Here's one for The Friday Mashup

Hi All
Well that's one stamp set down, only four more to go so it looks like it is going to be a busy weekend!!

This card was made a little while ago when I was playing with this lovely floral Hero Arts Stamp and Embossing set. I used Cat's Eye pigment ink pads to colour the stamp and it is embossed with clear powder.

The pink card stock was cut with a border die and then I also added some dotty ribbon and a sentiment.
The Friday Mashup has started a new challenge today. They are looking for you to 

1. Create a project that's "Monochromatic".
2. Create a project with "Flowers".
3. or Create a "Monochromatic project with Flowers". 

I haven't managed  a Monochromatic card, but I definitely have flowers so I hope they like it.

Have a great weekend.

It has been raining here again today so there is no end in sight to our flooding dilemma.

I went to a meeting yesterday where they were suggesting that it will be several weeks and possibly even months before the main road is re-opened (May has been mentioned !!!) so I can see that I am going to have a large box of coloured images ready to be made into cards by the end of all of this lol.

Hugs Kimx 

For Imagination With Love

Evening Everyone,
I've been playing with my fabulous Imagination stamps and stencils.

Their challenge this month has been Love is in the Air so I made the card especially for it.
The background has been created using a stencil, Kaleidacolor ink pad and a stencil brush.

I taped the stencil down with low tack tape so that it didn't move before I brushed ink all over it.

The central stamped and embossed panel has been coloured using the 'Wet Watercolour Technique' and the Imagination Vintage Pearly Palette, so my dye based ink pad was chosen to match.

With Love was stamped and embossed several times down the left hand side of the background panel which had also been sprayed with some black Spray Webbing.
I do love these Decoupage stamps, they are so easy to use and stamp out beautifully.
I will be chained to my desk for the next couple of days as I have masses of DT samples to make, so I had better get a good nights sleep.
Hugs Kimx

Thank You Mr Postman

Hi All,
My faith and admiration for our Postal Service has been well and truly restored.
I usually get one of our customers to drop any post that I have in the pillar box right outside his office, but since the flood I have not been sure if it will be collected from there so I have been asking my colleague who has a post box right near her house.
So far so good, until I couldn't find a card that i had ready to be hand delivered.
I had left some letters with Jeanette but she was insistent that she had only taken letters with addresses and stamps on them.
I have hunted high and low, both at home and at work, and had resigned myself to having to deliver something else until I got home from work today.
There waiting for me was a large envelope containing my missing card, and a message on the back to say that it was found in a post box in Godstone.
You may not find this particularly surprising except when I tell you that the card had nothing more than Chris written on the envelope!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I always put return address labels on my cards. It doesn't take a moment to do and it has paid off on several occasions, not least of which is now.
So, Thank You Mr Postman, or should I call you Mr Holmes??
I can only assume that they looked inside my card, which is also signed on the back, and by a process of elimination they tracked it back to me.
However they managed it I am very impressed and grateful.
So remember Girls, be proud of your work and sign it. And don't forget to add a return address to your post, it makes all the difference in the world.
Hugs Kimx

Happy Birthday Lovely Lady

Evening Everyone,
A very quick post tonight, with apologies for the quality of the pictures.

 I took the card to work ready to send and had forgotten to take pictures, so I had to take these at the till where the lighting is not very good.
The card was made using a Penny Black stamp and Decorating Chalks.

I stamped the floral image onto white card stock using Versamark ink and then blended the chalks over it using a cotton wool ball.
The sentiment is one of my favourites from Hobby Art. I fussy cut around the image and layered it onto a card before adding some shrivelled ribbon and a button.
Unfortunately the lovely lady that this is destined for is currently in hospital so I hope that it cheers her up.
Hugs Kimx

Brilliant Brilliance Part 2

Evening Everyone,
Well that's another Monday finished.
We had an unexpected delivery this morning so there were actually things to do which made the time pass much quicker.

 As promised, here are the other cards made during my last class at Davina's.

This time Post-it notes have been used to mask off  areas of my white card stock before Brilliance ink was sponged gently over the top (Make sure that you work away from your masks to avoid the sponged ink seeping underneath them)

I thought that these colours had a distinctly masculine feel to them, so I mounted the card accordingly.

 This is the other card that I made using the same technique.

This time I went for a more feminine colour scheme.

The small central tag has been created using one of Francoise Skinny flower sets.
One of the side effects of no customers to buy the delivery is the vast array of bargains to be had at the end of the day. Our fridge is groaning at the moment, although the bank balance could do with a shot in the arm lol.
Hugs Kimx

Brilliant Brilliance

Evening Everyone
We had another fabulous class at Davina's last Saturday using Brilliance Ink pads.
It has been a while since I last used mine, distress inks are my go to pads at the moment, so I had forgotten what great pads these are. They have such a lovely sheen to them and they sponge beautifully.

I thought that we would do some masking with them using peel-offs and post-it notes.

