We'll miss you!

One of my co-workers is losing his job due to his program closing, so we're all pitching in to give him a good send off. He's a real sweet guy who has been a pleasure to work with, so I thought I'd make him a nice cheerful card to show him how much we'll miss him.

I couldn't find an image that fit, so I decided to combine 3 Tiddly Ink images (Bo, Ellie, and Wild Thing) for a "from the group" card.

Before printing, I erased Bo's balloons, and replaced them with some of Ellie & Wild Things' heart balloons so they all matched. After coloring the image with copic markers, I carefully cut out my balloons, and used a bit of silver jewelry wire to make my balloons float above the main image.

Once the card was put together, I used some paper glaze on the balloons to give them that nice shiny finish (which, of course, did not show up well in the photos).

Copic markers used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:

Tiddly Inks - sketch challenge (I rotated it 90 degrees)
Papertake Weekly - animal magic
CES Challenges - animal antics
Charisma Cardz - anything goes

male birthday cards...

See - I told you I had itchy fingers and would be posting projects more often! August is a busy card month for me, with 4 birthdays and 2 anniversaries to make cards for, so I thought I'd better get cracking!

I decided to start with my guy cards since they are always the hardest to come up with. I saved this great card by Michelle Short months ago with the intention of CASEing it at some point, and thought the simple but fun layout would be perfect for a guy card. In fact, I liked the first one so much that I made a second one (slightly different) out of my scraps.

For my first one, I used the cake from SU's Fun & Fast Notes set, with coordinating sentiment. The image was colored with copic markers, and has diamond Stickles added to the frosting and flames for a bit of sparkle.

For the second card, I dug out one of my favorite SU sets, Send a Celebration. This was one of the very first SU sets I ever purchased (Yes, purchased. My introduction to SU came right after SAB that year, and I had to find this baby on e-bay. The horror! LOL!) and it still remains a favorite.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Something Birthday Blog Hop!

Stamp Something is celebrating it's 2nd birthday today, and to celebrate, we are having a blog hop! If you came here from Janna's blog, you are right on target. If not, head on over to the Stamp Something blog so you can start the hop off right. Our monthly sponsor, Simon Says, has offered up a great prize for one lucky hopper, and several of my team mates are offering up candy of their own, so trust me, you don't want to miss any of the stops!

Since this is a birthday celebration, the team has been challenged to make something cake or cupcake related/inspired. I decided to make a masculine birthday card featuring a cupcake with some yummy frosting & sprinkles (more on that later...).

The cupcake image is from the Hero Art Cupcake set, and was colored with copic markers. The yummy frosting is Liquid Pearls in White Opal. While the Liquid Pearls were still wet, I sprinkled on some Twinklets Diamond Dust to mimic sugar crystal sprinkles. I thought it needed a little more color, so I made some custom red sprinkles by dumping some Twinklets in a jar and adding a few drops of SU Riding Hood Red reinker.

CANDY ALERT!!!

Would you like some custom red Twinklets of your own? I've added a bag of them to my birthday mini candy, so be sure to leave me a comment for a chance to win. Just for giggles, please share what your favorite birthday dessert is. Inquiring minds want to know!

The candy will close at 7pm EST on Thursday, May 27th, with the candy winner being announced in the following day's challenge post on the Stamp Something blog.

Now, what are you waiting for? Hop on over to Lols blog to see what she has in store for you!

Wags 'n Whiskers Challenge #18 - scallops

I have some exciting news - Lacey at Wags 'n Whiskers invited me to be their guest designer for this weeks challenge! How fun is that? This weeks challenge is to make a project using scallops - Nestabilities, scallop punches, scalloped edges - you pick!

For my card, I decided to use the adorable Ryan's Chocolate Trouble to make a birthday card for my father. Think he'll like it?

Ryan was colored with copic markers, and then very carefully cut out. I glued his head and torso onto my white background paper, and then used glue dots to pop up his arms for a little dimension. I ended up chopping off his legs so I could place him in my scalloped frame (sorry, Ryan!), so I reused the chocolate wrappers that were at his feet to scatter at the bottom of my card.

Copic markers used:

Challenges I participated in with this card:

Wags 'n Whiskers - scallops
A Spoon Full of Sugar - one for the boys
Polka Doodles - birthday

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to pop on over to the Wags 'n Whiskers blog to see what the design team has in store for you today, and don't forget to check back here later in the morning to see what I created for this weeks Stamp Something Challenge (I'll give you a hint - it's VERY girly!).

