Thanks for everything

Today we are having a mini blog hop as a way to say thank you to Nichole and all the team from Papertrey Ink.

I have never seen a company so devoted to its customers as Papertrey Ink. Thank you for providing us with the highest quality products, the most innovative ideas, the greatest inspiration , the nicest group of designers and behind-the-scenes people, and the most supportive and encouraging online forum!

For my card, I tried to create a card that emulated Nichole elegant and classic style. I stamped the damask background with Versamark onto Hawaiian Shores cardstock, and heat embossed it with black detail ep (Filigree). I used True Black satin ribbon, Fillable Frame 4 and the sentiment from Year of Flowers: Violets.

Thanks for stopping by!

Melissa

You can swing!

Happy Sunday evening! We are all prepared and excited for the first day of school tomorrow.

I'm sharing a scrapbook page I made recently for my daughter's album that captures the milestone of her being able to swing all by herself! She is pretty proud about this!



I used some older Basic Grey paper that matched well with the photos and the butterflies are stamped from the set Buttefly Dreams and cut out.



Thanks for looking!
Melissa

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my mom and dad's 38th Wedding Anniversary! Congratulations, Mom and Dad and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Here is the card I made them:



The paper is from the new Echo Park line. I used the new Mat Stack 4 as well as Mat Stack 1, to create the focal image. The stamped portion is from Round and Round.

I'm really having a hard time not using Hawaiian Shores in everything I make...I guess that Fall will cure me of that?!

Thanks for coming by!
Melissa

August PTI Blog Hop

It's Blog Hop time!



I really struggled with this month's theme to incorporate a brown bag into our project. I have a vision of making a mini album or pocket card with a brown bag, but all my efforts ended up in the recycling bin!

With no more "regular" brown bags in sight, I found a brown coffee bag to use.



I stamped some polka dots on the front of the bag, tied a ribbon and created a tag using Friendship Jar and the Fall fillers. I could see this being used to package up a gift for a neighbor or teacher.



Can't wait to see what everyone came up with! Thanks for stopping by!
Melissa

Teacher Gift

It's almost back to school time! August 30th is the big day for us!

I got to work preparing a gift for my son's kindergarten teacher because this next week is going to be busy. I wanted to make something that his teacher might find useful for her desk even after the contents have been used up.

I found a wood desk organizer at AC Moore and painted the edges an ivory color and then covered it with some digital paper from Zoe Pearn, called Alphabet Soup for girls .



Even the insides got covered with paper--some cute polka dot paper!



I made some bookplates using the stamp set, All Booked Up, and used self-adhesive paper, so they can be adhered directly into the book.



I also created some bookmarks with the coordinating bookmark die, cutting them out with felt and sewing the paper onto them.



I also included a bottle of hand sanitizer, two erasers, a few packs of post-its, some pens, several small notecards with envelopes and a Barnes and Noble gift card.



And here it is all wrapped up in plastic, with the accompanying tag.



Thanks for looking!
Melissa

August WMS Blog Waltz

Hello and welcome to my fellow Waltzingmouse Stamps Waltzers!

The theme of the blog waltz this month is vintage/shabby chic. Neither of these is my usual style, but I did my best!



First, I took a piece of pink patterned paper (Echo Park) and stamped the birdcage from Asian Gardens onto it using Rouge chalk ink (Colorbox). Then I sponged the edges with Walnut Stain Distress ink (Ranger).

I then cut the aqua piece of patterned paper (Echo Park) using the Label 4 die and stamped the outline using Hawaiian Shores ink (PTI). The sentiment, from Say it With Style, was stamped using Rouge chalk ink.



I die cut a piece of Hawaiian Shores felt using PTI's Mat Stack 1 die and stitched around the edge with my sewing machine. I added a bow, adhered all the layers and gave the whole thing a good spray with some Tattered Angel's gold mist.

Thanks for looking at my project today and I can't wait to see all the beautiful projects!

Melissa

Inspired by...

Michelle (Derbylea)!!

For my first card, I totally copied her card...



And then I branched out using the same ink colors and some of the same stamps...



And the last card uses different stamps, same colors.



Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for looking!
Melissa

Happy Birthday

Just a quick share tonight of a card I made today. I decided last-minute that I deserved some crafty shopping today, so I went to two local (about 45 minutes away, local) stores and found some fun stuff! In the stamp store I found Lawn Fawn sets, yay!

Here's my card featuring Bannerific and Sophie's Sentiments. The beautiful paper is from a new line by Echo Park.



Have a great night!
Melissa

Thank you so much

This card was made for a super special friend and it went out in the mail today for her. I hope that she likes it!

I used a fun digital kit by Zoe Pearn called Alphabet Soup (these papers are from the girls version). She designs for My Minds Eye and I loved this collection, but couldn't wait for the paper version :)



I also used PTI's ticket border die, Beautiful Blooms dies, some buttons and twine and the sentiment from Delightful Dahlias.



Thanks for looking!
Melissa

First and Last

I've had some photos waiting to be made into a scrapbook layout for a while and I finally had the right tools and inspiration! I used lots of Papertrey Ink goodies on this page, including the new stamp set, School Time.



Here's a closer look at some of the background and embossing:



And a shot of the upper portion:



Thanks for stopping by!
Melissa

"First and Last" (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: School Time, Mini Scrapbook Series: Library Ledger and Tabs
Ink: Versarmark, True Black and Antique Linen(Ranger)
Paper: Cream, Black and Red (Bazzill), Stamper's Select White
Other: Large scallop border die, sewing machine, heat tool, Clear detail embossing powder (Filigree), computer, rounder rounder, Doodlebug letter stickers, foam tape

Love You Forever

It's my wedding anniversary, so I made this card for my loving husband. No ribbons or gems needed on this one.



The paper comes from a very cool digital kit called Vintage Tee Revival by Dysfunctional Design.

I cut a mat using the Mat Stack 1 and popped it up with foam tape, and heat embossed the sentiment using White Detail embossing powder. The hearts, from Heart Prints, were stamped with red Colorbox ink and cut out, adhered on with some dark chocolate Baker's twine.

Thanks for stopping by!
Melissa

Sprinkles and smiles

It's almost Friday!

I was in the mood to make a fun card recently, and this is the end result. I pulled out some of my old favorites: Cupcake Collection, Background Basics: Petal Power, my sewing machine and glitter!



Here's a close up of the sparkle:



What a fun card to make! It's quite large...I think about 8 in x 5 in. Not sure how I'll get it in a envelope.

Hope you have a great day!
Melissa

"Sprinkles and Smiles" (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Cupcake Collection, Background Basics: Petal Power and Tin Types
Ink: Chestnut Roan, Deep Lagoon and Pink (Colorbox), Sweet Blush and Hawaiian Shores, Rich Cocao (Memento), Antique Linen and Walnut Stain (Ranger)
Paper: Vintage Cream, Hawaiian Shores, and Sweet Blush
Other: sewing machine, glitter (Doodlebug), Corner rounder, sponge, glue pen, foam tape, Hibiscus Burst satin ribbon, tab punch (SU!)

Happy Birthday

Today I'm sharing the third card that I made using the same stamped background. This one is a birthday card.



My son asked me to share his beautiful picture on my blog...he is such an artist--always drawing and always with marker stains all over his fingers and hands!



Thanks for looking!
Melissa

Thank You

I'm back today with my second card using the ticket background. You can see yesterday's card, which was for the Embellish Color challenge, here .



The "thank you" is from Star Prints and the rest of the stamps come from Just the Ticket. I also used the ticket border die, some dark chocolate baker's twine, and two little Raspberry Fizz buttons.

Come back tomorrow and see the last card using this stamped background. Thanks for looking!
Melissa

Hello, Friend

Happy Monday and Happy August! Can you believe it?? This summer is flying by. Only four weeks until we are back to school!

Here is the latest Embellish color challenge...it's a beautiful color combo.




So here is my card....I went for a kind of vintage wallpaper look with this....it's a little different.



I used bits and pieces from several sets--the ticket outlines from Just the Ticket, the bird, branch and sentiment from Birds of a Feather, the little leaves from Scattered Showers Additions and the flower is from WMS' Asian Gardens.

The inks are Raspberry Fizz, Simply Chartreuse and Dark Chocolate (all PTI) as well as a Colorbox pink. There is also Dark Chocolate baker's twine, a Simple Chartreuse button and some Dark Chocolate Bitty Dot paper punched with a Fiskars Apron Lace border punch.

I actually made a whole 8 1/5 x11 sheeet with the ticket outline background and came up with three different cards. Stop back tomorrow to see the second one!

Thanks for coming by!
Melissa