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

Curly and Cute Happy Birthday!

Today's birthday card is one I got inspiration from my up line Brandy Cox, she has a great video on how to create this background technique.  

I didn't have the Stippled Blossom stamp set like in Brandy's video, but I thought that the flower from Field Flowers would work well.  Some other stamp sets to try would be Everything Eleanor or Blooming with Kindness.

I chose the Curly Cute Happy Birthday sentiment and just stamped off from the center.  I really think the fading effect turned out nice on the this card.

I hope this inspires you tot try creating your own background paper with a floral stamp set.
Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Happy Birthday to You! with Label Love

I always feel like a kid at Christmas when Stampin Up gives demonstrator's a preview of 2013 new releases.  I wanted to share with you a little sneak peak of Stampin Up's new punch and coordinating stamp set.  

The stamp set is called "Label Love" and the punch is "Artisan Label".  I just love them both!

I used the punch to create the embossed backdrop.  

Thanks for stopping by and check back for more projects using this stamp set and coordinating punch.

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Here's to You! Gradutation Card

I can't hardly believe this, but my niece will be graduating high school in a few weeks.  She was just a few weeks old when I graduated high school.  I am so proud of her and her accomplishments in such a short time.  I am excited to see her continue to grow in what God has planned for her.

Here is the Graduation card that I made for her:

To make the graduation cap I used my Cricut, but I saw this tutorial if you don't have cutting machine.  Here are the other supplies I used:

Stamps:  Friendly Phrases, Everything Eleanor, Tiny Tags

Paper: Whisper White, Midnight Muse, Basic Black

Ink:  Craft White Ink, Midnight Muse

Ribbon: 1/4" Whisper White

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Happy Birthday Circle Circus

I thought I would change the pace a little with this Happy Birthday card.  This is a little more modern than I tend to go, but I love the movement of the card.

I made it using a background stamp I got off Stampin Up's Clearance Rack.  If you didn't have one similar to this you could always use the masking technique.  I may try a version of that next.  The sentiment is from Curly Cute is stitched to the card and cut into a banner shape.  The green and black circles are from Circle Circus stamp set.

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Valentine Treats for Teacher

Yesterday, I shared with you the Valentine's my boys helps make for their classmates.  Click here to view them.  Today, I will show you what we made for their teachers.

These treat boxes were made with the Matchbox Die from Stampin Up.  I was so excited to get this when it went on their clearance rack recently.  I also used the new "Hearts a Fluttuer" stamp set and the "Mixed Medley" stamp set to finish it off.

I hope the teachers enjoy them, I know I would love to receive this:)

Happy Valentine's Day,

Melanie

Valentine Treats for School

I wanted to share with you my latest craft exploration for Valentine's day.  Here are the Valentine's that my children and I made for their school friends.

For the girls, we made these flower valentine's with the Blossom Punch by Stampin Up and the Island Floral die.  The "friendship" center of this flower is from a retired stamp set called "Thinking Happy Thoughts".  I had my son practice typing his friends names on the computer and we printed out the To and From banners.  

For the boys, we made these gear shaped valentines.  We used the Basket and Blooms die along with the "Circle Circus" stamp set.

I really enjoyed spending time making in these with my boys.  They always love to use the big shot and help stamp.  

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Valentine's Treat and Pink Paper Bakery Special Guest

Hi everyone,
I wanted to let you know that today I am being featured as a special guest of at Pink Paper Bakery.  They showcase wonderful projects using Stampin Up products.

I created this adorable Valentine'e treat holder, for more pictures and details on how to make them please stop by Pink Paper Bakery.

Thanks for stopping by,
Melanie

Rustic Love

This Valentine's card goes for more rustic masculine look.  I used the "Woodgrain" embossing folder along with the "Hearts of Flutter" stamp set and framelits.

I know the glimmer paper doesn't  say rustic, but I think the burlap heart balances out the overall feel.

Enjoy,

Melanie

Up Up and Away Love

To continue the Valentine theme, here is my first Valentine's card that I would like to share with you.  I used some new Stampin Up products.  The cloud embossing folder is called "Cloudy Days" and the balloon string is from "Owl Occasions".  The glimmer heart is cut from the "Hearts a Flutter" frame lists set with the "Tiny Tags" sentiment 'love'.

Simple way to let someone you know that they are loved.  I think I will be sending these to the grandparents from the boys with the addition of some thumb print hearts on the inside.

Happy crafting,

Melanie

Hearts A Flutter - Cup Cake Toppers

The new year is upon us and I am getting ready for the next holiday to celebrate.  You guessed it, Valentine's Day!  Here is the perfect idea for your sweetie or children's party cupcakes.  I made these adorable Cupcake Toppers from the "Hearts of Flutter" stamp set and framelites from Stampin Up.  I also used some additional stamps from Stampin Up's "Itty Bitty" and "Pretty Petites" (Sale-a-Bration set) sets.

These were really easy to make and could be a great activity to do with you children.
Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Mixed Bunch Thank you - Post it Note

While we away during Christmas, our neighbor was kind enough to watch our cat for us.  I wanted to do something to thanks her, so when I saw colorful post it notes in the Target $1 bin I knew what I was going to do.  

Who can't use post it notes?n  I know I am always looking for some and can't seem to find any.  I coordinated the flower made with the Mixed Bunch stamp set and the blossom punch.  For the background pattern, I used the Summer Silhouettes from Stampin Up.  

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Welcoming William - Photo Album Cover

My parents love to have a photo album or brag book of their grand children.  Since our third son was born in September, I thought I would start one as a Christmas gift for my parents.  I send photos of the boys and they place them in the albums as they get them.  The older boys love to look at them when we visit.

For this task, I was determined to try my hand and using My Digital Studio (MDS2).  This "Welcome Home"  will be at the front of the album.  To create this I used the "Oh Baby" photo book template from Stampin Up.

I can't wait to use it more create layouts for my sons.  I sure have so much more to explore with the software, but enjoyed making this.

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Teacher Gift - Winter Wonder

I wanted to share with you the Teacher Gift's that we gave my son's teachers.  My inspiration started from the dollar bin at Michaels.  I picked up monogrammed black and white list pads that came with a matching pen.  From there I used my imagination and some Christmas stamps and dies from Stampin Up.  

I made the cover from black card stock and layer on top of that.  There are many videos on creating the cover on YouTube if you are interested.  I used the Snowflake Soiree stamp to clear emboss on the background paper.  Then I added this black and white polka dot card stock that I cut with a framelit and to top it off I added a Snow Flurry Snowflake.  This was a new die featured in the Stampin Up Holdiay Mini.

To finish the gift off, I made coordinating cards to go with it.  I hope this project inspires you to create your own home made gifts.

Happy Crafting in the New Year,

Melanie

Everything Eleanor Christmas - Part Four

I know it is after Christmas, but I still wanted to share this card with you.  This is my final card of my personal challenge in using a non tradition stamp set to create Christmas cards.  I really enjoyed using the Everything Eleanor stamp set from Stampin Up.  This is the one that I choose to mass produce.  Simple and elegant, just the way I like it.

Happy New Year,

Melanie

Everything Eleanor Christmas - Part Three

This is my third card of my personal challenge in using a non tradition stamp set to create Christmas cards.  Everything Eleanor stamp set from Stampin Up can really produce many different looks.  I also used the Al la Cart, "Bold Snowflake".  This color scheme features Baja Breeze and Lucky Limeade.  

Merry Christmas,

Melanie

Everything Eleanor Chirstmas - Part One

I decided to challenge myself and try something new, use a none Christmas stamp set to create Christmas cards.  For this challenge I used the Everything Eleanor stamp set from Stampin Up.

This is the most simple card I created with the stamp set.  The most time consuming part is cutting the red accent piece in the background.  That didn't take too long, so I could see this as being easily mass produced.

The center snowflake is done with a retired Stampin Up snowflake punch.

Please come back tomorrow and check out another Christmas card using this stamp set.  

Thanks for stopping by,

Melanie

Primrose Snowflake

This card is another version of the card that I cased from Stamp with Heather.  I just love how the banners add extra detail and you can still stamp a sentiment at the bottom.

I used the Snow Flurry Die and the Bold Snowflake really make it pop.

For the snowflake, I used the Bold Snowflake stamp and the Snow Flurry snowflake die. 

Primerose Snow Flurry

This card is a card I cased from Stamp with Heather.  She is a Stampin Up Artisan winner and has great projects.

For this card, I decided to go for a more nontraditional Christmas color scheme.  I used Stampin Up's Primerose Petals.  I really love the soft feel this gives the card.  The Snow Flurry die accents the embossed snowflake banners in the background.  Very simple and easy to create.

Happy Crafting,

Melanie

Snow Day

As you can see, I have really been using my new snowflake stamps and dies.  This next card was done with the Bold Snowflake stamp.  It is part of the new Single stamps from Stampin Up.  I purchased it because it also coordinates with the Blossom Punch.  I am all for making my crafting time efficient and punches such do that.

I heat embossed the snowflake with clear embossing powder for the background which plays well with the Midnight Muse snowflake and spiral punch accent in the forefront.

Happy Holiday Crafting,

Melanie