August Release Blog Hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!

(This is one of two posts today. Please check back around 12:00 pm EST for a brand new Sundays With Crissy challenge!)

Welcome to the spooktacular Kraftin' Kimmie August Release Blog Hop! If you have joined in with the sneak peeks over the last few days, you will already know that this release is full of fantastically creepy Halloween images and a great sentiment set to match. There are so many spooky images from the pens of artists Annie Rodrigue and Stephen Leary. You will have a chance to see these great stamps in our blog hop today!

We have an amazing lineup for you today...joining Kimmie and the Krafty Girls are several Krafty Guests and our Junior Krafty Girls. You are in for quite the treat, as there are so many amazing projects for you to see! Make sure to start the hop at the Challenge Blog, as you will not want to miss any stop along the way. While you are hopping, make sure to leave comments at each and every blog because Kimmie will be drawing a few winners from those names...those lucky stampers will be the very happy recipients of some brand new August stamps!

Here's the hop list:

1. Challenge blog
2. Melanie and Ainsleigh
3. Krista
4. Kerry

5. Jeanne
6. Colleen
7. Donna
8. Annie

9. Elaine
10. Paula
11. Vicki
12. Andrea and Kaitlyn
13. Jessica
14. Kellie Winnell

15. Diana
16. Michele
17. Kimmie

Just to make sure you are on the right track, you should have arrived here from the Challenge Blog.

I chose to work with "Batty Princess" by Annie Rodrigue. This stamp is based on an original piece by Annie, and I just love her to bits! Big surprise here...I went with a vintage feel for this card, which is probably my favourite style. When I go into stores, I am always drawn to papers and embellishments with a vintage flair. When I went digging for the perfect paper for Batty Princess, my eyes fell on this sheet of gorgeous damask paper that I had stashed away...I may even have been hoarding it, lol. (unfortunately, I had cut off the company's name so I'm not sure where it's from. Sorry folks.)

I wanted this card to look like an old framed photograph, perhaps on the wall of a creepy old mansion (doesn't that damask pattern look like old wallpaper?). I used my Spellbinders Labels 10 and Doodle Parts to create a frame from metallic silver cardstock. As I needed matching flourishes for each side of the frame, I choose not to emboss these pieces. At first it was WAY to clean and shiny for my liking...I wanted it to look like antique pewter. So, out came the Black Soot Distress Ink...perfect for aging the silver cardstock. I also added a some rhinestones to the frame, which were then touched up with a bit of Distress Ink. The paper inside the frame is from Basic Grey Capella collection...boy, do I LOVE those papers!

Annie's images this month have lent themselves beautifully to experimentation with different skin undertones. I wanted to give Batty Princess some dramatic shading around her eyes...perhaps even a little "goth", lol. I used a lot of purple shadows in her skin, especially around her eyes. When I was finished colouring, I used my black Conte crayons and a paper blending stump to achieve a smokey look.

Copics: E0000, E000, E00, BV00, BV02,R20, E31, E33, E37, E59, E50, E41, E42, E43, E47, 100, C7, C5, C3, C1 (and black Conte crayon)

I have a treat for you today...after all, what's a Halloween themed blog hop without treats?? My lovely daughter and Junior Krafty Girl Ainsleigh has also created a card for the blog hop today! She loved all the Halloween images this month, but chose to work with "Witchypoo". "Flying By To Say Hi" is part of the brand new "Halloween Sentiments" set. She did such an amazing job colouring up this cute image, and I just love her choice of "magical" papers (from KaiserCraft). Ainsleigh also used a couple of great Halloween buttons that I had picked up a while back at a local fabric store. As a finishing touch, Ainsleigh pulled out my favourite Stardust Stickles and went to town glammin' up this cute witch...that's my girl!!

Your next stop on the hop is my very good friend (and amazingly talented!!) Krista! Make sure to be leaving comments along the way to get your name in the drawing for the blog hop prizes!

Speaking of prizes, all orders placed at Kimmie's Online Store this week will be put in a draw to win a 5x7 print of Annie Rodrigue's original artwork "Batty Princess"! So when you are done hopping, make sure to head on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store to place your order! Oh, and Kimmie has a brand new feature this month...look for the "Gimmie Kimmie Stamps" option when placing your order. Click on this feature and you will be able to order the entire August release as a package at discounted price!! This will only be available for a limited time, so make sure to act fast to take advantage of the savings!

Happy hopping stampers!

Blessings,

Melanie

Materials:

Melanie's Card

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Batty Princess"

Paper: Neenah, Basic Grey, Bazzill, damask paper (unknown company)

Ink: Memento, Distress Ink, Copic markers

Embellishments: Rhinestones, machine stitching

Tools: Spellbinders Labels 10 and Doodle Parts

Ainsleigh's Card

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Witchy Poo" and "Halloween Sentiments"

Paper: Neenah, KaiserCraft, Bazzill

Ink: Memento, Copic makers

Embellishments: Fancy Buttons, Stardust Stickles, purple rhinestones