I'm Back

Seriously...............me and technology.
Why on earth does my computer have to keep changing things? If it ain't broke, why fix it, cause whenever they do it takes me ten times as long to do even the simplest of things, and it means that I never seem to get anything else done.
Perhaps I should get one of the youngsters in the house to give me some lessons. Emma seems to know exactly what to do on her Mum's phone already. She does a nice line in taking 'selfies', and she isn't even two yet lol!!
One of several reasons for my recent blogging inactivity is that I am trying to get on top of sorting through some of the pictures that I have taken over the years, and this is where my computer has it in for me!!
I know that I'm a little bit OCD, so I have a tendency to need to do things in a specific order, and to finish off one job before I start the next..............oh I wish.
I seem to have thousands of photos, and that's only the ones of cards that I have made. The trouble is that every time I edit a picture ready to blog it seems to disappear into the black hole that is my computer, and I have to start all over again.
I've given up with older photos for the time being, so here are some cards that I made more recently.

Speaking of youngsters, I have had quite a few birthday cards to make over the last couple of months for the smaller people of my acquaintance.

My Great-niece Myla was 2 just over a week ago,

 and the Grandson of a good friend was 1 a few days later.

This one was made for the son of one of my customers at work,

and this one was for another old friends Granddaughter.
As you can see I reached for my go to LOTV toppers.

I also managed to use up plenty of bits and pieces from my stash although you wouldn't know it to look at whats still left lol.

 I also have a selection of stickers like these Penny Black jungle friends,

 Birthday Bear,

 bathing dog

and birthday chick.

This little bear was from a set of stickers that came with a magazine, many years ago.

And I don't just use these toppers for little people. This card was made for a 'Crafty Friend' who needed a bit of cheering up.

And this one was for my eldest Granddaughter Megan. It contained an IOU for a trip to Clinique for a facial. It was what she wanted for her birthday, but as she has been up to her elbows with revision for her A levels we decided to leave it until they are all finished. I can see a shopping trip in my very near future lol.
Sorry for the picture heavy post but I have such a lot of things to share with you. I think I had better quit while I'm ahead now before my computer swallows everything again.
Thanks for sticking with me, and stopping by.
Happy Crafting and hugs
Kimx

Thank You Paula

Evening Everyone,
I do like to catch the occasional programme on the craft channels, especially when the experts are friends that you have known for years.
Paula Pascual who currently works with Tonic, and I used to work together years ago at the Craft Barn along with Julie Hickey and several other lovely ladies who are not on the TV.
Her crafty enthusiasm is always infectious and she has just cost me and my friend Sue quite a bit whilst we have added to our craft stash!!
I have had a Misti for a long time (courtesy of another crafty enthusiast Stampin Caz) but I haven't used it to it's full potential due to not enough playtime.
And then I saw Paula demonstrating the Tim Holtz Stamping Platform on Hochanda. It's a very similar product, and suddenly my Misti became something that I use all the time.
I did however prefer several aspects of the Stamping Platform, so along with my friend Sue, an order was placed. Thanks again Paula it was money very well spent.

 We have just spent a wonderful afternoon at Davina's playing with Altenew stamps and dies.

These multi step stamp sets work brilliantly with both the Misti and Stamping Platform, and I think we may have converted at least one other member of the group to their benefits.
No I'm not on commission lol.

I do love these stamp sets, as you may be able to tell, and I think the above sentiment is one of my all time favourites. I have used it on more than one occasion recently. In fact it stays on my desk all the time ready for its next usage.

I have used a host of different ink pads for these cards, so I couldn't begin to tell you which ones.

A couple of the sets I own also have matching die sets which really does make them so much quicker to cut out.

 It is easy to create a more dimensional card with the die cut flowers and leaves.

This time I added a die cut sentiment to finish the whole thing off.
These cards are all ones that I made a while ago, but I have several more bits and pieces from today's class that need finishing off so I am sure that I will have more to share soon.
I hope that you have all had a fabulous day. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
Happy crafting and hugs.
Kimx

Spotlights with Matching Backgrounds

Well I haven't managed much visiting, but I guess three posts in a reasonably short space of time is a pretty good achievement after my prolonged spell of inactivity.

We had another fun class last Saturday, only this time I restricted their choice of stamps to just a few floral ones.

We made a Spotlight card, which can be a great way of covering a bit of dodgy stamping.
Restamp the affected area on a scrap of card and then use a die or punch to create a panel to stick over the 'mistake'

In this instance I used my Square Stitched dies to cut out sections of the image and then mounted them on to black card stock.
Because I have used shapes with straight edges it is easy to trim the black card to create a narrow border.

These panels then fit exactly over the stamped image giving the illusion of a spotlight, but hiding the die cut hole underneath.

I created the background to the card from scraps. I end up with loads of these when trimming my mats and layers so it is great to be able to use them up.

I'm a bit of a hoarder, and these strips always look too good to throw away, so it's nice to find a use for them.

I chose my strips first, and then coloured the image to match.

I always take something away from a class that I have learnt from 'The Girls', even if it is just a colour combo,

or two as with the last four cards.

And of course it looks just as good without the spotlights.
I hope you have a good weekend.  Lets hope that the weather stays nice.
Happy Crafting and Hugs
Kimx

A New Challenge at CCM

Evening Everyone,
Well that didn't exactly go to plan. I did finally get my blog post done, but that was as far as the Internet would allow, so I gave up and went to bed!!

We have a new challenge over at CCM where our host Pam has chosen the theme Add A Sentiment. It would be nice if your sentiment is not a tiny peel off tucked in one corner, but more the focal point of your creation.
I chose a card that I made using a fabulous Hobby Art stamp set CS156D Seasons.

I used one of the phrases as my focal point, stamped and embossed onto cream cardstock and distressed around the edges with ink and a blending tool.

I die cut leaves from kraft card and added them to the card using silicon after I had shaped and coloured them.

I added some stamped branches to the edges of the main card using another Hobby Art stamp set CS164D Trees.

I hope that you will find time to join us for this challenge, and don't forget to check out what the rest of the team have made to inspire you.

Have a great evening.

Hugs Kimx

Sparkle on your Birthday

Evening Everyone,
I'm sorry I've been MIA recently, but life has been rather hectic lately. I seem to be constantly chasing my tail, and any spare time I have managed to find has found me far from eager to work on the computer. I have a To Do List that never seems to get any shorter :O)

I started this post a fortnight ago for the challenge over at CCM, but as that has now finished and a new one starts tomorrow, lets see if I can finally manage to press send.

My card was actually made for the latest Woodware stamp release. The background is from my stash but is a piece of Faux Mother of Pearl. I just love that technique.

I stamped and embossed JGS507 - Bubble Bloom Annie onto the handmade background and then added plenty of gems, and pearls and assorted bling.

I also stamped and embossed the image onto the blue background card and added Cosmic Shimmer glues and Glossy Accents.

The sentiment is from the same set which just finishes it off nicely.
I really ought to go and visit my wonderful Teamies before they all think that I have dropped off the planet, and then it is high time that I did some commenting.
I'll put the kettle on first I think and then get to work.
Have a great evening, and thanks for stopping by.

Hugs Kimx

Birthday Funtime

Evening Everyone,
Oh well that's playtime over with for a while.
It has been lovely to get caught up with things even if it is only for a couple of days.
I began to think that the weather was going to do it's usual thing on Thursday when I visited my Mum and rain. But although it wasn't as glorious as Wednesday, it has still been very pleasant, in fact even today hasn't been too bad.... for a Bank Holiday.
One of the numerous cards that I needed to make during my time off was one for my Sin-in-law's birthday.

He always works so hard, bless him, that this is how he deserved to spend his birthday, playing on his PlayStation. 

I used an old LOTV topper cut out with a circular die and layered onto a piece of handmade background.

The background paper was created using a combination of inks and mica powder,

and of course plenty of stamping and embossing using Frantage powders.
We are using Imagination Stamps at Davina's tomorrow which will be fun, so I suppose playtime isn't completely over.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, what ever you are up to.
Happy Crafting and hugs
Kimx

Things wirh Wings at CCM

Evening Everyone,
Sorry that this is a little later than planned, I have been having a fun filled couple of days playing with some of my new toys.
I have been killing two birds with one stone, finishing off some of the cards that I need to send out this month, so I haven't been totally naughty.
Yesterday saw the start of a new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers where our host Mary is looking for Things With Wings. Anything with wings will count, birds, butterflies and other insects, fairies, aeroplanes, even hearts as long as they have wings!

I chose a huge butterfly stamp from Chocolate Baroque for my card.

I stamped and embossed the image onto vellum and then dry embossed sections of the design on the reverse to create 'whitework'.

Vellum is always difficult to mount as any form of glue tends to show through, so I wrapped the panel around a square of patterned card stock and taped it down using DSST.
I added some faux stitching to match the white die cut panel and then finished it off with a white peel-off sentiment.
Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to check out what the rest of the DT have created to inspire you.
Happy Crafting and hugs
Kimx

So Excited I'm doing a Happy Dance

Evening Everyone,
I was caught doing a little happy dance a couple of weeks ago when I found out that I am back on the DT for Woodware stamps.
I love Jane's designs, they are always a joy to work with.
Just so you know I love Francoise designs too, but I only get to make samples for Jane's new stamps.
The new stamps are due to launch on Monday, but as I saw them at Ally Pally at the weekend I hope that I won't be in too much trouble if I share one of my samples tonight. It is nearly Monday after all given the time lol.

As the weather has been so warm today I thought that this beautiful sandcastle seemed very appropriate as my first share.

I used a piece of mop-up watercolour background from my stash to stamp and emboss the main image (sandcastle, bucket and spade)

I added a little extra colour using Distress Inks and a Glitter pen

The sun and the sentiment from the same set were also added to this panel.

I stamped, embossed and coloured several of the starfish and shells and fussy cut them out before layering them over thread which I wrapped around the bottom of the card.

As a final touch I added some Glossy Accents to the bucket and spade.
I think this is fun set for those summer birthday cards and also would be great for a scrapbook page to capture some of those beach time memories.
I am so excited to be back on the team, and look forward to sharing more of Jane's fabulous designs over the next couple of weeks.
We are going to have a play day with these new designs at Davina's in a couple of weeks time so if you are free why not join us.
Thanks for stopping by.
Happy Crafting and Hugs
Kimx