Sunday, March 17, 2024

Thank You for Sunday Stamps

 Something about grabbing a good book and a cup of coffee or tea and curling up in a comfy piece of furniture and relaxing for a little down time! Well that is exactly what I thought of when I saw this new die set from Spellbinders. This card was made for the new color challenge over at the  Sunday Stamps blog. Checkout the inspiration below...



How pretty right? Normally for a color challenge, the first thing I do is pick out cardstock of all the colors in the photo. Then I select my stamp set or die cut set and go from there. And that is exactly what I did with this challenge. I had my colors and knew I wanted to use the new March stitched die set called Read & Sip. Checkout my card below...


My first plan was to put all the die cut images on an all white background so everything would stand out but the white pages of the book got lost. I had recently picked up some rustic looking wood DSP and tried that...Perfect! Loved the soft colors against the rough wood texture.


I used neutral beiges for the foliage to keep with the rustic look, added a TY sentiment and a few rhinestones and this card is done!


Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to visit the other DT blogs and see how they made use of the colors...hope to see you in the gallery...by for now!

Melissa





Sunday, March 10, 2024

Happy Birthday!

 Recently, I've been collecting Vintage Empherea images from different companies and had an idea to use some for the new sketch challenge over at Freshly Made Sketches. So let's jump right in and checkout the sketch below...



I even made the card square like the inspirational image ;)



Not sure what draws me to a Vintage look... I think it's the cozy, hominess to it. Love the colors, the chippy/weathered look. My favorites are the Floral/Fauna/Birds & Butterflies. So I incorporated those into my card. I'm really not a "bow" person, but I like how the black in the micro gingham balance the heat embossed HB sentiment. 


I split the image in two sections and adhered that to a pretty weathered slatted wood DSP. I added paper greenery that I die cut in Ivory & Crumb Cake so it looked more like dry flowers. Bumped up the butterflies, added the bow and a few gold dics and this card is ready for my stash..

Thanks for stopping by to take a look. It was definitely a different, fun sketch! See you next time...


Melissa

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Happy Birthday To You!

 Birthday cards are my number one requested occasion card I get asked to make and it's also my own personal most used sentiment and I NEVER seem to have enough Lol! So a lot of times, I'm changing sentiment's on cards I already have in my stash...can anyone relate?? So, with that being said, a Birthday card is what I made for the new sketch challenge over at the Try a Sketch On Tuesday challenge blog. Take a look at the sketch below...



And here is my card...





I opted for two bold B&W papers instead of the diagonal striping. Then added the beautiful two-tone poppy flowers to stand off that neutral base. I also used the stripped DSP for the centers of the poppies(did you catch that) ;) to add a bit of whimsy. I made this card late and didn't feel like heat embossing the sentiment on black even though I KNEW it would finish the card perfectly. So, out came the heat embossing things! A few coordinating sequins and I have another one for the stash!



Thanks for stopping by and taking a look. I hope you feel inspired to join in with us and for more inspiration, head over to the other DT blogs and see how they used the sketch...see you soon...

Melissa




Sunday, March 3, 2024

With Deepest Sympathy For SSC-330

 Hello and welcome. It is time for a new sketch challenge over at the Sunday Stamps blog. The Hostess this round is our newest team member Laurie! Check out the sketch below...



And here is my interpretation...




As you can see, I took creative liberty with the sketch. I used a delicate floral die cut for the rectangle panel, I moved the panel from behind to the front because it just worked with the openness of the floral die. The die comes with little matching flowers to glue on to the sprigs & branches to add color or give dimension. But, I used a punch flower I cut bend petals for added dimension. For the 3 tails at the top, I extended the flowers to look like they are being carried away on a light breeze. I also choose all white for an overall soft look.



I added tiny pearls to the flower centers and sentiment panel and that completes this all white card. I like to keep sympathy cards on the simple side. Sometimes I find condolence cards challenging to make like masculine cards where I don't want to go over the top or use many layers or blingy embellishments. 

Thank you for stopping by and be sure to check out the other DT blogs so you can be inspired to join in this challenge. Hope to see you in the gallery!

Melissa

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Ephemera Hello Friend for TSOT

 Hello again and welcome! This posting is for the new sketch challenge over at the Try a Sketch On Tuesday blog. It's challenge #641 and I hope you will join in on this new challenge! See the Sketch below...



And here is my card...


I did have fun with this one. I did use a lot of creative freedom and I think sometimes you need to and not always follow the sketch to a T. It's always good to challenge yourself as a card maker and sometimes step out of our "safe" or comfort zone. I love vintage and well loved things and that's what draws me to Ephemera and the vintage look. I swapped out the rectangle on the Slimline card with a line of ephemera items and just love the look. I still thought the flowers worked well so I use Red for a pop of color and to move that color throughout the card. I also use Red for my logo and my Dymo label maker which again keeps that vintage look which I was going for. 


It was a challenge photographing all the cards I made today because of the dreary overcast day here in Florida. I added a few shiny gold flat dots and this card is ready for my stash. I hope you get a chance to stop by the other DT blogs and see how they used the sketch...hope to see what you made in the gallery...bye for now...

Melissa

Sunday, February 18, 2024

Ephemera for Sunday Stamps

 Hello and Welcome! This post is for the new color challenge over at the SUNDAY STAMPS blog. I have always appreciate vintage and antiques and ephemera. But over the past year, I have dabbled more in Ephemera in my card making. The definition of Ephemera: paper items such as tickets, posters, broadsides(advertisements) meant to be discarded but have now since become collectibles. So I have since gathered "replica" ephemera and started playing around for my papercraft. So, with that being said, I have included some pieces in my card for the new challenge at Sunday Stamps. See the beautiful moody(rich hues) colors below..



And here is my card...


Colors I have used are, Plum, Black, Craftpaper Brown & Gray. I used White as my neutral. I have included old newspaper, vintage images, advertisement tickets, floral & fauna. I corrugated the Craft Paper and rubbed white paint to soften and age. Then I splattered dark brown paint (because I didn't have black) and added gold metallic paint to the plum flower petals. I oval cut the replica newspaper and laid those first and then started layering the rest. It was very dreary here when I took the photo so I tried to capture the look and colors the best I could at the time.


Thank you so much for stopping and taking a look. I hope you will visit the other DT blogs and see how they interpreted the colors...hope to see you in the SSC Gallery. Bye for now...

Melissa

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

HVD for TSOT #640

 Hello, Happy Tuesday and Welcome! This post is for the new sketch challenge over on the Try a Sketch on Tuesday blog. See the inspiration sketch below...



And here is my interpretation...



I changed a few things up but overall, it's pretty close. I make cards to sell at local flower shop for Valentine's Day and I'm a little behind getting cards to them so I'm going to be kicking out some this weekend!




 This is a straight forward Red & White VD card and will be perfect to add to my stash for the shop. I hope you will join in with us so we can see what you did with the sketch! Be sure to checkout the other DT cards and get inspired!! Take care!

Melissa