Red and Green with Stencils

Evening All,

Another miserable Monday weather wise that is, but much more to my liking I must admit. It was even quite reasonable at the gym this afternoon which has definitely been unbearable just lately.

Here are a few more cards from Saturdays class on stencils.

The panel on this one started off as a piece of mop up and brush cleanup paper and then I added the Lavinia stencil and some more distress ink in red and green.

I stamped and embossed this fabulous floral image over it and then matt and layered it using rectangular stitched dies.

I used the same red and green to colour the image, along with a bit of white pigment ink for the main flower.

I used the same stencil on a piece of card to clean off my blending brushes, which led to a rather subtle background to this card.

The floral image on this card is a new purchase from Clarity.

I added some extra ink to the main card and green panel along with a die cut sentiment and some faux Card Candi.

As the stamp from Clarity was a new one I tried it out first on a piece of scrap card to make sure that it stamped properly and I didn't waste my nice background.

Of course it stamped out perfectly, so rather than waste it I blended ink over it and added it to a coloured and embossed panel.

The main panel on the card is a Lisa Horton embossing folder blended with colour and spritzed.

I added a die cut sentiment to this card as well as some white and gold Gelli Roll glaze pens.

I can't believe that we are actually at the longest day in the year. How did that happen? It certainly isn't what you would expect of the middle of June.

Hope you have a great evening.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Baby Wipe Reinker Challenge at Technique Tuesday

Evening Everyone
Well my Sky box officially hates me. All I can say is thank God for Sky channels +1.
For some reason my box stopped recording part way through the Opening Ceremony to the Paralympics last night!!!
Fortunately I was catching up on some previously recorded viewing and noticed  so that I didn't miss too much, only some of the Teams entering the Stadium.
Wasn't it Awesome!! We can certainly lay on a good do.
Joclyn, who comes to classes at Davina, and her entire family are among the volunteers at the Paralympic Games. This means that we will hear all about it from first hand experience when she manages to get back to class later in September, once her duties are done.
One of my lovely Crafty Cardmaking Teamies, Mynnette,  runs a challenge blog called Technique Tuesday, where this month she has shared a Baby Wipe Reinker Challenge with us.

I having been trying all month to come up with something for it, and finally suceeded tonight.
The background to the main panel was created using Mynnette's technique, and then I stamped and embossed a lovely Woodware image over the top of it.

This is a close up of the panel which I sponged with Distress ink around the edges and embossed with clear powder.

I added some ribbon and a little Faux Card Candi.
I'm rather pleased with the results even if it wasn't exactly what I had expected, still isn't that half the fun of trying out something new.
Why don't you pop across and check out some of the other lovely techniques that she has shared, and maybe have a go at one yourself.
Hugs Kimx

A late night Happy Birthday

Evening Everyone
Just a quick post tonight. I had a couple of friends round for a spot of crafting, and as usual it got later that I realised - how the time flies when you are having fun with like minded 'Crafty Folk'.

This card was made for the eldest of my Brother's children, Lauren, who has her birthday today.
They have a house full of dogs (and a couple of cats and a rabbit) so I thought that this lovely Lili of the Valley die cut seemed somewhat appropriate.

The background papers are from my stash, the greeting is from Hobby Art, and the punch is from EK Success. I cut the image out using a circular nestie and added a little faux card candi.
Must get to sleep now, I'm starting to nod off lol.
hugs Kimx

A twist on The Stampman challenge

Hello All
Are you ready for an amazing weekend?
I'm not really in to sport but I do wish all of our Olympians the very best of luck in their endeavours, and here's to a fabulous and safe couple of weeks.
Over at The Stampman we have a new challenge for you, Anything Goes / Celebrations.

The card that I have made for you was actually inspired by the challenge over at the fantastic Our Creative Corner who are asking that you give one of your cards a Makeover.

This is my original card which was made quite a number of years ago, and if I'm brutally honest I actually quite like it. I do however prefer the Do Over!!
Now the challenge requires you do a makeover on a card that you really dislike so perhaps I don't fulfil the first part of the challenge entirely, but I hope that I will be forgiven.

I have used the Hero Arts - S5601 Newspaper Background which I stamped and embossed onto a piece of white card stock, and then sponged with Weathered Wood and Black Soot distress inks.
Next I stamped around the edge of the trimmed panel with my favourite Hero Arts -  F5042 Leaf Flourish.
I cut this panel up and mounted it onto gold patterned card stock.

The greeting has been added using the wonderful new clear stamp set from Woodware - JGCL560 Just To Say.

The flowers have been cut from card stock and vellum using a DooHickey and I have added Faux Card Candi centres.

I used my new Memory box die - Honeyblossom Sprig as the base on which to place the flowers which I attached using silicon.

I am really happy with the results and having show it to the guys at work I have to remake it with Roses for a Special Birthday card and also as a Ruby Wedding Anniversary card, so watch this space lol.

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the team have come up with, and remember that there is a £10 voucher up for grabs for the winner.

Have a great Weekend.

Hugs Kimx

Snowdrops in a 'Freshly Made Sketch'

Evening Everyone.

Wow two posts in one day!
I have been busy all day making samples for next weekend at Port Sunlight.
Sometimes it is very difficult trying to come up with anything different, especially when you have a limited time to work with stamps that are similar in design, no matter how lovely they are to work with. With that in mind I decided that if I tried to tie my samples to a challenge or two it might help with the creativity......it worked.
The card tonight was made using the sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

I have been working with several of the Decoupage stamps available from Imagination Craft as well as the Mica palettes which I will be working with at the show.

I stamped and embossed the image and then painted it with the mica palette using a very wet watercolour technique.
I cut the image out using an oval nestie and then mounted it over background papers from my stash.
The card candy was punched from some of the left over pieces and attached with silicon.
I hope that you will all be enjoying your long weekend.
I however will be at work as normal tomorrow so I had better get some sleep.
Hugs Kimx  

A Bingo Card Challenge at The Stampman

Morning All
Today sees the start of a new challenge over at The Stampman.
The challenge is hosted by Lisa who has created a Bingo card.
Pick a line in any direction and make a card using those chosen items.

I went with Green, Circles and Ribbon.
I seem to be going through a very circular phase at the moment so this wasn’t a hard choice for me.

The four circular images are from a new Hero Arts stamp set AC005 Untitled Word Shadow.

I have inked them up using versacolor cubes Sage, Olive and Green Tea.
I love these shadow stamps, I am always drawn to them in any new catalogue.

The dark green background paper has been made using Peeled Paint and Pine Needles distress ink pads and then I have stamped over the top using my favourite Artemio Hedgerow Plants 10001147, although it does fade rather a lot once the ink is dry.

The background card is Coredinations Asparagus, and once again I have used the Hedgerow flowers to stamp onto the square white card.
Some stitching, ribbon from my stash and a few more circles with some faux card candy made from scraps of the coredinations paper.
I also added some tiny crystals to the flower centres.
I hope that you like my effort and feel inspired to join us HERE.
Don't forget to check out what the rest of the team have come up with, we always love you stopping by.
That's quite enough on the laptop now, I need to play.
Have a great day, Happy Crafting.
hugs
Kimx

More Colours of Spring

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you have had a lovely day, I can't believe that I am already half way through my holiday here at SirStampalot.
I have had another lovely class this evening where we played with the 'Lemon Juice Background Tecnique' that I found in Craft Stamper, and lots of new stamps.
I'm afraid that I was side tracked after class, and so I forgot to take pictures, so for now here is another card that I made for the Woodware Challenge.

I just love this stamp, FRS216 Field of Tulips which I have once again watercoloured using dye based inks.

I have added some dots using a white Gelly Roll Glaze pen. I also coloured the clouds with it.

The greeting is another Woodware clear stamp FRS112 Double Thanks. I have given it my 'padded treatment' and added it to my card, which has made using some of the wonderful background papers that Janice and Andy have in the shop.
That really is the most wonderful thing about making a card in the middle of the shop, being able to match your papers exactly without spending hours looking through your stash.
The trouble is I will need another 12x12 box to put them all in, and we might be eating beans on toast for weeks, but hey, I'm on holiday lol.
I had better get to bed now, before I fall asleep while I am writing this.
Why not hop on over to Woodware and check out some of the lovely new stamps that they have, available from most good Craft shops.
Thanks for stopping by.
hugs Kimx

Woodware Challenge - Colours of Spring

Good Morning Everyone,
I'm back again today with my latest card for the Woodware Challenge, where they are asking you for the 'Colours of Spring.
This should have gone live very early this morning, but the Internet crashed as I was writing it, and so now I have had to wait until everyone has resurfaced before I can get on any further.
I really must get a little more organised and then I could schedule it without panicking, still never mind, maybe one day lol.

This week they are asking for The Colours of Spring.
I have used FRS216 Field of Tulips.
It is a lovely big stamp which would work very well with paper piecing, but that's another card :)

I have stamped and embossed it onto a piece of Faux Mother of Pearl background and then coloured it with dye based inks.
I coloured the clouds, and also added some tiny dots with a white Gelly Roll Glaze pen.

Get Well Soon comes from another Woodware set FRCL198 Sail Away, but I think this card would work well for any occasion.

The background papers are all from the shelves at SirStampalot where I am staying for another week.
Of course there had to be some ribbon and Faux Card Candy.
I left the real thing at home so I improvised with a small circle punch and some of the background paper scraps.
I hope that this has inspired you and that you will join us this week with your take on The Colours of Spring.
Off to the shop now to get ready for my class.
Have a great Day.
Happy Stamping.
Kimx

Flower Labels with lemon juice

Evening Everyone
I hope that you have had a good start to your weekend.
It has been pretty wet in Peterborough, at least on and off, but I have still had a lovely day demoing here at SirStampalot.
Lots of lovely people have stopped in, including the sister of one my customers from the BP garage down in Surrey, it's a small world isn't it!!

This is the card that I made yesterday when I forgot to bring my camera home. It uses the lemon juice background technique that I have been showing people today.
I cut a lemon in half and tapped it onto white card stock which I then heated. The more lemon juice there is on the card the longer it will take to 'cook' and the darker it will turn, so you can control the colour to a certain degree.

Once the lemon juice has been heated I stamped and embossed Hero Arts K5583 Flower Label on to the card before sponging over the entire thing with Distress inks.
Best Wishes is taken from a Hobby Art clear set  which has been stamped and embossed into the label area of a second stamped image. This has been cut out and attached to the original panel using silicon to give it a padded effect.

The background papers used on the card are EB104 Okey Dokey Artichokey from Paper Loft and P442 Elm Point from Kaisercraft.
The border punch is by EK Succsess, and I added some stitching with a fine pen and faux card candy made from the left over lemon juice background.
I will be sharing this technique with the ladies in my class on Tuesday evening.
I must finish now as I still have my post to write for the next challenge over at Woodware. Perhaps you will stop by tomorrow and see what I have made.
hugs Kimx

Missing one mojo, if found please return.

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you are having a great weekend, and if you are out and about and find my missing mojo please return it to me.
I should be spending the weekend making a start on DT samples for the TV but I just can't seem to get going, so instead I decided that I would make a couple of cards just for the hell of it and see if that gets my mojo going again.
I have managed to make 6 Christmas cards which I will share with you as soon as I can get some pictures taken, but I guess tomorrow will tell on the missing mojo front.

So in the mean time this is a card that I made for Barbara at Clarity last month.
I have used the lovely Lily of the Valley stamp which I have painted using dye based inks and Pearlex.

The images have been cut out using a circular nestie and mounted on to a panel of gold card edged using an EK Success border punch.
I have added some stitching and Faux Card Candy.
Off to bed now, maybe my missing mojo will return while I sleep, I certainly hope so.
hugs Kimx

January Sketch Challenge over at Woodware

 
Evening Everyone,
Tonight I am sharing the card that I have made using the sketch over at the Woodware challenge.

It has actually been made for my good friend Anna who lost her Mum just after Christmas.
The black and white panel has been stamped and embossed using the large flower head from the Stampendous clear set SSC1111 Agapanthus Thank You, black versafine ink and clear embossing powder.
I distressed the edges using weathered wood distress ink and some Metallic rub-ons from Kit no 3.

The central black panel has been stamped and embossed using the fine line flower head and then the images have been painted using thin bleach.
I also added a greeting to both panels from Woodware clear set JGCL508 Jane's Script.
The card candy has been punched from some of the left over pieces and attached using silicon.

The main image has been created using another Stampendous stamp Agapanthus Cluster and decorators chalks. It was cut out using a nestie and layered over more of the purple card stock.
Why not have a go at making a card following this sketch. You have the entire month of January to come up with something, and you never know you might win a prize.
Add your creation using the link at the bottom of the Mondays Post, and don't forget you can still enter even if you don't have a blog, by e-mailing a picture of your card to Dorothy at dorothy@woodware.co.uk.
Good Luck, and most of all have fun.
hugs Kimx

Woodware Challenge Sketch 5, Anything Goes in the USA and a prize

Hi Guys
Now you know that I always like to enter the challenge over at Woodware, and that I am also trying to use up some of the hundreds of images that I have already stamped out at some time in my crafting life.

Well here is my dilemma.
I've made my card using Woodware's lovely simple sketch. Sometimes it is just so much easier to get a card started if you have a sketch to follow, especially if you are have having a creatively challenged moment, just like me at the minute :)

Now comes my problem, I can't find out what the stamp is. I'm pretty sure that it is by Stampendous. I seem to remember that it came in a boxed set with a medium and two small stamps, and that there were several other sets out at the same time one with some Koi carp and another with bamboo and that's as far as it goes.
So I thought that I might turn it in to a challenge to all of you, with a prize at the end for someone. Leave me a comment telling me what the stamp is (preferably with a code so I can check it out :)) and I will draw a winner on Monday. It's my birthday so it will be my gift to someone else.
OK so back to the card itself.

The main image has been stamped and embossed onto white card using a Kaleidacolour dye based ink pad. Yes you can emboss dye based inks you just have to be a little bit quicker getting the embossing powder on to the image.

The central of the three background panels has been made by tapping coordinating dye based ink onto my Craft sheet, spritzing it with glimmer mist and then placing a piece of damp water colour card onto it. Give it a smoosh (twist it round a bit to make the inks blend) and when you pull the card away and voila, instant background paper and all hand made.
Once it is dry I have assembled the card using some purple and blue card stock from my stash. I then stamped the Artemio Hedgerow Plants around the edges of the card before adding the main image which I mounted on to black glossy card.
The punch is a Martha Stewart and the greeting is from a Hobby Art background stamp.

I added a little faux card candy made from the leftovers.
I am also entering this into the challenge over at Woodware USA where challenge 46 is Anything Goes.
So don't forget to do a little research and leave me a comment. And of course don't forget to try out the sketch yourself and enter the challenge.
I'm off to do a bit of my homework, catching up with some DT commenting over at Crafty Cardmakers. Who knew that so many people would enter, I'm really beginning to wonder if I can live up to expectations, I seem to spend all my time on the computer instead of making cards lol.
Happy Research.
Love and hugs
Kimx

Tea or Coffee anyone?

Afternoon All
I hope that you are all enjoying the beautiful weather that we are having today.
Why is it though that it always has to be so extreme? One minute we have torrential rainfall and the next it's so hot that I don't know what to do with myself. I'm afraid that the heat and I don't mix so having just hung up the washing that's me done for for a while so I thought that I would sit with a cold drink and blog.

I had another lovely day of classes at Lavender Lane yesterday. Some of my 'Groupies' were there, including Gill back from her hols. Unfortunately she could only make the afternoon class so she missed out on this one which would have been just up her street, Sepia cards but we used tea and coffee to make the background paper and paint the images with!!!!!!

Unfortunately the store will be closing its doors full time at the end of July, although they will still be open on a Saturday through out August. Because of this I knew that their range of sepia inks would be a little limited so I decided to think outside the box.

Like almost everyone at one time or another I have aged paper with a soggy teabag, school projects with my girls and Grandchildren spring to mind. But I have also made aged paper using a tray of instant coffee and then a few granules sprinkled onto the paper once it is out of the tray and waiting to dry. (See my blog post for the 10th June Coffee Anyone ?)

What I have never tried before though was actually painting with the coffee. As you can see I think that it works really rather well. The Hobby Art Poppy Spray has been stamped and embossed using Sepia Versafine ink and then coloured in using a strong mix of instant coffee.

All of the papers have been made either using a wet teabag or the instant coffee mix, I even tried putting screwed up cling film on the very back piece to give that lovely frosted effect.
I added some stamping to the papers using the Hero Arts Leaf Flourish. I know that this is one of Brenda's favourites and I love it too, we have very similar taste in stamps me thinks lol.
I am entering this into the challenge over at Sketch Saturday since I have used their lovely sketch when making the card.
I think I have rested enough now, so I will make a spot of lunch and then get back to the card making, I am so behind with everything.
Have a great day, Happy Crafting
Love and hugs
Kimx