Sharing Myself With You ~ Part 2

Hello Friends,

Thank you for stopping by today to get to know me a little better. I am doing a 3 part blog series all about sharing myself with all of you. If you missed "Part 1" You can find it HERE. Tonight I am answering the question... "Who are your favorite people to spend time with?"This question was an easy one....My Family!

Back in 2013 my husband and I made the choice to move to Atlanta to be closer to our mother's. This was a hard decision as it included leaving our two adult children behind. They were both in college and we did not want our choice to interfere with their education. So they both decided to share a 2 bedroom apartment so that they could afford to live on their own. I am very proud to say that they have done great. Our oldest child, Michael, is out of school now and is 26 years old. Nicholette, our middle child, is still attending school working for her nursing degree. She also works part time as a CNA at a local hospital. She turned 21 back in February. Below is a little bit more about each of them.

 Michael is not one who likes photos, but he did bless me with this one in 2013 before we moved. It was actually during the meal after my personal graduation from college. It was the best grad present I received. Michael is an Eagle Scout and still loves volunteering as often as possible. Michael and I have a close bond and I love him dearly.

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Nicholette on the other hand is the "selfie queen". She has two particular sides of her...one is a school bookworm always studying and trying her best. The other side of her is pure DIVA. She is a beautiful young lady with a heart of gold and is going to make one amazing nurse.

Here is our youngest. These photos were taken on Zachary's 16th birthday back in September 2014. He is currently a junior in high school and will be graduating in 2016. He is focused on keeping his GPA as high as possible so he can attend college. His plan is to study engineering. In his downtime he spends most of his time online with his friends playing video games or watching and recording his own youtube videos.

This is just a fun collage sharing other photos of these amazing people. Randy's mother is pictured with Nicholette in the top left photo and my mom is hugging Randy in the top center photo. We have wonderful relationships with both of our mom's and do not regret our choice to move closer so we can spend more time with them

I will be back with the final installment in this series on Sunday. I will be sharing my creative side with all of you, including a few photos of my craft room. I hope to see you back here soon. I would be honored if you would be so kind as to "follow" my blog. Feel free to also leave a comment so I can get to know better as well. I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter Weekend.

Melanie 

Sharing Myself With You ~ Part 1

Hello Friends,

Currently I am participating in an amazing online class called "Better Blogging in 4 weeks". During week one part of our homework was reflecting on ourselves and answering questions such as:

"What are your favorite things?"

"Who are your favorite people to spend time with?"

"Why do I blog"?

So after thinking a lot about many questions asked of us I have decided to share with you this week a little bit about myself with all of my friends. I will answer the first question in this post and will post part 2 & 3 later in the week. I hope you will come back and visit each post :-)

Here is a photo taken of me back in January while traveling in Hawaii with my mother. It was just a quick selfie but I think it shows my fun and outgoing personality. Traveling is one of my joys in life and I adore traveling with both my husband as well as my mother. Here is an array of photos taken in Hawaii in January. We made so many wonderful memories!

I have been married to my husband, Randy, for nearly 22 years. We have a wonderful life and are more in love today than the day we were married. Marriage takes a lot of work, but when it is good it is so worth the effort. 

 

This photo was taken on our 21st anniversary back in May 2014 while exploring the North Georgia Mountains together. You can get a feel for Randy's personality just by reading his tee shirt. heeheehee

Before I go I just want to quickly touch on the first question listed at the top of this blog post.... "What are my favorite things?" I have mentioned "Traveling" & "Marriage" already, but to answer the question completely I would have to also add "Spending time with my family" along with "Being Creative & Sharing my Creativity with others." I will share a lot more details about these other two areas of my life in the posts to follow. Check back with me on Friday when I share with you all about my family and Sunday I will share photos and information about my creative world. Until then I hope your week is a beautiful one.

~Melanie~

 

 

ONLY One Week Left ~ Stampin' Up's Sale-A-Bration

Hi Everyone,

I have some EXCITING news this evening...... There is just one week left of the AMAZING Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration promotion. Each year Jan-March they Sale-A-Bration Promotion gives you FREE items for purchasing the products we all adore. With each $50 order you will earn yourself a choice of one free item from the photos below. Spend $100, get 2 Free Items. Spend $150 Get three free items plus $25 in FREE product!!! The larger the order the more your earn.

To sweeten the deal....If you are interested in actually signing up to sell Stampin' Up! you automatically get $25 in free product PLUS 2 FREE Sale-A-Bration items, all for $99!

If your debating on placing an order and want a super good deal check out these Deals of the Week! They expire on March 30th. I am excited to see the matching punch and stamp set.

As always if you need assistance please do not hesitate to send me a message. I love getting to know all crafty friends and would love to get to know YOU!.

The Paper Nest Dolls ~ I Love Ewe

Hi Friends,

Today I have a new card to share using The Paper Nest Doll's Stamp called "I Love Ewe". It was such a pleasure to color. Click HERE to purchase the Rubber Stamp from the online store. I will list the copic colors below the image.

Copic Colors Used:

E000,E00,E04,E11,E21,E51,E53,E55,E57

R11,R20,R21

C1,C3,C5

The Paper Nest Dolls ~ Flower Friend

 Hello Friends,

I have a very "Springy" card today using a new image by the Paper Nest Dolls "Flower Friend" from the Fairytale Collection. Even though our weather in the south is still chilly at times my flowers in my yard are already peeking up from the earth below. They are ready for warmer weather so I am mentally trying to help them along here :-)

 This card layout just screamed "Multiple" designer papers so I used lots of colors in this one. I just love the simple yet adorable design. I love coloring florals too so this was a win win image for me.

I have used Copic markers in the following colors:

R20,81,83,85

E000,00,04,11,21,31,35,57,59,79

Y11,15,19

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope you will consider following my blog or sign up for my email notifications.

Embellished Kraft Grid Journal

Hi There,

 Today I have a super fun little project that is perfect for gift giving. This would be an amazing idea for a teacher's gift or really for anyone because it is the perfect purse size. My Stampin' Up! upline, Patty Bennett, asked for volunteers to embellish these journals and they are being showcased on her blog today. With mine I just had to use this amazing stamp set called "Sheltering Tree" item # 137163, which can be found on page 22 of the current "Occasions Catalog". This catalog runs through June 2nd so don't miss out on grabbing this one. I have also used the "All Abloom" paper stack, item #133703, from the main catalog page 185. This collection of 48 sheets of 4 1/2 x 6 1/2, which are perfect for card fronts as well as these adorable "Kraft Grid Journals". The embellished spine is simply a piece of lace which came in the "Artisan Embellishment Kit" item #137909 also in the current Occasions Catalog page 27.

Shop Online at www.fairystampland.stampinup.net

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

A Creative Blog Hop

 

Dear Friends,

Today I am doing a little something different. A Stampin' Up! friend of mine invited me to participate in a creative blog hop. I have been asked to create a crafty project and answer 4 crafty questions. Then at the end of my post I will nominate 2 of my friends to participate in the blog hop next week. First my "get to know ya" questions.....

        •  What are you working on?

Currently I am working with The Paper Nest Design Team as well as promoting myself as a Stampin' UP! Demonstrator. I signed up for Stampin' UP! because I love the quality of the products. Their paper, inks, and stamps are some of the best in the business. They also color coordinate their products into 4 color families which makes creating a lot easier.

        •  How does your work differ from others in your genre?

My work varies from super simple to super intricate.  My passions are always challenging me, because I do love a challenge. I am very much a team player which is why I love design team work. I also use both DT work along with SU! work as a motivator to stay active in my love of paper crafting.

        •  Why do you create what you do?  

Because a handmade card is made with love and it means something to the recipient. Creativity has always been a part of me no matter the project. I always strive for greatness and a lot of times I even surprise myself. 

        •  How does your creative process work?

Everything revolves around color. I love matching papers with embellishments, with inks and mediums. It all begins with a color scheme in my head. Before I even begin coloring a stamp I envision the color scheme and I choose my papers. Once my papers are chosen then I color my image. When that is complete I choose my embellishments and complete the card. That is the beauty of Stampin' UP! is that all their supplies coordinate so with them it all begins with a piece of designer paper. 

I have asked Sharon Noble over at Creative Ramblings and Tammy Louise over at Handmade by TLC to follow me in this blog hop. I want to thank Marcee Rodgers over at the Craft Bin blog for asking me to participate.

Now on to today's project.

One of my favorite color combinations is purple and green and Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive are a perfect Su! Inks and papers for this. I have used Stampin' Up!'s Blendabilities to color the focal flower and have used a Sentiment from the "Flower Shop" Stamp set along with two of Stampin' Up!'s amazing punches, Decorative Label and Modern Label.

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Would you like FREE Stampin' Up! Products? Have you heard of Stampin' Up!'s Sale A Bration Extravaganza?  If not simply message me or visit my website at www.fairystampland.stampinup.net

Want to become a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator? Simply Click HERE to get started!