Spring Cleaning the Kits

As part of my "Too Much Stuff" challenge, I've decided to devote some time to going through all the kits I have bought over the years and use as much as I can from each. Why do I buy kits? Goodness only knows. They look so attractive and exciting at the time, when I switch on the TV or am wandering round a craft store. I see the samples and am blown away by them - and every single time I completely forget that when I'm back home with my kit, I'll only be able to think of those few samples I saw and have no idea what else I can make with the kit. Every molecule of creativity in my body evaporates the moment I open the box!

I tell myself I'll break the kit down into its elements and use them with other things from my stash - but the pink, green or even black is always *exactly* the wrong shade to go with anything else I own so it all goes back into the kit box to gather dust until I decide to try again with it.

I must gave getting on for a dozen part used kits at the moment, so  I'm working my way through them with the aim of making at least four cards from each kit. I'll give myself bonus "brownie points" if I manage to combine any of the elements with something else from my stash, even, or maybe especially,   something from another kit.

And please, if any of you catches me eyeing up another kit, stop me at once! Steal my credit card, clap me in irons, distract me with gin or fluffy kitties,  just don't let me buy any more kits!

The first kit I picked up to challenge myself with is a Kanban one I bought from QVC, just before they moved over to Create and Craft. The luxurious, ornate foiled and embossed card seems TOO luxurious, TOO ornate and  TOO foiled and embossed now, and even the samples on the enclosed leaflet look over elaborate and contrived. I'm really not impressed with my own efforts to use the contents.

Having, for the time being, exhausted the possibilities of that, I turned to a black, white and hot pink "Paris" themed kit from Craftwork Cards. I've had this kit for some time and used many of the elements, but it's a much more versatile kit that allows for far more creativity than the first one, and my first make from the kit is a Thank You card that I am much happier with.

This week the challenge at Less is More #101  is Black and White with a touch of colour and at CAS-ual Fridays #84 it is Thank You,  and before I head back to the other room to see what else I can produce from the kit, I'm submitting this card to both challenges.