So Very Thankful card {Paper Crafter's Library, Fancy Pants, The Stamps of Life}

Hello friends! Have you heard of Paper Crafter's Library? It's a website with an active crafty blog, featuring a weekly Trend Watch, Featured Companies, Featured Artist/Designer Spotlights, video tutorials, and lots of creative inspiration. I'm over at Paper Crafter's Library today, as their featured designer, and I'm sharing a card featuring Fancy Pants and The Stamps of Life. Would you like a sneak peek?????

Come on over and join me at Paper Crafter's Library to see the whole thing! 

xoxo

Celebrate! {Neat & Tangled}

Hello friends! Happy Easter week! Yesterday, I have been baking mini Easter egg cakes for my littlest man's preschool class. Tomorrow, along with an egg hunt, and cute little frosted egg cakes, they're doing a play - Caps for Sale (one of my most favorite children's books, which yes - has nothing to do with Easter.) Ask me why I spent three hours making and decorating little egg cakes, for a group of five-year-olds who will smear it all over their faces and fingers, and consume them within 5 minutes. I have no idea. For the love of buttercream and five-year-olds, I suppose! 

I don't have an Easter project to share with you, but I do have a bright, cheery birthday card to share instead. This card went in the mail for a very special friend who's celebrating her birthday today. Too bad I put it in the mail TODAY. I don't think it will get there in time. . . better late than never?

I created this card using the Just for You stamps from Neat & Tangled  plus Fancy Pants patterned paper, from the Me-Ology collection. Love. These. Colors. 

So that's what I have for you today! I thank you greatly for coming by today! Tomorrow I'll be back with the April 1st release from The Stamps of Life. See you then, my friends!

Baby, It's Cold Outside! {Fancy Pants Designs}

MERRY CHRISTMAS! I just wanted to pop in and wish all of you a very merry Christmas! I have some blog posts scheduled for the coming week, while I spend time celebrating with my family! We're doing a little "Best of 2014" week, and I'll be sharing some of my favorite projects and tutorials from this past year. We'll round it out with the gigantic Seasons Giving blog hop, starting on New Years Eve - right at midnight! Over 100 bloggers and companies are participating and each and every one of us will have a giveaway! So be SURE to stop by on January 1st!

Today, I have a warm winter card to share with you. I used Fancy Pants Designs Timbergrove collection  (scrapbook.com affiliate link) 

It's so much fun to layer and piece items together from the Fancy Pants collections. I'm not typically an eclectic, layering kind of crafter - but when I have a pile of Fancy Pants on my desk, well, I get FANCY! 

I'll have some more winter craftiness to share with you after the new year - I've been busy working on some gifts, that I can't share until they've been given to their recipients! I'm looking forward to sharing them with you here soon! I hope you have the happiest of holidays, and enjoy a beautiful, festive week! Remember to stop by throughout the coming holiday week, starting on the 26th for my "Favorites of 2014!"

Holiday hugs!

xoxo

Easy thank you cards to mass produce {Lil' Inker Designs}

Between family birthdays and holidays, this time of year I generally make just as many thank you cards as holiday cards - if not more! I also love to share cards as gifts, and thank you and birthday tend to be what people need the most of. I'm always on the hunt for a versatile card layout, that's super cute, but quick to assemble, and it can work with a variety of papers.

This weekend I was trying to create some more masculine cards, for my husband to mail out. I used dies from Lil' Inker and patterned papers from Fancy Pants, and I think I'll be reproducing this card in a bunch of colors and patterns. This card is totally flat, so it's easy peasy for mailing. No layers or bumps.

Thanks for stopping by today! xoxo

Products I used:

Lil' Inker Flags and Tags dies (I'm seriously using these dies on everything I touch!)

Lil' Inker Designs Thanks Word Die (at just $6.00, this is a must-have!) 

Fancy Pants Captured Moments 6x6 paper and Brag Pad

Introducing snowman2build {The Stamps of Life}

It's October! I have come to realize something about October. 

I love it more than December.

Is that wrong? :)

October is all about anticipation - anticipation of cooler weather (because here in Florida, we're still waiting,) anticipation of all the fun fall and winter activities, holidays, and events. Certainly, there are fun things to do in the spring and summer. . . but not like THIS time of year. Pumpkins. Fall festivals. Cool weather. Scarves. Pumpkin lattes. Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin butter. Applesauce. Pumpkin pie. Hmm, I seem to have gotten carried away on the pumpkiny delicious aspect of fall. 

At any rate, I love it, so I am SUPER happy that it's HERE. Now I'll desperately try to hold on to each fun and fabulous day of it. 

