Be Bold

Be bold and just say it this Valentine's Day. I've officially shaken my Valentine funk, and now I'm just having fun with it. This card is inspired by all those cards that I love that just have repeating elements--inchies, circles, curly labels, you name it. I do want to redo this as a square card, but for starters, I'm really happy with how this turned out.

My secret weapon is my Big Shot, which cuts out lovely letters in no time and with minimal effort. These were cut using the Timeless Type Sizzlits in Real Red and Pink Passion. Use Dotto to mount those on some Tempting Turquoise for a definite pop of contrasting color and voila! A striking card in about the time it took me to type this up. Now that's what I like!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Pink Passion, Real Red
Extras: Big Shot, Timelss Type Sizzlits, Dotto

Valentine Updated

This is the same basic idea as the last post, but with a little extra polish. Before die-cutting, I stamped my card stock with my favorite from I {Heart} Hearts in Real Red. I changed the orientation, so I'd have room for a sentiment, and used the Tulipe die again. Then my Stamp-A-Majig gave me perfect placement for the message, and my Mat Pack helped me to line up and evenly space those black brads. I added the Groom Specialty paper to the back, deciding that the swirly pattern matched those hearts better than the original stripes, and voila! Now this is a Valentine I could put in the mail...

Cheers!

~Melanie

Stamps: I {Heart} Hearts, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Real Red, Basic Black

Paper: Real Red, Groom Specialty

Extras: Big Shot, Tulipe Die, Mat Pack, Paper Piercer, Vintage Brads, Stamp-a-majig

Valentine Attempt 1

So I've never really been a big fan of Valentine's Day. I mean, the idea is nice--you tell the people you love that you love them--but it's so commercial and over the top at every single store from Jan 1st on. And since I famously once told a few hundred people, "I'm not a mushy, sappy, annoying kind of person" (and I did mean it), cards covered in hearts and screaming out in reds and pinks aren't so much my thing.

That said, I always love sending (and receiving! hint, hint) mail, so I am going to make some Valentines this year. Or at least I'll try. One of my goals for 2010 is to be in better touch with my friends afar, so this is the perfect chance to dust off that grade school tradition of giving all my friends a card. Here goes nothing...

Above is my first attempt at a Valentine this year. I like it--it's simple, striking--but it is missing something. So check back later this week to see how I jazzed it up...and then moved away from the Valentine color palette entirely. Hope you like...and I hope you'll be inspired to share the love, both platonic and passionate, with your friends and lovers come February.

Cheers,
Melanie

Paper: Real Red, Groom Specialty
Extras: Big Shot, Tulipe Die

Something New

I'm still trying to get inspired for Valentines...I want to make some, but haven't had any luck yet! In the meantime, I thought I'd share this birthday card, which I put together from some scraps. While visiting my aunt and upline to see what's new in the Occasions Mini, I punched a sample bird with the Extra-Large Two-Step Bird punch, and also stamped a sample sentiment from Well Scripted. But I needed more...

So yesterday, I quickly took a break from my work to glue these few little things together. I added two punched corners with the new Scallop Trim Corner punch, and mounted my "sample" onto a piece of Cameo Coral to match the bird, and then onto an Orchid Opulence card base. Voila! From sample to the mail...and just in time for a January birthday.

Cheers!
Melanie

Stamps: Well Scripted
Ink: Basic Black
Paper: Orchid Opulence, Cameo Coral, Whisper White, Old Olive
Extras: Extra Large Two-Step Bird punch, Scallop Trim Corner punch

Turtle Thank You

In keeping with the spirit of the last post, here is another thank you note. It follows the same clean and simple design of the lion card, and features a long-time favorite of mine: turtles! When I was younger, I collected turtle figurines. I gave that up a while ago, but still do wear a pair of capri pants with turtles embroidered all over them in the summer. :) So it is absolutely perfect for me that the little turtle from Fox and Friends expresses my thanks to friends and family.

Stamps: Fox and Friends, Thank You Kindly
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Green Galore, Brilliant Blue

'Tis the Season for Thank You Notes

Well, now that it is mid-January, I should really be sending out my thank you notes for all that holiday cheer and generosity. Which means it's time to make my thank you notes, and I've been hard at work. Here is my first (of many) thank you cards.

Again, really simple to make with the Fox and Friends set--this little monkey guy is cute! I couldn't decide if I liked the monkey colored in or not (thanks to SU markers), and now think I prefer the monkeys with their bellies colored only. Thoughts?

Overall, this was a simple and easy card (only one layer!)..and that's just what I need, because I have lots of thank you notes to send and plenty of other things to do!

Stamps: Fox and Friends, Really Retro (retired)

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise, Creamy Caramel (marker)

Paper: Whisper White

Thinking of You--ROAR!

I usually don't go in for the "cute" sets, but I am absolutely in love with the new Fox and Friends in the Occasions mini. I usually wouldn't get this since I don't have many kids to send cards to (though a little girl with a lion costume springs immediately to mind). All the same, I just love how this notecard turned out--I can easily see myself using it, and just switching the sentiment up for different occasions. This really is clean and simple, and there are more to come!

Stamps: Fox and Friends, Trendy Trees

Ink: Really Rust, Real Red

Paper: Whisper White

Bella Always

Credit for this card goes to my housemate, who in her first attempt at cardmaking, designed a card that I fell in love with! And credit for the Always stampset goes to Kiran, who convinced me--against much resistance--that this was a must-purchase set! So really, all I did was put these two cards together.

But I love them. Both of these cards fit my "anytime" card category, and they're just so simple to put together. Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper forms the base, then a thin frame of Sage Shadow behind the stamped piece of Whisper White. Simple, easy, and beautiful! I should go make some more...

Stamps: Always, Sweet Little Sentiments (retired)

Paper: Bella Bleu DSP, Whisper White, Sage Shadow

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow

Extras: Corner Rounder Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch

Last Medallion

For now, that is. As promised, I saved my favorite for last...and you'll see that this certainly follows my pattern. I'm going to make up a bunch of these to have on hand, there's no question about it.

Keep tuned for all new things coming soon! I'm happy to say that I have a few ideas up my sleeve...

Stamps: Medallion, Full of Life

Paper: Brocade Blue, Sahara Sand

Ink: Versamark, Going Grey

Extras: Stampin' Up! Pastels

Just Because Medallion

So, purple is by far my favorite color...yet this isn't my favorite of the medallion cards (always save the best for last!). That said, I do really like how it turned out. It is the same technique and materials as the one below, except that I swapped out "Full of Life" for the "Define Your Life" set. I'm so glad that I did--we both bought Define Your Life last year, but haven't found great ways to use the set. This is the first that we're really happy with, and I can certainly see myself making many more of these cards to have on hand for all occasions. What do you think?

Stamps: Medallion, Define Your Life

Paper: Perfect Plum, Going Grey

Ink: Versamark, Basic Grey

Extras: Stampin' Up! Pastels

Medallion Madness

Here it is, the first purchased and most used stamp I've gotten from the 09-10 Idea Book. This card was inspired by a card in the opening pages of the catalog, and then you'll be seeing other variations on this theme in the next two posts. I didn't have the Emerson quote on the catty's card, so I replaced that with a sentiment from one of my favorite sets, Full of Life.

I dusted off my pastels to do this card, and absolutely fell in love with them again--poppin' pastels is such a simple and lovely technique for a soft card. I can see doing these in a number of color combinations (as you'll soon see) and with any number of sentiments. These really are great for any time. And here are the details on today's card. Thanks for stopping by.

Stamps: Medallion, Full of Life

Paper: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Sahara Sand

Ink: Versamark, Chocolate Chip

Extras: Stampin' Up! Pastels