In Which My Opening Sentence Could Surprise

The only thing wrong with getting brand new crafting goodies - if I may be so bold as to suggest there could possibly be anything wrong with getting new stuff - is that ... no, wait, I think I need to amend that sentence. The only thing wrong with getting a bunch of new crafting goodies (cause I guess it's not really an issue if you only get one or two) is deciding which ones to play with first.

And then, of course, is the 'first try phenomenon'. By that I mean that you're so keen to just ink those stamps up or cut that ribbon/designer series paper that your first creation is not always...well, an important work of art, let's say. Not that I hate the cards I'm about to show you - no, no - it's just that they didn't come out as well in real life as they did in my head. Such is life, I guess. Maybe I could list that as the second thing wrong with getting brand new crafting goodies? Yeah, I hear you; I'd better stop there before I think of more things wrong and commit crafting sacrilege!

Alright, take a look at some new stuff:

Materials used:

• stamps - Butterfly Gala
• card - highland heather, whisper white, Gingham Gala DSP
• other - Stampin' Blends, Big Shot, stitched seasons framelits, butterfly duet punch, glitter enamel dots, Dimensionals, edging dies (non SU)

This card uses products from the Gingham Gala suite - there's the stamp set, matching punch, gingham designer papers (in 5 colours), sequins and more. Plus, the upcoming Sale-a-bration catalogue also has matching butterfly designer paper AND ribbons to match the gingham papers. I'm not usually much into butterflies, but this suite was too lovely to resist.

Materials used:

• stamps - Climbing Roses
• card - petal pink, whisper white, smoky slate
• inks - petal pink, smoky slate, mint macaron, basic grey
• other - Stampin' Blends, scissors, Stamparatus, sponge daubers, distressing tool, Dimensionals

I do love me some distressing and sponging. A little bit of stamping-off softens background colours too.

And I also have a bunch of not SU goodies and couldn't possibly neglect them, so here's how my first card with those turned out:

Are these little guys cute or what? The shimmer mist sunbeams look gorgeous when they catch the light too. I've done a video on the making of this card, so if you're interested pop on over to YouTube HERE. And if you like it, give me a thumbs up and subscribe so you'll get notified each time I put up a new video.

Materials used:

• stamps - Gill Friends (My Favourite Things)
• card - soft sky, basic black, whisper white
• distress oxide inks - faded jeans, mermaid lagoon
• other - embossing buddy, white embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, Gill Friends dies, Stampin' Blends, Dimensionals, clear epoxy shapes, white shimmer mist, sun ray stencil (MFT), paper towels, blending tool

So that's what I've been playing with - more to come (but maybe not until after Christmas). Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Video! Video! Video!

Okay, this is only the second video I've ever made, so please be gentle with me, lol. It's funny how I can talk to myself quite frequently, but suddenly when you know it's being recorded it becomes a whole new ball game. I don't think I um and aah too much and just excuse the slight wobble at the very beginning.

Meanwhile, thanks to everyone who asked to see this - it's me showing you how I made my double display Dashing Deer Christmas card from this post. If you have any questions or there's something I don't make clear enough in the video, please email me (link over on the right somewhere) - BUT, having said that, no I do not know what all these measurements are in inches, but I know Google can tell you that info very easily.

Unfortunately Blogger couldn't load the video here, claiming it's too large a file, so I'll have to direct you to my YouTube page so you can watch it there. Click HERE.

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kez

Christmas boxes

Each year when my class ladies and I have our annual Christmas Dinner at a local restaurant, I give them a craft challenge. It's been a tree decoration, item to wear, tags, etc in the past. This year they each had to make a small gift box a la 'Pootles', and I gave them a Christmas-scented candle to put in it. Here's a photo of the lovely decorated boxes they came up with:

Aren't they cute? Such a wonderful variety.

We had a lovely dinner together, as always, although it sadly brings another year of crafting together to an end. Our numbers have dwindled over the years, but we still get much pleasure, laughter and companionship from getting together to create and I am thankful to have the opportunity to share my crafting love with them.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Deer Oh Deer

SU's Dashing Deer and Joyous Noel speciality papers have been getting a real workout in my craft room lately as I've been busy with Christmas cards for various people.

Firstly I adapted the card I made recently for the Less is More challenge, simply adding two more layers. Here's how that turned out:

A little more involved is this double display card:

Here are some double gatefold cards which have a belly band to hold them shut. I had to make 10 of these, so there's a little variety.

And lastly a card a simple card that follows the sketch from the blog hop I took part in not so long ago. The wooden embellishment was stamped with Versamark and embossed with copper embossing powder to match the glints of copper on the papers.

Hopefully that's an end now to Christmas cards for this year. Having been designing and making them since July, I'm always well and truly over them by the time December comes around! I bet a few of you are nodding your heads and agreeing, am I right?

Materials used:

• stamps - Dashing Deer, Stylish Christmas
• card - grey granite, tranquil tide, whisper white, vellum, Joyous Noel DSP, copper foil
• other - Festive Farmhouse elements, copper embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals, stitched circle framelits, Big Shot, stitched hills dies, double display card and layers dies (ODBD), extended Big Shot platform (non SU), Detailed Deer thinlits, Seasonal Layers thinlits, tailored tag punch, Stamparatus, Simply Scored, hills stencil (non SU), marker, copper washi tape

Thanks for dropping by.


Cheers
Kez