Cherish

Hi friends! Hope you're all having a fantastic week. :)  I have been colouring, cutting and assembling like a mad woman this week! This month is a busy one for my family and so I thought it would be good idea to try and get ahead of the game with my projects.

One of the stamp companies available at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design is the "Emerald Faerie Garden". This stamp is called "Kenz and Tilly"...isn't this image precious? I think it's so tender and sweet. This is my first time ever working with one of these images, and I thoroughly enjoyed colouring it. The gorgeous papers are from the Kaisercraft "Blae and Ivy" 6x6 pad. That pretty scalloped border is also from the Kaisercraft paper pad. It has several "specialty" sheets that include coordinating die cut borders and tags, some of which include sentiments like the little "Cherish" tag on my card. (Susana currently has this paper pad on sale for 15% off!)  The flourishes were created with my Memory Box "Elegant Scrollwork" Die. Oh, and see those cute little dragonflies nestled amongst the swirls? Those are Make It Crafty "Mini Dragonflies" Chipboard available at SCACD...I just coloured them with my G99 Copic marker before adhering them to my card. The paper edges were distressed with my scissors and sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. For finishing touches I added a bit of machine stitching. I also used some pretty crocheted trim and a great vintage brad that were a gifts from my very good friend Krista. :)  (she knows my style, and gave me a wonderful goodie bag of beautiful vintage trinkets and trim a few months ago for my birthday...thanks so much Krista!!)

"Kenz and Tilly" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I wanted everthing about this card to be soft and pretty to reflect the tenderness of this image. This is why I did not want a harsh black outline. As the ink still shows, it's not quite the "no-line" technique that many stampers are using, but it does give a lovely muted effect. I experimented with some different tones in the skin and added some additional shading to the clothing with my Conte crayons. The Conte crayons produce a very soft, almost smokey shading effect. It was applied with a paper blending stump. The image was cut out and matted with Oval Spellbinders. The mat was created by tracing around the outer of edge of the die and cutting it out by hand. The distressing helped conceal the less-than-perfect cut. The background was sponged with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E02, E11, YR00, RV42, RV95  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37  Clothing: G20, YG91, YG95, G99, W5, W7, R22, R29, R46, R59, C5, C7, E41, E42, E43, E47, E50

I'm going to be a total enabler. ;)  Here are links to just a few of the great deals and products at SCACD!!

• 25% off all Halloween and Fall 6x6 paper pads...these are a steal folks, but quantities are limited so shop soon to avoid disappointment! 
• 25% off some great Halloween stamps (Teresa Collins and Kraftin' Kimmie)
• NEW Authentique 6x6 pads (Free Bird Series)!!
• Make It Crafty Stamps and Chipboard (Halloween MIC stamps are on sale for 25% off!)

The SCACD store blog is a great place to visit to see what Susana's lovely design team has been busy creating with the fabulous stamps and products available at SCACD. If you have not already signed up as a follower, I encourage you to do so! 

Thank you so much for your visit today. I truly appreciate that you take the time out of your day to pop by my blog to see what I've been up to. :)

Blessings, 

Melanie

Stamps: Emerald Faerie Garden "Kenz and Tilly"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Inks
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Kaisercraft
Embellishments: MIC chipboard, machine stitching, metal brad, crocheted trim
Tools: Spellbinders, Memory Box Die