Happy Christmas

Just a quick note to wish you all a very happy Christmas, no matter where you may be. Hopefully you're enjoying the company of family and/or friends as I am. Thanks for your visits during 2019 and I hope you'll continue to call in regularly as we begin a new decade!

Cheers
Kez

Just Hello

When a card comes together just as you imagined...

So, the good folks at CAS on Friday are looking for new design team members and I decided to throw my hat in the ring, as it were. The instructions were simply to create a CAS card - no boundaries, guidelines or parameters, which, of course, made it all the more challenging! Here's what I ended up with:

The panels are simply two sponged colours (Bermuda bay and crushed curry), the branch is die-cut and the bird stamped and fussy-cut. I spritzed with ink from a marker, stamped the sentiment and all done!

Materials used:

• stamps - Grace's Garden, Enjoy Life
• card - whisper white, early espresso
• other - Seasonal Layers thinlits, Big Shot, blending brushes, spritzer tool, Stamparatus, markers, craft foam, glue, water spritzer

The colours are perfect for the heatwave we're currently experiencing and I'm sending a big Hello and best wishes to all in danger from bushfires around the state and country.

Thanks so much for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Rainbow Hugs

'Oh what fun it is to play
With oxide inks all day.'

(Did you sing that in your head to the tune of Jingle Bells instead of 'oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh'? No? Hmmm, maybe it's just me ;-P)

This morning I decided I wanted to make a CAS card with a white background and a lovely splash of colour, so I got out my distress oxides. I know, I know, I'm using any old excuse to play with my favourites inks, lol. You know me so well!

Here's my card:

I made a torn mask then sponged a little of each colour of the rainbow, spritzed them with a few drops of water and white ink, then added my sentiment die (two layers) and punched butterfly, finishing off with clear epoxy dots. Splash of bright colour achieved! I'm loving it.

Materials used:

• stamps - none
• card - whisper white
• distress oxide inks - festive berries, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, mowed lawn, blueprint sketch, peacock feathers, wilted violet
• other - Hugs die (Pink & Main), butterfly punch, clear epoxy dots, blending brushes, Big Shot, craft foam, mini Dimensionals

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

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

Simples!

Cute card featuring distress oxide inks and adorable meerkats? Simples!

One of the stamp sets you can earn for free from the upcoming Sale-a-bration catalogue is called The Gang's All Meer. It has a number of meerkat poses as well as a lizard and cactus and some sentiments, but my first card using this set was inspired by Jackie Aitken and I've gone for a silhouette against a vivid African sunset. Even shaded out, you can still feel the personalities of these loveable little critters!

I punched a mask for the sun and used my blending brushes to create the sky background, then stamped the meerkat image with black ink and coloured it using my basic black marker, adding the ground with the marker too. Then it was just cut and assemble - like I said, simples!

Materials used:

• stamps - The Gang's All Meer
• card - whisper white, basic black
• distress oxide inks - mustard seed, spiced marmalade, ripe persimmon
• other - 2 1/2" circle punch, blending brushes, Stamparatus, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, black marker, craft foam

There's no sentiment as I think this could be used for many occasions and I'm pretty sure this is going to be a very popular set to earn once the SAB promotion begins next month.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Friendship and Love

It's the 14th of the month, which means it's time for another team blog hop! So grab a cuppa, relax and take your time scrolling through the inspiration we have to offer you.

This time around we were given a sketch:

First up I made this little cutie. Now, most people I'm giving birthday cards to would need all these candles and more (lol), but they are definitely all awesome.

Isn't she a sweetie? I love how she's very 'matchy-matchy' with her outfit - that's my kinda gal!

Materials used:

• stamps - Itty Bitty Birthdays, Young at Heart
• card - crumb cake, whisper white, Bird Ballad DSP
• Stampin' Blends - calypso coral, pool party, so saffron, crumb cake, soft sea foam, smoky slate, ivory
• other - stitched rectangle die, stitched circle die, Big Shot, Dimensionals, calypso coral seam binding, Ornate Frames dies, clear embossing powder, heat tool

Next up is a sweet Valentine's card featuring products from the From My Heart suite in the upcoming mini catalogue. I switched sides for my feature and changed the circle to a heart.

Materials used:

• stamps - This Little Piggy
• card - flirty flamingo, real red, whisper white, From My Heart specialty DSP
• other - heart doilies, From My Heart faceted gems, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends, word window punch, real red double stitched satin ribbon, clear embossing powder, heat tool

Also featuring new goodies from the mini catalogue is my last offering. This is the first card design I thought of when I first saw the sketch a couple of weeks ago, but I had to wait until the last minute to make it as AusPost managed to lose my pre-order goodies and they only just arrived in the nick of time!

Materials used:

• stamps - Grace's Garden, Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - whisper white, watercolour, Sahara sand, brights DSP
• other - Garden Gateway dies, Big Shot, stitched rectangle die, stitched circle die, aqua painter, Stampin' Blends, Dimensionals, Stampin' Write markers, sponge dauber, blending brush, mounting strips

Now move on to the next team member, Kristy Davy, to see what she has created for you. Thanks for calling in!

Cheers

Kez

 

Angels on High

Okay, this Christmas card really IS my last one for the year! Well, not one, because I had to make a number of them for my class ladies, but the last one I had to design. Even then, I kept it very simple because hello, I am soooooo over Christmas cards!

One stamp, one die and some colouring in was all that was involved. Because you know how much I love colouring in, right? Here tis:

So sweet.

Materials used:

• stamps - Three Little Angels (Lili of the Valley Stamps)
• card - whisper white
• Copic Markers - E000, E00, E11, V0000, V000, V01, E43, E44, Y02, Y15, E33, E23, Y19, B00
• other - stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, craft foam, clear Wink of Stella, soft sky marker

We're having our annual dinner out tonight to celebrate not only the festive season but another wonderful year of crafting and fellowship. Secret Santa gifts, card exchange and a craft challenge (set by yours truly) make our evening even more fun!

Now it's almost time for another team blog hop, so tune back in on the 14th for some sketchy inspiration. Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Pretty in Pink

DD27 likes to keep a stock of cards for her friends who are getting married and having babies, so occasionally I receive a request for more. The complication is she's living in the UK at the moment and I'll have to ship a load over to her! Here's a baby card I made the other day for her stash:

Materials used:

• stamps - Moon Baby
• card - whisper white
• distress oxide inks - spun sugar, worn lipstick
• other - Well Written thinlits, Big Shot, Copic Markers, Dimensionals, mini cloud edges stencil (MFT), stitched rectangle dies, epoxy dots, blending brushes, craft foam

Unusually for when I'm sponging clouds, I began at the bottom, using more pressure and darker ink as I moved up. I really like the effect it gives, so I'm looking forward to making more in other colours. The die for 'baby' is two layers of card, while the 'welcome' is a layer of card over a layer of craft foam - first time I've tried this and I love the extra height and dimension it gives. 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Well Wishes Dandelion

I wonder what the story is behind a weed becoming the symbol for wishing someone better health? Maybe it's a sort of 'blow the nasty weeds away and leave only healthy flowers' kind of thing? Who knows? If you do, feel free to enlighten us!

Anyhow, I felt the need to get out a set I haven't used in quite a while - okay, honestly? I wanted to use my distress oxides and wonderful new blending brushes! But I also felt this stamp set would suit the background beautifully, so...yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Once I'd stamped my sentiment I overstamped with Versamark and clear embossed it - this makes the colour go a bit darker, which is the effect I was after.

Materials used:

• stamps - Dandelion Wishes
• card - whisper white, dapper denim
• distress oxides - fossilised amber, faded jeans
• other - water spritzer, blending brushes, Stamparatus, clear embossing powder, white embossing powder, heat tool, craft foam, embossing buddy, Versamark pen, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot

How do you like this colour combo? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Birthday Balloons

Here's another simple card that was reasonably quick to create. I made a stencil for the balloon by punching out of acetate and used my new blending brushes, stamped the sentiment over the top and voila!

Materials used:

• stamps - Stylised Birthday
• card - whisper white, basic black, lemon lime twist, acetate
• other - balloon duet punch, blending brushes, stitched rectangle dies, Big Shot, Stamparatus, craft foam

Thanks for dropping by!

