Friday, January 31, 2014

Make A Wish

A fun birthday card for you today using the cute Retro Fresh papers from the new Occasions catalogue. I used a fancy fold that I've used before (on this card) but turned it the other way and added the cut off piece from the top to the bottom for another layer (idea from Beth Beard).



My pool party piece is embossed with the new arrows embossing folder, also from the OC, and inked around the edge. The sentiments on both front and inside of the card come from new set Perfect Pennants (OC) and I used the SAB freebie pennant punch to make the ends of my so saffron piece. The calypso coral and pool party arrows are made with dies from the labels card thinlits set.

Materials used:

  • stamps - Perfect Pennants
  • card - so saffron, pool party, calypso coral, whisper white, Retro Fresh dsp
  • other - chalk talk framelits, labels card thinlits dies, dimensionals, pennant punch, 1/2" circle punch, arrows E/F, Big Shot

It's going to be a really hot one today, so I do hope you are staying cool!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Sunday, January 26, 2014

No More Sleeps!

YAY! There are no more sleeps to go until DD15 returns from her fabulous trip to the UK and France. We are off to the airport tonight to collect her and I can't wait to hear all her stories and experiences - and most of all, to give her a BIG hug to welcome her home! (Well, maybe more than one hug!)

While she was away, my SIL and I have been painting her room and for a bit of fun, I painted the inside of her bedroom door a special way - check it out:


It wasn't until I had completely made both "windows" that I discovered I have the wrong number of panes - but I wasn't prepared to start from scratch, so she'll have to deal! The cavity in the wall for the door to slide into is very narrow, so I had to make sure all the embellishments are nice and flat.

Naturally, I made her a card for her homecoming (hey, it's what we crafties do!) so I carried the Dr Who theme through on that as it goes so well with travel, lol. There wasn't much mojo going on so it's a bit plain, but I am pretty sure she will like it nevertheless. (Photo taken on my phone, so not the best, sorry!)

Materials used:
  • card - pear pizzazz, whisper white, basic black, Pacific point, real red
  • other - dimensionals, copics, banner punch

DD's door has an extra bit - the St John's Ambulance sticker - this is from Matt Smith's TARDIS. Did you know that the TARDIS is different for each new Doctor? Learnt that from watching Graham Norton! I made my windows from gloss card, so when they catch the light they shine and look a bit like real glass - clever little vegemite, aren't I? LOL!

And I must wish a Happy Australia Day to all fellow Aussies out there. We are saving our BBQ celebration until tomorrow, so DD15 can join in too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Thursday, January 23, 2014

NSU - Caffeine To Go

Today's card is a fun little salute to all of you who are coffee addicts! I've had this Kraftin' Kimmie stamp for a while but never gotten around to using it, so yesterday I inked it up.

I've used SU's Perfect Blend in my background and you may recognise that the KK sentiment is very similar to the SU one.


And on the inside:


Materials used:
  • stamps - Perfect Blend (SU), Coffee Crusader (KK)
  • card - pear pizzazz, whisper white, crumb cake, XPress It
  • other - dimensionals, oval framelits, Big Shot, sponge dauber, copics

The picture of the coffee bean I got off the internet; my stamped images are coloured using copics. I did fussy cut around the main image and attach it over another stamp - very fiddly, but worth it, I think!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Monday, January 20, 2014

Multi Flip Mini Album

In between various household duties and trying to keep cool in the heat over the past few days, I had a lot of fun making up a mini album suitable for anyone between 10 and 25. This one is destined for DD15 to put photos of her gang of friends in, but with a change of accent colours it could just as easily be for a boy instead.

I came across a wonderful video tutorial for making this album by Rachel Tessman (the link is here) and immediately had the idea for this bright, cheerful version. The dies from both flip card framelits and the new word bubbles framelits (in the upcoming Occasions catalogue) were the perfect embellishments.

The main disadvantage is my limited photography skills! Anyways, take a lookie. Here's the front cover with it all closed up, then a view from the top so you can see how neatly it all folds in.



And here are the two insides - the pieces of card are places for photos to be added.



Materials used:

  • stamps - Extreme Elements
  • card - Bermuda bay, crushed curry, strawberry slush, wisteria wonder, whisper white
  • other - circle flip card framelits, label flip card framelits, word bubbles framelits, chevron punch, strawberry slush ruffle stretch trim, timeless type alphabet dies, Big Shot, sticky strip, 2 1/2" circle punch, itty bitty punch (star)

You could make the album up and cut all the embellishments and give them separately too, so that the recipient could add them wherever they wish. The perfect gift for hard-to-buy-for-teens! Lol!

This project is my challenge entry at Just Add Ink this week; to use one of the flip card thinlits.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Being With You

Phew! It's 36 degrees C here today - I've just had a dip in the pool and am sitting in my togs (swimmers) and towel enjoying being wet and cool for a while. I have no doubt at all that I'll have another dip before bedtime!

DD21 is melting in 41 degree heat down in Melbourne, while DD15 is no doubt enjoying her much more manageable 13 degree day in London! Not sure who's got the best of it!!! lol

Luckily I spent the afternoon in an air conditioned room showing one of my lovely ladies (and her helpful DH) the basics of MDS. As part of my preparation I created a simple scrapbook layout so I thought I may as well show it to you.


This layout covers basic techniques of:

  • adding designer paper as a background
  • adding designer paper as a page layer
  • adding and resizing embellishments 
  • inserting, positioning and matting photos
  • adding a punch
  • using paper fill in a punched shape
  • adding a stamp
  • grouping elements together
  • saving and printing

I do find MDS pretty easy to get to know and have used it a number of times to make hybrid cards in class, which always impresses my lovely ladies! 

Hope it's not too hot (or too cold) where you are! Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Sweetheart Sunshine

I bought the Sweetheart Treat Bags to play with and although I love the little tags that come with them, I wanted to brighten it up a bit. I tried some daffodil delight (inspired by DD15's formal outfit - see this post) and boy! does it pop!

Take a lookie:


I've used Starburst Sayings for my sentiment - this is a new set coming at the end of this month in the Occasions catalogue. This little gift bag is just perfect for Valentines, anniversary, birthday - or just every day!

Materials used:

  • stamps - Starburst Sayings
  • card - daffodil delight, whisper white, real red
  • other - Sweetheart treat bag, chalk talk framelits, Big Shot, starburst framelits, daffodil delight and real red taffeta ribbons, glue dot, dimensionals
  • non SU - 38mm circle punch


Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Birthday Blooms

The heat is back today and I think I'll be popping in the pool before long! It's quite humid and I'm hot even under the fan.

But earlier I was in my craft room and had the urge to make a floral card. I really wanted to use the lovely Stippled Blossoms set and was looking for a colour combination that's a bit different, so this is what I ended up with:


The ribbon is very vanilla seam binding which I coloured with my wisteria wonder ink pad. It came up pretty dark, surprisingly, but I think it really pops and also goes well with the sentiment (which is actually elegant eggplant!). The flowers are crisp cantaloupe and calypso coral, with pear pizzazz and wild wasabi for the leaves.

Materials used:

  • stamps - Stippled Blossoms, Wetlands
  • card - wisteria wonder, very vanilla, wisteria wonder patterned paper
  • other - doily, seam binding, circles framelits, Big Shot, dimensionals, hot glue gun, bow tying machine, stamp-a-ma-jig

We've had a few emails from DD15, enjoying the cool weather and sights in Europe. She had a great time in Paris and a few days in Belgium, but today they are heading over the Channel to London - so I hope to goodness the storms have abated! Luckily she has good sea legs! No photos yet, unfortunately.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Here For You Retro

Well, today's card is one of those ones that surprises you when you've finished it and take a good look - partly because it's completely different to the card I had in my head when I went into my craft room, and partly because it is a departure from my usual style. However, I quite like it, so that's a happy outcome at least!


The base is pool party core'dinations cardstock and I embossed my top piece with the new arrows embossing folder then sanded it down. A strip of paper from the cute Retro Fresh dsp has some Retro Fresh washi tape over it, then is layered on baked brown sugar. I made the tab portion with my bff, the Envelope Punch Board, which gave me the perfect platform for my cute clip.

Then the search was on for an appropriate sentiment which had to fit the style, size and mood I was after. I thought the one I picked was just perfect to go with all those arrows (here for you …. arrows pointing … "here", get it? lol!) but unfortunately the new starburst dies didn't have the right size for my space - one size was too small and the next size up too big. Improvise! I punched with the 1 1/4" scallop circle punch, then attached that to a narrow strip of card (for purchase only) and re-punched it, turning the scallops a little so they bit in to the original scallops and created this starburst shape. I tried a number of different colour combinations of ink and card to find the one that "pops" the most - and there you have it.

