Spring Flowers

Evening Everyone,
Have you had a good start to the week?
It is my turn to share something on the Hobby Art blog today, so I thought that I would show you a card that I made for one of Jenni's shows on Create and Craft.

I don't know about you, but my DT cards are often influenced by the classes or other projects that I am working on at the time, and this is no exception.
I was prepping for a class on Tea and Coffee, a current favourite of mine, when my parcel arrived so that is what I have used here.

I stamped and embossed the beautiful Floral Frame onto a piece of background paper made using cold tea and instant coffee.
I also used coffee to paint the image and added white using a Gelli Roll glaze pen.

I have also spritzed the papers with more coffee and some Glimmer Mist.
I have a new parcel of stamps from Jenni eagerly awaiting my attention so I had better get on with it.
Have a great week,
Hugs Kimx

The Beauty of Birds

Hi All,
Well did you get to see Barbara on the box, or were you busy with other weekend tasks?

Here as promised is one of the cards that I made for the shows.

The background has been made using one of the Clarity Stencils embossed using my EBosser and then sponged with Distress ink and spritzed with tea.

The background to the parakeets is made using a mix of black coffee, watercolour Pearlex and cling film. Black coffee has also been used to paint the images.

I used Beauty from one of the Wordchains stamped and embossed in the corner,

and Faux Card Candi made from more of the handmade background paper along with some Faux Stitching.
I don't think this actually made it on to the show, and as usual I loved other peoples ideas far better than my own. Isn't that always the way.
Night night and hugs
Kimx

Anyone for Tea and Coffee?

Evening Everyone,
Isn't it funny how crafting techniques are just like fashion, they keep coming back.
I have just watched Sue from Imagination Craft using coffee to age an image on her show this afternoon on Create and Craft.

Tea and Coffee was actually a class that I taught at Davina's a few weeks ago and as I got rather carried away with the left overs I have several more cards to share with you.

The background paper has been made by soaking card with diluted instant coffee and then sprinkling some more coffee granules into the wet card while it is drying. 

I stamped and embossed images from Plant a Meadow Petals and Dots one of the new Woodware stamp sets.

I edged the panel with Gold Gilding Wax, which is also from Woodware.

I stamped more of the images over the background as well as some Artemio script using Distress ink.

The main panel on this card has been made in a similar manner to the one above. I think that there is also some spritzed tea on them as well.

I also added some hedgerow plants from an old Artemio set stamped using Distress inks.

 I added Glitter Glue to some of the tiny dots.

The sentiment is from the same stamp set.
I do love this technique so I am sure that it pop up now and again here on the blog.
Happy Stamping and hugs
Kimx

At last Something Old, and Something New at CCM&More

Evening Everyone,
So I can finally cross one thing off my ever expanding 'To Do List'.
Who knew that it would take so long to complete my blogged cards picture listing,  or that I had shared so many cards with you guys for that matter, over 1500 since October 2009.
So let me add to that number with my latest offerings.

We start the New Year over at Crafty Cardmakers and More with a lovely new challenge and some new Teamies.
Leslie is our hostess and she would like to see your creations incorporating something old and something 
new. This could be old stash and new stash combined, or perhaps an old technique and a new one.

I have used a combination of stamps old and new, and a very old technique which is bound to be new to some of you.
The background to the card has been made by spritzing white card stock with TEA and COFFEE.

Pour a little hot water on to a teabag and leave to soak.
The longer you leave the bag in the water the darker the colour. Don't add any milk, and transfer the resulting liquid into a spritzing bottle. Hey Presto instant ink.

I also made a similar solution using instant coffee. Melt instant coffee granules in a small amount of hot water. Once again the stronger the coffee solution, the darker the colour.

I stamped and embossed this fabulous, and brand new stamp from Woodware and then painted it using the coffee solution and a paint brush.

I used some old Artemio Hedgerow stamps and blue Distress ink on the background panel as well as some more tea and coffee.
The ribbon across the centre has also been coloured using tea.

As usual I got a little bit carried away and so I thought that I would share a couple more similar cards with you.

The central image has been coloured in the same manner but I added some dry embossing to the background panel using a Vintage embossing folder.

 I also added a punched panel across the centre of the card.

The main stamped image here has been coloured with a wash of coffee which has made it much paler.

The dark splodges in the background on this card are created by sprinkling coffee granules over the wet background and then leaving them to melt and dry.

These splodges can dry with quite a glossy finish.

As you can see I really did get carried away. In fact I have a folder full of pieces of Tea and Coffee background so I'm sure that this won't be the last time that you see this particular technique amongst my cards this year.
I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to share these, but I do hope that you feel that they were worth the wait.
I would like to enter them in to the following challenges.
Fashionable Stamping Challenges  - Something New (Main Stamp)
Crafty Calendar Challenge - What's New (Main Stamp)
A Gem of a Challenge - Something New (Main Stamp)
Cuttin and Stampin Challenges - Coffee
Thanks for stopping by, any comments would be greatly appreciated, and please don't forget to pop over and see what the rest of the team have come up with.
Happy Crafting and Hugs
Kimx

Any one for Tea or Coffee?

