The Butterfly card - a long time in the making...

Have you ever taken a very l o n g time to put together a card? Well this one got started in about April at a night crafting session with my dear friends, Gerry and Marie. They were both scrapping that night and completed double lay-outs while I did about four half-cards. As is often the case, I didn't have all I needed with me to complete the cards and I took them home to finish. I always have such good intentions :)

The inspiration for this card came from the famous Teneale Williams. Hard to improve on her perfection - kept the same colours (she's pretty clever making More Mustard look attractive) but adjusted to lay-out. Added the silver ribbon because I love this ribbon (in every colour)!

I think I'm happy with it - really can't stretch it out any longer. But then again, I haven't given it away yet so a modification is still possible...

Thanks for looking.

Love from Crafty Kim

The Kimmidoll Tag

Has anyone heard the Kimmidoll Story? Beware parents of young girls...I recently came upon this line of Japanese dolls in my local gift store. And I was smitten. I could see myself collecting these but on this occasion, my excuse for purchase was the 10th birthday of a special girl. I didn't think to photograph the chosen doll but to give you an idea, here's what a Kimmidoll looks like:


She stands about 12cm tall, and is beautifully finished.

I made the gift tag above in colours to match the doll I chose. I'm not much of a bling-crafter but I think the gemstones finish it nicely.

I'm still loving Asian-themed cards - have a few more to share at some stage.

Thanks for looking.

Love from Crafty Kim

Always Remember

Here's a sympathy card I made recently. It's a simple lay-out to suit the mood of the moment. I used a couple of techniques, one called Baby Wipe Technique which takes baby wipes and reinkers to create the coloured background (a bit simpler than brayering but a similar end result). Then I took a solid stamp and did some "silhouette" stamping.

I made a few backgrounds while I had the baby wipe all inked up so you might see another card along a similar theme some time in future.

Thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty Kim

Party Animals

A few months ago, I came across a range of paper featuring various party animals. One of the sheets had large size images perfect for card-making. I had to have those sheets. The paper range makes for quick, easy and colourful cards.

I made the card above for a friend who shares my interest in A Lion Called Christian. You might already know this true story but if not, it's worth a look, just click on the following picture:

In this same paper range, there is a tiger which suits a friend of mine who has a special connection with tigers:

Now before I sign off, I want to share a card with you using the same Party Animal range, from someone whose work I greatly admire, Kerry Bunting:

(Card and photo courtesy of Kerry Bunting)

Hasn't Kerry done a great job with the co-ordinating stamp? You can see more of this card (the inside) and its reason for being at Kerry's blog, just click on the picture above.

Thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty Kim

Scrabble Card

This is the card I made for my friend [no prizes for guessing her name ;) ] who is very keen on Scrabble. The Scrabble-themed paper pretty much does it all. And I was running late by errr, a few months, so I kept it simple but took the time to decorate the inside too:

Well this post has to be very short but sweet (I hope) as the hour is late and the work day tomorrow is rushing up at me at high speed.

Thanks for looking.

Love from Crafty Kim

Happy New Catalogue

HERE it is: the NEW Stampin' Up! Catalogue for 2011-2012.

Too much goodness to describe so please go and check it out for yourself. And if you'd like a printed copy, I'm selling them for $10 (local pick-up or drop-off) or $13 including postage within Australia. Please or email me or telephone 0402 347 010 to organise it.

I'm looking forward to hearing what items are on your wish list...

Thanks for looking.

Love from Crafty Kim

More Big Shot Techniques

Well, I thought I'd better pop-in to share some cards and let you know that I'm still breathing. Not crafting much due to never-ending work and there are times when I feel I should just pack away my craft stuff and give it all up. However, I recently embraced sleep deprivation and put together some cards using my Big Shot. There seems to be no limit on techniques to try with this machine.

