Spoil Yourself!

Hey krafty friends!! I hope you all had a wonderful week. Our kids were home on "March Break"...a whole week of no school. Sadly, us grown-ups still had to work...no pajama days for mom and dad. boo. However, Dean and I kind of lucked out one evening when both Ainsleigh and Nathan were at friends' houses for the night. We took advantage and went out to dinner with friends, followed by some bowling. I'll let you know a little something about me...I am a TERRIBLE bowler! lol (and I am perfectly OK with that, hehe) We had a lot of fun, but were still back home and ready to turn in by 11:00. Yeah, I know...total party animals, huh? lol

So...are you all geared up for another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge?? Your hostess this week is my very good friend and amazingly talented stamper Krista VanTol!! Her challenge is "Big Buttons!"...so go pull out those hoards of buttons I know you all have and play along with us this week. :)

Funny story...I giggled when I read the title of Krista's challenge. You see, when I first became interested in stamping a couple of years ago, I created a profile on Splitcoast Stampers. Until recently, I could not figure out how to resize my photos to upload them there, so my profile/gallery was completely inactive. I recently played around with a few programs on my computer, and I am happy to say that my gallery FINALLY has some cards in it! Well, when I was creating my profile so long ago, I thought I should come up with a "clever" name. Are you ready for it...my name over on Splitcoast is "StickAButtonOnIt!". Um, yeah. Really clever Melanie. lol This was before I had even started stamping...all I had done up until that point was blog surf. As I finally started stamping, I realized that I rarely "stick a button" on things...kind of ironic considering my SCS profile name. :)

Anyways, back to the challenge! I used "Brigitte" for my card this week...if only bath time were always that relaxing!! What a perfect way to unwind at the end of the day...bubble bath, cup of tea and a good book....that is until the knocking on the door starts. UGH. Never fails...somebody always "needs" something when I shut the door for my "retreat time". I'm sure you all can relate?? ;) The design paper is from Basic Grey. All paper edges were sponged with Stormy Sky Distress Ink. The sentiment (that comes with Brigitte) was stamped with the Story Sky ink and matted on Spellbinders Fancy Tags. The button-centred bow was tied with the aide of my Bow-Easy.

Brigitte was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. After cutting my image out with my circle Nesties, The bubbles were coloured to appear iridescent and then highlighted with Smooch Illuminate...although, I think I got a little heavy-handed with my application of the Smooch as they don't appear quite as translucent as I had intended. I cut Brigitte out with my circles Nesties, cut a tight mat by tracing around the circumference of the same sized die (which was then cut out by hand), placed that on top of a paper doily and backed it all with a Spellbinders Lacey Circle.

Copics: Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E30, E31, E33, E37, E59, YR31 Bathtub: B60, C3, C1, C00 Faucet: C9, C5, C3, C1 Bubbles: RV000, RV11, BG0000, B000, V00, V1 Towels: BG0000, BG000, BG01, BG09, C5, G20, G21, G82, G85

Brigitte is perfect for those "pamper" gifts that are so fun to give...and fun to receive as well! This image would be fantastic on a card with an enclosed gift card to a spa or to a bath and body type store...or you could even use her for invitations to a spa-themed party! How about a pamper-yourself gift package for a new mom? Or for a bride-to-be? So many possibilities!!

If you play along with the challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of "Becky Broadsword", the stamp seen on Krista's gorgeous card this week. (just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible) Hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge Blog for some inspiration by the Krafty Girls and our lovely Krafty Guests.

I just want to say thanks again to all of you. Your comments are always so sweet. I am always so touched by the number of visitors, and by the kind words left here on my blog. I truly appreciate each and every one of you...thank you for being such a wonderful source of encouragement to me. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Brigitte" and coordinating sentiment

Paper: Neenah, Basic Grey, Bazzill

Ink: Memento, Copics, Stormy Sky Distress Ink

Embellishments: Ribbon, twine, button, paper doily, machine stitching

Tools: Nestabilities, Bow Easy