ANIMAL TALK CARD:

Hello there! So sorry again for the big gap in posting. I seem to be on for two weeks then off for two. I guess that's just how it has to be for now with this carzy, chaotic life of mine:)( I haven't recieved my big order of new stuff yet, but I do have a few new things to share with you today. I used the set Animal Talk, which I'm so happy will be around for another year! I started with a Crumb Cake base and used the new Birthday Basics DSP.

I stamped this little cutie in Basic Grey and colored him in with Crumb Cake ink and a Blender Pen. The sentiment is in Bermuda Bay, Summer Starfruit and Gumball Green. I'm not real crazy about each of these colors individually, but I love how they all work together. I stamped them onto Whisper White and used the new Circles Collection Framelits to cut it out with the help of the Big Shot. I cut out one of the birthday hats and attached it with a Dimensional. I had to trim it down quite a bit and I maybe should have even more-he kind of looks like a 'Grand Poobah' or like he's wearing a dunce cap. Oh well, he's so cute, he can get away with it! I added a strip of Basic Grey Cardstock and stamped the sentiment in the same ink. A brand new Brights Button and loop of Summer Starfruit Stitched Ribbon gave it a little somethin, somethin.

I finished it off with a piece of Epic Day Washi Tape and a sliver of Summer Starfruit. The Washi Tape is so fun to work with-a little dab will do ya, and it's so addictive. I just want to add more and more. Just like chocolate, I don't know when to stop. Although, I seem to show much greater restraint with the tape!

A super fun and easy card for the little guy in your life. I want to share what else I've been working on...

Our daughter Emily is getting married in September, so I've been busy designing and redesigning the invitations. I think I finally got it down. Now to make several hundred of each!

I stocked up on this paper several years ago, which in unfortunately retired now. I sure hope I have enough! But the sentiment and the punch are brand new. I used the Label Love Bundle, which can be found in the brand new catalog. You save 15% when you buy the stamp set and coordinating punch. It's such a bargain, now I can spend more money on the cake! I added some detail to the belly band using the Finishing Touches Edgelits, which I'm sure I'm really going to hate after I make a couple hundred of these! I tucked a couple of Vellun banners behind the tag using the Bitty Banners Framelits.

I finished it off with a pair of flowers punched with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and a couple of Basic Pearls.

These will be the favors for each of the guests, which will be stuffed with chocolate of course. I used the Fancy Favor Die which is now retired-why, I don't know! That is just whack! I will keep this die foreva! I'll need to make 2 bags for each favor. The bottom one in black, and then another in vanilla. I cut the top of the bag off of the vanilla one, punched a hole through the top and tied with ribbon. The top just lifts off so it will be easy access the the sweets inside.

For the tag, I stamped the sentiment in Basic Black ink. I couldn't get the rest of the image as dark as I wanted, so I cut the middle strip out and attached it to a Basic Black label, which again, I'm going to hate myself for after I make several hundred! I finished it off with a pair of Vellum flowers.

So, as you can see I've been keeping plenty busy, but I'm anxious to dig into my new toys and share some projects with you using the new products. Check back tomorrow and hopefully I'll have something else ready to share. Thanks so much for stopping by!

MOVING FORWARD CARD:

Hello there! I've got one final retiring card for you from one of my favorite sets, the Ronald McDonald House set Moving Forward. I really hate to say farewell to this set, especially since SU! donates $3 to the charity for every stamp set that is sold-over $1,000,000 to date. It's not too late to get this set. You have til 12:50 am tonight to place an online order, and then it's gone for good! I used lots of my retiring favorites on this card-Summer Smooches DSP, Friendly Phrases and the Brights Brads. I started with a Whisper White base and added the DSP. I stamped the bike image in Tangerine Tango, wiped the seat off with a baby wipe, and colored the seat with a Tempting Turquoise Marker and stamped the image. I stamped it again in Daffodil Delight for the small wheel, and Real Red for the big wheel. I used the larger circle from the Owl Builder Punch to punch the small wheel and the 1" Circle Punch for the large wheel.

I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to get the froggie right where I wanted him and added some Old Olive grass underneath. I used the Paper-piercing Mat & Tool to attach the brads. I mounted the image onto a piece of Tempting Turquoise Cardstock and then mounted that onto another piece of Whisper White with Dimensionals. I punched out the Tempting Turquoise label with the Decorative Label Punch, cut it in half and stuck it under the image with SNAIL. I added a couple of fluffy clouds using the Cupcake Builder Punch and ran them through the Big Shot with the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder.

I added the sentiment in Tangerine Tango, flagged the end and added a Brights Brad. I finished it off with a border of faux stitching using an Old Olive Marker and a ruler. I used a sentiment from Petite Pairs for the inside of the card, which is 25% off through June, along with Sassy Salutations and Sweet Essentials. As in the past, I got by with a little help from my friends at SU! with the layout for this card from my Demonstrator Business Website. Check out the project ideas if you haven't already.

Today marks the official start of the new catalog! As usual, my wish list is a mile long. Thanks to all who came to my Retirement Party and helped me get some things marked off my list! I can't wait to get my new stuff and start sharing with you-hopefully in about a week!:)

And as always, at the end of the month I have my line-up for the 'Kits/Card To Go'. The number for each selection is listed ABOVE the card. See my home page on the right hand side for prices of each kit. Here they are~pick any 4:

                                                                           1)

                                                                                2)

 

 

 

3)

 

 

 

4)

 

 

 

5)

 

 

 

6)

 

 

 

7)

 

 

 

8)

 

 

 

9)

 

Okay, those are your choices. Please let me know your selections by June 5th and if you're wanting the 'Kits' or 'Cards' To Go. Email me at lmel09@q.com. Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 

HOOP LA LA CARD:

Hello there! I hope you're all in one piece today! Our shed is in the neighbor's back yard two houses down, and we have broken and uprooted trees all around us. Craziness! I had to wake up Quinten early from his nap in case we had to move to the basement, so that tells you how drastic things were getting around here! Well, we're getting down to the last few cards of the current catalog. This card features the set Hoop La La, which I dearly love. Sadly, this is the first card I've made with it. I did use it for one of my Artisan projects though, so it has seen some love:) I started with a Very Vanilla base and added a piece of Storytime DSP. I used the Big Shot to cut out the frames using the Window Frames Collection Framelits for the So Saffron frame, and the Apothecary Accents Framelits for the Pool Party frame. I used the Essentials and Festive Paper-piercing Packs along with the Mat and Tool for the detail on the frames.

I colored the tulip image with Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi and Basic Grey Markers. I put Dimensionals between all the layers except for the bottom frame, to give it some dimension. I triple-stacked the Dimensionals for the 'hello' sentiment for it to lay flush. I strung some Pool Party Baker's Twine through the label and added a trio of Brights Brads.

I love the combination of bright and subtle colors in this DSP and am really going to miss it. I'm going to try to knock out another couple of cards to post by tomorrow using Moving Forward and Easy Events. I've got a full day of Quinten tomorrow, so we'll see how far I get??? Thanks so much for stopping by!

WISHES YOUR WAY CARD:

Hello there! Today I have a fun card for you made with Wishes Your Way from the Spring Catalog. I opted to cut out the pinwheel by hand by following the pattern in the Tea For Two DSP, but you could easily use the Pinwheel Die instead-well maybe not easily; it's a little tricky at first. Once you've made a couple though, it's a snap. The die would have made the pinwheel a little smaller, and I wanted the stitching to show on the opposite side, so that's why I cut it out by hand.

For the background, I inked up the Clear Block D with So Saffron ink and stamped it onto a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock. I added a border of Lucky Limeade Cardstock punched with the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch and adhered it under the Saffron square with Liquid Tombow. The sentiment is stamped in Island Indigo and I ran it through the Big Shot with the Bitty Banner Framelits to cut it out. I finished the pinwheel off with a Printed Designer Brad in Island Indigo as well. There's only a couple more days to get the brads, Pinwheel Die and DSP.

For a finishing touch, I used the Needlepoint Border Embossing Folder for a little bit of layered interest in the background. Thanks so much for stopping by. Make sure to come back tomorrow for another set that won't be around much longer. See you soon!

CROSS MY HEART CARD:

Hello there! I hope you enjoyed the holiday yesterday. We had a fun day of grilling and s'mores! Doesn't get much better than that. We're winding down to the end of the month and your last chance to get lots of great retiring sets. One of those is this set Cross My Heart from the Spring Catalog. I paired it up with Teeny Tiny Wishes for a retirement card. I started with a Basic Black base and added several different papers from the First Edition DSP, which is unfortunately gone. I added some faux folder tabs made with the Ticket Duo Builder Punch in So Saffron Cardstock.

I added a Hung Up Cute Clip, along with a couple of Neutral Buttons, which won't be around for much longer either. I used the retiring sets Hoop La La for the coffee ring and French Foliage for the splatters. I'm going to miss both sets:( I added some Basic Grey Stitched Ribbon and Early Espresso Baker's Twine as well. I made a mini faux newspaper by folding up some DSP and wrapping a rubber band around it.

I added a strip of DSP from the Neutrals DSP Stack, which I have several of in all the color families. You can get them nearly new for half price today at my Retirement Party, along with lots of other goodies! Just place an order from any or our catalogs-including the new one, and pick out the equivalent amount from my retired stash. It goes from 4-7 today. Hurry over before your favorites are gone! Thanks so much for stopping by!

PERFECT PUNCHES/HEARTS A FLUTTER CARD:

Hello there! Happy Memorial Day to you! I was hoping for a nice quiet day, but it looks like that isn't going to be the case. I'm going to be breaking into a bottle of wine soon, so I thought I'd better post this first. A friend of mine was needing a graduation card for this week-end, so this is what I came up with. I got the layout from one of our Stampin' Success magazines. I started with a Baja Breeze:( base and added some Patio Party DSP to the sides. I cut another design from the same DSP for the center panel and added borders on the sides using the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch. I used Hearts A Flutter and stamped the pennants in Primrose Petals, Summer Starfruit and Midnight Muse. I ran them through the Big Shot using the Hearts A Flutter Framelits.

I used the Paper-piercing Mat and Tool and added some White Baker's Twine to make a mini banner. I added a couple of pennants behind the banner using the Petite Pennants Builder Punch using Primrose Petals ink and the Baja print DSP. I used the soon to retire set Perfect Punches for the sentiment, first in Primrose, then again in Midnight Muse. I cut out the Midnight oval and attached it to the label using Glue Dots. I added a few Summer Starfruit flowers made with the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack and Basic Rhinestones.. Finally, I added a baker's twine bow to the end.

For the inside, I used Pure Gumption and Itty Bitties for the cute little banner at the top.

I was thinking this could also work for an Anniversary card, so I changed up a few things...

I changed up the colors of the pennants, added a couple of the heart images and added the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes, and now I have a perfect anniversary card.

Actually, this card would be perfect for just about any occasion, just change the sentiment to what you're needing.

I thought this sentiment from One In A Million worked perfectly for this card.  Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the holiday!

HAPPY YOU CARD:

Hello there! Here's a card made with the Hostess set Happy You, which is only going to be aroud til the end of May. I thought we needed something to cheer us up with all this rain lately. I also used the retiring set from the spring catalog Itty Bitties for the tiny umbrella in the corner. I started with a Basic Grey base and added some Sprinkles & Sunshine DSP on top of a Marina Mist border. I used the retiring Large Tag Punch for the cute little boot and layered some Marina Mist behind it also. I added a piece of Melon Mambo Scallop Dots Ribbon and stapled it to the tag.

I colored the image with Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo, Marina Mist and Old Olive Markers, and added a Subtles Button along with a strip of Melon Mambo to the center.

Next, I added some pennants cut out with the Big Shot and Hearts A Flutter Framelits and Petite Pennants Builder Punch. I added a piece of This & That Epic Day Washi Tape and did some fun stitching over the top with my awesome new sewing machine. I did a little stitching at the bottom of the card also. I finished it off with a Soda Pop Top and the umbrella image that I punched out with a 1/2" Circle Punch and popped up with a Dimensional.

I hope you enjoyed today's card, and I hope you enjoy a fun day tomorrow. After a night of 2 grandbabies, I'm hoping for a day of absolutely nothing and peace & quiet tomorrow. One can hope! Thanks so much for stopping by!