Wow!

I know I have been neglecting my blog. I have been so busy creating and stamping that I keep forgetting to post! Please forgive me. Between school, sickness and life time has just flown by. I can't believe that it has actually been 4 MONTHS since I last posted!

Here is a little something I have been working on for upcoming classes. I was challenged by my Upline to demonstrate an Advent Calendar using the new stamp set 25 and Counting in the new Holiday Mini Catalog. I used a mini muffin tin for this calendar so that I could add little treats for my sons.

I am offering this as a class as well. Interested in joining me? Please check my website for times and dates. You can also RSVP from there as well.

Stay tuned...I will be posting up-close pictures of each day including the "recipe" I used to create this Christmas Keepsake.

Happy Stampin,
Melissa

It's Finally Here!

The brand new beautiful Idea Book and Catalog from Stampin Up! is finally here! You will be drooling over all the awesome new stamp sets, Designer Series Paper, Embellishments and more. To view a copy online simply click on the link to the left. You will be amazed!

I have not dropped off the face of the earth, I just moved. Moved in to my very own Craft Room! I can't wait to show you pictures!

Have a great 4th of July weekend!

Happy Stampin'
Melissa

A New Blog Header

Hello All,

I have been busy playing with the wonderful My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up! Thanks to many talented SU Demos that have shared great tutorials to incorporate MDS with Blogging I have been able to create a new Blog Header. It is still a work in progress but I like how it turned out. I would love to hear what you think.

As a very amatuer blogger I am always looking for ways to make my blog look better and more appealing. I hope you like my changes.

I have been a very busy girl stamping and moving in to my new craft/stampin space. I can't wait to share pictures with you!

Have a blessed day!
Melissa

More Purses!

My wonderful friend Christine came to me to help her make some purses for her team of Thirty One Gifts consultants. Here are some of the ones that we came up with. I always enjoy making cards with Christine. We have a lot in common and when I am quiet she is not! We are a great team!

Ahhh...another Top Note purse. These are so easy to make and I love them. I used my favorite DSP for this one. Greenhouse Gala. I am going to try and make some with the new Springtime Vintage DSP from the Occasions Mini.

Inside the purse was a scripture that went along with the Bible Study that they had for their training. How wonderful it is that you can have a Bible Study with a group of women from a Direct Marketing group!

Here is one that has another of my favorite DSP. This is from Love Letter DSP. I used a piece of Melon Mambo card stock and a Rhine Stone to give it a little bling. We all could use a little bling right?

And last but not least we made some cute post it note holder purses using up some old In Color card stock and DSP. I love it when I can make a cute project and use up left overs too!

Happy Stampin'
Melissa

What is Valentine's Day with out chocolate?

Okay, I am back. What can I say? I am on a roll here. Today I am sharing some yummy chocolate desserts that I made for my family for Valentine's Day. These were the best ever cupcakes I have had in my life. Seriously. For real. YUMMMMMM!!

I have one word for everyone. Okay, maybe 2 words. Chocolate. Ganache. I have never made it before and let me tell you that it is so easy and so goooooooooddddd! Yum!

Don't they look yummy?

I had some batter left over so I made these cakes too.

These are the cakes that my family and I ate for Valentine's Day. We each had one and then shared the chocolate love that is ganache all week with the cupcakes.

Is your mouth watering yet? Would you like the recipe for these babies?

Well here it is!

I am a HUGE fan of the Pioneer Womans blog. I found her blog one day and have been hooked. I have made several of her recipes and I love her humor. And her dog. And her kids. She makes me laugh.  You can visit her here.

I would love to know what you think about the recipes. Please leave a comment! Bloggers LOVE comments!

No stampin today. I am off to try Ree's Devil Dogs! YUM!

Melissa

I am alive!

I know. I know. I KNOW! It has been too long since I have posted anything. Life Happens. I have good intentions and then something always gets in my way. I had lost a months worth of posts. I was really bummed about that. I will try to recover those posts, but never fear! I have some fresh projects I have been working on.

Changes have been happening in my life. Change is good. I like change. I need change. I get stuck in a rut and need something or someone to shake me and make me look at things differently. Well ladies, I have been shaken. Lets see what happens now!

I have so many things to share that I don't even know where to begin!

Maybe I should start with Valentine's Day! here goes!

I know you have all seen the cute coffee cups holders that were floating around the internet and even right here on my own blog. I decided to just use the cup and viola!

How cute are these?

I used a 12 oz Dixie brand coffee cup and took it apart. I traced the template on that back of my Designer Series Paper and made these cute cups. I added the tag to make it look like a tea bag. I LOVE TEA!!! This was one of the days that I thought I was a brilliant mother of all mothers! We all have those days don't we? ")  I filled them heart shaped brownies a-la Little Debbie Cakes and some other Valentine candy. Needless to say, the teachers were thrilled to get them. I was blessed to make them smile! God is good!!

My pictures are not the best, but you get the idea.

I will be making more of these for my friends for Mother's Day. Simple and easy to make. What's not to love?

Moving along to my youngest son Owens offerings for his classmates for Valentine's Day. He was very proud of these. I helped a lot and he worked his magic on the Big Shot.

Simple and easy. Again, whats not to love?

More Valentine's shares to come! Please check back!

