Classic Summer Bash Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Australasian Blog Hop for May!  Did you arrive here from the lovely Doris?
May already! How did that happen?  If you are anything like me you are still scrapping Summer photos so this stamp will work perfectly for those occasions.  As is usual with Stamp of the Month this stamp can be yours for just $7.50 with a $75 purchase this month (and what a month to spend money with all of the glorious new products available in our Seasonal Expressions Catalogue!)  See your consultant for more details or if you don't have a consultant feel free to shop with me at www.nellward.closetomyheart.com.au

I think my favourite part of this stamp is that cute little banner.  I also think the jar will come in super handy to put floral stamps in as an informal vase.  

This super simple little card is just one of our bulk white daisy cards cut into a square and corner rounded.  I used a background texture stamp like the one from our "Colourful Texture"set (D1784) with glacier ink and then stamped an M sized sentiment on with memento black ink.  The little banners were in Twilight, Cranberry and Canary ink.

This card uses one of the PML cards from our new "Documented" Paper and then a scrap of blue behind it and black ink to stamp the jug and lemons and banner.  Then I just cut tiny triangles from scrap paper.  

This page is just waiting for some photos of my funny friends.  I am very lucky to be part of a "secret" Pimms group of like-minded, fun loving school mums who come and drink Pimms and eat cheese on my deck on nice afternoons.  It is a tradition that I love and we always laugh so hard that my stomach muscles hurt so I thought it was worth documenting these beautiful friends in my album.  Our albums should be a celebration of our relationships! Of course now I need to organise another Pimms afternoon to get some photos - the things we do for our scrapbooking!!!
I used Willow cardstock and ink, with the same Twilight, Cranberry and Canary combo for the lettering.  I know that the "Location", "Date" and "Time" stamp will be great for future birthday invites/social gatherings but it also works beautifully as a journalling prompt.

So that is it from me this month.  Hop on over to Wendy's Blog to keep sharing the great ideas!
Happy Scrapping,
Nell

Colour Your Life SOM Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Close to My Heart Australasian Blog Hop for April's Stamp of the Month "Colour Your Life"

Did you arrive here from Maz's Blog?  Just read to the end of this post and then click on the link to go right around and see what we have all been up to.

As the title suggests this stamp set is perfect for playing with shinhan markers, watercolour pencils or watercolours but it also works beautifully just stamped in a single colour coordinated with your cardstock.

Over the past few months you may have noticed that Close to My Heart have been matching Stamp of the Months to the featured paper suite for that month.  April's SOM works perfectly with the April paper pack "Gimme Some Sugar" which we will be featuring on the Blog Hop on the 15th.

First up I have some super simple cards to show you.

Using white daisy cardstock, bashful shimmer paper and our heart diecuts, Gimme Some Sugar patterned paper and a little bit of penwork - I think this would be perfect for a kitchen tea or even an engagement or birthday for a friend who loves cooking?

Using the juniper patterned paper from Gimme Some Sugar and a flower cluster from the complements with some itty bitty sparkles to add a finishing touch.

Again using Juniper patterned paper from Gimme Some Sugar but mixing it up with a sweet little scallop border from our thincuts, a few peacock 1/2 inch strips and a couple of leftover stickers from my Star Gazer Complements.

I returned from this year's CTMH convention with a renewed passion for meaningful journalling.  My Mother In Law turns 70 later this year. This stamp was just perfect for honouring her in a layout.  I used a Glacier cricut cut background and added a bit of torn paper in the corner for a bit of texture.  The stamping was done onto Linen cardstock which is a great option if you need something not quite so stark as white but still nice and neutral.

And this is the page I will be teaching at our Hearts SA Consultant meeting this month.  Just cut a 3/4inch strip off each side of your Bashful paper and then centre the square on Pewter cardstock.  Trim the Gimme Some Sugar Feature paper to an  8 inch square (saving the flip side and zip strip for the bottom border)  Print your "be Kind" sentiment onto white daisy and colour with Shin han markers.  I mounted it on a bit of Tangerine card cut at 1 and a 1/4 inches by 6 inches then dovetailed.  A little bit of pen work and a few freehand cut banners out of the scraps complete the look.  If this layout looks familiar it is because it is the one I showed for Star Gazer last month here

As is always the way with our Stamp of the Months, this little beauty is yours to take home for just $7.50 with a $75 order this month.  See your consultant to order or if you don't have a consultant shop with me at my Close to My Heart website
So what do you think? Can you see how versatile this stamp set is? Feel free to leave a comment and then hop on over to Georgia's Blog for some more Colour Your Life fun!
Hoppy Easter!
Keep smiling,
Nell 

Star Gazer Australasian Blog Hop

Such a simple but effective layout for any 5x7 photo!

