And We're Back!

It's the morning of our stamping sleepover, and we have big plans for today!  But first, we collaborated last night to create our November look for the blog--be sure to hop on over from your Reader and check it out!  And we should have plenty of posts to share...this week at least.  Stay tuned!

Back to the blog's new look.  This month we're featuring the Digital Download--Autumn Spice Digital Kit.  Have you seen this?  It is a fantastic deal!  For $9.95, you get the Autumn Spice Speciality Designer Series Paper, and the images from the stamp sets French Foliage and Day of Gratitude.  If you bought all of these things from the Holiday Mini, it would cost either $45.85 for clear mount or $58.85 for wood mount (before shipping and tax--neither of which apply to the digital downloads!).  

TIP: You'll never run out of the paper when it's digital.

Even if you don't have My Digital Studio, you can get this kit for the same amount to use with whatever graphics program you like.  At this price, why not try it out?

Cheers!

~Melanie

A Beautiful Fall Challenge

Ah, fall.  Cool, crisp days.  Bright, cheery colors.  Warm, cozy sweaters.  I love this season!  That's why I just had to do this week's challenge over at Pals Paper Arts, PPA64.  The photo the design team chose for this week has all my favorite fall elements--and the expression on the model's face is just how I feel about this time of year.

For my card, I wanted to capture both her cozy sweater and the beautiful falling leaves in the background.  See how they glow?  I replicated the gold and yellow glow by using More Mustard, and then rolling the edges in Old Olive.  The brownish leaves were rolled in Cajun Craze instead of Old Olive.  Though there aren't any in the inspiration picture, bright red leaves are my favorite of the fall, so I got out Poppy Parade and stamped off once before putting it to the card.  Perfect, I thought.  To get the texture of the sweater, out came my Big Shot and the Square Lattice embossing folder.  I mounted this on So Saffron and then Old Olive

Since the image reminded me so much of fun fall days, I think I'll send this card to one of my college friends--we had many wonderful fall days together!  I got out a retired hostess set, Best Yet, for one of my favorite sentiments, but then didn't know what to stamp it on.  So I got my Big Shot out again (why did I put that away?) and the Leaves #2 die.  Note: This is the first die I ever bought, and it still is the one that gets the most use.  I just love it!  I cut a leaf from Poppy Parade, then used Stazon to stamp my sentiment and dimmensionals to pop the falling leaf.

Happy Fall!
~Melanie

Stamps: Day of Gratitude, Best Yet
Ink: More Mustard, Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Poppy Parade
Paper: Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Old Olive, Poppy Parade
Extras: Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Leaves #2 die, dimmensionals

Luminous Boxes

To follow up on my last post (sorry to leave you hanging for so long!), how about luminaries for gift boxes?  These are super easy to make...so easy, in fact, that I whipped up the fall one before work this morning...and using one of these for a gift box means that the box is also a decor piece for your home.  How lovely!

I first saw this project at the Regional Seminar in Baltimore, and immediately it went into my "to do" file.  All you need is cardstock, a paper trimmer, and some vellum, and then you can decorate it as desired.  For the fall luminary above, I used Early Espresso paper, which I cut into pieces 4" by 8-1/2" long, then scored at 1/2" and 4-1/2".  I used my Circle Scissors Plus (which I love, by the way) to cut circles out of each 4x4 square, and then cut my vellum just shy of 4x4" to fit.  I stamped the images from Day of Gratitude (available in the Holiday Mini) using More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Wild Wasabi, and Riding Hood Red.  TIP: Ink takes longer to dry on vellum, so let your pieces "rest" before adhering them.  Then I just adhered the vellum to my circle frames, and used the 1/2" flaps to glue the luminary together into a cube.

Since we'll be using Flurry Decor Elements at Jackie's party tomorrow, I wanted something that would coordinate with our project, so I came up with this winter/holiday themed luminary.  It's the first one I ever made, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!  I used a number of holiday sets, including Snow Swirled (tree and snowflakes), Northern Hearts (lovebirds and wreath) and Jolly Old Saint Nick (snowman).  My frame is Marina Mist, currently my favorite shade of blue, and my inks are Wild Wasabi, Cherry Cobbler, and Marina Mist.

I could use these for sleeves around holiday treats, or put bottoms in them so that they become actual boxes.  All I need now are candles--I'll be using the electric tealights that are popular now, so this project doesn't become a fire hazard--and they'll give a lovely glow.  This is a great project for any season, any table, and any light.  Wouldn't they make great centerpieces at a wedding?  It's all about the colors and stamps you choose.

Have fun, and make some luminous boxes of your own.

Cheers!

~Melanie

Fall Luminary

Stamps: Day of Gratitude

Ink: More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi

Paper: Vellum, Early Espresso

Extras: Circle Scissors Plus

Holiday Luminary

Stamps: Northern Hearts, Jolly Old Saint Nick, Snow Swirled

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Wild Wasabi

Paper: Vellum, Marina Mist

Extras: Rhinestones

Gift Box Magic

What if your gift box were more than a gift box?  What if the gift box also is a gift in its own right?

If you're intrigued, check back tomorrow.  I have an exciting project on tap tonight!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Ingredients: Anticipation

Five Minute Makeover

Today is Book-a-thon Blitz!!!  If you've been wanting to make great projects like this, you should host a party.  If you're in the Philly area or NJ, Kiran and I can help you out!  Just send us an email.  Now on to today's project...

I am so excited for the decor party this weekend--I just can't wait!  However, I didn't have a lot of time to work on a project last night, so I decided I would "test out" the Flurry Decor Elements I ordered for Jackie's party.  I knew that the big snowflakes would be BIG, but wow was I surprised when I opened up the package!  Since I'm planning a small-ish project as the make-and-take (to share next week, I promise), I wondered what I should do with those big ones.

I have this glittery red holiday plate that I got at Target a few years ago--I love to pile deserts on it.  It's about 12" wide, just to give you a sense of the size, and you see my chosen snowflake as well as the Applicator Tool in the photo above--be sure to order the applicator!!  (I forgot to get it my first time, and it is MUCH easier with the tool than without).  Anyways, while I love this plate, the paint is on the bottom and it's starting to chip...but I want it to last, and decided one of this giant snowflakes would be just the thing to spruce it up.

After very carefully peeling the Decor Element off its backing sheet, I did my best to center the snowflake on the plate.  I hovered with the snowflake a bit, before I got it exactly where I wanted, and then I pressed down to smooth out any air bubbles and make sure the snowflake was really stuck.  That's this picture--I'm 80% there!

It took me maybe 1.5 minutes to use the applicator to transfer the Decor Element to the plate, then carefully peel back the cover paper and voila!  I have a fabulous plate that I just can't wait to use...though I'm not sure how I can bear to cover up that lovely snowflake with cookies and brownies.  I just love it!  

I have to say, this was the quickest and most satisfying project I've done in quite a while.  I'm sold.  :)

Cheers!

~Melanie

Decor Elements: Flurry 

Leftover Project

As it turns out, I have quite a few leaves left over from yesterday's wreath project...so I decided to use them to make some quick and simple fall thank you cards.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, its the perfect time to let people know that I'm thankful for them and their help throughout the year.

This card features leaves die cut using my trusty Big Shot and Leaves #2 die, then embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  The bottom three leaves are in Summer Sun, Really Rust and Ruby Red--all retired shades--but the top leaf is the ever popular Chocolate Chip.  My sentiment comes from one of my most used sets, Thank You Kindly, and is inked up in Old Olive.  The base is Very Vanilla and this whole project was very easy.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Thank You Kindly
Ink: Old Olive
Paper: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Summer Sun, Really Rust, Ruby Red
Extras: Big Shot, Leaves #2 die, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Mini Glue Dots, Dimmensionals

Fall Decor Project

Next Saturday, I'll be demonstrating at an all-decor party, so I've been busy coming up with samples to share.  Of course, I'll be featuring Decor Elements, but that isn't the only thing that Stampin' Up! offers for home decorating options.

Since fall is here, I wanted to have a nice wreath on our door, and this has kept me busy during my free moments last week.  I got this idea from the cover of last month's Stampin' Success--a great magazine that Stampin' Up! sends to all its demonstrators once a month.  It's another great perk of being a demonstrator, and I encourage you to consider all the other benefits.  The cover featured a number of ornamental balls that were covered in fall leaves, and the instructions were inside the magazine.

Here is my halfway there picture, so I can show you all the ingredients.  I bought a styrofoam wreath form at a local craft store, and also got my straight pins out of my sewing kit.  I used textured cardstock for this, and my Leaves #2 Die with the Big Shot.  I cut out lots and lots of leaves (6 sets from each color), and then embossed them using the new Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder.  Most of these colors are retired, since I was hoping to use up my stash--Sage Shadow, Summer Sun, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, and Chocolate Chip.  So by the time I was done cutting out all those leaves, I had a huge pile of 144 leaves, ready to go.  I thought it was a lot, until I got halfway and worried I'd run out!

No need to worry, I had a few left over.  I attached the leaves to the styrofoam using the straight pins.  Then, as I kept layering, I used those mini glue dots to attach the leaves to each other, making sure that they conformed to the wreath shape and covered up the pin heads.  It was a lot of work, but makes a great wreath for our apartment door...and I get to tell admirers that I made it myself!

Check back for great decor ideas all this week!
Cheers,
~Melanie

Paper: Sage Shadow, Summer Sun, Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip
Extras: Big Shot, Leaves #2, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Mini Glue Dots

New Month, New Look, Big News!

I hope you've been enjoying our new look--another of Kiran's fabulous creations with My Digital Studio.  You'll see these owls all through October...and then it will be on to something new.  If you have any questions about how Kiran created this banner, just let us know.

On to our big news!  As you know, Kiran and I attended our first-ever Stampin' Up! Regional Seminar in Baltimore last week.  We started the day as always, as fabulous friends and a demonstrator-customer team.  But we ended the day as a dynamic demonstrating duo!!  Kiran decided to take the plunge, and signed up as a new demonstrator.  This is our just-after-signing picture--look at those huge smiles.  Clearly we were both very happy...and we still are, even though we've been too busy to blog about it.

What's that in our hands?  Well, it's a new demonstrator bonus--an earn-it-before-you-can-buy-it stamp set from the upcoming Occasions Mini catalog, which hasn't even been released for demonstrators to drool over yet.  This set, "Eat Chocolate" is bound to be a favorite of everyone who's ever savored a piece of chocolate (and really, who hasn't?)

You can have this stamp set now too--sign up as a demonstrator with me by October 17, and you'll have this fun bonus to all the excitement of your starter package (stamps, ink, paper--it has it all!).  You can do this if you are a hobby-ist and just want a great discount, or if you've been looking for a new opportunity to earn some cash.  Stampin' Up! offers both.  Just send me an email, and I'll be happy to tell you more.

Cheers!
~Melanie