Materials used:
  • stamps - Petite Pairs
  • card - pool party core'dinations, baked brown sugar, tangerine tango, very vanilla, Retro Fresh dsp
  • other - envelope punch board, Big Shot, arrows E/F, sanding block, cute clips, Retro Fresh washi tape, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" scallop circle punch, dimensionals

Hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Another Sneak Peek

More new goodies for you this morning - some products from both the Sale-a-bration and Occasions catalogues in a simple card.


Materials used:
  • stamps - Perfect Pennants (Occasions)
  • card - pool party, basic black, whisper white, crisp cantaloupe, Sweet Sorbet dsp (SAB)
  • other - chalk talk framelits, Big Shot, pool party embossing powder, heat tool, decorative dots embossing folder (SAB), dimensionals

I love the sentiment on this one and also love the effect of the pool party emb powder on the black! Yum!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Monday, January 6, 2014

Oh Happy Day

Excitement this morning when my pre-order from the new Occasions catalogue arrived at my door! Once I had unpacked my new stuff, I couldn't wait to sit and play to see if the ideas floating around in my head would work with real stamps and paper!

First up a bright and cheerful centre-step birthday card using lots of new goodies - stamps, designer series paper, framelits dies, punch and embossing folder. Here tis:


Materials used:
  • stamps - Starburst Sayings, Teeny Tiny Sentiments
  • card - so saffron, coastal cabana, very vanilla, Retro Fresh dsp
  • other - starburst framelits, Big Shot, arrows embossing folder, pool party baker's twine, tangerine tango button (retired SAB), dimensionals, banner punch (SAB)
  • non SU - balloon punch

Love the colour combination in this dsp.

I also like the new High Tide dsp but am not that keen on the co-ordinating stamp set, so I've used a delightful Mo Manning digital image with the papers to make this masculine card:


Materials used:
  • non SU stamp - Captain Hugh (Mo Manning)
  • card - soft sky, Pacific point, whisper white, summer starfruit, watercolour
  • other - banner punch (SAB), computer and printer (sentiment)

It felt really good to be back in my craft room again so I think I'm going to have to do it again real soon!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Friday, January 3, 2014

Miss You Already

Last night DD15 left on a school trip to France, Belgium and England for 24 days. Right now she is en route to Paris from a short stopover in Dubai and I am already missing her like crazy!

The house seems very quiet and I had a lousy night's sleep wondering how the long flight was going. It's quite common for insulin pumps to be affected by high altitudes apparently and so I was worrying if her BGL levels would rise very high and how she would be coping and feeling … you know, standard mum worrying stuff!

Through the beauty of modern technology and an app called FlightRadar24, we could watch her flight progress and actually see a "plane's-eye" view of her landing in Dubai earlier today. Isn't technology amazing?

Here's a photo of her with her baggage all ready to go off to the airport:


Anyway, I was inspired to make a card. Not for her exactly, as I obviously can't give it to her, but just as a way of expressing myself. I used MDS for the main sentiment panel and of course you will realise why I put an Eiffel Tower in there (she's visiting that later today, Paris time).


Materials used:

  • stamps - Artistic Etchings, Really Good Greetings (both MDS)
  • card - whisper white, cherry cobbler, crushed curry, smoky slate, various dsp
  • other - Big Shot, Chalk Talk framelits, crushed curry chevron ribbon, cherry cobbler baker's twine, 3 heart punch, dimensionals, rhinestones, chevron embossing folder

Hopefully we'll hear from her in a day or two if she can spare a few minutes from all the exciting activities they'll be doing! Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Cascading Stars

Happy New Year everyone! Let's hope it's full of crafty goodness for all.

I've been busy this morning making a card for my dear friend's 50th birthday. I made a cascading card of stars. It's been a few years since I made this type of card and it was a bit of a challenge for my brain to work out the dsp sizes etc, but I kind of got there in the end. Our birthday message was added on the back.

I used red, black and silver as my theme with touches of white and here is the result:





Materials used:

  • stamps - Happiest Birthday Wishes
  • card - real red, basic black, Modern Medley dsp, whisper white, silver glimmer
  • other - large and small star punches, itty bitty star punch, deco label framelits, Big Shot, timeless type alphabet/numeric die set, 1" square punch
  • non SU - tulle, acetate

You can find a great tutorial for cascading cards here and I was inspired by some wonderful cascade cards here.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez