Saturday, December 17, 2011

Playing "Tag", Kraftin' Kimmie Style!

Hi crafty friends! Welcome to another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge. Actually, this will be our last official challenge of 2011! This week our lovely hostess is the very talented Krafty Guest Sandie who is inviting us to play "Tag"...your project can simply be a tag, or you can incorporate a tag in your card or other project. Whatever tickles your fancy. :)

I cut a tag out of kraft cardstock and used papers from My Mind's Eye "Lost and Found Christmas". All paper edges were sponged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I inked up "Elysia", one of the fabulous Kraftin' Kimmie angels by Annie Rodrigue, cut her out and adhered her to the tag. To top it off, I added some wired ribbon from Walmart, an acrylic snowflake coated in Stardust Stickles and centred with a dollar store earring.


Elysia was stamped on Neenah with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. Her wings were given a coat of Stardust Stickles. Elysia also comes with a halo accessory stamp and the sentiment "Hark!".



Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Wings: E50, E40, E41, W1, W5, E71, BV23, Y21  Dress: R22, R27, R46, R59, C7, BV23  Trumpet: E50, Y17, Y21, Y23, E13, E17, E18

You can check out all the incredible Tags by the Krafty Girls and our amazing Krafty Guests over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog. If you want to play along this week, you could win the stamp Sandie used on her gorgeous project. Just make sure to use a Krafin' Kimmie Stamp on your project to be eligible.

I'd like to give a shout out to our December Krafty Guests...you ladies have done such a phenomenal job and it has been an absolute pleasure having you join us this month. :)

This will quite likely be my last post before Christmas...and possibly even before the new year! I'm planning to spend the next couple of weeks just enjoying time with family and friends. I'm also hoping to get a head start on some 2012 projects. ;)

So, with that in mind, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!! May the Lord bless your time together with friends and family this holiday season.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Victorian

Good morning! I wanted to share a card with you today featuring one of the recently released exclusive "Reflections Yesteryear" stamps at SCACD by Carmen Medlin. This is "The Victorian".I adore this collection of stamps. I think they are so elegant, and they are an absolute joy to colour and create with. The papers on my card are all from My Mind's Eye "Madison Avenue". This paper pad was a gift from a very sweet crafty friend (thanks Kimmie!!!), but you can find it at SCACD HERE for only $5.99 USD. The papers in this collection are so beautiful and sophisticated, and lend themselves beautifully to vintage style cards...which happens to be one of my favourite styles. :) The paper edges were all distressed and sponged with brown ink. I added a few pearls, machine stitching, some crocheted trim, a snippet of ribbon and a pretty Prima flower to finish it off. Did you know that Susana has an incredible deal on Flower Grab Bags?? (37 flowers for $9.99!)


"The Victorian" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. The pink portions of her dress, umbrella and hat ribbon were all paper-pieced with the MME paper. I added shading to the paper-pieced areas with my Copics. After cutting out the pieces, I went around the edges with a dark grey maker to hide the white core of the paper. This helps to blend these pieces into your stamped image seamlessly. My favourite tool for adhering paper-pieced components is my Quickie Glue Pen. You can precisely apply this glue pen to even the most finicky little pieces of paper with ease. After cutting out my coloured image, I again went around the edges with a dark marker to avoid having the white paper core visible.


Skin: E000, E00, E11, BV31, BV23 Grey areas of dress: W1, W3, W5, W7  Shading on paper-pieced areas: RV000, R81, R85, R89, W3

The "Reflections Yesteryear" stamps are exclusively available at SCACD and at Quixotic Paperie for those living in the UK. You can buy the stamps individually or as complete sets.

Susana has been adding new products again!! Here's a little teaser:
With Christmas just around the corner, it would be a great time to put together a little (or a long, lol) wish list to hand to your hubby. It will make for super easy shopping for him. ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's The Victorian
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, MME
Embellishments: Prima Flower, ribbon, stitching, pearls, crochet trim

Sunday, December 11, 2011

December Release Day at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!

Welcome to the release day blog hop at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!! As always, Kimmie has put together an amazing release this month. There's the new "Sugar and Spice" set by Cheryl Alger, two new sets from Emilie Goulet called "Lots of Love 1" and Lots of Love 2", six new Alice in Wonderland characters from Annie Rodrigue and a fantastic set of Wonderland Sentiments!

