My New BFF

I've been having a play with the Envelope Punch Board and watching videos by other talented crafters and am totally in love with this new toy. At this time of year especially - or at any time when you need gift boxes and bags - this tool is worth its weight in gold!

Here are the samples I've been making to show my ladies:

• box made from 12" x 12" card (from tutorial at this link)

Materials used:

• stamps - Merry Little Christmas
• card - real red, garden green, very vanilla, retired dsp
• other - Envelope Punch Board, chalk talk framelits dies, Big Shot, retired polka dot ribbon, dimensionals

• same box made from 9" x 9" card 

Materials used:

• stamps - Snow Swirled
• card - crumb cake, cherry cobbler, whisper white, Season of Style dsp
• other - EPB, gift bow die, Big Shot, decorative label punch, dimensionals

• and again from 6" x 6" card 

Materials used:

• stamps - More Merry Messages
• card - cherry cobbler, old olive, whisper white, Season of Style dsp
• other - EPB, Big Shot, scallop circle punch, 1" circle punch
• non SU - rosette die, hot glue gun

Here's a shot of the three boxes together so you can see the proportions:

• folded gift bag made from 12" x 12" dsp (from tutorial at this link)

Materials used:

• card - In Colour patterns paper (crisp cantaloupe)
• other - EPB, pansy punch, Victoria lace ribbon, crop-o-dile, calypso coral bakers twine, very vintage designer button, bone folder, dimensionals

• then I took the same dimensions as the bag but used card instead, adapted the lid a little and turned it into a box with a belly band

Materials used:

• card - old olive, cherry cobbler, retired Xmas dsp
• other - Big Shot, dimensionals, rhinestones
• non SU - poinsettia dies, marker

• another box made from 7 1/2" square of card (from tutorial at this link)

Materials used:

• card - coastal cabana, Winter Frost dsp, silver glimmer card
• other - snow flurry die, Big Shot, dimensionals

I know there are oodles more too - you just have to Google it or YouTube it to find tons; I'll get around to that after Xmas. Oh, and did I forget to mention it also makes 66 different sized envelopes?

Soooooooooo, if you haven't got one of these yet, I am kind of wondering WHY NOT?!! lol!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

December Creative Crew Scrapbook and More Focus

It's hard to believe this is my last challenge for the Creative Crew design team - the past four months have just flown by and I've really enjoyed all the challenges the ladies have come up with.

For this project we were to make a calendar, to do list, booklet or journal for a friend to use in 2014. I decided to make something for DD21 to use at uni and on teaching placement - a Post-It Note Desk Box. I found a great tutorial by Jill Hilliard (click here) and just made some adjustments to the box measurements as I wanted to use a big cube of post-its - I know DD uses A LOT of them!

I couldn't go past her favourite red and white polka dots and dressed it up with some black accents and cute little bows and one of my all-time favourite stamped images, just so she doesn't forget how much I love her (as if I would let her!).

Here's my project:

Materials used:

• stamps - Greeting Card Kids
• card - basic black, real red, whisper white, retired Xmas dsp
• other - scallop envelope die, Big Shot, dimensionals, 1 3/8" circle punch, pennants die
• non SU - Bella ribbon bows

I hope you have enjoyed my creative journey being on the design team. Be sure to visit the Creative Crew Challenges Gallery over at SCS to see what my fellow team members came up with for their final challenges.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

December Creative Crew Challenge - Holiday Focus

This month's Holiday Focus is National Chocolate Day on Dec 24th - seems to be tailor-made for me! I particularly love the wording of this challenge - "While eating the best chocolate you can find, make a card using chocolate chip on it. If you CASEd someone fabulous, give credit to this wonderful stamper."

I took those instructions very seriously and while I was gobbling down chocolate creating, channelled the creative genius of not one, but two wonderful crafters. I loved on sight Jackie Topa's little Lindor elf and wanted immediately to combine it with the brilliant idea of Michelle Surette to make a slight alteration to one of my favourite Christmas greetings.

So here's my project, which uses both chocolate and chocolate chip!

Materials used:

• stamps and dsp - Merry Little Christmas designer kit (MDS)
• card - chocolate chip, whisper white, real red, blush blossom
• punches - pennant, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, Merry Minis Ornament, Owl Builder, Word Window, Small Oval, Small Scallop Circle
• other - chalk talk framelits, bitty banners framelits, Big Shot, stylish stripes embossing folder, sponge dauber, dimensionals

Here's a closer look - first little Alfie:

Punches used: word window, small scallop circle, small oval, pennant, itty bitty, owl, merry minis.

And the card:

Please note that no Lindor chocolates were harmed during the making of this project (I made sure they didn't feel any pain!!!!!)

Thanks for calling in today - why not visit the Creative Crew Challenge Gallery at SCS and see what other chocolate delights await you!

Cheers

Kez

December Creative Crew Challenge - DSP Focus

"Art begins in imitation and ends in innovation" (Mason Cooley).

This month's DSP focus is the totally gorgeous Modern Medley papers but as I've used those for a few other crew projects, I chose our other option of using basic black and very vanilla.

We are also to CASE someone we admire. I picked a fellow Australian demo whose projects I have found particularly inspiring lately, Mel Sharp from Melbourne. Mel has a clean, crisp style and makes fantastic use of white space on her work. I chose to CASE a stunningly elegant Christmas card she made recently in navy and white. Here's Mel's card:

And here is my CASE. I changed it to black and vanilla and for a bit of fun, made my window shape a Christmas ornament instead of a circle:

Materials used:

• stamps - Four the Holidays, Christmas Collectibles
• card - basic black, very vanilla
• other - holiday ornaments framelits, pearls, Big Shot, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig, embroidery thread (non SU)

To make the frame I traced around the outside of the ornament shape before cutting it on the Big Shot (the magnetic platform holds it in place) and then cut the larger shape by hand.

Thanks for such great inspiration Mel, I had a lot of fun making this card. 

Pop on over to Splitcoaststampers and check out the other crew members' projects. You can even look at Mel's gallery too!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

December Creative Crew Challenge - Catalogue Focus

This month's catalogue focus is candy dots. I have to admit, I hadn't gotten around to getting any yet, so had to hot foot place an order for some! With imitation being our theme for December, the challenge is to copy someone's artwork that loves brads or candy dots and to use candy dots generously on our project.

I drew my inspiration from this lovely card I found on Pinterest that comes from Riddersholm Design blog. 

In keeping with the modern graphic look of the Winter Frost paper, I kept my card simpler and more streamlined. I sprinkled both candy dots and rhinestones liberally to add zing to the soft, subtle colours. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Snow Swirled, Snow Burst (MDS), A Cardinal Christmas (MDS)
• card - pool party, whisper white, smoky slate, Winter Frost dsp
• other - two tags die, snow flurry die, Big Shot, frosted finishes embellishment, dimensionals, pool party seam binding, dotted scallop ribbon border punch, subtles candy dots, rhinestones 
• non SU - white glitter card

Do visit the December challenge gallery and check out what inspired my fellow design team members over at SCS.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Bird Song Book

Here's another of the fab projects we made at Stamp Camp this past weekend. Robyn designed this gorgeous book card using the beautiful Bird Song Collection papers from Graphic 45. Once we had made the cuts and scores for the inner card, the rest was just a matter of adhering papers and layering for the front cover.

We put some Crystal Effects on the butterfly to give it some dimension and shine. These photos were taken on my iPhone, so excuse the quality - you may need to click on the photo for a closer look:

Materials used:

• stamps - none
• card - basic black, gold, Graphic 45 Bird Song Collection
• other - dimensionals

I think I'll be making more of these cards now that I know how - they sure create a Wow! impact and are actually pretty easy to make.

And here's a shot of some of the goodies we made for the ladies - they got these on the first night: a notebook, pencil and sharpener for taking notes, a rubbish bin, some Santa tissues and a first aid tent containing headache tablets, bandaids, safety pins and some kisses (to kiss it better!).

More fun stuff to show you, so call in again soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Of Course We Are Brayering!

My third project at stamp camp involves - no surprise - brayering. I am introducing the ladies to some simple techniques and so kept our project card pretty simple as well, just a bit of masking but nothing too technical!

I am totally in love with this colour combination though, so keep your eyes open for it appearing on my blog again no doubt!

Materials used:

• stamps - Up, Up and Away
• card - smoky slate, whisper white, basic black
• inks - daffodil delight, crushed curry, smoky slate, basic grey, basic black

That's my three projects done, but don't worry there's plenty more to show you from stamp camp - my two shoebox cards as well as all of Rob's gorgeous projects - so call back in real soon!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Sepia Sponged Snow

It's Day 2 here at our Serendipity Stamp Camp and today one of my projects with the ladies is sponging techniques. I do love getting my fingers all inky!!!

We'll be practicing a few different techniques and then this is the project card we will make:

Materials used:

• stamps - Serene Silhouettes, Christmas Messages
• card - naturals ivory, very vanilla, cherry cobbler
• other - sponge, sponge dauber, circle punch, post-it note

Now as luck would have it, the challenge over at the SUO (Stampin' Up! Only) blog this week is Snow, so I am entering my card into that challenge.

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back with more stamp camp project updates real soon!

Cheers

Kez

Edited to add: My card was picked in the Top 3 at SUO challenges! Many thanks ladies, that's an honour.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Camp We Go

Howdy campers! Here I am at our Serendipity Stamp Camp and sooooooo excited to be spending a whole weekend just crafting and having fun with some like-minded folks! Rob and I will be keeping our ladies busy with classes, projects, shoebox cards, demonstrations - and of course, a little food along the way!

I am first up tonight and I chose to do a boxed set of Christmas cards for my first project. We are using SU card and papers (of course!) and one of my all-time fav techniques - colouring. Some ladies, like me, will be watercolouring the images and some will use alcohol markers, but no matter what, we will have fun colouring these hilarious images from Bugaboo.

Here's some shots of our project:

This should keep the ladies busy tonight! We have tons more fun in store for them tomorrow - tune back in then and I'll show you my next project.

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers
Kez

So Flipping Simple

Flip cards are our focus in class this month and I just LOVE how simple they are with the new card thinlits dies. They're not so easy to photograph though! lol, so please excuse my finger being in there to hold them closed!

Here's what I came up with for my lovely ladies:

 

This one is a 4 1/4" square card which has been embossed. Pink pirouette is teamed with strawberry slush and a hint of pistachio pudding.

Materials used:

• stamps - Stippled Blossoms, Petite Pairs
• card - pink pirouette, whisper white, pistachio pudding, strawberry slush
• other - labels framelits, label card thinlits, stamp-a-ma-jig, strawberry slush ruffled ribbon, Big Shot, fancy fan embossing folder

DD15 loves this next one, a perfect blend of in colours (excuse the pun!). An extra piece is added on to this one for a third flap.

Materials used:

• stamps - Perfect Blend
• card - coastal cabana, crisp cantaloupe, baked brown sugar, whisper white, In Colour patterned papers
• other - circle card thinlits, 2 1/2" circle punch, circle framelits, Big Shot, chevron punch, baked brown sugar marker, sponge dauber, chevron embossing folder, dimensionals

And lastly a bright and cheerful birthday greeting:

Materials used:

• stamps - Happy Hour (MDS), Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired hostess)
• card - daffodil delight, rich razzleberry, retired SAB papers, whisper white
• other - square punch, button, bakers twine, circle thinlits, Big Shot, 2 1/2" circle punch, circle framelit

I also had a play with making a card with a surprise inside and considering I've never done one of these before, I was very happy with how it turned out. This is a sample only - we're not making this one in class just yet!

