I found my camera cable! Hooray!

This is a picture of a card I made for my sister's birthday. I knew that I wanted to do a Spiral Pop up Card. I read the tutorial on this on www.splitpoststampers.com. Here is a link to the tutorial http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/spiral_pop_up_card. It is really easy and very impressive.

For the card, I used Stampin Up! materials. Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White and Chocolate Chip paper.

I used a piece of Pacific Point 8 1/2 x 11 paper and cut it at 5 1/2 inches to make a 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 piece and then folded to produce a standard 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 card.

Then I cut a piece of Tangerine tango paper 4 1/4 by approx. 2 inches. I used the scallop border punch to do the edging. I decided to use a versa stamp pad with one of the Wow Flowers Stamps to make the tangerine paper look like a table cloth.

The cupcake stand image is from the Crazy for Cupcakes set. It is stamped in basic black and colored with markers: Real Red, Pink Passion, Lovely Lilac and Cameo Coral. The silver is actually a CM silver pen. The words were stamped in Chocolate Chip.

The images inside the card were stamped from the Party Hearty stamp set and then cut out. I used SU markers to color the stamp itself to produce the colored images without needing different color stamp pads. It is an easy and inexpensive way to make multicolor images or even to stamp images in colors that you do not have stamp pads in. The stars were also using a CM product, the small star punch.

I think this card came out so cute and was not very difficult at all.

Well, thanks for looking.

Happy Stampin'

~melanie

Okay, I still cannot locate my camera cable! So, I scanned this card, the colors came out so dull! In real life it is so bright!
This is the card I made for my daughter Lily for her 4th birthday. We had a cupcake party. It was so much fun. All the kids got to decorate and take home 4 cupcakes, we had different color frosting and candies for on top. Anyway, the card was made using:
card stock - whisper white, yo yo yellow, lovely lilac and pink passion
ink pads- basic black and whisper white stamp pads
marker colors - pink passion, tempting turquoise, yo yo yellow and lovely lilac
accessories - purple eyelets, crystal effects and orchid fine cosmo glitter
I wish you could see this card in person, it is really so much more impressive. I need to find that camera cable!
Thanks for looking!
~melanie

Almost a month!

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe it has been almost a month since I have blogged anything! Time flies. I have just been so busy and then sick with a cold/sore throat for a week. Now am feeling much better. I have worked on a few things , but I cannot find the cable for my digital camera! I need to find that to download my pics. I will either locate that cord or scan with my printer soon. Sorry~
~melanie

I've got an award!

My friend Selene http://stampinfunwithselene.blogspot.com has honored me with this award! This is my very first BLOG award!!!! I know I have mentioned Selene in my blog, she is very talented and very crafty :) check out her blog to see what I mean!

Now, this award comes with an assignment. I have to do the following:
1. The winner can put the logo on their blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from (see the link above)
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you have nominated.
Here are my selections in no particular order:

http://tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/

http://www.stephsstampinstuff.blogspot.com/

http://melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com/

http://reneevs.blogspot.com/

http://livingituponthenorthstar.blogspot.com/

http://bevithia.blogspot.com/

http://stampadoodledoo.blogspot.com/

these are the blogs I check out daily or every other day and drool over their designs.

So, thanks again Selene!

Everyone else if you want to be inspired, these are 8 blogs definitely worth looking at!
happy stampin'

~melanie

I have to say that this cute box was CASED from a friend of mine... Selene (http://stampinfunwithselene.blogspot.com). She had this really cute box called and she was calling it birthday in a box. It contained a hostess cupcake a candle and a pack of matches. I thought that was so cute that I wanted to make one for my friend. I used Kiwi Kiss card stock and Riding Hood Red. I did not have dimensions for the box, so I kind of winged it. I used my scallop edge punch (NEW) to make the scallop edge on the top of the box and I also used it on the Bella Rose DP on top. I punched a Kiwi Kiss circle scallop, a riding hood red circle and then a smaller Pink Pirouette paper. The saying is stamped in Kiwi Kiss using an older SU! set - it says Joyful Wishes. Lastly, I used a piece of 5/8 inch grosgrain in Regal Rose to tie around the box. I think it is such a cute idea, thanks Selene!

