My Card Box

I'm so excited about this cute decorated card box I created as part of my recent CTMH Convention presentation.

It's perfect for storing and organising your handmade cards in style! It's also a fabulous gift for someone who loves to keep the cards they receive. 

Would you like to create your own decorated card box for yourself or as a gift for someone special? I have kits available with everything you need to create this project (My Acrylic Organiser, Pomegranate Cardstock, Sangria Paper, Cricut-cut shapes & letters as well as detailed instructions).  You just need to supply your own adhesives.

If you'd prefer a ready-made card box perfect for using or gifting, I can create one for you.  Contact me for more information.

Crafty wishes,
Denise xx

It's in the bag!

I'm so excited about this month's awesome joining offer! 

If you have been dreaming of becoming a Close To My Heart Consultant and you are ready to have FUN, make new friends and build a business that you will love, then I'd just love you to join my Crafty Hearts Team.  Our team has so much fun sharing our love of cardmaking, project making and memory preservation through pocket, traditional and digital scrapbooking!  

As an Independent Consultant with Close To My Heart, you receive free training and support, business building tips, creative ideas and inspiration.  You will have your own free website, choose your own work hours and become part of a supportive network of passionate and inspirational women.  

The Consultant Kit is packed with heaps of gorgeous products for holding your first workshops, completing lots of crafty projects and getting your Close To My Heart business off to an amazing start. 

The new Consultant Kit is only $130 (contents are valued at over $435)! And this month, when you join my team, you will not only receive the fabulous new Consultant Kit, you will also receive this adorable limited edition 2015 Convention Bag FREE! 

This roomy bag is just perfect for heading to workshops and for storing and transporting your crafting supplies in style.

Contact me to find out more about this wonderful offer and start your journey with Close To My Heart today.  

Your new adventure starts here.

Crafty wishes,

Denise :)

CTMH Sangria Australasian Blog Hop

Hello and welcome aboard our Close To My Heart Sangria Australasian Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Creating with Kara Davies, then you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post. 

Sangria is a fresh and fabulous Collection created by Close To My Heart that features in the new 2015- 2016 Annual Inspirations Idea Book.  The Sangria range includes the Sangria Paper Packet, Sangria Workshops on the Go Scrapbooking Kit, Sangria Assortment and Sangria Complements which work on their own, or together, to create stunning colour coordinated scrapbook, card making and off-the page projects quickly and easily.

Today, I would like to share with you three cards that I have created featuring  paper from the new Sangria Paper Packet.  This Paper Packet includes 6 sheets of double-side B&T (Background and Texture) Paper and 6 sheets of coordinating Cardstock.  The colours featured in the Sangria Paper Packet include Champagne, Cocoa, Dessert Sand, Pomegranate, Eggplant and Poppy.

I think the colours in the Sangria Paper Packet work so well as non-traditional, yet fun and festive Christmas colours, so I challenged myself to see if I could make them work alongside a selection of CTMH's Christmas stamp sets.  I'll let you be the judge of whether or not I have achieved my goal! 


I made the first card from strips of Sangria B&T Paper along with Pomegranate Cardstock which I embossed with the Diamond Embossing Folder. I used two pieces of Poppy Thick Twine to add interest and texture to the card, using Mini Staples to hold it in place.  The stamped image is created from three separate stamp sets- A1170 Doodled Designs, B1390 Countdown and C1567 Santa Claus, which have been placed together on a 3" x 3" My Acrylix Block before being inked with Poppy Exclusive Ink and stamped on White Daisy Cardstock and matted with Poppy Cardstock.  For a final touch I added the bow, adhering it to the edge of the Cardstock with a Mini Glue Dot.

For the second card, I started with a Colonial White card from our Value Pack and added a 5 1/4" x 4" mat using Eggplant Cardstock. I then added 4 pieces of 2 1/2" x 1 7/8" Sangria B&T Paper, making sure to leave even spaces between the pieces and around the edge when adhering them to the mat.  To me, this style of card reminds me a little of a patchwork quilt with its pieces of plain and patterned paper and I just love it!  I then heat embossed the "Merry Christmas" stamp from the D1657 Holly Jolly Christmas stamp using Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder and added three Gold Sequins to complete the card. This is such a quick and easy card to make, but I think it looks quite classy with the gold embossing.

The final card is one of my favourite cards to make (I guess you probably know that by now)!  I love Starburst (sometimes called Sunburst) Cards.  This is a card that looks super complicated and fancy, but only takes about 5 minutes to create! My sort of card for sure!  Here I have combined co-ordinating B&T Paper and Cardstock from the Sangria Paper Pack with Gold Shimmer Trim and the "Christmas Love" stamp from the October 2015 Stamp of the Month, Twinkle. The Pomegranate Cardstock has been embossed using the Dot Embossing Folder and sanded with the Sanding Block from our Sanding Kit for some added texture.  The sentiment has been adhered with 3-D Foam Tape for added height. 

Thank you for visiting my Blog to check out my cards featuring the gorgeous Sangria papers.  I would love it if you would leave a comment below before you hop to the next stop on our Sangria Australasian Blog Hop, Lauren's Blog CTMH Craftings to see more creative ways to use the Sangria Paper Collection.

Remember, you can purchase any of the gorgeous Sangria products used to create these card projects from your CTMH Independent Consultant.

Until next time!

Warmest crafting wishes,

Denise :)

Twinkle- CTMH October Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Hello and welcome aboard our Close To My Heart October 2015 Stamp of the Month Australasian Blog Hop. If you have arrived here from Mez's Craft Room, then you are in the right place. If you landed here by accident, no problem, please join in by following the link at the end of this post. 

Today, I would like to share with you a few cards I have made that features the October Stamp of the Month, Twinkle.  I think that this stamp set is perfect for creating gorgeous backgrounds or for taking centre-stage on cards, pages, gift bags and other Christmas-themed paper crafting projects. This stamp set is available only in October 2015 for $27, or for just $7.50 when you spend $75 or more. 

For the past couple of weeks, I've been creating a bunch of Christmas cards for my upcoming Christmas Card Buffet and I remembered a cute Pinwheel Christmas card that the lovely Margaret Moroney, CTMH Consultant, shared with us last Christmas and I thought it would be a perfect addition to my Card Buffet.  

So here is the Pinwheel card I have created.  It features paper from our gorgeous new White Pines Paper Packet and the "Believe" sentiment from the October Stamp of the Month, Twinkle.  

To create the pinwheel, follow the steps below:

1.  Cut 2 pieces of Cardstock measuring 2 5/8" x 2 5/8".  I've used Cranberry on my card.  Use your Versamat to line up the two pieces of Cardstock as shown.  This needs to be exact, so take the time to do it correctly.

2. Now line up four pieces of 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" White Pines B&T Paper as shown.  Adhere each piece with a very small amount of adhesive as you will be inserting other pieces of paper underneath them in the next step.

3. Slip four pieces of 1 1/4" x 1 1/4" White Pines B&T Paper (reverse side) under the other four pieces as shown.  When they are all in position, adhere all of the pieces down well.

4. Finish the pinwheel by adding a large sequin to the middle.  I have used one from the Gold Assortment. 

Products used to create the White Pines Pinwheel Card include:

October Stamp of the Month, Twinkle
Colonial White Card and Envelope (Value Pack)
White Pines Paper Packet
Colonial White Cardstock
Cranberry Cardstock
Cocoa Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Gold Shimmer Trim
3-D Foam Tape
3L E-Z Dots Adhesive
Sequins- Gold Assortment
Quatrefoil Embossing Folder

Here are three more card projects I have created using the adorable October Stamp of the Month, Twinkle.

The card below features stamps from the White Pines Workshops on the Go Cardmaking Kit as well as the cute "twinkle" sentiment from the October Stamp of the Month.  I have used Desert Sand Ink to distress around the edges of the card base, White Pines B&T Paper and Cardstock to give it a vintage feel.  The addition of the Clear Sparkle to the star atop the tree helps the card to "twinkle".

The Starburst card below also features B&T Paper from the White Pines Paper Packet.  This card design is my go-to when I want to create a visually interesting but super-easy card in a few minutes.  This is one of those cards that looks impressive, but takes no time at all to make! Love it! The addition of embossing using the Dot and Floral Embossing Folders as well as a touch of glitz from the Red Shimmer Trim adds some interesting textural elements as well.

My final card is inspired by a cute card designed by Doreen Watkins, CTMH Consultant.  It features our new Sapphire Cardstock, White Daisy Cardstock embossed with the Stripe Embossing Folder and the Christmas lights, frame and sentiment from the Stamp of the Month.  The addition of a little bit of Silver Shimmer Trim adds a little pizzazz to this simple  card design.

Thank you for visiting my Blog to check out my special card projects featuring the October Stamp of the Month, Twinkle.  I would love it if you could leave a comment below before you hop to the next stop on our Australasian Blog Hop, Jo's Close 2 My Heart Craftroom to see more creative ways to use the October Stamp of the Month.

Remember, the October Stamp of the Month, Twinkle is only available throughout October 2015 from your Close To My Heart Independent Consultant for $27, or for just $7.50 when you spend $75 or more. 

Warmest crafting wishes,

Denise :)