thinking… christmas cards

It’s not too late to think about making your own Christmas cards.   Really, if you pull your socks up and hop to it you should have just enough time!

At a previous team training day we made these gorgeous blue and gold cards using some of the new Christmas stamps.  This is Kaszazz workshop 2H662.

I love seeing cards make in non tradition Christmas colours.  I have ear marked a couple of workshops I want to try out and I really need to get moving on them.

Here’s a couple of links to get us all inspired:

Alicia’s Creative Space – using new Kaszazz stamps

Scrap Knack - using Perfect Pearls

Bwokie – a variety of cards from a team training day

Mel Stampz – this site is full of gorgeous paper crafts with detailed instructions

Here’s some of my past Christmas creations:

embossed cards

glitter and design adhesives

cards and ornaments

more decorations

Have you started making your cards yet?  Maybe you’ve finished and posted them?  Pop a link to your cards in the comments so we can all have a squiz!

Kris xox

recent kaszazz projects

A little while ago I spent a lovely weekend with fellow consultants at my team managers house eating, drinking, laughing and crafting.  It was a wonderful time even though I got the dates mixed up and almost missed the whole thing!

Some of us had organised to work on the same projects so we could share tools and materials.  I was thrilled that I completed four Kaszazz workshops over the Saturday and Sunday.  And I was able to keep up with Dee which is a miracle in itself hee hee.

Here are the projects I did, they are all Kaszazz workshops so if you’d like to register your interest please drop me a line.

This one uses Distress Embossing Powder.  I love the simple design and the flower colours.

These By The Sea cards use shrinky dinks and ink blending.  It was a bit difficult to get the blending right but by the end I really got the hang of it.  The seahorse is a little dark for my liking but I can live with it!

Sorry for the crooked photo!  I just love this layout.  The stamped sections shimmer with perfect pearls and the dragonflies are glittered.  So pretty.

These rocky candy crackle paint cards were a bit laborious to make but they look amazing.  I’m in love with the embossing on vellum and scallop punch flowers.  Oh and the colours!

I loved making every one of these workshops as they all used new and different techniques and tools.  I can’t wait to apply what I learned to some of my own creations.

Happy scrappin’

Kris

Kaszazz Workshops ~ July 2010

JULY WORKSHOPS

Fri 16th at 2pm ~ 2H495 1 Sheet Box and Cards $25 per person

Make a gorgeous set of five cards and storage box using stamps, Distress Ink and ribbon.  Choose your own colour scheme.  Learn how to make the most of your supplies.  Suitable for beginners.  BYO Basic Tool Kit and save $2.50!

Sat 17th at 1pm ~ FREE Craft Catch Up Afternoon

Need some inspiration?  Join other paper crafters and get those long forgotten projects done.  BYO projects and tools.

Mon 26th at 2pm ~ 2H409 Daisy Design Adhesive Cards $25 per person

Learn how to use the new Design Adhesives with clear sheets in this fun class.  Includes stamping, Paint Dabbers and Perfect Pearls.  Suitable for all levels. BYO Basic Tool Kit and save $2.50!

Refreshments provided at all events.

Bookings are essential, email krismarr(at)iprimus(dot)com(dot)au.

Open House ~ Fun times had by all!

I apologize for this post being so late – it’s like I just can’t keep real life and blog life matching time-wise.

Therese C. from Numurkah won the Mega Prize of over $200 worth of scrapbooking goodies.   She was rather chuffed and excited when I let her know.

The Open House and Free Make and Take was a blast, I think it’s safe to say everyone had a great time learning about the new products, sipping champas, muching on cupcakes and winning lots of prizes.  Thanks ladies for sharing the fun!  Unfortunately I was too busy enjoying myself to remember to take photos – next time I will delegate that job to someone.  I do have some to share of the projects though…the first two are my designs..what do you think?

This is one of my favorites.  I’ve used Smooch Sugarberry on the flower which happens to co-ordinate perfectly with our purple fabric flowers and funky card base.  The black and white polka dot paper is the B-side of one of our new Romance papers.

Can you guess who loves polka dots?  I just can’t help myself when it comes to this pattern!  I’ve used gold embossing on this card and highlighted with red Siren Smooch.  The dots are also a B-side, from our Merry Christmas range.  I love how most of the B-sides in Kaszazz’s paper ranges are non themed because you get so much more use out of them.

This was the project that everyone got to make – in various colours as it uses card from the funky pack.  We actually made these at NTTD and everyone was so impressed by how fantastic they look for so little effort.  Well ditto at my open house and this particular Design Adhesive – Daisy Daze was an absolute hit!  (and BTW I have the matching rollergraph wheel too hee hee).  I am also loving the new Top Boss glitters that we have, I think they are the most sparkly glitters I have ever seen or used.

Now these tags were just some playing around I did to show some of the ladies how to use rub ons, distress ink, the ink blending tool and distress embossing powder.  The tag on the right I had made before the day and it was the inspiration for the gift tags featured below.  I think I still need to do a lot more experimenting with the distress ep as I’m just not sure if I’ve got it right yet.

Now these little beauties I made to attach to the free gift that everyone received on the day.  Can I tell you how much I love them?  A WHOLE LOT!  When I started making them it was one of those “don’t know if this will work but here goes” moments.  I made them all together doing each step like an assembly line, I just kept thinking, if it doesn’t look right I’ll just keep blending and stamping until it does.  Now we all know that sometimes that can end in disaster but luckily I didn’t need to go down that track as these just came together like a charm.  I decided to use curling ribbon instead of fabric ribbon as I wanted to tie it right around the gifts like little parcels.  I think the purple gives it a bit of oomph.  And did you notice that gorgeous chandelier stamp – I have been hanging out for one for a very long time, I almost bought a non Kaszazz one but I’m still sticking to my guns about not buying more stuff until I use what I’ve got.

That about wraps it up peeps.  So what do you think of my creations?  Are you into ripping and distressing and inking all over your projects or do you prefer the clean, streamlined look?  Leave me a comment as I’d love to know if you’re embracing this current “distressing” trend or not.

Don’t forget that I will be hosting an Open House & Free Make and Take after each new product release from Kaszazz so be sure to check back here for the next dates in May and September.

I’ve got photos to share of our Kaszazz national team training day (NTTD) and I am determined to post them in the next few days so be sure to come on back!

Til next time

Kris

February Workshops 2010

edit: unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances I have had to cancel the last two workshops.  If you were interested in coming to these please let me know so I can re-shedule them some time in the future. 

These are the workshops I will be running from home in February.  For workshop costs and more info please email me krismarr(at)iprimus(dot)com(dot)au. Info on Basic Toolkits can be found here.

Sat 6th ~ Perfect Pearls Party Cards by krismakes. If you haven’t tried Design Adhesives yet then this is the workshop for you.  We will make four bright and funky birthday cards with Perfect Pearls, stamping and Design Adhesives.  BYO basic tool kit.  10am start.

Wed 17th ~ Sparkle Cards 2H434 by Kaszazz. Forgotten how to emboss?  Come along and make this cute set of cards and wallet using the gorgeous Opalescent embossing powder.  This would make a sweet gift for a friend or keep it all to yourself (I won’t tell).  This is a fantastic class for embossing beginners – you will be a “pro” by the end of the workshop.  BYO basic tool kit.  10am start.

Sat 27th ~ Home Tweet Home Hanger by krismakes. We will be using a vast array of products and techniques in this one!  Includes Distress Crackle Paint, Rollergraph stamping, Paint Dabbers, Glitter and Glossy Accent embellishments.  You will go home with a “tweet” little hanger for your front door.  BYO basic tool kit and chipboard letters (or order a set from me). 10am start.

Hope to see you there!

February Workshops: card making and beyond the page!

Hello Creative Peeps!

I have been refining my workshop dates for the year, juggling things about and I think I’ve got it all set.  You can check out my workshop dates for the whole year by clicking here or click on the Workshops tab at the top of this page.

Here is a brief run down of the February workshops::

Sat 6th ~ Perfect Pearls Party Cards by krismakes. If you haven’t tried Design Adhesives yet then this is the workshop for you.  We will make four bright and funky birthday cards with Perfect Pearls and Design Adhesives.  BYO basic tool kit.  10am start.

Wed 17th ~ Sparkle Cards 2H434 by Kaszazz. Forgotten how to emboss?  Come along and make this cute set of cards and wallet using the gorgeous Opalescent embossing powder.  This would make a sweet gift for a friend or keep it all to yourself (I won’t tell).  BYO basic tool kit.  10am start.

Sat 27th ~ Home Tweet Home Hanger by krismakes. We will be using a vast array of products and techniques in this one!  Includes Distress Crackle Paint, Rollergraph stamping, Paint Dabbers and Glossy Accent embellishments.  You will go home with a “tweet” little hanger for your front door.  BYO basic tool kit and chipboard letters (or order a set from me). 10am start.

These workshops are run from my home in Shepparton if you’d like me to come to you that can also be arranged.  For info on what a basic tool kit includes click here.   I will post the workshops again with some sneek peak photos and more information, but if you can’t wait till then just drop me a line at krismarr(at)iprimus(dot)com(dot)au.  For workshop costs please email me.

I will be back soon with news from the Kaszazz January new release and the winner of the early bird RSVP draw!

Kris

Handmade Christmas Decorations

I wanted to share some decorations I made recently.  I had a lot of fun doing these and am rather chuffed with how they came out.  I took some inspiration from Naomi Elliot who featured a Christmas decoration made from the Kaszazz chipboard scallop.  I actually loathed these scallops when they came out as I thought they were pretty useless but now I will eat my words…I love them!  And now I have lots of ideas on how to use them.  Isn’t it funny, sometimes you just need to see something through another persons eyes.

This one I made for my Mum as her favorite colour is blue (sorry for the bluryness).  I love this and am thinking I need to make another one for me to keep!

This shabby chic style pink ornament is the first one I made and I will keep for myself.  I’m thinking of hanging it on the front door perhaps instead of the tradtional wreath, it’s looks nice there!  I love how the black takes the pink from girly girl to classic.

This last one I made in traditional Christmas colours and I am sending it to a swap-bot friend.  The colour is a bit off as I took the photo inside at night

I used all Kaszazz products for these including the new Christmas stamps, design adhesives, glitter, embossing powders, distress crackle paint and distress ink.  I love them all and only wish I had time to make more before the big day!  I’d love to know what you think of my ornaments, so…

So how is your Christmas decorating going?  Do you put up a tree and lights?  Have you made any of your own decorations this year?  I plan on putting our tree up in the next few days as I want to be able to enjoy it for longer this year!  I am also thinking of whipping up some scrapbook paper garlands as they appear to be rather easy…I’ll let you know how that goes ha ha!

cheerio

Kris

Swap-bot, new Tim Holts & a day off!

Phew this working full time is just not for me ha ha.  I haven’t had much time or energy for crafting these last couple of weeks.  I did have yesterday off as in Victoria it was a public holiday for the Melbourne Cup.  Though I didn’t place a bet I loved watching the news and seeing all the vibrant colours of the jockeys uniforms and the beautiful dresses and hats worn by the ladies.  It made me want to be there!  Maybe next year?  The winner is below in orange and black, the horse was Shocking!  Not literally, it was just a regular racehorse lol.

photo courtesy theage.com.au

So having the day off I though I would get heaps of crafting done but alas that was not the case.  I did however unpack my lastet order from Kaszazz with was over $250 worth of goodies just for me!  You see one of my workshop submission had finally been added online and I had a $250 voucher burning a large hole in my pocket.  And I decided to take active leave for November and December which means I still get all my bonuses and benefits but don’t have to put any sales in.  Kind of like a holiday.  Of course if there’s anything I need or anyone else needs I can still order which is great to know.  So my plan for these two months is to play play play.  I got lots of gorgeous products including more design adhesives ( I am addicted), new glitters, embossing powders, stamps, rollergraphs, distress inkpads, paint dabbers and of course I had to get the new products from Range & Tim Holtz – Distress Stickles in Brushed Pewter, Tarnished Brass, Rock Candy, Picket Fence and the the new Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy!

I don’t think we got the Antiqued Copper…?

This stuff looks amazing, check out the tag Tim made below.  I cannot wait to try out all these lovely goodies.  These are all NEW from the last big convention in the USA and I’m so thrilled that Kaszazz has got them straight away!  And of course everything I bought was at the new cheaper prices – BONUS!!!!!  Email me if you need a price update sheet krismarr(at)iprimus(dot)com(dot)au

All images from Tim Holtz blog, go check it out for more info but I will do a post as soon as I have had a good play with these products.

So what else did I do on my day off?  Well I have recently found a great site that will hopefully make my snail mail dreams come true.  It’s called swap-bot and it’s for people to connect and swap all sorts of lovely goodies including hand made items, postcards, pen pal letters, craft supplies and lots more.  So yesterday I wrote letters, made gifts and packaged up a whole lotta love to send out.  It is so much fun sending surprises and even better receiving mail.  It’s kind of addictive so I’m trying to pace myself.  I plan to host some swaps soon so when I do I’ll post about them here.  I hope to get a few more regional (Aussie only) posts going as postage charges can be a bit exy for overseas parcels especially when most people are on a budget these days.  Go check out swap-bot if you love getting real mail!

happy times

Kris

Embossed Christmas Cards

Well boys and girls it’s not too early to start making your Christmas cards!  I’ve been having a little play with some simple designs that I can whip up bulk style to cover all the card sending needs this Christmas.  Ahem not like last year when I didn’t make any…I know it’s unbeleivable isn’t it?  These three cards are all embossed and I’ve used distress inks on the base card with our new swirl stamp which is becoming a sure favorite.

This first card I’ve used Verdigris embossing powder on the design adhesives (yes you can use them that way too – they are amazing).  The colours of the card is all wrong so I need to use the verdigris on something else but it is a beautiful finish, it’s a bit hard to see in the photo but the powder has greens and golds in it which melt together to give a lovely pattina.

These two are just embossed with the gold ep.  They look quite pretty for a quick and simple card.  I think I’m onto a winner with these two.  So will you be making your own cards to send out this Christmas?  Do you even send cards?  I love receiving mail, it can really brighten your day so now I’ll take any excuse or holiday to post something out!

Happy Holidays (almost)

Kris

Blog Wars and cheaper Kaszazz products!

Hiya folks!

Today I have some cards to share with you that I made for the Blog War Challenge a week or so ago that I never got to post.  The Challenge was glitter and double sided sticker paper (jac paper).  Now I thought it would be a great opportunity to buy some of the new glitters that Kaszazz has brought out and to use them with the new Design Adhesives.  If you haven’t heard of Design Adhesives they are essentially a double sided sticky image, many of them are in our much loved rollergraph designs and there’s a few new ones too.  You get four sheets of them in a pack and most designs can be cut up to use individually which makes them terrific value.  I am really into these little beauties!

I bought two of the new glitters and let me tell you they are SPARKLY!  I got Sparkling Amethyst a dazzling, vibrant pinky purple and Peridot a knock-your-socks-off bright green.  The colours are so rich that I can’t wait to add more to my collection – especially now the price has been reduced!  Yes you read that right, don’t adjust your computer screens it is not a misprint ha ha.  Due to a few reasons Kaszazz has LOWERED the price on many products including glitters, design adhesives, embossing powders, ink pads, ribbons and lots more.  It mostly the things that come from the USA as our dollar is performing so superbly.  You will be happy to know that now as well as great service from your consultant you can get products that are on par or cheaper than the shops and on line.  How awesome is that?  Makes my job even easier not to mention more spare change for me to spend on more product!  If you need a copy of the new prices please drop me a line to krismarr(at)iprimus(dot)com(dot)au and i’ll email it to you pronto.

Okay now on to the cards…

Aren’t these the most happy shiny Christmas cards you’ve ever seen?  It was a bit hard to get the detail and sparkles in the photo but you get the jist of it.  I love the bright fun colours, something a little different for Christmas cards eh?  So what do you think?  Love them?  Too bright?  Do you like traditional cards or modern when it comes to Christmas?  I like them all really but using different colours is a nice change.

aurevoir

Kris