Twin Hearts

Hello bloggists, and welcome.

Did you all have a fab festive season?  I do hope so, and that Santa brought you some lovely crafty goodies to play with.  Me, I'm saving my Christmas Present money for the new catalogue and for Sale-A-Bration.  You've probably already seen projects using the new items that are coming soon (very  soon...) and I've got some that I'll be showing you soon.

Today, though, I thought I'd take a look at my supplies and make something using items I've had for a while but not really done much with, and because I'd just been playing with envelope paper it was at the top of my mind, so to speak.  Here's what I did - 

I really like these colours together.  Not your usual Valentine colourway, but I think it works.  How about you?

See you again soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

PS Don't forget to show me pictures of what you've been making on my Facebook page - I really want to see them!

Triangle origami box

Hello bloggists and welcome.

I love paper.   I just do!  There's something very satisfying about taking a sheet of it and turning it into something-a greeting card,  a box, a flower... 

At one time, I was very interested in origami.   It's a fascinating subject and I was very intrigued at the way folding pieces of paper could create models of animals or boxes or just elegant shapes.  It doesn't need much equipment or take up much room.  You begin with the very easy folds and then progress to the more complex.

Today's project is a very simple fold.  It's modular origami, where a number of simple pieces lock together to create a more complex piece.

Here's how it goes together -

You can vary the size just by using smaller or larger squares of paper and tiny boxes made from shiny paper would make cute tree ornaments  (it's never too early to start planning for Christmas,  right?)

And on that happy note, I'll sign off!

Crafty Hugs

Keren

Kitty Cat Treat bag

Hello bloggists and welcome.   I hope that you all had a lovely holiday.  Perhaps you got some lovely crafty gifts, or perhaps some money to spend on yourself? I'm saving mine for the new SU catalogue.  Not long to wait now before you can get your hands on the yummy things that are coming up! 

At this time of year, I don't have much space for crafting so today's offering is a quick and easy project.  My mother in law sends our cat a Christmas present from her cat, so of course our cat has to send one back.  This little bag will hold a pouch of her favourite treats (Dreamiest,  if you're interested).  

Here's the video-

Thanks for visiting.  Have a great day and come back again soon. 

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Cup of Coffee Treat Pouch

Hello bloggists, welcome to my blog.

I’m not much of a coffee drinker.  I do love a cup of tea, but coffee just isn’t my thing- but I have plenty of friends who run on it! 

This little wallet  holds a surprising amount, and though I’ve sized it specifically to fit the coffee bag plus whitener, sugar and a bikkie, you could easily use it for something else.  After I’d finished it, I realised that it reminded me of a document wallet and if I resized it, I could use it for post-it notes(*pulls out calculator and begins writing down measurements)

 Here’s how I made it..

.

..and here are the measurements -

Last blog post before Christmas and I’ll be taking a rest on Christmas day – back next week.

Have a great festive season!

See you again soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Santa Cookie Cutter Card

Hello bloggists, welcome to my blog.

Christmas is almost upon us – where has the time gone?  When I was a little girl it felt like a lifetime between one Christmas and the next, and now the year just whizzes by!  There’s still time – just – to make some cards if you’re very quick, and this is a very quick card (for me, anyway!)

I resisted getting the Cookie Cutter punch and the Cookie Cutter Christmas stamps, but I’ve seen so many beautiful projects made with the bundle that in the end, resistance was futile and I had to give in.  The bundle retires when the Autumn/Winter catalogue ends on 3 January but stamps and punch will be available separately without the 10% bundle discount – so if, like me, you’ve put off getting these now’s your last chance for a saving.

And there’s a touch of “bring in the new” on this card as well...I’ve given you a sneaky peek of something that you’ll be able to get when the new catty comes into play on 4 January.  Take a look

See you again soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Simply Sketched 16

 Thank you for joining us for another Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge! 

We’re so excited to be sharing this hop with you.  The products used are all available in the current Annual, or seasonal, Stampin’ Up!® Catalogues*. 

Simply use the buttons at the bottom of the post to keep hopping.

This time it's Amanda Charlesworth's turn to set the sketch and this is what she came up with -

As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to use the Botanical Builders edge die.  I've interpreted the sketch rather freely, but I think you can still see a hint of Amanda's sketch design in there -

Whatch'a think?  Can I get away with it?

Anyway, I hope you are ready to proceed in an orderly fashion to the

Or, if you've come in half-way through the picture you might prefer to work your way backwards to the 

Thank you for visiting, and I will be seeing you soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Flippin' gift card!

Hello bloggists, and welcome.

You know I love action cards, right?    Here's today's card.  

Remove the belly band and pull the tab...

..to reveal a hidden message.  Keep pulling the tab and then...

...the flap fips over to reveal a surprise!

I saw a card like this on youTube some time ago, but the video just showed it in action, and didn't tell you how to make it.  I've been on a mission to find out how to do it ever since, and I finally found instructions in a book by Duncan Birmingham.  Here's how I made it -

Download the cutting diagram here - 

In the tutorial, I mentioned that there is a relationship between the size of the flap that flips over and the depth of the actuator.  The actuator is scored into four sections - the two outer ones are the tabs, the inner part is the action.  The formula for the action is (depth of flap minus 1tab)/2.  So, if the flap is 2 1/2 inches and the tabs are 1/2 inch, then the actuator needs to be (2 1/2 - 1/2)=2, divided by 2 = 1 inch.  Add two 1/2 inch tabs and the finished actuator should be 2 inches deep.  

It's worth practising this mechanism a few times so that you fully understand how it goes together, but I hope you agree that it's pretty impressive in action.

That's it for now, see you again soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Hot Chocolate

Hello bloggists, and welcome.  

There's something very cute about miniatures and when I came across a number of projects like this one on Pinterest I had to have a go at making my own version.  

I made it so that it's gift card holder as well as a card holder.  If you didn't want to add the gift card, you could glue the back panel to itself.  Or you could just tuck the Snowman Soup verse inside.  This is the one I like - 

When the weather outside is frightful, 
Snowman Soup can be delightful!

May it warm your spirit & soul, 
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

When you feel a chill or “burr”, 
Use the candy cane to stir

Add hot water & sip it slow, 
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Here's how I made it-

Of course, you could just fill the cup with Snowman Soup (hot chocolate mix, mini marshmallows, some chocolates and a candy cane) or some sweets and not bother with the cup holder for a very quick gift.

I hope you enjoyed this project, and if so, join me again soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Extra-large box

Hello bloggists and welcome.

Today's project is a big box.  I mean three sheets of A4 big, so not something that you'd make very often.  But I needed a big box to hold the Snowglobe I made  earlier - so here it is!

I will say that this did go through a couple of changes of design direction while I was making it - here's how it went together.

So that's it.  Hope you liked it.

See you again soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Snow globe

Hi bloggists, thanks for visiting. 

As the song says, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  I am writing this blog entry on my way home from work,  using my phone, I am on the bus because my husband has taken the car. The route goes through a number of housing estates and many families have Christmas trees and lights in the windows. . It's a real treat to see them, and makes me think I should be getting my deccies up.

Some of my favourite ornaments are things that I've created,  and I love this snow globe because I can change the image whenever I want to. I’ve had it a few years. .This year I have used Merry Tags to decorate it.

Here is the tutorial

Hope you like it. 

Crafty Hugs 

Keren 

Elegant Gift Box

Hello bloggists, and welcome.

I love this copper swiss-dot paper.  It's just SOOOO elegant.  I want a whole stack of it- and it's so sad that, because it's a speciality paper, there's only one sheet in the set.  

The good thing, though, is that it adds a real touch of class to any project.  So I used it to make a box for some earrings.  Here's how I made it.   

Would you like the cutting diagram?  You can download it here.

See you soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Driftwood

Hello bloggists!  My, it's good to have you visit!

As you will see from the picture above, I'm taking part in the Pootlers and Artful Stampers blog hop today.  I'm a Pootler - that is, one of Sam Hammond's team of Stampin' Up demonstrators, and the Artful Stampers are based in Australia.  

The hop theme was "anything goes" and I was feeling in need of some bright and cheerful colours so this is what I've made!

This hop is BIG.  I'm serious, it's massive.  It's so HUGE that there isn't a blog roll  or the usual next-previous buttons.  So if you want to see what everyone else has created, please use the link below to take you to the link-up.

An InLinkz Link-up

I know you'll find lots of great projects to inspire you.

Thanks for visiting and I do hope you'll come back again soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Leaf it out!

Hello bloggists, and thank you for joining me today.  

Looking out of my window today, most of the trees that line the road opposite have lost their leaves - there are only a few left clinging to the branches.  It's much colder today as well - we don't get extremes of hot or cold weather and because I live on the coast it's really quite mild by many people's standards, but for us it's cold - but sunny.

This is the view from my living room window as I'm writing this (and yes, I do realise how lucky I am to be living here!)

Not many leaves left at all!  Before they were all gone, and winter begins to take hold, I wanted to make one card with the Vintage Leaves stamps.  So I did!

I hope you enjoyed this one and thank you for stopping by.

My next blog post will be on Sunday, 4 December (not Saturday) because I'm taking part in a rather special blog hop - so please do come and see what we've all been up to, won't you?

Bye for now,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Charming!

Hello bloggists, and welcome.

It’s a quick project today, featuring the large letters thinlets.  I did think long and hard before I bought these, as I think I’ve said before, but in the end I couldn’t resist them;  I really like this font.