Materials used:

• stamps - Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired hostess)
• card - basic black, whisper white, daffodil delight, Modern Medley dsp, other retired dsp
• other - daffodil delight seam binding, 2 1/2" circle punch, circle framelit, Big Shot, Hearts a Flutter dies, bakers twine

That's it for now! With Stamp Camp in only two weeks it will probably be a bit quiet around here until I can show you the camp projects. Do hope you'll keep popping in!

Cheers

Kez

Creative Crew November Challenge - Scrapbook Focus

This month we are to journey down Memory Lane and create a scrapbook page or 3D item showcasing a favourite childhood memory.

Growing up on air force bases in New Zealand, one of the things I really loved doing was attending the base cinema for a Saturday afternoon matinee. Many Saturdays would see my brothers and I watching old war movies, Disney classics or whatever else they were running. (I think my mum really enjoyed the break!) In those days we had to stand before the movie started while they played 'God Save the Queen' - if you're old enough to remember that, you've probably got as many grey hairs as me!

It used to cost us 10c for a ticket and we would have 5c to spend at the Candy Bar - and 5c bought a lot of lollies in those days! Sherbet bags with licorice straws were one of my favourites, especially the lemon flavour.

Ah memories! Anyway, here is the layout I created in MDS. I Googled movie posters to use and the movie reel and ticket images are non SU.

Materials used:

• stamps - Schoolbook Serif Alphabet (MDS)
• punches - star (MDS)
• card - Sahara sand (MDS)

I hope you've enjoyed my trip down memory lane and my challenge projects for this month. Do visit Splitcoaststampers to see what the other design team members came up with and of course, we would love you to take part in a challenge or two along with us.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Creative Crew November Challenges - Holiday Focus

For our holiday focus this month it's National Cake Day and we were given some photos to use as inspiration for our projects. I picked the one shown below because you know how much I love black and white/black and vanilla!

This made me think of weddings obviously, but also the scene from My Fair Lady when they are at the races and all the ladies are wearing black and white outfits and ginormous hats - here's some pics:

So I decided to make a hat box using black and vanilla papers, ribbons and embellishments. I kept it simple and elegant - here's how it turned out:

The Modern Medley papers are black and white, so I sponged them with very vanilla ink so that they matched the striped paper. I loved using the wide striped ribbon on the lid as it looks so much like the ribbon on Eliza's dress (above)!

Materials used:

• stamps - None
• card - basic black, Modern Medley dsp, (retired) Halloween dsp
• other - very vanilla ink, sponge, gift bow die, very vintage designer buttons, (retired) striped grosgrain ribbon, sticky strip, (retired) black satin ribbon
• non SU - hot glue gun, Mod Podge, paint brush, papier mache hat box from Spotlight

I had so much fun making this project and YOU can have just as much fun joining in the challenge and creating something for National Cake Day too! Why not pop over to the challenge gallery at Splitcoast and see what everyone else has made to inspire you? 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Creative Crew November Challenge - Creative Focus

CCREW1113CF - Creative Focus: show us something with the Pretty Packages line on pages 158 and 159 of the main catty or any of the kits or packages in the mini catty.

The packaging kits in the catalogue caught my eye very early on, so it was great to have an excuse to have to get some! I bought the gift boxes and tags bundle, which give you such a great head start that you need only worry about stamping and a couple of other embellishments.

As it is Spring here and we are heading into a hot Summer, I went with a bright and cheerful colour combo - crushed curry and rich razzleberry. Here's my package:

I used the crushed curry flag and ticket shapes from the set and added another layer with a razzleberry chalk talk die shape. The curry bakers twine is also from the set and I used some razzleberry wide striped ribbon and a very old glitter brad to hold it into a bow. Sentiment from Chalk Talk and lots of dimensionals to make layers. They all set off the cheerful polka dot dsp perfectly! 

Materials used:

• stamps - Chalk Talk
• card - crushed curry, rich razzleberry, whisper white, Polka Dot dsp
• other - rich razzleberry wide striped ribbon, brad, Big Shot, chalk talk dies, Tag a Box Bundle p159 AC

If you've been on the fence about any of the packaging products, I can now heartily recommend them - your gift packaging will easily become something really special.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez