Medallion Fun

Ah, with my new box of goodies from the 2012-13 Stampin' Up! catalog, the biggest question is what to play with next...because I want to play with everything, of course.  This card marries many new items, and I'm really happy both with how it turned out and all the ideas I have for my next projects.  But most of all, I love all that embossing--heat embossing with color, and textured embossing courtesy of the Big Shot.

I'm also a fan of the many shapes at my disposal--no scissors required.  The bird and branch popped out easily with a punch, and the large flower and banner were oh-so-easy with SU's ever growing collection of Framelits.  Who am I kidding, it's my ever-growing collection of Framelits now!

I'm about to put this card in the mail to Kiran, which brings me to the next part of our BIG NEWS--we're on the move!  Kiran has already relocated to the DC-Metro area, and I'll be packing up my creative corner very soon to head to the New River Valley of VA.  Will you be our new neighbors?  Leave a comment to let us know; we'd love to stamp with you.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Language of Friendship, Daydream Medallions, Betsy's Blossoms, Itty Bitty Banners, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Versamark, Basic Gray, Melon Mambo, Gumball Green
Paper: Pool Party, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Regal Rose, Gumball Green
Extras: Big Shot, Floral Framelits, Chevron embossing folder, Two-Step Bird punch, Bitty Banner Framelits, Circle Scissors Plus, Melon Mambo embossing powder, Many Marvelous Markers

Plump Little Piggy

Here's another quick and easy card made with Button Buddies and perfect for any occasion.  Wouldn't it be great with a piggy bank for a new baby?  I say yes!

Have a great Monday!
~Melanie

Stamps: Button Buddies, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Early Espresso
Paper: Whisper White
Extras: Brights Designer Buttons, Linen Thread

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

These snails are just adorable.  Normally I'm not a fan of slimy things (you should have seen me with the tree frog that followed us in the house the other night!), but these little guys are just too cute to be gross--even without the buttons!

As promised, here's a piece of our BIG NEWS:  Kiran is now a certified wedding planner, and working with two friends in the planning company Pretty Little Details.  I'm thrilled for Kiran, and we're both excited that we have an extra excuse to work on more wedding stationary...stay tuned for more on that front.  

Cheers!

~Melanie

Stamps: Button Buddies, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Early Espresso, Pumpkin Pie, Marina Mist

Paper: Whisper White

Extras: Brights Designer Buttons, Linen Thread

Button Birthday

Here's a bright and sunny birthday card for your Wednesday.  It's another CASE from the 11-12 Idea Book and Catalog (the catalogs are full of great ideas that will always be current, even when the stamps retire).  I'm behind on a few birthdays, so I have more than a few of these to get in the mail.

Surprise!  Looking at the samples in the catalog, I thought these cards were 3x3--but they're 4x4, which means there is plenty of room to write something special inside.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Button Buddies, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie
Paper: Whisper White
Extras: Brights & Subtles Designer Buttons, Linen Thread

And We're Back!!!

Hello everyone!

So, it's been quite a while since we've been here, and as a result we have LOTS of news to share--its been a busy five months!  We don't want to overwhelm you, so we'll be sharing all of our news in bits and pieces over the next week or so...along with these great cards made with the Button Buddies stamp set.  Entirely inspired by the Idea Book & Catalog--last year's Idea Book & Catalog, because today is the big day when the new catalog for 2012-13 goes live.

Keep checking the sidebar for the new catalog, which I'll link as soon as it's available, And keep coming back for more news and more creativity from us.  After our LONG absence, we're excited to share again.

Cheers!
~Melanie & Kiran

Stamps: Button Buddies, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Marina Mist, Old Olive, Early Espresso
Paper: Whisper White
Extras: Bright Buttons

Friendly Flower

I just love this card made by Nancy Riley, and finally had time to make a version of my own.  Like Nancy, I used a background of Basic Gray, embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper folder in the Big Shot.  I kept Nancy's layout, but changed her Melon Mambo petals to the new In Color Calypso Coral.  My leaves are Pear Pizazz, and my finishing touch was an Antique Brad for the flower center.

Teeny Tiny Wishes provided my friendly greeting, and the banner is from the Petal Cone die.  I look forward to sharing this card--and petal cone projects--with you at my Open House this Sunday.  Stop by between 2 and 5 for some fun.

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Build a Blossom, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Calypso Coral, Pear Pizazz
Paper: Basic Gray, Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Pear Pizazz
Extras: Blossom Builder punch, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder, Big Shot, Petal Cone die

Forest of Love

Yeah, so I didn't know what to call this.  Bear with me; as I mentioned, I'm not much of a sweet and sappy person!

However, I just adore these heart-filled trees, which are also from Valentine Defined.  The cute clothesline of hearts is from the same set, making it a winner in my book (note...with the flamingos and the love you sentiment, you've now only seen HALF of this great set!).

This is another sweet and simple card.  I used Riding Hood Red for the trees, and Soft Suede for the clothesline.  After much searching for a forest animal that would be the right scale for this forest, I settled on the fox from Fox and Friends, and stamped him in Soft Suede as well.

My finishing touch is the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes, which I stamped on Very Vanilla and then popped out with the Word Window punch.  I matted this on a Modern Label of Soft Suede and that was that.  What do you think?  Not bad for someone who doesn't "do" Valentines, right?

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Valentine Defined, Fox and Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Soft Suede
Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Soft Suede
Extras: Word Window punch, Modern Label punch

Sparkly Pine Redux

Here is my CASE of Kelli Lichentenberg's Regionals swap card, which I absolutely love.  Now that I know how to use Dazzling Diamonds, I thought I should try my hand at making my own.  How do they compare?

For this, I used Old Olive Craft ink, which is much thicker and stickier than the Classic ink pads, so I didn't need Versamark at all.  I dusted the Heat and Stick powder over the Old Olive tree, heated it, dusted everything with Dazzling Diamonds, and heated it again for a shine that won't rub off.  After I finished that, I realized that Kelli must have used a different adhesive on her card, since the color of the tree shines through more brightly in her version.  All the same, I really like how this turned out, and it was very simple to do!

The finishing touches are nearly the same as Kelli's--Serene Snowflakes in Old Olive on Whisper White, then embossed using the Big Shot and Square Lattice embossing folder.  The only alteration to her great layout that I made was to inch the tree a little higher, and use the Modern Label punch to pop out my sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

I hope you're ready for Christmas!  Today's bingo piece is the yellow bell.  Good luck!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Serene Snowflakes, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Old Olive, Old Olive Craft
Paper: Old Olive, Whisper White
Extras: Heat and Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, heat tool, Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Modern Label punch

Simple Birthday

It's another double Bingo Sunday, so stay tuned for another post, another card, and another Bingo piece late this afternoon.  This morning's piece is the snowflake.

One of the zillion things I did yesterday was make a stack of birthday cards to fill an order, and I just love how this one turned out.  It's just cute and simple...and my secret is that I did NOT use the Stamp-a-majig.  That's easy to do with clear mount stamps--but it's not easy to make a straight line.  My secret is that punched red square, which I can use to cover the square that's most out of line.  No one will ever know!

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Cute by the Inch, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink: Real Red, Early Espresso
Paper: Crumb Cake, Real Red
Extras: 1-1/4" Square punch

Happy Mother's Day

Hi Mom!

I sent Mom her card and gift earlier this week, but have held off on posting here...just in case she decided to give my blog a quick glance.  Unlikely, but you never know!  This is the card she opened/will open today, and I hope she likes it.

I was just playing around when I made this card, and sometimes that's the best thing to do.  I got out my Circle Scissors Plus, which I love but don't use often enough, and quickly had circles in the retiring colors Ballet Blue, Orchid Opulence, and Cameo Coral--all favorites of mine.  Then I got out my trusty Big Shot and added texture to each of these circles with a quick trip through the Big Shot in an embossing folder: Bashful Blue in the new Square Lattice embossing folder, Orchid Opulence in the Manhattan Flower folder, and Cameo Coral in the polka dot folder.  The layout was, again, just me playing around; this is essentially how they landed when I dropped the circles on the table.  

The base is Apricot Appeal--a color I am not sad to lose, I have to say--and that sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  I stamped it on Sage Shadow and then popped it out with the Modern Label punch and this card was great to go.  I hope Mom likes it!

Cheers!

~Melanie

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Basic Black

Paper: Apricot Appeal, Ballet Blue, Orchid Opulence, Cameo Coral, Sage Shadow

Extras: Circle Scissors Plus, Big Shot, Square Lattice embossing folder, Manhattan Flower embossing folder, Modern Label punch, dimensionals

Hey Foxy

I can't take credit for this entirely, as it was inspired by some 3x3 cards by Angela McKay that I saw on Stampin' Connection (the demo-only site for sharing and swapping creations!), but I did tweak things a bit to come up with this valentine. Happily, this used up materials that I already had and didn't know what to do with, so it doubles as a "cleaning out my stash" project. Gotta love that!

On a Whisper White card base, I mounted a 4x5.25" rectangle of Real Red, and then a 3.75x5" rectangle of Real Red patterns from a 6x6" print pack that I had lying around. (Note: These print packs are available as a hostess reward, but you can also purchase patterned paper in Patterns Designer Series Paper in any of the colors available, which greatly widens the spectrum)

With my basic card ready to go, it was time to work on the details. Angela used circle punches for her animals, but I don't have those. Since Kiran wasn't handy to lend me her punches, I pulled out my new Scallop Trim Corner punch from the Occasions Mini, and cut a 1-15/16" square of Real Red. At that size, all I needed was the corner punch to create the design all around. The fox was easier, quickly punched out with my 1-1/4" square punch and ready for layering. I also turned to punches for my sentiment, mounting the Word Window punch on the Modern Label (a favorite of mine). For an extra pop, I used dimensionals to attach these to the card, and that's why the sentiment really stands out from the background.

I have to say, this was quicker to make than to explain. Deceptively simple, with lots of options for mixing and matching...

Cheers!
~Melanie

Stamps: Fox and Friends, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Whisper White, Real Red, retired Patterns Pack
Ink: Real Red
Extras: 1-1/4" Square punch, Scallop Trim Corner punch, Word Window punch, Modern Label punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

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