Using Cheap Dies With Sizzix Big Shot

Hey guys,

 I'm so sorry I've been quiet on here for a little while, With the school summer holidays I've been busy trying to keep my little monster entertained, So I've done no crafting over the last 2 month.. Now I'M BACK haha

  To get started i went shopping the other day, I had zero intention of actually buying any type of dies (as i have a load coming from china on the way, which this original post was meant to be about i will post an up date on those when they arrive and let you know what there like) 

Sorry for rambling back to the point, I went shopping only to buy some Christmas patterned paper to make some cards with.. I checked my local The Works store and found they are now stocking their  own brand of cutting dies.. When it comes to crafting and dies I have absolutely no self control and at the price really couldn't argue myself out of it.. 

I ended up buying 5 sets of dies and the grand total was £22.00.. I swear I ended up with the bargain shakes in my hands haha..

 

The packaging says they are M & C boutique but it does state on the back imported by The Works

The very first one I tried was the Merry Christmas cut out

 My first few attempts at cutting this one Didn't quite go as planned it seemed as if the die wasn't cutting fully and i kept ripping the card stock when taking it out.. But on the third attempt it finally cut all the way through

 I did have to roll it through the machine a good few times.. (It could full well be my cutting plates they are extremely well loved and used.. But there still working so I'm still using them..)

The next ones I tried were the circle nest dies with dashes and the snowflakes and made these 2 cards 

Over all I was really impressed with them and for the price really can't complain..

I was always careful about using different brands especially the cheap ones with my Sizzix big shot, even though I know they do say compatible with most die cut machines I was always weary about using them.. But I'm glad I took the risk and done it..

Now I'm just thinking about all the extra dies I can buy : )

 (Don't know if that's a good thing or not haha)

I've got some coming from china as I mentioned above, Once they are here I will write a little post about those and what I think.. But in all honesty if the are half as good as these I'll be happy.

So if anyone's out there, And there not 100% too sure on using these ones from The Works 

I've tried them out for you!

They are very good and half the price of some of the brand named ones..

Give them ago and save yourselves a few pennies 

Thanks for stopping by 

Laura xx

  

D.I.Y Glittered Stemmed Glasses

So for my birthday my lovely sister brought me a lovely glittered stemmed wine glass, and me being me thought I'm going to give making one of these a try, i had a little look online and found what i needed to make them, and it wasn't a lot.

What you will need to try this project is:

Mod Podge (this is the dishwasher safe one, not that i would but these glasses in a dishwasher)

Masking tape

A glass

Glitter (nothing special this is from the kids section at hobby craft)

and something to apply the glue with.

Start by giving the glass a good clean, tape making sure its completely dry,

 Tape off as high as you want the glitter to be,

Apply a coat of Mod Podge to the glass.

Put some scrap down to catch the glitter and cover the glass.

Leave to dry... i left it over night

only because i started make these late in the evening.

once they are dry repeat the process again and leave to dry.

Remove the tape and add one final coat of Mod Podge and again leave to dry

Don't worry it will dry completely clear

I done 4 colours in total, my fav has to be the white glitter.

really enjoyed making these, and was so easy, the longest part is just waiting for them to dry.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look

Laura xx

Quick,simple and easy cards

What beautiful sunny weather we have in the UK at the moment.. thought it was the perfect time to get out in the garden, and do a little update of what I've been making.

Lately I have been going through some of the digi stamps i have purchased and been making up cards with them, not for any particular reason.. just so i have a a collection of cards for when i want them.

just thought i would show you what i have been up to.

The image i used for this one is from digi stamps boutique, i purchased it in a set  

its called Flower vases, they cost £1.50 for 3 images, great value for money

 

I coloured the images with my Spectrum Noir markers stuck it onto some green card stock,

the patterned paper was left over from something else (I cant tell you what pack its from I've had some of these papers for a while)

Used a sizzix embossing folder to add some texture, then some ribbon, a bow, some flat back pearls and some little gems

There easy and quick to make up.. 

 sand lovely little cards to have ready to use.

thanks for stopping by and taking a look, sorry its only been a short one,

with my little boy on half term its going to be a little difficult to get a lot of crafting in over the next two weeks, but hopefully will be back with some new stuff the week after

Laura xx

Colouring with spectrum noir markers- noon by Sara Burrier

Today i have been colouring the beautiful image Noon by artist Sara Burrier

if you would like to purchase it for yourself you can from www.craftsandme.co.uk

I did make a few different colour variations and i love them all. The one i coloured for my you  tube video was in green. The video is linked at the bottom if you would like to watch it.

  

The colours i used are:

 Skin: TN1, TN2

Hair: GB10, GB8, GB2

Dress and Tights: DG1, DG2, CG3, IG1, IG3

Wings: IG1, IG3, BT1

Animals: BG1, BG4, BG6, BG10

To create the flowers i used Signature dies by Sara Davis from the Floral Delight range

i used the smallest flower, curled the petals and used some pealed paint distress ink to give them a little colour and added flat backed pearls for the centre.

   

Such a beautiful image and I'm so happy with all the different colours

Thanks for coming by and taking a look

please feel free to leave me a comment, and don't forget to check out the video

Laura xx 

Colouring with spectrum noir markers - olivia

So today i decided i was going to enter my first ever Spectrum Noir challenge, I feel like i have been in a bit of a creative hole lately so thought this might be a way to dig myself out of it.

I ended up making 4 cards all the same with  patterned paper and just reversed them also with the same image from Digi Stamps Boutique, The image i used is called Olivia and is from the Olivia and Archie collection.

The little ginger kitty  

TN1, TN2, TN3, GB2

BP1, BP2, BP4

HB1, HB2, HB3

CT2, CT4

DG1, DG2

The little grey kitty

BG1, BG2, BG4

BP1, BP2, BP4

HB1, HB2, HB3

CT2, CT4

DG1, DG2

I then cut the image out using a Sizzix circle nest die  

The making of the card was really simple

the card base is just a normal A6 size in white

I used in plain white card stock 5.4 cm by 14.4 cm

and patterned card stock 14.4 cm by 10 cm

5 cm by 14 cm

I stuck it altogether added a few pearls, a ribbon and a bow and this is what happened!

  

    

I really wasn't to sure on these when i was first making them up but once they were done and finished i really liked them, and they look so sweet

I will be filming a video on colouring the image for my channel, i will link it as soon as its up

but in the mean time check out my other videos i have up 

Laura Keogh's Creations

 Thanks for coming by and taking a little look 

Laura xx

Colorista coasters

I was meant to upload this one a few weeks ago and totally forgot, so better late then never right?

We had some coasters that you can personalise ( normally with photos )

but i wanted to do something a little different with them.. so i took to the internet and found some free colorista colouring pages from spectrum noir, these can be downloaded from  https://www.crafterscompanion.co.uk and are completely free

There are 12 pages in total with this free download.. and for the coasters i used page 11, cut the page to fit and coloured them with my spectrum noir alcohol markers 

The colour combination i used are 

CR9

OR3

OR2

OR1

CT4

CT2

CT1

and a clear sparkle marker

This was the finished product

There are 12 pages in total in the free downloads 

there are a couple of full pages to colour and a some projects like bookmarks.. so make sure you click the link, check them out, and get your free download.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look

Laura xx 

D.I.Y Cute explosion box card with an envelope.

I really wanted to try a new card style, something I haven't done before,

i came across these explosion cards on google a few months ago, Thought they looked way to complicated for me to do.. and i bet you need some kinda special die for the die cut machine that would no doubt cost and absolute fortune!

Well anyway using my expert investigational skills and google, i found these can actually be made out of a piece of A4 card stock, and are so so easy... the main thing you need is just your creative mind.

I didn't really use any kind of special equipment, apart from an embossing folder.. and if you have some patterned paper you could even leave that out.   

To try this project you will need:

A piece of A4 card stock for your base

Some  card stock or patterned paper to decorate 

(i used some flower stamps, embossing powder, and a heat gun)

Double sided tape

Something to score with 

A Ruler

Some scissors

and Some acetate 

( If this is going to be a one time project, don't waste your money on buying a pack of acetate, you will no doubt have some laying around your house on some kind of food packaging, just make sure you wash it before you use it ha-ha)

I've included a lot of pictures in this post as just to give you the best idea of what i'm going on about.

To create the base i cut my card stock to 12 cm by 25.5 cm

Score every 6 cm, 

You will have 4 scored rectangles and a 1.5 cm tab at the end

Next you need to score through the centre at 6 cm only through 3 rectangles 

You will end up with the 1.5 cm tab, one rectangle and six 6 cm squares

You now need to make 3 cuts on the 6 cm score lines you made, cut down to the score line in the centre.

Then cut out the tab on the side 

That is the main base made.

i found it best to decorate while it was like this but you can stick it together now.. all down to your personal preference.

In white i cut 6 squares 5.5 cm by 5.5 and one rectangle 11.5 cm by 5.5 cm

In Lilac i cut 6 squares 5 cm by 5 cm and one rectangle 11 cm by 5 cm (The lilac squares i embossed using a sizzix embossing folder)

Use some double sided tape to fix them together.

I then fixed the first panels made into place, the 3 squares where the cuts were made and the long panel all on the same side. 

Turn your card base over and fix the other 3 panels into place, these need to be on the squares that have been scored not cut.

 Make your box up, using some double side tape on the tab

( I had to pull back the large panel slightly to get the tab under, i should have added this panel last, but it was all trial and error)

With the main structure of the card made its time to add the decoration to the card.

For this you will need:

3 strips 1.5 cm by 8 cm, score these 1 cm at each end

and 3 pieces of acetate cut to

5.8 cm by 2 cm

5.8 cm by 3 cm

5.8 cm by 4 cm

Make these slightly smaller to the paper strip so they fit in nice and easy  

Fix these on the paper strips. 

Again fix the strips into the box card using some double sided tape

putting the smallest one first and the largest one at the back. 

Then decorate as you like

I just used some flower stamps on different colour card stock and heat embossed them, added some little gems into the centre, and fixed them into place with double sided tape. 

Then i added a sentiment, and i had a few flowers left over, so just added these to the sides.

The stamps i used are by Sheena Douglass A little Bit Sketchy. 

Next onto the envelope

again using an A4 piece of card stock

Score at 7 cm, 7.5 cm, 20 cm, and 20.5 cm across the longest part of the card

turn the card the other way and score at 2 cm, 2.5, 15 cm and 15.5 cm.

Cut out the corners.

Add some double sided tape to the small flap at the bottom, and down one of the side,

fold the sides in first and fix together, then do the bottom.

There you have it.. a cute explosion box card with an envelope. 

Thanks for coming to take a look!

Hope you enjoyed

Laura x

   

Colouring with Spectrum Noir 'The White Rabbit'

This weekend I thought id do a little valentines type card for my You tube Channel

and this was the image i decided to use, I purchased from Crafts and me 

The image is called The White Rabbit from the Artist Hannah Lynn

To colour the image I used my Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers

Ears: BGR1, CR2

Hair: BRG1,CR2, HB2

Skin: TN1, TN2, FS4, CR3

Dress: CR9, DR2, DR5, DR7, IG4, IG6, IG9

Watch: GB5, GB6, CT4, CT1, BT1, BT2, BT4

Back Ground: IB1, IB2, IB3

Little Hearts: HB1

I'm Going to write a little about the dies and things I used, I wont rabbit on to much because I don't want to bore you all ha-ha

Obviously I decided to go with a red and black colour theme for valentine or a love style card..

I was going to add a sentiment " Time stands still when I'm with you" but I thought it might be to over crowding so the sentiment didn't make the cut.

I used a tattered lace doily corners die for the details in the corners, 

then I used signature dies Classic heart edger down the side,

The paper I purchased from E-bay it was 15 sheets simply creative 6"x 6" Made With Love

the small hearts where made when i used the edger die, so thought why not squeeze them in 

some where,

and just finished off with some 2 mm gems.

Thanks for stopping by

And don't forget to check out the video

Laura x