CTMH Australasian Blog Hop - Hello Lovely

Welcome to our CTMH Australasian Blog Hop for "Hello Lovely"
If you arrived here from http://creatingwithkaradavies.blogspot.com/2017/02/hello-lovely-blog-hop.html then you are in the right place.  If you found your way here by accident then hello to you!

Now, this is not a statement I make lightly but this really is my all time favourite CTMH paper pack! I suspect that this one will always hold a special place in my heart because this one has got me finishing my wedding album almost 14 years after my wedding!

The beautiful muted roses in this paper pack are exactly the same tones as the olde world roses that were in my bouquet and the blush shimmer ribbon is an exact match for my dress. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this paper suite!

This layout was done using up my scraps (cutting 2 inch squares and using small leftover strips) The "what a day" comes from the "Snapshot Complements"
The next one uses the "Adore You" from last month's SOM (and I will let you in on a secret - the journalling box hides a botched stamping attempt underneath)

 This layout was modified from one we did at our Convention this year - I just added photos and the journalling box on the right hand side.

 And this is also one we did at Convention - I love the layering of paper and complements on this one.

 If the wedding layouts don't thrill you - how about a very sweet simple card using our new "Dreamin' Big" dragonfly stamp and thin cut (overlayed with the lightest touch of gold from our gold shimmer pen!)

Last but not least, a dear friend recently reminded me of the joy of using your scraps to make tags.  I haven't decided yet if these will end up on a page or a card but they were certainly fun to play with.

So there you have it! Hello Lovely! 

Now click on this link Maz's blog to see more of the beauty of this paper pack!

Just Summer Chillaxin'

Hello Friends,
Welcome to a lazy Saturday at home.
It feels somewhat strange to have children growing up and going their own ways enough that we have more leisure time on the weekends (as long as I still feed them at regular intervals)  The father, and the children, in this house all have a tendency to gravitate to electronic devices on the weekends which gives me some fibre/papercraft/reading a good book time.  Whilst I regularly fight this and wish they would spend more time outside I am somewhat outnumbered.

So what's been happening?

Reading: I am currently obsessed with Outlander. Waiting for Series 3 and reading book 3 and seriously debating whether to buy the book of Outlander knitting patterns.  It has been in my book depository cart, then out, then back in again.  Somehow I think that while chunky rustic knits might look AMAZING on Claire Fraser, they will probably just look kind of lumpy, farm girl and smell slightly of sheep on me.
I was lucky enough to get my copy of "No Scrap Left Behind" this week. I LOVE it.  It makes me want to sew. I do have a crafty, sewing day planned for this week so stay tuned.
I am also reading "The Light We Cannot See" which I have wanted to read FOREVER but so far my Outlander obsession is winning out over it.  I am reading "A Tale of Two Cities" for our rav reading group.  So many famous lines in it but I still can't confess to being much of a Dickens fan.  I suspect that there may be others firmly planted in the Austen camp that feel the same way? He does have a tendency to "over" describe.

Knitting: I just finished this http://www.ravelry.com/projects/nelliebligh/tashirojima-haori-cardigan-test for my niece.  I kind of hate it, kind of love it.  Love the pattern. Hate the acrylic wool.  The way the pockets are knitted in blows my mind and I love that I learned how to do something totally new.
I've also been knitting little hats for kindy babies.  3 girls in a row and still 2 more pregnancies for Autumn so I will be knitting for a while yet.

Crochet: A friend recently taught me how to do C2C crochet and now I am addicted. I am using acrylic (ugh) in different shades of blue to do a Wrap With Love. I can do a square and a half in a night so this might be the quickest blanket ever.

Kathy recently had a Spin along on Rav and I was lucky enough to win a project bag which has come in perfect for storing my WIP square and a couple of balls of wool.

The garden: EVERYTHING has gone to seed and the birds are eating the nectarines faster than we can. Because of the heat the nectarines only last a few days off the tree.  I need to try some nectarine recipes or at least stew some up but it has been so hot here (finally!) that the thought of spending time in the kitchen is just blah.  My roses are loving the combo of recent rain and sudden heat.

Papercrafting: I went to a SA training day with my Close to My Heart upline last weekend and was reminded of the difference between "Heart" and "art" - I snuck in a few hours Wednesday to finally get photos onto pre-done/demo pages - 24 pages in just a couple of hours.  I put them into albums this morning. A good feeling.  Get those pages finished!  While we are on the topic, I hope you are enjoying the bi monthly blog hops?

If you have ever thought of being a consultant then there is a great joining offer this month and also a fab re-start for those who have been consultants previously. 

This afternoon I need to do some more pages for my February workshops.  I love that I am finding time for scrapping again and seem to have regained some of my lost mojo!

Dyeing: I had a go at overdyeing my peach coloured cardigan. I like it so much better now. I think I will even forgive it for being the project I worked on when James missed the plane to New Zealand for our wedding anniversary!  Amazing what a difference colour can make. The brown is so much more me.  

Kids: Dan starts footy clinic tomorrow morning. Wish us luck.  Maddie started ballet this week. How stinkin' cute is she?

I also love that her teacher is just joyful and fun and totally not serious and the other "ballet mums" were totally normal and not all pretentious.  I think it will be a very easy 45 minutes of wait time with my knitting each week.

Hmm, well that is it for the moment.  If you are still skulking around here but haven't left a comment in a while why don't you just add a "hi" and tell me what you've been doing with your Summer?

I'll be back on the 15th for another CTMH paper pack blog hop.

Happy Weekending,

Nell

xxx

CTMH Australasian Blog Hop "Easter Bunny" SOM

Welcome to our February SOM Blog Hop. If you are here from http://woodies-creations.blogspot.com/2017/02/ctmh-australasian-blog-hop-s1702-easter.html then you are in the right place. If you arrived here by accident then welcome to you too!

This month we feature S1702 "Easter Bunny" which is a D size stamp set available only in February for $7.50 with a $75 order.

Now although this stamp has been brought out for Easter, in our house we never have any shortage of bunny love and when I first saw it I knew that it would be perfect for photos of our sweet Marmalade Rabbit.

 There are two tools that are absolute game changers for this stamp.  The first are our non-stick micro tip scissors - they are perfect for fussy cutting sweet bunnies. The second is the Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I am a new convert to this ink (having always used our Archival Black) I find that the Memento Tuxedo gives a beautiful, clean, crisp line and good coverage and doesn't smudge or run whether you are using watercolours, watercolour pencils or our Shinhan markers.  I used pens when I wanted brighter more saturated colours and watercolours and pencils when I wanted a subtler shade.
This SOM works beautifully with both the "Hello Lovely" and "Dreamin' Big" paper suites. On this first layout I have used the zip strips from "Dreamin' Big" to make those little ribbons at the top.  The photos were matted in the juniper print from "Dreamin' Big" and then I used a piece of the pink art deco "Hello Lovely" on the right hand side. Isn't the little flower border so sweet?

 This layout uses the beautiful Kraft spot and Complements from "Rustic Home Fundamentals" I traced around a saucer and free cut the circle then used one of our water brushes to paint in the title and the grass.

We have a family tradition of celebrating Easter with my inlaws at Aldinga.  Because I work on an album for each child and a family album I always know that I will have 4 lots of Easter photos so I am happy to do a few layouts before Easter to make life easier! This will be for my son's album so I found that the brighter colours of "Dreamin' Big" worked perfectly.  A note about those photo mounts. I am a lazy scrapper and I love my camera.  Because of this, the bulk of my photos are 4x6.  When I design layouts for the photos to go on later I try to make my photo mounts practical so the left hand side one is suitable for 2 landscape 4x6s and the right side is a 5x7 (a bigger portrait print of my son with his Easter basket) and a smaller 4x6 portrait. If you can get in the habit of making border mounts 4.25x6.25 or for a double 8.5x6.25 then it is a simple process to add photos later.

Once again I have made the most of zip strips. The little title box is one of the PML pieces with the "happy" complement from "Dreamin' Big" with the "Easter" from the SOM. I stamped the sweet little flower border in juniper. I also used foam tape (I love that stuff!) to pop the top rabbit up off the banner! A very quick and easy layout!

Last but not least are the two little "Hello Lovely" cards.  I like to have a couple of generic "feel good" cards on hand to send to friends when I want them to know I am thinking of them.  Truth be told I am better at sending that kind of card than birthday cards! Isn't that "Hello Lovely" paper just divine? If you want to see more of it be sure to join us on the 15th of February for our "Hello Lovely" Blog Hop. 

Now hop on over to Maz's blog to check out some more work from talented Aussie CTMH consultants. Just follow the link http://wp.me/p45lJH-HB

Oh, and we would love for you to leave a comment too - let's keep sharing that sweet bunny love!