Crafty Secrets - Birthday Kids

This set is so cute!

Stamps : Crafty Secrets Birthday Kids

Colorization : Copic MarkersInks - Brilliance and Palette

Patterned Paper : October Afternoon

Tools : Spellbinders oval and scalloped oval dies, Fiskars border punch,

deckles scissors

Trim and punch paper as shown. Distess edges with ink. Secure all paper together as shown. Stamp images and color with Copic Markers. Secure images poppin heads up a little. Add pompom fiber.

Are you a fan of Crafty Secrets??  You can check out all my Crafty Secrets Projects HERE.

Crafty Secrets Sew Special Set

Good Morning!  I'm so excited to share with you that I was chosen to be the Guest Designer over at ABC Toys and Crafts this week!  Don't be fooled by the name.  The tools they sell are "our kinda toys", teehee!!  You know how I love Crafty Secrets, right !??   Well, they sell Crafty Secrets and many other stamp manufacturers.  Plus lots of other cool stuff like Spellbinders, border punches, copics, ink ...

Today I'm sharing a layout and card I designed using Crafty Secrets "Sew Special".

I created my own embellishments and background DP using the stamps.  The floral DP is from one of Crafty Secrets Paper Pads.  Don't you just love the faux stitching.  Thank goodness I have faux stitching, because I would be lost on a sewing machine, teehee.  

Tip / Technique : Modeling Paste

I added some texture with a fabric swatch and some modeling paste (see the circle cluster along the bottom). It's really easy to work with the modeling paste and it adds so much texture to your work.  Lay a metal dry embossing stencil over your paper.  Use a spackling knife or old credit card to smear the modeling paste over the stencil until the holes are filled.  Clean off your knife and go across the stencil again, smoothing off the top.  Let dry.  Now just rub over with inks or paints.  You can sand it as well.   I happen to have 2 brands of modeling paste.  They both seem to work well.  The first one is by Liquitex and you can purchase it at a local craft store in the artist section.  The second is called an Embossing Paste and it is made by Dream Weaver.  Dream Weaver sells their own line of metal emobossing stencils as well.  I like doing this so much, I'm going to be on the look out for more patterns that would look good in the background of my work.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sweet 'n Sassy Birthday card

Good Morning!  Today I'm sharing one of Sweet 'n Sassy's digital images Chocoholic.   I needed another birthday card, so I had to create my own sentiment in a word document.  Looking at this makes me hungry, teehee.  It's been soooo long since I've had chocolate, but I've lost 20lbs!!  So it has been worth the to resist.

Thanks for stopping by!

Melisa

You can view more of my projects using Digital Images / Stamps HERE.

You can view more of my Sweet N Sassy projects HERE.

You can view more of my Birthday project HERE.

Thank YOU !

This Hero Arts thank you was designed for a challenge over at the ABC Design Team Blog.
 I stamped it on watercolor paper in VersaFine Onyx Black and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  Then I began coloring with H2O watercolor paints.  I lightly applied water before adding color so that it went on smoothly and dabbed with a paper towel when I applied too much.  I used my Label 5 Nestabilities and then distressed the edges with black ink an eyeshadow applicator.  I used a background stamp by Great Impression Scroll and Leaf on purple cardstock.  I really like how lavender and olive green look together.

Thanks for stopping by!

Another Birthday Card DONE! Woowhooooo!

So I have a little birthday card club going on this year, where I send them out to not just family and real life friends.  But I'm sending them out to tons of cyber friends as well.  Something new I'm doing this year and I have to say my plan is working well.  I have pre-addressed all the envelopes and wrote the birthday where the stamp goes.  Then I filled them in order in a basket.  At a glance I can see which date is coming up next.  If I had not organized it at the beginning of the year, I would have never followed thorugh.  So far, so good.  So now I just have to decide who gets this one.  Hopefully it will bring a smile to someone's face!

Isn't that 1/2 circle cute.  It's a little sprial bound booklet of papers you can tear out by Making Memories.  And the Background DP is from one of my K&Company Paper Pads.  I have really become addicted to the paper pads since I started making cards.  The sentiment is from a new "Birthday" sentiments set by Fiskars.  Use my 40% off coupon at Joanns on this one!  It has some really funny birthday sentiments in it.

The lady and the yellow lacey swirls above the sentiment are from one of those little ATC collage booklets.  A girlfriend gave me one of each of hers because they come 3 pages of each design.  Thanks Patty!!!

Clean and Simple Challenge

Ok, this was torture.  Again, I thought this was a cool sketch and all the samples over on the Clean and Simple Challenge Blog were fabulous!  And the white space on their samples looked great!

So why was this so hard?  teehee.  I started out with a piece of the floral paper for the center panel and after hopping over to the Clean and Simple blog realized that it was going to be too busy for this challenge.  I have to accept the "white space".  So as hard as it was for me I went with the white and punched the floral DP.  Then after I got through the "white space" drama, teehee, I had to resist inking everything up.  I just knew that this would look so much better if I rubbed on some orange chalk, ever so gently around the edges, but I resisted again.  Will I ever get comfy with Clean and Simple??  I sure hope so.  Because I have ALOT of birthday cards to make!!

If you have time, take a minute to hop through some of the participate cards.  I really enjoyed seeing it was used in different ways.  There were couches on one of them!

I also need to give credit to the Color Throwdown Blog!  Awesome colors, that I would have never used without a little nudge!

Also linking to :

Our Creative Corner - Butterflies

Creative Card Crew - Birthday

Have all you butterfly lover's seen the Mariposa Matstack???  It is soooo awesome!  Check it out HERE.  These pictures DO NOT do it justice.  You have to see it in person.

Yep I already have mine!  I got it 40% off at Joanns!

Thanks for the inspiration ladies!

Check out this Wonderful Online Class!

I was hopping around and found this really cool blog that offers "Artist Workshop Classes" online.  I have to find the money to do this.  Awesome classes and so reasonable.  If you like Vintage/Shabby, then you will like this!!

and here is the link if you are interested : http://artistclass.typepad.com/

Looks like this round of classes have already begun, but I emailed them and you will have access to each of the tutorials no matter when you jump in (deadline to register is May 1st).  Here is what Mary wrote back :

"This session is offered now and the blog will be accessible for 6 months. Registrations will be open for a couple more weeks - through May 1st. You don't have to complete anything right away. Every tutorial is a downloadable document and you can save them to do later. Many come with images in a separate file, you can download those too."

 I also inquired as to when it would be offered again, and she said,

 "Artist Class will probably be offered once or twice more this year. The next session is tentatively planned for July, but is still in the early stages. If there's another after that it will be in the Fall."

 

Each session is different.  Just wanted to share a good find!