January Blog Hop - Celebrating Summer

Happy New Year and Welcome to our January Blog Hop where this month we are 'Celebrating Summer'. 

I have created a card using fresh summery colours which go perfectly with our gorgeous Kaleidoscope Paper packet.

 

I adhered Kaleidoscope B&T duo paper (Green side) onto a Cotton Candy cardstock mat then adhered that to a card.  I then cut a piece of Kaleidoscope B&T duo paper (Spots) and dovetailed one end, then adhered it to the bottom left hand side of the card.  I dovetailed a 3-3/4" piece of Green Shimmer Trim and a 1/2" x 3-1/4" White Daisy cardstock.  I stamped the 'Hello Sunshine' sentiment (D1634) onto the piece of white daisy.  These were then arranged and adhered to the spotted banner. 

Using Canary, Sunset, Gypsy & Cotton Candy stamp pads I stamped the 'Beach Gear' stamp set (A1164) onto White Daisy.  I arranged the Beach Gear onto the front of the card and adhered with 3-D Foam Tape.

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog.  I hope you will visit again.  Select the 'Follow by Email' option to receive email notifications of my future blogs.

If you want to view more of the Close To My Heart products, just go to my website www.helenmack.ctmh.com.au.  If you have any queries don't hesitate to send me an email, helenmack@live.com. 

Now, for more great ideas for Celebrating Summer, 'hop' over to Michelle's Blog to see what she has created this month.

Happy crafting
Cheers Helen

November Blog Hop - Watercolour Paints

Hello and welcome to our November Blog Hop.  I have missed the last few 'hops' because I have been on holidays but I am back and raring to go!

This month we are showcasing our Watercolour Paints.  This has been quite a challenge for me as I have never used them before but I must say that I had a lot of fun having a play and learning how to use them.  After trying a few different things I finally decided to create a small piece of art for a card ..... and here is the finished product!

I started by using my All Purpose Mat.  It is fantastic to use for this type of crafting.  It has a non slip waterproof surface which is just perfect when using our Watercolour Paints and Inks.  I started by applying strokes of yellow paint to the Watercolour Paper, followed by green strokes.  I then loaded the paintbrush with water to 'wash' and blend the colours and to make them not as intense. 

I then dotted purple paint to resemble spears of lavender and finished with random dots of green.

When the paper was dry I used Duck adhesive to adhere the painting to Thistle cardstock and then to Pear cardstock.  I then placed the art work to the bottom right hand corner of the card.

I stamped the sentiment 'Just Because' using Thistle Stamp pad directly onto the card in the top right hand corner.

I cut one 1/2" x 2-3/4" strip of Pear cardstock and one 1/2" x 2" strip of Thistle cardstock, and adhered them to the top left hand side of the card.

As I mentioned earlier, this is my first serious attempt at using watercolour paints and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the journey.  So if you are like me, take the plunge and have a go.  If you are an old hand at it, you already know how much fun it is. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog.  I hope you will visit again.  Select the 'Follow by Email' option to receive email notifications of my future blogs.

If you want to view more of the Close To My Heart products, just go to my website  www.helenmack.ctmh.com.au.  If you have any queries don't hesitate to send me an email, helenmack@live.com or ring me 0407 316 049. 

Now, for more great ideas using Watercolour Paints, 'hop' over to Michelle's Blog to see what she has created this month.

Happy crafting
Cheers Helen

July Blog Hop - Operation Smile Stamp Set - Happy Everything

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to our July Blog Hop.  If you have arrived from Alison's Blog then you are on the right path. 

This month we are featuring the Operation Smile stamp set - Happy Everything - D1653.

Happy Everything Card 

 

 

The background cardstock is Indian Corn Blue.  On a smaller White Daisy piece of cardstock I randomly stamped the balloon shape from Happy Everything - D1653 using Archival Black stamp pad.  I then coloured in the balloons using the following ShinHan Markers :

• Z2448 - Carmine - R11
• Z2466 - Vivid Green - G46
• Z2453 - Lavender - P83
• Z2449 - Cerulean Blue Light - B262

On a smaller piece of White Daisy cardstock I stamped the sentiment in Indian Corn Blue, then backed it with Indian Corn Blue cardstock.