Cheers

Kez

Elf Cuteness

My last Christmas card for the year (please!) is for my BFF. She loves black and white plus the gift wrap I bought has black, white and red, so I went with the same colour combo for my card, adding in a touch of gold and a sprinkling of green.

Materials used:

• stamps - Merry Little Christmas (SU), Santa's Elves (MFT)
• card - whisper white, real red, gold foil, retired Christmas DSP
• other - real red satin ribbon, gold jingle bells, Stamparatus, layering circle dies, Big Shot, Copic markers, gold embossing powder, heat tool, Versamark pen, Dimensionals, Stampin' Write markers (basic black, soft sky and real red), ruler, gold cord

Hopefully it will give her a giggle! Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Joy to the World ... well, to Me

Sorry about the terribly narcissistic-sounding header today, but I am a very happy little Marmite because Santa came early to my craft room! My BFF and I got together for a play day yesterday and, in case we don't see each other again before Christmas, exchanged gifts, and I am sooooooo happy and grateful for the wonderful things I received - a whole feast of ink blending brushes! I was up early this morning to give them a trial run and oh my! swoon! I used them with my distress oxides - of course - and love, love, love how easy they are to use and how smoothly they blend. Thank you so much, Santa!

Here's the first card I made with them. After blending I laid a wet stencil over the top to oxidise the inks and although I think maybe I left it sitting there a titch too long, I love the 'organic feathering' effect it gave me. You get such a texture vibe, don't you?

First off I had this on a white background but when I tried it on the black, it really popped! So hopefully it's not too dark and dreary.

Materials used:

• stamps - You Matter (Simon Says Stamp)
• card - basic black, whisper white, tangerine tango
• distress oxides - picked raspberry, spiced marmalade
• other - You die (SSS), Big Shot, word window punch, white embossing powder, heat tool, Dimensionals, mounting tape, Floral Layering Stencil (Tim Holtz), water spritzer, paper towel, blending brushes, embossing buddy

Of course I couldn't stop at just one card! My second is a lot softer and more subtle (and I didn't notice the crooked bit until way too late! My bad, lol):

Materials used:

• stamps - Enjoy Life
• card - whisper white, granny apple green
• distress oxides - mowed lawn, forest moss
• other - Leafy Swirl stencil (Clarity Stamps), water spritzer, paper towel, heat tool, blending brushes, white embossing powder, embossing buddy, craft foam

I'm sure I'll be back again soon once I've done some more playing! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Cheap and Cheerful

Everyone loves a card you can whip up in 5 minutes, right? Here's a fast, easy one that will brighten anyone's special day:

Materials used:

• stamps - Stylised Birthday, Beauty Abounds
• card - whisper white, pineapple punch
• inks - coastal cabana, pineapple punch, gorgeous grape, Memento tuxedo black
• other - stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, craft foam

This colour combo is so cheerful, I love it! 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Just Breathe

I was honoured recently to be picked as winner of the CAS on Friday challenge #167 - a one-layer card (this one) - and subsequently get to be guest designer for their new challenge. The theme this time around is to use black and/or white and one colour.

For my colour I picked the beautiful seaside spray - such a lovely soft warm blue.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hugs from Shelli, Colourful Seasons
• card - whisper white
• other - Dimensionals, Mini Cloud Edges stencil (MFT), sponge dauber, Stamparatus, craft foam

I am so happy with how this card turned out and must admit, the more I make clean and simple cards, the more I'm drawn to them. Something about the clean lines and simplicity of design really resonates with me, so you can probably expect to see more in the future.

Pop on over to the CAS on Friday blog and be inspired by the design team's lovely creations - and hopefully you'll get the urge to join in the challenge!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Cheers

Kez

Missing You

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was asked to be a guest designer for the CAS on Friday challenge blog after being picked as winner for challenge #166. The theme for this time around is to Use a Frame.

Now, sometimes it takes quite a while for my brain to come up with a design for a challenge, particularly for a CAS card as this is not my natural milieu, so to speak. However, I'd barely been told the theme half an hour before an idea sprang to mind and later that day I sat down to see if it unfolded as I hoped. Unusually for me with clean and simple, I forwent a white background in favour of the truly gorgeous soft sea foam.

