Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Scentsational Mojo

I'm really loving the Scentsational Season stamp set and the Holiday Collection framelits.  Oh, and I can't forget the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper.  It's so easy to create cute holiday cards with these great new products!


Today's card design is based on this week's Mojo Monday sketch.



 

IMG_3973_edited-1

For the greeting, I stamped the "Season's Greetings" from the More Merry Messages stamp set in Cherry Cobbler ink onto a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock.  I then used the Big Shot and the Apothecary Accents framelits to cut out the greeting.  If you look closely, you'll see that I paper-pierced the edges of the greeting.  The Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack features a template that fits this label....how cool is that?



Mojocu
Here is a complete list of the supplies used:


STAMP SETS:  Scentsational Season, More Merry Messages


INK:  Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede


PAPER:  Very Vanilla, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper


ACCESSORIES:  Big Shot, Holiday Collection Framelits, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack, Stampin' Pierce Mat, Paper-Piercing Tool, White Gel Pen, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details


All of these products can be ordered online on my Stampin' Up! website.


Thanks for stopping by!



MelissaSignature



Monday, August 20, 2012

Christmas Tree Card Video

After all the finalists were notified about the Artisan Award, we decided to have a card swap at convention.  If you've participated in a swap before, you know there is always a certain amount of anxiety involved.  Is my card good enough?  Will people like it?  Well, imagine having to swap with Artisan finalists! 


I decided to re-create my tree card with current Stampin' Up product for the swap.  So, I made 25 of these babies!  (19 for the finalists and a few for Shelli and the team from SU)  I actually liked the way this one turned out better than the one I submitted for the contest.


Artisantree


And here is some exciting news.....I created a video to show you how I made it!  I am hoping that I'll be able to do more videos now that the kids are in school.   I'll be giving away the card that I created in the video to one lucky viewer.  Simply leave a comment here, on YouTube, or on my Facebook page.  One person will be selected at random on August 31st to receive the card.


 


To make this card, you'll need the following supplies:


STAMP SETS:  Scentsational Season, Sweets for the Sweet


INK:  Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede


PAPER:  Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper, Very Vanilla card stock, Lucky Limeade Card stock, Early Espresso Card Stock, Silver Glimmer Paper


PUNCHES:  Scallop Edge Border Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, 1-3/4" Square Punch, 1" Circle Punch


DIE-CUTTING:  Big Shot, Holiday Collection Framelits, Perfect Pennants Bigz L Die


ADHESIVE:  SNAIL, Dimensionals


OTHER:  Stampin' sponge, Cherry Cobbler Dazzling Details (did not use in video, but shown on gingerbread man's buttons)


Artisantreecu2


PAPER MEASUREMENTS:


Very Vanilla Card Stock:  4" x 8", scored at 4"


Strips of Very Vanilla & Designer Series Paper:  4-1/2" x 1"


 


If you recreate this card, I would love to see it!  Happy Stampin'


MelissaSignature


 



Saturday, August 18, 2012

Artisan Finalist Blog Hop Day 10

 I can't believe this is the final day for the blog hop!  It has been such a fun and inspiring 10 days.  I've absolutely loved reading about everyone's projects and learning all about the intricate details.  If you've come from Holly Van Dyne's blog, you know exactly what I mean.


It looks like all of us saved the best for last.  Hopefully, I'm no exception.  This project was my absolute FAVORITE by far!  It was so hard to pack it up and send it to Stampin' Up!  I really wanted to keep it and I DID NOT WANT TO MAKE ANOTHER ONE!


I know quite a few florists and I'm always inspired by their artistry.  I showed a paper flower to one of my florist friends and told her about the project I had in mind.  She informed me that I would need to make A LOT of flowers to create a full bouquet.  I didn't know exactly how many A LOT was, but I ended up making over 80 flowers!  There are several different styles of paper flowers in this bouquet---I punched, die cut, cut, and rolled flowers for an entire day.  After all of the flowers were made, I had to attach them to floral wire and arrange them.  Eighty flowers ended up being too many, so I think the bouquet ended up with 50-60 flowers total.


The underside of the bouquet was unattractive with the floral wires showing, so I added some light green tulle to cover it.  The handle was wrapped with Daffodil Delight Striped Grosgrain ribbon and I added some jumbo pearls to accent it.


Artisanbouquet


Bouquet copy


Bouquettop
Thank you so much for stopping by my blog during the Artisan Finalist Blog Tour!  I really appreciate all of your kind comments and I hope that you'll continue to visit.


You are now ready to visit the blog of Amy O'Neill.


This blog hop will take you in a complete circle, but if you happen to lose your way, here is a list you can refer to.



