2012 is fast approaching!

I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by.  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family & friends.  We celebrated at my brother-in-laws house and had a nice Christmas.  To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to the holidays since this would be the first one without my mom, but it turned out pretty well.  Dad & I enjoyed a nice homemade breakfast on Christmas morning, then headed over to Mark's for dinner.   Christmas Eve was spent with friends and all in all it was a great weekend.  One of the better holidays I have had in a few years. 

Now on to business :)  If you have your eye on anything in the Holiday Mini, now if the time to buy!  The catalog ends on January 3, 2012.  Check it out here along with the main Idea Book.  Stampin' Up! has added some great things to the Clearance Rack - shop early because once they sell out, it is gone, gone, gone! 

The Occasions Mini starts up on January 4th & there are some great new products to be had!  I will be having a workshop at my place on Saturday, January 7th to showcase some of the new toys!  If you would like to join me, leave me a comment & I will get the details over to you.  If you would like to have a workshop at your house, just let me know & we can set a date.

Hope you have a happy & safe New Years weekend!  Enjoy the time off if you have it or if you are like me - enjoy the light traffic on the way to work in the morning!


Cheers & happy stamping,
Mel

Holiday Sale items!

Hi everone!  It has been a while since my last post.  Haven't forgotten about this blog, just needed to find the time to locate my camera & take some pics of the great stocking stuffers & holiday gifts I have been making.  Hope you enjoy!  If you would like to pick up some of these treats, come by Holiday Sale at Marshall high school in Falls Church on Saturday, Dec 10th from 10 - 3pm.  I would love to see you!  All of these all make a great teacher or co-worker gifts!

 

Great Stocking stuffers - used the cellophane bags found in holiday mini from Stampin' UP!  If you need any bags, they are available for purchase until January 3rd!

 don't you just love Rudolph??

Some cute little bags filled with goodies.  I used the top note die for the Joy of Christmas bags & the tag punch for the For You bags (filled with Hershey's Nuggets) 

Dasher gift box - filled with your choice of York Peppermint Patties or Hershey bars. These all make a great teacher or co-worker gifts!

A wonderful snow man gift holder - this one has a packet of hot chocolate inside!  My upline, Rose-Ellen Eastman, shared the idea at a meeting back in October & I knew I needed to make some of these!

I think the Big Shot is one of my favorite tools from Stampin' UP!  They have this wonderful Matchbox Die, which I used for these cute snowflake boxes - with Hershey's Nuggets inside - who doesn't love the gift of chocolate?

Last but not least - coasters!  I love the Medallion background stamp and it is perfect for making coasters.  Add a little cork on the bottom to protect the furniture & you have a great place to set your drink!

Sorry for the blurry pics - I can't seem to take pictures properly :)  hope you like the creations!  Happy holidays to you all - may you find your days filled with laughter & good times with family & friends.

Sale at Kettler

This past weekend, there was a vendor sale at Kettler Ice Rink during a synchronized figure skating event.  I took a gamble and had a table.  It was a fun day, not much in sales, but I wasn't really surprised.  Everyone was there for the skating!  I received lots of compliments on the items I had made and one person told me I should be charging more for the coasters!  Here are some pictures of the display & the things I was selling.   Pictures didn't turn out that great - sun was shining in the windows behind & I think I had too much coffee - they are a little blurry :)

The next post will include some pictures of the individual items I was selling & if you would like to buy some for teacher gifts or stocking stuffers, leave me a comment or email me at MelissaCzarnecki@gmail.com!

Free Big Shot for new demonstrators in October!

Check out the details of this fabulous video on YouTube from Shelli Gardner, cofounder & CEO of Stampin' Up!  I would love to have you on my team. Contact me today & start creating!

Thank you gift boxes

I had an open house a week ago & the order came in yesterday.  I wanted to give a little thank you to the ladies who ordered.  Thanks to the tutorial from Cristy Butzen, found here, I was able to create these beautiful boxes in less than 30 minutes for all 6 using the new Simply Scored in the Holiday Mini from Stampin' Up!  I must admit, I was hesitant to buy it, but it is fabulous and super easy to use.

I added some buttons & twine inside as the gift.  You could also fill them with candy for the holidays.  If you would like to learn more about this product or would like to host a party at your house, let me know!

