Old School Vampires (you know...before they sparkled?!)

Good morning and welcome back! Have you been enjoying all the spooky Kraftin' Kimmie sneak peeks by the Krafty Girls and our fantastic Krafty Guests?? ( Our August guests are none other than Colleen Schaan, Jessica Diedrich, Kerry Johnson and Paula Williamson!!!) Tomorrow is the big release day, and Kimmie has planned a fun-filled creepy blog hop to celebrate! Just wait until you see what the Krafty Girls have been brewing up in their studios...I have seen them, and they are AMAZING! We will be joined by our August Krafty Guests, Kimmie's artists and of course our Junior Krafty Girls.

In the meantime, we have another new Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge along with more previews...are you game?? Your very talented hostess this week is the lovely Krista...she has come up with a great recipe for you this week. She would like to see you using Scallops, Buttons and Bling on your project.

Have you been caught up in this whole vampire craze?? Lol...I'm guessing that as soon as you read the word "vampire", you thought of Edward and Bella??? Confession time....I'm a Twilight fan too. Well, for all you fang fans out there, Kimmie has a great new vampire stamp that will be available for purchase tomorrow! Allow me to introduce you to the new "it" couple...."Fred and Ginger"! The "Love Bites" sentiment comes with this great stamp...however, the little fang marks and blood are my own addition, lol.

When I sat down to colour this image, my first inclination was to have Fred sparkle...I was all set to pull out my Smooch Illuminate and Stardust Stickles to make him look like Edward in the sunlight. As I was colouring his cape, I got to thinking that Fred reminded me more of the "old school" vampires...remember when vampires didn't "dazzle" us in the sun?? Actually, they couldn't go out in the sun at all! So, I shaded his very pale face with greys and purples. I went back to blend them out with the colourless blender. Then, out came my Conte crayons, and I got busy giving him deeper shadows around his eyes. In stark contrast, Ginger's skin is still very alive and warm. This gal has definitely not been "changed"....yet! Looks like Fred's going in for the bite, and Ginger's really not putting up much resistance! The poor gal has totally fainted (or maybe just swooned)...but doesn't she look glamorous in her red dress?? (Again, I was going for strong contrast with this rich red against the black and white used on Fred) .



If you plan to add additional shading with a different medium, please remember to do this after you have finished colouring with your markers. If not, you run the risk of ruining your marker nibs. However, if this should happen it's not the end of your marker as the nibs are replaceable. I used a blending stump to pick up pigment from my Conte crayons and then applied it to my image. I tend to work in little circles to achieve a smooth blend. I guess it's the same technique you would use with pencils and OMS, but I'm working with a dry paper stump here. I also added some black Conte crayon to Fred's cape. It kind of softens the look of the ink. Oh, one other note...Conte crayons are messy. (kind of a hybrid between chalk and pastels) Your fingers will get messy (which will easily transfer to other areas of your image), and small particles of pigment will likely land all over your paper...don't try to brush these off as you'll get smears of colour across your lovely image...don't ask me how I know. lol (I turn my paper on end and tap it off, or just lightly blow on the image)

Well, that was a long post! Are you still with me?? (I'll warn you next time, so you can grab a fresh cup of coffee or tea before settling in!)

We would LOVE to have you join in the challenge this week! Just follow along with Krista's recipe and make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie image on your creation (you can find them HERE)...then you could be the lucky winner of the stamp Krista used on her amazing card this week. Hop on over the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to check out all the projects by the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests!

Before you go, I also want to remind you about the First Annual Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Krafty Day on September 25, 2010! Check out this POST for details about the event and registration. We sure hope to see you there!

Ok, see you back tomorrow for the RELEASE DAY BLOG HOP!!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Fred and Ginger" with included sentiment

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Daisy Buckets, Best Creation Inc., Karen Foster

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Black Soot Distress Ink, Copic markers

Other mediums: Conte crayons

Embellishments: Ribbon, button, Onyx Martha Stewar glitter, rhinestones, StarDust Stickles, Christmas Red Stickles

Tools: Spellbinders Fancy Tags, paper blending stump