December Blog Hop

Hi everyone, and welcome to my latest blog, thanks for stopping by. This blog is part of the December blog hop, so please follow the links, hop around and have a look at some fantastic crafty work. If you have come from Kerry's  blog at Kerrys Creative Collection then you are on the right path.
This months is Christmas gift ideas, and I have to admit to being a little stumped at first. What in the world was I going to do for this theme? Should I make some Christmas decorations? No it should be a gift. Should I decorate something? If so WHAT??? You get the picture, I was having a complete blank about what to make for this blog hop post.
Then out of the blue, I received a lovely email from someone I had given a gift pack of cards to, and a 'Thank-you' pressie.  I have made a few of these packs to have on hand to give as quick thank-you gifts to people when needed. I love making them, they are relatively quick to make and easy to boot.
So a big thank-you to that person, you have saved my December blog!
Now onto the project.
All you need to make these very cute little card folders, is 2 sheets of cardstock, various inks to match, and a few stamp sets, and 6 cards per pack.

 This is the finished product. But before you get there you start with this:

You start with 2 pieces of coloured B&T cardstock, I used Close To My Heart Nevermore paper, for the one I will show you completed here. But as you can see, I also made 4 other gift packs at the same time.
This is such a great little gift that is easy to make multiples of once you get the basics down pat. That's what I like about it, simple! I actually was taught how to make this in one of the very early workshops I went to as a brand new Close To My Heart consultant. I'm not sure who I should give credit too, but whoever they are, thank you.
One sheet of paper is for the folder and one page for the cards. I won't go into detail here how to make it, if you need instructions, please email me on juliespapercraft@gmail.com.au
After making the folder, its onto the cards. I make 6 cards for my folders, 6 seems to fit well without being too bulky. I make 2 of each card, so thats only 3 different designs. I make 2 different birthday cards and a 'thank-you' card.

The whole project took about half an hour and now I have a few more gift card folders to give away. These make inexpensive gifts for teachers, workmates, friends, well just about anoyone you want to say a big thatnks to.
If you would like me to teach a class in how to make these little beauties, would like me to make you some, or would like to buy the materials I used in this project please send me an email on juliespapercarfat@gmail.com
If you are interested in any of Close To My Heart's wonderful papercraft products please visit my website on juliemorrison.ctmh.com.au
I hope you have enjoyed my little Christmas gift idea. Please hop in over to Paperinkbling
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all get some time away from the Christmas craziness to do some craft. I know I will be trying find the time.
Until next time, Merry Christmas, I hope its a safe, happy and fun filled time for you all
Julie 

Good morning everyone, well it's now October, and I haven't posted a blog for what feels like AGES! I have been doing lots and lots of papercraft though. The winter months here are great for snuggling in and getting your crafty on. There have been heaps of workshops attended and even a little mini retreat. There is nothing better than a bit of time at my craft table.
I don't know about you, but when Im really stressed, just opening my inks and getting something on the page, no matter how small, makes me feel so much better. And, as Im in the middle of my 4th move in 6 years, Im a little stressed right now. So what did I do on the weekend instead of pack? I decided to do my project for this months blog hop!

Well, I did pack too, but I snuck away and did some scrapbooking as well. The worrying thing now is that my craft supplies are now snug in their boxes, ready to move, and so how will I de-stress at a very stressful time???
I will probably just be too busy as Im not only moving in three weeks, in two weeks Im off to Close To My Hearts, convention in Brisbane. Yippppeee.
Enough of my rambling... onto to the business of this post. Its October blog hop, and this months theme is the new Enchantment colours. These are Close To My Heart new colour scheme and to say I LOVE these colours are an understatement.
If you have come here from Kerry's blog, http://kerryscreativecollection.blogspot.com.au then you are on the right path. If you get a little lost don't worry just hop on over to Alison's blog, http://scissorspaperheart.wordpress.com hope you all enjoy the ride.
This is my play time this weekend. Its a scrapbook page, and a layout that is a favorite at the moment. Ive used it a lot in my recent work after getting the idea on pinterest. I love using different ways to make a plain piece of paper a bit different.

I have only used a few products, but the combination I feel and of course the wonderful, vibrant colours, make the layout just pop.
I have used Peacock, Saffron and Eggplant card stock, run them through the wonderful embossing folders, gotta love a bit of embossing, right! Then added a zipper strip from the Zoe paper pack, , mounted my photo with Peacock and Eggplant papers, and added a stamp in slate.
The Slate colour works well with so many combinations, after Black it has to be one of my most used inks.
I had heaps of fun playing with this colour palate this weekend. If you would like to have a look at the full range of colours of Close To My Hearts range, please hop on over to my website, at http://juliemorrison.closetomyheart.com.au you can check out all the wonderful new products available in our new Idea Book while you are there.
Please head on over to check out Wendy's blog at http:paperinkbling.blogspot.com.au
Hope you enjoyed this blog, thank you for visiting. The next blog I bring you will be in my brand new craft room, in my new house, which Im soooo excited about.
Happy crafting everyone and thanks for dropping bye.

Hi from a very cold mid winter Melbourne. I can't believe its been so long since my last post. Not sure why it's been so long, it certainly isn't because I haven't been crafting. I have. LOTS. There is nothing like cold weather to bring on the indoor craft activities.
I have been creating lots and lots of scrapbook pages. I completed a holiday album, which ended up being very, very large. It was of a holiday to Auckland, I was there for 6 days and I took about 600 photos. I finally got the time to scrap them. Like I said, it was a very large album.
That brings me onto this new blog, which is part of a great blog hop. The way it works is you start in one spot and 'hop' through all the listed blogs.
Along the way you will see lots of different ideas to help you with your papercraft. We have some very, very talented ladies, so enjoy.
The theme this month is 'mini albums', which is fantastic, cos I just LOVE to make mini albums. Close To My Heart has quite a range of little albums, great for gifts, which you can bling up before you give them as gifts. They are also fab to display your photos.
As you hop through you will see lots of great examples. I love to make my own mini albums, and having a Cricuit machine to cut the pages helps. In my mini album I used the Cricuit to cut many of the decorations, as well as some of the pages.

.

This album was a great little gift for a baby girl. It measures 4inches by 4 inches, and I used cricuit cuts enlarged as most of the pages. Pink was the name of the game for this baby album, of course. I also used Thistle, gypsie cardstock, along with a retired paper pack, Ivy Lane. I used a variety of palin cardstock for the bases, Colonial White, Kraft and te very lovely Confetti Wishes papers. Confetti wishes is so versatile and just suited this girly album.
I also stamped many of the pages, using stamps as both a background and as a feature.
It was very difficult not to photograph every page, as just loved the way this mini album turned out.

This album is quite a lot of work, while fun it did take me a few hours to put together. I also make much quicker albums with our picture my life cards. These are brilliant for mini albums..
Anyway maybe someone else will show you those.
The thing to remember is that mini albums are FUN, and creative, great gifts and so easy to make yourself, or you can buy ready made ones. Whatever suits your mood.
Take a look at my website juliemorrisonctmh.com.au for Close To My Hearts product range. Send me an email if you would like more information on Close To My Hearts fantastic craft products, juliespapercraft@gmail.com
Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out my work. I just love creating projects and gifts out of paper, and I hope I was able to give you some ideas. I hope you enjoyed this months blog, I promise to update you all again soon with more wonderful projects.
Please hop over to the very creative Michelle's blog at http://michellekscraps.blogspot.com.au
If you get a little lost, go to Alisons blog at https://scissorspaperheart.wordpress.com
Happy papercrafting, its a great way to while away the winter, thats for sure. 
  

Hi everyone, so now it's the beginning of June... can you believe it? And it's time for our next team blog hop. This blog hop is featuring all things PINK, as one of our team members, you know who you are.. loves pink. 

If you have come here from  http://kerryscreativecollection.blogspot.com.au/  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  https://scissorspaperheart.wordpress.com/

I have had loads of fun designing a card to highlight pink. Its a colour I usually only use as an accent, so this has been heaps of fun for me. Having said that, I just love Close To My Heart's range of pinks. Thistle I think is my favorite, but thats just at the moment! 

I just love making cards, which has come as a big surprise to me as Im an obsessive scrapbooker. Nowdays I love to relax by playing with the Close To My Heart colour palate and creating fantastic cards to give to family and friends. Something that I made for them. 

Which is different of course with scrapbooking, which gives me the same amount of pleasure creating the pages, but generally not many people see those pages, they are mostly just for me, unless Im creating them for a class. 

Here is the card I created for this months Blog Hop. Hope you like it. Ive actually made a lot of extras, if anyone would like to buy them from me please email me at juliespapercraft@gmail.com.

For this Birthday card I've used the following products: Snowhaven paper, as a base, Thistle cardstock on the next layer, the banners and band are using Brushed paper, which has a hint of pear in it, the inks are Pear and Black, and ive used Vivid Green Shin Han Marker, Bity Sparkles, in the flower and the two stamp sets I've used are Holiday Tags Occasions (D1560) and Happy Birds Seasons & Nature (C1600), Ive included ordering codes for anyone who wants to order the wonderful stamp sets.

I really enjoyed colouring the flower it reminded me that I used to love colouring in as a child. Its great I get to do that again with many of the stamps we have and of course the Shin Han markers are just a dream to use. 
If you would like to check out Close To My Hearts products just go to my website; www.juliemorrison.ctmh.com.au where you can place an order if you need to. 

Thanks for checking out my blog and seeing what I've done with the Just Sayin' stamp. Now, why not check out  http://helensheartncraft.blogspot.com.au/    blog and see what Helen has done.

I can't wait to see what challenge our team comes up with next month... whatever it is Im sure it will challenge me.
Happy crafting everyone, especially now the cooler months are with us and we can hunker down in our craft cavevs!
Till next time, thanks for reading.

Hi everyone in craftland. I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and some of you at least were able to get your craft on. It was beautiful and sunny here in Melbourne, perfect for outdoor activities, and for taking lots of lovely photos.
Which leads me onto my topic for this blog: when to take photos, and when not to.
I went to a Christian retreat this weekend, it was set at a stunning gardens, and of course the weather was fantastic. There is a policy of no photos at these retreats, which I understand and didn't have a problem with, until I went for a walk in these beautiful gardens.
I learned something about myself this weekend. That is, I now see the world through a camera lens, and then thru the pages I would scrapbook Until this weekend I didn't realise the strength of my urge to document most of the moments of my life, thru photos.
I was happy not to take photos of the beautiful friends I was making this weekend, I was happy not to photograph the aging, but peaceful retreat building. What I really, really struggled with was not taking photos on my walks in the garden. I saw some things I really wanted to take photos of.
The garden had a pond in it, well, it was really a small lake, and in and around this lake was the most stunning garden. I don't really have to the words to describe it too you so I won't even try. Another fellow retreater commented that some of the views were very 'Monet's Garden', so that should give you some idea.
I also spotted some very unique and stunningly beautiful toadstools. They were not like ones I've ever seen in nature they were red, with little white spots on top and perfectly round. Its like a little fairy should have been sitting under it.
I realised my inability to look at anything if I wasn't photographing it. It was a struggle not to run back to my room and  get my phone to take these photos. But here's the funny thing. I learned something. I learnt that I don't have to photograph EVERY experience of my life, some can just come along and you sit with them. These experiences become the fabric of who you are and can be even more special and important because you can't photograph and then journal them.
I also learnt that I'm reliving that lovely walk in that beautiful garden in my mind, because I have no other way of re-looking at it. Maybe this memory will live on sharper because it touched me so much and there isn't any physical evidence of it???
So to sum up this long, and 'no project' post, I'm not sure how this experience will alter my photography in the future. I do know there is a certain print shop relying on me to continue taking vast amounts of photos... but I'm definitely going to ponder on this weekends experience.  
Till next time when I will definitely have a project for you to looks at.....

Hi happy crafters, now that I've survived my very first bolg hop, its time for another blog. It's Mothers Day and Ive had just the most perfect day. I got hugs from both my adult sons, made myself banana pancakes for breakie, and then was able to spend the cold, windy and wet day inside playing with my inks, cardstock and craft toys. I even tried out my new toy, the heat gun!
Oh happy, happy day.
Here is a great little Mother's Day card I made a few weeks ago, I just love the fresh colours, and the texture the embossing folder gave the cardstock.

