Sale-A-Brate Birthdays!

It's the last day of February, and that means that there is only one month left for Sale-A-Bration.  What are you waiting for?  With every $50 you spend, you can get fantastic stamps and accessories FOR FREE!

For today's card, I used the first set I wanted for sale-a-bration, Engraved Greetings.  I loved this set when I first saw it in the Idea Book and Catalog last summer, but thought "I have enough birthday sentiments."  Free always trumps enough!  For this card, I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment in Rich Razzleberry onto Very Vanilla, then used the Ticket Corner punch before mounting that onto a piece of Rich Razzleberry.  I wanted to have perfect corners for a little birthday bling, thanks to Basic Rhinestones.

The base of the card is Melon Mambo.  To have a full trio of rich, bright colors, I used my Circle Scissors Plus and Glass Mat to cut a 3" circle of Pacific Point, then embossed that using the Big Shot and the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.  I thought my card needed just a little something more, so my final touch is a strip of Basic Grey that I punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch.  I'm ready to sale-a-brate some birthdays now.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Engraved Greetings
Ink: Rich Razzleberry
Paper: Melon Mambo, Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Very Vanilla, Basic Gray
Extras: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border punch, Ticket Corner punch, Basic Rhinestones

Fine Floral Flourish

I finished A&V's wedding invitations, and after embossing all of those Marina Mist cards, I started looking at the main image from Wedding Sweet in a different way.  It's a flower, and I really wanted to make it stand out as a flower for a thank you card to include with the invitations.

I started with a base of Very Vanilla, and inked up the flower with Wild Wasabi.  Then I wiped off the ink from the flowers, and replaced it with Rich Razzleberry, using one of SU's markers.  [Sidenote: I LOVE how everything coordinates!]  Once I had the stamp all inked, I huffed on it to make sure all the ink was moist, then stamped onto the card base.  Instead of using the thank you from Wedding Sweet, which looked a little small to me, I grabbed my trusty Thank You Kindly and chose "thanks" because its flourishes mirror the flower.  I used Marina Mist, to match the original invitations, and I'm going to tuck this card in the package with the invitations.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll be making lots of these in the future.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Wedding Sweet, Thank You Kindly
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Rich Razzleberry, Marina Mist
Paper: Very Vanilla

For the Birds

It's been quiet around here lately--that's what happens when I'm in mass production mode for wedding invitations.  This week has been dedicated to A&V's simple and sweet wedding invitation, but now that those are done it's time for something new!

I notice that I've recently had a bird theme, and I think I need to roll with that.  Stay tuned for some more chirpy creations coming very, very soon.  It's Friday, after all!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Being a Square is a Good Thing!

Oh, the wonders of MDS!  Just look at this fantastic 100% digital project!  Though these turned out beautifully, I have to admit, these were a doozy to make.  Mel & I worked with the bride-to-be (also our good friend) on these for some time.  After selecting photos from her engagement photo shoot, (Sarah Postma Photography), she showed us samples of photo Save-the-Dates she liked and we went to work.  

This was also an experiment in Stampin' Up's printing services as Mel & I had never printed from them before.  But, as you can see, they do some quality work!  The photos printed very sharp and are on paper, not card stock, making them easier to cut & work with.  And, the printed colors are true to SU's card stock/ink palate.  I'm proud to report that after fumbling with the MDS measurements (we've since made a template) and a whirl-wind night of cutting and taping (with the bride-to-be even helping out), these are the show-stopper of my refrigerator!   

These get noticed not only for the great photos but also for their unique 5x5" square shape & magnetic backing!

Happy Stamping!
~Kiran

Paper: Old Olive, printed Very Vanilla sheet from SU
Extras: MDS

A Little Monkey Is on the Way!

These invites are for a colleague of mine who's helping plan a baby shower.  It's something Mel & I have made before (just search 'Fox and Friends') but you see why it's an oldy & a goody.  Of course I did matching whisper white envelopes with the monkey stamped in the bottom left corner.  I like it's clean look but adding a dimensional to the back of the punch just makes that little monkey "pop."  This card is cute, fun, and magnetic...all things baby!  =)

It was fairly easy to knock out 65 of these as I did them in stages: I printed everything first, cut all the paper over two days, and did all the monkey stamps and punches in front of the TV on another night after work.  This made assembling a lot easier when I was ready as I had everything already prepared.  So, my advice, if you've got a big project, break it down little by little over several days...it's much more manageable, it's easy on your stamping hand and you don't miss any of your favorite tv!

