Humble Pie Challenge

Make sure to head on over to the Humble Pie blog to participate in the weekly challenge. This week is a sketch challenge. There's a $10 gift certificate towards Humble Pie stamps up for grabs!

I'll be back later in the day with a new card to post!

Melanie

Let It Snow: A Motivet Christmas

Thursday already...where has the week gone? So, I last posted that my family had avoided all these nasty bugs going around...I spoke too soon. I've been working from home the last two days, as my daughter has been home sick. She woke up the other day with a sore throat and a bit of a cough. In previous years, she probably would have still gone to school. However, with all the hype surrounding H1N1, I thought it best to keep her home and monitor her in case she spiked a fever. No fever yet, but she is a bit run down. So, it's a jammie day for her again! Hopefully, this is just a cold that she is fighting...time will tell.

So, on to my card! Have you seen the new Motivet stamps from their "Traditional" line? I love them! Lucky for me, my friend Phebe is carrying them in her store. Phebe owns The Town Scrapper , a fabulous little store in Petrolia, Ontario. She carries some great stamp lines. So when I was out there the other day, some of these new Motivet stamps found their way into my bag!

This is one of my favourites. I absolutely love Christmas carols. However, I am NOT a singer! That is something I really wish I had a talent for. My husband is a musician, so a lot of people assume that I sing as well. Nope. Well, I do...but it doesn't mean that people want to hear it! I do love listening to children sing, and these three are out in the chilly winter air carolling for everyone to hear!

The image was coloured with Copic markers. I have never created a night sky behind my images before. I started by masking the image and sponging Memento London Fog behind them. This just wasn't quite deep enough, so I added some Memento Black as well. (it looks smoother in real life...you'll have to trust me on that!) This was the first time I played with my Polar White Flower Soft. It is just perfect for snow...so sparkly! I drew little snowflakes with my Inksentials pen. Then I debated whether to "Stickle" them up, or go with Flower Soft snowflakes. I obviously opted for the latter. What do you think?

Here's the closeup:

I added some Glossy Accents to the lamp shade ( why does this never show in pictures?? lol). I finally got a snowflake Spellbinders, and this was the perfect card to use them for! I have seen some beautiful snowflake medallions created with these, and was excited to try it out. However, I'm noticing that I covered my centre rhinestone with Stickles...oops. I will be sticking another one on that, so just pretend that there's a lovely un-Stickled rhinestone in the middle! Thanks for humouring me. Then sentiment is also from Motivet (I added the snowflakes). These lovely papers are also available at the Town Scrapper.

I am excited...since Halloween is almost come and gone, that means stores will be putting out Christmas stuff soon! Some already have. I'll be on the hunt for little treasures to use on cards and other projects. I love this time of year.

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

Blessings,

Melanie

Popcorn the Bear: Thanks a Bunch!

Good morning! I hope this day finds you all happy and healthy. There are so many colds and flu going around. Does anybody go anywhere without hand sanitizer these days?? So far, my family has managed to avoid all these bugs, and I'm hoping it stays that way!

We have been so incredibly blessed by so many of our friends and family lately, that I have been in need of thank-you cards! I was able to ink up one of my brand new stamps yesterday to make this card. I first saw a card with Popcorn the Bear from Crafter's Companion a month or two ago, and instantly fell in love with this cutie! I was thrilled to find out that the Rubber Room in London, Ontario now carries these stamps. I picked up two sets when I was there this past weekend, and hopefully the other will see ink soon too!

As always, I stamped Popcorn on Neenah and coloured him with Copics. I was trying to achieve a "furry" look, so I avoided blending the colours very much. I used a lot of feather strokes in many, many layers. I was pretty happy with the way he turned out! I won't tell you how long it took to cut this little guy out...but I am very grateful that I have Cutterbee scissors! These are the best for cutting out detailed, finicky images. Popcorn was pop-dotted for dimension. I added just a touch of shimmer to the flowers with a Spica pen (although it probably isn't showing up in the picture!).

I kept this layout fairly simple. I sponged the edges of all the layers with brown ink. The ribbon was originally white, but I coloured it with a Copic marker to match the cardstock. The papers are from Cosmo Cricket and Basic Gray. The sentiment is included in this stamp set.

Here's a little peek at the inside (those flowers are also included in this stamp set!)

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This card just happens to fit in with two challenges this week! (love it when that happens!)


1. Stampin' Sisters in Christ is asking for a card that expresses thankfulness.


2. Kraftin' Kimmie is asking for a card with shades of autumn (brown, rust, green and/or yellow). (Kimmie, I'm hoping you will count the dark orange shades in the flowers as the "rust" requirement!!)


I hope you all have a fantastic day, and thanks so much for stopping by! Oh, and don't be shy...leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I'd love to come by your blog and see your creations too!

Blessings,

Melanie

Thankful for Friends

Good afternoon! I can't believe the weekend is almost over already. We have been so busy. We took an impromptu shopping trip to London yesterday in search of costumes for the kids. While it was fun, it certainly ate up a lot of free time! I'm still hoping to squeeze in some time for stamping, although it honestly is not looking promising. I have acquired some fabulous new stamps over the past few days, and am very much looking forward to inking them up!


So, I thought I'd share a thank-you card today that I made a few weeks back for a couple at our church. Friends truly are such a blessing, and I thank God for those He has put in our lives. It is so comforting to know that you have friends who are there to help in a time of need.

This was a stamp that had been sitting uninked in my binder...can you believe it??!! I love this image from Whiff of Joy. Their stamps are just so beautiful. I bought this stamp on my very first visit to The Town Scrapper .




Melinda was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copics. I used Nesties to cut her out, but used a technique I saw on another blog. I first placed the die over top of my image and marked where her hair would extend outside of the cut piece. I trimmed around her hair, and tucked the die underneath so her hair would not be cut with the rest of the circle. I really like this look where your image extends beyond the border. The DP is from My Minds Eye. Some of favourite papers are from this company. The edges were distressed, and I added some machine stitching.

As you can see from the closeup, I added a bit of blue underneath Melinda to "ground" her. I also added just a hint of blue around her body. The edge of the circle was sponged with Distress Ink. I also used a Copic Spica pen to add a touch of shimmer to her jewelry and the hearts. A bit of Frosted Lace Stickles adds a lovely sparkle to her wings. The sentiment is from the Amy R. Thank-You Sentiments, and was matted on one of the Spellbinders Fancy Tags.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Melanie

One card...three challenges!!

Happy Friday stampers!

I confess...I am quickly becoming addicted to challenges! I really enjoy looking at all the participants projects and seeing how different the interpretations of the challenge rules are. Wow, there are some talented papercrafters out in blogland!

So, I made this card for the following challenges:

1. Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge #9 : Based on Luke 2:11, make a project featuring the nativity or other theme about Christ's birth.
2. High Hopes Challenge #49 : Non-traditional Christmas Colours
3. Kraftin' Kimmie's Challenge #2 : Who's Got Some Buttons!

This adorable nativity scene is from High Hopes stamps. I love this stamp! I decided to go with shades of teal (yes, I know it looks more blue in the pictures, but in real life it's teal!) for my non-tradition colour choice. I absolutely love teal! I also wanted to do a card with a lot of sparkle. So, I started with a card base of deep teal and sponged the edges with white ink. The nativity image is recessed in that window (not sure if the dimension is showing in this pic), which was cut with my Nesties. The DP is from a Christmas pack I picked up last year, but the cover fell off so I have no idea of the company! lol This card also features some dollar store treasures...the snowflake and the word "hope". I picked up a pack of these super sparkly snowflakes, so you might just see some more in the future! That little wooden "hope" was painted white and then generously coated with some beautiful white sparkle. I also coated some buttons with some Martha Stewart glitter in a deep blue...love that colour of glitter! Finally I added some little rhinestones on the DP. Can I just tell you that I was a glittery mess when done with this card! lol It was on my face, in my hair, on my clothes!!!






Here's a closeup of the image. As always, it was stamped on Neenah cardstock and coloured with Copics.

I loved making this card! Christmas is just my favourite season, and I love making projects that focus on true meaning of Christmas. What a beautiful quiet moment we can peek in on, with Mary, Joseph and the little baby Jesus.

Make sure to find time to get inky this weekend!

Blessings,

Melanie

Don't forget about the next Humble Pie challenge!

Pop on over to Humble Pie Stamps to play along in the new challenge this week. We are asking for a Halloween-themed non-card project! Hmmm...can you think outside the card?? There are some great projects posted by the DT to inspire you! You DO NOT need a Humble Pie image to participate, but if you do have one...ink it up! You can also find out who the winner of last week's challenge is.

Have fun!

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