Making the most of a kit – hybrid style!

Hi!  SaraL here with my first Hybrid post on SuzyQ Scrap’s fabulous blog!  Oh, and by the way, I have a little hybrid freebie for you too, so keep reading!!

You know, it’s sooo easy to look at a kit and think to yourself that it is only suitable for one specific holiday or perhaps applicable only for little boys and not girls.  I think most of us usually buy our digi scrap supplies with a particular event, or even photograph, in mind – though I confess to often buying a kit just because I want it!

I was playing with Suzy’s recently released Pumpkin Patch – and naturally I had harvest time, Autumn/ Fall ideas on my mind.  But then I realised this one kit could be used for so much more, such as: 

• Something Halloween-y (just check out the colours, and hey, pumpkins!)
• A special gift presentation idea, made for my Mum, because she l-o-v-e-s purple and the flower images are too pretty not to use!
• A cute anniversary or ‘together’ sort of card for a couple you know, using those adorable ‘his & her’ crow images together.

So let me show you what I came up with. First, here’s the Autumnal card that I originally planned to make:

As I usually do, I planned this card in Photoshop  – opening a new file to the same size as the card blank/ base, then getting the sentiment and image in just the right place.  When it was just the way I liked it, I printed the whole lot out onto paper and when dried,  I glued it to my card blank.  I also printed the pumpkin image onto card, cut the central portion out, inked the edges and stuck it to my card using sticky foam pads to give a little instant depth.  A bow of coordinating ribbon, and the card was complete!

Next let me show you my simple door hanger for Halloween:

I used a pumpkin, two journal tags and the purple alpha from SuzyQ’s kit – arranging the alpha just as you can see in the photo.  After I printed the whole lot out onto a single piece of A4 card, I cut it all out.  I used some sparkly black card to cut out the triangles for the pumpkin’s face and hung the images together using black ricrac.  Oh, and I added a simple black bow to the pumpkin simply ‘cos I thought it looked cute! 

The spider was made by punching a circle from the same sparkly black card, and attaching (using sticky tape) lengths of black craft wire to the reverse to make the legs.  I used an every-day hole punch to make the eyes, and a black pen to add the dots for pupils.  The spider was dangled from the hanger using twisted orange and black embroidery thread/ floss.

Next idea… how about that gift presentation I mentioned?

Sweet, don’t you think?  Pumpkin Patch comes with two complete alphas: the purple one I used for the Halloween hanger, and the lovely patchwork one you can see in the photo above.  By the way, if you like this mini purple gift set, keep reading (hint, hint!!).

I used a pillow box template by Pixel Geek, and also SuzyQ’s 2011 Calendar At-a-Glance – Templates  to help me get the shape of my gift tag just right!  

So, I’ve shown you something Autumnal, something Halloween-y, a gift something for my Mum…so finally here is the anniversary card idea for you to see.  Didn’t I tell you that this couple would make a cute card?

As before, this card was planned in Photoshop.  I altered the crow images slightly so that when they ‘sat’ together their legs would look a little more natural for the position (I promise it didn’t hurt).  I used the yellow flowers from Suzy’s kit as pretend stars in the background. 

After printing out onto A4 card and cutting out, I used a hole prick to make stitch holes and sewed some very basic cross stitches – to mimic the one of the images within the kit. I now stuck this card front to the card base using double sided tape.  For the final touch I added the raffia knot and coordinated button.

And there we are, four different hybrid ideas from one beautiful kit!!  So remember, when you next treat yourself to a kit, don’t just use it for the obvious – why not have fun and see what else your imagination can come up with!

Just before I sign off, I promised you a FREEBIE didn’t I?  Well, how about that sweet purple ‘With Love’ mini gift set, all ready for you to print out and play with?  Its all yours to download from here. 

Enjoy!