CTMH Australasian Blog Hop - "Dreamin' Big"

Hello and welcome to our March Blog Hop showcasing the beautiful "Dreamin' Big" Paper Pack.
If you have arrived here from https://wordpress.com/post/cropcraf... then you are in the right spot. If you arrived here by happy coincidence then enjoy playing along.

As always, a lot of work goes into making these hops happen so please go right around and feel free to leave comments.  Constructive feedback helps us to know what you want to see more of!

Now, this paper pack is perfect for those of us with a rural lifestyle.  I am a country girl by birth and by choice and we moved back to a more rural lifestyle a year ago.  I am also lucky enough to have regular visits home to my parent's Qld farm.  This paper was perfect for our Christmas farm photos.

I really enjoyed using the new circle thin cuts on borders this month.  I love borders (I am secretly on a mission to bring back the border) - it takes next to no supplies to create a sweet border and best of all borders give you plenty of room for your photos to be star of the show!
The complements are just beautiful - those gorgeous little bugs!  My son is a bug boy (always has loved his critters) so it is perfect for his photos.

The bottom layout looks a bit funny with two photos so similar there in the middle but what you can't see is that I have used one of our half page memory protectors (3 spaces for 4x6 landscape photos) to fit an extra 6 photos into this double page layout.  I love how easy they are to use.

So there you have it.  I have done an enormous amount of scrapping in January and February - quick simple pages mean I am almost up to date (even with all of those pesky Christmas photos!)  Keep on keeping on! Your photos will thank you (and so will your loved ones!)
Until next time,
Keep smiling,
Nell

Now head over to https://passionateaboutpages.com/2017/03/15/dreamin-big-ctmh-australasian-blog-hop where Shaunna is waiting to show you her artwork!

Taking Stock: March

Joining in with Pip Lincolne to take stock of life as we head into a new season

Making : C2C wrap with love - love how easy C2C is but hate the nasty acrylic
Cooking : Bliss balls and healthy wholemeal apple muffins (trying a few new things for lunchboxes
Drinking : chai tea 
Reading: Tale of Two Cities (which I just can't get into) and Letters from Paris
Trawling: Bendigo Woollen Mills looking at luxury 8 ply
Wanting: to replenish my 8 ply stash
Looking: at the dead flowers on the coffee table and the dog hair on the carpet
Deciding: we really do need a decent vacuum cleaner
Enjoying: getting to know new kindy kids
Waiting: for my upcoming CTMH weekend and the Bungaree fibre retreat at the end of March
Liking: That I managed to get through everything on my to do list yesterday
Wondering: if that could be habit forming
Loving: A night at home before crazy week starts
Pondering: Why some people make dramas where there are none
Listening: to the hum of the fish tank and the sound of the bunny thumping around in her cage
Considering: How much battery power the laptop has left (I left my cord at kindy)
Buying: a present from T2 for my friend
Watching: Call the Midwife (seasons 1-3)
Marvelling: At how blessed we are
Cringing: At how messy the kitchen is
Needing: To pack for our Melbourne Conference
Questioning: What to wear
Smelling: Stinky rabbit and dead roses
Wearing: my work clothes and sensible shoes
Noticing: how slow the internet is tonight
Knowing: the year will fly by
Thinking: I should be typing risk assessments
Admiring: crochet patterns on ravelry
Getting: tired - I need more sleep
Disliking: how messy the kitchen is and how slow the internet is LOL
Opening: cold and flu tablets
Closing: pantry doors
Feeling: a little bit blah and sleepy
Celebrating: the new arrival of a friend's little daughter and another's news of impending birth
Pretending: to be more on top of things than I really am!
Embracing: life, chaos, and the day to day stuff in all of its messy glory.

CTMH SOM Tea-rrific Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Australasian Close To My Heart Stamp of the Month blog hop.  If you are here from http://laurenctmhcraftings.blogspot.com/2017/03/s1703-tea-rrific-ctmh-australasian-blog.html then welcome.  Also a big hello to those who have arrived here by accident and also to my long time readers.  I hope you are enjoying these blog hops?

So how was your February? Tea-rrific I hope!  March's SOM involves something dear to my heart - tea-cups with sweet sentiments about friends and Mothers!  Now I love a good cup of tea, especially in the company of dear friends. My two current favourites are the T2 Blue Mountain tea and a Dilmah one called "Rose with French Vanilla" which is undeniably girly and sweet.  I will admit that this stamp takes a bit more playing with than some but I am pretty happy with the way I have been able to use it.

First up is a sweet and simple card using our Dreamin' Big paper range with a scrap of leftover Sugar Rush.  I used sea glass paper and ink and our new Circle thin cuts.  I employed a little trick taught to me many, many years ago by the talented Chris Lothian (her blog is in my blog list on the right) If you want a small edge/border around something but don't have coordinating thin cuts or fancy edging tools just use your micro tip scissors and take random little snips to make a pretty random scallop type edge - super quick and effective. Dreamin' Big is our feature paper pack this month so be sure to go blog hopping on March 15 to see more of this beautiful paper!

The two little tags (because yes I am still a bit obsessed with using my scraps to make tags) were actually coloured in by my girls.  Maddie has decided she would like her very own set of Shinhan markers as they are "the best pens EVER" (high praise from a 7 year old stationery junkie!)

The next page used a masking technique with a post it note at the bottom of the tea cup stack so that I could have them go right down the page.

The last page is an important one to me.  A couple of years ago I did an online class with Stacey Julian. She really helped me to let go of being so chronological in my albums but she also helped me to think about the stories that I wanted to tell, that maybe needed to be told, in my albums.  This is a page that fits into that philosophy. I cannot stress to my customers enough the importance of journalling your memories, especially when they are about something or someone important to you. My challenge to you this month is to make a layout that is not about "art" but about "heart" - that tells an important story.  In years to come you will be glad that you did!

Can you see how that bigger teacup just fits a little sentiment or a sweet heart sticker nicely? And it would work well stamped and fussy cut on all sorts of patterned paper - think about a small floral? Or spots? So many possibilities! I can't wait to use this stamp for a sweet Mother's Day card at my card buffet this month!

Happy March Folks.
Don't forget to leave me a comment and now finish off that cup of tea and head over to http://expressionsofthe-heart.blogspot.com/2017/03/march-2017-tea-rrific-ctmh-australasian.html
Until next time,
Happy Scrapping,
Nell
xx