Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Mar 2023 – Pink & Main

Michelle Currie did Pink & Main proud with this class – the products are so much fun, and really quick to put together.

Things I enjoyed:

  • I really adore the stand-up envelope card dies – I can imagine so many things that can be placed inside for different celebrations – it’s a real winner in my books!
  • I loved being taken outside of my comfort zone with the colour schemes – the bring pink papers etc in the pink card particularly scared me a bit, but they come together really well. Being a blue girl at heart, the blue and yellow card stoke my heart in these class samples though.
  • I love the background stencil that we received as part of the kit – I think it’s great that it fits just nicely in the centre of the cardfront to give a clean border all around without having to mask anything off – and there’s a great choice of stencil backgrounds.
  • I actually every die in this class set – they’re so versatile for so many uses! And I loved the fact that Michelle taught us to use alcohol markers to create background papers for the flowers and stars – it actually gives a really great texture almost like watercolours, and something I’ll definitely do again!
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Mar 2023 – The Stamps of Life

If I’m brutally honest these have been my least favourite classes so far in the event – the teaching style just didn’t suit me and I really struggled to follow along – it actually put me off so much I actually put the event contents aside for a while as I totally lost my mojo after that – not helped at all by the fact I was still recovering from Covid at the time and I was finding it hard to follow … each time I looked up to watch, the camera angle had moved away from the card, so I got frustrated with it bouncing around between three different camera angles. When I did eventually make these cards recently I just followed the written instructions instead, and found my groove again that way. The products themselves are of a high quality, it’s just the style of teaching that didn’t suit how I learn, that’s all.

Things I enjoyed:

  • I’m not a ‘cutesy’ die cut person, so I’m really grateful the paper pad is double-sided and as a varied choice of papers suitable for birthdays. I’m also grateful that there are stamps that match the die cut paper images used for the card samples, so that we can colour them ourselves too.
  • I like the large cupcake die that can be used as an entire shaped cardfront – I can see myself using that one in the future for some card challenges.
  • I do love the sprinkles enamel dots that came in the kit, they were terrific, and I can see myself using those up quickly.
  • I really love the addition of the stencil to add stripes onto the two cat stamped images if we want to. It would’ve been even more awesome to have had the stencils cater for the bodies of the cats too, but that’s just me being greedy haha.
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Mar 2023 – Taylored Expressions

Taylor VanBruggen gave us another belter of a class – and the stamp and stencil combo set is going to get used a lot for future cards. I’d intended making alternative colourways at the same time but ran out of steam. I really need to remedy that soon! I forgot to add gold heat embossing on the edges of the circle die but it was too late to fix it when I realised my mistake – oops.

Things I enjoyed:

  • I really loved seeing the same colours being used on two different coloured cardstocks and the very different looks that are the result. I can’t wait to try different versions of this, including the one that Jennifer McGuire created in her ‘mash-up’ session!
  • I love the versatility of this stamp set – and it was responsible for me putting in a big order to Taylored Expressions to buy a few more of their different sets.
  • I was happy to be reminded how much I love using strip panels on cards, and how pretty this clean and simple style can be – I really love these projects.
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Mar 2023 – Scrapbook.com

Another one of those ‘meh’ sets where I was proven wrong – I think because all the projects were created with a predominance of pink and it’s my least favourite colour. I managed to come up with my own version in an aqua option, though, to help offset the pink and I was much happier haha. All-in-all it was another fun class with Laura Graff.

Things I enjoyed:

  • I really love the wee strawberry die cuts and I can see me using those on future cards.
  • I like the paper pad that we got as part of the kit – there are some really lovely papers in there such as the lovely gingham prints.
  • I enjoyed using printed papers for some of the leaves in the first card we created – that’s a technique I’d never considered before, so that was good to try.
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Mar 2023 – Spellbinders

What can I say about this class with Kim Kesti, other than “love, love, love, love, love…”

Seriously, though, the dies we received in this event kit were phenomenal – the beautiful cover plate dies and the floral blooms were especially awesome! This whole class blew me away, and another of my top favourites! The only thing I changed in the shaker card was to add some additional colours of sequins to the mix instead of using just the iridescent cream/pink sequins in our kit.

Things I enjoyed:

  • I loved absolutely everything about this class – the products were amazing!
  • I loved the first flower card so much that straigtaway I had to try more colourways – the pink card was using the event kit products and colours, while the turquoise and purple ones were my own choices.
  • I loved the idea of flipping the stamp set upside down for a repeat stamped image underneath – such a fun design, and I loved the teal cardstock used for the cover plate panel – such a pretty card!
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Mar 2023 – Hero Arts

Libby Hickson did a great job with these card designs, especially knowing it wasn’t the stamp and die set intended for the class projects. I felt so sorry for Hero Arts that their suppliers couldn’t get them completed in time, but they did so well in supplying an alternative for us. And the projects were sure fun – I’ve also used the fence stamp set a couple of times already this year, so it’s definitely a hit with me!

Things I enjoyed:

  • I loved doing lots of colouring in these ones – and learning some tips such as colouring the edges of the die cuts to match the background.
  • I loved how versatile these stamps are – the cats especially appeal to me, being a cat lover, and I think it’s great that they’ve captured the cats’ personalities so well. I just love everything about this stamp set!
  • I loved learning different techniques, such as the pop-up window card – learning new things is always something I’m happy about, so this class ticked all the boxes for me.
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Mar 2023 – Scrapbook & Cards Today

When I first saw the stamp and stencil set that SCT provided us in the event kit I’ll be honest I was disappointed. Then Meghann Andrew completed the class projects and I was blown away by the results – I honestly think they’re truly magical! Yes, the designs can be labour intensive doing every tile individually, but oh my goodness is it worth it! I did a second round of cards using my own colourway – the class projects were the warmer gold/peach/red cards, and mine were the aqua/purple versions.

Things I enjoyed:

  • I loved being proven wrong about these products – my view of them did a total flip and so far these have been my favourite cards of the event to date (admittedly, though, I haven’t completed too many of the projects yet).
  • I loved the versatility of how a small set of tiles can be used in some many ways for a totally different look.
  • I love how the simple change of colours can dramatically change the card – but I also loved doing a colourway that I would never have chosen and loving the results of both versions.
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Mar 2023 – Crafters Companion

I cannot tell a lie, I’m grateful that the March event this year kicked off with a set of dies from Crafters Companion in the class with Sara Davies. After being so disappointed with their stamps in the past, I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw that no stamps were included. I don’t mean to be so rude about them as they’re a terrific sponsor of the event, but I can’t hide my relief this time round.

With them being a UK company, their dies are designed for the metric sized cardfronts, I think, so next time I use them I think I’ll try on our Australian A5 card bases to see the difference.

Things I enjoyed:

  • As always, I loved the watercolour techniques to make the backgrounds, and love that we got more markers to play with.
  • It was great to try a new-to-me product that holds all the die cuts in place until you’re ready to place them onto the card – that was really awesome and super helpful for this technique.
  • I especially love the bee dies, and can see me making more of these in the future in different colours.
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Fall 2022 – Pink & Main

The final class of the Fall event taught by Michelle Currie and it was a doozy, teaching us some very new (to me anyway) techniques. I’d never see flock before, so this was a challenge and a half! I only had the red flock that came in the event kit, and didn’t want to purchase more unless I knew I’d like working with it – instead for the hat card I substituted glitter … which is surprising for me, not being a glitter fan, but it’s a lot easier to work with for this technique being rubbed into a sticky background and not going everywhere.

Things I enjoyed:

  • Trying a totally new product and getting well and truly out of my comfort zone. I may not love it, and I’m unlikely to reach for it in the future, I’m really grateful to have had the opportunity to play with it and give it a try.
  • Learning the one time so far that glitter doesn’t make me curse – it may not have been part of the class instructions, but I’m glad to have tried the experiment and had a positive result.
  • Once again trying totally new colour schemes for me – I may have changed a couple of elements to fit more in line with my own preferences, but on the whole I stuck with the bulk of Michelle’s colours.
  • It’s another set of products that will be handy in the future – I especially love the ice-cream cone stamp/die and the party hat die!
Class projects, Crop & Create Delivered

Crop & Create Fall 2022 – Hero Arts

Laura Bassen taught a really fun class using Hero Arts producs, using her trademark bright rainbow of colours. I really enjoyed this one, and the products are super fun for birthday celebrations.

Things I enjoyed:

  • I love everything about these products – the sentiments, images, and the confetti stencil – and see these being used a lot.
  • I really love the confetti card with the rainbow ink blended background – I love the way the confetti stencil uses the same ink colours to make a more cohesive background, such a great technique!
  • It’s fun to see a single small element like the birthday candle being used to create a full strip of images, especially done in rainbow format like this one. Something I’ve done a lot of since doing this class, so it must’ve stuck in my brain for a change.
  • Looking back at this photo my brain has already come up with a couple more card designs, so that in itself shows how wonderfully versatile it is!