Happy Birthday, Jesse!

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, and I thought I would share the card I made for him. He is very into music, and also loves comic books & anime, so when I came across this image of the Teen Titans by theravenflysby while browsing on deviantArt, I knew it would be perfect for his birthday card. If you haven't checked out deviantArt before, I highly recommend it. Just make sure that if you find an image you like and want to color, you check and see if the artist has given permission for people to do so. Not all of the artists on there do.

Aren't they cute? The image was colored with Copic markers (including the new colors I got for Christmas! Woo!), and layered on black and SU Rich Razzleberry card stock. I've had the Razzleberry paper for months, and this is the first time I've actually used it. I have to say, I rather like the color. :) I finished it off with a bit of black ribbon from my stash.

I kept the layout very clean and simple because, a. it's a guy card, and b. the image is really too large to leave much room for any embellishments. LOL!

Copic markers used:

I'm entering my card in the Fussy and Fancy Friday challenge (New), and the Charisma Cards challenge (Celebrations).

Thanks for stopping by!

ISS - Love & Romance blog hop

Yes, I know, it's not the last Friday of the month, but this month InStyle Stamps is holding our blog hop a week early since we know everyone will be way too busy next Friday to blog hop. LOL.

The theme for this months blog hop is Love & Romance. If you've landed here from Jodi's blog than you are on the right track - continue on! If you've accidentally stumbled here on your own, take a moment go to the Instyle Stamps blog to start the hop off right. Trust me, you really don't want to miss any of the lovely projects the design team has in store for you! Be sure to visit each stop on the hop and leave a comment so we'll know you were here.

For my project today, I'll be showing you the soon-to-be-released digital image, Mitchel and Tiff. Aren't they sweet? I still needed to make a Christmas card for my hubby, and what could be more romantic than a Christmas kiss under the mistletoe?

Mitchel and Tiff were colored with Copic markers, and Tiff had a bit of eyeshadow added with a Sakura Stardust gelly roll pen. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the mistletoe, and went over it with Distressed Stickles in Peeled Paint. I kept the layout clean and simple since my hubby isn't a big fan of bling or frills. Think he'll like it?

Copic markers used:

On to the Blog Hop details...

We will be giving away a Grand Prize to one lucky Blog Hop participant and also have a prize for one lucky design team member. To enter, finish hopping through the design team’s blogs, (leaving a comment at each stop, of course!) and then go to the InStyle Stamps blog and vote for the designer who's project inspired you the most. (You're going to vote for me, right? LOL!) Then, in order to be entered into the drawing to win the grand prize, leave us a comment on that post.

Thanks for playing along with us today! Next you will head to Joy's blog to see what she has in store for you! Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Holidays!

Happy Birthday, Brandan!

My nephew's birthday was last week, and we are having the family over to celebrate this friday. When I saw Video Boy by Mo's Digital Pencil, I knew it would be perfect to use on Brandan's card as he is constantly playing the Wii or his gameboy.

Video Boy was colored with copic markers, and then I went over the metallic areas (watch, soda can, chip bag, candy wrapper) with a Sakura Stardust pen for a bit of a metallic sheen. I kept the layout very simple as an 11 year old boy isn't going to want any bling on his birthday card. LOL.

Copic markers used:

Sweet birthday wishes...

This week's challenge on Copic Buzz is to make a card without any patterned paper. I've been using patterned paper on just about all of my cards lately so this was quite the challenge!



I used the oh, so adorable Bronte and Louis by Mo's Digital Pencil for my image. Bronte and Louis were colored with copic markers, and then had white gel pen accents added.


I added more white gel pen to the eyes to make them more expressive. (click image for a larger version)

Markers used:

Yippee Ki-ay! It's blog hop time!

Today is the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means - time to go blog hopping with InStyle Stamps!

We will be giving away a Grand Prize to one lucky Blog Hop participant and also have a prize for one lucky design team member. To enter, hop through the design team’s blogs (you can find them in my sidebar), and then go to the InStyle Stamps blog and vote for the designer who's project inspired you the most. (You're going to vote for me, right? LOL!) Make sure to leave a comment in addition to voting in order to be entered into the drawing for the grand prize.

This month's theme is Cowboys and Westerns, so I decided to use the new Anime cowboy, Nate for my project. Isn't he a cutie?

And now on to my project... I have a nephew who wants to be a cowboy when he grows up (or maybe a farmer, he hasn't quite narrowed it down yet). His birthday is coming up, so I thought Nate would be perfect for his card.

Nate was colored with copic markers, and layered using the rectangle Nestabilities set. The reverse scalloped trim is actually the leftovers from cutting out the scalloped rectangle. I outlined the trim and the black scalloped rectangle with a silver copic aytou to make it stand out a bit more (click on the image for a larger view if you'd like to see it better). The sentiment was hand written, and punched out with a SU word window punch.

Nate and several other new cuties will be released later today. While you are waiting, be sure to hop on through the rest of the design team's blogs for more peeks!

Happy Birthday!

Today was my father-in-laws birthday. I've been fighting off a cold, so we weren't able to go see him today, but I thought I'd share the card I made for him.


Isn't this little digi fisherman great? I found him on the Victoria Case Art Design website when I was looking for the horse image in the previous post, and knew he would be perfect to use on a project for my father-in-law.

My father-in-law isn't into frills, so I kept the card very simple. I used punches to make the sentiment into a bobbin, and added some silver cord for the fishing line (the real fishing line didn't show up well).

I hope he likes it!

InStyle Sneak Peek - Meet Nico!

Isn't Nico just the cutest lil pirate you've ever seen?

He's all dressed up in his finest pirate garb, all ready to party the night away! Just stay away from that treasure chest of his and you should be fine. Otherwise he might have to use that sword and make you walk the plank! Don't say I didn't warn you! LOL!

Nico and the rest of the new releases by InStyle Stamps will be available in the InStyle Store this afternoon, so be sure to stop by! And don't forget, you only have one more day to get 20% off of your order! You can get the coupon code in my sidebar, and make sure to tell them that Melissa sent you!

leaving the nest...

One of my co-workers is moving out of state, so I made a card for everyone to sign to wish him well on his new venture.

Since it is a "guy" card, I kept the frills and embellishments to a minimum, but I think it works. I printed the sentiment on the computer, and then stamped the tree and bird from the Olivia's Birdies set by CC Designs. I stamped the nest and the two birds sitting on it separately, cut them out, and attached them with pop-dots for a little added dimension.

The pretty edging is one of the new edge punches by EK Success. I have to tell you that I find these new punches much harder to punch than older SU and Fiskars style edge punches, and the smaller holes make them more difficult to line up. So while I admit to drooling over some of the new designs, I'm not sure that any more of them will be making their way into my craft room.

InStyle Sneak Peek

Are you ready for a sneak peek? Thought so! Meet Trent and Justin...


Trent & Justin will be available in the InStyle Stamps store on Wednesday, April 1st. Aren't they cute? I have a nephew who takes karate lessons, and I know he will get a kick out of them (no pun intended...).

Be sure to check out the InStyle Stamps blog all week for more sneak peeks from the rest of the design team!

Mmmm... Cake!

I'm always looking for ideas for "guy" cards, how about you? I can whip out a card for a female friend in no time (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit here...), but ask me to make something for a man, and I am twiddling my thumbs, trying to come up with ideas. I've decided I *need* to buy more guy friendly stamps. LOL!

Since that hasn't happened yet, I went through my stash of stamped images that various friends have so generously given me, and found this adorable Penny Black cat. Hmmm. Cats are appropriate for a guy, right?


I just love this cat with his big ol' chef's hat and apron! The expression on his face is just too funny. He was colored in with Copic markers, and had some stickles added to the icing and candles. I tried to keep the layout clean and simple to be "guy appropriate". What do you think?

Happy Birthday Jim!

Today is my BIL's birthday. I don't own very many "guy" stamps, so I went digging through my box of pre-stamped images looking for something appropriate. Lucky for me, my BIL loves all things related to the great outdoors, so I didn't have to search too long before I found this image from the retired SU set, The Angler. I borrowed the set from a friend a few years ago and stamped off some extra images. Even better, I found a pile of background papers I had made using the bleaching technique and the fish stamp from the set. Was I planning a head, or what? LOL!

The image was watercolored with SU watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. I didn't have an appropriate sentiment, so it is written by hand with a fine tipped artists pen (mine is a Pigma Micron 005). If you don't have one of these, I highly recommend getting one. I use mine so much, I've just about worn the tip off!

Sorry for the short post tonight. I am tired and still need to pick up the house a bit since we have company coming tomorrow. Be sure to check back tomorrow for a super girly card. :)

Happy Birthday!

Sorry about not posting for a while. I have had an eventful few days. My sister and her family are in town for a late Christmas get together, DH's b-day was yesterday, and to top it all off, we had a plumbing disaster on Saturday, and have been without water ever since. DH has been working diligently on it, but every time he thinks he is finished, something else starts leaking! Our house is only 20 years old, so you wouldn't think there would be so many issues already! DH assures me it should all be fixed later on today. Here's hoping!

Any hoo, as I mentioned, yesterday was DH's birthday. It wasn't very birthday-like since he spent the day working on the plumbing, but I did make him a card, and thought I would share it with you.


My friend, Mary, swapped some Magnolia images with me (Thank you Mary!!!), and this adorable Edwin with guitar was one of them. DH is very musically inclined, and can often be found in his music room playing one of his guitars, so this image was perfect for a card for him.

Edwin was colored in using a combination of copic markers and water coloring with ink and watercolor crayons. I used Crystal Effects on the guitar to give it a glossy finish. It didn't photograph well, but trust me, it gives the same effect as the finish on a real life guitar. To give the project a little more depth, I cut the bench out of a second image (Edwin comes sitting on it), glued it to the white background, and popped Edwin up on top of it with pop-dots.

The solid paper is SU Ruby Red and Certainly Celery. The dp is "stripe" and "mini brown dot" from the Making Memories Travel Collection. I found a pack of 48 sheets at Big Lots for $2 last week, and was so excited. Be sure to check your local Big Lots soon as they seem to be getting in more paper crafting supplies.

grab life by the handlebars

As promised, here is the card I made for my brother's birthday. He loves motorcycles, so when I saw this set from Artful Inkables, I just had to get it.
The bike was water colored using an aquapainter and SU markers, and then I went over it with a Sakura stardust pen to get that nice metallic sparkle.

office birthday

I think I have mentioned before that I am the official birthday card maker for my office. We have 2 birthdays in August, so I've been a busy girl. You can see the August birthday girl's card in the previous post. I also needed a card for the August birthday boy, and as you all know, guy cards are some of the hardest to make. What do you think of mine?

The birthday boy in question loves animals. He has multiple cats, a dog, a snake, fish, and I forget what else, but trust me, he has a lot of pets. I thought Attitudy Cats from Stamping Bella would make a purrfect card for him. The cats bring to mind his pets, but could also be his office mates wishing him a happy birthday. Do you like their hats? I let you in on a little secret... they were originally Christmas trees from the retired SU set, Crazy for Christmas.

The cats were colored with an aquapainter and SU's watercolor crayons, and the hats used the aquapainter with some ink picked up from the lids of the new SU in colors. The image was then layered on SU Kiwi Kiss and Pacific Point. The embossing is a piece of SU Baja Breeze which was ran through my Cuttlebug. The speckled background was created with the SU color spritzer tool and markers.

For the sentiment, I used a stamp from Vivas Las Vegas Stamps. I masked off the "It's your birthday!" for the front, and then used the rest of the sentiment for the inside of the card. I forgot to take a picture of the inside, but the rest of the sentiment says: "Demand attention. Expect to be waited on. Don't do anything you don't want to do. In other words, party like a cat!" LOL! Gotta love it!

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day is tomorrow. Have you made your dad a card yet? If not, check out this one for some inspiration:

I received this lovely image from the stamped image pif thread on Splitcoast. The sky and water were done using ink pads and a brayer. You can find instructions here.

Watercolored card for Dad

I always have the hardest time coming up with ideas for cards for the men in my life. So I was pretty happy with the results I got when I whipped out my watercolor crayons to make a card for my dad.

Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Wildlife Reserve, Flannel Plaid, Warmest Regards
Paper & Ink: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Watercolor Crayons, Aquapainters, dimensionals

For the moose, I stamped the image in Choc Chip ink, and then colored it in with my watercolor crayons, using the aquapainter to blend colors. I made the grass by touching my barely wet aquapainter to the tip of the crayon to pick up the color, and then tapped it onto the paper. For the trees, I used the watercolor crayons to color directly onto the stamp, and then misted it with water before stamping onto paper that had also been lightly misted with water. I then used the crayons and my aquapainter to add more color for the leaves and grass. I love that when you are using the watercolor crayons and an aquapainter, you can layer on more color as needed to get the results you want. I made the sky in both images by repeatedly picking up a little bit of color from my Bordering Blue crayon and swirling it around on the paper. It helps to have a good amount of water on the aquapainter tip for this step as it helps the color to blend more evenly.

* Favorite watercoloring tip: have a paper towel handy to blot up any excess water and to wipe the tip of the aquapainter between color changes.