Prancing through the Snow!

YIt's almost that time of year and I have begun making Christmas Cards for family and friends.  I have been getting new supplies this past couple week and this is my first card.  I used several of Tim Holtz's BigZ Dies from Sizzix.  Love them!

I started off the card with a Stampin Up! Pear Pizzaz card stock card base.  I used Tim Holtz's "Holiday Knot" Embossing folder to create the sweater background.  On top of that I die cut a snowflake from Tim Holtz's Bigz die "Layered Snowflake" and a deer from the "Prancing Deer" die.  

The gold foil "Joy" die cut is from Stampin Up!'s "Wonderful Wreath" framelits.

Finally, I added some burlap ribbon and a thin strip of gold foil and some sequins to finish off the card.  

I really love the Bigz dies because you can cut through multiple pieces of card stock which is a time saver and very helpful when mass producing cards.

Hope this inspires your own Prancing Deer card!

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Merry & Bright - Mass Production Christmas Cards

Today, I wanted to share with you our family's Christmas Card from last year.   I made over 40 in an assembly line fashion.  The simplicity of it allows for mass production.

To make this card, I used the "Merry" Die from MFT is cut from glitter paper and the "&" is from Avery Elle', "We R Family" Die.  Finally I heat embossed the bright greeting from Avery Elle's "Holiday Fill In the Blank" stamp set. 

On the inside of the card we had a family photo framed using the "We R Family" die again.

Check out these dies if you are interested in CASEing this card.

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Mario Make a Wish Birthday!

Today's card is a fun kids card featuring a Punch Art "Mario" from Mario Brothers.  I created this for one my son to take to a Marion Cart birthday party.  I can tell you everything I look at this I smile.

I used a series of circles both plain and scalloped to create this Mario.  Foam adhesive helped me achieve dimension.  The radial checked background is the perfect backdrop for this Mario Cart race inspired card.  I hope to do a tutorial soon, to show you the shapes and steps in making this fun card.

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Masculine Happy Birthday Everyone Card

Sometimes Masculine cards are tough to figure out.  I have found that when you add corrugated card stock  to a project or card it instantly makes it easier.  

I used a standard A2 craft card base and added a piece of 4.25" x 3.25" piece of corrugated card stock to the upper right corner.  The other pieces are the Die-namics "Happy" die from My Favorite Things, the Stampin Up! "Top Note Die" and the "Birthday" is from MFT "Happy Everything" stamp set.  There is also a little jute twine in the upper corner to add some additional texture and interest.  

Using these word dies has been so much fun, I hope that this gives you some ideas and inspiration to use corrugated card stock on your next project.  Stampin Up! is now carrying it the new catalog.  Let me know if it is something that interests you and and I would be happy to place an order.

Happy Crafting, 

Melanie

Happy Everything Gift Bag

Today's post is using another My Favorite Things Die-namics, "Happy" and the "Happy Everything" stamp set.  I have used another die from this set before on a birthday card and loved how it makes a statement.  Click here to check out the card.

I used a plain craft brown bag and cut the "Happy" out on some thin chip board and some teal foil paper.  I adhered the layers together and glued onto the bag.  I stamped and the "birthday" sentiment and added some glitter embossing powder to compliment the shinny "Happy".   

This was perfect for the party.  I hope this inspires you to use your WORD dies for more than cards.

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Stampin Up! Happy Birthday Everyone!

Today's Birthday card showcases Stampin Up's new Hostess Stamp Set, "Happy Birthday Everyone".  It has many sentiments that can be placed below, but I thought the Happy Birthday sentiment work great by itself on this bright card.  

Below are the list of supplies Stampin Up! supplies that I used to make it:

Cardstock:  Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Watermelon Wonder, Hello Honey, Cherry On Top DSP
Stamps:  Happy Birthday Everyone (hostess), Something To Say
Embossing:  Ploka Dot Impressions Embossing Folder
Punches:  Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack
Accents:  Cherry On Top Washi Tape, Rhinestone Basic Jewels

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Many Thanks Repeated Background

Hello everyone,
It has been awhile since my last post, but I have gotten in some new supplies and I am on a roll.  Some of my new goodies are from My Favorite Things (MFT) and Simon Says Stamp (SSS0 in making this "Thanks" card.  Let me give you the details on how I made it.

For the card I knew I wanted to do a thanks background with all the thank you stamps sets that I had on my shelf.  I used SSS Thanks,  Stampin Up!'s Curly Cute, Express Yourself, and Made for You.  I am loving the new Stitched Circles dies from SSS.  These are great to give your card that little extra detail.  The show piece of the card is the Thanks cut out with  MFT Many Thanks die. The green glimmer paper give it a little sparkle to make it special.  Finally, I used some Stampin Up ribbon and the flower from the Itty Bitty Accents punch pack.

I hope you enjoyed this card and it inspires you to look through your thanks sentiments to create a unique background of your own.

Getting inky means we are having fun!
Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Best friend on the Block, Lego Valentines

If you have boys like mine they love everything Lego.  When I asked them what they wanted to give for a Valentine and mentioned my Lego idea they were cheering with excitement.  I originally came across this idea when I was planning a Lego Themed Birthday and thought it would make and affordable class Valentine as well.

The supplies you will need are child size ring blanks (purchased my from eBay), 2x2 Red Lego Bricks, 3"x 4" clear treat bags, Valentine Scrapebook Paper, Heart Punch and Printer.

Rings not your thing, stay tuned foe my next post, it will be Lego Key Chain.
Happy Crafting,

Melanie

I "Heart" Valentine's Wood Door Decor

I wanted to share my latest non paper crafting project for this Valentines.  I have been pinning a lot of pallet projects for inspiration, but haven't gotten my toes wet yet.  We have been cleaning out and found this old shelf from my college days.  We really didn't need it and were just going to donate and I thought WAIT, I can use that!  This really wasn't quite the reuse of a pallet, but could be easily adapted.

Here is the old college book shelf, it had a good run, but I like it's new life much better.  First I disassemble the bookcase.  This was fairly easy since it was held with screws.  Next I laid two of the shelves together, this was large enough to make my heart.  To connect them I took one of the legs and cut it to size with a chop saw.  Did I mention how much fun it was playing with power tools again, it had been too long.  Architecture school wasn't all bad I guess :)  Once my pieces were cut I them to the back of the two shelves.  

I traced the heart on a large piece of paper and the transferred it to my wood slates.  Then it was time to put the jig saw to work.   Here is the rough cut out of the heart.

Then I sanded and spray painted it red, took it back to the sander for a little distressing.  Next was to create the hanger.  I used a wire hanger and wrapped it around a pipe to get the spiral shape.  Then I twisted the ends into a loop and attached with a screw.  Voila!  I festive heart for my front door.

Hope this inspires you to get out your power tools.

Happy Crafting!

Melanie