I just realized that I have made a TON of Christmas cards this fall (with a few more coming next week) and haven't shared them on the blog... So, maybe you have a bit of extra time this weekend and want to craft? Need some inspiration?  Check out my recent creations below...

As always, I am so thankful for your comments, your pins, your friendship, your business... You are the reason that I can stay home with my daughter and really enjoy these years! 

Happy crafting and Happy Thanksgiving,
Melissa

P.S. Don't forget the Online Extravaganza Sale this weekend! It's pretty awesome and it spans six days with three different sets of items on sale (Paper, Stamps, and Ink)! 

As we wrap up my week of Silver Elite Challenges & Giveaways I am reminded of how thankful I am to work with such an ethical, honest, and inspiring company. Above is our Statement of the Heart and SU challenged us last week to: Live it. Love it. Share it. And we are! 

Today's challenge is to follow my Instagram account (if you aren't already) and comment here. If you already follow me, then just comment below. I have been featuring some of my work there lately-- mainly Blends-- so the winner of this challenge will win two Blend markers of their choice!

Now... the big news tonight is that as of midnight tonight lots of items are on sale!!

​Don't forget to place an order through Monday, November 27th to receive a ribbon sampler from the holiday catalog AND to complete one of the challenges for the GRAND PRIZE: Lantern Builder Stamp Set and Framelits!

You can view the complete list here but there will be additional items available on Monday, November 27th as a surprise. Please note that the stamp sets for sale are ONLY FOR SALE on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20th. 

One of my favorites on the list is a holiday set that makes fast and pretty cards-- on sale tomorrow for only $14.40!! Every Good Wish!

 As a recap here are all the challenges:
Day 1: Follow Paper Pumpkin Pinterest Board
Day 2: Join my Facebook Group for Up-to-date Info
Day 3: Place an Order
Day 4: Subscribe to YouTube Channel
Day 5: Watch & Comment on FB Live or YouTube OnStage Recap
Day 6: Comment on Pillow Gift Blog Post

And today, follow Instagram on Day 7-- just delayed because we had a terrific family day! Well deserved and needed!

Happy crafting,
Melissa

Welcome to Day 6! EEEK! A full week of giveaways and fun! May it never stop!! Today I wanted to show you the pillow gifts I brought with me for everyone in the house at OnStage in Salt Lake City (plus one team member who was staying at a nearby hotel)! 

These bags already look fabulous with the shiny gold stripes but then add a simple tag topper and bam! Awesome-sauce! I was using the Christmas Around the World DSP stack again because I love it and I stamped the sentiment from Merry Little Labels in Real Red, added a Garden Green scalloped oval and a little banner in Real Red- tada!

Pillow gifts are a really sweet tradition that Stampin' Up! has where you give your roomies a sweet gift (generally each day you room together)! We took turns in the house gifting one another and it was so fun! Want to see what's in it?

Perfectly Posh goodies! And this one can be yours! I will be selecting someone from the comments and will send them this goodie bag in the mail! I will say that I love using Perfectly Posh because it is cruelty-free, naturally based, and many are vegan. Plus, everything is under $25. I joined for the discount and I do have a few people who purchase from me so if you are interested you can check it out here. Also, through Nov 30 if you use the code THANKFUL you will save $5 at check out!

I have really loved making little gifts around the Posh products, like these Chunk (bar soap) samples below and our new Fizi bath bomb line. I sell the Fizi's direct, so if you want some, let me know! I have gussied these up for Thanksgiving (and have a cute one planned for Christmas) so message me! 

For the chunk, I used the Merry Little Labels stamp set again but this time with Rich Razzleberry ink and then sponged the back of the Foil Snowflakes with Pacific Point to match the wrapper. For the Fizi's I used a previous Paper Pumpkin kit that has been super popular at craft fairs before. 

So, today I am out at the Copperas Cove Pet Supply Store for a special Relay for Life event called Bark for Life. I am so happy to support this sweet town and the American Cancer Society. I am out here representing Posh and Stampin' Up! but I wish I was at home crafting... 

So, don't forget to comment below and let me know if you have questions! Plus, check out the other posts this week and make sure you get entered to win the big prize!

Happy crafting,
Melissa

Today is a mega-great day to be hopping along with Stampin' Friends because I am also celebrating all week with my "Silver Elite Giveaway" week! I recently promoted to Silver Elite and got to walk the stage at OnStage last week-- and I promised my followers and customers a week of challenges and giveaways. Stay tuned to the bottom for how to participate and make sure to check out the rest of my posts this week to see how you could win the grand prize! 
 
It was super fun to meet with some of our awesome Stampin' Friends at OnStage last week and this picture captures the joy we experienced there! Thanks Elizabeth and Andrea!

So... would you like to see what I have been working on? I am still loving Stampin' Blends and the new Just Add Color paper. I was inspired to make a Christmas card for my Dutch friends (my mother is from the Netherlands and I spent a huge part of my childhood there) so the row homes reminded me of the canal homes in Amsterdam. The sentiment is from the Christmas Around the World Designer Series Paper stack!

This month Kathie Rotti has donated the Merry Patterns stamp set for our blog hop giveaway! You must comment on ALL blog hop posts with the hashtag #SFbloghop2017 and what you love about our projects by Friday, November 24th! Easy, right?

Not only is Stampin' Friends giving away a Merry Patterns stamp set... if you follow my YouTube channel and comment positively on my first video there (where I show off Stampin' Blends and my Christmas card), then I will enter you into a drawing for the Tags & Trimmings stamp set, thinlits, a paper share from Quilted Christmas, and a roll of Quilted Christmas ribbon! All your Christmas gift giving needs will be taken care of!

So, have you loved this post? Then hop along to the other blogs and see what they have created for a happy holiday season. 

Happy crafting,
​Melissa

This year Stampin' Up! asked us to apply to be display stampers for our upcoming Onstage Live in Salt Lake City (convention) and in order to do so we had to create a blog post about our creations! We were asked to create three cards, two 3D projects, and a scrapbook page. I decided to look back over the past couple of months and pick a few of my favorites-- including some I haven't blogged about!

First up, my three cards! The first is a stamp set that I knew I had to get the minute I saw it-- Quirky Critters-- it as a narwhale and snail too! Seriously cute! The DSP behind the sloth is from the Coffee suite! 

Then another stamp set I knew I would be getting-- I am a sucker for quick stamps that fill a card front and Floral Statements does just that! So pretty on Emerald Envy with the watercolor pencils!

Then my most creative moment-- I wanted to create one of those cool ornaments with a bulb inside a mason jar-- and the Watts of Occasions stamp set made it possible... Just love it with the gold embossing, a touch of watercolor, and the embossing paste!!

Now my 3D items! These are tougher for me because I really need an occasion to get inspired but here we go... two recent creations! One inspired by Paper Pumpkin and the new Pick a Pattern DSP and the other inspired by our new Fresh Florals DSP and the new in-colors! 

And finally, a scrapbook page. I don't do traditional scrapbooking but I do love pocket style memory keeping and am so happy that Stampin' Up! has kept that feature in their Memories & More card packs-- I have one and can't wait for a break in the summer to work on it-- so for now-- a layout I created at a recent craft retreat from this past Hello December will have to do! I just love how this one came out! Sometimes people are afraid to chop up their pictures and their cards but I say do it-- it can look terrific! 

Here is wishing me luck as I hope to be selected as a display stamper! I will be attending Onstage Live for the first time in it's new format and with my mother-in-law who is on my team-- with hopefully lots of other teammates! 

Happy crafting,
Melissa

Its hard to say goodbye.... 

Every Monday in May I will be posting about a retiring stamp set that I am going to miss dearly. If you don´t have these stamp sets in your collection, you just might want to acquire them! But stamp sets are only guaranteed through May 22nd!

So, with no further ado... This weekend at our crafting retreat I got inspired to play with the beautiful Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper (DSP) which I had seen others make Dutch Delft animals with out of the Barnyard Babies stamp set!  The card base is from the Watercolor Wishes card kit, which is also retiring! Cute huh?

And this cute card was from several years back- a fun pun for Christmas!

happy crafting,
Melissa

This is going to hopefully be the last of the last... I have just a few more to make next week for a few classes on campus and then they are all shipping out!!

Today we had fun in a "stamp a stack" class where everyone made four cards of four different designs! We made simpler cards that still had some wow factor... Hope you like them!

the card above is a fancy fold but is surprisingly simple!

thisis a show stopper but is just vellum layered over a simple card!

the above one is a fun Christmas cheer one!

the final one is a pretty one but also simple!!

Happy crafting,
Melissa