Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Master, O Master

Today DD22 is graduating with a Masters in Teaching (Primary) from Melbourne University, so the family have travelled en masse for the ceremony.

Only two years ago we were there for her BA graduation and I made her a special stair-step card for the occasion (see this post). This time her hood colour is malachite green and I've gone with a card-in-a-box using black, green and silver with a star theme.

Here tis:




Materials used:
  • stamps - Great Grads, Simply Stars
  • card - basic black, silver glitter, green (non SU), whisper white
  • other - stars framelits, Big Shot, star punches, acetate, dimensionals, Timeless Type alphabet dies, silver embossing powder, heat tool

I'm very happy with how this turned out, so I hope she likes it! I'll add on photos from the ceremony when I can.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Edited to add: some photos of the day





Monday, December 8, 2014

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

OMGosh I LOVE Pinterest!

My ladies are getting used to me saying "I saw an idea on Pinterest" and I have lured many of them to  join this amazing (and incredibly addictive) website. For our annual Christmas dinner this year I challenged everyone to make a decoration for house or tree and for my own contribution, had to look no further than my fav go-to internet "guru". Here is my (predominantly SU) Santa Star decoration, inspired by one I saw on Pinterest:


Is he cute or what?

He's a little cross-eyed! Probably 'cos he's got so much work to do in the next couple of weeks!

There are a few retired punches used here - we punch art people NEVER get rid of old punches! (There's gotta be a joke in there somewhere - you know, the "old punches never die, they just ....." type! Can anyone think of a goodie?)

Materials used:
  • card - white linen (non SU), blush blossom (retired), silver glitter
  • other - red felt, moustache die, stars framelit, Big Shot, word window punch (retired), 3/4" circle punch, horizontal slot punch (retired), decoration punch (retired), itty bitty star punch, owl punch, non SU embossing folder, sponge dauber, dimensionals, 2-way glue pen

And that gave me an idea for this year's Christmas card for my ladies - I've made a star shaped easel card with the decoration on the front. It is adhered with mini glue dots, so it can be removed and hung on the tree - it's a card and a gift in one! (I know, I am brilliant!!!) 



Materials used:
  • card - real red, basic black, silver glitter, whisper white, white glitter
  • other - as above plus star framelits, petite curly label punch, mini glue dots

Ho Ho Ho! Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Peace And Joy

Coming up next week is my last class of 2014 and we are making some one-off, special Christmas cards.

I am totally in love with this first colouring technique using white embossing and Blendabilities markers that is so simple yet so effective.


 Materials used:
  • stamps - Ornamental Pine
  • card - whisper white, mossy meadow
  • other - white embossing powder, heat tool, ovals framelits, Big Shot, dimensionals, Blendabilities (old olive, crumb cake, skin tones), banner punch

Secondly is a card I cased from Debby Hughes with a few minor changes. The delicacy of the doily stamp and vellum poinsettia are just gorgeous - much nicer in real life than in the photo.


Materials used:
  • stamps - Joyful Christmas, Hello Doily, Good Greetings
  • card - crumb cake, white linen (non SU), vellum card
  • other - dimensionals, metallic twine (silver), rhinestones, burlap ribbon

And last but by no means least, we will be making this diorama card which is an adaptation of a gorgeous card made by Linda Higgins, a fellow Aussie demo. I use a blend of white embossing powder and dazzling diamonds (about 50/50) to get a sparkle on the "snow covered" trees.



 Materials used:
  • stamps - Holiday Home, Lovely as a Tree, French Foliage (retired)
  • card - night of navy, silver glitter, whisper white, white glitter
  • other - Holiday Home framelits, Big Shot, dimensionals, Blendabilities (night of navy, daffodil delight), white embossing powder/dazzling diamonds mix, heat tool, deco label framelits

Linda has a video tutorial on her blog for making this card, you can see it and her original card by clicking on the link HERE.

Well, that's it for this year! I do hope you've enjoyed popping in every now and then for some ideas or inspiration and that you'll return in 2015. Have a wonderful holiday season full of love, joy and peace and take care on the roads. Thanks to all my loyal followers and an especially big THANK YOU to those of you who leave comments, I really love to read them and hear what you think.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Sunday, November 23, 2014

A Month And A Day

It had to happen eventually, I know, but it sure does seem to have come around awfully fast - the last of our Christmas stamp-a-stack classes, that is. With only a month and a day until Christmas itself (scary thought, let's not go there!), it's time to get these bad boys written, addressed and in the mail!

Our first card is one I made last year when I was on the Splitcoaststampers Creative Crew design team and my ladies love it so much they wanted to re-create it. Using non-traditional colours, this was a CASE of a lovely card by Mel Sharp of Melbourne. Here tis:


Materials used:
  • stamps - Four the Holidays, Christmas Collectibles
  • card - basic black, very vanilla
  • other - holiday ornaments framelits, pearls, Big Shot, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig, embroidery thread (non SU)

Our second card is newly designed and inspired by a couple of cards around the www. It uses one of our new photopolymer sets and I really did love being able to see exactly where I was stamping. I used my aqua painter to brush an ink wash for the sky, then when that was dry, coloured the cardinal and trees using markers - fast and easy! To me, the Decorative Dots embossing reflects the snow falling effect, although DD16 disagreed! What do you think?


Materials used:
  • stamps - White Christmas
  • card - basic black, watercolour, whisper white, Baja breeze
  • other - pennant punch, bakers twine, aqua painter, dimensionals, real red and crumb cake markers, on film framelits, Big Shot, decorative dots embossing folder

We only have one more class this year and our annual Christmas Dinner to look forward to - and this year I have challenged my ladies to make a decoration for home or tree. Can't wait to see what they come up with!

Meanwhile, we'll be toiling in the heat today - we are expecting 39 degrees Celsius today! Might be kinda nice to be making a winter-themed card! Lol!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Hashtag Awesomeness!

A tongue-in-cheek fun masculine card is my offering for you today! I saw the moustache/monocle combo on Pinterest and decided to combine it with a co-ordinating embossing folder. Great for birthday or Father's Day.

As my DH has always had a mou, I'm sure my girls will get some use out of this one!


Materials used:

  • stamps - @sosocial
  • card - basic black, crumb cake, very vanilla
  • other - moustache die, 1/2" circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, windows framelit, Big Shot, dimensionals, black marker
  • non SU - moustache embossing folder

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Friday, November 14, 2014

Agra Bound

DD22 is in India at the moment on a teaching program and that inspired me to make a card using bold, bright colours and gorgeous patterns.

This weekend they are off to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal and as you can imagine, she is pretty excited about that.


The softly rounded domes of the Taj made me think of the mosaic suite of SU products, so I have used those for my India-inspired card. My colours are blackberry bliss, Bermuda bay and crushed curry and I think they look stunning together, especially with subtle touches of added bling.



Materials used:

  • stamps - Mosaic Madness
  • card - Bermuda bay, blackberry bliss, whisper white
  • other - mosaic embossing folder, Big Shot, stamp-a-ma-jig, mini glue dots, itty bitty punch, rhinestones


I can't wait for our next Skype session to hear all about Agra! Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers
Kez

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Coffee To Go?

In class tomorrow we will be making (among other things) this cute little "Coffee to go" set:


Materials used:
  • stamps - Perfect Blend, Extreme Elements
  • card - crumb cake, whisper white, pumpkin pie, Polka Dot dsp
  • other - white bakers twine (normal and extra thick), itty bitty punch, floral fusion die, rhinestones, sponge dauber
  • non SU - crimper, 227 ml coffee cup and lid (purchased), My Time Made Easy "To Go" templates for coffee cup and warmer wrap, styling tool and mat

Isn't it adorable? The card was cased from Angie Britt and that sparked the idea for the matching coffee cup - which here is holding a gift of coffee beans:


I can think of at least two daughters who would be happy to get this little gift set!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

A Bit Of Shimmer And Shine

Today I have to show you some samples I've made with my new crafting love. I've used silk microfine glitter, transparent double sided adhesive and craft stickers all from Elizabeth Craft Designs.

You attach the adhesive to some card, cut it into whatever shape you want, put on the sticker and then cover it all with the microfine silk glitter. This is burnished (using your fingers - very simple) and then coloured with alcohol markers (I've used SU's Blendabilities). It is TONS of fun and I've been happily glittering and colouring away!

Here are the three samples I have for you so far -



A cute masculine cake with shirt and tie design (slightly crooked placement, please excuse!).


Gorgeous roses.


Christmas cardinal.

I love the "stained glass window" kind of look that some of them give, as well as how beautifully they colour and blend. I am definitely hooked on this technique!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Floral Decoupage

I really enjoyed making the decoupage bag for stamp camp (see this post) - and the ladies who did the class seemed to like it as well - so I thought I'd have a go at a non-Christmas themed one. And having made one, couldn't resist making another! Here they are:


A fairly simple one to start with using flower and sentiment from retired hostess set Simply Sketched. You do have to take extra care with those thin stems though .... Crisp cantaloupe, calypso coral and pear pizzazz are the colours used.


This one was a bit more complicated as I used masking for the flowers and stems. Some careful cutting and gluing required again. The colours are blushing bride, so saffron and wisteria wonder with pear pizzazz for the stems and calypso coral for the stamen.

Here's both of them together:


They were a ton of fun to make so I think we might even have a go at one of these in class this week.

Materials used:

  • stamps - Secret Garden, Simply Sketched
  • other - calico bags, wisteria wonder and calypso coral ruffled ribbon, markers, stamp-a-ma-jig
  • non SU - tissue wrap, Mod Podge glue, paint brush
  • ink - black StazOn

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez





Monday, November 3, 2014

Stamp Camp 4- Decoupage Bag and Gift Card

My second project for stamp camp is a decoupage bag which is a simplified version of that made by Mary Ellen Stites. It is actually pretty easy to put together and of course you can use such a variety of stamped images that gives you huge potential for gift ideas.


I made a matching 3" x 3" gift card to go along with it.

Materials used:
  • stamps - Joyful Christmas
  • card - old olive, very vanilla, cherry cobbler
  • other - muslin bag, old olive grosgrain ribbon, cherry cobbler and crushed curry markers, cherry cobbler embossing powder, heat tool, Apothecary Accents die, petals a-plenty embossing folder, Big Shot, dimensionals, stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge dauber
  • non SU - tissue wrap, Mod Podge, paint brush


Connie Collins has a great video tutorial for this process, which you can see here.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Stamp Camp 3 - Robyn's Classes

Yesterday afternoon for a nice change, I got to be the "student" in a craft class. Robyn had two gorgeous projects lined up for us to make, so without further ado here they are.

Firstly a fabulous concertina card where we got to colour and stamp on superfine glitter. Sooooo much fun!


Then we make this adorable birthday "cake" from chocolate nuggets


More fun and super-easy too!

I'll be back tomorrow with my second class project; a decoupage bag and matching gift card. Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Stamp Camp 2 - Vertical Step Card

I am first tutor up for our classes here at Stamp Camp in beautiful Collaroy. We are making a vertical step card with a Christmas theme using gorgeous papers from Graphic 45.

Here's the front:


And when the card is open:


Materials used:
  • stamps - Merry Little Christmas (SU), More Merry Messages (SU), Santa's Little Helper (Magnolia), Fireplace with Stockings (Magnolia)
  • card - wild wasabi, whisper white, real red, gold
  • papers - Graphic 45 Merry Little Christmas
  • other - Blendabilities, gold brads, dimensionals, Chalk Talk framelits, Big Shot, Timeless Type Alphabet dies

I do hope our ladies love this as much as I do!

Call in again tomorrow to see Robyn's class projects. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez



Friday, October 31, 2014

Stamp Camp 1 - Shoebox Cards

Tonight I am in beautiful Collaroy at our annual Stamp Camp. Robyn and I have created some totally GOR-JUS cards and projects for our ladies to complete and I am really looking forward to a weekend of fun and crafting.

Here are the four shoebox cards I created, two bright and cheerful and two in softer tones:


Materials used:
  • stamps - Just Sayin'
  • card - so saffron, baked brown sugar, tangerine tango, Bermuda bay, very vanilla, retired dsp
  • other - word bubble dies, Big Shot, corner rounder punch, rhinestones, dimensionals
This one was cased from Julie Davison.


Materials used:
  • stamps - Pursuit of Happiness
  • card - tempting turquoise, whisper white, daffodil delight, basic grey, polka dot and retired dsp
  • other - 1 3/4" circle punch, pennant punch, rhinestones, word bubble dies, Big Shot, dimensionals, sponge dauber

This was inspired by similar cards seen on the www, especially one by Mary Brown.


Materials used:
  • stamps - Pleasant Poppies, Lovely Little Labels
  • card - white linen, blushing bride, pear pizzazz
  • other - ribbon, white embossing powder, heat tool, jewellery tag punch, dimensionals, rhinestone, blender pen

Materials used:
  • stamps - Tilda Laying Down (Magnolia), Good Greetings (SU)
  • card - soft sky, whisper white, so saffron, watercolour, retired dsp
  • other - aqua painter, dimensionals, markers, triple heart punch, rhinestone

Tune back in tomorrow to see my first class project; a vertical step card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Monday, October 20, 2014

Only A Week Late ...

.... Here I am at last to show you the shoebox swap projects my lovely ladies came up with for our class this month. Even though there weren't as many attending as expected, they all did a wonderful job and we had a great variety of things to work on. It was particularly nice for me as the usual teacher to be able to sit and make cards with them all for a change!

Firstly here's a photo of the ladies with their cards:


And here are their wonderful creations:


Lynne thought outside the square and gave us a gift bag and matching notebook and pen set to make. So cute!


Jane's oriental themed card is stunning and a great use for retired SU papers!


Anne gave us this lovely easel card with the challenge of colouring the stamp with markers.


I love the Autumnal shades and little bit of sponging on this lovely card by Jean.


Ruth's lovely floral card has a gorgeous sparkly sheen to it that my photo doesn't show. We coloured the daffodils with markers (she knows how much we all love colouring!) and a bow and rhinestone were the perfect finishing touches.


And Jenny - who just adores frogs - gave us a cute little punch art piece to make. Love the googly eyes!

Some of my ladies are joining Robyn and I for our annual Stamp Camp weekend coming up in only 10 sleeps, so we are all getting pretty excited about that. Meanwhile, I am ultra busy cutting and prepping so there will probably not be a lot to show you until the end of next week. If I do happen to create, be sure I will pop in to show you, but the camp projects are already photographed and scheduled, so you won't miss out on seeing what we will be doing!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez


Sunday, October 12, 2014

Make A Wish

When I first saw the Curvy Keepsake Box in the Holiday catalogue, I thought it was really cute but told myself I could live without it. After all, I still have the purse die and the fancy favour die - what need for another box?

Yeah.

But darn it, people began putting some really cute variations up on the web! Still, even though I liked it even more, I managed to resist temptation.

You know what happened though, don't you? Eventually there were soooooooo many adorable curvy keepsakes that I caved and ordered it. I've even given it it's own board on Pinterest.

Sigh!

But I'm glad I did because it is (a) ridiculously easy to put together and (b) cute as a button!

I wanted to make some little Thank You boxed gifts for my lovely class ladies because this month they have been especially brave - here's the scoop:

As Oct 4th was World Card Making Day, I suggested to my ladies that we do something a little different for class this month, so we are having a birthday themed Shoebox Swap. What is a Shoebox Swap? We all design one card and cut up enough materials for each person to make a copy, then all the materials needed (card, stamps, inks, ribbon, punches etc) are put in a box and passed around. With nine of us attending, we will end up with nine cards to take home!

Now I know that this is a bit of a daunting task for some of my ladies to undertake, hence me wanting to give them a little something as a thank you for their bravery. So here are the little boxes I made - I kept them very simple and made a matching tag:



Materials used:

  • stamps - Pretty Petites
  • card - mossy meadow, lost lagoon, hello honey, blackberry bliss, whisper white, In Colour patterned papers
  • other - curvy keepsake box die, Big Shot, sticky strip, string, Crop-o-dile, petite curly label punch


And here is the card I've made for my swap, also very simple but with a lovely splash of colour.


Materials used:
  • stamps - Perfect Pennants
  • card - Sahara sand, whisper white, blackberry bliss, Moonlight dsp stack
  • other - chalk talk framelits, crushed curry embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, 1/2" circle punch, dimensionals, Versamark marker

I'll be back after class to show you the projects my ladies came up with.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Birthdays Are Like Zombies

Another Sweet Pea card for you today, this one using a totally gorgeous set called Undying Love. It has two sweet zombies (male and female) and some very punny sentiments!

Here's my card:



I just LOVE that saying! ROFLOL!

Materials used:
  • stamps - Undying Love 
  • card - wisteria wonder, basic black, whisper white, digital dsp, retired Halloween dsp
  • other - Blendabilities, Copics, dimensionals, oval framelits, Big Shot

With the school holidays nearly over (sigh!), my playing time in the craft room is almost at an end - so I'd better make the most of it over the next few days! Back soon!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Hola!

I bought some Sugar Pea Designs stamps recently and today got the chance to ink up one set called Let's Fiesta. This guy is so cheerful he's adorable and DD16 is already a firm fan!



I bought some Mexican design digital papers for the background and coloured the images using SU's Blendabilities. Not my finest job of blending, but I am out of practice - that will obviously need to be remedied!

Muchas gracias for calling in.

Cheers
Kez