A Mind to be Wild form Paper Panda

Evening Everyone,

Another lovely socially distanced get together this afternoon only this time we needed the gazebo to fend off a few spots of rain. Fortunately it didn't come to anything and we managed more lively discussion.

We are hoping to get together again in a couple of weeks time. Hopefully by then a few of us might have managed a haircut lol.

It was lovely to sit and hear the birds in the trees, in fact a newly erected bird box has already become occupied, which was lovely to watch.

Here are a couple of cards made using one of the fabulous stamp designs from Paper Panda called A Mind to be Wild. They make me think of sitting in the garden this afternoon.

They emboss beautifully, which unfortunately makes them hard to photograph. I couldn't manage one photograph without the light reflecting off the embossing.

I wonder what weather we will get tomorrow. One delightful soul at work today said that they had heard that we were in for snow next week!!!!!! I do hope that little snippet of information is wrong.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Under the Gazebo

Evening Everyone,

What a glorious day. Some of the 'Crafties' and I have just spent several wonderful hours in Davina's garden drinking tea and coffee, eating cake and biscuits and of course setting the world to rights as only a bunch of women can lol. The gazebo actually came in very handy. Not to keep off the rain, but to stop us all from getting sunstroke.................how wonderful for a March afternoon.

We actually talked very little about crafting, it was just so lovely to see everyone around the table again. Just like old times.

Today also saw the launch of some fabulous new dies from Paper Panda, and I was lucky enough to get to play with one of them Meadow Frame.

I used another of Jane's fabulous stamp designs and some mopped up ink from my spray box.

I used some of the trimmed pieces to die cut flowers which I added to the bottom of the panel.

I love the dramatic look the black die cut frame gives to the card.

Mop up background is fabulous for die cutting flowers. No two are ever the same, just like flowers in nature.

This is another card using the same die cut frame and another of Jane's lovely floral designs.

I do hope that this wonderful sunshine lasts for a few more days, we all feel so much better when the sun is shining.

At the very least let it be sunny tomorrow so that the rest of the 'Crafties' can get together under the gazebo.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe and enjoy the sunshine.

Hugs Kimx

Find Joy in Your Journey

 Evening All,

Well that's another Monday gone and we are already a quarter of the way through the year. Now if we could just get back to some sort of normality. 

I am so looking forward to some crafty teaching........................I wonder if we could manage it outside under a gazebo??? At the very least I think I think the Girls could start to think about what they would like to do as the first class after lockdown.

All being well some of us are meeting up in Davina's garden tomorrow afternoon. To be honest I think we are all so looking forward to seeing one another that we will be there come hell or high water, as they say.

Perhaps I will suggest a suggestion box for class ideas and then we can draw the first suggestion and work our way through the rest of them over the coming weeks. When we are allowed to meet up inside that is.

This tag was made a while ago using some of Jane's stamps and Distress Oxide inks.

I think that the Crafties are definitely looking forward to our journey tomorrow.

Better get some new biscuits. I'm hoping that Davinas family will have finished off the ones we keep in a tin there. I suddenly realized that they have been there since last year so I think it is about time for a new supply. Of course there might also be some nice cake too. Definitely time to celebrate.

Stay safe and big hugs

Kimx

A Little Birdie Told Me

Evening All,

Well that's the end of a very productive weekend. I have managed to finish loads of Easter cards.....43 in total!! I don't usually send them, but I thought that this year everyone needed something to make them smile.  As they are all in various stages of drying, and need to be photographed I will save them for another day and share something else instead.

This card was made a number of years ago during a trip to SirStampalot in Peterboro.

The cute birdie is from Magnolia and I have layered him onto an oval of coordinating card stock.

The stamped and embossed panel on the left has been created using Alcohol inks.

The leaf is craft metal and the flowers are fabric which I have covered in inks and embossing powder.

It finally found a home this week when I sent it to the son of one of the customers at the garage.

Time for bed now. Thanks for stopping by, I do so appreciate you visiting.

Stay safe and hugs

Kimx

The Colour Purple....... and Red

Evening,

I hope that you have had a productive Saturday. I certainly have, with a pile of cards for me to finish off tomorrow.

Jane certainly does design some fabulous floral stamps for Woodware, ones that are just perfect for a spot of watercolouring.

I have used one of the Irridescent watercolour palettes that Creative Expressions produce for this wet watercolour technique.

Of course you can always colour the image in more precisely as I have done here using Distress Oxide inks.

Oh dear I hadn't realized that it had gotten so late, I had better get some shut eye.

See you tomorrow.

Hugs Kimx

Observations of Nature

Evening All,

What is it with Fridays? It certainly seems to bring out the crazies, or is it just the people that I work with that get to me even more on a Friday. Anyway I'm home now and have managed to sort another shelf so that's good.

Here is a card that I made using some fabulous Sam Poole stamps launched in January.

This panel is created using an old masking technique called Retiform.

It looks very complicated, but is actually reasonably easy to achieve. It is also a great way of using lots of stamps on one card.

I've had enough tidying for one week, I need some playtime tomorrow. Perhaps I will make some Easter cards. Not my usual thing, but it has been a strange old year.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe and have great weekend.

Hugs Kimx

Let us Remember

Evening Everyone,

I can't believe that we have just celebrated one whole year in lockdown, how did that happen.

I was still off with my bad foot when it started, so having already been at home since the New Year in my own private 3 month lockdown I was strangely looking forward to going back to work, although I was also rather terrified in equal measure.

I am now very grateful for being able to go to work throughout. It has got me out of the house and given me contact with people, even if on occasions it has got me very riled with their idiotic behaviour.

I feel so sorry for people like my Mum and several of my crafty friends who have barely set foot outside the door these past 12 months. In fact the highlight of my Mum's past few weeks has been her trips to the nurse to get her leg dressed having injured it again. Perhaps she did it on purpose so that she could escape.......I hadn't thought of that lol.

The Crafty Girls are all on countdown, eagerly awaiting a socially distanced get together next week, provided the new rules don't change again. Davina has got the garden chairs and tables ready and has even got the large gazebo down from the loft so that we can still meet up even if it rains. That is how desperate we are to get together. A little bit of normality to look forward to.

One of the ladies makes awesome cakes which she brings along to classes and she has already promised that there will be cake for our get together..............I can't wait. Hang the diet, for that day at least.

We have had to split the gathering up over two days otherwise there would be too many of us, but it is a start.

I usually share my DT samples with them in class, so I will have quite a few folders to take with me.

These are a couple of cards that I made last year using the stunning poppy stamp UMSDB031 Remember from the Designer Boutique range.

I do love a 2FER, 2 cards for the price of one.

I stamped and embossed the image on to a piece of mop up background and then again on red cardstock.

I cut the panel in half and added each to the image stamped on the red card stock matching it exactly. I then trimmed the panels and added faux stitching and fine mounts.

The sentiment on this card has been added on a panel of vellum which allows the design to show through.

Perhaps I had better decide on which folders to take next week, after all there are rather a lot to choose from. In the mean time I have another couple of boxes to fill with stamps courtesy of my daughter. Perhaps I can empty another shelf, that would be some progress.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe and hugs

Kimx

Embossed Embossing Folders

 Afternoon All,

I'm always looking for help in deciding what cards to share with you, and this time I found it on Facebook. So here are a few using Heat Embossing..................and Embossing Folders.

I carefully brayered Versamark ink onto the raised portions of the dry embossed image and then covered it with white embossing powder.

Once the embossing powder has been heated I sponged and sprayed various inks on to the panel till I was happy with the results.

I added a die cut sentiment to the cards which is the best way to make sure that all of the panel can be seen.

The background to this card was made in the same way.

This final card uses the other side of the embossed panel, and instead of inks I have used a variety of gilding polishes,

Once again I used a die cut sentiment. Of course one way of making your die cuts stand out is to cover them with versamark ink and embossing powder. You can repeat this process multiple times for added dimension.

Off to cook the dinner, it's my turn tonight.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Happy Big Bold Words

Afternoon,

Just got back from a nice walk around the aerodrome, it is so lovely to see a bit of sunshine. 

Gwen is due back on the TV at 5.15, so here are the last of my samples using the Big Bold Word dies from Sue Wilson.

I love this HAPPY one, it is so useful and comes with several little words 

which means that it can be used for pretty much any occasion including Birthday, Christmas and Anniversary.

I used various bits of background from my stash including this dry embossed panel.

Better make sure my box is set up to record Gwen, she always comes up with some fabulous ideas on her shows.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

They call it Black Magic

 Afternoon,

One of the advantages to travelling on the train at the weekend, apart from my Costa Coffee treat that is, is that I get to catch up on some crafty Youtube clips.

This time I was reminded of the Black Magic Technique by another crafty favourite of mine Gina K Designs. It is something that I first did many years ago at the Craft Barn with the lovely ladies from Magenta stamps and of course, you guessed it, I still have some pieces in my bits box that need finishing off lol.

You need a nice solid image for this technique,

and Magenta have some real beauties.

You need to stamp the image on to dark cardstock using a white ink pad. Any dark colour will do, but black is certainly very striking.

The idea is then to colour over the stamped image using colouring pencils.

A waxy type of pencil seems to work best, but give it a try with whatever you have. What have you got to lose?

These little square stamps are perfect for this technique

as they are not very big so they don't take too long to achieve a beautifully coloured panel.

Any solid stamped image will work as with this lovely Woodware image designed by Jane Gill.

As you can see it is possible to get some quite nice shading to your colouring, and of course the black card shows the images off beautifully.

This is a lovely big background stamp that I found in my stash. I think that I might add a die cut 

sentiment to this before I send it to anyone.

I wonder what technique I will be reminded of next time I delve in to Youtube. There are so many fabulous clips available, and the best bit is that the little ones love to watch them with me, in fact they often ask to watch Jennifer when I am there for my babysitting weekend.

It rather made her Mum and I laugh as Emma uttered WOW when she saw some heat embossing being done on the screen. That is exactly what we both said the first time we saw it done, and it is still WOW after 25 years of playing.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe and hugs

Kimx

Beautiful Brushos

Evening All

An old crafty friend posts a weekly challenge on her Way to go Wednesday, and it is a wonderful reminder of some of the fabulous products and techniques that we have played with over the years.

This time it is Brushos, or of course you could use Pixie Powder, Colour Burst, or any of the many similar products available on the market. All of these fabulous pigment powders give a burst of colour to card stock and make the most amazing backgrounds.

I used some left over scraps for this first card.....nothing goes to waste.

I stamped and embossed the flowers and then fussy cut them before adding them to the card over an embossed panel.

The leaf sprigs have been stamped and embossed and painted with bleach to remove the colour.

This card has been made from a piece of a Brusho Masterboard. The images were stamped and embossed in gold and then the same colours of Brushos were used to paint some of the images.

This card was made from another section of the Masterboard.

This final card was made with a bit of mop up background and painted with Brushos. It only takes a few grains of this highly pigmented powder to create a paint.

I wonder what Gill will remind us of next week, I always look forward to my trip down memory lane.

Thank you Gill.

Hugs Kimx