Happy birthday

It's Thursday!

I've been feeling very inspired by bloggers such as Nerina , and her gorgeous card here . And also Mona and her beautiful card here .

Despite the fact that I can't quite master the shabby chic/vintage style that these ladies beautifully display, I set out to make a soothing, monochromatic card with a hint of color. I knew that I wanted to emboss with white on kraft cardstock.



I don't think I'll ever get tired of this Musical Background set from WMS, love it!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Melissa

"Happy birthday"
Stamps: Muscial Backgrounds, Very Vintage Label 4, Say it with Style
Ink: Versamark, Antiquen Linen and Walnut Stain (Ranger), Fresh Snow (PTI)
Cardstock: Rustic white and Kraft (PTI)
Other: Lavendar Moon satin ribbon, Label 4 die, sewing machine, pearls, Copic marker

Musical Merry Christmas

Happy Sunday!

I had some time to play along with the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #16.



I stamped the three reverse musical background strips using two Brilliance inks and Spring Moss Colorbox ink with the new set Musical Backgrounds. The little snowflakes come from Nutcracker Sweet and they are stamped with Vintage Cream ink onto Smokey Shadow cardstock. The sentiment comes from Say it With Style.



This was a fun card to make! I added some Plum Pudding satin ribbon, a green button and some green Divine Twine to finish it off.



Hope you had a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Melissa

Celebrate....Dana!

Welcome!
This month's challenge for the PTI blog hop is to make a project inspired by a fellow blogger. Well, I am constantly inspired by Dana (granolagirltoo) and all her gorgeous creations on her blog, Kismet, Art, and Life .

Today I am showing a card I made featuring a rose based on Dana's amazing tutorial found here .



I followed Dana's great instructions and used the Beautiful Blooms II die #1. The background was stamped using Background Basics: Petal Power in Versamark on Smoky Shadow cardstock, and heat embossed with white detail powder (Filigree).



Now, my rose is definitely not as well formed and pretty as Dana's but I wish you could see how sparkly it is! I used Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mist in S.W.A.K. to color the rose.

Now, if you haven't seen Dana's blog you need to go immediately and subscribe as she posts the most amazing creations almost daily!

Have a great day!
Melissa

"Celebrate"
Stamps: BB: Petal Power, Fillable Frames #5
Ink: Versamark
Paper: Raspberry Fizz, Smokey Shadow, Stamper's Select White
Other: Beautiful Blooms II Die #1, White detail EP (Filigree), Raspberry Fizz satin ribbon, S.W.A.K. glimmer mist (Tattered Angels)

So sorry for your loss

This was a very quick card...it helps when you start with such gorgeous patterned paper! The card base is Harvest Gold, the paper is from Restoration by Crate Paper, the other cardstock is Simply Chartreuse cut with pinking shears and Ocean Tides the ribbon is 1/8 in silk ribbon and the sentiment comes from Blooming Button Bits.

I've got two sick kids home with me today...off I go!
Melissa

Noel

I love the new PTI set, A Wreath for All Seasons, but couldn't afford to buy it...and seeing all the beautiful examples reminded me that I had a pretty wreath in a different set, 2009 Holiday Tags.



The background, from the Waltzingmouse set Faux Fun, is stamped and heat embossed with clear detail EP onto Scarlet Jewel cardstock. The focal image was cut with the Mat Stack 1 die, and I added gems to the wreath. The sentiment also comes from 2009 Holiday Tags, and I sprayed the whole card with gold glimmer mist from Tattered Angels.

Thanks for coming by!
Melissa

Preschool Graduate

Lee gave the PTI Princess blogging group a challenge a few weeks ago to use banners on a project. I saw the idea to use PTI's kite from Up, Up and Away to make a banner (can't remember who's idea it was, let me know if you know and I'll credit them!)



I used some old My Mind's Eye papers, the string stamp from It's a Celebration and some alpha stickers. I stamped a background from School Time onto the yellow paper, and also used Library Ledger to stamp the date.



Isn't my little guy cute ;)

Thanks for looking!
Melissa

Eyeballs for sale...

I'm having lots of fun making Halloween cards! My kids are so excited about Halloween this year, although, unlike most years, we haven't quite decided on costumes yet.



I thought it was kinda funny to have a pretty jar with a fabric topper, and then have eyeballs be the content on the inside....maybe I just have a weird sense of humor!


Thanks for looking!
Melissa

"Happy Halloween" (all PTI unless noted)
Stamps: Friendship Jar, Friendship Jar Filler, Frienship Jar Fall Filler and BB: Retro
Ink: Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Walnut Stain (Ranger)
Paper: Stamper's Select White, Orange Zest, Autumn Patterned paper
Other: Friendship Jar dies, foam tape, silk ribbon, corner rounder

Scallopy Happy Birthday

Today there is a new challenge on the Moxie Fab Blog . AND, in the last few days I just bought and received First Fruits from a PTI forum friend (thanks, Teresa!)

So, of course I had to play along and you know that I used Hawaiian Shores!



I think these might be my very favorite colors all together...Hawaiian Shores, Aqua Mist and Enchanted Evening. The sentiment is from Enjoy the Ride, such a great size of sentiments and font combos.

Thanks for looking!
Melissa

In Bloom Lettpress-style

After seeing a few examples of letterpress using PTI's Impression plates, including the great explanation by Pine, I wanted to give it a try!

I was pretty happy with the result. I used some chalk ink by Colorbox. Have you had good results using different kinds of inks?




Here's a close up:



Do you think these could work as Christmas cards? Any suggestion where I could add the sentiment...I didn't want to cover up any of the front.

Thanks for looking!
Melissa

It's a Girl!

I'm making a small stash of cards for our PTA to give out as needed. I made two of these baby cards and will get to work on some boy versions and sympathy next.



The papers used come from Echo Park and the stamps are Lawn Fawn's Bannerific and Sophie's Sentiment. All the inks are Colorbox.



I stamped the inside with Inside and Out: Baby and two more of the cute birds.

Thanks for coming by!
Melissa

Halloween mini cards

These fun mini-cards were made using the newest Mat Stack die and Tiny Treats: Halloween. These might be fun to tuck into my son's lunch bag around Halloween, or they could serve as treat toppers for classroom treats.



I doesn't get much cuter--these little images are great!

Thanks for looking!
Melissa

Witch's Brew

Such a fun Halloween image! I kept the rest of the card fairly simple, as the focal part is pretty busy. I colored the witch's brew jar with Copic markers and added some Doodlebug glitter.



Thanks for coming by!
Melissa

Embellish Challenge

I played along with the latest Embellish Magazine challenge. You can find the details here . The colors drew to me make a Halloween card. I stamped several images from Spoooky Sweets II and punched them out with a square punch.



The focal image, the Mat Stack, was heat embossed with black detail ep (Filigree) and then I added Doodlebug glitter to the empty circles.



Thanks for looking!
Melissa

Waltzingmouse Makers

It's my turn at the Waltzingmouse Makers blog . Stop on by and see what everyone's been posting! My card today was made following Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #12.



I made my second Christmas card of 2010...and it's pretty non-traditional! I have a serious problem in that I use Hawaiian Shores on every. single. card. I make lately. I'm not sure when it will end...



This card uses Faux Fun as a background, stamped with Rouge Colorbox Chalk ink onto Vintage Cream cardstock. The main image is from the 2009 "Secret Set", which I stamped with Rich Cocoa ink (Memento) and colored in with Copics. The ribbon is Raspberry Fizz satin, and of course, the card base is Hawaiian Shores.

Thanks for stopping by today!
Melissa