Monday, December 27, 2010
Kraftin' Kimmie Boxing Week Sale!!!
Today, I have nothing on my agenda. I can't even remember the last time I was able to say that! Our fridge is full of leftover ham, roast beef, veggies, mashed potatoes, homemade bread and pumpkin pie. No cooking for me tonight! So...I am going to colour today. I have some brand new stamps to ink up, and I am craving some crafty time, as I've had next to none over the past month.
On that crafty note, I wanted to let you know about the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store Boxing Week Sale!!! Trust me, you do not want to miss out on this amazing event. Here's the details:
From Dec. 26th-31st most of our inventory is 20 to 50% off!!This is our BIGGEST sale of the year!!
The store will be closed from December 23rd to December 27th and again from December 30th to January 4th. You are free to place orders during these times and they will be shipped out as soon as we are back in the office!!
So, hop on over to the Online Store to take advantage of Kimmie's sale...time's a tickin'!! Oh, and you still have time to convince those Krafty Dudes in your life to help you participate in the current challenge on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge Blog! We will be back with the first challenge of the new year on January 8, 2011 so make sure to stay tuned
Enjoy your day folks!
Blessings,
Melanie
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Mistletoe Mischief!
Today is my turn to post over at Sundays With Crissy. This month, Crissy is giving us the choice of two challenge topics...Christmas is Coming or Winter is Here!! I thought I would sneak in one final Christmas Card this year. I chose to work with one of Crissy's images that she drew for Wags 'n Whiskers Stamps...this is "Steal a Kiss". I adore this cute image, and have been waiting for a chance to use it. It would obviously be perfect for Valentine's Day, but I thought it would also make a cute Christmas card with the addition of a little hand-drawn sprig of Mistletoe! You have to watch out for that stuff you know...people can be pretty sneaky hanging it throughout the house in order to sneak a little kiss! lol The design papers are from Bo Bunny. The "Meet Me Under The Mistletoe" tag is something I found in my stash while I was hunting for an embellishment to fill the upper corner of my layout...how perfect is it for this image?? I love it when that happens! I added some little jingle bells I recently picked up at the dollar store to the bow tied with my Bow-Easy. I thought the little snippets of red ribbon would be just right to tie in the red bow on the mistletoe I drew, as well as the lettering on the tag...now I'm second guessing that colour choice a bit. Red is not a colour I would normally put with purple. Hmmm. Probably won't put them together again. I'm now suffering a bit from that "hindsight is 20/20" syndrome. :) Anybody else ever afflicted with that?? lol
I printed the digital image "Steal a Kiss" on Neenah Smooth Cardstock and coloured it with Copic makers. I also did a little experimenting shading with some old Prismacolour pencils I've had kicking around since my high school years...and no, I'm not going to clarify how long that's been, lol. ;) I used some baby oil and a paper blending stump after I was finished using my markers...it's really important to colour with your markers first, as you will ruin the nibs if you try colouring over pencil crayon. (However, don't fret if you should happen to ruin a nib, as they are replaceable. It's just an extra expense that is nice to avoid if possible.) I sponged around the image with Bundled Sage and Walnut Stain Distress Inks. I also added some additional shading with a brown Prismacolour pencil, and blended it out with the baby oil.
We'd love to have you join in with our challenge this month! All projects can be submitted on Crissy' Post ...just look for the Blue Inlinkz frog at the bottom of her post. Crissy has changed a few things up this month in regards to prizes....here's what she had to say:
I'm going to do something a little different for blog candy with this month's challenge! In the spirit of Christmas and giving, I am going to give away one digital image to the first 12 players! AND I am opening up the contest to include EVERYONE (not just for those using one of my images)!! So if you are one of the first twelve players to link up your Christmas/winter card on here, you will get your choice of one of my digital images from either Whimsy or Squigglefly! How fun is that! Now to keep it fair, you must make a card specifically for this challenge. Any cards that are "back-linked" will not qualify. And, if you don't make it in the race for top twelve, you can still have a chance to win at the end of this month. I'll still draw a name (using Random.org) from the participants, and that lucky person will get to choose 2 images of their choice from my collection. So what are you waiting for!! Ready, set, get crafting!!
God Bless!
Melanie
Saturday, December 18, 2010
My Hubby Made His First Card!!!
This week over on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps blog, you will see cards by the newest members of our design team, hehe. We all enlisted a guy we know to make a card using one of Kimmie's stamps! Honestly, we've been kind of joking about this idea for quite some time, but with this month's release of "dude" stamps, we thought it would be the perfect time to let some guys in on the fun! These men are such good sports, and they've done a great job on their projects!
So, I am now turning the keyboard over to Dean so he can give you the details on his card!!
Well, I guess after a year or so, watching my wife make cards, I thought I'd give it a try. I'm actually not a terribly creative person visually, which is why I don't attempt visual ( other than photography ) art. I looked at some of Melanie's cards to get some ideas. So here I was with a few choices of stamps from Kraftin' Kimmie and I chose this guy ( Shovelling Miles...uh...almost an unintentional double entendre ) because of the attitude on his face. Really, he's the exact opposite of me. I LOVE winter, and I LOVE snow, including shovelling it...well from my driveway anyways. This is why, despite our recent winter storm, I have the cleanest driveway in town. Bone dry, down to the cement!
Back to the card. I don't know all the technical jargon, so pardon my ignorance. Melanie gave me a quick tutorial on shading, so I used two to three related colour shades, using Copic markers, to provide some depth to the image. I wanted Miles to be colourful, yet matching the colours on the paper I chose. Personally, I wasn't fond of most of the papers and found the card layout to be more intimidating than the colouring. I felt like his expression begged for a story, which could be accomplished with a picture. I looked through my own images, but wasn't satisfied with the composition of any of them to use with Miles. So to Google images I went and found this picture. I think, ironically, it was taken recently from the storm in London last week. I cropped the image to a more panoramic composition and calculated the proper size to fit on the card ( 4"x6" ). The use of a picture was intentional to incorporate my visual artistic passion, being photography. I also had no idea how to fill the card with out it looking stupid.
I originally selected a paper with candy canes on it, but discarded that, and only used this paper with snowflakes and Christmas Trees. I layered accent colours for both the main border paper and for the photo itself. I then thought it would be neat to raise the stamped image off the paper with these little cushion sticky thingies...they work pretty good. Given that it was a cartoonish coloured image on a photograph, it seemed fitting to physically separate it further. I was momentarily stuck on the sentiment, and wanted to make use of Miles apparent disdain for the situation at hand. And then this sentiment came to mind. I wanted a thought bubble, but due to time constraints, I used Mel's CuttleBug and cut out this oval and embossed it for the sentiment. I also raised it using the sticky thingies. Most people where we live would agree with the statement on this card. I, however, do not. So this card is really going out for all you anti-winter, summer lovers.
Really, I couldn't have done this without Mel's guidance. I wouldn't have even known where to start. Thanks babe!
Please enjoy!
I want to say a big thanks to Dean and all the other Krafty Dudes who played along this week! Dean is a pretty creative guy...both with photography and music, so it was fun to see him branch out into a new creative outlet. He cracked me right up when he told me what sentiment he had come up with for this Miles stamp...a little cheeky, but oh so funny!! I also giggled a bit when he asked me for those "cushion sticky thingies" (stampers, we know them as "pop dots", hehe) to pop Miles up from the background!Ok...you and your dudes have lots of time to play along in this challenge because we are taking a short break for the Christmas holidays. Our first challenge of 2011 will be on January 8th, so that's plenty of time to convince your guys to get krafty! Just link up his creation at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, and the two of you just may be the lucky winners of this week's prize...Clint The Cowboy!
While you are at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog, make sure to check out the krafty work by the rest of our Dudes...and please hop around to leave them some love!! These guys rock, and we want to express our appreciation for their willingness to participate in this hobby that we all love so much. Thanks guys!!!
Just a reminder that today is your last chance to take advantage of the Kustomer Appreciation Special over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Shop! Also, the store will be closed from December 23rd to December 27th and again from December 30th to January 4th.
Blessings,
Melanie (and Dean!)
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Krista's Got Candy!!!
The details for entering are on her post. It is open until January 2, 2011. Krista is super sweet and super talented, so make sure to grab a cup of tea or coffee and spend some time checking out her gorgeous work!!
That's it for me today. I have to apologize for being a little (or a lot, lol) MIA here on my blog. December is such a busy month....parties, company, dinners, shopping, recitals, plays...the list goes on and on! Unfortunately, I've had very little crafty time these last couple of weeks. I have been sneaking in a bit of time to work on my upcoming project for Sundays With Crissy, so I can promise you that I will be back on December 22 with a card. I will try to have another post or two before the end of the year, but I will be back to my regular blogging schedule come January!! (I've got some new January stamps to play with, and you are going to LOVE them!!)
Blessings,
Melanie
Monday, December 13, 2010
December News at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!
Did you all know that the brand new December stamps were released yesterday at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps?? Several of us Krafty Girls have taken the month of December off, and Kimmie has some amazing Krafty Guests to fill in for us...they have done an outstanding job showcasing these new stamps!! You can find all the new stamps at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store. For those of you wishing to get your inky paws on the entire release, just click on the "Gimmie Kimmies Kits" option...you can purchase the release as sets and at a discounted price!
HOLIDAY SPECIAL ALERT!! For the next week, Kimmie is having a little special to thank all of her loyal customers who shop with at her store throughout the year!!! It's called Kimmie's Kustomer Appreciation!!! All orders of $50 or more before shipping and taxes, will receive a FREE STAMP of our choosing!!! That's right!! It will be a surprise gift, so no requests, please. This special runs from Sunday, December 12th to Saturday Decemer 18th!!!
Have a wonderful day friends...and stay warm!
Blessings,
Melanie
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Town Scrapper's Prima Ballerina (and an encouraging word on colouring mishaps!)
There are a few new stamps on their way to the Town Scrapper shelves...this one is my absolute favourite! I have a soft spot for ballerina stamps as one of my daughter Ainsleigh's passions is dance. She started ballet at the tender age of four, and she will be turning eleven in January. Over all those years, her love of ballet has only grown. I love watching her dance...we recently had observation week at her studio and the Christmas Open House is fast approaching. This ballerina stamp by Victoria Case is so beautiful, and I just had to colour her the moment I got my hands on her. :)
I decided to make a shaped card this week...Nestabilities are perfect for this! For the card base, I used the largest die in the Labels 8 set. The ballerina was stamped on Neenah Smooth cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copic markers. The design paper is all from My Mind's Eye (Holly Jolly). She was pop-dotted on layers created with Spellbinders Petite Ovals Small and Labels 10. I topped it all off with bow...tied of course with my Bow Easy. For finishing touches, I added some Stardust Stickles, a few rhinestones and a sentiment from Whimsy Stamps. (I used Spellbinders Petite Ovals Small and Fancy Tags for the sentiment.)
Copics: Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59 Crown: YR31, Y17, E35 Tutu: R20, R22, R27, R46, E59, G82, G85, G99
I absolutely LOVE this stamp, and this ballerina will definitely be making an encore appearance on my blog! She is so versatile and I cannot wait to ink her up again soon. :)
Ok...here's where I'm going to share about my colouring conundrums. (LOVE that word!! lol) Sometimes, I run into problems while colouring but I'm usually too stubborn to start over. I tend to keep working at something until it is "passable" in my eyes. This little ballerina was giving me quite the difficult time! First of all, my paper seemed to act a little funny...it does that once in a while. There are spots on her tutu where the ink behaved badly and refused to blend or lay down smoothly. I also didn't achieve the highlights and depth of shadow that I was attempting to create. Stardust Stickles to the rescue there...I coated her tutu with them!! I had planned to do that anyways, but I hoped it would help conceal some of those troublesome areas too. I also had MAJOR issues colouring up the ballerina's tights...they ended up being my greatest point of frustration. I just couldn't get the right combo for the "ballet pink" shade I was going for...my daughter Ainsleigh only wears those tights like three times a week, so you'd think I'd be able to nail it. NOPE. I just kept layering colour upon colour upon colour...with no success. It kind of turned into a big mess. So, in the end I just decided to give her red tights (went over everything with my R27)...not at all what I wanted, but I didn't have time to start over. I also ended up loosing all of the shading I had been working on. Then I figured her pink pointe shoes looked silly with the red tights, so I made them green. Again, this was not what I had pictured but sometimes you have to change plans to salvage a project. SIGH.
I am sharing this with you friends, because we ALL have difficulties and frustrations with projects sometimes. We have grand visions of how our project will turn out, and sometimes the end product just doesn't measure up to our expectations. We usually just post our "best" stuff...but I think sharing some of our pieces that presented us with difficulties is beneficial too. Making mistakes is all part of the learning process...and I make a TON of them!! Don't be discouraged though...it is just colouring after all. You can always start fresh again tomorrow, armed with the new knowledge you have acquired through trial and error. My best advice when you're frustrated??? Walk away! lol Have a cup of tea and forget about your colouring for little bit. Return when you are refreshed, calm and ready to tackle it again. Also, make sure that you have the free time to sit and colour for a while...if you are rushed and feel pressure to "get it done", then chances are you may not be colouring at your best. My project today is a prime example of this...my time was tight, and so I rushed it a little. In the end, I made errors that ended up costing me more time in the long run. Had I tried out my colour combos on a scrap piece of paper first, perhaps I would have ended up with the results I had first envisioned. Remember...this is ultimately supposed to be fun and relaxing!! For me, it is also typically a stress-reliever...a way to unwind at the end of the day. If you're not smiling while colouring, just take a break. Be encouraged...and never craft angry. hehe
We'd love to have you play along with our Nestabilities Challenge this week...you just may be the lucky winner of a brand new Town Scrapper Victoria Case stamp! If you are in need of some new Nestabilities, Phebe has a wonderful selection of Spellbinders at The Town Scrapper and right now, ALL NESTABILITES ARE CURRENTLY 35% OFF. You can contact her by telephone at 519-882-0623 or via email at info@townscrapper.com to arrange a visit or to place an order. She also has many other wonderful stamp companies and product lines in stock...just perfect for all those crafty loved ones on your Christmas list. :)
Thanks so much for stopping by today friends, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your Friday!!
Blessings (and happy crafting!!),
Melanie
Stamps: Town Scrapper exclusive Victoria Case "Ballerina", Whimsy Stamps sentiment
Ink: Memento, Copics, Black Soot Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, My Mind's Eye (Holly Jolly)
Embellishments: Rhinestones, Ribbon, Stardust Stickles
Tools: Spellbinders Petite Ovals Small, Labels 8, Labels 10, Fancy Tags, Bow Easy
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Kraftin' Kimmie News!!!
Previews begin today, and will continue through to the official release day this Sunday...and of course there will also be a blog hop on Sunday to celebrate!!
So make sure to hop on over the the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog each day for a list of who has previews to share with you...the stamps this month are AWESOME as always!! You'll of course see Miles up to some snowy antics, and Annie has brought us a whole crew of "Dudes" for all those guy cards that are often hard to make. I know you're going to love the new December stamps!
Blessings,
Melanie
Friday, December 3, 2010
Let it Snow!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
!!!SALE ALERT!!! at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!
From December 1 to December 5 ONLY, everything in the ONLINE STORE is 20% off!!! Just use the coupon code KK20 when checking out! This even includes the newest November release stamps!
So make sure to hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store...this is a sale you don't want to miss!!
Oh...and if you have a moment today, please hop on over to my good friend Krista's blog to wish her a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Blessings,
Melanie