Fancy Folds for Christmas (And CraftyCardmakers)

Evening Everyone.
I'm sorry, I quite thought that I had posted these pictures to coincide with the Fancy Folds challenge over at CCM last month. Where on earth did those weeks go to?

The cards were actually made for the book that I was lucky enough to write on Teabag Folding, many years ago,

 but I figured that as they involved fancy folding they qualified for the challenge.

The folded squares for this tree were created from stamped and embossed images on green paper.

The background panel is a piece of 'Bleedin Art' Tissue.

It has been sprayed with Spray Webbing and then Foil has been added.

This second card was also from the book, and this time the teabag squares have been cut from vellum which has also been sprayed with Gold Spray Webbing.

This time I layered the Tree onto a stamped and embossed panel.

The threads have been wrapped round the panels after the corners have been punched using one of my old favourites, the Southwest Corner punch. At the time of my book all my friends referred to it as the Kim's punch because I used it so much lol.

Better make sure I press send this time or this might sit in the draft folder for another month.

Hope you have had a great weekend.

Thanks for sticking with me. I know that my posts have been rather sporadic just lately, let's hope that I can start to get back to some sort of normality.

Happy Crafting and Hugs 

Kimx

Chalked leaves for Men

Evening Everyone.
I hope that you have had a good day. I had another lovely class at Davina's where I showed the Ladies how to use Decorating Chalks.

I do like Chalks although I haven't played with them for a while so it was lovely to revisit the technique.

I have been so busy recently that I didn't get the chance to make any new samples for the class, but I have plenty of ones that I have made before, including several of the originals from my book, so there were plenty of things for the Ladies to see.

These two cards were made using a lovely leaf stamp set from Stampendous and make good cards for Men, at least I think so anyway.

I also added stamped and chalked vellum panels to both cards. This is another thing that works brilliantly with the chalks.
I have used the Southwest Corner punch and gold thread on both cards as well as some small peel-off squares.
I really ought to get back to the Craft Room, but I think that I am better off getting an early night, well early for me anyway lol.
Night night.
hugs Kimx

Roadtrip to Clarity.......

Evening Everyone
I went on my road trip yesterday to deliver cards to Barbara for the TV on Sunday. I really don't like to trust them to the mercies of the Post Office, and it's not as if I have to drive to the other end of the country. It's only about 25 mins away.

As usual I can't share the new cards until the show has aired on Sunday 13th (Create and Craft channel 671 9am - 11am). I have just programmed the shows in to my Sky box so I don't forget.
There is no afternoon show this time as it is Barbara's birthday and she's going out for dinner, I think she deserves it after all the stresses of the TV studio and the presenters, so you will just have to content yourselves with two hours of crafting know how from one of Britain's Crafting Royalty.

The two cards this evening make use of the Wire Art Star and Wire Art Tree available from Clarity stamps.

The star on this card has been stamped and embossed on to a piece of handmade background paper and then wire has been wrapped around the image before it has been mounted onto the main card.
I have also wrapped thread around the edges of the purple panel making use of the good old Southwest corner punch.

The second tree on this has been stamped onto copper metal which has been heated to give it a multicoloured appearance. Not the best photo I know. I have also wrapped wire around the end of the main card.
I had better stop now and have a bite to eat before I go off to teach - Dazzling Diamonds at Davina's. A late night but an enjoyable one.
Have a good evening.
Love and hugs
Kimx

It's a Spotty, Dotty Christmas

Afternoon Ladies,
Sorry I've been missing for a few days.
Well Christmas has finally arrived!!!
Every year my Mum makes us up a little box for Christmas. It's filled with homemade goodies like flapjacks and preserves. So far this year every time I have seen Mum either she has forgotton to give it to us or we have left it behind when we leave!!
So Christmas finally arrived last Saturday at Mum's birthday party. She has obviously given up on her usual flapjacks - she probably got fed up and ate them herself - the kids will be disappointed. Still maybe next time we can get her over for the day she will bake some with them. I know they would love it, and she really does make the most amazing flapjacks. May be it's no bad thing that she left them out this time - better for the hips lol.
Anyway all my rambling links me to the card that I am sharing with you.

It was one of the cards that I made for Barbara for her August TV show. It features a very traditional stamp combo, but I think that the layout is a little less so.
I thought that it might fit with the challenge over at Ooh La La Creations where they are looking for Spots and Dots.
I have stamped the text onto a piece of handmade background paper which has been punched at the corners.

The Nativity is stamped and embossed on blue card and then cut out using a circular Nestie, as are all the other circles.
They have been embossed on the back over a pergamano mat and then added to the card using silcone glue to keep the dimension.
This may not be particularly traditional Christmas colours but I rather liked it, hope you do too.
Hope you are having a good weekend.
Love and hugs
Kimx

What a busy weekend !!!

Well Girls, here we go at the start of what was looking like being a very hectic weekend.
I had better get an early night since Cory needs to pick me up at 6.30am for our road trip to Chichester and the Eternal Maker.
What an ungodly hour for a weekend. I'm used to it during the week, but I do like a little bit of a lie in on a Saturday and Sunday.
Still never mind Schoolhouse is always worth the trip even if it is a long one. We are hoping to be travelling down with Jane Gill.


I am just helping out at this one, not teaching classes so that could be anything from making the tea and washing up to serving on the till - you didn't know I was so multi talented did you lol.
One of the jobs that I know I am doing is a small make and take during break time.
I thought I would show people how easy it is to use the Southwest corner punch (or the Kim's punch as the girls used to call it. I always managed to get it on to my cards somewhere when I first started teaching. )



I wrap thread around the edges of the panel that I have punched. I now have a second way of wrapping the thread since the lovely Gina at Sir stampalot taught me her version. These cards show both methods.
Obviously the ladies will only be wrapping the threads around a stamped ATC card, but I thought I would make a couple of samples to show them what they look like when mounted onto a finished card.



The stamp I have used here is by a company called Unity Stamps and is one that I picked up at the Eternal Maker the last time I was there. This was one of several beautiful floral stamps that made their way in to my shopping basket. Well I have to have stamps that the shops sell for just this sort of occasion don't I lol. At least that's my excuse anyway and a very good one it is to!!!!!
I have stamped and embossed the image onto an ATC card which I have then coloured using a kaleidacolour inkpad. The corners are then punched and thread is wrapped around and attached at the back of the panel using DSST.



Unfortunately I have found out this evening that they no longer need me to help out at the "Sincerely Yours Craft Exhibition" at Biggin Hill, so I do get that lie in on Sunday that I was looking forward to after all.
Better close now. Hope you all have a good weekend.
Love
Kimx

Not a flower in sight!!!

Evening Everyone, or should that be Good night!
I really must try to post at a more reasonable time of the day, still better late than never I suppose.
I thought that I would share another one of the cards that I made at Lavender Lane on Saturday. As well as making flowers we also had a class on brayering.
There are lots of wonderful backgrounds techniques that you can create with a brayer and the resist technique is just one of them.

I stamped the checkered background on glossy card stock with a versamark ink pad, heated it , and then brayered dye based ink over the top.
As I have said before the effect is like magic painting for grown ups. Once I have made the background I have stamped and embossed the trees in black.
This makes for a very masculine card, which makes a change, and there is not a flower in sight, at least not on this one. Lots more to share tomorrow but I really must get some sleep.
Nite
Love Kimx

Clarity part 4

Evening Everyone.
Just a quick post with the last of the cards that I made for Barbara's latest TV show.Once again, I'm afraid that the photos are not brilliant, but I do hope that they will at least give you some ideas.I'm never sure about mixing the sets, or adding in extra stamps, and this one just needed a greeting, so I wrote it myself.
Wonderful things Gellyroll Glaze pens.This card combines white embossing and sponged colour on the central panel, with gold embossing on the main card. Add a few mini crystal, flowers, and peel-off dots and Voila!!!
This card again uses white embossing powder and sponging, but also has the image stamped onto the card strips using a versamark ink pad. This time I added co-ordinating flowers and white brads.
This final card also has white embossing and sponging as its central theme but has the addition of a piece of pre-foiled vellum attached with brads. I have also stamped and clear embossed the image over both the background card and central panel.
That's all for tonight guys, got to get a quick bite to eat before I go out.
Lets see if I can keep this up with a post again tomorrow.
Happy Stamping
Love Kimx

Clarity part 3

Hi Everyone.
I can't believe this, blogging three nights in a row, I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up!!
I thought I would share a couple more of the cards that I made for Barbara's TV show on Sunday.
The purple card is definitely a favourite of mine.
Its amazing how some cards just seem to come together without much effort - this was one of those.It always helps of course when you get asked to play with designs that you like, however even then sometimes you just get a creative block.
I'm sure you've got stamps that you JUST HAD TO HAVE and then when you sit down to play with them you just don't know what to do. Well this set wasn't one of those times.
I'm afraid that the photography is not up to much , particularly on the second card. It looks a little blurred - and I don't even drink so it can't be that.
Anyway I hope you like them, they definitely looked better on the TV.
I will try and keep up my run of posts tomorrow - I certainly need to if I am going to share all the things that I have done lately.
Bye for now.
Kimx

More Sticky Embossing - but not Christmas!!

Good Evening everyone.
You would think that after last weeks efforts at making Christmas cards I would be on a roll but I'm afraid that I have obviously had Christmas overload, so it was so nice to have a class yesterday that was totally unrelated to anything Christmas.
The technique that I have used involves Sticky Embossing powder, mica powders and foil and is actually described in step by step detail in my book 'A Passion for Papercraft - Rubber Stamping' by Search Press.
Quick plug over with , so now on to the cards.
All the cards I am showing here used floral stamps but the technique can be used with any image, although solid images definitely have the edge, in my opinion at least.It would work every bit as well with leaves and trees which would of course make fab Men's cards.
The pink and green card uses Hobby Art FL1445 Purple Toad flax and my favourite Hobby Art Birthday Greeting GR1455. A greeting cut from this stamped image can hide a multitude of sins, and stamped mistakes, as in this card!!

All the rest of the cards use Stampendous Agapanthus Cluster P107. My stamp is so well used that the code has worn off so I have just had to look it up on line.
Thanks Sir Stampalot your site always makes it easy to find an item.
The other stamps used are by Hobby Art - Diamond Background DC1921D and Checkered Background DC1928D. With Love GR1830B is also by Hobby Art and is just one of several stamps they make with that style of greeting.

I am so lucky to have such a wonderful stamp company right on my doorstep, and feel very honoured that they are prepared to take on board my requests for designs. I can't draw but I know what I like and it makes teaching so much easier when you have such fab designs to work with, especially if you have had a hand in designing them.
Sticky Embossing is actually a very easy product to work despite looking complicated. There is only one thing to remember DON'T OVERHEAT THE POWDER.


All the panels use a combination of images stamped and embossed using the sticky embossing powder, and images flat stamped with versamark. The embossed images must be done first and the mica powder and foil applied, before the flat stamped images are added. Do not try and stamp and emboss over the top of a previously embossed image as the two will blur into one another when the second lot of powder is heated.

If you want to add a further greeting either use Stazon or stamp and emboss the greeting onto a separate piece of cardstock. Sometimes you can get away with it, as I have on the With Love card but only where the image you are stamping over is not too solid.
The final two cards in this collection are created from a multiply stamped image which has then been cut into strips and mounted over beautifully co-ordinating background paper. As I have always said 'Don't forget the envelope'.
It is always so much nicer to receive a decorated envelope than a plain one. Decoration need be no more complicated than a small, leftover strip of background paper, as in this example.
I hope you like the cards. I'm posting this while I sit with all the family and catch up with the last four weeks of Merlin. The Grandchildren love it and it has become a little weekend ritual, but not one we manage every week - hence the telethon.
I am travelling up to stay with Janice and Andy at Sir Stampalot tomorrow after work. I am really excited. I always enjoy my stay there and go up several days early as holiday. Much more fun than sitting on a beach. I get to play in the shop for several days and hopefully make some new samples for them. There is always a challenge awaiting me - some stamps or a new product that Janice hasn't had the time to work with herself, so I am looking forward to seeing what she has got for me this time. I shall take my laptop with me, as always, so I will keep posted with what I make.
Hope you've had a great weekend.
Love Kimx

Anything but Christmas!

Have just got back from the Eternal Maker in Chichester. I travelled there with my good friend Corinne Amos. It was actually Corinne who taught me how to stamp all those years ago when Maggie Wright owned the Craft Barn, so it is really her fault that I am a 'Stamping Addict'
We had a superb day, sorted out dates and classes for next year - how scary does that sound - and then were treated to dinner by the lovely owners Sarah and Teresa. Thanks girls for yet another fabulous day. Looking forward to next year.
The class was billed as 'Anything but Christmas!' so we played with sticky embossing powder, pearlex and of course not a Christmas stamp in sight.
I hadn't had the chance to prep any cards for the class - not nearly as bad as it sounds since I tend to teach playing with the technique, rather than copying a specific card.
I managed to get several cards made while I was there which is always much more fun to do in store as it enables you to look around and match up background papers and ribbons and other wonderful things which are then totally current.
The panel on this card uses the Stampendous Agapanthus. Stamp and emboss using versamark and 'sticky embossing powder'. (Several makes available - Stamp and Bond or Heat and Stick) This changes very quickly when heated so do be careful not to over heat or the foil will not stick to the image. Once heated apply purple, gold and blue pearlex powders. A little gold and silver foil has been added, but does not show up well in this photo.
I have torn down the left hand side of the panel and used a corner punch on the right hand corners. Edge with pine cone coloured inkpad.
The main purple card has had panels of background paper added before the stamped image is attached. The finished card has been embellished with buttons, ric-rac ribbon, peel-off dots and a stamped greeting.
I hope you like this taster session. I will post the rest of the cards tomorrow but as it is nearly midnight I think I ought to get some sleep.
Sweet Dreams
Love Kimx