Happy 14th Birthday Daniel

I don't really do "grunge" well and clearly, not very often! But I needed to make a birthday card for a teenager and lacking any images that would do the job, I defaulted to a personalised name card. And it only took me a matter of minutes to make, which fits with the amount of time a 14 year old boy will spend looking at a greeting card (i.e. a nano-second).

I also discovered that a DL-sized/shaped card is harder to photograph and display but it was refreshing to design on a different "canvas".

Love from Crafty Kim

New Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalogue

It's the 1 December and the new Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalogue is online now.

Hope you enjoy looking at the new goodies. I'll be posting cards and other projects using these in coming weeks.

I will also be hosting a Summer Mini and Sale-A-Bration party early in the New Year so look out for your invitation soon.

Love from Crafty Kim

In Sympathy

The card you wish you didn't need. Part of life, yes, but such a sad chapter. And the warm memories help sustain you but you'll always miss the person's unique place in your world.

I made this card for a friend after she lost someone close to her but if this card speaks to you, please accept my sincere sympathy for your loss. I offer this poem "All is well" which brings me comfort:

Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household world that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It it the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.
All is well.
Henry Scott Holland 1847-1918
Canon of St Paul 's Cathedral

I won't dwell on this subject further but life is fragile so please make the most of the living years.

Love from Crafty Kim

Just Beachy Birthday Card

It's been a few days since I posted because my PC is located in my craft room which is without an air-conditioner (all I want for Christmas is an air-conditioner in my creating space...la la la la). With the recent HOT Sydney weather, I couldn't bring myself to spend more than a few minutes in the hot spot. But today's heat is more moderate so here I am, back blogging.

I made the above card as part of a Card-In-A-Box activity with other SU! demonstrators. The idea of this is to put everything needed to make the card you've designed into a box and then pass the box around for others to stamp and assemble. Makes lots of cards fast. This particular card-in-a-box was designed by Fiona Brown using the Just Beachy stamp set in the Spring Mini Catalogue. Trendy Trees is also used, along with some hand-drawn sheep (the white gel pen comes in handy, again). It makes a good male card.

The Just Beachy set really suits the Australian way of life. With a 4WD, surfboard, bucket, thongs, sun and fish, it has inspired some seriously cool cards such as:

(Card and photo with thanks to Andrea Karadimos)

and:

(Card and photo with thanks to Christine Okken)

For more ideas using Just Beachy, please click here.

Just Beachy is only available until the 30 November 2009 (that's tomorrow). So please contact me ASAP if you would like to order it.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend. I'm off to do housework :(

Love KimT

Reminder - SU! Spring Catalogue Finishes Soon

Just a quick post to remind you that last orders for the current Stampin' Up! Spring Mini Catalogue will close on the 30 November 2009.

This Mini would have to be one of my all time favourites. There are so many great stamps, paper and accessories. I thought I would share a quick blog hop with you to showcase some of the wonderful creations arising from the Spring Mini. So here goes (just click on the links to see the full card):

1. Forest Friends from Marelle Taylor


2. Great Friend from Mary Beerman


3. Unchartered and Parisian Breeze Paper from Beth Stewart


4. Tree Trimmings and Ski Slope Paper from Kylie

(All designs and photos courtesy of the card-makers indicated above.

With thanks to Marelle, Mary, Beth and Kylie).

I hope you enjoy these creations. Sometimes it seems I like looking at cards more than making them. But then I stop procrastinating and make one of my own and know that holding your own creation in your hands is the best feeling.

If you want anything from the Mini before it disappears forever, please contact me on phone 0402 347 010 or email me by 8pm on Monday 30 November 2009.

Thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty KimT

Hot in the City

Us Sydney-siders have been enduring 4 days of hot hot hot weather. A small complaint on the world scale but it's really got me out of sorts. I tried picturing snow-themed Christmas cards to chill me out with limited success.

So, I thought I would post a "refreshing" card. It's not my usual style, or should I say colour combo. But I'm happy enough with it. It was also a challenge because I don't own full sheets of this paper, I was working with 3 x 3 inch squares. Oh the pressure!

I made it for my Fiji travel companions by way of thanks for coming along and sharing the experience. I decided to decorate the inside of the card too but it did limit the space for writing which cramped my long-winded style but some might find it an advantage.

I also wanted to show you a close up of the cocktail drink:


I used Crystal Effects to make the cocktail glass look like real glass. I also cut out parts of the image and popped it up with Stampin Dimensionals. The miniature parasol was stamped on the paper too and cut out.

The stamp set used is Cheers to You which I bought at a low price while on promotion. I didn't think I'd use it much but it's come in handy lately and I really quite like it.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Thanks for reading. Bring on the cool change I say.

Love from Crafty Kim

Scalloped Edge Medallion Cards

Well after that flurry of recent posts, I suddenly went quiet. I thought I'd better get back to Christmas since it's not far away. This is one of the techniques I demonstrated at our Christmas Craft Day. Using a scallop border punch (which is very popular so many of you will already own one), I made the medallion-style matting for the greeting. It is VERY easy and you can learn how to do this here.

You can also rotate the square so that it is a diamond, as shown below in a card created by Kirrily Matthews:

(Card design and photography with thanks to Kirrily Matthews)

Both of these cards also use the Square Scallop Punch as well which you can currently receive FREE with qualifying orders, for more details, please click here.

Of course, you can put anything on the scalloped medallion, circles or squares with greetings or images. It's up to you now.

Love KimT

Fiji Wedding

One of the reasons we travelled Fiji recently was to attend the "2nd wedding" of our friends who originally married in country NSW. Ten years later to the day, they affirmed their commitment to each other on a beach in Fiji, surrounded by their beautiful children, other family and friends.

It was a very relaxed ceremony, possibly a little less nerve-wracking than the original version. Here is a picture of the family just after the happy couple renewed their wedding vows:

Their daughters were lovely attendants. They were very excited to be part of the ceremony and were clothed in beautiful dresses.


Now I'm sure their eldest son was excited about the proceedings, he just kept his excitement on the inside, right? You can see him here with my son Ashley (they are good mates those two), playing on the beach:

It would appear that the waves, the sand and the passing snorkeller were at least momentarily more interesting than pretty dresses, bouquets, cameras and glasses of bubbly.

I made the card shown at the top of this post for the occasion. In keeping with the informal setting in Fiji, it's a casual kind of card. I added a bit of sparkle via Dazzling Diamonds to the champagne glasses:

Along with the rhinestones, this gave the card a special feel fitting to the event. And they are a "wonderful couple"; very much in love after ten years and four kids (their youngest child has just celebrated his first birthday). Of course, I only just gave them the card and gift some two weeks after the date but there wasn't any point taking it over just to bring it home again! That's my excuse ;)

It was indeed a privilege to share this time with them all, and we really appreciated being invited.

Love from Crafty Kim

Down at the Farm

During the recent school holidays, my son and I were invited to stay at a hobby farm in the Southern Highlands. It grows hazelnuts for sale at local markets as well running a few head of Dorper sheep. They also keeps chooks (which produce eggs with yolks the colour of Summer Sun) and grows a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Their jam is much sought after and was a big hit at the recent Christmas Craft Day.

I made this card as thanks for our farm stay which was full of such fun as performing sheep pedicures, spotlighting nocturnal animals, camping in a tent, riding motorbikes and swimming in the dam (that was Toby Beagle's favourite activity). I've used Thoughts and Prayers stamp set with the Faux Woodgrain Technique but this time I made the background look like floor boards. The card design is almost an exact CASE of a card made by Marelle Taylor which I loved as soon as I set eyes on it. Thanks for the idea Marelle. Notice the corners of the main image panel? I used the eyelet border punch as a corner punch - don't you love it when you get many uses from one tool?

Here are a few happy snaps from the weekend:

The Two Helmet Heads, Ashley and his friend

Ashley with Dorper Lamb

Toby Beagle enjoying a swim in and shake near the dam

It all ended well but we got a bit of a fright on Sunday morning when Toby Beagle ate some rat poison (buried deep under a stack of wood). But thanks to some quick action and a Moss Vale vet, no harm was done. Not sure how welcome Norty Dog is to visit again...

Love from Crafty Kim

Quick Plug for Digitally-Created Beagle Christmas Cards

Remember these cards? Well, I didn't make as many Christmas cards as the Beagle Rescue organisation could use so they've supplemented what I made with some digitally-created cards.

In an effort to spread the word far-and-wide, I'm posting the details for the sale of these cards. Most of my blog visitors make their own cards but if you know anyone who might be interested in purchasing some cards for charity, please pass this message on. There are gift tags available too.

For more details of cards available and pricing, please click here.

Thanks for your attention,

Love from Crafty Kim

Faux Woodgrain Birthday Card for Andrew

I thought I would take a brief respite from Christmas cards, we'll be seeing plenty of these in the next month. Back in August I made this card for my friend Andrew.

I used a technique called Faux Woodgrain which is great for male cards. If you'd like to learn how to do this (it's VERY easy), please click HERE for a YouTube tutorial from Dawn Griffith. In her tutorial, Dawn shows you how to make the woodgrain look like timber floorboards by drawing in brown lines:

The technique of swiping the ink pad directly onto paper is quite handy when you don't have any other suitable background options. And this technique can be applied to other colours too, I recently saw it done in blue tones which gave a "denim" look to the background of the card:

(Card and photography courtesy of Sharon Arkley, with thanks)

For Andrew's card, I used images from Loads of Love. Notice how I "grounded" the image so it doesn't look as if it is floating. I then decided to use some twine, a brad and double-sided foam adhesive to make the image look like it was a picture frame hanging on a wall.

Hope you're having a good weekend.

Love from Crafty Kim

Christmas Cards Using Non-Traditional Colours

Well since I got back from Fiji, my little boy has developed a nasty stomach virus and so I've been at home mainly keeping him company, tending his needs and watching cartoons. Not all bad for me ;) It also means I've had time to post. I probably should be doing some work from home but I'll get to that next.

Anyway, to the craft. I made the above card from a stack of purple papers I found in the bargain bin of a local craft shop. I admit I was drawn to them because purple is my favourite colour. The paper made these cards quick work since I used them as background and for the greeting. Unfortunately the photo doesn't show you that the tree has been glittered using Heat 'n' Stick Powder then Dazzling Diamonds. So, in real life, the tree is sparkly deep purple. I stamped the envelope with a matching tree (but without the glitter).

And I also made this co-ordinating card as well using different paper within the same range.

This time the tree is pale gold in colour. In SU! speak, it is almost River Rock in tone (a retired In-Colour ink).

Well I hope these help to inspire you make some of your own Christmas cards, time is running out to make cards. It's a slippery slope to Christmas from here on.

Love from Crafty Kim

Christmas is Coming...Give a gift, receive a gift

(Click on the image to enlarge)

Stampin' Up! have a Christmas Extravaganza promotion to help you with your Christmas gift shopping.

All you have to do is find $85 worth of goodies from the following list for you and/or your friends and a SQUARE SCALLOP or BOHO BLOSSOM punch (valued at $30.95) will be yours for FREE.

The qualifying products are:
Simply Scrappin Kits
Petal Party $36.95 113059 Pg 136
Rock-a-bye girl $36.95 112165 Pg 137
Rock-a-bye Boy $36.95 112172 Pg 137
Sweet Nothings $36.95 113925 Pg 138
Hoppy Memories $36.95 113936 Pg 138
I wish $36.95 112193 Pg 137
Ribbons
Old Olive 5/8" grosgrain ribbon $14.95 109054 Pg 151
Riding hood red 5/8" striped grosgrain ribbon $19.50 111374 Pg 150
Dress Up Ribbon Originals $24.95 114317 Pg 150
Valet Ribbon Originals $24.95 114318 Pg 150
Pigtails Ribbon Originals $27.95 114316 Pg 150
Simply Sent Kits
Thanks x 2 Simply Sent Card Elements and More Kit $48.95 116809 Pg 142
More Thoughts simply sent kit $83.95 116810 Pg 143
2U simply sent card elements and More Kit $48.95 116808 Pg 142
No one like you Simply Sent Kit $83.95 116811 Pg 143
Stamp Sets
From the Kitchen of Stamp set $52.95 115810 Pg 93
Just Jawing Stamp set $45.95 115828 Pg 67
Punches and Tools
Curly label punch bundle $65.95 112966 Pg 153
Cutter Kit $33.95 106958 Pg 155
Spiral Punch $20.95 108341 Pg 152
Buttons
Button Latte Designer Buttons $15.50 114333 Pg 151
Button Bouquet Designer Buttons $15.50 112092 Pg 151
Cardstock
Kiwi Kiss A4 cardstock $10.50 116204 Pg 126
Whisper White A4 cardstock $13.50 106549 Pg 127
Real Red 12 x 12 cardstock $14.50 106545 Pg 128
Bold Brights A4 assorted cardstock $14.50 106560 Pg128
Markers
Real Red Stampin’ Write marker $5.75 100052 Pg128
Brilliant Blue Stampin’ Write Marker $5.75 100057 Pg128
Glorious Green Stampin’ Write Marker $5.75 100047 Pg128
Other Items
Small flat cellophane bags $7.50 103104 Pg 130
On Board 5 x 5 Art Journal $13.50 108495 Pg 147

It's also a good time to get your husband or mother shopping for you. The offer closes on the 14 December 2009 so please get in contact (phone 0402 347 010 or email me) before then.

Love from Crafty Kim

Welcome Baby Boy

Well I really have strayed from the great unpacking...but I had this picture ready to go so I thought I'd show you sooner rather than later.

I made this card for a crafty friend and her husband who recently welcomed their son into the world. It always wonderful to hear about the safe arrival of a new baby.

This card is made with a retired stamp (for the main image) and retired paper but I love the colour combination of Bashful Blue, Vanilla, Cocoa and Chocolate (you'd think I was chatting about food). I love the twill tape too.

Anyway, the washing machine is making a final boarding call for all holiday clothing to board so really must go.

Love from Crafty Kim

Hand-Made Christmas Crafts at School Fair, Waitara, Sunday 8 November

I'm back safe and sound from Fiji. In the midst of unpacking, washing and getting ready for work but I've strayed briefly to let you know about an upcoming local event which my crafty friends Suzanne and Kathy have been very busy preparing for.

I can hardly believe the day of this event is drawing near. It feels like only yesterday we were sharing ideas on which paper-craft items might be appealing for the Fair. And then I get back from Fiji and find the flyer in my letterbox.


In case you can't read the fine print, it is on THIS COMING SUNDAY (8 November), at Our Lady of the Rosary School, WAITARA, click HERE for a map. It runs from 10am to 4pm. And I almost forgot to mention, there's loads of other stalls too as well as rides for the kiddies.

I'm hoping to get along so might see you there.

Love from Crafty Kim

Happy Howl-o-ween

Bula bula again from Fiji where there's been a few kids dressed up in Halloween costumes instead of board shorts and "rashies". In place of carving pumpkins, they carved coconuts. Cute.

Here's a quick card I made before I left. Originally for a kids' class but I decided it had a distinctive Halloween note. I do love punch art even if it's a bit fiddly. This one was quite simple by comparison with some others I made, shown here. And it works really well with the embossed spider web background. Another idea I had was to put a lollipop behind the spider and turn it into a treat card.

We've not got long to go in Fiji before we return home and I'm kinda looking forward to it. Australia really is a great place to live and travelling always makes me appreciate it more. And it's been raining and cool the last two days so not quite as much fun without the sun. But we did see the Fijian men walk on the hot stones, ouch!

Love from Crafty Kim

Bula Bula from Fiji

Here's where I've spent some of my time over the last few days. Except it isn't quite this peaceful. Picture instead lots of kids jumping, splashing and thrashing about. I'm not having much luck uploading pictures from my USB stick to the hotel computer so am making do with the picture perfect travel brochure.

We've kept busy, holidays with kids aren't the same as "bc" are they? But I've sampled my first cocktail ever (Flirtini) and found another favourite (Splice of Life). I also tried the local drink, Kava, which left my tongue numb (briefly).

We visited a local Fijian village yesterday and the children were very friendly and happy to receive gifts of school supplies, books, balls and sweets from us tourists. We've also been horse-riding on the beach and this morning, some of us went para-sailing (I declined - someone needed to mind the young children - and, I went about 20 years ago in Bali, once really was enough for me). Tonight we are going to treat ourselves to a fire-dancing show.

One of the reasons for the trip was to attend a beach ceremony where our friends, Tiffany and Chris, re-affirmed their wedding vows made ten years ago to the day. Their four kids were present, with their two daughters, dressed up beautifully, as their attendants. The beach setting, with waves lapping at our feet certainly made for a very relaxed time.

I visited Fiji last when I was 10 years old and so, not surprisingly, many things have changed but the sincere friendliness of the Fijians remain. Anyway, I need to go and enquire about a ride in a glass bottom boat so the littlies can experience the underwater experience while their fathers go diving. Must squeeze in my massage as well...the days go fast. I knew I should have booked us in for longer ;)

Hope to be back with some cards to show you if I can get my USB or email to work!

Love from Crafty Kim

Fiji on my mind

Bula,

Just a quick note to let you know I am going to Fiji for a week. Leaving my beloved Beagle dogs and paper-craft behind for some fun in the sun with family and friends.

I don't know if I'll have access to the internet while I'm away so this might be it for a while. But please keep visiting as I'll be back with bells on next week if not before.

Have a great week (maybe get some Christmas cards done).

Love from Crafty Kim

Pink Ribbon Day 2009

Well it's a very significant day for me. This time six years ago, things were pretty ugly. Diagnosed with breast cancer, aged 34 years old, with a baby to care for. I think I cried to myself every day of 2003 after diagnosis on 27 February, I called it my shower therapy.

I am so very very happy to report that I am not just surviving, I'm thriving. As is my then baby, now 7 year old son. But I'm still in treatment and there are far too many doctors in my life (although I am grateful to them all). Breast cancer and its treatment is not a short journey.

I don't want this post to be sad though, I want to tell you about good things that have arisen from my breast cancer diagnosis. I found friends I never knew I had, and they will be my friends for life. There are many people who touched my life and I don't want to leave anyone out but today, one person in particular comes to mind. She shares my first name, I am KimT, she is KimM. She is also a breast cancer patient, diagnosed at a young age, with two daughters to raise. We met at a breast cancer support group in a treating hospital and have remained close ever since. I made the card above for her, I think I've used almost every piece of the Pretties Kit and it took me 2 hours of fussing to complete but I wanted it to be amongst my best work.

Diagnosis with a life threatening illness can be isolating. As much as family and friends want to help, they often can't relate to your turmoil. But KimM, she knows something of what it is like to be me. And her life, it continues to be a difficult path to tread too, hence the quote on the card:

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

But you know what else we share, we do craft together! She has taught me how to cross-stitch and I help her to learn paper-craft. I was so impressed when she won the third challenge from the Get Ready for Christmas Craft Day which was to use a non-Christmas stamp set to create a Christmas card. Here is her card:


This is a folding card which gives the images depth. It is called a stair-step-fold and you can learn how it is done here.

And I must not let the day pass without wishing my fellow patients, good health for the future. I am thinking of Louise Ryan in WA today, and her friend, Makeesha Byl who has done so much to raise awareness of and funds for the breast cancer cause. Thank you also to Beth Stewart and Jayne Mercer who held local Girls Night In functions to raise funds for breast cancer charities. And I know there are many more Stampin' Up! demonstrators who hosted "Pink" events. The parents at my son's school, Arden, held a morning tea fundraiser today as well. I really appreciate your efforts.

Before I sign off, can I please urge all women to self-examine their breasts on a regular basis? And if you find something of concern, make sure you get it checked out by mammogram AND ultrasound. Don't think you're overreacting and never let a doctor dismiss your concerns. I wish I had a dollar for every young woman who told me she found a lump but she didn't think it would be cancer or who told me their doctor didn't act straight-away. I'd have a sizeable collection of coins and there'd be more breast cancer survivors around today too. Plus your worst fears are unlikely to be realised. The survival rates from breast cancer are much improved according to new data reported in The Australian newspaper today (if you're interested to read, I was interviewed and photographed with my family for this article).

I also want to quickly pay tribute to Denise, Val and Kathy, all of whom live on in my memory but who lost their lives to this disease. I am thinking of your families today too, especially your children.

To all who support Pink Ribbon Day in whatever form,

*** THANK YOU***

Love from Crafty Kim

Check This Out

(Creation and photo courtesy of Fiona's Web Site)

Hello AGAIN,

I'm quite chuffed at posting two times in one day. I won't be able to keep it up for more than a few minutes more as kidlet and his Dad are due back from swimming lessons any time now but I wanted to quickly introduce you to a new website.

My friend Fiona, who I met just over a year ago at the Stitches and Craft Show in Rosehill, recently created a site to share her card creations. Fiona is not a Stampin' Up! demonstrator so there's no agenda to promote except her love of paper crafting.

You can visit Fiona's web site here. Fiona is one of the nicest ladies you could meet and her father is very ill at present so if you have time, why not pop over and leave her a comment? I'm sure she would appreciate it.

Love from Crafty Kim

Lay-Out Challenge from Christmas Craft Day

The second challenge I gave the participants at the Christmas Craft Day was to make a Christmas card or page using the following sketch as a lay-out:

Sketches are a great way to start a card or scrap page. If you're like me, you've got so much in your stash that you could use that it's almost overwhelming. A sketch narrows the range down, not that you can't take some liberty when you interpret the sketch. If you're keen to try a sketch, head over to MojoMonday - there are some "Mojolicious" cards to spy as well.

The card at the top of this post is my response to the lay-out challenge. I've made those flowers using the Scribble This stamp set. I originally got the idea from Margaret Crawford (thanks Margaret). They are really easy to make, please visit Michelle Dyson's web site for instructions. I've used some paper that I disliked when I first saw it in the catalogue. I think the Poinsettia side of the paper put me off Holiday Treasures but having had a play, I found the paper really versatile and the colours rich and warm. I'll be posting some more cards using it soon so if you're feeling inclined to stock up on some Christmas paper, I've got plenty of ideas for you.

Anyway, back to the Christmas Craft Day challenge...would you believe the winner of the Colour Challenge, Suzanne, also won the layout challenge with this card:

And no, it wasn't rigged. The voting was anonymous so Suzanne took away two prizes, and I'm sure felt very happy to have her work recognised by so many like-minded individuals. That's half the fun isn't it, sharing our craft creations with others who get it?

Well done Suzanne.

Love from Crafty Kim

Our Little Reindeer

Howdy,

Here's one of the make-and-takes from our recent Get Ready for Christmas Craft Day.

It's a 6 x 6 inch photo board decorated with Ski Slope paper from the current Spring Mini Catalogue. Teamed with some stripey red grosgrain ribbon.

The photo is from my son's first Christmas. He was a February baby so he's about 10 months old in the picture. He's 7 years old now and more excited about Christmas than ever. How time flies.

I thought this project would make an ideal Christmas gift for grandparents or other relatives. It proved popular at the Christmas Craft Day. If you would like the instructions, please email me. It's quite adaptable, I've used the format previously as shown here. And if you want to update the photo, it's a simple as squeezing the clip and replacing it with the new happy snap.

Love from Crafty Kim

Colour Challenge from Get Ready Christmas Craft Day

On Saturday 10 October, we hosted our second Get Ready For Christmas Craft Day at the Epping Creative Centre. We welcomed 41 guests for a day of crafting which included morning tea of scones with home-made jam; three craft demonstrations from Carolyn Gibbs, Clare Mcilhatton (fondly known as Crafty Cow), and myself; lunch; four make-and-takes, three challenges; lucky draw with super prizes and afternoon tea. Guests were treated to hand-decorated coffee mugs, a goodie bag, lollies and a large wall of inspiration containing many cards and scrap page samples. Somewhere in amongst that, we managed to raise funds for the breast cancer cause (more on this in a future post).

I want to acknowledge the contribution of my Mum, Robyne Staples, both ahead and on the day. Mum is always there when I need her. My downline, Carolyn Gibbs was also an invaluable extra mind and pair of hands. Without the help of these key people, the day would not have happened! Of course, thanks must also go to all of the participants who came along and had a blast, especially those who helped us set-up and pack-up...thank you Nicky Adamson, Karen Fowler, Paula Perna and Cathy Howe. Needless to say, we were all exhausted afterwards...

Now one of my tasks for the day was to set the challenges. The first was a colour challenge:


My response to this challenge is shown at the beginning of this post. We had a great response to the challenges set and I was impressed with all of the entries. However, the winner of this challenge (as determined by vote) was my friend, Suzanne Leverton with this card:

Congratulations to Suzanne who won a Simply Sent Kit which had been kindly donated by Stampin' Up!

There's so much more I could share from the day but I must sign off for now (promise to return with more).

For those who placed orders with me on the day, thanks again for these and deliveries will be made in the next few days.

Thanks for your interest.

Love from Crafty Kim

Celebrate World Card-Making Month

Where has the month of October gone? It seems like only yesterday we were enjoying the L O N G weekend and yawning as we welcomed the start of daylight savings. Most of the month has gone and I haven't even mentioned that October is world card-making month or that Stampin' Up! is offering 20% off this stamp set, Starring You ($19.96):

and this one, Wow Flowers ($19.96):


when you purchase a Simply Sent card elements kit for $30.95. These kits contain everything you need to make at least 12 cards so they're a great introduction to card-making for beginners or an fast, easy option for established card-makers. A good gift idea too say for someone recovering from an illness or surgery. Here are a couple cards made with Flower Power Card Elements and Wow Flowers:

For more information, please click here or contact me.

Love from Crafty Kim