Materials used:

• stamps - Teeny Tiny Sentiments (SU), Hog Heaven (MFT)
• card - soft sea foam, basic grey, whisper white
• other - petal pink Stampin' Blends, stitched square dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, craft foam, glue, Stamp-a-ma-jig

Everything looked a little bland and boring if I kept it straight, hence the tilt - I love how it gives that extra touch of whimsy. And is that little piggy just the cutest or what? 

If, like me, your cards are all about lots of layers and embellishments, you might like to push yourself to think outside the square and try a clean and simple card. Here's some definitions as a guide:

Clean & Simple - A design of card with clean lines, minimal embellishments, areas of white space and few or no embellishments.

White Space - An area of the card which has no image, layer, texture, pattern or embellishment. This can be any colour dependent upon the colour of the card blank.

I do hope you'll head over to the CAS on Friday blog to see what the design team came up with for this challenge and perhaps even give it a go yourself.

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kez

Blog Hop #12

Welcome! It's time once again for our team blog hop and this month we were given some gorgeously vibrant colours to play with.

My first offer is a fun birthday card with some sponging. I made the striped edging piece myself using a ruler and the brush tip of the marker. You need a steady hand though, lol. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Itty Bitty Birthdays
• card - whisper white, night of navy
• other - balloon bouquet punch, white gel pen, sponge daubers, ruler, night of navy marker, clear epoxy droplets, ornate frames die, Big Shot, Dimensionals, white embossing powder, heat tool, embossing buddy
• inspired by Simonne Clay

I've always loved blue and green together and night of navy with granny apple green has to be one of my favourite combos. Here's a 'bloke' card that uses this pairing and is clean and simple. I purposefully left off any sentiment because I want it to be one of those cards you can pick up and use for almost any occasion - birthday, Father's Day, retirement, etc. There are three layers to the image, which give it depth and dimension in real life. 

Materials used:

• stamps - A Good Man
• card - granny apple green, night of navy, watercolour
• other - aqua painter, markers, craft scalpel

And now for something quite different - whereas the previous cards had a lot of light space, the next one is a touch more dramatic in the use of the colours. I've done more sponging, this time in a Bokeh background effect. 

Materials used:

• stamps - Perennial Birthday, Butterfly Gala
• card - granny apple green, lovely lipstick, whisper white, night of navy, acetate
• punches - 1/4" circle, 1/2" circle, 3/4" circle, 1" circle
• other - Dimensionals, Well Written thinlits, Big Shot, Stampin' Blends, Stamparatus, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Stitched Seasons thinlits, Butterfly Beauty thinlits, sponge dauber

That's it from me! Click on the links below to move around the hop until you've completed the circle, and I hope you have a lot of fun being inspired to play.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

The Big Fat Man with the Long White Beard

'You'd better watch out,
You'd better not cry,
You'd better not pout,
I'm telling you why -
Santa Claus is coming to town.'

I'm back with the third and final Christmas-adapted fancy fold card, this time the centre-step one I previously did in black, gold, crumb cake and vanilla. Here's a memory refresher:

And here's how it looks once the Big Guy and some retired papers got involved:

Materials used:

• stamps - Merry Cafe
• card - cherry cobbler, grey granite, Festive Farmhouse DSP
• other - pretty pine dies, Big Shot, Christmas cardinal dies, ornate frames dies, cherry cobbler seam binding, vintage Santa Image (internet)

And that wraps up my classes for this year and my Christmas cards! As usual, by the time we get to here and I've made so many, I am thoroughly sick of them, lol. Mind you, there are still a few craft things to make for the day itself, so I can't put everything Christmas-related away completely just yet. 

Come back tomorrow for our team blog hop - a colour challenge.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

I'll Have a Blue, Blue Christmas

'I'll have a blue Christmas
Without you,
I'll be so blue just thinking about you.
Decorations of red
On a green Christmas tree
Won't be the same dear
If you're not here with me.'

My second fancy fold one-off Christmas card is a pop-up front step. I've been wanting to do a blue cardinal since seeing one on Pinterest, so I dragged out some years-old papers from my stash and made my wish a reality.

Here's the original fancy fold:

And here it is Christmas-ified:

Materials used:

• stamps - Toile Christmas
• card - seaside spray, silver foil, whisper white, Kaisercraft 'Frosted' collection papers
• other - Christmas cardinal dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, scoring tool

I'm so glad I tried the cardinal in blue - I'm loving it. 

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

It's Coming On Christmas

'It's coming on Christmas, they're cutting down trees, putting up reindeer, singing songs of joy and peace.'

Good golly Miss Molly, it's only 44 days until Christmas! I hope you've started your organising - I've got my menu planned, table decorations sorted and presents underway. Phew! With some of the family overseas for the big day this year, we'll be a smaller group than usual but we'll still try to keep up with a few of our family traditions.

And also coming up soon - very soon in fact - is my last card class for 2019. Over the past few years the theme for this has been special, one-off Christmas cards - those which take a bit more fiddling and effort and are too intricate or time-consuming to make in our usual stamp-a-stack classes. We'll be doing that, but I've also snuck in another theme to add to it - cos I'm tricky that way, lol. No, you see what happened was I had to cancel my previous class in which we were going to make three fancy fold cards so I thought, hey, why not re-make those same fancy folds but in line with the festive season? Once my muse struck with ideas, I got busy crafting!

Here's the first one. I took this double z-fold using petal promenade papers:

Changed the papers, chose some stamps and got busy sponging...and ended up with this:

Materials used:

• stamps - Wonderland, Dashing Deer
• card - coastal cabana, real red, whisper white, Let It Snow DSP
• other - white embossing powder, heat tool, sponge, Stamparatus, hills & borders stencil, costal cabana marker, embossing buddy 

I love it! Hopefully my ladies will too. I'll be back over the next few days with the other fancy fold adaptations.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

It's a Sunshine-y Day

I am honoured to have recently won challenge #166 over at CAS on Friday (see the winning card here) and been given the opportunity to be guest designer for an upcoming challenge. More on that when it is imminent!

Meanwhile, the theme for their current challenge is a One Layer Card, which I've only ever done a couple of times before. I look at it as being similar to clearing the clutter in my craft room - I'm paring back to essentials - and this card is just stamps and ink plus a stencil. I decided I couldn't resist bringing out my distress oxides - you all know how much I luuuuuurrvve these.

Here's my card:

Materials used:

• stamps - Full of Sunshine (My Favourite Things)
• card - whisper white
• distress oxide inks - squeezed lemonade, mustard seed, fossilised amber
• other - Sun Ray stencil (MFT), Stamparatus (SU), clear embossing powder, heat tool, blender tools, clear epoxy dots

It was only fitting that I took this photo outside in the warmth of a sunny spring day and I'm thrilled at the dappled light on our grapefruit tree in the background there.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Another Fancy Fold

After making two fancy fold cards I thought I might as well make a third and they can be our class cards for next week. I was also conscious - as I'm in the middle of a big sorting out of my craft room - that I tend to hoard papers and should use some of them up (don't even get me started on how I'm even worse at hoarding ribbons!), so I dragged out the beautiful Petal Promenade DSP and made a double z-fold card.

I kept to neutral colours for my base and matting which, in an astonishing dash of Kismet, matched the reverse side of the paper I used! Such a clever little Vegemite, lol. Not much was needed to add to this, just a simple sentiment and then let the gorgeous papers take centre stage.

Materials used:

• stamps - Perennial Birthday
• card - smoky slate, basic grey, Petal Promenade DSP
• other - Ornate Frames thinlits, Big Shot, Dimensionals

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

In My Secret Garden

I've been playing with some more Graphic45 papers and while, admittedly, they're a few years old now, they're still perfect for making pretty cards.

It looks like the bird on the tag is talking to the one on the branch. What do you think it's saying? "I love that song you're singing," or "Stop that racket and come look after these eggs so I can get out of this nest!" LOL.

Materials used:

• stamps - Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - whisper white, early espresso, crisp cantaloupe, Graphic45 Secret Garden papers
• other - Secret Garden chipboard elements, whisper white satin ribbon, hodgepodge hardware frame, pearls, Dimenionals, sponge dauber, baker's twine, small oval punch, mini glue dots, mounting tape

Here's another using the same collection.

There are four layers in the focus panel, so it stands out more than it might appear in the photo.