In the card above, I've used dry embossing through the Big Shot combined with heat embossing. I also stripe-embossed the satin ribbon in the Big Shot (with thanks to Angela Sargeant for this idea). I tried the "faux suede" technique (basically de-laminating cardstock into thinner layers with a rough surface by tearing, along with some scrunching and sponge-inking) and cut out the flower petals and leaves. A die-cut "Hi" finished it off but a stamped greeting would have done the job too.

Did you know you can emboss aluminium foil? Thanks to Clare McIllhattan for this idea. Clare's foil was smoother than mine...must get a tip on "how-to smooth" from Clare. And you can cut and emboss fabric with the Big Shot. Picture me in a local needlecraft store feeling like a fish-outta-water. Imagine the look I got when I told the saleslady (aka superb needle crafter) that I was going to cut up her lovely pink fabric into scraps and die-cut it into a butterfly for a card:



I sure do admire the works of needle-crafters. I just can't do it myself. Each to their own I say.

Next is a card front that has been what I term selectively embossed. I managed to leave the centre panel of the card un-embossed ready for stamping. Quite tricky but once I got the hang of it, I was away. I finished up stamping a solid daisy in white ink and using my pencils to add colour (termed "Black Magic" colouring within some circles).



Do you like the frame around the main image? I used two nesting dies through the machine at same time and dry embossed them afterwards to get the grooves in the frame. I snuck a little green "faux bow" in there too.

Anyway, hope you found this interesting. I'm currently helping my cherub with a school project and the best thing about it is using my alphabet die-cuts to make the poster title (I know, I'm easily amused).

Thanks for looking. Please get in contact if you have any questions.

Love from Crafty Kim

Stampin' Up! Retiring Items - Update

Just letting the SU! faithful what 2011 catalogue items are sold out:

Metallic Eyelets
Jumbo Eyelets (in both colours)
Sanded Background stamp
Full Calendar Stamps
Bashful Blue 12x12
Night of Navy 12 x 12
Chocolate Chip 12 x 12
Early Espresso 12x12
Spiral Punch
Small Oval punch
Photo Corner Punch
Star Punch

To view the Full Retirement List, please click HERE.

Please contact me on 0402 347 010 or email me with any questions or orders. I have copies of new catalogue for sale as well :)

Thanks for considering.

Love from Crafty Kim

Soccer Mad

Got a soccer-crazed person in your world? I've got several! Recently my son went to a joint birthday party for two of his friends (great idea - why didn't I think of that?). It was hosted at an indoor soccer venue. It was the usual pre-party rush so I kept it simple. I enjoyed using my new background stamp (I'm a sucker for background stamps). It is called "envelope" or some such. I was thinking more like "criss-cross" but it is named after the blue printed lining of business envelopes. Ring a bell for you? Anyway, whatever it is called, I like it.

So, two colours for two boys, along with co-ordinating envelopes:



Thanks for looking,

Love from Crafty Kim

Stampin' Up! Out with the old (now), in with the new (soon)!

Hello,

Exciting time for us Stampin' Up! addicts.

Just popping in quickly to show you the list of Retiring Products HERE. Products only available until sold out. That is: First in, first served.

Please also note that the Colour Renovation Kits will not be available after they are sold out or after 1 September 2011 (whichever comes sooner). So if you haven't updated your marker or crayon or pastel sets, now is the time to do it. Please check out the offerings HERE.

Please contact me on 0402 347 010 or email me with any questions or orders and while you're at it, you can order your copy of the new catalogue from me for delivery now (first orders from new catalogue are available from 1 September 2011).

Thanks for looking.

Love from Crafty Kim

Sending Sunshine

The very wet weather Sydney experienced last week prompted me to post this card which is intended as a Get Well Card. I like the sentiment "Under the Weather? Sending you Sunshine" and set about finding images / elements for a card to match.

I love umbrella stamps, check these out at Keesh's blog HERE, HERE and HERE. The whole rain/shower/weather has lots of scope.

Here's what I came up with (above). I used a technique called Paper Piecing which is very easy and spares you a bit of colouring-in if you're short of markers or not inclined to colour. You stamp the image onto some decorative paper and then cut out a section of the image, gluing it onto the same stamped image which has been stamped on plain card stock. On my card, both the rain coat and gum boots have been coloured this way. It reminds me of paper doll dress-ups that I played with as a young girl.

I was lucky to find some weather-themed paper as a background and I have a sun-shaped die which allowed me to decorate the card inside as follows:


I sent this card off to Pat, a fellow crafter who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has undergone two surgeries recently. It is especially hard for Pat as she and her husband are the main carers of their young grandson. We're all hoping she bounces back fast and fully as her work here is not yet done!

Thanks for visiting and I'm looking forward to sharing craft again with you soon.

Love from Crafty Kim

Pet Sympathy

First a quick note to thank my loyal crafty friends for checking my blog in hope of new posts which have not been forthcoming. Without wanting to burden you with too many details, I am not getting much time to craft at the moment. My husband has been unemployed for 4 months, after his previous job was made redundant. He did receive some funds to keep us going while he finds another job but to supplement these I have been working full-time since April and this has been a huge change for me. I had worked part-time in amongst kid-wrangling since 2006 but my "reason for being" was my son's care and everything else was scheduled around parenting. It's been good for my husband and son to spend more time together but I'm missing the time with my boy as well as time for me. I "take my hat off" to full-time working mothers - I don't know how you stay sane.

Anyway, it's not forever, just "for a season"! And one plus is that I've been doing some really interesting work in a new role. Great to use my brain after so many years away from my profession of food science.

So about this quick card which I made for a friend and like me, a true animal lover, when she lost her cat after a long time of togetherness. Being more a dog owner in later years, I haven't got many cat stamps in my collection. My hugely talented friend, Cookie, used some cat-themed paper so cleverly to make a set of cards which inspired the card above. I added some embossed card (zig-zag stitch) and brads but mostly, the decorative paper did all the design work.

I thought I would take this opportunity to share the story of the Rainbow Bridge:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
(Author unknown)

Thanks again for your patience and I'll be back as soon as I can be.

Love from Crafty Kim

For the love of Pandas

I've always loved Pandas:

I very much enjoyed the the movie, Kung Fu Panda, and look forward to seeing its recently released sequel:

I also love punch art so I set about trying to create a punch art panda. I noticed that Pandas are quite round and not often clean. I pulled out my collection of punches; ovals, eggs, circles, balloons and after much fussing, not to mention some hand-cutting, I had a Panda! Many thanks to my friend Fran Turner who loaned her Bamboo embossing folder to me, making my Panda happily placed in a bamboo bush. Thanks also to my friend Kathryn Keith for her little dragonfly stamp which finished the card off perfectly.

Lastly, I couldn't resist sharing this photo with those of us who are old enough to remember Kiss (with thanks to Michelle Tondi for reminding me about this picture):

Thanks for indulging my love of Pandas (I hope to visit China one day to see them in their homeland), and hope you got a smile from it.

Love from Crafty Kim

Vellum Well Wishes

I designed this card at the request of my friend Dianne for some more ideas for using vellum. I do love Vellum but its transparency makes it tricky to stick down without adhesive showing so it is also a design challenge. In this card, the adhesive is hiding behind the ribbon.

The flowers are stamped and embossed in white on the vellum layer and the Always Artichoke leaves have been die-cut and stuck to the white matt.

A simple greeting and some rhinestones finishe it off. There's lots of nasty viruses going around so any number of friends qualify for this card but another friend, Carolyne, has ongoing health issues to persist with and I sent this to let her know I'm thinking of her.

Hope you're all keeping warm, it' been very frosty in Sydney-town. We have a cold house which is cool in summer but it never really warms up in winter before the day cools again.

Love from Crafty Kim

BigShot Tip with Square Lattice Embossing

For my blog readers who love their BigShot (or other embossing/die-cutting machine), I thought I'd quickly share another idea via this little gift tag I made to go with a birthday gift for my friend, Gerry. Often we emboss the background or mat/layer of a card but why not the main image? It adds extra texture and interest. Of course it works best with small uniform embossing patterns such as the Stampin' Up! Square Lattice folder I've used here, a close up for you:


I like this idea so much that I decided to give Gerry the embossing folder for her birthday :)

Better get me some sleep. Thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty Kim

Yellow Poppies for Mum

Well today has been pretty grey and damp in Sydney town. Bit like the June day my mother's birthday fell on this year. My brother chose a restaurant on the ocean to celebrate the occasion with a family dinner. It would have been a lovely place to gaze at the sea had the wind not been swirling and the rain pelting against the windows and shades. Not to worry, we enjoyed the meal regardless.

Yellow is my mother's favourite colour. I bought this Poppy stamp set after being inspired by Jules' red poppy cards HERE. I'm going to try some red poppies in time for Rememberance Day in November. I've been eyeing off the large scallop border die for some time and decided it was time to give it a go.

I decided to decorate the inside and envelope as well:

I still have two more Asian cards to share when I get a chance. Blogger has been having some issues and between work and school holidays, there's not much blogging time but thanks for visiting, always appreciated.

Love from Crafty Kim

Inspired by Asia

Australia has much to thank Asia for. Who doesn't enjoy their local Asian restaurant? I could eat Thai almost every night. And many of us have holidayed in parts of Asia. There's no doubt that my life is better for the influence of Asian friends.

This influence extends to paper-craft. For starters, I've never met a Japanese paper I didn't like. And I love the various Asian doll stamps. I've used both in the above card. This particular Japanese paper has been speaking to me for some time. So I finally relented and bought it. I love the colours, and I've used the same colours to colour up the doll. I've also used an embossing folder to give the dark green card a textured finish in the form of blossoms. I know it's a bit hard to see in this photo - the legacy of photos taken too late at night.

I've got a couple more Asian cards to share and as usual, loads more ideas! In the interim, I wanted to share this great tutorial for punch art Japanese dolls from Kirsteen. Here's a sample of what she has created:

Please check it out...

Love from Crafty Kim

A Pink Hippo Card

Remember this card? Well I re-fashioned it to suit my niece for her 3rd birthday.

The pink, grey and green colour works well and I used a loopy edge border punch and a number embossing folder to add some fun. Had to add the die-cut "3" because like all three year olds, she is very proud to reach this milestone (she wants to catch up to my son, her 9 year old cousin).

And, her Mum, being a keen cake decorator made her this lovely purple and orange Dora cake:


Looks too good to eat!

Hope you're sneaking in some craft in this rainy weather. Hoping you don't have to go out all weekend.

Love from Crafty Kim

Forty and Fabulous

Or is it "Forty and Still Naughty?". Maybe "Forty and Foxy?". What about "Forty and Sporty?" The age of 40, there's quite a few possibilities...enough philosophy I hear you say, what about the card?

I made this for my much older friend (not). Pulled out every number stamp set I own and stamped fours and zeros on some decorative paper which resembles book pages. I was going for a slightly vintage/shabby chic look on this card so didn't heat emboss - decided to go with varying ink coverage.

Then I got my dotty embossing folder out and ran the vanilla card stock through my Big Shot. Two ribbons (why stop at one?) and I settled on "Forty and Fabulous" for the sentiment. And I love the die cut doily behind the sentiment, really makes the card in my humble opinion.

Do you like the little roses?

I got these from a lovely stamping friend in the USA.

Last, I made a matching envelope:


Well, better get to bed. Tomorrow I'm off to stamp camp with my crafty friends for two days of paper-crafting. So I should have plenty to share in the next fews weeks. But first, I have to rest up from packing my supplies into my station-wagon (it's a squeeze).

Thanks for visiting,

Love from Crafty Kim

Doily Sympathy

Doilies have become very popular in paper-craft recently. Not all of them appeal to my personal taste and sometimes it can be hard to find the right-sized doily for use on a card front. But then I came across a die cut to make the above doilies.

Originally I cut the doilies from vellum but then struggled to find a good way to stick the vellum down (lots of cursing here in the craft room about the ineffectiveness of vellum spray). So in the end I went back to regular cardstock in a complementary colour.

I never met a purple I didn't like (yet) and it goes very well with silver. Being a sympathy card, I wanted a subtle look which I was aiming for with the silver butterflies. The base looked quite plain until I embossed it with the "branches" embossing folder. I'm not sure if I've pushed it to far with the rhinestone brad, again not wanting anything too flashy.

Anyway, hoping you've enjoyed your visit to my end of the crafting world. I'll be back as soon as I can with more creations.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love from Crafty Kim

Stampin' Up Weekly Deal # 4

This week's deals:

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
113838	62	Right on Track Stampin' Around Wheel	$11.95	$8.37
115619	68	Retro Remix Stampin Around Wheel	$11.95	$8.37
119975	134	Vintage Type Rub-Ons	$15.95	$11.17
118760	134	Play Date Rub-Ons	$16.95	$11.87

If you're having trouble displaying the above table correctly, please click HERE to visit the relevant SU! web page - all details are given there.

They are available from Wednesday, 25 May 2011 until 11:45pm Tuesday 31 May 2011.

If you're interested to purchase any of these at the special prices, please email me or leave a comment or phone/SMS 0402 347 010.

Thanks for your interest. I'll be back with a card to share real soon now.

Love from Crafty Kim

Punch Art Runner Card

Last year, we made an exciting discovery: my son can run long distances and quite quickly at that. Not sure where this talent originated - not with me. I've done my fair share of running for fitness in days gone by, as has Ashley's father, but neither of us are fast.

When a small boy ran towards the finish line after his first 2.5km school cross-country run, ahead of many other runners, a nearby school mother poked me and said "is that your boy?". I said that I doubted it and glanced briefly in the direction of the field. And there he was...concentrating hard, almost out of puff and plenty red in the face - check out his expressions in other race pictures below. He went on to compete at the next level of competition, against boys from other schools.

Later in the year, he had a try at shorter distances, 100m and 200m sprints, where he did similarly well. I soon found myself with other tired parents at Little Athletics on Friday nights. The friendly salesman at the local shoe store introduced me to shoes I never knew he needed!

I made the above card to encourage him and to let him know how proud I am of his efforts. I was inspired by Michelle Hoffman. I matched the colours to his school athletic uniform. I've used mostly the Stampin' Up! Word Window punch but also the Tag punch and some circles. The Sun also uses a Star punch.



Anyway, just another idea for kids' cards. When I finally get a chance (working full-time at the moment so not much crafting happening), I'm going to try making a footy player card along the same lines so please stay tuned.

Love from Crafty Kim

Star Sympathy

I bought this stamp some years ago - fortunately, haven't needed to use it very often but the idea comforts me. In case you can't quite read it from the photo, here it is in text:

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.”

My stamp says it is an Indian saying but other research suggests it originates with Eskimos?

I've been looking for a star embossing folder for some time and when I saw the one used above I snapped it up. I made the card shimmery by sponging silver ink lightly on the raised embossed areas.

I wanted to keep the card low-key but the star clips fitted the theme and the silver mesh ribbon helped distinguish the top layer of navy blue from the navy base.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love from Crafty Kim

Stampin' Up Weekly Deal # 3 - BLING ALERT

This Week's Deals:

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
119750	137	Daffodil Delight 5/8'' (1.6 cm) Satin Ribbon	$16.95	$11.87
119963	137	Certainly Celery 3/8'' (1 cm) Taffeta Ribbon	$12.95	$9.07
109112	139	Square Fire Rhinestone Brads	$19.95	$13.97
109113	139	Square Ice Rhinestone Brads	$19.95	$13.97

If you're having trouble displaying the above table correctly, please click HERE to visit the relevant SU! web page - all details are given there.

