Double Take Thursdays & Exciting News!

Morning Everyone,

I challenged Beth this week to use only Black and White on a card. There were a couple of reasons I challenged Beth to Black and White. I needed to issue a challenge, and I was asked by Suzanne of Quietfire Design to be a Guest Designer for the month of February! I was so excited and honoured to be asked! Quietfire has a weekly challenge and this week it's to use B & W on your art. So this card is for Double Take Thursdays, as well as the Created Byhand Challenge! Please be sure to check out Beth's Blog, Sunflowers and Dragonflies, to see her beautiful creation for this week!

I have to say I just LOVE the stamps from Quietfire Design. This card uses the flourish and sentiment from there. The calligraphy stamps are incredibly beautiful, as well as all the others! Ahhh....I am in heaven using these stamps!! Thank you so much Suzanne for this wonderful opportunity!!

I will be back later to post some more cards!! Have to get busy creating!!

Have a wonderful day everyone!
:)
Kim

My Valentine

Today I made myself do something I haven't done for a long time now. Make a card using a photostamp. I really do love the vintage look of the photostamps, but I was feeling a bit in a rut lately, and was scared to even attempt it! I have been making alot of cuter and happy feeling cards, and not so many of the darker collagey type cards, must really just be my mood lately! I just want something that makes me smile. Anyway, once I started making this card, I had a blast. The main image is from Stampsmith, and all other stamps are from Basic Grey, Swirlies, and Sweet Sentiments (clear stamps), and they are available at Embellish-It. The background paper is Cosmo Cricket. I am going to upload an extra photo, so you can see the detail of the card. The my love stamp from Basic Grey fit perfectly into the center of the ribbon charm! I can't believe I actually took these pictures, they aren't bad? lol...My camera and I really are becoming friends.

Thank you so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful evening!
:)
Kim

Sole Sisters

Hi there!

I just got these stamps from Stamping Bella, and had to ink them up! The shoes are embossed with black on Basic Grey two scoops paper, then coloured in with Copic markers. After I coloured in the hearts, I used a clear glaze pen so the hearts would stand out a bit more. It's a chick card for sure...lol...and YES, it's pink! lol...but it's also yellow, a colour I NEVER use! So it was a challenge for me. The Basic Grey papers are available at Embellish-It.

Thanks for stopping by!

:)
Kim

Double-Take Thursdays are back!

Afternoon everyone!

Beth and I decided to resume our Double-Take Thursdays! Beth challenged me to use a Bella stamp on this card. I have so many of them, and they rarely see ink, so I was so excited about this challenge! For my card I decided to use one of the newer Bella's called Saavyshoppingbella. I stamped and embossed her, then coloured her in with copics. I used my Creative Memories Oval Cutter to do the ovals, and added some spica glitter in a few places, but it didn't show up well in my picture. I also cut a slit in a couple of the bags and put ribbon in, so it would look like tissue. The saying is from TAC. Patterned paper is from Basic Grey, Two Scoops. The base card was stamped with versamark and one of the new sets of Basic Grey Two Scoops stamps! The Two Scoops products are available at Embellish-It, thanks Barb!!!

Thank you again Beth for the wonderful challenge! You can check Beth's blog for her challenge card!

Did you notice that there is no PINK or PURPLE on this card?? lol

Have a great day!
:)
Kim

PS....I also used this card in a contest posted at Tracy's Happy Place, check it out, some awesome blog candy over at Tracy's Blog!

Blog Bling Winner

Oh my, I sure wish I had blog bling to send to everyone. Some of your "gifts" made me cry. Christmas really is a special time of year isn't it? Last night instead of using a random # generator, I wrote out everyones names, and thru them in a bucket and had hubby draw one name. I was going to take a pic, but he said NO WAY!! lol..He doesn't want his pic online! I said COME ON, just your hands? But still no go! lol...Anyway, the name he picked is:

Kraftin' Kimmmie!

Congratulations Kimmie! Please email me your snail mail address so I can get this Bling out to you! The email button is on the right hand side of my blog.

I will have another Blog Bling contest soon! Thank you everyone for playing and for the very touching comments you all made.

:)
Kim

Baby, it's cold outside!

Well, actually it's nice and rather warm here for this time of year! We had a nasty thunderstorm last night, in January? Strange for Halifax! Oh well, it is what it is! lol...I saw this set at the local SS and had to have it! It is made by Serendipity Stamps. It came mounted on cling and was a great deal as well! I am loving the penguins...

I made this card for a theme called Baby it's cold outside at Embellish-It. If you haven't been there before, please go check out the forums and gallery! OMGosh, some of the most talented ladies are posting their GORGEOUS work over there....and the shopping is great too! LOL

The image was coloured in with copic and prismacolour markers, and embossed with black. I used my coppernob imp score board to do the dry embossing around the edges, what fun that was! And a center ruler to place the brads...gotta love that tool! lol Oh, almost forgot, used the Cuttlebug and die for the snowflakes!

Have a great day everyone!
:)
Kim

Impression Obsession Flourish Heart

Afternoon!

I can't seem to get enough of Impression Obsession stamps! They are just so delicate and beautiful! This is a flourish heart that came out last year and Leigh Hannan is the designer. If you haven't checked IO out lately, you really should! They have some gorgeous stamps, and their new releases are truly going to make me BROKE! lol

Here are a couple cards that I made yesterday using the flourish heart. Pretty basic cards, just stamped, embossed, layered and added embellishments. Not sure yet about the blue card, the ribbon seems kinda big, but I didn't have anything that came close to matching, so it's staying like that now! lol

Thanks for stopping by!
:)
Kim

I'm Back & Blog Bling

Sorry, Blog Bling contest is now closed! Thank you to everyone who particpated!
Morning Everyone!

It sure is nice to be back home again! We actually got home last Thursday, but I got some kind of infection in my left eye, that spread into the nerves on the left side of my face, and I wasn't able to do much of anything. I have been going to the hospital every day for iv antibiotics and the swelling has gone down considerably, and I am starting to feel better, so I am hoping to do some stamping! I don't go back to work now til Monday so I have a few days to play!

We had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you all did as well. Happy New Year to everyone!! My husband spoiled me as usual, and he gave me an iPod Nano, and a portable light studio for taking pictures of my cards! He gave me a bunch of other things as well, but those 2 are my favorites!

Did you get something really special for Christmas? Tell me about it! If you leave a comment on this post, telling me about your favorite Christmas gift this year, I will do a draw on Sunday night (Jan. 13th) and send out some Blog Bling to one lucky person! Here is what the winner will receive in the mail from me:

1 - Basic Grey Acrylic Stamp Set - Santa Baby
1 - Hero Arts Acrylic Stamp Set - Letter C ( Big Letter C, create, swirls, flower..etc.)
1 - Package of Karen Foster Wood Signs - Santa
2 - Packages of Hero Arts Gemstones - Snowflakes
1 - Sentiment Box for you to do from Melissa Francis - Love Potion
1 - Package of Metal Index Tabs from Making Memories

Good Luck everyone, and it's great to be back!!!
:)
Kim

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Good Morning,

I just wanted to wish everyone a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! It is such a busy time of year, and we often get to busy to enjoy the simple things in life. So, I hope you can all slow down a bit, and just enjoy this special time of year with your loved ones!

We are enjoying our stay in Sudbury, with our family and friends! Lots of visiting, eating (yikes) and some drinking (not me, I am the designated driver...lol). It is amazing how things can change in a matter of 2 years, since we were last back home! All the kids are growing up, the city is building up, but somethings don't change at all, like sitting at home and playing cards with the in-laws! I am loving our stay, but have to admit I am looking forward to going home and settling back into "real life" again! lol I am missing my stamping.....I am so bad! lol

Well, I won't keep you long here....
Have a Merry Christmas, and all the Very Best to you in 2008!
:)
Kim

Away for the Holidays!

Morning Everyone!

We safely made it to Sudbury and are having a nice time catching up with family and friends! We weren't sure we would have internet connection where we are staying, but we do!! Yeah!! I can't imagine going 3 weeks without being online at all! lol....I hope you are all week and are all ready for Christmas! We have a bit more shopping to do, then we can sit back and relax.

Must run, but have a wonderful day!!
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Kim

Exciting News for Me!

Last week I was approached by the manager of my store, and asked if I would be interested in a new position rolling out in 14 of our stores next week! I read all the information and YES I am SO interested! I went to training last week and am starting my new role as of today! I will be the Employee Experience Co-ordinator (EEC), my new job entails doing all the hiring for our store, and follow-up with all new employees for 6 months! This is a wonderful promotion, and a great opportunity for me! YEAH!!

Wish me luck!!! lol...I am going to need lots of it! lol
:)
Kim

I love Impression Obsession!

I just love all the new stamps at Impression Obsession! They are just gorgeous! The snowflakes are my favorite so far! So here I am posting another snowflake card! lol

The background paper is Figgy Pudding and is available at the Embellish-it online store! The snowflake is IO, then I stamped one of the snowflakes from the Basic Grey, Oh Baby, set and embossed with Diamond Ice powder. I just did this so there would be more sparkles on this card. The picture doesn't do this card justice, as there are a bunch of swarovski crystals on it, and it blings! lol

Have a great day everyone!

:)
Kim

Ornaments

Morning!

I made this card the other night, using die cut ornaments. I stamped the ornaments with snowflakes and versamark, then embossed using white embossing powder. Then dye ink was smeared over top, creating a resist. You then take a papertowel and lightly wipe off the embossed areas so they "pop". The background of the card was done with Basic Grey clear stamps, and I am so pleased with them! They gave me a crisp clear image first time using them! The snowflakes and swirls in the background are from the "Santa Baby" set, and is available at the Embellish-it online store! The Merry Christmas stamp is from Stamp in the Hand. Not sure who made the snowflakes on the ornaments, but if I had had the Basic Grey set when I did the ornaments I would have used that! They have GORGEOUS snowflakes on this set!

I have more cards to post, just trying to get some good light....urgh...so dreary here today!

Have a great day!

:)

Sketch Challenge on Embellish-it Forum

Morning Everyone!

I am so behind here! I would like to tell you about a new challenge on the Embellish-it Forums! If you haven't joined yet, what are you waiting for! I am so proud to be on the design team with all the UBER talented ladies! The gallery is unbelievable!!! Anyway, I will copy the details to share with you! Please give the sketch a try, and upload in the gallery, so we can see your card! As a bit of incentive, if you come back and post a link to your sketch challenge card on my blog, I will have a draw on Saturday, and someone will receive some awesome BLOG BLING!

On my sketch card I used Basic Grey Wonderland and Santa Baby clear stamps, Basic Grey Figgy Pudding papers, all of these available at the Embellish-it online store!

Good Evening my fellow crafty creators! The newly established Design Team and I would like to introduce our very first SKETCH CHALLENGE created by one of our divalicious DT members: flaxychick (Michelle).

*Upload using the code: E-ISC01 with a C for Card

*Please do not feel limited by the sketches but WE would like to see the main design elements in your creations.

*Be sure to check our (the Design Team) blogs for more fun stuff...maybe one of us will be generous and ante up some candy!

I will also be posting the blogs of the design team members shortly, so you can check out how talented these ladies are!!!!

Thanks for playing along!

:)

Exciting News!

I just can't tell you how excited I am! I am now a proud member of the Embellish-It design team! I just received the email this morning and my feet haven't touched the ground since! Thank you Barb for this awesome opportunity! These are the names of the other members of the new Design Team. Congratulations to you all!

Ana Wohlfahrt
Cindy Motherway
Julie Okada
Suzy (sorry, I don't have her last name)
Michelle Giraud
Michelle Pearson
Kelly Sampson
Tracy Hargrove

I am sure you will recongnise some of these names! I will try to post links to their blogs in the next few days!

More exciting new is, Embellish-It has a brand new beautiful FORUM! You should come and check it out if you have a chance! The gallery is loaded with incredible cards and projects, with much more to come as the Design Team gets their work uploaded.

Hmmm...I think perhaps this is good reason to celebrate, dont' you? Stay tuned for a Blog Bling contest of some kind!

Hope to see you in the new forum!!
Have a great day!
:)
Kim

Double Take Thursday!

Welcome to Double Take Thursday!

Today Beth Norman and I challenged each other to use a Tim Holtz stamp, distress ink, and an edge distresser. What fun I had with this one, and I promised myself I wouldn't look at Beth's til I uploaded mine! I can't wait to see what she came up with! This is our second week with the challenges. We will be taking a break next week as Beth will be out of town, but will be back with the challenges the following week!

I used all Tim Holtz stamps, except for the sayings, they are from CTMH. I used Cosmo Cricket papers, walnut stain distress ink on the edges, and versafine black for stamping the images. White embossing powder for the words. And I also used my signo white gel pen to accent a bit. I really love these kind of cards, shabby chic. It doesn't have to be perfect and you can really make them look old! All the edges of the layers were distressed with the edge distresser.

Be sure to drop over to Beth's blog to check out her card, that is where I am heading now! Be sure to check out Beth's great tutorials while you are there!

Thanks for the challenge this week Beth!!

:)
Kim

Outlines Christmas Card

Hi there!

I have been trying to get some stamping done the past few days! This morning I came up with this card, but the pic isn't the greatest! lol...I used cream, burgundy and gold shimmer c/s, stardust stickles, outlines rubber stamp and a swarovski crystal in the center. All layers are raised with foam dots, except the bottome layer. I think I will give this to someone closeby as I think it would be ruined in the mail, plus cost a fortune to mail! Lol

Well, I am off to stamp again!

Have a great day everyone!
:)
Kim

Double Take Thursdays!

This is something new, that I am doing with Beth Norman. We are challenging each other weekly, to use either a specific item, technique, stamp...and we will post our creations on Thursdays. I am very excited about this and can't wait to see what Beth created today!

For our first challenge we did a tin foil technique. You use heavy duty tin foil, then use the alcohol inks on it, and then run it thru the cuttlebug using one of the embossing folders. It turns out beautiful! The person who inspired this technique challenge for me was Suzy over at Papermonkey, she has a wonderful blog with some awesome tutorials.

I tried to take a good picture but it is overcast here today, and not much light. I will try to get a better picture to show off the glitter on the snowflake later today or tomorrow. If you click on the picture, it will enlarge and you can have a better look at the background! Please be sure to go over to Beth's blog and see her creation as well. Beth also has some wonderful tutorials to try out!! Thanks for asking me to do this with you Beth!

Thanks for stopping by!

:)
Kim

I think my Mojo may be back!

Today I went to a baby shower for a coworker, and had to make a card. I tell ya, this is the first card I have made in a long time that I really like! lol The carriage and sentiment is from Impression Obesession, and in the background is one of the clear stamps from a set at M's, stamped with tea dye distress ink. If you click on the picture above, you will see the lightly stamped flower swirl in the background. The images are stamped with versafine sepia ink, and all layers are also sponged on the edges with the versafine ink. Ribbon is from M's, and heart charm is from my stash. The main image is popped up with pop dots. It's funny how just one little card can improve my spirits.....I can't wait to stamp tomorrow night! lol

Have a great evening everyone!
:)
Kim

Meet me at the Cafe...

Another GORGEOUS set from My Favorite Things! Honestly, you just have to check them out! lol....I did this on shimmer c/s and copics....it is so shimmery...I don't know if you can tell in the pic though. The awning is part of the set, and is cut out and layerd on top. All stamps are from MFT. The little filagree corners are just stamping in black and then I put a bit of purple glitter to add a bit of Bling! A girl just has to have bling.....I sure wish it was me sitting in the pic enjoying a nice glass of wine with a good friend! Ah....stamping is fun too though!

I took a pic from the side as well, so you could see it was dimensional, and was hoping to show some of the shimmer. The colours in the sideview aren't true like the frontal view of the card. Amazing how lighting and angle can make it look so very different!

Have a wonderful evening!
:)
Kim