A Warm Welcome, and a Little Popcorn Too!!

Good morning sunshine!! How's your Monday morning going so far?? I'm still trying to recover after a busy weekend! Ainsleigh had a highland dancing performance at the County Ceilidh on Saturday...it was lots of fun, with some great Celtic bands and lots of dancing throughout the evening. My son Nathan helped the teens lead our worship music at church on Sunday...he played electric guitar. Did a little gardening, a little work from home, caught up on housework...not much time to rest! This week is busy too as we are gearing up for Ainsleigh's ballet recital this weekend and Scottish Night tomorrow evening. Whew!! After next weekend, I should have some time to breathe!

Now I do have a card to show you today if you stick with me to the end of this post, but let's take care of some Town Scrapper news first!

• Phebe is currently running a sale at The Town Scrapper until the end of June: buy one stamp, get the second of equal or lesser value for 50% off!! Also, she has in stock Distress Inks and the new microfine glitter...buy 5 and get your 6th for free! You'll find all her contact info on her blog here.
• Sadly, we are saying goodbye to a few members of our team. Leah, Kylie and Kim S. have all contributed so much to our team, and we want to thank them for all their hard work. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors. God Bless!
• On a happier note, we are welcoming four new Scrapettes!! Robin and Danielle are our new blog managers, and our two new senior Scrapettes are Dawn and Donna!! We're so glad you are joining us ladies, and we look forward to seeing your work!!
• Don't forget to stop by for our Showcase Monday to see what some of the Scrapettes have made with some of the fantastic product lines Phebe carries!

Ok...as promised, here's a card featuring Popcorn the Bear. My inlaws "hired" me to make a card for a birthday party they were going to. They needed something with a more masculine flair, and I immediately thought of a particular Popcorn the Bear set. Lucky for me, my pal Amy carries Popcorn sets at her store Paper Romance!! Make sure to hop on over to Paper Romance and check out all the great products and stamps Amy carries!!



I stamped Popcorn on Neenah cardstock and coloured him with Copic markers. This is actually a Father's Day stamp set, but as you can see it works well for other occasions too! I went for a very simple layout, and just matted the the main image with cardstock. This striped paper is from KaiserCraft. The sentiment was requested by my inlaws.

I hope you all have a fantastic week! My blogging time may be a bit limited this week, but I will be back for sure on Friday with two posts...one for The Town Scrapper and one for Wags 'n Whiskers. You'll also want to check in on Saturday for Kraftin' Kimmie's weekly challenge and Sunday marks a new challenge at Sundays With Crissy!!

LOL...I'm thinking that with all our family activities and stamping projects for this week, I just may look like sweet Popcorn when it's all done! I'll definitely need a cuppa tea to wind down!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Popcorn The Bear Father's Day set
Ink: Memento, Copic markers
Paper: Neenah, KaiserCraft, Bazzill

Roughin' It Kraftin' Kimmie Style

Good morning!! I hope your weekend is shaping up to be fantastic! Are you ready for another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge? This week our hostess is my friend and current Krafty guest designer Krista VanTol!! Krista is asking us to "Rough It Up" this week...add some distressing to your project!

Thought I'd pull out one of our bathing beauties again...you remember Florence?? I think she just looks fab in her big sunglasses. Ok, confession time...I paper-pieced AGAIN! I'm sorry that I keep using the same technique...but these swimsuits just cry out for fun and funky patterns, and this pretty Doodlebug paper was perfect! How about if I promise that I will not paper-piece any image next week?? lol The inspiration for this card actually came from my daughter and Junior Krafty Girl Ainlseigh! She made a fantastic beach scene card for our May release blog hop...you can see it on this post. To create the sand, I just tore some brown cardstock, and then sponged some darker brown ink along the rough edge. Now, Ainsleigh had used a fantastic wave sticker for the water in her card, but I decided to create mine with more torn cardstock and added some white ink to accent the waves. The sentiment is part of "Beachy Sentiments". I love Kimmie's sentiment sets...they are such an incredible value! As a finishing touch, I added this cute little flip flop charm that I picked up from Walmart last year.






Looking for more inspiration?? Well get on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge Blog to see what the rest of the Krafty Girls have made this week! If you play along with us this week, you could win "Perfect Poison"as seen on Krista's fabulous card. Remember though, you must use a Kraftin' Kimmie image to be eligible for the prize!! Click HERE to go to Kimmie's online store!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Florence" and "Beachy Sentiments"
Ink: Memento, Copic markers
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Doodlebug
Embellishments: American Crafts Ribbon, charm from Walmart, Sakura clear Star Dust

A Town Scrapper Sketch Challenge!!

(This is my second post for today! For the weekly Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge, just scroll down or click here!)

Time for a brand new challenge over at The Town Scrapper. This week we have a fun sketch for you to follow designed by our very own talented Scrapette Maria! I really enjoyed playing with this sketch, and plan to pull it out again sometime...great job Maria! For my card today, I've used Hockey Sophie, one of The Town Scrapper's exclusive Victoria Case stamps. The smaller design paper panels were created with the accessory stamps that come with Hockey Sophie and Hockey Evan.




Sophie was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured up with my Copic markers.




You should see what the rest of the Scrapettes came up with...these ladies are so talented!! Hop on over to The Town Scrapper blog for some inspiration! If you participate in our sketch challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of a fantastic prize from The Town Scrapper in beautiful Petrolia, Ontario. Phebe's contact information is on her blog here. Not only does she carry this exclusive Victoria Case line, but she also has so many other fantastic product lines including stamps, paper, flower, inks...you're bound to find tons of stamping goodies!!

Have a wonderful Friday, and I hope to see you back tomorrow!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Exclusive Victoria Case stamp for The Town Scrapper "Hockey Sophie" plus accessory stamps
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill
Ink: Memento, Copics

Faith

(This is one of two posts today! For the Town Scrapper challenge, just scroll up or click here!)

Good morning stampers! I need to apologize, as I had promised you all a card with Popcorn the Bear yesterday. I had some things come up, and unfortunately didn't have a chance to get my post up. Sooo, I'll plan to show him to you next week if you all don't mind coming back...pretty please?? :)

Are you ready for another challenge over at Wags 'n Whiskers?? This week, it was my privilege to choose the challenge...how about Handcrafted Embellishments?? I would love to see you incorporate at least one hand-made element on your project this week!

I decided to ink up "Say a Prayer" this week. Oh my goodness, I absolutely love this beautiful image! Once again I paper-pieced the outfit...I've been on a big paper-piecing kick lately, so I hope you'll bear with me while I get it out of my system! lol I added some additional shading to the dress after stamping it and cutting it out. That frilly purple flower is my hand-made embellishment...it's made from coffee filters! I saw a similar flower over on my pal and cardmaker extraordinaire Andrea Murdock's blog recently, and I was so impressed...Andrea's looked absolutely amazing! So I fired off an email to her and she was kind enough to send me this link to a fabulous tutorial. Thanks Andrea!! That gorgeous crocheted trim is from Lacey's store Stamp and Create. That charm has been in my stash for quite a while, just waiting for the perfect stamped image...think I picked it up at Michaels. Add a couple of Prima roses and dollar store pearls and voila! You know, I think this is one of my favourite colour combos...this KaiserCraft paper is gorgeous!! (think I'd better go grab a few more sheets!)

I used some great Daisy Buckets paper for her dress...it has fantastic texture!





Time to hop on over to the Wags 'n Whiskers blog to see what the rest of DT has made...get ready for some gorgeous creations! If you participate in our challenge this week, you will have the chance to win a fabulous stamp!! (Just make sure to use a Wags 'n Whiskers image on your project! You can buy them here.)

Have a fantastic Friday, and I'll see you back here tomorrow!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Wags 'n Whiskers "Say a Prayer"
Ink: Memento, Copics
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Daisy Buckets, KaiserCraft
Embellishments: Crocheted trim, ribbon, charm from Michaels, Prima flowers, hand-made coffee filter flower, KaiserCraft brad, dollar store pearls, machine stitching, jump rings
Tools: Spellbinders scalloped circles (smallest), Bow Easy

A DT Call and A Special RAK

Hi folks! Hope your week is going smoothly. I don't have a card to show you today, but thought I'd update you on a couple of items that just may pique your interest. (It's a bit of a long post with lots of details to read, so please grab a coffee or tea and get comfy!!)

1. One of my DT sisters at Sunday's With Crissy has a very special request that I hope you will consider participating in. Lisa has shared with us that her sister Jayme has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Lisa would really like us to help put a smile on Jayme's face by sending her cards, especially with frog images as Jayme really loves frogs! Now, she is asking that these cards NOT be get-well cards...something pretty or humorous to help brighten Jayme's day would be perfect!! Lisa has a detailed post on her blog HERE with instructions...she's also got some lovely blog candy up for grabs as a thank you for participation in this RAK. Crissy Armstrong has also designed a brand new image just for Jayme.

This adorable new frog image called "Beach Baby Jayme" is available FOR FREE at Whimsy Stamps...you can download it HERE. I've always felt that handmade cards are a beautiful ministry...the time and love you put into your cards can mean so much to the recipient. Won't you please help us send some smiles along to Jayme? (I'll post mine on my blog here as soon as I'm done!)

2. The Town Scrapper is having a DT call!!! This is a fantastic store in beautiful Petrolia, Ontario. Here are the details:

We are a growing Canadian stamp company carrying many popular stamp lines, (including Magnolia, CC Designs, Magnolia, My Favorite Things, Motivet, Whiff of Joy, Wags 'n Whiskers, CC Designs, The Greeting Farm, Kraftin' Kimmie, Hanna, Scrapmagasinet) along with our very own line of rubber stamps, illustrated by Victoria Case, and a challenge blog! We are looking for Senior Design Team members, who have a passion for paper crafts, and rubber stamps! Your coloring of stamped images should be your strength - whether it's with Copics, watercolor, or any other medium. Previous Design Team experience is not necessary, but would be an asset. We welcome international applicants. You should have an active blog (post at least 3 times per week).

We will be taking submissions starting immediately, until all positions are filled (so, the sooner you apply, the better your chances!). We are currently expanding our design team. So, if you are ready to become a part of a growing stamping and paper crafts company, we want to hear from you!

As a senior member of our Design Team, you will be asked to:

• Create 4 projects a month (using stamps carried by The Town Scrapper), by participating in weekly blog challenges, and provide high-quality digital images of these projects to our Blog Managers. You may be asked to work with digital images.


• Mail two of your cards/month to Phebe at the Town Scrapper, in Petrolia, Ontario,
  Canada


• Contribute a minimum of one (papercraft) tutorial (with photos and detailed
  instructions) during your six month term, and one "tip or trick" per month


• Participate in Blog Hops, to promote release of new stamps, approximately every
  2-3 months.


• On a weekly basis, help promote/advertise The Town Scrapper on your personal blog
  and to any message boards where appropriate.


• Provide quality scans/photographs of all projects as well as posting any related
  tips/tricks


• Have an active blog presence on your own personal blog (posts at least 3 times
  per week)


• Commit to a 6-month term beginning immediately

To apply, please send the following information to Kim, Design Team Co-Ordinator at: love_10s@hotmail.com

--Link to your online gallery and blog
--Provide full contact information - name, phone number, email address, and location
--Submit a short paragraph or two of why you want to be one of our designers
--List your current DT/designer/site commitment(s)

As a Senior Design Team member for The Town Scrapper, you will receive:

 25% discount off the regular price of anything purchased from The Town Scrapper
 50% off one item per month
 One free rubber stamp per month
 The experience of working with one of the best stamp companies in the world! ;)
We look forward to seeing your beautiful creations. Good luck!!

