Jumping in the Puddles

Hi All

I don't know about you guys, but one of the hardest things I am finding with all the current lockdown restrictions is not being able to get out for a daily walk because of the grotty weather. It was fine during the first one last year because the weather was nice, so a walk round the park was lovely, now it's just like walking through a bog so I'm afraid that I wimp out in favour of a cup of coffee and a sit down.

This has definitely been a problem with the littlest Grandbabies, they need to get out and expend some of this endless supply of energy that they seem to have. It is pouring with rain again today, but we have decided to put on our wellies, wrap up warm, and go and find some puddles to jump in.

So what can I find to cheer us all up on this cold and rainy day.

Here is a birthday card made a couple of years ago using a lovely LOTV topper, with a couple of fairies to herald in warmer days to come.

I trimmed it using a dotty square die and added some ink with the die still in place leaving the fine white border.

The background is a piece of 'Bleedin Art Tissue' which I have stuck to a sticky sheet. By screwing up the tissue paper before adding it to the sticky sheet you get added texture. I added some gilding wax to highlight this. 

We had a lovely time this afternoon.

We bundled up nice and warm in our coats and wellies and even got a wave from the tractors that drove past us. They probably thought that we were mad lol.

Of course there were loads of super puddles to jump in.

Several of them deep enough to go over Jack's boots, but it didn't put him off at all.

We went and played in the park where Chloe finally gave in..................and fell asleep in the swing.

Jack also crashed out on the way home, in the basket under the buggy.

Although he looks rather uncomfortable,

he stayed asleep under there for ages and woke up in a really 

lovely mood, which is not what we had expected.

The Girls were frozen by the time we got home, so they had a nice warm shower and snuggled up on the sofa in their dressing gowns to eat their lunch

and watch a film.

We try and get them out for a walk every day if we can and there are still some Christmas lights for them to admire,

including this fabulous tree.

They are much happier now they have been out in the fresh air and are now helping Mum make the dinner and show off their dance moves.

Hope you have had a great day. Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Feel Better Soon

Evening Everyone,
Just a quick post today as I am in need of a rest, my foot is killing me today.
I have done a little walking, but nothing too much honestly, but for some reason it seems particularly bad tonight, so I am going to give in to it and lie down.

This card was actually made for my brother who is currently undergoing treatment for a recurrence of his throat cancer, so my few little aches and pains are very minor by comparison.

I could however get behind the sentiment, and would very definitely like to feel better soon.
I'm getting very bored with being incapacitated.
Looking forward to a better day tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by.
Hugs Kimx

Halloween Chalenge at CCM

Hi All,
I am soooooo sorry for the tardiness of this post, but it seems to have been a manic few weeks, coupled with an Internet connection that seems to drop in and out every few minutes to the point where I have abandoned trying to use it at all.

Anyhoo it's my turn to host the challenge over at CCM, and as you may have guessed the theme is Halloween.

I have to say that it is not something that we celebrated when I was a kid, but then I am old lol.
Now it seems to be a big thing, and my Girls love it. There are always loads of sweeties for the Trick or Treaters, and the house is usually festooned with cobwebs and all sorts of scary things.
I spent the day wearing a rather batty headband that I had strung with lights. I did get some looks as I travelled on the train, but it certainly put a smile on a few peoples faces.

My card uses a fabulous old LOTV topper and lots of Tim Holtz dies.
The wizard was a little too cute, so I trimmed away his teddy bear when I fussy cut the image.

The background was created by attaching die cut bats to the black card base to add a little interest and dimension.

I found the letterpress tree panel amongst my stash and added some glitter around the moon, and a couple more bats.

The spooky house and tree are also from Tim Holtz.

I added a bit of sparkly card behind the windows,

and then a bit of funky foam for added dimension.

The spooky branches are another Tim Holtz die.

The sentiment is from a new set that I bought from Simon Says Stamp. It is a fabulous set with loads of little sentiments, and it has a coordinating die so you cut them all out at once.

I promise that I will get round to see you all over the next few days.

I am off to Sir Stampalot for my annual holiday, and I am soooo looking forward to it.

Have a wonderful crafty weekend.

Crafty hugs

Kimx

Fairies or Other Mythical Creatures at CCM

Afternoon Everyone,
We have a new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers today where our host Jackie is looking for Fairies or other Mythical Creatures.

My time has been extremely limit of late so I decided to look back through my not so inconsiderable stash of cards and photos of projects already sent out.

 This was actually made a couple of years ago using a lovely topper from LOTV.

 As I had several images all the same I decided to do a little decoupage.

The main card was die cut using a favourite Go Create die which I then stamped and white embossed with large Chocolate Baroque butterflies before sponging with Distress Inks.
I hope that you will find the time to join in with our challenge. Anything will do so long as it contains a fairy or other mythical creature.
Don't forget to pop along and see what the rest of my wonderful Teamies have come up with to inspire you HERE.
Have a fabulous week.
Happy Crafting and hugs
Kimx

Have a great time at Nursery

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you have all had a good weekend.
Mine has not been as creatively productive as I had intended, but I got to help with Chloe while Emma was swimming so I had a great time regardless.

Emma is due to start at her new nursery school tomorrow.

I'm sure that she will have a wonderful time, she certainly seemed to enjoy her taster session on Friday while Mum filled in all the paperwork.

This is actually the card that I made for her when she first started at nursery. Was that really in February, where on earth did that time go to. She has grown up so much in that time.
I will miss being able to pick her up and then going on 'an adventure'. She liked to walk past the field of horses to say hello and then get the bus home. Just a little thing but she enjoyed it.
Perhaps I will get some crafting done tomorrow. Emma is certainly looking forward to playing in the messy corner that they have at nursery. I'm not sure my messy corner (aka my desk) is quite up to paper mache, but a bit of inky messy play is much more in my line.
Happy crafting and hugs
Kimx

CCM Bling's the Thing

Hi All,
Here we are at the start of our first challenge of the New Year at CCM and we are looking for plenty of Bling.

Now I know that Christmas is a dim and distant memory, but it is also the perfect time for a bit of bling.

I didn't send very many Christmas cards this year as you know, but I could hardly miss my littlest Granddaughter's First Christmas now could I, or her big sister Emma.

For Emma's card I die cut one of Sue Wilson's hexagonal dies in red, and added it to a piece of Sticker paper.

I added fine crystal glitter to the background for plenty of bling.

The coloured image is from LOTV and has also been die cut.

I added Sparkle pen to the bears fur

as well as glitter glue and glossy accents to the penguin and snow.

This is Chloe's card and has also used a LOTV pre-coloured image die cut and layered on to red card.

The background was created using a Woodware Baby's First Christmas stamp.

I also added sparkle pen, glossy accents, glitter glue and some hand drawn lines.
I hope that you will find the time to join in with our new challenge, and please stop by HERE and see what the rest of the DT have come up with to inspire you.
Happy Crafting and Hugs
Kimx

Following a Sketch

Evening,
Well I just about made it through the day, although I can see a very early night looming lol.
It was my first day back after a weeks holiday. I took time off to help out with the little ones, definitely my sort of holiday....... not a beach in sight.
I do miss my crafty breaks at SirStampalot though, especially as I would have been up there around this time of year. Maybe I will pay them a visit in the New Year.

One of the classes that is always a winner with the Girls is 'Follow a Sketch'.
I'm sure that we all have a box of half finished projects, and sometimes no idea of what we can do with them. I find that when I am going through a creative slump one of the best places to start (as well as Pinterest of course) is with a sketch.

There are lots of sketch blogs out there, including Tuesday Morning Sketches, Freshly Made Sketches, Saturday Sketch and CAS Colours and Sketches, and they all hold a back catalogue of sketches so inspiration is never more than a click away.



These first two cards were made using pieces of 'Bleedin Art Tissue' background which I layered onto some scrap pieces of card using wet or spray glue.

When the sheet of background was completely dry I stamped and embossed my images onto it.
It is better to leave the card at least over night before attempting to stamp and emboss it in order that the embossing powder doesn't stick to the damp glue.
I painted the images with bleach and then a Versamark pen before adding clear or crystal embossing powder.

I always make sure that I take some toppers along to the 'Follow a Sketch' class, just in case.

They are always my go to when time is short and I need a card in a hurry. A topper, some background papers and a sketch and you have a really quick but effective card.

This final card was made in just those circumstances. All bits and pieces from my box pulled together into a card for my Boss's Anniversary later this week.

I had better go off and have a look at all the fabulous entries into my Animal Magic challenge at CCM before I get too tired. I hate having to choose a winner and so I don't want to get too far behind with viewing all of the fantastic entries.

Have a great evening.

Happy Crafting and hugs 

Kimx