Happy Stampin'

Melissa

Lady Bug Treat Cup

Hello Stampers!

I have been busy cleaning/organizing my stampin space. It is looking pretty good. I have a HUGE box of swaps to convert to cards and that will be my project for the next few days.

Today was a 2 hour delay for my sons' school so I didn't have much time to stamp so I decided to look at a magazine for inspiration and boy was I inspired! I made a cute little lady bug holder for Valentine's Day. It could also be used for a favor for a birthday party or a tea. I think she is really cute!

I used the Perfect Setting die to make her body and then used the small heart punch for her "dots". The picture is a little fuzzy. It looks like she has something on her mouth but it must be a glare. I do not have the white gel pen or I would have drawn her mouth on, but I think the little heart shape from the 2 step Owl Punch worked for this project. I will add a little cello bag with Red Hots or M &Ms and she will be the perfect treat for a friend.

I would love to know what you think!

Have a great day!
Melissa

Not sure what to think...

Hello Stampers,

I have been trying out new card styles and found a tutorial for a pocket card here. I have seen them around in various forms and never made one. Here is my first attempt. I am so not in the mood for Valentine's Cards yet (I better get in the mood soon! I have a class next week!) so I decided to change some colors. I used Cherry Cobbler (Yummy! I love this color!) and Basic Black with Very Vanilla. This card is just a proto-type. It still needs something. Maybe bling or a sentiment for the outside? I don't know. What do you think?

Here is a peek of what the inside looks like. I wanted a note card style and I am thinking about adding 2 more cards to have it as a note card holder, but that would defeat the purpose of just having a card.

I used Elements of Style stamp set. I love this set. I might try adding the sentiment from Just Believe and see how that goes. I am still in the "I'm not sure phase". I am so much better at 3D creations than cards but wanted to come up with something that is just my own.

I would love to know what you think! Please post a comment and share your thoughts on my card.

Happy Stampin'
Melissa

For I know the plans...

That is one of my favorite Bible verses. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  My wonderful Upline Sue Brummer have everyone on her team these wonderful pictures. I was truly inspired by the simplicity of the frame and the beauty of it.

I was inspired to make one for my wonderful friend Christine. She is a Thirty One consultant. She is awesome! She home-schools 3 children AND cares for a busy 2 year-old AND cares for her Mom AND she is a successful Thirty One consultant with a growing team. I don't know how she does it!

This is one of the things that I made for her.

I added some Rhinestones after I took the picture because it needed bling. The colors are Melon Mambo and Basic Black. These are really close to the Thirty-One colors.

Not sure what Thirty-One is? Check it out here!

I will share more on what else I am making for her next week! You will not want to miss it!

Check back soon or subscribe and don't miss out on any posts!

Happy Stampin'
Melissa

A pretty little organizer!

I had made this in November or October and meant to share it with you (you all know how that goes!).

 As you know, I am a huge blog hopper and I have certain blogs that I subscribe to. Inking Idaho is one of my favorite blogs to visit. Becky Roberts is a stampin genious and we sort of have the same style if you could call it that. Each October she releases her 12 Days of Christmas Tutorials. I have them all. They are great and not just for Christmas, you can use the projects for any occasion.

This bulletin board was cased from her tutorial. I love how it turned out and I am going to change out the snowflake for a heart in February. I used the Jolly Holiday DSP as instructed in the tutorial. I LOVE this paper. Plus, it is really not just for Christmas.

My wonderful hubby hung it for me. I want to stick photos of my boys or cards for inspiration, but right now it just makes me happy to look at it. It is hung right about my computer so I look up at it every so often when I am working and it just makes me smile. I think we all need something like that in our lives, just a little something to make you smile.

Happy Stampin,
Melissa

A little bit of Christmas

I know that I didn't share too many Christmas projects this year. I am sorry for that. Sometimes things get crazy and the I have good intentions that never get finished. Does that happen to you? Here is one of the "good intentions" that did get done. These cute little candy treats were for my Pre-school class that I teach at our church. I have a small group in the early service and these were quick and easy to make.

Here is a close up of the poem. I am not sure where it came from, but I love it. If you would like a copy, please leave me a comment with your email address and I will send a copy to you.

I printed these out on regular printer paper and attached them to Real Red card stock. I used some Real Red striped grosgrain ribbon to tie them on to the 1x8 skinny bags that were bought from Clearbags.com I stamped the image in Real Red and attached with a stampin dimensional.

These little bags will be re-appearing soon for Valentine's Day!

Enjoy!
Melissa

Happy New Year!!!!

Not sure why this didn't post, but here it is!

Hello Stampers,

Happy New Year! I am so excited for 2011 for so many reasons. I love a fresh start and taking the time to reflect, set goals and dream of what could be. I don't usually make resolutions, but rather I set goals. This year a BIG goal of mine and my husband is to be debt free. We took Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University and learned a lot of things. We don't have a lot of debt but since we bought a new house a few years ago we have been putting too many things on the charge card. I want to stop doing that.

I have many goals for my Stampin Up! business as well. I want to learn more techniques to share with my customers and friends. The list goes on and I won't bore you with them all. I would love to hear some of your goals or resolutions. Please leave a comment for me!

Happy New Year! I hope that you are BLESSED in 2011!!!

Happy Stampin'
Melissa