My Purr-fect Friend

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!!

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!

***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!!

*** 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!

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!

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!!

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