When You're Feeling a Little Prickly

I may or may not have been chuckling to myself as I made this fun little 'get well' card using two images from SAB set The Gang's All Meer which I introduced to you yesterday. I'm not sure if this is a lizard or chameleon but it certainly reminds me of the chameleon character in the animated movie, 'Tangled', don't you agree?

I stamped the two images on the coastal cabana background then stamped again on whisper white, coloured and fussy cut. Doing it that way you can cut off the really tricky parts like the thorns on the cactus and the lizard's tongue and they're still there on the underneath image.

Materials used:

• stamps - The Gang's All Meer, Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - coastal cabana, pineapple punch, whisper white, Butterfly DSP
• other - Stampin' Blends, coastal cabana, pool party and basic black markers, white embossing powder, heat tool, Stamparatus, craft foam, embossing buddy

I'm certainly getting a lot of mileage from Itty Bitty Greetings lately and can recommend it as an extremely versatile set.

Well, that's it. Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Mish-Mash

The last few cards from my crafting frenzy are completely unrelated to each other, but do have some things in common: they all use new products and they all feature bold colours. Other than that? Not so much, but I hope you'll enjoy them anyway.

Here's a very straightforward birthday card using a new stamp set called Birthday Wit. This card is actually kind of perfect for my younger daughter, who is diabetic (sugar free), gluten intolerant (gluten free), vegetarian tending-towards-vegan (dairy free) and watching her weight (fat free). She's definitely not caffeine free though!

Materials used:

• stamps - Birthday Wit
• card - daffodil delight, island indigo, dsp (old and retired, no idea what it's called), whisper white
• inks - old olive, daffodil delight, rose red, basic black
• other - Dimensionals, MISTI

And I made another from the same set as well.

Materials used:

• stamps - Birthday Wit
• card - lemon lime twist, calypso coral, whisper white, Bermuda bay, Bubbles & Fizz DSP
• other - balloon punch, white gel pen, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals

You've seen a card not long ago with an adorable party panda - here's a bunch of 'em getting ready to party hard. The photo really doesn't do the card justice, I really messed up with this one *sigh*

Materials used:

• stamps - Party Pandas
• card - real red, daffodil delight, whisper white, basic black
• other - Stampin' Blend alcohol markers, large oval and scallop oval punches, Balloon Pop-Up dies, Big Shot, balloon honeycomb embellishments, Dimensionals, Sahara sand marker

And lastly a bridge-fold card that's a mix of old and new. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Lift Me Up
• card - soft sky, whisper white
• inks - soft sky, crushed curry, Bermuda bay, berry burst
• other - sponge dauber, Up & Away dies, rhinestones, Dimensionals, rainbow builder framelits, fast fuse, banner punch

How perfect are those cloud dies for the 'bridge'? 

Hey, thanks for calling in. 

Cheers

Kez

Out of the Blue

Well hello! It's nice to see you! How have you been?

Yeah, it's me, back from the depths of 'no blog land', lol. I lost my blog mojo for a while there (almost a year, by the looks!) and had all sorts of issues with cameras etc - but you don't really want or need to hear all of that, you just came to look at some cards!

And I have plenty to show, as I've been carding up a storm to show my ladies some examples of what they can do with all the luscious new goodies in the Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogues. There are some items that caught my attention as soon as I got a sneak peek at them, so it's been tons of fun making cards both simple and more complex. I won't show them to you all at once, but will add a few at a time to whet your appetite and (hopefully!) have you coming back for more.

First up, I've got to say that I really enjoy packs of multi-coloured birthday-themed papers. Last year it was the 'It's My Party' paper pack, this year the Occasions catty has the Picture Perfect Birthday/Party suite with papers, stamps and accessories. The photo-realistic papers make excellent backgrounds for easy card making, great for beginners or those wanting a lovely card without much effort. Here's some samples:

You can't get much simpler than this one. Soft sky and berry burst make a great colour combo, don't they? I'm loving berry burst more and more each time I use it. I cut a double 'celebrate' die and then added glossy accents for some real shine.

Materials used:

• stamps - none
• card - soft sky, berry burst, Picture Perfect Party dsp
• other - Celebrate You thinlits, Big Shot, fine-tip glue, Glossy Accents

The same die has been used on the next card, this time sparkled up and with the added cuteness of a panda, another freebie in the SAB catty.

Materials used:

• stamps - Party Pandas
• card - Bermuda bay, basic black, Picture Perfect Party dsp
• other - balloon punch, black baker's twine, clear Wink of Stella, fine-tip glue, Dimensionals, white gel pen

And my third sample has plenty of my second-favourite 2017-2019 in-colour, Lemon Lime Twist (which I almost always think of as lemon lime splice - for those of you not in Australia, this is the name of a fruity ice block).

Materials used:

• stamps - Picture Perfect Birthday
• card - lemon lime twist, basic black, whisper white, Picture Perfect Party dsp
• other - stitched square framelits, Big Shot, lots of labels framelits, Dimensionals, mini gift bows, black marker

Aren't those papers gorgeous? Birthday cards are the most requested type of card in my classes, so I'm always pleased to get new products that mix and match with existing stuff too - makes my craft dollars stretch further.

My photo-taking skills have deteriorised over the break, so excuse the photos - hopefully I'll get better soon. 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

The Sky's the Limit

It's always good to get more guy stamps in a new catalogue as masculine cards are something my ladies often ask for. The SAB freebie set 'The Sky's the Limit' is proving to be very popular and I can understand why - it has great images and a variety of sentiments in nice fonts: what more could we wish for?

So I sat and had a play with it, also incorporating the new World Traveller embossing folder from the Occasions catalogue. Here tis:

Materials used:

• stamps - The Sky's the Limit
• card - soft sky, whisper white, crumb cake
• other - world traveller embossing folder, Big Shot, clear embossing powder, heat tool, scissors, Dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig, circle card thinlits, two-way glue pen, tweezers, sponge daubers

The piece of white card is edged with black ink to help define it and this also gives the illusion of another layer without the bulk of more card. My ladies love this trick!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

New Year, New Stuff

Welcome to 2016! I see it's been a while since my last post...hmm, I'm getting bad at this! Not to worry, there's plenty of pretty new stuff to get your juices going today.

For my first class of the year we're going to be playing with goodies from the 2016 Occasions catalogue and also the Sale-a-bration catalogue - cos who doesn't love free stuff? Especially when the free stuff is so darn cute? Here we go -

First a celebration card chockablock full of new goodies that my daughter describes as 'just a bit cute'.

Materials used:

• stamps - Honeycomb Happiness (SAB)
• card - basic black, mint macaron, whisper white, various glitter card (non SU) and It's My Party DSP (OC)
• punches & dies - balloon punch (OC), deco labels framelits
• other - Big Shot, white bakers twine, Blendabilities - daffodil delight and pumpkin pie, Dimensionals, Sahara sand marker, glue dots

A sweet pastel card that looks good enough to eat is next up. The ice cream cones were stamped on watercolour card and coloured using aqua painter and inks.

Materials used:

• stamps - Honeycomb Happiness (SAB)
• card - mint macaron, whisper white, watermelon wonder, watercolour and Birthday Bouquet DSP (OC)
• other - aqua painter, white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals

And our last card is a clean and simple one with just stamping and nothing else.

Materials used:

• stamps - Picture Perfect
• card - smoky slate, Bermuda bay, whisper white
• inks - smoky slate, basic grey, basic black, Bermuda bay
• other - Dimensionals

There's a Stampin' Up! video tutorial available for this stamp set at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdlYhBbX2h4&feature=em-uploademail

Great way to kick off another year of crafting happiness? I think so! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Happy New Year!

Well, here we are in 2015 already - can you believe it? Me neither.

My lovely ladies are impatient to start classes again, so this weekend we are playing with new goodies from the Occasions and Sale-a-bration catalogues.

Firstly a cheerful birthday card using the oh-so-cute balloon framelits and co-ordinating stamp set, Celebrate Today, which are in the Occasions catty. There is also some dsp to match - that's one of the things I love most about Stampin' Up!

Materials used:

• stamps - Celebrate Today
• card - Bermuda bay, crushed curry, calypso coral, whisper white, Birthday Bash dsp
• inks - crushed curry, mossy meadow, Versamark
• other - Big Shot, balloon framelits, white bakers twine, dimensionals, clear embossing powder, heat tool

Lotus Blossom is a very popular set from the Sale-a-bration catalogue - and with good reason! It's a three-step photopolymer set and I could not resist trying it out. I wanted the gorgeous flowers to take centre stage, so my card is a clean and simple one which shows off those lotus blossoms to perfection.

Materials used:

• stamps - Lotus Blossom, unknown retired sentiment
• card - blushing bride, strawberry slush, whisper white
• inks - blushing bride, strawberry slush, pistachio pudding, basic grey

Our third card is a fun little number using the On Film framelits paired with the Snapshot single stamp. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Snapshot
• card - crisp cantaloupe, basic black, soft sky, whisper white, retired dsp
• inks - Memento Tuxedo black
• other - on film framelits, label card thinlits, Big Shot, triple heart punch, 35 mm circle punch, dimensionals, Blendabilities (soft sky and smoky slate), rhinestone, 2-way glue pen
• non SU - wax paper

I'll be back in a few days with some news and a sneak peek.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

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

February Sweets

I have a class with my sweet Sunday ladies this week and have left my creating until the not-quite-last-minute! (It's been a busy week!) I wanted to use the gorgeous honeycomb embossing folder again as I just LOVE this thing, so first up is a touch of yellow, black and white.

Do you recognise the roses? They are the flower trim from the Seasonal catalogue which I have coloured in a solution of water and re-inker.

Materials used:

• stamps - Vintage Verses (SAB), Layered Labels, Four Frames
• card - daffodil delight, basic black, World Spectacular dsp
• other - honeycomb E/F, Big Shot, apothecary accents die, little leaves die, paper doily, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig, flower trim
• non SU - white linen card, organza ribbon

Another colour that goes beautifully with black is pool party and I've used plenty of it in this next card. To give my embossed panel a slightly deeper shade, I inked up my embossing folder before running it through the Big Shot.

Materials used:

• stamps - Serene Silhouettes
• card - pool party, basic black, whisper white
• other - fancy fan E/F, Big Shot, windows framelit die, 1" circle punch, sponges, SAB ribbon, dimensionals
• non SU - post-it note

Now for something completely different - a boldly coloured masculine card using a couple of new items from the Seasonal catty. (Well, I thought it would make a good masculine card, but DD14 loves it and has claimed it for herself!)

Materials used:

• stamps - That's The Ticket, Happiest Birthday Wishes (retired hostess)
• card - cherry cobbler, summer starfruit, whisper white, World Spectacular dsp
• other - hearts a flutter framelit dies, Big Shot, ticket duo punch, modern label punch, dimensionals, adorning accents edgelit die, sponge dauber

And I am hoping we will have time for a bonus project as well - a cute little gift box inspired by Jen Takacs:

Materials used:

• stamps - Friendship Preserves
• card - First Edition dsp, very vanilla
• other - paper doily, sponge, windows framelits die, Big Shot, flower trim, SAB ribbon

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez