O Christmas Tree, SCACD Style!

Good morning crafty friends!!

My favourite "can't live without" crafty tools are dies. I absolutely love them...especially Dies by SCACD. :)  One of the reasons I love them is that they are a great investment well worth the money spent. I also LOVE the intricacy of Dies by SCACD...these exclusive designs are so gorgeous. Another reason I love them is their versatility. With a little creative "out of the box" thinking, you can come up with some unconventional uses for your dies that make them work for so many different occasions.

The evergreen tree on my card was made by using two different Dies by SCACD. The boughs were created with one of the Classic Corner Dies and the trunk was made with the Ornate Door Plate with Knob Die. To construct the tree, I first cut ten Classic Corners out of green cardstock. I then brushed the edges of the die cuts with white acrylic paint and sprinkled Glamour Dust over the wet paint to create a frosted look. Winter is my favourite season, and I love the look of evergreens boughs dusted with freshly fallen snow. :)  I cut one Ornate Door Plate out of brown cardstock and gave it a snowy treatment as well. The tree is basically a pyramid of Classic Corners. I started constructing the tree with four corners across the base and worked my way up the tree decreasing each layer by one to end in one final corner as the tip of the tree. I also painted a little mound of snow on my design paper before adhering the tree. I decided to leave my tree as it would be found in nature, but you could always create a decorated Christmas tree by adding pearls, glittered garland, a miniature star or angel topper and other tiny trinkets for ornaments. So many great possibilities!!

You've still got time to squeeze in a little crafty Christmas shopping at SCACD. Here are just a few suggestions. :)

• 6x6 paper pads
• Stamping Bella stamps 15% off until December 19th (limited to quantities in stock)
• Dies by SCACD
• Memory Box Dies
• Art Anthology products
• Spellbinders D-Lites 20% off (limited quantities)

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

Keeping Cozy at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

Hi folks! Time for another challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. This week's challenge is brought to us by the amazingly talented Elaine Hughes. Her challenge is "Keep Cozy"...she wants to see projects with a warm theme or colour scheme.

I decided to pull out the Winter Trinkets and make a decorative band for a jar of hot chocolate mix...it's always nice to have gifts like this on hand during the holidays, and the trinkets make it super simple for creating custom gift packaging. I stamped the Winter Trinket on Neenah with Memento Ink, coloured it in with Copics and matted it with Spellbinders Lacey Circles. The flourish was cut with an  MFT die.

We'd love to have you play along with our challenge this week! If you do, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Elaine's gorgeous project...just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. You can check out the "cozy" projects by the rest of the Krafty Girls over at the KKS Blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

SCACD Christmas Tag

Good morning folks!

This is a tag I created using "What Big Eyes" from the Susana Loves Stamps line at SCACD. With Christmas fast approaching, I decided to give this image a bit of a holiday flair. The Inkssentials Tag was first painted with green acrylic paint. The paper is from My Mind's Eye (check out the paper section at SCACD HERE). The flourish was cut with the Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork die. The corners were cut with Classic Corner Dies by SCACD. I pulled out some Maya Road chipboard snowflakes, painted them white and gave them a coat of my absolute favourite glitter Glamour Dust. I also used a few rhinestones for a bit of bling. :)

What Big Eyes was stamped in Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I decided to give her striped stocking to add to the Christmas flair. I also left a white border on the hood of her cape and covered it with Polar White Flower Soft...love the texture this product gives. :)

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV42  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Reds: R22, R27, R46, R59, C5, C7  Greens: YG00, G20, G82, G85, G99, C5, C7  Teals: BG70, BG72, BG75, C5  Shoes: C7, 100

Have you made out your crafty wish lists yet?? Why not make shopping easy on your hubby or boyfriend this year and let him know what's on your "must have" list. SCACD is your one-stop shop for all things crafty. Susana's service is always fast and friendly. :)  Here are just a few suggestions for you or for those crafty friends on your lists:

• 6x6 paper pads: Susana has an extensive collection of paper pads in stock and at incredible prices
• Art Anthology products
• Wood Veneers...perfect embellishments for cards, mixed media projects, scrapbooks and tags!
• Luminarte products
• Stamping Bella stamps
• Memory Box Dies
• Tim Holtz Distress Stains (15% off!!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings, 

Melanie

"Clementine"...Kraftin' Kimmie Release Day!

