Last Chance CTMH Annual Inspirations Australasian Blog Hop

Welcome to our Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop, we are all sharing our favourite things from the Annual Expressions Catalogue that is just about to finish up at the end of this month!! PANIC STATIONS... Last chance ordering!! Most of these things you won't be able to get after this month!! So many exciting new things are coming but so many things have to go to make room for the new things. Don't worry you can still get them if you are QUICK!

If you have arrived here from Doris Taylor Creative Inspirations 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.

Some of my favourite things that are retiring and that I love are the embossing folders and some of the shimmer trim (pink, blue, teal, bronze and purple). There are new and exciting embossing folders coming in the new catalogue but you need to get all the others before they're gone. There is a section on our websites that show Going Soon Products which is a great place to check out. The new catalogue has lots of new ribbons coming but no new shimmer trim, so hopefully we will get some next year, in the meantime I have been teaching my customers to paint their shimmer trim with watercolour paint. 

The below gift card I made with one of the retiring embossing folders called - Quatrefoil Embossing Folder and my favourite retiring colour "Cotton Candy". A lot of the colours in the Adventure range are changing so many of those colours are retiring to make way for new vibrant colours. 

The card is just a 4x4 square of 12" × 12" White Daisy Cardstock and then a pop up was cut, the 2x4 bit of 12" × 12" Cotton Candy Cardstock was embossed and then stuck on the front. I stuck the flowers on the top of the embossed card with 3-D Foam Tape. I painted with Watercolor Paints and Waterbrush—Small Round and Waterbrush—Medium Round. 

The next card I made to show the beauty of the Circle Diffuser and the Scallop Embossing Folder. I demonstrated this at our recent retreat and everyone was rather impressed. I finished it off with some White & Gold Ribbon, a sentiment from Fairytale Birthday and some 12" × 12" Pacifica Cardstock. I used Memory Book Mini Glue Dots™ to adhere the ribbon to the white daisy cardstock. 

At the retreat I also showed everyone some ideas using thin cuts (as per the first card) and the below little card was a favourite with Ornate Blossoms & Ornate Blossoms Thin Cuts coloured with ShinHan Markers (Thin Cuts aren't retiring for 1 more month). I finished my card off with retiring Shimmer trim x2. Every card or project needs BLING and Shimmer trim is the perfect accompaniment to any project!! The blue has unfortunately already retired but the Teal Shimmer Trim is still available until the end of this month. After telling everyone at the retreat that my favourite SHIMMER TRIM IS RETIRING (Nooooooooo!!!)... I did show them how to paint white shimmer trim with watercolour paints to get matching colours, but its more fiddly than just grabbing it and sticking it on!  

This month is the LAST MONTH OF the Annual Expressions Catalogue. Go to my website or your consultants website to see all the exciting products available BEFORE THEY'RE GONE FOREVER!! (yes I'm still being dramatic - I don't want anyone to miss out!!!). 

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my latest project, I hope you get inspired. 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 Lauren Moore - CTMH Craftings.

  Come back to see me again soon.

Seasonal Expressions 1 Last Chance CTMH Australasian Blog Hop

Welcome to our Australasian Close to My Heart Blog Hop featuring Our Favourite things from the Seasonal Expressions Catalogue/Ideas book. Almost everything in this ideas book Catalogue is going to be retiring at the end of April. TEN DAYS TIME... Is anyone panicking?? or is it just me??  

If you have arrived here from Tanya Armitage - Happy papercrafting 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.

My Favourite section of the Seasonal Expressions 1 catalogue was the one I've just been working with this month, the Regatta section. I really love the stamp sets in this section. I started with a 12" X 12" sheet of Kraft Cardstock and I cut it into three cards that folded to 4 inches x 5.5 inches (leftover strips of cardstock shown). 

I used the leftover Regatta Paper from the Workshops Your Way™ Regatta Scrapbooking Kit and zip strip. Plus I printed the Happy Birthday Matey and Pirate in Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad from the Pirate Birthday. 

I used the Pirate Birthday stamp set in a few cards because its just so cute! 

I finished this card with the Regatta Complements from the Workshops Your Way™ Regatta Scrapbooking Kit. I coloured in the mini little pirate with Shin Han Markers

Next (above) I used a peice of Watercolor Paper that I had already painted with a variegation technique using the Close to My Heart Watercolor Paints and Paintbrush Set. When I am painting I like to paint lots of extra paper to use for varying projects later. All I did to finish this card off was stamp the images from the Pirate Birthday on the front. Its one of my favourite cards. Simple yet artistic. 

This next card I made (above) was using a mix of the Pirate Birthday and My Anchor stamp sets which are both really cute. The "nothing but blue skies ahead" title was a zip strip cut down from the Workshops Your Way™ Regatta Scrapbooking Kit. The anchor and paper were also from that kit. I created the "Happy Birthday Matey" banner with 12" X 12" White Daisy Cardstock and my Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors. The ink colour on this card with Sapphire Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad which is one of the Regatta colours. 

The next card I made with another pre-painted piece of Watercolor Paper that I had already painted using the Close to My Heart Watercolor Paints and Paintbrush Set. Once I painted the card, all I added with the images from the My Anchor stamp set in Black Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad all stuck on the 5 1/2" X 4 1/4" Colonial White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack.

I still had some pre-painted watercolor Paper that I had already painted using the Close to My Heart Watercolor Paints and Paintbrush Set. This time I wanted to use another stamp set that I loved from the Seasonal Expressions 1 Catalogue. It is a little M-sized stamp set called A Day for Mother. 

I had been shown some really great techniques at our last Fun Day and hadn't finished them off. So I decided having already painted them that I would make this a Mothers day card. I used Sapphire Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad.

 To finish off the card, underneath the edges I put Silver Shimmer Trim. 

I started off cutting it in half with my Non-stick Micro-tip Scissors but it was really fiddly and didn't look that great so on the sides I just used the full width of the shimmer Trim. I like the fancy edge it gave to the finished product. 

This was a really fun card to paint and finish off. 

My last card (above) was also pre-painted with watercolour and I added the Balloon Wishes balloon to the colour washed card and the A Day for Mother stamp underneath. These were really quick cards for me because I'd done all the work of the painting at the last fun day and I was just finishing them off. This card was also stuck on the 5 1/2" X 4 1/4" Colonial White Cards & Envelopes, Value Pack.

Remember Regatta and these stamp sets are only available until the end of THIS MONTH so make sure you get it soon, so you don't miss out! Go to my website www.vandra.ctmh.com.au or your consultants website and order today. 

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my latest projects. I got really carried away with these stamp sets, they are just too cute! Don't delay getting your hands on these products, because they will soon be gone... HYPERVENTILATING (Although new products will becoming soon too, so I will hyperventilate over that excitement 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 Wendy Hopper Expressions of the Heart

  Come back to see me again soon.