Beary Love - watercolour, shabby chic

Valentines is coming! The time when we celebrate love and affection. I created a shabby chic card using a brand new stamp set and other new goodies from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps with embossing and watercolouring on the image.

Putting It Together

For 2019, Kraftin' Kimmie is starting a new no obligation Krafty Klub. Each kit will have a mystery stamp set and other goodies from an upcoming release. You don't have to join anything, just choose to buy the set or not for a month. If the kit has a new ink, there will be options to get the mini cube or a full-sized pad (I generally prefer minis 'cause they're easier to store, but a full pad can be easier to use).

January's kit went up for sale in December and sold out quick! The option for the mini pad sold out faster than the one with a full-size.

At the end of December, Kim also had a couple sales to reduce the inventory she has to count at the end of the year. I asked her to combine it all into one shipment so I could take advantage of the free shipping for a $100 package. The Krafty Kit was only a bit more than $35 (Canadian dollars). I also got 3 BoBubby glitter pastes, two Nuvo shimmer pastes, Nuvo drops, a limited release rubber stamp set, and a few tools mostly out of view in the pile. I also got some free goodies from winning a challenge from December.

On Wednesday just before I had to leave for my day job, my package was delivered. The Krafty Klub kit is the packet wrapped in lavender tissue paper. The box Kim used was recycled from something she got from Wizarding World (she's a big Harry Potter fan). I thought it quite appropriate since the box contained a lot of magic.

The January Krafty Kit contained a new stamp set (Beary Love), a new stencil (Harlequin), new enamel dots (a brand new product line for Kraftin' Kimmie), a new ink (Pretty in Pink), and several 6x6" patterned papers (a partial pad) with matching ephemera. I'm very pleased with the kit and will definitely get February's when it goes on sale later this month.

While I was unpacking the Krafty Kit, the lavender tissue paper gave me a card idea. I usually keep the tissue papers with the intent to use them later. This time the later was now :)

I stamped one of the images from the stamp set on watercolour paper with Versamark and double embossed it with Rose Gold and Antique Gold from Simon Says Stamp. I used the gold over the rose gold to have gold embossing with just a hint of pink. I used a waterbrush and the new Kimmie ink, Pretty In Pink, to add touches of pink and a Vintage Photo Distress marker to lightly colour the bear.

I used a Spellbinders die set to trim the bear and the tissue. To die cut the tissue, I folded several layers laid them on cardboard from one of the other packages in the kit. This let the die cut cleanly through the tissue without tearing. I decided to trim a couple of the patterned papers from the kit for layers, roughing up the edges with a distress tool. I did a dry layout of the layers to decide what else to do.

To give the image panel a vintage-y look, I used a stencil brush and the Pretty in Pink ink to lightly brush the edges.

I then used the gold Aqua Shimmer pen from Nuvo on the edges to add a light gilding. I also used it on the edges of the die cut tissue.

I dry fit again on a kraft card base and added ribbon. I went through a few ribbons in my stash before this one sang to me. The hint of brown behind all the pastel helps to anchor the card and accent the bear's colour.

I used foam mounting tape under the bear to allow the tissue freedom to fluff up. I adhered the bear, tissue and curled distressed panel only in the centre areas to let them fluff on their own, too. As a final touch, I added three brown enamel dots from Lovely Dots.

Inside, initially I stamped a sentiment from another Kimmie set (Love Story Sentiments) with Marvelous Mocha and hearts from Beary Love with Pretty In Pink. But... I wasn't satisfied with it. I'm not all that fond of the way kraft cardstock I currently have absorbs ink. The pinks were muddy, even when I tried to brighten them with gold Aqua Shimmer. Bleah...

So, instead, I decided to cover the inside with a white pearl cardstock stamped with another of the bears from the stamp set and a strip of the scrap from a paper on the front. I stamped the bear with Marvelous Mocha then added the touches of pink using a waterbrush and Pretty In Pink. Without an inside sentiment, this card is more versatile and can be used for any expression of love or appreciation with a personal hand-written sentiment.

I decided to finish up with decorating a matching envelope with stamps from the Bearly Love set stamped with Pretty In Pink.

If you want to see more creations with this very cute set, check out the projects made by the Kraftin' Kimmie design team: JANUARY KRAFTY PEEKS....DAY TWO! BEARY LOVE...AND MORE!

Supplies

Challenges

Kraftin Kimmie Stamps: Shabby Chic
Watercooler Wednesday: Occasions - Valentines
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Card + Matching Envelope
Simon Says Stamp Monday: Use Something New
Try It On Tuesday: Something Old... Something New
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper: Anything Goes
Creative Moments: Anything Goes
Outlawz Festive Fridays: Theme - Anything Goes