Purrfect :)

Good morning and happy Saturday to you all! It's time for another challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. This week it's my turn to play hostess, and I would like to see some "Handmade Embellishments" on your projects. :)

I inked up one of the adorable cats from the Kitty Kapers 1 set by Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet. The papers are all from My Mind's Eye. The image was matted on Spellbinders Circles and Lacey Circles. The sentiment is included in the Kitty Kapers 1 set. For my handmade embellishments, I created some little balls of yarn with a cardstock base, Scor Tape and some embroidery floss. (The cardstock is not quite that blue in real life...it's a deep teal that really does match the paper, but unfortunately it photographed a little "off")

The image was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. I had intended to have the lady's arm lined up with the edge of the die cut circle, but I misjudged the size I needed by quite a bit...which is why her arm is kind of floating, lol. I think this is such a sweet image...I just love the look of pure bliss on this kitty's face. :)

Cat: E13, E57, E59, E93, E95, E97, E99  Collar: BG000, BG01, BG05, BG07, BG09, C5, C7  Sleeve: BG11, BG23, BG75, C5  Hand: E000, E00, E11  Nail: R46  Bangles: Y17, Y21, Y38, E35, E37

If you play along this week, you could be the lucky winner of the cute kitty stamp I used on my card today. Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. Don't forget to pop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps blog to check out the fabulous projects by the Krafty Girls featuring their handmade embellishments.

Two thing to note:

1. Make sure to check out the Frugal Friday sales for this weekend.
2. The January Gimmie Kits will only be available until Sunday, so make sure to grab yours before they are gone!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

SCACD Fairies

Good morning! Did you know that Susana recently released three adorable Spring Flora Fairies by Carmen Medlin for SCACD?? Some of the design team has been sharing some gorgeous creations with these new fairies over  at the SCACD Store Blog "Follow Your Heart".

My card today features one of the Fall Flora Fairies by Carmen Medlin for SCACD. This is Friendship Rose. I paired her up with some papers from Basic Grey. You can find Susana's amazing selection of 6x6 paper pads HERE. Those gorgeous corner accents were created with the Memory Box Die Madera Corner. (click HERE for Susana's selection of Memory Box Dies)  Susana has a lot of these dies back in stock...but they have a tendancy to fly off the shelves, so make sure to grab your favourites quickly!

Friendship Rose was stamped on Neenah and coloured with Copics. If you are a follower of the SCACD store blog, you will likely have seen Danni's fantastic tutorial on masking. To create the sky behind my stamped image, I first masked the image and then cut out a cloud shaped template. I used a make-up sponge to apply Memento Summer Sky using my template to create the clouds. As you move around the sky, shift the angle of your template or even flip it so as to avoid any repeating patterns.The image was cut out and matted with Spellbinders Labels 18. Her wings were coated with Stardust Stickles.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R02  Hair: E50, Y21, Y23, YR31, E33, E37  Dress: B91, B93, B95, B99, C5, E13, E17, E18, E59  Wings: RV000, YG11, BG0000, BG01

To decorate the inside, I used another Memory Box Die. This one is called Delicate Vine.

Both the Fall Flora Fairies and the new Spring Flora Fairies are available exclusively at SCACD.

Oh, and have you seen the newest Make It Crafty stamps to hit the SCACD shelves?? They are absolutely incredible!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps and Art Du Scrapbooking Blog Hop

Welcome to a joint blog hop featuring Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps and the Art du Scrapbooking store in Quebec!  Grab a cup of coffee and sit back to enjoy all the gorgeous creations using the January release of new stamps from Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps!  If you’d like to start the hop from the beginning, head over to the KKS challenge blog and be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky random stampers will WIN some prizes!! All the new images are now available at the Art du Scrapbooking store online and in person or from the KKS online shop, where you will find ALL our stamps!  


The hop begins at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, so make sure to start there so you don't miss out on any blogs along the way! If you've been tracking along, you should have arrived here after visiting with Manon. :)


I've used one of the new stamps from the Lovely Lulu Set by Cheryl Alger. This new set has been every so popular...Lulu is so adorable. :)  All the paper and embellishments on my card can be found at Art Du Scrapbooking. 

Lulu was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with my Copic markers. She was cut out and matted with my circle Spellbinders. 

The sentiment on the inside of my card is one of five sentiments included in the Lovely Lulu Set.

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit with Valerie! Don't forget to leave comments along the way for your chance to win some great prizes. :)


Thanks so much for visiting!

Blessings,


Melanie

Kraftin' Kimmie and some of the Krafty Girls will be in Guelph this weekend...are you coming?!

Wanna hang out with Kraftin' Kimmie and the Krafty Girls this weekend??  If you live in Southwestern Ontario you can join us at the Guelph Place Banquet Hall at 425 Michener Rd in Guelph from 9am to midnight on Saturday, January 21st!!  

There is an all day crop event going on but you do NOT have to be part of the crop to come and join the fun!!!  You can shop to your inky heart's content....we'll have the newest release of Goddesses, Kitty Kapers and Lovely Lulus on hand as well as many more of our most popular stamps!!  AND some of the Krafty Girls will be teaching four different classes throughout the day!! 

For the lineup and to signup, go to this link at our website!  

 

So if you will be in the neighbourhood, make sure to join us for some Krafty fun! I've got my markers all packed up and ready to go. :)  Hope to see you there!

Blessings,

Melanie

You Make Me Quiver...Release Day Blog Hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

NOTE:  I have received word over the last couple of days that some people have been having difficulty leaving comments on my bog. My sincere apologies...I will contact Blogger to see if they can help me resolve this problem. In the meantime, some people have had luck by using a different browser...so please feel free to try that out. If not, you can always send me along an email to let me know that you've been hopping along and I will make sure your name is included in draws for any hop prizes. You can find a link to my email under my profile. :)

(If you are looking for the Tiffany Doodles Blog Hop, please click HERE!)

Good morning and welcome to release day at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! All the fabulous new stamps you've seen over the last several days of previews are now available for purchase! To celebrate, we are having a blog hop today featuring all the new stamps. As always, Kimmie will be giving away some packages of some of the new stamps to a couple of lucky stampers, so make sure to leave comments at every blog on the hop.

Make sure to start the hop over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to ensure that you visit all the blogs on the hop. If you've been tracking along, you should have arrived here after visiting Peggy Marsh's lovely blog. :)

For my card today, I used one of Annie's new Greek Goddesses. This is Artemis...isn't she fantastic?!  She also reminds me of Katniss from the Hunger Games...I love that series of books, and am really looking forward to the movie! The "You Make Me Quiver" sentiment comes with Artemis. The black border was cut with a Memory Box Die. The papers are from Authentique "Blissful".  Artemis was cut out and matted with Spellbinders Labels 18.

Artemis was stamped on Neenah and coloured with Copics.

After you finish the hop, make sure to stop by the Kraftin Kimmie Stamps Online Store where you will be able to purchase all the new January stamps!! As always, Kimmie will have the Gimmie Kimmie Kits available for a limited time.

It's now my pleasure to send you off to visit with Elaine Hughes who I know has something stunning to share with you! (and don't forget to leave comments along the way for your chance to win some of the new stamps!)

Happy hopping!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Greek Goddesses, Kraftin' Kimmie Style!!

(If you are looking for the Tiffany Doodles Blog Hop, please click HERE!)

Good morning and welcome to day three of the Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!! It's also time for our weekly challenge...this week's hostess is the lovely Nicole Aspinall who had created at fantastic Sketch for us to play along with!

Today's sneak peeks feature the newest stamps by Annie Rodrigue...this month, she has created some gorgeous Greek Goddesses!! Kimmie is also releasing a great set of Goddess Sentiments to coordinate with Annie's new stamps. For my card today, I inked up the beautiful Gaia. I paired her up with some various scraps of paper and added this fantastic sentiment by John Lennon which comes with Gaia.

Gaia was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with my Copics.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Shirt: BG0000, BG000, BG01, BG05, BG09, BV23  Skirt: E41, YG00, YG91, YG95, G99 (I know I used some greys to shade, but I forgot to record them! I believe I used some warm greys, and perhaps some BV29 and BV29) Globe: B000, B00, B02, B05, B07, B37, BV23, C7, G20, G21, G28, BV23...again, I used a few other colours for shading as well which I cannot remember. Sorry about that!! I did use a lot of tip to tip blending to try to create a smooth blend. 


Here's Nicole's fantastic sketch:

If you play along with the Sketch challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of Athena, the stamp Nicole used on her fabulous card! Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. You can check out the rest of the challenge/sneak peeks by the Krafty Girls over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog!

SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY: Make sure to hop around and leave comments for all the Krafty Girls sharing sneak peeks today because Kimmie will be drawing two lucky winners who will each win three of the new Goddess stamps!!

We hope you can join us tomorrow for the release day blog hop!

Blessings,

Melanie

It's a "Purr-fect" Day for more Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!

(If you are looking for the Tiffany Doodles Blog Hop, please scroll down or click HERE!)

Welcome to day two of the January previews at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! Today we are introducing two fantastic new sets by Emilie Goulet called "Kitty Kapers 1" and "Kitty Kapers 2". Each set features three main kitty images and several coordinating sentiments.

Being a cat lover (we have three), I immediately fell in love with Emilie's Kitty Kapers. The images are so sweet and the sentiments are just purrfect to finish off your projects. My card today features one of the main image stamps from Kitty Kapers 1...could this adorable little kitten possibly look any more content??!! I stamped him on Kraft cardstock and coloured him with my Copics. The papers are Basic Grey Papyrus.

As mentioned above, the image was stamped on Kraft cardstock. I don't colour on Kraft very often, but I really do love the effect. Unfortunately, the ink caught a reflection off my light source which I should have adjusted to avoid the glare.

Kitten: E93, E95, E97, E99, E18, E59  Branch: E50, E30, E31, E33, E37, E59  Leaves: YG00, YG03, G99

SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY: Make sure to hop around to all the Krafty Girls sharing sneak peeks today and leave them comments. (links can be found at the KKS Blog) Kimmie will be drawing two lucky winners...one will win the Kitty Kapers 1 set and the other will win Kitty Kapers 2! The winners will be announced on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog tomorrow morning.

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you can join us tomorrow for our weekly challenge and another round of sneak peeks!

Blessings,

Melanie

Tiffany Doodles Second Anniversary Blog Hop!!

(For the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps January Sneak Peeks please scroll up or click HERE!)

Good morning crafty friends and welcome to Tiffany Doodles  first blog hop of 2012! I was recently contacted by Jessica Griffin, who invited me to be a guest for today's hop to help celebrate the second anniversary of Tiffany Doodles! Tiffany Doodles is an online store offering a wide variety of fun digital stamps to meet all your crafty needs!

You're going to find lots of inspiration along the way, from several talented ladies. Be sure to leave each of them a comment by Sunday the 15th for your chance to win a digital image! That's 19 chances to win! All winners will be announced on the Tiffany Doodles blog Wednesday January 18th.

If you've arrived from Jessica Griffin's lovely blog you're in the right place! If this is your first stop, please go back to Jessica's blog so you don't miss anything!

For my card today, I used "2 Butterflies". I printed this beautiful digital image on Neenah cardstock and coloured it with Copics. The image was cut out with Spellbinders Circles and matted with Lacey Circles. The papers are from Basic Grey (Picadilly) and My Mind's Eye. To finish it off, I added a bow tied with my Bow Easy. 

I hope you're feeling inspired! Before you hop over to Laurel Seabrook's blog, remember to leave a comment for your chance to win! Tiffany is giving away the entire January release and all you have to do is create a card or project using a Tiffany Doodles image, blog about it, and add your name to in linkz tool which can be found on Tiffany's blog. On January 18th the DT will pick one person to win the entire January release!

If you're on Facebook, make sure to "Like" the Tiffany Doodles page for special deals and giveaways!

I just wanted to say a quick thanks to Tiffany and to Jessica for inviting me to be part of the Tiffany Doodles blog hop today...I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to join all the talented ladies on today's hop. :)

Thanks for hopping along with us, we look forward to seeing your creations!

Blessings,

Melanie

Who's ready for the first Kraftin' Kimmie release of 2012?!

Good morning and welcome to round one of the January 2012 sneak peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! The release day is this Sunday, but over the next three days (including during our weekly challenge on Saturday) you can catch some fabulous sneak peeks over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog! Each day, we will feature new stamps by one of the talented Krafty Artists so that you can have your wish list all ready to go come Sunday. :)

Today we are introducing a fabulous set by Cheryl Alger called the "Lovely Lulu Set". (These will only be sold as a complete set.) I fell in love with this cute little tyke the second I laid eyes on her. The set includes three main image stamps and several coordinating sentiments. For my card today I used the stamp of Lulu and her teddy in the tub...how adorable are they??!! I paired them up with some pretty My Minds Eye Madison Ave papers, cut a couple of layers with Spellbinders Labels 18 (a Christmas gift from by best friend Amanda!!), added a bow tied with my Bow Easy and a button. The paper edges were all sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20  Hair and bear: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Tub: C00, C1, C3, BV31, BV23, C5  Bows: RV000, R81, R83, R85, R89  Bubbles: RV000, B000, BG10, YG11

On the inside of the card, I used one of the sentiments included in the "Lovely Lulu" set.

SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY:  Sneak peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps are always accompanied by blog candy! To be eligible, all you need to do is hop around and leave comments for every Krafty Girl who is sharing a sneak peek today. A complete list of links to their blogs can be found at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, which is where Kimmie will announce the winner the following day. One lucky stamper will win today's prize, the complete "Lovely Lulu" set by Cheryl Alger!! Good luck!

Thanks for stopping by, and hope to see you tomorrow. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Time to "Shape Up" at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

Welcome to the first challenge of 2012 at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! Before I get to the details of the challenge, I want to extend a very warm welcome to our new Krafty Girls:

• Sharon Caudle
• Alice Wertz
• Amanda Reed
• Sandie Dunne
• Cheryl Valadez
• Jenny Peterson

We're thrilled to have these talented ladies joining us!

Our challenge this week is brought to us by newcomer Sharon Caudle...she wants us to "Shape Up" by using at least three different shapes on your card or project. (Oh, and Sharon says your card shape can count as one!)

I used "Eva" on my card today...I wish I looked this fabulous when shoveling snow! lol  We've actually had next to no white stuff this year, which is very disappointing as my family loves the snow. I used some pretty papers from Bo Bunny that I picked up on clearance last year at a local store. (wishing now that I had picked up a few more sheets!) I also broke out a Spellbinders set (a Christmas gift from my best friend Amanda Butler!) and some of my newest Memory Box Dies. That gorgeous Snowflake and Frosty Border were just perfect for Eva and this snowy paper. I absolutely love this line of dies and they are fast becoming one of my favourite tools. The "Baby, it's cold outside!" sentiment comes with Eva.

Eva was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I enlarged her pupils a little with my Copic multiliner, added in a few lashes and gave her some baby blue irises. Um, I intended for her earmuffs to look kind of furry and fluffy but my technique was sorely lacking. lol Pink and I just don't get along, but I'm determined to get better with that colour! I originally coloured her coat a light beige,but it really didn't suit these blue and white papers, so I went over it with a few green markers just before adhering her to the card. All paper edges with inked with Stormy Sky Distress Ink.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Pants: B91, B93, B95, B99, BV29, C7  Coat: originally done in E50, E43, E47 and then covered in G21 and G99  Muffs: RV000, R81, R83, R85, R89

I hope you plan to join in with our first challenge of 2012! If you play along, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Sharon's fantastic card. Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. :) To see all the ship shape projects by the Krafty Girls, please make sure to pop by the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Your visit is much appreciated!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Ringing in 2012 with SCACD!

Happy New Year to all!! I hope you had a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends and wonderful memory-building moments. :)  I've been kickin' back and taking it easy after a few very busy months leading up to the holidays. Even though I was on a little blog vacation, I did have the opportunity to get some colouring done, and am happy to stay that for once I'm actually slightly ahead of schedule! (although, I'm sure that won't last long, lol)

Today, we're ringing in the New Year at SCACD!! Susana is open for business today after a well-deserved Christmas holiday. Many of the SCACD design team members have projects to share today featuring many of the fantastic products and stamp lines available at SCACD...you can find links to their personal blogs at the Store Blog.

My card today features "Peace" from "The Ends Sampler", and SCACD exclusive collection by Elisabeth Bell. I'm pretty sure the paper I used is no longer in stock, but Susana has a fantastic selection of 6x6 paper pads available HERE, and her prices are very pocketbook friendly. :) The bow was tied with my Bow Easy. See that pretty vine border?? That was created with one of my brand new Memory Box Dies, "Delicate Vine". I absolutely LOVE the Memory Box Dies, and Susana has a great selection of them HERE. They are quickly becoming a favourite tool of mine, and I plan to continue adding to my collection. :)

"Peace" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics and ShinHan markers. I have only three of these markers for now as I thought it would be fun to give them a whirl. I used them for her shirt...what do you think? They do colour quite nicely. I found them to blend easily and give a lovely vibrant result. I'd love to play around with a few more colour combos at some point. However, I have NO intention of replacing my beloved Copics!! It's always fun to try new products that enhance your present arsenal of tools...because the ShinHans are alcohol based markers, they will work with your Copics. The rest of the image was coloured with Copics.

COPICS: 
Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20, BV31  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Pants: B21, B32, B34, B37, B39, C7, BV31, BV23  
SHINHANS:  Shirt: R11, R13, BR94

Make sure to spend a few minutes browsing around SCACD to check out all the new products Susana has added. Here's a little teaser:

• New Paper (KaiserCraft, Crate Paper and Fancy Pants just to name a few!!)
• New Adhesive 
• Memory Box Dies
• Craft Concepts Embossing Folders
• Cuttlebug Embossing Folders

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie