Time to Paint Those Eggs

Evening,

Along with the beautiful 3D Embossing Folder that Creative Expressions recently released, there are some Easter stamps designed by the lovely Francoise Reid.

Normally I wouldn't blog them until Easter weekend, but as the supermarket shelves are groaning under the weight of Easter Eggs at the moment, I decided that I would share this card tonight.

I created the backgrounds using Creative Expressions Pixie Powders.

I love these powders because you never know exactly what you are going to end up with, every background is different even when using the same colours.

I stamped and embossed in white for all of the stamped images and then flooded the paper with water before adding the powders, and then more water.

I also added a little Gilding polish through a stencil in the background and then coloured some of the images with Pearlescent paint. All of the products used are from Creative Expressions.

Thanks for stopping by.

Love and Crafty Hugs

Kimx
 

Framed Poinsettia by Francoise

Evening Everyone,

I think it's time for a few more Christmas cards.

Once again I've used a favourite Poinsettia stamp designed by Francoise.

I used a piece of mop up background to stamp and emboss the image.

I then added extra colour with a sparkle pen for the flower, and removed colour with bleach for the leaves.

I used the same stamp to create a masterboard which I cut up and turned into 4 cards once I had coloured it in.

I mounted the trimmed panels on to white card and trimmed to leave a narrow border,

and then mounted them on to green square cards.

I added a die cut sentiment to each card along with some black nailheads.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Red and Green Christmas Spotlights

Evening All,

We had a lovely time yesterday playing with Distress Oxide inks, and I have managed to get all the bits and pieces finished off today, so I will have [plenty to share with you over the next few days.

But before that, here are some cards that I made at a class at SirStampalot a couple of Christmases ago. 

The class was making Christmas cards using Oxide inks, so I decided to limit the palette to just reds and greens.

That is the beauty of these fabulous inks, provided you dry your ink at each step you can layer several colours on top of one another.

Normally using only red and green would result in mud, but I think these are fabulous.

I also decided to focus on Spotlight cards. 

They are a great way of getting two cards from the one stamped and inked panel. I love this fabulous stamp designed by Francoise for Woodware.

I just added a little glitter pen to the center of the poinsettia on this card.

Oh well, that's the end of another weekend. Early start tomorrow, so it's bed time for me I think.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx
 

Use Your Backgrounds.

Evening All,

Friday again, thank goodness. It has been so lovely to see kids walking to school again, but there are definitely going to be some very tired people at the end of the day......parents, teachers and students lol. I know just how tired I felt my first week back at work after only 3 months off with a bad foot last year.

I have spent the afternoon fulfilling a promise to an old crafty friend.

My friend Gill has suggested that we use up some of our stash of background papers, and believe me I certainly have plenty of those.

She made a beautiful card using a piece of background that she had made using vivid inks from years ago......and probably from one of my classes too.

Vivid inks, as their name suggests, were beautiful vivid colours of both inkpad and reinker. I loved using the reinkers for making backgrounds that involved drops of ink a spritz of water and then a smoosh together of two pieces of cardstock.

I also used some cling film on this piece. My stamped image is a new stamp from Francoise which has just been released. I used bleach on parts of the image and then coated everything in clear embossing poder having first painted it with a versamark pen.

While I was at it I made a second card using the same fabulous stamped image

and ink mopped up from my spray booth.

Once again I painted the jug with embossing ink and coated it with clear embossing powder.

I've got some more DT stuff to work on tomorrow so better get my thinking cap on.

Thanks for stopping by. Why not play with some of your stash of background pieces, I'm sure that you all have some amongst your stash.

Hugs Kimx

Joy to the World

Evening,

Thank goodness it is the weekend, and only a week to go till Christmas day. I can't believe how quickly December has flown by.

I haven't managed to write any more Christmas cards at the moment, but I still have loads of them to share with you, so here are a couple using a fabulous design from Francoise Read for Woodware.

I used some of the Cosmic Shimmer Watercolour inks to create the papers for this card.

I also used an embossing folder on this one.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Happy Wednesday Gill

 Evening All

I'm afraid that crafting will have to take a bit of a back seat over the next few days as I am on babysitting detail for my youngest grandchildren while Mum has to go in to hospital.

I have been posting a card on a Wednesday to coincide with my friend Gill's challenge at Christmas Cardmaking and Papercraft on Facebook. Unfortunately I didn't have time to find anything for todays challenge before I got on the train after work, so I have been going through some older cards on my laptop for something that might be suitable.

This card was made a couple of years ago for my eldest Granddaughter when she passed her driving test.

I used a LOTV Simply Print image and like Gills' card I cut the image out using an oval die, and then fussy cut a second image to hang over the frame created by the die.

