Sharing some cards

I know - I know - I've been a bad blogger! My "it's-almost-fall" resolution is to at least blog once a week! I do have an excuse, tho (besides being a stay at home mom during summer when school is out) is that I have an art show coming up on a little over a month and I still have several new paintings to complete (from start to finish). If you are local and you want to know more about the art show - send me a message and I'll give you details! Oh - and one more fun thing - I found out earlier this week that the Rougarou Gallery in New Orleans just sold one of my funky New Orleans themed paintings.

So - on to crafty things...

I recently had the wonderful experience of working with Paper Crafts Magazine's "Card Style" special publication. It's all about finding your style - from cute and fun, clean and graphic, classy and elegant and shabby and vintage.



Here are a couple of cards I made for the publication. There are under the "Shabby and Vintage" section.



Most of the papers on this card are from October Afternoon, as is the Candy Cane die cut.



Papers on this card are a mixture of Cosmo Cricket and October Afternoon. The stamp is from Stampin' Up!

Thanks for stopping by today! Check back in the next 7-8 weeks because I'm sure I'll have some news on the art show.

~melanie~

Almost September? How about a Sneak Peek?

I'm so excited that it's almost September! When you live in the southern heat zone, you can't wait for cooler weather and the sooner the better! Speaking of September... I have a sneak peek for the September CupCardsToGo Kit! The kit is called "Fragrance" and I loved playing with it! Here's my peekie:



Be sure to leave a comment here because as always with the CC2G blog hops, someone will be getting a prize! Your next stop for the blog hop is Wendi's blog. If you just happened upon this blog hop, go HERE and start from the beginning.

And if you want to hang around and reminisce about the days of summer, here are a few pics from our recent trip to Perdido Key, Florida.
















~melanie~

Cupcards To Go August Kit Goes LIVE

In case you didn't know, the CupCardsToGo August Kit "Riptide" is live!! What a fun "beachy" kit with some fun stamps from Lawn Fawn! Check out the Design Team Gallery for even more inspiration.

Here are some of my cards I made using this kit. It was so much fun!! Sure didn't do much for my island fever, though. I think I'm going to have to pack a bag and hit the beach - and soon!















Be sure to check out our Guest Designer for this month, Sudie! Now, hop on over to the CupCardsToGo website and get your kit before they are sold out - and do NOT forget the toppings, add-ons, etc.!

I'm serious about packing a bag and hitting the beach. I will most likely be awol yet another week but back with beach photos. We hit record temps here today with 106 degrees. Really. Not fun! Have a wonderful week and enjoy what is left of summer!


~melanie~

August 2010 Cupcards to Go Sneak Peek Blog Hop

I just had a blast creating with the August "Rip Tide" Cupcards To Go Kit. What a fun kit! The design team is having a hop today! You should have arrived here from Michele's blog.

Are you ready for my sneak peek?





And because I've been such a slacker on posting creations on my blog this summer - here's a little sneak I was going to put up last week. So - you get TWO sneaks (oh, boy - I'm gonna get in trouble for this one!)




Be sure to leave a comment here for the drawing for a prize!

Your next stop on this blog hop is the Cupcardstogo Facebook Page!

Thanks for stopping by! I may be scarce for a couple more weeks. I have a bad case of island fever - so I may disappear soon. Have a great week!



~melanie~

Cards and more cards

I know! I've neglected my blog lately. Been super busy. Did I mention I have an art show coming up in the early fall? Busy painting..painting.. painting. I do miss my paper crafting time more and more, tho.

I did get to make a few cards a few weeks ago.

I made this card from some of my Cupcardstogo June kit. The stamps are from Unity. The tiny alpha stickers are from Adornit.





This one uses Basic Grey's Koishi with Stampin' Up Stamp, and punches.



For this baby card, I paired Webster's Pages with Pink Paisley's Queen Bee.



I used Stampin' Up stamps for the sentiment on this card. Prima bling and flowers and a Martha Stewart butterfly punch. Papers are Webster's Pages and Pink Paislee.



Thanks so much for stopping by!!
~melanie~

Cards from July CupcardsToGo Kit!

Today is the day! In just 6 hours the Cupcardstogo July Kit goes on sale! This is such a fun, summer kit! Oodles and oodles of goodies and I didn't use it up yet - there's so much. And stamps....TWO stamps!!!

Here are my cards.























You won't want to miss this kit - so stalk the Cupcardstogo website tonight at 6pm Pacific time and get one before they are gone!

As my previous post states - I've been painting, painting, painting! Exciting things coming up including an art show in the fall. I'll update more later. I DO have some more cards to post - so check back soon! Have a wonderful long weekend. Happy Birthday to the greatest country in the world - USA!



~melanie~

Blog Hop Sneak Peek Time Again

Oh my gosh! It's sneak peek time again! This time for the July Cup Cards To Go!!! Can you believe it's almost July! Your mouth will water when you see this delicious summery card kit! Now, it pains me but I'm only allowed to show a very tiny peek. Not my rule - sorry!



And if you haven't been to their website, hop over there now. Sonda's been showing kit peeks this week! Awesome! And don't forget to leave a comment here and on the other blogs. Sonda has an awesome embellishment prize to give away!

If you are here for the hop, then your next stop is Chrys!

I'm off to take my daughter to art lessons. Have a wonderful day and stay cool!


~melanie~

Weekend in New Orleans

I just got back from a weekend in the French Quarter in New Orleans. I had a door open with an art gallery in the Riverwalk mall and jumped on it. I took eight paintings there and am going to work on new art and send it down. The owner also invited me to come anytime and paint live in her store - something I've always wanted to do in New Orleans. I'm so excited! You can bet I'll be working on finding a way back down there in the fall to do just that.
Here are a few photos from my trip.











If you happen to be going there, look for my art in the Rougarou Trading Post.
Thanks for stopping by. Check back soon for sneak peeks from the July CupCardsToGo Kit!

~melanie~

Happy Friday and a NEW painting!

I'm heading out to the big easy next week. Beignets at Cafe Dumonde, eating dinner on the balcony watching the horse and buggy and shopping quaint shops on Magazine Street. I can't wait. The street I'm staying on is loaded with art galleries. I'll come back with so much inspiration!

This is what has kept me busy this week. It's for a collector and it's going to hang in their apartment in the French Quarter. Someone asked me if this was me in the painting (since I own a dachshund) - so I guess the secret is out, huh. (wink).





This painting, "Mardi Gras Night" is 24" x 30" - which is why it took most of the week to complete. I'm working on another doxie painting now, and when that is finished I'm getting back to paper and scissors for a different kind of fun!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

~melanie~

First Friday in June!

Yeah - it's the first Friday in June. Know what that means? I have no idea!!!!

But I did want to share one of my lastest paintings today. I wanted to create the look of a vintage quilt along with one of my favorite summer flowers - sunflowers.








I used my scrapbook stash for the collage around the edges and center of flowers.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!


~melanie~

Cupcards To Go New Kit Reveal!

Have you seen the Cupcardstogo June kit that went live last night? If you haven't, you might want to run RIGHT NOW because there are a limited number of kits! Hurry...then come back here.

Here is a sneak peek of the cards I made with the kit!



You can see these cards and all the design team cards at the CC2G website.

Meanwhile, I'm still busy getting some paintings done. I might share a few here later this week. Have a great day!

~melanie~

It's Tuesday but...

...it feels like Monday! Gonna be a short week, huh.

I'll be in my art studio most of this week cranking out some more paintings so I may not have much on the blog this week, but I have a couple of cards to share today. Both of these cards use Cosmo Cricket's "Earth Love" collection.






The chipboard are Cosmo's Paul Bunyan alphas; alphas are Cosmo's tiny brown type. Border punch is from Stampin' Up!






Stamp is from Stampin' Up.

So - now it's time to announce the winner of the Paper Crafts magazine giveaway. Congratulations to Kristen! Check your e-mail.

Summer has officially begun! School is out, summer camps and swimming lessons are all scheduled. Looking forward to sunshine and swimming. Thanks for stopping by and have a "Sunshiney Day" (can you hear the Brady Bunch singing that one??)


~melanie~