Text Me!

Hello and happy Saturday to you all! It's time for another challenge over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog. Your lovely hostess this week is the very sweet Tara Godfrey and her challenge is called "Text Me!"...so make sure to include text somewhere on your project.

I decided to use one of the verses from the newly released "Scripture Quotes" for Tara's challenge. I was really under the wire with this card, as I remembered at the last moment about my inlaw's anniversary earlier this week! We needed a card to slip a gift card into and I had about an hour to put this together. This was a HUGE challenge for me, as I am probably the world's slowest cardmaker. I often spend hours on a card between colouring an image, picking out paper, figuring out a layout and fussing over which embellishments to use. I used 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and stamped it on white cardstock with Versafine ink. I cut it out with Spellbinders Labels 2 and matted it on some Melissa Frances paper cut with Spellbinders Labels 8. The bits of scroll work bordering the sentiment are Spellbinders Fancy Tags. The black trim at the bottom is Spellbinders Classic Lace Border Grand. I also trimmed two sections of the Lace Border to place on the sides of the Labels 8 layer. (SCACD has a fantastic selection of Spellbinders at incredible prices!) The base layer of white cardstock was embossed with a CuttleBug folder. I distressed the edges and sponged everything with a bit of Black Soot Distress Ink. The bow was tied with the aide of my Bow Easy. The little key is from a company called Colorbok, and I finished everything off with a few dollar store pearls. Did I accomplish all this within the hour deadline?? Well, no. lol It took me about an hour and a half because I fussed around with a few of the elements, considered using some flowers (an idea I eventually abandoned) and decided at the last minute to add the bow and key. Still, not too bad considering how long things usually take me. :) I've been on a bit of a black and white kick lately, as I really like the visual effect. The font of this Scripture Quote is so elegant...love this set!!


Hop on over the the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to check out the gorgeous projects made by the lovely Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests. Take note of the stamp Tara used on her card, because if you choose to play along then you could be the lucky winner of the stamp she used! (Just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp to be eligible. The May Gimmie Kimmie Kits are still available. There are three kits this month, and when you buy the stamps as a kit you are able to take advantage of a 15% discount! Make sure to scoop your's up soon before they are gone.)

That's it for me folks! It's a long weekend here, so I'm looking forward to having Monday off!! Perhaps a little stamping time might be in order. :)

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Scripture Quotes"
Ink: Versafine, Black Soot Distress Ink
Paper: Bazzill, Melissa Frances
Tools: Spellbinders Classic Lace Border Grand, Labels 8, Labels 2 and Fancy Tags, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Bow Easy
Embellishments: Offray ribbon, pearls, metal key

Day Two of Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks...How about some new Krafty Quotes??

Good morning! Yesterday, we kicked off the sneak peeks for the upcoming May release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps by introducing you to a new artist. Today, we are continuing the previews by showing you the brand new Krafty Quotes #4 set featuring four Scripture Verses. I absolutely love this set. :)

I chose to work with Proverbs 3:5..."Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

I decided to go with a black and white colour scheme for today's card. The white flourished paper is from Karen Foster and the black striped paper is from MME. All papers were heavily distressed with scissor edges and then sponged with Black Soot Distress Ink. The Krafty Quote was stamped in Versafine Ink and cut out with Spellbinders Labels 8. I covered two wooden hearts (from the dollar store) with the Melissa Frances paper, sanded the edges and then sponged them with the Distress Ink as well. The two accordion-fold flowers were made by punching the edge of a strip of the design paper with a Martha Stewart border punch, scoring at evenly spaced intervals and then folding the paper accordion-style. The edges were joined with Scor Tape to form a circle and the flower was adhered to a small cardstock base. (I saw these "Ruffled Flowers" over on Amazing Paper Grace...Becca is such a paper crafting genius! Her blog is a constant source of inspiration, and her work is always stunning.If you click on the above link, you will be taken to her post including a video tutorial for making these flowers.) The flower centres are Prima rhinestones and the flourishes are dollar store finds. I wanted to include the wooden heart, as I felt it would go with the verse. However, now I'm questioning my decision to use two hearts...at first glance, my card looks like it may be a Valentines card. Hmmmm. Yup, probably should have just used one...it's that old "hindsight" thing. :)



Krafty Quotes #4 is a beautiful set, and I know I will be reaching for it often. To see the gorgeous projects that the rest of the Krafty Girls created with this new set that will be available for purchase on Sunday, please visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog for links to their blogs.

We'll be back tomorrow with another round of sneak peeks...hope to see you then!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin Kimmie Stamps "Krafty Quotes Set 4-Scripture verses"
Paper: Bazzill, Melissa Frances, MME
Ink: Versafine, Black Soot Distress Ink
Embellishments: Prima rhinestones, dollar store rhinestone swirls
Tools: Martha Stewart Border Punch, Spellbinders Lables 8, Scor-Pal

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I certainly hope that's true! We've been getting our fair share of rain this week, but as a result our grass is looking lovely and green and the leaves are opening on the trees. We don't have any spring annuals in our garden though...I keep forgetting to plant bulbs in the fall, lol. However, I had fun pulling out some krafty flowers this week...our lovely hostess for the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps challenge is Andrea Murdock, and she'd like to see FLOWERS on your projects!

My card today features a quote from the Krafty Quotes #2 Set. I cheated a bit, and started with an unadorned patterned card from The Paper Studio...my best friend Amanda gave me a box of these cards. They have many of my favourite earthy colour combinations in gorgeous patterns and textures...all they need is a little embellishing, and they're good to go! I hunted through my, er, collection (aka my "hoard", lol) for some papers that would coordinate, and settled on using this striped paper from Basic Grey (Capella). It was cut out with my Spellbinders Labels 10. I traced around the outside edge of the die and hand cut a tight-mat out of brown cardstock. The crocheted trim is from the dollar store, and the flower are from Prima. Pretty much everything on my card was distressed...the paper edges were roughed up with a pair of scissors and several inks were applied with sponges. Even the flowers failed to escape my Distress Inks. :) I finished it off with a few dollar store pearls.



The Krafty Quote (Set #2) was stamped with Versafine Ink on Wassau cardstock. (When stamping, I separated the Quote to make it fit within the Spellbinders Fancy Tag I planned to use...thanks to my inability to stamp anything straight, this took me a few tries until I got it right. lol) I always keep a stack of this cardstock in my crafty stash...it comes in handy for sentiments, matting, interior of cards and various other uses. In keeping with my colour scheme, the white cardstock needed some extra attention to make it coordinate with the rest of the card. Before cutting it out, I applied Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Inks with makeup sponges. I then used my Mini-Mister to apply water and dried it with my hair dryer (yes, I know...I need to get a heat tool! lol) I also added some Aspen Mist Chalk Ink, and played around with the ink layers until I was happy. The corners were rounded and the edges were distressed with scissors before adhering it to the brown cardstock cut with Spellbinders Fancy Tags.


If you play along with Andrea's "May Flowers" challenge this week, you could be the lucky winner of the stamp Andrea used on her gorgeous card...just make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project to be eligible. For some flowery inspiration, hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to check out the beautiful projects by the Krafty Girls and our Krafty Guests.

I would like to take this opportunity to say a huge THANK YOU to the five lovely ladies who were our Krafty Guests this month...Deborah, Tanjii, Krista, Jenny and Amanda. You ladies did an AMAZING job!! It was an absolute pleasure to work alongside all of you throughout the month of April. :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Krafty Quotes #2"
Ink: Versafine, Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Walnut Stain), Chalk Ink (Aspen Mist)
Paper: Cardbase from The Paper Studio, Basic Grey Capella, Wassau, Bazzill
Embellishments: Prima flowers, crocheted trim, pearls
Tools: Spellbinders Fancy Tags and Labels 10

Ready for some Kraftin' Kimmie Sneak Peeks???

Good morning...are you all ready for some April Sneak Peeks at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps??!! The official release day will be this Sunday, but in the meantime we'll be showing you previews of the new stamps. Each day leading up to the release, you can check out the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see who has sneak peeks to show you. :)

Today, we're kicking off the sneak peeks with projects featuring the brand new "Krafty Quotes #3". I have been loving the addition of this line to Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. They can of course be combined with many of the Kraftin' Kimmie image stamps, but they are perfect for so many other applications as well. They look beautiful on cards, scrapbook layouts, altered items...so many possibilities. "Krafty Quotes #3" includes four larger sized quotes .

My card today features the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, "A woman is like a tea bag-you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water". The sentiment was stamped in Walnut Stain Distress Ink. After stamping, I realized that I failed to apply an even pressure which resulted in some of the letters not stamping perfectly. Rather than stamping again, I thought I would just use it to my advantage and go for a bit of a distressed look. The paper edges were distressed with scissors and sponged with the Distress Ink. I also created a coordinating flower with the Spellbinders Lacey Circles. The centre of the flower is a dollar store metal brad. The little teacup is actually an accessory stamp that comes with an older Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps, "Gabrielle". It was stamped with the Distress Ink and lightly shaded with Conte Crayons. To finish it off, I added some flourishes that were created with Spellbinders Doodle Parts, some dollar store pearls and a few leaves.

Please visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog for a complete list of links to the Krafty Girls and our lovely Krafty Guests who are participating in today's Krafty Quotes #3 sneak peeks.

I hope to see you back tomorrow for another round of previews featuring some new stamps by one of Kimmie's Krafty Artists!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. :)

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Krafty Quotes #3", "Gabrielle's" teacup accessory stamp Ink: Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Conte Crayons Paper: Bazzill, Kraft Carstock, the design paper was all from my scrap bin...sorry not sure of the company Embellishments: Dollar store pearls and brad, leaves Tools: Spellbinders Lacey Circles, Labels 8

Imagination (March Previews Begin Today at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!)

Howdy folks!! Can you believe we're already approaching another fabulous release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps?? The sneak peeks are beginning today...you will find a complete list of links to the Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests who have previews to share with you today over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog. Today we are showcasing the brand new set, Krafty Quotes #2!! The response to the first set of quotes released last month was incredible...you all seemed to love them!! I know I did. These quotes are large enough that they can easily stand alone as the focal point of a card...they are also perfect to pair up with your favourite stamped images, or to incorporate into scrapbook layouts. Krafty Quotes #2 includes four different quotes by Lauren Bacall, Mother Teresa, Lucy Maude Montgomery and Bette Midler.

For my card today, I chose to work with the Lauren Bacall quote, "Imagination is the highest kite one can fly." I really admire card artists who can pull off clean and simple cards. I struggle so much with this type of layout! I always take a really long time assembling my cards (as much as I try, I find it impossible to be "quick" lol), but this style really stumps me. I tend to sit in prolonged silence just staring at all the supplies on my table trying to figure out how to get the maximum effect with the minimal amount of supplies. I'll let you all in on a secret...this is actually my second attempt making a card with this quote. I had something all planned out in my head that I thought was going to look wonderful...however, after the card was assembled, it was anything but wonderful. lol I left the card up for a while trying to decide if it was salvageable. I finally decided to start from scratch. Sigh. (anybody else ever been there??) So, for my second attempt I decided to go with a shaped card, and used Spellbinders Lacey Circles for my card base. I did like the colour scheme of my first card, so I decided to stay with blue and white. There is no design paper on this card...just blue and white cardstock. For the central panel, I sponged in a sky with Memento Summer Sky Ink while the cardstock was still in the die. (I always use a hand cut cloud template when doing my skies. I just make sure to flip and angle my template so that the clouds appear random...that way, I avoid having a distinct, repeating pattern in my clouds.) I then stamped my Krafty Quote on top of the sky with Stormy Sky Distress Ink. The bow was tied with my Bow Easy, and I added a centre pearl as a finishing touch.

Hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog to see all the gorgeous samples featuring each of the 4 quotes in the new Krafty Quotes #2 Set. The Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests have again done an outstanding job with these stamps!!

We hope to see you back tomorrow with sneak peeks featuring the March images by one of our Krafty Artists!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Krafty Quotes #2 Set
Ink: Memento Summer Sky, Stormy Sky Distress Ink
Paper: Bazzill
Embellishments: Ribbon, pearl
Tools: Spellbinders Lacey Circles, Circles, Bow-Easy, cloud template

A Word on Love, from Mother Teresa

Happy Saturday!! Today's challenge over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog is brought to us by the very lovely and very talented Michele Boyer...she wants to see "Scoopy Scallops" on your creations this week!

My card this week features one of the four quotes from the Krafty Quotes #1 Set. This one is from Mother Teresa. I thought it would be fun to pair it up with this "fruity" strawberry paper from October Afternoon. I tried to pull in several components with scallops: a scalloped oval, scallops on the background paper and a little bit of scalloped crocheted trim at the bottom edge. I also used Stella Strawberry's accessory berry stamp. (stamped twice and then nestled together. Copics: Y00, YR31, R02, R17, R32, R35, R59, YG00, YG03, YG67, G24, G99.) I added just a couple of pearls and some machine stitching to finish it up.

We'd love to see your Scoopy Scallops creations this week!! If you make sure to use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp on your project, you could be the lucky winner of "Judy", the stamp Michele used on her very "nifty" card this week!! For some gorgeous inspiration, please check out the beautiful scalloped creations by my fellow Krafty Girls and our amazing Krafty Guests at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog!

If you've been playing along with Kimmie's contest to be a Guest Krafty Girl in the month of April, then don't forget to participate in our last challenge of February!! You folks are rockin' this contest, and I know it's going to be very difficult deciding who will be the lucky stamper!!

Have a wonderful weekend friends. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Krafty Quotes #1" and "Stella Strawberry's" accessory stamp

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, October Afternoon, the blue paper the quote is stamped on is a scrap...not sure which company

Embellishments: Pearls, stitching

Tools: Spellbinders Scalloped Oval, Ovals and Fancy Tags

Look Ma...no Copics!! (A Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Sketch Challenge!)

Mornin' friends! This week's challenge over at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog is a Sketch designed by our very talented Krafty Girl Elaine Hughes...Elaine's colouring never ceased to "WOW" me!!!

I decided to combine one of the brand new Krafty Quotes #1 with an older Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp for my card today. I have always love this sweet image called "Bench Friends"...just a quiet moment shared between two besties! I thought it went just perfectly with the Krafty quote "The best thing to hold on to in life is each other. by Mother Teresa" (this is one of four quotes in the set!). The brown paper is from MME and the blue butterfly paper is from Prima. When deciding on papers, I deliberated over two different colours of blue cardstock for matting...I realize now that I should have gone with the other shade. After inking the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, this blue took on a very "turquoise" hue...and now it just doesn't look quite "right". Sigh. Live and learn! That pretty little crocheted flower was a gift from one of the Krafty Day attendees, Angela Alway...she was so sweet and generous with these little handmade gems. Thanks so much Angela...I'm just sorry it took me so long to use it! I wanted to have a big brown bow behind the flower, but I could not find my wide ribbon anywhere. (I'm sure I'll find it sometime today or tomorrow since I don't need it now. lol) So, I reached for my thin ribbon and tied a triple loop bow with the aide of my Bow-Easy. The Krafty Quote was cut out with Spellbinders. (I took the artistic liberty of playing with the scale and position of the different components of Elaine's fantastic sketch...my sentiment panel is quite a bit larger than on the original sketch! As a result, I really had to shift the image panel over to accommodate it.) Usually I stress about my machine stitching being pretty straight and even...but not this time. :) Since I had already distressed all my edges, I felt having a slightly wonky stitching line would suit the feel of this card very well. I didn't go too crazy...but I let the paper wander a little under my machine's presser foot. I also made sure to touch the very white stitching with a little of the Walnut Stain Distress Ink to antique it a bit...otherwise the white thread would have been a bit too harsh and "clean" for this distressed card.


I stamped "Bench Friends" on some light brown cardstock in Memento Rich Cocoa. I began by laying down a very light layer of brown Prismacolour pencil, just to block out where I wanted the shadows to be. I then worked on building up the shading with my Conte Crayons and a paper blending stump. The shading is gradually faded out as the areas of the image get closer to my light source...which I chose to have coming from the upper right hand corner. Some of the lighter areas on the image have no shading...allowing the bare cardstock to show in these areas helps to develop your highlighted spots without the need to lay down more colour. Finally, to really make those highlights "pop", I used some white Conte Crayon and/or white Prismacolour pencil to play up those brightest edges. I opted to use this lightly textured cardstock rather than Kraft as it has some "tooth" for the Conte Crayons to grab on to. Now, you all know how much I LOVE my Copics...but I have to admit that it was a lot of fun to play around with my Conte Crayons again. When I was a teenager, they were one of my favourite mediums to use for drawing horses. I'm a little rusty with them though, so I'm hoping to find time to work with them more. It's always fun to try out a different or unfamiliar medium...so don't be afraid to experiment!!


Here's a closer look at the Audrey Hepburn quote I used from the Krafty Quotes #1 set:



We'd love to have you join in with Elaine's sketch challenge this week...if you use a Kraftin' Kimmie Stamp (you can buy them HERE!) on your project, you could be the lucky winner of the new Krafty Quotes #1 set...one of the four quotes from this new set is featured on Elaine's gorgeous card! You can link up your project at the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog where you will also find some gorgeous projects by my fellow Krafty Girls and our Krafty Guests based on Elaine's sketch.

Don't forget about the Krafty Guest contest...you've got to complete each challenge in February to be eligible, so keep those submissions coming!!

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Bench Friends" and "Krafty Quotes #1"
Paper: Bazzill, My Mind's Eye, Prima
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Embellishments: Ribbon, Crocheted flower (courtesy of Angela Alway!!), brown pearl, machine stitchingTools: Spellbinders, Bow Easy

A Sneak Peek of Something New at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps!!!

Good morning friends! It's almost time for another release at Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps...are you ready to fall in love with another batch of incredible stamps?? The Krafty Girls and Krafy Guests have been busy creating some beautiful projects with these new stamps, and we're very excited to share them with all of you. :) We will showcase a different artist/line of stamps today, tomorrow and Friday. Then for both our Saturday Challenge and our release day blog hop on Sunday, we will show you projects featuring a variety of the new stamps! Each day, you can visit the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog for a list of links to the Krafty Girls who will be sharing sneak peeks.

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps has become known for their sweet, whimsical images that are so much fun to colour with markers, pencils and watercolours! But this month we are launching a new line of stamps that are headed in a different direction!

Today Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps is debuting a new line of stamps that will appeal to both scrappers and stampers alike! The sets are called 'Krafty Quotes'!! Each month we'll be releasing a new set and each set will have four quotes which are larger in size than your average word stamps. These gorgeous sentiments are perfect to accent your scrapbook pages, your main card images or to become the focal point of your design!

This month, Krafty Quotes #1 features quotes from Audrey Hepburn, Louisa May Alcott, Lucille Ball and Mother Teresa!!

I have never made a card with the sentiment as the focal image, so I was excited to give it a try! For my card today, I chose to use the quote "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship." from Louisa May Alcott. I used Spellbinders Labels 4, Labels 8 and Petite Ovals Small to create the layers on this card. The design paper is all from The Paper Loft. I've been on the hunt for some pretty background or accent stamps, and found a gorgeous flourish from Impression Obsession when I was at Scrappin' Great Deals this past weekend. I inked it up with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink, stamped it off slightly on a scrap piece of paper and then stamped it onto my design paper to create a very muted background. I then inked up my Krafty Quote with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and stamped it over top of the flourishes. All paper edges were lightly sponged with the Walnut Stain Ink. I then added a couple of pearls and a Bow-Easy bow to finish it off.

I can't wait to work with the other quotes in this brand new set...I am just loving them, and I think they are so versatile. Can you believe I actually made a card without pulling out a single Copic marker?? lol Just wait until you see what the other Krafty Girls and Krafty Guests have created with the Krafty Quotes...hop on over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Blog for a list of links to their blogs!!

Make sure to come back tomorrow for another round of sneak peeks featuring new images by one of our Krafty artists!!

Blessings friends,

Melanie

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps "Krafty Quotes 1", flourish/swirl stamp from Impression Obsession

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Walnut Stain Distress Ink

Embellishments: Pearls and ribbon

Tools: Spellbinders Labels 4, 8 and Petite Ovals Small , Bow Easy