Whew!! Did you make it all the way to the end of this post?! So sorry I didn't have any projects to share today, but if you have a bit of time to spare over the next few days, I have several posts planned! Tomorrow I'm hoping to share a card I made with a Popcorn the Bear image, Friday is a double post day with challenges for The Town Scrapper and Wags 'n Whiskers and Saturday is always Kraftin' Kimmie day here on my blog! I also hope to be posting my card for dear Jayme very soon!

Have a blessed day friends!

Melanie

Layer it Up at Sundays With Crissy!!

Good afternoon stampers! I hope your weekend has been peaceful and relaxing. It's time for another new challenge at Sundays With Crissy!! Crissy posts a new challenge every two weeks and has a fantastic prize give away for a lucky participant at the end of every month. Remember that to be eligible, you MUST use one of Crissy Armstrong's digital images. Want to know what Crissy is giving away this month?? It's one of my all-time favourite Spellbinders sets...Fancy Tags!! If you do not already have any of Crissy's digital images, you can buy them here

• Squigglefly
• Whimsy
• Wags 'n Whiskers

Ok, the challenge for the next two weeks is "Layers"!! I chose to work with the digital stamp "Thinking of You" available at Wags 'n Whiskers. I though it would be fun to do something other than a card this week. This little wooden box from the dollar store is just the perfect size to hold a small journal and some mini glitter gel pens (also dollar store finds)...just perfect for a little girl to record some of her thoughts and dreams! How many of you kept diaries as kids? I guess some of us still do, although "journal" sounds a bit more grown up! All the design paper on this project is from K&Company. I cut several layers of paper with various Spellbinders and then pop-dotted the image for some added dimension. I also added some layered Prima flowers.

After printing "Thinking of You" on Neenah, I coloured it with my Copic markers. I also printed off just a portion of the image on K&Company paper so I could paper piece her shirt. I love how this technique allows the clothing to be patterned! After gluing the piece in place, I added some shading with my Copics so that it would not look too flat. Thought I'd try my hand at shading over my Copics with some pencil crayons blended out with OMS...I only did this on her pants. I have a limited supply of Prismas, but I really love the soft blending some artists achieve with them. The little kitty was shaded further with some Conte crayons and a blending stump.

Here's a peek inside the box. I also included a little pocket inside to hold some stickers, or perhaps even some stamps for sending off letters to a loved one. My daughter has already called dibs on this! I was hoping to stash it away so that I could surprise her with it, but she spied it while my hubby was photographing it. Actually, she probably would have seen it anyway...do you know what she told me she did the other day?? She "googled" me at school to show her friends that I'm on the Internet!! lol Apparently the kids were all looking in on my blog! Guess I should give a shout out to all Ainsleigh's friends....HI KIDS!!

You will be absolutely blown away by what the rest of Crissy's Crew has created this week! Have I mentioned how blessed I feel to be a part of this talented design team?? Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and hop on over to Sundays With Crissy to see their lovely projects.

Remember, you have two full weeks to complete a layered project for our challenge. When your project is complete, make sure to link it up to Sundays With Crissy so that your name will be in this month's prize draw...just make sure to use one of Crissy's many digital images!

Have a blessed Sunday,

Melanie

Digital Stamp: "Thinking of You" by Crissy Armstrong available at Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps

Ink: Copic markers, Distress Inks

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, K&Company

Embellishments: Prima flowers, dollar store trim and pearls, American Crafts ribbon (for pens)

Tools: Spellbinders

Extras: Journal and pens from the dollar store

How Charming!

Well woo hoo!! It's a long weekend here in Canada, so that means I get Monday off! I'm hoping to get a jump start on some upcoming projects...we'll see how much crafty time I can sneak in!

I would like to begin by saying a huge THANK YOU to all my lovely readers. I can't tell you how much your sweet comments mean to me. Even knowing that you take the time out of your busy day to stop by for a quick visit means so much. I especially want to thank you for all the kind comments you left for my daughter Ainsleigh last week during our Krafty Blog Hop. She was so thrilled! It just touches my heart that you are all willing to encourage a young (and very talented!!) girl to continue on in developing her skills as a card artist. Wish I could give each and every one of you a big hug!! Let me try....(((((YOU!!))))))....hmmm, does that work?? lol

Ok, on to this week's challenge at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! Your hostess today is the amazing Tara. (If you have never visited her blog, you really should...Tara is so talented and her creativity is sure to inspire!!) Her challenge this week is called "How Charming". Pretty self-explanatory...use a charm (or a few??) on your project this week! I just love seeing pretty charms on cards. I've always had a thing for charms. I used to have a charm necklace. Do you remember those circular charm-holders people used to wear on a chain? Mine was silver and I had several pretty charms...until it broke one day and I lost a bunch. Oh, did I cry! I had collected horse charms, highland dancing charms...so many things that represented important things in my life at that time. Took me a while to get over that loss. My grandmother had a fantastic charm bracelet. When she passed away several years ago, it was given to my daughter. I don't let her wear it for fear that it will meet the same fate as my necklace years ago...not sure I could make it through another loss like that!

Sorry...I get rambling! lol I'm guessing you would rather see a card than hear about my bad luck with jewelry. For Tara's challenge this week I decided to ink up one of my all-time favourite Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...Charlotte!! She makes me smile every time I see her with her quirky grin and corkscrew curls! LOVE HER!! So I sat here this week trying to think of what to do for Tara's challenge. Despite loving charms, my supply of them is not huge, so my first thought was to go shopping ! lol I resisted though, and told myself that surely I could come up with something out of the supplies I already have. So...I decided to make my own charms!! I used some of the fantastic accessory stamps that Kimmie includes with her main images, coloured them up, added a little Sakura Clear sparkle pen and coated them with Glossy Accents. (I added an extra layer of cardstock to the back of each image for extra stability.) I strung them along this pretty crocheted trim (from the dollar store of course!) to kind of look like a charm bracelet. I couldn't resist quoting the Julie Andrews song "My Favourite Things"....just printed that off on my computer.