Oh I like this one! Welcome to our March Australasian Blog Hop featuring the bright and cheerful “Star Gazer” collection. Did you arrive here from Doris' Blog or just by chance? Either way, welcome! Please follow the links at the bottom of each post to see what we’ve all been creating. We would love it if you leave a comment too.

This pack features primary colours and works for a huge range of scrapbooking pages. I particularly love it for my Science mad son but it also worked great for go kart photos and our trip to the LEGO exhibition. Forgive the multiple pages of similar photos - these are double layouts for each of my children. Hopefully they show you there is always more than one way to skin a cat!

I love layouts that celebrate moments or traditions by pulling photos from different times together.  This page also uses faux stitching and pen work which I just love as a quick and easy way to add a little bit of extra oomph.

This pack works with so many different shades of cardstock - I particularly liked using it with Poppy, Honey, Pacifica and Slate

Do you like my "Awesome" title? Before you throw away your used sticker sheet check that there is not more potential to be gained by a bit of fussy cutting and matting onto coloured cardstock.  

Endless Summer PML cards are a great way to stretch your Stargazer supplies that little bit further and they work perfectly to celebrate our Aussie Summer days!

That is it for me this month.  Hop on over to Vandra's Virtual CTMH Craft-room to see some more ideas! And don't forget to join us early in April for our Stamp of the Month Hop!
Keep smiling,
Nell

Make Waves Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our Australasian Feature Paper Blog Hop for February.  Did you arrive here from Doreen's lovely blog ?
"Make Waves" is perfect for beach and pool photos, and anyone with mermaid-mad little girls is going to love this one but with a bit of thought this paper pack works for just about anything.

It also plays really nicely with Chelsea Gardens and Stargazing - like this page:

Stickers from the Make Waves and Stargazer Complements, Green scale paper from Make Waves, grey and white spot from Chelsea Gardens

Zip strips and coordinating cardstock make quick easy pages! Bashful and Lagoon cardstock

Another simple zip strip and the February Stamp of the Month on a cricut cut sun (I used canary ink to dauber around the edges)

I love how many different colours this paper pack works with! And how cute are those mermaids?

Sweet and simple! The little Make Waves Flower sequins add a little disco bling.

This is the card I made out of Making Waves using our new Make it From Your Heart Vol 4 Pattern 4.  I wanted to use our Birthday Sparkles Stamp but couldn't find it in my messy craftroom - any sentiment would work!
So that is it for me.  Please hop onto Doris's Blog to continue the hop (and we would love for you to leave a comment)
Keep smiling,
Nell

Sunny Thoughts February SOM Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our February Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop.  Hello to those that arrived from Denise's lovely blog and hello to all of you who found your way here by chance or accident.

The Sunny Thoughts SOM has a wonderful mix of sentiments and sweet floral motifs.

Fern ink and cardstock.  Sometimes I like to let great photos be the highlight of my page and keep the embellishments sweet and simple.

I particularly like the "Thank You" sentiment on this one - just the right size for quick easy cards.  Thank you cards are my favourite type of card to make and give.  We have so much to be thankful for in our lives and I hope that by having a stack of thank you cards on hand it makes it easy for my kids to show gratitude to others.  Even small kindnesses shouldn't go unacknowledged if it means we can brighten someone else's day.

Now, I initially thought this set would work beautifully with the Chelsea Gardens range (and it does!)  I can't get enough of the Sweetleaf and Glacier combination at the moment!)

Charcoal ink, Sweetleaf cardstock, Chelsea Gardens paper and complements

Sweet leaf and Glacier ink with a Charcoal sentiment.  I fussy cut the Glacier flowers and attached them with foam tape

The pale side of Glacier cardstock with some whisper twine and the Chelsea Garden's complements - I like to put some faux stitching with a journalling pen.

These cards were so quick and simple to make that I thought while I was on a roll I could use Make Waves:

Using Make Waves paper and complements

And then Stargazer!

I am certain that I have made more scrapbooking pages with this stamp but can't find them in the messy craft space (which is definitely above 40 degrees today - much too hot to play in!)

Make waves paper and complements

And Stargazer for a more masculine theme - I was so lazy with this one that I just used the two PML cards still joined together and then just put the sentiment over the top of the rocket.

Stargazer Complements with Charcoal ink

So that is it for me this month.  Thanks for all  of the lovely comments on our Chelsea Garden Blog Hop.  Now head over to our creative friend Doris to share the love!
Keep smiling,

Nell

Chelsea Gardens Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to our January feature paper Blog Hop for Australasia.  Did you arrive here from Doreen's Blog? 

Now I know that I regularly fall in love with Close to My Heart new paper but I think I have to say that Chelsea Gardens is truly my favourite paper pack right now!  This stunning collection celebrates family and gardens/nature and coordinates beautifully with a huge range of our core cardstock (especially Glacier, Charcoal, and Sweet Leaf)  I adore both of the stamp sets that coordinate with Chelsea Gardens and think that they are among the most versatile in our current Seasonal Expressions.

This card uses the Chelsea Gardens Cardmaking stamp C1709 with watercolour pencils and the shimmer brush - the "get well soon" is an old sentiment but could be swapped out with one of the sentiments from C1709. Don't you love that charcoal spot paper from the Chelsea Gardens Paper Pack X7230B?

This one uses the cardmaking stamp set C1709 with Sweet Leaf ink and cardstock and one of our little tag thin cuts with a scrap of vellum behind it.

I  was asked to make some sympathy cards for a friend.  This uses the beautiful flower and leaves from the Chelsea Gardens Scrapbooking stamp D1760 in Glacier and Sweet Leaf inks with a few Chelsea Gardens dots (Z4155) and a teeny bit of pen work.  So sweet and simple.

School holidays have given me the opportunity for lots of scrapping and sorting out.  I have made a start on our family album and each of the kids' 2018 albums. This page made use of our new number thin cuts (Z4159)  I cut a circle from our basic Cricut shapes for a different page and then used the rest of the paper with the circle removed as the base for our 2018 title page.  You might notice that I have used the flowers from D1760 but teamed them with a sticker leaf from the Chelsea Gardens Complements X7230C - don't be afraid to mix and match stamped images with complement stickers - everything in this range is designed to go together!

Maddie's title page - super simple with Glacier cardstock, a zip strip and those stunning butterflies from the cardmaking stamp set.  I like to add a few dots to the butterflies' flight paths with our journalling pen.

Dan's Title Page - just proving that Chelsea Gardens doesn't have to be girly!  I used some of the navy compliments from our Star Gazer collection for the "Awesome" and the stars.  The use of the navy and the charcoal give this page strength.

Hannah's title page - literally using scraps from other Chelsea Garden's projects.  Once again I cut the 2018 with the thin cuts and mix and matched stamped images and compliment stickers.

Using one of the PML cards - I love this page so much! A couple of years ago I did a Big Picture Class with Stacey Julian and she encouraged me to do this kind of page instead of chronological scrapping. I will never lose sight of chronologically scrapping events but I so love these kind of pages!

Ridiculous photos but they still capture the fun that my husband and daughter have together.  Don't you love the "Something Wonderful Together" sentiment from the Scrapbooking stamp set?  Such a great versatile title equally appropriate for weddings, anniversaries and celebrating relationships.


So that is it from me this month (I am off to scrap some more pages!!!)  Please leave me a comment and hop on over to Maz to see what wonderful creations she has for you!
Hope you love Chelsea Gardens as much as I do!
Keep smiling,
Nell

CTMH Australasian Blog Hop - Bloom and Grow SOM

Happy New Year and welcome to our Australasian CTMH blog hop for January.  If you arrived here from Doreen then welcome. A big welcome to my regular readers too and to those who arrived here by happy accident.

This little stamp set has some very sweet sentiments. I have always been a firm believer in the phrase "Bloom where you are planted" so love having it available on a stamp.  The little seed packet is just adorable and I can't wait to use it to package up seeds from my own garden for friends.

I have made these little seed packets on the cricut using the CTMH Artiste cartridge, nutmeg ink and the citrus green from our watercolour pencils

I particularly like the "Be-You-tiful" Picture My Life cards (Z4149) as a great way of extending pages and also making quick easy cards. They fit beautifully with this stamp and are very well priced!

These two cards took next to no time.  The first just needed the sentiment stamped in charcoal ink and a couple of sequins.  I added some gold shimmer to the flower stamens and mounted the PML card on juniper cardstock.

This one just needed a spare sticker and a few little bitty sparkles with the sentiment (again stamped in charcoal) added to the PML card, and then it is mounted on a piece of cardstock. So quick and so pretty!

PML cards are also great for embellishing pages.

That bottom border is just a PML card cut in half and the little tab at the top is a scrap leftover from something else. Once again I have coloured in the seed packet with a citrus green watercolour pencil.

How sweet do those little leaves and blossoms look in the corners of this layout? I can't wait to take some pretty photos of my litttle girl for this page.

So that is it for me.  I really do just love this sweet, old fashioned stamp set. As usual it is available for $7.50 with a $75 purchase.
Head on over to Doris to continue the hop.
Wishing you a wonderful start to 2018 with time spent with loved ones (and some sneaky scrapping time too!)
Keep smiling
Nell
xxx