Speaking of anticipating winter. . . .there are some fun WINTERY new stamps that were just released at The Stamps of Life. Say hello to my snowy friend, snowman2build. This stamp set and dies are really fun to mix and match and personalize your own snowman. Would you like to see what I created? 

 I have to head out to get my mister man from school, so I better cut this short! (I'm confident that he won't consider "Sorry honey, I was writing a blog post" a valid reason for picking him up late!) Have a fabulous day, and be sure to scoot by The Stamps of Life gallery to see the design team's creations using snowman2build! Thanks for stopping by! xoxo

Mister Man card and tag ensemble {Technique Tuesday}

Hello friends! I have two new projects to share with you today, featuring the Mister Man clear stamp set, from Technique Tuesday. I created this card, and coordinating gift tag using Fancy Pants Park Bench papers. 

I enjoyed paper-piecing these ties from coordinating papers. It was fun choosing patterns that would look cool on ties. And the shapes are super easy to trim, so I created this in no time. This was one of those projects that came together easily, because I was using a 6x6 pad and 4x6 Brag Pad of Fancy Pants papers - so everything coordinates perfectly! Sometimes I like combining up different papers from different collections, but not today! 

Creating the tag was just a fun additional project, since I had all these great supplies out! This will be a fun ensemble for a fabulous mister's birthday or special occasion. And I ALWAYS need masculine projects! 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Life has continued to be CRAZY busy even with some mornings free, while my kiddos are both in school this year. Last weekend, was littlest man's 5th birthday Sharks and Fishies party, and I have some pictures and projects to share. The week before that, I decorated for a nautical baby shower, and I have tons of pictures to share from that too. I promise. . . .party posts are coming in the next week! xoxo

Find lots more Technique Tuesday stamps at Simon Says Stamp, and Scrapbook.com 

It's beginning to look at lot like Christmas? {Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine}

I'm on the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine blog today, welcoming a new issue! Holiday Cards & More, Volume 9 is a print issue, on newsstands now, and it is full of holiday inspiration! If you didn't come from there, please pop on over to the blog and visit! I've shared some lovely holiday tags and then I created my own non-holiday tags from that inspiration - just to prove that this is a pretty must-have issue, even if you aren't quite ready for winter crafting!

And I have one little holiday project for you here today, PLUS a chance to win. . . .read on, my crafty friends!

I created this card with some sweet products from the Timbergrove Collection by Fancy Pants Designs. The burlap bow, also from Fancy Pants, is such a great product. It comes just like you see it, already shaped and ready to stick on a project. I love the way it brought this whole card together. I am work on my layering skills - putting product together, and actually USING all of the stickers, tags, and fun embellishments I have so this card was good practice!

And now, because we are celebrating a new magazine, in addition to the copy I'm giving away on the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking blog, I have one more issue to give away here! So, leave a comment - I'd love to know: Do you create Christmas/holiday cards? If so, how early you start working on them? I'll draw one random commenter to win Holiday Cards & More, on Saturday August 23rd! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Card supplies:
Fancy Pants Designs Timbergrove Small Decorative Tags
Fancy Pants Designs Timbergrove Patterned Photo Frames
Fancy Pants Designs Timbergrove 12x12 Paper Kit
Fancy Pants Designs Artist Edition Collection Burlap Bow

A Fond Farewell

Today's card was created with someone very special in mind. It's the lovely Betsy Veldman. I completely love this woman. She is kind-hearted, and her creativity always inspires me. Her good humor and laughter is contagious, and she is just a really fun person to be with. Her artwork is gorgeous, and her attention to detail is impeccable.

I created this card based on one of my favorite recent blog posts that Betsy shared at the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking blog. It's all about the trendiness of bright colors, with a pop of black and white. I really love bright colors, with black and white, so I was completely inspired!

Betsy has decided it's time to move on from the Go-to Gals and her position at the magazine, so the 6 of us decided to give her a Bon Voyage blog hop, to share our love.  We'll miss her in a major way. It's silly how much I'll miss her - she lives in Iowa, and I live in Florida. It's not like we meet up for coffee every week. She is just as easy to text, email, and chat with as she's always been. I have to keep reminding myself of this, because somehow she feels like she'll be farther away. {I love you Betsy!!!!}

Will you stop by and visit all the Go-to Gal blogs today, and check out our Betsy-inspired cards? And then stop by and see Betsy too, and give her some love!

• Heather Campbell

• Kim Kesti

• Kimberly Crawford
• Laina Lamb

• Teri Anderson

    Want to know more about today's card? I used some brand new and well-loved Technique Tuesday products. The new Cool Tab Card die is going to be a great die in my stash. The Story Card dies are great for journaling cards, and scrapbooking projects, but they are just as terrific for card bases too. I also used a brand new sentiment, from the You're So Sweet stamp set. It's a mini set, and it has four beautiful, and practical sentiments! The poppies are from Poppy Sentiments, which has great flowers for paper-piecing and coloring, plus really usable but unique sentiments.

     Card supplies:

     Technique Tuesday stamps and dies-

     Cool Tab Card die

     You're So Sweet stamp set

     Poppy Sentiments stamp set

     Fancy Pants Designs Park Bench patterned paper

    Thanks so much for stopping by today! My kids head off to school next week, and I have big plans for getting my life organized and getting some work done! (We'll see how that goes!) Have a great weekend! xoxo

• 
  

Christmas in July: Day 4 {The Stamps of Life}

Happy Holidays! I'm enjoying my vacation with my family right now, so I thought I'd leave you with a little Christmas in July while I'm away. Scroll on down to see the first few days of winter inspiration, if you've missed it. 

Today I've got a card featuring The Stamps of Life. There are quite a few super-cute holiday themed stamp sets at The Stamps of Life, and these Christmas lights are one of my favorites. Lights4Christmas is a cool stamp set because it has the Christmas bulb outline, plus solid and polka-dotted inside shapes to customize your lights. It's also great for paper-piecing and stamped techniques. 

On this card I stamped the light bulb outline, and then stamped the inside with the dotted stamp. I trimmed the lights and adhered them to the card, with some string behind. Isn't that little Merry Christmas tag cute? Perfect for little gift tags or accents. (And even better. . .this stamp set has coordinating dies, great for mass producing Christmas cards and projects!) 

Next up, a little packaging project. I used a Sizzix Thinlits Milk Carton die and my Big Shot to create this little box. It would be perfect for little candies or treats. It's small - 3 5/8 inches tall when assembled. It's ADORABLE.

Well, my friends - this brings us to the end of my little Christmas in July! Thanks so much for visiting this week! If you've gotten fired up about creating for the holidays, I'd love to see what you're up to! Link me up with your creations and I'll check them all out when I get home from my summer vacation next week! And not to worry, me and the Go-to Gals will be sharing some fun on Wednesday. It's Go-to Gal Designer Challenge day, and we're showcasing Hazel & Ruby! So FUN! Hugs! xoxo

Milk carton supplies:

Milk carton die - (find it on Scrapbook.com) (find it on Sizzix.com) 

patterned paper and chipboard - Fancy Pants Timbergrove 12x12 pad and chipboard

Enjoy the Journey {Avocado Arts}

I was so happy to be invited to play with Avocado Arts this month! Avocado Arts sells clear photopolymer stamps, made in the USA. I got to play with the new stamp set, Enjoy The Journey.

You can head over to the Avocado Arts blog to view more photos of these projects, but here are some details about them.

On my One Step at a Time card, I used dies cut the hills, and cloud (supplies are linked below.) When I created this, I was actually intending to put the car on the scene (that you'll see on a card below) but then I saw how perfectly the sentiment fit here, and I decided to do something quirky and just put the shoes walking across. I punched holes in each one to thread twine through for the laces.

Next up, I paper-pieced some lighthouses to create this card, and tag. The Nautical collection from Fancy Pants was just perfect with this! And the wave die was the perfect finishing touch on this card. 

And finally, my tie-died car. I really wanted to create a super colorful car, and I debated how to achieve that. I ended up stamping it, and then adding Hero Arts Ink Daubers over the top.  Big thanks to Avocado Arts for inviting me to play this month! 

Supplies:
Lawn Fawn Spring Showers dies (cloud, sunshine) 
Avery Elle Custom Panels dies (hills) 
Wave die (The Stamps of Life) 
Fancy Pants Nautical collection
Hero Arts Daubers

A Fancy Go-to Gal Designer Challenge {Fancy Pants Designs}

It's not exactly the last Wednesday of the month, but we're having a fun little off-schedule Go-to Gals Designer Challenge today! The Paper Crafts &Scrapbooking magazine Go-to Gals have ourselves a friendly little monthly challenge, and today we get to share what we created!

This month we're using goodies from Fancy Pants Designs. I've raved about Fancy Pants a time or two lately. We even got to visit the warehouse, during our editorial board meetings in Utah. (You can read about it and see another card, HERE.)

I promised I'd share the card we made during our visit, and today seems like the perfect day to do just that! I used the lovely new Burlap and Bouquets collection on this card. The colors are so sweet and soft, but the pops of bright shades, and black give this collection a lot of personality! I have been using it like CRAZY.

Fancy Pants Designs creates so many fun embellishments and unique elements to add to cards, layouts, and decor projects. The library cards, assorted sizes of tags, envelopes, flair, and die cuts are such fun to pull together and create with. 

Next up is a card that I combined more Burlap & Bouquets paper, along with stamps from The Stamps of Life. The chalkboard sentiments from chalksayings2stamp flowed so well with these papers, and I love the soft colors against the bold black. This card would be easy to mass-produce using a variety of papers too! 

I can't wait to see what the other Go-to Gals have created with Fancy Pants this month! Please head around and visit them, and leave them some love, okay!? Thanks a bunch for stopping by today! xoxo

• Betsy Veldman

• Heather Campbell

• Kim Kesti

• Kimberly Crawford
• Laina Lamb

• Teri Anderson
• 
  

Card supplies:

Burlap and Bouquets 12x12 Collection Kit

Burlap and Bouquets Decorative Tags - Small

Burlap and Bouquets Flair

Burlap and Bouquets Library Cards

The Stamps of Life clear stamps - chalksayings2stamp

• PS. You can find lots more about Fancy Pants Designs on their blog, their Facebook page, and on Pinterest! Stop by and tell them HELLO!

Make a Wish {Sweet Stamp Shop}

Thought I'd pop in with a card I created with July stamps from Sweet Stamp Shop. These stamps work seamlessly with the July kit from On Cherry Street. On Cherry Street is a new little brand from Sweet Stamp Shop, featuring monthly scrapbooking kits. They contain journaling cards, wood veneer, and even an exclusive stamp set. And it all coordinates with the monthly Sweet stamps, which means more creativity, more possibilities, and more FUN! 

The theme for July is all about fairy tales and magic. I had fun making this card - because pink and fairy tales isn't something I often create with! I wish you could see it, but this entire castle is covered in Wink of Stella - it's shimmery and subtle, and adds the perfect magical touch! I paper-pieced this castle together. Yes, it took a little time, but it was totally worth it! My Fancy Pants Be.Loved collection was the perfect paper to pair with this! 

Are you tempted? Head over to the Sweet Stamp Shop to check out these new stamps (they're available NOW!) plus the On Cherry Street kit, Magical. Thanks so much for stopping by my friends!

By the Sea party ensemble {Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine}

Hello friends! The Fourth of July weekend is just about here! We'll be spending the weekend out at the beach, enjoying a view of the ocean and the sand in our toes. It's only a 20 minute trip from our house, so we go there fairly often, but there's still something about the July 4th weekend that makes the summer beach scene extra magical! 

Today I'm sharing this summer party ensemble on the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking blog. I used Graphic 45's By the Sea collection, and YOU have the chance to win it over on the PC&S blog (so if you haven't been there yet, click on over for a chance! There are more pictures of these projects too!)

As I promised over there, I have more details, and supply lists here in case you'd like to try this yourself.  First up, the banner. I LOVE using my Sizzix Framelits pennant dies to create party decor. It is so easy to create pennants using any paper you choose (or even felt or foam!) There's a scalloped die, and a straight edge die, so I die-cut one of each and layered them. You can see I alternated sizes between small and large. I used a small hole punch on each corner and then I threaded twine through each pennant. (Yes, it's my favorite May Arts burlap string. . . seriously, it matches EVERYTHING. I'm obsessed, which you might already know!) Then I just added some chipboard embellishments, and pinwheels (also a die, which is from The Cat's Pajamas.)

Next up, the drink bottle. This is just a recycled Starbucks Frappaccino bottle. Sometimes I save things, even though I'm not sure why. . . .and this was one of those saves that worked perfectly. A mason jar would have been fabulous too. I jazzed it up with burlap, twine, and chipboard. This would be fun to personalize for each guest, maybe with names or initials too. (You could even let them take it home with them!) 

Next we have the cute little place setting bag. Wouldn't this be fun (and handy) when serving up a BBQ or buffet? Guests can grab a bag and have their napkin and utensils contained in this cute little bag (this one is from Fancy Pants.) Again, I just decorated it up with goodies from the By the Sea collection, a pinwheel die, and twine. 

(And would you like to know a funny secret? The napkin I used for this photo, is a Star Wars napkin with Darth Vader on the other side. It was the only red napkin I had in the house!)

And last but not least, a quick card. . . .because really, how could I NOT make a card? It could be an invitation, or maybe a thank-you card after a fabulous summer soiree. Below, I've linked up the products I've used. If you have any questions, ask away! I'd love to chat with you! And be sure to stop over at the Paper Crafts blog, for a chance to win this paper collection, plus lots of coordinating goodies!  Have a fabulous, safe, and FUN Fourth of July weekend! 

Supplies:

kraft cardstock

Graphic 45 By the Sea 12x12 pad and chipboard shapes

Sizzix Framelits pennants dies(from scrapbook.com) or (from Sizzix.com)

Sizzix Framelits scalloped pennants dies (from scrapbook.com) or (from Sizzix.com)

Pinwheels die from The Cat's Pajamas

May Arts burlap string (from Simon Says Stamp)

Fancy Pants bag

Burlap Ribbon (on bottle) Close To My Heart

Getting' Fancy with {Fancy Pants Designs}

During the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking editorial board meetings, the Go-to Gals and editors visited at Fancy Pants Designs. Fancy Pants has this great little creative space set up in their warehouse, (yes, IN their warehouse) where we did a fun make-and-take project, and we got to know Jodi Sanford, the Founder, Owner, and Creative Director of Fancy Pants. 

Here we are, as Jodi shares some sneak peeks of new product that's hitting stores this summer, plus getting started on our packet of cuteness (below.) 

Seriously, this was so SWEET. Jodi personalized each little bag of make-and-take goodies for each of us. This bag was so cute, I hated to tear into it! (It was totally worth it though!) I'll share the project that I made soon!

Here's the PC&S gang with Jodi!

And this is a card that I created (back at home) with Fancy Pant's Be Different Collection. I love all of the fun accessories that Fancy Pants produces with their collections. There are mini envelopes, pockets, die cut shapes, buttons, flair, clothespins - all SORTS of possibilities for not just cards and layouts, but also of home decor and 3-D projects. (And the cardmaker in me, loves the 6x6 paper pads too!) I sent this card to Jodi to thank her for the creativity and fun we had at Fancy Pants! I added a Thanks stamp from Paper Smooches onto the word bubble to finish it off. 

Fancy Pants has LOTS going on right now, including a new line of stationary products, plus new party kits! (You can read all about both on their blog.)

Thanks for coming by today, and for letting me take a few minutes to share about my fun at Fancy Pants -as well as to share more about this company that I have fallen in love with!! 

Catch up with Fancy Pants on their blog.

Follow Fancy Pants on Facebook.

Find Fancy Pants on Instagram, or Pinterest!

Have a great weekend!!!
xoxo

Valentine's cards {Creativity By Melissa, and Fancy Pants}

Hello lovelies!

Happy almost-Valentines Day! I have a few cards to share with you today. I had fun using lots of Fancy Pants embellishments for this first card, all from the Be.Loved collection. I LOVE that little aqua bag. It would be perfect to stash a gift card or an extra little love note in.  I often struggle to figure out how to incorporate do-dads like these into my cards - tags, frames, bags. . . pretty much everything on here. But I kind of like the way this came together. A rare moment that I just layered things together and it worked. (Gotta love that!)

These next few projects are from a new-to-me stamp company, called A Creative Journey With Melissa. Melissa was so sweet to send me her I Just Love You stamp set, and I created a little 3x3 card trio, plus another card. I added some washi tape and enamel dots from Close To My Heart to finish these off. They're the perfect little size for a Valentine, or packaged together as a little gift!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Come back on Wednesday the 12th for a SWEET announcement and some SWEET projects. I promise. . . it will be SWEEEEEEET!!!!

Two of a Kind {Fancy Pants}

I am in love with the colors in the Fancy Pants Be.Loved Collection. 

This is a perfect collection to start some LOVELY Valentines projects - but it's definitely versatile enough with some great basic patterns to create all kinds of projects. 

A pretty fun element of the 12x12 kit is the corrugated paper. I used a strip of it on this card, and it adds some fun texture! 

That's about it for today. The hubs has returned from a few weeks out of the country; I am THE happiest girl! We're doing some furniture shopping this week, looking for the perfect cabinet to house a new TV and components. The TV arrives today, but it has nowhere to live, so the hunt shall continue today. We've visited some really fun used furniture stores, but I'm a little. .. .ummmm. . .frugal. I'd like to find exactly what I want, for exactly what I want to pay. (note: PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.) Thank goodness my husband loves me dearly, and is willing to continue the hunt till we find something we both love (and can afford.) I have found that searching for ideas on Pinterest is a BAD idea. I found tons I liked, but they were all three times over my budget! Sigh. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!! Have a terrific weekend!

xoxo