For the card I used Pear cardstock, Brushed cardstock, Colonial White cardstock, Black ink, Pear ink, Cherry Pink Shin Han marker, Clear Sparkle, and two  Close To My Heart fantastic stamp sets, a retired stamp set, 'Laughing Lola Scrapbooking Workshop', and  'Happy To Be Friends Occasions' current stamp set.
I embossed the Pear cardstock with our Dot embossing folder. All on a White Daisy card.
I really enjoyed putting this card together. I have such a collection of stamp sets and love mixing them all up when creating. A bit here and a bit there.... does the trick.
Close To My Heart stamp sets work well in complimenting each other so you can always make a card for any occasion.
Today I played with my spray pens, re-inkers, inks and stamps. One of my very favorite things to do is to alter paper. With a range of stamps, inks and an endless supply of white cardstock, you can make any paper to compliment you photos or to put on a card.
I spend way too much time looking at You-Tube, Pintrest and other craft websites, and with just these few tools in my craft kit, I can alter my white paper to look like the paper Ive seen elsewhere. Its the way I love to use my stamp sets, and of course inks.
Well, let me tell you, my hands ended up looking very stained by the end of the day, but inky fingers make me happy!

The top image is Slate cardstock, sprayed with the misting pen with Indian Corn Blue re-inker in it. Dried with my heat gun, then stamped with Pacificia ink, and the image is from the 'Geometric Background' stamp set.
The middle image is using the same stamp, with the same colour and on a background of Crystal Blue cardstock, and for something completely different, the bottom image is a different stamp from the same set, with black ink on Colonial White cardstock, sprayed very lightly with the spray pen loaded with Thistle re inker. It might not be apparent from this photo but the spray pen gives the image another dimention.
Here is how I used some of there formally plain pieces of paper in a scrapbook layout:

    I needed a simple layout to showcase the stunning photo, and my handmade paper at the bottom set the page off, well, that is my intention.
If you would like to purchase any of the products featured on this blog, please check out my website; http://juliemorrison.ctmh.com.au/ or email me with any question, or be added to my newsletter list please email me at juliespapercraft@gmail.com My newsletters have details of my upcoming workshops, and I have lots of fantastic things planned this year.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog as much as Ive enjoyed putting all these ideas into it for you. I hope all the mother's out there had a lovely day, and happy papercrafting everyone.
Till next time.

May Blog Hop

So for my next post Im going to do something a little different. I'm participating in my first ever blog hop, and you can all 'Hop' along with me. 

This is  our first team blog hop! And, for all of us this month, our first ever blog hop. This blog hop is featuring Close To My Heart's May Stamp of the Month. Just Sayin' is full of sayings and embellishments for you to use in a variety of ways. As you will see as you hop around from blog to blog, this is such a versatile stamp set. 

If you have come here from http://kerryscreativecollection.blogspot.com.au/   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.  https://scissorspaperheart.wordpress.com/ 

My project for this wonderful blog hop is something a bit different from the cards and scrapbook pages you will see. I decided to make an off the page project, cos I just love having little boxes and bags to dress gifts like chocolates, soaps and candles in, especially since mothers day is fast approaching. 

To put together this very versatile little bag, all you need is..... Pear cardstock, white daisy cardstock to stamp images on, thistle ink, indian corn blue ink, Just Sayin May stamp of the month, and a bit of sparkles thrown in. 

If you would like if purchase this fabulous little stamp as a discount, or purchase any products, please go to my website at juliemorrison.closetomyheart.com.au or any questions please email me on juliespapercraft@gmail.com.au

thank you all so much for coming by to have a look at my handi work. I loved putting it together for you.

Thanks for checking out my blog and seeing what I've done with the Just Sayin' stamp. Now, why not check out http://helensheartncraft.blogspot.com.au/    blog and see what she has done.

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!

Hi everyone and thank you for coming to view my very first blog. This is a step into the unknown for me, but I intend to use this blog to share my love of all things papercraft with you. I hope you all enjoy coming on this new journey with me. 
So, its Easter time, many of us will be having time off. What are you doing with your holiday time? Are you using the time to catch up on your crafts? If so, enjoy. 
Im off having a lovely time with family and friends and taking many more photos to scrapbook later. 
There are no projects to show you now, but stay tuned, next week I will be posting a mothers day card, and, maybe, even a great little scrapbook page from my time away. 
Enjoy this Easter time, stay safe on the roads if you are travelling and happy memory making.