Wednesday, August 28, 2013

August Class Cards

I have finally gotten around to photographing the cards we made in class this month. They featured either new product or a new technique for my ladies - or maybe both!

Firstly we made this simple stand-up card which features new stamp set Chalk Talk and matching dies. Not quite sure why they are called a "stand up" card - don't all cards stand up? lol! (Layout cased from Julie Davison)


Materials used:
  • stamps - Chalk Talk
  • card - strawberry slush, basic black, whisper white, in colour patterned paper
  • other - chalk talk dies, Big Shot, rhinestones, wide oval punch, square punch, dimensionals

We also made a masculine card which I cased from Christy Fulk with a couple of minor changes (this is the card I gave to DH for his birthday earlier this month).


Materials used:
  • stamps - Wetlands
  • card - soft suede, more mustard, watercolour, early espresso
  • other - aquapainter, square punch, antique brad, dimensionals

And our last card was this embossed beauty you have seen before. The ladies loved the feel of the sanded core'dinations card just as much as I do!


Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Saturday, August 17, 2013

50 And Fabulous

Tonight we are off to a Trivia Night to raise funds for the Quest for Life Foundation and also to celebrate the 50th birthday of the organiser of the event, who is a dear friend.

Naturally, a card had to be made. And, in fact, a second card also - for everyone at the event to sign too. That, of course. occasioned a rather large card, so I made one with extra paper inside for lots of signatures and birthday wishes. As the birthday girl just loves flowers and is known everywhere for always wearing a flower in her hair, naturally they needed to feature on the cards.

For my card I played again with sanding some core'dinations cardstock, this time in primrose petals and embossed with mosaic. I carried through the mosaic shape with stamping for one of my flag pieces (and on the inside), and teamed the primrose with summer starfruit and some watercoloured poppies. I love the aged look the sanding gives on the embossing!


Materials used:
  • stamps - Pleasant Poppies, Four You, Summer Silhouettes
  • card - primrose petals (plain and core'dinations), very vanilla, summer starfruit
  • other - mosaic embossing folder, Big Shot, 1" square punch, aquapainter, sanding kit, dimensionals
  • non SU - nestabilities circle and scallop circle dies

Black, vanilla and pink have been teamed up for the large card which is A4 folded in half. A bit of bling adds some glamour!



Materials used:
  • stamps - none
  • card - basic black, pretty in pink, very vanilla, Modern Medley dsp, silver glitter, garden green
  • other - Big Shot, Timeless Type number dies, dimensionals
  • non SU - nestabilities die, pink rhinestones, purchased paper roses, Martha Stewart rose leaf punch and matching embossing punch, hot glue gun, computer and printer

We are looking forward to a fun night and hopefully will raise heaps of money for Quest. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Edited to add: We had a great night, the birthday girl loved both her cards and we raised over $14,000 for Quest. Yay! Also, our team won the Trivia! double yay! (lol)

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Christmas Aussie Style



This month there's an Aussie theme to our Christmas stamp-a-stack cards and as you know we celebrate Christmas in the middle of summer. Schools have a break of about 6-8 weeks and the most popular holiday destination is the beach (hence the picture above!).


My first card was inspired by a Kathy Tanner creation and features an iconic Aussie item seen everywhere over the long, hot Christmas holiday season - thongs (jandals/flip flops). I thought it would be lots of fun if there were thongs hanging on the tree instead of baubles! Lol! 


Materials used:
  • stamps - Sunny Fun (retired), Four the Holidays (retired)
  • card - island indigo, cherry cobbler, whisper white
  • other - blender pen, Sahara sand marker, Big Shot, stylish stripes embossing folder, ruler

Our second card features a carolling kookaburra. The wording on the background is "have a dinky di, true blue, beaut Christmas".


Materials used:
  • stamps - Short & Sweet (retired)
  • card - real red, very vanilla, soft suede, watercolour
  • other - window framelits, Big Shot, sponge daubers, dimensionals
  • non SU - kookaburra stamp, red satin ribbon, true blue stamp

Thanks for popping by.

Cheers
Kez

Monday, August 12, 2013

A Bevy of Bows

One of the things I just could not resist putting on my Holiday catalogue pre-order was the Gift Bow Bigz die. And I'm so glad I did, because I just cannot stop making these things! They are so quick and easy and so darned CUTE that I keep looking for more papers to make another!

Here's some samples of what I've made so far - firstly some Christmas bows:


The two on the bottom row are made from new Christmas papers coming up in the Holiday catalogue and the island indigo one on the right also has a new embellishment in the centre.

Then some cute polka dots, floral and sweet baby bows:


And a couple of elegant bows using retired papers - Halloween papers that to me look like Burberry and the gorgeous Mocha Morning papers:


So of course now I am wanting there to be birthdays, weddings, births, Christmas, anniversaries and more so I can make a whole new bevy of matching bows! Lol.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

SUM - Wipe Your Drool ...

My good mate Robyn had her birthday recently but we only managed to catch up today, so I am now able to show you the card and gift I made for her.

Here's her card - I used the Modern Medley papers cos she loves black and vanilla.



Materials used:

  • stamps - Chalk Talk
  • card - basic black, very vanilla, Bermuda bay, Modern Medley dsp
  • other - chalk talk framelits, Big Shot, dimensionals

And for her gift I made something that will appeal to her base instincts - ie chocolate craving. It's a star book with quotes about chocolate and it was such fun to put together!




No actual stamping in this - it was all digital. The chocolate graphics are so realistic that I am sure she will be wiping the drool away whenever she looks at it! LOL. 

Materials used:
  • card - chocolate chip, creamy caramel, whisper white, regal rose
  • other - chocolate chip satin ribbon, sticky strip, designer frames embossing folder, oval dies, Big Shot, window framelits, deco label framelit, apothecary accents die, chalk talk framelit
  • non SU - Gina Jane chocolate craving kit digital graphics from Daisie Company, computer and printer, nestabilities dies

The chocolate quotes, in case you'd like them, are:
  • Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate.
  • A chocolate in the mouth is worth two on the plate.
  • Chocolate doesn't make the world go around ... but it sure makes the ride worthwhile!
  • God sends no stress that prayer and chocolate cannot handle.
  • The 12-step chocoholics program: never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate.
  • I have this theory that chocolate slows down the ageing process ... It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?
  • Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you will get one thing done.
  • Stress wouldn't be so hard to take if it were chocolate coated.
  • Chocolate is the food group they don't tell you about.
  • I'd stop eating chocolate but I'm no quitter.
  • In the cookies of life, friends are the chocolate chips.
  • Eat a chocolate before each meal. It will take the edge off your appetite and you will eat less.
  • I never met a chocolate I didn't like.
  • Forget love! I'd rather be in chocolate.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Tutorial Review


A few weeks ago I was approached by the online media coordinator for Daily Craft TV and asked if I would be happy to watch one of their video tutorials and write a review. Daily Craft TV has a huge range of videos on their site that teach you hundreds of techniques for quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking and papercrafting.

I picked a video from the papercrafting section called, "Inspiring Ideas for Fun and Fabulous Projects". The video was an hour long and it covered 7 topics:

  1. Techniques Revealed: Dressing Up Chipboard with Scrap Paper
  2. Creative Shortcuts: Creating Rolled Flowers
  3. Designer Hints: Preserving Scrapbook Memorabilia
  4. Everyday Inspiration: Adding Bling to Your Projects!
  5. Going Green: Getting More Out of Your Scrapbooking Products
  6. Design Workshop: Using Fabric Paper on Layouts and Cards
  7. Techniques Revealed: Building Boxed Flowers


The people presenting the video gave clear, concise explanations that were easy to follow and it was at all times easy to see the projects coming together and match the visual to the audio instructions. As an experienced papercrafter of some years, I had come across all of these techniques before - but it would be ideal for someone just starting their crafting journey or someone who has covered the basics and now wants to learn a few extra "Wow" elements for their projects. Having said that, it did inspire me to use some of those techniques that I hadn't incorporated in my work for some time (see my card below).

I know you can find free videos on many crafting topics over the internet, but if you don't want to have to do a grand search everywhere to find what you are after, or if you don't know exactly what you want to see and just want to get some new ideas, then this site may be perfect for you. At US$5 for 7 techniques, it was pretty good value.

So why not pop on over and have a look. With the huge range of crafts covered, you are sure to find something of interest. Here's the link again - Daily Craft TV.

And here's a card I made using two techniques from the video - creating rolled flowers and adding bling:



Materials used:
  • stamps - Four You
  • card - pool party (plain and core'dinations), whisper white, baked brown sugar, crisp cantaloupe
  • other - beautifully baroque embossing folder, Big Shot, sanding block, bird punch, rhinestones, deco label die, sponge dauber, dimensionals, embossing stylus
  • non SU - flower die, hot glue gun

Thanks for dropping in.

Cheers
Kez

Friday, August 2, 2013

Guess What?

Well, I've been sitting on some exciting news for a couple of weeks but I think it's OK to share it with you now ....

.... I'm going to be on the Stampin' Up! Creative Crew Design Team over at Splitcoast Stampers!!!! 

The CC organisers set four challenges per month for anyone to play along with and the design team will have projects made to inspire you.

My term on the design team will run from September to December so as from next month you can expect to see my projects both here and in the Creative Crew Challenges gallery. I would love you to come back and take a look - and, of course, to feel inspired to join in the challenges. 

We've been given the themes for the September challenges and I am busy designing already - can't wait to share them with you all! Meanwhile, why not browse this month's challenges. Be sure to use Stampin' Up! Only (SUO) or Stampin' Up! Mostly (SUM) products for your projects.

Cheers
Kez