Sunday Stamping With Melissa Cash: Dottie & Brushed Butterfly

When I asked Melissa to name 5-10 tools that she relies on most when she creates (besides stamps, of course), this is what she listed:

1. Milwaukee Heat Gun/Embossing Powders
2. Cuttlebug/Dies/Embossing Folders
3. Border Punches
4. Markers/Inks/Prismacolor Pencils
5. Internet--There are so many talented people sharing on the net. Whenever I need inspiration, I head to the internet.

I have to admit that I haven't pulled out my heat gun and powders for quite some time, but I've made regular use of the others tools she mentioned. How about you? Have you used any of these items lately?

It's funny how Melissa named the internet as a tool. Of course, she's absolutely right! In fact, I hope you find some inspiration of your own from today's post.

For the first project, Melissa used 10978MC Delightful Dogs #2 Clear Set:

She featured the dog image (0454F Dottie) and a saying (0381D Sittin' & Thinkin') in her adorable card:

Here are the instructions she provided:

Use a green notecard for base. Layer print panel to purple panel, leaving some space at the top to stamp “Woof” in black ink. Adhere to center of green card.

Wrap ribbon around the card and tie into a bow. Bow should be to the left side of the card. Stamp dog image in black ink onto white cardstock and color with markers. Cut image panel with rectangular dies/punches. Layer to green and purple panels. Attach image panel with foam mounting tape to right side of card.

Stamp sentiment in black ink onto white cardstock and cut out with circle die/punch. Layer to purple scallop circle die/punch. Add rhinestones to corners.

* * *

I also asked Melissa to describe one area that she is trying to improve in regarding her own creative style, techniques, or process.

She replied, "I love it when I see a clean and simple card or project, but I have the hardest time creating with the clean and simple style. Sometimes it can take me hours to create a simple card because I tend to overthink the project I am working on."

It's funny how sometimes the seemingly most simple layouts can actually take a while to create. Take the stamps in 11014SC Brushed Calligraphy #3 Clear Set, for instance:

Now, I'm not exactly sure how long Melissa spent making this card (with 1524F Brushed Butterfly and 10077F Master Calls Butterfly as the wood mounted versions):

However, I sure love the results! Melissa incorporates great details in her "simple" cards, from the the dry embossed green piece and pumpkin orange middle panel to the double-matted butterfly image complete with glittery wings...all topped off with a pretty bow.

This is how she did it:

Fold piece of 5 1/2” x 8 1/2” green cardstock in half to create card base. Layer orange and pink print panels to card base. Emboss scrap of green cardstock and apply horizontally to the middle of card.

Layer orange print paper to scrap of green cardstock, add ribbon/bow and layer vertically to left side of the card. Ink butterfly image with a pink waterbased marker onto white cardstock and lightly watercolor around the wings. Ink sentiment with black ink and stamp onto same panel as butterfly.

Cut sentiment/butterfly panel out with circles dies/punches and layer to pink and green panels. Attach sentiment panel to card with foam mounting tape.

* * *

Thanks so much to Melissa Cash for joining us during February as our Inky Guest Designer. It's been an absolute pleasure getting to know her and seeing her wonderful projects. I hope you've enjoyed them as much as I have!

I wholeheartedly agree with Melissa's parting comments to our Inky readers:

Follow your heart and embrace your own style. There are no mistakes in stamping, just opportunities for creativity.

Friday Funnies: Dating

Leap Day is coming up next week, which means Steve and I will have been together for one year. Yeah, it's actually been four years, but our first date was on February 29th.

