Of All The Fishies in the Sea...

I hope by now, that your Thursdays always include stopping by Sweet 'n Sassy to see what new digis are being released! There are so many fantastic images...right now, many of the newest images are perfect for Valentine's Day!! I always post my Sweet 'n Sassy projects here on my blog, but you should also sign up as a follower over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Digi Blog. That way you can stay up to date on everything that is happening over there. Plus, you don't want to miss any of the projects posted by the talented design team and guest designers...I'm sure they will inspire you!

Today, I have two cards featuring the brand new Digis for today: "Pucker Up" and "Blowing Kisses Teddy"!

First up, is this cute little fish bowl is illustrated by Leah Cornelis...what a super sweet image! I played around a bit with "Pucker Up" and decided to make a window card. I cut around the fish bowl to use it as a template for my acetate window. I made sure to place the fish and the gravel so that they would show through the window exactly as seen on the original image.



Now, before you take a peek at the inside, I need to ask you to tilt your head a little to the left...more....more...ok, that should do it!! Why?? Well, I noticed after everything was stuck down, that it's all a little off-kilter. :( Now normally, I can tease layers off with some thread...however, I had just run out of my usual adhesive. Since this card was going to be quite thick and heavy, I decided to use my Glossy Accents to adhere everything...very permanently. These papers were NOT budging. So, please humour me and just "pretend" that everything is straight, ok?? lol ( a very wise friend once told me that things being a little crooked is just proof that something is handmade with love...after all, nobody is perfect right?? hee hee)

So, for the inside of my card, I cut a square of Neenah cardstock, and drew in a bit more gravel to fit this square. I coloured in the water and the plants with Copic markers. The fish were also coloured with Copic markers, coated with Stardust Stickles and pop dotted for dimension. I found this great package of coloured glass beads at my local dollar store, and used them for the little pebbles at the bottom of the fish bowl! Finally, I used some more of those great heart rhinestones (also from the dollar store) as the heart bubbles that Leah drew in this image.

"Blowing Kisses Teddy" was drawn by Deedee Anderson. This is such a sweet little bear! For the fur, I used layers of feather strokes done with Copic markers. I opted for a shaped card this time and used my Nesties Labels 8 for the cardbase and DP layers. Since I had cut the teddy bear out, I needed to draw in the "kisses" that Teddy is blowing. I also used Frosted Lace Stickles on these "kisses". The sentiment is part of the "Blowing Kisses" set.

I hope you all have a wonderful day! Make sure to head on over to the Sweet 'n Sassy store to pick up this week's digis!

God bless,

Melanie

Digital Stamps: Sweet 'n Sassy "Pucker Up", "Blowing Kisses Teddy" (with included sentiments)

Paper: Neenah, My Mind's Eye, Bazzill cardstock

Ink: Copic markers

Embellishments: Glass beads and heart rhinestones from the dollar store, WRMK brads, Prima Hydrangeas, Dew Drops, Stickles

Tools: Nestabilities Labels 8

Exciting News From High Hopes!!

Hold on to your seats stampers!! High Hopes has officially announced their next release and their new artist...none other than Dustin Pike!! If you are not familiar with his work, please stop by his blog to check it out!





I can't wait to show you what I've been working on with these fantastic new images. I know the other Divas are bursting to show you their creations too! Well, the wait won't be long now!

This Sunday, the Divas will be bringing you cards with this brand new release on the Challenge Blog!! The sneak peeks will continue on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday January 20, 2010 is the BIG RELEASE DAY!! We are having a blog hop to celebrate this new release!! Oh, I can hardly wait!

What would a new release be without the chance to win??? Well, here are the details on some amazing candy being offered by High Hopes...you will also find this (along with the blinkie) over on the challenge blog!!

Do you want to win a package bursting with new release stamps? Of course you do :-) Then we would love you to help us spread the news about our blog hop and release on Wednesday January 20, 2010.

To be entered into the draw:

1. Grab our blinkie from the sidebar and place on your blog.

2. Tell your friends about the news, blog hop and release on January 20th.

3. Become a follower of this blog if you aren't already ;-) You don't want to miss out on the fun and there will be tons of prizes along the blog hop!!!

4. Leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog post sharing our news.


The contest ends 8pm EST (Midnight GMT) on January 22nd!!

Good Luck!!!

I can hardly wait!! I hope you all are excited too...see you Sunday!

Melanie

Birthday Tilda (post #2 today!)

I am so happy to be posting a card with this stamp!! I have been waiting a long time to get my inky paws on this cutie! This is "Jam Tilda" from Magnolia. As soon as I saw her, I HAD to have her!! Thankfully, my friend Phebe from The Town Scrapper carries Magnolia stamps! As soon as Tilda arrived in Petrolia, I drove right out there to pick her up...along with some other goodies! Phebe is still running her "buy one, get one of equal or lesser value for 50% off" sale, so you can stock up on some great products right now and save big $$$!! She also has all Christmas stock on sale for 50% off! (her contact info is on her blog...just follow the link above!!)

Now, my in-laws were in need of a birthday card and "hired" me to make one for them. Perfect opportunity to use my new stamp! I inked up Tilda and stamped her on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copics (big surprise huh??). I just love these "sitting" images...perfect to perch on the edge of layers. This pretty double-sided paper is from We Are Memory Keepers (bought this out at The Town Scrapper too!). You know, the nice thing about double-sided paper is that it takes the guess work out of co-ordinating patterned paper. I used Bazzil cardstock as a base, as well as for the punched border. The sentiment is from Stamping Bella. I mounted it on a wooden tag covered with DP.

When I was out visiting Phebe, I picked up another new stamp set!! I am hoping to get a card posted later in the week with it, so stay tuned!

Blessings!

Melanie

Stamps: Magnolia "Jam Tilda", Stamping Bella "Happy Birthday"

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics

Paper: Bazzil Cardstock, WRMK

Embellishments: American Crafts ribbon, Dollar Store brad, wooden tag, machine stitching

Winter Birthday Wishes

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is sponsoring the challenge over at Pink Elephant this week. The challenge is a pretty simple one: Birthday Cards!! We all need a fairly large stash of these, right? So, you should hop on over and enter in...you could be the happy winner of three stamps from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps (including ones from the new release! did you see the blog hop yesterday?? feel free to scroll down my previous post for more information on that)

I chose to use Clara for my birthday card. I think she is just so elegant...and I love her clothes! I think she makes a lovely winter birthday card! I paired her up with this beautiful Cosmo Cricket Paper (appropriately called Klara!!). I have been hoarding this paper for a while, just waiting for the right image. I matted Clara on ovals cut from my Spellbinders.

As always, I stamped my image on Neenah, and coloured it with Copic markers. I pop-dotted Clara for dimension. Those little pearls are dollar store treasures!! Saving money on embellishments=$$ for more stamps!

So, off you go to the Pink Elephant to play along with the challenge. There will be some more examples over there by Kimmie's Krafty Girls featuring her fantastic stamps!

I hope to see you back later this morning...I will have another card to post featuring a Magnolia image!

See you soon!

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Clara", Stamping Bella "Happy Birthday"

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers

Paper: Cosmo Cricket "Klara", Bazzill Cardstock

Embellishments: dollar store ribbon and adhesive pearls

Tools: Various Spellbinders

High Hopes Challenge #58: Use a Bow!

(This is my second post today...scroll down or click here for the Kraftin' Kimmie Blog Hop!!)

Did you all know that every Sunday, a new challenge is posted on High Hopes?? Did you also know that with every challenge, there is a fantastic prize up for grabs?? That's right...all you need to do is make a project following the challenge topic, but it MUST include a High Hopes image. This week, the challenge is brought to us by the talented Karen, who is asking you to include a bow on your project!

For this challenge, I chose to use "Girl Talk"...what a cute stamp!! (my daughter LOVES this image!) The image was coloured with Copic markers...all except the nightgown of the little girl on the left. I paper-pieced that, and added some shading with my Copics for depth. The little "Giggle" embellishment was a find at the dollar store! I don't know a single stamper who doesn't scour the dollar store for a good card treasure! Actually, I was there today, but sadly left empty-handed this time :(. I also had some little wooden heart tags, so I covered one with design paper and mounted the "sentiment" on it. The bow was made with that fabulous little tool, the Bow Easy! I love this tool now...but I have to admit, it did not seem so "easy" at first. It took me a bit to figure it out!

I also pop-dotted this group of friends for dimension. Do you remember having slumber parties?? Oh, how much fun they were. Popcorn, movies, talking about boys, make-overs, games...and lots of "giggles"!!

I hope you find time this week to join in the Challenge over at High Hopes. The High Hopes Divas have some great examples posted on the blog, so come on over and take a look...then link up your entry for a chance to win!!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: High Hopes "Girl Talk"

Ink: Copic markers, Memento Tuxedo Black

Papers: Bazzill and Bazzill Bling cardstock, All My Memories, Kaisercraft

Embellishments: Wooden Heart Tag, Metal Dollar Store Embellishment, Walmart Ribbon

Tools: Spellbinders

It's Relase Day...and a Kraftin' Kimmie Blog Hop!!

Kimmie has announced the winners of yesterday's Blog Hop over on the Challenge Blog!! You can find the names here !! Congrats ladies!! Even if you missed out on the fun yesterday, feel free to hop along anyways, as there are many wonderful projects to get you mojo going! Then get yourself over to Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps to place your order!

I know you all have been waiting, especially with all the fantastic sneak peeks of these new images...but wait no longer! It's RELEASE DAY over at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! This new release is jam packed with so many incredible images and sentiment sets! There are four new fantastical images from Crissy Armstrong, four new fun and funky images from Annie Rodrigue, four adorable images from Jean Grant and two new sets of coordinating sentiments!! You’ll get to check out all the images throughout our fabulous blog hop!! You might as well just buy them all, and save yourself the decision making!

To celebrate the new release, we're having a blog hop! You will see some fantastic projects by Kimmie, the Krafty Girls, artists Crissy Armstrong and Annie Rodrigue, and some Krafty Friends!! The hop starts off at Kraftin’ Kimmie Challenge Blog! As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because three lucky stampers will win packages of stamps from the new release!! When you’re done hopping, be sure to head over to the Kraftin’ Kimmie store, because ALL the new images are NOW available!

So, if you have come here from Betty's blog, then you are on the right track. If not, start over at Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge Blog and follow the links along the hop. Kimmie has posted a list for the order of the blog hop at the Challenge Blog, just in case you get lost along the way!

Today, I have chosen to work with one of Crissy's stunning fairies. This stamp is called "Tree Fairy". Isn't she just lovely? These fairies are all so delicate...I adore them! I stamped "Tree Fairy" on Neenah cardstock and coloured her with Copic markers. I also added Stickles to her wings...however, when I had her mounted on my card, I felt her wings were just to bright for this beautiful vintage paper from TPC Studio (called Ancestral Bird Brocade). So, out came the Antique Linen Distress Ink and a make-up sponge (I keep a whole stash of these in my ink box!!). I think it toned them down just enough...and yet retained the shimmer I was going for. What do you think?

You know, I rushed out to buy this Fleur De Lis Spellbinder when it was a brand new release...and yet it had sat unused! Gasp!! I know...terrible huh? So, I used it to cut and emboss this Bazzill cardstock pendant for Tree Fairy to sit upon.

Now before you continue on to Diana's blog, you should know that Kimmie is running a fantastic special!

1. Each and EVERY order placed on Sunday, January 10th and Monday, January 11th will receive a special little surprise in with their package!!

2. The first 50 orders of $75 or more before shipping and taxes, will receive the special little surprise PLUS a free Oliver stamp!!

3. And as usual, EVERY order over $100 will receive free regular shipping!!

So, off you go to Diana's blog, the next stop on the hop! Remember to leave comments on each Krafty Girl's blog so you will have a chance at the prizes! When you have completed the hop, get yourself over to Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps to place your order!!

Have fun stampers!

Blessings,

Melanie

Looking Dapper!!

Saturday marks a new challenge over at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge Blog! The challenge this week is "Heavy Metal", brought to us by Krafty Girl Tara who would like to see you using metal embellishments. Once again, you just might see a few sneak peeks of the January release images...including right here! I am using one of the new Moonlight Whispers images drawn by artist Annie Rodrigue. I would like to introduce you to "Chester".




Dapper...yup, that's what I think of when I look at "Chester"! I immediately fell in love with this character when I saw him! How can you resist him in his suit and top hat? I decided to use Chester to make yet another Valentine's Day card...'cause he looks like he's dressing to impress some lady friend, don't you think?? Imagine Chester showing up at your door...looking so very snazzy! I paired Chester up with papers from My Mind's Eye and Bazzill cardstock. The little sentiment tag was part of the MME paper kit. I have had these metal snaps in my stash for quite some time, and have been waiting for just the right project to use them on. I also had this entwined heart brad kicking around in my collection too...how fitting!



So, are you game?? Play along with Tara's "Heavy Metal Challenge" and you just might find yourself the winner of a terrific prize. Hop on over the the Challenge Blog for all the details, but remember, you MUST use a Kraftin' Kimmie image to be elligible for the prize!

Tomorrow is the big day! The new January Release will be available for purchase!! Not only that, but Kimmie and all the Krafty Girls are having a blog hop to showcase the new images! You will find all the details of the hop and links to the blogs tomorrow over at the Challenge Blog. See you again tomorrow!!

God bless!!

Melanie