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~