A closeup of Miss Charlotte!! Have I mentioned before how much I love this stamp?? lol

On Charlotte's charm bracelet you will find a teacup (comes with Gabrielle), a cupcake (comes with Francesca) and a doll (comes with Charlotte).

Want to see what the rest of the Krafty Girls came up with this week?? I'm telling you, they have amazed me yet again...these ladies are incredibly talented. Head on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see their work, and let them "CHARM" you (clever, huh?? lol) into making your own project for our weekly challenge! Make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie stamp if you want to be eligible for the prize (you can buy them HERE). You could be the lucky winner of "Eleanor", the stamp Tara used on her gorgeous creation this week.

Have a fantastic Saturday!

Ainsleigh's Highland dancing studio was invited to be guest performers at the local Irish Dancers' recital this evening. The girls have been working on a fantastic group choreography number...can't wait to see it!

Blessings,

Melanie

P.S. Last week, I made a little treat bag holder for the Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge and I had a few questions about how I made it. I had hoped to have a short tutorial ready for this week, but unfortunately time got away on me! I will try to get that done this week, and hopefully have it up with next week's post.

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Charlotte" and accessory stamps "Charlotte's Doll", "Francesca's Cupcake" and "Gabriella's Teacup"

Ink: Memento, Copic markers, Distress inks

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, My Mind's Eye

Embellishments: Hand-made charms, Glossy Accents, dollar store crocheted trim, jewelry spacer, mini brad, ribbon

Tools: Various Spellbinders, jump rings

Just Good Friends

Time for another Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge!! Our hostess today is the lovely Jacqui, who has titled her challenge "Just Good Friends".

I've used "Picnic With a Friend". I just adore this sweet image of two friends enjoying a picnic together. I love cards that celebrate friendship...especially those little moments that build the foundation of a beautiful friendship. Friends are so precious and are to be treasured. How sweet are those moments when you can just kick back, relax and enjoy each other's company? In our busy lives, these moments can sadly be few and far between. Perhaps we could all learn a lesson from little Danni and Bella. Look at them...so content to share a picnic and an afternoon of quality time.

I stamped "Picnic With a Friend" on Neenah and coloured with Copic markers. I've been trying to experiment with different shades for hair. Boy, do I struggle with blonde hair! I think I'm pretty happy with how this combo turned out. For Danni's hair, I used E50, Y11, Y21, Y17, E 33, E35, E37, E97 and E99. It's a long list of colours...I'm always a bit embarrassed by how many I use! (lol...could almost be a post of it's own.) I only used a few strokes of some of the colours though. LOL...her hair actually turned out almost the same colour as her little feline friend! For Bella, I used E50, Y17, Y21, Y23 and a few browns (probably E33 and E35...maybe a bit of E97) for added depth. The blanket and dress are paper-pieced. This is a technique I don't often use, but I really love it! I finished it off with a bow (tied of course with my Bow-Easy). This gorgeous silk ribbon is from Lacey's store Stamp and Create....I am completely in love with this ribbon. It's a dream to work with! The sentiment is from JustRite stamps. (Believe it or not, I was lucky enough to find two sets of JustRite stamps at my local Winners!! You better believe I snatched those puppies right up! lol) Oh, and I attempted to make my own flower...hmmm, might need to work on those a bit! Everybody seems to be making these wonderful swirly flowers...I decided to cut out some extra petals as a base. Perhaps I should have searched for a tutorial, but I didn't feel like getting up from my table to look on the computer. For the centre, I added one of my favourite dollar store pearls.

Hop on over to the Wags 'n Whiskers blog for some inspiration from the beautiful samples by the rest of the DT. To enter our challenge this week, just follow the challenge topic and make sure to use a Wags 'n Whiskers image. You can find them here. Then link up your creation, and you could be the lucky winner of a new Wags 'n Whiskers stamp!

Have a blessed Friday,

Melanie

PS...Don't forget to head on over the The Town Scrapper today for another new challenge!! There is always a great prize up for grabs!

Stamps: Wags 'n Whiskers "Picnic With a Friend", JustRite Stamps(sentiment)

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, K&Company, Doodlebug, My Mind's Eye

Ink: Memento, Copic markers, Ancient Page

Embellishments: Hand-made flower, dollar store pearls, Silk ribbon

Tools: Various Spellbinders, machine stitching, Bow-Easy, MS border punch

Little Reminders

Good morning!! We had a gorgeous weekend here, and today is looking pretty good too. Oh my...did anybody else watch the Survivor finale last night?? We're such Survivor nuts here...and this season was amazing! It was full of amazing strategic moves...so many twists and turns! Awesome! (SPOILER AHEAD!!) I was really surprised, as many of the contestants I wasn't fond of in previous seasons turned out to be some of the people I was kind of rooting for! Take Jerri for example...when I heard she would be on this season, I was so mad!! I actually found myself cheering her on this time around. She played the game very differently from before...and has obviously matured a lot over the last several years. In the end, I was happy Sandra won. There was no way I wanted either Parvati or Russel to win...not a fan of the way either played the game.

Anyhoo...I do not have a card for you today, but I did want to remind you of a few things.

1. Today is another spotlight Monday at The Town Scrapper, and today we are featuring the amazingly talented mother/daughter team of Lori, Hannah and Ella Boyd!! Make sure you stop by to see what amazing projects these three have made with The Town Scrapper's exclusive Victoria Case stamps! You also still have time to join in our sketch challenge from last week! You could win yourself a new CC Designs stamp from The Town Scrapper!
   
2. We celebrated the May release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps yesterday with a blog hop!! If you place your order by tonight, you will be eligible to win a print of Annie Rodrigue's original artwork featuring "Perfect Poison"!! Click here to see the details, and then click here to go shopping!
   
3. You still have time to participate in the current "Favourite Things" challenge at Sundays With Crissy!! Hop on over there to check out the fantastic examples by Crissy's Crew and to link up your creation! (make sure to use of one Crissy's digital images!) Crissy will be posting a new challenge this Sunday, which you will also have two weeks to participate in. This month's prize is fantastic...you could win the Fancy Tags Spellbinders set!! (it's one of my favourites!!)
   

Well, that's it for today folks! Before I go, I just wanted to thank you all so much for your sweet comments!! I appreciate that you take the time out of your day to visit. You all said such lovely things to Ainsleigh yesterday about her card for the Kraftin' Kimmie blog hop...she was just tickled! She wanted me to pass on her thanks too.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Blessings,

Melanie

It's May Release Day!!!

Your wait is over...today's the day!! I know you've been anxiously awaiting the release of the brand spankin' new May stamps at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! Artist Annie Rodrigue is making us think of sun and sand this month! We have a group of fantastic vintage Bathing Beauties having fun at the beach! Also we’ve got another one of Annie’s incredible paintings made into a stamp with Perfect Poison!! You’ll get to check out all the new stamps throughout our fabulous blog hop today!!

If you have arrived here from the lovely Diana's blog, then you are on the right track. If not, just start over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog so you don't miss any of the stops. You will find the Blog Hop List there too, in case you get lost along the way! You will want to make sure to leave a comment at each and every blog on the hop, as Kimmie will randomly draw some names from the comments to win packages of some of the new stamps! Oh, you have one other chance to win a fabulous prize! Each and every order placed on Sunday, May 16th and Monday May 17th is eligible to be entered in the draw to win a 5x7 print featuring Annie’s original painting, Perfect Poison!!

For our hop today, I've used Florence and Jack...boy, do I LOVE their retro beach attire!! Hmmm...wish I looked as smashing as sweet Florence! She certainly has caught the eye of young Jack. I "borrowed" (with permission!!! lol) the idea of changing Jack's line of vision from our incredibly clever Krafty Girl Michele...just wipe off the dots of ink from his eyes, and re-draw the pupils in after stamping. (That Michele...I tell you, she's just a stamping genius!! Click here to check out her card using this fab idea!) The sentiment is part of the new Beachy Sentiments set for this month!

Joining us today on the hop are our fabulous Junior Krafty Girls!! These young ladies are so talented, and we're thrilled to have them participating today. My lovely daughter Ainsleigh has made this gorgeous card featuring Eleanor! After colouring her up with Copic markers, Ainsleigh cut her out and made this cute little beach scene with some stickers! I LOVE the colours she chose to work with!! Ainsleigh picked out this pretty paper from Fancy Pants...very tropical!

Ok....off you go to visit the amazing Annie Rodrigue, who brought us all these fantastic images!! Don't forget to leave comments at everybody's blog for the chance to win some of the new stamps!! When you're done hopping, get yourself over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Online Store to place your order.

Have fun hopping stampers!

Blessings,

Melanie and Ainsleigh

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Florence", "Jack" and Beachy Sentiments

Ink: Memento, Copic markers

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Fancy Pants

Ainsleigh's Card

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Eleanor"

Ink: Memento, Copic markers

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Fancy Pants

Embellishments: Various stickers

Kraftin' Kimmie May Sneak Peeks...Round Three!! (and our weekly challenge!!)

Welcome to day three of the May sneak peeks for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! We're combining today's previews with our weekly challenge. Our hostess today is the amazingly talented Krafty Girl Elaine who has named her challenge "Anything But a Card"!

Now, if you have missed any of the previews, you can check out the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps blog...just scroll back to see which Krafty Girls were participating in the different preview days. On Thursday, I showed you the delightfully twisted "Perfect Poison" (click here to see that post) and yesterday I made a card with the lovely "Eleanor" (which you can see here). How about another peek at one of our gorgeous Bathing Beauties??

Now I have to admit, that Elaine's challenge had me a bit perplexed!! I always fall back on making cards, although I've seen some lovely creative projects out there in blogland! I decided to make a package for a sweet treat...who doesn't love candy?? I packaged up a little baggie of Starburst, as I thought the bright wrappers would go perfectly with the sunny theme! Allow me to introduce you to "Mae"!!



I stamped Mae on Neenah and coloured her with my Copic markers to match this great paper from TCP. Gosh I love the colour orange...so bright and cheery! Miss Mae seems like a sun-smart gal in her big hat!! Now, my intent was for Mae to be a redhead...although her hair turned out more auburn than red. Guess, I need to work on my colour combo for red hair! I used my circle Nesties to create a little window in the front of the packaging, and then made a frame with the scalloped circle Nesties. Finally, I just used my handy-dandy Cropadile to punch a couple of holes for a ribbon, tied a bow and voila!


Honestly, this was such a quick project to put together! I think I made it in under 1/2 an hour...well, not including colouring time of course. These would be fun to make up as party favours!

If you participate in our challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp Elaine used on her gorgeous project!! Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie stamp (go shopping here!!) and then link your project up to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps blog!

Don't forget to join us tomorrow...it's MAY RELEASE DAY!! We have a fantastic blog hop planned that you will not want to miss! You will also be able to purchase all the amazing May stamps tomorrow!!

Blessings,

Melanie

ps...One of my lovely readers (Hi Sarah!!) thought that perhaps I used the colourless blender on Eleanor's orange swimsuit from yesterday's card. Actually, the highlight on her swimsuit was created by fading the orange out with YR00...no blender on this highlight!! I just left that area white, and only coloured over it very lightly when I was happy with the rest of the blending. The oranges I used for Eleanor's suit were YR00, YR02, YR04, YR07 and E08 (incidentally, that's the same combo of markers used for colouring Mae's outfit today!!). Hope that helps!

Stamps: Kraftin Kimmie Stamps "Mae"
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, TCP
Tools: Spellbinders, Cropadile
Embellishments: White satin ribbon, machine stitching

Kraftin' Kimmie May Sneak Peeks....Round Two!!

(This is one of two posts today!! For the Wags 'n Whiskers Weekly Challenge, just scroll down or click here!! Also, don't forget to check in with The Town Scrapper later today for a fun sketch challenge!)

So, what did you think of the sneak peeks yesterday?? The Krafty Girls are all set to bring you another round of fantastic previews today! Check over on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog for a list of the participating Krafty Girls. We will have one more day of previews tomorrow during our weekly challenge before the stamps are available for purchase on Sunday May 16, 2010!! As always, we are planning a fun BLOG HOP that day to celebrate the release!

Yesterday, I showed you a card featuring "Perfect Poison" based on one of artist Annie Rodrigue's original pieces. If you missed it, you can see it here. Today, I'm introducing you to another Annie Rodrigue character...meet "Eleanor"!! If you hopped around to the other Krafty Girl's blogs yesterday, you will have noticed that Kimmie's May release is full of sunny characters! Now, I don't know of too many gals who can pull off a bathing cap, but Eleanor looks quite fetching in hers! Hmmm...wonder if I should try wearing one this summer?? I just adore her sweet little swimsuit, as it offers a bit more, ahem, coverage for those of us who are not exactly bikini material. Know what I mean?? ;) Actually, all these new sunny characters have a bit of a retro feel to their beach attire...I LOVE IT!!

Eleanor was stamped on Neenah and coloured up with my beloved Copic markers. I chose to use one of my favourite bright colour combos on her swimsuit...orange and blue!! Complimentary colours always make things pop! This sentiment is part of the May release sentiment set. I mounted it on a medallion made from various Spellbinders. (The white layer is created with a clear stamp I've had kicking around for quite some time.)

Hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog for today's links to the participating Krafty Girls' blogs. I'm telling you...these ladies are rockin' this release! They have some AMAZING projects to show you, so make sure to visit them all!

See you back tomorrow for our weekly challenge!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Eleanor", May release sentiment set, clear medallion stamp(sorry, can't remember the company)

Ink: Memento, Copic markers, Martha Stewart orange ink

Tools: Various Spellbinders, sewing machine

Pink and Green

(This is one of two posts today! If you're looking for the Kraftin' Kimmie May Release previews, just scroll up or click here! Also, don't forget to check in with The Town Scrapper later today for our weekly challenge...this week we've got a sketch by our guest Nikki Fairbairn!)

Good morning! Well we've made it through to another Friday. I hope you have some fun plans for the weekend!!

So, I'm guessing you showed up here because you would like to see a card?? lol! Well, I would hate to disappoint you! How about another Wags 'n Whiskers weekly challenge?? This week, the lovely Nikki chose a colour challenge. She would like to see you use PINK and GREEN. This is such a pretty colour combo, and just perfect for spring!

I chose to ink up one of the new May stamps for this week. This image is called "Summer Treat". I just love this sweet little image. I coloured the ice cream to look like chocolate mint...yum!! Now, I just adore little cards...I'm always drawn to them in stores! Not quite sure why, but I just think they are so fun. Perhaps because they are so easy to tuck into little gifts, lunchbags, backpacks, briefcases...what a great way to brighten somebody's day! So, I decided to make up a small shaped card with my Nesties. As there is not a lot of room for a fussy layout, this card came together quite easily. I used some pretty paper from Fancy Pants. Little Danni and Bella were cut out and pop dotted. The sentiment is actually from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps (Everyday Sentiments). (It was stamped on a little wooden heart covered with paper.)


Why not hop on over to the Wags 'n Whiskers blog to see what the rest of the talented DT has created this week to get you inspired?? I hope you plan to participate in the challenge this week, as you could be the lucky winner of a Wags 'n Whiskers stamp! To be eligible, you must use a Wags 'n Whiskers stamp on your project. You can purchase their stamps here. (Oh...and some of the Wags 'n Whiskers images are now available as digital stamps too!!)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Wags 'n Whiskers "Summer Treat", sentiment from Kraftin' Kimmie Everyday Sentiments
Ink: Copic markers
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill
Embellishments: Wooden heart, MM mini brad
Tools: Spellbinders

Kraftin' Kimmie May Sneak Peeks...Round One!

May is just flying by! Can you believe it's already the middle of the month?? This is always a crazy month for us jam packed with birthdays, anniversaries, ballet recitals, Highland dancing performances and school plays! Speaking of birthdays, my son just celebrated his 17th (yes you read that right!) birthday on Monday!! I can hardly believe he's that old...partially because it means I'm getting older too. We'll be going to see Nathan's high school performance of the musical"Thoroughly Modern Millie" this weekend(hee hee...sadly there is no "Troy" or "Gabriella"!) . He's had rehearsals all this week. His girlfriend, Breanne, has one of the lead roles. We're quite excited to see the two of them singing and dancing up there! (I'll try to sneak a few photos!)

I always get so excited for the monthly release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! This month is no exception...we have some amazing new stamps to show you! As always, the Krafty Girls will be having previews for the next three days (including during our weekly Challenge this Saturday), followed by a fun BLOG HOP on Sunday when the stamps will be available for purchase. Each day, you will find a list of the Krafty Girls participating in the sneak peeks on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

So...would you like to see one of the new stamps?? How about a new stamp based on another original piece of artwork by the talented Annie Rodrigue?? This month, Kimmie is bringing you the rubber version of "Perfect Poison"!! This mischievous gal is up to something a little naughty...wonder who got on her bad side?? I sure wouldn't want to be the recipient of her "home-brewed" concoction. "Perfect Poison" comes with two sentiments, one of which I used on this card. (the other reads "Cocktails?")

I had some fun colouring up this image...it's a bit "darker" than what I'm used to colouring! I experimented with some deeper purple based shadows on her skin to make her appear a bit more menacing. I tried colouring her hair black...something I need to practice a bit more! I thought some purple highlights might suit our little potion maker...I'm thinking she's the type who likes to make a statement, no? Her little bottle was coloured to appear transparent and then given a coat of Glossy Accents. The background panel was created with various Distress Inks...except for the purple which is an Ancient Page inkpad.

So, mark your calendars! You've got a date with us Krafty Girls for the few days! You won't want to miss any of the sneak peeks or our BLOG HOP on Sunday (when the new stamps will be available for purchase!).

See you back here tomorrow!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Perfect Poison" and co-ordinating sentiment
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, various Distress Inks, Ancient Page ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, Daisy Buckets
Embellishments: Spare Parts brads

DING DING DING...We have a Winner!!

For all of you who participated in the Wags 'n Whiskers Blog Hop this past weekend, we now have our winners!! Four DT members were randomly picked to draw a winner from their comments, and your's truly was one of them!! Yay! So, without further ado the lucky winner of two brand new May Release Wags 'n Whiskers stamps from my blog is.....

SAMMIBUG!!!

Congrats!! Please contact Nikki at nichola.fairbairn@googlemail.com to claim your prize!

Remember...there are three other winners from three other DT blogs! So, for a complete list of winners from our Blog Hop, check over at the Wags 'n Whiskers blog. You can purchase Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps here.

Have a fantastic day and happy stamping!

Blessings,

Melanie

Another Monday Showcase Featuring Mother/Daughter Duos

While I do not have a card for you today, I just wanted to remind you about our Monday Showcases for The Town Scrapper. For the month of May, we will be featuring several amazing mother/daughter duos! Today, we have none other than Nikki and Zoe Fairbairn!! Make sure to hop on over to our blog to check out what this talented pair has made featuring some of The Town Scrapper's exclusive Victoria Case stamps!

Have a wonderful day friends!

Blessings,

Melanie

Guess What???

Ooohh, I've been so excited to share this news with you!! I'm a member of Crissy Armstong's brand new DT, "Crissy's Crew"!!! (If you are a regular here then you may remember that a couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of being a guest designer on Crissy's new challenge blog, Sundays With Crissy.) Crissy has put together an amazingly talented group of ladies for Crissy's Crew. I feel so very honoured to be a part of this team and to work alongside these sweet ladies....be prepared for some jaw-dropping gorgeous creations from them!! I want to thank Crissy for this amazing opportunity! The members of Crissy's Crew are:

Crissy Armstrong

Debbie Eastman

Jodi-Ann Lee

Lisa Cook

Maria Cossa-Rossi

Mary Giemza

Melanie Holtz (c'est moi!!)

Patricia Garcia

Sarah Litterick

Zoe McGrath

Crissy Armstrong is a well-known and very talented artist in the stamping community. She is currently designing digital stamps for Squigglefly and Whimsy Stamps. Wags 'n Whiskers has just recently released some of the images she illustrated for them as digital stamps too. If you have not tried using digital images yet, then I urge you to jump right in! There are so many advantages to digital stamps...ie. shopping from home, no need for bulky storage and fantastic prices. My favourite aspect of digital stamps is their versatility! You can flip them and resize them to suit your project! How many times has an image been too big or too small for your needs??

A brand new challenge will be posted at Sundays With Crissy every two weeks, and a fantastic prize will be awarded to one randomly drawn participant at the end of each month. To be eligible for the prize, you MUST use one of Crissy's digital images available from Squigglefly, Whimsy or Wags 'n Whiskers.

Crissy's challenge this week is "Favourite Things". There are so many ways to interpret this challenge! You could use your favourite papers, image, embellishment, layout...the possibilities are limited only to your imagination!

I have used one of Crissy's brand new images released this week for Whimsy Stamps. This is "Gracie's Roses". Isn't she absolutely gorgeous? I fell in love with her as soon as Crissy showed her to us! I used some new-to-me papers from K&Company. My "favourite" paper changes from day to day, but I'm really loving the colours in this collection. (blues, greens and teals are some of my all-time faves!) I just bought some of these beautiful new roses by Prima, which are now included in my "favourites". I'm also a big bargain shopper, so I keep my eyes open for dollar store treasures! Can you spot them here? Both the pearls and the crochet trim were $1 items...love them. Hmmm...other favourites on this project?? Spellbinders and machine stitching! As you can see, I really went to town with this challenge topic!


"Gracie" was printed on Neenah and coloured with my Copics...which of course, are my favourite colouring medium (I also "flipped" the image before printing). I love all the folds in her pretty dress. Her features are just so delicate. This image was an absolute joy to colour...then again, all of Crissy's image are! I also tried out a new-to-me product called Smooch Illuminate. I brushed it over Gracie's skirt to try and make it look like an iridescent tulle. Unfortunately, it's tricky to capture the shimmer in a photograph. I used some Distress Inks in Antique Linen and Bundled Sage to sponge on the edges of the paper. I also toned down the white roses by touching them with a little Antique Linen. What would I do without Distress Inks?? (you're probably getting tired of hearing me say "favourite", huh?? lol)

Time for you visit the rest of Crissy's Crew over at Sundays With Crissy to see what gorgeous projects they have made for you! Remember, you will have two weeks to complete your project and link it up at Sundays With Crissy! If you do not already own some of Crissy's lovely images then you can hop on over to Squigglefly, Whimsy or Wags 'n Whiskers to go shopping!

Before you go, I would like to wish you all a Happy Mother's Day!!

Blessings friends!

Melanie

Stamps: Crissy Armstrong's "Gracie's Roses" available at Whimsy Stamps

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, K&Company Wild Raspberry

Ink: Copic markers, Distress Inks

Embellishments: Prima Fairy Tale roses, Dollar store crochet trim and pearls, machine stitching

Tools: Spellbinders

Ice Cream...mmmm

Good morning!! Ready for another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge?? This week our talented Vicki has a great colour challenge for us...."Neapolitan"!! What a yummy colour combo...pink, white and brown. Who doesn't love ice cream?? For my hubby's birthday this week, we ordered him a pralines and cream pie. Oh...sooooo good!! lol

In keeping with the "flavour" (clever, no?? lol) of Vicki's challenge, I pulled out "Let's Do Lunch" from the Cindy and Mindy collection by Jean Grant. I just love these cute images that celebrate those little moments in life...like sharing a sweet treat with a treasured friend! I had the perfect paper from DCWV for this colour challenge...apparently so did Kimmie!! (hmmm...wonder if she was peeking in my window this week??!!) Anyhoo...I used a couple of Nesties and a Cuttlebug embossing folder to create a frame for the image which was coloured with Copic makers. The sentiment is from "Kimmie's Tea Sentiments".

Now, before you go rushing off to your freezer to grab yourself a scoop, you should get on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge Blog to see what the other Krafty Girls have made! If you participate this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp Vicki has used on her card...just be sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp! (You can buy them here.)

Make sure to check in with us next week...we may have something you will want to see! lol...Ok, we DEFINITELY will have several somethings all you Kraftin' Kimmie fans will want to see!

Have a wonderful Saturday! I hope to see you back here tomorrow as I have something very exciting to share with you!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Let's Do Lunch" and sentiment from "Tea Party Sentiments"

Ink: Memento, Copic markers, Distress Ink in Spun Sugar

Paper: Neenah, DCWV, Bazzill

Embellishments: Ribbon, Pink Paisley brads

Tools: Spellbinders, Bow Easy, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder

Purple and Pink

(This is my second post for today! If you came by looking for the Wags 'n Whiskers Blog Hop, just scroll down or click HERE !!)

Good morning! Boy, time is just flying by. We celebrated my husband's birthday earlier this week...complete with roast beef dinner! We'll be celebrating my son's birthday on Monday. He'll be turning 17. Yup, that doesn't make me feel old at all. (just to clarify, that last comment was DRIPPING with sarcasm, lol). Oh, and my hubby and I will be celebrating our anniversary at the end of the month too! We're hoping to sneak in a weekend getaway at some point. Any suggestions?? In recent years, we've gone to the Elmhurst Inn, St. Jacobs, Niagara Falls and last year we went to the Benmiller Inn. So, I'm open to suggestions! (as long as it's within Southwestern Ontario...it will only be for a weekend!)

This week, the Scrapettes are throwing down a colour challenge...we would like you to break out all things PINK and PURPLE to participate this week for the chance to win a fantastic prize from The Town Scrapper!!

For my card, I used one of Phebe's exclusive Victoria Case stamps called "Sophie Feeding the Birds". I stamped her on Neenah cardstock and coloured her with my Copic markers. Those pretty hydrangeas are from Prima. I love these flowers, and have bought several packages in different colours from The Town Scrapper. Confession time--I may have a slight hoarding issue with them! lol I also used jewelry spacers as flower centres. Phebe carries some gorgeous spacers and charms. I like to stock up on them whenever I pay her a visit. The sentiment is also from The Town Scrapper's exclusive Victoria Case release.





You can contact Phebe at The Town Scrapper by telephone at 519-882-0623 or via email at info@townscrapper.com. If you are close enough to take a trip to visit Phebe in person, you will fall in love with Petrolia's small-town charm. I love going out to visit. There are so many gorgeous Victorian homes with wrap around porches, gingerbread trim and TURRETS!! Oh how I would love to have a house with a turret!! lol However, if you are not within driving distance, don't despair! Phebe will ship orders to you. She carries so many wonderful product lines.

Have a blessed Friday!

Melanie

Stamps: Exclusive Town Scrapper Victoria Case Stamp "Sophie Feeding the Birds" and Town Scrapper sentiment.

Ink: Memento, Copic markers

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, DP from my scrap bin

Embellishments: Prima Hydrangaes, jewelry spacers and mini-brads

A Wags 'n Whiskers Blog Hop!!

(I've got two posts today! If you're looking for The Town Scrapper weekly challenge, just scroll up or click here!)

I love release days...they are always so exciting!! Today is the day you can get your inky paws on all the fantastic stamps for the May release at Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps!! If you have been following along with us over the last two days, you will already have seen some of the gorgeous new images! Today, you will have the opportunity to see them all as you take part in our BLOG HOP! Every member of the design team has been busy creating something fantastic for the hop. As you hop along, make sure to leave a comment on every blog because Nikki and Lacey are offering prizes!! Four random DT blogs will be chosen, and one winner will be drawn from the comments on each of those four blogs! The winner will get their choice of two brand new stamps!!! That's four chances to win if you make sure to leave comments at each blog along the hop!!

If you came here from the talented Chris' blog, then you are on the right track! If not, just start over at the Wags 'n Whiskers Blog. Here is the list again:

Christa
Michele
Nikki
Jeanette
Debbie
Lacey
Renata
Joy
Chris
Melanie
Lisa Jane
Mina
Sharon
Jacqui
Tina
Karen
Back to the Wags 'n Whiskers blog and comment on your favourite design!

I have used "Travelling Buddies" for my project today. These new May images by artist Cris De Lara are so cute!! My daughter absolutely loves them too! Little Zoe and Gemma are all set to go on an exciting adventure with their luggage and maps. I kept my layout pretty simple for this card, and pop dotted the stamped image for dimension. I printed the sentiment on my computer...it's a quote I found online by Tim Cahill (lol...not sure who he is, but I love this quote!!). It reads "A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles". How true!! Friends are precious, and I feel so very blessed by my wonderful friends!

Ok, off you go to visit Lisa Jane! Don't forget to leave comments at every blog to be in the running for prizes! The hop will remain open until Monday May 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm GMT/7:00 am EST.

The brand new May Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps are now available for purchase!! You can buy them HERE.

Have fun hopping stampers!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Wags 'n Whiskers "Travelling Buddies", sentiment by Tim Cahill

Ink: Copic markers, Memento

Paper: KaiserCraft, Neenah, Bazzill

Embellishments: Machine stitching, KaiserCraft brads