... Taylored Expressions Challenge #22

Greetings everyone,

It is a glacially cold day here in Ontario with temperatures sitting at -29C, or about -35C with the wind chill. And I tell you, it is a blowin' out there today! For you folks in the US, that is about -8F, plus the wind chill.

It is a perfect day NOT to go outside but rather stay in and be cozy in my craft room making cards. :)

I have one today that I have made for the Taylored Expressions Share Joy Challenge #22. You can see the details and the sketch here.

I started with a white card over which I have added a strip of pattern paper down the left side. For the remainder of the card I used white cardstock run through the Anna Griffin embossing folder called Circular Grid. I love using embossing folders and I have a real beauty on order from Taylored Expressions that I cannot wait to get my hands on! But I digress.... :)

The focal image is from the Taylored Expressions stamp set called In Other Words ~ Tea. I just love it. I stamped out the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then pondered how to colour it. I wanted to keep the image very soft. I finally decided upon using chalk and a Dove Blender. I have not used that medium in ages but after filling up the little pen, it worked like a charm. 

I have cut out the focal image with a Spellbinders Lacey Ovals die. I sponged on a little bit of Memento Angel Pink ink while the image was still in the die.

For my tag I hauled out a very old Sizzix die called Super Scallop Tag and used some paper from my stash. Some pink gingham ribbon knotted on the top finishes off the tag nicely.

I have used the Spellbinders die called Petite Labels One for the sentiment at the bottom of the card. I absolutely adore this sentiment because it makes me think of a wonderful friend of mine as we sat at her kitchen table for hours, drinking tea and talking endlessly. We live many miles apart now but this brings back wonderful memories and I do miss her greatly. I have stamped the sentiment with Memento Paris Dusk ink and then sponged on a bit of the same pink ink again. Finished off with a twine tied pink button.

Thanks so much for visiting on such a blustery day. I hope to be back if the creative juices are flowing. Please do leave me your comments as they make my day to read them. Cheers.

  ~ Melanie ~

... MFT Challenge #267

Hello again,

I am back with a card for the My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge #267. Here is the sketch.

 I decided to use the Pure Innocence Purrfect stamp set from MFT. I stamped out the image of the girl holding the kitty with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with the Copics shown below.

 I used an ivory card base and stenciled it completely with the MFT stencil Staggered Paw Prints using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Wild Honey. Those little paws are just so cute. :)

I used an old MFT die to cut out the tag. I chose to use this particular sentiment from the same stamp set as I think it makes this card much more versatile. It is stamped with Memento Espresso Truffle ink. I popped up the focal image on some foam tape as well as the sentiment banner.

Ribbon and a button at the top of the tag and a die cut from MFT Pet Accents on the bottom held to the sentiment banner with a gold brad finishes off the card.

Lots of fun to make. If you follow my blog you will have realized by now that I am truly a sucker for kittens and puppies. Just love using them on cards. Almost as much as flowers. Almost, but not quite. :)

Thanks a lot for stopping by today. Please leave me your comments as I love to read all of them. You can make my day even better if you decide to follow my blog as well! Have a tremendous day! Cheers.

   ~ Melanie ~

... SSS Wednesday Challenge - One Layer

Hello everyone,

I am participating in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge. The theme is a One Layer Card, preferably with Paper Smooches stamps.

This really is a challenge for me. I rarely, if ever, make a one layer card.

After giving this a great deal of thought I got out my one and only Paper Smooches stamp set and decided to have a go. I decided to keep it as simple as possible.

I used an ivory card and stamped one of the floral images from the stamp set which is called Blossoming Buds with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

I decided to keep the colouring very simple indeed. No shading, nothing fancy. Just plain and simple colouring with Tombow markers in the colours shown below.

I then stamped the sentiment "Grateful" with Memento Grape Jelly ink and the "for you" in Tuxedo Black.

After staring at it for a while I realized that I simply could not be satisfied with that and got out my ScorPal and did some scoring lines all the way round.

I do not make many of these style of cards and I know why. I like to have a bit more going on in my cards... you know, dimension, die cuts, pearls, ribbons, etc. However I think that doing these one layer cards is probably a good idea once in a while to force oneself to try something new and, in my case, very challenging indeed.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

   ~ Melanie ~

... happy anniversary to dear friends

Hello again...

Well I did warn you that I was making cards today!  :)

This card is not for any challenges, it is simply an anniversary card for some dear friends.

White card base over which I have layered a white card panel. I have stamped the flourishes along the bottom from the JustRite stamp set Elegant Celebrations in Memento Rhubarb Stalk. Right above that I have stamped one of the sentiments from the same set in Memento Tuxedo Black. I absolutely adore that sentiment for an anniversary card. Then I ran it through an Anna Griffin embossing folder called Eyelet Stripe being careful not to emboss the stamped images.

I trimmed it to size and mounted it on the card base with foam tape.

The focal image, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black in is from the Joanna Sheen Silhouette stamp set Anniversary. Seemed very appropriate to me. :)

I had to hand cut out the image as none of my dies was just exactly the right size. I layered it on top of a rhubarb coloured cardstock cut with Spellbinders Lacey Circles die and popped this up.

Very simple and, I hope, elegant card.

