The last of the Maker Mania samples

Evening All,

Another gloriously sunny day, way too hot for me I'm afraid.

I thought that I would share the last of the cards that I made for Janice and Andy using the embossing folder and stamp set from the Maker Mania weekend.

This is a gorgeous 3D embossing folder used with Distress Oxide inks.

I inked the folder with Distress Oxide inks and spritzed with water before adding a piece of white card and pressing the folder closed with my hands to transfer the ink to the card stock.

This was actually one of the first pieces I created using the embossing folder and inks. I used too many colours so they went rather muddy and it was going to be binned until I decided to sponge on some extra ink.

I used some Altenew inks with these stamps in true layering fashion. I also added some extra fussy cut flowers to the stamped panel.

This panel again used the Distress Oxide inks and the 'Smack Down' technique. 

A little multiple stamping along with some clear embossed images. I also used mica powders on the images on the base card.

I know that there is a particular name for this type of card, but I can't for the life of me remember it. 

I created the panel with the multiple resist technique on glossy card stock and then used stitched rectangle dies to cut the panels which were matt and layered onto white before putting the panel back together.

I had such fun playing with this set, and was thrilled to be involved in such a fabulous weekend. Let's hope it happens again next year. I'm looking forward to it already!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Maker Mania Black Magic.

Evening All,

I was lucky enough to be involved in a fabulous crafty extravaganza this weekend. Maker Mania 3.

To be honest I hadn't really heard of it until my wonderful crafty mates Janice and Andy from SirStampalot in Peterboro contacted me and asked if I could help out with some samples for them. 

From what I could make out the event is held on Facebook where local stores across America, Canada and the UK join together to share crafting ideas with Makers of all kinds. Once you have purchased your kit which contains ,amongst other things, papers, stamps, dies and an embossing folder, you are given access to a private Facebook group where each of the participating stores showcase tips, tricks, techniques, ideas and inspiration using the supplies from the kit.

Janice asked if I would help out with some samples using the stamp set and embossing folder.

The floral stamp set is actually a rather nice layering set.

As luck would have it I had just done a class on the Black Magic technique which gave me the first of several ideas.

I managed to catch Janice's presentation when I got back from class this afternoon. She was incredible. It was a bit like speed crafting, and I have never seen anyone talk so quickly, but she managed to share loads of tips and ideas including this particular technique.

It was wonderful to be involved, especially as they are actually the only UK store this year, but who knows what might happen next year.

I will try and share some more of my samples over the next few days, in the mean time it's off to bed for me.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hugs Kimx

Did you get to watch the Eclipse?

Evening Everyone,
We took a little bit of time out this morning to watch the eclipse.

Andy sorted out a fabulous 'Heath Robinson' contraption that enabled us to safely see the eclipse.

We did get a few strange looks from passing traffic, although the post van actually stopped to watch us.

My pictures are not the best in the world, but at least I can say that I saw the eclipse, cause I really don't remember the last one in 1999. I was obviously busy that day lol.
Have a great evening. I can't believe that I will be travelling home tomorrow after my All Day Demo.
Maybe I will get to see some of you.
Till then.
Hugs Kimx

Thank You

Hi All,
I've just spent the last few days unpacking and trying to catch up with a few things after my holiday, so this is just a quick post to say thank you to Janice and Andy for letting me stay .....and play.

I am back at work now, in fact you should be reading this as I am busy serving customers with their morning coffee.

I hope that I can manage to get through the day without a 'granny nap'. It is always so difficult to get back into a routine after a few days off.
Hugs Kimx  

Holiday starts here.

Evening Everyone,
My holiday starts here!!
I am writing my very short post tonight from Peterboro, sitting at Janice and Andy's watching Hawaii 5 O and eating MacDonald's. I know how to live lol.
Playtime tomorrow, so better get some sleep.
Bye for now, hugs
Kimx

A Purple Poinsettia

Evening Everyone,
Amazingly we have managed to get a reasonably early night away from the unit. It was the promise of a Chinese meal that did it lol.
I have been busy prepping for tomorrows Metal and Burlap class as well as finishing off some of the bits and pieces that I have been playing with in the shop.

Tonight's card has been made using one of the elements from a fabulous Magenta Christmas Cling stamp set.

I stamped and embossed the image onto watercolour card and then painted it using the Pearlex Vintage Watercolour Palette. As the name suggests the colours all have a Sepia undertone to give them a very Vintage look.

The piece of purple card in the background has been dry embossed using an Embossing folder and then some Metallic Rub-ons and Platinum Glitter glue have been added.
I can't believe that tomorrow will be my last full day with Janice and Andy, I had better make the most of it.
I will be travelling to the NEC on Friday to do the Make and Takes on the Imagination stand over the weekend.
Of course I can't go to the show without a little look around now can I?
Wow this is an early night for me, I think I will make the most of it so I'm off to bed.
Night, night.
hugs Kimx

A Big Thank You to Kay

Evening Everyone.
As I have mentioned before, when I stay at Janice and Andy's I am unable to wash my hair as they have no shower in their bathroom.
This is where the wonderful Kay comes to my aid with my 'Shower Voucher'.
Door to door collection and delivery to her house and use of her bathroom. It's fabulous.
So this is for Kay, I left it for her to find when we left the house, I hope she likes it.
Thank You Kay, it is very much appreciated.
Hugs Kimx

Cinnabun or Sycamore

Evening Everyone,
Now I realise that this is a rather tenuous connection, and a little bit of a private joke but I wrote this post earlier whilst consuming half of the most enormous, and delicious chocolate cinnabun.

Nick, who works with Janice and Andy visited Cambridge at the weekend where there is this shop devoted to Cinnabuns and he bought some home for us.
I dread to think how many calories there are in one, but boy was it nice lol.
Still enough about food, on to the card for this evening.

Janice usually has some sort of challenge waiting in a box for me when I stay with them, and this time it was some skeleton leaves.

I used them to create the central stamped panel on the card by pressing onto them with a heated Magic stamp. This then becomes the stamp which I inked up with pigment inks. Once again I used my new Movers and Shapers leaf dies and a tiny Woodware punch.

The tree names are from a Woodware clear stamp set designed by Jane Gill which I cut out and mounted using rectangular and deckle edged Nesties.
I am teaching a class tomorrow evening so I have been doing some last minute class prep. Yes I know, it's always last minute with me, but at least it means that I can be current with what is in stock. That's my excuse anyway lol.
Do you think I will work off any of that cinnabun in my sleep? I think I had better try.
Night night.

Hugs Kimx

Poem Tree

Evening Everyone
I hope that you have all had a wonderfully relaxing weekend.
We got our lie in this morning, some of us for longer than others (Andy and Janice), so we have had a fairly laid back time at the unit getting some tidying and sorting done. Well at least Janice has, I have been playing. I'm on holiday remember!

This is one of the cards that I finished today. I'm not sure that I like it as it looks here, but it looks so much better in the flesh!!

I have used the foliage part of the Stampendous Poem Tree to stamp around the edge of some lovely background paper that I found in the shop. I meant to write down all of the codes so that I could tell you what I used, but they are at work, and I am sitting in bed writing this so that didn't work did it??

The leaves are cut using my newly acquired dies. They are actually Sizzex Movers and Shapers dies designed to go inside one of the larger cutting dies, but they went through the Cuttlebug perfectly using 2 C plates as the sandwich.

The leaves have been cut from papers I found in the shop, and layered over the stamped and embossed panel. Did I say I wasn't going to buy any more papers? Well I lied lol.

We will be using this fabulous stamp in class on Tuesday evening, so I'm sure that you will be seeing more of it over the next couple of days.
Oh dear, look at the time and no lie in tomorrow, so I had better get some sleep.
Catch you again tomorrow.
Night night.
Hugs Kimx

I'm here in Peterboro.

Evening Everyone
Well I've made it to Peterboro.
In fact it was such an uneventful and quick journey that I caught Janice and Andy (my taxi from the station) on the hop and I had to sit in the station coffee shop with a latte and a good book while they shut everything down at work to come and collect me lol.
It has meant a very early finish at the warehouse for them, which is highly unusual. But they did bring in homework, so having been treated to a MacDonald's for dinner we have been watching the telly while stuffing polybags in readiness for the delivery of the new Molly Blooms stamps that Claire will be demoing along side me on Saturday.
So I'm afraid there are no piccies as I need to get to bed. We always do early starts when I come to stay.
I'll do better tomorrow.
hugs Kimx

A Crafty Collaboration.

Evening Everyone
One of my many crafting challenges last month was to make samples for Janice and Andy to take with them to the show at Port Sunlight.
Time was of the essence and I knew that I wouldn't be able to manage all of the stamps that they had asked me to use, so I enlisted the help of a couple of 'Crafty' friends of mine.
They come up trumps bless them and the parcel was duly dispatched, including this one which was a bit of a collaboration.

Sue coloured the image and cut it out using a nestie and then ran out of steam, and time.
I thought that it was just too good to waste so I finished it off as you see it here with a bit of background paper, ribbon and some stamped words.

He's rather cute, I really should use my Penny Black stamps a little more but there always seems to be something else to make for everyone else that I never get the chance to play just for me.
Never mind, there's always tomorrow......or the next day lol.
Happy Crafting
hugs Kimx