What's New and MM?

I'm still here... have you been wondering what's going on in my life? Well, my littlest one hit the 3-month mark over the weekend (can't believe that!) and life with kids is pretty busy, but on top of that, we have also decided to sell our house, so that makes life pretty crazy around here lately! Having to keep the house spotless for showings is near impossible with little ones! haha.

Being kicked out of the house for showings and raising two kids has left me little time for designing, but I also didn't want to craft much because my space becomes buried in mere seconds when I'm working. :) It's an organized chaos though... but I didn't think potential buyers would appreciate that.

Anyway, some of the projects I'll be showing you over the next few posts are ones I've done a while back, but haven't yet had the opportunity to showcase them here on my Blog. Here is one CASEd from one seen on Pinterest:

Paper: Basic Gray, Pool Party, Silver
Ink: Basic Gray
Stamps: One in a Million
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Punches: Heart, Owl,
Apothecary Framelits, Typeset Alphabet
Accessories: Pearls

I added a few more layers and dimension then the one I saw and I'm happy with how it turned out. Although, many ask me what "MM" stands for. I thought it was pretty clear that it stood for "Mr. and Mrs." but maybe I'm wrong... what are your thoughts?

Thanks for sticking with me during this time where I'm horribly neglecting my Blog. I appreciate your following and comments!

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Fancy Wedding

Sometimes I create cards that are truly unique and "one of a kind" because for one reason or another, I wouldn't be able to create an exact replica. Today's card is an example of that (and you'll see why below)... Check it out:

Paper: Very Vanilla
Ink: Soft Suede, Baja Breeze
Stamps: Sweet Essentials, One in a Million
Tools: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Decorative Label Punch
Accessories: Pleated Ribbon (retired), Antique Brad

The beauty of this card is that the flower is created from some tulle I saved from another wedding (that had mints in it). I reused the piece of tulle by punching out some scallops and folding them in fourths to create my flower. I then simply added some pleated ribbon and the sentiment and the card was complete.

This card will never be created again because I do not have the tulle anymore and although I managed to punch some scallops from the tulle, it was a real pain & wasted a lot of it trying to get good punches. I love how this card turned out, but it's not worth it to try and recreate it. :)

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Hearts of Love

Whether for Valentine's Day, anniversary or perhaps a wedding, this card works. I didn't make it specific for any of the mentioned occasions, but the sentiment just speaks love...

Paper: Naturals White, Beau Chateau DSP (retired), More Amore
Ink: Soft Suede
Stamps: One in a Million
Tools: 2-3/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Lacy Brocade TIEF
Accessories: Dazzling Details, 5/8" Flower Trim, tiny brad

I just love the new Flower Trim in the Spring Catty! It's so versatile... especially when you cut it up like I did to make single flowers. :) I created my paper flower from a scallop punch, if you can believe that! I punched 4 scallops, crumpled them and then folded in quarters. I punched tiny holes at the point and held the entire thing together with a tiny brad.

I cut apart some of the hearts from the laser cut sheets in the More Amore Specialty DSP. I stamped the sentiment on one of them and adhered them to my embossed & sponged layer. I thought it needed a little more "bling" when it was all put together, so I used some dazzling details along parts of the embossing. I think this card has a vintage feel to it...

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph

Simply Scrappin' Kits Not Just for Scrappin'!

I have several Simply Scrappin' kits and coordinating accents sitting in my craft space - some retired and some current. Since I'm not much of a scrapbooker, I wanted to start using them for cards. Here are some of my first attempts using bits from the retired Nursery Nest suite:

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, WW, Blushing Bride, Marina Mist, Nursery Nest DSP
Ink: Soft Suede
Stamps: Baby Boutique, One in a Million
Accessories: Nursery Nest Accents, Baker's Twine, Buttons

I just realized that I didn't use my Big Shot!! It's not very often that that happens and as I've posted before, it's always hard for me to keep things simple. Well, I guess without consciously realizing it, I kept things simple. I guess i have Stampin' Up! kits to thank!

I'm really happy with how these turned out... the colours were pulled right from the Nursery Nest DSP and with "peel and stick" accents, what could be easier?! To accent, I played with different ribbons, but in the end chose my go-to Baker's Twine. I added some super cute buttons to each - two from the Twitterpated set that was in the last Occassions Mini (now retired) and one from the Brights Collection. They're not perfect matches to the other colours in the papers, but work just as well. After all, babies are "cute as a button", so I couldn't resist using some.

I urge you to give using your Simply Scrappin' and Accent kits too. You may be surprised what you come up with. I'm challenging myself this week to use some others too... so stay tuned!

What do you think?

Until next time, stay crafty!
Steph