I added a sentiment inside from PapertreyInk Think Big Favorites #16, again stamped in Tuxedo Black and a small Flourish from the same JustRite set and that is again stamped in Rhubarb Stalk.

I think this will likely be it for me for today. The snow continues to fall here and I suppose I really ought to go out and do a bit of shoveling. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

   ~ Melanie ~ 

... Power Poppy February Challenge

Hello again everyone,


It is a snowy blustery day here in eastern Ontario so I have squirreled myself away in my craft room making cards.

I have a card here for the Power Poppy February Challenge.

The challenge is to use some sort of colouring medium that is not what you would normally use. I usually use Copics to colour Marcy's fantastic images. I use watercolours sometimes, pencil crayons sometimes and other markers but for some reason none of those really appealed to me this time.

Then I happened to receive an email from Jennifer McGuire about a new post on her blog. She is one very creative cookie, let me tell you.

The technique she used is one whereby you lift colour from a stamped image. Let me explain as I show you my card.

I started by deciding to use the stunning stamp from the Potted Primroses stamp set. I inked it up with Versamark and stamped out on heavy white cardstock. I heat embossed with Detail White embossing powder.

Then I very liberally rubbed Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Festive Berries all over the piece of cardstock, being sure to get into all the little nooks and crannies of the image.

At this point you simply take a paintbrush and a bit of water and dab it on the image. The colour simply lifts away leaving a much lighter image behind. I did this to the entire image. 

Then I went back in with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters and painted some colour back onto the leaves. I left the flowers alone.

I cut out the focal image with Spellbinders Labels Twenty-Eight second largest die and an additional piece of white cardstock from the largest die of the same set.

I then cut out the 5 x 7 Enchanted Labels 28 also from white cardstock.

I am using a 5 x 7 white cardbase but I did not want all the rest of the card to be white as then the focal image would look out of place. I searched high and low through all my cardstock and could not find a piece that matched the ink colour. Easy to remedy. I cut a piece of white cardstock the required size and merely rubbed the same ink all around the perimeter. 

I them assembled the card with all the layers and only added a few pearls for additional interest. I did not even add a sentiment as I really want those beautiful primroses to carry all the attention on the card. Now that I have it all done in red and white I realize that it would be great for Valentines Day! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I do hope that you will leave me your comments and do consider following my blog so we can keep in touch. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

   ~ Melanie ~

... Taylored Expressions challenge #21

Hello there everyone,

I have made a card today for the  Expressions challenge #21 and you can see the sketch here.

Sometimes I find when I look at these sketches that a specific stamp image pops into my head instantly. That was the case with this one.

Taylor has such wonderful floral images. I LOVE floral images! :) One of my favourites is the Calla Lily. It is so elegant and beautiful and an absolute dream to colour. I searched through one of my favourite gardening catalogs and found a very brilliantly coloured lily to use as my inspiration.

My card starts with an ivory base. I used some pattern paper in a soft green and cut it with the largest die from the Spellbinders Romantic Rose set. 

Over that I have layered a dark green cardstock cut with the second die from the same set. It is so detailed and just beautiful.

I cut out the Calla Lily from the same ivory cardstock using the coordinating die set to match the stamp. I then stamped the lily image using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured it up with Copics. I am SO sorry that I did not keep track of which colours I used. I usually do.

I used the sentiment from the same set and also stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I then cut it out using Spellbinders Ribbon Banners die set.
After I was sure the ink was dry I sponged on a wee bit of Memento New Sprout ink for a hint of colour. The lily and the sentiment banner are both popped up on dimensional squares.

Thank you so much for stopping by to visit today. Please do leave me your comments as it does my heart good! Cheers.

   ~Melanie~

... so many challenges!!

Hello everybody,

Thank so much for stopping by to visit today. I have made a very simple card today which I am using for a number of different challenges. I do not do that very often but it just happens that they all share a similar theme so here goes.

I am using the Mojo Monday sketch #435 which you can see here.

I am using this card for the following challenges, in addition to the Mojo Monday. Pink & Main Challenge #6, One Crazy Stamper February challenge and Simon Says Stamp Love and Hearts theme. Whew! That is a lot of challenges!

My card starts with an ivory card base over which I have added a piece of pattern paper from my overflowing stash. You would think that it would have begun to diminish by now, but alas, no! I have run this paper through an embossing folder with paw prints and bones on it. I am sorry but I have no idea who made it as there is no name on it and I have had it for ages.

I have used the Pink & Main stamp set Hot Dog for my focal image and the sentiments. I stamped the little cutie with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then coloured him with Watercolour pencils. I added a dot of silver Sharpie marker for the dog tag. I then fussy cut him out.

He is matted on a beautiful heart cut with Spellbinders Lace Hearts die. I have popped up both the heart and the puppy. 

The wee bone at the bottom is cut from My Favorite Things die set Pet Accents.

Super easy card and this is going to be the Valentines card for my DH. I tell you, I am a sucker for a cute puppy stamp as I have two of the live versions myself, my two yellow Labrador Retrievers.

Thanks again for taking the time to visit my blog and leaving me your comments. I appreciate each and every one of them. Have a terrific day.

   ~Melanie~