Playing "Tag", Kraftin' Kimmie Style!

Hi crafty friends! Welcome to another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge. Actually, this will be our last official challenge of 2011! This week our lovely hostess is the very talented Krafty Guest Sandie who is inviting us to play "Tag"...your project can simply be a tag, or you can incorporate a tag in your card or other project. Whatever tickles your fancy. :)

I cut a tag out of kraft cardstock and used papers from My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found Christmas". All paper edges were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I inked up "Elysia", one of the fabulous Kraftin' Kimmie angels by Annie Rodrigue, cut her out and adhered her to the tag. To top it off, I added some wired ribbon from Walmart, an acrylic snowflake coated in Stardust Stickles and centred with a dollar store earring.

Elysia was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Her wings were given a coat of Stardust Stickles. Elysia also comes with a halo accessory stamp and the sentiment "Hark!".

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Wings: E50, E40, E41, W1, W5, E71, BV23, Y21  Dress: R22, R27, R46, R59, C7, BV23  Trumpet: E50, Y17, Y21, Y23, E13, E17, E18

You can check out all the incredible Tags by the Krafty Girls and our amazing Krafty Guests over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog. If you want to play along this week, you could win the stamp Sandie used on her gorgeous project. Just make sure to use a Krafin' Kimmie Stamp on your project to be eligible.

I'd like to give a shout out to our December Krafty Guests...you ladies have done such a phenomenal job and it has been an absolute pleasure having you join us this month. :)

This will quite likely be my last post before Christmas...and possibly even before the new year! I'm planning to spend the next couple of weeks just enjoying time with family and friends. I'm also hoping to get a head start on some 2012 projects. ;)

So, with that in mind, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! May the Lord bless your time together with friends and family this holiday season.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

The Victorian

Good morning! I wanted to share a card with you today featuring one of the recently released exclusive "Reflections Yesteryear" stamps at SCACD by Carmen Medlin. This is "The Victorian".I adore this collection of stamps. I think they are so elegant, and they are an absolute joy to colour and create with. The papers on my card are all from My Mind's Eye "Madison Avenue". This paper pad was a gift from a very sweet crafty friend (thanks Kimmie!!!), but you can find it at SCACD HERE for only $5.99 USD. The papers in this collection are so beautiful and sophisticated, and lend themselves beautifully to vintage style cards...which happens to be one of my favourite styles. :) The paper edges were all distressed and sponged with brown ink. I added a few pearls, machine stitching, some crocheted trim, a snippet of ribbon and a pretty Prima flower to finish it off. Did you know that Susana has an incredible deal on Flower Grab Bags?? (37 flowers for $9.99!)

"The Victorian" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. The pink portions of her dress, umbrella and hat ribbon were all paper-pieced with the MME paper. I added shading to the paper-pieced areas with my Copics. After cutting out the pieces, I went around the edges with a dark grey maker to hide the white core of the paper. This helps to blend these pieces into your stamped image seamlessly. My favourite tool for adhering paper-pieced components is my Quickie Glue Pen. You can precisely apply this glue pen to even the most finicky little pieces of paper with ease. After cutting out my coloured image, I again went around the edges with a dark marker to avoid having the white paper core visible.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, BV31, BV23 Grey areas of dress: W1, W3, W5, W7  Shading on paper-pieced areas: RV000, R81, R85, R89, W3

The "Reflections Yesteryear" stamps are exclusively available at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for those living in the UK. You can buy the stamps individually or as complete sets.

Susana has been adding new products again!! Here's a little teaser:

• Couture Embossing Folders 
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folders
• Your's Truly paper from EP
• Smooch Glitz

With Christmas just around the corner, it would be a great time to put together a little (or a long, lol) wish list to hand to your hubby. It will make for super easy shopping for him. ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's The Victorian
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Embellishments: Prima Flower, ribbon, stitching, pearls, crochet trim

December Release Day at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!

Welcome to the release day blog hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! As always, Kimmie has put together an amazing release this month. There's the new "Sugar and Spice" set by Cheryl Alger, two new sets from Emilie Goulet called "Lots of Love 1" and Lots of Love 2", six new Alice in Wonderland characters from Annie Rodrigue and a fantastic set of Wonderland Sentiments!

The blog hop started over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge Blog where you'll find a complete list of all the participants. As you  hop along today, make sure to leave comments at each blog because some lucky stampers will win packages of some of the new December stamps. So, if you've been following along, you should have arrived here after visiting with the always lovely Angie Baker.

I have two cards to share with you today. The first features the amazing "Mad Hatter" by Annie Rodrigue. I love the Mad Hatter. I love his quirkiness, his sense of style and the fact that he embraces his madness. :)  I have to say that Johnny Depp was PHENOMENAL in that role...he's one of my favourite actors, and his portrayal of the Hatter was sheer brilliance. Annie's Hatter is sheer artistic brilliance, don't you agree? The papers are all from My Mind's Eye "Breeze". The Mad Hatter comes with two sentiments, "We're all mad here!" and "What's the hatter with you?".

As always, I stamped him on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured him with Copic markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Shirt: BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, BG96, C5, C7  Vest and hat: R22, R27, R46, R59, BV23, C3, C5, C7  Pants: G20, YG91, YG95, BG96, G99, BV29, C5, C7  Cup: C00, C1, C3

This next card features one of the adorable images in the brand new "Lots of Love 1" set by Emilie Goulet. This super sweet set includes three main image stamps and six coordinating sentiments just perfect for Valentines Day! I really love these kissing fish. :) The plaid and "X and O" papers are from Basic Grey Olivia while the pink background paper is from Crate Paper. I covered two wooden hearts with the Crate paper and used one of the Lots of Love 1 sentiments. The border was created with a Martha Stewart punch.

After colouring the fish with my Copics, I added some Smooch Illuminate. To create the transparent bubble, I first stamped the image directly on the patterned paper. I added a bit of shading with a few pink markers, added a bit of white gel pen to the highlights and then covered all the bubbles with a generous coat of Glossy Accents.

Green Fish: YG00, YG11, BG10, BG11, BG15, BG09, BV23, BV29  Pink Fish: RV000, R81, R83, R85, R89, BV23


The new stamps are now available for purchase at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store! Once again, Kimmie will be offering the Gimmie Kimmie Kits for those of you who just want them all! The kits are grouped together by artist and offered at a great discount, but only for a limited time!

It's now my pleasure to send you off to visit with the very sweet Kerry Johnson!

Happy hopping, and don't forget to leave comments along the way for your chance to win some of the new stamps!

Blessings,

Melanie

Curious and Curiouser...A Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!

Welcome to another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge...and another Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!! You all know that release day is tomorrow, right?? I'm sure you've been stalking the Krafty Girls' and Krafty Guests' blogs over the past few days as we've been sharing sneak peeks! The previews continue today in conjunction with our challenge...oh, and of course we've got sneak peek blog candy too! Makes for a very exciting day at KKS. :)  You're in for quite the treat, as we're not only previewing the new December stamps by Annie Rodrigue, but we're also introducing a brand new sentiment set to coordinate with Annie's new characters!!

Our challenge hostess this week is the lovely and oh so talented Michele Boyer who has created a fantastic sketch for us to play along with.

Oh. My. Goodness. Do you have any idea how excited I was when Kimmie showed us these new stamps??!! Annie just outdid herself this month and created several characters from Alice in Wonderland! There are six characters in all. I chose to ink up Alice for my challenge card today...I absolutely LOVE her!! The paper on my card is from Bo Bunny (I think it's called Midnight Frost). I used several Spellbinders sets: Circles, Lacey Circles, Parisian Accents and Labels Eight. Alice comes with a coordinating sentiment ("Curious and Curiouser"), but the sentiment I used  is part of the brand new "Wonderland Sentiments". It consists of several fantastic Wonderland inspired sentiments that I know I will be reaching for frequently.

Just look at the movement Annie created in this image. You can just imagine her falling down the rabbit hole...and oh, that hair! This image was so much fun to colour up with the flowing tresses and fabric folds. I did enlarge her pupils a bit with my Copic Multiliner and added some blue irises.

Skin: E00, E000, E11, R20   Hair: E50, Y21, Y23, E31, E33, E35, E37, E59  Dress: B32, B34, B37, B39, BV23, C00, C3, C5, C7, E41, E43, E47  Pendant: Y38

Here's a look at Michele's sketch:

If you play along with the sketch challenge this week, you could win the stamp Michele used on her beautiful card this week...which happens to be "Alice", the same stamp I used. Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. You can check out all the sketch projects by the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

I'd just like to give a shout out to our amazing line up of guest designers for December...you ladies are creating such phenomenal work! It's an absolute pleasure to have you on board with us this month. :)

SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY: Make sure to visit each and every Krafty Girl and Krafty Guest who participated in today's sneak peaks and leave them comments for your chance to win THREE of Annie's new Alice in Wonderland stamps! Kimmie will be drawing TWO lucky winners who will be announced on tomorrow's post on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

One more sleep until you can get your inky fingers on all the new December stamps! We'll see you tomorrow for the release day blog hop. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

'Tis the Season...For December Sneak Peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

Another fantastic release is just around the corner at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! The December 2011 release will be available for purchase this Sunday, but in the meantime we'll be bringing you daily sneak peeks...and what would sneak peeks be without a bit of BLOG CANDY?? More on that later in my post!

Today, we're kicking off the sneak peeks with the new stamps by Krafty Artist Cheryl Alger. You may remember that last month, Cheryl brought us a super cute set featuring some adorable young lads. Well, we definitely needed a feminine counterpart to that set, so today we are introducing the "Sugar and Spice" set. It includes three main image stamps and an assortment of co-ordinating sentiments. It will be available for purchase only as a complete set.

This is one of the three main image stamps in the set. The papers are from My Mind's Eye "Everyday Flair". 

She was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I added a generous coat of Glossy Accents to her balloon and also to her shoes for a patent leather look.

On the interior of my card, I used one of the sentiments in the "Sugar and Spice" set. I also used a Memento Dew Drop ink pad in Rich Cocoa to just ink up her balloon and added it beside the sentiment.

As promised, let's talk about the BLOG CANDY!!  There will be daily giveaways during the sneak peeks with each day's winner being announced the following morning at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog . All you need to do to be eligible is hop around each day to visit every designer sharing sneak peeks and leave comments on their personal blogs. Kimmie will be drawing the winners from those comments. Make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog each day for complete lists of links to the daily sneak peeks! So don't forget to leave those comments today...one lucky stamper will be the winner of a "Sugar and Spice" set!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

Priscilla

Happy weekend!!! It's time for another Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge. This week, our hostess is the super sweet Diana Pickering who wants to see embossing on your projects...dry embossing or wet embossing, the choice is up to you!

Well, I opted for dry embossing...not that I had a choice, lol. I don't even own any wet embossing supplies! Isn't that sad?? lol Maybe some will show up in my stocking this year. :)  I don't mind actually, because I have some really fantastic embossing folders to play with. I inked up Priscilla this week, one of the new Gothic Girls by Annie Rodrigue. I also thought she would make a fantastic bookmark, which incidentally I am in need of! I paired her up with some Prima Printery papers, which I thought were a perfect choice to coordinate with Priscilla's stack of books. Are you a book lover? I'm an avid reader...just finished the fourth book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. (it was a not-so-patient three year wait for that book to come out!! It's one of my favourite series. )  For the embossed elements on my project, I used a great embossing folder from Couture Creations. This one is called Hedged Maze. I did my embossing on kraft cardstock and highlighted the embossed areas by first sanding the raised design and applying some Walnut Stain Distress Ink to bring out the detail. To finish it off, I added some fabulous ribbon that was a gift from my best friend Amanda. :)

Priscilla was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. My apologies for the glare on her hair. My marker ink went a little tacky in spots...namely my E59 which I applied in all the areas of deepest shadow...and the angle at which I placed my light caused a really terrible reflection on that ink. Honestly, it does not look quite that bad in real life. I wish I would have had time to reshoot it, as I would have re-angled the light so it didn't highlight those tacky ink areas to this extreme.

(Sorry...no colour list today! I forgot to record my markers that day.)

To finish off the back of my bookmark, I stamped this pretty flourish design from Impression Obsession around the edges to frame the sentiment that comes with Priscilla. (both were stamped in Walnut Stain Distress Ink)

Did you visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see all the gorgeous embossed projects by the Krafty Girls? If you play along with us this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Diana's gorgeous card. (make sure to use a KK stamp on your project to be eligible for the prize) While you are visiting the KKS blog, make sure to check out the gorgeous cards by our fabulous December guests!! Kimmie has invited several very talented ladies to join us for the following month. Please join us in extending them all a very warm welcome...we're thrilled to have them playing along!

Oh, and make sure to click HERE to check out the Frugal Friday Sales for this weekend.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...your visit is much appreciated. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stocking Stuffer Release at SCACD!!

Good morning crafty friends!! 'Tis the season to spread some holiday cheer at SCACD with a Stocking Stuffer release! 

This final release of 2011 features a sampler by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD!!! Now despite the "Stocking Stuffer" name, these aren’t holiday stamp, but they would make a fantastic gift for all the crafty people on your list!! So Susana has named this release the Odds and Ends Sampler. (For you Peeker fans, more are coming next year!!!) There are two collections in this release: the first Collection is the Odds Sampler and the second is the Ends Sampler. Each collection consists of four stamps. You will be able to buy either Set of 4 or both sets together and get a sweet discount!!!