Oh, I am also very happy to say that I have replaced my stolen cell phone and now I am reachable again. Sorry to any inconvenience to anyone.

I have had a little stamp time this week, so I plan to post more later. I have my daughter Lily's bday invites and her card to show using great new cupcake stamps! fun! And am working on a great composition notebook for my stepdaughter Emily.

happy stampin'

~melanie

MY ORDER HAS ARRIVED!!!

Today was a great day! Not only did my daughter have her first day of kindergarten: See Allison getting on the school bus here:

but...my SU order came. This was my first purchase from the new catalog and I am really loving the stuff. I spent my afternoon (while the kids were napping) sorting stuff and mounting my stamp sets! I am so excited, I cannot wait to play with my new goodies! I will be working on my daughter Lily's birthday invitations tonight. I have made some of the cards so far, but was waiting for my new stamp sets and supplies to completed them. Stay in touch for them and all the other new goodies I will be having fun making!

Congratulations Allison on your first day! I am so proud of you for taking the bus and going to school alone, you are really such a big girl now!

~melanie

Ahoy Matey!

I love this little pirate! He is too cute. I had been eyeing him for a while. This is my first card with him. I stamped him and colored him with my SU markers, but I colored outside of the lines! So, I took my scissors to him and cut him out. Then I used the matching treasure map wheel to decorate the Kraft paper. I placed him on top of the paper and put his parrot in the upper right corner. I used a piece of yellow paper to make an X for the treasure map. I used the Family Phrases stamp set to stamp in Real Red the happy birthday sentiment. Then I stamped and colored the corner of the envelope. I love how this card turned out, especially since it is better than the card I was originally planning!

My sister Kim saw the mini album I made for my mother for Mother's day and decided that she needed to make some of her own for her in-laws. She is in Ireland right now and she made these great mini books to bring to her husbands family. She used one of the Simply Scrappin' kits from Stampin' Up! and some 12 x 12 whisper white cardstock and this is what she came up with! Isn't it great? I love the Simply Scrappin' kits because they come with 2 colors of textured cardstock, 3 designs of double sided patterned paper and 3 design sheets of cardstock stickers. She made 3 of these mini albums with lots of leftovers for other projects. Hopefully she will take lots of photos and Ireland and make a scrapbook! For these books, she was planning to put pictures of her 2 children on the first page and then leave the others open for the recipient to fill with photos they take of the kids during the trip. Her kids are 2 and 6 months and this is their first trip to Ireland, as well as my sisters, where there father comes from. Some of the family has never met them, so this is a very special trip. I wish them a great time and I cannot wait to hear about the trip!

Another "new stamp" card

I made this card with two of SU! new stamp sets: the saying is from Heard from the Heart and the circle stamp is from Wow Flowers.
I stamped the circle in Tangerine Tango and used the circle punch to cut it out. Then I used Kiwi Kiss to punch a larger circle. They are mounted on dimensionals and placed on a Whisper White scallop punch.
The main card is Tangerine Tango. I cut an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper lengthwise on 4 1/4 to give me a 4 1/4 x 11 piece of card stock. I folded it to create a traditional size 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 card but in a nontraditional layout. I then used my new scallop punch to cut one end of the 4 1/4 end to create a scalloped edge. I then cut a piece of whisper white paper to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 to mount to the inside right of my card. When the card is closed the white edge shows behind the scallop side.
Then I cut 2 ribbons and tied them around the inside of the card to the left of the front.
The saying is stamped inside the card in kiwi kiss.
Thanks for looking!
~melanie

Stampin' with the kids

We had a stamping party at my house a couple of weeks ago with my niece and my sisters.

This is my daughter Allison and my niece Megan with the cards that they made. They had so much fun and they made their cards so intricate. We used the pirate stamp set and wheel from stampin up. They decided after taking the picture that the cards were not done and colored in every detail afterwards. Ally's completed card is here.

The kids had so much fun using the stamps and the markers. These cards were for a party we had the next day. Megan also made a couple of other cards and decorated a baby formula container to put in her bedroom for storing small objects:

I really was so impressed with the attention and details they put into their work as well as to the level of creativity involved. Great job guys!

~melanie

New Ideas Book and Catalog from SU! Now available!

OMG! I love it! Today is the day the new SU Ideas Book and Catalog is available and I want everything in it! There are great new stamps and awesome new In Colors papers and stamp sets. Also, lots of cool new accessories and papers. Check out the scrapbook sets... love them!

So how do you see the new catalog? go to www.stampinup.com and check it out!

How do you get a new catalog? Host a workshop in your house or a catalog party. Also available for purchase for 9.95 each

Now for the fun stuff:
1. Stampin' Up! is having a Never Before Seen Stamp sale. Select sets are 15% off for a limited time. http://www.stampinup.com/us/enu/11559.asp
2. Mass is having a tax free weekend, this weekend (August 16th and 17th). I will be placing an order on Sunday the 17th at 5 pm. Call me this week and I will order your goodies with no sales tax on Sunday (we also accept CC payments now)
3. And my own promo: To celebrate the new catty, if you place an order with me this week over $45. you get an 8x10 pack of cardstock (24 sheets) in any of the new in colors of your choice. Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Kiwi Kiss or Pacific Point

Take advantage of one of the offers, or take advantage of all three: order new stamps at 15% off by Sunday and spend $45, get free paper and no sales tax!

So check out the new catalog and call me soon. (You will need to call me on my home phone in the eves 978-649-1853 and not on my cell as listed beside, as I was robbed this past weekend and my cell was stolen along with my ipod out of my car in my own driveway! :( or you can email me and tell me when and how to best reach you)

Happy stampin'!
~melanie

Celebrate!

I love to make cards to celebrate special occasions. This card was made for my friend who was to start a new job:

My background paper is wild wasabi from stampin up. I then used my craft white pad to stamp a background stamp randomly around. The patterned paper was from a pack I got at Michael's. I used my bella stamp with the martini glass, colored the glass green to make an appletini. Then I used SU! crystal effects to go over the glass and also the hair. Her Jeans are water colored for the 2 tone effect. The spiral and the frame are SU! hodgepodge hardware in pewter. I hand wrote congratulations in.

I really love the bella images. They are so fun and trendy!

Thanks for stopping by

~melanie

Summer Fruit

Don't you just love a juicy orange in the summer? I saw this stamp from the Tart and Tangy stamp set and thought oranges! Then I saw other cards made with this set using the stamp to make lemons and limes and I thought - great idea! See sometimes I just don't think outside the box. So I made an orange, a lime and a pink grapefruit! I used the circle punch to cut out each image and then matted on yo yo yellow squares. The polka dot paper behind the stamps and then a quick happy joyful birthday stamp and all done! A quick cute card perfect for a summer birthday.
It does not have to be complicated or time involved to be handmade and from the heart.
happy stampin'
~melanie

Sneak Peek

Okay, here it is... the first card I made with my new stamp set.! The one that is not even available yet. This is your sneak peak to the new catalog ( coming August 11th!).

