Yes, i'm still alive and kicking!

Hi everyone, I can only apologize for my tardiness... life here has become pretty hectic over the last few months, and something had to give - I guess that was my blog! Enough though, time to get back on track.
I want to share my inspiration pieces for the Crafty Individuals monthly challenge. First up, this beautiful little thing, which I've used stamp plate CI-335 for:

It's a jar of handmade mocha body-scrub! My daughter is holding a stall at our school bazaar tonight, to raise money for a World Challenge trip, so we've been busy busy creating bits for her to sell, of which this little concoction is one. See the little antique ad on top of the flower? that's from the afore mentioned stamp set.
Next, a bunch of Christmas tags:

Same stamp set used, two little adorable perfume bottles. Thought these were a little different, being in a dress form shape - hoping some one will like them!
Right then, better get on with the production line... five hours to go! Hope you like. xxx

Just Have to Share...

Whilst clearing out the attic recently, Rich and I came upon some baby clothes that had belonged to Oli and Connie... WOW!!!! I don't think I've felt such strong (but good!) emotions in a long while. I had to document it in my journal:

I remember them both wearing this new-born baby-grow so clearly, as if it were only a few years ago.... in-fact, it was 15 and 13 years ago, but as I held it, I remembered their vulnerability , their need of me. Slushy, I know, but I'm sure there are lots of mums of teenagers out their who will empathise!!! Hope you like. xxx

Tut Tut... tardiness will not be accepted...

Soooooo sorry peeps - I really don't know where this month is going! Have spent the last few days moving my mum from the Isle of Wight to Bristol, (yay!) it's all very exciting, but has taken up a LOT of time!
Scrapaholix this Friday/Saturday, so for my gals that follow this blog, heres one of the layouts I'll be teaching:

Sorry about the lack of cropping... but I think you get the drift! I'm particularly pleased with the little stamped jar - it's by a company called Little Musings. You can add kisses, love, hope or buttons (?) to the jar, making it very versatile and great value at £5.99! I'll be covering how to make this jar, including a little Promarker colouring, mica powders and glazing - should be fun!
I have another layout in the making - loving the papers this month - but I'll keep that one a suprise for now. Hope you like! xxx

Where Does the Time Go??!!

Hello everyone... huge apologies for my tardiness in posting of late... I've been hectic busy trying to complete a couple of projects for the new magazine mentioned below... for some crazy reason, I only seem to be able to get my finger out when the deadlines are looming dangerously close!!
Anyway, a few weeks breathing space now, before the next deadline is looming dangerously close and I need to start panicking again (will I ever learn), so I've had time to create a little something for this months Crafty Individuals challenge:

It's a sweet wall hanging, made using their beautiful new stamp set CI-329 which has several large birdcages, a nest, birds and words. I stamped the main image onto stamp-board to give the piece added dimension.
I've used the new Simple Stories Baby steps 6x6 pad. they have several new lines in the 6x6 size - do take a look - loads of mini tags/journaling spots to cut out and play with as well as lush papers!
Then some pearls, seam binding, chalkboard mists and pins, oh and a little ribbon around the edge to finish it off. Hope you like! xxx

Scrap365 Blog Hop

It's coming... and now I can share!!

My name is Kim, and I'm a proud member of the design team for Scrap365, a new UK scrapbooking magazine launching this November 18th.

Li'll old me...

A Little Bit About Me!

I've been papercrafting for many moons now - I started by selling cards to local shops. Now? I teach scrapbooking classes to some lovely ladies here in Bristol, and in any spare time that I have, I create (what I hope) are beautiful things out of paper, from mini books to wall decor... basically, if it can be made out of paper, you'll find it in my house!

I was lucky enough to win Craft Stamper's Scrapbooker of the Year competition this year, and now I'm on the magazine's design team. I'm also affiliated with Crafty Individuals - a UK stamp making company. Stamping is something you'll see on lots of my work, as I love the versatility of it.

Some Of My Favourite Creations This Year.

A corsage, made from canvas and dies.

A layout of my lovely girl - you'll see lots of them!

mmmmm... the things you can do with old dictionary paper!

My two beautiful step-daughters.

A little wall canvas.

As you can see, my style is quite 'shabby chic'... but I like to shake it up every once in a while!

Want To Win A Prize?

Now... would you like to win a prize from Scrap365? Yes? OK! All you have to do, is leave a comment on all the designers blogs from this hop, (and one on the Scrap365 blog - go here). You could win a years subscription to Craft Stamper magazine, and over £20 worth of stamps!

We're all very excited to be part of a new venture, and are sure you're going to love it! To continue on your hop, go to Lisa's blog next; another amazing gal on the design team. Thanks for stopping by!

Ta Da!!!

Yesterday, I shared some Fimo cameos that I had made. I mentioned that they need 'jazzing' up a little:

Pretty heh? Some of the effects are quite subtle... just a little metallic rub on the flowers for example. One word of advise... if you want to paint the base, you'll need a teeny weeny brush... and a VERY steady hand! Hope you like! xxx

A Little Cameo..... or Two...

I've recently discovered that Fimo is actually NOT a child's plaything... but something to be revered in the papercrafting world:

Aren't they pretty? I've recently been making cute little Fimo flowers (you know - the kind that certain manufacturer's of scrapbooking supplies will have you believe you should pay a FORTUNE for), for only pennies each. I found these molds on Ebay (just type into the search engine 'silicone cameo molds') at a very reasonable price - not much more, in fact then a pack of cameos from once of those afore mentioned companies would cost! I will, obviously, paint the bases of some of them to give them a more 'authentic' look; but I couldn't wait to share! Hope you like! xxx

Me!

I seem to be on a roll with my scrap booking at the moment... 3 layouts in as many days! This one was very therapeutic... I never scrap about me!

I printed the journalling on vellum, as I didn't want to lose the pattern on the paper behind. Note how I've left some space in the journalling block, to allow me to stamp the word 'remember'. This is a great way of jazzing up what you have to say! The title down the right hand side has been cut with my Cricut, the camera embellies and the circular ones have all been stamped, cut out and added in a visual triangle, hopefully drawing the eye to the photo!
I think my fave part of this layout is the Studio Calico Coffee Stain stamp (top right, centre left and bottom right). So grungy! So come on... scrap about YOU for a change... I bet, like me, that you never do!
Hope you like. xxx

Pretty as a Picture...

So, I don't usually work from a sketch - I'm more of a 'spend hours going through your stash, and then more hours rearranging it on the page' kinda gal. But for once, I though I'd give it a try. Here's the sketch I came up with:

It only took a few minutes to draw, and for a first attempt, I thought it MIGHT work!  Ok, so the finished article doesn't EXACTLY follow the sketch, but that's the idea isn't it?! There's certainly enough similarities to see that I used it! And I have to admit, it cut down my creation time by at least an hour! So, if you, like me, tend to 'go with the flow' when creating your pages, give a sketch a go (this one if you like), betcha you like the end result! xxx

A Few fancy Things...

It's been a busy few days here! Firstly, a friend's birthday, so here's a little card and broach I made for her:

I used the new MME Lost and Found Two (Breeze) paper pad for the card, and added a couple of stamped tags, punched butterflies and a cameo to give it a little interest. I love those alpha stickers by Basic Grey (micro monos). So useful and available in so many colours.
The broach is made out of thin canvas - I found the Tim Holtz Rosette die didn't cut the perforations on this! Lots of stamping, misting and a few tiny beads finished it off. The leaves are cut from a Sizzix original die.

Next, a 25th wedding anniversary card for another friend:

A simple, (but hopefully effective!) design. The flocked paper is from an old collection - GCD Paris Nights. The hearts are from a bumper pack of die cut's that I ordered from QVC, thinking I would never use them - how wrong could I be (see next photo!). The seam binding double bow started life as dull white - a little misting soon sorted that! Lastly the little metal flowers are from Making memories - cute!

Finally, the daughter of the friend receiving the wedding anniversary card asked me to make them an album - here it is:

Though the colours aren't traditionally 'silver wedding', I wanted the photos to suit the pages... and, sadly, as we are all children of the 70's, the colours in the photos were pretty brown and orange! So I used a collection by Prima - Reflections. As their's was an autumn wedding, the theme of the papers seemed to tie in quite nicely with this too. I won't bore you with the inside pages, but suffice to say that there's an awful lot more of those QVC die cuts in there! I found that they worked brilliantly (once inked and misted) as photo mats and added extra's tucked under the photos to give more dimension. I also used my Cricut to cut out all of the page titles and the '25 years' on the front cover, I have to say, though I don't use it a huge amount, it really comes into it's own when creating an album.
So there you go! Off to focus on a few jobs for Craft Stamper now... well, I say Craft Stamper.. watch this space for some HUGE news! Hope you like! xxx

Pretty...

It's been a while since I blogged anything that I've created it seems! For my birthday, I received the Tim Holtz rosette die, and tattered banner die. Now. I've made many rosettes in my time... fiddly little things... certainly not so time consuming with this die, however, not sure I'm liking the perforations it puts into each fold - more than a little distressing and they have trouble holding up! The end result is pretty tho:

I used dictionary paper, sprayed with a little chalkboard (another birthday acquisition!), then popped a little die cut and tattered banner on top - cute! there's no sewing involved here, the sheer material is simply gathered on the back using double sided tape and a little hot glue. With the piece of gauze left over, I created the 'beribboned' rosette. The seam binding has been sprayed and dried in a crinkly fashion, before being fashioned into a double messy bow. Hope you like! xxx

What a Lucky Girl!

So, today, I am officially past it... 40, by 4 years that is. I'm blessed with a very generous family, who love to pander to my every crafty need... look at the wonderful stash I've received this year:

The small child wasn't a birthday gift - I received her 13 years ago on Mother's day! I think the most exciting gift has to be the Cinch v.2 - guess what I shall be doing all afternoon! xxx

Look What I've Got!!

So, I figure that I don't know ANY paper crafters that don't love ledger paper... whilst browsing around on the web, looking at lovely stash, I stumbled upon this:

it's the new Ledger Paper Pad from Prima. This is Pad 1, and is full of beautiful pastel pages. There is also a second pad which is much more primary in it's colours. Of course, I NEED them both, (and at £14.99 they are good value for 48 pages!) but this is the only one I can find in the UK at the moment. I found it at emerald crafts.co.uk - great shipping charges too. Go grab one!

It's Challenge Time!

We're coming up to the September monthly challenge hosted by Crafty Individuals HERE
This month, the theme gave me a perfect opportunity I thought, to create a door hanger for my step daughters newly decorated bedroom... see if you can guess the theme:

I've used the new stamp set by Crafty Individuals (CI-328), which is filled with wonderful little sewing images, as well as a rather lovely vintage receipt... can't have too many of those! I'm particularly pleased with the little button cards. Once I'd stamped them, I added six little buttons with cotton thread - sweet!
So go take a look over at the Crafty Individuals blog on the 1st of the month to find out what the theme is - you'll find lots more inspiration, why not give it a go! Hope you like. xxx

They Wash Up So Well!!

Connie's birthday gift this year was a make over and photo shoot with a friend.. (she chose her step sister Beth - phew!). So off we went this morning, armed with 5 changes of outfits for both, and more props than I could carry. Whilst they had the most amazing time, I spent most of the 4 hours in a cold sweat, waiting for the hard sell to begin... at £55 for 1 photo, I knew it was going to be hard! Here's one I took of them whilst we were waiting for the photo shoot pictures to be ready to view:

Aren't they both beautiful?! So in we went to the viewing room - nice music, pleasant staff... and the option to own all 160 photos for... wait for it... are you sitting down?? £800!!!! Well. Really. I mean. Come on. As if!!! We knew that Connie and Beth were allowed to choose 1 photo each as part of the package, no extra cost, so I blushed, pleaded poverty and said that I'd like 2 further photos, and that was it. She took it quite well!!! Watch this space for a particularly stunning layout when they arrive in 5 weeks time!!

Ta Da!!!

Well, I've had great fun today, playing with the photo that I showed you yesterday. The layout didn't come together as easily as I'd hoped, but I think that I'm pleased with the finished result:

The number borders are created with a Studio Calico stamp - with the '13' addition using Thickers.
I'm particularly pleased with the flower embellies - made from scallop die-cut patterned papers, some bakers twine and some brads (sadly, I can't take the credit for these - something I was inspired by in the magazine 'Creating Keepsakes'! I printed out the journaling onto kraft cardstock, and cut into strips, to cover a 'black space' in the photo. Then, a few additions from My Minds Eye (Happy Day sticker), October Afternoon (black typewriter keys), Crate Paper ('beautiful' sticker) and Basic Grey (small black sentiment) to finish the page. Hope you like! xxx

All Carded Out...

It feels as though all I've done for the last few weeks is to make cards... Beth's Birthday, cards for my FIL to give to my MIL for her birthday and their anniversary... not to mention cards for our branch of the family to give to her! So here are the Woods/Smith contributions to Doreen's birthday greetings:

Slightly fancier than the cards that I made for Beth! I used the new 6x6 paper pads from My Minds Eye - Lost and Found 2... I'm in love with all four of the new collections - a great mix of sophisticated and fun designs.
Talking of Beth's birthday, take a look at this great photo:

Isn't it cheery?? So... watch this space... time for some scrapping! With such a happy photo, it should be a doddle!

No sun today....

Firstly, apologies for the quality of this photo, isn't it always the way that when you want to take a decent shot, the sun decides not to play along?! Below are some cards that I've made for my step-daughter's 13th birthday tomorrow:

I've kept them fairly simple as that's the style that she likes. I lifted the idea for the twine squares from the latest Papercrafts magazine - it'll be great for her, as she also crafts, and she can recycle the twine!
I've had a busy busy weekend... took my son to see Lee Evans on Friday (HILARIOUS), and took my daughter to Bath spa on Sunday, with a hotel sleep-over. Well, I say sleep-over - the room was so blinkin' hot it was more of a toss and turn over for me... but she had a lovely time, and that's what counts! so watch this space for photographic evidence of both events!

A New August Challenge from Crafty Individuals

Hello all! It'll soon be time for the Crafty Individuals August challenge - I won't tell you what the challenge is, but here's my piece... guesses welcome!

Hope you like! xxx

Completed Travel Album

As promised, lots of photos of the completed travel album from last Saturday. Any questions about it, please ask! xxx Hope you like...

Here It Is!

I've been working on a special album this week, which my Scrapaholix gals shall replicate this weekend, take a look:

I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, and hope the girls will be too! Within the covers, there's lots of stamping and hand made embellishments, which should keep us busy for the day! Here's a piccie of an inside page:

This particular album is off to Craft Obsessions once we've finished the class... I struck a deal that they could have it to promote sales of the Simple Stories kits they have left in their store, and of course for Brenda to have fun with once the photo shoot was complete, in return for being very kind in helping me put the kits together for a great price. So, if I want one for myself, I shall have to craft along on Saturday wont I?! Hope you like. xxx

Yum Yum - Candy Time!

Take a look HERE! for some lovely blog candy, and don't forget to leave a comment for the chance to win! xxx

Wheelin' and Dealin'....

Just a short post for my scrappy gals! I have spent the last week sourcing the BEST possible for our albums next week, have struck deals left, right and centre to get the best prices possible! This of course means, that your albums are going to look A-MAZING... be excited... be very excited... xxx
P.S - come with a clear head - it's gonna be a fun, but busy day!

Well would you believe it...

So, a while ago, I set up an Etsy and Folksy shop - you know - to sell some of those things you've created that you JUST can't find room for in your ever burgeoning home of crafty goodness - and you can't possibly give away to your loved ones, because then they'd have two!
Not being a whizz in advertising, my creations have sat quietly for many months... but that's ok, they were doing no-one any harm.
Then, I get a sale!!! Woot woot! It obviously deserves a celebratory bottle of wine (that costs more than the sale) but hey, who's counting the pennies - some one likes my creation enough to buy it!
I spend a while packaging it up, before popping it in the post to it's new home. I log back into Folksy, to let the buyer know it's on the way... and there... is another message from a different buyer, telling me that they noticed I'd sold something that they would REALLY like to purchase - could I make another??!!
HAH! Just like buses! Nothing in yonks, and then two at once! I obviously told the second buyer that I'd be happy to make another for her. What I didn't tell her, was that this time there'll be no celebratory wine - It would be too easy to drink away my profits!
The little item I'm talking about is HERE, if you'd like to see it. Hope you like! xxx

Smiley Faces...

Morning! I have a couple of things to share today. Firstly, some cards that are for my children to give to their Dad for his Birthday:

I am lucky enough to own a Gypsy and Cricut Expression, and though I don't use them very often, they certainly have a place in my crafting. The cards are made from the Smiley Faces cartridge that was available a few months ago as a free Gypsy download. I've kept them simple, as they are for a man so frills and fancies didn't seem appropriate! The papers I used are from Pink Paislee Hometown Summer, Crate Paper Portrait collection, Cosmo Cricket Odds and Ends and Lilybee Design This and That.
Next up, something much prettier and MUCH yummier! My best bud had her fourth child a week or so ago (she had him at home, and I was honoured to be there helping out!). I wanted to give her something that would make her chuckle. Well, she has a SERIOUS addiction to sugar, so, what better than a sweetie jar only for her? Take a look:

The jar had cherries in Kirsh in it once upon a time (always repurpose!). I filled it with Haribo's of every shape and size, before labelling it as hers, and no-one else's! Some red cellophane, pretty ribbons and a wonderful tag which I purchased from THIS girls Etsy shop - the most fabulous vintage tags and labels I think I've ever seen, and very reasonable too!
Hope you like! xxx

Crafty Individuals new stamps!

Morning bloggerland! I've been playing with a couple of new sets of stamps from the wonderful Crafty Individuals... sets CI-322 and CI-320.
The first set is great fun - a trio of well dressed ladies and a vintage tag...

To make this card, I created a simple easel card from a scallop card blank, then covered the base and top flap in papers from the Prima Madeline 6x6 paper stack and also the Crate Paper Portrait stack. I sanded all the scalloped edges to give a neat finish. I then stamped the ladies, and paper pieced their outfits from various collections of paper... this was time consuming, but I think worth the effort!! I coloured their skin with Promarker satin. I then added the vintage tag to the card, before placing the ladies on with 3d foam pads. The border punched 'stopper' on the base is using the new Xcut Lace Trim punch, and the lace is from my stash. I've also used Paper Pen in charcoal to make the various sized 'gems' along the bottom.
Secondly, I played with the new beautiful birdcage stamp:

I created a tag using the Tim Holtz die, then covered it with paper from the new Cosmo Cricket Odds & Ends mini deck. I added a few downloaded digital images at a jaunty angle, before stamping the image onto kraft cardstock. I coloured the flowers, leaves and bird with water colour pencils, before coating the flowers with Glossy Accents. I added Distress Crackle Glaze to the cage, and when dry gave it a coat of Pumice Stone ink to bring out the crackles. I did the same to the sentiment, before adhereing it to the tag with 3d foam pads. Everything, of course had a generous helping of Pumice Stone around it's edges to help with that aged effect!
So, I had great fun playing with these new stamps - you can find them HERE! P.S, sorry about the photo quality... the lighting's terrible this morning, but it's been toooo long since I last posted!

Not much craftin' going down...

Hi all - we had a wonderful couple of days at Scrapaholix, it's always so nice to get together with crafty friends!
Sadly, I have nothing to show!!! Busy weekend - I think most people in the western hemisphere know by now that my son became under 15's National Fencing Champion on Sunday (I'm so proud!). Hospice Monday, where I volunteer to craft with the patients, - lots of new ladies, so we made some cards to break them in gently! We then visited my Father in Law in Brum yesterday as he's very poorly at the moment... but coping ok with it (fingers crossed).
Today I was hoping for some paper playtime, but alas, I have a days worth of phone calls to make. My Mum has finally decided to move from the Isle of Wight to be nearer to us (YAY!), but as she is coming down tomorrow, hoping to do some viewings on Saturday, I guess I'd better line some up hadn't I?!
So, in lieu of much paper fiddling going on over the next few days, I have this to show and tell:

It's a little muslin bag, made as an inspiration piece for the next Crafty Individuals challenge - keep an eye on their blog for more details any day now! They also have some pretty new stamps available, so take a peek at them too!
The bag started off cream in colour, I used glimmer mists to make it a lovely chocolate brown.
I then stamped image plate CI-148 onto cream card, before embossing and distressing a little (of course). A little pleated crepe paper and punched borders above and below the image, some crinkled seam binding in a loose triple bow, some Orchid Crafts tiny roses - (you gotta take a look at their prices - great value,) and some pearl trim at the bottom and TaDa!!! A cute little bag for a special gift! Hope you like! xxx

Scrapaholix this Friday/Saturday.

Mmmmmm. Interesting kit this month. The highlight of the kit has to be the bling swirl - absolutely beautiful. I wanted to try out a new technique for creating a frame which I saw in Craft Stamper this month... so I gave it a go, using the papers from this month's kit and I'm really pleased with it... BUT, I felt that the 'busyness' of the page would overwhelm the bling. Take a look:

I'm really looking forward to teaching the girls how to make this frame - it's so versatile, as it'll go with so many photos, depending on the colours you choose. To prove the point, I made another frame, only this time with less colours, as I wanted to use the bling and for it to have room to shine! See what you think:

I felt that the bling was too stark in clear diamente, so used a brown Promarker to tone it down - I think it worked! And I'll let you into another secret... I managed somehow to get a few little splodges of ink on the base cardstock here and there whilst stamping the frame - so that's why the sequins have been scattered around - there's always a solution!
Hope you like. xxx