Saturday 29 December 2018

InspireINK blog hop - Winter Thanks



Hello, and welcome!
It's InspireINK Blog Hop day, when this blog links up with others the challenge to bring you lots of inspiration!  This time the theme is Winter Thanks - just what we need after Christmas, with all those Thank-you notes to be written!(Did Santa bring you what you were hoping for for Christmas? I hope so!)  

This is what I've made.  I wanted the front of the card to look like a lovely snuggly jumper, so I used the Cable Knit embossing folder, with the flax ribbon in a fake knot as a (sort-of) scarf.  




It's not easy to see the texture of the embossing in the picture - so I've zoomed  and brightened it up a bit so you can see it better.  It really is just like a cable-knit woolly!



Thank you for stopping by!  To continue the blog hop, click the link in the "next" button below - but don't forget to come back and visit me again soon!




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Sunday 23 December 2018

Box Card

Hello, and welcome!

Gift cards are always well-received in our family.  I realise that there are those who say that they are a  lazy gift, but I'm not among them.  I get as much pleasure from choosing what I'm going to spend my vouchers on as from the items themselves, and I can take a LONG time choosing, which prolongs the pleasure.

They aren't the most interesting looking things, though, so I'm always on the lookout for cute ways of presenting them.

Today I've made a card that opens up to reveal a box, which can hold a gift card, or something else flat - like a lottery ticket, banknotes or a note to a special someone!

Here's how I made it - 


Isn't the gingham paper (coming soon) lovely?  Did you notice the stamps?  They're in the Sale-a-Bration promotion, which starts next month - very soon now - so be sure to keep checking back to find out more!

Anyway, that's my last blog before the festivities commence - and I hope you have a lovely, peaceful and blessed time - but still

Keep crafting!

Keren

Wednesday 19 December 2018

Pillow Box Gift Bag

Hello, and welcome! 

I thought I was finished with Christmas projects – but I was wrong!  

Today I’ve made a gift bag using a pillow box as a base, inspired by a video on Helen Griffin’s channel.  I believe Helen used a punch board to make her project – but as I had a package of pillow boxes to hand, I decided to use those. (And after I'd made my tutorial, I saw that Angie Kennedy Judah got there before me too!)

 Here's what I did.




This was also a way of using up the scraps and odds and ends that I’ve accumulated through the season.  I sometimes have a session of die-cutting or punching where I just cut a lot of elements and then put them into a bag for later use. I do the same thing if I’m stamping and colouring images (like the snowman) so that I’ve got a stock of items ready to go.  They all came in very handy for this little gift bag!

If you don’t have a bag of bits handy, you could easily glue a strip of decorative paper around the middle of the box/bag.  Or tie a ribbon round it.  

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Wednesday 12 December 2018

Scooting Santa

Hello, and welcome!
Another action card today.  
This one is a variation of the double-slider mechanism, which I spotted on Jennifer McGuire's YouTube channel.  When you pull the tab, Santa scoots away in the opposite direction.
Isn’t that fun? 

I like to keep the workings hidden – the die from the In the Woods thinlets came in handy to cut a nice curved shape – but you could easily cut a shape by hand with a craft knife or scissors. The bit that makes the magic happen is a strip of plastic that runs between two slits in the backer card.   

Here’s how I made the card –




I'm very happy with the way this turned out.  I learned from the mistakes I made with the Skating Snowman card, so this one went together more easily.  

OK, so that's my bit for today.  Come back and see me again sometime soon!

Keep crafting,

Keren

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Saturday 8 December 2018

Snow dome

Hello, and welcome!

I’ve been blogging regularly for a few years now – both here and on my earlier blog – and at this time of year, I get to thinking about how to use my craft supplies in festive decorations.


 

I’ve been blogging regularly for a few years now – both here and on my earlier blog – and at this time of year, I get to thinking about how to use my craft supplies in festive decorations. 

Usually it’s a bauble for the tree (and I had lots of ideas for this year, but I’m running out of time because there were so many other projects I wanted to show you first!).  This time it’s a snow dome- well, sort of.  Can you see what it’s made of? That’s right, it’s a disposable wine glass!  
Here’s how I made it –
I didn’t include any loose “snow”, but it would have been easy to add a spoonful before I sealed the base.


Since making this, I’ve thought that one of these domes would look lovely with an artificial rose inside (inspired by Beauty and the Beast!) I have a ribbon rose that I made for another project but wound up not using and it would be perfect for this. 

So that’s my project for today.  I do hope you liked it and come back and see me again sometime soon!

Crafty Hugs,
Keren

Wednesday 5 December 2018

Skating snowman

Hello and welcome!
If you’ve followed this blog or my YouTube channel, you might have noticed that I do enjoy making action cards, so when I saw this skating snowman (from Spirited Snowmen) I had to put him on an interactive card.
Pull the tab and the snowman skates across the card.


I also prefer it if the workings aren’t obvious, so I’ve hidden them behind the snowbank.  (The idea came from Jennifer McGuire).  Here’s how I made the card –

I made life a bit difficult for myself while I was making this – so I’m hoping that you will profit from my mistakes.   It all worked out in the end, but it would have been a lot easier if I’d done things in the right order – but you live and learn!

Keep crafting,

Keren

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Saturday 1 December 2018

Winter Scene in a box

Hello, and welcome!
Can you believe that it’s December?  2018 seems to have flown by.  Are you putting your tree up soon - or is it up already?  (Some houses on my route home from work have had decorations up since just after Halloween!) And what about Christmas shopping?  

Today’s project is based on one of the Baker’s Boxes.  These are a great size for packaging a small gift, and are made from a glossy card.  I like to make some sort of decoration every year – usually a bauble for the tree (but this year I’ve got too many ideas for projects and not enough time to share them – the Autumn/Winter Catalogue was just too inspiring!).  This time I’ve made a little scene and used micro led lights to light it up.

The tree and the deer are from two different sets of thinlets, but they work together so well, I just couldn't resist!

Here’s how I made it (warning – long tutorial - you may want to fast forward some of it!)



My original idea was to build the scene in a small tin but I had trouble fitting the battery pack inside.  I struggled until I hit on the idea of using the Baker’s Box and I’m really happy with how it came out.  My husband has claimed it to take into work so that his desk looks festive. 

OK, that's it for now, but do come back again soon!

Meanwhile,

Keep crafting!

Keren

Wednesday 28 November 2018

Sunny Santa

Hello and welcome!

Today’s card is a bit different from the usual snow-scene-with-santa- and reindeer.  I made this one with friends who live in Australia in mind, and as I write this it’s on its way to Queensland.   When my children were small they loved Raymond Brigg’s Father Christmas on Holiday and this image reminds me of that book.  I love this happy Santa who is enjoying some fun in the sun!

I’ve used some different masking techniques on this card and I’m really pleased with the way it turned out!  Here’s how I made it –



I think that this stamp would be great on a retirement card – with the right sentiment, of course.    Or just a "having a great time on holiday" card.  What do you think?

That's me done for today - got to crack on with the Christmas shopping (have you started yours yet?)  

Keep crafting,

Keren Product List

Saturday 24 November 2018

InspireINK Bog Hop - Secret Santa


Hello, and welcome!
It's InspireINK Blog Hop day, when this blog links up with others the challenge to bring you lots of inspiration!  This time the theme is  -

In other words, a bag or a box or some way of packaging a gift for a Secret Santa. Here's how mine came out. 


(The gift inside is a little manicure set.  We have a price limit of £1 for Secret Santa at our office so it came from the Pound shop - what a bargain!)

After measuring the case of the manicure set, I drew a plan and worked out the dimensions of the card I was going to need.  The case was 4 1/4" by 2 3/4" and about 1/2" deep so I wanted my finished box to be 4 1/2" by 3" by 3/4" deep. Here is the plan-
Did you notice the ribbon rose? I made that by tying knots in a length of double sided ribbon, then coiling it up and hot gluing it to a circle of card. 
(Yes, there will be a tutorial - check my YouTube channel in the next few days!)

So that's my contribution to the hop.  Next is Tina, so please click on the link below to see what she's been up to to inspire you! 




Keep crafting 

Keren

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