Materials used:

• card - whisper white, crisp cantaloupe, Graphic45 Secret Garden papers
• other - white ribbon, pearl pin, Dimensionals, sponge dauber

As it's spring here and there are plenty of birds chirping away in my back yard, I'm loving this collection all over again. Have you got goodies stashed away that haven't seen the light of day in a long time? Why don't you dust them off and have a play! You know you'll enjoy it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Magnolia Magnificence

Back to the theme of fancy fold cards, I decided to have a go at a Pop Up Front Step card - at least, I think that's what they're called, lol. I saw a few on Pinterest and managed to find some instructions - sadly they were in imperial measurements, so I had to adapt and adjust. Luckily not too steep a learning curve for this one! Once I sorted out measurements, it was very easy to construct and it doesn't take long to cut a few pieces of DSP to compliment this magnificent flower.

Materials used:

• stamps - Good Morning Magnolia
• card - basic black, whisper white, petal pink
• other - magnolia dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Well Written thinlits, strong adhesive, Stampin' Blends

I don't have the mossy meadow Blends but as luck would have it, the medium and dark old olive Blendabilities pens (from when we had sets of three shades) gave me a close approximation. There are two layers to the 'thanks' sentiment, which makes it stand out much better than only one layer does.

It all folds flat, though I did have to cut off one leaf and place the flower so it didn't extend far past the outside of my base in order to ensure this would still fit into a regular C6 envelope.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

The One Where I Get a Little Sidetracked...

I was doing some sorting/tidying in my craft room and came across a bundle of unused Graphic45 papers that I've had for some years time. A couple of them I have plenty of, so will be able to use for a class, but there was one where all I had was one 12x12" page. Not wishing to be wasteful - and because it was far too pretty to throw away - I cut up some of the elements and ending up designing a card.

Here tis:

Materials used:

• stamps - Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - basic black, Graphic45 'Place in Time' May cut-aparts
• other - black chiffon ribbon, sponge dauber, Dimensionals, 1/4" circle punch

You never know - this might just inspire me to do something with other papers hoarded sitting in my stash!

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers

Kez

Vintage Butterfly Hello

Our team's challenge this month is a fancy fold card and I immediately got it stuck in my head that I wanted to do a centre-step card. I had no idea what design to use until I was inspired by a card I saw ... guess where? Yes, you know me well. Pinterest, of course! Gosh, I remember the days I'd spend a small fortune on craft magazines for ideas, now all I have to do is sit in front of my computer for hours a short time.

Anywho, here's the card I made. I'm very happy with it (except for a small snaffoo drawing the antennae which hopefully nobody will notice lol) and suspect it may end up in my 'too nice to give away' pile.

A few speckles of gold in the background tie in with the gold embossing on the base piece, as does the sentiment panel.

I did three layers on my butterfly: the initial stamp on the background piece then two more coloured and cut and adhered with black mini dimensionals to give the wings some 'lift'.

Materials used:

• stamps - Butterfly Gala, Climbing Roses, Gorgeous Grunge, Timeless Textures, Itty Bitty Greetings
• card - crumb cake, very vanilla, basic black
• other - gold embossing powder, heat tool, black Dimensionals, sponge dauber, black marker, butterfly punch, embossing buddy, post it note

Be sure to leave some comment love if this one turns your crank! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Let Your Buffalo Roam Free

Buffalo check, that is, lol. Here's a couple of Chrissy cards for you which feature said checks and have a homespun/rustic kind of feel.

Materials used:

• stamps - Toile Christmas, Stylish Christmas
• card - crumb cake, basic black, very vanilla, mossy meadow
• other - poppy parade Stampin' Blends, Dimensionals, subtle embossing folder, Big Shot, heat tool, sponge dauber, aged ivory embossing powder (Stampendous), pretty pines thinlits, linen thread, buffalo check ribbon (non SU), stitched rectangle dies

For the next one I had a more bloke-y card in mind, though of course any gender can be into pick-ups. I love the real country vibe it evokes.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hardwood, Merry Cafe
• card - crumb cake, basic black, retired DSP, whisper white
• other - corrugated embossing folder, stitched circles die, Big Shot, Dimensionals, twine, Stampin' Blends, computer and printer, digital image

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez