Season's Greetings!

I created this card yesterday and one thing that I love about it, is that it was easy to duplicate. Cards that are easily duplicatable are the key at Christmas! Especially if you have quite a few to do! I did this one in stages - stamped, then added embossing powder was one step. Then once all pieces had embossing powder on them, I heated them all together. I find it quicker to get through the embossing this way as my heat tool stays hot and has no time to cool down between stampings. I do all my cutting and then all my adhering as their own steps too.

What little tips do you have for your Christmas cards?

Pin It

Believe!

I created this Christmas card for some of my fellow Kaszazz Consultants. I'm quite taken with this Nativity stamp, and I also really like using non-traditional colors and sentiments for Christmas cards. The 'Believe' sentiment is perfect at Christmas time, and reminds me of the movie Polar Express.

How do you use your stamps in an unconventional way?

Don't Forget December Birthdays!

I don't know about you, but December gets so busy with Christmas, shopping, presents and cards that sometimes we can over look December birthdays.

If you have lots of birthdays in December, maybe it's a good idea to create extra cards during the year so you're all ready for those December birthdays. If you think it's going to be super busy, why not write in the cards, address and (postage) stamp them, so they're ready to be posted when you need them. It'll save you time and anxiety during this busy month, but your loved ones will still get a lovely hand made card from you that will make their day!

Happy birthday to everyone with a birthday in December, including my brother!

Resetting My Goals!

Well, I must say that I knew I'd be busy this month, but not quite this busy! Are you finding the same thing? It seems that I'm constantly rushing from here to there, and at the end of the day feeling like I haven't got anything done! Unfortunately, I think my card making has suffered as a result!

I love the idea of making a Christmas card a day, but as that's proving to be much harder than I first thought, and with the aptly named Silly Season well and truly upon us, I think it's going to have to be a goal for me this December, as opposed to a definite!

Having a goal is a good thing, so if you need some encouragement or motivation to get started (or finished) on your Christmas cards this year, make your own goals and try keeping them. I will do my best, and together I think we can have a productive month!

Day 2 - Better Late, Than Never!

Here is the card I made on Friday, but didn't get a chance to post!

The letters were stamped using the Eclectic Alphabet, then heat embossed with Gold Embossing Powder. The Crimson cardstock was stamped with the Fancy Flourish in Fired Brick Distress Ink for a tone on tone pattern that's subtle, but breaks up the plain red.

I hope you like today's card - don't forget to come back tomorrow for another Christmas Card!

17 Days of Christmas!

Wow! December 1st is here already! Can you believe it? I hardly can! For those of us in Australia, this means the official beginning of summer (despite the rain patches in Melbourne!), Christmas decorations, shopping for presents and Christmas Cards!

If you're like me, and haven't quite finished off your cards (or haven't started yet), then I want to encourage you that it's not too late to make your own! I've decided to do one Christmas card each day until December 23rd, and to post it here for you! This is a bit of a challenge for me, so I'm looking forward to seeing how I go! In the meantime though, I hope this encourages you to continue with your own cards!

To start off with, make your list, and if possible, put it into order of when you need to send/give them out. Overseas cards should be sent first. Anyone local, or that you can hand deliver to, can be next, and anyone you plan to give your card to on Christmas Eve or Day, can be last, as you have more time!

Simple Male Birthday

Yesterday was my husband's 30th birthday.

I wanted to share this birthday card I made for him.

For the base and the top layer, I used White SB Essentials (4925). The thin brown matt is made from Coffee SB Essentials (4920), and the larger brown matt, from Brown Sugar (1055).

I stamped my greeting using the Old Typewriter Letters Stamp Set (172LN), and the Little Birdie (4413KC), and then clear embossed (as it takes some time to stamp out a longer greeting letter by letter, I shook my embossing powder on after stamping each letter, then heat set all together once I had finished stamping).

To colour the top layer, I used the Direct to Paper technique with Broken China, Faded Jeans and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. You could use different colours for a different effect (or even a feminine card). This technique would also work well with the new Distress Stains, Kaszazz have coming out soon, or for a slightly more muted look, use a Foam Pad with an Ink Blending Tool!

The embossed image and letters resist the ink, but you still need to wipe the ink off the embossed parts before your card is done.

To help my colours blend a little better, I spritzed it with some water from a Mini Mister, then dried it off with my heat gun (for a feminine card, add some Perfect Pearls to the water to create some shimmer).

On the inside, I created a little envelope, just big enough to hold a gift card.

Craft Room Update

My good friend Vanessa gave me me a lovely shelving unit for my craft room, so of course, I had to re-arrange my craft room to fit it in!

I know some of you who follow my blog like seeing my workspace, so here are some photos of the newly arranged craft room! Although the new unit is big, it takes up less space then the bike I never used (except to store things on!), and holds so much that I actually have more space now than I did before! I'm loving the new layout of my room, and will love it even more when I can easily remember where I've moved things to!

My crafting desk

To the left of my desk: return with a few tools close to hand

My new storage unit, with colour coded ribbons and other bits!

My crafting desk, with lamps from Ikea

My DVD holder turned storage!
This sits right in front of me, and makes it easy to see
what I've got. And, it's all within reach!

To the right of my crafting desk is my 'working' desk!

November 2011 Promotions

Kaszazz have some wonderful promotions available for November. Check them out now to see what you can take advantage of!

Customer Bonus 1
Customer Bonus 2
Customer Bonus 3
Host Promotions

Christmas Card Workshop

My local Neighbourhood Centre has asked me to run a two week Christmas Card Workshop, and you're invited!

The workshop cost is $20, and will be running on Thursday 10th and 17th November, from 1pm to 3pm, at the Endeavour Hills UnitingCare Neighbourhood Centre.

If you'd like to join us, please phone the Centre on 9700 3789. Places are limited, and are filling fast, so get in quick!

Kaszazz's Angel Policy

Did you know that Kaszazz have an 'Angel Policy' regarding their stamps?
If you sell your cards and other creations that have Kaszazz stamps on them, then you need to know this important information.

Have you heard about 'Angel Policies'...and that there are copyright laws when using rubber stamps to create cards (& other items) that you then sell to other people?

An Angel Policy is a form of limited license that specifies how a rubber stamped image can be used and any specific requirements of the manufacturer or artist. Typically this outlines under what circumstances, if any, a stamper can make and sell items created using a manufacturer's rubber stamps.

Kaszazz has a very simple Angel Policy:

All rubber stamps supplied by Kaszazz (including the Lucy’s Stamps range) have a very simple

“Angel Policy”. You and your customers can make hand-made cards with the stamps and sell them

provided you acknowledge copyright on the card somewhere by writing “Images © Kaszazz”.

Or, you could simply stamp our gorgeous 4268KC Stamp - Kaszazz Copyright - Love Birds on the

back with your favourite coloured ink.

If you do not sell your cards, you do not need to write anything on them.

This policy also applies to our Quick Kits...if you want to sell your project, simply make sure that you have "© Kaszazz" written somewhere on the finished product.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Happy Stamping!!

Thanks to fellow consultant, Jo Brosnan for letting me use her blurb.
The Kaszazz Copyright - Love Birds stamp is on page 118 of the current catalogue.

Save some money, share the fun! (Pt. 2)

Following on from yesterday's post, here are a few more money saving ideas!

• Use your wishlist!
  Kaszazz provide a great little Wishlist which I highly recommend using! I encourage all my customers to fill out their wishlist and bring it with them to my workshops. It helps with ordering from our extensive (and always growing) Catalogue, especially when we're constantly mentally adding to our wishlists! Having a list written down not only helps with ordering, but is handy when someone asks what you want! ;) Just hand them your wishlist and let them pick a gift for you that you'll really love!
  
• Have a (birthday) party!
  I know several people who have had a FREE Make and Take around the time of their birthdays, and as a result, have had their guests order them their birthday presents from their wishlists! At one party, the host's wishlist got sent round the table, and people just marked off what they would buy. When the list returned to the host, she was able to order any remaining items direct from her wishlist, because she knew what others were buying her and didn't need to double up! As the host, you could benefit in more ways than one by celebrating your birthday this way! Not only will your guests buy your presents, but if your sales total over $150, 10% of those orders will be yours to spend on whatever you like from the catalogue! Collect orders over $350, and you'll also be able to choose a Hostess gift! Add this to any birthday money you get, and suddenly your wishlist will be looking pretty empty, and you've spent very little of your own money!
  
• Buy 're-usable' itemsInstead of buying stickers or rub-ons, buy stamps. Instead of buying new ink pads, buy ink refills in the colours you need. With ink refills, a little goes a long way!
  
  
• Stay organised!
  Keeping everything you need well organised and in a place you can easily see and reach will help you from buying items you already have!

Save some money, share the fun! (Pt. 1)

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that crafting together and sharing supplies is a good way to save some money and enjoy some crafting time with friends.

The more I thought about this, the more I realised that this same thought could be used for other things too, so here are some ideas to help save you some money, without limiting your creative process!

