Die Cutting

This weekend I've been using my Big Shot and doing lots of die cutting - this cute mouse and toadstool is from Creative Expressions and is from their paper cuts Edger range

I've made several variations of this cats climbing over grid - but this is the first time I have used a yellow scheme

It's difficult to make Get Well Cards for men, who don't really want flowers or cute animals! I thought this simple card would fit the bill for a builder friend who hurt himself recently.

A Frollick of Fairies

Yes, that is what a collection of fairies is called - a frollick!

Had to go to The Range today today to get some silicone glue and door mat, but finished frugal February by not buying any other craft stuff - so that is 2 months now that I have resisted buying anything other than basics such as card blanks, DST & glue. I've managed to make over 40 cards just using up papers, dies, embellishments and sentiments  I already had in my stash.

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Flowers, Leaves and a Moroccan Tile

Some more cards made with some old dies that have been sitting around unloved and unused for a while.

Experimented a bit using some Kraft card that was sitting at the bottom of the pile too!

Still on track with frugal February and I  have only bought card blanks and double sided tape so far this month!

Tim Holtz idea-ology Botanical

I've had this Tim Holtz idea-ology Botanical pack of die cut images for ages - the butterflies were all used up first.

 I'm now trying to come up ideas for cards to incorporate some of the other vintage plants & flowers now.

I've still got 25 out of the 83 images in the pack left!

Dufex

Do you remember Dufex? Those detailed foiled toppers you could buy in sheets. Well, I found a couple of steam train images that I had lurking around for ages, so just had to use them up.

I've teamed them up with vintage travel background papers and tickets. So that's another small dent in the stash pile - at least Storm Dennis is a good excuse to stay in and craft this weekend!

Seeing Stars

A couple of cards for the men in my life made with  die cut stars. Ideal for men of any age.

Used some odd scraps of  coloured card up in the process too!

Twilight Makes

I'm still using up the background papers from the Hunkydory Twilight under the Sea pad that I bought last year

As well as the Hunkydory Twilight Kingdom pad that I bought back in June 2017! Despite making loads of cards with these papers, there are still loads left!

Frugal February

Well, I managed to get through January by only buying card blanks and double-sided tape. My mission for February is to do the same again and only buy basics - no magazines, no eBay bargains and no visits to The Works, The Range or Hobbycraft. Good job it is only a short month!

These two cards were made from pages of an old bird-watching calendar.

Clearly Besotted Roses

Here's another set of stamps and dies that have been sorely neglected! These are from the Clearly Besotted Merci Beaucoup set that I won back in June 2016

I've dug out some embossing folders that haven't been used for a while to team them up together and make a few more birthday cards

Floral Hearts from Simply Cards Mag

A couple of cards using the new Floral Hearts cut and embossing folder free from this months Simply Cards magazine. 

Love the embossing effect and the heart cuts out cleanly. Made in a pale green colour scheme as a change from Valentines Day red!

Woodland Friends

I've had these cute woodland animal foam stickers for absolutely ages, so it's time to use them up! I've teamed them up with some Craftwork Cards toppers and scraps of freebie papers from magazines

Ignoring Bargains

Still determined to use up my stash and not buy any craft stuff in January (except for double sided tape) So, these 6 cards were made using just 1 sheet of sentiment toppers that came in the Craftwork Cards bargain box that I bought nearly 4 years ago, back in April 2016. Have made loads of cards so far, but still got quite a lot of stuff  from that goodie box still in my stash!

The background papers were mainly freebies from magazines. I decided to cancel a couple of my magazine subscriptions as they seem to feature the same type of cards and I wasn't feeling inspired by their projects.

Cards Galore!

Getting into the swing of stash busting now and trying to be more inventive with different designs to use up old stuff

The charity card pile is now getting bigger and I have plenty in stock for my own use.

However, I have just bought a job lot of 500 5 x 7" white card blanks from eBay at a great price - they should keep me going for a while!

I've managed to resist the gazillions of emails I have received advertising various crafting companies amazing January sale bargains to concentrate on using up what I already have!

Recently I have tried to use some of both the background papers  I have stacked up, and also stamps that I rarely ( or have never) used.

I have also used some of my distress oxide inks that were covered in dust!

More Stash Busting

I've spent a bit of time between Christmas and New Year crafting in a vain attempt to reduce my stash

These first couple of cards come from a Dovecraft pad that I bought back in the sales 4 years age!

This card uses rose corners from a 2018 Tattered Lace magazine and stamps from Feb 2018 Creative Stamping Mag.

And these couple of cards are using papers that have been around for ages!

Creative Stamping Issue 80

The postie bought me an early Christmas present today  - the latest issue of Creative Stamping magazine.  After I had braved Tesco for some salad and rolls, I had the rest of Christmas Eve off to play with the lovely Art Nouveau stamp set.

I did a bit of heat embossing in both gold and silver

and was pleased how well the stamps came out - they look very elegant!

A good start to next years cards - I sell them on behalf of St Elizabeth Hospice in Suffolk and other local charities and normally raise at least £300 each year.

I sell a few on eBay, at work and at Coffee mornings etc, and it always nice to have a few different designs for people to choose from.

All is calm .....

and peaceful here at home, presents wrapped, cards given out and just some last minute fresh salad stuff to get tomorrow. Cats snoozing amongst the tinsel and a glass of Port & lemon by the keyboard.

Wishing everyone at happy, healthy and enjoyable Christmas - however you celebrate it!

Now officially fed up of making Christmas cards, so it was a bit of light relief to make these birthday cards from my very old stash ( see last post!)

They are a bit basic, as I seem to be lacking inspiration at the moment, perhaps I need to visit a few of  my crafty friends blogs for some ideas

Far Too Much Stuff

Way back in July 2015 I bought a huge amount of stash off a lady who had to give up crafting for health reasons. I blogged about it here and here

I was searching in my craft room for some gilding flakes when I realized that over 4 years later, I still had so much of that stash lying untouched in different boxes and drawers

I really should stop buying fancy new bits that catch my eye and start using more of what I already have - there are still loads of papers, card stock, ribbons, toppers and other embellishments that I haven't touched yet. Perhaps a new years resolution should be no new purchases until a dent is made in this stash!!