Spring is in the Air

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you have had a lovely Monday, maybe Spring is finally around the corner.
Over at Crafts and Me they have been looking for Spring Flowers so I hope that my card tonight fits the bill.

I have been playing with my Distress Markers and a Hero Arts clear stamp set CL428 Earth Flowers.

This is a beautiful clear stamp set with very fine images which have worked so well with the Distress Markers.

I have also 'huffed' on the stamp to get second generation stamped images.

The green card has been dry embossed using a Darise embossing folder, and the sentiment is from Lili of the Valley.
I have just spent a lovely evening catching up on old times.
It is amazing how quickly the years have flown by since I used to look after my friends children. They are now very grown up young ladies, the youngest of which is soon to take her GCSE exams. It doesn't seem five minutes ago since I was taking her to Toddler Group and Nursery School.
In fact we have so much to catch up on that there will have to be a part two get together, but that will have to wait until half term, and I'm sure that that will be here before we know it.
I would also like to enter this into the challenge at Allsorts where 'Spring has Sprung'
Let's hope that the weather remains as nice tomorrow, I'm getting very bored with winter now.
Thanks for stopping by.
hugs Kimx

Relax, it's your Birthday.

Evening Everyone
I hope that the snow hasn't settled too heavily where you are. Fortunately it seems to have mostly gone here, although I suppose that I could well be in for a surprise when I open the door tomorrow to leave for work.
On the card front it is just as well that I got a little carried away the other weekend when making a card for my Granddaughter to give her friend. I said at the time that it would always come in handy and no more so than today when my boss announced that he needed a card for his daughter's birthday.............TODAY!!!!!
I have put her in my birthday book now, so I won't get caught out next year.
It is also a very good job that I live so close to work as I was able to pop home at lunchtime to collect the card  and add a greeting to the inside.

The cute little mice are a pre coloured image from Hot Diggity Dog, a very rare purchase for me, from Create and Craft.
I have used the inverted corner rounder and a Martha Stewart Border punch as well as background papers from my stash.

 I added some Prisma Glitter to the image using a glue pen, and also some assorted pearls and tiny gems.

The flowers have been made using a DooHickey die and some assorted punches.
The sentiment is from an Impression Obsession clear stamp set that I have had for years.

Once again I have embellished the envelope.
I am entering this into the challenge over at Crafts and Me where they are looking for Your Favourite Colour Combo. Brown and Pink is certainly a favourite of mine.
Have a great week.
Hugs Kimx

It must be Green at Crafts and Me

Evening Everyone,
Another exciting day in the Olympics then. I must admit that it is so good to see us do well, especially in categories where we weren't expected to get a medal like the Gymnastics or the Judo today.
Speaking of the Judo, I think I caught a glimpse of my Cousin who is one of the official photographers for this event.
Anyway my card tonight was made a while ago for my friend Lorraine.
It had another of the lovely new Woodware stamps on it so I have had to hold off from posting it till now.

It was made for her Hubby's birthday and I thought that Jane's fantastic JGS270 Men we love would be perfect for the main image. Unfortunately the photography makes it look a bit washed out.

I stamped and embossed it onto some background paper (also from Woodware) and sponged it with extra colour and added some stamped leaves.(A Penny Black cling stamp I think)

The dog is a Whipper Snapper stamp that I have had for quite some time, coloured in using Distress inks

 I added some leaves cut using a die and embossed with Frantage Embossing Enamel Aged Taupe.

The gingham background paper is from my stash and the leaves have been stamped and embossed with Frantage powder as well as just flat stamped using Distress inks.
I found the 3 hearts in my stash and added several layers of embossing Enamel before stamping the leaves into it while still hot.
I added a stitched border as well as some tiny white dots.
I would like to enter this into the challenge over at Crafts and Me Challenge - No 95 Green with Envy where they are looking for Green.
Hope you like it, more tomorrow.
Hugs Kimx

Birthday blooms for Mandy

Evening Everyone.

I hope that you have all had a wonderfully relaxing weekend, or have you been catching up with all of those things that you don't manage during the week like the rest of us lol.

I have been enjoying a quiet house as the family are all on holiday. 

If I'm honest I do prefer some noise going on around me, but it is nice to be able to lay things out on the dining table and not have to put them away, so my crafting area has expanded while I have the chance.

My card tonight was made for Lorraine to give to her friend Mandy. I'm sorry that the picture is not very good, it really doen't show it at its best even if I do say so myself.
Easel cards are always so hard to photograph aren't they!

The main panel has been created using one of the Hobby Art sentiments from the Birthday Collection.
This is one of my favourite sentiment stamps at the moment.

The flowers have been added using the Embossed Resist technique, Versamagic inks and a lovely floral stamp set from Stampendous called Scripty Stems.

The butterfly has been cut using a Cheery Lynn die. Of course I added a little colour and some glitter.

Lorraine wanted her friends name added to the front of the card, and a little bit of bling so I added some ribbon and a diamante slider.
I would like to enter it in to the following challenges
Crafts and Me - Challenge 90 Birthdays
Allsorts Challenge  - In Bloom
The ABC Challenge - S for Surprise (Show us your best)
Penny Black and More  - Summer Blooms
Crafty Calender challenge - Flowers in Bloom
Off to bed now, and back to work tomorrow :O(
Hugs Kimx

Koi Carp for Dadda

Hi All, it's me again.
I said I would try and get back to share the card that was being made when I took the photo of my desk for WOYWW.
Well I have realised that I can't, at least not yet.
I'm never usually terribly organised when it comes to cards, very last minute as you may have gathered, and always late in the post.
Well on this occasion I am well ahead of myself since it is the card for my daughter Jenni's birthday next Wednesday. Are you not impressed?
So instead I am going to share the card that actually started off the organised chaos that is my Wednesday Worktop, and I have to say that I am really, really pleased with the results.

 The card was ordered by a friend from work for her Dad (Dadda). She wanted Koi Carp, Dadda, and anything Oriental, other than that it was up to me.

I knew straight away that I wanted to use this lovely old Stampendous Koi stamp, but other than that I had no idea what to do, so I figured the first thing was have a look through my rather large collection of Oriental stamps.
It seems you can never have enough Bamboo or Oriental script stamps, I have loads of them, most of them still in pristine condition  lol.
I'm afraid that I stupidly put them all away before I started to do this post so I can't give you details. I do know that most of them are probably no longer available but I'm sure that you will have something similar that you could use should you wish to recreate the effects.

The Koi have been stamped and embossed onto watercolour card stock and then painted with dye based inks.
The red background has been made by stamping and embossing the Oriental Script onto white card stock and then sponging Distress Inks over the top. I added some small Bamboo images into the gaps stamped with the same inks.
The large Bamboo on the main black card has been stamped and embossed using Versamark and Sticky Embossing powder. This has then had gold foil and Pearlex added to it.

I went on line to find out how to tie the Mizuhiki cord and to check that the symbol I have used on the punched circle said 'Love'.

I even decorated the envelope. I think that this has to be my all time favourite card so far.
My friend was absolutely thrilled when I gave it to her this morning.
I would like to enter this into the following challenges

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes with an optional Heart or Love theme
Cards for Men - Seeing Red
Allsorts Challenge - Free and Easy February
Crafts and Me - Use a New Image. Pick any one of the stamps I have used. I may have had them for a long time but they were all Virgin stamps!!
The Stamp Man - Embellish It
.
I have had terrible trouble trying to get this post finished, so I am going to give commenting a miss for now.
I don't know what is going on with the Internet tonight but it seems to be really acting up for me.
So I'm off to bed, Goodnight for now
hugs Kimx

Imagination on TV - 6pm on QVC

Evening Everyone
I have been having way too much fun recently making samples using the stunning new collection of Spring Decoupage stamps sets from Imagination.
There are 6 stamps sets in total in this new collection and each one gives you brilliant value as it contains not only a large stamp but also several smaller stamps and sentiments which co-ordinate perfectly. I would be hard pressed to choose a favourite one from amongst them.

Tomorrow evening the lovely Sue from Imagination will be on QVC showcasing some of these stamps, amongst other things.

My card tonight uses the Butterfly set. I stamped and embossed the main image from the set onto some watercolour card and then added a wash  of colour made from a mixture of Pearly Paint, Inkidinks and water.

This panel actually started off a completely different colour but I played around with it adding extra water and then removing colour with kitchen paper and dropping different colours in to the mix until I was happy with the results.
That is the beauty of watercolour card, it is very forgiving, allowing you to play and mix things up with out ruining the card, something normal card stock will not usually allow.

I added some extra colour to the leaves, and white Gelly Roll Glaze pen to the small daisies.
The background papers are from my stash, and I have stamped and embossed the small floral branch down the right hand side of the pink paper panel.
I also added a little Magi Glaze to the butterfly and flower centres.
All of the products are available from Imagination Crafts who offer a first class delivery service both UK and overseas.
Don't forget to catch them on the TV. Remember 6pm on QVC.
Hopefully you will get to see some of my samples, although I have noticed that the Presenters are not quite as laid back as they are on Create and Craft so you may just have to wait for me to post them all here over the next couple of weeks.
I am going to enter this card into a couple of challenges.

Charisma Cardz Challenges - Pretty in Pink
Crafts and Me - Pink and Sparkly  Unfortunately the sparkle from the Pearly Paint doesn't show up well in the photos.
Flutterby Wednesday - Must use Embossing with Butterfly/ Fairy/ Angel

Off to bed now, or maybe there is just time to catch up with a couple of comments :)
hugs Kimx

A touch of Pink

Evening Everyone,
I spent much of yesterday chained to the computer completing my updated training for work, so today my friend Suu took me to visit my Mum. She is house sitting at the moment and therefore much nearer for visiting.
Of course no week would be complete with out an entry into the Woodware Challenge. I actually had to start from scratch this time as there was nothing in my huge drawer of finished cards that was at all suitable.

I have taken my inspiration from Sketch and Stash where there is a two part challenge. Part 1 is the sketch which I have used to help me create the card.
The stamped image has been taken from a Woodware clear stamp set FRCL159 Flower Doodles. The greeting is from another Woodware set FRCL154 Salutations.

I coloured the flowers with pink ink and then went over them again with Pearlex. The beautiful sparkle doesn't show up which is a great shame.

I made the flowers using some of the background papers and Woodware circular punches.
I would also like to enter this into the challenge over at Crafts and Me where the theme is add a flower. I think I have managed to fulfill that criteria lol.

Part 2 of the challenge at Sketch and Stash is that you must use your newest or neglected stash on the card. All the items in the photo which have been used on the card could certainly be classed as neglected items. I looked through my paper box for anything pink and then narrowed it down to match the painted panel.

The pink shaped panel has been created using a Grand Nestie Creative Book Pages which is definitely one of the newest items from my stash having been added on my visit to SirStampalot a couple of weeks ago. I added plenty of pink gems, a few pearls and some punched leaves.
Of course it will mean a box Mrs Till. One day I really will have to show you just how quick and easy they are to make. But for now sleep beckons,
Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to join in the challenges.
Love and hugs
Kimx

Happy Birthday Part 2

Evening Everyone,
I'm back, as promised, with Saskia's birthday card. I had better be quick if this is going to get posted today!

Once again I used a lovely Lili of the Valley stamp 'Back to School Girl'. When I was making the card Ciaran saw me stamp out this image and told me that it was 'Saskia with her hair up'. I'm sure that she will look this cute on her first day.

Colouring was once again done using distress inks and this time I padded the image with silicone.

Most of the flowers were hand made using some of the lovely background papers that I got from Sir Stampalot. I started off with a pile of about 16 or 17 sheets of paper and card and narrowed it down to about 6. I never know what I'm going to use until I actually start making the card, so it's always best to be prepared don't you think.

Here are the terrors with their cards, I managed to get them to sit still for a few moments at least.

Daddy has also been a busy bee today. How about this for a birthday cake, a giant cheeseburger complete with fries. He even fooled me with the ketchup. It is actually icing but it is so realistic I really thought that he had put real ketchup on the chips.
The challenge over at Crafts and Me is Summertime. Maybe I can sneak this in, after all they will be starting school in the Summer :)
Thanks for stopping by.
Nite, nite
Kimx