Rejoice / Easter Banner

Last month I shared a valentine banner you could hang across a mantel.  But you can also create table top banners.  This one was created using a chipboard bi-fold album I had in my stash from years ago.  I'm not sure if anyone still makes these, but you could make your own. 

A lot of the supplies I used are old, so I'm not going to include a detailed list this time.  But I will tell you that the beautiful cross is made by Rubber Stampede and it's called Elegant Cross.  I'm pretty sure I bought it at Hobby Lobby last year, so it may still be available.  The butterfly is Layer's of Color. "Rejoice in the miracle of Easter" is a digital image from DeeDee's digi's.

The backgrounds are all patterned paper in pastel colors and then I distressed here an there using the same cream acrylic paint I used on the chipboard letters.

"For God so loved the world ..." is also a digital image.  Most of the time, when I purchase digital images, I make the name of the shop I bought it from part of the file name.  Unfortunately I didn't with this one : ( . 

Hope you are inspired to create your own Easter banner!  I'd love to see it.

And I want to share that I am thrilled to be the guest designer for Sweet N Sassy this month!  Their April new release blog hop is this Thursday and I hope you will join us!  There will also be a party over at SCS on this thread HERE.  You will be able to participate in challenges and possibly win some stamps!!  There are some real cutie patootie's being released this month and I can't wait to share what I have designed with 2 of the new release sets! 

 

 

 

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Challenges

 

Paper Sundaes (sun) - Easter

Stamptacular Sundays (Sun) - playing with pastels

Papertake Weekly (tues) - anything goes

Southern Girls (thur) - you got something to say??

Crafty Secrets - Sweet Blessings

Another Easter card for you today.  This one was really easy to create using one of Crafty Secrets paper cut-outs.  Aren't those bunnies too cute!!  I stamped on the ribbon.  Are you making Easter cards this year??  I'd love to check yours out as well.  Just link me up in the comments section.

Have a great day!

Melisa

UPDATE

I'm so excited that this card was a winner over at the For Fun Challenge Blog!!  I won $15 worth of digital stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps!  Thank you!

  

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Challenges
Sundays with Chrissy (sun)

Creative Inspirations (sun)

Cupcake Craft (mon) - inspired by a song (here comes peter cottontail)

For Fun (wed)

Stampin' with the Dragon (fri)

Paper and Such ( tues)

What does Easter mean to you?

I love cute little bunnies, chicks and butterflies, everything that says "spring" and celebrates new life.  But I have to share with you that we never did the "Easter Bunny" thing with our kids.  Actually we never did any of the make believe icons like the tooth fairy or Santa Claus either.  However we did let your children know that other families did like to play these make believe games with their children and did teach them they should have respect and not spoil that for other children, if that's what their family chose to do.  We don't judge others for making that decision.  I think sometimes people are just raised a certain way and generation to generation pass down the traditions without even considering there may be another option. 

So today I'm sharing with you, not because I judge you or how you choose to raise your children, but becuase I want you to know there are other options.  When I have shared this with other's over the years, I know some of them didn't get that.  But I grew up in a home that did have Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy.  And never once did my mother share with me the real reason these holidays are celebrated.  After I was saved, I actually regretted that she had not.  She grew up in a Christian home, so she knew.  And as an adult, I can't acutally remember a time when I really believed in any of them.  So was it really worth it??  My husband and I decided it was not.  We celebrated the holidays, but we chose to tell our children the real reason we did so.  We did fun acivities as well, so they had just as much fun as the other kids.  My children don't feel like they missed out on anything. 

Easter is a holiday that we celebrate because our Lord and Savior, Jesus died on the cross, that we might be saved, reconcilled with God, so that we can spend eternity with Him.  So as Easter approaches, I am so thankful for a holiday that reminds us that we have so much to be thankful for, but nothing greater than this.

Have a very blessed day!!

Melisa

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Project Details

Stamps : discontinued set by Mark's Finest Papers,  but there are lots of floral options that would work.  Robyn's Fetish has a Lily digital stamp that would work great and is marked down HERE. 

