Origami heart - with a surprise...

Hello bloggists, welcome to my blog.  I'm so pleased that you came to visit!

I've had a few requests for more origami-based projects - so your wish is my command!

I used to spend hours folding paper when my children were younger;  it was easy to pick up and put down and the materials were easy to find and, most importantly, not messy.   This sweet little folded heart has a secret hidden inside, which I think makes it more fun for the recipient.

I used envelope paper.  Stampin' Up! DSP is excellent quality but it's a bit too heavy for most origami- it's almost light card.  The envelope paper is much better for the job as it's a bit lighter, but still top quality.

The heart itself is a very easy fold - here's the tutorial;

I used my favourite cat stamp too - this one looks like my Mysti when she's shouting at us for something she wants.  (I accidentally put her food bowl where her water bowl normally goes and vice versa the other day and she yelled at the top of her voice until I put it right!)  She puts in the occasional personal appearance in my videos and she may well turn up in my live stream Virtual Workshop on 6 July (7.30 pm BST) - so how about joining me to see if she does (or if the tripod remains upright?)  

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Classic Car card

Hello bloggists, welcome!

Well, what a weekend!  The OH and I took had our latest dance test;  for the first time we had three dances in one session (Viennese Waltz, Tango and Rumba) and it wasn't our best performance ever - although I think it was OK.  I was so nervous I couldn't stop shaking and I burst into tears afterwards. Still, I've just started my summer leave from the day job (three whole weeks! Yay!) and I'm looking forward to doing lots of crafting to soothe my nerves.

So here's today's offering.  I played with shaving foam marbling to get the background - and I used Always Artichoke, my least favourite colour in the SU range and I like how it came out! Here's the tutorial -

Hope you liked it.  



See you soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

P.S.  I'm planning a Live Stream on 6 July (7.30 BST) so I hope you'll join me then as well.

Simply Sketched 11

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 my turn to set the challenge sketch, so here it is -

I've stuck pretty close to the sketch because, well, it was my idea!

I'm a big cat fan, so I had to get the Pretty Kitty stamp set as soon as I could - and I've used it in this card.  Peekaboo Peach goes well with Cajun Craze, don't you think?  

I'm not going to waffle on because I know that you'll be keen to visit Angelina at the

Or if you're the rebellious type and are working your way backwards through the hop, you might want to visit Jillian at the

See you again soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

PS - I haven't linked a video in here because I know you're going to want to get round the blog hop - but if you come back later and click on the icon in the sidebar, it'll take you to my channel.  

It's in the bag!

Hello bloggists, welcome!

Today I've finally made a Hallett bag, only about a year after everyone else.

This is such a cute little gift bag and it was Caroline Hallett (Crafty Hallett)  who made the design popular about a year or so ago.  And I just never got around to making one until now.

It's this By the Shore DSP that inspired me.  It reminds me of the bags my mother used to carry our things to the beach.  This size of bag is just about right to hold a few notecards and envelopes.  Here's how it went together -

Hope you enjoyed this project.  See you again soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

In a spin!

Hello bloggists, and welcome.

I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy making kinetic and action cards.  This, believe it or not, is a pop-up spinner card.  The photo doesn’t do it justice, because when you open the card – well, it’s probably best if you watch the video tutorial.  

It’s actually quite straightforward to make a card like this – but my first attempt was made following written instructions which totally confused me at one stage.  I did puzzle it out in the end, though.

Hope you enjoyed!

See you soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren 

Bags of Fun!

Hello bloggists and welcome!

Gift bags are sooooo useful, aren’t they?  Wrap a pressie up in some tissue , pop it into a bag, add a tag and there you are – ready to give to some lucky person. 

Of course you can make a bag from scratch, especially if you have a Gift Bag Punch Board to hand, but I keep a small stock of pre-made bags on hand for occasions when I have to put something together in a big hurry (like for Father’s Day tomorrow – the cat always sends something to her Daddy).  Then all I have to do is decorate the front of it and Bob’s your Uncle.

I was going to use the other side of this Affectionately Yours DSP to decorate this bag, but when I started to put it together I changed my mind.  This side is Mint Macaron and Crumb Cake and I wasn’t a big fan of it- but I’ve changed my mind – I think it looks lovely on this bag.

Here’s the tutorial.

Hope you enjoyed,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Crate Expectations

Hello bloggists, and welcome!

When I started this blog, I thought I’d probably be able to update it – and my YouTube channel- once a week.  I didn’t think I’d have enough crafty ideas to blog more often, and as filming a 20 minute YouTube tutorial took me the best part of a day, I was sure I wouldn’t have the time.

Well, the more you practice, the better you get – or at least you get quicker!  I’m now regularly posting three times a week – something I never thought would be possible.

Of course, that means that I need more ideas and to plan more projects, and if you’re a crafter you’ve probably experienced the dreaded Loss of Mojo at some time or other. (If you aren’t, a crafter,  this blog will be of no interest at all so you might want to go and find something more interesting to read – no hard feelings!)

The Stampin’ Up! annual catalogue is a great source of inspiration – it used to be called the Ideas Book, because on every page there are pictures showing how the design team have used the products.  And today’s tutorial is my CASE (Copy And Share Everything) of the little fruit crate on page 148.

I loved it on sight, and I know I’m not alone.  This is my version of it –

I do hope you enjoyed it.  If you don’t have a copy of the SU catalogue, get in touch with your demonstrator (if you don’t have one the SU website can help you locate one)

See you soon

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Fun with Flags

Hello bloggists and welcome!

“Fun with Flags”, for those who don’t know, is a YouTube channel run by Dr Sheldon Cooper of the Big Bang Theory TV programme.   And as my inspiration for today’s post was national flags, I thought it was a good title for this blog.   

As a matter of fact, it was really flags at second hand.  The real inspiration was a polymer clay pendant that I made a few years ago (and now can’t find to photograph!).  It was heart-shaped, white at the top, green at the bottom, with a small red heart in the middle.  I made a few variations – a bit like the card toppers today.

Today’s tutorial also shows how I finished folding a rosette, which got left out of last week’s video (there was a bit of a technical hitch that meant the crucial bit wasn’t recorded).  Here’s the video –

   

Hope you enjoyed it.

By the way, can you believe that it’s almost halfway through June already?  If you’re thinking about joining Stampin’ Up! as a demonstrator, don’t forget that if you sign up before the end of June you can choose two stamps sets – ANY stamp sets in the catalogue -  for FREE as well as your starter kit (£130-worth of items of your choice for a payment of £99).

See you soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

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Vintage Leaves Card

Hello bloggists,  and welcome to my blog.

Well, the weather here has been unusually fine lately.  I know I shouldn't be surprised - it is summer after all- but the past few years we've had a series of not-very-good summers.  So why does this card have a rather autumnal feel?  I can't tell you.  It just happened.

This card is very different from the vision I had in my head when I started to make it.  I was inspired by a picture in the new catalogue and decided to CASE.

This was the picture, and it was the card at the bottom I was going to recreate - 

As you can see, there was a radical change of design direction...I'm not really sure why.  I mean, I started out by accidentally cutting my card blank in portrait orientation...and after that I just made it up as I went along!

Here's the tutorial -

As you can see, nothing like the original.

I hope you enjoyed it anyway.

See you soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Gift Card Treat Bag

Hi bloggists, welcome to my blog.

Gift cards are always useful.  I love getting one - I spend hours deciding how best to spend them, it's so much fun- I want to get the best possible value for money.

I'll be the first to admit, though, that they aren't very visually exciting and I usually try to find some way of fancying up the presentation.   I usually give gift cards to my sons-my older son has his birthday at the end of this month, so I daresay that's why I've got them on my mind!

This DSP is new in this year's catalogue.  I chose this one as, even though it's a floral design, it's not pretty-pretty and feminine, so it's perfect for my grown-up lad.  As usual, here's the tutorial - 

Hope you enjoyed it.

See you soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Triple Tealight Gift box

Hello bloggists, welcome to my blog.

It's hard to believe (because Christmas seems like about five minutes ago) but it will soon be the end of the school year and those of us of a crafty disposition start thinking about teacher gifts.  

If you have more than one child at school, and therefore more than one gift to purchase, costs can mount up, so most parents are looking for ways to minimise the spending.  This sweet little box holds three Yankee Candle tea lights (Yankee Candle make the best perfumed candles, in my opinion!) and as they come in boxes of 12 you could fill 4 boxes like this form one box.

Very easy to make as well - here's the tutorial!

I hope that you enjoy!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Balloon Celebration

Hello bloggists, and welcome!

Balloons are such fun, aren't they?  So what could be better on a celebration card than three of them!  Here's how I made this bright and breezy card -

Before I go, I want to say thank you to everyone who joined me for my live stream earlier this week - I had so much fun!  And if you're thinking about joining Stampin' Up as a demonstrator (I'd love to have you in my team!)  there's never been a better time, as if you join in June 2016 you can choose two extra stamp sets for FREE with your Starter Kit. 

Anyway, bye for now - and see you soon.

Crafty Hugs,

Keren
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Simple Heart

Hello bloggists and welcome to my blog.

Have you seen the new Annual Catalogue yet?  Have you got your copy?  It’s so good to be able to share what’s inside it at last, after weeks of teasing you with sneak peeks.

Demonstrators get to see the catalogue ahead of everyone else and we can order some items ahead of time, but not everything, so I’ve been waiting just as eagerly as you have for the new catalogue to go live so I could get my order in.

However, among the items that we could pre-order are the Sweet and Sassy Heart framelits, I’ve really missed using the hearts framelits that SU used to sell (that retired last year) so I you can bet that I put my order in at the earliest possible moment.

Here’s the first card I made with them.

Hope you enjoyed – and see you again soon!

Crafty Hugs

Keren