Kool Kitty Musings

'Tis the Season...

Morning all!

I'm over on the Seven Hills Crafts blog today with what might seem a rather unseasonal card, but having a late August birthday has usually coincided with Christmas arriving in the retail world.

And well, I'm woefully behind on my plan to make a Christmas card each week in order to avoid panic nearer December.

So, I set to work making a total of eight cards using the Avery Elle Santa Tags die set and coordinating stamps.

Papers: Crate Paper - Falala (r), Pebbles - Cozy & Bright (r)
Stamps: Avery Elle - Santa Tags
Dies: Avery Elle - Santa Tags

Unfortunately the stamps have just gone out of stock, but for this project it's easy enough to draw on the eyes, nose, and smile with a black pen, and add some blush to the cheeks. Or for a really fun Santa, you could always add goggly eyes.

The die set also includes sentiments that can be used to cut into the tags for a negative die-cutting effect, or to cut out the words and stick them onto your tag or card.

What really brings this Santa tag to life is adding something like white puff paint or Cosmic Shimmer Fluffy Stuff above the face.

I didn't want it to be totally obvious that this Santa was originally intended as a tag, so I punched some 1/4" circles from white card, stuck them over the tag holes, and added more Fluffy Stuff to look like the bobble on his hat.

This Santa tag works great with festive papers, and I even managed to match the 'Tis the season to be jolly! sentiment to some Fa-la-la-la-la background paper.

Christmas card production is back on track and as we enter autumn you can expect to see me ramping up my Christmas projects. ;)

Until next time, happy crafting!

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Avery Elle - Santa Tags stamps Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)	Avery Elle - Santa Tags dies Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)	Altenew - Blush dye ink Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC | SHC (UK)
Bazzill Cardshoppe - Pale Rose Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK)	Crate Paper - Falala - Festive paper (r) Shop at: MISC	Pebbles - Cozy & Bright - 'Tis the Season paper (r) Shop at: MISC
Pebbles - Cozy & Bright - Merry & Bright paper Shop at: MISC	Cosmic Shimmer - Fluffy Stuff Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC

Picked Posies - Just for You

Morning all!

I'm over on the Seven Hills Crafts blog today with a card that's fit to bursting with florals.

Still inspired by The Greetery's recent Handiwork release, I wanted to make a floral card featuring the Hoopla Oval die set.

The Embroidered Blooms die set may be sold out right now, but there's another die set from Concord & 9th that is a perfect partner for the embroidery hoops.

And that set is Picked Posies.

Stamp: The Greetery - Tear Strip Tags
Dies: The Greetery - Aida Cloth, Concord & 9th - Picked Posies, The Greetery - Tear Strip Banners, The Greetery - Hoopla Oval

It can be used as a stand-alone set or combined with coordinating sentiment stamps.

Once I'd assembled the embroidery hoop (including adding some detail with the Aida cloth texture plate), I grabbed some cardstock and cut out everything I'd need.

I did some ink blending on all the die cuts to add depth and interest. This technique is especially effective on lighter shades of cardstock like the pink buds.

Then, it was time to arrange all the die-cuts and stick them down.

There's no foam tape used here, just liquid glue – so the card is still flat enough to post, even though it looks like it has more dimension.

As for the greeting, I found a perfect folksy sentiment in the Tear Strip Tags stamp set and cut it out using the Tear Strip Banners die.

For a final finishing touch, I added some white Nuvo drops around the frame, and there we have it – card complete.

Until next time, happy crafting!

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The Greetery - Tear Strip Tags stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Aida Cloth texture plate Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Concord & 9th - Picked Posies dies Shop at: MISC | SBC | SHC (UK)	The Greetery - Tear Strip Banners die Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG
The Greetery - Hoopla Oval dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Stamp Market - Cactus ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Dijon ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Forest ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Fresh Pink ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Golden ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Minty ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Raspberry ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Rosy ink pad Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC | SHC (UK)	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Butter Mints Shop at: AZ (UK)	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK)
The Stamp Market - Cactus cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Fresh Pink cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Golden cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Gumdrop cardstock Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Raspberry cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Rosy cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Sea Glass cardstock Shop at: MISC	Lawn Fawn - Gold metallic cardstock Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)
Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Simply White Shop at: AZ (UK)	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: SBC	Craft blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)
Detail blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)	Waffle Flower - Mini Media Mat Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC
Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ (UK)	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC

DCM - Pearls

Morning all!

There's a brand-new challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog, all on the theme of pearls.

Sadly, I've not had much time to craft this week, so my card is definitely on the simple side as far as the pearls go!

Paper: The Greetery - Print Shop: Daisy Days
Stamps and stencil combo: The Greetery - Print Shop: Daisy Days
Stamp and die combo: The Greetery - Little Labels

Time was of the essence last night, so I grabbed the Daisy Days stamp and stencil combo from The Greetery and used one of the fill-in cards from the coordinating paper pack to fill in some of the white space with the leaves and florals stencils.

I left the main daisies white and just added grey stamped details for them.

I was all set to add pearl drops to all the little berry details, but didn't manage it while the ink was still drying from my stencilling.

So instead, I added some Prima pearls to the Little Label stamp and die combo, and the end result looks a bit like the front cover of the nice notebook. :)

Make sure you check out the more pearly ideas from the rest of the design team here, and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

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The Greetery - Print Shop: Daisy Days stamps and stencils Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Little Labels stamp and cut combo Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Stamp Market - Blush Pink ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Fern ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Forest ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Golden ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Leafy ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Slate ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Sunshine ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Greetery - Print Shop: Daisy Days paper pack Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK)	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: SBC	Craft blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)	Detail blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)	Waffle Flower - Mini Media Mat Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ (UK)	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC

Just for you

Morning everyone!

I'm over on the Seven Hills Crafts blog today with a bit of a mix and match project.

I've been inspired to try out some new "late summer" colour combos for some background stamping, and well I just had to reach for the Bigger Blooms set from The Greetery for this.

Stamps: The Greetery - Bigger Blooms, The Greetery - Written in Ribbons
Dies: The Greetery - Aida Cloth, The Greetery - Written in Ribbons, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle, The Greetery - Hoopla Round, The Greetery - PreText Banners

I just love how fast backgrounds come together with this set and 5 shades of ink. There's no need to add the detail steps for the flowers, just the base images will do to create a retro-style floral print.

Once my background was complete, I grabbed another oldie but goodie set from The Greetery: Written in Ribbons.

This set combines the look of calligraphy for the main wording of the sentiment and a clean font for the rest of the sentiment.

I used the same green tones as my background for the Just for You sentiment, and then stamped the other sentiment on one of the PreText banners.

To create the focal area for the sentiment, I used the smaller of the Hoopla Round dies and backed it with some cream cardstock that I'd run through with the Aida Cloth texture plate.

And there we have it, essentially a clean and simple card design where you can really ramp up the look with a contrasting background.

Until next time, happy crafting!

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The Greetery - Bigger Blooms stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Written in Ribbons stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Aida Cloth texture plate Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Written in Ribbons dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG
Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle dies Shop at: SBC | SHC (UK)	The Greetery - Hoopla Round dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - PreText Banners dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Lawn Fawn - Pizza Crust ink pad Shop at: SHC (UK)
The Stamp Market - Blush Pink ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Bubblegum ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Coastal ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Fern ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Forest ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Golden ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Sage ink pad Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
Bazzill Cardshoppe - Butter Mints Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Neenah 80 lb smooth Desert Storm cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Lawn Fawn - Gold metallic cardstock Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC	Craft blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)	Waffle Flower - Mini Media Mat Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ (UK)	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

DCM - All Taped Up

Happy Friday!

There's a brand-new challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog this week, and Joanne has us digging about in our Washi tape collections. :D

I don't really have much in the way of Washi tape, just a roll for sealing birthday envelope and a set of Christmas Washi from Crate Paper, which sadly doesn't do a good job of actually staying stuck on envelopes!

But, I remembered that I had a roll of jumbo Altenew Washi tape for covering large surfaces such as card bases and thought now was the time to get it out!

Washi tape: Altenew - Calming Bouquet
Stamps: The Greetery - Floral Sampler, The Greetery - Stitched Sentiments
Dies: The Greetery - Floral Sampler, The Greetery - Hoopla Oval
Texture plate: The Greetery - Aida Cloth

So I started out by covering my card base with the Washi tape, then decided I needed a focal sentiment.

The perfect excuse to grab some of my new supplies from The Greetery's Handiwork release (listed below) and found some ink cubes (in more or less the right colour family) from Altenew.

A bit of stamping, a bit of die-cutting, even the Aida cloth texture plate got some action - and there we go, card made. :)

Make sure you check out the other creative uses of Washi tape from the rest of the design team here, and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

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The Greetery - Floral Sampler stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Stitched Sentiments stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Aida Cloth texture plate Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Floral Sampler dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG
The Greetery - Hoopla Oval dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Altenew - Grape Agate dye ink Shop at: MISC	Altenew - Plum dye ink Shop at: MISC	Altenew - Rubellite dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC
Lawn Fawn - Storm Cloud ink pad Shop at: SHC (UK)	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Simon Says Stamp - Ivory cardstock Shop at: MISC	Lawn Fawn - Gold metallic cardstock Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
Altenew - Calming Bouquet washi tape Shop at: MISC | SHC (UK)	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ (UK)
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

Embroidered Thanks

Morning all!

I'm over on the Seven Hills Crafts blog today with a new project featuring some new supplies that I've been dying to get my hands on ever since the sneak peeks were shared!

Yes, The Greetery's Handiwork collection is in the house! At least some of it. ;-)

My little haul arrived last week and I finally had time at the weekend to play.

Stamps: The Greetery - Floral Sampler, The Greetery - Opposites Attract, The Greetery - Embroidered Background
Dies: The Greetery - Floral Sampler, The Greetery - Opposites Attract, The Greetery - Hoopla Mini, The Greetery - Hoopla Mini Inserts

For my first project with this collection, I was determined to use the Hoopla Mini dies and co-ordinating Inserts to set the scene for my card.

So I started out by cutting the frames from brown cardstock and the inserts from watercolour paper.

I added some ageing to the frames with Distress Oxides and then went over with a detail blending brush with brown dye inks. This brings out the woodgrain texture a bit better in real life. Especially as my Ground Espresso Oxide ink tends to go super chalky as soon as it dries, so I tried to bring those frames back to a nice brown shade.

I water coloured the insides of the inserts with some diluted Speckled Egg Distress Ink for extra contrast and a bit of pop.

Once I'd assembled all the little hoops, it was time to decide what I was going to use them with.

I created a tone-on-tone background with the Embroidered Background stamp (Fern cardstock with Matcha ink - I may try Versamark next time to see what happens).

Then I grabbed the Floral Sampler stamp set and matching dies to create all the floral details. Those are all stamped on ivory cardstock for a softer look, and some of the foliage is stamped on Forest cardstock to add some contrast.

The guide included with the stamp set provided some nice colour suggestions, so I tried them out. I'm rather pleased with this mash up of sage green tones and warm pinks and peaches.

Once I'd arranged all the florals on the hoops, I just needed to add a real stand-out sentiment. So, of course, I reached for my trusty Opposites Attract stamp and die set.

And there we have it, my first project with the Handiwork collection. I'm looking forward to many more!

Until next time, happy crafting!

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The Greetery - Floral Sampler stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Opposites Attract stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Embroidered Background stamp Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Floral Sampler dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG
The Greetery - Opposites Attract dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Hoopla Mini dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Hoopla Mini Inserts dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Distress ink pad - Speckled Egg Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
Distress Oxide ink pad - Ground Espresso Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Noble Fir ink pad Shop at: SHC (UK)	Lawn Fawn - Sage Leaf ink pad Shop at: SHC (UK)	Lawn Fawn - Soot ink pad Shop at: SHC (UK)
Lawn Fawn - Walnut ink pad Shop at: SHC (UK)	The Stamp Market - Blush Pink ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Bubblegum ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Coral Reef ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Dijon ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Matcha ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Peach ink pad Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Simon Says Stamp - Ivory cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Fern cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Forest cardstock Shop at: MISC
Arches cold pressed watercolour paper Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Lawn Fawn - Gold metallic cardstock Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Detail blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)	Sponge daubers Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Waffle Flower - Mini Media Mat Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Royal Langnickel - Zen watercolour round wash brush set Shop at: AZ (UK)	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC
Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ (UK)	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

It's a Wrap!

Morning all!

I'm over on the Seven Hills Crafts blog today with a clean and simple-ish card project featuring an unlikely pairing.

Paper: Carta Bella - Summer Market (r), Jen Hadfield - Reaching Out (r)
Stamps: The Greetery - Curio Labels, The Greetery - Sentiment Suite: Birthday
Dies: The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Basics, The Greetery - Crimped Circles, The Greetery - It's a Wrap Mini Posy Pocket, The Greetery - Winter Medley

Christmas in July may be over, but it doesn't mean that your Christmas and winter supplies can't be put to good use all year round.

The It's a Wrap Mini Posy Pocket die from The Greetery has been languishing in the "New Supplies" bin on my craft desk far too long. I had great intentions of using the pocket die with some of the Botanicuts Wildflower florals, but they were just a bit too big for this mini version of the larger It's a Wrap die. 

So, when I also spotted the Winter Medley dies in my "New Supplies" bin, I got to wondering... would they be the right size for the mini posy pocket?

And the answer is a resounding YES!

In fact, they may just be the perfect pairing!

The great thing about the Winter Medley die set is that it provides a good amount of greenery to build up your bouquet. And as you can see, the flowers are really neutral - they will work for all seasons.

I cut some of the leafy branches from dark green cardstock to bulk out the bouquet and to contrast against the branches and stems I cut from white cardstock and coloured in with the foam daubers that I use with my Distress Oxide inks.

The flowers were also cut from white cardstock and are just coloured in with the dye inks that were already on some of the detail brushes I use for stencilling.

You can add dimension to the flowers with a rounded stylus and detail with Nuvo drops, black and white pens, or pencils.

I needed a neutral background to let that bouquet sing, but also a pop of colour to add contrast. So I cut a piece of watercolour cardstock using one of the Crimped Circles dies and added some blue watercolour and splatter.

Once that was dry, I stamped a sentiment from the Curio Labels set on the crimped circle.

I finished off the card with another stamped sentiment, this time from the Sentiment Suite Birthday stamp set, and cut it out using one of the labels in the coordinating Sentiment Suite Basics die set. Such a handy die set that works with loads of sentiments, not just the Sentiment Suite series.

And there we have it - card complete!

Until next time, happy crafting!

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The Greetery - Curio Labels stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Sentiment Suite: Birthday stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Basics dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Crimped Circles dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG
The Greetery - It's a Wrap Mini Posy Pocket die Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Winter Medley dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Distress ink pad - Speckled Egg Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
Bazzill Cardshoppe - Pale Rose Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Jen Hadfield - Reaching Out - Over the Rainbow paper (r) Shop at: MISC	Arches cold pressed watercolour paper Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH
Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Duck Egg Blue Shop at: AZ (UK) | SHC (UK)	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Simply White Shop at: AZ (UK)	Tombow - Mono-Multi liquid glue Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC	Waffle Flower - Mini Media Mat Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Royal Langnickel - Zen watercolour round wash brush set Shop at: AZ (UK)	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC
Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC