TESC 115 - Happy Birthday

Hello everyone!! Summer is officially beginning here in my household...my son's last day of Kindergarten was yesterday and I managed to hold back the tears at the graduation ceremony...yay!! I was pretty much a wreck throughout the day though! Oh well...a little stamping therapy will do me some good this weekend. :)

And just in time...the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge is today! Here's the super fun sketch for you...


And another bright and cheery fun card from me!


A little something using my favorite papers from October Afternoon's Fly a Kite. I just adore their entire new lines!! Such fun colors, but still a bit of vintage flair, don't you think? :)



I used a number of stamp sets here...my new little banners that I love from Hangin' Out and the sun and ric-rac from Garden Party Blooms with my sentiment from Garden Party Critters. Whew! Quite a mouthful there. :)

Busy weekend ahead and I'm already sweating just thinking of it, LOL! It's already smoldering here in Texas and our neighborhood pool is filled to the brim every single afternoon!

Something to look forward to next week though...the Great American Scrapbook Convention is coming to Arlington and I am DEFINITELY making a trip! Tim Holtz will be doing demonstrations AND Melissa Frances will be at her booth in person!!! I can't wait! Anyone else out there going? I'd love to meet ya! :)

Have a great weekend and thanks so much for swinging by!

And be sure to check out the rest of the Sketch Crew's lovely creations!

• Alice Wertz
• Jami Sibley
• Lisa Hjulberg
• Taylor VanBruggen
  
• Monika Davis
• Rachel Sztonyk

Mojo with Unity

A while back...on my many, MANY ventures to my local Archiver's, I stumbled on some Unity sets. Me, being the equal opportunity stamper that I am, was intrigued! I was moreso raising my brow when I saw that they had a set that matched one of my favorite Cosmo Cricket lines, Garden Variety! I have to admit, I've gone overload on this line and I have both the 12 x 12 papercrafting kit AND the Mini Deck. I know...simmer down Melissa already! Anywho, with coupon in hand, I bought my very first Unity, Garden Variety! (I see it on their website for $29.99 but it retailed at Archiver's for $24.99 and I used my 30% off coupon) I'm just sayin'!



And it's just tooo stinkin' cute!! I hope I get some more time to play with more of this set...the images are really just adorable. And, of course, love that it's all matchy matchy to the paper. :)

I used the latest Mojo Monday sketch for inspiration...I haven't done one in too long!


Bright and cheery fun, right?! I really needed fun and cheery after being sooo sad last night watching the Lost finale. I cried off and on for the entire 4.5 hours...and then I just got annoyed at the end. In true Lost form...STILL so many questions left unanswered and left to the imagination. BooHoo! I ended up with a headache...lol!

Thanks for your visit!

TESC 114 - Congratulations Graduate

Hey everyone!! I am finally back with a TE Sketch for today (after I totally zoned out from last week's)....don't ask! I hope your week has gone well, as this one just FLEW by for me!! I'm still in that HOV lane (minivan and kids and all) cruising to the weekend. :) So here is your awesome sketch for the weekend....and I just LOVE it!


I seriously hope you are able to play along!

So I wanted to make a card using a Taylored Expressions set that I hadn't even touched yet...imagine that! I just fell in love with The Places You'll Go the second I had seen it, but hadn't had a good opportunity to use it... and since graduation is quickly approaching, why not finally ink it up?!


So here it is....the perfect little card for that graduate in your life! I wanted to do a card that could quickly come together and this was definitely one of those. There is no coloring on my main image...just stamped and then stamped on patterned paper and cut for the balloon. GREAT card to make that is quick and simple! AND....I used the In the Kitchen Project Pantry Kit! Although this kit was designed to go with Cuppie in the Kitchen, you certainly don't always have to pair the two!! It is a GREAT kit to have and I used the papers and ribbon right from it.


Oh, to make my kind of mottled/distressed background behind my book and balloon, I merely used Copic BG10 all surrounding the image and then topped that with W1 to make it look a bit more vintage. The yummy chocolate trim is right from the store here and my little Pearl accents are the Kaisercraft Bliss Pearls....love that pale blueish color. :) I finally topped my card with a pretty little Prima Fairytale Rose just for funsies.

And finally....this card is for all you LEFTIES out there (or Aggies if you know any!)....

I should REALLY pay a little more attention when adhering my card front....LOL

Thanks for stopping in and have a GREAT weekend! :)

And don't forget to check out the rest of the Sketch Crews creations!

• Alice Wertz
• Jami Sibley
• Lisa Hjulberg
• Lori Craig
• Taylor VanBruggen
  
• Monika Davis

A clean and shabby thank you

Is it seriously Wednesday already?! This week is just whizzing by for some reason...and I'm really not complaining! Cruising in the HOV lane to the weekend sounds good to me! I've really been in a funk lately...not too much desire to stamp, but more to spring clean! I have officially completed my list of STAMPS FOR SALE and will be posting the remainder of the list probably tomorrow. :) There are a LOT! And don't forget...every.single.one is only $5!!!

So to ease my way back into stamping again, I've decided to hit my 2 favorite techniques....clean and simple AND shabby! And wouldn't you know it, that's the challenge over at Splitcoast for CAS!

Sooo simple and quick, and I just love it! I took more Girl's Paperie patterned paper and just punched squares with my 1 3/8" square punch...sewed those down and called it done pretty much! Of course, distressing of the edges to make it shabby and there you have it! The chipboard is from Maya Road and is actually a petal...I think it makes a neat heart. :)


The heart is covered with Vintage Silver Glitter Glass. Can't wait to see what it looks like when it starts to tarnish...and it will! Flower is from Prima

And speaking of flowers...


I soooo wish I could take credit for this....


But sadly...I can't...but aren't they just beautiful?!?!




These are my latest treasured necklaces...bib necklaces, to be exact. I've been eyeballing these necklaces for a while now...gorgeous fabric flowers with vintage embellishments. YUM! Well, a couple weeks back, I was blog surfing and stumbled upon Bryanna's Blog, The Canary's Cupcake. Oh. My. Gosh. It was love at first sight!! I didn't see a store link on her site, but I just HAD to contact her to see if she sold her creations. To my extremely pleasant surprise, she replied almost immediately, "yes, I do Melissa!" We worked out all the details...what colors I want, what I liked on my necklace, and she TOTALLY made it custom!! Here's the kicker though...I had initially emailed her on a Friday evening (I think) and by next Friday, I had them in my hands!!! She made them soo fast so I could wear them to my Friday evening out with friends. I'm in love with this girl, I tell ya! AND...
She wanted me to tell you that she is open to making more for my readers!! Interested?? Email Bryanna at bryannalenan@yahoo.com and be sure to tell her Melissa sent you!! Her prices are VERY reasonable and she's just as sweet as can be. I wish I lived closer to her...I could definitely take some notes from her talent!


Thanks for stopping by friends! Are you cruising in the HOV lane to Friday with me?? :)

Stampin' Up! sets for sale

Just a quick post to let you know that I am cleaning up my stamp room (shock & AWE) and need to unload some stamps that are collecting dust but could be loved elsewhere! I am pricing each set TO SELL at only $5!! I'll be doing this in phases (as I'm starting with my lowest shelf and working up) so there will be more posts later as I move up on shelves, lol.

Shipping will be in a Flat Rate Mailer (so the minimum for a stamp set would be $4.90) and if you want more, I'll stuff as many as I can in a larger Flat Rate Box at $10.70. I'm doing a Flat Rate Mailer as a favor to you and I so that there will be shipment verification! So here's the list...in no particular order

Holiday Best (sold)
Little Hellos
Love & Joy (sold)
Country Blessings (sold)
Best Blossoms
Garden Collage (sold)
Fresh Cuts (sold)
Darling Dots (unmounted)
Tags on Board
Trick or Treat
Bunny Hugs
So Many Scallops
Punches Three
Cute as a Bug (sold)
Artifacts
Nursery Necessities (sold)
Tag Line
Congrats (sold)
Ruff Day (sold)
All in a Row
Olive You (sold)
A New Little Someone (sold)
Be Happy
In the Spotlight
Voila (sold)
Alphabet Fun Upper
Alphabet Fun Numbers
Crayon Kids (sold)
Crayon Fun Alphabet Lower
From the Kitchen Of (sold)

Send me an email at melissa@instampingmode.com with your selections and I will get those shipped ASAP. I can accept payments in Paypal or we can work something out. :)

May Key Ingredients Challenge

Hey everyone! I am back here today to show off (*flex*) my creations for the May Key Ingredients Challenge. What are the Key Ingredients, you ask? Well, over at the Taylored Expressions store, you can SUBSCRIBE to receive a kit full of coordinated paper, cardstock, fun embellishments, and 5 yards of ribbon...enough to make at least 16 cards...EACH MONTH!! I am totally loving kit clubs! All the work is done for you! I just kick back in my jammies and get my goodies in the mail each month. :) Dont' forget the benefits of monthly inspiration with the kits from the Baker's Dozen AND....DISCOUNTS in the Taylored Expressions store plus FREE SHIPPING! You can read more about it HERE.