Holiday Mini Open House

Join me at my Open House to share some new products from the Holiday Mini!  Stop by Friday night, Sept 9th from 7-10 or Saturday afternoon, Sept 10th from 2-5.  RSVP on my Stampin' Up! site & I will get the address to you.  Hope you can make it!

So many birthdays!

So many friends with birthdays, so little time to make the cards!  Hope you enjoy these!  The last one will be my birthday card from the office since I make all the cards we give out to co-workers on their special day.

Homework

At our July meeting, my upline gave us some homework.  We received some new product & have to create.  Oh the pressure!  Came up with this last night since I know I have a lot of thank yous to get out in the mail one of these days.  Hope you like it!

Paper: Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Whisper White
Ink: Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder
Stamps: delicate doilies, pennant parade
Other: circle punches, wisteria wonder ribbon, dimensionals

Happy birthday mom!

Today is my mom's birthday and I CASEd this card idea from Michael Funke's blog Stampin-Style.  See his creations here.

Lovely as a tree

I have been stamping for over 4 years now and always avoided the tree stamp sets.  I don't know what I was thinking!  Recently I purchased the Lovely as a Tree set.  Let me tell you this may be the best decision I have made this quarter!  The stamps are beautiful and you don't really need to add more than the stamp to make the card stand out.  Of course, when you have more time, you can embellish a bit more.  For a quick card, I came up with this one.  Enjoy!

Enjoy the simple things

This year's Summer Mini has some wonderful sets & accessories!  Here is one card that I CASEd from the mini using the Touch of Kindness stamp set.  It was also the first time I used the circle scissors plus - this is one tool I need to learn as it makes things so my quicker!

Strength & Hope

Stampin' Up is donating $2 from the purchase of the Strength & Hope stamp set in the summer mini catalog to the Breast Cancer Research Fund.  If you would like to schedule a workshop, please contact me!

Click here to go to my Stampin' Up! website to view the summer mini & the 2010-2011 idea book.

April promotion - a bit late

I was preparing to host a workshop in April to showcase the new four frames stamp set & designer paper that was the April promotion, but apparently I ran out of time.  Are you sure April has 30 days?  Seems like there were only 10 or so!  Learned how to use a brad on the ribbon on split coast stampers - quickly becoming a favorite technique!

Enjoy the card, the paper & stamp set will be available in the new catalog coming July 1st!

Hello Spring!

Wanted to share the beautiful card I received from my friend Mary K.

Thanks bunches - I love getting cards!

Its been a while!

I can't believe it has been over 2 months since I posted anything.  Well today, you get a bunch of cards.  I have been stampin' but I never seem to make the time to take pictures & add them to the site.  Hope you enjoy them!

Back in March, Stampin' Up!  was selling some grab bags. Here are a few of the cards I came up.  I loved getting the bags because all of the paper was already cut and ready to use!

Because I Care

I make these cards to share because I care :)  Hope you enjoy.  This stamp set is a hostess benefit from the current Stampin' Up! catalog.  If you would like to learn how you can get it, send me an email at MelissaCzarnecki@gmail.com & we can set up a workshop.  I would love to show you how to make this card!

I used two different colors for the flower & two are heat embossed & one is basic.  I love the look of all three.  Which one do you like best?  Please leave a comment & let me know - I appreciate the feedback.

Stamp set: Because I Care (hostess - level 1)

Cardstock: certainly celery, very vanilla
ink: certainly celery, poppy parade & marina mist (depending on the card!)
other: versamarker, framed tulips embossing folder

card 1: embossed marina mist

Card 2: embossed poppy parade

Card 3: plain marina mist

Saturday cards...

Just a few cards I have been working on today.  Have a lot of projects that need completion & today is the day to get them done (along with cleaning, organizing, napping...)    I hope you like them - Enjoy!

Sweet One

I used Blushing bride cardstock & ink, Elegant lines embossing folder & white organza ribbon, So many scallops stamp set (retired)

Happy Hellos

The original idea for this card came from Rose-Ellen.  Check out her amazing creations on her blog at http://www.mystampingfriends.blogspot.com/

Cardstock: Whisper White, Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz 

Ink: Marina Mist, Pear Pizazz

Stamp sets: Build a Blossom, Lots of thoughts (retired)

Other: Square lattice embossing folder, build a brad, dotted scallop ribbon border punch

Happy birthday Sock Monkey!

Cardstock: tempting turquoise, real red, whisper white, kraft (non-SU)
Ink: real red, basic black, versamark; watercolor pencils for the monkey & hat
Stamp sets: Sock Monkey, Punch Bunch (Saleabration), Medallion
Other: tempting turquoise ribbon, pewter hodgepodge hardware (both retired)

Spring is just around the corner!

This card makes me smile.  I used it at a party yesterday & we were all joking about what the birds were saying to each other!


Watercolor pencils - my new favorite toy from Stampin' Up!   They are so simple to use with the blender pens. I have had troubles in the past using the blender pens with markers (not patient enough I think!), but I love how easy it is to blend with the pencils.  I will keep trying with the markers to improve :)  

Cardstock: whisper white, marina mist, melon mambo
Ink: marina mist, melon mambo, wild wasabi
Stamp set: happy together
Other: Oval punches, basic rhinestones, watercolor pencils & blender pen

Butterfly mobile

This past Friday night, I decided to work on making a mobile.  I used the Beautiful Butterflies die cut, smooth cardstock & the patterns designer series paper (marina mist & peach parfait) from Stampin' Up!  It took almost four hours to complete, but I wasn't going to quit.  When I make another, I have to research the string to use.  this mobile has plastic jewelry string and some silver jewelry closers at the top to keep it tied on.

The top is a piece of thin wood (balsa maybe?) that I found at a store.  I covered it in Marina Mist cardstock & used the crop-a-dile to punch my holes through.

The butterflies were layered together & fastened with an eyelet. The most challenging part was getting it balanced properly.  I tried three different types of string/thread which is why it took so long!

All in all, I am pleased with the finished product & it made my mom smile when I took it over to her - so it is a success in my book!

Love you much!

I don't send Valentine's to anyone, but I can't seem to stop making them!  I set a goal for this week - to try to make a new card each day.  For those of you that know me, it isn't an easy task & work is busy, so tonight I am taking the night off from the stamps.  I created this little Valentine last night.   Might use it as a make & take!

Card stock: Real red, whisper white, basic black
Ribbon: 3/8" real red tafetta
Ink: real red, basic black, pear pizzazz
Stamp sets: Valentine defined, Love you much
Glimmer paper - from the Occasions Mini catalog
Small heart punch

Simple & easy Valentine card

Whisper White, Real Red & Designer series paper stack - Real Red
Valentine Defined stamp set
Real Red ink
Real Red 3/8" tafetta ribbon
Heart to Heart Extra Large punch

I punched holes in each side so I could tie a knot on both ends & save a little on the ribbon.  Next time I make it, I am going to use eyelets to secure the ribbon without tearing the paper.

A few more...

baby shower invite for a friend

simple thank you

guy's birthday card

Just a few cards I have made over the years.

Tart & Tangy Friday night!

I was searching for some cute ideas for the tart & tangy set the other day & this one is cased, but I have to find the info for where I found it!  When I do, I will include their info, because the cards are great.  Had to improvise a little and cut out my slices since my punch was a little too large.  I like the final look of the card, but the next time I make it, I won't try to put the sentiment on the slices, just next to it.  I think if the sentiment was a little longer, it would look better (like the one I cased this from!)

Enjoy!

Quick & Easy

So Saffron is my favorite color as you will come to find out!  I was looking for something simple & easy - this was it!  I used wild wasbi for the grass and baja breeze for the butterfly.  I used the butterfly punch & inspired by nature for the grass & sentiment.  The sentiment didn't come though as well as I would like, but it gives me a starting point to improve from.   Things can only get better, right?

Just playing around

Been working on a few cards to use for a workshop or open house.  Wishing my camera would take a better picture of them!  My Valentine card is lacking a little, but it was a first go around, so I am pleased that I came up with it.  I got the Build a Roo set free because the stampin' scrub was not available last month.  I think the next time I try this I will stamp the hearts on WW cardstock & color them in.  I lost the detail by using the riding hood red ink on the matching paper.

One of my favorites

I love the chocolate bunny stamp that Stampin' Up sold last year in the mini.  It was one that I knew I would use immediately.  I stamped it with versamark & then used clear embossing powder.  Doesn't it look good enough to eat?

Little history

I have always been crafty as my family & friends know.  In 2006, I was invited to my first card workshop & have been creating cards ever since!  Last year, I became a demonstrator with Stampin' Up.  If you would like to learn more about the cards you see here or would like to host a workshop, let me know!

Hope to post some card samples this weekend!