Humble Pie Challenge: Classic Black & White (plus an accent colour!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 2010...can you believe it?? Why is it the older you get, the faster time flies by? lol I would like to take this chance to wish you all the very best in the new year!

Well, to start the new year off, we have a brand new challenge over at Humble Pie. This week, we are putting forth a colour challenge...black, white and ONE accent colour. Now, I have to admit that I didn't have much in the way of black and white paper, which kind of surprised me, as I love black and white cards! What a shame...I had to go out shopping for some! lol I found this fabulous Daisy Bucket paper. Actually, I picked up several different patterns. I also got a chance to break out my brand-spankin'-new oval Nesties for the focal image! I used my Labels 8 to make a shaped card. I chose to use Flower Maggie as the image for my card. I was inspired by all those pictures of kids in black and white, where only a bit of the image is highlighted with a colour. So, I used a red Copic marker to colour just the flower...and to add a touch of colour to her cheeks. The ribbon is recycled from a Christmas present.

I hope you get a chance to play along over at Humble Pie this week! Hop on over there to see the winner from the last challenge, and to see the examples from the rest of the Bakers! Remember, if you are on the hunt for some Humble Pie images, you will only find them at The Town Scrapper. Give Phebe a call, or send her an email for more info!

Hope to see you back soon stampers! Remember, I still have SECRETS to reveal!!

Blessings,

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)

Humble Pie Challenge: Buttons and Bling!

Happy Friday morning stampers!! The challenge this week over at Humble Pie is to create a project that includes "buttons and bling", both of which I love!!


For my card this week I used the Haunted House image from Humble Pie stamps. I stamped the house on Neenah cardstock and coloured it with Copic markers (do you all get tired of hearing me say that??!!) The sign on the door says "Keep Out", so I thought it would be fun to add a silhouette up in the attic window...the only room with a light on. Creepy? Enough to keep you out? Mwa ha ha ha. Ok...I don't do scary well! But hey, I tried!

Take a look:

I love the shows on TV where they do house makeovers, and I've seen some that just focus on the "curb appeal" of the house. It is from these shows that I drew the inspiration for my card! I am just imagining the look on a prospective buyer's face when their real estate agent shows them this little gem! The little "For Sale" sign is hand-drawn...didn't have a stamp for that!! The sentiment is my own, printed off my computer. As for the required buttons and bling elements, well I decided to "bling" my "buttons"! I coated some buttons with Glossy Accents and covered them with some Martha Stewart glitter in onyx. I did the same with the little rhinestones on the sentiment. I also added some Stickles to the little ghost die cuts. The "creepy" ribbon is a dollar store find. The fabulous orange paper with the trees if from Reminisce, and I THINK the striped paper is Bo Bunny...but I forgot to check before I glued the piece with the company name on it to my card! (lol...oops!) I also snipped the edges of my cardstock to create grass. Everything was distressed with a dark green ink.

So, head on over to Humble Pie to play along this week. You could win an awesome prize!!

ETA: Don't have a Humble Pie stamp yet?? You can feel free to use ANY image for now, as long as you are following the rules for the challenge (buttons and bling) this week! If you would like to get your hands on one of these great stamps, contact Phebe at The Town Scrapper! If you win this week, you will receive some "Maggie Bucks" to spend at the Town Scrapper on Humble Pie stamps! So go get inky!!

Have a fantastic Friday!

Melanie

Brand Spankin' New Humble Pie Blog!!

Happy Saturday!! I have some exciting news for you all. Phebe, the owner of The Town Scrapper has launched her own line of stamps, which now has it's very own blog, Humble Pie ! Over at this new blog, you will find bios on the Humble Pie design team affectionately named The Bakers, projects designed by The Bakers, challenges, prizes and more!! Here is my first submission as part of The Bakers!





This little guy from the Humble Pie stamp line is named "Batboy". The supplies for this card can be found at The Town Scrapper . I stamped Batboy on Neenah cardstock and coloured him up with my Copic markers. The DP is from Making Memories. I love that paper with the spider web...it's flocked (which just won't show up in a photo!), and the little spider is glittery. The sentiments are cut out from a 12x12 sheet of paper full of Halloween themed words and phrases. I have seen a few card designers pop up their sentiments with pop dots to achieve this wavy look, so thought I'd try it out! I think it's a technique I will use again...it adds great dimension to a card. I distressed the edges with black distress ink. I added just a touch of glitter to Batboy's wings and the "S" on his shirt with a glitter pen. I also used my Spica pen to add a little shimmer to his eyes. (again...this isn't showing up in the pic, so you will have to take my word for it! Here is the closeup:

So, hop on over to the Humble Pie Stamps blog, and get in on all the fun! I know that Phebe will be offering up some candy...so go and check it out! Don't forget to see my post on the DT call for Humble Pie Stamps HERE !

Have an awesome weekend!

Melanie

(oh...and Happy World Card Making Day!!! Make sure to find some time to get inky!!)