Merry Christmas Little One

It's the weekend! We have a very busy weekend here, as we have company down. We will be having "Christmas" with our nephew tonight, as we will not see him again until the new year. I've started decorating the house, and am about half-way done. Lots to do!!

I had bought this Popcorn the Bear stamp set a few weeks back, and decided to finally make a card with him. This is the first stamp set I saw featuring Popcorn, and immediately fell in love with this cute little bear.

I stamped Popcorn on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copics. I wanted to give Popcorn a 3D effect, so I stamped his head, hands and feet a second time and pop dotted them. The berries on his wreath are done with Christmas Red Stickles, and the ribbon received a top coat with a clear Spica pen. Here's an angled shot to show the dimension.

These Popcorn stamps are so big, that there isn't much room for a fussy layout, so I kept it simple. All the DP is Basic Gray Wassail (love, love, LOVE this paper...as I'm sure you've seen!). The cardstock is Bazzill. I ran out of room for a sentiment, which I had planned to say "Merry Christmas Little One", so I decided to use this metal embellishment from the dollar store. Actually, I really like it on this card...I think the whole piece has a kind of "vintage" feel.

Here's the closeup:

I wasn't sure why this stamp appealed to me as much as it did, until we put up our tree this year! For my daughter's first Christmas (she's 9 now!), we bought her this ornament...look familiar?!

I'll be entering this card into two challenges:

1. A Spoonful of Sugar as they are asking for cards for baby's first Christmas, or a card for a toddler.

2. Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Challenge, who is also asking for Christmas or Winter themed projects.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

Melanie

Humble Pie Challenge and a SALE!!!

Happy Friday! No card in this post...just a quick note! (I hope to be back soon with something I've been working on!)

Hop on over the the Humble Pie blog for the new challenge, and to find out if you won last week! This week, we are calling for altered items. Remember, you DO NOT need to use a Humble Pie image, but if you have them, by all means ink those babies up!!

You will only find the Humble Pie line at The Town Scrapper. Give Phebe a call. She also has a great SALE going on: Buy one item, get the second of equal or lesser value for 50% off!!! Time to stock up stampers! Phebe will be running this sale until the middle of January 2010! As a note, The Town Scrapper will be close from December 11 to December 21, 2009. Happy shopping!

Melanie

A Cow Says....Thank-you???

Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday! Boy, do I wish the days would slow down...I have so much to do! I'm looking forward to this weekend, as we will be setting up our Christmas tree. I just love this time of year. My husband is convinced that he motivated others on our street to turn on their lights, as he put ours on last week. lol I came home from volleyball last week to see our house shining like a beacon...the only beacon!

So, this morning I've got a card that I made for the High Hopes Challenge this week. It's a recipe challenge 3-2-1...3 flowers, 2 brads and 1 sentiment! I inked up my brand new Party Cow...love this stamp! I have a few other items she can be holding too, but thought it would be fun to have her presenting some flowers as a thank you gift. The flower stamp is also from High Hopes. I wanted to keep this card fairly simple. I also stretched myself on this one...I don't usually do such bright colour combos! But this cow is just so happy, that she needed a bright and cheery background. These papers are from a small pack I picked up at Winners...seriously, you need to keep an eye on their scrapbooking section because sometimes they get great items in there! Unfortunately, I cannot remember the company name!

I wasn't sure that my stamped flowers would count for the recipe, so I layered three flowers and added a little rhinestone centre. The two brads are holding my sentiment, which is from a Popcorn the Bear stamp set. Check it out...that sentiment is cut out with my brand new Labels 8!!! I have been wanting this set for so long, and finally picked it up from Skribbles n Scraps in Sarnia. This is such a simple recipe to follow that you have no excuse! If you have a High Hopes image, then hop on over there and play along! As always, I stamped my images on Neenah Cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and coloured with Copics.

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know you were here so I can pop by your blog and see what you've been up to!

Blessings!

Melanie

Christmas Temptation

Well folks, we have made it to another Friday! This week has been such a whirlwind around here, and as a result I have been absent from blogland...but I'm back! Today I have yet another Christmas card...go figure! lol Whatever will I do when Christmas has come and gone for the year??