So this month's kit features Pebble's Treehouse patterned paper paired with coordinating rubons, chipboard, and ribbon, and I gotta say...I am IN LOVE with it! Seriously <3 it!



Isn't the paper the cutest?! And I just adore that little chipboard owl! Too cute! And proudly displayed on the door...

I'll be sure to post a list of supplies at the bottom of this post...but it's mainly ALL Key Ingredients. :)

Oh! So the actual Challenge for this month is to make a card or project using NO Stamping! Well, my door hanger was my first project, so I made sure to use no stamping on it at all. :) Here's my attempt at no stamping on a card....


I was almost successful. Ok..not too much actually. I couldn't resist using my rubons of those adorable birds on a piece of scrap cardstock stamped with the new Cloudy Background. Ok yeah...you caught me. I stamped my sentiment too...SHUCKS! Let's remember though...there is NO STAMPING on my door hanger! :)

Ok, one more project to show you...I had to do it. This paper pack just coordinates sooo well with
Garden Party Blooms.

When I saw that yummy rich dark teal ribbon, I was bound and determined to use it....and use it I did. This picture doesn't even come close to showing how gorgeous the color is. On my screen here, it just looks almost black...boohoo! You're just going to have to trust me on this one...it is stunning!

Lastly, I just want to share my most favorite thing about the Key Ingredients kits....the fact that Taylor always picks the latest and greatest products out there. I'm a trendy kind of gal (ok not really, but not for lack of trying!) so with my crafty projects, I love having the latest and greatest...don't you?? So hop on the Kit bandwagon and join us each month for a fun challenge! Be sure and check out challenge submissions in the Gallery dedicated to the Key Ingredients for inspiration. :)

Now I'm off to check out what the other half of the Baker's Dozen has done with the kit! Check it...

Taylor
Donna
Charmaine
Karen G.
Jodi

Thanks soooo very much for stopping in!! :)

In Stamping Mode Supplies

"Hoo's There" door hanger
Wood Door Hanger - Hobby Lobby
Patterned Paper - May Key Ingredients
Cardstock - May Key Ingredients
Ink - Black Copic Marker 100
Ribbon - May Key Ingredients
Accessories - Starfire glitter, Labels 9 Nestabilities, Spring design card Slice, Thrift Shop Mini Market Ledger Stickers, craft stick, white gel pen

"Thanks for Your Kindness" card
Stamps - Cloudy Days Background, Beary Special
Cardstock - May Key Ingredients
Patterned Paper - May Key Ingredients
Ribbon - May Key Ingredients
Rhinestones - Clear Crystals
Die - Small Ovals Nestabilities

"Bloom Where You're Planted" card
Stamps - Garden Party Blooms
Cardstock - May Key Ingredients
Patterned Paper - May Key Ingredients
Ribbon - May Key Ingredients
Accessories - Small Circle Nestabilities, Small Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, Open Scallop Punch

Guest Designer for City Crafter

Howdy everyone! I hope everyone had a lovely Mother's Day...either by being celebrated or by celebrating with your own momma! I had Dim Sum with my mom, which is one of our favorite things to do, lol! It was a perfect day. :)

So, a bit ago, I received an email from Kirsty over at the new City Crafter challenge blog to be a guest designer for them...WHAAAAT?!?! What an honor!! It's a new challenge blog and the designers and their samples are just A-Mazing!! So heck yeah! I was thrilled to be guest designing for them for Week 4. You can see and participate in the challenge over HERE. Oh! And they have REALLY cool prizes awarded...bonus! :)

This week is a color challenge and I got to be inspired by this lovely photo selected by the very lovely hostess, Heather.


And my card....


Can you believe that the images are from the new sets by Taylored Expressions, Garden Party Blooms and Garden Party Critters? Didn't think you could shabby that up, could ya!? I also used the sentiment and scalloped square from CreativiTEA.


I love the way that bold flower with outline looks as my background. I stamped it in Pink Pirouette and glittered it up to draw interest. Ahh, I really wish you could see this in person...it really looks so much prettier, lol!

