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Tuesday 27 November 2012

Christmas Photo Inspiration for Challenge 80 at Crafty Cardmakers.


Hi All
I'm sorry this is late, Internet issues again!!
We have started a new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers.
Our Challenge this fortnight, hosted by Fiona, is a photo inspiration challenge.
Make a card or project inspired by the photo on the left. You can take inspiration from any part of it really, from the actual image or from the colours.

We are sponsored again by DI'S DIGI DOWNLOADS with a $10 GIFT VOUCHER, and CROP STOP with a $15 Gift Certificate to the Crop Stop Store. 
I took the colours and the Christmas Tree itself as the inspiration for my card for this challenge.
I inked my Magnolia Spruce Tree 2279H using pigment inks and heat embossed it with clear powder. Before cleaning the stamp I huffed on it and restamped it either side of the embossed image. It's hard to see in this photo, but there is a shadow image to the right, honest!!
Make sure you wipe the embossed image with some paper towel as the embossing acts as a resist and you will end up with extra ink everywhere. Guess how I know that lol.
I cut the panel using Labels 22 and gently sponged ink around the edges of the panel with the die still in place.
One of the tasks I set myself when I was on holiday at SirStampalot was to label all of my Dies to make it easier when blogging.
It works!!
I stamped and heat embossed a piece of matching card stock using Magnolia Christmas Text Background X9449G, Versamark and White Embossing Powder.
The white panel at the right of the card has been embossed using a Snowflake Embossing Folder.
The final touch are some small Glitter Domes.
I really enjoyed this challenge and look forward to seeing what you all come up with.
Don't forget to check out what the rest of our fabulous DT have made HERE.
Back to my desk now, I have to make the most of my few days off. So much to do and so little time.....
Have a great day with plenty of Crafting.
Hugs Kimx

Sunday 25 November 2012

Another Black and White Christmas card.

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend and that you are now suitable relaxed and ready for a new week.
Speaking of which, Woodware start a new challenge tomorrow so I had better share my second card for the Black and White Christmas challenge with you before it is too late.
This is actually a very simple card, but I was really pleased with the stylish look to it. I really love Black and White cards :O)
The lovely JGS276 Poinsettia Box has been stamped and embossed onto white watercolour card using Onyx Black Versafine ink and clear embossing powder. It has then been coloured using Black Soot Distress Ink and a water brush.
I cut round the image using a craft knife and then mounted it onto a piece of background paper from my Woodware stash. Yes, I do have a separate box of papers that are sold by Woodware lol.
The finishing touch is some black and white bling, also available from Woodware, and a little Stardust pen (700) on the flower centres.
Better get some sleep now. Not that I am at work tomorrow, but I still have masses of DT work to get on top of, and there will be that new Woodware challenge to look at as well.
See you tomorrow.
Hugs Kimx

Friday 23 November 2012

Foil and Alcohol Inks for Our Creative Corner

Hi All
Well I did say that I would be back again today, but this is not the card that you were expecting :O)
Another of the challenges that I have been greatly missing is Our Creative Corner  where this week they have been thrilling us with samples of Foil and Alcohol inks.
The main panel on the card is a piece of thin metal foil which I embossed with a floral folder from Crafts Too, and then added Cranberry and Sail Boat Blue Alcohol inks with a little Pearl Mixative added.
Sorry about the shadow in the photograph, I really think I will have to get myself a lighting booth of some kind. Maybe Father Christmas will be good to me, I have been a Good Girl after all lol.
I layered this onto a piece of black glossy card using Silicon so that it would help fill out the embossed areas for posting.
This was then attached to a white card which has been stamped and embossed repeatedly with a lovely Magenta stamp I0386.
The same stamp has been used on the central panel which has also been coloured using Alcohol inks.
I painted the leaves with bleach and then heated them which made them turn a slightly green colour.
The flower has been decoupaged and then Glossy Accents have been added.
The fine metal swirls are the result of trimming the metal sheet on my trimmer, they just seemed too good to throw out, you know what us Crafters are like.
The bright coloured panel that the flower has been mounted onto is also Alchol inks but this time on Glossy Photographic paper. It started to crack when I heat embossed it, hence the floral panel mounted over it.
The final touch is some nice pearls as flower centres.
I think that I am just about in time to enter the challenge, at least I hope so, and then its back to my craft table, I'm on a roll at the moment.
Hugs
Kimx

A Black and White Christmas with Woodware

Evening Everyone.
Have you missed me?
I've made it through my first few days back at work, and I have to admit that it wasn't quite as bad as I had expected, even though I was doped up to the eyebrows on painkillers lol.
As I was supposed to have been on booked holiday for at least part of my period of sickness my lovely Boss has rearranged those dates for me so that I am only at work part time for the next three weeks, so it will ease me in gently.
How nice of him is that!!
I must admit that I have been struggling to get back into blogging for one reason or another, but I have missed a few of my favourite challenges so that seemed a good place to start.
This week over at Woodware the Team are sharing their Black and White Creations for Christmas, very stylish don't you think!
As this is one of my all time favourite colour combos I searched through my bits box and come up with the ingredients for this little offering.
The Snowman stamp is an old Stampendous one, I think, and had been stamped and embossed onto some black card stock that bleached beautifully.
I painted the panel with thin undiluted bleach and then painted the Snowman with white Pearlex paint.
I added some Silver Star Gelly Roll Glaze pen to the background section of the panel using a wet paintbrush to spread it around the image.
The large snowflakes in the main background panel (stamp unknown I'm afraid) have been stamped onto the same black cardstock with thin bleach.
I tapped my Versamark inkpad around the edges of both panels and then embossed them with clear powder.
The finishing touches are a couple of Glitter Domes and a greeting from a Woodware Clear stamp set FRCL075 Polar Bears.
I did have a great time making this, in fact I got a little carried away and made a second card so maybe I will post two cards in one day.
Haven't done that in a while lol.
Hugs Kimx

Thursday 15 November 2012

I'm back with a Spotlight on Our Creative Corner

Hi All
I hope that you are all well and safely tucked up getting on with something crafty.
I seem to have been missing from Blogland for ages, what with my Sciatica and issues with the Internet, but I'm back now, well at least for today anyway, even if this post is a little later than I had planned.
Today I am lucky enough to be in the spotlight over at Our Creative Corner for Top Talent Thursday.
As you will know this is definitely one of my favourite challenge Blogs with a wonderfully talented Design Team so I feel particularly honoured to be chosen as one of their top talents.
Why not pop over and check out their latest challenge and also see the post showcasing my work and a brief question and answer session.
The card that I have chosen as my showcase piece uses what has to be my all time favourite stamp for this year JGS273 Wheat designed for Woodware by my friend Jane Gill.
The main panel has been created using an Embossed Resist technique.
I stamped the Alphabet Background FRS212 stamp (also from Woodware) onto white card using a black Versafine ink pad.
Make sure that the image is dry before stamping and embossing JGS273 Wheat over the top of the image using Versamark ink and Clear Embossing powder.
The colour has been added to the panel using Distress inks.
I also re-stamped the Wheat image onto the panel having first spritzed the stamp with water, this removes the distress ink to leave a ghosted image.
The blue card has been stamped using undiluted thin bleach. Don't forget to clean your stamp as soon as you have finished using it. 
This technique will not work with all card stock so you will have to experiment with what you have, but it will work with most colours of Bazzil card stock.
I also stamped and embossed the image over the top of this using Versamark and clear embossing powder. 
The greeting is part of a Hobby Art Greetings Background stamp all of which should be available from the lovely people at SirStampalot.
I must go and take my pills now, I'm still rattling but I am going to get back to work on Monday.
I have already warned them that I will need to have a stool at the till so that I can sit down when ever I need to and the boys will have to do any of the heavy lifting.
Don't forget that there is still time to enter the latest challenge over at Our Creative Corner which this week is  Make Your Own Background.
This is definitely one of my favourite things to do so I'm of to check it out myself and then have a play - Internet and Sciatica willing that is lol.
Happy Crafting and huge hugs
Kimx

Sunday 4 November 2012

A Happy Birthday Boy

Hi All
I hope that you are all having a great weekend.
Did you get to go to a Firework display, we could here them going off around us all evening but we stayed indoors and crafted, much more fun in my humble opinion!!
I am happily resident at my usual table at Sirstampalot, where my holiday started on Friday evening, if a little later than planned.
We spent 3 hours on a BP garage forecourt waiting for the AA, home away from home you might think lol.
Janice and Andy were getting rather concerned and it did mean a very late finish to the day, we didn't arrive till nearly 11pm, but poor old Becki and her Andy still had to continue the rest of their journey to Manchester so we were in bed long before them.
They very kindly made a detour to drop me off on the way to visit Andy's little boy for his birthday.
I was a good substitute Granny and send a card with them, I hope that he liked it.
Once again my Lili of the Valley die cuts came to my aid.
I added all of the new ones to my stash when they launched them a few weeks ago, and of course I think I already own all of the older designs of which this is one.
I love stamping as you know, but sometimes I just don't have the time, and so a pre-coloured image just makes things so much quicker to put a card together.
I always take the topper to my current stash of background papers to match things up and then it just grows from there. I think this one was actually made following a sketch that was on one of the challenges at the time but I never got around to entering it.
I cut the image out using a Nestie.
I have decided that one of my tasks when I am here in the shop is to label all of my dies so that I can tell you which ones I have used. So much easier to do when you can lay them all out in front of the ones hanging in the shop. It might take me a while though so I will use it as lie down moments to relieve the back pain. A change of position but still craft related.
The background papers are all from my stash with some faux stitching added to each panel.
I also added a stamped and punched strip, some Card Candi and gems.
The greeting is also from my bits box but I think it might be Hero Arts or perhaps Penny Black, sorry not quite sure.
We have had a bit of a lie in this morning since the shop isn't open for a class, but we will be heading off soon I think as there is always plenty to do and my craft table is calling me.
Have a great day, plenty of Crafting I hope.
hugs Kimx