Quick Craft Ideas

Happy Saturday to all my crafty friends out there! I though I'd pop on with a couple of craft quickies. If your schedule is anything like mine, you probably have to squeeze your crafty moments in whenever you can. I am typically a slow crafter, so most of my cards are done over several sessions between colouring, choosing embellishments, deciding on a layout, cutting and assembling...it's quite the process!

As much as I love making detailed cards and projects, sometimes it nice to pull out a minimal number of products and tools and finish off a project in a relatively short time period. I have a few such projects to share with you today that use some Viva Decor products available at SCACD. They are super easy and quick to create...although they will require a bit of drying time.

First up is a little "treasure box". This is just a cheap wooden box I picked up at my local dollar store. Using a stencil I've had kicking around for a while, I applied some Viva Decor Crystal Gel with a palate knife to the box. Susana has a fantastic assortment of Stencils in stock at SCACD. The Crystal Gel is a fun product that dries clear and holds it's dimension so it's perfect for adding texture to all sorts of surfaces. After allowing the gel to dry completely, I applied some brown acrylic craft paint to the box. I wasn't terribly neat with the application as I wanted it to have a kind of "antiqued" look. I also used a rag to help rub the paint into the wood and to buff it off of the gel. I also added a few rhinestones for just a bit of bling. :) The pearls were made with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen.

While I had the Crystal Gel and stencils out, I looked around for something else I could play with. I had a few kraft envelopes sitting on my desk, so I pulled them over. Again, I used a stencil and applied the gel with a palate knife.

After the gel was dry, I sponged brown ink on the first envelope to highlight the pattern and added some brown pearls with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen.

For the next envelope, I coloured the dried gel with my Copics, sponged around the edges with brown ink, added little groupings of pearls with the Viva Decor Pearl Pen and topped it off with a little rhinestone at the bottom. I really love my Viva Decor Pearl Pens. They really are a fantastic money saver as you can get so many pearls from just one pen. I use my brown one a lot, and I've hardly made a dent in it! I also love that you can customize the size of your pearls. As you can see in the envelope below, I was able to make pearls of assorted sizes.

Again, these are some old stencils I had kicking around...they were quite flimsy self adhesive ones that tore after I was done with them, lol. If I had been patient, I would have waited until my GOOD stencils arrived from SCACD. However, I am not patient and I wanted to play with my Crystal Gel! lol  I have since purchased some stencils and am looking forward to putting them to use in future projects. I really hadn't thought much about using stencils in my projects until recently. They are so versatile and can be used with so many different mediums like paint, ink, sprays, gels, markers, modelling paste...the possibilities really are only as limited as your imagination. :)  You can find Susana's stencils here HERE.

So those were my Saturday craft quickies.  They were fun and easy to create...and they allowed me to get messy with some great art products, which I love to do. :)

Don't forget to check out the newest Susana Loves Stamps release...these stamps are beautiful! Susana has also been busy adding many great new products to the store. Remember, Susana also carries a ton of products for all you mixed media fans! From canvases, to stencils, to tags, to paints, to sprays...she's got you covered! She recently brought in some fabulous Dylusions products which look incredible! The Luminarte products are also a beautiful line that work well with both traditional paper crafts and canvas art. So grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take a good look around SCACD...nothing better than shopping in your jammies with a hot coffee in hand. ;)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Melanie

"Susana Loves Stamps" Release Day at SCACD!!

Good morning and welcome to the release day blog hop for SCACD!! We are celebrating the release of two brand new exclusive collections from the "Susana Loves Stamps" line at SCACD, "Eyes of Beauty" and "Eyes of Dreams". The stamps are now available for purchase as complete collections or as individual stamps. When purchasing the complete collections, you will also receive a bonus accessory stamp! Our international crafty friends can purchase them at  Quixotic Paperie .

Today's hop is full of inspiration from the SCACD design team as well as some special guests designers. I know we have all had a lot of fun creating with these gorgeous new stamps. :) To ensure that you hit every blog on today's hop, make sure to start the hop at Danni 's blog. If you have been travelling along in order, you will have arrived here after visiting with one of our lovely guests, Angela Wood.

My card today features the lovely "Mariposa Eyes" from the "Eyes of Dreams" collection. The pretty papers are Prima Nature Garden. The chipboard corner embellishments are Make It Crafty Ornate Corners. I also had a chance to play with my new Vivienne Butterfly Die from Memory Box. The flourish is also a Memory Box Die, "Elegant Scrollwork".

"Mariposa Eyes" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Her dress was paper-pieced with the Prima paper and shaded with Copics. I absolutely adore the eyes on these stamps...they are so pretty!

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95  Hair: E50, Y21, Y26, E33, E35, E37

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit with another one of our talented guests, Mary Johnson.

Have fun on the hop, and make sure to stop by SCACD afterwards to do a little shopping. You can find the new stamps HERE. You can also take a peek around the store to see all the wonderful new products Susana has brought in recently. No matter what your artistic style might be, Susana definitely has products to suit your specific needs. :)

Happy hopping and shopping folks!

Blessings,

Melanie

Last Day of Sneak Peeks at SCACD...and Blog Candy!

(If you are looking for the sneak peeks of the Kraftin' Kimmie Klubhouse Kit, just scroll down or click HERE!)

Hi friends! Just popping on quickly to let you know that two of the talented designers at SCACD are sharing sneak peeks for the upcoming release of the two new collections from the "Susana Loves Stamps" line, "Eyes of Beauty" and "Eyes of Dreams".

Make sure visit:

• Danni
• Dianne

Don't forget to leave comments on their blogs for your chance to win some blog candy! Susana will be giving away a stamp of her choice to one lucky winner. You have until 9:00 pm EST tonight to leave comments on their blogs as the winner will be announced at the SCACD Store Blog by around 9:30 EST tonight. Good luck!

I hope you can join us for our release day blog hop tomorrow! :)

Blessings,

Melanie

"Going Places" Sneak Peek for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!

Hi folks! Have you all heard about the Kraftin' Kimmie's Klubhouse?? If you are a Kraftin' Kimmie fan, you will definitely want to get in on the fun. (full details on the Klubhouse Kits can be found by clicking on the link above)

The first Klubhouse kit called "Going Places" will be released tomorrow, but in the meantime some of the Krafty Girls are sharing sneak peeks of the three images today! You can pop over to the KKS Blog for links to all their blogs.

I'm sharing a preview of the Motorcycle Girl girl from the "Going Places" set...isn't she fabulous??? I love how she's rockin' the entire biker outfit! I used some scrap papers I've had kicking around for a while and layered her on a few different Spellbinders. (circles, Lacey Circles and Labels 8) The sentiment is included in the Going Places Klubhouse Kit.

The image was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Unfortunately, most of my cool gray markers are almost bone dry...gotta get some refills! But as I wanted the tires and her outfit to be black, I had to make do with the only two grays that still had some ink: C5 and C9. I used a lot of tip to tip blending, but it is lacking a bit in range. I think that even a bit of C3 would have done the trick. I really do have to get those other markers filled!

Skin: E000, E00, E11  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Reds: R22, R27, R46, E59, C9  Blacks: C5, C9  Glass: BV31, BV23, blender

To see the rest of today's previews by the fabulous Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests, pop on over to the KKS Blog.

Kimmie is celebrating tomorrow's release of the first Kraftin' Kimmie Klubhouse kit with a blog hop...make sure to check out the KKS Blog for all the details tomorrow!

Blessings,

Melanie

SCACD Sneak Peeks and Blog Candy..."Classic Eyes"

Hi folks! Did you hear the buzz?? There's a new exclusive release coming to SCACD this Friday!! It's called "Susana Loves Stamps" and there will be two collections available. Here's a word from Susana about these new stamps:

We are thrilled to bring you 2 new collections that will capture your hearts through the eyes of these Beauties!!! I am changing things up by launching some new "branding" for SCACD in this case, Susana Loves Stamps. To be clear it does not mean I personally designed what you are seeing but I did have a part in bringing it forward. Look out for more Susana Loves projects in the works!!!

Eyes of Dreams Collection has 4 stamps and 1 bonus stamp only available when you buy the complete set, plus a sweet discount when you buy the entire set.

Eyes of Beauty Collection has 4 stamps and 1 bonus stamp only available when you buy the complete set, plus a sweet discount when you buy the entire set.

It's my pleasure to introduce you to "Classic Eyes" from the Eyes of Dreams Collection...isn't she gorgeous?? I think she has a bit of a greek goddess vibe with her pretty updo and all that draped fabric. :) The other day, I posted some Bitty Boxes that I had painted with several of the fantastic new Luminarte products from SCACD. I had been working on my non-stick craft mat and rather than wasting the product that was left over, I reached for an Inksentials Manilla Tag and used it to blot up the excess Silks and Micas. This created a fun mottled background. I spritzed it with water from my Mini Mister and blotted it to soften the effect. I then began layer some additional Silks in Honey Amber and Coral Berry applied with a palate knife. I also mixed some Solar Gold Mica with water and gum arabic in a Mini Mister to create a glitter spray and spritzed that over the entire tag. After it was dry, the tag was run through my Cuttlebug with the Hedged Maze embossing folder from Couture Creations and then the edges were sponged with brown ink. I happened to have some old scraps from a glittery paper collection that coordinated perfectly with the colour of my tag, so I sponged them up with brown ink and applied them to the tag. The flourish is part of the paper, but you could easily create something similar with some of the fabulous Memory Box Dies from SCACD...just cut out your shape and coat it with one of the Silks or the Mica Powders. You could even cover them with Glamour Dust if you prefer. :)  To finish it off, I applied a Make It Crafty Chipboard corner that was painted with brown craft paint and topped with some Honey Amber Silk, added a bit of ribbon and a pearl brad. I also added some pearls to the embossed design of the tag with a Viva Decor Magic Pearl Pen.

"Classic Eyes" was stamped on Neenah paper with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Her dress and drape were paper pieced with some Bo Bunny papers and shaded with a combination of markers and Conte Crayons. Her drape was edged in Stardust Stickles and the gems in her hair band were topped off with the Magic Pearl Pen. Aren't the eyes on these images beautiful?? They really are fun to colour.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R02, RV95  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Eyes: B000, B02, B05, B14, B39  Bird: B91, B34, B37, B39, BV29

***Blog Candy Information***

We have some FUN Blog Candy to give away!!!

One stamp, of Susana's choice, from this release will be given away on each Designer's sneak peek blog post this week!!!

To enter for today's Blog Candy you need to leave a comment (only one comment per person) here on my blog before 9 pm (EST) TODAY!!!

A winner will be chosen from the comments on this post here at my blog and then posted on the SCACD store blog, at 9:30 pm (EST) tonight!!! Remember, DO NOT leave a comment on the Store Blog for the Candy as it has to be on the Designer showing the sneak peek to enter!!!

Thanks so much for visiting today, and please make sure to check back with us tomorrow to see more sneak peeks with more chances to win!

Blessings,

Melanie

Sneak Peeks and Blog Candy at SCACD!

(Make sure to check out my post BELOW to read about the brand new Kraftin' Kimmie's Klubhouse!! This is one club you will definitely want to join!!)

Hi crafty friends! A new release of exclusive stamps is fast approaching at SCACD, and we are kicking off the sneak peeks today! Here's a word from Susana about this release:

Happy Spring!!!

It's time for another wonderful SCACD Stamp Release!!! We are thrilled to bring you 2 new collections that will capture your hearts thru the eyes of these Beauties!!! I am changing things up by launching some new "branding" for SCACD in this case, Susana Loves Stamps. To be clear it does not mean I personally designed what you are seeing but I did have a part in bringing it forward. Look out for more Susana Loves projects in the works!!!

Eyes of Dreams Collection has 4 stamps and 1 bonus stamp only available when you buy the complete set, plus a sweet discount when you buy the entire set.

Eyes of Beauty Collection has 4 stamps and 1 bonus stamp only available when you buy the complete set, plus a sweet discount when you buy the entire set.
Sharing sneak peeks today are:

• Kim
• Lorraine

***Blog Candy Information***

We have some FUN Blog Candy to give away!!!

One stamp, of Susana's choice, from this release will be given away on each Designer's sneak peek blog post!!! So that will be 5 chances to win a stamp!!!

To enter for the Blog Candy you need to visit Kim and Lorraine and leave a comment (only one comment per person) on their sneak peek blog post before 9 pm (EST) TODAY!!!

A winner will be chosen from both blogs and then posted on the SCACD store blog, at 9:30 pm (EST) tonight!!! Remember, DO NOT leave a comment on the Store Blog for the Candy as it has to be on the Designer showing the sneak peek to enter!!!

Make sure to join us again tomorrow for another sneak peak, and another chance to win. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Introducing the "Kraftin' Kimmie's Klubhouse"!!

(Please scroll down to the post below to read about the sneak peeks starting today for Susana's Custom Art and Card Design!!)

We are announcing some very exciting news at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps this week! We are inviting you all to become members of a very special "klub"...check out the full details below!

Introducing the Kraftin' Kimmie's Klubhouse!!

Okay, all you Kraftin' Kimmie KEENERS (and you KNOW who you are), we have some VERY exciting news to share with you!!! Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is GOING PLACES!

Remember at the beginning of the year when we said we've got some awesome new stuff in store for 2012? Well, we've been planning this for months!!

On Friday, March 30th, Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps will release an EXCLUSIVE Moonlight Whispers stamp set!!! GOING PLACES is the first of our special Krafty Klubhouse Kits…..we'll be releasing a new one every few months!!

Be part of the Krafty Klub and order your exclusive set which features THREE special edition stamps designed by Annie Rodrigue, PLUS FOUR coordinating sentiment stamps! Going Places will be sold ONLY as a set and ONLY at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Shop!! Not only will you get this special set, but you will also receive a special coupon code for 20% OFF, to be used on any additional online order at the Shop the following month!

The Krafty Girls have been busy playing with the new stamps and creating gorgeous samples which we will preview on Thursday at the KKS Challenge blog, with the release going live in the Shop on Friday, March 30th!! We know you'll be as excited as we are for the fun to begin!! See you Thursday!

Blessings,

Melanie

Bitty Boxes

Good morning and happy Monday to all!! After a short vacation, the carts at SCACD are back open for business, and Susana has of course been busy adding more fantastic new goodies to the shelves. :)  Here's just a little taste of what's new:

• New 6x6 paper pads (Jillibean, Memory Box, Pink Paislee and many more!)
• Dylusions products...these new ink sprays look incredible!
• Memory Box Dies
• Couture Creations Embossing Folders

During our little break, the SCACD design team has been busy in their crafty spaces creating with some of the great products Susana carries. I know that many of the talented ladies have a little something to share today, so make sure to pop by the SCACD store blog where you can find links to all the DT members' blogs. 

I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and make something other than a card. Susana carries these fantastic little Bitty Boxes that are wonderful for altering in a variety of different ways. I also took this opportunity to experiment with some the new Luminarte products that Susana recently began stocking. I have to say that I love them! If you are not familiar with these products, you can check out some great videos by Marti Wills at the SCACD store HERE.

Two of my Bitty Boxes were inspired by Cameo jewelry. For the first one, I covered the box in some Picadilly paper. (you can see the paper in the picture below of all three boxes) The edges were all inked in brown. I then stamped just the head of Loli's Dance in Memento Ink and coloured her with my Copics. I used circle Spellbinders to cut her out and for matting. After adhering her to the lid of the box, I surrounded her with some pearls made with my Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White.

For Bitty Box #2, I layered some Luminarte Silks in Guatemalan Green, Honey Amber and Coral Berry. No fancy method of application here...I just used a paint brush to blot them on and then used my finger to pat and blend. Yes, that's right...I finger painted! lol  For the "cameo" on this box, I stamped Dances With Dragonflies and coloured the skin, hair and dress with Copics. The fairy's wings and the dragonfly's wings were painted with Luminarte Micas. I added a bit of gum arabic and water to the mica powder and then applied them with a paintbrush. I used Pink Azalea, Teal Zircon, and Blue Flame. For the background, I laid down a base coat of E41 and E43 Copic markers. This was then covered with coats of Honey Amber and Coral Berry Luminarte Silks. I matted the image on a Maya Road chipboard snowflake that was painted with brown acrylic paint followed by a coat of the Honey Amber silk. 

My final bitty box was first painted with brown acrylic craft paint. I then applied Honey Amber and Coral Berry Silks and just a tiny bit of the Blue Flame Mica powder (mixed with water and gum arabic). Again, these were applied both with a paintbrush and with my finger. :) I also added a thin top coat of gold craft paint. The lid was decorated with an element from Spellbinders Parisian Accents that was painted brown and gold. It was also heavily coated with a glitter spray that was made with the Luminarte Mica in Solar Gold. Marti shows us how to do this in her video...just combine the mica, a bit of gum arabic and some water in a Mini Mister and spritz away! I love how multifunctional these Luminarte products are. :) The pearls were made with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen. And, um, yes...that is a strand of pet hair. lol Didn't notice that until uploading the picture. Sorry about that! (not sure who the culprit is...we have three cats and a dog, but I'm pretty sure that hair is from our husky. guess I need to brush of my projects a little better before photographing! lol)

Here's a shot from the side so you can see the different finishes:

Ok, that's it for me! Make sure to check in at the SCACD Store Blog where Danni has posted all the newest products. You can also find links to the DT members' blogs there so you can see what they've been creating. 

Oh, and you might want to stay tuned for some more exciting news at SCACD this week...just sayin'! ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you have a wonderful Monday. 

Blessings, 

Melanie

Going Green With Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

Hi folks! It's time for another challenge at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog and this week it's my turn to play hostess. I thought it would be fun to use something Recycled or Repurposed on our projects. If you're anything like me, you likely collect all sorts of snippets, trinkets and treasure that you think have crafty-potential...so lets put some of those things to use this week!

For my card, I used the newly released Calla Lily. I really love the look of white cards with lots of layers and embossing, so I thought I'd try to run with that idea...plus I thought that it would really make the image pop if it was displayed on a white background. The background panel was run through my Cuttlebug with the Hedged Maze embossing folder by Couture Creations. The decorative border was made with Spellbinders Parisian Accents. Calla Lily was matted on a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Pendant. I added it some pearls made with an Ice White Viva Decor Pearl Pen. As for the recycled element on my card, I decided to try to make a flower with some repurposed lace from an old sewing project. Now unfortunately, this did not quite live up to what I envisioned. :(  I've seen some beautiful handmade flowers around blogland, but I think I need to work on it a bit more. I cut several layers of lace in varying sizes of circles. To help them have a bit of shape, I used a flower cardstock base cut with an MFT die. Finally, I used a Kaisercraft pearl brad as a centre and attached it to a Spellbinder Lacey Circle base. The charm is from Blue Moon beads. I added a few jump rings and attached it to the brad.

I paper pieced Calla Lily's dress and shawl with pieces of Memory Box "Minuet" paper. They were shaded with some Copic markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R02  Hair: E50, E31, E35, E37, E59  Shading on dress: BG0000, B91, B45, B97, C5, C7, blender   Shawl: BV31, BV23, C5, C7, blender

Here's a shot of the inside where I used the sentiment that comes with Calla Lily. It was stamped on an element cut with the Spellbinders Parisian Accents set.

If you play along with our Recycled Challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of Calla Lily, the stamp used on my card...just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. Pop on over the the KKS Blog to check out what the rest of the talented Krafty Girls have created this week.

Don't forget to check out the Frugal Friday Specials for this weekend!

Oh, and word on the street is that something exciting will be happening at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps this week!! Make sure to check in at the KKS Blog on Monday to find out the details!

On that note, if you are on Facebook, make sure to check out the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps page. It's a great place to hang out, chat, share photos and keep up to date on all the happenings at KKS. We'd love to have you join us there. :)

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

Flower Girls, Gnomes and Springtime Lulu...It's Release Day at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!

Good morning krafty friends and welcome to the release day blog hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! If you've been following along with the sneak peeks this week you will know that March's release consists of some gorgeous flower girls by Annie Rodrigue, a Flower Sentiment Set, two sets of fun gnomes from Emilie Goulet and an adorable new Lulu set by Cheryl Alger!

The hop begins over at the KKS blog where you will find a complete list of all the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests participating in today's hop. As you travel along, make sure to leave comments as a couple of lucky stampers will win packages of some of the new March stamps! So, if you've been following along the hop you will have arrived here after visiting with the lovely and amazingly talented Elaine Hughes!! (I absolutely adore Elaine's work!)

I have two projects to share with you today. The first is a tag featuring one of the three main image stamps from the new Springtime Lulu set. I have also used one of the sentiments included in the set. I have to say that I had a lot of fun playing with a variety of products to create the background on this tag...you should have seen the mess of my table! (and my hands, lol) My first step was to cover a plain white tag with a coat of gesso. I then began to  lay down washes of blue and pink craft paint that had been mixed with a matte medium. Next came some applications of Spun Sugar and Stormy Sky Distress Inks followed by spritzes of water applied with  a Mini Mister. I got back to work with the gesso and craft paint using a paint brush and also a scrap of cardstock to "swipe" colour across the surface. (I think most people would use a palate knife or credit card, but I was too lazy...just grabbed whatever was within reach!) I also experimented with inking up some embossing folders with Stormy Sky Distress Ink and using them to stamp a pattern...not sure you can even see that layer anymore! I also inked up some clear stamps with black ink and stamped a few patterns. Next came more paint, gesso, ink, water and trips to my bathroom to use the hairdryer because I still don't own a heat gun! lol I then added a couple of layers of My Mind's Eye paper that were given the same treatment. (or maybe abuse would be a better term??) I also used an Impression Obsession flourish stamp that was inked with black. (which again, was covered with a few applications of paint and "stuff" to dull down the intensity of the black ink)  So after all that, I figured I need some "glitz". Enter two different colours of Glimmer Mist...went to town with those too. :)  Finally , I adhered my image with the matte medium, a snippet of crocheted trim, a flourish cut with an MFT die, the sentiment and pearls that were created with a Viva Decor pearl pen...these are a fabulous money saver!

Lulu was stamped in Memento Ink on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copics. The paper-piecing bug hit me again, so I used some of the MME paper to piece her gloves and clothes.

Whew! Still with me??? The next card features one of the stunning new Flower Girls by Annie Rodrigue...meet "Daisy Mae". I have a soft spot for ballerina stamps as my twelve year old daughter has taken ballet since the age of four...she just recently started on pointe work!! So I immediately fell in love with sweet Daisy Mae. :)  I used some beautiful Bo Bunny papers for this card. The medallion behind Daisy Mae was created by cutting two Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Pendants out of the Bo Bunny paper and adhering them to create a circle. The corner embellishments were created with the Bo Bunny paper and one of the elements from the Spellbinders Parisian Accents Set. I used a Martha Stewart border punch on the horizontal paper panel. Usually I ink the edges of my paper, but I felt like doing something a little different. I pulled out some gold craft paint and my matte medium to create a bit of a wash that I loosely applied around the paper edges and over the Spellbinders elements. I also applied a bit of straight gold paint to the edges so that it be a little thicker in some spots. Walnut Stain Distress Ink seldom escapes my inky fingers with cards, and this was no exception. I went over the medallion and corner elements with a bit of the brown ink just to highlight the designs and to antique them a bit.

Daisy Mae was also coloured with Copics. Just the bodice of her costume was paper-pieced as I wasn't sure I could duplicate the tones in the paper. I added some shading to the bodice with my markers. Light washes of gold paint were added to her tutu, bodice, necklace and bracelets. Glamour Dust was applied to the edges of her tutu. I also added a sprinkling of Glamour Dust to the flowers and leaves between her hands. The background was sponged with Antique Linen Distress Ink, but I'm thinking I should have applied some other ink as it is still to stark for the colours on the card. She was matted with Spellbinders Lacey Circles and gold paint was once again used around the paper edges.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95, R02  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Tutu: G20, YG00, YG91, YG95, C7  Pointe Shoes: RV42, RV95, R17, R59, E18, V01...ok, so I struggled a bit with the shoes and just kept piling on the inks, lol. Layer after layer after layer...you get the point! They are still not really what I pictured, so this is NOT a colour recipe that I would actually recommend! But I wanted to share that sometimes you have to just experiment. Sometimes your experiments will be successes, and sometimes not. Sometimes you might go through multiple colour combos before you come up with something you're happy with. Just keep practicing...be willing to make mistakes and then learn from them. See what colours work together and what colours do not. Take notes and use that knowledge in future projects. Be encouraged and don't be afraid to experiment with your colours.  :)

All of the new March stamps are now available for purchase at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store!! The Gimmie Kimmie Kits will again be available by artist and at a discounted price, but only for a limited time so act fast if you want one.

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit with the talented Sharon Caudle...just wait until you see what she has to share with you! Don't forget to leave comments at each blog for your chance to win some of the new stamps!

Thanks for joining us today and I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Winner of the Copic Colouring Guide 2!!

(If you are looking for the Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks and weekly challenge, please feel free to scroll down to the post below...and make sure to read for details on how you could win some of the new stamps being released tomorrow!)

I know this post is terribly overdue, and I want to thank you all for waiting patiently! I am so sorry for keeping you all waiting, but I was holding off on announcing the winner of my copy of the Copic Coloring Guide 2 until it arrived safe and sound in my mailbox...which it did Thursday afternoon!

Drumroll please!!!!

The winner, as drawn by random.org is:

Carol E!!!!!!

Congrats Carol!! I have already been in touch with Carol, and her copy will be in the mail Monday. :)

I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everybody who left such lovely comments during the blog hop...I truly appreciate all the kind words. Thanks as well to those who signed up as followers on my blog. :)  

This really has been such an amazing experience and again, it's an honour to be included among the talented designers who participated in this book. Marianne and Colleen have done an incredible job with this book and I know that it will be a valuable tool to assist everybody on their colouring journey. So even if you were not among the winners of the Copic Coloring Guide 2, I encourage you to purchase a copy to keep close at hand in your crafty space. 

Happy colouring!!

Blessings, 

Melanie

Rose (Kraftin' Kimmie March Sneak Peeks Continue!)

(If you have been waiting to find out who won my copy of the Copic Coloring Guide 2 from the release blog hop, please check back at 12:00 pm EST today to see who the lucky stamper is!)

Good morning and happy Saturday to you! Today's Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps sneak peeks are in conjunction with our weekly challenge, and we're sharing previews of the new March stamps by Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue! This month, Annie has designed a collection of gorgeous flower girls. To coordinate with Annie's lovely new images, Kimmie has also designed a set of Flower Sentiments that you might spy on some of the Krafty Girls' creations today. :)

We've got a fantastic Sketch challenge this week courtesy of our lovely hostess Alice Wertz! For my card, I've used the lovely Rose. I had a lot of fun colouring her up at Kimmie's house last weekend when a few of the Krafty Girls enjoyed a full day of fun, colouring, food and movies!! Truth be told, I didn't finish colouring her...actually I only coloured bits of pieces of a few images! lol  I'm am definitely not a productive stamper at our get togethers...I spend to much time visiting! These gorgeous paper are all from Bo Bunny. I used my oval Spellbinders to cut Rose out and for matting. The decorative border on the horizontal paper panel was cut with Spellbinders Parisian Accents. The corner accents were all created with dies from the Parisian Accents set. For the upper embellishment, I layered two corner accents that I nested together on top of a circular medallion. The lower accent consists of two nested corner accents. All these elements were cut from sheets of the Bo Bunny paper. The "LOVE" sentiment comes with Rose and was cut and mounted with Spellbinders Labels 4. All paper edges were inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. (I think I use that ink on about 90% of my cards...maybe closer to 98%! lol)

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20  Hair: E50, YR31, E33, E35, E97, E18, E59 Dress: G20, YG00, YG91, YG95, C7 Sash: BG000, B02, B05, B37, B60, C7  Roses: R30, E32, R35, R59, C7  Vine: E13, E17, E59 Background: E40, E42, E43, blender

On the inside of my card, I used one of the sentiments from the new Flower Sentiments Set. It includes nine different sentiments. As with all of the larger Kraftin' Kimmie sentiment sets, they are perfect for multiple occasions and projects. They can be used in conjunction with main image stamps on the front of cards or to complete the inside of cards as I have done here. They would also be lovely as the focal image on smaller note cards or tags. They would be wonderful to include in mixed media pieces, journals, scrapbooks, Smashbooks...so many possibilities! The papers are once again from Bo Bunny. To create the inside panel, I trimmed around the edge of the swirls on the brown paper and merged it with the cream paper. The pretty designs on these papers made it easy to finish off the inside with a bit of style...all they needed was a bit of that Walnut Stain Distress Ink! Oh, and the sentiment was also stamped in the Distress Ink.

Oh, and here's Alice's fabulous sketch!

Make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see what the rest of the talented Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests have created for today's challenge/sneak peeks. If you play along with our challenge this week, you could be the very lucky winner of the stamp seen in Alice's beautiful card. (just make sure to use a KKS to be elibible.)

***BLOG CANDY***

Don't forget to hop around and leave comments for each Krafty Girl and Krafty Guest participating in today's sneak peeks because Kimmie will be drawing two lucky winners!! Each winner will receive three of Annie's gorgeous new flower girl stamps! The winners will be announced tomorrow on the KKS blog...good luck!

Have you been busy making your wish lists during our sneak peeks?? All the new stamps will be available for purchase tomorrow, and we'll be celebrating the release with a fun blog hop showcasing the March stamps...hope you can join us!

Blessings,

Melanie

Kraftin' Kimmie Gnomes!! (Day Two of the March Sneak Peeks!)

Hi krafty friends!! We've got another round of Kraftin' Kimmie sneak peeks to share with you today featuring two brand new sets of gnomes by Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet!! The sets are called "Hangin' With My Gnomies" and "What's Up, Gnomie?". Each includes three main image stamps and an assortment of coordinating sentiments.

I've used this adorable knitting gnome from the Hangin' With My Gnomies Set...isn't she cute?! :)  I reached for the same MME papers (Gertie) that were on my card from yesterday, partly because I love them and partly because they were within arm's reach. lol  I cut her out and framed her with Spellbinders Labels 8 and used Spellbinders Fancy Tags for the sentiment, which is one you'll receive in the set. I also added some faux stitching with the In Stitches Set...love this handy set! The stitches were stamped with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. To finish it off, I added some pearls made with my Viva Decor Pearl Pen.

She was stamped on Neenah paper in Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Guess I've been in a bit of paper-piecing mood. :)  Her hat, vest and skirt were all pieced with different patterns of the MME paper, and shading was added with my Copics.

***SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY*** 

How would you like to win one of the brand new gnome sets??? All you need to do is visit all the Krafty Girls sharing sneak peeks today and leave comments on their personal blogs. Kimmie will draw two lucky winner...one will win the "Hangin' With My Gnomies Set" and the other will win the "What's Up Gnomie Set"! You can find links to all the Krafty Girls participating today over at the KKS Blog, which is also where Kimmie will announce the winners tomorrow. Good luck!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you are able to join us tomorrow for our weekly challenge and another round of sneak peeks featuring the March 2012 stamps by another one of our talented Krafty Artists!!


Blessings,


Melanie

"Springtime Lulu" Kicks Off the March Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!

Welcome to the first round of the March 2012 Kraftin' Kimmie sneak peeks...release day is this Sunday!! We're kicking off the previews today with another adorable Lulu set by Krafty Artist Cheryl Alger called "Springtime Lulu"! This new set will again feature three main image stamps. It also includes six coordinating sentiments.

This sweet image is one of the three main images you will receive in the Springtime Lulu Set. I stamped her on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured her with Copics. I paper-pieced her shirt with a snippet of the My Mind's Eye patterned paper I used on the rest of the card. The clouds were sponged in with Memento Summer Sky. Both Lulu and the sentiment (which comes in the set) were cut out and matted with Spellbinders Labels 9. The pearls were all made with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R02  Hair: E50, YR31, E13, E17, E18, E35  Skirt: B12, B14, B39, C3 Shoe: E13, E17, E18, E59 (I added a bit of shading to the paper pieced shirt with a few green and grey markers)

***SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY*** 

How would you like to win the "Springtime Lulu" set??? All you need to do is visit all the Krafty Girls sharing sneak peeks today and leave comments on their personal blogs. Kimmie will draw one lucky winner who will win the Springtime Lulu set! You can find links to all the Krafty Girls participating today over at the KKS Blog, which is also where Kimmie will announce the winner tomorrow. Good luck!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you are able to join us tomorrow for another round of sneak peeks featuring the March 2012 stamps by another one of our talented Krafty Artists!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Elven Ardella...Guest Designer for Make It Colourful!

(Looking for the Copic Coloring Guide Blog Hop?? Just click HERE...you have until midnight to enter for your chance to win the autographed copy of the book from my blog!) 

Hey crafty friends!! I'm honoured to be one of the guest designers for the new challenge over at Make It Colourful ...Zoe, the owner of Make It Crafty, and all the ladies on the design team are insanely talented colourists! They never fail to make my jaw drop when they post their challenge projects. If you are a colouring enthusiast, I strongly encourage you to become a frequent visitor and participant at the Make it Colourful Challenges. As these are colouring challenges, you will find yourself stretched to work on various aspects of your colouring. The challenges might be on shading, use of specific colours, capturing reflected light sources, creating backgrounds...these ladies tackle all sorts of challenges that are sure to inspire you to try your hand at something new, and perhaps even out of your comfort zone. :)  They also provide fantastic tips and tutorials to assist you in the challenges.

This challenge is Colouring Green...your choice of medium of course! So you can feel free to use markers, watercolours, pencils, pastels, or whatever medium tickles your artistic fancy. :)

I reached for my trusted Copic markers to colour this gorgeous digital image from Make It Crafty...this is Elven Ardella. I have to say that ever since Zoe released this stamp, I have been itching to colour her up. :)  She is available as a digital stamp or in red rubber for those who prefer traditional stamps. The greens used to colour her were all pulled from this fantastic KaiserCraft paper (Blae and Ivy). For embellishments, I used a Martha Stewart border punch, a flourish cut with an MFT die, a small Prima rose, a couple of leaves, pearl sprays and machine stitching to finish it off. All paper edges were sponged with Bundled Sage and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

Elven Ardella was printed on Neenah cardstock. The beauty of digital images of course, is that you can resize them to suit your specific project. I chose the circle Spellbinders die I wanted to use, measured the opening and then resized Elven Ardella on my computer so that she would be a bit larger than the die. I like having my images "pop" outside of the borders. The background was sponged with Antique Line and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

I wanted to create a very  natural "earthy" look for Ardella, so I chose to not add any glitter to her wings. The veining in her wings was created by lightly drawing the lines in with YG95. I then coloured the wings in sections beginning with a base coat of G20 followed by YG91, YG95 and G99. I used the veins as a guideline for where I wanted shadows and highlights to fall to create some dimension. Although I used the same greens that were used for her dress, I wanted the wings to have a slightly different tone so I went over them with some browns in the E40 range. The addition of these browns toned down the intensity of the greens. For the very deepest shadows, I added some C10. (applied sparingly with tip-to-tip blending)

Hmmm...noticed now that I forgot one very important step. I should have ran a black marker around the edges of the portions of her wings sticking out from the paper...totally forgot!! This is something I always do when cutting images out because it conceals the white paper core...it just gives a nice finishing touch to your projects. 

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Dress: YG00, YG91, YG95, G99, C7, C9  Wings: G20, YG91, YG95, G99, E40, E41, E43, C10

Would you like to play along with the Make It Colourful girls?? Make sure to pop on over to the BLOG where you will find all the rules and a link to the gallery where you can see what the MIC team has created for this challenge.

I would like to say a huge thank you to Zoe and her team for inviting me to play along for this challenge!!

Enjoy your Friday!

Blessings,

Melanie

Copic Coloring Guide 2 Blog Hop!!

Good morning and welcome to a very special blog hop celebrating the release of the brand new Copic Coloring Guide, Level 2: Nature! 

Authors Colleen Schaan and Marianne Walker have partnered up again with the team at Annie’s Attic and some of the most talented artists and designers in the industry to bring you a quality publication packed full of techniques, theory, tutorials, and inspiration.  The 64-page book is the next step in the Coloring Guide series, offering information and educational material for crafters of all skill levels.

From the introductory suggestions for creating a Copic journal and tips for working with digital images, to explanations of advanced blending techniques and detailed tutorials for coloring specific objects, the book presents useful information in an easy-to-follow format. 

A bonus CD comes with the book that contains all of the hand-drawn images used in the tutorial section of the book, along with the assembly instructions for all of the projects.

Each participating designer in the hop today will give you a peak at their favorite project from the book - and a chance to WIN your own autographed copy! 

If you've been hopping along in order, you should have arrived here after visiting with the lovely Tammy Hershberger. If not, make sure to start the hop with Michele Boyer so you won't miss any blogs along the way. 

For those of you who saw my post announcing that I have a project published in this book, you will all know how incredibly excited I am!! I feel so honoured to have been involved in this book...still pinching myself actually as it still seems surreal! lol These designers and artists are all so very talented and I know you will love the projects they have created. 

My card features "Sunny the Turtle" from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...I absolutely love this fun turtle out enjoying the rays. :)  In the Copic Colouring Guide 2, you will receive instructions on specific Copic colours used, the techniques used to create the shading and the appearance of the water, and of course full assembly and product information! 

Would you like to win a copy of the book??!!

To help kick off the celebration of the new book... each designer on the hop is giving away an autographed copy of the book...signed not only by Colleen and Marianne, but by the individual designer too!  Please comment on this post for your chance to win your copy of mine!  Commenting on my blog will be closed on Friday March 9, 2012 at midnight EST. Winners will all be announced on the individual designers' blogs, so make sure to stay tuned to everybody's blog to see if you were a lucky winner!  

Here's a list of all the designer's featured on today's hop: 

• Michele Boyer
• Lori Craig
• Jennifer Dove-Bonner
• Sharon Harnist
• Tammy Hershberger
• Melanie Holtz  (you are here!!)
• Michele Houghton
• Debbie Olson
• Claudia Rosa
• Colleen Schaan
• Marianne Walker

Can't wait for your copy?  The Copic Coloring Guide Level 2: Nature is now available at many stamping and scrapbooking stores. Visit your local store today and ask about availability.  It is also sold through the Annie’s Attic catalog, accessible online at AnniesAttic.com.

Once again, I would like to say a huge thank you to both Colleen and  Marianne for inviting me to participate in this publication. I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to be included with all these lovely and talented designers. :)  This book will be a fantastic addition to everybody's artsy library, so make sure to order your's soon! 

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit the talented Michele Houghton!

Have fun hopping, and good luck in winning one of the signed books!!

Blessings, 

Melanie