It's a gift!

Hello and welcome!

I have to admit to having a substantial craft stash.  I've been paper crafting for nearly 20 years, but in truth I've been crafting in some form or another for most of my life, beginning with embroidery when I was a small girl (I loved going to choose new skeins of thread - the colours were entrancing!).  Over time I've accumulated quite a pile of things.  And as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator (and therefore entitled to a nice discount) I've got quite a bit of SU goodies. 

But if you're just starting, it's not possible to have EVERYTHING at once (unless you're fabulously wealthy). So what would be my must-haves?

Once you've got a few stamps and some ink pads, top of my list would be a die-cutting machine.  There are quite a few around, but my go-to machine is the Big Shot.  (I've had mine since 2005 and it's still going strong.) 

Today's project features die-cuts, all from one set of thinlets.  No stamps, no inks, just paper, a snowflake embellishment and a bit of tinsel trim. 

Here's the video.

PS - the DSP will be retired when the new catalogue comes into play and is available while stocks last, so if you want some don't wait! 

Keep crafting,

Keren

Product List

Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies

[137547]

Year Of Cheer Specialty Designer Series Paper

[144640]

Silver Glimmer Paper

[135314]

Gold Glimmer Paper

[133719]

Silver Foil Sheets

[132178]

Gold Foil Sheets

[132622]

Two-fer techniques

Hello and welcome!

I thought I’d share something a bit different from my usual finished card/project today. 

I’m a great collector of techniques – for paper or card finishes or for paper engineering.  I love being able to start with a plain piece of paper and card and make it look super-special, so today I decided to share a couple of techniques that have been around for a while but that I haven’t used in my cardmaking for some time.

To begin with, I had a play with  watercolour block printing.  Of course, you can do this with any dye-based stamp pad, but I found that the Stampin' Write markers and the Stampin' Spots ( which come uninked, so you can make them any colour you choose) gave me quite a bit of control over where I put the colour.  I'd say that using watercolour paper is the key to getting a good result.  The paper needs to be absorbent and strong enough to cope with a lot of water.  The timing is important too - if you leave the wet paper too long it'll start to stick to the block.

The fusible webbing technique is lots of fun and you never know what you're going to get!  It is important that you use a webbing that will melt into holes, not one that keeps its integrity.  It's the same stuff that you use to use to mend the hem of your trousers, just in a big sheet instead of a narrow strip. (You could use the narrow strip for edging a piece of card!) This is the kind I used - 

You could, of course, use either technique on its own - combining them is not compulsory, but I did love the way my bits of card came out! In the end, I used the finished die-cuts as embellishments on cards.  


So there you are, hope you enjoyed it - and remember, keep crafting!

See you soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Product List

Watercolor Paper

[122959]

Uninked Stampin' Spots

[141822]

Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

[141636]

Background Bits Clear-Mount Stamp Set

[144029]

Classic Stampin' Ink Refills Regals

[131169]

Heat Tool - Uk Plug

[129054]

Flip your lid!

Hello, and welcome!

I love an action card so much - such fun to pay with.  Today's card is a flip-top gift card holder.  

I thought the "star" theme, being a bit Hollywood, was in keeping with the cinema gift card inside.  It was totally planned (not!)

It's really easy to make.  

Here's the tutorial - 

Here are the supplies - 

SaveSave Product List

Happy Birthday Gorgeous Photopolymer Stamp Set

[143662]

2016-2018 In Color A4 Cardstock

[141434]

2017-2019 In Color A4 Cardstock

[144253]

2016-2018 In Color Stampin' Write Markers

[141393]

2017-2019 In Color Stampin' Write Markers

[144033]

Naturally Eclectic Designer Series Paper

[144185]

Night Of Navy A4 Card Stock

[106577]

Night Of Navy Classic Stampin' Pad

[126970]

Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper

[135315]

Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies

[137547]

Thanks for visiting today, and I'd love to see you back again soon.  

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Bunny Treat box

Hello bloggists and welcome.

It took me a while to decide to get the Curvy Keepsake box die.  I admit it, it wasn't until recently that I took the plunge.

This is the first project that I have made using it-what do you think?

I did use a few different dies to make it, and if you don't have all the different sets that I did, then you could try cutting the ears freehand. I was happy to find that the petal dies from the Flower Fair set made great bunny ears!

Here's the tutorial.

I love how it came out - and I think I'm going to have a go at making some more characters!  It's so much fun.

See you again soon,

Crafty Hugs,

Keren