• Join a group
  There are plenty of online and 'real-life' groups you can join. Connecting with a group of like-minded people is a great way to get some new ideas and make new friends. Some groups participate in swaps which can be a great way to get different products without having to buy them first. This is a great way to 'try before you buy'!
• Swap with friends
  You don't need to join a group to participate in swaps! Organise your own swap with a group of crafty friends! Decide on a theme, and then go for it! Or, have an 'open house' - decide on what you really don't need, or won't use, and ask your friends to do the same. When you get together, layout what you've collected and then 'shop' for free! You'll be helping each other as well as yourselves!
• Don't double up, unless you need to!Borrowing is just as good as swapping! Especially for things you can use again, like stamps, ink and tools. Papercrafting, like most other hobbies can get very expensive, especially if you want to buy one of something for just one project. If you know a friend has the same product, ask if you can borrow it. Be careful to treat their product better than you would your own - you want them to lend to you again! Distress-D (being so clever and brilliant) has made up two little 6x4 photo albums in which she's placed paper that's been stamped with all the stamps she owns. She keeps one album with her (it's small enough to fit in her handbag, so she can take it shopping with her), and the other one she's given to me. Looking through the album is just as good as going shopping - I look through it before I start a project to see if there's something I could borrow from her, rather than buying it myself. Whenever she buys a new set of stamps, Distress-D stamps two sets of papers for the album - one for her, and one for me. This way, the albums are always kept up to date!
• Use Colour Charts
  Colour Charts are little grids designed for you to stamp your ink colours into. These are really handy when colour matching your projects, but can also double as a way to remember which ink colours you have. I have all my colour charts in a folder I can grab when placing an order. It makes ordering easy as I can see at a glance what colours are missing from my chart. I can also mark on the chart any colours I want to buy next time round!

Don't forget.. Buy one, get one FREE

Just a little reminder that Kaszazz have a special on until the end of the month - buy one, get one FREE! There's only a few days left to order these products, so get in quick! One item has already sold out, so don't miss out on the rest! Stock up now for your Christmas projects!

Buy one, get one FREE list

Christmas Cards - Share the fun!

Last week we started talking about Christmas cards. Now is the perfect time to start creating your Christmas cards, if you haven't done so already, especially if you have lots of cards to give out!

Before you start, take a look at what others are making online. Inspiration can come from anywhere, but if you're feeling particularly uninspired, looking at what others are doing can often give you a great idea!


It's also a good idea to have a plan, and then to create a sketch so you have a clear indication of what you're going to do. Christmas cards can be a big project, and the more organised you are, the easier it will be to meet your goal of hand making your cards this year.

Another way to help meet your goal, and have fun at the same time, is to invite a friend or two to either help you make your cards, or to create your cards together. If you've been following the steps so far, and are well organised, creating the cards will be a breeze, and with a friend helping you, the process will not only be quicker, but also heaps more fun!

To help keep your costs down, consider splitting the purchase price between the two of you for stamp sets, and other tools. If you both like a particular stamp in a set, by buying the set together, you can each use the stamp you like without having to buy two sets. For next years cards, just pick a different stamp from the set, or swap stamps! You'll be amazed at how differently each person looks at the same stamp, and how different your designs will look! The same can be said for tools, especially the more expensive ones like the Ezy-Press. Why not buy one together to take your crafting to the next level, at half the price!

Christmas Cards - Creating a Sketch!

So, you have your plan, an idea of what you'd like to do, but no idea how to design it or put it together? Put the Christmas music back on, and get out a piece of paper and a pencil. Cardmakers and scrapbookers sometimes work from a sketch. A sketch takes out some of the guesswork as it shows you exactly where the elements on your project need to go. Sometimes people will follow a sketch as part of a challenge. Other sketches are provided as a means of inspiration. If you have a picture in your mind of how you want your card (or cards) to look, draw it out on your bit of paper, highlighting all the elements you want to use. If you know the colour combinations you're going to use, make a note of them on the side of your sketch.

In yesterday's post, I mentioned choosing just one or two designs for your Christmas cards so you save time when creating them. With fewer designs, you can easily set yourself up to work in a process line. Do all your cutting first, then scoring and folding, stamping, etc. By doing one job at a time, you save more time than by creating each card seperately from start to finish. Choose simple and easy to duplicate designs. If you have more than 20 cards to make, you wouldn't want any fussy cutting, or intricate colouring, as this is very time consuming. Make a sample card first, even if you don't have the right papers and cardstock. This way, you'll know what your card will look like once it's done, and you should be able to calculate how much paper, ribbon, adhesive and embellishments you'll need. Keep your sample or sketch handy when you start your process so you have something to follow.

Christmas Cards - Have a Plan!

Yesterday, I shared a post about starting your Christmas cards, with the focus on Getting Inspired. I hope that today you feel inspired, but not overwhelmed, and as a result, excited about starting to create for this special time of the year.

The inspiration is a vital first step, but I believe it's followed closely by having a plan you can follow! Without a plan, all you have is a great idea to this year make your own Christmas cards, and I'd love it if this is the year you can make that goal happen!

Tomorrow I will talk a little bit about planning the design of your card(s), but today I thought it'd be a good idea to think about how many designs you might need or want. If you have a lot of names on your Christmas Card List, then I'd suggest one to three designs (depending on your level of expertise and how much time you have to make the cards). If your list is fairly short, you have the time and are feeling very creative, you may be able to get away with creating individual cards for everyone. A couple of years ago, a friend asked me to do make his Christmas cards for him. I said that I would, and had a design for him, which he liked, but he wanted the name of the person he was giving the card to on the front of the card. Because he had a short list (less than 20ppl), I was able to do this for him. The basic design was the same, so the only element on the card that changed, was the stamped name on the front. This was more time consuming than if I'd just stamped the one Christmas greeting on the front of the card, but it's still do-able. Or, you can choose to create a brand new design for each person you'll be giving a card to. If you choose to do this, make sure you have all the supplies you need first!

With just one design that you love, you simplify the task of creating Christmas cards. When choosing your design, keep in mind how readily you can purchase supplies both in the beginning, and later if you run out and need more. For example, buying patterned paper in a pack is great for colour co-ordinating, but if you use a quarter of a sheet on one card, and the pack only has two pages of that pattern, you'll only be able to make 8 cards.

Christmas Cards - Getting Inspired!

The days are getting longer and warmer. For those of us living in Australia, that means that Christmas is just around the corner! The stores have had their Christmas decorations out since the last week in September, and whether you think it's too early or not, it's definitely not too early to start making your own Christmas cards! The more you need to make, the earlier you need to start!

But, where do you start? If you've never made a card in your adulthood before, then to start making your own Christmas cards, can seem quite a daunting task! To some regular cardmakers, Christmas cards seem too overwhelming! No matter which category you fall into, I have some tips I'd like to share with you over the next few days about making your own Christmas cards!

Get Inspired
Inspiration (often lack thereof) is usually what holds a cardmaker (that's you, even if you've never made a card before!) back from making their own Christmas cards. So, it's time to get inspired! Get into the Christmas spirit! I love Christmas, and everything associated with it, so when it comes time for me to get inspired, I like to put on the Christmas music, and get into the spirit of the season! But, that isn't always enough, so I like to also take a look at some work that others have done. If you have old cardmaking or scrapbooking magazines lying around, take a look through the Christmas editions. Or, go down to your local newsagent, and grab a magazine that you like the look of, if you've never bought one before. No magazines? That's okay, head on over to Google and do a search for handmade Christmas cards.

Kristina Werner  (who I'm a big fan of) is currently in the middle of her Holiday Card Series for 2011. This is the third year she's run this series (see her blog for the past two years). The series includes videos of her making a different card each weekday for 25 days prior to Christmas. It's a huge undertaking, and a great source of inspiration!

At this point, it's important not to get too carried away with the beautiful work that others are doing. We can so easily put ourselves into a little box with a label on the outside that says we can't do [enter complaint in here]. Just keep in mind the kind of card you'd like to create, and take a look at the design of a card, colours used and any new techniques you'd like to try! There may be three or four different cards that you like an element or two from each one. Remember, it's not about re-creating, it's about creating! This will be your piece of handiwork!

On Friday night I joined my friend (and Creative Memories consultant), Ingrid at her monthly workshop, where we all had a chance to create a Christmas card using some of their Christmas papers and embellishments. Ingrid has showcased the card and matching tag I created on her blog this morning, so I invite you to go over and take a look!

Kaszazz October Specials

Kaszazz have just released a list of 50 products, with a special buy one, get one free offer! That's right, if you buy one of the products listed here, Kaszazz will throw another one in free! Wow, talk about good value! But, this special offer is only available for the last half of October, so get out your wishlist and order form, and start writing!

2567 Brads - Antique Gems (16) - Pearls $4.95
2925 Brads - Mini Round (100) - Pewter $4.95
1099 Card Essentials - Christmas - A5 216gsm (30) - Asst. $12.95
1307 Card Essentials - Primary - A5 216gsm (30) - Asst. $12.95
9407 Chipboard - Hang-it - 6x6 (10) $12.50
6547 Chipboard - Scallop Circle Drilled - 150mm (10) $10.95
71350 ColorBox Fluid Chalk Refill - Blackbird $8.85
71308 ColorBox Fluid Chalk Refill - Blue Lagoon $8.85
10140 Design Adhesive - Butterfly Swirl $8.95
5054 Die - 2-in-1 Cut and Emboss - Romantic Curve $20.00
2916 Die - 2-in-1 Cut and Emboss - Tags # 4 $44.95
5045 Die - Standard Paper - Box #2 $49.95
2904 Die - Thick Paper - Box # 6 $174.95
2903 Die - Thick Paper - Envelope # 1 $174.95
2570 Embellishment - Charms - Baby $5.95
4875 Embellishment - Charms - Girls Things $5.95
2569 Embellishment - Ribbon Charms (4) - Family $3.95
4736 Embellishment Kit - Antique Gold $19.95
2572 Embellishment Kit - Pewter $19.95
4908 Eyelets - 3mm (50) - Pink $3.95
4696 Flowers - Daisies 4cm (100) - Multi $19.95
4843 Punch - Small - Folk Heart $6.95
2506 Ribbon 2m - 1/4" Organdy - Chocolate $1.25
2988 Ribbon 2m 1/4" Sheer Satin Edges - White $1.95
1696 Rub-ons - Adorable $7.50
4426 Rub-ons - Alphabet and Numbers (30) - Black $27.95
2936 Rub-ons - Funky Forest Borders $7.50
2937 Rub-ons - Funky Forest Frames $7.50
2557 Rub-ons - Once Upon a Time $7.50
4880 Rub-ons - World Traveller $6.95
70200 SB Album - Share and Tell - Black $49.95
4460 SB Bazzill Basics 12x12 - Swimming Pool (CC) $1.10
4617 SB Bazzill Basics 12x12 - Whirlpool $1.10
4230 SB Bazzill Basics 12x12 - Yam $1.10
4446 SB Cut Outs - Castaway 12x12 - Tags and Borders $3.95
4762 SB Cut Outs - Gelati 12x12 - Circle-it! $3.95
4761 SB Cut Outs - Gelati A4 - Tags 'n' More $2.20
1051 SB Essentials 12x12 - Cranberry $0.95
1091 SB Essentials 12x12 - Grass $0.95
1339 SB Essentials Bling 12x12 - Aqua $1.10
1348 SB Essentials Bling 12x12 - Black $1.10
1333 SB Essentials Bling 12x12 - Mandarin $1.10
1335 SB Essentials Bling 12x12 - Orchid $1.10
1349 SB Essentials Bling 12x12 - White $1.10
4662 SB Vellum - Mum $1.95
4658 Stickers - Alphamega - Arial $5.95
4657 Stickers - Alphamega - Weird $5.95
4660 Stickers - Alphamidi - Arial $3.95
1368 Sticky Bling Words - Cherish $3.50
4901 Tools - Punch 'n' Set $24.95

For the other October promotions, head on over to the Kaszazz News page.
If you'd like to order something from this list, or our Products Catalogue, you can call me on 0418 48 641, or via email.

Happy shopping!

Romance Brag Tag ...

Hi there everyone,

Well you wouldn't believe it by looking below, but I have been busy getting ready for the end of my uni semester.

A few weeks ago my hubby and I had the pleasure in attending a very very special wedding for a beautiful couple who have been engaged for 10 years but had experienced so many health issues that they couldn't get married till now! Amazing huh!

It was a real small wedding and I'd noticed that there weren't heaps of photos being taken so I decided that the newlyweds needed a special gift to remember this massive day.

I rang my craft dealer, miss Tanya, who hooked me up with one of Kaszazz's Brag tag books (Romance) and I whipped up this little book.

Now it's not dominated by Distress Inks like I would normally do, but Aged Mahogany did get to shine it's light. I must also say that I added to the kit, I thought it needed some deep red, hence Aged Mahogany, however I also added some deep red Bazzill card stock and ribbon (all Kaszazz) the brushed heart stamp (Kaszazz) and a non Kaszazz lips stamp, which I can't remember where I picked it up from.

My only tip would be to reduce the size of your photos before you print them as I couldn't use many of my photos simply cos they were too big!

Anyway here are a few shots, I really enjoyed making this book....

Distress-D

Enchanted Flip Card

I wanted to make an unusual card this week for a friend who was moving house. I had a lovely picture in my mind, but no idea how to get the mental picture out of my head and onto my card! After a bit of online searching, I found a tutorial for a swing or flip card, and it was perfect! It took me a couple of goes, but eventually I got the card working the way I wanted it to.

After making the first card, I wanted to try it again, but in a different size. I got the proportions a bit muddled up, so my card is much bigger than I anticipated, but I wanted to share it with you all the same.

I used some of the papers from the 'Enchanted' range, and then used Walnut Stain Distress Ink to edge all the peices.

For instructions on how to make a swing (flip) card, take a look here.

My craft room

Over the weekend, I did a big clean up of the craft room. Got rid of all those little scraps I have lying around 'just in case', but never use! Changed some of my storage around, and basically got rid of a lot of junk!

So, since the craft room was unusually tidy, and you can see both the desk and the floor, I thought I'd do a quick video of my workspace and upload it here for you!

I got a very excited response from Facebook after mentioning that I was going to share photos of the craft room, and decided that a video would be better for explaining things, so here it is!

This is the first video I've ever done, but hopefully won't be the last! I hope you enjoy sharing my space with me!

To watch this over on my YouTube Channel, take a look here.


Leave me a comment: What's your workspace look like? Have any improvements or ideas you want to share? Let me know!

Wish, Believe, Happy Happy Birthday

Well, Kristina Werner has posted another wonderful folded card that I just love, and had to make! Please check out her blog for some wonderful cardmaking inspiration!

This week's card has four places for a sentiment (last week's had three). It didn't turn out quite how I pictured it in my mind, but I am looking forward to creating similar cards in the future!

How I punched out the circles...

First, I punched the circle out of some scrap cardstock.
Then, I attached it to my peice of paper with some non-permanent adhesive in the place where I wanted the half circle.

Then, re-align the punch and the cardstock circle, and punch!

Another post from Distress-D!

Hey hey bloggers,

Distress-D here again!

I have been busy playing with my distress inks today and was delighted with some of my results.

I wanted to use up my scraps of paper so, first of all, I went crazy cutting 1 inch and 1.5 inch circles (I used my slice machine cos it's what I had, but Tanya would be able to hook you with some circle punches if my project inspires you. Punches are heaps cheaper than a slice machine).

With this first card, I was making it for my step-father, a passionate St Kilda fan. I used an ivory card (got it from Tanya, my Kaszazz dealer), stamped 'Happy Birthday' with Black Soot (Distress Ink). Then I used removable adhesive and put a few circles randomly on my card. Then I used my foam applicator and Fired Brick (yep, you guessed it -Distress Ink) and covered my card, working from off the page and blending across the page in a circular motion.

Then I put some more circles over the page and repeated the process, this time using the Black Soot again!

Here is the result!

And here is another card I made using more of my circles!

I used tumbled glass for the stamp and broken china for the edges which made my  background. Next I inked the edge of each circle in a corresponding distress ink colour (Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Dusty Concord).

I stamped the bow on separate card stock (using dusty concord) then put some extra ink on an acrylic block, added a little water and coloured in the bow with a fine brush (I love to colour with my distress inks, will show you more of this one day). Once I had cut the bow, I also inked the edges of the bow to make sure there were no white edges.

The strings of the balloon, I used my 'Sew Easy' tool but you could just as easily draw them on, use a sewing machine or even just poke some holes through and sew it up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my work. This is the first time my work has been on the net some I'm a little excited.

Most of the materials I used were from my lovely Tanya, so please chat to her if you want to try something you've seen here.

That's all for me for now! Please feel free to ask any questions you like and if you have a Distress specific request for any future Distress-D posts, please let me/Tanya know.

Distress-D

Happy Father's Day!

A bit of a nautical theme to this year's cards. Not sure why, but that's just what took my fancy!
The last card is one I created for my August at home workshop. It's a masculine card suitable for any occasion and uses Distress Inks and Perfect Pearls.

My Folded Card

I am a big fan of Kristina Werner and she's just started a new video series on a Friday. This weeks project was a very cool folded card, and I just love what she's done with it! I loved it so much, I had to try it! My card didn't turn out quite like hers did, but I guess that's the beauty of being creative - everyone has their own spin on a project!

So, these are the photos of the card I made today. I'm glad to be nearly back to my old self again!

Ask Tanya...

Well, I can hardly believe it, but September is here, and with it, Spring, warm weather, birds chirping and the promise of Summer on the way! All these things make for light hearted days and balmy nights with friends! How wonderful it all sounds! Makes me want to create some lovely and bright, bold cards!

But, alas, I have somehow managed to get some sort of virus, which is keeping me indoors and on the couch! It's been over a week since I first got sick, and I can assure you that I'm not very impressed!

I've only managed to get a little bit of creative time in, if it involves being able to sit on the couch (mainly colouring) or by proxy through YouTube!

But, I've just had a great idea! I do have access to the laptop (it's one of the few things I am able to do while stuck at home on the couch), and I thought it might be a fun idea to have an 'Ask Tanya' day! So, I invite you to post any papercraft related questions for me either as a comment here, or on the Kaszazz with Tanya Facebook wall, and I will bravely attempt to answer your questions as best I can!

The life you love...

One of the Kaszazz slogans is to
'create the life you love with Kaszazz'.

It's a catchy little slogan, and I like it. I wanted to share with you the reasons why I love working with Kaszazz. I've been thinking about this over the past few days, and would love to share my thoughts with you.

1. I love the creative aspect! Yes, I can be creative on my own (that is, not as a consultant), but I love that challenge that being a consultant provides!

2. I love getting creative with other people. Again, I can do this on my own, but running workshops and helping people with their queries gives me such a lovely sense of knowing that I'm helping someone else to be creative! And creativity is such an important part of who we are! We have creativeness built into our being! I love helping others find this creativeness through Kaszazz! To see their faces light up when they realise that I wasn't lying when I said they can create a beautiful card, and then to see them 'take flight' with their craft is such a joyful thing to me!

3. I love the FREEbies! Yes, it's true! I admit it! But, who doesn't love something for FREE?

4. I love paper. Twice a year, I go to the Paperific Expo. Every time I went, I would buy paper. It got to the stage that I had so much paper, I had nowhere to store it! I had to decide a few years ago, that I wouldn't buy any more paper! I actually had to ask my friends who were with me, to stop me from buying copious amounts of paper!

5. I love stamps. You've seen the huge collection of Kaszazz stamps, right? Yes, I do want them all! :B

6. I love inks! I love the texture of them. I love their different uses. I love the many inking techniques!

So there you have it! A few of the reasons why I love working with Kaszazz!
~ Are you following your passion?
~ Are you doing something that you love?

Favourite Things...

These are a few of my favourite (craft room) things...

1. Bellish Ezy-Press

2. Heat Gun

3. Plastic Containers
This one probably needs a little further explanation! I keep all my small embellishments in little plastic containers, and have everything colour-coded. It's a great way for me to see what I have (otherwise it's 'out of sight, out of mind'), and makes the craft room look colourful, which I love! Being plastic, I'm also not worried if they get broken, and if I'm crafting on the go, all I need to do is grab a container and go!


4. Stamps!

Yes, I am totally addicted to stamps and stamping! I store all my stamps together by theme, so they're easier to find! For a post on the basics of stamping, have a look here.


5. Inks
Because stamps and inks go together like a horse and carriage! For a post on inking, have a look here.


6. Ribbons
They add colour and texture to cards.


7. Laptop and phone
To stay in touch with you through my blog, email, text and phone calls, and when I'm not doing that, to stay up to date with what's going on in the papercraft world, and listen to music, or podcasts!


For my list of what you need to get started as a cardmaker, see this blog post.

On my mind...

There have been a few ladies on my mind this week, and what better way to let them know I'm thinking of them than with a hand-made card!

There is something very special about getting a hand-made card in the mail letting you know that someone has been thinking of you. I love the way cardmaking makes the recipient feel, and I love making cards knowing the joy they can bring!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my sister's birthday!
Happy Birthday Kat!

There seem to be lots of birthdays at this time of the year, so here are a few more I've made this week:

Wishing you a happy birthday if your birthday is around this time!

Colour Charts

Last week one of my customers was trying to figure out which ColorBox Chalk Inks she should buy. She already had some, and loved the way they stamped. The problem was, she didn't know which ones she already had, and which ones she wanted that would compliment her existing collection. I tried in vain looking for a colour chart online similar to the Tim Holtz Distress Ink chart (here). Eventually I decided to create one myself! Now, I'm sure I'm not the first person to do this! In fact, Guest Blogger Distress-D has done something very similar!

So, in the interest of being community-minded, and wanting to save you the hassle of creating a colour chart from scratch yourself, I've included links to the charts I've created! All you need to do is stamp something in the box above the ink name, and you've got yourself a colour chart! Get together with friends with similar inks to complete your chart!

Ink colour charts like these are great for so many things, including matching up with cardstock and project embellishments!

Something new!

Well, it’s been a quiet week here on the blog, but my mind has been very much the opposite! I have some exciting new ideas that I’m working on, and will hopefully be able to share them here soon (just working on the finishing touches)!

In the meantime though, I’ve been enthusiastically encouraging one of my fellow stampers to do some guest posts for me, and I think all my encouraging (I won’t call it nagging) has paid off! This lady does incredible things with all things Distress Ink, but I’ll let her tell you more about herself through her blog posts!

I hope you’ll learn as much from her about Distress Inks as I have!

--------------------------------------------

Let's Celebrate!

A young couple we know have recently announced their engagement. To help them celebrate, I made these Congratulations cards.

The Eclectic Alphabet stamp set makes another appearance on this card! I love how big the letters are, but also how adaptable they are, depending on the colour you stamp them in, and the papers and cardstock you team them with! So versatile!

As the letter are so big, I couldn't spell out 'congratulations', but instead went with 'congrats'. Each letter is stamped in black, then fussy cut. For most parts, I used a pair of scissors, but for the trickier parts, I used the retractable knife - what a wonderful tool! The background is simple (Ebony and Ivory paper on a black cardstock matt) because the letters in the foreground are so busy. I wanted the letters to stand out, and not drown in a busy background.

The red and black heart is from some old paper I had in my stash, and went perfectly with the theme of this card. It added some colour, and filled in the space after the 's'.

For this card, I wanted something a little simpler. Flowers are so simple, but yet so complex at the same time! For this card I used Colorbox Chalk Ink for a nice finish. The taller flowers symbolise the newly engaged couple. The card has a calming sort of feel to it, especially at this hectic time for a young couple.

Product Review: Clevercut Mini

I've had my sights on this trimmer for a while, and finally decided to order myself one! I'd heard lots of good things about it and decided I needed to try it out myself!

These are my thoughts on the Clevercut Mini:

• It's light!
  If you're after a sturdy trimmer for your desktop, this might not be one that you're after.
  I like the lighter weight as it means it'll be easier to carry when I'm creating on the go. A lighter trimmer means more weight for other essentials!
  This trimmer is noticeably lighter than the previous pink Cutterpede trimmers - when I got it out of the box, it's the first thing I noticed!
  
• It has three different cutting options in the one cartridge!
  I really liked this feature, and was one of the reasons I wanted this trimmer - it's a three-in-one.
  The wave is small, as is the perforation cut, but I like it! The perforations are noticeable, but not so obvious that your cardstock is falling apart. I think this blade will come in very handy for invitations or other projects that require someone else to 'tear off' a portion.
  As a bonus, to change the blades is very easy. There's no need to take the whole cartridge out - you just flick a little switch on the side of the cartridge and you're done!
  
• The arm has no elbow!
  So it doesn't bend. Again, some might think this is a negative aspect, but I like it. I have heard a lot of people complain that the arm on their Cutterpede trimmer has broken at the elbow. Let's face it, it's one of those things that's bound to happen. For that reason, I like that the Clevercut arm has no elbow! It also feels very smooth - the arm extends with ease.
  
• It stays together!
  Whenever I pick up my Cutterpede, the cutting arm usually swings up, and it looks awkward. If I remember to pick it up properly, this doesn't happen, but sometimes, especially if I'm out and about, and packing up, I'll just grab it by the base and there goes the cutting arm! The Clevercut doesn't do this. You need to slide your paper under the little plastic guard. While I like that it's a little more secure, I'm not sure I like that I need to slide my paper under the guard. If I wanted to cut more than one piece at a time, I'd be scared that the pages would move. Having said that, perhaps I need to play around with it a bit more! This guard should also hold the paper in place, so I shouldn't need to.
  
• It's sleek!
  Or at least as sleek as trimmers get! It's got a very neat little look to it! And let's be honest - we want our stuff to look good!

As my new trimmer only arrived yesterday afternoon, I haven't had a proper chance to play with it yet. These are just my initial observations. I still have my Cutterpede trimmers and unless they break, can't see myself getting rid of them just yet. The Clevercut will be my personal trimmer (unless I need an extra one for a workshop), so I'll have plenty of time to get lots of use out of it! I have a guillotine on my desk, but I love having a personal trimmer beside me as work as it's a lot easier to use, especially for smaller bits of paper.

Have a bright birthday...

Continuing with my recent 'theme' of brightly coloured cards, I needed a birthday card for a friend, so I whipped this card up! At the moment I'm really loving the butterfly stamp, and the eclectic alphabet stamps. They hardly get put away, but rather just sit on my desktop waiting to be used again on another card!

My thought for this card was to be bright and happy! Because I couldn't spell out 'happy birthday' with the alphabet stamps, I went for three letters per word, which fit perfectly on the card, but also added a bit of a whimsical feel to it.

It seems to be birthday season at the moment, so I'll be posting more birthday themed cards over the next few posts. If it's your birthday around now, happy birthday!