The blog hop started over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge Blog where you'll find a complete list of all the participants. As you  hop along today, make sure to leave comments at each blog because some lucky stampers will win packages of some of the new December stamps. So, if you've been following along, you should have arrived here after visiting with the always lovely Angie Baker.

I have two cards to share with you today. The first features the amazing "Mad Hatter" by Annie Rodrigue. I love the Mad Hatter. I love his quirkiness, his sense of style and the fact that he embraces his madness. :)  I have to say that Johnny Depp was PHENOMENAL in that role...he's one of my favourite actors, and his portrayal of the Hatter was sheer brilliance. Annie's Hatter is sheer artistic brilliance, don't you agree? The papers are all from My Mind's Eye "Breeze". The Mad Hatter comes with two sentiments, "We're all mad here!" and "What's the hatter with you?".


As always, I stamped him on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured him with Copic markers.


Skin: E000, E00, E11, RV95  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59  Shirt: BG70, BG72, BG75, BG78, BG96, C5, C7  Vest and hat: R22, R27, R46, R59, BV23, C3, C5, C7  Pants: G20, YG91, YG95, BG96, G99, BV29, C5, C7  Cup: C00, C1, C3

This next card features one of the adorable images in the brand new "Lots of Love 1" set by Emilie Goulet. This super sweet set includes three main image stamps and six coordinating sentiments just perfect for Valentines Day! I really love these kissing fish. :) The plaid and "X and O" papers are from Basic Grey Olivia while the pink background paper is from Crate Paper. I covered two wooden hearts with the Crate paper and used one of the Lots of Love 1 sentiments. The border was created with a Martha Stewart punch.


After colouring the fish with my Copics, I added some Smooch Illuminate. To create the transparent bubble, I first stamped the image directly on the patterned paper. I added a bit of shading with a few pink markers, added a bit of white gel pen to the highlights and then covered all the bubbles with a generous coat of Glossy Accents.


Green Fish: YG00, YG11, BG10, BG11, BG15, BG09, BV23, BV29  Pink Fish: RV000, R81, R83, R85, R89, BV23


The new stamps are now available for purchase at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Online Store! Once again, Kimmie will be offering the Gimmie Kimmie Kits for those of you who just want them all! The kits are grouped together by artist and offered at a great discount, but only for a limited time!

It's now my pleasure to send you off to visit with the very sweet Kerry Johnson!

Happy hopping, and don't forget to leave comments along the way for your chance to win some of the new stamps!

Blessings,

Melanie

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Curious and Curiouser...A Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!

Welcome to another Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge...and another Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peek!! You all know that release day is tomorrow, right?? I'm sure you've been stalking the Krafty Girls' and Krafty Guests' blogs over the past few days as we've been sharing sneak peeks! The previews continue today in conjunction with our challenge...oh, and of course we've got sneak peek blog candy too! Makes for a very exciting day at KKS. :)  You're in for quite the treat, as we're not only previewing the new December stamps by Annie Rodrigue, but we're also introducing a brand new sentiment set to coordinate with Annie's new characters!!

Our challenge hostess this week is the lovely and oh so talented Michele Boyer who has created a fantastic sketch for us to play along with.

Oh. My. Goodness. Do you have any idea how excited I was when Kimmie showed us these new stamps??!! Annie just outdid herself this month and created several characters from Alice in Wonderland! There are six characters in all. I chose to ink up Alice for my challenge card today...I absolutely LOVE her!! The paper on my card is from Bo Bunny (I think it's called Midnight Frost). I used several Spellbinders sets: Circles, Lacey Circles, Parisian Accents and Labels Eight. Alice comes with a coordinating sentiment ("Curious and Curiouser"), but the sentiment I used  is part of the brand new "Wonderland Sentiments". It consists of several fantastic Wonderland inspired sentiments that I know I will be reaching for frequently.


Just look at the movement Annie created in this image. You can just imagine her falling down the rabbit hole...and oh, that hair! This image was so much fun to colour up with the flowing tresses and fabric folds. I did enlarge her pupils a bit with my Copic Multiliner and added some blue irises.


Skin: E00, E000, E11, R20   Hair: E50, Y21, Y23, E31, E33, E35, E37, E59  Dress: B32, B34, B37, B39, BV23, C00, C3, C5, C7, E41, E43, E47  Pendant: Y38

Here's a look at Michele's sketch:


If you play along with the sketch challenge this week, you could win the stamp Michele used on her beautiful card this week...which happens to be "Alice", the same stamp I used. Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. You can check out all the sketch projects by the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

I'd just like to give a shout out to our amazing line up of guest designers for December...you ladies are creating such phenomenal work! It's an absolute pleasure to have you on board with us this month. :)

SNEAK PEEK BLOG CANDY: Make sure to visit each and every Krafty Girl and Krafty Guest who participated in today's sneak peaks and leave them comments for your chance to win THREE of Annie's new Alice in Wonderland stamps! Kimmie will be drawing TWO lucky winners who will be announced on tomorrow's post on the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog.

One more sleep until you can get your inky fingers on all the new December stamps! We'll see you tomorrow for the release day blog hop. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

Thursday, December 8, 2011

'Tis the Season...For December Sneak Peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!

Another fantastic release is just around the corner at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps! The December 2011 release will be available for purchase this Sunday, but in the meantime we'll be bringing you daily sneak peeks...and what would sneak peeks be without a bit of BLOG CANDY?? More on that later in my post!

Today, we're kicking off the sneak peeks with the new stamps by Krafty Artist Cheryl Alger. You may remember that last month, Cheryl brought us a super cute set featuring some adorable young lads. Well, we definitely needed a feminine counterpart to that set, so today we are introducing the "Sugar and Spice" set. It includes three main image stamps and an assortment of co-ordinating sentiments. It will be available for purchase only as a complete set.

This is one of the three main image stamps in the set. The papers are from My Mind's Eye "Everyday Flair". 


She was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. I added a generous coat of Glossy Accents to her balloon and also to her shoes for a patent leather look.

On the interior of my card, I used one of the sentiments in the "Sugar and Spice" set. I also used a Memento Dew Drop ink pad in Rich Cocoa to just ink up her balloon and added it beside the sentiment.


As promised, let's talk about the BLOG CANDY!!  There will be daily giveaways during the sneak peeks with each day's winner being announced the following morning at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog . All you need to do to be eligible is hop around each day to visit every designer sharing sneak peeks and leave comments on their personal blogs. Kimmie will be drawing the winners from those comments. Make sure to visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog each day for complete lists of links to the daily sneak peeks! So don't forget to leave those comments today...one lucky stamper will be the winner of a "Sugar and Spice" set!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Priscilla

Happy weekend!!! It's time for another Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge. This week, our hostess is the super sweet Diana Pickering who wants to see embossing on your projects...dry embossing or wet embossing, the choice is up to you!

Well, I opted for dry embossing...not that I had a choice, lol. I don't even own any wet embossing supplies! Isn't that sad?? lol Maybe some will show up in my stocking this year. :)  I don't mind actually, because I have some really fantastic embossing folders to play with. I inked up Priscilla this week, one of the new Gothic Girls by Annie Rodrigue. I also thought she would make a fantastic bookmark, which incidentally I am in need of! I paired her up with some Prima Printery papers, which I thought were a perfect choice to coordinate with Priscilla's stack of books. Are you a book lover? I'm an avid reader...just finished the fourth book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. (it was a not-so-patient three year wait for that book to come out!! It's one of my favourite series. )  For the embossed elements on my project, I used a great embossing folder from Couture Creations. This one is called Hedged Maze. I did my embossing on kraft cardstock and highlighted the embossed areas by first sanding the raised design and applying some Walnut Stain Distress Ink to bring out the detail. To finish it off, I added some fabulous ribbon that was a gift from my best friend Amanda. :)


Priscilla was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics. My apologies for the glare on her hair. My marker ink went a little tacky in spots...namely my E59 which I applied in all the areas of deepest shadow...and the angle at which I placed my light caused a really terrible reflection on that ink. Honestly, it does not look quite that bad in real life. I wish I would have had time to reshoot it, as I would have re-angled the light so it didn't highlight those tacky ink areas to this extreme.


(Sorry...no colour list today! I forgot to record my markers that day.)

To finish off the back of my bookmark, I stamped this pretty flourish design from Impression Obsession around the edges to frame the sentiment that comes with Priscilla. (both were stamped in Walnut Stain Distress Ink)



Did you visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see all the gorgeous embossed projects by the Krafty Girls? If you play along with us this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp seen on Diana's gorgeous card. (make sure to use a KK stamp on your project to be eligible for the prize) While you are visiting the KKS blog, make sure to check out the gorgeous cards by our fabulous December guests!! Kimmie has invited several very talented ladies to join us for the following month. Please join us in extending them all a very warm welcome...we're thrilled to have them playing along!

Oh, and make sure to click HERE to check out the Frugal Friday Sales for this weekend.

Thanks so much for stopping by today...your visit is much appreciated. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Friday, December 2, 2011

Stocking Stuffer Release at SCACD!!

Good morning crafty friends!! 'Tis the season to spread some holiday cheer at SCACD with a Stocking Stuffer release! 

This final release of 2011 features a sampler by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD!!! Now despite the "Stocking Stuffer" name, these aren’t holiday stamp, but they would make a fantastic gift for all the crafty people on your list!! So Susana has named this release the Odds and Ends Sampler. (For you Peeker fans, more are coming next year!!!) There are two collections in this release: the first Collection is the Odds Sampler and the second is the Ends Sampler. Each collection consists of four stamps. You will be able to buy either Set of 4 or both sets together and get a sweet discount!!!


To celebrate the release, and to get your creative juices flowing, we're having a fun blog hop today featuring the new Odds and Ends Sampler. If you've been following along, you should have arrived here after visiting with the lovely Alex. Wasn't her project gorgeous?!

My card today features "Fancy" from the "Ends Sampler" set...isn't she cute? I paired her up with some papers from My Mind's Eye. The flourish was created with the Memory Box Elegant Scrollwork Die. The little roses are from Prima and were treated to a little ink and Stardust Stickles. While Susana doesn't have these exact roses in stock, she currently has a fantastic deal on some Flower Grab Bags...these bags contain a total of 37 flowers for only $9.99 (USD)! The flowers are an assortment by Prima and Kaisercraft...what a steal!! I also tucked in a few pearl sprays. The frame around the image was created with a border punch. Just punch a strip of cardstock, cut out some notches and adhere the border to your image panel with a strong double sided tape. (I used Scor-Tape) The notches should allow you to manipulate the cardstock around gentle curves like this oval.


"Fancy" was stamped on Neenah cardstock with Memento Ink and coloured with Copics.


Skin: E000, E00, E11, R20, BV31, BV23  Hair: E50, E31, E33, E37, E59, W9  Pants: B32, B34, B37, B39, C7, R85 (which was too bright, so I toned it down with some BV31 and C3)  Shirt: YG00, YG91, YG95, G99, BV23, BV29, W7 Shoes: E50, E25, E59, W9

The Odds and Ends Samplers are available for purchase exclusively at SCACD.

If you haven't started your Christmas shopping yet, it's definitely time to start! SCACD is the perfect place to do some shopping for all those crafty friends on your lists...or your could always leave a little wish list of SCACD goodies for your hubby to make shopping easy for him this year. ;) In addition to all the gorgeous SCACD exclusive stamps, Susana also carries several other stamp companies, an amazing selection of 6x6 paper pads by many of your favourite companies, stamping essentials like acrylic blocks and ink pads, embellishments, Viva Decor products, embossing folders, jewelry findings, paints, canvases, Copics, Spellbinders, Memory Box dies, chipboard...shall I go on? lol

It's my pleasure to send you off to visit with the next designer on the hop, the very talented and very sweet Suzanne! I know she has something fabulous to share with you. :)

Thanks for joining us today!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: SCACD's "Fancy"
Paper: Bazzill, Neenah, MME
Ink: Memento, Copics, Distress Inks (Bundled Sage and Walnut Stain)
Embellishments: Prima flowers, pearl sprays, Stickles
Tools: Spellbinders Ovals, Martha Steward border punch, Scor-Tape, Memory Box Die

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Blog Candy Alert at SCACD!!

Hi crafty friends!! Did you know that we're gearing up for a fantastic release tomorrow at SCACD??!!  These new SCACD exclusive stamps have been designed by artist Elisabeth Bell. Some of the design team members have been sharing sneak peeks at the SCACD Store Blog throughout the week featuring the stamps in this last release of 2011.

Susana is also offering some Blog Candy to a couple of lucky stampers...hop on over to read THIS post for all the details. This blog candy closes tonight, so make sure to get your name in before time runs out!

I hope to see you for our release day blog hop tomorrow!

Blessings,

Melanie