They are available from Wednesday, 18 May 2011 until 11:45pm Tuesday 24 May 2011.

If you're interested to purchase any of these at the special prices, please email me or leave a comment or phone/SMS 0402 347 010.

Thanks for your interest. I'll be back with a card to share real soon now.

Love from Crafty Kim

Autumn Birthday Card

Here I am with a very speedy post :D It's not like me to be so brief but small or nothing is the order of the day.

I made this card for a dear friend of mine who hails all the way from Canada. Hence the maple leaf which was one of the first stamps I ever bought about 8 years ago.

And then this gorgeous autumn weather, with the sun shining through the deciduous trees, set the colour combination.

Lots of sponging, some more stamping, leafy paper, twine and do you like the branch border? Thought it perfect for this card.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you're keeping warm and getting a chance to enjoy the festival of falling leaves.

Love from Crafty Kim

Blokey Cards

Cards for blokes, bit tricky aren't they? Some might contend it's not worth spending much time making cards for the significant males in our life but I like to think it's worthwhile.

My first card (shown above) is inspired by a current paper-crafting trend, hot air balloons. I don't have any balloon stamps so pulled out some spotty paper and put my punches to use. I used dies to cut the clouds and sun and made my own tag with computer-generated sentiment (perfect for when you know what you want to say but don't have the stamp to match).

The second card is to appeal to the home handyman. I also love the bright colour combination. The card elements come mainly from the decorative paper along with some rub-ons but I've dry-embossed the black panel with a tool folder (in the Big Shot) and sanded the paper to make the raised images more pronounced. A home-made sign completes the card :)


This one is my attempt at vintage card, designed for the "young at heart". It's a style that doesn't come easily to me by I think I've pulled it off. I love those cogs. And twill, with metal embellishments, all great for guys. I "aged" or "distressed" my card using Glad Wrap and an ink pad (as an alternative to using a sponge). It's a good if your sponge is missing in action. The little clock face is cut-out and popped up too, although you can't really see it in the photo. I also love the colour combination (yes, another one); rustic red-brown (Cajun Craze in SU! speak) is one of my favourite colours.

Lastly something for the petrol-heads...vroooom. I tried what is termed "motion stamping" which is basically repeat stamping without re-inking in between. Or stamping in a progressively lighter-coloured inks. Each time you shift the image across and up or down (away) from the original image. See those large silver brads, I wanted to put them in the centre of the wheels, thought that would look very cool. But I was advised by the MOTH (man of the house) that it wouldn't be correct. Given he is representative of the target audience, I relented and put them on the side instead. But I wasn't alone in thinking this wheel placement of the silver brads was a good idea, my talented friend, Fiona Redknap (go check out her blog, she's been posting up a storm lately), made the same suggestion to me without any prompting. Note for the keen stampers, motion stamping works best with rubber stamps rather than acrylic - they just stamp-off so much better.

I have this long list of ideas for male cards if anyone is interested to receive it? Just leave a comment with your email address or email me and I'll email you the file.

Just looked at the time, off to bed for me. Hope you're keeping snug and warm in this chilly Sydney-town if you live in my city.

Love from Crafty Kim

Stampin' Up! Weekly Deal # 2

This Week's Deals:

Item	Page	Description	Regular Price	Sale Price
120963	142	Stampin Pastels New Color Kit (19)	$28.50	$22.80
115957	151	Thanks Embosslits Die	$21.95	$17.56
114513	151	Sweetest Stem Embosslits Die	$21.95	$17.56
113483	155	Pennant Bigz XL Die	$74.95	$59.96

If you're having trouble displaying the above table correctly, please click HERE to visit the relevant SU! web page - all details are given there.

They are available from Wednesday, 11 May 2011 until 11:45pm Tuesday 17 May 2011.

If you're interested to purchase any of these at the special prices, please email me or leave a comment or phone/SMS 0402 347 010.

Thanks for your interest.

Love from Crafty Kim