CTMH Kaleidoscope Australasian Blog Hop

Welcome to our Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop featuring this months feature paper pack called Kaleidoscope. This paper pack is a really pretty feminine pack. If you have arrived here from Maz Wood: Inky Fingers then you are in the right place. If you landed here another way, please join in by following the link at the end of this post. Follow the links, check out all the amazing ideas and eventually you'll come right back here to where you started.

We are all creating with the Kaleidoscope Paper Packet or Workshops on the Go® Kaleidoscope Cardmaking Kit

This kit is featured by Close to My Heart in December and is available for the lifetime of the current Annual Inspirations Catalogue (so about 6 more months to go). 

I pulled out the Kaleidoscope Paper Packet and wanted to create an artwork for last minute Christmas Gifts. I had seen some ideas by other consultants using frames. Laura Beacham has created some similar looking frames using rolled paper flowers. So my idea is a mix between Laura's idea and an Idea from Close to My Heart that was in the Seasonal Expressions Catalogue that highlighted an old product called the 6x6 canvas. I have one of these made up because I loved this idea of sequins on a heart. (Note: The below photo isn't mine). 

 Photo taken from an online Search, Thanks to the many consultants who have shared.

 

At Kmart this week, I purchased some shadow box frames that were 4x6 (with frame) or 5x7 (without the frame), These cost me about $6 but some were cheaper on clearance. I could choose if I used the glass or not. Because I didn't end up doing the artwork too thick (3D) it fit with the glass which I think gives the artwork a more polished look. 

To get the heart from the Kaleidoscope Paper Packet I cut a number of hearts from the Cricut® Artiste Collection at 2.5 inches. The colours of the Kaleidoscope Paper Packet matched so beautifully with the Paper Fundamentals Whimsy and the Fundamental Stickers Whimsy Pack as shown above. Instead of using the busy side of the Kaleidoscope Paper Packet I turned it over to the green side and stuck LOTS of Gold sequins from the Sequins Gold Assortment pack.

After I had completed the sequins I decided for some extra sparkle I would put on Bitty Sparkles and some larger bling sparkles from the Sparkles Clear Assortment (Bigger bling on the bigger sequins). 

I really liked the look of the bitty sparkles on the sequins. After I stuck the sequins and bling onto the heart I was confused about which colour to use as the background of my frame. I sampled it on natural colours, then blacks, then yellows, greys etc, then finally settled on the pink from the Paper Fundamentals Whimsy which has a lovely white background with circles. 

I put the white frame (from the Kmart Box Frame) around all my samples to see what the heart would look like - see below. This took the most time deciding on my colour scheme, the actual artwork doesn't take long to make. 

When I was ready I thought the blinged up heart needed some background so I cut a second heart in Kaleidoscope Paper Packet on the Cricut but this time slightly larger at 3inches. I turned the Kaleidoscope Paper around so that the pretty lighter pastel colours were showing.

I finished it off with a title from Fundamental Stickers Whimsy Pack to match the Pear colour shown in the Fundamental Stickers Whimsy Pack.

When I placed the artwork into the box frame with the glass on top it wasn't very stable, so I had to use my Duck® Easy Stick™ Adhesive all the way around the pink paper to hold the front of it in (before that it was prone to buckle). 

I am very happy with my artwork and plan to make a heap more for Christmas Gifts or to show customers that last minute Christmas Gifts from me are entirely possible at even this late stage (Christmas is in 10 days!!! Ahhhh) and they are so personalised. Click on any of the links in this blog post to get to my website to place your order or visit your consultant

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my latest projects. I'm really interested to hear what you think about it, so I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop on our Australasian Blog Hop which is Doris Taylor creative Inspirations

  Come back to see me again soon.

Australasian December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop Candlelight Garden

Hello and welcome to our Stamp of the Month Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop. We have all been creating with "Candlelight Garden – December 2015 Stamp of the Month" Stamp set. If you have arrived here from   Shaunna Richards - Passionate About Pages then you are in the right place. If you landed here another way, please join in by following the link at the end of this post. Follow the links, check out all the amazing ideas and eventually you'll come right back here to where you started.