Well welcome back!! It’s Krafty RELEASE Day at KRAFTIN' KIMMIE STAMPS!! And we’re celebrating with a hop! 

Over the last few days in our Krafty Peeks, we have shared lots of AMAZING new stamps from all our artists! We’ve got something for everyone!! We've got a sweet new set with the kiddos and their pets from Cheryl Alger........it's BEST FUR-IENDS! We also have an adorable set from Emilie Goulet called PARTY MONSTERS! And of course we have an amazing new set of SIX gorgeous CIRCUS GIRLS from Annie Rodrigue that are simply stunning! OH and don’t forget the exclusive line of sentiment stamps that will coordinate with lots of images but especially our new circus girls.... called CIRCUS TRINKETS by the lovely Nicole Aspi

nall!!!

You will get to see most of the new images today as you sit back and enjoy our DECEMBER Krafty Hop! The complete hop list will be provided below. :) 

For my card today, I have used one of Annie's new circus girls. This sweet little juggler is Clementine. She was cut out with Spellbinders Circles and matted with Spellbinders Lacey Circles. The papers are from Cosmo Cricket "Tea for Two" and the pearls were done with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen. The sentiment comes with another one of our new circus girls  "Godiva", who I used on yesterday's challenge card. 

Clementine was stamped on Neenah in Memento and coloured with Copics. 

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV42, RV95  Outfit: BG72, BG75, C7, R22, R27, R46, R59, C7 Bike: C1, C3, C5, C7, Y17, Y21, E13, E37  Background: BG70, BG72, BV31, BV23  Ground: W00, W1, W3, W5

BLOG CANDY: As you hop from blog to blog today, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky stampers will win packages of these incredible stamps from the new release!! And when you’re done hoppin’, be sure to head over to the Kraftin’Kimmie shop, because ALL the new images are NOW available! As always, we have our Gimme Kimmies Kits available for those of you who ‘need it all’!! The stamps are grouped together by artist and are available at a discount, but only for a limited time!!

***ONE LAST THING!!! Our HUGE RETIREMENT SALE is still going on right now at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps with so many stamps up to 75% OFF and some stamps as low as $1.50!! Say what?? Yep!! We need to make room for all the new stamps coming our way in 2013, so we're retiring a lot of stamps!! Keep in mind, once they're gone, they're gone and some have already sold out!!! So scoop up the ones you've had your eye on or pass your wishlist over to a loved one!! What a great way to fill your stocking!!! 

Thanks so much for hopping along with us today!

 Blessings,

 Melanie

"Godiva": A Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek

 Hi crafty friends!! It's a double your fun kind of day at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...we've got a brand new challenge and sneak peeks of the brand new ANNIE stamps for December! 

This month we have a unique twist on a common theme...... CIRCUS GIRLS!!! Prepare to be amazed by the greatest show on earth !!!! The Krafty Girls and guests will be introducing you to 

Arielle, Beatrix with her dog Bijou, Clementine, Esmerelda, Godiva and Ruby the Ringmistress!!

Check out all the amazing creations on today's hop in combination with this week's challenge!! The lovely ALICE is our hostess this week and her challenge features a fantastic sketch!! 

I've used the gorgeous Godiva for my card this week. I LOVE her. :) I flipped the sketch and paired her up with some Simple Stories "Fabulous" papers. I also used one of our amazing new Circus Trinkets that will also be released this month. The flourishes were cut with the Elegant Scrollwork Memory Box Die. 

Godiva and the Circus Trinket were stamped out on Neenah cardstock in Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. 

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95, RV42  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Dress: BG11, BG15, BG09, R81, R83, R85, R59, C7, Y21  Horse: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7, C1, C3, C5, C7, black conte crayon  

Use the sketch she has provided as inspiration for your card or scrapbook page, and the random winner of this week's challenge will receive the new ARIELLE as featured on Alice's gorgeous creation!! We really hope you are inspired by this week's challenge and share your inky creations...you can check out the gorgeous samples by the rest of Krafty Girls and our lovely Krafty Guests at the KKS Blog!!! We SO enjoy seeing your beautiful designs inspired by our challenges! Here's a peek at the Alice's sketch:

BLOG CANDY: Below you will find all the Krafty Girls and Guests who have goodies to show you today and while you're visiting their blogs, be sure to leave some love at each stop because TWO lucky ladies are each going to WIN a package of today's stamps!!

  Thanks so much for stopping by...hope to see you tomorrow for our release day blog hop when all the new stamps will be available for purchase!

 Blessings,

 Melanie

Circus Trinkets...a Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!

Hi krafty friends!! Can you believe it's the end of the year already? It's also time for our DECEMBER 2012 RELEASE at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!!!! We are kicking off the previews today by introducing you to a beautiful new set of Trinkets!!! We are very excited to share with you our amazing….CIRCUS TRINKETS!!! What a FUN set of awesome new stamps....and I don't suppose it's going to be too hard to figure out what theme one of the artists worked with this month, hunh?? 

These circular sentiment stamps have been created and designed by the totally talented Krafty Girl, Nicole Aspinall!! They are made especially to fit in your 1 3/8ths and 1 ¾ inch punches, for quick and easy cutting!!! This month we are releasing the CIRCUS Trinkets set which includes eight trinkets in each set with four of each size and they come as both positive and negative images, so you can use your black or brown ink with the positive stamps and use your coloured inks with the negative ones!! You will get the set as a completely unmounted full sheet of deeply etched grey rubber.

A lot of the Krafty Girls are cardmakers and we have found these to be such a quick and easy way to add a sentiment to our creations or to use as the focal point on your cards! They are also perfect for your Smashbook pages and your scrapbook pages, not to mention your altered items and tags!! No stamper's stash is complete without them!

For my card today, I decided to combine one of the Circus Trinkets with an image that was released last month. This is Lexi from the Off We Go set. The papers are Basic Grey Picadilly. The Circus Trinket and the image were stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. The trinket was matted with Spellbinders Circles and Lacey Circles. The decorative border was created with a Martha Stewart punch and I added some machine stitching to finish it off. 

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV42  Hair: E50,, E31, E33, E37, E59, YR31  Dress: R32, R85, R89  Bear: E50, E30, E31, E33, E37, E59  Suitcase: B32, B45, B97, C5, C7, G82, G85, YR04, YR07, E08  Circus Trinket: Y21, B45, R35

BLOG CANDY: Make sure to hop around and leave comments for all the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests who are sharing sneak peeks today. You will find the list below. Kimmie will be choosing one lucky stamper who will win the complete set of Circus Trinkets!! Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

 Melanie

"Hannah"

Hi crafty friends!!

I wanted to share a tag featuring "Hannah", one of the stamps in the Mythical Reflections collection at SCACD. I LOVE the style of these stamps...they are beautifully drawn and so much fun to colour. I pulled out an Inkssentials Tag and gave it a coat of acrylic paint. I chose some snowflake design paper and matted it with white cardstock. You can check out the vast selection of 6x6 paper pads at SCACD HERE. All the paper edges were given a frosted look by brushing on some white acrylic paint and coating it generously with Glamour Dust. This is my absolute favourite dry glitter. :) I used a Memory Box Die to create the decorative border. This was covered with Tombow Glue, sprinkled with the Glamour Dust and jazzed up with some rhinestones.  To finish it off, I added a snippet of ribbon and an acrylic snowflake that was covered with Stardust Stickles and centred with a rhinestone.

Hannah was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Her wings, staff and over-skirt were treated to a little Stardust Stickles...there is no shortage of glitter on this snowy tag!

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95  Hair: E50, YR31, Y21, E33, E37, E59  Dress: B21, B45, B97, C5, C7, RV42, R85, R89 Skirt: C00, C1, C3, C5, BV31  Wings: B00, BG0000, RV000, RV42

Thought I'd leave you with a few hints for your crafty Christmas wish lists. :)  Susana is always adding fantastic new products to the store as well as stocking those staple products that we all rely on for our creative process. Here's a taste of some of the new goodies that have recently arrived at SCACD:

• 6x6 paper pads
• New Distress Stains
• Artistcellar Stencils 
• Spellbinders D-Lites
• Stamping Bella Uptown Girls
• Make It Crafty Chipboard

Susana's prices are fantastic and her customer service is fast and friendly. Shopping at SCACD is always a great experience! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings, 

Melanie

Feeling Festive with Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps

Good morning and welcome to our weekly challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! Our hostess today is the lovely and oh so talented Elaine Hughes. Her challenge is "Feeling Festive"...she wants to see holiday themed cards or projects. :)

I decided to play with the Holiday Trinkets and create an ornament. The Trinkets have been such a fantastic addition to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps lines. They are fantastic for cards, scrapbook layouts, tags, journals, custom gift packaging and so many other possibilities! To create my ornament, I followed parts of this TUTORIAL by the very talented Becca Feeken of Amazing Paper Grace...this site is a fantastic source of inspiration! Becca's style is so elegant. This 3D ornament is created by cutting out four Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Pendants. The pendants are then scored, folded and adhered together to create this snowflake-like base. The full instructions for scoring and folding can be found in the above link to the tutorial. (I omitted the ribbon spool and just matched up the pendants and glued them together) I added some rhinestones and then spritzed the entire white ornament with Glimmer Mist. I also added some dimensional silver embellishments that I picked up at a local craft store on a sale rack a while back. I stamped the Holiday Trinket on white cardstock in Memento Ink and coloured portions of it with my B21 Copic marker. This was then spritzed with the Glimmer Mist, trimmed out and matted with silver cardstock cut out with Spellbinders Lacey Circles. Add a loop of silver ribbon and you're done. :)

I wish the shimmer showed up better in this picture...it really is quite sparkly in real life!

We'd love to have you play along with our Feeling Festive challenge this week. If you use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp used on Elaine's gorgeous card.

Don't forget to check out the incredible SALE going on at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! Some of the sale stamps are being retired, so this could be your last chance to get them...scoop them up quickly as quantities are limited and some have already sold out! The November Gimmie Kimmie Kits are also still available for a limited time! These kits of the new release stamps are grouped together by artist and offered at a fantastic discount. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

"Priya" (Kraftin' Kimmie Release Day!!)

Good morning and welcome to the release day blog hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! :)  Over the last few days, the Krafty Girls have shared previews of the brand new November stamps that are now available for purchase...and what an amazing collection of stamps Kimmie has put together for us! We've got two new sets from Cheryl Alger........it's OFF WE GO and DELITGHTFUL VERSES!! We also have an adorable set from Emilie Goulet called CUTE-A-SAURUS!! And of course we have an amazing new set of SIX gorgeous new TRAVEL GIRLS from Annie Rodrigue that are simply stunning! OH and don’t forget the exclusive line of sentiment stamps called TRAVEL TRINKETS by the lovely Nicole Aspinall!!! You'll have another chance today to see many of the new images today on our blog hop. :)

The complete hop list will be included at the end of my post so you can make sure to visit each blog on the hop. As you are hopping along, make sure to leave comments at each designer's blog as Kimmie will be drawing a couple of lucky winners who will receive packages of some of the new stamps!

My card today features one of the new Travel Girls by Annie Rodrigue. This is Priya from India...isn't she gorgeous??!! The papers are from DCWV and they were edged with some gold acrylic paint. The corners were cut with the Classic Corner Dies by SCACD.

Priya was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copic markers.

Skin: E30, E11, E13, E17, E18, E59  Hair: C3, C5, C7, B60  Clothes: R22, R27, R46, R59, C5, C7, BV29/YG03, G82, G85,C6, C7/B32, B34, B37, C5, C7/Y21, Y17, E33, E17

When you are done hopping, don't forget to stop by the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Store where all the new stamps are now available for purchase! As always, Kimmie will also have the Gimmie Kimmie Kits available. These kits are grouped by artist at a great discount for those stampers who "want it all", but they are only available for a limited time!!

SALE ALERT: Kimmie has put over 200 stamps on sale...and some are being retired! So now is definitely the time to scoop up some of your favourites before it's too late! You could also pass on a Krafty wish list to make Christmas shopping super easy for your hubby. ;)   You can find all the sale stamps HERE.

 Here's the complete hop list as promised:

  Thanks so much for stopping by!

 Blessings,

 Melanie

Cute-A-Saurus!

Today at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps we are sharing a new set by the totally talented Emilie Goulet!!! We've got something super cute and so unique for you!! Perfect for the little kidlets in your life....and maybe some old fossils too!!! It's CUTE-A-SAURUS!! Emilie has created a fun set of DINOSAUR images for your cards and scrapbook pages!

Ok, so I am TOTALLY in love with this set Emilie created! My son Nathan was a dinosaur nut when he was a little guy. He absolutely loved the Land Before Time movies...and so did I. :)  Who could resist singing along with Cera, Littlefoot, Ducky, Petrie and Spike?? Rarely did a day pass when he didn't ask to watch one of those movies!  I chose to colour up this adorable triceratops from the Cute-A-Saurus set for my card today. I paired him up with some Cosmo Cricket paper. The sentiment is included in the set along with a few other dino themed phrases. 

He was stamped on Neenah cardstock in Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. 

Dino: YG00, YG03, G82, G85, C5, C7, Y21, Y15, Y17, E55  Egg: BG70, BG72, BG75, C5, C7, R32, R35, R37, R59

BLOG CANDY ALERT: Below you will find a list of all the Krafty Girls who are sharing PEEKS with you today!! And as you're hoppin' around, be sure to leave a comment at each stop because someone will win a package of these fun stamps!!

  Thanks for stopping by!!

 Blessings,

Melanie

Delightful Verses...a Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!

Welcome to the November Krafty Peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!! Today we are excited to share the TWO new sets by artist Cheryl Alger!!! First we have some characters that you are already familiar with.....Lulu, Lexi and Lucas! And we are very excited to share a sweet new inspirational set by Cheryl!!! It's OFF WE GO!! and DELIGHTFUL VERSES!!! 

This is one of the images from Delightful Verses. These images are super sweet and perfect for sending an uplifting or inspirational note to a friend. 

Here's a shot of the inside where I stamped one of the Scripture verses included in Delightful Verses: 

All the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests listed below have lots of super designs to show you, so be sure to hop over to each of them! And while you're there, be sure to leave a comment because we are giving away one of EACH of the new sets!!! You could WIN the new OFF WE GO! or DELIGHTFUL VERSES set!!!!! Then come on back tomorrow to check out MORE new stamps we have to show you , this time by artist Emilie Goulet!!! And ALL the new stamps will be available on Sunday at the KKStamps Shop!!

 Happy hoppin'!

 Blessings,

 Melanie

Dawn's Fairy

Good morning and TGIF!!!

I'm sharing a card today featuring one of the brand new stamps from the Mythical Reflections collection that was released last week at SCACD. I absolutely LOVE this release. Fairies, mermaids and dragons...some of my favourite things to colour. :)  This gorgeous image is Dawn's Fairy. I love how she's perched so delicately on a tree branch.  To tie in with the leaves and branch in the image, I used a Memory Box die to cut the vine and curved it to fit the image which was cut with Spellbinders. I also used the Classic Corner Dies By SCACD to frame the image.

Dawn's Fairy was stamped in Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Her wings were given a coat of Stardust Stickles.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95, RV42  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59, BV29  Dress: B32, B34, B37, C5, C9, BV29, G20, G82, G85  Wings: G20, G82, G85, RV000, R81, R85, BG0000, B31, B95   Tree: E21, E25, E29, E31, E33, E50, E59  Leaves: YG00, YG03, YG63, YG67, G99, C7

Make sure to stop by SCACD and browse around the store. Susana carries a wide variety of products perfect for scrapbookers, stampers, mixed media artists...and she's always adding hot new products! Here are just a few links to the store:

• Dies by SCACD
• Mythical Reflections collection from the Susana Loves Stamps Line
• New Elisabeth Bell for SCACD stamps
• Art Anthology products
• Memory Box and Poppy Stamp Dies
• Luminarte products
• 6x6 paper pads

Have a great weekend folks!

Thanks for stopping by. :)

Blessings, 

Melanie 

Creating Backgrounds...A Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge!

Hi folks! It's time for another challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. This week, I'm playing hostess and my challenge is "Creating Backgrounds"! Now, don't run off scared! lol  You don't have to draw in a background...although, you can if you like. :)  Your background can be any technique you would like to use. Perhaps you may be in the mood to use inks and sponges. For those of you who have an airbush system, feel free to use that! You could reach for paints, sprays, stamps, patterned papers, dies...whatever your creative little heart desires!

I chose to sketch in a background for my stamp this week. This cute little kitten is "Meow-y Christmas"...the fun sentiment comes with the stamp. It only seemed natural to create a fireplace and mantle as a backdrop for this image. The image was cut out with Spellbinders Labels 8. I pulled out some Echo Park Christmas paper from last year. Embellishments were kept to a minimum with a border punch and some black pearls made with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen.

Meow-y Christmas was stamped in Memento Ink on Neenah cardstock. I then set to work sketching in the fireplace and mantle. This is a super easy background to sketch. Your bricks do not have to be perfect...I intentionally made my brick edges slightly irregular. To create the arch, I used a Spellbinders Circle die as a guideline. I also added in a bit of evergreen garland along the top of the mantle. After the sketch was complete, I went over my pencil lines with a Copic multiliner and then got busy colouring. :)

Stocking: R22, R27, R29, R46, R59, C00, C1, C3, C7   Kitten: C1, C3, C5, C7, 100, R22  Bricks: E04, E11, E31, E33, E37, E59, E59, W5, W7  Mortar: E71, E77, W5, W7  Mantle: W1, W3, W5, W7  Inside of fireplace: W1, W3, W5, W7  Garland: YG00, YG03, YG63, YG67, G99, W7

We'd love for you to join in on the background challenge this week! If you use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project, you could be the lucky winner of "Meow-y Christmas", the stamp used on my card this week. For more inspiration, make sure to stop by the KKS Blog to see what my fellow Krafty Girls created for the challenge!

KKS NEWS

• Frugal Friday specials are on until Sunday evening!!
• Remember Genevieve from our Steampunk collection??? Kimmie has brought her out of retirement for a limited time, so don't miss out on getting your inky hands on her. :)
• The October Gimmie Kimmie Kits are only available until this Sunday! 
• November 10th Guelph Mega Crop: KKS will be at this fantastic event and will be offering four different classes that will be run throughout the day. You don't have to attend the crop to attend our classes, but we sold out quickly last year!! So if you are going to be in the area next weekend and would like to come get Krafty with us, you can check out the details HERE!

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Blessings, 

Melanie

SCACD Release

Good morning crafty friends and welcome to release day at SCACD!!

This is SCACD's last release of the year! We're bringing you two different collection. The first is from Elisabeth Bell for SCACD which consists of 4 new adorable stamps in the Sampler #8 Collection. We also have a new Susana Loves Stamps collection- Mythical Reflections which brings you 4 more gorgeous mythical stamps!  

To celebrate the release, we are having an inspirational blog hop to showcase the new stamps! Be sure to check out all the details on the SCACD store blog where you will find the complete list for today's hop. If you have been following along, you should have arrived here after visiting my talented friend Lori !

I have two cards to share with you today. First up is Little Draco from the Mythical Reflections collection. I have to confess something. I love dragons, so when I saw this image I was really exciting to get colouring! The intricate black medallion was created with the Ornate Hinge Die by SCACD. I also used one of the Classic Corner Dies by SCACD. The paper is from an older Authentique pad, but you can check out all the fantastic 6x6 paper pads at SCACD HERE. 

Little Draco was stamped in Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I coloured him predominately with a stippling technique to develop the shading and to simulate texture. 

Colours: YG00, YG03, YG11, B21, B23, B24, BV29, C5, C7, C9, Y21, Y17, E13, E17, E18, E59

Next up is another stamp from the Mythical Reflections collection. This is Arctic Princess. Ok, another confession...I also love mermaids. :)  So this stamp collection is definitely right up my alley! (I also LOVE the other two Mythical Reflections stamps, and will be creating projects with them later this month.) This stamp is a lot of fun to colour up...look how beautifully it is drawn! Loving the mermaid's flowing hair and that seahorse is just awesome. I kept my layout super simple with this card to allow the image to take centre stage. I just added some Classic Corner Dies by SCACD and a few rhinestones to a white card base. 

Arctic Princess was stamped in Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I added a thin coat of Stardust Stickles to her tail for a bit of shimmer. 

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95, RV42  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Tail: YG00, YG11, B21, B23, B24, C5, C7  Crystals: BG0000, B21, B24, RV000,YG11  Seahorse: Y15, Y17, Y21, E13, E17, E18, E35, E50, E59, G20, G82, G85, G99  Shells: RV000, R85, R59

This is the last stop on the hop, so now it's time to go do a little crafty shopping!!!

All of the new stamps from the Elisabeth Bell for SCACD "Sampler 8" and Susana Loves Stamps "Mythical Reflections" are now available for at SCACD! Our international friends can find them at Quixotic Paperie.

Thanks so much for joining us on today's hop! 

Blessings, 

Melanie

Copic Coloring Guide Winner!!

Hi folks!

Just popping on to announce the winner of my copy of the Copic Coloring Guide 3 from our blog hop a couple of weeks ago.

The lucky winner is:

Nana Donna

Congrats Donna!! Thanks to all who participated in the hop and for all the lovely comments left. :)

Belssings,

Melanie

The Travellers Tag

Good morning crafty friends!

Today I'm sharing a tag featuring one of my favourite SCACD exclusive stamps. This is The Travelers by Carmen Medlin for SCACD. I used an Inkssentials Kraft tag as my base and some Bo Bunny Christmas paper from last year. You can check out the vast selection of 6x6 paper pads at SCACD HERE, including some great holiday collections. The corner embellishment hidden slightly by the bow was cut with Classic Corner Dies by SCACD. The vine embellishment was cut with a Memory Box Die. I added some rhinestones for a finishing touch.

I absolutely adore The Travelers. It is such a beautifully drawn image. I love the detailing on the gypsy's clothing and the wolf's fur provides a great opportunity to work on creating texture with your colouring. Unfortunately, I do not have a list of colours today as I forgot to record them. My apologies!

Susana is always adding fantastic products to the store site. Here are just a few of the newest items that you might want to check out!

•  New Make it Crafty Chipboard
• New Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps
• New 6x6 paper pads (including American Crafts and Bazzill)
• Bo Bunny Clear Stamps

You can keep up to date with all the new products at the store and projects by the design team by following the Store Blog. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings, 

Melanie

Inspired by Music at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps

Hi Krafty friends!! We've got a fun Kraftin' Kimmie challenge for you today brought to us by our lovely hostess, the incredibly talented Elaine Hughes. She wants to see projects Inspired by Music.

I decided to make a Christmas tag inspired by the carol, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. I stamped "Elysia Angel" on Kraft carstock in Memento Rich Cocoa Ink and added some monochromatic shading in various browns with my Copics (except for a bit of pink on her cheeks and the yellow in her horn). Her wings and the trumpet were given a bit of shimmer with a light coat of Stardust Stickles. I sponged around the image with Bundled Sage and Walnut Stain Distress Inks. The patterned paper is MME Lost and Found Christmas. All paper edges were distressed and inked in Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I stamped one of the Holiday Trinkets on Neenah in the brown ink and coloured the details with my YG91 and R59 Copics. The flourish was cut with an MFT die. I added a bow tied with some red satin wired ribbon and a Maya Road Trinket Pin. The acrylic snowflake is a dollar store find that was coated with Glossy Accents, sprinkled with Glamour Dust and centered with a rhinestone.

Skin: E40, E41, E43, R22  Hair: E30, E31, E35, E37, E59, Y21  Dress: E21, E24, E29, E59, colourless blender  Trumpet: Y21, E50, E31, E33

Make sure to check out what the rest of the Krafty Girls have created this week over at the KKS blog. We'd love to have you play along with the challenge. If you use a KKS image on your project, you will be eligible to win the stamp seen on Elaine's fabulous card.

You can also find this week's Frugal Friday specials HERE. Each Friday, Kimmie selects several stamps to put on sale for a great discount until Sunday evening...perfect for some Krafty Christmas gifts for friends or even yourself. :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

Steampunk With a Goth Flair

Hi folks!!

The SCACD design team is having a bit of creepy fun with a Spook-A-Licious blog hop today with stamps and dies by SCACD. :)  Each designer has worked their creative magic to give these images and dies a creepy makeover. Through the strategic use of colour selection, paper and embellishment choices and perhaps even a slight tinkering to the stamped image, we have all stretched the versatility of these stamps to work for Halloween projects...just wait until you see what the DT has come up with! If you have been hopping along in order, you should have arrived here after visiting with the lovely Chris. If not, you can find the entire hop list over at the Store Blog.

So many choices to go with here! Zombies, vampires, witches, ghouls, ghosts....what's a girl to choose?? I selected to work with "Steampunk Eyes". My first inclination was to make her a vampire or witch but as I started colouring, I changed my mind and decided to go with a "goth" vibe instead. I pulled out an Inkssentials tag and began to create a background by first stamping the word "Halloween" and the chandelier in Archival Ink. Both these images and the skull in the bottom corner are from an older Teresa Collins set, but Susana similar Halloween stamp sets in stock HERE and HERE. I also used the Steampunk Clock from the Susana Loves Stamps Mixed Media collection. However, instead of using the entire image, I just selectively inked up the gear portions of the stamp and used those on the tag. I grabbed my palette and mixed some green and orange acrylic craft paint with Matte Medium to make them translucent. These were applied in random patches over the tag. I applied a few layers, not worrying if the application was even...in fact, I actually wanted some darker lines in the background, so I applied some "marble" like lines with the very edge of my flat paintbrush and very lightly blended them out just to slightly soften the effect. I then picked up some black ink on the edge of my brush and used it to emphasize or shadow those lines. This resulted in creating a creased or distressed look...almost like the tag had been crumpled up. To finish off the background, I added a hint of silver paint to the edges and then heavily inked the edges in black. I also used the fabulous Alice's Clock Statement Corner from Dies by SCACD. I cut it out in a dark cardstock, applied silver paint and then sponged it with black ink...everything about this tag is dark and grungy. :)

Let's talk a bit about "Steampunk Eyes". :)  To "goth" her up, I used a lot of warm greys to shade her skin and clothing. I really went to town shading around her eyes with my W5, W7 and W9. I also pulled out my black conte crayon and paper blending stump to add further smokey shading to her eyes and clothing. Rather than going with a traditional eye colour, I chose to go with violet because I felt it kicked the creepy factor up a notch.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95, G20, W3, W5, W7, W9  Hair: C3, C5, C7, C9, 100, V12, V15, V09  Purple collar and other accents: V12, V15, V09, W3, W5, W7  Coat and boots: C3, C5, C7, C9, 100, BV29  Shirt: YR04, E08, W5, W7  Shorts: G82, G85, G99, YG91, W3, W5, W7  Goggles: C00, C1, C3, C5, Y17, E18, E59   Eyes: R59, V09, V06, V00  Gears: C3, C5, C7

So what do you think?? It was a lot of fun to play with a "cute" image and give her a totally different creepy look. I know the other design team members had a blast with this theme as well. :)

BLOG CANDY ALERT: What's a Halloween Hop without a little candy??!! Make sure to do a little trick or treating at the SCACD store blog for your chance to win 2 FUN prizes. There is also another different Blog Candy at the Quixotic Paperie store blog! When you are done hopping along be sure  to visit both the SCACD store blog and Quixotic Paperie store blog for details on how to enter for your chance to WIN! You can find all the stamps HERE--if you are in the USA, and HERE- for our International friends. The Dies by SCACD can be found HERE--if you are in the USA and HERE-for our International friends!! Happy hopping and shopping!!

 SCACD is your one stop shop for all your crafty needs. Susana has a ton of products perfect for any project you are working on. From cardmakers, to scrapbookers, to mixed media artists...she's got you covered! She is always adding fantastic new products to the store, so check in often. Of note, she just recently added some great new 6x6 paper pads...you can check those out HERE. Service is always fast and friendly, and her prices are fantastic. :)

It is now my pleasure to send you off to the next designer on today's hop, Lori...just wait until you see what she has to share with you!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie