Stamptacular Blog Hop

Welcome to our Stamptacular Blog Hop!  We will be featuring all of thew wonderful stamps on sale this month- some of our favourites are back in stock!  

If you have come here from Brenda'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 20 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 some photos I needed to scrapbook from our family holiday, and in particular from our trip to the Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand. I had the Summer Vibes Cardmaking stamp set, which is on sale in our Stamptacular sale, and so I thought this would be perfect to use for some motivation to get those photos scrapped!

Here is the full look at my double page layout- but without a special addition that you will see at the end of my blog post.

Let's have a closer look at the left hand side with the focal circle point. This circle was cut from the Daisy Meadows Paper Packet- a spring and Easter themed but I have managed to make it sea themed!

I used the bubble stamp to create a border along the outer edges of each page using Glacier ink. I also used the stamp set to create the Just Keep Swimming Banner, and matted a journal card onto a bubble PML card from Summer Vibes. 

I then stamped lots of the cute little fishies in Peacock (first and second generation) and Glacier ink. I added a cute bubble border from the Summer Vibes Sticker Sheet to keep the theme going, and you can also spot some grey die cut shapes from the Seas The Day Diecuts.

Here is the right hand side of my layout- with a slightly smaller piece of the circle paterned paper background and some more of the fishes and bubbles from the Summer Vibes Cardmaking stamp set. 

Here are more of the cute die-cuts, and I really love the Together title under the photo of my two boys! I accented the die-cuts with White Pearls, as they always remind me of the sea.

Once I had done my two page layout, I realised I had all of the green screen souvenir photos from the day too! I simply added some more of the Summer Vibes PML Cards and the photos into the 6x12 Flip Flaps Memory Protectors. I love these fold outs for adding additional photos to a layout!

The PML card already had a pattern on it, but I stamped all over that with the bubbles stamp in Peacock ink, and added some more die-cuts and a strip of the Daisy Meadows paper to keep everything cohesive. 

Here is the finished layout, complete with the extra Flip Flap! 

Now "Hop" on over to Darlys' 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! Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this and all the other Stamptacular stamp set at a discount!

Stripes and the Sea

My favourite Stripe paper from the Seas The Day collection is nearly gone- but that hasn't stopped me creating!

I created this double page layout using the Seas The Day collection for photos of a trip to the beach on a stormy day.

Here's the left hand side- I used some of the paper and a zip strip, as well as accents from the sticker sheet,  die cuts and the dots.

The watercolour looking splash in the background was created by second generation stamping an Ink Blot stamp in Sapphire ink. I love the washed out, beachy look that this gave the layout, as well as adding some interest to the plain cardstock background. 

The right hand side of the layout uses more of the stickers and die cuts, as well as the matching Seas The Day Picture My Life cards.

I love the watercolour look of this PML card, which goes perfectly with my faded ink blots and the beach photos. The cute little sentiment stickers from the sticker sheet are also a great way to add some interest.

I will be very sad to see this poper collection go, as I have loved creating some beach themed layouts and even layouts of my cat with this collection!

Heat It Up

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 14 of us highlighting Heat Embossing.

This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Haley's Blog, you are on the right track!

I wanted to showcase how I create an embossed wreath to highlight a Stitched Circle Thin Cut sentiment.

I started off by lightly tracing the inside of the thin cut on a pierce of Mint Cardstock where I wanted the wreath to be.

This is where pigment inks come in handy- they retain their colour and stay wet long enough to put clear embossing powder over the image so that the colour shows through. I stamped a wreath of continuous shells in Sapphire Pigment Ink around the circle, then added Clear Embossing Powder over the top and heat set it.

I then added my Stitched Circle created sentiment using stamps and sentiments from the April SOTM, O-Fish-Ally Awesome and added the wave paper from the Seas The Day Paper Packet, matting both of these in Sapphire Cardstock and adding some White Dots for embellishment.

Here you can see that the shells around the sentiment are shiny and glossy, which is what clear embossing does!

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Michelle's Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

Pet-Pourri

This week's challenge theme is one I can definitely get on bard with!

I have a lovable, goofy fluff-ball called Chester. He is very intelligent, cuddly and fluffy, and his favourite thing in the world is sleeping. I decided to make a page of him slumbering in various areas of the house- nothing gets in the way of Chester's naps!

I used the Seas The Day background for this page, as I love the stripes and they aren't beach themed at all. I also found some old PML cards and some old stickers in my stash that went with the theme of this page.



I used stamped the pawprints from the Best Friends Furever stamp set, and the sweet little cat on the journalling is from the CTMH Operation Smile set, You Make Me Happy.



If you have any pet or animal themed projects, we'd love for you to join in with the challenge too at Heart 2 Heart.

Seas The Day Australasian Blog Hop

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

If you have arrived here from Shaunna's Blog 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  Featured collection, Seas The Day

I was so excited to get this collection to scrapbook my visit to Melbourne Aquarium late last year when I went on my first trip to Australia.

Here's the full two page spread using the paper packet with sticker sheet, Seas The Day dots, Picture My Life cards and Peach cardstock, as well as the April SOTM, O-Fish-Ally Awesome.



I thought this PML card was so cute! And the whimsical feel of the patterned paper and sticker sheet was exactly how Ed felt in the aquariaum as he was like an excited little kid.



This little fish dude was so happy to see us! I used the April Stamp of the Month to create the fish border and the sentiment also comes from that stamp set. I also added some of the stickers and dots. The blue strip is one of the Zip Strips.



I wanted to show you the PML card in more detail, with the two cute little fish. I also added more stickers to the top of this side.



Here's the right side of the layout with some more photos of us hanging out with a friendly stingray and some sharks. I was so excited that there was a stingray on this paper packet!



Another PML card was great to add some journalling, and I used some more stickers and dots for embellishing. Look at how gorgeous that Sapphire woodgrain paper is! I just realised you can see my cat's whiskers in the bottom of this photo- he is such a good assistant helping to take photos.



This exclusive collection is only available during April and I love it! I hope you do too and that you have been inspired by my layout. 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/April New Blog Hop

Welcome to our special New Product Blog Hop!

If you have arrived here from Colleen’s Blog you are in the right spot!

I wanted to share one of the new beach themed stamp sets but feature both new paper packets, so this is what I came up with.

The first card features the Seas The Day stamp set message in a bottle with an antiques, aged look using the new Yesterday and Today paper packet. I added some twine for texture, and love the old style look of this card. I also stamped some of the shells directly onto the paper and then fussy cut them, to make it look as if the bottle is nestled in the shells.



For my next card, I used the Seas The Day themed colours and heat embossed the seashell stamps with white embossing powder then inked over them to create the coloured panel. I also used the new Seas The Day Dots and another one of the nautical sentiments, as well as the Seas The Day paper packet zip strips.



Now hop on over to Carrie’s Blog to see her new product creation!