Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Hi All,
Here is yet another design team project for The Stampsmith.  These cards were created after Christmas but the images were just too cute not to use this season.  The Stampsmith image is actually the sentiment that uses the last of the Twas the Night before Christmas. The image is from Estelle's holiday plate of rubber called Christmas Greetings Art Rubber Stamps.  I used Chocolate Archival Ink to stamp out the image.  The reindeer in the back ground is from a Tim Holtz, Collection called Merry Christmas.  I used the same chocolate ink to create the background paper on Kraft card stock.  Once all the deer were dry, I sprayed the card front with Sheer Shimmer Spritz by Tsukineko.  I adhered some Recollections Holiday ribbon to the card front and added the sentiment.  The bling is from Recollections and the poinsettias are from a Martha Stewart Crafts.  I inked all the edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  The inside of the card was using up scarps of the card stock (all Recollections) I used for the card front.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

Dear Santa...

Hello All,
I was so busy the last several weeks that I haven't been able to work on some of my Stampsmith Christmas stamps.  I love the Christmas Cards # 2 Art Rubber Stamps from Estelle.  It was the first plate of StampSmith stamps that I ever owned.  I LOVE this Santa image.  He is so jolly and kind looking.  This stamp is so clear that you can almost see the twinkle in his eye.
I stamped this image using Sepia Ancient Page ink on Ranger Glossy card stock. I used my watercolor crayons and a water brush on the image.  I added some red to his lips and rouge to his cheeks and a bit of blue to his eyes to make them twinkle just a bit more.  I really LOVE this image.  The Kraft and red card stock that I used was from Recollections.  I used a piece of patterned paper from the Christmas Combo paper pack from DCWV (Last years collection).  I inked all of the paper with the new Distress Ink color of Gathered Twigs.  I think this is my new favorite color of distress ink.  My fingers are crossed that Ranger will eventually release the re-inker for these seasonal colors that they have released in the last few months.  The ribbon I used was from Recollections as well (Their Christmas collections).  I punched the poinsettia's from card stock scraps using my Martha Stewart punch and added some bling to the flower centres.  The stamp has Ho Ho Ho on it originally but I stamped out a sentiment from my stash.  The inside of the card is finished with scrap patterned paper and card stock along with another poinsettia.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

A Christmas Card for my Husband!!!

Hi All,
Here is the card I made for my husband for Christmas.  I used one of my Magnolia Stamps.  I inked it up with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink.  I colored the image with my water color crayons and a water brush.  I made the felt flowers with my MFT dies and the leaves are from Cheery Lynn Designs die.  I used a paper doily that I inked with Evergreen Bough distress Ink.  The paper is from the Dear Mr. Claus mini deck from Cosmo Cricut.  The lace on the card was from a grab bag I bought at Value Village.  The banner at the top is from a punch from Stampin Up.  The letters were from a set from Michael's 1.50$ bin.  I used my Sew Easy and stitched the paper together and used some Cross stitch floss from my stash.  The inside of the card is paper from the collection and coordinating card stock.  I punched the flowers out with my Martha Stewart Poinsettia punch and added some bling from Recollections.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

Another Passion of Mine!

Hi All,
When I am not paper crafting I have another love, cross stitching and knitting! I always seem to have something on the go.  A few years ago, I was diagnosed with MS and it has affected my eyes! So needless to say, my cross stitching abilities are very S-L-O-W.  I created these two simple cross stitches over the past year out of a magazine that someone gave me when I got sick.  I usually do one per season for the house and it took me twice the time to do any of these.  the 'hugging snowmen' ended up being a gift for my sister-in-law for Christmas and the little one on the right is for our collection!

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

You Rock, Old School!!!

Hello All,
Here was a card that I made for my hubby for work.  I was approached by one of his co-workers that he was being recognized at his December staff meeting.  He has recently been transferred to work with At-Risk females at his job and up until this point, he has always worked with males.  Needless to say, he was nervous and wondering how was he going to 'connect' with the girls.  He lucked out.  One of the young girls was into metal music and they all were interested in 80s music and movies.  Well, Jim was all over that being he was a teenager in that era.  He brought in 80s movies in to watch with them that they could still relate to (really, who can't relate to 16 Candles or Pretty in Pink) and introduced them to his 'Atari'.  The girls were really drawn to all these retro items. His new team wanted to recognized his efforts.  I picked up a cartridge at Michael's called 'Feeling Groovy" and it was perfect! I cut the guy and his clothes out with Paper Doll Dress up. I hand cut out the B's on his shirt and clothes to represent the Red Sox (his FAVORITE team) and used one of my Peachy Keen stamp sets to stamp his face.  The cassette and game controller out from the Groovy cartridge and used a piece of paper that looks like a vinyl record that I got from the Mod Retro stack from DCWV.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~
PS: He was very surprized at the meeting and shocked that I was able to do this under his nose...lol... ;)

Another Christmas Card!

Hello All,
Happy Holidays and for those who celebrate, I hope Santa found you!
Here is a card I made for a few friends this holiday season.  The Stamped image is from Stampin Up and I used Tuxedo Black Memento ink.  I colored the image with inks and a water brush.  The edge punch on the side with the coordinating card stock in it is also from Stampin Up.  Sorry, I don't know the name of the stamp set or punch as I borrowed them from a friend.  The card stock is from Bazzil and the bling is from Recollections.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

Wonderful You!!!

Happy Holidays all,
When I should be preparing for Christmas (which is tomorrow) I am doing up a post for my blog...lol.  This is a design team project for Estelle, The Stampsmith.  I used her stamp called, Holly Christmas Art Rubber Stamp.  The paper line is the Bittersweet line from Basic Grey.  It is an older collection, one that I love.  The bling, ribbon and flowers are all from Recollections.  Sorry for the quick post but Christmas prep is calling me (literally, hubby is yelling to me from the kitchen :) )
I wish you all a safe and happy holiday season!

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

Christmas cards for my friends

Hello there,
Here are some Christmas cards that I created this season that I sent home to some friends.  The images are from The Greeting Farm.  I stamped them in Tuxedo black Memento ink, I used colored pencils and Gamsol to color the images.  I used a Copic Marker to color the flesh tones of the images.  I paper pieced the outfits of the kids using 'velvet paper'.  The Christmas paper was from my stash and the card stock was from Recollections.  The flowers and flat back pearls were from my stash.  I used bakers twine to add some more texture to the card.  The snowflakes were punched out using a Martha Stewart punch and the bling was from my local Dollar Store.  The sentiments was from a holiday set from Hampton Arts from a few years ago.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

Ahoy There!

Another quick post tonight.  I was in a  craft fair a few weeks ago that was hosted by a  local yacht club.  It had been suggested to create some 'Nautical' cards.  I borrowed a Stampin Up set from a friend and created these cards along with the sail boat stamp that was from Stampendous.  The patterned paper was from Tim Holtz and all the card stock was from Recollections.  I made the ribbon Rosette by hand scoring the paper and added bakers twine,brad, and buttons from my stash.  The embossing folder on the top card is the 'Lattice Work's folder from Stampin up. The sentiments were from a stamp set from Inkadinkado.

Thanks for peeking in!

~Mel~

Snowman Cards!

Hi All,
I just wanted to show you a card that I did for some of my Christmas cards this year.  I saw something similar to this at a Stamp a Stack this fall in Windsor.  I used white and blue card stock from Recollections.  I embossed the centre 'snowball' with the 'swirls' embossing folder from Cuttlebug.  I actually cut the circles and scallop circles out on my cricut.  The snowman face is a stamp that I bought last year at Michael's.  the stamped snowflake on the bottom part of the snowman was a Marta Stewart collection from last year, and the sentiment was from PSX.  I used colored pencils and Gamsol on the image to color it in.  I attached the  snowballs together with Recollection brads and the ribbon on top was from my stash.  The card will neatly close to fit in an A2 envelope but then can stretch out to be hung on display.  I LOVE snowmen and actually noticed that most of my decorations for my house and tree are snowmen.  Hubby was shocked that I had never noticed before...lol.  I guess my collection is a bit out of hand.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

Good Soldier!

Hey There, So here I am with another post tonight when I am supposed to be cleaning the house and packing as we are traveling to see my family for a few days before the holidays....you know where my priorities are...lol.  I made this card a few weeks ago for a gentleman that works with my husband.  He spent the entire month of November educating the youth they work with about veterans, soldiers and peace keepers.  I cut the little 'soldier' out on my cricut with Every Day Paper Dolls.  The papers were from my stash of Tim Holtz papers.  I used one of Tim's Texture fades (the brick) on black paper and inked it with white craft ink once it was adhered.  The gears were a Stampin Up punch that I used with pewter colored shimmer card stock.  The 'Good Work' was done with an alpha set from PSX.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

Look Who's Here!

Hey All,
Here is another card that I made in this past month.  One of my husband's co-workers had a baby (Yes, another one) and I made this card up for him.  The stamp is from the Stampsmith.  The image is from Estelle's plate of stamps called, Darling Boys Art Rubber Stamps. I used a lace doily was from my stash and the stick pin I made last winter with a stick pin from Walmart and beads from Michael's.  The flower is made from some paper flowers purchased at Michael's in their scrapbooking section.  The sentiment was from a Hampton Arts set that I bought last year. I stamped the image with Ancient Page ink in Sepia on glossy card stock from Ranger.  I used from Stampin Up markers on the image with a water brush to add some color to the image. The card was inked in Tea Dye Distress Ink from Tim Holtz.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~

Shimmer, Shine and Sparkle Challenge on the Stampsmith Challenge Blog

Hi All, Sorry it has been so long since I have posted but saying life has been busy in an understatement! With Christmas quickly approaching I have been trying to get ready for that, prepare for a few craft fairs that I participated in locally, and my most recent undertaking, helping my friend, Kim Blanchette out with the relocation/opening of her paper crafting studio, The Cutting Garden.  I have also, in between this been trying to keep myself healthy and my MS in check, which is no small feat!!! I have been crafting and snapping pictures of my projects with hopes to have some spare time to post these items.  I thought that I would start with this post.  This card if for the Stmapsmith Challenge Blog.  The challenge for this month which is Shimmer, Shine and Sparkle!
I used some sparkly paper from Recollections and foil paper from our local Dollar store.  The punch for the photo corners is from Stampin Up.  The stamps is from the Stampsmith's plate of stamps called: Christmas Cards #2 Art Rubber Stamps. I stamped the image using Ancient Page ink in black on glossy card stock from Ranger.  I used my Stampin Up markers and a water brush on the stamped image to add some color.  the bling was from a pack that I bought at Michael's last year after Christmas on clearance.  The sentiment is from a set of acrylic stamps I bought at Michael's.  It is die cut with a label set from Spellbinders.
Stop by the Challenge Blog and Estelle's Site and take a peek around.

Thanks for peeking in!
~Mel~