 





 

A little bit about Operation Smile - When you purchase the D-size Happy Everything stamp set at full retail price, Close To My Heart will donate $3USD of the proceeds to Operation Smile.  Since its founding in 1982, Operation Smile has performed over 220,000 surgical procedures to correct facial deformities in children.

Operation Smile coordinates more than 30 medical mission sites in 25 countries annually. Last year, medical volunteers provided free surgeries for 9,221 children through international and local in-country medical missions.


Thanks so much for taking the time to visit my blog.  I hope you will visit again.  Select the 'Follow by Email' option to receive email notifications of my future blogs.

If you want to view more of the Close To My Heart products, just go to my website  www.helenmack.ctmh.com.au.

Now, for more great ideas using the Happy Everything Stamp Set, 'hop' over to Wendy's Blog to see what she has created this month.

Happy crafting
Cheers Helen

June Blog Hop - Shades of Pink!

Our Blog Hop this month is featuring 'Shades of Pink'.  Close to my Heart have some beautiful pink shades in cardstock and matching ink pads.  We also have the beautiful Brushed Paper Pack.
 
If you have come here from Julie's blog you are on the right path!  The blog hop is a giant circle, so no matter where you start you can work your way through all the blogs.  If you get lost along the way you can find a list of all the blogs in this blog hop on Alison's blog - just click here. Alison's Blog 
 

Shades of Pink Card

The background paper is from the Brushed Paper Pack.  The animals are from 'Cuddly Salutations' stamp set.  I stamped them onto White Daisy cardstock using Cotton Candy ink pad.  They are mounted onto Cotton Candy cardstock which was then mounted onto the Brushed paper.  'Happy Birthday' is stamped onto White cardstock.

This is a fun card which is perfect for a little girl's Birthday.

Thanks for visiting my blog to see what I have created.  I hope you will visit again.  Select the 'Follow by Email' option to receive email notifications of future blogs.

If you want to view more of the Close to my Heart products, just go to my website www.helenmack.ctmh.com.au 

Now for more great ideas go to Wendy's Blog to see what she has created.

Cheers Helen

May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

How Exciting!  This is our first team blog hop.  This blog hop is featuring Close to my Heart's May Stamp of the Month - 'Just Sayin'.  Just Sayin' is full of sayings and embellishments for you to use in a variety of ways.

If you have come here from Julie's blog you are on the right path!  The blog hop is a giant circle, so no matter where you start you can work your way through all the blogs.  If you get lost along the way you can find a list of all the blogs in this blog hop on Alison's blog - just click here. Alison's Blog 

Just Sayin' Card

I made the base of the card from Indian Corn Blue cardstock.  I cut a 5-1/4" x 4" piece of Colonial White cardstock and stamped triangles with Indian Corn Blue ink, the circles and banners with Crystal Blue ink.  Adhere to card base.  On 1-1/4" x 2" piece of Colonial White cardstock I stamped 'You + Me' - first with Crystal Blue ink then with Pacifica ink.  Sponge the edges of 'You + Me' with Pacifica ink.  Using 3-D Foam Tape adhere to the middle of the card.


Thanks for visiting my blog to see what I have created.  Now go to Michelle's Blog to see what she has created.

Remember, this stamp set is only available until the end of May.  Contact your Close to my Heart consultant, or Click Here to see how you can purchase it at a great discount!

Cheers Helen

Welcome to My Blog

Welcome to my first ever Blog Post!

This is a big step for me and I hope you will visit often to see what I have to share with you. 

I have lots of fun creating scrapbook pages, cards and paper projects from beautiful papers, embellishments and stamps (there is nothing better than getting 'inky fingers') and I will share these with you on a regular basis. 

I am also taking part in a Blog Hop which I hope you will follow to see what my friends (other Close to my Heart consultants) create. 

If you are interested in getting 'crafty' I offer monthly evening workshops and quarterly all day workshops.  Email me at helenmack@live.com if you want more information. If you would like to shop with me go to my website:  www.helenmack.ctmh.com.au.

As I said earlier, this is a big step for me, a bit scary but I'm jumping in with both feet.  Join me on the journey ... it might be a bumpy ride though as I come to terms with mastering the 'blog monster'.

So tighten your seatbelt, stay tuned, and I hope you like my blog.

Helen xx