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Competition Time :: La La Land Stamps

Hi everyone! Hope you are all excited that it is the weekend...and boy do I have a fun weekend planned for you! ^_^ 

IT'S COMPETITION TIME!

This weekend Kit and Clowder has teamed up with La La Land Crafts to bring you a really exciting contest where you can have the chance to win a $10 voucher to the La La Land store!! We would like to see you create a new card or colouring using one of the brand new La La Land stamps. Don't have any in your stash yet? How about a 50% off discount to one digi of your choice from the new release!!!

Create a project or coloured image featuring one of the new La La Land digis for your chance to win a $10 gift card to the store!

Use coupon code KITANDCLOWDER to receive 50% off one new release digi from the store here
(
discount valid until Monday 26 May PDT)

If you use this coupon, over the next two weeks you MUST pop back and show us your project by linking an image within the comments section below for your chance to win. 

If you want more chances to win.. head over to our facebook page aswell and comment on the competition post for your chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the La La Land Crafts store! Here is what I have made for the competition using Singing Marci... isn't she gorgeous!

Hope to see you all playing along! The competition will close on the 7th of June 2014. Goodluck!

Need help inserting a picture into the comments box below? This is how you do it :)

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Comments: 21

Guest Design Team Call!!

To enter::

Please leave a comment below with one of your cards and let me know why you would like to join the team! We will be picking two people at random every 2 months for a chance to guest design with us so people of all skill levels are welcome to apply :)

Why random you say? My core girls are there because they are my close friends and trusted advisors to help with testing and promoting the website. They are there to help you all while I am busy writing up more classes  The guest design team is for you all to have a little bit of fun learning a thing or two and sharing your journey with everyone else! You have all been fantastic sharing so many of your creations here that I could possibly never choose so it would be great to have you all take turns and share your journey with us! 

Goodluck!! x

Entries close 18 May!

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Comments: 42

Meet the Design Team

I'm sure by now most of you have met the Kit and Clowder Design Team over in the facebook group, or commenting on your gorgeous creations in the gallery or the monthly challenges. The design team consists of a group of beautiful people who love crafting and are there to be there for you all while I am writing up the next classes!! Starting now, every fortnight the Kit and Clowder team will be sharing a little snippet about themselves and discussing some fun crafting topics. Join in the fun by answering the questions the dt has in the comments section below! We would love to read all about your experiences too :)

If you see the dt in your travels, make sure to say hi to them as they are doing a fantastic job encouraging everyone with their crafting. If you would like to join the dt, why not enter our Guest Design Team Call? :)

The Kit and Clowder Design Team members are (Click their names to view their personal blogs):
Alyce, Amanda,Amy, Andrea, Elise,Eulanda, Rita, StephanieTracy

1 - How did you get started cardmaking?

Alyce:: I first purchased my Copics for my Design course at university. I wasn't very good at them so didn't use them and left them in the packet ;) After my course ended, I looked online to see what I could do with my markers as they were so expensive! I found some gorgeous work online.. and the first stamps I found were The Greeting Farm. I love everything cute so i bought a whoooole bunch of them and just practiced practiced practiced day and night as I really wanted my colouring to look like the ones I saw online! :)

Amanda :: I came across a lady selling stamps at a craft show and thought it was a neat idea, it all snowballed from there.

Amy :: I got my first rubber stamps in a showbag at the Sydney Royal Easter show when I was about 10 years old. I pulled the old stamps out again a few years later, and in 2008 started making cards. Even though I don't use rubber stamps anymore, I can't bear to part with my very first one!

Andrea :: A good friend of mine has made cards for years and one day about 13 years ago she showed me how to use a butterfly punch and stick it on a card and that's where it all started.

Elise :: Started making cards in high school .. but easy peasy ones .. colouring Precious Moments images. Then stopped for years, and got back into it again whilst looking for scrapbooking inspiration on the web.

Eulanda :: I started cardmaking because my mother and sister were a couple of huge enablers! They asked me to start the hobby but I was far too broke and told both of them that in time, I would be able to join and join I did!! I have my own room dedicated to my hobby and I'm rather an all or nothing girl so I didn't want to start out little, as I know you can. I DOVE in. No dipping my toes here!!

Rita :: How I got started? I have loved coloring and everything crafty as long as I can remember, used to color for hours with my grandma… And for years now, I’ve been a graphic designer. In 2012, I got introduced to Operation Write Home (OWH) cards by my best friend who, at the time, was deployed overseas. So I started creating cards. Shortly afterwards, another sweet friend of mine introduced me to the fantastic Copic markers and on August 9th, 2013, I bought my very first set of Copic markers, have been coloring ever since!

Stephanie ::  I started cardmaking with a valentine card tutorial in a magazine. I spent hours doing few folds and trying to make it look nice (even thought it didn’t!!), but I was hooked. After that, I started looking on the Web at different colouring techniques, going from Tombows with water brushes to Prismacolors and Copics.

Tracy :: I was searching on the internet and somehow found my way to a crafting card blog using magnolia images. I followed for a while and after a few weeks I braved it an ordered a couple of magnolia Christmas stamps, not having a clue how to colour or embellish and as they say the rest is history.

2 - How long does it take you to make a card?

Alyce:: Depending on how complex the image is will generally depend on how long. For example, a beautiful single image like Tiddlyinks might take me an hour, whereas a more complex Aurora Wings image might take me 2 or 3 hours. Making the card is usually 1-2 hours depending on if everything is playing nice and coming together easily ;)


Amanda :: If I sat down and made a card from start to finish I would guess 2-4 hours but I tend to do some, get up and do something else, come back to it etc etc. This also includes the coloring, unless I am trying to do pleats, then there is extra time and swearing involved. And matching copics to papers. I hold the paper up to my copic color chart and just pick which ones are closest. View Amanda's colour chart below!

Amy :: Total time depends on how complex the coloured image is. An image can take anywhere from 1 to 5 hours to complete, then another hour on top of that to create a card.

Andrea ::  Anywhere between 2 and 6 hours I'm slow

Elise :: How long? Too long. haha! I rarely have time to complete a card in one sitting .. as I can only do it when time permits. So majority of the time, a card will take me days just because I'm working on it bits at a time.

Eulanda :: OMG TOO LONG!! Depends on what kind of card I am making but if it's one of my "doozies" it can be over 8 hours. However, I think I distract myself by having my Netflix on while I'm trying to create. LMBO!

Rita :: How long does a card take? I actually timed my coloring and the shortest piece I've ever had was 40 minutes, then creating a card can be as little as another hour but mostly 2-3 hours, especially if I'm not happy with the paper.

Stephanie :: I usually colour a bunch of images each night, and then when the mojo kicks in, I do a couple of cards, 3-4 per day, taking around 2.3 hours a card. I love starting from a sketch and then going on with the flow, adding lots of embellies and layers.

Tracy :: OMG I'm not sure I should answer this, lol. Ummm my colouring could take 1.5-3 hours but so can the design of the card. Do quick cards really exist?

3 - How do you choose what colours to colour an image?

Alyce:: I usually just look at my markers and wait for inspiration to come! Sometimes I look on a colour wheel to decide what colours to include. Generally I like to colour with no more than 3 main colours, as too many more than this can really start to look cluttered. I generally tend to use more vintage based tones rather than brights aswell, which is influenced by my favourite paper brands Pion Design and Maja Design. I generally know what colours the papers are that I have and tend to colour with what I know will match up easily.

Amanda :: I pick papers that I like and pull my colors for my image from that.

Amy :: I print an image that tickles my fancy and then choose whatever colours I like! I usually use the 'jewel' tones - bright green, turquoise, pink, purple and red as I find I get the most contrast with these. As I include background elements more often in my coloured images I find I am incorporating a lot more of the earthy and muted colours. The disadvantage of this approach is that I have great difficulty matching my coloured images to designer paper when it comes time to make a card, but since I like the colouring part more than the card-making part I don't mind so much :)

Andrea :: I look for inspiration on websites, blogs and facebook groups and choose colour combos from there.

Elise :: I just color with whatever I want .. as I color first before choosing papers. But I almost always gravitate toward the lighter colors for clothing ... like pinks or purples :)

Eulanda :: Colors - I normally pick my image, newest papers, figure out my theme and THEN choose my colors. I've tried coloring first but I'm not good at wingin' it. That usually ends in disaster! 

Rita :: How do I choose the colors? Usually I have my papers ready that I'd like to use for the final piece and pick colors that go with it. But it can be the other way around too, especially if I have my heart set on a certain color combination, then the Copic colors are set, will just need to find the right paper to follow.

Stephanie :: First, I select a stamp and some papers, then I colour the skin and hair, and then I look at the colours that I want to pop on the image. I tend to go with the darkest ones, adding rich tones and shadings.

Tracy :: I always match my papers to my colour chart before I start colouring. I have 3 charts; copics, distress inks and pencils. I tried the other way round but there are so many variations of one colour that it took me an hour and a half to find papers to match. Wasted valuable crafting time in my opinion, so I always match first. Lesson learned :)

___

So now you have heard from the Kit and Clowder Design Team... what are your answers to the above questions? :) Thanks so much for stopping by today! x

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Comments: 16

Competition Time :: Kraftin Kimmie Stamps!

Welcome to the Kraftin Kimmie Stamps April Release Celebrations!! I am so excited to share that the Kit and Clowder design team has joined up with the Kraftin Kimmie Stamps dt to showcase the brand new April stamps!

BLOG HOP COMPETITION

Today we are doing a Krafty hop to celebrate the new release and if you hop around you will get the chance to win some of the new release stamps!! Woohoo!!! 

Here are the links to the hop... don't forget to leave a comment here aswell saying you have taken a peek! 

Before you finish your hop today, make sure to check out the Kustomer Kompetition going on below to win the entire new April release!

CUSTOMER CREATION COMPETITION

Have you all seen the AMAZING new releases over at Kraftin Kimmie Stamps this week? In case you didn't know.. we are so lucky to have wonderful Kraftin Kimmie Stamps as a Kit and Clowder sponsor. To celebrate the launch of the new release stamps we are joining in with their festivities this weekend. To kick it all off, we will be having a fun competition right here on the Kit and Clowder website!

 Bloomin Wonderful 

 Monster Hugs

 Rainy Day Fun

Would you like to win the WHOLE COLLECTION of this month's
new release rubber stamps at Kraftin Kimmie?

All you need to do is make a card featuring a Kraftin Kimmie stamp and link it up below!

Click in the comments box below this post (not the facebook thread). You will have the ability to insert a picture into your commentby clicking on this button:

Need some inspiration?Check out the fun Hannah Hearts live colour tutorial that was held a few weeks ago. If you participated, now is the time to get your projects in! *Project must be new, however if you participated in the colour along and created a project you are able to submit it :) You will have two  weeks (May 4) to enter before a winner is drawn!

Join us tomorrow for another chance to win and a fun blog hop showcasing the new stamps! :)

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Comments: 34

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing with you a fun little tutorial :) I have taken Fairy Abigail by CC Designs and coloured her up with my copics, and then have done a nice soft watercolour background around her using paints. This technique is really difficult to do with copics as you generally get quite a hard line.

2014.04.14_CC Designs Fairy Abigail b

I have created a little video tutorial for you to watch aswell! If you are interested in more tutorials... CC Designs also sponsors the Technique classes here on the website,including the first Skin and Hair Class! Would love to see you there to colour up some of your CC Designs stamps ^_^

If this video is not working, please visit the direct link here

I have used Copics to colour her up and Sennelier L'Aquarelle's to do the background. Here are the colours that I used:

Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04, R20

Hair: E50, E53, E43, E44

Dress/Wings: G00, BG13(w), BG49 (w), BG78 (w), Y11, Y15(w), Y17, E15, E18 

Background: Sennelier L'Aquarelle (I have the 14 pack - these allow you to add more colour with less layers of ink which is what you need for copic card)
899 Forest Green, 805 Phtalo Green Light, 917 Dioxazine Purple, 501 Lemon Yellow

Don't forget to check back this weekend as we are having a fun competition to win some new release Kraftin Kimmie stamps!!! Hint: Start making a project now with your favourite kraftin kimmie stamp ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Little Darlings Giveaway :: WINNER!

Thank you all so much for joining me for the recent Little Darlings giveaway!! Just a quick recap... we are promoting the brand new LDRS die cuts. The new collection is styled with a Vintage Victorian Flare and the dies have soft curves and detailed cuts presenting a beautiful lacy appearance.

You can purchase the new die cuts at the Little Darlings website here:

http://littledarlingsrubberstamps.com/

Darlings Square Die Set

Our Darling Square Die Set includes 6 individual designer dies. This die set has been carefully designed to offer you a completely coordinated set of dies to use to embellish your craft projects. The largest is a detailed frame that measures approx. a 6" x 6" square finished cut. It is versatile and elegant in its square shape and has delicate rounded corners and intricate cut detail. You can stack and layer with the smaller frame and coordinating accessory dies, which include a beautiful floral flourish die and layering individual flowers.

Fluttered Tulip Bodice

Our Fluttered Tulip Bodice die is an elegant, whimsical spin on the old fashioned seamstress dress form. We have added lacy butterfly wings and a delicate cut flourish to the center. It is the perfect combination of both age and beauty. It measures approximately 3.96 x 3.23 inches. You will find that it will add a touch of elegance to your crafting projects.

Lovely View

Our Lovely View die is an elegant, feminine spin on the old fashioned view finder that we played with as children. We have added a lace-like appeal to the outer edge, with beautiful and intricate detailed cuts in the interior. The center offers a delicate embossing detail to further enhance the elegant Victorian look of this Lovely View die. Measures 3.5 inches in diameter. It is the perfect combination of both age and beauty. You will find that it will add a touch of elegance to your crafting projects. 

The lucky winner of all three dies is.... no. 45 Adriana Morales!!! Congratulations and please email me at olavana@hotmail.com for me to organise your prize. 

Please stay tuned on the Kit and Clowder website as we have more fun giveaways coming soon!

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Comments: 6

GIVEAWAY and a Little Darlings Showcase!

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining me today in showcasing the new products from Little Darlings Rubber Stamps! In case you weren't aware, Little Darlings is one of our sponsors on the website... so from time to time we get to bring you some fun new events and giveaways so you get to have some fun!  Ready to learn more...

LDRS Designer Dies Are Here!

   We are thrilled to announce that our brand new line of LDRS Designer Dies are ready to ship!  We're so excited about this new line that we want to give one lucky winner the chance to win the ENTIRE COLLECTION of the LDRS cutting dies!  

All you need to do to for a chance to win is:

 Become a follower of our new Little Darlings Rubber Stamps Facebook page HERE.

Become a follower of the Kit and Clowder facebook group HERE

Become a member (free!) of the Kit and Clowder website HERE and comment on this post telling me you want to win!

(The winner will be chosen on April 5th and announced here and our Facebook group on April 5th!)

****

 If you have not seen them yet, here is our first collection of Designer Dies. This collection is styled with a Vintage Victorian flare.  The dies have soft curves and detailed cuts presenting a beautiful lacy appearance.

Darlings Square Die Set

Our Darling Square Die Set includes 6 individual designer dies. This die set has been carefully designed to offer you a completely coordinated set of dies to use to embellish your craft projects. The largest is a detailed frame that measures approx. a 6" x 6" square finished cut. It is versatile and elegant in its square shape and has delicate rounded corners and intricate cut detail. You can stack and layer with the smaller frame and coordinating accessory dies, which include a beautiful floral flourish die and layering individual flowers.

Fluttered Tulip Bodice

Our Fluttered Tulip Bodice die is an elegant, whimsical spin on the old fashioned seamstress dress form. We have added lacy butterfly wings and a delicate cut flourish to the center. It is the perfect combination of both age and beauty. It measures approximately 3.96 x 3.23 inches. You will find that it will add a touch of elegance to your crafting projects.

Lovely View

Our Lovely View die is an elegant, feminine spin on the old fashioned view finder that we played with as children. We have added a lace-like appeal to the outer edge, with beautiful and intricate detailed cuts in the interior. The center offers a delicate embossing detail to further enhance the elegant Victorian look of this Lovely View die. Measures 3.5 inches in diameter. It is the perfect combination of both age and beauty. You will find that it will add a touch of elegance to your crafting projects. 

 All of our dies are manufactured in cooperation with Spellbinders and offer the very same versatility and standard of excellence.

  And now, here are some inspiration projects using these LDRS Designer Dies

from the Little Darlings Design Team.  All of the rubber stamp images using on these projects are available at the Little Darlings store or your favorite LDRS retailer.

Alyce Keegan - using Lovely View Die and Party Hardy Rubber Stamp

By Jenny Hodges using Lovely View and Yuki Rubber Stamp

By Astrid Boer using Lovely View

by Tammy Louise Cunliffe using "Lovely View" and flowers from "Darlings 6x6 Square Die set"

by Angie Hunt using "Lovely View" and "Darlings 6x6 Square Die set"

by Tammy Louise Cunliffe using 'Fluttered Tulip Bodice' die

 

Thanks so much for taking a peek today and hope you are inspired to go and check out the new product range!
p.s. Have you joined the Kit and Clowder Skin and Hair Class yet? A little reminder that you get 10% off your shop at Little Darlings Rubber Stamps if you have joined up to the class! What are you waiting for...? :)  
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Colouring Transparent Objects and Wings

Hi everyone! Welcome to the first blog post for the website :) I'm going to be posting little tips and tricks here to help you out.. also product reviews and anything that is important for you to know! If you are popping onto the site and just want to see what is new.. you will be able to see the latest post on the homepagehere:

Today I'm going to be taking you through a little step by step on colouring transparent objects - namely wings. This is to coincide with the March Wings Challenge this month! I hope to see your transparent wings in the gallery :D

I have coloured up Kraftin Kimmie's Tinkerbell... she is also on sale in the Kraftin Kimmie shop right now for you to colour along! Plus did you see that the live colour along with Kraftin Kimmie is coming March 29? We will be colouring in Hannah Hearts so make sure to purchase her now to receive your discount to colour along too!! :D Check out this post here for some more information and to have the chance to win the Hannah Hearts Rubber Stamp!

See how her wings are transparent and we can see her skin and dress underneath the blue wings? Let's watch a video tutorial on how to achieve that!

If the embedded player is not working you can visit the video  via youtube here

This technique can be applied to anything transparent like balloons..sheer dresses...whatever you come across! I can't wait to see you playing with this technique. If you have any questions please let me know in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by x

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Welcome to the Kit and Clowder Crafting Community! All colouring mediums and crafting styles are welcome here. Come here for your Online Copic Classes, Copic Tutorials, Promarker Class and Tutorial, Spectrum Noir Class and Tutorial, Polychromos Class and Tutorial, Prismacolor Class and Tutorial, Distress Ink Class and Tutorial. Live and Online Classes; Australia, United States USA, England, Europe, and more! Learn how to colour your favourite stamp brands such as Magnolia, Saturated Canary, Little Darlings, Tiddlyinks, La La Land, The Greeting Farm and more! Card making classes and card tutorials, mixed media class and tutorials, and copic colouring classes are now available under the Classes tab.