Anna Griffin Christmas

 Hi Crafters 

I have recently purchased some Anna Griffin Dies and am looking forward to making my Christmas cards with them 

The first die for me to try is a lovely Santa Sleigh, the die set has an outline die that makes the base card and then the sleigh die and a set of parcel and tree dies.

This is a sample card from Anna Griffin show 

I do love the Anna Griffin range and have bought several of her dies although I do not usually buy a complete set as I am not ready to spend £80 to £150 on a set of dies, mainly because I know i won’t use them all enough to warrant the spend. One or two from the set to try the designs and some of the accessories, are all I need to ‘have a go’ and not get bored repeating the style. I realise that Christmas is a little different as we all make a lot of cards this time of year, but I like variety so never buy all one range. I am often tempted with  Anna Griffin as it was one of the first designers I purchased when she sold on QVC, but I have so many dies now I really could not make use of 5 or 6 dies in a similar style, so usually just buy my favourite  to try them out,

I am not a quick crafter and working with a die set such as the one shown above will take me some hours. First I have to think  about the design then get out the necessary card and tools and then make up the card.

For this die I needed the large A4  plate so had to get my SIZZIX Plus out the cupboard to cut the base card

Then find the mirror card to make the top layers of the card and sleigh accessories. This took me a couple of hours and then it was time to make dinner. So I still have the base decorations to make and the greeting. Once the card is completed and I am happy with it, I can then get a production line going. I will definitely be adding several of them to my Christmas card pile. 

Here is my version. 

 I am super pleased with it and now I have the basics I can put them together easily. Like most special cards this takes more card than the average amount if card to construct.One standard piece of A4 card 2 pieces of mirror card as well as the patterned card for the holly leaves. And some scraps for the greeting. If you add the cost of the base die spread over 20cards each card would cost about £2 to make. I am not making these to sell, but I throw this in for anyone who does make to sell. 

Obviously if you make lots, and have a good market for them the price per unit goes down, but in my experience and in my area if I am selling cards at £3 or more, my sales would be limited and it would take a few  fairs to sell 40 of the same card. 

All this does not put me off buying more Anns Griffin dies and I am looking foreword to working with the Carousel die I have purchased, and the greeting Impression dies. 

I will post more as I make more. 

Happy Crafting

Dee