Carly Cupcakes

It's Wonderful Wednesday at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps and as always, the theme is ANYTHING GOES!! 

Your submission may be a card, a scrapbook layout, tag, altered item, journal page, etc. and can feature any stamp, any theme, any style, any design....you name it!! It must be a NEW creation and you can enter on the KKS blog until December 6th at midnight EST! At the end of the month one random winner will be chosen from all the submissions for the whole month and will receive a $20 Gift Card to the shop!!! 

In addition to the great Krafty Challenges & Wonderful Wednesday, each month we will post a Sketch at the KKS blog. The sketch will last all month long and if you use it in ANY of our Challenges or WW's during that month you will get an additional chance to win a store gift card! You do NOT have to use the sketch, it's totally optional. :)

Make sure to stay tuned at the KKS blog this month as Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps kicks off our 12 Days of Christmas Yearly Faves review! 

My Wonderful Wednesday card features the newly released Carly Cupcakes. This is an incredibly sweet (pun intended) stamp set designed by Annie Rodrigue. I stamped the image in Memento Desert Sand and coloured with Copics. I had some little baking-themed buttons in my krafty stash which were just perfect for this card. I also bought the paper specifically with this image in mind. ;) 

Thanks for visiting...hope you play along!

Blessings, 

Melanie

November Krafty Skrappy Challenge

It's time for our monthly Kraftin' Kimmie Skrappy Challenge!!!

For this challenge you can create any project EXCEPT A CARD!  Calendars, bookmarks, pocket pages, traditional scrap pages, holiday gifts, planner pages, tags... you get the picture! It's a great opportunity to think outside the box and get creative with your stamps! Here are a few things to remember...

THIS MONTH'S THEME: ANYTHING GOES!!!

1. Create ANY project, JUST NOT A CARD!
2. Your submission must be a NEW project (created on or after this post date). Link it up at the KKS blog! 
3. You MUST use a Kraftin Kimmie stamps to be entered in to the drawing.
4. You have an entire month to play, so enter AS MANY TIMES as you'd like!
5. PRIZES?!? Of course there are prizes! Once we've reached 5 entries, we draw a random winner at the close of the challenge!
6. You have until Monday, December 20th, 2016 @ 12:00 pm EST to get your entries in.
7. Be sure to also share your creations on our Krafty Friends FB page!

Holiday decorating is in full swing, so I thought it would be fun to create a Christmas ornament using a combination of two KKS sets: Shake It Up and Shake it Up Polar Bears! I started with an inexpensive plastic hollow ornament...I think I got 6 in a pack from the dollar store last year for $2.00.  I stamped the penguin from Shake it Up, and the bear from Shake it Up Polar Bears in Memento Desert Sand Ink and coloured them with Copics. Next, I cut two circles using the ornament as a template from a sheet of Bo Bunny paper. I glued those back to back to form the disc for the centre of the ornament. I picked up two packs of mini trees from Michaels, removed the wooden bases and hot glued them to the paper. I then adhered my the penguin to one side and the polar bear to the reverse side with my favourite Tombow glue. I added artificial snow (from Michaels) to one half of the ornament, inserted the paper disc and secured it with a bit of hot glue. I then added snow to the other half and closed the ornament. To hide the seam, I used some rustic hemp trim around the ornament with a glue gun. In keeping with the natural theme, I chose some burlap ribbon to create a bow for the top and some twine for the hanger. I've had these Maya Road canvas tags in my stash for ages, but had never found a use for them...it was a perfect match for the natural fibres of the other embellishments, so I stamped a sentiment from Shake It Up Polar Bears with Versafine ink.  As finishing touches, I added two jingle bells and a two decorative tree buttons from the dollar store. 

One thing I learned in this process...I need a better set up for photographing reflective surfaces!! It was challenging! 

Hope you plan to play along...thanks for visiting! 

PS...don't forget that the newly release November 2016 stamp sets are now all available for purchase at the KKS shop! 

Blessings, 

Melanie 

November 2016 Kraftin' Kimmie Release Day Blog Hop!

Welcome to the November Release Day Hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!

Links for today's hop can be found at the end of my post. Be sure to visit each Krafty Krew member and Krafty Guest  for lots of inspiration featuring all of the new November stamps! The winner from this week's sneak peek comments will be announced at our ONLINE RELEASE PARTY this afternoon at 2:00 pm EST. Make sure to join us to celebrate the new release!



Here's the run down for the stamp sets being release today: 

1. Eskimo Pals by Emilie Goulet
2. Beary Big Hugs from Becky Pearce
3. Cocoa Friends and Adventure Time from Cheryl Grant
4. Carly Cupcakes and Betsy Booklover from Annie Rodrigue 

After our party this afternoon, make sure to hop on over to the KKS Shop to order the new stamps! For those stampers who need the whole release, you can purchase the Gimmie Kimmie Kit which included the full release at a discounted price, but only for a limited time!

My card for today's hop features one of two main images from the ESKIMO PALS set by Emilie Goulet. I adore this set! The image was stamped in Memento Desert Sand Ink and coloured with Copics. Additional  shading was added with Polychromos coloured pencils and a black conte crayon. To finish it off I added some die cut snowflakes/flourishes, some twine and dollar store acrylic snowflakes. I coated those with Glossy Accents and then sprinkled generously with Glamour Dust. 

As promised, here's the hop list:

Thanks for visiting! 

Blessings, 

Melanie

Betsy Booklover...November 2016 Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!

Welcome to the November Release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...this is our last release for 2017 and we can't wait to share it all!!

Today we're sharing the final TWO November 2016 stamp sets...these gorgeous new images were designed by our amazing artist Annie Rodrigue!

The first set is called CARLY CUPCAKES! It includes the main image plus four coordinating sentiments.

Next up is BETSY BOOKLOVER! It comes with the main image plus five awesome coordinating sentiments!!

The full blog list for today's previews can be found at the end of my post. Be sure to hop around and leave a comment at each blog because one lucky stamper will win a gift voucher for the KKS shop! The winner will be announced at our ONLINE RELEASE PARTY tomorrow at 2:00 pm EST. Make sure to join us to celebrate the new release!

Today is also our weekly challenge hosted by the lovely Martha...as always, challenges that fall during release weeks are ANYTHING GOES! You can create a card, scrapbook page, altered item...anything you wish! If you use a Kraftin' Kimmie stamp on your submission, you'll double your changes to win. You have one week to play along. At the end of the month, Kimmie will draw one winner from all of the weekly challenges. The prize is a $20 gift voucher for the KKS shop! 

My challenge/peek card features Betsy Booklover...I absolutely adore this stamp! I have loved reading every since a was a child.  Now that I am done nursing school, I've been able to dive back into reading for leisure...I've missed it! I stamped Betsy in Memento Desert Sand ink and coloured her with Copics. I added some additional shading with a black conte crayon applied with a blending stump. That great sentiment comes with the stamp set! 

Here's a peek at the full set: 

As promised, here's the hop list for today: 

Thanks for visiting! 

Blessings,

Melanie 

Beary Big Hugs...day 2 of the November Kraftin' Kimmie Peeks!

Welcome to the November Release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...this is our last release for 2017 and we can't wait to share it all!!

Today we're sharing an adorable new set from Becky Pearce called BEARY BIG HUGS! The set includes a total of 15 stamps between the main images, accessories and sentiments!

The full blog list for today's previews can be found at the end of my post. Be sure to hop around and leave a comment at each blog because one lucky stamper will win a gift voucher for the KKS shop! The winner will be announced at our ONLINE RELEASE PARTY this Sunday at 2:00 pm EST. Make sure to join us to celebrate the new release!

The front of my card includes a combination of 4 stamps from the set: the bear, the pile of donuts, the little mug and the sentiment. I stamped the images in Memento Desert Sand and created the scene by masking. I coloured with Copics and added some additional shading with Polychromos coloured pencils. 

I used an additional sentiment and another bear for the inside of my card:  

Take a peek at the full stamp set: 

Here's the full hop list: 

Thanks for visiting!

Blessings, 

Melanie

Eskimo Pals...a Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!

Welcome to the November Release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...this is our last release for 2017 and we can't wait to share it all!!

Today we're kicking things off with a super sweet set of characters from artist Emilie Goulet called ESKIMO PALS! It features two main images of adorable Eskimos having fun in the snowy tundra. It also comes with three COOL coordinating sentiments. 

I will include the full blog list for today's previews at the end of my post. Be sure to hop around and leave a comment at each blog because one lucky stamper will win a gift voucher for the KKS shop! The winner will be announced at our ONLINE RELEASE PARTY this Sunday at 2:00 pm EST. Make sure to join us to celebrate the new release!

Here's my card featuring the fishing Eskimo from Emilie's set. I stamped the image in Memento Desert Sand ink and coloured with Copics. The sentiment is included in the Eskimo Pals set. 

Take a peek at the full stamp set: 

Here's the hop list:

Thanks for visiting! 

Blessings, 

Melanie

Heavenly Holidays...Kraftin' Kimmie Weekly Challenge!

Hi everyone! Welcome to another challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...this week our theme is to use KRAFT CARDSTOCK! 

We invite you to play along by submitting your project at the KKS Blog. One winner per month will be drawn from all Saturday Challenge entries to win a $20 gift card, and you can enter as many times per month as you'd like!! November 11th at 11:55 pm EST is the deadline.

A few KKS news items: 

1. To keep up with all the latest KKS news, make sure to join the Krafty Friends Facebook group! 
2. Frugal Friday Specials are UP and the October release sets are in the Krafty store NOW! 
3. In addition to our Krafty Challenges & Wonderful Wednesdays, each month KKS will post a Sketch. The sketch will last all month long and if you use it in ANY of our Challenges or WW's during that month you will get an additional chance to win a store gift card! You do NOT have to use the sketch, it's just a little extra boost for your mojo if needed! ;) You can find the sketch at the KKS Blog. 
4. The NEW SURPRISE KRAFTY GUEST KIT is UP! Details are on a 'pinned' post on the KKS Friends FB page.

Several months back, I finally took the dive and purchased a full set of Polychromos coloured pencils. I've actually not had a lot of time to play with them, so this medium is still very new to me. I decided to try using them for our Kraft cardstock challenge this week. I stamped one of the angels from the Heavenly Holiday clear stamp set in Memento Desert Sand. She was completely coloured with polychromos. I definitely have a lot to learn, but that's always the case with a new medium. I was actually quite happy with the hair, scarf and skin. I rarely do blond hair with copic as I find yellows challenging...I found it much easier with the pencils! However, I was not thrilled with the dress. I struggled to acheive a smooth blend of shadows. I added several layers, and even blended out with odourless mineral spirits, but was not able to get the depth I wanted. Because I was not happy with my blending, I thought adding some stardust stickles would "fix/hide" the problem. While I like the glitter on her wings, I regret adding it to the dress...definitely should have left it alone! The snowflake flourishes are a memory box die. The sentiment is also from the Heavenly Holiday set. 

Thanks for visiting! 

Blessings, 

Melanie