May SOTM Blog Hop featuring Live, Laugh, Love!

THANK YOU for stopping by to enjoy our

May Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

featuring this month's SOTM:

Live, Laugh, Love S1705

If you've just arrived here from

HALEY's BLOG

then you are on the correct path.

If you get lost along the way, you can find
a complete list of all of the participating
consultant blogs here on MELINDA's BLOG.

Today I'm sharing this two-pocket card that is folded from a 7.5" paper circle! (cutting dimensions and instructions follow in one of the images below). I make a lot of standard-size cards, so this is something totally new and different for me! The finished size of the card is just a tad smaller than standard-size, so the great news is that this card will fit nicely in any standard-size envelope!

To create my card, I used just one sheet of paper from the 
NEW No Worries paper packet (X7220B). The marker colors I used include Leaf Green, Marine Blue, Peacock Green, and Turquoise Blue. I also used White Daisy and Outdoor Denim (retired) cardstocks, but Sapphire or Lagoon cardstock could have worked just as well as the Outdoor Denim. Enjoy!!

Now you can continue on with the blog hop
and be inspired by more creativity using this stamp set
by visiting ALYSON's BLOG next!

August SOTM Blog Hop (featuring "Wicked" and "A Typeface"!)

WELCOME to our August Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring this month's new SOTM - "Wicked" S1108! If you've just joined me from Shannon's blog, then you are on the right path!

First, I'm sharing a standard size card (above) that I created using a little bit of Smokey Plum B&T duos paper from our NEW Sonoma X7143B paper pack. Notice how I've used the "witches hat" image as the stem for my pumpkin! To make the stem I first stamped the image with Black ink on my 3"x3.75" piece of colonial white cardstock. Then I used the "paper piecing" technique to add the green stem by stamping the image again with Olive ink on a scrap of Colonial White cardstock, cutting out just part of the "hat" image, and then adhering that part over top of the first image I stamped with Black ink. To create the pumpkin, I cut out three 1.5" ovals from Sunset cardstock using the "Oval3" button with our NEW "Art Philosophy" Cricut Cartridge!! Then I stamped the honey-comb-like image with Sunset ink ("tone-on-tone" stamping) on each oval and sponged the outside edges with Desert Sand ink. Then I layered and adhered them together over the stem to create the pumpkin! I also used "masking" technique to stamp just the word "Halloween" on the 1"x2" piece of Colonial White cardstock. I added the word "Happy" using stamps from the "A Typeface" stamp set that is your FREE gift "this month only" when you purchase the "Wicked" Stamp of the Month for just $5 with any $50 order! (both stamp set images are shown at the bottom of this post and remember, you can click on any of my photos to see them larger).

Next, I'm sharing a "candy bar pocket" (above) that I created using the the "Tag5" plus "Card" buttons with our NEW "Art Philosophy" Cricut Cartridge (I just LOVE our new Cricut Cartridge and have been playing with it a lot this week)!! The card/pocket is cut from Olive cardstock at the 5.75" inch setting (this allows you to cut two from one sheet of 12x12" cardstock). Colors used here again are Black, Colonial White, Olive, Smokey Plum, and Sunset (the cat is stamped with "2nd generation" Black ink). The "Bling Assortment" Pin Z1466 and Pin Clips Z1612 that I've used on both projects are held in place by being stuck through the 3-d mounting tape I used underneath my card elements to give them some lift and dimension.

Finally, here is the card I created with my customers recently at my New Idea Book Reveal Party and Open House (above)! Don't you just LOVE that this stamp set can be used to create a lot more than just items for "Halloween"?!! I am looking forward to using the "honey-comb-like" image and the "flourishy border" stamp as well as some of the other sentiments on a variety of different projects. This card is also made with a few other brand-new products including the Love Life D1482 stamp set, Roxie paper pack X7140B, Just Blooms paper shapes butterflies Z1463, and Bling Assortment buttons Z1466!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my artwork! Now you can continue on with the rest of this blog hop and see more creative ways to use this "Wicked" stamp set by visiting Haley's blog next! Enjoy!!

July Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!

Welcome to our July Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring this month's new SOTM - American Celebration D1458! If you've just joined me from Angel's blog, then you are on the right path!
Here's a view of all of the images included in this lively patriotic stamp set (below):

All of my artwork today also features the Fanfare paper pack X7138B (colors include Black, Cranberry, Pacifica, Sky, Sunny Yellow, and White Daisy). First, I'm sharing a standard size card inspired by Wishes - Gallery (p. 119).Next, I'm sharing an 8 x 3.5" card inspired by Originals - Pocket Greeting Tag (p. 54). Remember, you can click on any of my photos to see them up close!

Here's another view of the pull-out tag that fits in the pocket on the front of the card (below). This tag could also be used as a bookmark (so fun and EASY to make!):

Now you can continue on with the rest of this SOTM blog hop and see more creative ways to use this stamp set by visiting Doreen's blog next! Enjoy!!

Happy Father's Day!!

Well, we finally finished our last week of school here and the kids were thrilled to wake up to their very first day of Summer vacation this morning (6/17)! Because of all the crazy busy-ness we've had the past couple weeks, I haven't had much time for creating recently. I thought it would be fun to share with you a bunch of my "older" things I've created for Father's Day over the past few years. Some of this artwork I created way before I started blogging, so this may be the first time you've seen it online. Please enjoy and have a very Happy Father's Day everyone!

First, I'm sharing the "circle" album, I created for my husband Jose in June 2007 (remember the Expedition papers and Typewriter Alphabet stamps?!) This was a fun little album to make and one we still cherish to this day! It just goes to show you that scrapbooking doesn't always have to be a super "big" and time-consuming project - one very little album can mean a whole lot!

OUR DAD IS THE BEST...
...whether he's coaching...

...teaching...
(District Teacher of the Year award 2002-03)
...showing us his sweet smile...

...loving us...
...reading to us...

...looking fabulous with a beard...
...taking naps with our babies (his favorite past-time!)...

...loving Mom (notice he gave me flowers)...
...or just having fun!...

WE ARE SO BLESSED
that he is our Dad!!

Next, here are a few cards (below) that I made last year using the Passages papers and Wonderful Friend (June 2010 Stamp of the Month)

Here are a few more standard size cards (below) that I created with the "It's a Guy Thing" papers in June 2008

Finally, here is a real "OLDie" but goodie (below)!
I made this one back in June 2004 after attending my first CTMH Convention, when I hadn't even been a consultant for a full year yet (joined in October 2003). This was one of the very first cards I created with our fabulous My Acrylix stamps (before that Convention we still sold wood-mounted rubber stamps). It just goes to show that I've "come a long way" creatively since then, lol. This card uses the Wild Adventure papers with the "In the Wild" stamp set (too fun)!

May 1st Product Preview Workshop!!

6x6 card (above) featuring You're Sweet B1351 stamps,

Cherry-O papers X7123B, and Pizzazz Irresistibles

chipboard die-cuts Z1307

Standard size double-pocket card (above) featuring Wonderful Friend D1422 (June SOTM) stamps, Passages papers X7126B, and our new 1.25" circle punch Z1311

3.5x8" tall card (above) featuring A Little Buzz B1353 stamps
and Zippidee papers X7125B
Ghirardelli Chocolate holder card (yes, there's a sweet chocolate
surprise inside!) featuring Tasty Treats D1427 stamps
and Cherry-O Creative Basics papers X5810

• Here's a sneak peek at some of the items we'll be creating at the Summer Product Preview Workshop that is coming up this Saturday, May 1st! I'll share the rest of the projects we're creating in my next post!