September/October New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to our September/October New Product Blog Hop!  We will be featuring all of the goodies from the new September/October catalogue as well as the Core catalogue- so many options to choose from!

If you have come here from Haley'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 21 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 am in love with the new Bloom and Grace collection, and I wanted to showcase a simple two page layout using some of the collection. I love the watercolor Sangria colour from the Bloom With Grace Paper Packet and so I made that the feature paper of my layout, and added some strips of the gorgeous subtle Fern pattern as well.



I added some of the Gold Shimmer Trim to this layout, but really wanted to let the beautiful Bloom With Grace products shine. Let's have a closer look at the left hand side.

The left hand side has a single photo focus, and I stamped one of the large sunflowers from the Bloom With Grace Scrapbooking stamp set in the new Sundance Ink. I love that these stamp sets can come with thin cuts too, as it means no more fussy cutting!



I used the scrapbooking stamp set for the title, and I used a smaller sunflower from the Bloom With Grace Cardmaking stamp set. I added some Sundance cardstock behind the photo, and I also added a cute arrow from the Bloom With Grace Wood Shapes.



Onto the right hand page! This one has a few more photos, once again matted with the Sundance cardstock and featuring more of the pretty sunflower stamps from the Scrapbooking Stamp Set.



I mixed up the wood shapes with the stickers from the sticker sheet- I really love the mix of textures and colours this creates.



I stamped a title from the Bloom With Grace Cardmaking stamp set onto a Bloom With Grace Picture My Life Card, and added even more of those gorgeous sunflowers from both the scrapbooking and cardmaking stamp sets with the matching thin cuts to make it easy.



The Bloom With Grace collection is just one of the new collections we have- I am sure you will see plenty of other amazing collections as you go around the blog hop!

Now "Hop" on over to Brenda'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!

Summer Vibes in Fiji

This week at Heart 2 Heart, Anything Goes!

I thought I would share one more Summer Vibes layout before this collection isn't available anymore- and yes it is another Fiji layout. I've nearly finished my vacation album and I wish I could be travelling right now, but at least I can scrapbook my vacation memories.

I loved the wave paper and wanted to create a poolside vibe for this double page spread. The serene blue then paired with the fun icon paper really draws your eye to all the photos, and I love this scrapbook page pattern!



On the left hand side I used the Summer Vibes PML cards as well as the Summer Vibes Acrylic Shapes and the stickers from the sticker sheet. I cut the cocktail out from my Cricut using the You Are Here collection.



The right hand side uses another Summer Vibes sticker for the title, and I cut up the neon PML card to create a cute square patterned paper piece.



I can't wait for the warmer weather here in New Zealand, and I will definitely miss this amazing Summer Vibes collection. I'd love to know what your favourite collection has been so far this year!

Don't forget to join us over at Heart 2 Heart Challenges where Anything Goes.

Timber Australasian Blog Hop

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

If you have arrived here from Scrappychicks 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 August Featured collection, Timber.

In true Lauren fashion, I have dress up photos to share with you all today!

My partner and I went to an 80s dress up party, and my partner decided to go as Grizzly Adams. Of course the combination of flannel, bears and facial hair was perfect for the Timber theme.



I love the masculine themed stickers, and this bear was cut out from part of another sticker as it had a playing card theme around it but I wanted the bear to stand out more. Don't feel scared to chop and change the images in the sticker sheets! Cut them up, cut parts out- have fun with them!



Here's another sticker that matched perfectly with the plaid paper background I used. I stuck it onto some Ruby cardstock and cut a slight border around it so that it would stand out more, and popped it up on 3D Foam Tape for more dimension.



The sweet little banner and heart are also from the sticker sheet, and I cut an extra banner using some more Ruby cardstock.



This journalling box is from the Timer Picture My Life cards, and I added some tiny stamped hearts to anchor the PML card to the page.




This exclusive Timber collection is only available until the end of August. 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, Kimberley.

Summer Vibes Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our Summer Vibes 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 July Featured collection, Summer Vibes.

I definitely need some summer vibes- as I sit here my fire is roaring and I have a cup of tea in my hands to warm them up! I thought I would share some more of my Fiji holiday photos with you using this collection.

One of our day trips into Fiji was to Malamala Beach Club, a tiny island that has a private beach party club. We had our own little cabana and a personal waiter, and we made the most of the beautiful beach and the extensive cocktail menu!

Here is the full two page layout, using the beautiful floral paper in small amounts to help frame all of the photos.



On the left hand side you can see I have used a lot of the Summer Vibes stickers to accent the page, as well as toning down the paper packet with the addition of coordinating cardstock. I stamped one of the sentiments from the Summer Vibes scrapbooking stamp set, and used one of the PML cards for the journalling.



On the right hand side, I used more stickers for accenting, as well as another PML card and another stamp from the scrapbooking stamp set. I also used the coconut from the Summer Vibes cardmaking stamp set to match my own coconut cocktail!



This exclusive collection is only available during July and August, and I encourage you to think ahead for your upcoming summer adventures!

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

Stitched Together Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our June 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 June Featured collection, Stitched Together.

I wanted to make quite a generic layout using the papers, and this rainbow stripe just makes me so happy! I [paired it with some of the Mix In papers and also some of the Blue Skies stickers- this paper is actually so versatile!



This floral embellishment is actually a fussy cut flower from the Stitched Together PML cards,m and I added some pennants from the cards too. You don't have to keep the cards at their standard size- feel free to chop them up and use them as other embellishments too.



The flowers and hearts are cut from the matching Stitched Together Cricut collection- super handy when you only have cardstock or paper on hand but want to make matching embellishments!



This exclusive collection is only available during June. 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.

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.

S1903 This Happened CTMH Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our March SOTM 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 March Stamp of the Month, This Happened.

I loved the quirky sentiment about the weekend and this card came together quickly in my mind- and thanks to my Cricut it was almost as easy to make in real life!

I also stamped some of the flourishes over my card to add a bit more interest to the background paper, which happens to be one of the new Picture My Life cards. And I love the addition of the stitched circle to tie my wine bottle and glass together.

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

Something Fierce CTMH Australasian Blog Hop

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

If you have arrived here from Maz 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 January Featured collection, Something Fierce.

I wanted to showcase how to use these pieces in a Picture My Life layout- and my son's triathalon was a great way to use some of the cute cycling themed pieces from this kit- it's not just about dinosaurs!



I loved the dinos on bicycles so I used the paper as a feature mat, as well as using some of the blue paper as a background for the Something Fierce Complements.



Even the graffiti style paper had bikes and Ready, Set, Go on it, which was the central theme of my page.



I love this page with the bikes, dinosaurs and blue- it's such a fitting page for my son!

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

S1810 Thanks and Giving SOTM CTMH Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our October 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 October Stamp of the Month, Thanks and Giving.

I decided to make a layout of me and my bestie in our t-shirts as they show our personalities brilliantly! I used a simple palette of Black, White Daisy and Willow.



I stamped some of the SOTM flowers onto random polka dots and the together is also from the stamp set. The cute banner is from the Hello Pumpkin Complements and the black and white paper is a PML card from the Perfectly Imperfect set.



This card is from the same PML set and I added the flowers from the SOTM to add some extra black to the card.



The October Stamp of the Month is great for friends and family- I'll be sharing a few more ideas throughout the month!

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

I am entering this layout in the Double Trouble #11 challenge as well as The Crafter's Cafe challenge- both Black, White plus one other colour.

Pretty Pocket Card

The Pocket Cards in the CTMH Paper Packets are one of my favourite things to work with. Not only are they wonderful for adding interest and journal boxes to layouts, but they also make great card bases.

I used the woodgrain PML card as the base for this card, and added some stamped flowers from the June Stamp of the Month. The sentiment was stamped on a piece of Chipboard from the No Worries Complements.




This card took me only a few minutes to piece together and I love the serene background thanks to the PML card.

If you love using PML cards, why don't you share a project with us this month at Heart 2 Heart Challenges? We would love to see your creations!

Featured Products Blog Hop- Thin Cuts

Hello and welcome to our CTMH Featured Products Blog Hop. This week our featured product is Thin Cuts.

If you have just joined us you can start here and continue on, as this is a circular hop or if you get lost along the way you can find the complete list at the end of this post.   If you came here from Donna you are in the right place. Now on to my project:

I love the School Kids stamp set with matching thin cuts, and I needed to do my seven year old's first day of school PML page so this was a perfect opportunity!

I started by stamping the little boy onto Watercolour Paper using the Archival Black Ink.



I then used the matching thin cuts set to cut him out- no more fussy cutting for me!



He then got coloured using my Watercolour Paints and I left him to dry.



I popped the cut image up on Foam Tape and added it to a cut PML card using the Fundamentals Enchantment Paper.



I also stamped and cut the apple from this stamp set and thin cuts to add to another PML card.



This card was made by using some of the stamps from the School Kids stamp set to make a title.



Thank you for checking out my project. If you enjoyed my project please comment below as we love feedback! Next on our blog hop is Corinna.  Make sure to check out her amazing work featuring this same product.

Complete list of blogs participating:

1. Corinna Murphy

2. Annette Clark

3. Donna Digby

4. Lauren Moore