Melonheadz Cool Colors Challenge

I hope you are all staying warm in your respective winter places. We are still buried in snow but the temps have been rising little by little so we expect at some point (sooner than later, we hope) the snow will finally be gone. In the meantime, I've been fighting (what seems to be yearly of late) asthma. Thus, the reason for so few blog posts since the first of the year. Please don't be discouraged, I'm feeling a little better every day and can't wait to get back to my craft room on a daily basis once again. :)

Today's challenge is 'cool colors', purples/blues/greens. I love this combo for winter. I even found matching candies....can you stand it!?? 

We hope you'll join us on the Melonheadz Friends Design Team for this challenge. I used the Cold Winter Kidlettes digi set for my card today.

Thanks for coming by!

Products used:
Melonheadz Illustrating, Cold Weather Kidlettes
Sentiment and scallop border by My Favorite Th9ings
Foam tape, copic markers, baby buttons, various pattern paper scraps

Happy New Year! - Melonheadz friends Snow challenge

Happy new year, crafty friends. I hope you had a great holiday season and 2016 is good to you.

I'm here today with the first Melonheadz Friends challenge of the new year - snow/snowflakes. How perfect. I'm buried in the white stuff! It's truly beautiful, but I'm so glad it only comes in winter. LOL

So, as you can see, I have plenty of inspiration for this challenge!

I printed the background snowflake pattern first, then built my card around it.

The adorable little girl is from the Cold Weather Kidlets set, and the cut out snowflakes are from Season Winter. I created the sentiment using a couple of different stamp sets (see product list below).

Then, the snowflake challenge inspired me to get an early start on next year's Christmas and I made these using cheap glitter snowflake ornaments and handmade paper flowers.

For my second project - which I totally love! - I used this soft aqua and pink color combo. I think it turned out so pretty. Again, I printed the snowflake pattern onto my cardstock before doing any cutting. The snowflakes and the hat and mittens are from the Snow Day set.

You can see a little better in this closeup the sparkle of the Wink of Stella glitter pen I used on the pink.

Inside message: Sentiments and mug by My Creative Time.

Product List:
Melonheadz Illustrating, Christmas Stuff, Cold Weather Kidlets, Season Winter, Snow Day
My Creative Time, rolled flowers die, 3x4 journal card die, rectangle frames dies, You're So Cool stamp set
My Favorite Things, fishtail flag stax
Other: clear embossing powder, foam tape, wink of Stella glitter pen, copic markers, memento tuxedo black ink, Cracked Pistachio distress ink, Heidi Swapp 6x8 memory planner paper pad

My Favorite Things, Sketch 261

Welcome to my first post of 2016. (sound the noisemakers!) Today I'm sharing this adorable Birdie Brown elephant set for the card challenge. This set by My Favorite Things is just about the cutest ever! It was hard to choose which sweet little ellie to use first, but any one of them would have been perfect.

The sentiment, balloon, and butterfly all come with the set. For this birthday card, I thought they would be the perfect combo to send a sweet birthday greeting. And it appears I was correct! ;)

I love making die cuts with pattern papers. Here I added just a bit of copic coloring to highlight his adorableness, and glossy accents to the balloon (though it isn't showing well in this shot). When I finished coloring, I decided I want a plush ellie in real life, just like this one!

My Favorite Things Card Challenge

Product List:
My Favorite Things, Adorable Elephants stamp set
My Favorite Things, Adorable Elephants die set
My Favorite Things, Grassy Fields die
My Creative Time, rectangle frames die
Jen Hadfield 6x6 DIY Home paper pad
Heidi Swapp 6x8 Memory Planner paper pad
Foam tape, glossy accents, copic markers, square die

Merry Christmas to all

Every year I share the following letter that I sent to the local newspaper in 1997. It's my favorite Christmas memory; a memory that means so much to me and reminds me every year to be grateful and count my many blessings. (I don't live in the same area now and I'm a "little" older too. LOL) I will never forget that Christmas. It was truly the best Christmas ever. Please enjoy.

The Key Peninsula/Gig Harbor area has been home to me and my family for 34 of my 43 years. During those years, I have donated clothing, household items, and food to local food banks as much as I can throughout the year, never expecting, of course, that I would one day be in need myself.

Several years ago, my daughters and I fell on hard times and the holidays seemed bleak. By Thanksgiving, I still had not found employment. The girls had just entered high school, and though they had never asked much for Christmas even in good times, I felt despair in knowing I would not be able to give them much of anything that year. We did our best while I continued looking for work, but finally had to seek help from a local food bank to make ends meet. A short while later, we received a call from the food bank telling us a local family wished to “adopt” us for Christmas. About that same time, my job search finally paid off and my first day of work was to be December 20. That day, we woke to several inches of snow on the ground and no power. I had no way to get to my new job and no number to call them. We were not the only ones snowed in, however. The food bank was unable to deliver Christmas to many adopted families. Though the families and the adoptees generally remain anonymous to each other, our “family” decided that if it meant the difference between our having or not having a Christmas, they would make the delivery personally. Not only did our family bring gifts in abundance, they also delivered a van full of groceries, including laundry and cleaning supplies, and everything imaginable for Christmas dinner. As if that wasn’t enough, this wonderful man drove me to my new job and later called to find out what time I finished so he could drive me back home!

This true story of the spirit of Christmas always brings tears to my eyes. We never heard from our adoptive family again. We understand they left the area some time ago, but their gift of love and generosity will never be forgotten. That Christmas, which looked so dismal, remains one of our most cherished and treasured holiday memories.

***
Merry Christmas. May you be as blessed as I am!
Isaiah 58:7a ...Share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless into your house.

Melonheadz Friends, Christmas challenge!

Are you ready for the big day?! Well, I guess it's too bad if you aren't at this point, right?! LOL!!!

For my challenge project, I made these adorable little gift tags. These sweet images can be found on the Christmas Stuff and Christmas Bobbleheads digi sets in the Melonheadz Etsy store. There are so many cute things in this set, it's a must-have add-on for any of the Christmas sets you may already have. Then, come over to the Melonheadz Friends blog and join us for this super fun challenge!

To/From stamp and tag die by My Creative Time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, CRAFTY FRIENDS!!!!!!
Wishing you and yours a happy, happy holiday season and a very merry Christmas. :)