Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my friends a warm and peaceful Christmas!
All coloring with Copic markers.
Nativity image by Stampin' UP! Greeting by I Brake for Stamps.

Kimm

VC Rocks Blog Hop 4

Welcome Friends! We are blog hopping on our last tour for VC summer 2010. I know you enjoyed Melanie's project and all the other VC Rockers on the hop!

I have 2 cards to share with similar design both using NEW colors!

The color combination featured here is Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and Crumb Cake.

Our celebration at VC is about to end for the summer. Our group 'hibernates' for the fall and winter. Come next spring the leadership team will start planning all the fun stuff to do for the summer of 2011. I sure hope that regular blog hops are on that list!! If you are a Rocker... be sure to attend our annual Awards Ceremony where I will announce all the rockers earning VC medals and the BIG winners of our Medal drawing! Sheryl Brown will announce the winners in our card contest! Whoo hooo!

I changed the layout and embellishments up a tiny bit and gave it a more masculine feel. The colors here are Baja Breeze, Early Espresso and Crumb Cake.

Your next stop on the hop is the fabulous Loni Holt. Give her some extra love as she is our coordinator for all our blog hops... I say she does an AWESOME job!!

Stamp Credits: Stampin' Up!

Stamp sets: Autumn Splendor, Celebrate Everything

Kimm

VC Rocks Blog Hop for July!

Hello Rockin' Friends!

Welcome to the third VC Rocks blog hop of the season! Our blog hops and make and takes have been a huge success this year... huge thanks to all the VC Rocks members who contribute their talent and inspiration!! If you have missed any of the wonderful stops on the hop... begin at the VC Rocks blog. If you arrived from Brenda Hugar's blog you've seen her awesome VC Hotel inspired project... isnt it too cute??

On to my share for today! I'm featuring the motorcycle stamp from the Summer mini (get this little guy while you can, it is so fun to play with) and the returning In Colors Tangerine Tango and Soft Suede. There is alot of shine on my card which you may not see in the photo.




My background is a modified version of Antiqued Glimmers from Technique Junkies Newsletter. First, I rubbed tangerine tango and soft suede ink onto a non-stick craft sheet. Next, I spritzed the ink with gold glow Smooch Spray and laid my white cardstock into the mixture. Repeat this process once and let dry. The dry background piece was embossed with a folder and the embossed areas highlighted by dragging a soft suede ink pad across the surface. Set this aside.
The main image was stamped with soft suede. I used a blender pen and tangerine tango ink to color in selected portions of the motorcycle. Tear around the image and sponge soft suede along the edges... repeat with greeting.
The hodgepodge hardware was distressed by using sandpaper made for metal. Sorry I dont know the brand because I snuck it out of my hubby's sandpaper stash. Swipe a little dark brown alcohol ink (Sharpie or Copic marker) and immediately wipe with a dry cloth to remove some of the ink. If you are angry or frustrated, hammer the edges a bit;)
Lastly, embellish with a bit of knotted crochet lace tied to the square hardware!

Next on the blog hop is my friend Patrice Herrara at My Little Patch of Dirt.



Have a rockin' day!

Kimm

June "Technique by Design" Challenge-Contest!!

Hello stamping friends!

I'm glad you stopped by to visit! We had a beautiful Holiday weekend spending time with family and friends. If you just arrived here you may want to start at the Technique Junkies Blog so you will not miss any of the great artwork featuring the 'Technique by Design' sketch! Be sure to follow all the blogs on the hop because the details for a contest will be given at the end. Yes, I said contest... with fabulous stampin prizes!!



Here are my samples using the Technique by Design sketch-



This card uses 2 versions of Double Duty Melted Wax (Technique Junkies Newsletter June '10)... one panel with stamping and one without. With this technique you can get a wide range of color options... from soft and pastel to wild and vivid... without wasting!

(stamp credit- Stampin' UP)

This card pairs Faux Metal and Glimmer Marbeling to make a perfect card for those Fathers. Simply change the greeting and you have a nice masculine birthday card.

(stamp credit- Two Nancy's Art Stamps, Stampin' UP)

Thank you for visiting and please hop on over to Evelyn's blog for some more fabulous artwork!

Kimm

VC Rocks Blog Hop for May!

Hello Rockin' Friends!
If you have arrived here from Kelly's blog ....welcome! If you have just arrived... our very first VC blog hop begins at VC Rocks !
I love rubber stamping techniques... I love my copic markers... and I love VC Rocks yahoo group for all the summer stamping fun! It is a group of ladies who love to stamp, scrap, swap, do challenges, play games and above all make friends!
The theme for our first blog hop is to use Stampin' UP! retiring colors or summer mini stamp sets. I choose to use Brilliant Blue, Taken with Teal, Handsome Hunter and Mellow Moss to create a birthday card. I hope you enjoy it!

Directions:
1. Prepare a 1/4 sheet of Faux Designer Paper (Technique Junkie Newsletter Dec. 08) by embossing the large flourish from Baroque Motifs with clear embossing powder then apply mellow moss direct to paper. With hot iron and scrap paper, remove the embossing powder leaving a resist behind. Stamp additional images from Extreme Elements with taken with teal and handsome hunter. Trim 1/4 edge off.
2. Stamp flower image from Fifth Avenue floral seven times in clear embossing powder. Use a sponge to apply mellow moss, taken with teal and brilliant blue ink to each flower. Cut out. Embellish each flower center with dazzling diamonds glitter.
3. Layer faux designer paper section onto taken with teal and then a brilliant blue A2 size base.
4. Adhere cut flowers to the faux designer paper section, leaving upper right corner open for a greeting of your choice. Add oval clip and tie grograin ribbon to edge of greeting.


Your next visit on the blog hop is with the multi-talented Stace- Stampin Stace. Thanks for stamping by!
Kimm BT

Warm Midnight Wishes

Warm and cozy greetings to all my friends and followers. It is a little chilly around most of the USA the past few days, Memphis included. Oh, how I hope that might bring us some Christmas snow!

This Christmas card is my personal favorite of all those I've made this season! It is for my mom but I hope you will enjoy the view:) The stamp is by Stampin' UP and colored with Copic markers with touches of a Spica glitter pen here and there. The background is a technique called Antiqued Glimmers (from the current issue of Technique Junkies) that I embellished with some embossing.
Enjoy your weekend and stay toasty warm!
Kimm

Technique Junkies November Treasure Hunt

Welcome to the next step along the TJ Treasure Hunt! Friends and blog readers may be exhausted from all the Black Friday treasure hunts this past weekend but I hope you have found this treasure hunt to be fun and relaxing! If you just arrived here you will want to begin at the Technique Junkies Blog so that you can collect all the clues! At the end of the treasure hunt your CLUES will spell a word... leave Pat Huntoon a comment with the correct word for a chance to win a fabulous prize!

First up, I'd like to share this fairy card featuring 'Color Outside the Lines' technique from the Dec. 09 issue of Technique Junkies Newsletter. I'm finding this technique to be especially helpful when I have large detailed images and I do not want to color the whole thing but want to work with a portion of the image or when I have a smaller image that I want to appear larger yet still highlight the beauty of the image itself.

Next I'd like to share this winter scene by Stampin' UP using the same Color Outside the Lines technique. With this scene I stamped the image with Rich Cocoa by Memento (rather than the usual black) and used frosty blue tones (BG000 and BG01 copic markers) for coloring. A tiny touch of yellow in the church window becomes very inviting in this chilly winter scene.

Your treasue hunt clue is the letter N.

This technique is great to use with a variety of coloring mediums... give it a try!!

The next stop is at  Lisa Somerville's website! Good Luck everyone!

Kimm

Good Apple

Hello Friday!
A few cooler nights in Memphis cause me to yearn for autumn and all the things associated with the season. An abundance of fresh sweet apples is sign autumn has arrived! One of my favorite sayings about apples is "The apple doesn't fall that far from the tree". It's a wonderful reminder of the importance our past... our roots and the family we come from... as well as a reminder of the hope in the future... our children and how we raise them.
This particular card I made with a dear friend in mind. She is one of those 'good apples'. The image was colored with Copics.
Here is a slightly tilted view so you can see the shimmer from the lemon Spica pen. I added little wisps of it where the sun would hit.

Stamp Credits- Anita's Art Stamps, Stampin' UP

Kimm

Artful Sentiments Copic Challenge 18

Goodmorning Friends!
Summer is just moving along and I hope you are enjoying each day of it! The copic challenge colors this week make me think about summery things... watermelon, fresh green veggies and sporty water toys. I wonder what comes to mind for you?
I am exceptionally pleased to announce that Jane Bosi will be joining our copic challenge design team! I think she fits perfectly on our team and has a fresh style I enjoy.

Your copic challenge colors this week are: RV25, YG03, V06
As usual, if you do not have the exact match... try using only 1 or 2 of the colors or substitute a similar color. Have fun playing with your Copics!!

The design team presents you with some awesome cards to inspire you and get those creative juices flowing!

Jane Bosi

Laurie Gatton

Sharon Briss

Cathy Edgar

Ann Clack

Kimm BT

Stamp credits- EKSuccess Disney fairies, Stampin' UP!
Copic Colors- Sky- BG0000, BG000, fairy wings-V000, Spica pen lilac, Green areas- YG00, YG03, YG06, YG09, petals- RV21, RV25, pants-V06, V09 Skin and hair-E0000, E00, Y21, Y26, E35

Remember to share a link with your card in the comments.

Kimm

Embrace Life

Morning Friends
I completed this card for a VC Rocks challenge. The beautiful blossoms are from Stampin' UP and colored with copics. I used one of the pinks from the copic challenge this week- RV00 along with RV10, YG23 and Y26 (airbrushing).
I love the soft look of the completed card and this new Soft Suede brown from Stampin' UP!

Go enjoy a beautiful day!

Kimm

Please Know That I Care

Hello Friends
I want to share a couple cards with wonderful Stampin' UP images today. I really needed more 'thinking of you' type cards in my stash... so many people I know are struggling lately, not always financial but in other areas of life too. I have those days myself and its very comforting to know others care and pray for you.
This first card with the seashell by Stampin' UP was stamped with Memento, London Fog ink. I wanted the stamped image softer and used lighter copic markers to color- E000, E02, E51, R32, R20. I love being able to blend and layer colors with copics!! When the coloring was finished, I overstamped the words with chocolate chip ink so it would stand out against the shell. The background designer papers are by Stampin' UP. I added touches of stickles to put more life into the seashell.

This second card is for a military family... not sympathy, just a caring for you card. The background is Camouflage technique by Technique Junkies (TJ issue Oct. 08) and I added some drywall stitching (TJ issue Apr. 09) to the edges. For the main image, I colored with regular dye markers direct to stamp and accented the image with little dashes.

With both cards I used nestabilities to die cut the ovals. I needed to keep these cards as flat as possible for mailability.

I have a special blog candy sneak for those of you that follow my blog!! In the month of June, I'll be offering a couple FREE copic sketch markers. Winners will be randomly drawn from participants in my copic challenges... but there will be a twist so stay tuned for the details!!

Have a great day everyone!

Kimm

Graduation Card

Hello Friends!
I worked on a couple little projects yesterday and wanted to share this graduation card with you. A young lady across the street is earning her college graduation soon and I wanted to make something for her. My original intent was to make the center greeting spin upon opening, but my 3" circle was too big... so I suspended it at quarter marks instead. It's different!
The center circle image was created by coloring dye markers directly to the stamp, misting and then stamping 3-4 times. I used Nestabilities die cuts for the circles and open cut on the front.

Stamp credits: Stampin' UP, Hero Arts
Kimm

CCC #11

Goodmorning Friends
We are getting ready for a full, fun day at the BT household! Today is our homeschool co-ops last day for the school year. Each year we have field games for the kids and a huge picnic. Thunderstorms are threatening but I'm praying we will not get rained on and God will hold those storms off so the kids can enjoy their races!
I worked on this challenge card for the Colour Copic Challenge way late last night. I kept it very simple! The challenge colors were- Y08, BG13, E31. I only have E31... although I want to get BG13... so I focused on the marker color I had. First I stamped the shell image by Stampin UP in Memento London Fog. Then I colored with copic markers- YR000. YR00, RV00 and E31. The beautiful 'Footprints' stamp is by Cornish Heritage Farms was stamped over the coloring with Memento black ink. The pattern on the strip of colored cardstock was created with my E31 marker too!
I am very thankful for all the times in my life when I've needed to feel the peace of Jesus around me and He carries me through those trials. I hope you all have that sort of peace in your day.
Kimm

Artful Sentiments Copic Challenge 4

It is copic challenge #4 right here on Artful Sentiments! I do hope you can play along. Remember you do not need the exact colors, only those colors.... nor do you need to use all the colors. The challenge colors are to get the mojo flowing! You do get an A+ if you use them all:)

This weeks colors are: B93, R17, Y38 and any color from the Earth family.

My card today makes me wish for a day on the beach!

Copic colors used: skin-E0000, E00 sand- E30, Y21 sky- BG000, B000 dress- R14, R17, R29 shorts- B93, B97 sand pails- Y38, R17, BG15 water- BG000, BG15

The background layers use two techniques- bandanna and colored bands from Technique Junkies.

Stamp credits: Inkadinkado, Stampin' UP

I am looking to put together a design team of 3-4 stamp artists for the copic challenges. If you are interested, email me- artfulsentiments@aol.com with a link to your blog and/or gallery. A commitment to one card per week will be asked of each design team member. You do not have to be copic certified or previous design team experience to apply.

Kimm

New Challenges for you!

Hello Friends
I have fallen in love with coloring again!! I sat on the fence about investing in Copic markers way too long last year! The ability to layer colors, blend perfectly and the range of colors available have made them #1 in my book.
To help me with some inspiration I've been following the Copic Colour Challenge Blog. Great inspiration and wonderful samples posted by their DT! I can't wait until they post their challenges on Wednesday!! To help tide me over... and hopefully a few other Copic addicts out there... I'm going to post weekend Copic challenges right here on Artful Sentiments by Kimm BT.
I will give you a list of 3 specific colors and one color family. You choose any or all of those specific colors and one from the color family for your artwork. Don't worry if you do not have the exact color... work with what you have. Post the link to share your artwork in the Mister Linky box.

Your first selections are: B24-Sky, G99-Olive, Y21-Buttercup Yellow

And any selection from the EARTH tones family.

This should give you a good range to work with.

On the Shore card colors used: E53, W3, YR23, BG000, BG10, B24, YG23, YG17, G99, R29, R59, BV000
Stamp Credits- Stampin' UP! The side panel technique is Bandana by Technique Junkies.
Don't forget to share your artwork using Mister Linky! Have Fun!!



Kimm

Copic Colour Challenge 5

Hello Friends
As promised, I have another card to submit for the Copic Colour Challenge. This time I focused on the brilliant blue in the visual inspiration given... I even threw in a little bit of red.
Copics used: E40, W1, W3, B21, B24, B26, B93, BG15, E15, E47, N4, Y35, R29
Stamp credits: Stampin' UP!
Kimm

Copic Colour Challenge

Hello Friends
This weeks challenge on the Copic Colour Challenge blog is to use V06, BG15 and Y07. The only color I had the exact match was V06 so I focused on that lavender color and used variations of the other two. The stamp image is by Stampin' UP! I used tiny touches of BG10 on the lighter petals. As lightly as I could, I added halos with Y11 here and there to pop the image a bit and make it happier. The purples are not my favorites so this was more of a challenge for me:)
Colors used: V01, V06, BV000, BG10, YG03, YG17, G28, Y11

Also I want to mention an AWESOME blog candy opportunity at Crafty Goings On! Check out the blog for an opportunity to win a Copic Marker set !!

Kimm

Copic Challenge 2

Hello Friends

I had a great day today! First I taught a class at our LSS (Eclectica Scrapbooking and Stamps) with a fun group of ladies! We did the background you see on my card share today... a slightly modified version of Gesso Chic. The card the class finished is a little different than mine, but I tried to get close with the supplies I had at home. The butterfly I colored with Copics-B05, B02, YG23 for the Copic Color Challenge this week... and added a touch of stickles to catch some light. I had a great afternoon and it has been snowing in Memphis. It has snowed like 3 times this winter! It actually feels like winter.... and the kids love it! Even our chihuahua, Mojo, loves the snow! I'm hoping for more art time tomorrow!! Kimm

A Little Fun for you

A little stamping fun to share with you! Both of these cards use the Brayer Tapping technique featured in the Feb./March '09 issue of Technique Junkies.
On the 'For You' card I used kiwi, teal and black cardstock and caribbean kpad ink. I outlined the solid images with a white gel pen to pull them out a bit.

The 'Thanks so Much' card uses eggplant and wasabi cardstock and royal satin kpad ink.

Stamp credits- Stampin' UP!

Enjoy your stamping day!

Kimm

More Sophisticated Ladies

Goodmorning Friends
I have 2 more in my current sophisticated ladies series to share today. All the cards in this series are 7 1/2" x 4" to fit into a business size envelope.
The first one here in browns has more of a woodsy, manly feel. No twinklers or glitter on her! The base layer is Camouflage technique (TJ issue Oct. '08). The deep brown layer framing my main image is a specialty cardstock from Papertemptress, Plike Brown... it has a wonderful feel to it and worked perfectly with this card. After the brass brads were added, I hammered them down giving it a distressed look and making it mailable!
I just want to call this beautiful lady 'Marilyn'... although the stamps name is Carol. She reminds me of Marilyn Monroe... so she needed some glam. After coloring with Copics, I highlighted areas with twinklers and added diamond stickles. The ribbon is a blue velvet and the background is polished stone. I used a stamp positioner to get the words in just the right spot! The silver designer brads are by Stampin' UP!

Enjoy your day wherever you are!

Kimm