Crafty Cardmakers challenge 66 - Fantasy

Evening Everyone.
Today sees the start of another challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers, where our host Lin wants to see a  Fantasy theme to your projects. So dragons, fairies, witches, etc, anything Fantasy or mystical just please make sure that the fantasy element is the main focal point of your creation and not a small fairy charm in the corner for example.
Our two fab sponsors are, Crop Stop with a $15 gift certificate to their store and Di’s Digi Downloads with a $10 gift voucher for their store.

I didn't have any trouble choosing my stamps when it came to this challenge.
What else would I use but Wizard Tilda  and Lillyrose the Dragon. 

I didn't have a suitable background stamp so I made my own on the computer and printed it out. I added distress ink around the edges and stamped the Shooting Star Border into the corners with the same colour ink.

Tilda has been coloured using Distress ink and then placed over an oval panel cut out with a nestie. I added some glossy accents to her glasses.
I sponged a little colour onto the oval with the nestie still in place, and also added a few stamped stars.

The dragon was a little too large so I decided to shrink her so that it looked as if Tilda had done just that.
The only shrink plastic that I could find was frosted so I painted the back of the shrunk dragon with some white acrylic paint to make the colours a little more vibrant.

The main background to the card has been punched using the Woodware Crafty Edger and Star cassette (The other half of the panel from the Woodware 21st Birthday challenge card)
I have added a large punched star behind the Dragon and a liberal sprinkling of smaller stars around the card.
I hope that you will join us HERE and don't forget to check out what the rest of the team have come up with.
hugs Kimx

A Vellum Cutie

Evening Everyone
Wow, where did that weekend go? I hope that those of you that made it to Ally Pally had a good time.

Tonight I am sharing another card which uses vellum.
This cutie comes ready coloured on a sheet of vellum along with several other images. I believe that it may actually be a Pergamano product but I'm not quite sure.

I have mounted the image onto white card to enhance the colouring and then cut it out using a nestie.

The panel on the right hand side of the card is vellum which has been embossed using an embossing folder.

The card and background papers are from my stash.

The flowers and leaves are also made from vellum using a combination of punches and floral DooHickeys.

I've managed to finish a couple more Christmas cards this weekend. Following some of the Christmas challenges is definitely paying off, and I even won another Honourable mention over at 52(Christmas) Card Throwdown which is a lovely added bonus.

Hugs Kimx

Happy 21st Birthday at the Woodware challenge

Evening Everyone,
Another late post for the Woodware challenge this week.
I really do miss having to get my card ready to post on the Sunday like I did as Guest Designer.
I hope you feel that this one is worth waiting for lol.

The challenge this week has been to make a card to celebrate a 21st birthday.
I confess that I wasn't really sure what to do, it's difficult when you don't have a specific person in mind.
I chose to use the fabulous FRS214 Huge Happy Birthday. I have stamped it onto two different background papers from my stash so that I could do a bit of paper piecing. This stamp works brilliantly for this technique.

I am still trying very hard to use up left over bits and pieces, so the background is very similar to another card which I will be able to share with you in a couple of days.

I have used the Crafty Edger and Star Party cassette along the bottom edge. Then I have stamped and embossed 'cheers' from the Wine Buff clear stamp set all over the background.
Next I used the leaves from Artemio clear set Floral Borders to stamp over the entire thing using versamark ink.

I had already stamped and embossed the Happy Birthday onto the panel before doing any further stamping so  I cut out the letters from the images stamped on to background papers and attached them to the main card using silicon.

I didn't have any Woodware Chippies but I found these numbers in my stash, I think that they came with a magazine. I covered them in Frantage Aged Silver embossing enamel and then stamped the leaf stamp into the molten powder which adds texture.
The glass of wine is also from the Wine Buff clear set and I have added some glossy accents to it after I coloured in the wine.
Off to bed now.
hugs Kimx

More Vellum for The Stamp Man

Evening All
Did you make it through Friday the 13th without too much hassle?
So far so good, but I'm not tempting fate given that there are still a couple of hours to go lol.
Friday also brings to a close the first week of my Vellum challenge over at The Stamp Man.

My card tonight uses blue vellum from the pastel pack available from The Stamp Man.
I have run a piece of it through the Cuttlebug using a Craft Concept embossing folder 'Budding Vine'

I have added metallic rub-on to the vellum and Gold Krylon pen around the edges.
The central stamped image is my favourite Hobby Art Bordered Poppy stamped onto a piece of Faux Mother of Pearl background.

The background paper is from my stash, and has been stamped and embossed using an Artemio Swirl stamp and Frantage Aged Aqua embossing enamel.
I hope that you are enjoying my challenge and that you will make a card to enter, there is still a week to go, so plenty of time.
Remember there is a £10 voucher to spend with The Stamp Man for the winner.
I think I'll play it safe and head off to bed now.
Have a great weekend.
hugs Kimx

A Stamped Punched Window

Evening Everyone.
No vellum again tonight I'm afraid, just a card inspired by Mynnette one of my wonderful teamies over at Crafty Cardmakers.
She has started a Technique Tuesday Link Party where she aims to share a new technique on the first Tuesday of the month.
There will be tutorial and a chance to link your own creations. Her first share is a 'Stamped Punched Window' and this is my take on it.

I have used a large Woodware Christmas background which I have stamped and embossed onto white card and then  coloured with blue ink from a Creole Spice Kaleidacolor ink pad.

The 'window' has been cut out using a nestie before any colour was sponged onto the panel, which means that I have been able to leave the nestie in place to create the white border.

I have added some snowflakes with a lovely Magnolia stamp and the same blue ink.
Please pop across to Mynette's BLOG where she give lovely easy to follow instructions on how to make her card, and then maybe you can try it out, just like I did.
Hugs Kimx

A Coffee Coloured Christmas

Evening Everyone
Where has this last week gone? I can't believe that we are half way through, and it's only two more sleeps till Friday as the twins would say lol.

 I am continuing with my challenge to myself to use vellum, and pieces from my bits box in my projects only this time it is a Christmas card.
Yes I am still trying to add to my stash of Christmas cards, although my productivity on that front is waining as the weeks are passing.

The background panel has been made using a Woodware stamp and some paper that has been spritzed with coffee. I also painted some of the wording with coffee.
The Three Kings is a lovely stamp from Hobby Art which has been painted using a Pearlex watercolour palette available from Woodware.

I did do a little new stamping on the brown card using a Magnolia snowflake stamp and Frantage Aged Taupe embossing enamel, both of which came from SirStampalot.

I added a strip of punched vellum across the centre and a greeting also from a Hobby Art stamp.

I followed the sketch this week over at 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown.

I really enjoyed making this so I might see if I can rustle up another couple of Christmas cards in the next couple of days.

Off to bed now, night night.

Hugs Kimx

Vellum Lace

Evening Everyone,
Well I failed to add any vellum to my card yesterday, so I have made up for it today.

Once again this card uses the lovely Woodware clear stamp set Grasses which I have stamped and embossed using versamark and white powder. Distress inks have been sponged over the embossed images which make them 'POP'
I used a combination of Dried Marigold, Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge and Ripe Persimmon.

I punched a narrow strip of yellow vellum from the pastel pack available HERE at The Stamp Man using a Martha Stewart border punch, and then creased it so that it would fit around an oval image cut with a nestie.

I also added punched strips of yellow and white vellum to the right hand side of the card.
The sentiment is from Hobby Art, and there is some stitching and card candy.
I would like to enter this into the challenge over at Just Keep on Creating.
This is a new challenge blog and they are encouraging you to 'Use it Up' in their Anything Goes challenge this month. Why not check it out, there are plenty of entries so far to inspire you.
Night night.
hugs Kimx

A Camper Van for Jason

Evening Everyone.

Just a quick post tonight to show you the card that I made for my Sin-in-law Jason's birthday.

Jason desperately wants to get an old camper van to restore, he's very good at that sort of thing having already done it to an old Beetle and BMW.

Unfortunately this is the nearest that I am ever going to be able to get for him.
I actually got this image as part of a kit that I bought from Create and Craft to use with the Grandchildren, but I couldn't resist using it to make a card for Jason.
I cut it out using an oval nestie and mounted it on to a card using background papers from my stash.

The greeting is a Molly Blooms design available from SirStampalot, and I have added card candy and some bakers twine.

The card has been made using Marie's sketch over at Sunday Sketch and Stamp.

We have ended the day with a lovely roast lamb dinner and Saskia has had us all in stitches with her entertainment, quite the budding actress lol.

I suppose everyone else will be back to normal tomorrow after the long weekend.

I hope that you have all had a nice break even if the weather here at least has been typical Bank Holiday weather.........rain. Well what else would you expect in England lol.

Hugs Kimx

Woodware Sketch Challenge for April

Afternoon Everyone.
I trust that you are all having a good weekend, and that you have left enough room for dinner after all the chocolate.
I may not be the guest designer over at the Woodware challenge anymore but I still like to enter.
One thing about being guest was that I had to get my card done ready to post on the Sunday, so this is technically a week late :)
This week the challenge has been to work your magic with their new sketch.

I decided to use a lovely new clear stamp set JG5267 Grasses that I bought at Davina's.
I stamped and embossed it onto a narrow strip of white card using versamark ink and white embossing powder. Then I sponged Distress inks over the top using a combination of Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed and Wild Honey.

At work this week we have been selling some beautiful Spring bouquets which are filled with yellow and purple flowers and so I decided to use the same colours on my card.
I added some stitching to the sponged panels and a stamped greeting from another Woodware clear stamp set JGCL508 Jane's Script which was stamped with a black StazOn ink pad.

I am also trying to continue my vellum theme as per my challenge over at The Stamp Man, so I have added a strip of punched vellum across the centre of the card.
The flowers are punched from vellum using assorted Woodware flower punches.
Oh crumbs I've just noticed the date.
I need to get a card made for my Sin-in-Laws birthday tomorrow. Back to the Craft Room. Good job I did my post early as I can see a late night in my future lol.
Happy Crafting.
hugs Kimx

Vellum Flowers for The Stamp Man

Evening Everyone
Hope that you have been having a good weekend.
As promised I have been working on some more cards using Vellum to go with the challenge that I have set this month over at The Stamp Man..
This card was actually made at the same time as the one that I posted at the time of the challenge going live.
I do try and use up all the bits when I have been playing, the trouble is that everything starts to look as if I only use one set of colours. Still never mind, I hope you like it anyway.

I used the same stamps, vellum and Decorating chalks as for the previous card to create the background and coloured vellum, so why not stop by my previous POST for more details on how this was acheived.

I tore the vellum panel and attached it to the card using Woodware Miracle Adhesive Film, and then added stiching using a fine black pen.

The flowers were cut from some of the remaing vellum and background card using a DooHickey Vintage Daisies.
I also added some punched leaves and card candy for the flower centres.

Why not stop back tomorrow and see what else I have made using vellum.
In the mean time I'm off to post a few more comments.
I'm playing catch up as usual I'm afraid :)
Happy Crafting.
hugs Kimx

It's my challenge at The Stamp Man

Hi All
Today is the start of a new challenge over at The Stamp Man and it is my first time as host. 
I have chosen Vellum as my theme, and I would like to see vellum on your projects in any shape or form.
Please let me know how you have used it though, you know how subtle vellum can be so I might need help to see it lol.
I love vellum. I find it especially useful when it comes to covering a bit of bad stamping to 'rescue' a card. 
In fact I thought that it might be fun to see if I can add vellum to as many of my cards as possible over the next fortnight.

This is the card that I made for the challenge. 
I actually got a little carried away and made two, but I think I will save one for a second post.
My all time favourite way of using vellum is with Decorating chalks.
The Stamp Man are doing some lovely multipacks of coloured vellum at the moment, and the pastel one works perfectly with chalks.

First I stamped the butterfly from the Artemio clear stamp set Floral Borders onto a piece of white card using a versamark ink pad. The best way to apply chalks, in my opinion, is with a cotton wool ball.

I blended blue and green from the Decorating Chalks Kit no 3 over the butterflies and then added a bit of glimmer with the Classic 'Glimmer' Chalks set.

I laid a piece of the vellum over the card and stamped the leaves from the Floral Borders set into the gaps before applying the chalks as before.

I also stamped Manuscript Background over the vellum using a Cotton White StazOn ink pad.

I know that there are all sorts of products on the market to attach vellum but my favourite is Miracle Adhesive Film from Woodware, it is fantastic.
I used it to attach the vellum to the white card, after I had first rolled the bottom right hand corner of the vellum panel. I also stamped the leaves onto the blue background card using versamark.
The border across the centre of the card also comes from the Floral Border set, and the greeting is from the Woodware Clear Magic set - All Through the Year

The butterfly was stamped onto vellum and coloured with the chalks before being cut out. I shaped it and attached it to the card using silicon and then added a little Glossy Accents to the body.
Of course no card of mine lately would be complete without some stitching and a little bling.
I had great fun making this card for the challenge, and I hope that you will feel inspired to join in HERE.
Don't forget to check out what the rest of the DT have made for you.
Have a great Easter weekend, not too much chocolate I hope lol.
Happy Crafting.
Hugs Kimx

Super Cool Dudes

Evening all.
No cards tonight as I have been working hard to get my post ready for The Stamp Man challenge which goes live tomorrow. 
I will have to rely on a scheduled post since I will be hard at work in the garage tomorrow until 2pm. 
If past years are anything to go by it will be a steady stream of people buying Easter eggs and food. You would think that shops were never going to open again.
How about this for some super cool dudes,

 and a dudette too lol.

They have been busy all day with Mum so a little bit of chill out time, a good film and a bag of pop corn was definitely the order of the day.
Oh to be young again lol.
Better get back to my post for tomorrow now before I fall asleep.
hugs Kimx

The Brayering Blues

Evening Everyone,
I have been trying very hard to make sure that I finish off the bits and pieces that have been started in a class.
So far so good, so here is a card that uses up a stamped and brayered panel from my last class at Davina's on Saturday.

The stamp is by Stampendous, and the background has been created using several colours of Adirondack ink and a brayer. A small circular mask placed on the glossy card stock before the brayering is started gives the illusion of a sun or moon in the sky.
I have seen Barbara do this on the TV so many times that I thought that I might give it a go.
I also masked around the floral image before I brayered and then added a border with a fine black pen.

The background to the main card is once again made using the brayer and Adirondack dye based inks in 'Barbara style', only this time I have spritzed it with water and then covered it with cling film to give a wonderful frosted finish.
I have added a punched border, some ribbon, peel-off lines and a little bit of bling to the finished card.
I really am going through a blue phase aren't I.
I have noticed that most of my cards seem to be in the same colours just recently.
Still no Christmas cards yet this month, I shall have to get some made if I'm not going to fall behind again. Maybe at the weekend who knows.
Night night.
Hugs Kimx

A field of Tulips for Mandy

Evening Everyone,
I don't know what it's been like your way but we have certainly been doing our bit for the water table here. It's been pouring, but I expect that it is the 'wrong type of rain', you know what the water board are like lol.

I told you I was in love with a new stamp, well here it is again!
I just love this Fields of Tulips clear stamp by Woodware. It is a large stamp so it was perfect for the card that Lorraine wanted for her friend Mandy. Lorraine does like BIG cards, so I keep a stock of 8 inch square blank cards at the ready.

The Tulips have been stamped and embossed onto watercolour card which I have then coloured with distress inks.
I also stamped the image onto several pieces of background paper from my stash which I have then cut out and used to paper piece the flowers and leaves.

The butterflies were shaped with an embossing tool before they were added to the card.

The flowers are cut out using a selection of DooHickeys and a Cherry Lynn swirl. I also added some ribbon and lace as well as a punched border strip.
I always enjoy making cards for Lorraine.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges
Creative Card Crew - Challenge No 7 Spring. I think tulips definitely count lol
The Crazy Challenge - challenge 113 Spring

I think it has finally stopped raining here, so lets hope that it doesn't turn really cold like they have been threatening or I will be skating to work tomorrow.
Better get to bed now.
Night night.

Crafty Cardmakers challenge 65 - Easter.

Evening Everyone
Well as I expected it has been far less frantic at work today. 
Not only are people not panic buying fuel but of course the school holidays have started so that always makes a difference to the traffic.
Today sees the start of the new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers. 
The host this time is Doreen who would like to see your Easter creations. Cards, Scrap LOs, Altered Art, Bookmarks, Tags, whatever you fancy as long as it has an Easter theme. 
We are sponsored for this challenge once again by Digi Doodle Shop who are offering a $10 Gift Certificate for the store

We are also delighted to be sponsored by Hobby Art with two gorgeous stamps sets as their prize.
We would like to thank them for coming to our rescue at the last minute.

I don't usually make Easter cards so this was a good challenge for me.
I bought this lovely Magnolia Spring Background stamp at SirStampalot some time ago with the intention of covering up the chick. However I felt that it worked perfectly for this challenge.

I stamped and embossed the image onto watercolour card and coloured it using distress inks. After it was dry I cut it out and layered it onto a brayered background created 'Barbara style'.

The background papers are from my stash, although they were all purchased at SirStampalot.
I added some stitching with a fine black pen as well as a punched border across the middle of the card.
The flower is a DooHickey and the leaves are Cherry Lynn dies.
Of course I had to add a little bling, the punched border just screams out for it don't you think lol.
Please stop by the challenge and see what the other girls have come up with, and maybe have a go yourself.

I would like to enter my card into a couple of challenges
Hooked on Craft - Challenge 19 Easter
Incy Wincy Designs - Challenge 140 Easter / Pastel colours
Stamp and Create - April challenge Spring
Paper Sundaes - Challenge 114 Happy Easter
Don't forget to play along HERE
Night night
hugs Kimx

Tulips in Blue

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you have all had a wonderful weekend.
I have been trying to catch up with some of the more mundane and basic bits of card making, namely matching cards to envelopes and adding inserts. Boring but necessary especially if you want to have a card ready for any occasion.
I did get to play a little bit, and I am now officially in love with a new stamp.

This is made using the fabulous FRS216 Field of Tulips from Woodware. It is a lovely big stamp, which stamps and embosses beautifully.

I got the idea for this style of card from one that Louise had made for the shop when I was staying at SirStampalot.
The base, and layers for the card are made using a Grand Nestie.

I stamped and embossed the tulips onto watercolour card and then painted the image using distress inks.
The blue background card has been created using a Magnolia swirl stamp.  This has been stamped and embossed using versamark and white embossing powder and then distress ink has been sponged over it.

The pink background paper is from my stash, and the greeting, flower and swirls were cut out with various dies.
I added some dots to the image using a white Gelly Roll glaze pen.
I wonder how busy we will be at work tomorrow?
I'm afraid I don't watch the news or read the paper if I'm not at work so I guess I will find out what is going on in the world tomorrow.
Off to bed now.
Hugs Kimx