More Pressed Flowers

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you have had a lovely day.
The one problem with my extended 'Granny nap' yesterday was that I worked late into the evening as I was wide awake.
How much of a problem is that you might think, well it meant that I slept in this morning.
I can't believe that I didn't wake up till gone 11 am. I think I was at school the last time I did that, and that was a very long time ago.

I have spent the day making a couple of commissioned cards which I will have to share at a later date, so here is another card that I made using the 'Pressed Flower' technique which Mynnette shared on Technique Tuesday.

Having struggled with her challenge last month, I have found this one much easier to follow.
Like most of you I have a box full of punched flowers and was pleased to see that this technique worked just as well with them as it did with Prima flowers.

The solid flower that has been stamped and embossed around the edge is one from a lovely new set from Hobby Art. In fact the greeting is also from another new set.

I loaned the card to Jenny for her TV show last week, but unfortunately this one got left behind. Never mind the other card that I made using this technique got showcased, even if she didn't mention where I got the idea  from.
Sorry Mynnette, but at least you know that one of the cards that you inspired has made it on to the TV :O)
I think I had better get to bed now, even if I'm not tired, otherwise I might waste another day by sleeping in, and I have far too much to do.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs Kimx

Bling it on for The Stampman challenge

Evening Everyone.
Wow where has today gone!!
Today saw the launch of the new challenge over at The Stampman where we are asking for 'Bling' and plenty of it.
I'm afraid that my post is very late. I have been tired all day after my lovely evening out yesterday, and I had a granny nap which went on way too long lol.

My card for the challenge has used the lovely Stampendous clear stamp set Daisy Stem Trio. Having stamped and embossed the image I cut around the flowers at the right hand side of the panel to add a little interest.

I used distress ink pads Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge and Barn Door to colour the image and also to distress the edges.

 I stamped the Artemio Manuscript Background across the bottom of the panel using second generation ink.

The background paper is from my stash, and I have stamped and embossed  Hero Arts - F5042 Leaf Flourish down one edge of the panel using Frantage Aged Ivory Embossing Enamel. I also added 3 Card Candi. 

The panel at the right hand side of the card is created using another of the stamps from the set and more of the Aged Ivory Embossing Enamel.

 I added some coloured nailheads from my stash to 'bling it up' a little more.

 The flower centers have been covered in glitter glue and also some fine glitter.

I covered a button with more of the Aged Ivory Embossing Enamel and stamped the Leaf Flourish into it while it was still molten. I added it to the card over a ribbon bow, pin, flowers and stamen all from my stash.
I hope that you will join us for this challenge, and please don't forget to stop by and see what the rest of the team have come up with.
I would like to enter this into the challenge at
Hotshot Craft - Challenge 9 Distress inks
365 Cards - Sparkle and Shine (Glitter Glue, glitter and Frantage Embossing Enamel)
Sassy Cheryl - Summer
Have a great Weekend
hugs Kimx

How time flies.

Evening Everyone,
No cards tonight I'm afraid, I have been too busy catching up with old friends.
I have just got home from a fabulous evening out with some of the lovely girls that used to work at the Craft Barn in the days of Maggie Wright.

 From left to right Corinne Amos, Janet Atkinson, Stamping Caz and Laine Carmault.

Jane Gill, Julie Hickey and me. (I hate photos of myself!!!!!!)
We have had so much fun reminising, and laughing hysterically.
We had all brought photos with us from back in the day, which brought back so many memories, both good and bad, of people and things that happened all those years ago.
It was decided, I'm pleased to say, that we hadn't changed THAT much :O)

The food was lovely, and of course I just had to have pudding, lemon tart with clotted cream.
Better start the diet again tomorrow lol.
We really must do this more often.
I think we worked out that it must be at least 3 years since we got together last. Time really does fly.
Night night.
hugs Kimx

More Sparkle for 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you have had a good day. It has been very 'muggy' here, maybe we will get a storm to clear the air.
I am thrilled to see that I have hit the magic 100 followers.
Thank you all so much for stopping by and leaving all of your wonderful comments. I do try and return the favour but it does sometimes take me a while, so please be patient.

The challenge this week at 52CCTD is to bring on the Glitter.
Now I'm not a great fan of that, so the nearest that I could manage is plenty of Crystal Embossing powder.
I have it on authority that this is fine for the challenge, so I thought that I would have another go.

The central panel has been stamped and embossed using black versafine and clear embossing powder.
Dye based ink has then been sponged over the image before the dove has been painted with neat thin bleach.

Once this has been done the entire panel has been covered with crystal embossing powder.
Even though the ink used is dye based, which would normally dry very quickly, the panel accepts the embossing powder to create a wonderfully sparkly panel.
The blue card has been stamped and embossed around the edges  using Hero Arts F5042 Leaf Flourish and more crystal embossing powder.
The tiny white dots around the edge of the card have been added with a white souffle pen and the 3 large white Glitter Domes (from Woodware) complete the card.
I would like to enter the card over at Craftyhazelnuts Christmas Challenge where she is looking for 'Inky'.
Must get some sleep now, will be back tomorrow, blogger willing lol.
hugs Kimx

Woodware Challenge - week 57 Mercart Metal

Hi All
I hope that I am sound asleep as this goes live :)
This week at Woodware we are challenging you to use Mercart Metal in you projects.

I have used the red and black metal which I have embossed using a lovely Dreamweaver stencil and my trusty Cuttlebug.

I sanded the metal while the stencil was still in place to remove the colour and make the Poppy stand out.
The metal works brilliantly with punches, here I have used several circular ones.

I have a double ended Decorative wheel tool (Horizontal and Morse) which I have used around the edges of my metal panel.

I also used the Morse end on the green background paper before adding distress ink to the edges. You can just about see it in this picture.

 My favourite Crafty Edger punch, some gingham ribbon and some black nailheads..

 I tend to forget about my brass stencils, so this was the perfect challenge for me as it made me think.

Of course there had to be some stamping somewhere , so this is another sneak peek of one of Jane's lovely new stamps.
I used it around the edge of the gingham panel stamped using brown distress ink.
Why not pop over to the Woodware blog each day to see what the rest of the team have done with their Mercart Metal, and maybe you could join us.
Have a great day.
hugs Kimx

Make Your Own Flowers for the Crafty Cardmakers challenge

Afternoon All
I hope that you have not been working too hard today.
Why are Mondays always so hard, I'm always in mind of the good old Boomtown Rats song 'I don't like Mondays' lol.
We start a new challenge today at Crafty Cardmakers, where we are asking you to 'Make your own Flowers'.
We would like to see projects featuring flowers made by you, these can be ribbon, paper, fabric, die cuts, tissue, embroidered, anything you choose so long as it is hand made and not store purchased.
We are sponsored this time by ONE STOP CARD CRAFTS who are offering a £10 voucher for their store as a prize and DIGI DOODLE SHOP with a $10 Gift Certificate for the Store.

My flowers were made following a tutorial that I found on the web a little while ago.
It was posted by Norma at From my Craft Room who calls it herWrinkled Flower Coloured With Distress Ink Tutorial. 
Do check it out as it is very well done and easy to follow.

My flowers have been coloured using Barn Door distress ink which has matched perfectly with some papers that I had in my stash.

I have followed the sketch at I heart 2 stamp.

The greeting is from a lovely new stamp set called Birthday Collection from Hobby Art that will be launched on Jenny's TV show on Wednesday. (Create and Craft sky channel 671 at 10am)

The swirl which has been stamped and white embossed across the bottom of the card is also from another new hobby Art set  Flourishes. I have coloured them using the Barn Door distress ink.
This challenge runs for the usual 2 weeks but it will be the last challenge at Crafty Cardmakers for a while as we are having a short summer break. When we come back in August there will be a DT call, so it gives you plenty of time to get creative.
I would like to enter this in to the following challenges
Lollipop Crafts - Challenge 83 Flowers in Bloom
Great Impressions  - Challenge 4 Die cuts or Punches
Pile it On - Challenge 26 Make your own Embellishments
I'm going out to dinner this evening so I had better get on.
Happy Crafting,
hugs Kimx

Glitter at 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown

Evening Everyone
I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend. I can't believe that it has finished already!
I have managed to get another couple of commissioned cards finished in amongst my DT work, but I will have to wait a while before I can post those so that the recipient gets to see them first.

This week the challenge over at 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown is to add Glitter.

I'm not sure that Crystal embossing powder counts really, but it was the nearest that I could get at the moment.

It does sparkle nicely like glitter although unfortunately it doesn't show up terribly well in these photos.
I did tell you that I had several of these lovely Magenta stockings in my Christmas bits box, I can see them making several appearances over the next few months lol.
Off to bed now, it's got very late again.
hugs Kimx

It didn't beat me this time Mynnette!!!

Evening Everyone.
I hope that you have been having a wonderful weekend despite the dreadful weather.
It is really not very summery here at all, although at least we haven't had as much rain today just plenty of wind.
Today I have been teaching at Davina's.
My class was inspired by the lovely Mynnette's first Technique Tuesday challenge 'Punched Window Cards', so it is very appropriate that my card tonight has been inspired by the new challenge this month 'Faux Pressed Flowers'.
The technique didn't beat me this time Mynnette, I love it lol.

I made this using some of the numerous Prima paper flowers that I have in my stash, don't we all :), as well as punched leaves.
I must be very sad as I have a small box full of leaves that I have punched out of scraps at various times, always useful when finishing off a card, and perfect for this one. It saved me so much time.

I followed Mynnettes instructions but also took inspiration from some of the other cards that have been entered into the challenge.
Why not give it a try, it is very easy and I think you will agree that it is also very effective.

The greeting is taken from a new Hobby Art clear stamp set that Jenny will be taking on to the TV next week, as is the lovely fine swirl around the edge.
I took the card with me to class today and the girls liked it so much that we are going to do it in class at the end of July, so thanks again Mynnette.
Better get to bed now, I have another busy day of crafting ahead of me. It's a hard life isn't it.
Thanks for stopping by.
hugs Kimx

A Christmas Cutie

Evening Everyone
Another weekend in sight and no signs of anything resembling summer in my neck of the woods at least. It is amazing how many people sporting winter coats and jumpers that have come in to the garage today!!

So I suppose that it makes perfect sense to share another of the Christmas cards that I have made, far more weather appropriate lol.

This was made using one of the wonderful Lili of the Valley die cut images cut out with a nestie.
I kept it simple with a punched border using one of the Woodware Crafty Edger punches. I added a little bit of glitter to the snowflakes and glossy accents to the peel-off dots.
I would like to enter this into the following challenges
Winter Wonderland - Christmas Teddy
Crimbo Crackers - Anything Goes
Forever Friends - Anything Goes
Thanks for stopping by, let's hope that the weather is better tomorrow other wise I will be shouting above the sound of rain on the roof of Davina's conservatory lol.
hugs Kimx

Remembering Dad's Roses

Evening Everyone
Well, so much for basking in the summer sunshine on Tuesday and Wednesday, today it looks like normal service has been resumed and we are very definitely back to what has become the norm this year - grey skies and torrential rain.
So to cheer up a grey day these are some pictures of a rose from my very small garden.

It was actually planted by my Dad who would always keep it pruned for me.

It has not fared well since his death, becoming very leggy with almost no flowers, or even foliage for that matter. I'm not very green fingered as you can probably tell lol.

So a couple of years ago we transferred it into a large pot and pruned it brutally.

The results as you can see are some lovely flowers on it this year. I'm sure that Dad would be suitably impressed.
I can't believe that today is the longest day of the year. Its all downhill from now then, it will soon be Christmas lol.
Hugs Kimx

Purple and Gold for the Woodware challenge

Good Morning,
At least I hope that this has appeared at the scheduled time.
Today I am once again filling in at the Woodware challenge for the lovely Siobhan who is enjoying a well deserves rest.
This week Dorothy has asked us to make something Purple and Gold. Now you know me, I got a bit carried away as usual and made two cards.

They both use the same stamps and papers, I just cut them out using a different shaped nestie.
I stamped a piece of white card using the Artemio Musical background stamp and a Gold Encore ink pad.
Having dried it with my heat gun I then stamped and embossed the Magenta flowers over the top using Versamark ink and clear embossing powder. This acts as a resist and the music shows through the image.

The purple colour has been achieved using a combination of Purple Memory Mist ink which was spritzed over the image and then Dusty Concord ink which was sponged over it
Having cut the image out using a nestie, I tapped around the edge with a versamark ink pad and embossed it with Aged Gold Embossing Enamel.
The background paper is from my stash and has been stamped using Dusty Concord ink.
The stamped greeting is a sneak peek of one of the fantastic new stamps that Jane let me play with.

This card has been made in exactly the same manner, I just stamped the musical background using Dusty Concord ink instead of the gold encore.
The ribbon, nailheads and card candy are all available through a Woodware stockist.

 The embossed background is a Cuttlebug Embossing folder.

Happy Birthday is also from the same lovely new stamp set that Jane loaned me. I added Aged Gold Embossing Enamel to the outer edge of of both cards.
I hope that you feel suitable inspired and that you will join us HERE with your Purple and Gold creations.
Have a wonderful day, lets hope that it is another sunny one.
Happy Crafting.
hugs Kimx

Candy Canes at Winter Wonderland.

Evening Everyone
I have been on a bit of a road trip today which ended with me supping tea in the afternoon sunshine with the lovely Jane Gill, so my card tonight has definitely not been inspired by the weather.

The challenge this week over at Winter Wonderland is Candy Canes, and they are looking for your Christmas Creations to feature a Candy Cane.
Now you might feel that you need a magnifying glass to see the one on my card, but it is there, honest.

Once again I have used bits from my Christmas box, well drawer actually :)
I demoed with this lovely Magenta stamp Stuffed Stocking some years ago for SirStampalot and so I seem to have loads of them in varying colour combos.
Hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by.
hugs Kimx

Not playing the game!!

Evening All
No pictures tonight as Blogger is not playing and I have had to post this via my daughters computer which is not set up for my camera.
Oh the wonders of modern technology lol.
Night night
Hugs Kimx

Frosty the Snowman

Evening Everyone
I can't believe that another weekend is at an end, I hope that you had a good one.
I am finally on top of most of my DT work, and have even managed to catch up on some commenting!!
In fact I have even made a couple of Christmas cards.
It's a good job that I did so well with them in April since May was a terrible let down, I only managed 2. June hasn't been much better since although I have made several Christmas cards they are for something rather special, and so won't end up in my stash.
Oh well never mind.

My card tonight has been made to enter into the challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where they are looking for Snowmen.
They are also looking for DT members so don't forget to check it out.

Once again I have used bits from my Christmas box.
The Snowman in the panel has been sponged with dye based ink, and then painted with neat thin bleach to take the colour out of the Snowman and snowflakes.

The background is the resist technique.
I think that the stamps used are from Penny Black but I wouldn't swear to it.
The panel was created on a scalloped glossy card and I added some tiny white dots with a Souffle Pen.
I would also like to enter it into the challenge at ABC Christmas challenges where L is for Lyrics (Frosty the Snowman)
Hugs Kimx