Elania

Good afternoon! I have a card to share with you today featuring one of the recently released stamps from the "New Adventures of Loli and Poppy" collection by Sylvia Zet available exclusively at SCACD. This is Elania. I love mermaids, and have been looking forward to colouring this image up since I first saw her! She was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with my Copics. I used some older Prima papers for this card, but you can check out the fabulous selection of paper available at SCACD HERE. A border punch was used to create the decorative edge. The flourish was created with the Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork die. The bow was tied with my Bow Easy and I added a little seashell charm. Susana has some fabulous charms HERE.

The image was cut out and matted with oval and scalloped oval Spellbinders. After colouring her tail, I coated it with Smooch Illuminate and added a very thin layer of Stardust Stickles which I spread with my finger.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95, R02  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Tail: YG00, YG03, YG11, BG01, BG05, BG09, C7  Shells: R30, R32, R35, E17, E18  Snail: E13, E17, E18  Water: Colourless Blender, BG0000, BG000, BG01, BG05

Wondering what's new at SCACD this week?? Take a peek:

• New 6x6 paper pads from Echo Park and Best Creations HERE
• LaBlanche Silicon Stamps 
• Claudine Hellmuth Studio Set 
• FaberCastell Gelatos (you'll have to scroll down the page a bit)

SCACD carries a wonderful variety of products for stampers and scrapbookers, but Susana also has many products perfect for those of you interested in mixed media and other artistic mediums. Make sure to grab a cup of coffee or tea and settle in to take a good look around the store to see what treasures will be on your wish list...or in your shopping cart.  :)  

Oh, and coming very soon to SCACD are the ShinHan Touch Twin Markers!! Stay tuned to the Store Blog to keep up to date with all the new arrivals at SCACD. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!!

Blessings, 

Melanie

Bear Hugs

Good morning friends! I am finally starting to notice some significant improvements in the injury from volleyball three weeks ago. For those of you who don't know, I sustained a tear to my left calf during a game. One week later, the pain and swelling were getting worse so I went up to emerg where they gave me something stronger for the pain (thank goodness!) and they also booked a venous doppler. Good news was that there were no blood clots, but the bad news was that I apparently had a Baker's cyst that ruptured which was contributing to the pain and swelling. Nice. I ended up on crutches for a several days to try to help me get around a bit. For two weeks, I could hardly walk...it was ridiculous. The swelling finally subsided about sixteen days after the initial injury and since then, I have continued to notice daily improvements. I am still walking with a bit of a limp and there is still some localized swelling around the calf muscle itself...but I no longer have a tree trunk for a lower leg! Lol...seriously, it was like one big cankle from the knee down to my toes. Oh, and the bruising?? It was NOT pretty. I still have several weeks to go for a full recovery. The back of my leg is really tight and uncomfortable still while walking, and periodically it spasms which is not much fun at all, but I am definitely on the mend! Not sure yet if I will make it back on the volleyball court this season, but I am keeping my fingers crossed! To be honest, it is the first time I've been kind of scared to set foot back on the court after an injury. This was a doozy, and I do NOT want it to happen ever again. I do have to say that I am incredibly grateful for a wonderful family who has taken such good care of me while I have been limited in my activity. My husband already does his fair share of the household duties, but during this time he has also picked up my slack without complaint. He and the kids have been so sweet and attentive, always asking if I need help with anything. My mom and my in laws have also been ready to lend a hand whenever needed. My best friend Amanda treated us to a lasagna for dinner one evening...so sweet of her. What a huge blessing my family and friends have been. I thank God for the amazing people he has put in my life. :)

Well, it's time for another weekly challenge at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp Blog! Our hostess this week is the lovely Pam Varnell who has created a fantastic sketch for us to play along with.

I inked up one of the stamps from the "Lulu and Friends" set that was released last weekend. Cheryl Alger has done such a fantastic job with this line of stamps. Lulu is absolutely adorable and so much fun to colour up. :)  This is probably my favourite image from this set. I paired her up with some papers from MME. The fun flower and flourish were created with some MFT dies. ( The flower die was a gift from a Krafty friends..a huge THANK YOU to Kerry Johnson for the flower die!! I love it!) I also used a Martha Stewart border punch, a bit of ribbon, a flat backed pearl to centre the flower and a Viva Decor Pearl Pen to create the tiny pearls. Oh, and the edges of the papers were all sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

The image was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copics. To create the furry texture on the bear, I laid down my ink layers in little "squiggles". I used my lightest colour (E50) to blend the layers by "pouncing" my marker over the ink. I didn't want to blend out the strokes, but I did want to soften them ever so slightly. I also totally picked the wrong blue combo for these papers. sigh. It's way too vibrant. I thought it looked ok until I saw the picture on my computer screen. And I probably should have made the bunny slippers creamy instead of white. Oh well, hindsight is always 20/20, right?? lol

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R02  Hair: E50, YR31,  E19, E35, E37, E59, E97, E99 PJ's: BG0000, BG000, B91, B97, C5, C7, YG91, BG93, BG96, G99 Slippers: C00, C1, C3, C5, B60  Bear: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59

Have you stopped by the KKS Blog to see what the other Krafty Girls have created this week? Make sure to take note of the stamp Pam used on her gorgeous card because that's the stamp one lucky participant will win this week! Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project to be eligible.

The February Gimmie Kimmie Kits are still available, but only for a limited time! Make sure to order yours before they disappear.

Oh, and don't forget to check out this week's Frugal Friday sale! This week's selected 40% off stamps will be on sale until Sunday night, so make sure to order quickly!

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

Blessings,

Melanie

Kraftin' Kimmie Release Day...."Tweets and Twitters"

Good morning and welcome to release day at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! As always, we are celebrating release day with a fun blog hop. Available for purchase today are the In Stitches Set, the Lulu and Friends Set by Cheryl Alger, two Tweets and Twitters sets by Emilie Goulet and six new Superheroes by Annie Rodrigue!

The hop starts at the KKS Blog where you will find a complete list of links to all the blogs on today's hop. As you hop along,  make sure to leave comments at each blog as Kimmie will be drawing some lucky winners who will receive packages of some of the new stamps!

If you have been following along the hop, you should have arrived here after visiting with one of our very talented Krafty Artists, Emilie Goulet. :)

Speaking of Emilie and her artistic talents, I have used one of her brand new stamps from the Tweets and Twitters 2 set on my card today. Isn't this peacock gorgeous??? This set includes three bird stamps and six coordinating sentiments. I decided to stamp the image on kraft cardstock and coloured it with my Copics. The papers are Prima's Printery. I also added some pretty ribbon, centred the bow with a dollar store earring and a few rhinestones. All of the brown stitching on my card was created with the new In Stitches set! This is such a fantastic set to reach for to add that finishing touch to your projects. I love adding stitching to my cards and this offers a very nice alternative to pulling out a bulky machine. :) The set includes a zig zag stitch, a straight stitch and a cross stitch, and each comes in two sizes for a total of six stitches! It also includes four sewing themed sentiments.

Here's a shot of the inside where I used one of the sentiment included in the Tweets and Twitters 2 set. I also added more faux stitching with the In Stitches set.

When you are done hopping today, make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store as all the new February stamps are now available for purchase!! As always, Kimmie will have the Gimmie Kimmie Kits available for a limited time. These kits are grouped together by artist and are offered at a discount for those stampers who just have to have it all. ;)

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit with the lovely and talented Kerry Johnson...I know she has something gorgeous to share with you! Oh, and don't forget to leave those comments for your chance to win some new February stamps!

Thanks for joining us, and I hope you have a wonderful day. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Gadget Girl

Good morning and welcome to a double-your-fun day at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog! Not only do we have a brand new challenge for you, but the Krafty Girls are also sharing sneak peeks of the new February stamps by Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue! These stamps, along with all the others we have been previewing this past week, will be available for purchase tomorrow! Annie has designed a fantastic collection of Super Heroes this month!

The amazingly talented Michele Boyer is our hostess this week! She has come up with a fabulous sketch for us to play along with.

I'd like to introduce you to Gadget Girl...I love her! Admit it...you probably have at least one techy device on you when you leave the house right?? Be it cell phones, ipods, ereaders, tablets or laptops, we are definitely living in a gadget-loving society! Gadget Girl is not only technologically savy, but she is totally rockin' that incredible super hero getup. The papers are Basic Grey "Little Black Dress".  Both her ottoman and her body suit were paper-pieced. I added a flourish created with an MFT die and some rhinestone accents. The sentiment comes with Gadget Girl.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R02  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Shading on paper-pieced areas: E40, E43, E47, E59, BV29

Make sure to hop on over to the KKS Blog to see what the other Krafty Girls have created for this week's sketch challenge. If you play along and use a KKS on your project, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Michele's gorgeous card!

BLOG CANDY: Make sure to visit each Krafty Girl sharing a sneak peek today and leave them comments on their personal blogs because Kimmie will be drawing TWO lucky winners who will each win three of Annie's new Super Hero stamps...good luck!

Thanks for stopping by! Oh, and don't forget to join us tomorrow for the Kraftin' Kimmie release day blog hop. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Loves Me

Good morning! I wanted to share a card with you featuring one of the recently released "Fairylicious" stamps by Victoria Case for SCACD. These stamps are available exclusively at SCACD. Victoria did such a great job creating these gorgeous fairies. They are so versatile and can be used for so many different occasions.

This pretty little fairy is called "Loves Me".   I paired her up with some pretty My Mind's Eye Vanity Fair papers. The horizontal teal paper was embossed with the Hedged Maze folder from Couture Creations. It was then lightly sanded and sponged with a bit of ink to highlight the embossing. The pearls were created with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen. The die cut border was created with the Memory Box Delicate Vine die...this die has quickly become a favourite of mine. Her wings were coated with Stardust Stickles.

In stock now at SCACD is ScraPerfect's Best Cleaner Ever...make sure to check out the video Susana has linked up for this amazing cleaner! It is definitely on my shopping list for my next order along with ScraPerfect's Best Glue Ever. I have heard such great reviews on both these products and cannot wait to get my hands on them. :)  Susana also has some brand new gorgeous Bo Bunny 6x6 paper pads.

For more new arrivals at SCACD, please make sure to check out THIS post.

Thanks for visiting my blog! I hope you have a wonderful day. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Copic Colouring Guide 2: Nature (and a big secret I've been holding on to!!)

Good afternoon folks! Did you hear the buzz about the newest Copic Coloring Guide to hit the shelves by Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker?? This book is Level 2 and it's all about Nature. Marianne and Colleen have included a CD with all of the images that were used in the tutorial section so that readers can print out their own images and practice along! There is more focus on specific "how to colour" techniques in this book. Included topics are colouring things from black and white objects, to flowers and foliage, to ground and sky along with many others. This book is FULL of fantastic tips to help you progress along your colouring journey. :)  The projects are shown larger with more detailed colouring instructions so readers can easily recreate the look.  The card assembly instructions have been removed from the book to give more space for colouring instructions. No worries though! The full coloring and assembly instructions for each project on the CD. The book is now available for ordering at Annie's Attic!!

Ok, now for my big SECRET...I have a project in the new Copic Coloring Guide!! That's right...one of my cards is being published! Oh my goodness, I have been sitting on this secret for soooo long and have been dying to share it! I am so honoured to be included among the other fantastically talented designers who also have projects in this book. That's all I can give away for now though...you'll have to stay tuned for further information on the specific projects each designer has in the book. ;) 

I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of this project, and want to thank both Colleen and Marianne for the opportunity. :)  I know that both these ladies have poured so much into the creation of this book, and I want to congratulate them on its launch. I know it is going to be a HUGE success, just like the first guide. :)

Ok, and now for a peek at the gorgeous cover of the Copic Colouring Guide 2!! 

Make sure to order your's soon!

Blessings!

Melanie 

Lulu and Friends (Day Two of the Kraftin' Kimmie Peeks!)

Howdy folks and welcome to another round of sneak peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! Today, the Krafty Girls are sharing projects featuring a brand new Lulu set by Cheryl Alger called "Lulu and Friends"! Lulu has become quite popular, and it's no wonder...she's absolutely adorable. :)  This set included three main image stamps and six coordinating sentiments.

This is one of the three Lulu stamps you will receive in the set. Isn't she cute?! And just take a look at that cute little froggie friend of hers. :)  The paper on my card is from My Minds Eye Quite Contrary...there are so many rain themed papers in this pad that were just perfect for this stamp! Her umbrella was paper-pieced with the MME paper. The image was cut out and matted with some circle and Lacey Circles Spellbinders. The sentiment is included in the set.

BLOG CANDY: Make sure to visit all the Krafty Girls sharing sneak peeks today and leave comments on their individual blogs. Kimmie will be drawing one lucky winner who will receive the complete "Lulu and Friends Set"! You can find a list of links to their blogs over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, which is where Kimmie will announce the winner tomorrow morning. Good luck!


Thanks for stopping by!


Blessings, 


Melanie

"Sew" Excited to Kick Off the February Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!!

Good morning friends! It's been a little while since I posted. I've been nursing an injury to my leg that turned out to be worse than originally thought...and much more painful that I anticipated. :(  I'm still hobbling around like I have a peg leg...thinking I should wear an eye patch and start using phrases like "arrrgh", lol. I've had to resort to crutches on and off to help me move around a little easier. I am starting to have some small improvements, but still experiencing quite a bit of discomfort and swelling. I just wanted to say thanks to all my lovely friends out there who sent along well-wishes...your kind thoughts and words have been much appreciated!

Enough of that. We have much happier things to talk about today...we're kicking off the February 2012 sneak peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! We will be sharing daily sneak peeks over at the KKS Blog leading up to the release day on Sunday. Oh, and did I mention there is BLOG CANDY being given away each day??

Today, the Krafty Girls are sharing projects made with the brand new "In Stitches Set". This set includes a fantastic selection of six "stitches" in different sizes and four coordinating sentiments. I absolutely love adding stitching to my cards, but it can be quite time consuming to pull out my big machine, so this set is a fantastic alternative! On most of my paper panels, I used the smaller straight stitch stamp. I also used the small cross stitch stamp on the horizontal pink panel. The stitches and sentiment were all stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento Ink. The papers are from MME Madison Ave. I thought the design paper with the dress form and sewing machine were perfect for the In Stitches Set. I also used a pretty Kaisercraft wooden heart as an embellishment. It was first painted with an ivory acrylic craft paint. I stamped a pretty flourish design from Impression Obsession in Walnut Stain Distress Ink after the paint was dry. That was followed by applying some Spun Sugar Distress Ink with a make-up sponge and finally I used the brown ink to sponge around the edges. For finishing touches, I added a couple of snippets of crocheted trim and a few pearls created with a Viva Decor pen.

BLOG CANDY: Make sure to visit all the Krafty Girls sharing sneak peeks today and leave comments on their individual blogs. Kimmie will be drawing one lucky winner who will receive the complete "In Stitches" Set! You can find a list of links to their blogs over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, which is where Kimmie will announce the winner tomorrow morning. Good luck!

LIVE DRAWING DEMONSTRATION BY ANNIE RODRIGUE!!

Yes you read that right!! Annie is going to show us her creative process live!! She will show us how she brings a character to life from start to finish. I had the pleasure of meeting Annie at our Krafty Day last fall, and was able to watch her work her magic there...she is so sweet and off the charts talented! This is one event you do not want to miss. It will all happen tonight from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm !! You can join in the live video feed HERE. You can also read more about it on Annie's Facebook page HERE. See you there!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you tomorrow for another sneak peek. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Fantastic New Finds at SCACD!

Hey friends! I've been kind of MIA on my blog due to an injury that has required me to take a bit of time off from my regular activities...other than work. :(  However, I have been getting back to my craft room and am gearing up for a busy week of posting! I will be sharing a card later this week featuring one of the newly released stamps from the "Fairylicious" collection available exclusively at SCACD. In the meantime, I hope you have been keeping up to date with the creative endeavors of the talented SCACD design team members over at the Store Blog.

Although I don't have a card for today, I though I would be a total enabler and let you know about some of the great new arrivals at SCACD!! Take a look:

• New My Mind's Eye 6x6 paper pads (several of these are on my "must have" list!...and such a bargain at $5.99 USD)
• New Teresa Collins paper pads: 6x6 can be found HERE and 8x8 can be found HERE.
• My Mind's Eye Pins
• Prickly Pear Stamps and Dies
• My Mind's Eye and Teresa Collins Clear Stamps
• Crafter's Workshop Templates

Happy shopping! 

Melanie

Happy Birthday To Miss Kraftin' Kimmie!!!

Good morning and happy Saturday folks!! Did you all hear that Miss Kimmie celebrated her birthday yesterday??!! She is also playing hostess for the weekly challenge, and she wants to see Birthday Themed projects!! 

I actually do not have a card to share today. :(  I had full intentions of participating, but I had a bit of a glitch come up this week. I play in a volleyball league every Thursday. This week I showed up at our game, stretched, warmed up with my team and started playing. First game went well. However, half way through our second game something "POPPED" in my left calf when I lunged for the ball. It felt like somebody punched me in the back of the leg and I couldn't step on it, so I immediately hopped off the court. I spent the rest of the games on the bench in quite a bit of discomfort. I went home and iced it.  I figured that I probably pulled or tore something...which my doctor confirmed Friday morning. She said I definitely tore some muscle fibres. I'm not moving around very easily...I can walk, but with a terrible limp. So I gave up on crafting to park myself in bed with my leg elevated while I continued to apply ice. While it was not a complete tear, it sure was enough to cause quite a bit of pain. I'll be off volleyball for at least four to six weeks...not that I have any intention of trying to get back on the court anytime soon. lol  I can hardly even hobble across the room! 

Despite not joining in with my fellow Krafty Girls, I wanted to encourage all of you to play along with the challenge this week! Make sure to pop over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to check out their gorgeous Birthday cards. If you play along, you could win the stamp seen Kimmie's fabulous card!

SALE ALERT!! To celebrate her birthday, Kimmie is running an amazing Birthday Sale this weekend!! It ends Sunday, so don't miss out on the great deals! You can read all about the Birthday Sale HERE.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend folks! I'm off to ice my leg, lol.

Blessings, 

Melanie

It's a Double Release Day at SCACD!!

Good morning crafty friends and welcome to release day at SCACD!! Susana is releasing two collections of exclusive SCACD stamps, "Fairylicious" by Victoria Case and "The New Adventures of Loli and Poppy" by Sylvia Zet! The stamps in both collections are absolutely gorgeous and I know many, if not all, will be making their way onto your wish list. :)

To celebrate today's release, we are having a blog hop! If you arrived here after visiting with one of our lovely guests, Wendy, then you are right on track. If not, just pop on over to the beginning of the hop at Danni's blog where all the fun begins.

I have two cards to share with you today. Up first is a card featuring one of the stamps from "The New Adventures of Loli and Poppy". This pretty little hippy-chick is "Give Peace a Chance". I absolutely adore her! The papers on this card are from My Mind's Eye. For finishing touches, I added a few pearls and a flourish created with my Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork Die...I'm just a wee bit fond of my Memory Box Dies! These dies tend to fly off the SCACD shelves, so make sure to grab your favourites as soon as you see them in the store...you can find them all HERE.

Give Peace a Chance was stamped on Neenah with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. She was predominantly coloured with Copics. The exception would be her blouse for which I used three ShinHan markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R02  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Jeans: BG0000, B32, B34, B37, B39, BV29, C5  Blouse: ShinHan Markers R11, R13 and BR94 Hair flower: R30, R32, R35, R37, R89  Large Flower: BV31, BV23, C00, C3, C5, colourless blender  Flower Centres: E50, Y21, Y26, E13, E17, E18 Stem: YG00, YG03, G85, G99

My second card features one of the stamps from "Fairylicious". These stamps have such a whimsical charm and are so much fun to create with. This is "Fairy Good Hair Day". I pulled out some older My Mind's Eye paper for this one. Although Susana does not have this particular pad in stock anymore, she has a fantastic selection of 6x6 paper pads HERE. The cute little chipboard dragonflies are Make It Crafty Chipboard. They were coloured with Copics and then coated with a Viva Decor Magic Pearl Pen. The little vine in the corner was created by using the "Savannah Border" Memory Box Die. I just snipped it apart and rearranged the pieces to fit in the corner. I tied a double bow with the help of my Bow Easy and centred it with a rhinestone.

Fairy Good Hair Day was also stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I used some Startdust Stickles on the fairy wings and on the detail work on the mantis. Unfortunately I was a little heavy handed with the Stickles and it ended up concealing some of the pretty design. I sponged in the sky with Memento Summer Sky. The image was cut out and matted with Spellbinders Labels 8.

 (Sorry...I'll try to pop on later to update my post with a Copic colour list for this image)

All of the new "Fairylicious" and "New Adventures of Loli and Poppy" stamps are available to purchase exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for all of our international friends. They stamps are available for individal purchase or you can purchase them as complete sets by artist. While you are checking out the new stamps, make sure to take a bit of time to browse around SCACD to see all the fantastic products Susana has in stock.

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit with the lovely Crystal!

Thanks so much for joining us today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

More SCACD sneak peeks and blog candy!

SCACD is having a huge release tomorrow featuring brand new stamps by two of the SCACD artists!! To give you a little taste of what you can expect, we've got a few sneak peeks to share with you today. Please make sure to stop by the Store Blog for all the details about tomorrow's release. Sharing some gorgeous sneak peeks today are:

• Lorraine
• Crystal
• Dianne

BLOG CANDY: While hopping around to visit our lovely designers who are sharing sneak peeks, make sure to leave them comments on their personal blogs. The ladies will each draw one lucky winner tonight! You will have until 9:00 pm EST tonight to enter. Good luck!

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

Blessings, 

Melanie

SCACD Sneak Peeks and Blog Candy Start Today!!

Good morning crafty friends! Have you heard the exciting news?? There is a HUGE release coming this Friday to SCACD, and it will be featuring exclusive stamps by TWO of the fabulous SCACD artists!  Make sure to pop on over to the SCACD store blog for all the details surrounding the big February 2012 release.

Rather than keep you in suspense until Friday, we thought we'd share a few sneak peeks with you to give you a taste of what you can expect. Sharing sneak peeks today are Kim and Danni, so make sure to stop by their blogs to check out their gorgeous creations! Oh, and make sure to leave them comments on their blogs as there will be BLOG CANDY up for grabs! Each designer will draw one lucky winner from all their comments and post the name by 9:00 pm EST tonight...good luck!! (full details can be found at the Store Blog)

There will be more sneak peeks and blog candy tomorrow followed by our release day blog hop on Friday, so make sure to stay tuned to the SCACD Store Blog to keep up to date on all the excitement. :)

Blessings,

Melanie