And the winner is........

We used a super high tech random drawing!! Of course being in the big ole state of Texas we had to draw a name out of a cowboy hat!!!  This is my beautiful assistant, Madison, my 10 year old daughter!  As you can see, she is being totally fair by looking away as she draws a
name!!


And the winner of the ribbon blog candy is.........


DBullock!!  Would you please be so kind as to send your snail mail address to mellybethwelch@aol.com please???  I have some ribbon waiting for a new home!! ::grin:: Thanks to everyone for playing. This is Melanie Welch saying get your pet spayed or neutered....goodbye everybody! That sounds familiar!!::snort::

Smackin' Acetate

I guess I'm not going to be able to call my techniques Technique Tuesday anymore considering I haven't gotten one up on a Tuesday yet!  I suppose I'll just call it Technique Tutorials.  So on with the Technique Tutorial!
I decided to show you how to do smackin' acetate for the technique this week.  It is really easy and fun and you get a really great background!!  This is something anyone can do and get great results!!  It will look like you took time to make a nice watercolored background when if fact all you did is scribble a little!!!  And ANYONE can scribble!  So now on to the nitty gritty!!

Supplies:
Transparencies, stamp and write markers, water in a spray bottle, whisper white cardstock, stamps, embellishments

Step 1:
Scribble on the transparency with your markers......not much to that huh??

Step 2:
Mist your scribbles with water until the colors start to get runny.....Oooooo difficult!!

Step 3:
Press your white cardstock into the color and pull off

Step 4:
Finish your card!

Now is that not one of the easiest things ever??  And look at that background!  It looks like a sky huh???  I love, love, love it!!  Now.....you all go smack some acetate and let me know how it goes!  Stay tuned for a fun project later this week!

Why Me????

I don't know what the deal is! I had some uploading problems last week, so I finally downloaded Mozilla Firefox and that fixed the problem! Well, now it won't work! I pull up firefox and it takes all day to load one stinkin' page! I haven't even dared to try and get to the dashboard and write or upload pictures! I have a new tutorial all ready to go too! I guess I'll have to get firefox off my computer, then download it again! This really aggravates me! Hopefully I can get it to downloaded this evening sometime and then I will post that fun tutorial!!

Will Melanie break her computer??? Will she throw it out the window??? Will she have patience???? (not likely) Stay tuned to find out..........

Super easy project!!

I went to Target the other day and picked up some little notebooks that are so cute. I saw that Jenn Balcer had altered some you can look at her's here ---> Jenn Balcer » Target Lovin’....so I thought I would take a stab at it. They are kraft colored with different colored "bindings". I bought two of them to alter.....one with turquoise and one with black bindings. They also have an elastic that wraps around from the back to hold them closed. So here's a picture of the one I altered.
I absolutely love dark brown with turquoise! The ribbon I chose with the single stitch inspired me to put faux stitching on the monogram and on each layer of the mats for the monogram and flowers! I think it turned out pretty cute. It was pretty simple to put together. I put the ribbon on with some super duper sticky tape, stamped the letter M in turquoise with letterpress alpha, used my white signo gel pen to put some faux stitching on the M. Then I cut the mats for the letter and did faux stitching on them. I stamped the flower from shapes and shadows in turquoise and put a chocolate chip dot in the center of each. I matted the flowers on chocolate chip and then did faux stitching around them. I'm ready for my close-up!! (Don't look too closely.....my faux stitching isn't perfect!) The last thing I did was tie some ribbon on the elastic. This was a pretty fast and easy project! Stay tuned for another episode....and maybe I'll actually get a new technique up on Tuesday!

How about a little somethin' sweet??

In honor of my ribbon cutting 101 technique, I thought I would offer a little blog candy!

I have several different ribbons cut to about 1/2 yard each. Don't ya just love that sheer ribbon with the polka dots??? All you have to do is come visit often and leave a comment on my posts. You will get one entry per comment. I will also give 4 entries for an email subscription......see the left side bar. I will draw a winner next Thursday, June 28th. Good luck and be sure to check back to see if you've won so you can send me your info!

Ribbon Cutting 101

You can cut ribbon you say??? Well, this technique tutorial is about an easier way to make a "bow" and save some ribbon as you don't have to use a long length of ribbon to go all the way around the backside of the cardfront too!! It's not really a bow per se......well, you'll see....

Supplies:
Cardstock, ribbon, stamps glue dots, embellishments

Step 1:
Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to go the length of the card plus have some left for tying. Tie the ribbon around your finger......I tied my ribbon with one long side and one shorter side so that my knot would be off center on my finished card.

Step 2:
Cut loop of the ribbon on the bottom of the loop...the knot is on the top..... while it is still on your finger. Cut ribbon at an angle to help reduce fraying.

Step 3:
Glue long ends on back of cardfront. You will have to attach cardfront to standard card to hide the back of the cardfront. Finish your card!

Sorry My blog was locked!

They locked me out of my blog because it was suspected to be a spam blog by google's spam robots!! HA! So there was no getting in for anyone for a couple days. I couldn't change anything either, which was actually ok because I've had sick kids since Friday.....which is in my Father's Day post.....well last night my 7 year old son, Porter, started with the puking and Levi still wasn't over it as of 3 am this morning, we had to change the sheets in my bed at 3 am! He seems to be better today though! So stay tuned and I will try to get the technique up ASAP!!!

Happy Father's Day!

I made this card for my husband this morning for Father's Day. We have 2 sick little ones....Bowman, our almost 3 year old, has been running a fever and feeling cruddy for 2 days now and Levi, our 15 month old, woke up puking this morning!! Happy Father's Day, Huh??? Needless to say, we missed church this morning and I haven't had much time to get a card made this weekend, because Bowman has been very clingy! Lindey, our 13 year old, watched the little ones this morning , which was a feat in itself, because neither one wants to be put down, so I could at least get a card made.

Supplies:

Stamps: Canvas Background
Cardstock: White, Coral, Celery, Close to Cocoa
Ink: Versamark
Other: Various ribbons, silver brads, red line sticky tape

I stamped the coral, celery, and cocoa cardstocks with the canvas and versamark to give it a little bit of a fabric look. I evenly spaced 3 silver brads to look like hangers. I tied each piece of ribbon to look like a tie....I actually know how to tie a tie!! I stuck the ties down with super duper sticky tape....that's not the actual name....but it really is super duper sticky, so I like to call it that! The last thing I did was handwrite a sentiment inside.......Your love "ties" our family together! AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!! Ain't I sweet? Hope he likes it!!! To be continued.......Stay tuned!

Do you have any questions????

Are you perplexed? Need a hint? Just wanna know how to do something??? Email me and ask whatever your heart desires.....well as long as it has to do with crafting!! ::blush:: I will post the questions and answers in a post for all to see!! So bring em on!!! If I don't know the answer, I'll find out for you!!! Email me and then stayed tuned!!

A happy ending to the uploading saga!!

I finally figured out my problem of not being able to upload photos, or at least a solution to it. I was using Internet Explorer, so I downloaded Mozilla Firefox, and whaddaya know??? It works now!!! No more freezing up or anything. I'm so glad I finally found a solution, because I was so close to pulling all my hair out and I really don't think I'd look very nice bald. I even got it done while having 8 kids at my house yesterday!!! I had my 5 and my brother-in-law's 3. I'm surprised I'm still sane today! Now, if I can just finish cleaning and organizing my craft room, I'd be all set! I started cleaning and organizing this past Sunday, and I haven't gone back in to clean or organize since then. I'll work on that this weekend while my husband is home! He can watch kiddos while I lock myself away! I plan to work on a project today at some point to post too. I have such high hopes for my kids to behave themselves! I really need to get something made for my husband for Father's day too!! I don't even have an idea for him yet!! Nothing like the last minute to figure it out!! I'll post a photo of whatever I make for him too....that may be my project for today!!! Stay tuned for another exciting, fun-filled episode!

Drum Roll Please........

Alrighty then! The first technique for Technique Tuesday (even though it is Thursday) is masking. I thought I would start with the basics and work towards more difficult techniques. Masking is a fun way to add dimension to your stamped artwork.......YES ARTWORK......I don't want to hear any snickers and giggles out there and I don't want to hear.....well I'm not artistic! You can be!!! With a little rubber and ink....oh and paper!! I've also decided to keep my supply list pretty general, that way you can choose your own stamp sets and cardstock colors.

Supplies:
Cardstock, stamps, ink, post-it note, scissors

Step 1:
Stamp the image you want in the foreground onto the post-it note, making sure you get some of the image over the sticky so it will stay in place, then cut out as close to image as possible.


Step 2:
Stamp the image you want in the foreground onto your white cardstock. Then place your cut out image over it, making sure you line it up accurately.


Step 3:
Stamp the image you want in the background over the post it image.

Step 4:
Peel off post-it to reveal images. Color in images and finish card with your choice of embellishments.

Steam is coming from my ears!!!!

Can you hear the train whistle sound???? I have been trying to upload a picture for the past 2 hours now and IT WILL NOT WORK!!!!!! I'm furious! Every time I try to upload it goes to the little uploading photos screen and the little blue bar that shows the progress slowly.....painfully moves across to about half way then NOTHING....the little screen goes blank and it says done where the little bar used to be! So, I sit and wait to see if it will miraculously say images successfully uploaded....waiting, waiting, waiting........STILL WAITING ::LOUD SCREAMING:: (ok, not really loud screaming....my family is asleep) But I can feel my blood pressure rising!!! Oh, and I'm hearing that train whistle!!! I've even signed off the internet thinking that maybe my connection wasn't that great, nope, that wasn't it. So then I restarted my computer, nope that wasn't it either!! Train whistle again!! I'm about to commence banging my head on the desk if this doesn't work!!! I absolutely despise having dial up. We can't get high speed where we live, so I'm stuck with dial up!!!! I guess I will try again in the morning and see if it will work. So until then, you may want to get some cotton balls to stuff in you ears if you want to be able to sleep tonight as I will still be steaming for several more hours I'm sure!!! Stay tuned for another dramatic episode.......

ARGHHHHHHH!!

So this morning I went in my craft room to make a card for my technique tutorial, I set all my supplies up to take a picture and my camera died!!! So I am now charging the battery so I can take photos of the steps. I know, I have tons of anxious viewers out there on pins and needles because they can't wait to see what I'm going to come up with next!!!! So to all my MANY fans......I'm truly sorry that you will have to wait until later today to see my exquisite work!! ::snort:: Anyway, I just wanted to update so no one thinks I fell off the face of the earth!!

Busy busy busy

Yes I'm still alive!! I've just been busy this weekend. You know 5 kids can keep you from doing the things you WANT to do!!! My husband and I spent time with our kids Saturday morning and afternoon, then we went on a date that night......to Barnes and Noble. That is our favorite date, mostly because it is free, and it is really quiet!!! We just sat and looked through books and magazines for about 3 1/2 hours!!! At one point I looked up and said, you know we are sad! We aren't even talking to each other! He looked up and grinned, then I grinned......and we both went back to reading!!! ::giggle:: It was great just being together in the quiet!! Anyway, enough blah blah about that!! I've been busy cleaning out my craft room so that I can actually work in there!! I was really hoping to get it done on Sunday afternoon, but kids don't let me get much done, so I will work on it again in the morning, and hopefully get something more accomplished in there!!! I'm still really excited about getting this blog on a roll.....so just stick with me these first few days and let me get the kinks out and then I'll have some fun stuff!!!! Stay tuned for another exciting episode!

Patience is a virtue????

Well, then I'm not very virtuous!! HA! I have no patience!! I was going to wait until tomorrow to post a project, but I decided I can't stand it anymore! Plus, I want to see if I can put a picture in. So here is a picture of the project and directions will follow......

I'm not going to give exact dimensions for the background, because that will depend on your frame size.

Supplies are all SU unless noted otherwise:

Cardstock: Black, White, Red, Orange, Blue, Pink Passion, Yellow, Lilac, Green Galore

Ink: White, Red, Orange, Blue, Pink Passion, Yellow, Lilac, Green Galore, Versamark

Stamp sets: Crayon Kids (retired), Headline Alphabet, Small Script (retired), Wonderful Words

Accessories: Assorted coordinating ribbons (various suppliers), Enamel Charms (Making Memories)

Tools: Sizzix Die Cutter, Tag Set Die, paper cutter, adhesive, sponges

Other: Black frame (Walmart)

Cut black cardstock to fit your frame. Stamp Crayon kids in white to mimic a chalkboard. Cut tags with sizzix in each color. Sponge edges of tags with matching ink color. Stamp Headline Alphabet in colors to correspond with tag colors onto white cardstock. Cut out letters leaving a small mat of white. Glue each letter to tags. Stamp small script words and Love from Wonderful Words sets in versamark on tags in various positions. Tie coordinating ribbons through holes of tag. Glue tags down to black cardstock. Add enamel charms. Frame!

Ideas

I thought I would list some of the ideas I have for this blog. I was thinking I would have a new technique on Tuesdays and I will call it Technique Tuesday.....WOW I'm so original huh??? Then I will have different projects sprinkled in here and there. I will also occasionally offer some Blog Candy. This will be a prize offered for leaving comments. I will randomly select a winner and let me just tell you, I've got a lot of extra stamp sets and inks and whatnot just waiting for new homes! So be sure to check in often to watch for your chance to win a little candy!! I will start with techniques next week. I'm still tweaking my site this week. I'm trying to figure out how to make a new header and stuff. But stay tuned for more!!!

Well, here goes nothing!! I've decided that I would start a blog in order to share my passion for all things paper,stamps, scrapbooking and crafting!! I will share techniques, projects, and some really fun ideas. I will have photos of my creations for your viewing pleasure! Please feel free to email me in order to get help with any of the projects I post! I will gladly help you with anything! I'm so excited to get this started. I hope everyone enjoys my ramblings on this blogging journey and hopefully you will find some things you want to make along the way!!