Okay, let me tell you a little about this card. I really wanted to use my new stamp set, the new in colors and only SU! stuff.
So.... I used very vanilla cardstock for the card base (standard card size - folded to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches). Then I wanted to use the paper from the new Bella Rose Designer Series paper pack, so I cut a piece 3 3/4 x 5 inches to center on the vanilla cardstock.
The ribbon is Regal Rose 5/8 inch grosgrain ribbon.
Then I cut a piece of the new Kiwi Kiss paper in a rectangle. I used my Old Olive pen to make foux stitching in 2 corners.
The stamp is from the Dreams Du Jour stamp set, stamped on vanilla cardstock in Kiwi Kiss ink, then colored with old olive on the leaves and for the flowers I used 2 markers and overlapped them to get the dark pink color I wanted - pink passion and cameo coral.
I matted the stamped image on Pink Pirouette paper and then placed it on the Kiwi Kiss rectangle using dimensionals.
I really had no plan for this card, other than wanting to use only new stuff. I fiddled with it for over a half an hour and then ended up with this. I really do like the end result though, and I hope you do too.
Keep posted for further sneak peeks!
~ melanie

Really cool!!!

I just got my new SU! stuff today! I am so excited, I can't wait to use my new stamp sets. The best part is THEY ARE DIE CUT! All of SU new stamp sets will now be die cut. I literally put 4 stamp sets together in 15 minutes! So cool. Keep posted for pics of new stamp sets! Sneak peeks coming soon....

Retired Accessories

Hi all.
The retired accessories list is now up on SU!'s website. The link is http://www.stampinup.com/us/enu/11276.asp
Get these while you can. They are no longer available after August 11th when the new catalog comes out. Same thing with the retired stamp sets.
I am so excited! My preorder is due to be delivered tomorrow. I had the chance to preorder some of the stamp sets and accessories, as well as paper in the new In Colors! I can't wait to get my hands on these! I am looking forward to getting some stamping done this weekend. Keep posted to see what I come up with!
Check out the link above (only one month left) and I look forward to hearing from you.
~melanie

Trees Three

I really need to get to do some more stamping. This card is an older one, I can't seem to find time to stamp lately! Bad me! We just got back from 4 days of camping, then it is home for 2 days filled with appointments and prior engagements, and then off to the family reunion for the weekend. Monday I start my new job. I am so excited and nervous. I will be not be working weekends so I need to get more stamping in!

The card above was made using a Trees Three set from SU. I used my cuttlebug to emboss the background paper. Even though the paper is green, it reminded me of wind. I wanted to use this cool pink ribbon I had got at Micheal's. I found some polka dotted DP in hot pink too. Originally I would not have thought to put these colors together, but in the end I like the results.

A Little Birdie Told Me

I love this stamp set. It is so cute. It comes with the saying "a little birdie told me..." with the large bird. There is also a smaller bird that faces to the left. Accessory stamps include a flower, umbrella and a birthday hat. Other stamps that are included say "about your good news", "you're under the weather", "it's your birthday" etc. It has so many uses.
For this card, I stamped the image, colored the bird yellow and then used my craft knife to cut the wing and the tail feathers so they are slightly raised up. I used a paper piecing technique for the umbrella. I stamped the image on my white card stock, then I stamped it on the designer paper and cut it out. I overlayed the cut image onto the original! Too cute.
I used my SU scallop punch to make the scalloped circle and then the regular circle punch to make the white center. I also used 3 eyelets in yo-yo yellow for added flair. They matched the circles on the DP.
Thanks for looking!
~melanie

Blastoff

You're a Blast! This card was made for my freinds son's 2nd birthday. I really wanted to do a different size than traditional card. I had some great long colored envelopes, so I made this card to fit into them. I used yo yo yellow, real red and brilliant blue cardstock from the bold brights color collection. The stamp set is Pun Fun. I used my bold bright markers to color the image.
Then, because we are blasting off, I used my Creative Memories star punches and added a collage of stars. This card was quick and easy and I think it turned out spectacular!
Thanks for looking!
~melanie

This is a mini album that I made for my mother to hold pictures of her grandchildren. I learned to make this mini album from my Stampin' Up! upline's upline, Seline. Very talented woman!
I did edit a little as I think the original had 6 pages, and I needed mine to have 10 for all of the grandchildren. It really is so simple to make.

To make this mini book, I used:
2 sheets of 12 x 12 cardstock
various scrap sizes of designer paper
SU tart and tangy stamp set
SU markers to ink up the stamps
SU scallop punch
SU white grosgrain ribbon 1/4 inch
a couple of eyelets
stampin dimensionals

Now all she needs to do is pop in pictures of the kids and she is all set to show off her mini album!

What a great little brag book!

Retired Stamp Sets

Each time the new catalog comes out, there needs to be room for new stamp sets. What does that mean? We need to say goodbye to others. Check out the link to the left and see which stamp sets are retiring. Once the new catalog comes out, they will no longer be available. Get them while you can. Call or email me asap!
~melanie
ps. the fall / winter catalog and idea book comes out August 11th, I am so excited, I cannot wait!

Mini card

Okay, so I just got the Mini envelope template which has 5 mini envelope templates on one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet. I decided to test it out by making an envelope for a 1 1/4 inch square card. The cardstock is again from my hostess bonus pack in Real Red. I then used a piece of whisper white cardstock to make the card. I stamped it with the spring tree stamp from A Tree for All Seasons stamp and colored using markers. Inside I wrote a little note to my kids and left it on the table one morning when I left for work. It was a big hit. Ally, my 5 year old, always asks me for something to remember me by while I am at work, and she was so excited to have this little card. So much in fact, that when I came home from work, there was a new little card in the envelope. This one for me. She had cut a piece of pink paper for the card. She drew me a picture of a tulip on pink paper, cut it out and then matted it onto a piece of white paper. She glued it to the front of the card and then signed all the kids names inside. It was so wonderful to get. She really loves to do crafts and make cards. Don't you think she does a great job?

I know that I will be using this envelope template a lot when Ally starts kindergarten this fall. A little love note tucked in her snack bag.

Congratulations Kerri!

This past weekend, one of the PCT's I work with graduated from Nursing school. I made this card for her from all of us at work.

I had a lot of fun making this card because I used a technique that I had not really done much of before. I watercolored the image. Of course I water colored as a kid, but now am so much more concious of the lines of the image! And of course since this was made especially for someone, I had to get it perfect. (this painted image was #3, numbers 1 and 2 never made it to be mounted!)

I used Wild Wasabi cardstock as a base for this card. The patterned paper is from the Hostess level 1: Prints Pack Designer Series Paper, in Real Red. Using watercolor paper, I stamped the image with a stamp from my Merci set using Stazon Ink in black.

To color the image I used my SU markers in Real Red, Yo Yo Yellow and Garden Green to color in some areas of the image, then I blended using my Aqua painter pens. Once the water had dried, I covered the hearts and the flower using Crystal Effects to add dimension and shine.

I used the Horizontal Slot punch to take a nip out of the side of the card, then 1/4 inch Basic Black grosgrain ribbon and Real Red eyelets for extra bling. Then I mounted the stamped image using Dimensionals.

Of course the card was really completed once everyone had signed it!

I hope she enjoys it!

Babies!

A couple of our freinds just had baby girls. I made these adorable cards. I first saw them on splitcoast stampers, then a tutorial on Lauren Meader's blog: http://laurenm.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/02/05/create-your-own-onesie-card-tutorial-and-important-note-please-read/
You really should check it out, these are so cute and not too difficult to make.
I used white cardstock for my onesie, but have seen in baby blue and pink and patterned paper too, all look adorable. I also used Stampin' Up! Pink Passion paper as well as Pink Passion and Green Galore markers. Images were stamped in basic black. One is a Stampin up image, the other a stamp from Michaels. I used my CM hole punch to punch the legs and neck and then my scallop punch to make the ruffles. The snaps are eyelets set with my cropadile. You can't see from the picture, but above the snaps and on the sleeves the paper is scored to look like a seam.
You really should try this, so adorable.
Drop me a line and let me know how it comes out if you do.
Happy Stampin'
~melanie

Bella Fantastic

Well, It seems to be a while since I have posted. Life just gets very busy some times.

I am a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, however, I do love the "bella" images. www.stampinbella.com These little gals are too adorable. This is a card I made for my friend when she moved to her new apartment. I love it. I used Real Red and Whisper White cardstock from Stampin' Up! Also the 1/4 inch grossgrain black ribbon. The circle paper is from a pack I got at Michaels. The image was stamped and colored with Stampin' Up markers. I just think the gal in the image is too adorable with her kicked up heel, and of course her wine. She just looks like she is celebrating!

~ melanie

Mother's Day!

Well, Mother's Day is almost here. Last weekend my sisters and I got together to make mothers day cards. This is my Mom's card.

I used my new stamp set again: SU! Blooming with Love. Paper in Earth Elements colors: Cameo coral, ruby red and old olive paper, as well as the whisper white. I colored with markers in colors cameo coral, ruby red, old olive and summer sun. The ribbon is 1/4 " white grosgrain.

We actually had our Mother's Day last weekend over at my mom's house. The weekend after Mother's day we will have dinner at my in-laws. This is the card I made for my DMIL.

Use the same stamp set! (LOVE IT) I also used my scallop punch... just got it... so much fun!

A neat trick: used my marker in Lovely lilac to color my white ribbon. You can now make any color ribbon! Paper is SU whisper white, lovely lilac and orchid opulence, as well as random DP. Also a purple random brad for my flower center. On this card, I used a black pencil to shade in my watering can. Experimented with a ripping technique for a little drama. I was not crazy about this card at first, but when it all came together I was really happy.

Have you all made your Mom's cards yet? A little homemade gift of love! :)

Blooming with Love

So, the other night I went to a really fun meeting with my Stampin Up! upline. We made some neat projects and had a good time. Well, I had decided to participate in the team meeting swap. This was my first ever swap. It was a birthday theme and using only Stampin' Up products. I really don't have many birthday stamps, but just got this new stamp set : Blooming with Love and was dying to use it. The color combo came about because I only had enough of real red to make the cards the same for all of the participants. I worked with what I had and came up with this. I thought it turned out well.
Card recipe:

Stamp sets - SU Blooming with love and A little bird told me

Stamp pad- Basic Black

Accessories - Stampin Pastels, Real Red brad, Circle Tab punch, 1/4 inch white grosgrain ribbon

Paper- real red, yoyo yellow, gable green, whisper white

The swap was great because I got these great cards by some really talented ladies. It really got my creative juices flowing and I cannot wait to get into my room and do some more stampin!

Thanks for looking!

PS. On the business side: Great news! Stampin' Up now accepts customer credit cards! Visa, Mastercard or Discover.

Contact me today to book a workshop or place an order: melanie_edwards@verizon.net

Welcome to my blog!

Hi, this is my first time ever blogging. So welcome to my spot. I was trying to be creative with coming up with my blog name, and was getting nowhere. I was thinking Melanie M - something. So I came up with Midnight creations, because that is when most of my work happens. Maybe not midnight, but usually after the kids are in bed!

So, if you do not know me, I am a new Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I love the stamps. I had my first workshop the other day and had so much fun. I was a little nervous and there definately was room for improvement, but I think everyone had a good time. Thank you to all who attended and to Jen for hosting!

I am not new to being crafty. I love to scrapbook, although I am further behind than I would like with it! I also like to sew, although have done little lately, and have made a few quilts. People think I am very creative, but I do get lots of ideas from others and I just enjoy making things and sharing with others.

On the personal side, I am married and have 5 kids - one stepdaughter and 4 biological - 3 girls and a boy. I love to make projects for them and with them. They are all wonderful kids. I am so lucky! I work full time as a registered nurse and love my job. It gets very busy and crazy some times, but I really love the work. I just wish I could work full time and be home with my family full time. Doesn't work that way though.

Well, I hope you enjoy reading my posts and seeing any projects I post. Thanks for reading.

~ melanie