To celebrate the release, and to get your creative juices flowing, we're having a fun blog hop today featuring the new Odds and Ends Sampler. If you've been following along, you should have arrived here after visiting with the lovely Alex. Wasn't her project gorgeous?!

My card today features "Fancy" from the "Ends Sampler" set...isn't she cute? I paired her up with some papers from My Mind's Eye. The flourish was created with the Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork Die. The little roses are from Prima and were treated to a little ink and Stardust Stickles. While Susana doesn't have these exact roses in stock, she currently has a fantastic deal on some Flower Grab Bags...these bags contain a total of 37 flowers for only $9.99 (USD)! The flowers are an assortment by Prima and Kaisercraft...what a steal!! I also tucked in a few pearl sprays. The frame around the image was created with a border punch. Just punch a strip of cardstock, cut out some notches and adhere the border to your image panel with a strong double sided tape. (I used Scor-Tape) The notches should allow you to manipulate the cardstock around gentle curves like this oval.

"Fancy" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20, BV31, BV23  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59, W9  Pants: B32, B34, B37, B39, C7, R85 (which was too bright, so I toned it down with some BV31 and C3)  Shirt: YG00, YG91, YG95, G99, BV23, BV29, W7 Shoes: E50, E25, E59, W9

The Odds and Ends Samplers are available for purchase exclusively at SCACD.

If you haven't started your Christmas shopping yet, it's definitely time to start! SCACD is the perfect place to do some shopping for all those crafty friends on your lists...or your could always leave a little wish list of SCACD goodies for your hubby to make shopping easy for him this year. ;) In addition to all the gorgeous SCACD exclusive stamps, Susana also carries several other stamp companies, an amazing selection of 6x6 paper pads by many of your favourite companies, stamping essentials like acrylic blocks and ink pads, embellishments, Viva Decor products, embossing folders, jewelry findings, paints, canvases, Copics, Spellbinders, Memory Box dies, chipboard...shall I go on? lol

It's my pleasure to send you off to visit with the next designer on the hop, the very talented and very sweet Suzanne! I know she has something fabulous to share with you. :)

Thanks for joining us today!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Fancy"
Paper: Bazzill, Neenah, MME
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Inks (Bundled Sage and Walnut Stain)
Embellishments: Prima flowers, pearl sprays, Stickles
Tools: Spellbinders Ovals, Martha Steward border punch, Scor-Tape, Memory Box Die

Blog Candy Alert at SCACD!!

Hi crafty friends!! Did you know that we're gearing up for a fantastic release tomorrow at SCACD??!!  These new SCACD exclusive stamps have been designed by artist Elisabeth Bell. Some of the design team members have been sharing sneak peeks at the SCACD Store Blog throughout the week featuring the stamps in this last release of 2011.

Susana is also offering some Blog Candy to a couple of lucky stampers...hop on over to read THIS post for all the details. This blog candy closes tonight, so make sure to get your name in before time runs out!

I hope to see you for our release day blog hop tomorrow!

Blessings,

Melanie

My Purr-fect Friend

Hi and welcome to another Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge!! This week our lovely hostess is the lovely Kerry Johnson, and she is putting out the challenge to make a "Thank You" card.

I decided to ink up "Bella", one of the brand new November stamps released last week. I also decided to do a little mixing and matching of different Kraftin' Kimmie sentiments to create a sentiment tailor made for a thank you card featuring Bella and her feline friends. The "Thanks" , "for being", "my" and "friend" are all bits and pieces from the "Thankful Sentiments" set (which is on for an incredible $5.40 for this weekend's big KKS blowout sale...but only until Monday!!). The word "Purrfect" is from the sentiment that comes with "Kreepy Kitty". (that stamp can be your's during this weekend's sale for only $4.20!!) The papers are from My Mind's Eye "Blink of an Eye". I also added some brown pearls made with my Viva Decor pear pen and a little dollar store crocheted trim to finish it off. I wanted to add stitching...I seem to have a compulsion to do that...but I ran out of thread. (I'll be stopping at the fabric store ASAP to remedy that problem!)

Bella was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I paper-pieced her dress with the MME paper and added some shading with my Copics. After colouring this image, I did a tune-up on some of my markers as I was having issues with the ink and/or nibs...areas of her hair went quite tacky. Have you had that happen?? Where the ink tends to "float" on the surface of your paper instead of absorbing nicely? Ugh....so frustrating! I decided to leave well enough alone and not touch her hair anymore before it became bound for the scrap bin. Afterwards, I replaced the nibs on a few of my markers, topped them off with my refills and cleaned out the caps. Not only do I need to get more thread, but now I also need to replenish my stash of marker nibs!

Skin: E00, E000, E11, BV31, BV23, R81  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Cats: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7 Shading on dress: E02, E08, E17, E18, E59

If you play along this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp and sentiment seen on Kerry's beautiful card. (just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible) Pop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps blog to check out what my fellow Krafty Girls have created for this week's challenge.

SALES/NEWS

BLACK FRIDAY: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is joining in the fun of all the Black Friday sales over the US!! Pop on by the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store and click on the "Deals Deals Deals" option to check out this fabulous sale. In my post, I noted the incredible prices for two of many stamps/sets that are discounted for this sale...but the sale is over Monday, so don't miss out on these bargains! 

NOVEMBER GIMMIE KIMMIE KITS: These will only be available for a limited time, so make sure to grab yours while you still can! (Find them HERE.)

CANADIAN SCRAPBOOKER AND KRAFTIN' KIMMIE GIVEAWAY: KKS has been featured once again in Canadian Scrapbooker!! This new issue has a full page layout featuring four cards made by some of the Krafty Girls. Kimmie is giving away TEN sets of the four stamps seen in the layout to some lucky KKS fans!! You can read THIS post for full details.

Have a wonderful day folks and thanks so much for stopping by. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps November 2011 Release Day Blog Hop!!

Good morning and welcome to the release day blog hop for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! This month's release includes the adorable "Snips and Snails" set by Cheryl Alger, two fun sets by Emilie Goulet for all the dog lovers called "Canine Capers 1 & 2" (sold separately) and six incredible new Gothic girls by Annie Rodrigue. Oh, and Kimmie is also releasing the "Best Friends" stamp that was designed by Annie Rodrigue as the commemorative stamp from Krafty Day 2011!

The hop begins over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog where you will find a complete list of all participants. If you've been following along, you will have arrived here after visiting with Krafty Girl Carole Burrage...not only is Carole ridiculously talented, but her witty sense of humour never fails to leave me in stitches. :)  Oh, and while you're hopping around, make sure to leave comments as Kimmie will be drawing a couple of lucky winners who will win packages of some of the new November stamps!

For my card today, I inked up "Wednesday", one of the new Gothic Girls by Annie Rodrigue...isn't she fantastic?? Nothing sweeter than a little girl playing with her dolls...even when said girl has stitched an "X" over her doll's mouth! lol  Annie's Gothic Girls combine just the right amount of cute with edgy...love her style so much! I used some papers from my scrap bin...I believe the green polka-dotted paper is from MME, and I'm not sure where the flowered paper is from. All paper edges were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and I added a few dollar store pearls. The decorative border was created with a Martha Steward punch.

Wednesday was stamped on Neenah cardstcock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R22  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Clothes: G20, YG00, YG91, YG95, G99, R22, R27, R46, E59, C5, C7


On the inside of my card, I used the one of two sentiments that come with Wednesday:

(She also comes with the sentiment "Come Play With Me!".)

I already posted the following card back in October on Krafty Day, but thought I'd post it again since the "Best Friends" stamp is now availble to purchase:

After you finish hopping today, make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store where all of the new November stamps are now available for purchase. (make sure to check out the Gimmie Kimmie Kits !)

Ok, it's now my extreme pleasure to send you off to visit with one of our incredible Krafty Artists, Emilie Goulet!! Emilie has been such a fantastic addition to the Kraftin' Kimmie artistic team, and her dog images this month are just brilliant!

Happy hopping and happy shopping. :)  (and don't forget to leave those comments along the way for your chance to win some new stamps!)

Blessings,

Melanie

Canine Capers...Day Two of the November Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!

***This is my second post of the day...please scroll down or just click HERE for the SCACD Release Day Blog Hop!!!***

Welcome to day two of the November sneak peeks for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! Today we are introducing the newest offerings of Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet...she has created two fabulous sets featuring a variety of adorable pooches!!  The sets are called "Canine Capers 1" and "Canine Capers 2". Each includes three main image stamps and an assortment of coordinating sentiments.

This playful Dalmatian is from "Canine Capers 1". As always, Emilie's characters have such personality...I absolutely love this spotted pooch!! The plaid paper is a scrap of October Afternoon paper that I had kicking around. The other design papers are from My Mind's Eye "Breeze"...I love that the papers in the collection lend themselves so well towards masculine cards.

Ummmm....looking at this picture I just realized that I coloured the ball to look like Earth. lol 

The Dalmatian was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. After using my markers, I added some additional shading with a brown Conte Crayon applied with a blending stump. Can you spot the HUGE mistake I made??? It's really obvious on this close up. The teal polka-dotted MME paper has lettering in the dots...and I glued it on UPSIDE DOWN. DOH! I managed to accomplish this feat even after telling myself REPEATEDLY to make sure that I glued it on the right way! lol This pooch was pop-dotted for a bit of dimension.

Copics: W00, E40, E42, E43, C3, C7, C9, R22, R27, R46, R59, Y17, BG000, B32, B34

Here's a look at the inside where I used one of the sentiments that comes with Canine Capers 1:

***BLOG CANDY*** Make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to check out what my fellow Krafty Girls and our Krafty Guests have created for today sneak peeks. Oh, and don't forget to leave comments on everybody's blogs today for your chance to win...and this time there will be two lucky winners! Kimmie is giving away one set of Canine Capers 1 and one set of Canine Capers 2!! The winners names will be announced on the KKS Blog tomorrow morning.

The Krafty Girls will be bringing you another round of sneak peeks with our weekly challenge tomorrow. I'll be sitting that one out due to a crazy busy week, but I will be back on Sunday for our release day blog hop!! Hope to see you then. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Introducing "Reflections Yesteryear" and "Reflections Fantasy"...it's Release Day at SCACD!!

*** This is one of two posts on my blog today...please feel free to scroll up or just click HERE for my Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!***

It's RELEASE DAY at SCACD!! Susana is releasing two gorgeous sets of exclusive stamps by artist Carmen Medlin..."Reflections Yesteryear" and "Reflections Fantasy". I have to tell you folks, that these stamps are stunning. They are a dream to colour...beautiful hair, lavish clothing and such pretty delicate features. Susana is also releasing two "Just Because" stamps: "The Topiary" and "Carolyn's Bonsai", which are equally as lovely. To celebrate this release, we're having a fun blog hop today to showcase all the new stamps!!

There is a complete list of all hop participants at the SCACD Store Blog. If you have been tracking along the hop, you should have arrived her after visiting with Lori...and I know she had a beautiful project to share with you. :)

My card today features "The Georgian", one of the stamps in the "Reflections Yesteryear" collection. These new stamps are so pretty...I know I will be reaching for them often. I've always thought it would be so much to act in a period film and be able to wear dresses like this one. :)  The papers on my card are all from Memory Box "Minuet". The flourishes were cut with my Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork die and the decorative border was created with a Martha Stewart punch. For finishing touches I sponged all paper edges with brown ink, added some machine stitching, flat backed pearls and a Prima Flower.

The Georgian was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. After finishing with my markers, I added some additional shading to the underskirt and bodice with a brown Conte crayon.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Dress: B91, B93, B95, B97, B99, B39, C5, C7, E50, E40, E42, E43,G20, G82, G85, G99, YG00 and brown Conte Crayon

To finish off the inside of my card, I used another stamp being released today "The Topiary". I also tucked in a few segments of the Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork die.

Now, it doesn't show in this picture, but I accented parts of the image and the die cut scrolls with a Spica pen. This pretty topiary was of course coloured with Copic markers.

YG00, YG03, YG63, YG67, G21, G99, C5, C7, E97, E99, R22, R89, B91, B93, B95, B97, BG01, BG09, B99, E50, Y21, Y17, E33, E35, E37

The "Reflections Yesteryear", "Reflections Fantasy" and "Just Because" stamps are all available for purchase exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie. You can purchase the stamps individually, but if you have fallen in love with all the stamps (like me!), you can instead purchase them as complete sets at discounted prices. When bought as sets, both the "Reflections Yesteryear" and "Reflections Fantasy" collections include a bonus accessory stamp.

It is my pleasure to send you off to visit with the lovely Colleen who has a gorgeous project to share with you. :)

Happy hopping and happy shopping friends!

Blessings,

Melanie

"Snips and Snails"...A November Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!

The Krafty Girls have been busy behind the scenes preparing for this Sunday's release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! We've had a fantastic time playing with these soon-to-be released stamps that we know you are going to fall in love with. Starting today, we will be sharing daily sneak peeks featuring a different Krafty Artist's stamps each day. Kimmie will also be giving away daily sneak peek BLOG CANDY!! Each day, there will be a list of the participating Krafty Girls and guests over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

Today we are introducing a brand new set of stamps by Krafty Artist Cheryl Alger called "Snips and Snails". It consists of three adorable main image stamps and six coordinating sentiments, and will only be sold as a complete set. This little guy with his bouquet of flowers is one of the main images in the set...I just love his knobby little knees, and how cute are all those cowlicks??!! I used some fun papers from My Mind's Eye "Hattie". The  "Be Mine" sentiment is part of the "Snips and Snails" set.

He was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers.

Skin: E00, E000, E11, R22  (and I experimented with some BV31 for shadows...but it didn't really blend very well this time)  Hair: E50, Y21, Y23, E33, E35, E37, E59, E97, E99  Shorts: B91, B93, B95, B97, C5  Shirt: BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, C5, C7, Y21, Y23, E35, E97, E99

***SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY***

How would you like to win the entire "Snips and Snails" set?? All you need to do is visit all the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests participating in today's sneak peeks and make sure to leave a comment on their personal blogs. You will find a complete list of links to their blogs at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, where Kimmie will also announce the winner on tomorrow's sneak peek post! Good luck. :)

Hope to see you back tomorrow when we will share some more sneak peeks!

Blessings,

Melanie

"The Beauty"...an SCACD Sneak Peek!

The sneak peeks continue today for the upcoming release this Friday at SCACD! Susana is releasing two gorgeous new exclusive collections by Carmen Medlin..."Reflections Fantasy" and "Reflections Yesteryear". (There are also two "Just Because" stamps!!) We kicked off the previews yesterday, and they will continue each day leading up to our release day blog hop on Friday.

My sneak peak today features "The Beauty", one of the stamps in the "Reflections Yesteryear" collection. These newest stamps by Carmen are just exquisite. They are also very versatile...as you can see, I used "The Beauty" for a Christmas card by pairing her up with some pretty holiday papers. I also added some Make It Crafty Chipboard that was given a coat of ivory craft paint followed by a coat of Stickles. I coloured some white pearls with my R59 Copic marker for a custom colour match.

The Beauty was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Dress: R22, R27, R46, R59, G20, G82, G85, G99, C5, C7  Chair: B91, B93, B95, B97, C5 (my apologies as I forgot to record the colours used on the wooden parts of the chair)

To see the rest of today's sneak peeks my very talented team mates, please visit the SCACD Store Blog. Oh, and while you're there make sure to get your name entered for Susana's Sneak Peek Blog Candy!! (you can read all the details by clicking on the above link)

Both the "Reflections Yesteryear" and the "Reflections Fantasy" will be available for purchase this Friday exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie. You will have the option to purchase the stamps individually or as complete sets. The sets include bonus accessory stamps and are of course offered at a discounted price. :)

Make sure to tune in to the SCACD Store Blog tomorrow for more sneak peeks...and then plan to join us Friday when we will be celebrating the release of the new stamps with a fantastic blog hop!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Sneak Peeks begin today for SCACD!!

That's right my crafty friends! We are gearing up for another fantastic SCACD release this Friday! Susana will be releasing a stunning collection of exclusive stamps by Carmen Medlin...my word, these stamps are incredible!! I know they will be on your "must-have" list! The sneak peeks begin today at the SCACD Store Blog, and will continue each day followed by our release day blog hop this Friday.

Sharing three sneak peeks today are Danni, Donalda and Alex...hop on over to the SCACD store blog to see their gorgeous projects. While there, make sure to read through the post for details on Susana's Sneak Peek Blog Candy!!! These stamps will be exclusively available at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie.

Oh, and this would also be a great time for me to let you know about some fantastic new products that have hit the shelves at SCACD...check out THIS post for all these wonderful items! (there are also some incredible bargains on Halloween and fall papers that you will not want to miss out on)

I hope to see you back tomorrow. I'll have a sneak peek card to share featuring one of these beautiful soon-to-be released stamps!

Blessings,

Melanie

Wishes Do Come True

Hi folks! If you visited SCACD over the past week, you will have noticed that the shopping carts were closed for some website maintenance, but they will be open again today so you can shop to your crafty heart's content. :)  Oh, and I should mention that Susana has added many fantastic new products, so you'll want to take a good long browse around the site today to see what your newest "must have" items will be. It's also a great time to make a little "wish list" to hand to your hubby to make his holiday shopping for you quick and easy! ;)

Before sharing my card today, I would just like to say a HUGE thank you to Susana. I was so excited when she contacted me earlier this year to join her team of lovely designers. Not only is she a wonderful business owner who offers warm and friendly service to her customers, but she has also become a great friend who I very much appreciate. I feel very blessed to know her and to have the opportunity to represent SCACD. So thank Susana for everything you do...and most importantly for just being you. You rock girlfriend! :)

 I've got a card to share with you today featuring one of the newest exclusive stamps to hit the shelves at SCACD and Quixotic Paperie. This is "Wishes Do Come True" from the "Classic Retro Crew" collection by Victoria Case for SCACD. I paired her up with some papers from MME "Vanity Fair". I used the "Hedged Maze" embossing folder by Couture Creations on the horizontal teal panel and then lightly sanded it to highlight the raised pattern.  I also added some rhinestone swirls, sheer ribbon and a decorative brad.

"Wishes Do Come True" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Isn't she fabulous?? She's most definitely rockin' that genie outfit! I thought I'd be adventurous and attempt to colour her pants and veil as sheer fabric. The results are not what I had envisioned. sigh. The veil turned out ok, but I just couldn't get her pants right...even after FOUR attempts!! By that time I was getting frustrated, so I decided that my final attempt was passable and I coated them quite generously with Stardust Stickles...which helped to conceal my blunders on her pants. lol  Love my Stardust Stickles. :)

The brand new "Classic Retro Crew" and "Street Views" by Victoria Case are available exclusively at SCACD and Quixotic Paperie. The stamps are available for individual purchase or as complete sets. The sets are available at a great discounted price and they also include a bonus accessory stamp.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

A Little Something for the Lads!

Hi folks! The lovely Angie Baker is our hostess this week for the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge, and she wants to see you make a Masculine Card/Project this week!

For my masculine card this week, I inked up "Toymaker Elf" by Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet ...isn't he fantastic??!! I absolutely love him. :) I paired him up with some papers from My Mind's Eye "12 Days of Christmas". I added a couple of fun jingle bells and some baker's twine (from The Twinery).

Toymaker Elf was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R22, BV31  Hair: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7  Clothes: R22, R27, R46, R59, YG00, G20, G82, G85, G99, BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, C5 and C7 

Here's a peek at the inside of my card where I stamped a sentiment from the "Christmas Interior Sentiments" set.

Have you popped over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see what the other Krafty Girls have whipped up for this week's Masculine Card challenge? If you play along with us, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Angie's fantastic card! Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project to be eligible for the prize.

Oh, and don't forget to check out this weekend's Frugal Fridays Sales as well as the ongoing Retirement Sale on select stamps! You can find all these bargains in the "Deals Deals Deals" section of the KKS Online Store.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Toymaker Elf" and "Christmas Interior Sentiments"
Ink: Memento, Distress Ink, Copics
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Embellishments: Twinery baker's twine, dollar store jingle bells

Christmas Wishes

Good morning and happy Saturday!! We've got a great challenge at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog this week called "Pin It Down!" courtesy of the very talented Michele Boyer. There are so many options out there for decorative pins that range from fun and funky to classy and elegant...I know some creative folks even design their own with various beads and spacers.

For my card today, I decided to use a sentiment as my focal panel. This pretty sentiment is part of the Christmas Interior Sentiments set. (Despite it's name, this set can obviously be used for the front of your cards too!!) I used four different Spellbinders sets on this card. (Ovals, Labels 10, Labels 8 and Parisian Accents) To create the tight mats, I just traced around the outer edges of the dies and hand cut them out...this would also be why I chose to lightly distress my paper edges. It quite nicely covers up any less-than-perfect cutting. :) The design papers are all from Authentique "Wonder". The edges were also sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. The pretty swirls were cut with my MFT Fancy Flourishes die. I added in a few dollar store pearls that were coloured with my R59 Copic marker. The wired bow was tied with the aide of my Bow-Easy and was nestled in the middle of a layered medallion cut with a die from the Parisian Accents Spellbinders Set. I tucked in a pretty Maya Road pin and added a Prima Flower Centre to finish it off.

If you play along this week you could win the stamp Michele used on her gorgeous card...just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project. For some inspiration, make sure to hop on over the the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see what the rest of the Krafty Girls have created this week.

Oh, and don't forget to check out all the incredible SALES at the Kraftin Kimmie Stamps Online Store. The Frugal Friday Sale will be up until Sunday night. There is also the massive retirement sale going on. This could be your last chance to get your inky fingers on some of these great KKS classics before they are gone!

Thanks so much for stopping by...I really appreciate your visit!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "
Paper: Bazzill, Authentique
Embellishments: Pearls, Maya Road pin, Prima Flower Centre, wired ribbon
Tools: Spellbinders, MFT die