Fortunately, when we first met, he didn't try saying any of these:

Top Ten Worst Pickup Lines

10. You remind me so much of Pokemon that I just want to pick-at-choo.

9. I’m new in town. Can I have directions to your house?

8. I misplaced my teddy bear. Will you sleep with me?

7. Wow, your legs must be really tired because you have been running through my mind all night!

6. What's that in your eye? Oh, it must be a twinkle from when our eyes met!

5. Did you clean your pants with Windex, because I can totally see myself in them.

4. Those must be space pants, because your legs are outta this world.

3. Hi, my name is Justin…Justin Credible.

2. I may not be Fred Flinstone, but I can still make your Bedrock.

1. Is your name Visa, because you’re everywhere I want to be.

* * *

We ended up going to a Mediterranean restaurant and had a nice meal...while watching a belly dancer! I'm so glad our first date went better than this:

A First Date

A boy and his date were parked on a back road some distance from town, doing what boys and girls do on back roads some distance from town. Things were getting hot and heavy when the girl stopped the boy.

“I really should have mentioned this earlier, but I’m actually a hooker and I charge $20 for sex,” she said.

The boy just looked at her for a couple of seconds but then reluctantly paid her, and they did their thing.

After the cigarette, the boy just sat in the driver’s seat looking out the window. “Why aren’t we going anywhere?” asked the girl.

“Well, I should have mentioned this before, but I’m actually a taxi driver, and the fare back to town is $25.”

Spring HoneyPOP Blog Hop

This month's blog hop features our newest clear sets, a colorful Rainbow Honeycomb Pad, and a couple of Easter favorites from our HoneyPOP Collection!

We're doubling the fun this month by showing two samples using each HoneyPOP Clear Set: a 3-D card made with the Honeycomb Paper Pads and a standard greeting card.

To see what our designers made, please visit each DT member's blog and leave comments along the way. The more you comment, the better your chances are to win. (Limit one comment per blog, please.)

The blog hop starts today and ends on Sunday, February 27th at midnight Central time. Two people’s names will be drawn at random to receive a surprise Inky HoneyPOP prize pack. The winners’ names will be announced next Monday, so remember to stop back and see if you’ve won.

Shall we begin? Here's our hop order:

Keri
Jovi
Debbie
Trudy
Tex
Crystal
Michelle

Once you're finished, please come back here to see my projects and leave a final comment. Happy hopping, HoneyPOP fans!

* * *

For this hop, I used 11030MC Easter Chick HoneyPOP Set from our original HoneyPOP release. With Easter around the corner, I thought you might like to see more examples of this set in action!

If you click on the photo, you'll see sparkly accents such as the glitter eggs and yellow brads:

But my favorite part, of course, is the honeycomb egg:

I used our Rainbow Honeycomb Pad and stamped the egg pattern twice. After cutting out both pieces, I adhered them together with the chick image attached in the center. This made a pop-up within in a pop-up!

Because the doubled honeycomb egg was quite thick, I scored the card at 4 1/8" and 4 3/8" so the "spine" was extra wide to accommodate it. Then I glued the doubled egg into the card.

Did you notice the cloud background? I sponged light blue dye ink over our new Cloud Stencil to create that look:

And just to show how well the HoneyPOP Clear Sets work for standard greeting cards, here's a non-honeycomb version:

I applied Glossy Accents on the egg to make it shiny, and the saying piece was sponged with chalk and attached with foam tape to make it stand out more.

The inside was pretty basic, with the saying layered on a scalloped oval for contrast:

So glad you joined us, and I hope you have an egg-ceptionally great day!

"Try It Different" Tuesday: Love Watering & Basic Color Theory

As stampers, we realize that color choices can make a dramatic difference in the way our projects look. Sometimes it's difficult to select colors that go together well, which is where a color wheel can be helpful:

In 1666, Sir Isaac Newton performed a prism experiment that eventually led to the development of the first color wheel. As you can see, it's a circular diagram in which colors are arranged according to their chromatic relationship.

It can sound a little complicated, but basically it means that related colors are next to each other and complementary colors are opposite on the color wheel. By picking colors from specific parts of the color wheel, we can achieve harmonious combinations that will be pleasing to the eye.

Whether you're coloring a stamped image, painting a canvas, or decorating your home, it can be useful to understand how various "color schemes" can impact the appearance of your finished project. There are several online resources that explain further about color theory, such as the ones here, here, and here (this last version is my favorite).

For today's projects, Debbie Fisher chose to work with complementary colors in her cards featuring 2244G Love Watering. These shades of light blue and salmon contrast with each other to provide vibrancy, even though the colors are very soft:

With brighter colors, you can see how using complementary colors can really make the elements stand out:

Aside from the technical terms, I think these cards are just plain pretty! Hoping you have a colorful day, Inky friends. :-)

Honeycomb Paper Congrats

If you listed heart, dress form, pumpkin, pine tree, and umbrella as the honeycomb shapes that Tim Holtz used on his projects last week, you're absolutely correct:

Congrats to Kamesha M., whose name was drawn from our participants. (Kamesha, please email me with your address.)

Kamesha won the five colors of Honeycomb Paper Pads shown on Tim's creations. You can find them, along with eight other solid colors plus our new Rainbow Honeycomb Pads (and the entire updated HoneyPOP Collection), by clicking here.

Thanks for playing, and I hope you join us again soon!

Sunday Stamping With Melissa Cash: Teacup Mousies

Like many of us, Melissa first learned to stamp when she saw an embossing demo in a little craft store more than 20 years ago.

"I was hooked," she says. "That day I bought some stamps, ink, embossing powder and my beloved Milwaukee Heat Gun."

She describes her stamping style as "everything from whimsy to vintage. I really don’t know how my style came to be, I think it just evolved."

On the "whimsy" side, one of the sets she chose was 10953MC Teacup Mousies #2 Clear Set:

When asked if she had any advice or tips to share with our readers, Melissa offered this: "I think you need to be open to trying new techniques and styles of stamping. Check your local stamp store for classes, there is always something new to learn."

This card shows a fun technique, which is coloring on kraft cardstock:

Here are her instructions:

Fold piece of 4 1/4” x 11” kraft cardstock in half to create card base. Add solid yellow and light blue print panels to kraft card base, and attach to bottom section of base card. Add solid yellow panel to kraft panel, and attach to center of base card.

Stamp daisy mouse image with black into onto kraft cardstock, and color with Prismacolor pencils. Cut image out with circle dies/punches, and layer to light blue, yellow, and kraft circles. Add image to center of card with foam mounting tape. Add ribbon, twine, and buttons.

* * *

Swapping out the white cardstock for a darker color is something I always forget to do myself, so I think I'm going to pull out my kraft stash for next time. I also want to try layering buttons and bows.

Thanks to Melissa for sharing her adorable card, and to YOU for joining us today. Hope you have a "micey nice" rest of the weekend!

Friday Funnies: Family Visit & A Few Laughs

After the Clearwater show last Saturday, Steve and I spent Sunday visiting with my dad and grandma, who live nearby.

My grandma, Mildred, just turned 100 years old in December:

And just to tie this story in with our Friday post, here's a joke about someone else's grandma:

When I stopped the bus to pick up Chris for preschool, I noticed an older woman hugging him as he left the house. "Is that your grandmother?" I asked.

"Yes," Chris said. "She's come to visit us for Christmas."

"How nice," I said. "Where does she live?"

"At the airport," Chris replied. "Whenever we want her, we just go out there and get her."

* * *

On Monday, Steve and I drove to Orlando and visited the Universal theme parks. First we went to Universal's Islands of Adventure:

We went there mainly to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter:

It was even more fun than we expected. We really enjoyed our lunch at the Three Broomsticks, complete with pumpkin juice and Butterbeer:

Wondering how I'm going to connect this part of the post? Why, with a few beer one-liners, of course:

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

Men are like coolers – Load them with beer, and you can take them anywhere.

I have a drink to celebrate the little things. Like Tuesdays - we only have one of those a week!

I killed a 12-pack just to watch it die.

* * *

On the Universal Studios Florida side, I snapped this photo of Steve goofing around:

The scene is actually oriented vertically, and then you rotate your picture so it appears the person is flying off the ground. Funny!

Speaking of animals, I found these conflicting signs on a humor website:

No pets allowed. Or are they? No, they're not. Unless they are. Which they aren't. Possibly. And possibly not. Maybe.

Hope you have a great weekend, Inky friends!