Happy Birthday Cards

Not too long ago, a friend had a birthday and I made her this card using a Stampin' Up! set from the USA that I have long admired, called Branch Out:


I love the boots and the swing. I was remembering a farm where they have a tyre hanging from one of their many trees so it seemed appropriate.

And then a little friend, formerly aged 4 and 3/4 years, turned the big 5 and I made her this card using a new Stampin' Up! set called Pony Party:


As an alternative to colouring-in the image, I've used a technique called Paper Piecing. You stamp the image onto different patterned papers and then get snipping, pasting the various components onto a base image.

Like the glittery five? I'm not much of a bling girl myself but the little Miss, she lurves sparkles. She is also a big fan of My Little Pony and horses in general. So Ashley and I gave her a craft kit to make horse pictures using mosaic tile stickers. And we couldn't resist buying her the new picture book called about the library cat called Dewey Readmore Books. It is adapted from another book of the same name, this one for grown-ups:

If you're open to a literary recommendation, this book is a heart-warming read for any animal lover.

Love from Crafty Kim

The Embossing Class Cards Revealed

Just popping in quickly to show you in more detail the cards we made at my embossing class last month.

Here they are. The first one uses white embossing on vellum:


This second one uses a technique called emboss resist and also has a faux metal embellishment.


This last one (which looks better in real life - was rushing when I photographed), uses clear embossing and bleach.


Thanks to everyone who attended. I had a great night catching up with friends while we crafted. Hopefully you learnt something in the process :)

I have another class coming up at the end of this month, focusing on Flowers for Mum. But if you don't need Mother's Day cards, we will use different greetings to make birthday or get well or whatever cards take your fancy. I'll post more about it soon.

Love from Crafty Kim

A little Razzle Dazzle to start the week

Hello,

Well I'm back from Bawley (Point). Ashley and I arrived home safely from a week at the beach on the south coast of NSW. I'm reluctantly returning to the real world but I made some cards while I was away....

Here's one! Using Razzle Dazzle from the current Summer Mini. Hope you like it. I made it in a different colour too but the photo doesn't do it justice so I will try again and hopefully update the post.

Love from Crafty Kim

Clearance Sale Closing Soon

Hello,

Just a quick note to advise that the Inventory Clearance Sale ends in one week, on the 24 January 2010.

Lots of bargains to be had but some items are already sold out so don't delay any further if you're keen to get stamps at greatly reduced prices. Please email me ASAP or phone 0402 347 010 with your order.

After the Clearance Sale finishes, it's straight into Sale-A-Bration which gives you the opportunity to qualify for FREE stamps. Stay tuned for some sneek peeks of the SAB stamp sets. Even better, come along to our Spring Mini Catalogue Event tomorrow = Sunday 17 January 2010 at Cherrybrook (NW Sydney) - it's never too late to RSVP. You can learn all about the SAB promotion while doing make-n-takes and watching demonstrations.

Love from Crafty Kim

Party Party - You're Invited

I'm thinking those of you with young children are in serious need of "me time" by now. After the end-of-year activities, the VERY early start on Christmas Day, the fatigue-induced whining at the end of Christmas and now the long stretch of school holidays, you deserve a respite, however brief.

I've got the perfect diversion. Come along to the Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalogue Launch Party. It's an afternoon of crafty fun. Nothing long-winded, the kids and their father will barely notice you've gone. Here are the details:

Date: Sunday 17 January 2010
Time: Open house from 2 - 5pm
Place: Cherrybrook (address available when you RSVP)
Cost: $5 for make-n-takes, snacks and a glass of bubbly (refundable if you place an order)
RSVP: Please email me.

And remember, I'll also be detailing the...(drum-roll please):

***2010 Sale-A-Bration Promotion***

which gives you an opportunity to earn FREE STAMP SETS.

Hope to see you there.

Love from Crafty Kim

Looking Back at Christmas 2009

Hello. Yes, I'm still breathing. Thanks to those who have written emails to me in recent times and also to those who kindly sent me Christmas cards. I received some lovely hand-made cards, a selection is shown above. I apologise for not sending out many cards this year, hopefully I can surprise you with a card sometime this year. The last month has been very eventful and not always in a good way but most of it ended well and, hopefully the future path is less arduous. One of my New Year's resolutions is to start making my Christmas cards in January; all of my unfulfilled ideas are still fresh in my mind.

I've not been creating lately. My craft room has been in such a mess that the thought of having to tidy it first was enough to put me right off. That's another of my resolutions...to cut down on 8 years worth of clutter and not just in my office, but in the whole house. Watch out for some give-aways and 2nd-hand items for sale, most of my items are lightly or never-used and these days, I'm realistic enough to know when I'm never going to use my stash (as much as I would love to).

Anyway, I thought I would share a couple of Christmas highlights for me. The first being the humorous picture below. I love suburban Christmas light displays and my son and I spent more than a few hours trawling my local area looking at house lights.

This photo was sent to me by a friend but there was a similar situation in my very own suburb of Westleigh. When I spied it, I didn't have a suitable camera with me. I managed to snap this photo with my I-Phone (new to me, still trying to master its operation):


I went back a couple of days later but clearly the neighbours had got to the witty individual who was brave enough to twist a rope of lights into the shape of an arrow and the word "Ditto".

For the last two years my boy Ashley has been asking me to build and decorate a gingerbread house with him. I finally gave in and alot of lollies and sugar later, here it is:

This side decorated by Ashley

and this end decorated by me

I always feel a little sad when Christmas is done, the tree gone and the decorations wrapped up and stowed away. I hope you had a good celebration and are still out there enjoying our holiday period.

Love from Crafty Kim

Happy 14th Birthday Daniel

I don't really do "grunge" well and clearly, not very often! But I needed to make a birthday card for a teenager and lacking any images that would do the job, I defaulted to a personalised name card. And it only took me a matter of minutes to make, which fits with the amount of time a 14 year old boy will spend looking at a greeting card (i.e. a nano-second).

I also discovered that a DL-sized/shaped card is harder to photograph and display but it was refreshing to design on a different "canvas".

Love from Crafty Kim