Thank you so much for swinging by, and getting..."in stamping mode!" :)

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek - Father's Day a la Carte

Hey everyone and welcome to the big release!!! I have one last set to show you that is released by the time you read this!! Just in time to start making those Father's Day cards...we have Father's Day a la Carte!


Now I totally fussy-cut all those letters, but you certainly don't have to! I just thought it would be neat to show all those tools popped up! I colored the letters in with my Copics and then used Silver Stickles to mimic the metal in the tools. Looks really sparkly in person! It's not wrong to have a little sparkle in a man-card! :)

AND....Remember the baby card I made yesterday with the set Hangin' Out? Well, I have another card that I am just DYING to show you!


Banners are super hot right now and I've been just dying to get a banner set! Well guys, Hangin' Out has the banner!! WOOHOOO!!! I gotta say, this is my MOST favorite card I've made for the release. Such a shame too because it took me no time at all to make it! LOL! (Cards usually take me for EVER to make!) OH!! And the background is made with the new large backgrounder Cloudy Background. LOVE IT!!! The sticker came straight from the Garden Party Project Pantry Kit. How simple is that? The patterned paper on my banner came from various pages from the Fly a Kite paper pad available in the store! To add a little more interest to my flags, I topped them with Crystal Effects. Ahh...I just can't stop looking at it! Doesn't it make you long for summer?!

Alrighty, let's check out what the rest of the Baker's Dozen has to show. AND...we also have a FABULOUS new guest designer...Sandra MacLean!! I'm so thrilled she is joining us...be sure and stop by her blog to see her beautiful creations with this release!

• Alex Maldonado
• Carolina Buchting
• Charmaine Ikach
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jeanie Witmer
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Jami Sibley
  
• Sandra MacLean - Guest Designer
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen

Thanks soooo very much for stopping by and happy hopping/shopping!! :)

TESC 112- Dad, You're the Best

Welcome to Friday!! I love my Fridays!! I have another sketch for you to play with this week, and it's a real fun one! Check it...



I think you can handle it!! TOTALLY! Here's what I came up with...a sneak of a set Taylor is releasing this very morning! Ahhh...good to know I've already got a Father's Day card down. :)



I used the new Father's Day a la Carte set on this card and patterned papers from Cosmo Cricket's 'Lil Man collection. Decently manly for a card, yes? It's so hard to make a card without ribbon, I tell ya! Now I'm off to see what the rest of the sketch crew has to show...I can't wait to see! Come see with me!

• Alice Wertz
• Jami Sibley
• Lisa Hjulberg
• Lori Craig
• Lynn Mercurio
• Monika Davis
• Rachel Sztonyk
• Sherrie Siemens
• Taylor VanBruggen

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek - Hangin' Out & Cuppie in the Kitchen

Hey everyone! I am back and ready to show off for you a couple more sneaks for TWO more stamp sets releasing at 8 AM PST tomorrow (Friday 5/7)!!! I am pleased to sneak for you some super adorable images from Cuppie in the Kitchen and Hangin' Out AND another Project Pantry Kit to go with Cuppie!!



My card with cuppie, I swear, is sooo me!! If I could dive into a bowl of icing/cookie dough I sooo would!! I think I could honestly eat my weight in it...especially the icing part!! :) Here I used patterned papers, cardstock, and ribbon from the Cuppie in the Kitchen Pantry Kit. Isn't the paper gorgeous?? Doesn't cuppie look adorable too?! :) Included in the kit are the following:

12 sheets of 8.5” x 11” cardstock
20 sheets of 6x6 patterned paper (from My Mind’s Eye So Sophie Savvy collection)
5 yards of ribbon (1 yard each of 5 different styles)
Assorted Coordinating Buttons
Red Glitter Candy Dots
1 bottle Lime Green Stickles
1 bottle Mint Liquid Pearls
3 Mini Kraft Bakery Bags

All for the price of only $22.95! OR...purchase with Cuppie in the Kitchen for $41.50

Remember, these Project Pantry kits are available to purchase and are completely unrelated to the Key Ingredients (which are Subscription only)!

Oh! And the layout for my card came straight from the Card Positioning Systems challenge site. Did you know that this week, Taylored Expressions is the sponsor, and by simply submitting your submission using the sketch, you could win a FREE Taylored Expressions stamp set! I'm just sayin'! :)

For my next project, I just gotta give a huge shout out to our very own Sankari, who's concept for this next set is from! Illustrated by Nancy (and her Whimsical Wishes line), I introduce to you a sneak of...Hangin' Out!!


I know, I know....I couldn't resist making it a shabby one!!! I have to at least include ONE shabby card during my sneaks or it just wouldn't be me, right?! :) So I made the cutest little baby card...I haven't made one in...FOREVER! But now that I just recently attended a wedding, I'll probably be using this one in about 9+ months or so. Hah! Suuuuper cute images here in this set and I'm only showing a few!!

Since I only have a couple of sneaks, let's go and see what the rest of the Baker's dozen has for you? I'm sure you'll see even MORE images from the sets!! :)

• Alex Maldonado
• Carolina Buchting
• Charmaine Ikach
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
  
• Jeanie Witmer
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Nancy McKinney
  
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen

PS. Taylor got some new goodies in the store to make your shopping experience a bit more pleasurable on Friday during the release. Check out the new edge punchers, Colorbox Chalk full pads, Webster's Pages Bloomers trim, and Basic Grey Basics, Max & Whiskers, and Capella. Oh it just pains me to share this information with you...I want to hoard them all to myself! LOL!! J/k! :)

PPS. I also hear there will be Copic kits to match Garden Party and Cuppie in the Kitchen!

Taylored Expressions Sneak Peek - Garden Party Blooms & Garden Party Critters

Hey everyone!! Welcome to Day 1 of sneak peeks for Taylored Expressions May release! I am especially excited to sneak for you two new sets created for the FIRST TIME by our very own Taylor VanBruggen!!!! She has created the most adorable sets and I'm like having ants in my pants anxious to show you!! The new sets are Garden Party Blooms, Garden Party Critters, and a 5.75 x 5.75 big background Cloudy Days!


So without further gabbing, here's my first project to show you.


This card features all the items from the NEW Garden Party Project Pantry kit! Remember the Key Ingredients? Well, they are still there (available only by subscription), and this is the PURCHASABLE kit with each new release! This kit features:
• 12 sheets of cardstock (10 colored, 2 Choice neutral)
• 20 sheets of 6x6 double-sided patterned paper from the We R Memory Keepers 72 and Sunny collection
• 5 yards of ribbon (1 yard each of 5 different styles)
• 1 jar of Easy Green loose glitter
• 1 sheet of coordinating cardstock stickers
• 4 coordinating charms (1 each daisy, ladybug, butterfly, and bee)

And it can be purchased with or without the stamps at the deal of $22.95... OR, you can get it all (the kit and both stamp sets) for the 10% reduced price of $59.95!



That cute little turtle and more of the paper is from the kit as well. And check out the rick rac stamp at the top...YES!! I love rick rac and it's definitely a hot trend right now. :)

And finally....my last project...and this is one that I just L-O-V-E!!!


The girl...yeah, she's not the project (because she was completed about 2.5 years ago, LOL!) The apron is completely created using BOTH Garden Party Blooms AND Critters!!! Can you believe a simple little $4.99 children's apron could be so cute?! :)






And would you believe this entire apron is completely washable?! You know my little model up there isn't going to keep it clean. :) All images were stamped with Palette inks and any images that were line art (like the butterfly, clouds, and caterpillar) were colored in with Copics! I used my Slice to cut out fabric letters that spelled out "Catie's Art." What do you think?! I just think this set is sooo adorable and now Taylor's latest creation is wearable art. :)

Now, let's move on to the rest of the Baker's Dozen and see what they've cooked up for ya! :)

• Alex Maldonado
• Carolina Buchting
• Charmaine Ikach
• Donna Baker
• Jackie Pedro
• Jami Sibley
  
• Jeanie Witmer
• Jodi Collins
• Karen Giron
• Karen Motz
• Melissa Sauls
• Sankari Wegman
• Taylor VanBruggen

Wedding card

Hey everyone! Hope your weekend was wonderful. I have a little sneak to share with you of a card I created for the Want 2 Scrap blog that you can check out HERE! I just noticed that they have new bling in the store...YUM! I can NOT WAIT to get my grubby paws on them, LOL! :)
Check them out at the store HERE!

And in completely unrelated news....do you ever find yourself singing "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum like you are some sort of Diva? Man, not my type of song lately but I'm absolutely in love with it. Don't laugh if you drive by me and see my mouth wide open cause I'm singin' like a rock star!!!

Sing ya later! :)