Having got them, I want to get some use out of them and I thought they’d be great for making personalised gifts.  Playing with shrink plastic is fun as well...

If you’ve never used shrink plastic, it can be quite scary when it starts to heat up and twist and curl, but be brave...it will lie flat in the end.  

I just went  with an initial for these keychain charms, but of course you could make all the letters in someone's name if you wanted.  

That’s all for today, see you soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

You light up my life

Hello bloggists, thanks for visiting.

This project is what I've wanted to use these dies for ever since I saw them.  It took me a while to track down a clear plastic bauble that was big enough (it came from Ebay in the end!)  The tree came from Amazon - it's one of a set of 6 Scandinavian decor trees - and lights like the ones I use can be found there as well

I'm going to give this to my mother-in-law as her Christmas "card" - although I'll have to make a suitable box for it...so watch this space!

Here's the tutorial-

I hope you enjoyed this project.  

Thank you for stopping by.  See you soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Meowy Christmas everyone!

Hi bloggists, and welcome.

OK, I'm a crazy cat lady.  And if you think I'm sorry for it, think again.

I like dogs as well - but I LOVE cats.  I've said before that this cheeky little pussycat reminds me so much of our Persian girl, Mysti.  (Her full registered name is Callymichanti Bootylicious but I couldn't face going to the vet and having them call out "Bootylicious Howell, please!"  So we called her Mystique - although Boadicea would have suited her...)  I coloured it as close as I could to her natural colouring (she's a lilac).  Here she is helping me to film -

Here's the tutorial - 

Thanks for visiting and  I hope you'll come back soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Slip-sliding away

Hi bloggists, and welcome.

Today I'm sharing how I made this little box.  The lid slides down to reveal the gift inside - cute ,yeah?

I woke up one morning with the idea for the sliding mechanism.  (Yes, I craft in my sleep).  As a matter of fact, the idea I had didn't work as I wanted it, so it took a few attempts to get it right (but it sparked another idea...watch this space!)

Here's a link to the measurements and cutting diagram

And here's the tutorial

The wrap around the gift inside was made with the envelope punch board.  If you have this neat bit of kit, you NEED the Envelope Generator app from We R Memory Keepers.  (it's free, my favourite price!)

See you later, alligator!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Simply Sketched 15

 Thank you for joining us for another Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge! 

We’re so excited to be sharing this hop with you.  The products used are all available in the current Annual, or seasonal, Stampin’ Up!® Catalogues*. 

Simply use the buttons at the bottom of the post to keep hopping.

Today's sketch was set by Anna Krol-

So this is what I came up with.  

I did struggle a bit with this one,so I hope you think it came out OK. . I wanted to use the new Stitched Shapes framelits. . They were supposed to be in the 2017 annual catalogue but SU decided to release them early - isn't that great? 

Now, to continue the hop, might I suggest that you proceed in an orderly fashion to the

Or if you're a free spirit and a bit of a rebel, maybe you'd prefer to go backwards through the hop, in which case please find your way to the

In any case, thank you for visiting and I hope to see you again soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

By Popular Demand

Hello, bloggists, and welcome to my blog.

And calling today's project,"By popular demand".That's because it's based on something I showed you but I had received in my swaps at Onstage Local in Telford. One of my viewers asked if I could show how to make the little gift card bag. So I gave it a try.

This is how it turned out.

It's a really quick and easy project to make, and if you want to see how I did it, here's the video tutorial-

I hope you like it. With Christmas coming, this would be cute way of packaging a gift card– or two! 

That's it for now, but I hope I'll see you again soon.

Crafty hugs,

Keren 

PS -  it's Simply Sketched blog hop day on Saturday–see you there!

Boxed in!

Hello bloggists and welcome to my blog. 

Last week I showed you the Christmas Tree ornament I decorated with the Pretty Kitty stamps. I really love that cheeky little cat,  she looks so much like my Mysti! As a matter of fact, Mysti isn't speaking to us right now. She's been given ear drops by the vet and her fur has gone spiky from the residue leaking out of her ears. We're definitely in her bad books. 

Anyway, today I am going to show you the box that I made to hold the ornament. It did go through a change of design direction as I was making it… 

Here’s the tutorial. 

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you come back again soon. 
Crafty Hugs

Keren. 

Thrifty Thank You card

Hello bloggists, and welcome.

When I'm exploring ideas for cards or craft projects, I usually try a few different variations of colour and arrange elements in different ways.  That usually means there are some pieces that don't get used.  I can't bring myself to throw those bits away and today's card is made from pieces left over from other projects.

Here's more about it - 

I think it came out well - how about you?

I'll be back again soon with another project.

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Meowy Christmas!

Hello bloggists, and welcome!

It's suddenly become much colder here.  September and October were really mild, but all of a sudden I'm starting to feel as if winter is coming!  I've put the flannel sheets on the bed and most nights I put a hot-water-bottle in to warm the bed up before getting in.   Time to start thinking about Christmas deccies! 

Stampin' Up! has lots of lovely Christmassy things in the Autumn/Winter catalogue, and I've used some of them in my bauble - the mica flakes, the ribbon, and the Pretty Pines dies-cuts - but the cheeky little cat tampering through the snow is from the Annual catalogue.  The Pretty Kitty stamps were among the first things I got from the 2016-17 catalogue;  that cat is just SO like my Mysti.  Here's a picture of her so you can see for yourself...

She loves helping me craft and has been known to put in a "puss"onal appearance when I'm filming.

Here's the video showing you how I made the bauble.

Thank you for visiting.  Please do call again, I'd love it if you did!

See you soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Telford, Baby!

Hi bloggists, and thank you for visiting my blog today.  

Oh, what fun it is to be a Stampin' Up! demo.  There are so many benefits to joining, many of which I really didn't expect when I signed up (nearly two years ago now...time flies when you're having fun) and one of them is the chance to go to OnStage events.  These are held every 6 months, and two times out of three are "Local" events - for us in the UK, that means Telford and a wonderful get-together with team-mates

One of the reasons why we go is to get an advance look at the next catalogue (it'll be the Spring/Summer supplement, or the "Occasions" catalogue).  We get a chance to look at the new products and to play with some of them, and we can order in advance as well - so you can understand why we love to go!  And I can say with every confidence, you are going to love, love, LOVE some of the things SU have got for you.  I can't show you yet...but soon...

Today's video isn't a tutorial but I hope you'll get lots of ideas from it.  I'm showing you what I got in exchange for the swaps I took up with me.  (I managed to swap all of them this time!)  I do hope you enjoy looking at them.  (I should warn you, it's quite a long video - so feel free to wander off for a breather if you need to!)

Back with a project for you soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Sweet flowers

Hello bloggists, and thank you for visiting.

If all has gone according to plan, when this blog entry goes live I shall be at our SU Demonstrators’ conference (OnStage local) in Telford.  The conferences happen twice a year, and it’s where we get to see the new products that are coming up and to meet up with other SU demos. 

Part of the fun is swapping.  The idea is that you make multiple copies of something – a card front, a box, a bookmark – and then on the day you swap them.  You then come back with a pile of inspiration and ideas.

This time I’ve made some flowers with sweet centres.

Here's the tutorial.  

I promise that I'll be showing you what I get in return for my swaps on Tuesday's YouTube-  hope I'll see you then!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

PS - if you want know more about joining in the fun of being a SU demo, drop me a line - I'd be happy to help!

Double flip-top box

Hello bloggists, and thank you for stopping by.

November already and before you know it, the festive season will be here.  It’s always handy to have some boxes around to package small presents, don’t you think?  Small items aren’t necessarily inexpensive (think about jewellery!) and even a gift that hasn’t cost much looks more impressive when nicely boxed up.

So today, I’m sharing this double-flip top box.

.I’ve seen  boxes like this in a number of places and so I wanted to have a go at making one.  The finished size of this one is 4 inches by 3 inches.

Here are the measurements –

And here’s the cutting diagram –

And if you visit my YouTube channel, you’ll find the tutorial.

Hope you enjoy - and do come back again soon, I'd love it if you do!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Season of Joy

Hello bloggists, and thank you for visiting.  It’s a fairly simple card today.

I treated myself to the Large Letters thinlets dies a few weeks ago.  I dithered quite a bit before I bought them, I must confess. Alphabets are always useful and I really like this typeface.  But all the same... they cost quite a bit of money and I needed to be able to justify spending so much. 

What made it possible for me?  Well, I didn’t pay anything like the catalogue price.  Stampin’ Up demonstrators get a discount, so that reduced the cost.   We also get credited with “flex points” (sort of like a loyalty card scheme) on everything we order, and I had enough accumulated to be able to exchange them for a money-off voucher – and I had coupons from the incentive scheme SU ran in July.  All of this took a bit chunk out of the purchase price.   And finally, I made sure that I ordered them along with other items that came to more than £150, so I got a 10% in Stampin’ Rewards as well.  I do so LOVE being a demonstrator. Here's how I used the dies to make this card - 

I’m coming up to my second anniversary with SU and I can say in all honesty, I’m still loving every minute of being part of the family.  I’ll be going to our OnStage local conference at the weekend (I’ll show you what I’ve made to swap with other demos on Saturday) and I’m so excited – I’m looking forward to meeting face-to-face with my team-mates who I know from social media as well as getting an early sneak peek at what’s coming up in the Spring catalogue.  

If you want to know more about joining SU, please get in touch – I’ll be happy to help!

See you soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren