More Big Shot Techniques

Well, I thought I'd better pop-in to share some cards and let you know that I'm still breathing. Not crafting much due to never-ending work and there are times when I feel I should just pack away my craft stuff and give it all up. However, I recently embraced sleep deprivation and put together some cards using my Big Shot. There seems to be no limit on techniques to try with this machine.

In the card above, I've used dry embossing through the Big Shot combined with heat embossing. I also stripe-embossed the satin ribbon in the Big Shot (with thanks to Angela Sargeant for this idea). I tried the "faux suede" technique (basically de-laminating cardstock into thinner layers with a rough surface by tearing, along with some scrunching and sponge-inking) and cut out the flower petals and leaves. A die-cut "Hi" finished it off but a stamped greeting would have done the job too.

Did you know you can emboss aluminium foil? Thanks to Clare McIllhattan for this idea. Clare's foil was smoother than mine...must get a tip on "how-to smooth" from Clare. And you can cut and emboss fabric with the Big Shot. Picture me in a local needlecraft store feeling like a fish-outta-water. Imagine the look I got when I told the saleslady (aka superb needle crafter) that I was going to cut up her lovely pink fabric into scraps and die-cut it into a butterfly for a card:



I sure do admire the works of needle-crafters. I just can't do it myself. Each to their own I say.

Next is a card front that has been what I term selectively embossed. I managed to leave the centre panel of the card un-embossed ready for stamping. Quite tricky but once I got the hang of it, I was away. I finished up stamping a solid daisy in white ink and using my pencils to add colour (termed "Black Magic" colouring within some circles).



Do you like the frame around the main image? I used two nesting dies through the machine at same time and dry embossed them afterwards to get the grooves in the frame. I snuck a little green "faux bow" in there too.

Anyway, hope you found this interesting. I'm currently helping my cherub with a school project and the best thing about it is using my alphabet die-cuts to make the poster title (I know, I'm easily amused).

Thanks for looking. Please get in contact if you have any questions.

Love from Crafty Kim

BigShot Tip with Square Lattice Embossing

For my blog readers who love their BigShot (or other embossing/die-cutting machine), I thought I'd quickly share another idea via this little gift tag I made to go with a birthday gift for my friend, Gerry. Often we emboss the background or mat/layer of a card but why not the main image? It adds extra texture and interest. Of course it works best with small uniform embossing patterns such as the Stampin' Up! Square Lattice folder I've used here, a close up for you:


I like this idea so much that I decided to give Gerry the embossing folder for her birthday :)

Better get me some sleep. Thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty Kim

Doily Sympathy

Doilies have become very popular in paper-craft recently. Not all of them appeal to my personal taste and sometimes it can be hard to find the right-sized doily for use on a card front. But then I came across a die cut to make the above doilies.

Originally I cut the doilies from vellum but then struggled to find a good way to stick the vellum down (lots of cursing here in the craft room about the ineffectiveness of vellum spray). So in the end I went back to regular cardstock in a complementary colour.

I never met a purple I didn't like (yet) and it goes very well with silver. Being a sympathy card, I wanted a subtle look which I was aiming for with the silver butterflies. The base looked quite plain until I embossed it with the "branches" embossing folder. I'm not sure if I've pushed it to far with the rhinestone brad, again not wanting anything too flashy.

Anyway, hoping you've enjoyed your visit to my end of the crafting world. I'll be back as soon as I can with more creations.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love from Crafty Kim

Well Wishes for a Brave Friend

I made this card recently for a friend who faced major surgery and its associated pain / lack of mobility all while juggling her work, other health issues and care of two young kids. Not for the "faint of heart". In my estimation, she's done really well and will soon be back to a new normal.

For her card, I fancied making use of my new-ish Owl Punch. The possibilities for this punch are seemingly endless and for inspiration, I went straight to the queen of owl-punching, Kerry Bunting. What Kerry hasn't done with the owl punch probably isn't worth doing (but then again, I may have to retract that claim if she comes up with more great ideas).

I particularly like the little doctor's noteboard with its mini-clip. Another reference to the doctor's notepad is the border punch on the left. It's a bit hard to see but I've used my BigShot and an embossing folder to create a textured, cream-coloured background.

Thanks again to Kerry for her bounty of ideas and to you for stopping by.

Love from Crafty Kim

Flowers on the Fence

I'm back here briefly to show you a card I'd been wanting to make for a long time. It was heavily inspired by Karen Thomas of Luv to Stamp fame (one of my favourite card artists). When I first saw Karen's card, it brought back memories from my childhood - of neighbours' 5 foot timber fences covered with flowering vines. These days fences tend to be taller and the tops not so much in the line of a child's vision. I've pretty much CASE'd Karen's card, save a few changes due to not having the same supplies/tools.
I've used a woodgrain timber embossing folder and Tag Punch to imitate the fence. I sponged white ink over the embossed card to accentuate the texture. The butterflies, leaves and flower petals are cut from dies; in the case of the flowers, I've used multiple layers of tissue paper, all scrunched up, similar to this card. A greeting from Teeny Tiny Sentiments (so handy, if you only buy one sentiment stamp set, this is THE ONE) and the Word Window and Modern Label punches along with some Always Artichoke ribbon finishes it.

Thanks for popping by...

Love from Crafty Kim

More Big Shot / Cuttlebug Creations

Thought I would share some more cards I made with my Big Shot using various dies and embossing folders. The Big Shot/Cuttlebug machines really are versatile; haven't met a person yet who regretted buying one.

First is a bright card, reminiscent of a past card I blogged (many moons ago) but I used a flower shaped die to cut FELT. I had my doubts as to whether it would work but it was no different from cardboard, no furry edges.

After all that brightness, I had to go to neutral tones:

I used my brayer to apply white ink to the raised sections of Kraft cardstock. Pretty tricky I thought.

Then I went with one of my favourite colours, purple:

I was really happy with this card, my pick of the bunch. I used a white gel pen to trace around the embossed word "thanks".

And lastly, a simple one, using the technique of sanding the embossed area, this time on decorative paper rather than ColorCore card stock:

I liked the earthy tones of this card.

Hope you enjoyed looking at these and got some ideas along the way, thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty Kim