Sunday, March 18, 2012

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

42 comments:

~ Jo ~ said...

Wow stunning tag and card! Love them both! You are so talented and your coloring just blows me away!

Anda said...

These are beautiful, I love the colouring you've used and the images in this release are now firmly on my "must have" list :)

Brigitte said...

WOW, you did it again!!! Two gorgeous projects!!! Your colouring is fantastic as usual! Hugs, Brigitte

Larisa said...

This is such a fun card with Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps.

Sharon Roselli said...

delightful cards! coloring is beautiful with the dp is perfect. thank you for sharing.

Nathalie said...

Love the cards. Just gorgeous

Mary M. said...

Your coloring is totally awesome. Love both projects. All the details on Daisy Mae are brilliant.

Unknown said...

I love the tag and I love your colors on the great images

Unknown said...

great crads!!! love the paper piecing! cheers! d

Angie said...

Your cards are stunning as always!!! I am curious to see this new shade you created, what was it you called it...Puce?! LOL too funny. But you're totally right about sometimes it works and other times it' can be an epic fail. I've done that many times, laugh it off and move along. Right? :) can't wait to see you at Scrapfest!! Hugs til then, Angie

Cindi said...

Wow! Your tag and card are both so gorgeous! Your ballerina skirt is perfect and I love the way you did it. Love all your colors on your tag as well.

wendy said...

what an adorable tag!

Mira said...

These both are so beautiful :)

Mary J said...

Both so lovely Melanie!

Anonymous said...

Stunning! Simply stunning. I do hope you'll post a tutorial about how you colour hair someday. I can recognise cards on pinterest that have come from your site just from the hair. Please, please, please do a video tutorial of your hair colouring technique.

Anonymous said...

OMG, your coloring is so amazing!!!! Love the card and the tag. Great colors.

Vicky said...

wow such rich colors! Love it

Tanya said...

What lovely creations. I actually like the way the toe shoes turned out=) Love how you cut her out, very unique.

Anna R said...

What stunning coloring on both cards! I'd say your "experiment" was a definite success. :)

Marilyn said...

I'm just flabbergasted with the tag art and this knock-your-socks off card!! I so love your coloring abilities! How super great it would be, if you did a tutorial just on how to color skin and hair! You're the Master!!!

Heather said...

Beautiful projects. I love the colours you used for both.

Linxx said...

Love your design and the images are perfectly coloured, great shading! Thank you for the inspiration.

Love,

Linxx

Debora said...

Wow! Gorjuss! What a ton of work you put into that tag! But it's awesome, so well worth it. I love getting inky and messy every now and again too! It really boosts my creativity.
Amazing coloring...just can't say that enough. Thanks for sharing your talents, and your how to's! I look forward to seeing everything you create!

Olivia said...

Both are just fabulous. Thanks for the inspiration and encouragement. Olivia

Alyce Kit and Clowder said...

These are both so beautiful Melanie. Love the colouring and the beautiful details.

scrappysharon said...

Beautiful cards !!

T Young said...

Very nice! So many details!

K Clark said...

love the inking you did... i have to try that out on some cards!

Pat said...

Hi Melanie! Yikes! Two cards...bot fabulous! Your colors are so wonderful...and your coloring is brilliant! Hugs.. Pat Frank

luvmycards.blogspot.com said...

love how you showcased the images by using the paper piecing! Really neat how you used the layers everywhere!
TFS,
Carolyn

Manderly said...

Oh my goodness, you did such great artwork on both images but with Daisy Mae, look at her legs! Fantastic! Oh, to have legs that look like that! Wonderful artistry. Great new releases. Love them.
Manderly
xxxooo

Carly said...

that Kraftin Kimmie card is AWESOME!

WOW!

lvtaz2000 said...

Your coloring is fantastic. I love the deep colors. Wow, is all I can say.

S.C.Gardner said...

love the tag and the card adorable images and great coloring...

Dawn Louise said...

Wow so many brilliant techniques and no heat gun either, love them both. X

Sassy Cheryl said...

WOW! These are both amazing. Your coloring is simply stunning. Love 'em both!

Cheryl Valadez said...

Hi, Melanie! WOW, lady! These creations make my chin hit the floor. I love how you sculpted Daisy Mae's legs and added muscles. Maybe I'll take my Copics to my legs and see if I can add some muscles...hehe! Hugz to you!

Emmy said...

Amazing creations!!!
I love your coloring!!

Whimcees said...

Hello!

Isn't it fun to create with new images - especially when they are so great! Wishing you a happy day today!

Hugs,

Barbara Diane

Niki Estes said...

So cute, Melanie! Beautiful coloring as always!

Anonymous said...

wow j'adore ton coloriage c'est vraiement beau

Jammie said...

what a fantastic take on this image! Your coloring is amazing, how you shaded the muscles in her legs and... oh wow... i'm in awe!