The L Plate background was created using a rather old, but much loved Woodware stamp set designed by Francoise Read. I stamped and embossed in white and then sponged gently with pale blue ink, before colouring in the broken L plates with red ink.

I hope that Gill will feel that this fits the bill. Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Mini Flower Silhouettes

 Evening,

Did you catch Francoise on the TV today. Unfortunately one of her shows was cancelled but she did get to show how to make fabulous coloured backgrounds. Lots of inky goodness, just my kind of thing.

Much as I love playing with all things inky, one of my all time favourite techniques is still heat embossing.

This card was made using one of the new smaller size stamp sets FRM002 Mini Flower Silhouettes. I did some gold embossing on a strip of kraft card, and added it to a red card base which has been stamped on in versamark/perfect medium to give a watermark effect.

I added a stamped and embossed sentiment. A very quick and simple card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Butterfly Masterboard

Evening all
Another Masterboard/One Sheet Wonder from me today, this time using another of Francoise fabulous new butterfly stamps FRS831 Butterfly.

I stamped and embossed the butterfly randomly over a piece of watercolour cardstock

and then dropped inks on to it once I had spritzed it with plenty of water. 

 Once the panel had dried, I chopped it up

to create three cards.
I hope that you have had a good Saturday.
Mine has consisted of getting the girls to try on some clothes to see if they still fit, playing doctors and nurses, dressing up, playing Barbies and Mums and Dads............and that's all before breakfast. I'm going to need a week off to recover, but not before another trip to the park tomorrow so that Mum can go and do the shopping. I managed to get her to have a couple of hours sleep today while I took them all out so the shopping took a back seat.
Better get some kip before they all wake up again. Jack is not one for remembering that Sunday is time for a lie in. His day usually seems to start at 4am!!!!!!
Stay safe and hugs
Kimx

Three Butterflies

Evening Everyone,
I have been lucky enough, over the last few years, to make samples for Jane's wonderful stamp designs for Woodware.

One of the many advantages to now being on the Creative Expressions Design Team, is that I now also get the chance to work with some of Francoise designs as well.

Now I do love a butterfly. Hate moths, but I love butterflies.....crazy I know.

These gorgeous creatures are from one of her newest stamp sets that were released on Tuesday.

I stamped and embossed them on to a piece of 'mop up' background paper and then added some extra colour using one of the Irridescent Shimmering Watercolour Palletes.

I fussy cut them and added them to a panel of card scraps embossed using EF-104 Coffee Stain embossing folder. 

This second card uses another of the butterfly stamps from this release.

I also used a mini flower silhouette stamp in the background, stamped using versamark/ perfect medium ink on khaki card stock. 

Another of Francoise fabulous new background stamps on the blue card stock.

There is a tiny bug stamp as part of the flower set so I added a few of them as well.

Thanks for stopping by.
I'll try and share one of Jane's designs tomorrow.
Hugs Kimx

A very Special Birthday Girl

Hi All
Today is a very special day. It is the birthday of a very wonderful lady, my lovely Mum, who is 90 years young. She also shares her day with a Grandaughter and Great Niece, so a very special day indeed.

I try where ever possible to show Mum any cards that I make before I pop them in the post.

This hasn't been possible very often during the last few months, but she did get to see the card that I made using Francoise fabulous Dancing Beetle.

She absolutely loved it, so I decided that I would use it for her card.

Of course it had to be extra special, so an easel card was definitely the way to go.

I also added some vellum wings for a little more dimension,

and this time I painted the beetle with Pearlescent paints instead of  Opal Blaze.

I also added a few extra drops of glossy accents to the background.

The flowers and layout were otherwise more or less the same. 

Of course you can't have a 90th birthday card without some large die cut numbers,

which I added to the top of the card as well as the base. 

I have been overwhelmed by the response to my plea on Facebook , people have been amazing. My aim was to try and get 90 cards for Mum to open, and we have managed that, and more.

We are spreading her celebrations out over the next couple of days so as not to overwhelm her, so my little sister started the ball rolling this morning with a bit of candle blowing and a danish pastry.
And yes, she does look a little beaten up after falling in her kitchen just over a week ago. Two black eyes, a bruised knee and a fractured rib!!!
She seems to have a thing about big celebrations and looking like she has done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.
I have a lovely photograph of her taken on her Golden Wedding Anniversary in May, 20 years ago. It was also the day my eldest Granddaughter Megan was born. So at 8 hours old Megan was at her first party having her picture taken with her Mum, me and my Mum. Four generations together, but my Mum looked very much the same as now as she had fallen off a ladder cleaning the windows in preparation for the Big day!!!!
Thank you so much for stopping by. I will share pictures of the birthday girl surrounded by her cards in the next couple of days.
Hugs
Kimx