Today I would like to share with you my two projects which features the Candlelight Garden – December 2015 Stamp of the Month available exclusively throughout December for $27 or for just $7.50 when you spend $75. I love this stamp set SOoo much. 

I really love the Friend you're the Light in my life phrase. So I wanted to make a card with it. I had the Picture My Life™ White Pines Scrapbooking Program cards left from my last blog post and thought this card below made a lovely front of the card. To space it out I placed the stamps directly onto the PML card and then stuck the 2" X 6 1/2" My Acrylix® Block on the top. 

After I stamped in Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad then I coloured in the flame in ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Golden Yellow Marker and the candle in ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ Barely Beige Marker

I backed the Picture My Life™ White Pines Scrapbooking Program card with Black Cardstock and then used the Corner Rounder. I trimmed the 5 1/2" X 4 1/4" Colonial White Cards & Envelopes, with Coral Shimmer Trim and layered the PML card and black cardstock with 3-D Foam Tape.

To finish the card off I used Mini Stapler and Mini Staples. I love the mini staples so much I used them a little bit too much. 

 After I finished my card, I played some more. I just got myself a heat gun and Ranger™ Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder and Ranger™ White Super Fine Embossing Powder so I wanted to have a play. 

I put VersaMark™ Ink  on the jar after I coloured it in and then put Ranger™ Clear Super Fine Embossing Powder over and heated it up. 

Next I wanted to try some of the emboss-resist techniques I had seen on Pinterest so I played with the VersaMark™ Ink and Ranger™ White Super Fine Embossing Powder. After heating the embossing powder up I used Gypsy Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad with a Sponge Daubers.

Remember this great stamp set Candlelight Garden – December 2015 Stamp of the Month is only available throughout December from your Close to My Heart Consultant. 

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my latest projects, I hope you get to make a card this month too. I'm really interested to hear what you think about it, so I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop on our Australasian Blog Hop which is Denise's Blog Scrap Stamp Share.

  Come back to see me again soon.

CTMH White Pines Australasian Blog Hop

Welcome to our Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop featuring this months feature paper pack called White Pines. We have all been creating with the White Pines Products. If you have arrived here from Patricia Manhire's Creative Corner then you are in the right place. If you landed here another way, please join in by following the link at the end of this post. Follow the links, check out all the amazing ideas and eventually you'll come right back here to where you started.

I began this creative Session with the Picture My Life™ White Pines Scrapbooking Program pack and pulled it all out to look at it and get "inspiration". I really liked all the PML (Picture My Life) cards with the dates on them and thought it would make a great Advent Calendar. 

Last week I donated two boxful's of books to a teacher for a 3yr old program from an under privileged area a few suburbs away from me. She said they had identified a need that these children were "at risk" of illiteracy problems and the way they had decided to address this was to give the children a 12 days of Christmas, a daily gift of books, so that they had books in their home that their parents could read to them. This is what my 2nd hand children's books were going to. This reminded me of the great idea that I'd seen before, probably on pinterest, to do an advent calendar of books that you can read together with your children. I decided that this would be a great idea to do this year with my kids this year and the Picture My Life™ White Pines Scrapbooking Program pack was totally PERFECT. 

Last year I purchased a whole heap of brown paper wrapping paper from Big W. The label below says they cost $2 but they were reduced when I bought them (I bought as many as I could carry because I knew I would use it!!). I have used this brown paper in other blog posts I have done on this blog, coordinating wrapping paper with Birthday cards etc, its great for stamping on also! I think the brown paper looks great with the Picture My Life™ White Pines Scrapbooking Program "Advent Tags". The December cards didn't require much if any decoration to make the presents look interesting and fun!

Next I went to my bookshelf and pulled out all the Christmas books I had, then I pulled out all the Love and Kindness books I could find to make it up to 24 books. I mixed them up and did Big book then small book (because the PML cards are big/small/big/small) and mixed up the Christmas books with the other type of books so there was a selection each day something different. ALL the Christmas books went into the pile spread out and I removed the funny shaped books because I wanted to have them presents be square/rectangle shapes. I was amazed at how many Christmas themed books we actually had. The more I looked the more I found, in all the different bookshelves around the house!
  

    

I started December 1 with The Elf on the Shelf because our Elf Sprinkles will be arriving around the 1st December so what a perfect time to read her story. 

On the outside of the very first wrapped gift/book I added an extra PML journalling box for the gift tag. A Marvy® Uchida® LePen™ Journaling Pen and Gold Shimmer Trim finished off present Number 1. 

Each day of December (until Christmas Eve) we are going to open one of the books and read it with the kids as a family. I didn't keep a record of what I put in each present so it will be a surprise to me too!! I am very excited about this time together, reading books that the kids are almost too grown up to read but as a family we can still giggle along to "Father Christmas needs a Wee" or sing the Australian Christmas versions of stories and songs. 

It took me quite a while to wrap and to put the cards onto every package and I had to decide which side of the cards I wanted to use. The new PML cards are the same pattern on both sides but one vertical and one horizontal - which does sometimes minutely change the design of some of the cards, but because I wasn't restricted to the PML Memory Protectors™ telling me which way I need to place the cards I could choose which side I wanted to use. NB: I decided not to use the December 25 card because we're not going to read anything on Christmas day. Some of the cards with cute little animals were best suited to one way or the other because of the way the animals weren't cut off. 

When I finished I had used some of my washi tape (Boardwalk Washi Tape Pack, Sparkle & Shine Washi Tape 3-Pack and Smoothie Striped Washi Tape). These are all available in the While Stocks Last and Retired section on my website (online purchases only, not available at Gatherings). I also used lots of SHIMMER TRIM... Red & Gold mostly. Plus a bit of bling. Although I decided I didn't want to use the bling because I wanted the presents to be able to stack flat. 

Now that all my presents are wrapped for my Reading Advent Calendar and I can't wait for Christmas season to start!! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my latest projects. I'm really interested to hear what you think about it, so I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop on our Australasian Blog Hop which is Maz: Inky Fingers.

  Come back to see me again soon.

Sangria Australasian Blog Hop

Welcome to our Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop featuring this months feature paper pack called Sangria. We have all been creating with the NEW Sangria Products that have Britt McDonald - Crafty Connections then you are in the right place. If you landed here another way, please join in by following the link at the end of this post. Follow the links, check out all the amazing ideas and eventually you'll come right back here to where you started.

To start this months theme I decided to make a Christmas card using Twinkle – October 2015 Stamp of the Month and the Workshops on the Go® Sangria Scrapbooking Kit. 

PS. If you want to view the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop that went live 1st October, go all the way through the Sangria Blog hop and then get back here and click the Twinkle blog hop (see link here). 

 

I cut out a buckle from the Artiste Cricut Cartridge on page 66 at 4 inches in 12" X 12" Black Cardstock.

I picked the red variegated paper from the Sangria Paper Packet 

its the back of the zig zag strip and it has patches of colour variations. I LOVE this paper. 

I stamped in Pomegranate Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad the words from Twinkle – October 2015 Stamp of the Month Noel, Peace and Joy. I also cut a sheet full of cricut shapes when I made my card for the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop so I used one of the  24 that I had fit on my mat without using Cricut Craftroom. *Note: If I had used Cricut Craftroom I could have fit heaps more on my 12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock page. I stored the extra's in the envelope with the Twinkle – October 2015 Stamp of the Month and whenever I use it I have extras there.

When I finished the stamping of those bits I thread the Black Shimmer Trim through the black buckle. Hint: I threaded it with the backing still attached and then removed it while it was in place, it took a bit of threading with the clear backing but it was easier than threading the sticking part.

Happy with how it turned out. I used Pomegranate Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad for the frame and Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad for the Merry Everything.

This is my latest card buffet card using the Workshops on the Go® Sangria Scrapbooking Kit and the CUTEST stamp set in the world Animal Greetings which is the Operation Smile Fundraising Stamp set. $7 from every sale of this stamp go towards the Operation Smile Charity who provide life-changing operations for children with Cleft pallet and Cleft Lip surgeries in third world countries. 

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my latest projects. I'm really interested to hear what you think about it, so I'd love you to leave a comment before heading off to the next stop on our Australasian Blog Hop which is Anne Patterson - Mummy You Made This?

  Come back to see me again soon.