....and we have Lift Off! (Well nearly!)

So it is only minutes to go before the lovely Sheena takes to our screens once more with a NEW set of stamps in the Coastal range.

Here are some more of my show samples, it was a blast making them. Wor Sheena does give us some brilliant products to work with so I suppose it isn't that difficult to create great projects like these.

Here they are then, I will be sitting with my feet on the coffee table, hot drink in hand - hasn't it turned cold?

Create and Craft TV Sky channel 671 is your destination, 10am and 4pm (stock willing!)

Kim xxx

Sneaky Peek #4 - Sheena Douglass - New Stamps

First thing I had to do was decide which of my samples I was going to show you today, that took longer than I expected because I want to show you so many but as it is only 24 hours away from 'Show Time' you wont have to wait long to see all the wonderful samples me and my fellow Inkoids have made for this launch. Details of the show times are 10am and 4pm on Create and Craft TV, which is channel 671 on SKY. Check HERE for other providers.

The sample for today is quite a contrast to the previous two I have shown you. I think this colour scheme is perfect for that sun bleached, salt washed, weathered look. Might have said that before in my first Sneaky Peek, but it is true!!

I was initially worried that the images were going to be too different in size for this to work in the layout I had planned but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the angelfish, starfish and the seahorse were pretty identical in height and that the starfish and seahorse were good width wise also. It made the layout so easy and I think the final card has a pleasing look to it with just the right amount of 'white space' on the 3 images.

I mentioned in a previous blog that while waiting for the stamps to arrive I had created some backgrounds in the hope of getting ahead. This is another one of those backgrounds. I wanted to go for the ditsy-print background, and so I used the little shell stamps from the previous launch. I stamped then swept over the whole thing with water to try and get a soft, water colour, run ever so slightly look to the background. It worked just enough to fuzz the edges of the images up a little and I used this same technique on the main images. Once the outlines had dried on the main images I added more colour by taking ink direct from the ink pad with a brush. 

My Ingredients are

• Tim Holtz Distress ink - Weathered Wood
• Cream water colour card
• Navy card
• Strip of corrugated paper
• Sentiment from Ancient Arches - available HERE
• And my mystery ingredient, that stringy, woven material. If you can guess EXACTLY what it is then I will award you a gold star!!

Have a great day, and don't forget to settle down with your cuppa and, yes, go on, put your feet on that coffee table, relax and watch Sheena weave her magic.

Kim xx

SNEAKY PEEK #3 - NEW SHEENA DOUGLASS STAMPS

Day 3, you know the score, Sheena Douglass NEW STAMPS being launched this Friday on Create and Craft TV at 10am and 4pm. 

While I was waiting for the products to arrive that I was to be working with I wasted no time in getting some background work done, literally!

I knew that Sheena was asking for samples made using the recently launched Luminarte Silks and so I set about making some backgrounds ready to use with the new stamps. As we had already been told the theme was to be 'Under the Sea' I got out the shells from the 'Little bit Scenic - Sea Shells' plate available HERE. One of my other hobbies is patchwork quilting and I have always admired the scallop design and this inspired me to create this background. It involved a lot of masking and careful placement but the pleasure came from the painting! When the new stamps arrived my first 'getting to know you' stampings used the very clever shadow stamps. These are a solid stamp in the same shape as one of the detailed stamps. These angels are not the only ones that come as pair so look out for the others! These shadow stamps are brilliant for lots of different techniques but I simply used them to stamp a row of green angels which I then over stamped with the detailed angel stamp. I added the bubbles, which are also in the new sets, and then mounted the row onto the background. Of course I didn't waste the bit that went under the strip of fish! I cut it so that there was just enough to go under the fish! Who knows it is not all the way under right?

My ingredients list is

• Silks set #1 - Bolivian Blue, Key Lime + Olive Vine
• Black Archival ink

Well, there it is, sample #3. Hope you like it?     Kim xx

Sneaky Peek #2 - Sheena Douglass - NEW STAMPS

As promised here is the second of my Sneaky Peaks showcasing the next Sheena Douglass stamp launch this coming Friday. The shows on Create & Craft TV are at 10:00am and 4:00pm so don't forget to tune in, you know how popular the 'Sheena Shows' are! 

This card features another one of the lovely new stamps, an angel fish. I have used a classic combination of black and orange. This has kept the fish pretty realistic in colour. I have also used one of the coral stamps in a repetitive way to provide a decorative strip across the card. The background for the fish is actually one of those happy accidents. I was painting another sample with the Luminarte Silks; Set 4 with the hot colours Spiced Tomato, Pomegranate and Ginger Peach, using an acrylic block as a pallet. Now that I use the brilliant Rock-a-Blocks to mount my rubber stamps on means I have a fair few acrylic blocks spare!! Anyway, there was a bit of paint left on the block so I sprayed it to prevent the paint from drying out as I knew I wouldn't be going near the sink for a while. I turned it over onto a piece of card to blot some of the paint off and left it there momentarily while I washed the brush. When I lifted the acrylic block off there was this lovely pattern. Waste not want not! Probably wont get another like it if I did it deliberately. I had another accident when trying to draw a straight line around the card, but recovered from it by using the 'meant it to be wobbly' technique! 

My ingredients for this card were 

• Black Archival for the coral
• Black embossing powder for the fish
• Orange, black and white card
• Orange corrugated strip
• Black gems
• My accidental background!!
• Black pen

Well, there we are, come back again for another peek tomorrow, and don't forget to check out the other Inkoid samples via the links HERE.

By the way I managed to make a fair few Christmas cards today. Will show you them tomorrow.

Take care! 

Kim x

Been Quiet but with Good Reason - Sheena Douglass - NEW STAMPS

It is that time of year when all us crafters wish we had stuck to our promise of making our Christmas cards and gifts early!  I am only just getting started with my Christmas shopping so I don't hold out much hope for every single person on my card list getting a hand made card this year. Much the same as last year then!

Anyway, the reason I have come here today is to tell you all about the latest stamp launch from the wonderful Sheena Douglass. There are 2 new plates which work alongside the recent coastal theme. This time Sheena has gone 'Underwater'.

I was given them to play with sorry WORK with a few days ago. Yeah, I know it is a terrible job but somebody has to do it! Sheena has once again come up trumps with these designs. You are going to LOVE them! They also have a very clever element to them but I will keep that to myself for the moment, don't want to give everything away on day one!

Right, here is my first sample, a fancy little number featuring the lovely seahorse stamp and the long awaited Kraft card. I love the combination of the navy + white with the brown of the Kraft card. What do you think?  

Sheena will be demonstrating these new stamps on Create & Craft TV this coming Friday, the 13th. Show times are still to be released but come back here to check as I will update you all as soon as I hear. I will also be letting you know more about the products on the show over the next few days.

The ingredients for my card are

• The NEW Sheena stamps
• Sentiment from Ancient Arches (available HERE) 
• Tim Holtz distress ink pads in Weathered Wood and Chipped Sapphire 
• White embossing powder
• Luminarte Silks ICE glaze
• Kraft card
• Navy card
• 3D gel glue

So there we have it, Sneaky Peek number one. Don't forget to see what the other Inkoids have been creating by going to their blogs, the links are all HERE.

I need to crack on with my Christmas cards now, so I will see you tomorrow with another Peek. Have a great day!

Kim xx

LAVINIA CHALLENGE - #9 - BRIGHT HOT COLOURS

Ok, just scraping in by the skin of my teeth! What does that mean anyway? I feel the need to do some 'Google-ing' now!!

This month (and for the next few days only!) on the Lavinia Challenge blog the theme is Bright Hot Colours. Bit of luck really as I have a fan-tab-u-lous new set of paints from LuminArte called SILKS. They have been available in the States for some time now but thanks to me being an Inkoid I was lucky enough to get my inky mits on some purely for research purposes prior to their official launch recently. Hah! Who am I kidding? I played like a child with these paints, they are wonderful!! Sploshing the wonderfully named Spicy Tomato all over the place and getting Ginger Peach under my fingernails!!

I also recently won a Lavinia challenge and the prize for this was a free shopping voucher to spend within the Lavinia Shop. As I didn't own any Faerie stamps I used this opportunity to get some and I felt it appropriate to use one of my new stamps in the challenge for this month. 

So here we have it, all bright and hot. Why not pop over to the Challenge blog and check out all the lovely DT examples and the entries?  If you have any Lavinia stamps then have a go yourself.

Need to dash, 'you-know-what' is nearly upon us and I need to make some appropriate cards for the occasion.

Take care! Kim x

Today is the Day - New Stamp Launch - Sheena Douglass

Hello followers and visitors! You should already know about the launch today of some new, really beautiful stamps from Sheena Douglass on Create and Craft TV at 2pm. 

They are all about the coast. They come in the group 'A Little bit Scenic' and feature a whole plate of stamps of shells. When I received my stamps from Sheena a week ago to create the show samples I was a bit nervous about the timing, I like to 'get to know' my products well before making anything; you know, playing around with their shapes, using different colours, different mediums, different papers, etc. but this time it was quite literally TIME that I didn't have! So I dove (or is it dived?) straight in. 

The time spent cutting the stamps out from the plate was used as thinking time, designing in my head, but the more I cut the more excited I became about getting on with the sample making! These stamps are awesome!!

 'Sheena you've done it again!'

So here is a card that I made using only the stamps from the Shells plate. If I had had the time I would have made a box, a shadow box, rather like a museum tray in black with a different shell in each section, but there was no time, so I made a card representation of this idea. Using black card as the base I stamped each shell, or a group of the smaller ones, onto some grey card in jet black ink. Just look at how crisp these stamps are! I then added a shadow line and some shading to each shell with ProMarker, I think I used Pastel Beige. I am really pleased with the simplicity and 'cleanness' (does that really have 2 'n's!?!) of the finished card.

You know the phrase 'A bad workman always blames his tools'? Well, the exact opposite is true as far as using Sheena Douglass products are concerned. It is because we have such brilliant tools that us Inkoids are able to produce samples of the standard and quality we do. I would like to bring in the phrase 'A good crafter always thanks the tool maker' for without the right tools the job is never going to be right!  'Thank you Sheena!'

So, tune in today at 2pm with your favourite beverage and nibble ready, to watch Sheena weave her magic, pick up a few tips along the way and be inspired!

Happy crafting!  Always pleased to get your feedback.

Kim xx

Time for another Sneaky Peek - New Sheena Stamps!

BREAKING NEWS FRIDAY 2PM 

(That is what happens when you pre-blog!!)

 Firstly, I don't have any news to share yet about ShowTimes but hopefully I will know soon. Keep an eye out for the updated schedule at C&C. I can tell you that it will be a brilliant show. No, I am not able to see into the future, I just know that with these stamps and the LuminArte Silks are going to fly out of the warehouse!! 

Here is my sample for today, it is in complete contrast to the bright shimmering orange card I showed you in my last post, but this just goes to show how versatile the Sheena Douglass products are.

For this card I used Tim Holtz distress inks, Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord and Broken China on some earthy, rustic paper and card. I love using bits of card and paper that I have rescued from packaging and the pale brown card on which I stamped the sentiment and the main shell come from a Volvo car brochure! The back piece is ribbed craft card, probably from Hobbycraft, and the main body of the card is some heavy weight burgundy paper I found in a clearance bin at Paperchase many years ago. I can't resist a bargain especially when it comes to paper!

Taking this range of new Sheena stamps as a whole I am getting a holiday feeling and with that in mind I remembered I had this natty little punch. It is reminiscent of old photo albums. It takes a wee while to get the measurements right but it provides a fantastic way of putting the layers together.

So there it is, sneaky peek number 2. I'm going to hit 'publish' now so you technically got two peeks today. Tomorrow I have a craft room to tidy and I want to get it sorted ready for some Christmas crafting.

Check out the other Inkoid samples on their blogs, link via HERE.

Great that you dropped by, if you have any questions please feel free to ask me. 

Happy crafting! Kim xxx

Oh I do Like to be Beside the Seaside! New Sheena Douglass Stamps.

Yep, Sheena is launching another set of stamps this weekend on Create & Craft TV.  Me and the other Inkoids have been having a fantastic time trialing the stamps and also a wonderful new range of paints from LuminArte. It is a hard life but somebody has to do it!

I will dive straight in and show you one of my samples, it features the new paint and a couple of the images from one of the stamp plates.

I really like the combination of orange and black, always have done. The colour that I have used is Ginger Peach, it is a goldfish orange and it shines so much because of the mica and other minerals in it. The paint can be used on a variety of surfaces and cleans up with soap and water.  I have used one of the embossing folders from the Oriental range to create a watery background to show off these lovely shells.

So what about that shine? Normally when taking a photo I try to avoid the glare from my light but this paint simply won't let that happen! It just shines and shines and shines!! 

As usual Sheena has done a fantastic job drawing these beautiful images and giving us such fabulous stamps to work with. Wait till you see the other coastal related images, they are wonderful, and so versatile!

Pop over to the other Inkoid blogs to see some of their samples, find their links HERE.

Come back soon to see another one of my samples and get more information about show times.

Happy crafting! Kim x

SHEENA ON TV MONDAY 28TH OCTOBER

As the title of this blog suggests the lovely Sheena Douglass is back on our screens again this coming Monday! With her batteries recharged after a well deserved holiday Sheena is going to be demonstrating and chatting all the way through the 9am and 2pm shows! I wonder who the presenters are going to be?

What products are going to be on the shows I hear you ask? Well, it features the beautiful Oriental range launched a few weeks ago. You know the one with the fantastic paper pack and the lovely embossing folders? 

If you remember back that far I made a little 'silver' box as a sample for the shows which one of the presenters, Nigel May, enthused over so much I felt I had to make him his very own box. There was a risk of him 'borrowing' the sample! He tells me he keeps his studio ear piece in it! 

My TV sample

The Nigel May Box

Anyway, while Sheena was away (probably enjoying herself far too much!!)  I felt the need to create a card to surprise her with on her return. And here it is....................

It uses my Zig-Zaggy Fold card base and some of the Oriental stamps from the Silhouettes and Sakura plates. The card I used has a sort of elephant skin texture to it, I have had it for ages and as I am trying not to buy any more stuff (like that is going to happen!)  I thought I would use it. You could get a similar effect by using the crackle stamp from the Ageing Beautifully stamp plate. If you stamp and clear emboss it onto the base card the distressing ink you apply around the edges will be resisted and leave fine lines in the colour of your card. I also masked a moon behind the birds on one of the panels. I find that more than one moon on any project, even if it is a patchwork piece like this, tends to 'mess with your mind' a little! 

What I like about the Zig-Zaggy Fold card is not only is it a great way of using up your precious scraps of card/paper, (you know the little bits that we crafters keep 'just in case') it is also a great way of using some of the smaller stamps to create a large card without the end result looking over fussy. Those little borders between the images make it look like a well displayed art gallery.

Well, there we are. What was meant to be a quick blog to tell you about the forthcoming Sheena Show on Create and Craft has turned into a rather long piece! Hope you are still with me on this one?

Tune in to Create and Craft TV  for some great demos, a lot of Sheena chat, and maybe even a few Halloween bargains! 

Have a lovely weekend! Kim xx

PS Comments always welcome! x

Still managed to get Something Done.

Despite working late nights this week, having a birthday party to arrange, a competition to enter, and ATC challenge starting today, Moo Mania tomorrow, and the usual household things to get done, I have managed to make another faux silver box. This is for the very lovely Nigel May, one of the presenters at Create and Craft TV. I do hope he likes it. 

It uses the wonderful Oriental Birds embossing folder by Sheena Douglass along with the brilliant matt black card by Crafter's Companion and Pebeo silver gilding wax. You could try Crafter's Companion for that too. I also needed to use a few other bits, like the dotty border and the pattern trim on the box as the folder was just that little bit too narrow to cover the top of the box. Don't tell Sheena, but this box for Nigel is a bit bigger than hers! What I need are the A4 embossing folders that Sheena designed.................*Gets Christmas list out and adds several items to it*

Right, can't sit around typing, well actually I could but I do then run the risk of falling asleep on the keyboard........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Just like that!!!!!

Busy days ahead, hope you have a pleasant 'rest of the week'!

Kim xxxx

WOW! POW! Nearly All Gone!

Oh My Word! What a fab weekend it has been. Sheena has done good! 

If you were lucky enough to get ALL that you wanted then you are not going to be disappointed when the Postie brings your goodies. Make sure you set aside some serious crafting time, you is gonna need it! 

I was gobsmacked by all the lovely Inkoid samples having only seen them in photo form prior to the shows. Watching Sheena and the presenters holding the samples, turning them, looking at them, showing them perfectly to you, the viewers, was so exciting. I hope it was inspiring for you to watch? That lovely fan by Donna, the little Japanese shoes by Diane, the lovely lime and teal blossom card by Lisa, the beautiful purple tree by Pauline, the fantastic Tea bag folding card by Fiona, the fussy cutting performed by Sandra, the vibrant colours of the bridge card Ria made, the paper covered box by Caroline, the shimmering Koi that Karen had swimming around on her card and the great stuff Mandy made. It was all fantastic! You know, I am in awe of all of these fantastic people, they have such imagination and skill. It is a privilege to be an Inkoid!! You will find links to all their blogs HERE and a gallery of the samples on Sheena's web site HERE. 

