and even a special thin cut!

I chose to focus on the paper packer, sticker sheet and amazing coated cardstock for my project.

I wanted to create a bright and cheerful layout featuring the cute sunshine paper, and so my layout theme was inspired by the paper.



I used some of the different patterned papers for my photo mats, and the large title is UV coated so there is a slight variation in shade throughout the title as well as some shine. It's very pretty! I love the white frame around the stickers in order to make the stickers stand out against the bright paper.



Here you can see the patterns in the glossy coated cardstock, as well as the cute stickers again and the amazingly bright and fun zip strips!



The exclusive Blue Skies Collection is only available during May. 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, ScrappyChicks.

National Scrapbooking Month

The Blue Skies collection is all so amazing and I had hoped to share some layouts with you featuring the paper and stickers, but unfortunately due to our New Zealand lockdown I only have the cardstock at the moment. However, this cardstock is not like the usual Close To My Heart cardstock. It features special glossy UV-coated patterns on one side. Look at this gorgeousness!

I just had to create something using this cardstock, so I turned to my Cricut and used the Everyday Moments collection to create a fun birthday layout using just the Blue Skies cardstock paired with White Daisy cardstock.

Here is the layout- look at all of the fun patterns in the cardstock! I also used the little heart and journal lines from our new Through Thick and Thin stamp set, a wooden arrow and a touch of gold shimmer trim.

The overlay for this layout is sized at 6x8 in the collection, but it was no problem to size it for a 12x12 scrapbook page just by changing the measurements on my Cricut screen.



Let's have a closer look- you can see that each colour has a different pattern. The White Daisy overlay really makes these colours pop! I took this photo with a flash to bring up all of the texture- in real life this combo is subtle but definitely noticeable.



How cute is this cupcake! You can see the texture again within the cupcake, although I used the back side of the Sapphire sheet to cut the candlestick and to mat the photos. I popped the cupcake up with some 3D Foam Tape for extra dimension.



I framed the overlay with the Lagoon sheet, and the UV pattern makes it look almost stitched around the outside of the layout- just another fun touch!

I love this new cardstock for its bright colours and fun glossy patterns, and hope to do some more creating when the rest of this collection appears at my post office!

National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop - Blue Skies

Welcome to our National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring the amazing new Blue Skies collection.

If you have come here from Carrie'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 18 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 loved the paper packet and sticker sheet especially, and one of the papers reminded me of ice cream sprinkles so this layout was born as soon as I saw that there was also an ice cream sticker! Used the sprinkle pattern on top of the UV coated glossy cardstock that comes as part of this collection.



Look at these fun papers! Here I have used the sprinkle paper, one of the zip strips, some of the starry patterned paper and the coated cardstock. This journal sticker came in very handy to add the story to my layout, as we live in a rural area and Mr Whippy never comes out to our township! We were lucky enough that my work colleague's dad owns a Mr Whippy truck and so he paid us a special visit to our house.



I matted this photo of my son on the coated cardstock and popped it up on 3D Foam tape for some extra dimension. I had to use the ice cream sticker, and I also used the cute little "yum" text sticker.



This banner was made using the back of the coated cardstock, which is the plain side, and the sticker was a title that I thought went perfectly with my photo. Here you can really see the beautiful pattern that the cardstock has, and how adorable are all these stickers?



Now "Hop" on over to Becca'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! Remember, the Blue Skies collection is only available until 31st May!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this collection!

Lovely Layers for a 70th

One of my amazing drama and crafting friends turns 70 today! Of course I had to make her a card and I knew I wanted to to be bold and bright, just like her.

I looked through some of the flowers in the Flower Market CTMH Cricut cartridge, and decided to use one of the layered flowers as a focal point. I added some white ink splatter behind the flower and framed it with some white enamel gems.

I then cut the number 70 out of some leftover floral paper from the Vacation Paper Packet that was on special a couple of months ago, as I thought the colours all worked really well together! I also added some white splatter behind that just to tie in with the theme and anchor the number to the card.



I'm linking this card up with the Lovely Layers challenge at Heart 2 Heart- I miss being on their design team but love having the chance to play along with them again! I’m also joining in with the Just Add Ink challenge as heir beautiful rainbow flower inspired me to add the bold flower to this card.

When life gives you lemons...

As some of you may have noticed, I had a six month hiatus from crafting recently. This was due to a lot of personal reasons, one of which was that I moved house.

I created a layout to celebrate my housewarming, using the Beautiful Friendship Paper Packet, a cute house themed stamp set, the May SOTM and some lemon cardstock.



I stamped the journalling lines in Lemon ink, and added this cute mason jar with a lemon and a straw in it!



This layout reminds me that even when life doesn't go as planned, I have some amazing friends to lean on who love me and will support me.

I am entering this in the Heart 2 Heart When Life Hands You Lemons challenge as I think it fits the theme on multiple levels!

Celebrating the Birthday Boy

My son celebrated his 8th birthday in December and I have finally gotten around to scrapbooking it!

I stuck with quite a neutral palette with pops of glitter and silver and gold accents.



I've been meaning to use this birthday bo sticker for ages, which helps to draw attention to the journalling circle.



I used shimmer trim and gold foil to anchor the photo panels, and added some fun boy themed embellishments such as this gear and superhero accents.



More glitter for the cupcake, which I negative cut using the Cricut and backed with the glitter paper. Additional shimmer was added with the silver stars, and I stamped the title using grey ink. Side note- how hilarious is my son's face in reaction to his octopus hot dog dinner!



Isn't this superhero adorable? I kept his quite neutral but embellished with a few epoxy stars.



Since it is National Scrapbooking Month, I'm linking this layout up with the Heart 2 Heart challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today! I'm so glad to be sharing my creations again after a long break.

Last chance for Postcard Perfect!

Cocktails, sunshine, palm trees- I'm dreaming about a tropical holiday and the Postcard Perfect range is the perfect way to scrap those memories! You can purchase the whole bundle here (as pictured below) or purchase the items individually.

The Cut Above Layout kit is fabulous for quickly putting together pages. I especially love the yellow circle layout, which is perfect for holiday or summer memories.



I've made this layout in anticipation of my trip to Fiji, using the beautiful tropical palm print paper as an accent and pairing it with the complementing cardstock.



This layout reminds me of a beach vacation and I love all the accents you can use with this paper packet as there are some cut out accent sheets that come in the paper packet. I also used the optional stamp set to create the title.



Look at this adorable camera!



The bright colours are beautiful for sharing memories, and I love the combination of the Peacock paired with pink and mint.



These items are only available until the end of May- you can grab your Postcard Perfect items here!

CTMH Australasian Live Beautifully Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our Live Beautifully 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 May Constant Campaign, Live Beautifully.

I love the Paper Packet and Stamp Set for this May special- aren't they gorgeous!

 


I created this layout of two of my nieces with squares cut from the paper packet and placed behind the photo mat to form a triangle.



The black and white papers pair beautifully with black and white photos, and the gorgeous soft floral is perfect for my sweet nieces.



I stamped the flower and leaves from the matching stamp set in the same colour of ink as cardstock and layered it at the end of the sentiment. Some Black and White Dots finished the layout off with some extra bling.



These exclusive Live Beautifully items are only available during May. Contact your CTMH consultant to place an order.

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.

Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge #160

Another week's sketch has been released at Atlantic Hearts, and I immediately knew I wanted to do something with big bold flowers.

I also wanted to use up some scraps from the Happy Times Paper Packet, which I think pairs perfectly with flowers!

I Cricut cut the flowers, and added a stamped sentiment from the Someone Special stamp set in White Daisy Ink. I dragged the petals across some Pomegranate inkpad to add some dimension, and the middle flower was also popped up on 3D Foam Tape.



I also added the gold polka dot zip strip from Happy Times, and added some gold circles from the Fundamental Assortment to tie it all together.

We would love for you to join us this week- I always love seeing the different takes on the sketch!

Happy Times Australasian Blog Hop

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

If you have arrived here from Creating with Kara Davies 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 May Paper Packet, Happy Times. This beautiful paper pack is only available for the month of May, and features 12 sheets of intricately designed patterned paper. You can purchase this paper packet for $25.50NZD, or receive it for FREE with a qualifying order of $95.

This Paper Packet was perfect for scrapbooking a scrapbook retreat I recently went to!



I love the stamp set flowers as they can be layered to create beautiful embellishments for your page.I also used the gold zip strip as a border for my page, as the gold is very striking in real life!



I paired the paper with the Zoe Complements such as this journaling box and speech bubble.



The Create title is from the Adventure Fundamental Stickers, paired with a stamped sentiment.



I used scraps of my paper to create some banners on the page, as these help to draw your eye into the photos.



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

CTMH supplies used:
Cardstock: 
Embellishments: 
Ink: 
Paper Packet: Happy Times
Stamp set:

National Scrapbooking Month- Happy Times Blog Hop

Welcome to our National Scrapbooking Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring May's exclusive Paper Packet, which is Happy Times, a set of  12 patterned papers.  

If you have come here from Marie'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 31 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!

This Paper Packet is beautiful, and I knew it would be perfect to recreate the talented Melissa's Box that I have been meaning to assemble for ages!

This box is made using only paper from the Happy Times Paper Packet except for the small area of White Daisy Cardstock for the stamped sentiment. The tag is tied on using the Fern Thick twine attached to the bottom of the flower.

 
I made the box 11.5" high and then resized the tag to fit. I cut the flowers at 3, 2.3 and 2 from the Pomegranate ombre paper sheet and joined them together with one of the Gold Bling Gems.

 
The gold detail on the floral paper is stunning- the photo doesn't do it justice!

 
This box could fit some chocolates, sweets, a candle, perfume- anything long and tall would work wonderfully and save the conundrum of wrapping! Who doesn't love a sweet handmade gift box for their present?

Now "Hop" on over to Michele'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! Remember, the NSM Paper Packet is only available until 31st May!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this paper packet for FREE!

I am also linking this creation up with this week's Color Dare!