A SugarPlum Christmas

Welcome to another Showcase Monday at The Town Scrapper! I was going through my stamps, wondering what I should work with for today's Showcase when I came across this adorable CC Designs SugarPlum stamp called "Ornament Trevor " and he had yet to be inked up... gasp!!! I think I acquired him last year, just after Christmas, so little Trevor has been waiting patiently in his package for a chance to come out and play! It was a bit of a treat for me too, as I completely forgot that I had him...kind of like finding some money in a coat pocket that's been put away since last season. Gotta love finding "treasure"! :)

The pretty paper on my card today is from Imaginesce. The ribbon and jingle bells are dollar store finds. I decided to use some X-Press It Blending Cardstock in place of my beloved Neenah Smooth Cardstock. Everybody in "blogland" seems to LOVE this new paper...including my 10 year old daughter Ainsleigh! (she has actually requested that I keep buying this paper for her, even if I choose to stick with my Neenah, lol) I've had a few sample sheets kicking around for a while now, but personally I've not been thrilled with my previous attempts at colouring on it...I found that I just was not achieving the same depth that I did with the Neenah paper. However, I'm determined to give this paper a fair chance...I usually take a while to adjust to change. So, I think I'll keep playing around with the X-Press It on occasion before I make any final decisions...as of right now, I'm not ready to make the big switch. I'm still a "Neenah girl". :) Paper really is a personal preference...I have friends who love Beckett, Bristol, Canson, Wassau and X-Press It. You really have to try out different papers to find out which works the best for you. I did find that it was easier to create texture in the hair on this paper...since it is not as soft and absorbent as Neenah, the marker strokes tend to remain a bit crisper or more defined. Sometimes, it's easy to over-blend on the Neenah, which is something you want to avoid when you are looking to create texture with your marker strokes.

I used some Distress Ink in Bundled Sage to sponge around the edges of the paper. Phebe has a great selection of Distress Inks at The Town Scrapper...I love these inks, and I rarely make a card without reaching for them. Stardust Stickles were applied to Trevor's ornaments.

Copics: Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E11, R20 Hair: E50, E30, E31, E33, E37, E59 Clothes: G20, G82, G85, G99, B91, B95, B97, B99, E40, E41, E42, E43, E47 Shoes: E50, E5, E21, E25, E47 Ornaments: Y00, Y11, Y21, Y23, YG00, YG11, G14, G05, BG0000, BG10, BG11, BG72, BG75, R20, R22, R27, R46, R59

Make sure to check out what the other Scrapettes have created for today's Showcase on The Town Scrapper Blog...these ladies always make such gorgeous projects with the product lines available at The Town Scrapper.

To arrange a visit to The Town Scrapper or to place an order, you can contact Phebe via telephone at 519-882-0623 or by email at info@townscrapper.com.

Have a wonderful Monday...and thanks for stopping by!!

Blessings,

Melanie

Stamp: CC Designs "Ornament Trevor"

Ink: Memento, Copics, Bundled Sage Distress Ink

Paper: X-Press It, Bazzill, Imaginesce

Embellishments: Ribbon, bells, Stardust Stickles

Miracle on Maxwell

Last year, our church started a Christmas fundraiser for some local charities. We proposed that people might opt to donate to a charity in lieu of giving a gift to some of the people on their Christmas lists. In exchange, they would receive a handmade card to give to that person detailing which charity received a donation. This was my first introduction to cardmaking...and it consisted of matching up some stickers to papers! I was hooked. Although my first attempts at cardmaking were all on the "scrappy" side, I quickly learned about the world of stamping...and there was no turning back!

I'm showing you a sample of some cards I made for Miracle on Maxwell this year (our church is located on Maxwell...clever, no??). I needed images that would work up quickly, which is quite a feat for me, as I take FOREVER to colour images!! I bought this beautiful set from Flourishes (All that Glitters). I am in love with these ornament images...so beautiful! I stamped them on some leftover Prism Simply Smooth (which I never seem to use anymore), and coloured with Copics. I kept these very simple, as I needed quite a few. They were paired up with papers from DCWV, and satin ribbon from Walmart.

Here is a closeup of one of the cards. I added some Martha Stewart glitter to the ornaments on this one:



Here are a couple made with one of the new Christmas sets from CC Designs. I had bought this set, and almost didn't ink it up this year! I think they are perfect for our program! These too worked up very quickly, and I love that they focus on the "reason for the season"!!

Giving to those less fortunate is just one way that we can show others the love of God. During this beautiful season, it is easy to get caught up in all the hustle, bustle and materialism. It is important to remember to slow down, and take time to reflect on the meaning of Christmas. So, while out shopping for our loved ones, let's try to remember to drop our change in the Kettles, or pick up an extra bag of groceries for your local food bank. How about that "mitten tree" at the mall? There are so many ways to show our love for others...think about how you can bless another person today!

Hope you all have a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to be back soon with a new post...I've been a busy stamper lately!!

Blessings,

Melanie

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

Trick or Treat with Emma (Cute Card Thursday)

Can you believe it's already October 20? Halloween is just around the corner! Our kids have always enjoyed dressing up and going trick or treating around the neighbourhood, but the majority of our evening is spent at our church for our annual Fall Festival. Lots of fun to be had here...games and candy galore! If you live in the Sarnia Lambton area and are looking for a fun alternative, drop me a line and I can give you the info!


I love cute Halloween costumes! For my daughter's first Halloween, she was an adorable little lamb. Now of course, she is all grown up at the age of 9, and cute is just not the way she wants to go...it's gotta be "cool" now! She was a mime last year, which was a lot of fun . She is still trying to come up with an idea for this year. This adorable little Emma image from CC Designs takes me back to when "cute" was still "cool"!






Emma was of course stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with...(let's say it all together) Copic markers! The design papers are from Karen Foster and Imaginesce. The ribbon was from the dollar store. I snipped the green cardstock to create grass for Emma to stand on. I pop dotted Emma for some extra dimension. I kept the layout simple, so that the image took centre stage.


I'll be entering this into the Cute Card Thursday Challenge, which is calling for "spooky" cards this week. Here's a closer look at Emma!

Hope you all have a fantastic day!

Blessings,

Melanie

Heartfelt Thanks

Good morning! We had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend here, spent with family and friends...but boy, was it COLD!!! My daughter always takes part in a Highland Dancing demonstration at the Brigden Fall Fair, and we were remembering how the last two years were ridiculously hot! We were all shivering this year...but the girls did a great job! We of course went to the midway and had fun on some of the rides, toured the exhibits and got caramel apples as a treat!

So, I thought a thank-you card would be an appropriate post after Thanksgiving weekend! Most of the supplies for this card are from The Town Scrapper . I used a CC Design stamp featuring Emma from their fall release. The design paper is all from My Minds Eye. I used my Fancy Tags Spellbinders (The Town Scrapper has a great selection of Spellbinders!) for the sentiment...I really love these tags! They are so pretty. The sentiment is also from CC Designs (Thank You Sentiment Set). The edges were all distressed with brown ink. I added a few rhinestones from my own stash...gotta have a little bling!

Emma was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copic markers. I used the colourless blender to create the polka-dots on Emma's dress. If you try out this technique on a dark colour, like this brown, be patient with it! It took me several applications of the colourless blender to achieve the look I wanted.

Speaking of thank-you's...I would like to thank the ladies over at Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge Blog . I played along in their challenge last week, and was awarded a "Shining Star"! What an honour! All of the entrants submitted such beautiful cards. There is a lot of talent over at that blog. What a lovely group of ladies, and I enjoyed participating in their challenge.

One more quick note...Phebe at The Town Scrapper has the new CC Designs release in! Have you seen these stamps? They are gorgeous! I can't wait to get my inky paws on the Emma Angel set! She also has a great selection of paper and embellishments. Take a trip out to Petrolia to visit her! Now is the time to start your Christmas cards ladies...the season will be upon us before you know it!

Have a blessed day!

Melanie

Baby Gingersnaps!

Happy Saturday morning! I am happy to report that it is around 10:00...and I am still in my jammies! Wow, I have not had a relaxed Saturday morning in ages! However, it is time to get going with the usual Saturday errands! Thought I would get this card posted before my day gets too crazy!

Today I have a card for you made as a part of my guest DT spot for Phebe at The Town Scrapper. These cuties are from CC Designs Gingersnap line. I LOVE them! Phebe has a great selection of CC Design stamps! Baby cards are so much fun to make!

All images are coloured with my Copic markers. Now, the camera could not pick this up, but this little mommy-to-be actually has a "baby bump"!! I used some mulberry type paper so that it had a bit of stretch, and stuffed her little belly with fibrefill. There seems to be some misconception that when a lady is pregnant, her belly becomes public domain...anyone and everyone just has to give her belly a rub! I for one hated that when I was pregnant! This mommy, however, will not complain if you give her little belly a rub! I instantly fell in love with the little baby bug image in this stamp set...so much so, that I could NOT stamp just one! I had to have a whole army of little bugs! haha. Hmm, will she have a girl or a boy?? The little babies actually have squiggly antennae...but because I wanted to cut out and pop them up, I had to cut them off. I printed this sentiment out on my computer, but the stamp set has a couple of cute ones included. I used a few layers of Nestabilities to mat the images on, and the sentiment is cut from the ribbon tag trio also from Spellbinders. Lots of pop dots were used on this card!! The DP is MME...I really love this paper which is available at The Town Scrapper . The colours are so pretty in this paper. Phebe I need to pick up more of this from you!! A little bit of machine stitching and voila! Here is a close-up of the image:

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I had so much fun making this card! Go out and see Phebe...I guarantee you will find something (probably a lot of somethings!) that you love at her store. She has new stamps arriving! I will be bringing this card out to Petrolia for display in her store (see...now you can go give that "baby bump" a rub!!), and I plan on picking up some new stamps!

As always, thanks for taking the time to look in!

Melanie

Swiss Pixies

I adore this little image! She is just so cute. This is Heidi from C.C. Designs. I picked her up a while ago from Phebe at The Town Scrapper.

I coloured Heidi with Copic markers (ok...you will hear this a lot from me!!). These markers blend like a dream. Being a Pixie, Heidi needed some sparkle so I added some Frosted Lace Stickles to her wings. I added some Stickles to the dew drop in the centre of the flower as well...which picks up the sparkle in the paper! The main image and the mat were cut out with Spellbinders Nestabilities. This was a card I made a few weeks ago for Phebe.

Thanks for looking in!

Melanie