Sending Love

Afternoon All,
Well at least we haven't got snow anymore, although I'm not sure that I'm particularly impressed by the current alternative...…..pouring rain. We're never satisfied are we lol.

Today would have been my Dads 95th birthday.

I always send a card to Mum to let her know that we are thinking of him, and her of course.

We had a fabulous time playing with the Decorating Chalks in class on Saturday. So much so in fact that we have decided to visit Pearlex on another occasion.

I love the soft and subtle colouring that you get with the chalks.

This card uses my absolute favourite stamp at the moment from Penny Black,

and has been made for my Boss to give to his daughter for her birthday next week.

This card shows off the beauty of the Tim Holtz Stamping Platform to perfection.

I stamped the image using the platform and versamark ink and then added the chalks in the usual way using a cotton wool ball.

Place the card back into the platform and stamp again using the versamark inkpad.
Provided that your card is in the same place the image will stamp in exactly the same place. It is a fantastic piece of kit for rectifying those stamping mishaps when you have missed part of the image.
In this case I have coated this second inking with Crystal Embossing powder and heated it to give a wonderful sparkly finish but retaining the soft colouring of the chalks.

I try very hard to prepare a tag for the ladies to add to their ring.
They will point out that I have failed miserably over the last few months, so I am trying to make amends :O)

The idea for the tag ring came from a class that I did several years ago at Sirstampalot. One side is a little bit of inspiration to remind them of what they did, and the other is a basic instruction sheet on the particular technique that we have covered.
I thought that I would share a few more of the samples that I took to class. As you can see this technique is a particular favourite of mine.

I need an early night tonight as I have to be at work at stupid o'clock tomorrow. 4am to be precise!!!! Still the upside is that I finish at midday so I will have plenty of time to play, if I can keep my eyes open that is.

Have a great evening.

Happy Crafting and Hugs.

Kimx

Powdered Pearlex and Chalks for Christmas.

Hi All,
Given the inclement weather that we have had recently I thought that I would share a few more Christmas cards with you.
We are playing with Decorating Chalks and also dry powdered Pearlex in class tomorrow, snow drifts willing of course lol, so here are a few of the samples that I will be taking with me to inspire the ladies.

Pearlex works well on both dark and light coloured card stock, although I think that I actually prefer the effects on dark as it is much more striking.

Stamp with Versamark and then dust the image with a very small amount of Pearlex and a paintbrush. Less is very definitely more as they say.

These first couple of cards, using a very old snowflake image, use Pearlex powders.
I love both the mediums that we will be playing with, although I do particularly associate Pearlex with Christmas because of it's beautiful sparkle.

The panel on this one is created with the Decorating Chalks which is applied to the versamark stamped image using a cotton wool ball.

 

Pearlex powders can also be mixed into a paint with the addition of a little gum arabic and water.

These last few cards use this to paint the central panel on them.
I don't want to confuse everyone with this technique so we will have to play with Watercolour Pearlex on another occasion. That's another class to add to the list.

Several of the backgrounds to the cards have been created using Embossing folders and a hint of Gilding Wax.

It looks like the snow has melted here at least, although who knows what it is like just up the road.

Better get a wiggle on, my lift will be here soon.

Have a great crafty day, and stay warm.

Hugs Kimx

Add some Texture at CCM

Evening Everyone,
Well that didn't quite go as planned did it. Still we can't be perfect all of the time lol.
I carefully put the photos of my card ready to post, and then haven't found a single moment to write anything, so let's try again shall we?
Monday saw the start of a new challenge over at CraftyCardmakers where my lovely Teamie Jackie is looking for you to Add some Texture.

A very easy way to add texture to any project is by using an embossing folder.

And a little added gilding wax highlights that texture beautifully.

I used it as the background to this card which was made with the latest Woodware stamp release.

I fussy cut the tree and layered it over a panel of 'Bleedin Art Tissue' screwed up and attached to DSST. Adding a little gilding wax brings out all the texture on this panel as well.

A sentiment finishes the whole thing off.

As usual, when I am making samples, I play and see what happens. So here is another card that I made with a few of the leftover bits and pieces.

I added the stamped and embossed tree to a piece of mop up background and coloured it in using the same inks. I also added a sentiment and a strip of leafy embossing.

This stamp set is one of several that Jane will be taking on to the TV at the beginning of February, the 9th to be precise so I had better get a wiggle on in the sample department.

I hope that you can join us at CCM this time. I look forward to seeing your creations.

Have a great afternoon. Stay warm.

Happy crafting and hugs

Kimx  

Leafy Thanks

Hello All
Maybe if I can just stay one step ahead of myself I might get a few more of my card mountain blogged. It's not working well so far, but I can only hope that things get better lol.

Today's cards were made using a fabulous old Stampendous leaf stamp set and a Kaleidacolour dye based ink pad.

These lovely multicoloured ink pads lend themselves very nicely to the painting technique that I have used here, as do the patterned leaves.

I created a Masterboard by stamping the leaves randomly on to Mixed Media card stock using the Cappuchino Kaleidacolour ink pad.

A damp paintbrush was used to colour in the leaves using the ink from the stamped image. Because it is a dye based ink the colour will move when water is added, just make sure you keep washing your paint brush so that the painting doesn't become muddy.

I used an Edger die to create this lovely border,

and the waste to create the white panel on the right hand side of this second card.

I sponged more  ink on to the master board and added sentiment panels.

The main panel on this card uses the same patterned leaf stamp along with a smaller similar shaped leaf.

This time I stamped and embossed the images before sponging and painting them with dye based ink.
I used a Tim Holtz die in the corner of the card,

and added a sentiment on a strip of vellum along with some die cut leaves.

Have a great evening. I'm off to visit a few blogs before I get too far behind on my commenting.

Happy Crafting and hugs

Kimx

One Man's Trash..........

Afternoon,
I do love making backgrounds, it's always been one of my favourite things to do. The trouble is knowing when to stop playing and turn your creations into cards.

The following cards were made using a piece of handmade Brusho background.

I have to say that it wasn't the best piece from my stash, but that's the trouble with me, I can never throw anything away.
I have started to set aside pieces that I am less keen on which I can then take with me to use in class if needed. 'One man's trash is another man's treasure' as they say :O)

I obviously adopted this approach after I made these cards, but having stamped, embossed, matted and layered the panels, I am more than happy with the finished results.

I randomly stamped and embossed in black and then added further images using gold ink.
A tiny white border finishes the panel off perfectly, and 'lifts' it from the main card.
Finishing touches include sentiments, faux stitching, black pearls and glitter glue.
If all goes according to plan this will go live on Wednesday afternoon. If not it's back to the drawing board and forget about scheduling posts lol.
Hope you are having a fabulous day.
Happy Crafting and hugs
Kimx