Jump on July

Join me in all the fun planned for July!

July 1st is my 2nd birthday with Close to my Heart and I'm having a party to celebrate!

Everyone loves a bargain and July's special offer is a cracker!

During the month of July, when you purchase $32.50 in current, retail priced stamps, you qualify to receive either the July Stamp of the Month, My Acrylix^® Life Is Wonderful, FREE or any one of the Hostess Rewards stamp sets featured in Annual Inspirations 2014–2015 or Seasonal Expressions 2 for only $6.50! That is a savings of up to $27!

Additionally, the Hostess Rewards stamp sets have previously only been available as part of the Hostess Rewards program, which means now is the perfect opportunity to get those special stamp sets you’ve had your eye on! To get your FREE stamp set or your $6.50 Hostess Rewards stamp set, simply place an order for $32.50 of any current, retail priced stamps. This offer is available only during the month of July and applies only to the July Stamp of the Month and current Hostess rewards stamp sets, so spring into action and jump on this deal before it’s gone!

This is a fantastic deal on some fantastic stamps! Have a look at the various Hostess Rewards stamps in the Annual Inspiration and Seasonal Expressions books here. When you add $32.50 or more in current retail priced stamps to your cart, you'll see a notification pop up.

Click that notification and it'll take you to the list of $6.50 stampsets.

Choose your favorite, add to your cart and continue shopping!

July's stamp of the month Life Is Wonderful is simply gorgeous. You can even get it for FREE!

The July Stamp of the Month is a lovely, versatile 8 image stamp set that is a great match for your cards and layouts that celebrate all the wonderful things—big and small—that life has to offer. Check out these beautiful examples made with Life Is Wonderful!

As many of you know, the current Annual Inspirations Book is nearly expired. The new AIB isn't launching til September 1st.

I've received word from head office that ONLY the Seaside WOTG is guaranteed to stick around until July 31. I've created some beautiful layouts using the entire Seaside range!

I'm teaching these in my studio this month. Contact me today to book your very own private class!

What does this mean for you? If you love ANYTHING from the current AIB, you must get it now before it sells out. The beautiful Brushed range has already disappeared! Everything is fair game! Check out the While Supplies Last and Retiring Items parts of my shop and snap up a bargain.

It's really easy to shop with me. Simply log in and click join. New to my shop? Click start here and create an account.

There's so much going on here in my studio this month, and plenty of exciting events you do not want to miss out!

July Events

Try PictureMyLife Every Wednesday 1-3 7-9pm $5

1st Birthday Party 1-5pm $15

4th All My Smiles - Jackson Scrapbooking $15

8th Scrap Your Stash 1-3pm $10

15th Scrap Your Stash 1-3pm $10

17th Card Buffet 1-3pm $15

22nd Scrap Your Stash 1-3pm $10

29th Scrap Your Stash 1-3pm $10

All workshop spaces are limited. First in best dressed. Some fees are prepay via direct deposit only. Fees must be received in advance. Email me for payment details. Please note: Be sure to book your workshop spots early. Your spot is not guaranteed until payment is received. Contact me asap to book your spot!

I love to party and spoil my hostesses. Start making your wish list now, then contact me today to set up your very own party and reap the rewards. I'll help you get everything on your wishlist for free or half price. I'm available to party all month long! Parties do not need to be very long, they can be as simple (show and tell style), or as elaborate (with make and take projects) as you like. They can even be online!

My calendar is booking up very fast, and all party dates are first in best dressed.

Check my facebook page for all workshops, including their booking and payment cutoff dates. Please check each event carefully! Once the cutoff has passed, I cannot accept late bookings.


To stock up on your favorites and limited edition items shop with me today!

 

Greeting Cards with Jackson

After multiple requests to do manly cards, I cracked open my Jackson paper pack and whipped these babies up. I used current papers and inks, and an assortment of current and retired stampsets. I was determined to use my old stamps and see what I could come up with!

The designs and cutting guide used are from this book. Holy moly there's so much good stuff here!

If you have this book already, open it to page 111 and follow along. If you don't have it, you can get it from my website here. It's well worth the $20 price tag! This cutting guide is insane. 3 pieces of paper and cardstock = enough cut bits for SIXTEEN CARDS. Yes, 16. I told you it's insane!

Once you've cut your bits, this is how much scrap you'll have left. I kid you not. You use less than half a sheet of one cardstock (I used Colonial White), leaving plenty of space for stamping and matting.

See? Insane I say!

After I cut all my bits, I sorted them out into piles for each of the 8 card designs. All the pieces for card 1, card 2, etc. Much easier to find the bits needed!

Each of the 8 cards has clear instructions and diagrams for placing the cut pieces. Love it!

These are the 8 I came up with last night using 1 sheet of arrowhead Jackson B&T paper, 1 sheet Juniper cardstock, and 1 sheet Colonial White cardstock, plus 8 Colonial White bulk cards and envelopes. I used accent pieces of cardstock from my Jackson paper packet where needed plus some Kraft cardstock.

Aren't these cute? Yet still blokey? I'm quite happy with how they came out!

Next you'll see which stampsets I used with each card. * = retired no longer available.

Card 1 - Tommy WOTG stampset*

Card 2 - Laughing Lola cardmaking WOTG stampset*

Card 3 - April '15 SoTM and September 30daysofhappy* stampsets

Card 4 - Tommy WOTG stampset*

Card 5 - Blossom cardmaking WOTG stampset and 30daysofhappy*

Card 6 - May '14 SoTM and 30daysofhappy stampsets*

Card 7 - Finding the Words and April SoTM

Card 8 - Reel Life stampset

Voila! How easy and impressive are these cards? I'm surprised every time with the results. I've done this workshop twice now. Once in Blossom with all 16 cards, and now in Jackson with 8 cards. I'll finish the remaining 8 later. Same cutting guide, different papers and inks, different results.

Card 1 - two ways, you also see the difference in the 2 shades of white!

Card 3 - two ways. The 2 rectangles didn't suit the stamps I wanted, so I saved them for later and used a bigger scrap of Colonial White instead. Tweak each design as desired!

So there you go, 8 manly masculine blokey cards using a variety of new and retired stamps and the Jackson paper packet. I hope this inspires you to try cardmaking with the Wishes book and Jackson papers! I highly recommend them both!

Materials used: Trimmer, Wishes, Bone Folder, Versamat, Blocks, Spritz, Scrubber, Scissors, Jackson Paper Packet, Kraft and Colonial White cardstocks, Glacier Juniper Cocoa and Barn Red inks, Typed Note, Blossom Cardmaking WOTG, Finding the Words, and Reel Life stampsets, and various adhesives.

Stock up on these and the rest of your crafting supplies simply by shopping with me today!

 

Recent Artwork

I've been busy making my Blossom and Jackson scrapbooking samples this week. I'm really enjoying these two new paper ranges!

I instantly wanted to try my hand at some layouts using Blossom the second I saw it in SE2.

I'm quite pleased with how this turned out. I used multiple stampsets and inks here. They all blend quite nicely together!

I stamped the typewriter, fussy cut around the edges and popped it up with some foam dots for dimension. It adds a nice focal point to this simple page.

I took a break from all things Blossom and decided to dive into Jackson. I really like the feather stickers in the Jackson Complements and decided to stamp a whole bunch. Fussy cutting 20 feathers took quite a while! I used some on various pages and the rest I have as spares.

Feathers are stamped in multiple colors onto colonial white cardstock. I used my nonstick microtip scissors to trim these. I'll never fussy cut with any other scissors ever!

8 of 20 feathers cut, and the carnage left behind.

It's quite tricky for me to restrict myself in using sparkles or shimmer trim on every page. I kept these pages quite flat and rugged and tried to really amp up the manly burly dude factor. I think I succeeded well!

You mean you don't take a selfie when taking finished layout shots?

My first manly layout using Jackson and featuring the fussy cut feathers. That'd be a great band name, "fussy cut feathers". :p I didn't intend to use all photos of my husband from last weekend's Easterfest but that's what happened. This is my #ManCrushMonday layout. ;)

A cluster of layered fussy cut feathers and stickers equals an easy yet impressive embellishment. I colored one feather with my stash of markers. ShinHan colors would look stunning too if you have them.

This brown feather was a pain to fussy cut. I'm not going to cut those little bits out again!
I decided to do some more Jackson layouts and came up with these two. Very simple, very easy to replicate, and quite stunning in my opinion. The pages are all from the Jackson paper pack and I've added in Colonial White and Kraft sheets as needed. That's pretty good value if you ask me!

I used a few feathers here just for some oomph, no idea which pictures I'll use yet.

This layout is a blend of CTMH and Scrapbook Generation layouts. The LH is a SG free layout, the right is from Reflections. I rounded the corners on the RH page squares to make it flow better with the LH page. Works pretty well blending 2 realms of designs doesn't it?

I finally got my Wanderful WOTG kit in the mail and decided to rip into it. I'm doing Wanderful in July so here's a preview of the kit. It's super easy to do this layout.

I stamped this globe bit twice. Once in crystal blue, once in black. I cut the two blue globe halves and stuck them over the black. Easy. The arrows are actually washi tape, which is included in the kit!

Materials used for all these pages: Blossom paper pack, Lagoon cardstock, Kraft cardstock, Blossom cardmaking wotg stampset, Finding the Words stampset, April SoTM, Jackson paper pack, Jackson complements, Jackson Picture My Life kit, Feathers stampset, Wanderful WOTG kit, Reflections how to book, 3D foam tape,  trimmer, ruler, scissors, Versamat, corner rounder, adhesive, blocks, spritz, scrubber, Outdoor Denim, Honey, Smoothie, Black, Pear, Lagoon, Cocoa, Barn Red, Glacier, Juniper, Crystal Blue, and Gypsy inks.

Shop with me today!

 

April News

April is here and that means new items are now here! Welcome the brand new Seasonal Expressions 2!

Heartstrings and Hopscotch are gone, Blossom and Jackson are now in!

Keep checking back for more new ideas using Blossom and Jackson!

One sheet of paper + a few stickers + a few nips of scissors = a freshly decorated coffee cup.

A sweet lil tag for Easter choccies made from Lagoon cardstock, Blossom paper, and a bit of zipstrip plus stamping. Easy!

Coming up in May is a brand new workshop featuring the brand new Blossom suite. Just what can you make from one packet of Blossom paper? This.

A nifty, practical, and cute (because cute matters!) card organizer.

A pocket for each month, with space to write down every card sending occasion, plus a slew of cards for all occasions.

Bookings are extremely limited and close soon.

You don't want to miss this exclusive workshop. Book in now to secure your spot!

Keep an eye on my events to see the range of Blossom projects I've planned for the month.

Meet the versatile new stamp of the month, Typed Note. This is one of my most favorite SoTM that has ever been released! There's 19 images on this one set, an incredible value! I'm using this set for a lot of my upcoming workshops. Be sure to get your own copy!

Check out these quirky pieces made with Typed Note! With so many wording options available, this is one of the most versatile stampsets yet for those that want a lil bit of everything.

My 2015 Mother's Day card design. Orders now open!

December was Deal of the Decade, April is Deal of the Day!

Click to read all the details.

It's easy to order from my website. Simply go to CreatingwithKaraDavies.ctmh.com.au. Click Login then Join. New to my website? Click Start Here, create an account, then click Join. Easy as that!

There's so much going on here in my studio this month, and plenty of exciting events you do not want to miss out on!

April Events

Try PictureMyLife Every Wednesday 1-3 & 7-9pm $5
1st Scrap Your Stash 1-3pm $10
8th Scrap Your Stash 1-3pm $10

11th Blossom Scrapbooking 10am-12pm 1-3pm $15

15th Scrap Your Stash 1-3 $10

17th Blossom Cardmaking 1-3pm $15
18th Blossom Cardmaking 10-12pm $15

22nd Scrap Your Stash 1-3pm $10
29th Scrap Your Stash 1-3pm $10

All workshop spaces are limited. First in best dressed. Some fees are prepay via direct deposit only. Fees must be received in advance. Email me for payment details. Please note: Be sure to book your workshop spots early. Your spot is not guaranteed until payment is received. Contact me asap to book your spot!

 
I love to party and spoil my hostesses! Start making your wish list now, then contact me today to set up your very own party and reap the rewards. I'll help you get everything on your wishlist for free or half price. I'm available to party all month long! Parties do not need to be very long, they can be as simple (show and tell style), or as elaborate (with make and take projects) as you like. They can even be online!

Party at your home? Check. Party here in my studio? Check. Show and tell Party at a local coffee shop? I'm there! Wine and cheese party? Chocolate and cake party? Afternoon tea party? Morning tea party? Lunch party? Party all day online in your jammies!? I can do that too! Let me know and together we'll find something that's just right for you.

My calendar is booking up very fast, and all party dates are first in best dressed.

Check my facebook page or my events tab for all workshops. Some have strict booking and payment cutoff dates. Please check each event carefully! Once the cutoff has passed, I order all the supplies needed for that event. Unfortunately, I cannot accept late bookings.

Join me in all the fun planned for April! 

To stock up on your favorites and on limited edition items, shop with me today!