 And here is a link to some of her other Easter digi's HERE.  The bible with the Lily is very pretty. 

Here is my card using that image

For the Lily's on the top card, I highlighted area's with a yellow Copic, I think Y11, and they added adhesive using by 2-Way glue pen and sprinkled with clear glitter.

Lace : Hobby Lobby

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Challenges

Cardabilities (sunday) - sketch (card #1)

Paper Sundaes (sunday) - spring flowers

Sentimental Sundays - Easter

Craft Your Passion (monday) - monochromatic

The Pink Elephant (monday) - butterflies (card #1)

You can check out my huge list of daily challenges by clicking on the "Challenges" tab at the top of my blog. Let me know if I have missed any!

Impression Obsession Egg Shaped Card

Today I have an EGG-stra special card to share with you, teehee.  I thought it would be fun to create an egg shaped card for Easter.  I used a foam egg shaped I purchased at Hobby Lobby as a template ...  but I'm sure you could google "egg shape coloring page" and you would get lots of options for creating your own egg shaped card.  You can see the fold on the left side.  I used this fun image by Impression Obssession on this one.  Impression Obsession is another one of my favorites.  Especially image by Alesa Baker.  Check them out HERE.  I got some new ones a few months ago that I still haven't found time to use.  But hopefully soon.  Another thing I like about Impression Obsession is that you have a choice between wood mounted or saving 30% off for cling mount.  And since I end up removing all my stamps from the blocks and converting them, this is definitely a deal for me.  You can get some of the image in clear sets as well if that's what you prefer. 

Today's project features "Large Bunny in Watering Can".  I used a border puch and some ribbon to try and make it look like an easter egg.  The border punch is one of those large ones, I think by Martha Stewart.  And you can't really tell, but I used white fun flock on the bunny.  That alone is a reason to by a bunny stamp of some kind in my opinion, teehee. 

Have an egg-stra special day!

Melisa

You can view more of my projects :

using Impression Obsession HERE.

shaped cards HERE.

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Challenges

Creative Inspirations - Anything goes

Dutch Dare - cute and cuddly (my bunny)

Impression Obsession - spring is in the air

Stampendous - shaped card

Paper Play Challenges - spring colors

Raise the Bar - in the garden

The Crop Stop - shaped cards til March 31

Here comes peter cottontail ...

Good Morning.  Hope you are all having a great week.  I certainly am.  I'm on vacation and my daughter is here from Florida visiting.  This morning I"m off to my oil painting lesson.  It's oly lesson #2 and I'm still working on leaves, but I'm hoping to get promoted to fruit today.  I already have an idea for my first canvas.  I want to do 2 birds with yellow on them sitting on some dogwood branches. 

I'm also taking a new online class right now, "The Art of Wild Abandonment" - HERE.  It's an art journaling class.  I'm not so great with words and journaling, but there are some sketching lessons as well, so I know I will learm from it.  I signed up for the class on Christy Tomlison's blog, but the teacher so far is Junelle Jacobson.  Christy will be teaching part of it as well.  Junelle is so funny.  She is cute and fun like Christy.  So if you like Christy, you will love Junelle.

Today's card would be really quick to create because it's designed using a digital stamp by Angels Landing.  If you like cute critters ...  then you might want to check out this site.  Fabulous images!  This set is called "Bunny and Violets".  One of the things I liked about the set is that it came with a lot of different options.  While you are there check out the "Penguin Chicks".  I also found that they have some tutorials that might be helpful if you are new to working with digi stamps HERE.   AND on the BLOG, the artist gives some very specific coloring guides for using your copics with the images.  Just scroll through and look at the ones with Coloring Guide in the post title.  I really loved this tutorial on creating these mini-roses HERE on the Angel's Landing blog as well.

So hop on over and check them out and let me know what you think!

 

Vintage Easter Greetings from TX

  Aren't vintage images so wonderful!  I love old postcards.  I found a great site that has free vintage images / postcards you can download for a variety of holidays.  Check out Hub Pages HERE.

That is a link to the page where you can find the image I used on this card.  HERE is another link which will help you find vintage images for other holidays.  There is a search box as well.  Just type free vintage images and the holiday.   Hope you find something you like.  If you create something using a vintage image/postcard, I would love to see it.  Just leave me a link in the comments section!

That rose tree is so pretty.  When we lived at the rental there was a rose tree right outside my studio window.  That thing was still blooming in December!!  I love TX.  I would love to have one here at the house, but I don't know anything about roses.  I guess I need to make a trip to my local garden center.

I hope your day brought you something beautiful like that beautiful rose tree on the card!

Melisa

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Project Details

Stamps : Crafty Secrets (sentiment)

Patterned paper - really old Melissa Frances.  I pleated and inked paper to embellish. 

Spellbinders Labels Ten

He is Risen!

He is risen!  Hallelujah!

Oh what a wonderful feeling it is to know that I am free, because of what Christ did for me.  I still marvel, after all these years, that He died FOR ME.  It feels so personal and brings me a hint of sadness thinking of His suffering, knowing that I did not, nor will I ever deserve this kind of love.  A love that is so great that He suffered on the cross, was buried and rose again, FOR ME ...  so that my sins could be forgiven and I could be reconciled with God  ...  so that I could live a life of peace and joy in knowing that when I die, I will spend eternity with God.  What a wonderful feeling that I do not have to earn it.  The price has been paid.  If you would like more information on how you can have this kind of peace and joy, this assurance, this kind of love, then please feel free to email me - melisa.waldorf@yahoo.com.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16

Hallelujah!

If you missed the wonderful Easter post over on the Layers of Color blog this week, please take a moment to check it out HERE.

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Project Description

Trim patterned paper 3 1/8” x 4 ¼” Trim white card stock 2 ½” x 4 ¼” and emboss with Cuttlebug embossing folder. Distress with yellow ink.  Ink edges of both panels with black ink. Adhere white panel first then patterned paper panel over lapping to front of card. Adhere lace as shown. I use white wet glue along edges of lace/card and let dry before trimming. It prevents fraying once you cut it. Stamp sentiment on front of card. Stamp base of cross on yellow cardstock and front on white cardstock with black ink and trim. Trim / emboss white cardstock with Labels Eight Nestibilities  using Grand Calibur. Distress edges with yellow ink. Adhere to front of card as shown and add cross images. Embellish with yellow pearls.

Stamps : Layers of Color Gothic Crosses, sentiment Impression Obssession

Ink : Tsukineko VersaMagic Thatched Straw and VersaFine Onyx Black

Patterned paper : Lilybee Designs “This and That” 6x6 paper pad

Embossing Folder : Cuttlebug

Spellbinders Labels Eight Nestibilities and Grand Calibur

Lace : local craft store

Week 3 with Tuesday Throwdown

Oh what a fun sponsor Tuesday Throwdown has this week - The Cutting Cafe.  And this weeks challenge is "polka dots".  I have actually purchased digital files from The Cutting Cafe before.  Lots of cute images.

I used the Easter Bingo Cards Set and Easter Set #3

These egg-stra cute images are from the Easter Set #3 as well.

  The Cutting Cafe images are sold in sets.  The main difference in this digital company from most of the others I have shopped with is that the files are sent to you as .pdf's (Adobe Reader).  So, if you don't have a copy of Adobe Reader on your computer, you will need to download it (it's FREE).   This threw me off at first, because I'm used to just inserting an individual image in a document and then resizing it.  Resizing is more complicated with .pdf's.  So make sure you read over the instructions HERE before purchasing.  Once I figured that out, I was good to go!

So if you still need to throw together a couple of Easter cards, then digi images are the way to go at this point!

Have a blessed week!
Hugs,
Melisa

Easter Card using Digital Stamp

Good Morning Papercrafters.  I'm so excited to be the guest designer for Tuesday Throwdown Challenge Blog this month!

Each week we have been assigned a digital image and a theme.  This weeks theme is "spring" and the sponsor is Robyn's Fetish.  The digital image I used is "Lily".

I was given one image, but because it's a digital image, it is easy to flip and resize the image to create a pair.  It's difficult to see, but I added white glitter to the petals.  I used a 2-Way Glue Pen to adhere.  The yellow polka dot paper is from one of my new 6x6 paper pads "Gertie" (Stella and Rose) by My Mind's Eye.  I just love the bright colors in this pad and can't wait to use some of the other patterns in it. 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a blessed Tuesday!

hugs, Melisa

You can view more of my Easter projects HERE.

You can view more of my projects using Digital Images / Stamps HERE.

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On a personal note:

We are finally in the new house!  And I finally have all my supplies in my studio organized and I'm hoping to be back in the swing of things this week.  We are loving the new house.  Still lots of little projects to take care of, but now that we are in, we will slowly get those done.  And ....  my son has a job!!  Thanks for all of you who prayed about that for us.  4 month trial, and then hopefully he will be out on his own.  DH's back is much better as well.  Thank you to all my wonderful friends who have prayed for us!!

Easter Greetings

Hello Papercrafters.  I have the pleasure of playing along with the Christian Papercraft Magazine Design Team this month.  Each month on the 15th a new Design Team gallery opens with lots of inspiration for the theme they have chosen.  You can learn more about Christian Papercraft Magazine HERE.  Wonderfully sweet ladies over there, with bible studies, and challenges.  If you are looking for a place to hang out and spend some time with other Christian ladies who love papercrafting, then this just may be the forum for you!

I can not share the projects I designed for the DT gallery on my blog.  They are exclusive to CPCM.

But I will be posting some other Easter projects soon.  This one is an older one, but the stamp is still available by Impression Obsession.  Isn't that bunny so cute!  I used white fun flock to make him furry.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

hugs,

Melisa

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to all!  I hope you are enjoying a day surrounded by family and loved ones in celebration of the greatest day ever! 

And I just love this stamp that I found by Verses Rubber Stamp Company.  A perfect sentiment for today.  The cross is by Layers of Colors - Gothic Crosses.

Hear comes Peter Cottentail !

Easter is right around the corner, so I thought I had better get some cards done and in the mail.  

Tip : Stamping on Ribbon
Well not much of an explanation needed.  But my tip is to use a juicy pigment ink.  I used Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate on the pink ribbon above.  I love the Brilliance line of inks for a pigment ink.  I also use VersaMagic.

Here is an Easter tin I made last year.

Tip : Altering a vegtable can

So inexpensive to make.  It's actually a vegtable can.  Squeeze the sides together slightly to make it longer at the top.  I sprayed it with this yummy brown texture spray paint.  Then smeared on a little pink acrylic paint.  I used my Crop-a-dile to punch holes in the side.  I painted wooden beads and threaded them on some brown craft wire.  I twisted the wire down both sides of the beads and attached through the holes on the sides.   It would be even cuter if you added some wooden balls at the bottom to create feet!
 

Here is an Easter Banner I made last year and posted over on my TAC blog.

Tip : Cardboard Art

The entire project is acrylic paints, stamps, punches and ink.  I used cardboard, tore off parts of the front to reveal the riples. I painted the backgrounds of each panel with layers of acrylic paints. Messy and fun!!

The Easter set I used on the tin and the banner  is No Bunny Like You by TAC.  All the florals are various TAC sets as well.  The font is Big Timber by Technique Tuesday.  This has always been one of my favorite TT sets because it's open.  So you can stamp it on any type of pattered paper and you have a perfect match for a layout.  Or stamp a pattern and then the letter over that. 

I hope this gets you in the mood to create something fun for Easter!

You can view more of my Cardboard Art HERE.

You can view more of my Collage / Mixed Media projects HERE.

Spring Themed Blog Hop!

Aren't these little chicks so cute!  I couldn't help but add some yellow Fun Flock.  They are from a stamp set designed by Faith Hofrichter, aka markie's mom over at SCS.  Faith and her husband started their own online store, Mark's Finest Papers.  Faith calls her line "Speed the Cat Designer Collection".  If you get a chance check out some of her stamp designs and the other wonderful stamp companies she has in stock (Flourishes and Tattered Angels).