"The Peekers Collection 2" Is Now Available For Purchase!!

Good morning and welcome to release day at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design!! All week long, we've been sharing sneak peeks of the newest exclusive stamp collection at SCACD..."The Peekers Collection 2" by artist Elisabeth Bell! These sweet little girls will quickly make their way into your heart...and onto your papercrafting projects! I know the entire design team has had so much fun creating with these stamps. They are now available for purchase only at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie if you live in the UK.

If you have been following along with the sneak peeks this week, you will have seen "Secret Garden Peeker", "Mama's Purse Peeker", "Bubble Bath Peeker", "Partners In Peeking" and "Sweet Cheeks Peeker". There are still two more young ladies in this stamp collection that are being introduced today..."What's In The Box Peeker" and "All Peeked Out Peeker".

We are celebrating the release of The Peekers Collection 2 with a day of inspiration over at the SCACD store blog Follow Your Heart. There you will find a list of all the designers who have created some gorgeous projects for your viewing pleasure with these new stamps. This will also be the first chance for you to see those two Peekers who did not make an appearance during the sneak peeks! Now, this is not an official blog hop so you can feel free to visit the designers in any order you wish...but, to make sure you don't miss out on any projects I recommended following the order posted at Follow Your Heart. If you've been visiting the designers in that order, you should have arrived her after visiting with Dianne. :)

For my card today, I used "Secret Garden Peeker". I just love Elisabeth's style...so sweet and innocent. I love the way the hair curls into a cute little ringlet at the bottom of her ponytail...and what do you think she is spying behind that fence?? The paper is Basic Grey Hopscotch. The bow was tied with my Bow Easy. I topped it off with a jewelry spacer and a little self-adhesive pearl. I coloured the pearl with my B95 marker to coordinate with my paper and image. A little machine stitching and Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the paper edges finishes it off.

"Secret Garden Peeker" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers.

Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, YR31, Y23, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: B00, B32, B37, B91, B93, B95, C5, R22 Fence: E25, E30, E31, E33, E50, E59, E99 Grass: YG00, YG03, YG67, G14, G21, G99, C5, C9

It's my pleasure to direct you towards Anki's blog to see the next bit of inspiration featuring another Peeker! (Again, you can find the complete list of designers featuring projects at Follow Your Heart )

The Peekers Collection 2 is available for purchase exclusively at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for our friends in the UK.

Oh, and as if new stamps are not exciting enough, Susana also has some fantastic new products in the store!! While you're shopping for The Peekers, make sure to check out the newest Bo Bunny Paper, matching Trinkets and the No More Shims Embossing Mat from Scor Pal...you'll find that gem in the "Can't Do Without" section of the "Stamping Accessories" page of SCACD! (it's listed in the left hand sidebar of the store site...but it will also appear on the SCACD home page)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have fun shopping!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: The Peekers Collection 2 from SCACD "Secret Garden Peeker"
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Basic Grey
Embellishments: Jewelry spacer, pearl, ribbon machine stitching
Tools: Bow Easy

The Peekers...Day Five of the Sneak Peeks!

Welcome to day five of the sneak peeks at SCACD! "The Peekers Collection 2" is an adorable set of little girls designed exclusively for SCACD by artist Elisabeth Bell and they will be available for purchase this Friday!

Sharing the sneak peek of "Sweet Cheeks Peeker" today is the talented Marti! Just wait until you see this, ahem, "cheeky" little tyke! You will most definitely fall in love with her! (make sure to leave Marti a comment on her blog post for your chance to win "Sweet Cheeks Peeker"!)

***PEEKER BLOG CANDY**** Susana will be giving away one of each Peeker stamp being previewed this week!! To be eligible, you must leave a comment on the personal blogs of the DT members who are sharing sneak peeks for that day (not on the store blog...those comments won't count!). Susana will draw the winners from those people who have left comments. Make sure to pop by the store blog Follow Your Heart each day for links to the talented ladies who are sharing the sneak peeks! All five winners will be posted on July 28, 2011 at 11:00 pm EST on the store blog Follow Your Heart.

If you missed any of the previous sneak peeks, you can still pop by to leave comments for those designers on their personal blog posts featuring The Peekers Collection 2:

Sunday (Secret Garden Peeker): Elaine and Janiel

Monday (Mama's Purse Peeker): Kim

Tuesday (Bubble Bath Peeker): Alex and Lori

Wednesday (Partners in Peeking): Danni and Melanie (that's me!)

The Peeker Collection 2 will be available for purchase tomorrow at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for all our friends in the UK!! Please make sure to visit Follow Your Heart tomorrow for links to the designers who have created some beautiful projects featuring this new stamp set. There are still a couple of "Peekers" that have yet to be revealed!!

Blessings,

Melanie

SCACD Sneak Peeks...Introducing "Partners In Peeking"!

Welcome to day four of the sneak peeks at SCACD! "The Peekers Collection 2" is an adorable set of little girls designed exclusively for SCACD by artist Elisabeth Bell and they will be available for purchase this Friday!

Today, both Danni and I are sharing sneak peeks of "Partners in Peeking"!

I am absolutely in love with The Peekers Collection 2...and how adorable is this little girl with her puppy??!! Elisabeth Bell has such a remarkable talent for capturing the innocence of childhood. Her images are always so sweet. :) The paper is from Basic Grey Sugar Rush . All paper edges were distressed with my scissors and then sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I stepped way out of my comfort zone on this one by sewing wonky, curvy lines of stitching with my machine...on purpose!!! lol Usually I'm very concerned with my stitching being as close to straight as possible, but I have seen this look on many cards around blogland and I really like it! I used some Prima flowers...Susana doesn't have this exact colour, but she does have a couple of packets of Prima Hydrangeas in purple and tan. (these hydrangeas are still some of my favourite flowers...you get a ton of them in the package!) The flower centres are some jewelry spacers topped off with a Dark Brown Viva Decor Pearl Pen. I also added a trio of little pearls created with the same Viva Pen. Those chipboard swirls are none other than the fantastic Make It Crafty Lasercut Chipboard that Susana carries...you can find it HERE. I just painted the chipboard with some acrylic craft paint, but there are so many possible treatments for this chipboard...it's such a great finishing touch to any project. The little sentiment is from the "Beachy Sentiments" set from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps.

Partners In Peeking was stamped on Neenah cardstock in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with Copics. I was trying to recreate the look of a real wood door...but I didn't quite make the cut on this one. lol I kind of struggled a bit with the wood grain effect. Guess I'll need to tweak that technique a bit for next time. :) (I also forgot to add a deeper shadow on the door edge right under her arm and the puppy's face, as my light source was from the upper right hand corner.) I did crop the image a bit when I cut it out with my oval Spellbinders...the entire image actually includes a bit of a wall on the right hand side. Here's a closer look...isn't she just a doll??!!


Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Shirt: RV000, R81, R83, R85, B000, BG72, C5 Puppy: W00, W1, W3, W5, W7, C9, R20 Door: E25, E30, E31, E33, E37, E59, E97, E99, Y23 Handle: Y17, E33, E35, E50 Background: T2, BV00, BV02

How would you like to win "Partners In Peeking"?? All you need to do is leave a comment on my post here and also over at Danni's post featuring this adorable new stamp! Just read below for full details. :)

***PEEKER BLOG CANDY**** Susana will be giving away one of each Peeker stamp being previewed this week!! To be eligible, you must leave a comment on the personal blogs of the DT members who are sharing sneak peeks for that day (not on the store blog...those comments won't count!). Susana will draw the winners from those people who have left comments. Make sure to pop by the store blog Follow Your Heart each day for links to the talented ladies who are sharing the sneak peeks! All five winners will be posted on July 28, 2011 at 11:00 pm EST on the store blog Follow Your Heart.

If you missed any of the previous sneak peeks, you can still pop by to leave comments for those designers on their personal blog posts featuring The Peekers Collection 2:

Sunday (Secret Garden Peeker): Elaine and Janiel

Monday (Mama's Purse Peeker): Kim

Tuesday (Bubble Bath Peeker): Alex and Lori

The Peeker Collection 2 will be available for purchase this Friday at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for all our friends in the UK.

So, if you haven't visited with Danni yet, make sure to head over to her blog next...you are going to love what she's created with Partners In Peeking!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: The Peekers Collection 2 from SCACD "Partners in Peeking", "Beachy Sentiments" from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Basic Grey
Ink: Memento, Distress Ink, Copics
Embellishments: Make it Crafty chipboard, jewelry spacers, Viva Pearl Pen, machine stitching

Have you caught the Peeker Fever yet??

Welcome to day three of the sneak peeks at SCACD! "The Peekers Collection 2" is an adorable set of little girls designed exclusively for SCACD by artist Elizabeth Bell and they will be available for purchase this Friday!

Today we have two designers sharing sneak peeks of "Bubble Bath Peeker"...Alex and Lori ! Don't forget to leave comments on their posts, as you could be the lucky winner of "Bubble Bath Peeker"!

***PEEKER BLOG CANDY**** Susana will be giving away one of each Peeker stamp being previewed this week!! To be eligible, you must leave a comment on the personal blogs of the DT members who are sharing sneak peeks for that day (not on the store blog...those comments won't count!). Susana will draw the winners from those people who have left comments. Make sure to pop by the store blog Follow Your Heart each day for links to the talented ladies who are sharing the sneak peeks! All five winners will be posted on July 28, 2011 at 11:00 pm EST on the store blog Follow Your Heart.

If you missed any of the previous sneak peeks, you can still pop by to leave comments for those designers on their personal blog posts featuring The Peekers Collection 2:

Monday (Secret Garden Peeker): Elaine and Janiel

Tuesday (Mama's Purse Peeker): Kim

The Peeker Collection 2 will be available for purchase this Friday at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for all our friends in the UK.

I'll be back tomorrow with a sneak peek of another brand new stamp in The Peekers Collection 2...hope to see you then!

Blessings,

Melanie

Sneak Peeks of "The Peekers"...Round Two!

So, has Peeker Fever grabbed ahold of you yet??!! "The Peekers Collection 2" is an adorable set of little girls designed exclusively for SCACD by artist Elizabeth Bell and it will be available for purchase this Friday!

To see today's sneak peek of "Mama's Purse Peeker", please stop by and visit the lovely and talented Kim! Oh, and make sure to leave a comment on her post, as you could be the lucky winner of "Mama's Purse Peeker"!

***PEEKER BLOG CANDY**** Susana will be giving away one of each Peeker stamp being previewed this week!! To be eligible, you must leave a comment on the personal blogs of the DT members who are sharing sneak peeks for that day (not on the store blog...those comments won't count!). Susana will draw the winners from those people who have left comments. Make sure to pop by the store blog Follow Your Heart each day for links to the talented ladies who are sharing the sneak peeks! All five winners will be posted on July 28, 2011 at 11:00 pm EST on the store blog Follow Your Heart.

If you missed yesterday's sneak peeks, you can still pop by to leave comments for Elaine and our lovely guest Janiel on their posts featuring "Secret Garden Peeker"!

The Peeker Collection 2 will be available for purchase this Friday at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for all our friends in the UK.

Blessings,

Melanie

Let the "Peeking" Begin at SCACD!!!

Susana and the fabulous SCACD design team are really excited this week!! Why? Well, we're gearing up for another release...are you ready for another set of "The Peekers"??!! This is an adorable set of little girls designed exclusively for SCACD by artist Elizabeth Bell. When I received my stamps, I immediately fell in love with the innocence and charm of these sweet designs. :)

Each day leading up to the release this Friday July 29th, a few of the design team members will be "sneak peeking" one of The Peekers...to see who has previews to share each day, you can visit the store blog Follow Your Heart for links to their blogs.

***PEEKER BLOG CANDY**** Susana will be giving away one of each Peeker stamp being previewed this week!! To be eligible, you must leave a comment on the personal blogs of the DT members who are sharing sneak peeks for that day (not on the store blog...those comments won't count!). Susana will draw the winners from those people who have left comments. Make sure to pop by the store blog Follow Your Heart each day for links to the talented ladies who are sharing the sneak peeks! All five winners will be posted on July 28, 2011 at 11:00 pm EST on the store blog Follow Your Heart.

So, do you want to see today's sneak peek??!! Pop on over to visit with the talented Elaine Hughes and our lovely guest Janiel Corley to see the adorable Secret Garden Peeker! (and don't forget to leave comments at each of their blogs for your chance to win the stamp they've used on their gorgeous cards!)

The Peeker Collection 2 will be available for purchase this Friday at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for all our friends in the UK.

Let the "Peeker Fever" begin! :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Wishing You Tranquility

Hey there my crafty friends! I hope you've all had a fantastic week. The weather here has been scorching...blech. On Thursday it was around 37 degrees Celsius, but when you factored in the humidity it felt more like 50. Seriously. That would also be the day that our air conditioner at work decided to go on the fritz. Nice. I work for a cardiologist, so our call to the repairman was placed pretty high on the priority list, but it still took until lunch time before he was able to get there...by then it was around 30 degrees in our office. I'm hoping that next week brings a little relief to this heat wave!

This week, our hostess for the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge is the lovely Tara. She has designed a fabulous sketch for us to play with! Tara always creates gorgeous cards with so many pretty layers and embellishments, so I'm excited to use her sketch! (You can find a picture of her sketch over at the KKS Blog...for some reason, I couldn't get it to upload. I'm a bit technologically challenged! lol)

The stamp I used on my card today is "Akiko"....love her. :) She's so beautiful and serene. I used several papers from the MME Stella and Rose Mabel collection to complete the various layers of Tara's sketch. (SCACD is out of that specific paper pack, but Susana still has the "Hattie" and "Hazel" MME pads in stock...you can find them HERE and they are priced at only $5.99 USD!!) The "Wishing You Tranquility" sentiment comes with Akiko. For the scalloped horizontal component of the sketch, I folded over a piece of dollar store crocheted trim to create the double layer. I think the button may be from Basic Grey, but I can't say for certain as I found it laying all by it's lonesome in the bottom of my ribbon container, lol. The string is some jewelry twine I picked up at Walmart...actually it was in the kids crafts section. :) The little brown pearls are also from the dollar store. Since I did not use cardstock to mat the various paper layers, I inked up the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink to give them a bit of definition. Machine stitching was added for a finishing touch.


"Akiko" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copic markers. I'm not entirely thrilled with her hair...you know that saying "leave well enough alone"? Well, I didn't. lol I had been working on her hair, and had achieved some decent highlights but thought I should add just a touch more ink to create a few more "strands" of hair. That brilliant move basically resulting in mucking up the highlights...now there is very little contrast in her hair. Lesson learned??? I need to bring in the "hands off" rule! lol For shading her kimono, I used quite a bit of grey for the teal portion and a few different browns for the orange sections. I sponged around the image with Oasis Green Chalk Ink and Walnut Stain Distress Ink.



Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: B60, C3, C5, C7, 100 Clothing: BG72, BG75, C5, C7, YR02, YR16, E08, E99, E18 Flute: Y17, E31, E35

If you play along with us this week, you could win "Tori", the stamp Tara used on her gorgeous card! (just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible for the prize) For more inspiration, please visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see what the rest of the very talented Krafty Girls have created this week!

Oh, and don't forget about the Frugal Friday Sale and July Gimmie Kimmie Kits...you can find them by clicking on the "Specials" link on the left hand side of the KKS Online Store. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Akiko" and coordinating sentiment
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Ink: Memento, Copics, Chalk Ink, Distress Ink
Embellishments: Button (Basic Grey?), Crocheted trim, twine, Machine Stitching