Paper Blessings

SCACD Sneak Peeks and Blog Candy Start Today!!

2012-02-01T04:00:00.008-05:00

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

Purrfect :)

2012-01-28T07:00:00.011-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

Two thing to note:

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

Thanks so much for stopping by today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

SCACD Fairies

2012-01-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blessings,

Melanie

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps and Art Du Scrapbooking Blog Hop

2012-01-25T07:00:00.011-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks so much for visiting!

Blessings,

Melanie

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

2012-01-19T13:52:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

Blessings,

Melanie

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

2012-01-15T01:00:00.005-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

Artemis was stamped on Neenah and coloured with Copics.

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

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

Happy hopping!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Greek Goddesses, Kraftin' Kimmie Style!!

2012-01-14T07:00:00.004-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

Here's Nicole's fantastic sketch:

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

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

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

Blessings,

Melanie

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

2012-01-13T07:00:00.003-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blessings,

Melanie

Tiffany Doodles Second Anniversary Blog Hop!!

2012-01-13T00:01:00.018-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blessings,

Melanie

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

2012-01-12T07:00:00.008-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blessings,

Melanie

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

2012-01-07T07:00:00.006-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blessings,

Melanie

Ringing in 2012 with SCACD!

2012-01-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

Playing "Tag", Kraftin' Kimmie Style!

2011-12-17T07:00:00.003-05:00

Hi crafty friends! Welcome to another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge. Actually, this will be our last official challenge of 2011! This week our lovely hostess is the very talented Krafty Guest Sandie who is inviting us to play "Tag"...your project can simply be a tag, or you can incorporate a tag in your card or other project. Whatever tickles your fancy. :)

I cut a tag out of kraft cardstock and used papers from My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found Christmas". All paper edges were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I inked up "Elysia", one of the fabulous Kraftin' Kimmie angels by Annie Rodrigue, cut her out and adhered her to the tag. To top it off, I added some wired ribbon from Walmart, an acrylic snowflake coated in Stardust Stickles and centred with a dollar store earring.

Elysia was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Her wings were given a coat of Stardust Stickles. Elysia also comes with a halo accessory stamp and the sentiment "Hark!".

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Wings: E50, E40, E41, W1, W5, E71, BV23, Y21 Dress: R22, R27, R46, R59, C7, BV23 Trumpet: E50, Y17, Y21, Y23, E13, E17, E18

You can check out all the incredible Tags by the Krafty Girls and our amazing Krafty Guests over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog. If you want to play along this week, you could win the stamp Sandie used on her gorgeous project. Just make sure to use a Krafin' Kimmie Stamp on your project to be eligible.

I'd like to give a shout out to our December Krafty Guests...you ladies have done such a phenomenal job and it has been an absolute pleasure having you join us this month. :)

This will quite likely be my last post before Christmas...and possibly even before the new year! I'm planning to spend the next couple of weeks just enjoying time with family and friends. I'm also hoping to get a head start on some 2012 projects. ;)

So, with that in mind, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! May the Lord bless your time together with friends and family this holiday season.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

The Victorian

2011-12-13T08:30:00.002-05:00

Good morning! I wanted to share a card with you today featuring one of the recently released exclusive "Reflections Yesteryear" stamps at SCACD by Carmen Medlin. This is "The Victorian".I adore this collection of stamps. I think they are so elegant, and they are an absolute joy to colour and create with. The papers on my card are all from My Mind's Eye "Madison Avenue". This paper pad was a gift from a very sweet crafty friend (thanks Kimmie!!!), but you can find it at SCACD HERE for only $5.99 USD. The papers in this collection are so beautiful and sophisticated, and lend themselves beautifully to vintage style cards...which happens to be one of my favourite styles. :) The paper edges were all distressed and sponged with brown ink. I added a few pearls, machine stitching, some crocheted trim, a snippet of ribbon and a pretty Prima flower to finish it off. Did you know that Susana has an incredible deal on Flower Grab Bags?? (37 flowers for $9.99!)

"The Victorian" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. The pink portions of her dress, umbrella and hat ribbon were all paper-pieced with the MME paper. I added shading to the paper-pieced areas with my Copics. After cutting out the pieces, I went around the edges with a dark grey maker to hide the white core of the paper. This helps to blend these pieces into your stamped image seamlessly. My favourite tool for adhering paper-pieced components is my Quickie Glue Pen. You can precisely apply this glue pen to even the most finicky little pieces of paper with ease. After cutting out my coloured image, I again went around the edges with a dark marker to avoid having the white paper core visible.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, BV31, BV23 Grey areas of dress: W1, W3, W5, W7 Shading on paper-pieced areas: RV000, R81, R85, R89, W3

The "Reflections Yesteryear" stamps are exclusively available at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for those living in the UK. You can buy the stamps individually or as complete sets.

Susana has been adding new products again!! Here's a little teaser:

With Christmas just around the corner, it would be a great time to put together a little (or a long, lol) wish list to hand to your hubby. It will make for super easy shopping for him. ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's The Victorian
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Embellishments: Prima Flower, ribbon, stitching, pearls, crochet trim

December Release Day at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!

2011-12-11T01:00:00.005-05:00

Welcome to the release day blog hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! As always, Kimmie has put together an amazing release this month. There's the new "Sugar and Spice" set by Cheryl Alger, two new sets from Emilie Goulet called "Lots of Love 1" and Lots of Love 2", six new Alice in Wonderland characters from Annie Rodrigue and a fantastic set of Wonderland Sentiments!

The blog hop started over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge Blog where you'll find a complete list of all the participants. As you hop along today, make sure to leave comments at each blog because some lucky stampers will win packages of some of the new December stamps. So, if you've been following along, you should have arrived here after visiting with the always lovely Angie Baker.

I have two cards to share with you today. The first features the amazing "Mad Hatter" by Annie Rodrigue. I love the Mad Hatter. I love his quirkiness, his sense of style and the fact that he embraces his madness. :) I have to say that Johnny Depp was PHENOMENAL in that role...he's one of my favourite actors, and his portrayal of the Hatter was sheer brilliance. Annie's Hatter is sheer artistic brilliance, don't you agree? The papers are all from My Mind's Eye "Breeze". The Mad Hatter comes with two sentiments, "We're all mad here!" and "What's the hatter with you?".

As always, I stamped him on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured him with Copic markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Shirt: BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, BG96, C5, C7 Vest and hat: R22, R27, R46, R59, BV23, C3, C5, C7 Pants: G20, YG91, YG95, BG96, G99, BV29, C5, C7 Cup: C00, C1, C3

This next card features one of the adorable images in the brand new "Lots of Love 1" set by Emilie Goulet. This super sweet set includes three main image stamps and six coordinating sentiments just perfect for Valentines Day! I really love these kissing fish. :) The plaid and "X and O" papers are from Basic Grey Olivia while the pink background paper is from Crate Paper. I covered two wooden hearts with the Crate paper and used one of the Lots of Love 1 sentiments. The border was created with a Martha Stewart punch.

After colouring the fish with my Copics, I added some Smooch Illuminate. To create the transparent bubble, I first stamped the image directly on the patterned paper. I added a bit of shading with a few pink markers, added a bit of white gel pen to the highlights and then covered all the bubbles with a generous coat of Glossy Accents.

Green Fish: YG00, YG11, BG10, BG11, BG15, BG09, BV23, BV29 Pink Fish: RV000, R81, R83, R85, R89, BV23

The new stamps are now available for purchase at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store! Once again, Kimmie will be offering the Gimmie Kimmie Kits for those of you who just want them all! The kits are grouped together by artist and offered at a great discount, but only for a limited time!

It's now my pleasure to send you off to visit with the very sweet Kerry Johnson!

Happy hopping, and don't forget to leave comments along the way for your chance to win some of the new stamps!

Blessings,

Melanie

Curious and Curiouser...A Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!

2011-12-10T07:00:00.004-05:00

Welcome to another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge...and another Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!! You all know that release day is tomorrow, right?? I'm sure you've been stalking the Krafty Girls' and Krafty Guests' blogs over the past few days as we've been sharing sneak peeks! The previews continue today in conjunction with our challenge...oh, and of course we've got sneak peek blog candy too! Makes for a very exciting day at KKS. :) You're in for quite the treat, as we're not only previewing the new December stamps by Annie Rodrigue, but we're also introducing a brand new sentiment set to coordinate with Annie's new characters!!

Our challenge hostess this week is the lovely and oh so talented Michele Boyer who has created a fantastic sketch for us to play along with.

Oh. My. Goodness. Do you have any idea how excited I was when Kimmie showed us these new stamps??!! Annie just outdid herself this month and created several characters from Alice in Wonderland! There are six characters in all. I chose to ink up Alice for my challenge card today...I absolutely LOVE her!! The paper on my card is from Bo Bunny (I think it's called Midnight Frost). I used several Spellbinders sets: Circles, Lacey Circles, Parisian Accents and Labels Eight. Alice comes with a coordinating sentiment ("Curious and Curiouser"), but the sentiment I used is part of the brand new "Wonderland Sentiments". It consists of several fantastic Wonderland inspired sentiments that I know I will be reaching for frequently.

Just look at the movement Annie created in this image. You can just imagine her falling down the rabbit hole...and oh, that hair! This image was so much fun to colour up with the flowing tresses and fabric folds. I did enlarge her pupils a bit with my Copic Multiliner and added some blue irises.

Skin: E00, E000, E11, R20 Hair: E50, Y21, Y23, E31, E33, E35, E37, E59 Dress: B32, B34, B37, B39, BV23, C00, C3, C5, C7, E41, E43, E47 Pendant: Y38

Here's a look at Michele's sketch:

If you play along with the sketch challenge this week, you could win the stamp Michele used on her beautiful card this week...which happens to be "Alice", the same stamp I used. Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. You can check out all the sketch projects by the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

I'd just like to give a shout out to our amazing line up of guest designers for December...you ladies are creating such phenomenal work! It's an absolute pleasure to have you on board with us this month. :)

SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY: Make sure to visit each and every Krafty Girl and Krafty Guest who participated in today's sneak peaks and leave them comments for your chance to win THREE of Annie's new Alice in Wonderland stamps! Kimmie will be drawing TWO lucky winners who will be announced on tomorrow's post on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

One more sleep until you can get your inky fingers on all the new December stamps! We'll see you tomorrow for the release day blog hop. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

'Tis the Season...For December Sneak Peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

2011-12-08T07:00:00.002-05:00

Another fantastic release is just around the corner at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! The December 2011 release will be available for purchase this Sunday, but in the meantime we'll be bringing you daily sneak peeks...and what would sneak peeks be without a bit of BLOG CANDY?? More on that later in my post!

Today, we're kicking off the sneak peeks with the new stamps by Krafty Artist Cheryl Alger. You may remember that last month, Cheryl brought us a super cute set featuring some adorable young lads. Well, we definitely needed a feminine counterpart to that set, so today we are introducing the "Sugar and Spice" set. It includes three main image stamps and an assortment of co-ordinating sentiments. It will be available for purchase only as a complete set.

This is one of the three main image stamps in the set. The papers are from My Mind's Eye "Everyday Flair".

She was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I added a generous coat of Glossy Accents to her balloon and also to her shoes for a patent leather look.

On the interior of my card, I used one of the sentiments in the "Sugar and Spice" set. I also used a Memento Dew Drop ink pad in Rich Cocoa to just ink up her balloon and added it beside the sentiment.

As promised, let's talk about the BLOG CANDY!! There will be daily giveaways during the sneak peeks with each day's winner being announced the following morning at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog . All you need to do to be eligible is hop around each day to visit every designer sharing sneak peeks and leave comments on their personal blogs. Kimmie will be drawing the winners from those comments. Make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog each day for complete lists of links to the daily sneak peeks! So don't forget to leave those comments today...one lucky stamper will be the winner of a "Sugar and Spice" set!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

Priscilla

2011-12-03T07:00:00.053-05:00

Happy weekend!!! It's time for another Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge. This week, our hostess is the super sweet Diana Pickering who wants to see embossing on your projects...dry embossing or wet embossing, the choice is up to you!

Well, I opted for dry embossing...not that I had a choice, lol. I don't even own any wet embossing supplies! Isn't that sad?? lol Maybe some will show up in my stocking this year. :) I don't mind actually, because I have some really fantastic embossing folders to play with. I inked up Priscilla this week, one of the new Gothic Girls by Annie Rodrigue. I also thought she would make a fantastic bookmark, which incidentally I am in need of! I paired her up with some Prima Printery papers, which I thought were a perfect choice to coordinate with Priscilla's stack of books. Are you a book lover? I'm an avid reader...just finished the fourth book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. (it was a not-so-patient three year wait for that book to come out!! It's one of my favourite series. ) For the embossed elements on my project, I used a great embossing folder from Couture Creations. This one is called Hedged Maze. I did my embossing on kraft cardstock and highlighted the embossed areas by first sanding the raised design and applying some Walnut Stain Distress Ink to bring out the detail. To finish it off, I added some fabulous ribbon that was a gift from my best friend Amanda. :)

Priscilla was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. My apologies for the glare on her hair. My marker ink went a little tacky in spots...namely my E59 which I applied in all the areas of deepest shadow...and the angle at which I placed my light caused a really terrible reflection on that ink. Honestly, it does not look quite that bad in real life. I wish I would have had time to reshoot it, as I would have re-angled the light so it didn't highlight those tacky ink areas to this extreme.

(Sorry...no colour list today! I forgot to record my markers that day.)

To finish off the back of my bookmark, I stamped this pretty flourish design from Impression Obsession around the edges to frame the sentiment that comes with Priscilla. (both were stamped in Walnut Stain Distress Ink)

Did you visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see all the gorgeous embossed projects by the Krafty Girls? If you play along with us this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Diana's gorgeous card. (make sure to use a KK stamp on your project to be eligible for the prize) While you are visiting the KKS blog, make sure to check out the gorgeous cards by our fabulous December guests!! Kimmie has invited several very talented ladies to join us for the following month. Please join us in extending them all a very warm welcome...we're thrilled to have them playing along!

Oh, and make sure to click HERE to check out the Frugal Friday Sales for this weekend.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...your visit is much appreciated. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stocking Stuffer Release at SCACD!!

2011-12-02T04:00:00.001-05:00

Good morning crafty friends!! 'Tis the season to spread some holiday cheer at SCACD with a Stocking Stuffer release!

This final release of 2011 features a sampler by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD!!! Now despite the "Stocking Stuffer" name, these aren’t holiday stamp, but they would make a fantastic gift for all the crafty people on your list!! So Susana has named this release the Odds and Ends Sampler. (For you Peeker fans, more are coming next year!!!) There are two collections in this release: the first Collection is the Odds Sampler and the second is the Ends Sampler. Each collection consists of four stamps. You will be able to buy either Set of 4 or both sets together and get a sweet discount!!!

To celebrate the release, and to get your creative juices flowing, we're having a fun blog hop today featuring the new Odds and Ends Sampler. If you've been following along, you should have arrived here after visiting with the lovely Alex. Wasn't her project gorgeous?!

My card today features "Fancy" from the "Ends Sampler" set...isn't she cute? I paired her up with some papers from My Mind's Eye. The flourish was created with the Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork Die. The little roses are from Prima and were treated to a little ink and Stardust Stickles. While Susana doesn't have these exact roses in stock, she currently has a fantastic deal on some Flower Grab Bags...these bags contain a total of 37 flowers for only $9.99 (USD)! The flowers are an assortment by Prima and Kaisercraft...what a steal!! I also tucked in a few pearl sprays. The frame around the image was created with a border punch. Just punch a strip of cardstock, cut out some notches and adhere the border to your image panel with a strong double sided tape. (I used Scor-Tape) The notches should allow you to manipulate the cardstock around gentle curves like this oval.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20, BV31, BV23 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59, W9 Pants: B32, B34, B37, B39, C7, R85 (which was too bright, so I toned it down with some BV31 and C3) Shirt: YG00, YG91, YG95, G99, BV23, BV29, W7 Shoes: E50, E25, E59, W9

The Odds and Ends Samplers are available for purchase exclusively at SCACD.

If you haven't started your Christmas shopping yet, it's definitely time to start! SCACD is the perfect place to do some shopping for all those crafty friends on your lists...or your could always leave a little wish list of SCACD goodies for your hubby to make shopping easy for him this year. ;) In addition to all the gorgeous SCACD exclusive stamps, Susana also carries several other stamp companies, an amazing selection of 6x6 paper pads by many of your favourite companies, stamping essentials like acrylic blocks and ink pads, embellishments, Viva Decor products, embossing folders, jewelry findings, paints, canvases, Copics, Spellbinders, Memory Box dies, chipboard...shall I go on? lol

It's my pleasure to send you off to visit with the next designer on the hop, the very talented and very sweet Suzanne! I know she has something fabulous to share with you. :)

Thanks for joining us today!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Fancy"
Paper: Bazzill, Neenah, MME
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Inks (Bundled Sage and Walnut Stain)
Embellishments: Prima flowers, pearl sprays, Stickles
Tools: Spellbinders Ovals, Martha Steward border punch, Scor-Tape, Memory Box Die

Blog Candy Alert at SCACD!!

2011-12-01T10:07:00.000-05:00

Hi crafty friends!! Did you know that we're gearing up for a fantastic release tomorrow at SCACD??!! These new SCACD exclusive stamps have been designed by artist Elisabeth Bell. Some of the design team members have been sharing sneak peeks at the SCACD Store Blog throughout the week featuring the stamps in this last release of 2011.

Susana is also offering some Blog Candy to a couple of lucky stampers...hop on over to read THIS post for all the details. This blog candy closes tonight, so make sure to get your name in before time runs out!

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

Blessings,

Melanie

My Purr-fect Friend

2011-11-26T07:00:00.050-05:00

Hi and welcome to another Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge!! This week our lovely hostess is the lovely Kerry Johnson, and she is putting out the challenge to make a "Thank You" card.

I decided to ink up "Bella", one of the brand new November stamps released last week. I also decided to do a little mixing and matching of different Kraftin' Kimmie sentiments to create a sentiment tailor made for a thank you card featuring Bella and her feline friends. The "Thanks" , "for being", "my" and "friend" are all bits and pieces from the "Thankful Sentiments" set (which is on for an incredible $5.40 for this weekend's big KKS blowout sale...but only until Monday!!). The word "Purrfect" is from the sentiment that comes with "Kreepy Kitty". (that stamp can be your's during this weekend's sale for only $4.20!!) The papers are from My Mind's Eye "Blink of an Eye". I also added some brown pearls made with my Viva Decor pear pen and a little dollar store crocheted trim to finish it off. I wanted to add stitching...I seem to have a compulsion to do that...but I ran out of thread. (I'll be stopping at the fabric store ASAP to remedy that problem!)

Bella was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I paper-pieced her dress with the MME paper and added some shading with my Copics. After colouring this image, I did a tune-up on some of my markers as I was having issues with the ink and/or nibs...areas of her hair went quite tacky. Have you had that happen?? Where the ink tends to "float" on the surface of your paper instead of absorbing nicely? Ugh....so frustrating! I decided to leave well enough alone and not touch her hair anymore before it became bound for the scrap bin. Afterwards, I replaced the nibs on a few of my markers, topped them off with my refills and cleaned out the caps. Not only do I need to get more thread, but now I also need to replenish my stash of marker nibs!

Skin: E00, E000, E11, BV31, BV23, R81 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Cats: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7 Shading on dress: E02, E08, E17, E18, E59

If you play along this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp and sentiment seen on Kerry's beautiful card. (just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible) Pop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps blog to check out what my fellow Krafty Girls have created for this week's challenge.

SALES/NEWS

BLACK FRIDAY: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is joining in the fun of all the Black Friday sales over the US!! Pop on by the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store and click on the "Deals Deals Deals" option to check out this fabulous sale. In my post, I noted the incredible prices for two of many stamps/sets that are discounted for this sale...but the sale is over Monday, so don't miss out on these bargains!

NOVEMBER GIMMIE KIMMIE KITS: These will only be available for a limited time, so make sure to grab yours while you still can! (Find them HERE.)

CANADIAN SCRAPBOOKER AND KRAFTIN' KIMMIE GIVEAWAY: KKS has been featured once again in Canadian Scrapbooker!! This new issue has a full page layout featuring four cards made by some of the Krafty Girls. Kimmie is giving away TEN sets of the four stamps seen in the layout to some lucky KKS fans!! You can read THIS post for full details.

Have a wonderful day folks and thanks so much for stopping by. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps November 2011 Release Day Blog Hop!!

2011-11-20T01:00:00.005-05:00

Good morning and welcome to the release day blog hop for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! This month's release includes the adorable "Snips and Snails" set by Cheryl Alger, two fun sets by Emilie Goulet for all the dog lovers called "Canine Capers 1 & 2" (sold separately) and six incredible new Gothic girls by Annie Rodrigue. Oh, and Kimmie is also releasing the "Best Friends" stamp that was designed by Annie Rodrigue as the commemorative stamp from Krafty Day 2011!

The hop begins over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog where you will find a complete list of all participants. If you've been following along, you will have arrived here after visiting with Krafty Girl Carole Burrage...not only is Carole ridiculously talented, but her witty sense of humour never fails to leave me in stitches. :) Oh, and while you're hopping around, make sure to leave comments as Kimmie will be drawing a couple of lucky winners who will win packages of some of the new November stamps!

For my card today, I inked up "Wednesday", one of the new Gothic Girls by Annie Rodrigue...isn't she fantastic?? Nothing sweeter than a little girl playing with her dolls...even when said girl has stitched an "X" over her doll's mouth! lol Annie's Gothic Girls combine just the right amount of cute with edgy...love her style so much! I used some papers from my scrap bin...I believe the green polka-dotted paper is from MME, and I'm not sure where the flowered paper is from. All paper edges were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and I added a few dollar store pearls. The decorative border was created with a Martha Steward punch.

Wednesday was stamped on Neenah cardstcock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R22 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Clothes: G20, YG00, YG91, YG95, G99, R22, R27, R46, E59, C5, C7

On the inside of my card, I used the one of two sentiments that come with Wednesday:

(She also comes with the sentiment "Come Play With Me!".)

I already posted the following card back in October on Krafty Day, but thought I'd post it again since the "Best Friends" stamp is now availble to purchase:

After you finish hopping today, make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store where all of the new November stamps are now available for purchase. (make sure to check out the Gimmie Kimmie Kits !)

Ok, it's now my extreme pleasure to send you off to visit with one of our incredible Krafty Artists, Emilie Goulet!! Emilie has been such a fantastic addition to the Kraftin' Kimmie artistic team, and her dog images this month are just brilliant!

Happy hopping and happy shopping. :) (and don't forget to leave those comments along the way for your chance to win some new stamps!)

Blessings,

Melanie

Canine Capers...Day Two of the November Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!

2011-11-18T07:00:00.005-05:00

***This is my second post of the day...please scroll down or just click HERE for the SCACD Release Day Blog Hop!!!***

Welcome to day two of the November sneak peeks for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! Today we are introducing the newest offerings of Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet...she has created two fabulous sets featuring a variety of adorable pooches!! The sets are called "Canine Capers 1" and "Canine Capers 2". Each includes three main image stamps and an assortment of coordinating sentiments.

This playful Dalmatian is from "Canine Capers 1". As always, Emilie's characters have such personality...I absolutely love this spotted pooch!! The plaid paper is a scrap of October Afternoon paper that I had kicking around. The other design papers are from My Mind's Eye "Breeze"...I love that the papers in the collection lend themselves so well towards masculine cards.

Ummmm....looking at this picture I just realized that I coloured the ball to look like Earth. lol

The Dalmatian was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. After using my markers, I added some additional shading with a brown Conte Crayon applied with a blending stump. Can you spot the HUGE mistake I made??? It's really obvious on this close up. The teal polka-dotted MME paper has lettering in the dots...and I glued it on UPSIDE DOWN. DOH! I managed to accomplish this feat even after telling myself REPEATEDLY to make sure that I glued it on the right way! lol This pooch was pop-dotted for a bit of dimension.

Copics: W00, E40, E42, E43, C3, C7, C9, R22, R27, R46, R59, Y17, BG000, B32, B34

Here's a look at the inside where I used one of the sentiments that comes with Canine Capers 1:

***BLOG CANDY*** Make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to check out what my fellow Krafty Girls and our Krafty Guests have created for today sneak peeks. Oh, and don't forget to leave comments on everybody's blogs today for your chance to win...and this time there will be two lucky winners! Kimmie is giving away one set of Canine Capers 1 and one set of Canine Capers 2!! The winners names will be announced on the KKS Blog tomorrow morning.

The Krafty Girls will be bringing you another round of sneak peeks with our weekly challenge tomorrow. I'll be sitting that one out due to a crazy busy week, but I will be back on Sunday for our release day blog hop!! Hope to see you then. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Introducing "Reflections Yesteryear" and "Reflections Fantasy"...it's Release Day at SCACD!!

2011-11-18T04:00:00.059-05:00

*** This is one of two posts on my blog today...please feel free to scroll up or just click HERE for my Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!***

It's RELEASE DAY at SCACD!! Susana is releasing two gorgeous sets of exclusive stamps by artist Carmen Medlin..."Reflections Yesteryear" and "Reflections Fantasy". I have to tell you folks, that these stamps are stunning. They are a dream to colour...beautiful hair, lavish clothing and such pretty delicate features. Susana is also releasing two "Just Because" stamps: "The Topiary" and "Carolyn's Bonsai", which are equally as lovely. To celebrate this release, we're having a fun blog hop today to showcase all the new stamps!!

There is a complete list of all hop participants at the SCACD Store Blog. If you have been tracking along the hop, you should have arrived her after visiting with Lori...and I know she had a beautiful project to share with you. :)

My card today features "The Georgian", one of the stamps in the "Reflections Yesteryear" collection. These new stamps are so pretty...I know I will be reaching for them often. I've always thought it would be so much to act in a period film and be able to wear dresses like this one. :) The papers on my card are all from Memory Box "Minuet". The flourishes were cut with my Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork die and the decorative border was created with a Martha Stewart punch. For finishing touches I sponged all paper edges with brown ink, added some machine stitching, flat backed pearls and a Prima Flower.

The Georgian was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. After finishing with my markers, I added some additional shading to the underskirt and bodice with a brown Conte crayon.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: B91, B93, B95, B97, B99, B39, C5, C7, E50, E40, E42, E43,G20, G82, G85, G99, YG00 and brown Conte Crayon

To finish off the inside of my card, I used another stamp being released today "The Topiary". I also tucked in a few segments of the Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork die.

Now, it doesn't show in this picture, but I accented parts of the image and the die cut scrolls with a Spica pen. This pretty topiary was of course coloured with Copic markers.

YG00, YG03, YG63, YG67, G21, G99, C5, C7, E97, E99, R22, R89, B91, B93, B95, B97, BG01, BG09, B99, E50, Y21, Y17, E33, E35, E37

The "Reflections Yesteryear", "Reflections Fantasy" and "Just Because" stamps are all available for purchase exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie. You can purchase the stamps individually, but if you have fallen in love with all the stamps (like me!), you can instead purchase them as complete sets at discounted prices. When bought as sets, both the "Reflections Yesteryear" and "Reflections Fantasy" collections include a bonus accessory stamp.

It is my pleasure to send you off to visit with the lovely Colleen who has a gorgeous project to share with you. :)

Happy hopping and happy shopping friends!

Blessings,

Melanie

"Snips and Snails"...A November Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!

2011-11-17T07:00:00.012-05:00

The Krafty Girls have been busy behind the scenes preparing for this Sunday's release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! We've had a fantastic time playing with these soon-to-be released stamps that we know you are going to fall in love with. Starting today, we will be sharing daily sneak peeks featuring a different Krafty Artist's stamps each day. Kimmie will also be giving away daily sneak peek BLOG CANDY!! Each day, there will be a list of the participating Krafty Girls and guests over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

Today we are introducing a brand new set of stamps by Krafty Artist Cheryl Alger called "Snips and Snails". It consists of three adorable main image stamps and six coordinating sentiments, and will only be sold as a complete set. This little guy with his bouquet of flowers is one of the main images in the set...I just love his knobby little knees, and how cute are all those cowlicks??!! I used some fun papers from My Mind's Eye "Hattie". The "Be Mine" sentiment is part of the "Snips and Snails" set.

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

Skin: E00, E000, E11, R22 (and I experimented with some BV31 for shadows...but it didn't really blend very well this time) Hair: E50, Y21, Y23, E33, E35, E37, E59, E97, E99 Shorts: B91, B93, B95, B97, C5 Shirt: BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, C5, C7, Y21, Y23, E35, E97, E99

***SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY***

How would you like to win the entire "Snips and Snails" set?? All you need to do is visit all the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests participating in today's sneak peeks and make sure to leave a comment on their personal blogs. You will find a complete list of links to their blogs at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, where Kimmie will also announce the winner on tomorrow's sneak peek post! Good luck. :)

Hope to see you back tomorrow when we will share some more sneak peeks!

Blessings,

Melanie

"The Beauty"...an SCACD Sneak Peek!

2011-11-16T04:00:00.022-05:00

The sneak peeks continue today for the upcoming release this Friday at SCACD! Susana is releasing two gorgeous new exclusive collections by Carmen Medlin..."Reflections Fantasy" and "Reflections Yesteryear". (There are also two "Just Because" stamps!!) We kicked off the previews yesterday, and they will continue each day leading up to our release day blog hop on Friday.

My sneak peak today features "The Beauty", one of the stamps in the "Reflections Yesteryear" collection. These newest stamps by Carmen are just exquisite. They are also very versatile...as you can see, I used "The Beauty" for a Christmas card by pairing her up with some pretty holiday papers. I also added some Make It Crafty Chipboard that was given a coat of ivory craft paint followed by a coat of Stickles. I coloured some white pearls with my R59 Copic marker for a custom colour match.

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

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: R22, R27, R46, R59, G20, G82, G85, G99, C5, C7 Chair: B91, B93, B95, B97, C5 (my apologies as I forgot to record the colours used on the wooden parts of the chair)

To see the rest of today's sneak peeks my very talented team mates, please visit the SCACD Store Blog. Oh, and while you're there make sure to get your name entered for Susana's Sneak Peek Blog Candy!! (you can read all the details by clicking on the above link)

Both the "Reflections Yesteryear" and the "Reflections Fantasy" will be available for purchase this Friday exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie. You will have the option to purchase the stamps individually or as complete sets. The sets include bonus accessory stamps and are of course offered at a discounted price. :)

Make sure to tune in to the SCACD Store Blog tomorrow for more sneak peeks...and then plan to join us Friday when we will be celebrating the release of the new stamps with a fantastic blog hop!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Sneak Peeks begin today for SCACD!!

2011-11-15T10:15:00.000-05:00

That's right my crafty friends! We are gearing up for another fantastic SCACD release this Friday! Susana will be releasing a stunning collection of exclusive stamps by Carmen Medlin...my word, these stamps are incredible!! I know they will be on your "must-have" list! The sneak peeks begin today at the SCACD Store Blog, and will continue each day followed by our release day blog hop this Friday.

Sharing three sneak peeks today are Danni, Donalda and Alex...hop on over to the SCACD store blog to see their gorgeous projects. While there, make sure to read through the post for details on Susana's Sneak Peek Blog Candy!!! These stamps will be exclusively available at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie.

Oh, and this would also be a great time for me to let you know about some fantastic new products that have hit the shelves at SCACD...check out THIS post for all these wonderful items! (there are also some incredible bargains on Halloween and fall papers that you will not want to miss out on)

I hope to see you back tomorrow. I'll have a sneak peek card to share featuring one of these beautiful soon-to-be released stamps!

Blessings,

Melanie

Wishes Do Come True

2011-11-13T12:00:00.000-05:00

Hi folks! If you visited SCACD over the past week, you will have noticed that the shopping carts were closed for some website maintenance, but they will be open again today so you can shop to your crafty heart's content. :) Oh, and I should mention that Susana has added many fantastic new products, so you'll want to take a good long browse around the site today to see what your newest "must have" items will be. It's also a great time to make a little "wish list" to hand to your hubby to make his holiday shopping for you quick and easy! ;)

Before sharing my card today, I would just like to say a HUGE thank you to Susana. I was so excited when she contacted me earlier this year to join her team of lovely designers. Not only is she a wonderful business owner who offers warm and friendly service to her customers, but she has also become a great friend who I very much appreciate. I feel very blessed to know her and to have the opportunity to represent SCACD. So thank Susana for everything you do...and most importantly for just being you. You rock girlfriend! :)

I've got a card to share with you today featuring one of the newest exclusive stamps to hit the shelves at SCACD and Quixotic Paperie. This is "Wishes Do Come True" from the "Classic Retro Crew" collection by Victoria Case for SCACD. I paired her up with some papers from MME "Vanity Fair". I used the "Hedged Maze" embossing folder by Couture Creations on the horizontal teal panel and then lightly sanded it to highlight the raised pattern. I also added some rhinestone swirls, sheer ribbon and a decorative brad.

"Wishes Do Come True" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Isn't she fabulous?? She's most definitely rockin' that genie outfit! I thought I'd be adventurous and attempt to colour her pants and veil as sheer fabric. The results are not what I had envisioned. sigh. The veil turned out ok, but I just couldn't get her pants right...even after FOUR attempts!! By that time I was getting frustrated, so I decided that my final attempt was passable and I coated them quite generously with Stardust Stickles...which helped to conceal my blunders on her pants. lol Love my Stardust Stickles. :)

The brand new "Classic Retro Crew" and "Street Views" by Victoria Case are available exclusively at SCACD and Quixotic Paperie. The stamps are available for individual purchase or as complete sets. The sets are available at a great discounted price and they also include a bonus accessory stamp.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

A Little Something for the Lads!

2011-11-12T07:00:00.027-05:00

Hi folks! The lovely Angie Baker is our hostess this week for the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge, and she wants to see you make a Masculine Card/Project this week!

For my masculine card this week, I inked up "Toymaker Elf" by Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet ...isn't he fantastic??!! I absolutely love him. :) I paired him up with some papers from My Mind's Eye "12 Days of Christmas". I added a couple of fun jingle bells and some baker's twine (from The Twinery).

Toymaker Elf was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R22, BV31 Hair: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7 Clothes: R22, R27, R46, R59, YG00, G20, G82, G85, G99, BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, C5 and C7

Here's a peek at the inside of my card where I stamped a sentiment from the "Christmas Interior Sentiments" set.

Have you popped over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see what the other Krafty Girls have whipped up for this week's Masculine Card challenge? If you play along with us, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Angie's fantastic card! Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project to be eligible for the prize.

Oh, and don't forget to check out this weekend's Frugal Fridays Sales as well as the ongoing Retirement Sale on select stamps! You can find all these bargains in the "Deals Deals Deals" section of the KKS Online Store.

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

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Toymaker Elf" and "Christmas Interior Sentiments"
Ink: Memento, Distress Ink, Copics
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Embellishments: Twinery baker's twine, dollar store jingle bells

Christmas Wishes

2011-11-05T07:00:00.004-04:00

Good morning and happy Saturday!! We've got a great challenge at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog this week called "Pin It Down!" courtesy of the very talented Michele Boyer. There are so many options out there for decorative pins that range from fun and funky to classy and elegant...I know some creative folks even design their own with various beads and spacers.

For my card today, I decided to use a sentiment as my focal panel. This pretty sentiment is part of the Christmas Interior Sentiments set. (Despite it's name, this set can obviously be used for the front of your cards too!!) I used four different Spellbinders sets on this card. (Ovals, Labels 10, Labels 8 and Parisian Accents) To create the tight mats, I just traced around the outer edges of the dies and hand cut them out...this would also be why I chose to lightly distress my paper edges. It quite nicely covers up any less-than-perfect cutting. :) The design papers are all from Authentique "Wonder". The edges were also sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. The pretty swirls were cut with my MFT Fancy Flourishes die. I added in a few dollar store pearls that were coloured with my R59 Copic marker. The wired bow was tied with the aide of my Bow-Easy and was nestled in the middle of a layered medallion cut with a die from the Parisian Accents Spellbinders Set. I tucked in a pretty Maya Road pin and added a Prima Flower Centre to finish it off.

If you play along this week you could win the stamp Michele used on her gorgeous card...just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project. For some inspiration, make sure to hop on over the the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see what the rest of the Krafty Girls have created this week.

Oh, and don't forget to check out all the incredible SALES at the Kraftin Kimmie Stamps Online Store. The Frugal Friday Sale will be up until Sunday night. There is also the massive retirement sale going on. This could be your last chance to get your inky fingers on some of these great KKS classics before they are gone!

Thanks so much for stopping by...I really appreciate your visit!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "
Paper: Bazzill, Authentique
Embellishments: Pearls, Maya Road pin, Prima Flower Centre, wired ribbon
Tools: Spellbinders, MFT die

Batty and Catty in Black and White

2011-10-29T07:00:00.118-04:00

Good morning and a very happy Saturday to everybody! Our Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge this week is brought to us by our lovely hostess, the lovely and talented Donna Wardle. She wants to see "Monochromatic" projects this week!

I still had a couple of stamps from this year's Halloween release that hadn't seen ink yet, and since the big day is on Monday I thought I'd best put them to use! The image on the front of my card is "Batty and Catty " by Annie Rodrigue. I chose to go with a black and white monochromatic scheme to coordinate with these great papers from the Echo Park Apothecary Emporium collection. I kept the layout really simple and inked the paper edges with Black Soot Distress Ink. The "Happy Halloween" sentiment is from the "Halloween Sentiments" set, a fantastic collection of sentiments just perfect for finishing off all your spooky projects.

Batty and Catty were stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Can you spot the glaring error??!! I had these papers in mind when I started colouring the image, so I knew I wanted to go with a black and white monochromatic scheme. I reached for my C's and started merrily colouring up Batty and her feline friend. After colouring, I cut my images out and placed them on the design paper. That is when I realized that the greys in the papers had much more of a warm undertone than I remembered. Sigh. Why I continue to rely on this memory of mine is beyond me...it seems to fail me frequently these days! lol I should have pulled the paper out first and then I would have known to use my W's instead. So in an attempt to try to make the image coordinate better with the paper, I pulled out my W00 and went over Batty's face and some of the highlights to try to warm the tones up a bit. Well, it was marginally better, but not quite what I'd call "successful". I stuck her on anyways to serve as a reminder that I really should pull my papers out BEFORE colouring! lol

Copics: C00, C1, C3, C5, C7, 100, BV31, BV23, W00

I also included an uncoloured (gasp!! lol) stamped image on the inside of my card. This is "Kreepy Kitty" by Emilie Goulet. That great sentiment come with Kreepy Kitty...I thought it kind of tied in with "Catty" on the front of the card.

If you play along with our challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Donna's beautiful card. Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible for the prize. In need of some inspiration? Make sure to hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to check out the gorgeous monochromatic creations by the very talented Krafty Girls!

***KRAFTIN' KIMMIE NEWS FLASHES***

Krafty Girl Guest Designer Contest: This closes on October 31, 2011, so if you haven't submitted yet then you'd best get crackin'!! For full details, you can read THIS POST.
October 2011 Release: The newest stamps were all availabe for purchase as of last week! You can get them at the KKS Online Store. For those of you who "want it all", you can still scoop up your Gimmie Kimmie Kits, but only for a limited time!
Retirement Sale on Select Stamps: Kimmie is retiring some of the "oldies but goodies" to make room for upcoming releases. These retiring stamps are on sale for amazing prices right now, so make sure to take a look in the "Deals Deals Deals" section of the store to scoop up these wonderful stamps before they're gone. (some have already sold out!!)
Frugal Friday Specials are up until Sunday night...this week some of the sentiment sets are on sale!! (sale stamps are on for 40-50% off!)

Thanks so much for your visit today. :)

Have a wonderful weekend my friends, and safe Trick or Treating for those of you going out Monday evening.

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Batty and Catty", "Kreepy Kitty" (and coordinating sentiment), "Halloween Sentiments"
Ink: Memento, Copics
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Echo Park
Embellishments: machine stitching

It's Release Day at SCACD!!!

2011-10-28T04:00:00.002-04:00

Hi folks! Welcome to today's blog hop celebrating the release of some fantastic new exclusive stamps by Victoria Case for SCACD. Susana is releasing two great sets, "Street Views" and the "Classic Retro Divas". They can be found exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie.

You can find a complete list for the blog hop over at the SCACD Store Blog.
If you've been following along in order, you should have arrived here after vising with Lorraine...I know she had something gorgeous to share with you!

This spellbinding diva is "Witchy Woman"...isn't she fantastic? Most of the paper on my card is from the Apothecary Emporium collection from Echo Park. However, the black rectangular centre panel is from the Nightfall Collection by Memory Box. (Did you know Susana has all her Halloween and Fall papers on sale right now?? This is a great time to stock up for next year!! FYI, when I did up this post there was only 1 of the Nightfall pads left, so if you want it go claim it quick!! You'll find all the Halloween and Fall paper HERE.) I cut my image out with my oval Spellbinders and used my Elegant Scrollwork Memory Box Die to create the little flourishes. (I just snipped the pieces apart to arrange them around the image.) The paper edges were all distressed with my scissor edges and sponged with black ink.

Witchy Woman was stamped on Neenah cardtock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I used some of the black Nightfall paper to paper-piece part of her dress. The background was sponged with with Antique Linen and Black Soot Distress Inks.

(not sure what happened with her cheeks in the picture...they don't look that blotchy in real life...promise!! lol sometimes my lighting does funky things to my images...just wondering, does anybody else ever have that problem??)

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20, BV31, BV23 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress (orange parts): YR16, YR07, E08, E13, E17, E18 Cat: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7

The "Classic Retro Divas" and "Street Views" by Victoria Case are available exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for those in the UK. You have the option to buy them individually or as sets. (the sets are available at a discounted price and will also include a bonus accessory stamp!)

Time for me to send you off to visit with the next talented designer on today's hop! I know you will love what Lori has to share with you. Her work is always beautiful. :)

Happy hopping and happy shopping friends!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: "Witchy Woman" from SCACD
Paper: Echo Park, Memory Box, Bazzill, Neenah
Ink: Memento, Distress Inks, Copics
Embellishments: machine stitching, Stardust Stickles
Tools: Spellbinders, Memory Box Die

"Couture Avenue"...an SCACD Sneak Peek!!

2011-10-26T04:00:00.040-04:00

We're gearing up for a release this Friday at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design!! (This release will also be available at Quixotic Paperie for those of you living in the UK.) There will be two new stamp collections by artist Victoria Case for SCACD..."Street Views" and "Classic Retro Divas". There are a total of four great stamps in each collection. The stamps will be available for individual purchase or as complete sets. If bought as sets, you will get to take advantage of a discounted price and will also receive a bonus accessory stamp.

Now, we didn't want to keep you in complete suspense until Friday so we thought it would be fun to share a few sneak peeks featuring the "Street Views". :) Danni shared a fantastic sneak peek yesterday, I'm up for today and tomorrow will be Kim's turn! The best way to keep up to date with all the happenings at SCACD is of course to become a follower over at the SCACD Store Blog (Follow Your Heart). You will most definitely want to pay a visit to the Store Blog as there is some Sneak Peek Blog Candy being offered this week...but more on that later. ;) For now, let's take a peek at one of the new release stamps!

This is "Couture Avenue", one of the new stamps from the soon-to-be released "Street Views". I thought that this stamp featuring some fun stores would be perfect for housing a gift card to send a friend on a little shopping spree. I used a Kraft card base and some pretty papers from the MME "Blink of an Eye" 6x6 pad. The image was cut and matted with Spellbinders Labels 8. I sponged the edges with some brown ink, added machine stitching and some pearls for finishing touches. The image was stamped on Neenah with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copic markers. (I have to apologize for not having a colour list for you today.) The sky was sponged in with blue ink and a hand-cut cloud template.

I had intended to cover the glass window with some Glossy Accents, but didn't remember until I went to snap the photo. My shadows could have been developed a bit more as well. There are a few placed that I actually shifted the location light source a bit...apparently I must have had a short attention span while colouring that evening. lol Let's call it "artistic license". ;)

Here's a shot of the inside of my card. I included a pocket to hold a gift card. Oh, and here's another example of my "short attention span". My computer generated sentiment is not centred at all!! lol All papers are from MME "Blink of an Eye".

***Sneak Peek Blog Candy***

Make sure to visit the SCACD Store Blog and read THIS post for details on the blog candy Susana is offering during the sneak peeks!! You can also check out Danni's sneak peek from yesterday and then Kim's preview tomorrow.

Mark your calenders for our Release Day Blog Hop this Friday!! Remember, we are only showing previews of three of the new stamps by Victoria Case for SCACD...there is still one "Street View" stamp and all four of the "Classic Retro Crew" stamps that will be staying under lock and key until this Friday. :)

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

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Couture Ave"

Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME

Embellishments: Machine stitching and pearls

Tools: Spellbinders Labels 8

Retail Therapy (Kraftin' Kimmie Release Day Blog Hop!)

2011-10-23T01:00:00.016-04:00

Hi folks! It's release day at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! October brings us yet another fantastic selection of stamps from our three Krafty Artists; Cheryl Alger, Emilie Goulet and Annie Rodrigue! The stamps that you've seen over the last few days (and perhaps a few that you haven't!) are now available to purchase! To celebrate, we are of course having a fun release day blog hop. :)

The hop begins over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog where you will also find a complete list of all the participants 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! So if you've been tracking along, you should have arrived here after visiting with the lovely Diana.

For my card today, I inked up one of the gorgeous October girls by artist Annie Rodrigue. This is "Sarah Shopper"...isn't she fun! Now I have to confess, I'm actually not much of a shopper...unless it's for stamping or art supplies, lol. I'm not one to go on those marathon shopping weekends. I'm usually "done" after the first couple of hours. But with the holidays just around the corner, I'm sure we'll all be out in the malls trying to get our shopping done. I also have to admit that I never look this snazzy when I'm out shopping! I love Sarah's cute outfit. :) I used some great papers from My Mind's Eye "Everyday Flair". Her shopping bags and boxes were all paper-pieced with various sheets of the MME paper. Oh, and that wonderful Elegant Scrollwork Memory Box die seemed to find it's way into my hands again. I can't help myself. I love it. :)

Sarah Shopper was stamped on Neenah in Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I also shaded the paper-pieced bags and boxes to help them blend in with the rest of the image. Otherwise, these bags may have appeared quite flat in comparison to the rest of the image. I cut Sarah out with my oval Spellbinders and sponged around her with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Jacket: R22, R24, R46, R59, C5 Skirt: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7 (I also used a variety of markers to add shading to the paper-pieced shopping bags)

On the inside of my card, I used this great sentiment that comes with Sarah Shopper:

After you are done hopping, make sure to head on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store where all the new October stamps are available for purchase. You will of course have the option to order your stamps individually or as complete sets with the Gimmie Kimmie Kits. These kits are divided by artist, and are offered at a great discount. However, they will only be available for a limited time so order yours quickly before they are gone!

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit with the very talented artist of Kimmie's Moonlight Whispers stamp line, Annie Rodrigue!

Thank you so much for joining us for today's release day blog hop. Happy hopping, happy shopping and don't forget to leave comments for your chance to win some of these great new stamps!! :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Sarah Shopper" and coordinating sentiment
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME "Everyday Flair"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Inks, Versafine
Embellishments: machine stitching, crocheted trim
Tools: Memory Box die

Sophia (Day Three of the Kraftin' Kimmie October Sneak Peeks)

2011-10-22T07:00:00.002-04:00

Good morning and happy Saturday to everybody!! We have a fantastic new Sketch Challenge over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps blog courtesy of Krafty Girl Pam Varnell this week! We also have another round of sneak peeks today featuring the newest Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps by Annie Rodrigue!!

I've inked up the very chic and svelte "Sophia" by Annie Rodrigue. I love her. :) She's so glamorous in her little cocktail dress. I also love her hair. I often wish I could pull off a sassy little bob like this, but I look TERRIBLE with short hair. (yes I tried it once, and no I don't want to talk about it, lol! suffice to say, it was awful! ) I just had to give her the "little black dress" that is apparently supposed to be a staple in every women's wardrobe. Not mine though, lol. I'm much more comfortable in a pair of pants. However, if I had a cute little figure like Sophia I might be a little more inclined to wear something like this! It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but I covered her dress and shoes with a very thin coat of Stardust Stickles. (It really is quite glittery in real life!) I should also let you know that I enlarged her pupils a bit with my Copic Multiliner and added in those green irises with my markers. The paper is all from the Echo Park "Season's Greetings" collection. The circular element was cut with my Spelbinders Lacey Circles and I embellished it with some flat backed rhinestones from Walmart.

Here's a closer look at Sophia. I used Christmas papers to make a holiday card, but she could easily be used throughout the year for many different occasions. Sophia also comes with the two coordinating sentiments "I'll Drink To That!" and "Cheers To You!".

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: C7, C5, C3 Drape and shoes: R22, R27, R46, R59

Oh, and here's a look at Pam's fantastic Sketch:

If you play along with the Sketch Challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of "Julie", the brand new stamp Pam used on her gorgeous card. Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible for the prize.

***SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY***

Have you visited the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog today?? Please hop on over there to see the beautiful challenge/sneak peek projects by my fellow Krafty Girls and our lovely Krafty Guests. Make sure to visit all their personal blogs today and leave comments along the way as Kimmie will be drawing two winners whose names will be announced tomorrow morning at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog! (each winner will recieve three of Annie's new October stamps!)

Thanks so much for your visit today! I hope to see you tomorrow for our release day blog hop. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Sophia"
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill
Ink: Memento, Copics
Embellishments: Rhinestones, Stickles
Tools: Spellbinders

Chillin' With My Friends...Day Two of the October Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!!

2011-10-21T07:00:00.019-04:00

Good morning everybody! Welcome to another round of sneak peeks for the upcoming Kraftin' Kimmie release this Sunday. Today the Krafty Girls are sharing projects featuring the October stamps by Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet!

For my card today, I inked up the adorable "Chillin' With My Friends". I mentioned yesterday that I love snowmen, so I've just been tickled pink to have the opportunity to ink up another snowy gent! I used some fun papers from My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas. And yes, I gave in to my latest obsession again by using that fantastic MFT Fancy Flourish Die. :) I also tucked in a Stickle-coated punched snowflake and added a pearl coloured with my R59 Copic marker.

I love how the little birds have perched themselves all over this friendly snowman...and how much fun is that long scarf?! After colouring him with Copic markers, I highlighted areas of the snow with a thin coat of Stardust Stickles. The image was cut out and matted with my circle Spellbinders.

Snow: BG70, B60, B91, C00, blender Scarf and Hat: B32, B34, B37, R22, R27, R46, R59, G05, G07, G28, C5, C7 Buttons: YG00, YG03, YG63, G99 Branches: E50, E25, E97, E99 Carrot: YR04, YR07, YR16, E08

Several of the Krafty Girls have also created some fantastic projects featuring the new stamps by Emilie Goulet...hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see who has sneak peeks to share today.

BLOG CANDY: While you're visiting the Krafty Girls to check out these great sneak peeks, make sure to leave comments on each of their blogs for the chance to win all five of Emilie's new October stamps!! Kimmie will draw one lucky winner who's name will be announced tomorrow on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I really appreciate your visit! Hope to see you tomorrow. ;)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Chillin' With My Friends"
Ink: Memento, Copics
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Embellishments: Stickles, pearl
Tools: MFT die, Spellbinders, Martha Stewart Punch

Frosty Fun...October Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!!

2011-10-20T07:00:00.005-04:00

Good morning folks. We're kicking off the October sneak peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps today! But before getting to today's project, I just wanted to share a bit about Krafty Day 2011 that was held this past Saturday near London, Ontario. What an amazing day! The doors opened at 9:00 am for attendees to come in, claim their seats and set up their krafty stations. Tables were piled high with Copic markers, Cuttlebugs, stamps, ink, dies and paper cutters. Kimmie opened the morning with announcements and everybody spent a bit of time enjoying refreshments and shopping both at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps display and at Scrappin' Great Deals who joined us for the day. :) Oh my goodness, you should have seen the wall behind the stamp displays...it was COVERED with gorgeous cards made by the Krafty Girls!! It was quite the sight to behold. :) Two make and takes were run in the morning by Krista VanTol and Kerry Johnson, and two more were run in the afternoon by myself and Tara Godfrey (with the assistance of her lovely daughter Hannah!). Door prizes were awarded throughout the day and we raffled off four packages of cards made by the Krafty Girls with all proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society. One of the highlights of the day was of course having Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue at our event!! Annie had her own table set up with sketchbooks for us to peek though (they were absolutely incredible!), watercolours, inks and samples of her work. She created a GORGEOUS inked piece featuring Batty and Catty that was also raffled off for charity...she certainly made one of our attendees a very happy lady!! I had a wonderful time connecting with fellow Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp fans and colouring enthusiasts. I'd like to say hello to all the wonderful ladies who attended...it was great to see some familiar faces from last year and to have the opportunity to meet some new friends as well. Thank you to all who helped make this a great event...I'm already looking forward to next year!

The excitement continues this week with our October sneak peeks!! We will be sharing previews of the new stamps each day leading up to the release day this Sunday. Today, the Krafty Girls are sharing projects featuring the newest stamps by Krafty Artist Cheryl Alger.

My project today features "Sending Winter Hugs". I absolutely adore snowmen and I think this little guy is so cute. :) I was recently in Michaels and found some great wooden tags that I thought would be fun to play with. I painted the tag with white acrylic paint and covered it with some paper from the Bo Bunny Blitzen collection. I first stamped the image on Neenah, coloured it with Copic makers and then cut it out. As the stick arms are much too delicate to cut out, I also stamped the image directly on the design paper so that I could basically paper-piece the snowman's body and still include those cute stick arms. I applied white acrylic craft paint to the tag and sprinkled it generously with Glamour Dust. I also mixed some Glamour Dust into a thin wash of acrylic paint and painted over the snowman's body. (which basically covered up any shading I had created with my Copics, lol. But he is cute and glittery now!) The little "Fun and Frosty" tag is from the Blitzen paper pad. I added a bit of ribbon and an acrylic snowflake from the dollar store that I coated with Stickles. This was a really easy and fun project to put together...it would also be a great project to work on with your kids. :)

(Unfortunately the glitter-factor of this tag didn't show up in the photograph, but it really is super sparkly with all the Glamour Dust and Stickles...and I was pretty glittery myself by the time I was done! lol)

To see more projects featuring the soon-to-be-released October Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps by Cheryl Alger, please visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog for links to the Krafty Girls sharing previews today.

Oh, and can we interest you in a little BLOG CANDY??!! All you need to do is leave a comment for each Krafty Girl sharing a sneak peek today and Kimmie will draw a winner who will be announced on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog tomorrow. You could be the very lucky winner of all three of Cheryl's new October stamps! :)

Thanks for stopping by for a peek today, and I hope you plan to join us tomorrow when we'll be sharing projects featuring stamps by yet another Krafty Artist!!

Have a wonderful day my friends. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Sending Winter Hugs"
Ink: Memento, Copics
Paper: Bo Bunny Blitzen
Embellishments: Glamour Dust, Stickles, Ribbon, acrylic snowflake, machine stitching
Other: White acrylic craft paint

Sitting Pretty...in the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-19T00:00:00.005-04:00

Hi folks!! Can you believe it's already October 19th?? This month is flying by and Halloween is creeping up really quickly. I need to get crackin' because I still have some great new Halloween papers, stamps and supplies that I need to use before the end of the month!

So with that in mind, I decided to pull out some of my SCACD goodies and get to work! I was looking through my ever growing collection of SCACD exclusive stamps, waiting for some spooky inspiration to hit and decided to pull out "Sitting Pretty" by Carmen Medlin from the Natural Beauty Collection. I figured with the right colour combination, she could work very nicely on a Halloween card. I used some beautiful papers from the Authentique "Glowing" collection, which just happens to be on sale right now at SCACD for 25% off! The paper edges were all distressed and sponged with Black Soot Distress Ink. I also used some chipboard pumpkins from the Maya Road "Autumn" pack and covered them with some orange paper from the Echo Park "Apothecary Emporium" paper pad (also on sale!!). After adhering the paper, I sanded the edges down and got to work with my Copic markers to create some shading and dimension. The bow was tied with my Bow Easy.

"Sitting Pretty" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. She really is so dainty and sweet...I kind of felt bad "grunging" her up a bit for Halloween!! But, I also love that these stamps are so versatile. You can really get such a different effect by just switching up your colour scheme...coloured in pastels, "Sitting Pretty" is gorgeous for a very soft and feminine card.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: C1, C3, C5, C7, YR07, YR16, E08, E13, E17, E18, V17, YG63 (and black Conte crayon on her skirt) Chair: YG00, G20, YG91, YG97, W1, W3, W5, W7 Pumpkins: Patterned paper, YR61, YR16, E13, E17, E18, E25, E59

I finished off the inside of the card with a bit of the Authentique design paper and some stamped images from the Teresa Collins Happy Hallows clear stamp set. (They were stamped with Black Soot Distress Ink. I didn't worry about getting a perfect impression as I think it added to the distressed feel of this card.) This Teresa Collins set is on sale for 20% off right now. It includes several images just perfect for finishing off your spooky creations.

Don't forget to pop by Susana's Custom Art and Card Design to check out all the great products in stock. Remember, all Halloween/fall paper pads are on sale for 25%, but only while supplies last!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Sitting Pretty" and Teresa Collins "Happy Hallows"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Echo Park "Apothecary Emporium" and Authentique "Glowing"
Embellishments: Maya Road Chipboard
Tools: Bow Easy, sanding block

Krafty Day 2011 Commemorative Stamp!! (a special limited time online offer!)

2011-10-16T07:00:00.010-04:00

KRAFTY DAY is finally here!!!

As many of you probably know, Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is putting on a fantastic event today with all the local stampers and scrappers!! Since most of our online friends aren't able to join us, except in spirit, we thought we'd do something special!!

The attendees of Krafty Day will enjoy a lovely KKS tote bag filled with goodies and one of those goodies is a special commemorative stamp, created especially for the event!! It's called "Best Friends"! Well, how would YOU like to get one too?!! Beginning today and running only until Friday, October 21st, each and every order over $75 before shipping and taxes will receive this stamp for FREE!! So pop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store for a little retail therapy. :)

Here's a card I made with the "Best Friends" stamp...and that great sentiment courtesy of The Beatles comes with it. :)

And the close up:

Please visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see what some of my fellow Krafty Girls have created with the "Best Friends" stamps.

***Krafty Girl Guest Designer Contest***

Did you see the Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge post yesterday?? Yesterday marked our 100th KKS Challenge!!! This month also marks Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps' SECOND BIRTHDAY!!! Can you believe it?? So we're doing something special to mark the occasion!

Have you ever wanted to be a Krafty Girl?? Well, here's your chance to show it!! Our challenge for this week is to USE YOUR FAVOURITE KRAFTIN' KIMMIE STAMP! Just make a creation featuring one of your fave KKStamps and link it up on the KKStamps blog. Then, leave a message in the comment section telling us that you're applying for the job! The winner will receive a package of new release stamps and will be joining us for the challenges and krafty peeks for the month of December!! (You can still play along if you're not applying to be a Krafty Girl and we'll have our regular weekly winner.) This guest designer contest will be open until October 31, 2011 so you have lots of time to get inky and submit those Krafty projects!

Well that's it for me today folks...I'm off to Krafty Day!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Best Friends" and sentiment

Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink

Embellishments: Ribbon

Tools: MFT die

Cherish

2011-10-14T07:45:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! Hope you're all having a fantastic week. :) I have been colouring, cutting and assembling like a mad woman this week! This month is a busy one for my family and so I thought it would be good idea to try and get ahead of the game with my projects.

One of the stamp companies available at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design is the "Emerald Faerie Garden". This stamp is called "Kenz and Tilly"...isn't this image precious? I think it's so tender and sweet. This is my first time ever working with one of these images, and I thoroughly enjoyed colouring it. The gorgeous papers are from the Kaisercraft "Blae and Ivy" 6x6 pad. That pretty scalloped border is also from the Kaisercraft paper pad. It has several "specialty" sheets that include coordinating die cut borders and tags, some of which include sentiments like the little "Cherish" tag on my card. (Susana currently has this paper pad on sale for 15% off!) The flourishes were created with my Memory Box "Elegant Scrollwork" Die. Oh, and see those cute little dragonflies nestled amongst the swirls? Those are Make It Crafty "Mini Dragonflies" Chipboard available at SCACD...I just coloured them with my G99 Copic marker before adhering them to my card. The paper edges were distressed with my scissors and sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. For finishing touches I added a bit of machine stitching. I also used some pretty crocheted trim and a great vintage brad that were a gifts from my very good friend Krista. :) (she knows my style, and gave me a wonderful goodie bag of beautiful vintage trinkets and trim a few months ago for my birthday...thanks so much Krista!!)

"Kenz and Tilly" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I wanted everthing about this card to be soft and pretty to reflect the tenderness of this image. This is why I did not want a harsh black outline. As the ink still shows, it's not quite the "no-line" technique that many stampers are using, but it does give a lovely muted effect. I experimented with some different tones in the skin and added some additional shading to the clothing with my Conte crayons. The Conte crayons produce a very soft, almost smokey shading effect. It was applied with a paper blending stump. The image was cut out and matted with Oval Spellbinders. The mat was created by tracing around the outer of edge of the die and cutting it out by hand. The distressing helped conceal the less-than-perfect cut. The background was sponged with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E02, E11, YR00, RV42, RV95 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37 Clothing: G20, YG91, YG95, G99, W5, W7, R22, R29, R46, R59, C5, C7, E41, E42, E43, E47, E50

I'm going to be a total enabler. ;) Here are links to just a few of the great deals and products at SCACD!!

25% off all Halloween and Fall 6x6 paper pads...these are a steal folks, but quantities are limited so shop soon to avoid disappointment!
25% off some great Halloween stamps (Teresa Collins and Kraftin' Kimmie)
NEW Authentique 6x6 pads (Free Bird Series)!!
Make It Crafty Stamps and Chipboard (Halloween MIC stamps are on sale for 25% off!)

The SCACD store blog is a great place to visit to see what Susana's lovely design team has been busy creating with the fabulous stamps and products available at SCACD. If you have not already signed up as a follower, I encourage you to do so!

Thank you so much for your visit today. I truly appreciate that you take the time out of your day to pop by my blog to see what I've been up to. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Emerald Faerie Garden "Kenz and Tilly"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Inks
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Kaisercraft
Embellishments: MIC chipboard, machine stitching, metal brad, crocheted trim
Tools: Spellbinders, Memory Box Die

Trick or Treat Fairy

2011-10-11T09:30:00.010-04:00

Good morning! I hope you've all had a fantastic weekend...and I hope my fellow Canadians had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It's always a treat to have an extra day off work to spend relaxing. :)

The lovely little Halloween fairy on my card today is actually one of the Fall Flora Fairies ("Tulipa") exclusively available at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design. I just gave her a bit of a Halloween tweak by pairing her with papers from the Nightfall collection by Memory Box. While these papers are great for Halloween projects, they will also work well with fall-themed projects. They have a wonderful vintage feel to them...and I adore papers with a vintage flair! Actually this paper pad is currently on sale at SCACD for 25% off of Susana's already low prices...but there are only a few left, so if you like them you'd best scoop up yours before they are all gone! The "Trick or Treat" sentiment is from the Teresa Collins "Happy Hallows" acrylic stamp set, which is also on right now. :) This set also has several fantastic images just perfect for embellishing all your spooky projects...I also used one of the stamps on the inside of my card. The black pearls were all created with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen.

Tulipa's dress was paper-pieced with the Nightfall papers. All the pieces were adhered with my Quickie Glue Pen. Shading was added with Copic makers and Conte crayons. Her wings and shoes were given a bit of sparkle with Stardust Stickles.

Here's a shot of the inside where I used this fun row of pumpkins from the Teresa Collins "Happy Hallows" set.

***SALE ALERT***

Susana is running an amazing sale... all Fall and Halloween style 6x6 paper pads are 25% off!! But stock is limited, so shop quickly before your favourite paper pads are gone. There are also several other items on sale, so make sure to take a good look around SCACD to see what deals you can score on your favourite paper-crafting products. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Tulipa" and Teresa Collins Happy Hallows

Paper: Neenah, Bazzil, Memory Box

Ink: Memento, Copics

Embellishments: Stickles, Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Black

Seraphina

2011-10-08T07:00:00.011-04:00

Good morning stamping friends!! I trust you all had a wonderful week. :) We've got a fantastic Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge this week courtesy of Krafty Girl Michele Boyer...I am such a fan of Michele's work! Her challenge is "Sparkle and Shine"...who doesn't love to add a little bling to their paper crafting projects?! There are so many fun products out there perfect for making your Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps sparkle and shine. :)

For my card today, I inked up "Seraphina" one of the new angels by Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue. (she also comes with a halo accessory stamp and the sentiment "Friends are kisses blown to us by angels!")The papers are all from one of my favourite Christmas collections this year My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found Christmas". I used my Spellbinders (Labels 10 and Ovals) to cut a frame out of gold cardstock. As the gold was just a bit too "shiny" for my liking, I sponged it with Walnut Stain Distress Ink to coordinate better with the vintage feel of the MME papers. The decorative ends were cut with an element from the Spellbinders Parisian Accents set. The pretty delicate flourishes are from another newly acquired die, "Fancy Flourishes" from My Favourite Things...a huge thank you to my good friend who recently ordered this for me as she knew it was something I would absolutely LOVE. :) After cutting two flourishes, I just snipped them in a few different places and nestled the pieces around the frame. (I'm ranking this MFT die at the top of my favourite new toys along with another new die that you may have seen on my blog recently, "Elegant Scrollwork" from Memory Box. Both produce such intricate and elegant embellishments for your paper crafting projects.) For a little extra "sparkle", I added in a few flat backed rhinestones as accents.

Seraphina was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. After colouring her wings, I covered them with a thin coat of adhesive and sprinkled them with a little Glamour Dust.

Skin: Eooo, Eoo, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: R22, R27, R46, R59, C5, G82 Wings: E40, E41, E43, RV00, R22 (sorry, I forgot to record the colours for the birds.)

I finished off the inside of the card with one of the "Christmas Interior Sentiments"...this is a fantastic set to have for all your holiday crafty projects. These sentiments can just as easily be used on the fronts of cards, tags, wall art, gift card holders, treat bag toppers...so many great possibilities. :)

If you play along with the "Sparkle and Shine" challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp Michele used on her gorgeous card this week. (as the stamp Michele used is actually part of the "O Holy Night Nativity Set", the winner will receive the single image stamp of the Holy Family that Michele used and one randomly chosen sentiment from the same set) To be eligible, just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project!

If you have not yet visited the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge Blog, make sure to pop on by to see the gorgeous "Sparkle and Shine" projects made by my fellow Krafty Girls. :)

Krafty Day 2011: One week to go friends!! If you have not yet registered, please visit the KKS Online Store HERE for all the details! We'd love to spend the day colouring and creating with you. :) (Oh, and Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue will also be joining us!!)

Frugal Fridays: Click HERE to check out what stamps on are sale for 40-50% off this weekend! Since it's a long weekend here in Canada, the sale is running until Monday night instead of Sunday. :)

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

(And a very Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians!)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Seraphina" and "Christmas Interior Sentiments"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Paper: MME Lost and Found Christmas, Neenah, Bazzill
Embellishments: Glamour Dust, rhinestones
Tools: Spellbinders, MFT die

Calling All Kraftin' Kimmie Fans...Are You Coming To Krafty Day 2011??!!

2011-10-06T10:59:00.000-04:00

The excitement is building!! We are less than two weeks away from the BIG day!!! KRAFTY DAY!! Some of the local Krafty Girls were prepping supplies for the make and takes this past weekend. Oh and door prizes and goodies for your tote bags have been arriving...you're going to LOVE them!!

Are you coming??? You don't want to miss the awesome day we have prepared for you! We've also got a few surprises up our sleeves! We keep coming up with cool new ideas that we KNOW you'll enjoy! How about a shot at a Krafty Girl Guest Spot??? Would YOU be interested?? How about winning a project that our own Annie Rodrigue has been working on that day??? How about a raffle with packages of gorgeous cards created by our Krafty Girls, with all proceeds going to the Canadian Cancer Society?? It's going to be a fantastic day, so get your girlfriends together and make it a Girl's Day Out with Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!!

Take a look at some of the details for the 2nd Annual Krafty Day with Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

Sunday, October 16th, 2011 from 9am-9pm Best Western Stoneridge Inn in Lambeth, Ontario

- 12 hours of Krafty Fun!
- lots of kroppin' and kraftin' space!
- exclusive KKS tote bag with stampin' goodies!
- special edition KKS stamp to commemorate the occasion!
- coffee, tea, juice, breakfast pastries and cookies for snack times!
(you will be on your own for lunch/supper,
restaurant on site or bring your own)
- four awesome make and takes featuring KKS!
- meet several of our talented Krafty Girls!
- Draws and Door Prizes!
- Scrappin Great Deals store on site for all your Copic needs!
- and of course, Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps including
our NEW October 2011 release stamps, just for YOU!
$60

**Spaces are LIMITED**
Don't forget about our SPECIAL GUEST!!!! It's the incredible artist behind our signature line of Moonlight Whispers stamps!! You will get to meet ANNIE RODRIGUE!!!! Can you imagine spending the day with Annie, talking to her about her stamps, chatting about her art and perhaps even watching her create???? I can't even tell you how unbelievably excited we are about having Annie join us for Krafty Day!!!

Now if you have already registered, then you're all set!!! But if you haven't registered yet, you're going to want to right away because space is limited! There's less than two weeks to the event, so hurry!! You can register directly on our WEBSITE or locally at the Scrappin' Great Deals store.

We hope to see you there!

Blessings,

Melanie

A Princess and her Horse

2011-10-04T10:30:00.006-04:00

Good morning to you all! I hope you've all been having a fantastic week. :)

I've got another card to share with you featuring one of the newest exclusive stamps at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design. This is "Princess" by Syliva Zet for SCACD. Sylvia has designed a fantastic collection of stamps perfect for so many different occasions. The papers I used on my card are from the My Mind's Eye "Blink of an Eye" 6x6 pad. The image was matted on layers cut with my Circle and Lacey Circle Spellbinders. A Viva Decor pen was used to make the little pearls around the image. Have you ever gotten your hands a new crafty toy and gone a little overboard with it?? lol Well, that's kind of what happened here. (blushing, hehe) I was so excited when my most recent order from SCACD arrived on my doorstep, and one of the products I couldn't wait to get my paws on was the Elegant Scrollwork die from Memory Box. This die cuts out the most beautifully delicate scrolls, and I love anything dainty and elegant. :) So I pulled out my Cuttlebug and got cutting...and cutting...and cutting, lol. Then I used my Cutterbee scissors to cut apart the scrolls so I could tuck in little portions around the Spellbinders Lacey Circle layer....and that's where I got carried away. hehe (I even removed a couple of pieces!) I can say that I LOVE this die, and I plan to add more of the Memory Box dies to my die-cutting arsenal...Susana has a wonderful selection of the Memory Box dies HERE. Just a word of warning though, these recently FLEW off the shelves! Susana has restocked them but if you see one (or several!) that you "need", my advice is to grab them and throw them in your cart quickly!! (there's a snowflake that I have my eyes on right now!!)

"Princess" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copic markers. How many of you were horse-crazy as children? I was. :) I loved horses. I collected figurines, I read books about horses (Marguerite Henry and Walter Farley were two favourite authors from my younger years), I bought magazines, hung posters, followed show jumping on tv and my sketchbooks were FULL of horse drawings. This continued through high school...I'm sure my art teacher was sick of all my equine themed projects! I eventually started taking riding lessons and even worked at a barn as a teenager. Unfortunately, my horrible allergies make it hard for me to be around horses...and to be honest, I really don't have the time right now to make them a part of my life. But this stamps is kind of nostalgic for me as one of my favourite "toys" as a very young girl was my rocking horse...well, it was the kind suspended on springs, so I guess it wasn't really a rocking horse. It was my companion on so many adventures that only children can dream up. :) I even used to pull out buckets of water and sponges to bathe my faithful steed...much to my mother's annoyance, lol. So this stamp brought back some wonderful memories for me. After colouring with my markers, I added some additional shading with Conte Crayons and a paper blending stump.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, Y23, E31, E33, E37 Dress: BG70, BG72, BG75, C5 Cape: YR02, YR04, YR07, R05, R46, R59, C5 Horse: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7, W9 Saddle: Y23, E53, E57 Reins: Rockers:

You can find the entire collection of Slyvia Zet for SCACD stamps at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie if you reside in the UK.

Make sure to check in at SCACD frequently for all your crafty needs. Susana is always adding fantastic new products to the store.
I hope you have a wonderful day and thanks so much for your visit. :)

PS: This is for one of my readers, Victoria. :) On my recent post "Veritas", you had asked how I cut out all the small details on my stamped images. First of all, patience is important! lol Well, that and a very sharp pair of detail scissors...I would be lost without my Cutterbee scissors. I also keep a sharp craft knife on hand. These two tools are sufficient for cutting out most stamped images. However, the new Syliva Zet for SCACD stamps include a lot of beautiful little curly-cues and tendrils that are next to impossible to cut out. (and yes, I did actually try! lol) My solution: I cheated. lol I stamped the image on my design paper before adhering the the cut out coloured image. That way, I didn't have to worry about fussing with those teeny tiny little details...I just snipped them off. Then, all I had to do was adhere the finished image right over top and voila...all those fabulous little tendrils and details can still be included on your final project. :) (and yes, I did the same thing for today's card!)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Princess"
Ink: Memento, Copics,
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Embellishments: Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White
Tools: Spellbinders, Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork die

Paper Piecing at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

2011-10-01T07:00:00.001-04:00

Happy Saturday folks!! Our weekly Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge is brought to us by the lovely and talented Nicole Aspinall...she wants to see Paper Piecing on your projects today!

This is "Gift Wrapping Elf", one of the new September release stamps by Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet. I love the look of pure joy on this cute elf's face! I pulled out some leftover pieces of some of my favourite holiday paper from last year (Bo Bunny) and coloured the image to match. The wrapping paper on the gift box is paper pieced with some of the Bo Bunny paper. (I always add some shading to paper-pieced areas so they do not appear too flat.) Ok, I need to apologize for the way her hair photographed. :( Periodically, I'll have issues with some of my markers going a bit tacky and shiny...it frustrates me to no end! I also had to use a different light source as my regular light is on the fritz...this one managed to reflect off the tacky area on one of her pigtails. sigh. On a much happier note, I recently placed an order at SCACD and I have a ton of new crafty goodies to play with. :) One item I ordered is definitely one of my new favourites...the Elegant Scrollwork Memory Box Die!!! I cannot tell you how much I am in LOVE with the delicate scroll work this die produces. I should warn you that I think you may be seeing a lot of this die on my cards, lol. I am definitely planning to add more of the Memory Box Dies to my crafty arsenal in the near future. I also added a few snowflakes courtesy of a Martha Stewart punch. I used my Quickie Glue Pen to coat the flourishes and snowflakes with adhesive and then generously sprinkled them with Glamour Dust...I adore this fine glitter. The snowflakes were finished off with a rhinestone centre.

Here's a closer look at Gift Wrapping Elf...and her hair photographed a little better in this one thank goodness! She was illustrated by Krafty Artist Emilie Goulet...Emilie's characters are always full of such personality! I sponged around the image with some purple ink I've had kicking around for ages...I think it's called Ancient Pages. She was cut out with my oval Spellbinders.

(Sorry, no colour list today...I coloured this up a couple of weeks ago and completely forgot to record my markers.)

Oh, and I finished off the interior of my card with one of the sentiments from the brand new "Christmas Interior Sentiment Set"...this is such a great set to have in your holiday stamp collection. Don't let the name fool you though...the sentiments can easily be used as the focal point of the front of your card or for any of your holiday projects. :) It was stamped in Versafine Ink.

We'd love to have you play along with the Paper-Piecing challenge this week. If you make sure to include at least one Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project, you will be elible to win the stamp Nicole used on her gorgeous card! For more inspiration, please hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see what the Krafty Girls have made for the challenge.

***Krafty News***

Frugal Friday Specials: Click HERE to see the selection of stamps on sale until this Sunday evening. (on sale for 40-50% off!)
World Card Making Day Sale: From Saturday morning to Monday night, you will be able to take advantage of a HUGE sale!! Over half our inventory will be on sale 25-50% off, including ALL our lines of images! So scoop up some specials for yourself or for a krafty person on your Christmas list!!
Gimmie Kimmie Kits: Available HERE but only until Monday night...so grab your's before they disappear!!
Krafty Day 2011: This is an event you really don't want to miss, especially as we have a very special guest joining us...Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue!!! Click HERE for full details on this event and for registration. (There is also an event page on Facebook for Krafty Day...check it out HERE to keep up to date on all the great things planned for that day!)
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is on Facebook! If you haven't checked out the KKS FB page, just click HERE. (and make sure to "Like" us!! lol) We love to see your KKS projects posted there. It's also a great place to hang out and chat with Kimmie, the Krafty Girls and other KKS fans. :)

Ok, that's it for me today! I hope you have a fantastic weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: "Gift Wrapping Elf" and "Christmas Inside Sentiments" from KKS
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Bo Bunny
Ink: Memento, Ancient Pages (?), Copics
Embellishments: Glamour Dust, rhinestones
Tools: Spellbinders Ovals, Memory Box "Fancy Flourish" die

Holiday Peekers at SCACD!

2011-09-30T04:00:00.002-04:00

We have a special treat for you today at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design! Susana is releasing four beautiful "Holiday Peekers" by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD!! It may only be the end of September, but the Christmas season will be here before you know it! So now is the perfect time to get a jump start on your holiday crafty projects before the hustle and bustle of the season begins. As always, you will be able to purchase each stamp individually. However, you may instead choose to purchase the Holiday Peekers as a complete set and receive an exclusive "set bonus"...our very own SCACD sister Carolyn Bounds has designed some teeny tiny Christmas accessory stamps that work perfectly with the Holiday Peekers!

The SCACD design team have been busy in their craft rooms working on some gorgeous projects featuring the new Holiday Peekers to share with you today. You will find a complete list of links to their blogs over at the SCACD Store Blog.

For my card today, I used "Reason For The Season Peeker". I love the Christmas season...yes, I even love the snow! lol However, it often becomes a very busy season for many of us and I think sometimes it's easy to loose sight of "the reason for the season". I LOVE everything about Christmas...the caroling (although I'm a terrible singer!), the decorating, the baking (when I have time), the get-togethers with friends and families, wrapping the gifts...but all that pales in comparison to celebrating the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ. I immediately fell in love with "Reason For The Season Peeker"...my family has always put our Nativity Set under the tree, even though our cats are FOREVER knocking over the figures! As the pretty packages start to pile up under the tree, our Nativity set remains front and centre as a visual reminder to us to stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas. This sweet young girl illustrated by Elisabeth reminds me of both myself (in MUCH younger years, lol) and my daughter...both of us loved to arrange and rearrange the figures of the Nativity Set. :) I used some older papers from last year. The wired ribbon was tied with my Bow Easy. The little acrylic snowflake was from the dollar store. It was glittered up with a Hologram Glitter Liner from Viva Decor and centred with a little flat backed rhinestone. A bit of machine stitching was added for a finishing touch.

"Reason For The Season Peeker" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copic markers. I sponged around the image with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Shirt: R22, R27, R46, R59, C5, C7 Pants: B91, B93, B95, B97, C5, C7 Tree: YG00, YG63, YG67, G20, G21, G99, C5, C7

The Holiday Peekers are available exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for our friends in the UK.

For more inspiration featuring the adorable new Holiday Peekers by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD, please make sure to visit the SCACD Store Blog. :)

Oh, and make sure to check out all the fabulous Holiday Papers Susana has in stock...after all, you're going to need some new Christmas papers to go with your new Holiday Peekers, right? ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I really appreciate your visit!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Reason for the Season Peeker"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Echo Park
Embellishments: Wired Ribbon, Acrylic snowflake, Rhinestone, Viva Decor Holographic Glitter Liner, machine stitching

Veritas

2011-09-23T09:40:00.000-04:00

Good morning! I hope you're all having a fantastic week. I wanted to share a card with you today featuring one of the gorgeous new exclusive stamps that were recently released at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design. This is "Veritas" from the Adventures of Loli and Poppy collection by Sylvia Zet for SCACD. I absolutely love this entire collection of stamps...Sylvia is such a talented artist. :)

Sweet Veritas is perched upon a little snippet of a grapevine...isn't she lovely? I adore her tendrils of hair...so much fun to colour! The green paper is from Prima and the purple paper is from Basic Grey Kioshi. All the pearls were created with my Viva Decor Ice White Pearl Pen. These pearl pens are a fantastic money saver for crafters who love to add pearls to their projects. Just one Viva Decor Pearl Pen makes a multitude of pearls in whatever size you require. Susana sells the Viva Pearl Pens for only $5.45 USD, and they are available in a wide selection of colours. (See the entire selection of Viva Decor products available at SCACD HERE.) I also added some Make It Crafty lasercut chipboard embellishments. Susana has a wonderful selection of this fantastic highly detailed chipboard (and Make It Crafty Stamps) HERE. I painted these ones with white craft paint, sprayed them with some Glimmer Mist and topped them off with a generous sprinkling of Glamour Dust.

Veritas was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copic markers. I decided to work outside my comfort zone by colouring her dress pink as I thought it would compliment the purple and green papers. Pink is kind of my nemesis...we just don't get along, lol. Oh, I love the way it looks but I struggle to acheive the same depth of colour and shading that I can get with other colours. I've tried several combos with various colours for shading, but none have really been a great success. So with some trepidation I reached for my R81 and started blocking in my shadows. After that came a bit of R83 and R85....but here is where the dilemma comes in. What now?? I decided to reach for the same purples I had used in the grapes...I figured using the same purples would tie the colours together. (my high school art teacher had often recommended doing this so that the colours in your painting would "relate" to each other) I used a lot of tip to tip blending to achieve a smooth transition. I also added a bit of grey to the deepest shadows. Hmmm...kind of second guessing myself on putting such a thick coat of Stardust Stickles on the ruffle of her dress as it completely covers the pleats I spent time shading. :( My thought was that it would tie in the glitter than I used on the chipboard embellishments. I think it would have been ok if I had applied a thin layer...sometimes, I'll use a flat paint brush to spread the Stickles sparingly to give just a hint of shimmer.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E35, E37, E59 Dress: R81, R85, V12, V15, V09, C5 Grapes: V01, V12, V15, V09, C5, C7 Leaves: G20, G21, G85, G99, C5, YG91 (I added this over top to tone down the vibrancy...created more of a "mossy" green) Vine: E25, YG91, YG95, G99

The Adventures of Loli and Poppy collection is available exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for our friends in the UK. You also have a few options for purchasing these stamps: they are available for individual purchase, as two seperate sets of four main image stamps or as a complete set of all eight stamps. When choosing to buy the stamps as a set, you will be receiving them at a discounted price...and as an added bonus, there is an accessory stamp for each set that is ONLY avialable when purchasing the stamps as sets!

***SCACD NEW PRODUCT ALERT***

Susana is always adding new crafty goodies to SCACD...have you seen some of the latest additions?!

Holiday 6x6 Paper Pads: keep your eyes out on this section for all the newest collections coming in to the store! (some of the Halloween pads are on sale!!)
6x6 Paper Pads: It's not just the holiday papers that are in stock! Make sure to check this gallery frequently to see what's new.
New Embossing Folders
New Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps

Susana's prices really are incredible. Seriously, just LOOK at the prices of her paper pads for example! Not only will you be thrilled with the money you will save, but Susana also offers fast and very friendly customer service. And remember, SCACD isn't only for stampers and scrapbookers...Susana also stocks a variety of "artsy" products for those of you interested in painting, mixed media or other creative outlets. (ie: canvases, various paints, jewelry findings, etc.) So I encourage you to grab a cup of your favourite beverage, get comfy and spend some time perusing the SCACD website.

Hope you all have a wonderful day, and thanks for your visit. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Veritas"
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Prima, Basic Grey
Ink: Memento, Copics
Embellishments: Viva Decor Pearl Pen, Make It Crafty Chipboard, machine stitching, Stickles, crocheted trim

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...Kraftin' Kimmie Release Day Blog Hop!!

2011-09-18T01:00:00.124-04:00

Welcome to the release day blog hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! This month, Kimmie and her Krafty Artists are bringing you a fantastic assortment of Christmas themed stamps to suit all your holiday projects. There is the gorgeous O Holy Night Nativity Set by Cheryl Alger, a Nativity Sentiment Set, a Christmas Inside Sentiment Set, some fun Christmas characters by Emilie Goulet and a collection of gorgeous angels by Annie Rodrigue. We've all had so much fun playing with these new stamps, and I'm sure many (if not all!!) have found their way onto your Krafty wish list!

The hop today begins over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog where you will find a complete list of links to the participating designers. As you hop along, make sure to leave comments on each blog for your chance to WIN a package of some of the new release stamps. (Two lucky winners will be drawn!)

If you've been hopping along, you should have arrived here after visiting with the very lovely Angie Baker. If not, just pop on over to the KKS Blog to start at the beginning.

This beautiful angel is "Felicity" by Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue. The design paper is all from My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly Collection. I used a few Spellbinders sets to cut out the various elements. (Circles, Lacey Circles and Parisian Accents) Black Soot and Antique Linen Distress Inks were used to sponge around the paper edges and some dollar store pearls were added as a finishing touch.

On the inside, I used one of the sentiments that is included in the Nativity Sentiments Set...I love how all the different image and sentiment stamps from this release compliment each other! The sentiment was stamped with Versafine Ink and I used a couple of elements from Spellbinders Parisian Accents to dress it up.

Here's a closer look at Felicity...I think she's just gorgeous! She is so serene and peaceful. Felicity is perfect for Christmas cards, but I think she would also be beautiful on cards or projects for so many other occasions. ("praying for you", sympathy, baptisms, friendship...these angels really are very versatile!) Felicity's wings were given a pretty shimmer with a generous coat of Stardust Stickles. She also comes with a coordinating sentiment, "Angels sent from up above, please protect the ones we love.". (she was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers)

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E35, E37, E59 Gown: R22, R27, R46, R59, C5, C7 Wings: E50, E42, E43, E47

All the new September stamps are now available for purchase at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store!! Oh, and if you just NEED to have them all, the Gimmie Kimmies Kits will be available for a limited time!! The stamps are grouped together by artist and are offered at a discount, so order yours quickly before they disappear!!

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit with the very sweet Diana Pickering who has a lovely project to share with you. :) (remember to leave comments at each blog on the hop for your chance to WIN some of the September stamps!!)

Thank you so much for joining us today...happy hopping!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Felicity", "O Holy Night Nativity Set"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink, Versafine
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Tools: Spellbinders
Embellishments: Stickles

"Celestina" (A Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge Plus Another Sneak Peek!)

2011-09-17T07:00:00.048-04:00

Happy Saturday to all our Krafty friends!! Have you been enjoying the September sneak peeks??!! Today, we are introducing you to the newest stamps by Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue...she has created some stunning angels this month. Each angel has been beautifully drawn and comes with both a halo stamp and a coordinating sentiment. Our sneak peeks today are in combination with our weekly challenge set by our lovely hostess Carole Burrage..."Christmas In September"!! Now is a great time to get started on all your Christmas cards as December will be here before you know it!

My card today features "Celestina", one of the six angels created by Annie for this month's release. I pulled out some MME Holly Jolly papers from last year (this was another one of my favourite paper collections, and I am sadly down to a few scraps now). The paper edges were lightly distressed with scissor edges after being sponged with some Bundled Sage Distress Ink. (I really do need to get a good distressing tool.) I also brushed some gold craft paint around the edges of the papers. The little chipboard corner embellishments are from Make It Crafty (available HERE). They were also painted with the gold craft paint.

On the inside, I've used another sentiment from the new Christmas Inside Sentiments Set. I'm loving how this set is encouraging me to finish off the insides of my cards. It really only takes a few extra moments, and it's easy to add a little touch of your design paper since you've already got everything out.

Celestina was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copic markers. Her wings and the little star were given a coat of Stardust Stickles. Celestina also comes with a coordinating sentiment, "Angel Kisses!".

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, Y23, E13, E17, E18, E35, E59 Gown: YG00, G20, G21, G28, G82, C5, C7 Star: Y11, Y17, E35

If you participate in our Christmas in September challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of the new angel stamp seen on Carole's gorgeous project (Seriously...have you checked out what Carole has been making with this release??? It's incredible!) To be eligible for the prize, just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project. For some holiday inspiration (and to see the rest of today's sneak peeks), please visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog!

***BLOG CANDY ALERT***

How would you like to win THREE of the new September stamps by Annie Rodrigue??!! All you need to do is hop around to leave comments for all the Krafty Girls who have sneak peeks to share today. Kimmie will be drawing TWO winners who will each win three of Annie's new angel stamps! The winners' names will be announced on tomorrow morning's post at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

The new stamps you've seen over the last few days will all be available for purchase tomorrow!! We hope you plan to join us for our Release Day Blog Hop...see you then!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Celestina" and "Christmas Inside Sentiments"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Embellishments: Make It Crafty Chipboard, Stardust Stickles and gold craft paint

Christmas Goodies...Day Two of the September Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks!

2011-09-16T07:00:00.092-04:00

Good morning friends!! Are you ready for another round of sneak peeks at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog?? The previews for the September release started yesterday and will continue today and tomorrow with our release day blog hop to follow on Sunday. Today, we have the pleasure of introducing you to the newest stamps by another Krafty artist, Emilie Goulet. This month, Emilie has created several new characters all set for some Christmas fun! Each one is absolutely adorable and packed with personality plus! While on your sneak peek travels today, you may also spy yet another new stamp set being released this Sunday...the Christmas Inside Sentiment Set. This is another holiday sentiment set perfect for finishing off the interior of your cards...but really, you can use them anywhere your little krafty heart desires. :)

For my card today, I inked up the sweet "Baking Elf"...isn't she perfect for all those friends who love to bake holiday goodies?? Well, I also think she'd be perfect for those friends who love to EAT those holiday goodies. lol I used to do a lot of baking, but these last few years have been so busy that it's been hard to find pockets of time to get much done...wouldn't it be nice to have the assistance of a couple of little baking elves in your kitchen?? I know my husband would be thrilled to see a pie like this being brought to the table for dessert...pie is Dean's all-time favourite. :) I used some Bo Bunny papers from last year (this had to be one of my favourite collections from last year...really kicking myself for not buying more of it). I added some dollar store ribbon, a little clear snowflake covered with Glamour Dust and some Viva Decor Pearls (Ice White) to finish it off.

Here's a peek at the inside of my card where I used the Christmas Inside Sentiments set.

"Baking Elf" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with Copic markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Clothes: RV000, V01, V12, V15, V17, V09, BG72, BG75, BG78, C5, C7, YG00, YG03, YG11, YG25, G28

To see more of the adorable new stamps by Krafty artist Emilie Goulet, please visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog for links to all the talented Krafty Girls who have previews to share with you today...they have been busy little elves themselves creating some gorgeous projects for your viewing pleasure. :)

***BLOG CANDY ALERT****

As you pop around to visit the Krafty Girls sharing sneak peeks today, please make sure to leave comments on all their blogs. Kimmie will be drawing THREE winners from the comments...two winners will each receive three of Emilie's new stamps and the third winner will receive the Christmas Interior Sentiment Set!! Their names will be posted tomorrow morning on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog. Good luck!

We hope you plan to join us tomorrow for another round of sneak peeks in combination with our weekly challenge. We also have a fun blog hop planned for the release day this Sunday when all the new stamps will be available for purchase.

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit...have a wonderful day! :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: KKS "Baking Elf" and "Christmas Interior Sentiments"

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill

Ink: Memento, Copics, Bo Bunny

Embellishments:

Tools:

Away in A Manger (September Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks Begin Today!)

2011-09-15T07:00:00.002-04:00

Good morning folks!! We're kicking off the September sneak peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps today!! Each day, the Krafty Girls will be previewing stamps by one of our Krafty Artists...you will find links to these daily sneak peeks over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog. There will also be daily BLOG CANDY giveaways, so you'll want to make sure to visit each designer sharing sneak peeks to leave comments for your chance to win!

So, what's the theme of the September stamps?? Christmas!!! December always sneaks up so quickly, so now is a great time to get a jump on making your Christmas cards and Kimmie has a fantastic collection of holiday stamps sure to get your holiday spirit in full swing. :)

Today, we are introducing you to TWO new stamps sets...the gorgeous "O Holy Night Nativity Set" by Krafty artist Cheryl Alger and the "Nativity Sentiment Set". The O Holy Night Nativity Set includes three main image stamps ("The Wise Men", "Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus", and "The Shepherd Boy"). It also includes a few small coordinating sentiments. This collection will ONLY be sold as a complete set. The images are a perfect size to mask together to create a full scene. They are also fantastic when used individually as the feature image of a card. The Nativity Sentiment Set includes several beautiful sentiments and Scripture verses in lovely fonts that reflect the "reason for the season".

I inked up Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus for my card today. Cheryl has done a beautiful job with this set ...they are absolutely adorable! The Echo Park papers were all lightly distressed and sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. The "O Holy Night" sentiment is included in the "O Holy Night Nativity Set". The larger Scripture verse (Isaiah 9:6) used to prop up the easel portion of the card is part of the "Nativity Sentiment Set" and was popped up on some foam squares. Both were stamped in Versafine Ink on white cardstock that was sponged with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

And when opened up to show the verse from the Nativity Sentiments Set...

Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus were stamped on Neenah Cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I did add some additional shading with brown and black Conte Crayons. Spellbinders Labels 8 were used for cutting out the image and the larger sentiment. The background was sponged with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks. The star was given a coat of Stardust Stickles.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Mary's Clothes: B91, B93, B95, B97, C5, C7, V01, V04, V17, V09, E50, E53, E57, Conte Crayons Joseph's Clothes: G20, G82, G85, G99, R27 R46, R59, C5, C7, E11, E13, E17, E59, Conte Crayons Baby Jesus' Blanket: B32, B34, B37, B39, C5 Manger: E50, E31, E33, E25, E59, E97, E99 Straw: E50, Y17, Y23, E33, E37 Star: Y11, Y17, Y23, E13

Make sure to pop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog where you will find a list of links for today's sneak peeks. The Krafty Girls have created some gorgeous projects with these two new sets that will be available for purchase this Sunday!

***BLOG CANDY ALERT***

Would you like to win both the O Holy Night Nativity Set and the Nativity Sentiments Set??!! All you need to do is hop around to visit each Krafty Girl sharing a sneak peek today and leave them a comment. Kimmie will draw a winner from the comments and post their name on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog tomorrow morning...good luck!

We hope you can join us tomorrow for another round of previews featuring stamps by yet another Krafty Artist. :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stams "Nativity Set" and "Nativity Sentiments"

Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Inks

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill Kraft, Echo Park

"Precious Present" (Sylvia Zet for SCACD!!)

2011-09-12T23:15:00.016-04:00

Last week at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design, we celebrated the release of "The Adventures of Loli and Poppy"the very first exclusive collection of stamps by artist Sylvia Zet for SCACD! We have all fallen head over heels for Sylvia's sweet style. These images are stunning and perfect for so many different occasions.

This beautiful little fairy is "Precious Present". I paired her up with some older Prima papers as I loved the watercolour look of the designs. (Susana does not have this paper in stock any more, but she does have the new Prima papers HERE, and they are gorgeous!!) All paper edges were distressed with scissors and sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I used my Spellbinders circles to cut the image out. I also used some elements of Spellbinders Parisian Accents. The rhinestone swirls are from the dollar store, but Susana has some similar pearl ones HERE.

"Precious Present" was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copic markers. I had tried to colour her dress in a similar style to the papers with pinks and teals, but it was what one might call an "epic failure" lol. It just wasn't turning out the way I had hoped, so I decided to paper piece her dress with a bit of the Prima Paper. Before adhering the paper pieced area, I added shading with my markers to create some depth. (BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, C5, C7, RV000, RV02 and the blender.) My favourite adhesive to use when paper piecing is the Quickie Glue Pen...you can precisely apply small amounts of glue to the tiniest pieces of paper with it's pen tip applicator. Her wings were given some shimmer with Stardust Stickles. I had another go at trying to reproduce the look of the Prima paper by creating a background. I started by applying BG10 in blobs and dots (nice technical artsy terms! lol) around the image followed by YG11, B000, BG000, RV000 and copious amounts of colourless blender. Applying the blender in layers of "dabs" with various amounts of pressure helped to create the mottled watercolour look. Just be careful with this method when working close to your coloured image. If applied too heavily, your colours and blender will run into the image you just worked so hard on. So just take care to be light handed near those edges, and don't "push" your ink towards the image. :)

Hair: E50, Y23, Y26, E33, E35, E37 Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Paper pieced dress: BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, C5, C7, RV000, RV02, colourless blender Present: B32, B34, B37, C5, C7, T2 Ribbon: R20, R22, R59, C5, T2

If you have not yet signed up as a follower over at the SCACD Store Blog, please make sure to do so!! The talented members of Susana's design team are always sharing inspirational projects featuring stamps and products available at SCACD.

The exclusive Slyvia Zet for SCACD stamp collections are available at both SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie so that they are easily avialable to our crafty friends all over the world. :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today...I appreciate your visit!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's exclusive "Precious Present" by Sylvia Zet
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Prima
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Embellishments: rhinestone swirls, machine stitching
Tools: Spellbinders

Hello Old Friend...It's Been A While!

2011-09-10T07:00:00.004-04:00

Good morning blogging friends. I would like to begin today's post remembering the events of ten years ago tomorrow...it was one of those days that we will forever remember what we were doing when the news broke of the World Trade Centre attacks. I remember sitting with my daughter on my knee watching the story unfold on the television, at first thinking it was a terrible accident...until the second plane struck the second tower. What a terrible attack that resulted in so much loss...but there were also amazing stories of people coming to the aide of others. My heart continues to go out to those who lost loved ones that tragic day. I cannot imagine the depth of anguish you went through that day...but my prayers are with you for continued healing and peace. Thank you to the men and women who became heroes that day...to all those who helped with the rescue efforts, the clean up, the rebuilding, the healing, the comforting. May we remember those families today in our thoughts and prayers, and may we also remember those who serve to protect our countries each and every day.

This week at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, our lovely hostess Angie Baker has challenged us to use a "Blast From Your Past"...she wants you to pull out one of your very first Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps to use on your projects this week! I often get so caught up in the excitement of the newest stamps, that some of my older ones will sit uninked for ages...what a great challenge to remind us to show some love to the oldies but goodies!

I am using one of the stamps from Kimmie's very first release...back before I was a Krafty Girl! This stamp completely made me fall in love with Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, and with the style of Krafty Artist Annie Rodrigue. This is also the stamp I used on my "audition card" to win a guest spot on Kimmie's team...which ended up becoming a full time (treasured) spot on this wonderful design team. This stamp remains one of my favourites to this day...the ever quirky and oh so adorable "Charlotte"!! I know this stamp is a favourite among many Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps fans and I suspect she might make an appearance in several submissions to this week's Blast From Your Past Challenge. Charlotte was among my very first Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps along with Francesca and Lilith. :) I pulled out some pretty Fancy Pants papers and coloured Charlotte accordingly. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the border and added some flat-backed pearls. The sentiment is also from an early Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps release, "Everyday Sentiments".

Charlotte was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copic markers. I absolutely adore her well-loved dolls and quirky expression...and of course her amazing hair!! She really is so much fun to colour up. The background was sponged with Antique Linen Distress Ink.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: BG11, BG23, BG49, C5, R17, R27, R46, R59 Dolls: E50, E57, B91, B93, B95, B97, G20, G21, G24, G28, C5, C7, E17

If you join in our challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Angie's awesome card this week...just make sure to include at least one Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your submission. So have fun taking a walk down memory lane, pull out one of your very first Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps and show it some love this week. :) Make sure to pop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see all the "Blast From Your Past" projects by the talented Krafty Girls!!

****KRAFTY NEWS****

Canadian Scrapbooker and Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Giveaway: Click HERE to read all the details for your chance to win some Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

Krafty Day 2011: Click HERE to read all the details on this second annual event! Last year was so much fun, and we'd love to have you join us this year...register soon to take advantage of "early bird" prices and secure your spot!

Frugal Fridays: Click HERE to see the weekly specials...you'll have until Sunday evening to scoop up this week's selection of discounted stamps! (all priced at 40-50% off!)

Back To School Special: Can we interest you in a GIFT with purchase??? With every order over $25 (before shipping and taxes), you will receive one FREE Steven Leary stamp!! This special will run from September 9th to September 16th.

September 2011 Release: Can you believe it's right around the corner?? Stay tuned to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog as sneak peeks start next Thursday!! Each day, you'll find a list of links to the Krafty Girls who have sneak peeks to share on the KKS Blog. The previews will continue through until the official release day on Sunday September 18th when we'll have a fun blog hop to celebrate!! (and if you've joined in the fun of the sneak peeks of previous releases, you'll know that Kimmie often has some blog candy up for grabs!!)

Well, that's it for me today! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Charlotte" and "Everyday Sentiments"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Fancy Pants
Embellishments: flat backed pearls

Introducing Sylvia Zet for SCACD!!!

2011-09-09T04:00:00.086-04:00

Today is the day we've been anticipating at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design...it's the Sylvia Zet for SCACD Stamps Release Day!!! We have all fallen in love with Sylvia's sweet style, and I know you will too. This release features eight new adorable stamps that are exclusively available starting today at SCACD or at Quixotic Paperie if you reside in the UK. They will, of course be available for individual sale, but if you just have to have them all (and I think you will!!), you can purchase them in discounted sets!!

To celebrate this gorgeous new release, we are having blog hop today!! Not only will you see projects by the SCACD and Quixotic Paperie design team, but we also have several talented guests joining in the fun. The hop begins with the lovely and very talented Elaine Hughes, so make sure to start there so as not to miss out on any of the blogs along the way. The complete hop list can be found at the SCACD store blog. So go grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and get comfy as we introduce you to the Adventures of Loli and Shellie, Poppy and the rest of their friends!

(If you've been following along the hop, you should have arrived here after visiting with one of our lovely guests, Iris Wiechmann. If not, just hop on over to Elaine's to start at the beginning.)

My card today features the adorable "Loli and Shellie". I have completely fallen in love with Sylvia's new designs for SCACD Stamps. They are an absolute joy to colour. I paired Loli and Shellie up with some paper from Basic Grey "Olivia". The image was cut with Spellbinders Labels 8 and the little corner embellishments were cut with Spellbinders Parisian Accents. The pearls were made with a Viva Decor Pen (Ice White).

Loli and Shellie were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copic markers. The grass was done in layers of little feather strokes, applied in a "flicking" motion. I always add my darkest greens where the shadows would fall...I also add a little grey just to make the shadows a little more dynamic. I masked the image and sponged around it with Memento Summer Sky.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, C5, R81, R83, R85, R89 Shellie: E50, E13, E25, E29, E59, YG00, G20, G21, B91, B93, B95, B97 Grass: YG00, G14, G21, YG63, YG67, G99, C5, C7

All the gorgeous new Sylvia Zet stamps for SCACD are now available for purchase!! You will only find them at SCACD or at Quixotic Paperie for our crafty friends in the UK. So when you are finished today's hop, make sure to place your order ASAP as I'm sure these beautiful stamps will be flying off the shelves!

It is now my pleasure to send you off to visit with yet another talented guest joining in today's release day blog hop...Judy Laing!! I know she has something gorgeous to share with you featuring yet another new exclusive Sylvia Zet for SCACD stamp!

Thank you so much for joining us today. Have fun hopping, and don't forget to indulge in a little crafty shopping when you're done!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Exclusive SCACD stamp "Loli and Shellie" by artist Sylvia Zet
Ink: Memento, Copics
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Basic Grey Olivia
Tools: Spellbinders
Embellishments: Viva Decor Pearl Pen, machine stitching

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps and Canadian Scrapbooker Giveaway!

2011-09-04T12:06:00.000-04:00

Have you seen the latest issue of Canadian Scrapbooker?? Kraftin Kimmie Stamps is featured on a full page advertorial! Here's a peek:

To celebrate, Kimmie is giving away TEN SETS OF THE FOUR STAMPS featured in the magazine!!! Each winner will received Merry, Batty Princess, Agnes and Hattie!! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on THIS POST telling Kimmie what your favourite Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp is!! (you can visit the new updated website HERE to see all the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps) There's also a blinkie in my sidebar that will take you directly to the post. You will have until September 10th at midnight (EST) to enter. Winners will be announced on September 11th!

When you visit the post to enter the contest, you can also check out the instructions on how to make each card featured in the magazine.

Good luck!!

Blessings,

Melanie

How Do You Boo?

2011-09-03T07:00:00.009-04:00

Hey Krafty friends! Hope you've had a great week and are all geared up for another fantastic challenge at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog!! This week, our hostess is the lovely and very talented Kerry Johnson. Kerry has come up with a great challenge for us...she wants to see us use "Office Supplies" on our projects this week.

This week I inked up another amazing new Halloween themed Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp, Mr. Punkinhead. The pumpkin design papers are from Graphic 45...just perfect for this stamp don't you think? The kraft polka dotted paper is from My Minds Eye "Haunted". I sponged around all the paper edges with Black Soot Distress Ink and roughed them up a bit with my scissors. The sentiment comes with The Pumpkin King. For my office supplies, I borrowed a date stamp from work (yes, I asked first!! lol), stamped "Oct 31" and attached it to the image panel with an orange paper clip I found in one of my kitchen drawers. To finish it off, I added a little pumpkin button I picked up at the fabric store last year.

Mr. Punkinhead was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. I also added some extra shading with my Conte Crayons. I love the soft smoky shading these crayons add. I applied them with a paper blending stump.

Pumpkin: Y00, Y17, Y23, YR02, YR16, E13, E17, E18, E33 Suit: V01, V15, V09, G82, G85, R46, R59, C7

So, are you up to joining our challenge this week? I'm sure you've all got some office supplies in your drawers...your elements could be as simple as paper clips or staples. If you make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Kerry's incredible card this week!

***Krafty Day 2011*** Registration is open!! You'll find all the information on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps website HERE. The date is set for October 16, 2011...we'd love for you to join us for an entire day of Krafty fun!

Oh, and make sure to check out the Frugal Friday Specials this week...you can find them HERE! Each Friday, Kimmie chooses a different selection of stamps to put on sale for the weekend at AMAZING discounts...but the Frugal Friday Specials end on Sunday, so make sure to scoop them before time's up!

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

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "The Pumpkin King" and matching sentiment
Ink: Memento, Distress Ink, Copics
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME, Graphic 45
Embellishments: paper clip, date stamp, button

Friendship Rose

2011-08-31T23:50:00.000-04:00

Hey folks! I've got a card to share with you today featuring one of the Fall Flora Fairies from the SCACD Stamp Co. These fairies can be used for so many occasions. I think they are just perfect for cards for those sweet little girls in your life...after all, what little girl doesn't love fairies?!

So with that in mind, I set out to make a very "girly" card. I decided to ink up Friendship Rose and paired her up with some soft pastel papers from Prima. I lightly distressed all the paper edges and pulled out my sewing machine to add some stitching. The pretty crocheted trim is a dollar store find. I coated the petal edges of the little Prima rose in with Stardust Stickles. The pearls were made with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White. The bow was made with my trusty Bow Easy. A few pearl sprays were tucked in behind the bow. The little tag was cut with Spellbinders and the sentiment is from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Beachy Sentiments".

Friendship Rose was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copics. Her wings, shoes and green polkadots on her dress were coated with Stardust Stickles. Friendship Rose also comes with a pretty rose accessory stamp.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E7, E59 Dress: B000, B91, B93, B95, B97, RV000, R81, R83, R85, R89, G20, G82, G85, G99, C7
The Fall Flora Fairies are avialble exclusively from SCACD and from Quixotic Paperie if you reside in the UK.

Make sure to check at SCACD frequently as Susana is always adding fantastic new product! Here's just a taste of what's been arriving over the last several days:

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I appreciate that you take the time out of your day to peek in at my blog. :)

Oh, and don't forget to enter for the SCACD Sylvia Zet Blog Candy at THIS POST!!! (it closes tomorrow at 10:00 pm EST so make sure to get your name in the draw!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD "Friendship Rose" from the Fall Flora Fairies, sentiment from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps
Ink: Memento, Copics
Paper: Bazzill, Neenah, Prima
Embellishments: Stickles, sewing, Viva Decor Pearl Pen, Pearl flower sprays, Prima rose, ribbon, crocheted trim
Tools: Spellbinders

Blog Candy Alert at SCACD!!!

2011-08-31T11:02:00.000-04:00

Good morning to all my crafty friends out there!! I'm just popping on with a quick post to remind you of the current SCACD BLOG CANDY!!

If you haven't heard the amazing news yet, Susana is welcoming a new artist to the SCACD family...Sylvia Zet!! This adorable new release is scheduled for September 9th, 2011. SCACD design team member Elaine Hughes has already shared two gorgeous sneak peeks featuring just two of these soon to be released stamps...you are going to love the new Sylvia Zet for SCACD stamps!

To celebrate this upcoming release, Susana is offering some BLOG CANDY! If you have not yet entered, you had best RUSH over to THIS POST at the store blog to get your name in because the blog candy closes tomorrow at 10:00 pm EST. Good luck!!

I'll be back either later this evening or tomorrow morning with a new card featuring one of the recently released Fall Flora Fairies at SCACD...hope to see you then!

Blessings,

Melanie

The Fall Flora Fairies Collection at SCACD

2011-08-26T04:00:00.012-04:00

Good morning friends! Are you ready for some SCACD excitement??

Today we're introducing you to a brand new set of adorable stamps from the SCACD Stamp Co. called "The Fall Flora Fairies Collection". There are four cute little fairies in this set and they are available exclusively at SCACD, and of course at Quixotic Paperie if you're in the UK.

Today I am sharing a card featuring one of these fairies. This is Annie Oak Leaf...she's so sweet in all her autumn glory! The papers are from Basic Grey Pyrus. I added a little swirl cut with my Spellbinders Doodle Parts, a few Viva Decor Pearls (Dark Brown), a scrap of ribbon and a couple of dollar store leafs. The "Autumn Blessings" sentiment is from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps (Thankful Sentiments).

Annie Oak Leaf was stamped on Strathmore Bristol Smooth with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. This was another experiment with a new paper...not super crazy about it to be honest. The ink doesn't blend very easily on this one, but thought I'd give it a whirl. (plus, a Michael's just opened up here last weekend and they had the paper pads on sale!) I'll try the paper again sometime soon, but I'm thinking it's going to be a new sketchpad instead. Her wings were given a coat of Stardust Stickles and the leaf she is holding was treated to a little Smooch Illuminate.

(my apologies, but I don't have a colour list this time)

For more inspiration featuring The Fall Flora Fairies Collection, please visit the SCACD Store Blog Follow Your Heart where you will find a list of links to the lovely design team members sharing projects today.

***SNEAK PEEK ALERT*** While you are visiting the Store Blog, make sure to check out the details of another sneak peek of our upcoming release featuring Sylvia Zet for SCACD...and a little birdie tells me there just may be some BLOG CANDY!!

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

Blessings,

Melanie