Here Comes the Sun

Good morning folks!! The challenge over at Sundays With Crissy this month is Here Comes The Sun. This is open to your interpretation! You could use sunny colours, summertime images, include an actual sun on your project...so many possibilities!

I decided to pull out one of my favourite stamps that Crissy illustrated for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...this stunning fairy is Ophelia. (You can find all the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps by Crissy Armstrong HERE.) I've used her a couple of times before, but I absolutely adore her so I was excited to ink her up again. :) Ophelia is actually perched on a rock, but I chose to not ink that portion of the stamp so that I could have her sitting on the edge of my main image panel with her legs extending past the border. I could have used that "out-of-the-box" Spellbinders technique that so many talented bloggers use...but I was too lazy! lol So I just placed the die on the paper, traced around it with a pencil and hand cut it...definitely not the perfectly clean and crisp edge you get when using your Spellbinders properly, but it will do. :) I've been hoarding that sunflower paper from Fancy Pants (Rusted Sun) for ages and finally decided it was time to use it, especially since the sunflowers seemed to be perfect for this challenge. I had this gorgeous deep red satin ribbon that I thought would be a perfect colour match for the red in the paper...nope. My ribbon supply is actually quite limited, and I felt the card needed another horizontal element behind the image. I had recently picked up a roll of organza ribbon at the dollar store, so I covered my ribbon with a layer of that to tone down the intensity of the red...and I was hoping it would echo the shimmer I planned to put on Ophelia's wings. The little white pearls were created with a Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White.



Ophelia was stamped on Neenah paper with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. The sky was sponged in with Stormy Sky Distress Ink and a hand-cut cloud template. In keeping with the Here Comes The Sun challenge, I wanted to use sunny colours for Ophelia. I also wanted to experiment with some feather blending on her wings...fairy wings are so much fun to colour! It took me a few tries on a scrap piece of paper to come up with the right combination of yellows, oranges and reds to achieve the effect I wanted...she actually ended up looking a bit more like a fire fairy than a sun fairy though! lol I added some subtle shimmer to her wings with Smooch Illuminate.



Copics: Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, Y21, Y26, E31, E33, E37, E59 Dress: R22, R27, R29, R46, R59, C5, C7, YR16, Y17, R27, E08, E99 Wings: E50, YR20, YR16, Y17, Y23, R17, R27, R59

Why don't you get creating and show us your Sun/Summer themed cards!! There will be five free digi's given to one lucky challenge participant who will be chosen by Random.org at the end of the month! You may now use images from any company and still be included in the draw for the blog candy prize! Those who use one of Crissy's images, either from her rubber or digital collections will be entered twice in the draw. But please respect the rule of no more than three entries per month. Otherwise your entries could be deleted the first post is "HERE"

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Ophelia
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Fancy Pants
Ink: Memento, Distress Ink, Copics
Embellishments: Ribbon, machine stitching, Viva Decor Pearl Pen

SCACD "Sweet Meets Sassy Collection"...Day Three of Sneak Peeks!

Good morning friends!! Just a quick reminder for today's sneak peeks of the soon to be released "Sweet Meets Sassy Collection" at SCACD. Sharing sneak peeks today are:

Alex

Marti

***BLOG CANDY ALERT*** All week long links to the daily sneak peeks will be posted on the store blog Follow Your Heart. Each day you will have the opportunity to win the stamp being previewed...all you need to do is visit the personal blogs of the DT members sharing the sneak peeks and leave a comment on their posts. All blog candy giveaways will be open until June 23, 2011 at 10:00 pm EST so if you have missed any of the previous sneak peeks, you can still visit those blogs and get your name in those drawings (just scroll back through previous posts at Follow Your Heart for links to those blogs). Random.org will be used to choose the winners and their names will all be posted at Follow Your Heart by 11:00 pm EST on June 23, 2011.

The Sweet Meets Sassy Collection #2 will all be available for purchase on June 24, 2011 at SCACD, and at Quixotic Paperie for all of our crafty friends in the UK...we hope you plan to join us for the Release Day Blog Hop on Friday!

Blessings,

Melanie

SCACD "Sweet Meets Sassy Collection"...Round Two of Sneak Peeks!

Good morning friends! I just wanted to remind you of the sneak peeks happening all this week for the upcoming release this Friday at SCACD!! Each day two of the talented design team members will be sharing sneak peeks featuring stamps from the soon-to-be-released "Sweet Meets Sassy Collection #2". Please visit the store blog Follow Your Heart each day to see who has previews to share with you. There is also blog candy being given away each day...to be eligible, you must leave a comment on the designer's individual sneak peek posts. (you'll find the links to their blogs at Follow Your Heart) The daily blog candies will all be open until June 23, 2011 at 10:00 pm EST, so if you have missed any of the days of sneak peeks you can still go back to visit those designers and leave a comment on their posts. The winners will all be announced on June 23, 2011 by 11:00 pm EST at Follow Your Heart. Sharing some gorgeous sneak peeks today are:

Danni

Colleen

Don't forget that we're having a blog hop this Friday to celebrate the exclusive SCACD "Sweet Meets Sassy Collection #2" release...we hope you can join us!

Blessings,

Melanie

Femme Fatale

It's almost time for a new release at Susana's Custom Art and Card Design!!! Susana will be releasing the "Sweet Meets Sassy Collection #2" by SCACD artist Victoria Case. This release of stamps actually includes two sets..."The Retro Crew Collection" and "Hearts & Hugs-The Fun Collection". The sneak peeks start today and will continue right up to our release day blog hop this Friday! Each day, two of the SCACD design team members will have sneak peeks to share with you...up today are Carolyn and your's truly. :) You can visit the store blog, Follow Your Heart, each day for links to the talented ladies who have previews to share with you.

Today, Carolyn and I have the privilege of introducing the very sassy "Femme Fatale" who is part of the "Retro Crew Collection #2". How much fun is she??!! Oh, to be so glamorous! As soon as I saw this vixen, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with her. :) While she is quite reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe, that dress immediately made me think of Jessica Rabbit..do you remember the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit??!! lol That settled it for me...she was definitely going to be wearing a red sequined number just like Jessica. I went with a smaller card base than I usually do...it's 4x5. The rhinestone swirls are from my local dollar store. The "Glamor Girl" sentiment is from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. It was cut out with some circle Spellbinders and matted on Spellbinders Lacey Circles. I jazzed up the red and silver cardstock with some Smooch Illuminate and Stardust Stickles. There certainly is no shortage of bling on this card! The white organza ribbon is from Walmart, and that gorgeous black flower is from Prima (Delightful Day).


"Femme Fatale" was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copic markers. To create her "Jessica Rabbit" gown, I coated her dress with Stardust Stickles. I used a Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White on her pearl necklace, bracelet and earings. Her diamond ring was given a bit of dimension with the Viva Decor Hologram Glitter Liner.



Copics: Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: Y21, Y26, E31, E33, E37, E50, E59 Dress: R22, R27, R46, R59, C5, C7 Gloves: E50, E53, E57, blender

Have you visited with Carolyn Bounds yet?? She has a stunning project to share with you that also features the gorgeous Femme Fatale. :)

***BLOG CANDY!!!*** Please make sure to leave comments for both Carolyn and I on our "Femme Fatale" posts to be eligible to win this gorgeous stamp!! The blog candy will be open until June 23, 2011 at 10:00 pm EST. Random.org will be used to draw a winner who will be announced on the store blog Follow Your Heart by 11:00 EST the same night. :)

The new exclusive "Sweet Meets Sassy Collection #2" by artist Victoria Case will be available for purchase this Friday at SCACD...and at Quixotic Paperie for our crafty friends in the UK. Remember to check in at Follow Your Heart each day leading up to the release for sneak peeks of the new stamps and more blog candy!! We hope you plan to join us for the release day blog hop this Friday. :)

Blessings!

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Femme Fatale" (from the "Retro Crew Collection #2"), sentiment from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps
Ink: Memento, Copics
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill
Embellishments: Stardust Stickles, Smooch Illuminate, Prima Flower, rhinestone swirls, Ribbon, Viva Decor Pearl Pen and Hologram Glitter Liner
Tools: Spellbinders, Martha Stewart Punch

Swimming By To Say Hi!

Time for another challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! This time, our hostess is the very lovely and very sweet Diana Pickering. She has a fun challenge this week...she wants us to make Cards for Kids!

This is Sunny the Turtle, one of the adorable recently released June stamps from our newest Krafty artist Emilie Goulet. I love him to bits!! Emilie has such a gift for giving her animals huge personality...just look at that grin, and I think the addition of a rubber ducky is the perfect finishing touch to this image! I used some paper that I've been hoarding from October Afternoon...I love plaid paper! The sentiment is from Kimmie's "Mermaid Sentiments".


Sunny was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copic markers. I added some Glossy Accents to the water and sponged in a sky with Memento Summer Sky Ink and a hand-cut cloud template.

Copics: Turtle: YG00, YG03, YG63, YG67, G99, E11, E13, E17, E18, E59 Water: BG0000, BG000, B000, B00, B02, B05, B12, C00...and some of the above colours for the reflections Duck: Y00, Y11, Y17, E08 Bottle: Yoo, Y17, YR02, YR04, YR07, E08, E18

We'd love to have you join in our Kid's Card challenge this week. If you do, you could be the lucky winner of Dancing Dylan, the stamp Diana used on her card...oh, and Kimmie will also throw in four more Steven Leary stamps of the winner's choice!! Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. You can check out all the fun kids cards made by the Krafty Girls this week at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog!

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend and thanks so much for stopping by today! :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Sunny the Turtle and Mermaid Sentiments
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, October Afternoon
Ink: Memento, Copics, Versafine
Embellishments: Glossy Accents

Make It Crafty has arrived at SCACD!!!

Good morning to you...and Happy Friday!! Have you heard the news?? Susana's Custom Art and Card Design is now carrying stamps and chipboard embellishments from Make It Crafty!!! Susana thought it would be fun to have a special day to showcase these incredible new products. Just wait until you see what my fellow design team members have been busy creating...you'll find links to their blogs at the SCACD blog, Follow Your Heart. :)

I must confess that I have been itching to get my inky paws on some of the Make It Crafty stamps. Zoe, the owner of Make It Crafty (who I've also had the immense pleasure of being on a couple of design teams with), has so many incredible images. I was absolutely thrilled when Susana announced that she was going to be carrying them. I've also had the opportunity to play with some of the Make It Crafty chipboard embellishments, and they are amazing! They are intricately detailed and so versatile.

I kind of have a "thing" for stamps with incredible hair or intricate clothing...it's sort of like colouring bliss for me, lol. Well, when I saw "Siren Lorelei", I knew that she was going to be a dream to colour...look at that glorious cascading mass of hair!! Oh yeah, and she's a mermaid to boot!!! I adore mermaids..."The Little Mermaid" is still one of my favourite Disney movies. It's probably better that I watch it alone though, as I always feel the need to sing along to every song...and sadly I am not exactly gifted in the musical department, lol. Seriously though, that movie cracks me up..."dinglehopper", "snarflap", Scuttle's attempt to create mood music for Ariel and Eric, chef Louis singing "Les Poison"...love it!! Anyways...back to the card!! lol The papers are all from Basic Grey Kioshi. The oval layer was cut with Spellbinders and I created a frame with a Martha Stewart border punch. (After punching a strip of cardstock, just cut notches along the length to allow you to conform the cardstock to your image layer.) I applied some Glossy Accents to the bottom portion of the oval layer and sprinkled some dollar store beads to create the ocean floor for Lorelei to lounge on. The corner embellishments are Make It Crafty Lasercut Chipboard...I'm not sure if Susana has this exact pattern, but she does have several fantastic sets in stock. The chipboard was painted with white acrylic craft paint, brushed with Smooch Illuminate, a bit of Stardust Stickles and finally sponged with Bundled Sage Distress Ink. I finished them off with a couple of Dew Drops I found floating around in my embellishment bin.



Lorelei was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic Markers. Oh that hair!! Don't let her mass of curls intimidate you...Lorelei's hair is actually not too difficult to tackle if you work on it one section at a time. Your first step should be to identify your light source...I had mine coming from the upper left hand corner. I started by blocking in the shadows with E31 in light handed feather strokes that followed the natural curve of her curls, leaving the area closest to the light source white...for now. I gradually built up the colour and texture of her hair with layers of these feather strokes...use a "flicking" motion of your hand so that your marker stroke tapers to a fine line as you lift your marker off the surface of the paper. Your darkest markers will be used only in the deepest shadows, or the areas furthest away from your light source...apply these deep stokes sparingly as it is always easy to add more. It is important not to overblend if you wish to maintain the appearance of "strands" of hair...the flicking motion, or feather strokes is what helps to create the texture. On a softer paper like Neenah, you may have to allow some layers of colour to dry for a short time before applying more ink, or you run the risk of loosing your crips strokes. I used my lightest marker (E50) to blend the "highlighted" areas of the curls into the layers of brown...after which I pulled some more feather strokes in E31 and E33 through the E50, so that even these highlights would still have some texture. Her tail was given some shimmer with Smooch Illuminate and Stardust Stickles.


Copics: Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20, RV95 Hair: E30, E31, E33, E37, E50, E59 Tail: YG00, Y00, YG03, YG11, G20, G82, G85, G99, C9, BG000

Whew!! Ok, that turned into a very long post!! lol It's not always easy to translate your colouring process into words, lol. My apologies of I ended up putting a few of you to sleep. :) I've had some questions about how I colour hair, as well as some requests for a video tutorial...I do hope to get one done at some point soon. It's just a matter of trying to find a pocket of free time...perhaps this summer.

So, what do you think of Lorelei??!! Are you loving her as much as I do?? She is just one of many fabulous Make It Crafty stamps that Susana now has in stock. Oh, and don't forget about the Make It Crafty chipboard...such a great finishing touch to any paper crafting project...make sure to get your orders in promptly, as I'm sure these are going to be HOT must-have items!!

My fellow design team members have created some stunning projects with the Make It Crafty stamps. Please hop on over to the store blog, Follow Your Heart, to see their gorgeous handiwork.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...I truly appreciate your visit. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Make It Crafty "Siren Lorelei", available at SCACD
Ink: Memento, Copics, Bundled Sage Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Basic Grey
Embellishments: Dew drops, Make It Crafty Chipboard Embellishments available at SCACD

Happy Birthday to Quixotic Paperie!!

(This is my second post for today...please feel free to scroll down to see a new card for Susana's Custom Art and Card Design!!)

Just a quick little shout-out to my friend Elaine Hughes who is having a month long birthday celebration for her online store, Quixotic Paperie!! I have had the privilege of serving on a few design teams with Elaine, and she continuously leaves me in awe of her jaw-dropping creative talent. :)

Elaine is having some Company Spotlight Days over on the Quixotic Paperie Store Blog for stamp companies she carries. Last week, some of my fellow SCACD design team sisters shared some fabulous projects on the Susana's Custom Art and Card Design Spotlight Day!

Today's Quixotic Paperie Company Spotlight features Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, and some of my fellow Krafty Girls have shared some beautiful cards in honour of the birthday festivities!

Sadly, I was unable to play along with either of these two Quixotic Paperie spotlight days due to a busy schedule...but I wanted to encourage all my readers to hop on over and join in the fun at Quixotic Paperie!

Congrats to Elaine on the success of Quixotic Paperie...and wishing you continued success in the years to come!

Blessings,

Melanie