Happy Stamping!

~Kiran

Stamps: Fox & Friends

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel Marker

Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip

Extras: 1 3/8" Square Punch, Scallop Square Punch, Dimensionals

Western Wedding 2

And we have a winner!  Heather and Jeremy decided that this invitation, which is elegant and has all their favorite elements but also is eco-friendly because it uses minimal paper.  This invitation is 8.5 x 3.5, which is a nice large size that has plenty of room for scripted lettering and some fun stamping.

I used the Tetons stamp, which Heather special ordered for these invitations, to make a medallion belly band with the Wide Oval punch.  The stand of three pine trees, which I love, is from Plant Hope.  I plan to use this stamp set much more, so stay tuned for that.

The invitation looks nice without the belly band as well--and that can be slid anywhere you like along the invitation.  The belly band will hold everything together--invitation, RSVP postcard, map, and website information.  I'm ready to mass produce!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Plant Hope
Ink: Pear Pizazz, Perfect Plum, Chocolate Chip
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Ivory Naturals, Perfect Plum, Pear Pizazz

Remember When...

I think I'll send this card to my mother, because it reminds me of when she taught my sister and I to sew. I combined two challenges on this--Mojo Monday sketch 176 and Stampin' Royalty Challenge #57, to use the colors Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy, and Baja Breeze.  As soon as I saw the sketch, I thought of buttons from the Sweet Buttons Embosslit for that fun border.

Once I had those, I wanted to use the coordinating Sweet Stitches rub-ons, since I love the patterned girl.  I added the ruffled Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon at the top of the card just for fun...but then had no idea what sentiment to use.  Kiran came to my rescue when she brought over Word Play, which is a fantastic set of big and bold sentiments for all occasions.

I added Crumb Cake and Whisper White to the three colors from the challenge, and I like this color combination so much that I've already used it for some non-traditional (that is, non-pink-and-frilly) Valentines.  Stay tuned for those!

Cheers!

~Melanie

Stamps: Word Play

Ink: Soft Suede

Paper: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze

Extras: Big Shot, Sweet Buttons Embosslit, Sweet Stitches Rub-Ons, Baja Breeze Seam Binding Ribbon

Western Wedding 1

More wedding invitations!  I've been busy again, working on some Western wedding invitation ideas for my good friend, Heather.  She and Jeremy met in Jackson Hole, WY and share a true love of the outdoors.  As I mentioned when I shared her bison thank you cards, this isn't my usual style so I've been doing a LOT of thinking outside the box.

The first option I'm sharing is this compact 4x6 invitation with a belly band.  Stampin' Up! doesn't have any mountain stamps in their current line-up, so Heather special ordered this stamp of the Tetons.  I also used a non-SU embossing folder to get that wood grain textured look on the top flap.  The bottom flap has "You're Invited" from Wedding Sweet embossed in gold, though it's hard to see because it was so sunny when I took these pictures.

When you open the invitation, you still see "you're invited," which I think is a nice way to tie the front and inside together.  Underneath the text are three pines from Plant Hope, and the edges are sponged with the corresponding ink.

While I like this option, it isn't my favorite...and I still haven't heard from Heather to know what she thinks.  So stay tuned!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Plant Hope, Wedding Sweet
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizazz, Versamark
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pear Pizazz, Naturals Ivory
Extras: Corner Rounder punch, Big Shot, Gold embossing powder, Heat Tool

New Look For February...And We've Gone Viral!

After I made the robin card, I promised that I would be getting the corresponding downloads from My Digital Studio...and I did, just in time to create our new look for February.  While I seem to be a bird kick, this is a far cry from January's whimsical look.

Also, check out Sarah Postma Photography for a sneak peek of a Save-the-Date that Kiran designed with My Digital Studio (I helped!)--it's the square photo collage for Jenn and Phil that's propped up in the left corner.  The fun, and the options, are endless.  Hopefully Kiran will share her tips and tricks very soon.

Cheers!
~Melanie