I inked up this cute Callie Christmas Kitty from High Hopes stamps. I love this image! My in-laws have a cat named Callie, and when she was a kitten she managed to pull down their ENTIRE Christmas tree...a couple of times! She was a bit of a trouble maker to say the least! So, when I saw this stamp it reminded me of their Callie! How perfect! So, I had to colour her gray just like the kitty we know and love so well! Look at her little face....totally busted, caught in the act! Ha...I've seen that look on my kids' faces many times! lol

As always, I coloured the image with my Copic markers. The background is sponged in with Distress Ink, as are all the edges of the layers. The paper is all Bazzill and DCWV. Those gorgeous Primas are available at The Town Scrapper. The ornaments were coated with Glossy Accents, and then given a coat of Star Dust Stickles. The candy canes got a coat of Glossy Accents too.

This card fits in with two challenges this week:

1. High Hopes' Diva Lacey came up with this great sketch challenge.

2. Cute Card Thursday is calling for cards with glitter. Unfortunately, it is really hard to capture the sparkle in cards! Trust me, this one has plenty of glitter in real life!! Both layers of DP have a beautiful sparkle to them. The ornaments catch the light with their Star Dust Stickles. I also gave the Primas a touch of Stickles too. The three buttons at the bottom were also Stickled up!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'm hoping to find some time to create, and perhaps get a few Christmas gifts done!

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,

Melanie

p.s. Friday is the day when Humble Pie posts their new challenge! This week is a sketch challenge. There is always a prize up for grabs...so hop on over and play along! You do not have to use a Humble Pie image to play along, but use them if you've got them! The new Humble Pie Christmas stamps will be in soon at The Town Scrapper, the only place you can get them! Give Phebe a call to place an order!

Pixie with a Twist!

Well, it's Sunday evening already! How is it that the weekend goes by so quickly? We had a great weekend here. I was able to spend a good part of Saturday stamping and scrapbooking with a couple of friends. What a treat!

I decided to work on a card for the All That Scraps challenge this week. They are asking us to use an "older" stamp. I pulled out Heidi, the first Swiss Pixie I bought. I love these little Pixies...they are so cute! I gave Heidi a little twist. I added some stripes to her stockings, and drew a little Santa hat for her to wear. I cut around her bangs with a craft knife so I could tuck the hat in behind them. So now, Heidi looks like a cute little Christmas elf! It's fun to see how you can stretch the possibilities of your stamps...give it a try!

Heidi was coloured with Copics, and glitzed up with some Frosted Lace, Stardust and Christmas Red Stickles. The sentiment (from the Cookie Crumbs Reason for the Season set from CC Designs) was mounted on one of the Spellbinders Fancy Tags. Heidi was cut out with one of the Spellbinders Labels. I masked her and sponged around the image while it was still in the die. The cardstock is Bazzill, and the DP is from both Basic Gray and DCWV.

Thanks for looking in!

Blessings,

Melanie

How Do You Fit a Hippo in a Box??: HH Challenge #51(Post #2 for today....scroll down for the Humble Pie Challenge)

Wow...two posts in one day?? Impressive no? Well, I thought so!

Do you ever have an idea in your head for a card that just makes you giggle? My husband always finds it amusing that I crack myself up. Well, this Hippo stamp from High Hopes made me laugh out loud when I first saw it! He is so cute. There is a fabulous sentiment you can purchase as well quoting the famous (and somewhat annoying!) Christmas song. However, I thought it would be fun to create my own "Dear Santa" letter to go along with it! I tried my best to do "kids" printing, but let me tell you...it's hard to print messy! Poor little Sam wants this hippo so badly, and he can't help but be honest about his behaviour this past year! lol See how he kept changing what he wrote about being "good"?? hee hee Of course, you cannot expect a five year old to spell everything correctly either!!

The challenge this week calls for snowflakes. I decided to go with a non-traditional snowflake look. This fabulous Christmas paper was the colour inspiration...I believe it might be from a DCWV Christmas stack. The cardstock is Bazzill. Once again, I pulled out my new Snowflake Spellbinders to create that fun red and green snowflake embellishment. Add a couple of brads, and done!

The hippo was stamped on Neenah with Memento ink and coloured with Copics. Parts of the ribbon were pop dotted for dimension. I love how he has exploded out of this box! Ta Da! The ribbon was given a coat of Star Dust Stickles for shimmer.

Hop on over to the High Hopes blog to join in the fun...they always have fantastic stamps up for grabs!

Have a great Friday!

Melanie

Snowflake Medallion: Humble Pie Challenge

Happy Friday!! Hope your week was great. Friday brings about another challenge over at the Humble Pie blog. This week, Baker Maria has challenged us to make a circle card. For my card, I have used one of the brand new Christmas images from the Sweetie Pie line, exclusively available at The Town Scrapper. I love snowmen, so I was excited to colour this friendly snow gent up! I love how he has a strand of Christmas lights wrapped around him!

So, I used my scalloped circle Nesties to make the card base with Coordination cardstock. The design paper behind the snowman is from my Christmas stash (I have so many papers in this stash!). I decided to recycle an empty ribbon spool for the top layer. With this added dimension, I was able to tuck in some of my new Spellbinders Snowflakes to make a medallion. This was my first go at making one of these, and I have to admit, I didn't get the spacing quite right! So insert a bow and an extra snowflake and voila! No empty spaces! (hee hee). I've had fellow cardmakers tell me that the tiny imperfections we see in our creations show that they are actually handmade! I think that's a great way to look at things!

Snowmen are so easy to colour! Just a little shading, and you're done. I used my Copics. Now, what is a Christmas card without sparkle?? I added Polar White Flower Soft for snow, Frosted Lace Stickles to the snowflakes and Start Dust Stickles to the light bulbs. The snowman's hat also received a coat of Glossy Accents. The little brad on the snowflake is from Bo Bunny. That bow was tied with my Bow Easy. Funny story, the first time I used this fabulous little creation I was so confused! It was definitely the Bow-Not-So-Easy! I had two friends over stamping at the time, and we were not able to figure this gadget out! There are some fabulous tutorials on-line (You-Tube) which will clarify the instructions for you! Now, I definitely recommend this tool...you will love it once you learn how to use it!

Here is a side shot of the card, so you can see how it was assembled:

Now hop on over to Humble Pie to play along this week. You DO NOT need to have a Humble Pie image to play...but if you have one, go on and ink it up! There is always a great prize to win from The Town Scrapper, home of the Humble Pie stamp line. While there, why not become a follower so you will not miss out on any news from the Humble Pie Kitchen!

What are your plans for the weekend? Not that much time until Christmas folks, so best to start that shopping now! I always hope to have things done by the end of November so that I can just sit back and enjoy December. So far, I have not yet reached that goal...so maybe this year!

Blessings!

Melanie

Humble Pie Christmas Release Blog Hop!

Good morning fellow stampers! Humble Pie is excited to announce a brand new release of the Sweetie Pie line just in time for Christmas! These stamps will be available exclusively at The Town Scrapper. To kick off this new release, we are having a fun blog hop. Along the way, you will meet the newest members of The Bakers! Some of the Bakers have blog candy up for grabs. There is also a grand prize of two new Humble Pie Christmas stamps donated by Phebe at The Town Scrapper!! Rumour has it, that there might even be a few surprise goodies!

If you arrived here from Shelly's blog, then you are on the right track! If not, hop over to Kim's place to start your adventure!

To be eligible for the grand prize, you must visit every Baker on the list, and leave a comment to let us know you were there. Make sure to take some time to look at these blogs...there are some wonderfully talented ladies on this team! Hey...why not become a follower of the Humble Pie blog?? We have weekly challenges with great prizes up for grabs!

So here is my card for the hop! This is Maggie, all ready to decorate her tree! Both Maggie and the tree are part of the new release. I love this Christmas tree...it's so much fun! Maggie's pretty cute too in her Santa jammies. These papers are from my stash...unfortunately I do not remember the company name! Maggie was pop-dotted on some Nesties Labels.

As always, I coloured the image with Copic markers. I also added some Frosted Lace Stickles to her trim, the lights and the tree decorations. Christmas cards are perfect for adding lots of glitter! The ribbon is American Crafts. The poinsettia...from my stash! That great brad in the centre of the flower is also available at Phebe's store.

So, grab a cup of coffee or tea and off you go now on the hop. Here is a list of all the Bakers participating today.

1. Kim

2. Tricia

3. Phebe

4. Ann

5. Katie

6. Kim S.

7. Leah

8. Lisa

9. Maria

10. Shelly

11. Melanie (You are here!)

12. Humble Pie Stamps

Remember to comment at all of the Baker's blogs so you have a chance to win the grand prize! Check in at the Humble Pie blog to play along with our current challenge. A new one will be posted on Friday!

While you are here, feel free to stay a while and have a peek around my blog. I love visitors!

Blessings!

Melanie

(p.s. Is anybody else having issues with the spacing on Blogger?? Know how to fix it?? Let me know please! I honestly did have separate paragraphs in this post...not just one big one! lol)

A Little Christmas Magic!

Ready, set...go! That's how I always feel at the beginning of every week! Wow, life can get busy...especially with kids! We are also coming up to one of the busiest times of the year, and incidentally my favourite time of year! I love the Christmas season. The sights, smells, decorations and family traditions are just a few things I treasure at this time of year. As it is officially November, my husband will be starting to play carols. Now, this is a bit early for me yet...but not for Dean! It is not too early, however, to be making cards and other Christmas crafts. Actually, if you are just starting now then you better get cracking!

Today I have another new Motivet image to share with you. How cute is this little boy with his teddy?? The expressions on the children's faces in this Traditional line are just priceless. Imagine, sneaking downstairs on Christmas morning and seeing Santa just disappearing up the chimney! To me, it looks like he's wondering "how does he fit...is he stuck???"! lol. Almost all of the supplies for this card (including the stamp) are available from Phebe at The Town Scrapper in Petrolia.

I had a lot of fun with this stamp. The details in these images are great, and it is very easy to see where the shading belongs. I coloured the image with Copic markers of course. A lot of bloggers list their colours. I end up using so many colours that I would need a separate post for them! It's a little embarrassing...my table is a mess of markers by the time I am done! I used some Basic Gray Wassail DP to make the "wallpaper" behind the fireplace. The "carpet" is paper from My Mind's Eye. I cut the little boy apart from the fireplace to pop him up on foam tape. Ok, I am confessing here to all my online stamping friends...I am addicted to Polar White Flower Soft! It is so pretty! I think you will be seeing a lot of it in the coming weeks! I used this Flower Soft on the stocking trim. I used Frosted Lace Stickles (my personal favourite) on Santa's pants. There are some swirls on this stamp around Santa's feet which I think may be soot, but I chose to add Stickles to that as well, as part of the magic of this scene. Glossy Accents were applied to the clock face, and to Santa's boots.

That beautiful flower is made with layered Primas and a cardstock poinsettia. The card base is SU, the main DP is Basic Gray Wassail (this is a beautiful pack of Christmas papers!), the sentiment was printed on my computer. The ribbon is American Crafts (it was not the right shade of green however, so I just coloured it with a Copic marker to match). Finally, I sponged all the edges with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I really love this combination of traditional Christmas colours.

I'm submitting this card in Kraftin' Kimmie's Challenge #4...they are asking for tags of any shape or kind. I mounted my sentiment on one of the Spellbinders Fancy Tags...these tags are so pretty, and there are three in the set.

If you are interested, you can scroll down for a look at card I made with another of the new Motivet images last week. I do have one more that I am hoping to show you all shortly!

I hope you all have a fantastic day, and as always, thanks for stopping by. I really do appreciate you all taking the time to look in on me! I always love to read your comments, and to come visit at your blog!

Blessings,

Melanie