I am going to show you a piece that I made for the shows and one which seemed to get a certain Mr May all excited!

Now, if you watched the shows you will know that this is NOT metal. It is simply card and gilding wax. Of course it uses the Sheena ingredients, the embossing folder and a stamp, without which the end result would not be possible.

I wanted to show you all this in the 'Sneaky Peeks' but held myself back because I wasn't 100% sure about it. It wasn't full on. It was possibly too simple. How wrong I was!! I think it was mentioned in every show!!! 

Here is a gold version of this project, this time a money box. These sort of boxes are simple to make, and make great gifts. Only 93 days till Christmas! eeeeeeeeek! Check out the countdown clock HERE.

So go grab yourself a naked box, go to a charity shop, have a rummage, find something to give new life to. Use the time you are waiting for your Sheena goodies to arrive to get a stash of alterables together. Trust me, once you get started you will find it hard to stop!

I know that Sheena is in need of a rest, she worked hard bringing you all those demos. I am also going to take a break from Inkoid work for a few days to catch up on some much needed housework! Or maybe not................

Don't forget I am also on Facebook, KimzKrafts, where you can see more of my own work as well as more of my Inkoids escapades. 

Kim xx

And so it Begins! Sheena Douglass 'LITTLE BIT ORIENTAL' Launches today.

Today is the day we have preparing you all for, the launch of the new Sheena Douglass range of crafting treasures.

Let's kick off with another one of my sample projects which you may just get to see on ONE of the many shows She is doing over the next few days over on Create and Craft TV. You will need to check your TV guides for show times and get your cuppa ready to sit back and watch Sheena weave her magic as she demonstrates the myriad of ways to use her stamps, papers and embossing folders.

It is a bold card, I picked up on the colours from one of the papers, in reality the match is quite good I have to say the photo is a little misleading. It is a symphony of brayering, masking, heat embossing, stamping, 3D and mounting. Bit of everything going on!

I made the little tassels myself with beads which just happened to have a Chinese character on them. Come back later today and I will have a 'How To' for the tassels to show you.

So, I need to get a few household chores done before I can sit with my feet up, guilt free, safe in the knowledge that the family is getting a cooked meal tonight (thank you slow cooker!).

Hope you are lucky with your ordering, don't leave it too late! I would hate you to miss out on what is a fabulous group of products!!

Kim xx

Sneaky Peek #4 - Sheena Douglass Oriental

Hello blog followers! Well, today sees #4 in my Sneaky Peeks for the Sheena Douglass launch of her Oriental range of products.

As you now know if you have been following me and the other Inkoids these past few days, what started off as a Pick of the Weekend has now become a Pick of the Week. Sheena is working her little socks off preparing demonstrations for the shows on Create and Craft starting at noon on Friday.

I know I have already shown you a fish project, but this one is quite different in the way it has been made. It has a piece of that wonderful 'caught in crystal' technique in the background, you know the one that uses that floor polish. Sheena has done a YouTube demo of this. Check THIS out.

The fish are painted onto another piece of acetate and the layers brought together with the water stamp creating the illusion of ripples. All of this is mounted onto another one of the papers which are also on the shows. By careful planning you can arrange a 'pleasing' placement so that you have complete patterns around the main feature. This makes the end result look very professional.  I used the row of circles as part of the design by adding small turquoise coloured brads in the centres.

I am hoping that Sheena will show you one of my favourite projects I have called 'Fish Tank' which uses this fish/acetate thing to the extreme. We will just have to wait and see if She does wont we?

Don't forget to check out all the other Inkoid blogs HERE where you will see more samples. 

Cheers for coming back! 

As always I love to receive your comments and I am always happy to answer your questions.

Kim xx

Sneaky Peak #3 - Sheena Douglass Oriental Launch

OH MY WORD! Just had news from SHQ that this is now a PICK of the WEEK. New show times. PLEASE CHECK YOUR TV GUIDES FOR EXACT TIMES. The times I give in this blog may have changed.

Have you been sat there waiting with bated breath? (I just looked up the spelling of 'bated' and yep, this is correct!) It is now only 2 more sleeps till the launch of the latest Sheena Douglass stamps and associated items in the Oriental theme. Remember I said about there being embossing folders and a paper pack as well as stamps. Such a wonderful collection you would be daft not to get it.

I hope that you can make it on Friday for the launch? The first show is at 8am on Create and Craft TV which is 671 on Sky, 318 on Freesat, 748 for Virgin, and 36 for Freeview. If you can't make the early bird show 'live' then at least record it to get a chance to see some brilliant demonstrations. Have a look at the Create and Craft TV Schedule and you will see the other times for that day as well as the times for the other shows right over the weekend!! It is listed as Sheena's Pick of the Weekend on my TV planner so there are lots of shows to watch and get inspiration from. Tell the men in your house to watch the sport somewhere else, it is your turn with the TV this weekend! If they don't already know how to use it, do a quick 'Microwave Users' course tonight. Just kidding guys!

So onto my Sneaky Peek for today. (Have you caught up with all the other Sneaky Peeks my fellow Inkoids have been bloggin? Well, here is the link to their blogs Ta Dah!)

I have chosen to show you a card which I made using one of the lovely Koi carp stamps and one of the backing papers. Such a classic Oriental image I am sure you will agree. I won't give away too much about the construction and ingredients of this card just yet. Perhaps you can work out what some of the elements are? As a notorious hoarder I have a huge stash of 'that will be useful one day' items!!

Right, I will let you go now, you need to plan your weekend! 

See you again tomorrow for another Sneaky Peek.

Comments are always welcome and I will pass on any questions or comments you might have direct to Sheena.

Kim xx

Sneaky Peek #2 - Sheena Douglass Oriental Launch

For those of you that haven't heard yet............WHERE HAVE YA BEEN?

This coming Friday sees the launch of another fab-tas-tic set of goodies from the amazing Sheena Douglass. 

Today I am going to show you a card I made using one of the fab papers that will be available on the show. Now I am not usually one to use backing papers as I tend to create them myself BUT with these lovely papers from Sheena I now don't have to make my own. Why would I need to when these are as lovely as this? Tease I know 'cos I am only going to show you one but if you head over HERE you will find a list of all the other Inkoid blog links and maybe you can see some other examples of the papers.

I haven't done what I call a 'constructed' card for ages. Come to think of it have I ever? Anyway, I wanted to do a few samples that showcased the paper and so I thought this sort of design was the way to go.

I had the idea of red and black in my head the minute I saw the paper which is a subtle text made up of Chinese characters. I distressed all the edges before applying them to the card base which is made using the fantastic Matt Black Card from Crafter's Companion. This is my new 'go to' product. It is a great weight, 300gsm, and a great colour. Yeah, I know it is black but there is some really un-black card out there!

The tree is from one of Sheena's earlier stamp sets but it has such an Oriental feel to it I thought it was perfect for the front of this card. HERE is the link to Crafter's Companion if you want the stamp.

Some knots, a coin and few of the smaller stamps in this new Oriental range finish off the card. It really is all about the paper on this project.

So, don't forget to watch Create and Craft TV this coming Friday to see the launch of this new collection of goodies from Sheena. The show times for Friday are 8am, 1pm, and 6pm. Remember the launch of the 'Little bit Magical' range? They flew out of the warehouse! You don't want to miss these I promise you they are awesome.

More Sneaky Peeks to come. Kim xxx

  

Sheena Douglass - NEW STAMPS, EMBOSSING FOLDERS & PAPERS

***BREAKING NEWS - SHOW TIMES 8am, 1pm and 6pm.***


'What? Another new set of Sheena stuff' I hear you say. 

Well, YES, and why not?

This latest launch sees Sheena going Oriental in a big way. There are some lovely embossing folders for those that like texture, some exquisite new stamps and some fantastic papers. All work beautifully together as you would expect.

Combine these new goodies with some of your favourite colouring products, like Gilding Wax, embossing powders, H₂O paints, pens, distress inks, etc and you have yourself a limitless number of possible projects. And if you haven't got any of the above then tune in to Create & Craft TV on Friday 20th September to see Sheena demonstrating the new goodies and sharing lots of ideas of how to use them.

The Oriental theme easily lends itself to all different techniques as well. The papers for example are great for die cutting, used as backing papers, or for making into dimensional elements like fans or origami flowers. 

The embossing folders can be used on plain white card just to add texture or why not go wild and completely coat an embossed piece of card with gilding wax like I did? You could use a core card and sand back the raised areas for a subtle effect. And don't forget to look at the back as well. The de-bossed side can be used too. Why not paint parts of the images using H₂Os for example, the hollows on the de-bossed side make great little 'containers' for colour. You really can go wild with this group of products.

And then there are the 'not a card' projects. Use the papers to cover an old box, use the stamps to make a picture, decorate a frame, decorate a lampshade or candle. It really is such a great theme. 

Sheena is on TV all over the weekend, starting on Friday 20th. As with the recent launch of the Magical range, don't be surprised if there is an early sell out!

More details to follow. Check out the other Inkoid 'Sneaky Peeks'. As is customary Sheena gave each of us a different combination of products to play with so by peeking at the other blogs you will be able to see samples using the ingredients I didn't get. You can find their blog details HERE.

Enjoy the 'peeks' and don't forget to book your seat for the launch! Miss it and probably miss out, these are stunning products!!

Come back soon to see more projects from me.

Happy days!  Kim xxxxx

Welcome!

Just a quick blog tonight to say a big

HELLO

to all my new followers.

It is so nice to get new readers!

An especially warm welcome to those of you who have arrived here from SHEENA.TV

I thought it would be nice to show you a selection of my older projects. (Guess who found a box at the back of the cupboard with some of their first cards in?) Some projects may have been featured on my KIMZKRAFTS  Facebook page before but some are being published here for the first time. I want to go back to my early days of crafting and show you some of my 'novice' creations. Not only have I come on in leaps and bounds since then, the whole world of paper crafting in general has changed from an earthy, home made hobby, into an industry where the sky is the limit. There is a gadget for almost everything, some really useful, some a passing phase. Some I have bought, some I have yearned for and some that I simply had to have but rarely use! 

Overall I think that crafting is what you want it to be. It can be full on, taking up all of your time, and filling rooms, or just a box of goodies you keep in the closet to make the odd birthday card. However you craft, the main thing is that you have fun doing it. I certainly love what I do!

FEATHER

ORIENTAL MATRIX

LILAC TRIO              

As you can see these are very simple cards. The first thing I notice looking back at them is their size. It was all about the envelope back then. You were lucky to get coloured envelopes let alone anything in sizes other than C6 or DL. Of course you could get Manila envelopes but at that time the craft paper trend was many years away.

The next thing I see is the simplicity of the rubber stamps. and back then they were all rubber. none of those polymer, clear stamps then either! Oriental was a big thing which suited me fine as I love all things oriental. Funny how trends come and go, and come back again!

The next phase of my crafting was less about paper and more about embossing and glazing products. I had bought my first heat gun and Diamond Glaze.

FUNKY TILE

YELLOW GOTHIC

     

    ASTER

Things started to take off in the crafting industry and I was able to buy the previously hard to come buy items from a shop I could actually visit! All manner of things were on sale, coloured A4 card, envelopes of various sizes, inks in colours other than red, blue or black, rubber stamps, every shade of embossing powder you could think of and much much more besides.

I was in heaven. And then along came the Internet. The world became my oyster! What would we do without it? About he same time came Shopping channels. I had reached Nirvana. Not only did I get to see new things on TV but I also got to order them on the internet! Thus my craft room was born. I needed somewhere to put all this 'stuff'.


And the rest is history. I made cards, wall art, postcards, books, clutter books, bead books, candles and tags. I altered boxes, books, jigsaw puzzles, tins and glassware. I stamped onto paper, acetate, glass, book pages, fabric, ribbon, cardboard and tissue. I designed my own background papers, made my printer do weird things, used my sewing machine, shrunk plastic, melted wax, dyed lace, pulped paper, made paper and a multitude of other things some that worked and some that are still somewhere in my craft room waiting to be rescued. All this on top of making patchwork quilts, baking, gardening and reading.

I have really enjoyed looking at my collection and selecting the few (and it is only a few!) projects to show you. Come back soon for more blogs, but more importantly, come back soon to be teased by my sneaky peaks of the projects I make as one of The Inkoids.

Take care, make good things, enjoy your crafting!

Kim xxxx