Cards and Crafts with Melissa

I have about 250 Stampin' Up stamp sets and there are A LOT that I have not used.  So I decided to challenge myself to use all of my stamp sets. Today I used Tuscan Vineyard Item # 141902 I used traditional ink pads, Stampin' Dots, Stampin' Up Markers and also Watercolor Pencils . I wanted to show off this great set that I fell in love with when it came out.  I am a wine drinker but I love the Mediterranean theme of ANYTHING. We decorated our kitchen and living in the Mediterranean style.  I did not add any sentiments because I am not sure what I am going to use these for yet.  I used every stamp in this set so you can see the different ways the set can be used. I used the In Colors card stock for most of the cards. I colored the landscape with Watercolor Pencils and stamped the background with two of the stamps. The grape cluster is so fun but also classic. The lined up wine corks remind me of the collections of wine corks we have. The flourish was ...

Some days I struggle finding the right sentiment for a card I am working on. Today, as I was cleaning up my craft room and decided to finish some cards from past kits and some scraps I had laying around. I also used the ink spots I received from the Paper Pumpkin kits. Here is the link to view the past Paper Pumpkin kits: https://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryid=102600 Simple Christmas Card using Memories and More Petal Garden Pack Item #144208,  Emerald Envy CS#141415, Real Red CS #102482 The butterfly is from a retired kit. I stamped in Crushed Curry Ink #131173 The anchor on this card is from Guy Greetings #137178. The DSP is retired.  This entire card besides the sentiment is from the retired card kit. Trying to find a way to use these gold hearts was challenging. The gold strip is also from the retired card kit. This card was so fun to make. This is how I store my Paper Pumpkin Stamp sets.  I hope you all enjoye...

I'm sorry I didn't post Thursday, my daughter had some great news and we had to do come planning for upcoming events then Friday she was accepted to college. So I was a little preoccupied. The last video was posted on Thursday and it did not disappoint! Then I got to see the catalog!! I am so excited! The Christmas stamp sets are so wonderful! There are a few fall sets, that will be versatile throughout the year.  The Halloween sets are so fun and there is a die that is so great! It is on trend and perfect for so many things other than Halloween.  I am going to reread the SU policy on posting the cover of the catalog. I am sure I have to wait, but I will do a preorder and you will see what I create from the sets I order and will share them here. And stay tuned Tuesday there is an announcement that you won't want to miss. Mel

Yesterday I was able to watch the Holiday Catalog Preview as soon as it was released, but not today. 🙁. I had a meeting then the rest of the work day was crazy. So as soon as I got home from work I watched the video and I was impressed again today. This preview had one fall themed suite and one Halloween suite. The embellishments were fabulous! I will update you all with the review of the next preview tomorrow. Mel

I am the first to admit that having a smart phone I really didn't think I needed a planner like I did when the kids were younger. I had a "Mommy Planner" beginning 2005. It was instrumental in keeping track of my kids reoccurring doctor appointments and school activities.  Now, as two of my kids are out of the house and adults and my daughter is now a Senior in high school the planner not only keeps track of my appointments but it is also a "living scrapbook".  I use my Cannon Selphy printer to print all of my favorite pictures from the month.  I just ordered my planner in June so I decided to begin it in July.  The advantage of a planner like Love Today Planner Kit is that you can customize it beginning in whatever month you wish. So if you want to begin it for the school year you can, or be traditional and begin it in January. Here are some pictures of how I have customized my planner. If you are interested in purchasing the planner you can do so at this lin...

I wanted to share my excitement with you all.  Today Stampin' Up gave us a sneak peak to the Holiday Catalog! The video showed one suite from the catalog and it is amazing!  I cannot wait to share the great creations we can make from the new products with you once I get my order in.  The next two days there will be two more sneak peaks us demonstrators get to watch and the full catalog Thursday. I am not one who gets super excited about Christmas when it is still 100 degrees outside but this year Stampin' Up has helped me catch the excitement train. Mel