For the class tag and this particular set of cards I used peel-offs to create the masks. I will share the post-it note cards in another blog post.

I placed the peel-offs and on this card torn paper onto white card stock and then gently sponged with Brilliance inks. Once you have finished sponging remove the peel-offs and paper to create a lovely background.

I also painted a couple of the peel-off designs and fussy cut them to add an accent to the lower corner of the tag and cards.

The sentiment (Yesterday, Tomorrow, Today) is from Woodware stamp set stamped out using Lightening Black Brilliance ink.
I must get re-inkers for some of my pads as you can see, so I can feel a bit of a spending spree coming on.
I really had forgotten what fun it is to play with peel-offs. Sorry Shaz :O)
Back to the grind tomorrow. I have taken to leaving my colouring pencils and some stamped images in my box at work. Lets hope that the road has re-opened and we will be really busy. Some how though I'm not holding my breathe lol.
Hags Kimx

Love in a Box with Swirls

Evening Everyone,
I hope that by now all the 'Woodware Girls' will be relaxing after another busy but enjoyable day.
Having just got over the Trade show, they are now being worked  hard by the lovely Lynell who is teaching them lots of fabulous techniques using Dreamweaver products. I'm just sorry that I wasn't able to join them, but I bet they are all having a good time.

This week Dorothy was looking for Flourishes and Swirls over on the Woodware Challenge Blog.
I really will have to have words with her as she has forgotten to add the link, but never mind, she has been rather busy so I will just have to e-mail this to her, if her internet is working of course lol.

 I used one of Jane's new stamps JGS335 Love in a Box painted using Kaleidacolor dye based inks.

The swirly background has been created using a large plastic stencil and some Artemio stamped swirls.
I also added a couple of the lovely metallic Swirly Clips.
I had such fun with the stencil. I ran it through my Cuttlebug first and then sponged the ink over the embossed images. I actually used the back of the embossing as I preferred the effect.
Oh dear, late to bed again, still at least I can have a bit of a lie in tomorrow so I will make the most of it.
hugs Kimx

For Clarity with Love

Evening All
I hope that you are all looking forward to a craft filled weekend. I certainly am, I have new DT stamps to play with and I can't wait.

I thought that it was about time that I entered another challenge, and what better place to start than with the Clarity challenge which this month is Love and Romance.

This was much easier to do since I have now sorted out my Clarity stamps and I can actually see what I have got lol. I used NDC22-G Arty Heart as the center piece for my card, stamped, embossed and sponged using Adirondack ink. 

The background has been created using a combination of Clarity stencils, stamps and more ink.
I also added a few extra dots to the sentiment, some faux stitching around the outer edge and some Card Candi..

The die cut is a new toy that I acquired at Davina's last weekend.
I cut 'Love' from red and white card stock and layered one over the other to add a slight shadow.
I hope this fits the bill for the challenge, I certainly had fun creating it.
Have a good weekend.
Hugs Kimx

Juice and Cookies

Evening Everyone,
Just a very quick post tonight, all this standing around with no customers is making me very tired.
I read the Radio Times cover to cover, and even did some colouring (good job the Boss is on holiday!!) but today has really dragged. Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday.

This was one of several cards made last year using background papers from my stash and some Lili of the Valley diecuts. I gave the card to one of the lads that Jenni looks after for his birthday last week.

I can see that I will have to make a few more of these as they are very useful to have around when you need a card in a hurry.
hugs Kimx

Happy Birthday to a fabulous Friend

Evening Everyone,
Hang the flags out, we have finally had a delivery.
I can tell you I have never been so happy to see an M&S lorry in all my life, how sad is that lol.

This card was made for a fabulous friend of mine, the lovely Janice at SirStampalot.

I have even enclosed a list of 'ingredients' for her to make it easier when she adds it to the gallery as I know she will.
The background has been created using Distress Inks and one of Jane Gills new stamps.

I spritzed the uninked stamp with water and stamped it into the background to get the lovely 'Ghosted' effect.
I hope that you have had a fabulous day Janice, and I am looking forward to seeing you all in March for my spring holiday :O)
Hugs Kimx

Purple Patchwork

Hi All
I hope that you have had a good day.
I have had quite a creative few days on the card front.
I took Monday and Tuesday off to try and catch up with some things after the power cut, and have managed to get quite a few cards finished. My bits box is definitely a little lighter, at least for now.

As you know it was my lovely daughter's birthday on Saturday and this is the card that I made for her.

I created the sheet of background from my hexagon box, choosing pieces that co-ordinated with the stamped, embossed and coloured panel. The image is from an old Magenta stamp.

This panel was created with white embossing, dye based inks and some Watercolour Pearlex.
I added some assorted gems, ribbon and a sentiment.
Back to work tomorrow, and hopefully we are going to be getting a delivery provided they let it through that is. The water level is still up, although as I have said before it is still minor compared to lots of places.
Hugs Kimx

Come Fly with Me at Crafty Cardmakers and More

Evening Everyone,
There is a new challenge today over at Crafty Cardmakers and More.

Viv is our host this time and her theme is 'Come Fly With Me'. She would like to see either birds or something bird related, ie birdcages/houses, as the MAIN focal point of your project. Butterflies and fairies don't count!

We are sponsored this time by Hobby Art  and Di's Digistamps.
Now as you know I am lucky enough to be on the Design Team for Hobby Art so I have used the same fabulous stamps CS065D Bird Song as Jenny has provided for our prize.

I stamped all of the images onto watercolour card stock using Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I have then used a damp paint brush to colour the images just gently pulling the ink from the stamped lines.

I fussy cut the birds and added them to the card using Silicon. The greeting is also part of this lovely set.

I cut out the branches using a Nestie and added some faux stitching and some tiny dots. I also added a little glitter glue to the flower centers.

The background papers are from my stash.

Don't forget to stop by and show the rest of the team some love. We had 125 entries for our last challenge which is just fabulous, so lets see how well you do this time.

I've had a little unexpected babysitting to do tonight. We watched Planes and ate Peanut Butter ice cream, it was about all we could get down at the garage tonight. Still it looks like we are finally going to get a delivery on Wednesday or Thursday, weather permitting, so we might actually have some customers :O)
Have a good evening.
hugs Kimx

Two for the Woodware Sketch Challenge

Hi All
I'm rather late to the party again. My card for the Woodware Sketch challenge was nearly ready on Friday but I'm afraid that classes and power cuts intervened and so this is the first chance that I have had to get it finished and posted.
In fact I actually have two cards to share with you for the challenge. This is the first one.

They are also a couple of those 'nearly in the bin' pieces that I managed to salvage with a bit of vellum.

I was trying to kill two birds with one stone as they say, by creating a card for the challenge and also prep a card to advertise a class later next month.
The class will involve using embossing holders, waxed paper, glossy card stock and dye based inks to create  fabulous backgrounds.

I stamped and embossed some images over the top of this but was unhappy with the results so rather than throw them in the bin I reached for the vellum.

The waxes paper technique yields two pieces of background from one piece of waxed paper so I thought that I might as well make two cards at the same time.

I used the same Woodware greeting on both cards.

And also the same fabulous Stampendous stamp on the vellum overlay.
As usual I seem to be cutting it fine to get this posted before midnight so I haven't left myself time to find codes for the stamps. You can always leave me a message and I will let you know what they are.
Hugs and goodnight from me.
Kimx 

Have a Heart

Hi All
I hope that you are all having a good weekend.
I am actually writing this blog post from the living room of my lovely friend Sylvie as we have now been without electricity since some time last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trust me you really do not realize how much you rely on it for everything until you are without it. Even the telephone won't work............ and I can't craft which is a real bummer.

The kids really can't get their heads around the fact that TVs and eventually Ipads and Tablets need to be plugged in to recharge. They actually played a board game this afternoon, how old fashioned is that :O)

It is my eldest daughters birthday today and so I have done a little bit of upcycling with one of my heart shaped badges.

I made this for the kids to give her, and covered my name with the stamped sentiments from Lili of the Valley.
My apologies for the state of the picture, I will change them as soon as we get some power back, but I had to take them in Sylvie's living room tonight so they are rather dark. (Pictures now edited)

I also made another card for my stash using one of the other badges that hadn't had a name added to it.

I added another flower, sentiment and some Card Candi. They just seemed too nice to throw away, and this way I don't feel like I completely wasted my time.
I'm just waiting on a call from the kids to say that they have collected the takeaway and I will have to go home. Jenni has chosen Curry for her dinner (birthday person gets dinner of choice on their birthday), but I have told her that she will definitely have to be like the Queen and have another birthday as today has been a wash out in more ways that one lol.
Hugs to you all, thanks for stopping by.
Kimx

Happy Valentines Day

Evening Everyone,
Friday at last, and a Happy Valentines Day to you All as well.
I hope that you have all been suitably pampered and indulged.
Before the current flooding, and before all of our Valentines stock was transferred to another store, (My Boss had to carry it all across the bridge to his car bit by bit) we were expected to dress up and make the day special for our customers.

It was difficult to know quite what to do, so in the end we settled on pink as the colour theme, and I volunteered to make badges for everyone.

Because I have been trying to keep on top of things I had all of the badges made already, so despite the lack of stock, or customers for that matter, we wore them today, even if we didn't dress up. So much for forward planning, that will teach me to try and get ahead.

I used heart shaped nesties, Kraft card and very old Penny Black paper for the badge base, and then added a flower and leaves die cut using DooHickey and Stampin Up dies, and other papers from my stash.

The names have been added using die cut letters.

I made the Boss's badge a little bit different so that he stood out as our leader.
I even took some colouring in to work with me today.
The days really drag at the moment, I couldn't face another day of standing around doing very little. There is only so many times that you can clean the same till area.
I hope that you all have a good weekend.
hugs Kimx