  1. Connie Collins

  2. Holly VanDyne

  3. Melissa Stout  (you are here!)

  4. Amy O'Neill

  5. Sandie Conner

  6. Amy Rogers

  7. Mercedes Weber

  8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

  9. Mindy Bingamon


 


STAMPIN' SUPPLIES


PAPER:  Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzaz, Concord Crush, Poppy Parade


ACCESSORIES:  Blossom Punch, Fancy Flower Punch, 2-3/8” Scallop Punch, Big Shot, Flower Fusion Die, Daffodil Delight 1-1/4” Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Basic Pearls, Jumbo Pearls


NON-STAMPIN’ UP!:  Tulle, Floral Wire, Floral Tape, Hot Glue


MelissaSignature



Friday, August 17, 2012

Artisan Finalist Blog Hop Day 9

I can hardly believe that the blog hop is almost over!  There have been some fabulous projects shared over the last week.  I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have!  If you started the blog hop from the beginning, you've just come from the blog of Holly VanDyne.  She is such an incredible artist!


Have you ever created something and it turned out NOTHING like what you had imagined?  Well, that is exactly what happened with this project.   I had originally wanted to make a display of photo props that was mostly black & white, somewhat vintage-looking.  And this is what happened.....


Photoprops copy
The moustaches and neckties were created in My Digital Studio, cut out, and adhered to dowel rods....that was the easy part.  Then, I started painting the blocks with black paint.....didn't like it.  So then, I covered the blocks with Designer Series Paper.  I didn't like that either because you could see the black paint on all of the corners of the blocks.  So I took a foam brush and added white paint to all of the edges to give it a shabby look.  Mission accomplished, but it needed something more.  I added the pleated paper border, letters, and a camera image for My Digital Studio to pull it all together.


Be sure to visit again tomorrow.....I think I've saved the best for last!


This blog hop will take you in a complete circle, but if you happen to lose your way, here is a list you can refer to. Be sure to check back every day this week for more great stamping and paper crafting ideas!



  1. Connie Collins

  2. Holly VanDyne

  3. Melissa Stout  (you are here!)

  4. Amy O'Neill

  5. Sandie Conner

  6. Amy Rogers

  7. Mercedes Weber

  8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

  9. Mindy Bingamon


 


You are now ready to visit Amy O'Neill.  She's got a great project to share with you today!


 


STAMPIN' SUPPLIES


MY DIGITAL STUDIO:  Father’s Day, Many Mustaches


PAPER:  Eat Cake DSP


ACCESSORIES:  Décor Blocks


NON-STAMPIN’ UP!:  Wood Dowels, White Acrylic Paint


Thanks for stopping by!


MelissaSignature



Thursday, August 16, 2012

Artisan Finalist Blog Hop Day 8

It's Day 8 of the Artisan Finalist Blog Hop!  If you started from the beginning, you've just visited Holly VanDyne's blog.  She's a hard act to follow!   You'll be able to follow the blog hop all the way through by clicking on the links at the end of this post.


Today's card was actually the very last project that I created for the Artisan Award contest.  I had procastinated on making it because I wanted this last card to have a vintage-y, shabby chic feel to it.  It didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned it, but that was okay.  It ended up being one of my favorites.


Treecard
The fun thing about this card is that I was able to use up a bunch of scrap Designer Series Paper.  I actually just grabbed anything with a green pattern!


Treecu3


This card has a lot of sparkle thanks to the silver glimmer snowflakes and the red & silver glimmer brads.  You'll notice that I did sponge all the edges of the cardstock to give the card that vintage look.


Treecu1


The topper of the tree was a double-loop seam binding bow on top of a silver glimmer snowflake.  I pulled the ends of the ribbon to created the ruffled ends.


Treecu2


I've noticed that quite a few of the Artisan finalists decorated the inside of their cards.  This card is no exception!


There is a complete supply list for this card at the end of this post.  Many of the items on this card have retired, but I've got a special treat for you!


At convention this year, all of the finalists participated in a card swap.  I recreated this card with current Stampin' Up! product.  Because this is such a FUN card, I am going to have a video tutorial available on my blog on Monday.  You'll probably want to subscribe to my blog so that you can receive the updates, including this tutorial.


This blog hop will take you in a complete circle, but if you happen to lose your way, here is a list you can refer to. Be sure to check back every day this week for more great stamping and paper crafting ideas!



  1. Connie Collins

  2. Holly VanDyne

  3. Melissa Stout  (you are here!)

  4. Amy O'Neill

  5. Sandie Conner

  6. Amy Rogers

  7. Mercedes Weber

  8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

  9. Mindy Bingamon


 


You are now ready to visit Amy O'Neill.  She's got a great project to share with you today!


 


STAMPIN' SUPPLIES


STAMP SET:  Petite Pairs


INK:  Soft Suede, Real Red


PAPER:  Very Vanilla, Whisper White, Soft Suede, Garden Green, Everyday Enchantment DSP, Paisley Petals DSP, Nursery Nest DSP, Silver Glimmer Paper


ACCESSORIES:  Big Shot, Perfect Pennants Die, Northern Frost Die, Very Vanilla Seam Binding Ribbon, Basics Glimmer Brads, Brights Glimmer Brads, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch, 1-1/4” Square Punch


Thanks for stopping by!


MelissaSignature


 



Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Artisan Finalsit Blog Tour Day 7

In case you are just joining us, we are a group of nine out of twenty Stampin' Up! demonstrators who were selected as finalists in the 2012 Artisan Design Team competition. We didn't make the design team, but we thought you would still enjoy seeing our projects. There are a lot of talented ladies on this blog hop, so we hope you continue to join us each day for our ten day event. If you are making the rounds, you should have just arrived from Holly VanDyne's blog.


I'm excited to share today's card with you.  It's one of my favorites and it just makes me smile.  This is a MDS hybrid, meaning there are digital and traditional elements on the card.  If you saw it at convention, you probably weren't WOW'd by this card.  That is because the fun is on the inside.....


Barncard1


The "barn doors" were created with the Big Shot and the Peekaboo Frames Die.  I simply had a sheet of Riding Hood Red card stock printed when I sent my print order, so that I could die cut the doors to match.  The barn and the base card were created with My Digital Studio.  When you open the doors, this is what you'll see......


Barncardopen


Here is a closer look of my pink piggies......


Barncardcu1


Aren't they cute?  But that's not all!  When you open the card, the inside looks like this....


Barncardinside


I've got a complete list of supplies at the end of this post.  Most of the items are still available.  And if you haven't tried My Digital Studio yet, you can get a FREE 30-day trial.  It's a great way to try before you buy!


This blog hop will take you in a complete circle, but if you happen to lose your way, here is a list you can refer to. Be sure to check back every day this week for more great stamping and paper crafting ideas!



  1. Connie Collins

  2. Holly VanDyne

  3. Melissa Stout  (you are here!)

  4. Amy O'Neill

  5. Sandie Conner

  6. Amy Rogers

  7. Mercedes Weber

  8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

  9. Mindy Bingamon


 


You are now ready to visit Amy O'Neill.  She's got a great project to share with you today!


 


STAMPIN' SUPPLIES


STAMP SET:  Button Buddies, Smarty Pants


INK:  Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede, Basic Black


ACCESSORIES:  Natural Hemp Twine, Big Shot, Peekaboo Frames Die, Subtles and Neutrals Buttons


MY DIGITAL STUDIO:  Barnyard Buddies, Cloud Punch, Torn Edges


 


Thanks for stopping by!


MelissaSignature



Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Artisan Finalist Blog Hop Day 6

Welcome to the sixth day of our fabulous Artisan Finalist Blog Tour!  I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's projects and I hope you have, too.  If you are making the rounds on the tour, you should have just arrived from Holly VanDyne's blog.  Didn't you just love her project?  She is so creative!


My project for today is a masculine card.  I always find it difficult to come up with ideas for manly cards, so this was a bit of a challenge.  I had also been playing around with different ways to create chevron patterns and knew I wanted to create a masculine card using chevrons in the background.  And this is what I came up with.....


Masculine2


There is quite a bit of texture and dimension on this card.  The "chevron" background was a little complicated to explain, but if there is enough interest, I'll consider creating a tutorial after the blog hop.  Leave me a comment below if you want to know more.


Masculinecu


The Designer Series Paper on this card has retired, but fortunately all the other supplies are still available through Stampin' UP!  Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a complete supply list.


Masculinecu2


This blog hop will take you in a complete circle, but if you happen to lose your way, here is a list you can refer to. Be sure to check back every day this week for more great stamping and paper crafting ideas!



  1. Connie Collins

  2. Holly VanDyne

  3. Melissa Stout  (you are here!)

  4. Amy O'Neill

  5. Sandie Conner

  6. Amy Rogers

  7. Mercedes Weber

  8. Tara (Murphy) Bourgoin

  9. Mindy Bingamon


 


You are now ready to visit Amy O'Neill.  She's got a great project to share with you today!


 


STAMPIN' SUPPLIES


STAMP SET:  Daring Adventure


INK:  River Rock, Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy


PAPER:  River Rock, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy, Well Worn DSP


ACCESSORIES:  Big Shot, Houndstooth and Stripes Embossing Folders, Regals Buttons, Blue Denim Jean Ribbon, Natural Hemp Twine, 1” square punch


Masculine1


Thanks for stopping by!


MelissaSignature