Happy Halloween

Evening Everyone
I hope that you all had a good Halloween, not too many sweeties to make you sick.
I confess that I chickened out and went to the pub that my youngest daughter works at so that I could avoid the Trick or Treaters.
The girls love Halloween as do the Grandchildren, and the house has been suitably decorated, but it has never been something that I have been 'in to'.
As my room is at the front of the house it would be hard to pretend that I am out unless I sat in the dark with the TV off, and then I couldn't craft so it was easier to escape.
I have been treated to a Roast Beef Carvery and then Rhubarb and Apple Crumble so I am suitably stuffed.
No crafting being done when I get home, just a lie down lol.
The challenge this week over at Woodware is Frantaged Christmas.
I haven't had the chance to make anything new for it so I thought that I would share one of the cards that I made for the Woodware catalogue using one of the lovely Christmas stamp sets designed by Jane Gill.

I must admit that there isn't masses of Frantage powder on this just some around the edges of the background paper but i think you can get the idea of how useful it is.

The main image was coloured in using dye based inks and then it was mounted onto a white panel.

A close up of the Frantage powder.

This was the sight that greeted me when I got home - cool and very spooky.
Night night and sleep tight.
hugs Kimx

I'm nearly too late to the challenge

Evening Everyone
Long time no blog. I hope that you are all well.
I'm sorry that I have been missing for a while but pills and me don't mix. I would make an absolutely rubbish junkie lol.
I am suffering badly with my Sciatica and have gone from taking no pills at all to rattling!! As a consequence I am finding it hard to sit for any length of time and when I do I hope you will understand that making a card takes priority over blogging about one.
So please forgive me if I haven't stopped by to see you lately, and if I haven't left you a comment when you have entered the challenges that I am on the DT for, I aim to do better starting now, but please don't hold me to it :O)
I can't believe how late I am with this card, and it has taken me all day to write the post itself.
The challenge at The Stampman is nearly finished for this month, but don't forget to stop back again on Thursday for the start of a new one.

This is the card that I made for the current challenge where we were looking for Butterflies, Birds and Bees.
I used the Stampendous Cling Bird Frame CRP126 for the main image and Artemio Manuscript Background clear set 10001048 on the background paper.

The central panel has been sponged with Distress ink pads - Scattered Straw and Iced Spruce, and the musical score was stamped using Pumice Stone.

The background papers are all from Woodware and were also used to create the flowers using punches.

I added a strip of background paper across the middle of the card which has been punched using a Martha Stewart border punch. I also added some gingham ribbon and pearls.

The birds have been painted with thin undiluted bleach to remove some of the colour and then I added a little stardust pen to highlight.
I had better post this now before another day goes past and the new challenge starts.
I also need to take some more pain killers so I will probably start to talk gibberish lol.
Gentle hugs to All
Kimx

Monochromatic Red at Woodware

Evening Everyone,
I'm late to the party again!!
This week the challenge over at Woodware has been Monochromatic - Red.

Although I have been off work for a couple of days now with my Sciatica, I am struggling to stay focused. I'm not used to taking pills and they are making me feel quite woozy, it is also difficult to sit still for any length of time so I am fitting in a bit of crafting when I can.

My card has been made using a wonderful Magenta stamp set CSET21 Snow Much Fun.
I stamped and embossed the main image using Frantage Aged Scarlet Embossing Enamel and then sponged it with Fired Brick Distress ink.
I added an embossed strip to the centre of the card which was also highlighted with Metallic Rub-ons.

The Poinsettia was also coloured using the Fired Brick ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder having first been coloured with a versamark pen.
The greeting is from the same set, and I added a small red nail head to the centre of the flower.
Maybe I will get a chance to make something for the next challenge a little earlier next week given that I am still off work but I make no promises.
I also apologise for not getting around to your blogs lately, as you will understand sitting time is limited and so I have to make the most of my opportunities.
I hope that normal service will be resumed shortly.
Happy Crafting.
hugs Kimx

Fall in the Circle

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you are well.
I must admit that I have been struggling with my Sciatica over the last few weeks.
I have it on authority (The Daily Mail) that I am in good company as Her Majesty is suffering at the moment as well.
Not sure that she will have had to stand at the till for hours but I sympathise with her none the less - it bloody hurts!!!!
I have finally had to give in and go to the GP today who has given me pills, which I don't usually take, and told me I need to take a week off work and see how I am after that!!!!
At the moment doing anything for more than a couple of hours is agony so I can see a restless few days.
Anyway that's enough of my winging on lets get down to business.

I'm definitely in cute mode at the moment aren't I lol.
The challenge this week at Our Creative Corner has been Fall in the Circle 

 - simply create a CIRCLE card/project (or card/project contains circle diecut) with fall theme - colours or objects.

 Once again I have used this lovely Tilda in the Leaves stamp coloured with Distress inks.

I used my Circular and Grand Nesties to create my card out of a piece of background paper that I had made. I stamped and embossed some leaves in gold on to the green card as well as stamping with bleach which made the card turn yellow.
The border punch is from EK Success and I have use the small punched out maple leaves to add to the card.

The leaves which border the circle are actually from the Magnolia Fall Wreath which I have cut into three sections.

The greeting is from Lili of the Valley.
I so enjoyed making this card  for the challenge over at Our Creative Corner.
Why not check it out there are some awesome samples from the Design Team.
I need to go and lie down for a bit now. I'm not used to taking pills and I'm feeling a bit woozy at the moment so this may not make any sense tomorrow when I read it back to myself :O)
Night night and sleep well.
hugs Kimx

Autumn or Autumn Festival at Crafty Cardmakers

Hi All
I hope that you have had a good Monday.
We see the start of a new challenge today over at Crafty Cardmakers.
Josephine is our Host this time and she is looking for Autumn or Autumn Festivals - NOT Halloween. 
She says 'There are always so many Halloween challenges around! So instead of creating a Hallowe'en card I would like to see something that depicts the season of Autumn, or maybe Harvest Festival, Guy Fawkes, Diwali or some other festival that happens in the Autumn. If your theme is a lesser-known festival, please tell us about it in your post! But remember, this is not a Halloween challenge, any Halloween entries will be deleted!
We have a new sponsor this time Milk coffee Digital Stamps with a prize of 5 digital stamps.

 I seem to be going through a Cute phase at the moment, and this card is no exception.

I created a scene using 2 of my Magnolia stamps, Edwin with Broom and Tilda in the Leaves that I bought from SirStampalot.

I layered them onto a panel cut out using a Nestability and stamped with a Magnolia swirl stamp.
I also added Fall Corner Foreground to the corner. All of the images have been coloured using Distress inks

The greeting comes from a clear stamp set that I found amongst my stash.

The background paper is also from my stash and reminds me of Autumn and playing in the piles of leaves that we swept up on the lawn as a child.

Why not check out the challenge HERE and see what the rest of our lovely team have come up with to inspire you.

Happy Crafting

hugs Kimx

Vintage Christmas

Evening Everyone,
I hope that you have had a wonderful weekend.
I have had a great time finishing off a few bits and pieces on my desk, and still the pile gets no smaller lol.

The card that I am sharing tonight was made using the background that I showed the Girls on Saturday at Davina's, although it is hard to see in this photo.
I covered a piece of white card with plenty of water and then added Watercolour Pearlex before covering the entire thing with scrunched up clingfilm.

You have to be patient, a hard thing for us Crafters I know, and leave the panel to dry completely before trying to stamp and emboss onto it.

I coloured the image, one of Jane Gill's lovely Christmas images, using the Vintage Pearlex Pallet and then trimmed it into a square.

The panel was put through the Cuttlebug to emboss the right hand side using a Christmas Embossing Folder.
I added some Magnolia Swirls to the blue card embossing them with Frantage Aged Silver Embossing Enamel. I also added some glossy accents and sparkly domes to the finished card.
I thought that it fitted quite nicely with the challenge that they have been running this week at Woodware.
Better late than never don't they say lol.
hugs Kimx

Christmas Snowflakes at CraftyHazelnuts challenge.

Morning Everyone,
I hope that you are well and looking forward to a fabulous weekend with plenty of crafting somewhere in the mix.
Today I am pleased to be a Guest over at CraftyHazelnuts Christmas Challenge blog, and boy was it a challenge for me! .

Her sponsor this time is Bugaboo Stamps and as I liked the designs I decided that I would be brave, bite the bullet, and have a go with a digi. Are you not proud of me Lin?

 I used the lovely 'Snowman 4 Square' which I cut up to leave the Snowman standing on his own. 

The greeting is also part of the same image.
I just had to get some real stamping in there, before I got withdrawal symptoms, so used a lovely Magnolia snowflake stamp that I bought at SirStampalot.

As my first attempt with Digi's I am quite pleased with how it turned out, but it would have been nothing without the fabulous background papers that they also provided me with, very generous sponsors indeed.
I added some more stamped and embossed snowflakes, some stitching, punched snowflakes and a couple of lovely charms from my stash.
I hope that you will feel inspired to join in with the challenge.
Must get ready for class now, more Christmas cards at Davina's this afternoon.
Happing Crafting
hugs Kimx

Christmas at Davina's

Evening Everyone,
Thanks for all of my wonderful Birthday cards and wishes.
I had a fabulous time and my trip to the Dentist the following day wasn't quite as painful as I had expected either in the mouth or the pocket lol.
I am teaching at Davina's on Saturday, and this is one of the cards that we will be making.

 I made it for the Woodware catalogue using one of the lovely Christmas stamps designed by Jane Gill.

It is hard to show the background properly in the photos, but it was made using Watercolour Pearlex and clingfilm so I hope that they will have fun.

 I also used Glossy Accents on the berries and baubles.

Silver embossing on silver paper always looks very classy don't you think?

We will also be making another card from the catalogue that I shared with you in August.
Better get some sleep.
Thanks again for all of your good wishes.
Have a great weekend.
hugs Kimx

Happy Birthday to Me :O)

Evening Everyone
I hope that you have all had a wonderful day.
I have. Today is my Birthday and although I have been at work I have had a lovely day.
I have received lots of cards, texts and messages on Facebook, so Thank You to Everyone for making me feel special.

I have been playing with the Bargello technique that Mynnette shared at Technique Tuesday, and not wishing to waste anything I came up with this card.

I couldn't resist stamping and embossing onto the Bargello panel, just to see if I could!!

I decided that the background to the card needed some stamping on it as well, and of course some sponged  Distress inks.
My day unfortunately wasn't all good as my present to myself is an emergency dental appointment tomorrow morning after I broke a tooth.
That will teach me to share a cookie with the Grandchildren lol.
I can see that it is going to turn out to be a very expensive indulgence.
Oh well better better get some sleep, I'm an Old Lady now you know :O)
hugs Kimx

PS I just noticed that I have won the Howdy challenge over at Our Creative Corner, how wonderful is that!
Happy Birthday Me xx

The Friday Mashup

Evening Everyone,
Why are Mondays always so hard??
I don't know about you guys but I never feel like I get anywhere fast on a Monday.
It's a good job I managed to get quite a few things finished at the weekend or this would be a pictureless site lol.
That actually reminded me of when I first started Blogging and had trouble posting pictures.
Believe it or not that is 3 years ago almost to the day. How amazing to see how many people have visited me since then.
Anyway enough of my waffle.
The card I am sharing tonight was made with two specific challenges in mind.

The first is The Friday Mashup where the challenge is

1. Make a project with the colors "Pacific Point, Marina Mist, Gumball Green, and Lucky Limeade".
2. Or Make a project using "Rectangles".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project with the "Color Combination and Rectangles".

I love the colour combo that they suggested, and in fact I have quite a few cards that I finished this weekend which all feature this same look - oh the joys of using up leftover bits and pieces lol.                                

I coloured the stamped and embossed images using dye based ink from a couple of kaleidacolour ink pads.
The papers that form the background are all from my stash, and were picked to match the coloured images.

The second challenge that I would like to enter this into is the Sketch challenge over at Woodware - 2 entries in 2 days, that must be some sort of record for me :O)
Off to bed now, so here's to another 3 years.
Thank you so much for following me and taking the time to leave me all of your lovely comments.
Night night
Hugs Kimx

A sketch challenge at Woodware for October.

Evening Everyone,
I can't believe that we are at the end of yet another weekend.
Did you have a good one?
As usual I checked out some of the new challenges and then that determined what I played with.
Of course I had to make something to enter into the latest challenge over at Woodware.
As it is the beginning of the month there is a sketch to follow, and I have taken slight liberties with it this time, but I hope that I haven't done any worse than any of the Design Team.
Please tell me if I'm wrong Dorothy :O)

The main panel has been in my bits box for years just waiting for the right time to be used, and I think it lends itself beautifully to being cut up to form a window panel.

It was made using a lovely old Stampendous stamp, sponged dye based inks and a little undiluted bleach to take the colour out of some of the flowers.
The panel was then cut into 4 and mounted onto co-ordinating card stock.

The background paper has been stamped and embossed using another Stampendous stamp and Frantage Aged Wine Embossing Enamel.
I also added a Woodware greeting, some Card Candi, gems and glossy accents on the flower centres.
The sketch challenge runs throughout October so why not give it a go.
Hugs Kimx

Let's be Royal at Our Creative Corner

Morning All
I hope that you are well and looking forward to a great weekend.
As those of you that are regular visitors to my little world will know I won the Recycle It challenge over at Our Creative Corner a few weeks ago.
My prize is to be guest designer this week where the challenge is Let's be Royal.
As usual there is a picture for you to be inspired by, and a few other requirements.
- Create a card or project with a royal look using a crown, castle or a princess.
- Use the photo to inspire you.
- Your project must have something yellow or gold embossed.
- Most of all have fun!
I searched through my stamps for something suitable to use, and once again I was inspired by a lovely Magnolia stamp available from SirStampalot Princess Welcome Tilda.

I coloured her using Distress inks Scattered Straw and Mustard Seed.

 I fussy cut Princess Tilda ready to add her to the finished card.

The very regal shield which I trimmed and mounted onto gold card stock is by Stampendous as is the floral stamp that I used in the background.

I ran the main background panel through my Grand Caliber using an embossing folder on the left hand side only.

Princess Tilda was shaped and then added using Silicon.

I also added some tiny pearls.
I hope you like my efforts and that you will pop across and check out all the other wonderful creations that the Team have come up with, there are some truly talented Ladies on the team so I feel very honoured to be allowed to join them this time.
Have a great day.
Happy Crafting
Hugs Kimx