Evening All,
After all of the indulgences over the Christmas and New Year period I thought that everyone would be in need of some tea and coffee, and so that is the theme of the class that I taught at Davina's this afternoon.

This was just one of several cards that I had fun creating to inspire the Girls.

The background paper which was spritzed with a solution of instant coffee has been stamped and embossed in black using a stamp from Imagination Crafts.

I also stamped around the edges using second generation ink and a floral stamp from Woodware. I added a few stencilled dots with more dye based ink.

The flower started life as a piece of cream card die cut using Tim Holtz Tattered Floral die.

I over stamped the petals using the same floral stamp and dye based ink before spritzing it with more of the coffee solution.

Screwing up the petals after spritzing with coffee and then leaving them to dry gives the flower a beautiful shabby appearance.

The leaves are die cut and are also spritzed with coffee.
The classroom had the aroma of a coffee shop about it this afternoon, and as no class is complete without a biscuit at the very least I provided some M&S Christmas Pudding cookies - very nice.
As usual I have a large pile of bits that need finishing off, so I can see how my weekend will be spent. It's a hard life isn't it lol.
Happy Crafting and hugs
Kimx

Tea and coffee with Milk

Evening Everyone
Well so much for the sunshine, I suspect that we might be experiencing one of those blink and you've missed it Summers lol.
So you are probably tucked up in doors with a nice hot cup of coffee. If that is the case then my card tonight will fit rather nicely.

Over at Our Creative Corner they are looking for 'Bakin Beauties'. You MUST use something you would use in baking in your creations.
Believe it or not the oval panel in the centre of the card and the spiky flowers have all been coloured with Condensed Milk!!!

I found the instructions for this quite a few years ago in an old magazine, I think it was Somerset Studio or The Rubber Stamper, one of the American magazines that I used to get when I first started stamping, back in the day.
In fact I actually taught it as a class once at The Craft Barn, and the pieces that I have used here were from my class prep file so it has lasted well given that that must have been 10 years ago since I worked there.

If I remember correctly I stamped and white embossed the Magenta flower and then painted the image with condensed milk before heating it with my heat tool to caramelise the milk.
The brown panel at the back of the card has been made by painting card stock with strong black coffee, or you can use a soggy teabag, preferably before you add the milk :O)
The brown leaves were also painted with coffee.
You will be pleased to know that I did use a few normal stamping ingredients - Aged Taupe Embossing Enamel was used on the leaves in the gingham panel and of course some good old distress inks.
I have used a lovely sketch over at Papertake Weekly challenge, although I may be a little late to enter.
Do give this technique a try, it's great fun and it smells pretty good too lol.
Lets hope that the weather tomorrow is a little more encouraging.
Night night.
Hugs Kimx

Woodware Challenge - Take 2 colours

Evening Everyone
Hope that you are well.
You know how some techniques get you hooked on them for a while. Well at the moment, for me, that seems to be painting with coffee.

I think I must be going through a bit of a Sepia phase, and the coffee compliments the colour so well. In fact I'm teaching a class on it this evening at Davina's.
The challenge over at Woodware this week is Take 2 colours and so I think my card fits that quite well being brown and pink.

I have used a lovely Woodware stamp set FRCL159 Flower Doodles which I have stamped and embossed onto a piece of card that has first been spritzed with coffee. I have then painted the flowers themselves with the same coffee. I have added some gingham background paper and a punched border as well as a couple of hand made flowers.

This second card uses the same painting technique only this time the background has been made with a soggy wet teabag.

 My grandson Ciaran made me laugh when we noticed that his hair was the same colour as the piece of art work that I was working on. Of course we had to take a picture of it lol.
Off to teach now, my lift awaits.
Have a good evening.
Love
Kimx

Janice set me a challenge

Hi
I suppose I really ought to say Good Morning given the time lol.
I've had a very productive day. I have made sure that all the birthday cards are sorted for this month. Well nearly all. I still have two very special cards to make for the twins but I will make a start on them tomorrow.
Whenever I go to SirStampalot there is always a challenge set for me. This time was no different. There were several Hero Arts stamps for me to choose from and  'Do something with!'

The first stamp I used was Hero Arts CG287 Flower Corsage. It is a cling stamp, and having chosen it for my first challenge I made these two cards.
In this first one I have stamped and embossed it onto Bazzil card stock and then painted the image with bleach.

I used some papers in the background, my new punch and some more Bo Bunny spotted ribbon.

This second card uses the same stamp, only this time I have stamped and embossed it onto some background paper that I made using a soggy teabag. I have then painted the image with instant coffee!!

I have layered the image over some more lovely background papers that I picked up from the shop and cut out with a new Nestie. I have added a separate flower, along with some more spotty ribbon and punched leaves.
I hope that you like them both. They seemed to do the trick as we nearly sold out. I left the brown card for the shop so maybe they are sold out completely by now.
Good heavens it's nearly 1 o'clock I must get some sleep.
Nite nite
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