Art By Mi Ran Progressive Challenge ~ Come Join the Fun!

Hi Friends,

As part of the Art By Mi Ran Facebook design team we are kicking off November's Progressive Challenge today. If you would like to find out how you can earn a FREE image once a month click on over to the Facebook Group for all the details. 

I have used a lot of fun items in making this card including the exclusive LDRS Creative Darling Square Die Set for the vines and sentiment. I have also used the beautiful  Blazing Poppy's Stamp and Die set by Heartfelt Creations. Below is a close up the flower and vines that I created using these two die sets. 

 

I colored my Art By Mi Ran digital image using Copic Markers. Here is a close up of my coloring.

Thank you for stopping by today. Please feel free to leave a comment or click to sign up for my email updates. I truly appreciate your comments.  Have an amazing day! Melanie

Stampin' Up! 2015 Convention Swaps ~ Baltimore Md.

Hi Friends,

In November I will be attending the Stampin' Up on Stage Event in Baltimore Maryland. During this one day training event I will be swapping cards with 50 other demonstrators in hopes to share many wonderful design ideas with one another.

Yesterday a close friend of mine, Barbara, came over to help me mass produce my Stampin' Up! convention swap. As I stamped and die cut out the leaves she stamped and punched out all the sentiments and began constructing the card bases. Barbara had never made a card before and she seemed to really have fun.

Here is a photo of Barbara sitting across from me in my craft room. Working together was both fun as well as productive. I really appreciated the company as well as the conversation.

Here is a close up photo of the cards we made. This simple design features the following Stampin' Up Items. Make sure to check back with me next week to see 2 STEPPED UP projects using these same sets. That is the beauty of Stampin' Up, it can be as simple or as detailed as you want. It truly is a creative outlet for anybody.

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Crafts & Me October Challenge ~ Here Kitty Kitty by Jeremiah Ketner

Hi Friends,

Tonight I have a really special project for you. Recently I entered a design team call over at Crafts & Me and I have been enjoying their facebook group and decided to participate in their monthly FREEBIE challenge. This digital image by Jeramiah Ketner was graciously made available to group members free of charge for a limited time. As soon as I saw it my I knew I was going to make something really special with it. The name of the image is "Here Kitty Kitty" and is available in both Digital and Rubber.

 

I instantly loved the shape of the image because it immediately got my juices flowing. I knew the shape would not look right on a 6x6 style card so I came up with this 8" x 10" frame-able art piece. The designer paper is by Heartfelt Creations, The flower is handmade using McGill punches, and the branch dies are by La La Land Crafts. The font is a Sizzix die set called "Endless Love" Which I just thought would really speak volumes on this piece. I will be framing this and giving it to my amazing husband.

Here is a close up of my coloring. I have colored her up using Copic markers in the following colors:

Skin: E000, E00, E04, E11, E21, and R20

Dress & FlowersV0000, V000. V01, V04, and V09

Green Foliage: YG93, YG95, YG97 and YG99

Stars: YR20, YR21, and YR24

Thank you for stopping by today and have an amazing week!

Melanie

File Folder Gate Card w/ Saturated Canary

Hello Followers,

Today I have a File Folder Gate card to show each of you. I have designed this card using the Stampin' Up! Envelope Punch Board. 

I have used an adorable Saturated Canary Stamp called "Elphie" from Little Darlings Rubber Stamps. as my focal point and she is colored in the following Copic colors.

E000, E00, E04, E11, E15, E17, E21, E30, E33, E34, E35, E55, E57, E59

YG61, YG63, YG67, YR65, YR68, Y17, and R20

The Fall stamps I have used are from Stampin' Up!'s September's Paper Pumpkin kit. Each monthly kit comes with all the supplies to complete an entire project but the best thing about them is the adorable exclusive stamp sets that are included each month. They are so versatile and they just went perfectly with this Saturated Canary image. I even added the little hat to Miss Elphie with one of the exclusive stamps. To learn more about My Paper Pumpkin simply click HERE!

The envelope punch board does a lot more than make envelopes. With this project I used it to create the tabs in this Gate Card.

The inside has a few scattered leaves stamped. It was fun creating the two tone leaves using Stampin' Write Markers. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I always love hearing from new crafty friends!

Happy Crafting!
Melanie

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Art By Mi Ran Progressive Challenge ~ My First Christmas Card This Season!

Hello Crafty Friends,

Today I have a fun little card that I created during a get together with a local friend of mine. She came over and we played in my craft room till the wee hours of the night. It is awesome to have met someone who is a night owl as much as I am.

My card today is my very first holiday card of the season. I have used this months Progressive Challenge Digital Image which you can get at a reduced rate or even FREE if you participated in last months challenge. Click HERE to go see all the details of the challenge over on The Art By Mi Ran Facebook Group.

I colored this adorable image using my Copic markers. The dies used are by Marianne Dies and the flower and sentiment was stamped using the Stampin' Up! set called "Reason for the Season" This stamp set is a 3 Part Stamp set which creates such depth when stamping, especially with multiple colors. See the close up photo below. I stamped the images onto a gold shimmer paper and heat set the ink. I love the reaction I had with the inks and the vintage feel to it.

Make sure to pop on over the The Art By Mi Ran Facebook group so that you can play along with us this month.

~Happy Crafting ~

Melanie 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Crafts & Me Design Team Call ~ Dragonfly

Hi There Everyone,

I am coming to you tonight with an entry of mine that I have just posted in the Crafts and Me Facebook Group to be considered for one of their Design Team openings.

I have chosen to use a digital image called "Dragonfly". It is by artist Jerimiah Ketner.

I love that Crafts & Me has a large variety of artists and a lot of their stamps have a fantasy theme which fits perfectly with my love of fairies. 

 I have colored my image with Copic Markers in the following colors:

Skin Tones: E000, E00, E04, E11, E21, R20 

Hair: Y21, Y23, Y26, Y32, E35

Flowers and clothing: V01, V04, V06, V09 

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me today. Please check out Crafts & Me's entire website for a wide variety of stamps (both digital and rubber) as well as a large selection of craft supplies. 

 Melanie Smith

SU! Paper Pumpkin Fun ~ A Alternative Project w/ mini tutorial

Hi Friends,

Today I am coming to you today with some Paper Pumpkin Fun. September's Paper Pumpkin Subscription kit makes these adorable little Halloween treat bags. 

For a lot of us we have older children or we love our Paper Pumpkin kits because of the exclusive photopolymer stamp sets enclosed. This month's stamp set is ADORABLE!!! I for one am more of a card maker than a treat maker so I decided to play with my kit and have some "Alternative Fun"

 

I decided to create a basic card because a friend of mine, Karen, who is one of my very first subscribers came to me privately as she was hoping to receive some basic instructions on how to make cards. This was her first month with me as a subscriber so I made these basic cards showing her how any PP kit can become a card kit even when the project created by SU! is a 3-D item.

I have used the stamp set, both tags, and some of the paper fringe that was included in the Paper Pumpkin Kit. I added some card stock, brads, and Stampin' Write Markers to complete the card. All extra supplies are pictured below and also linked at the bottom of this post for your shopping convenience. 

Other supplies I used were my Fast Fuse Adhesive, hole punch, and bone folder.  

For the background I simply used a piece of Whisper White card stock and 3 Stampin' Write markers. I colored directly on each stamp one at a time then stamped directly on the paper. This gives a two tone effect perfect for fall leaves. 

I did this same technique decorating the front tag as seen below...

The tags came in the kit with just one hole so I added a second with my hole punch, inked up the leaves to create a border, and stamped my sentiment in the middle. All stamps are part of September's Exclusive Paper Pumpkin Kit.

If you would like to join My Paper Pumpkin Family simply click HERE - Once you join send me an email at fairystampland@comcast.net and I will welcome you to our exclusive Facebook group where we can all share in our Paper Pumpkin together. 

Happy Crafting! 

Melanie 

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog