A Regal Valentine

Have you noticed I sometimes alter my priorities according to what's more fun than urgent :-)  Believe it or not, working on something that isn't required clears my mind.  These past few submissions were sent in for publication.  Keeping my fingers crossed they made it, if not, well you'll all have something to work on during the Winter dulldrums.

With that said, here's the last of my Valentine submission.  That is, until the mood strikes again. 

The base of this project (the large heart) uses the Petal card die from Sizzix.  .

My favorite addition was dragging the cream colored craft pad over the upper left side (you can see below) and the cheesecloth.  Cheesecloth.  Love that stuff!  It adds softness and texture.  Gives it an, airy feel.  Ya know?

The most difficult part was threading the two flaps of the heart with poppy embrodiery thread (see below).  Love the look of hearts that are stitched; in repair.

Lots of detail in this peice.  The only thing I'd do different was to add a few more beads to the base.  The peice origially had 3 but my lack of making a secure knot resulted in only two strings.  The remainder of the third is dispersed on our backyard patio.

Hope you enjoyed this little Valentine series.

Greeting Card Charm

Yesterday I played with the new Greeting Card Kids set. The images are so charming.  Here's what I came up with:

The main images were watercolored.  The decorative papers are from Greenhouse Gala.  If you look close, you'll see the Hydrangea image from the Because I Care set stamped in pink on the pink card stock.

Finished off with some satin olive ribbion, new lace ribbon and some stitching. 

A bit of ivory and satin ribbon flowers to add a girly feel to the card.  The main ivory ribbon flower I created months ago (had it sitting on the side for future use). The pink was a last minute addition.  Two 4" strips of pink ribbon stitched along the side, pullied a little to create the ruffle and walla!  

If you really want to go crazy with ribbon flowers, do what I did and check out a ribbon art book from the library.  LOTS of ideas for using ribbon in your art.

Added an additional vintage feel by including the vintage brad in the center.

Here's what the entire set looks like.  Darling, darling.

Two more days till the WEEKEND.  WOOT!

Easter Blessings

Thought I'd fit in a quick post on this beautiful Sunday afternoon we're having (even though it's in the 40's outside).  Here's a card I created using the new "Abundant Hope" clear mount stamp set from SU!. 

Here's a brief how-to:

Stamp your main image in Basic Brown (because it gives a softer feeling than using stark black).  Use your Watercolor Crayons to color in your Daffodil and leaves.   Using your Signa-gel pen, go over the brown lines on the flower petals.

The butterfly was stamped in Cameo Coral ink and stamped off once using the new "Butterfly Accent" stamp.  Once you stamp off once, turn your butterfly stamp over, ink up the Very Vintage wheel in Basic Brown ink and  roll it over the butterfly stamp.  This is similar to the kissing technique, except we're using a wheel instead of another stamp set.  It allows you to add texture to a solid stamp image like the butterfly.  It's a great technique. 

The second layer of the butterfly is simply the Beautiful Butterfly Bigz.

So, there you have it.  I told you this would be quick.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

Sending Love Sneak Peek

I've been having fun setting up my future ADVENTURE.  Soooooooooooo excited about it.  It will all be revealed soon.

Until then, enjoy this sneak peek of the DELICIOUS paper "Sending Love" I pre-ordered from the upcoming Occassion Mini from SU!.  These images are good, but you have no idea how awesome this paper looks in person.  Thick and SPARKELY.  One side of ever sheet has embossed glitter on it. 

I used "My Digital Studio" to create this pretty mosaic of paper.  Nice huh?

This paper is going to make my Valentine projects amazing.   Its got such a great weight to it.  Don't you think this will look awesome for wrapping small gifts???

Did I mention that this scrumptious paper is only one of many surprises in the Stampin' Up! Occassions mini?  The biggest news are the CLEAR STAMPS!!  Yeah, no one can ever say SU! doesn't listen to their consumers.

Starting in January, you can order the same great vulcanized rubber stamp, except now it has a self-cling adhesive on the back (a 1/4" thick foam back).  The cling stamps will be available in a few select sets to start with, and the wood stamps are still available.

Here's one of the cutie stamps I pre-ordered, "Fox and Friends".  It cooridnates with the Decor Element which use the same images. 

Here is how they are pacakged ,in this great plastic CD case.

Tomorrow, maybe, jussssssssssssst maybe, I'll share the new "Flat Punch" I pre-ordered.  Can you stand the wait?  Did I mention the little glassine envelopes?  Oh, there's NO end!

Have a great night!

Melanie

Paper Craft Fanatics Nov 09

So, upon arising this morning, I glanced at the calendar and noticed October ends in 3 days. Sadly I looked a few weeks further and made note of several deadlines coming sooner than expected along with Thanksgiving.

Sunday is November 1st, the biggest "List-making" day of the year (no statistic there, just my own personal list-making skills kicking in gear). It's probably more accurate to say it's the biggest list-making "Month" of the year.

Not sure where I'm going with this. The fact that I looked at that calendar and went through the entire month of November in just seconds was scary.

Moving on.

Here's a preview of the November Paper Club Fanatics Club (PCF).

This November Paper Craft Fanatics issue focuses on the "True Friends" stamp set and the Autumn Meadows Designer Paper. Why not use that beautiful paper whilst it's still available?

Each issue issue is $5.00, release the 14th of each month. The November issue will be released the FIRST of the month (give you time to get those Fall cards done). The December issue will be up and viewable for the 14th of the same month (Holiday cards of course, you need to start them now).

Once payment is received, I provide the code for you to download the PDF (which will be released on November 1st).


NOVEMBER SPECIAL: Purchase$25 in product from my SU! website or email me your order and you get the tutorial for free. My guess is you'll want the Autumn Meadows DSP.

If you'd like just the PCF issue, simply use the Paypal Button below.

Now for a little tidbit about the happenings around my abode.

The kids decorated for Halloween last weekend and hung this hideous thing up outside my craft room. The spouse purchased it last year and I had trouble with it then. It's horrid and creepy. For 3 days this thing swung and stared at my while I worked. Talk about effecting your creative mojo!

Our daughter finally turned it around and tied it to the column (a request her father had been making for 3 days). Still gives me the Hebee jeebies looking at the back of it.

Please ignore the dirty windows. That's dog slob-uh (another creative mojo inhibitor).

Speaking of "Da Beast". Here he is in all his glory. Don't be fooled by those puppy-dog eyes. He's in my way and I'm asking him to move (he is refusing).

You see, there is a love seat just 2 more feet right behind my chair. There's little space to move already between the table and chair without having That Dog in the way. This translates into having limited space for moving between the table and chair. I get up and down often while crafting so I can get to my supplies (the table has limited space).

There is another reason I'd rather he leave the room. I hear his stomach churning all the time...which translates into foul odor when you least expect it. In turn, it requires me to leave my crafting spot until things are smelling "sunshine fresh". I'm more afraid he's going to smell up my card stock.

More on the home front. My youngest offspring has taking on drawing. That makes me quite happy. He's been watching me drawing and painting. It's a good feeling knowing your children are watching and learning from you.

Here has has drawn himself along with an image of me. He said in this photo I was holding him (which is why I'm puzzled as to why he's on the bottom of the sheet). I love what he's done with my hair; and he's gotten parts of the anatomy right :-)

I wonder if he randomly located the pupil of the eye or if he was trying to note that I'm always rolling mine?

Another grandiose drawing. Still working with the rolling eye thing. I like this rendition better, I look thinner, yes?

Wondering now why he's drawn himself to look like a monkey? Being that he climbs all over the furniture at home (and I mean CLIMBS it), this monkey image might suit him just fine.

Rubba's Gotta Go ~ batch 2

Clearing out some of my much loved rubberstamps. Some of these I have used so much, I'm debating whether I really want to sell them.

Sample images below of what's avialable. You can view all that is available HERE and HERE. Prority shipping. Any cards shown in the photos with a stamp set are mailed with the set (so you'll have a few extra ideas).

Interested in purchasing, contact me.