Showing posts with label Melissa Phillips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Melissa Phillips. Show all posts

Friday, November 13, 2009

Pine Boughs & Holly + Giveaway

Two of my most favorite things to not only smell, but to decorate with for the holidays are pine boughs and holly. I was so excited to find beautiful images of these things in the Alpine Frost collection. The stamp set has the sweetest pine bough…filled with detail…the rubons are intricate and beautiful as well and I couldn’t wait to do a bit of stamping with the rich colors associated with this set along with adding in the pine tree rubon somewhere as my focal point.



The colors in this collection remind me of a country Christmas complete with jumbo pine cones and delicate snowflakes…imagine getting cozy in a cabin for the holidays and peeking out a frosty window…that’s just the feeling this collection gives.





It’s been so much fun visiting with you this week. Hope your holidays are merry and bright!
Melis


Thanks for an inspiring week, Melissa! We love how well all of your posts showcased the beautiful & classy style of your projects.

Which post was your favorite this week? Leave a comment answering this question and you will be entered into a giveaway to win some of the products Melissa used throughout the week (as shown below - 20 papers, epoxy stickers, frames & tags, ribbon, and rub-ons from the Alpine Frost and Christmas Mint collections)! Just leave your comment by Sunday November 15th at midnight and we will announce the winner Monday. Be sure to check back next week to see if you are the winner because if we don't hear from the winner by November 23rd we will pick a new winner!


Thursday, November 12, 2009

Deck the Halls

I’m a sucker for sweet, vintage Christmas decorations and right now finding vintage inspired images and replicas is so easy. There’s something about an old fashioned Santa Claus, bottle brush trees, Rudolph and Frosty, and tinsel that takes me back to the ornaments that we hung on our family tree each year as children. These things never go out of style, they only grow more cherished and important over time.

For my project today, I wanted to create a wall hanging with a large Bingo Card as my base.



All it took was to pick out some playful paper from the Christmas Mint line to use as my background and everything came together quickly.



The next step was to layer on all the goodies such as a vintage inspire postcard, bottle brush tree complete with mica flakes as the snow, glittered chipboard flourishes, traditional holly berry leaves, a glittered chipboard snowflake, a crepe paper ruffle and trim along the bottom edge, a bright cherry red vintage button, and tinsel to hang it with.





Let your favorite memories inspire you to create something for your home…..it will be like a walk down memory lane each time you glance at it throughout the holidays.
Melis

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Fresh from the Oven

One of my most favorite places to find inspiration is in cookbooks or magazines that have a place tucked away just for beautiful, freshly baked creations. I love to see how others package their treats, how they’re displayed, and even the colors used in either the presentation or the baked goods themselves. Inspiration is everywhere and right now as the holidays approach, ideas are everywhere. My most favorite thing to do when I have a free bit of time is to curl up with a magazine loaded with Christmas recipes for candy, cookies, breads, cakes, cupcakes, peppermint cocoa, etc.

I chose this picture for my inspiration today because it carries a super simple sketch, beautiful colors, wonderful design, and some shine (which I am always drawn to).



The image once again comes from my most favorite source of creativity, that of Country Living, and here are a couple of cards based on the image.











For the first card I pretty much took the basic design, colors, and shine and made it into my own creation. This card uses supplies from the Alpine Frost collection. The trees in the center are layered to add dimension…I wanted to recreate that particular concept which I was immediately drawn to in the baked cookie image.

For the second card, I used the same design concept, but mixed up the elements a bit and added die cuts and an epoxy sticker as my focal point. This card uses the Christmas Mint collection.

As you can see, the possibilities that can come from one image are never ending…a quick, fun, and delicious way to get your creativity flowing.

Melissa

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Good Things Come in Small Packages

I’ve always enjoyed small packages more than the big kind….as a little girl, and the only girl in a family of three boys, my mom, dad, and Santa sure spoiled me. I remember being more excited over the small, shiny package peeking out the top of my stocking, all dressed up with ribbons, than in the big package under the tree. Small packages meant something very personal and special...they remain my favorite today.

For my project today I was inspired by this image from Country Living….this tiny package has sparked so many creative ideas. What a fun idea to tuck a coordinating gift card holder under the bow!



Here is one idea that came from the above gift-giving idea.









I found this adorable embossed paper mache heart box and distressed it using acrylic paint, sand paper, and ink. I wanted to bring it to life for the holidays so I added foil paper from SEI’s Christmas Mint line along with trim, a die cut, and epoxy ornaments.

Of course no gift is complete without a matching card, so I put something simple together using more products from the Christmas Mint line…I just love the traditional colors used in this along with the patterns, sparkle, and the yummy names of the papers too of course. The 3-dimensional chipboard trees are fun accents to dress up and use for the holidays as well…such a fun idea.

Hope to chat again soon.
Melissa

Monday, November 9, 2009

All Dressed Up

I love the art of gift-giving….it truly is an art…I am fascinated by it and am constantly seeking for creative ideas in giving love away. Dressing up a box, a bag, bread or muffin tin, tags, envelopes…the list goes on and on, and since Christmas is rapidly approaching, I thought it would be fun to focus on a few fun ways to dress up gifts for the holidays. Today I’ve chosen this picture from Country Living as my inspiration piece….I adore it…its sparkly and sweet.



I’ve made paper cones before but liked the simplicity involved in these waffle cones. All it took to make my own paper creation was a simple circle with trim along the edges, then formed into a cone with the decorative edges showing, and ending with a few embellishments to top them off….how fun to hang from a doorknob…perhaps even making smaller cones as decorations for your tree….easy and irresistible.











Paper and chipboard from the Christmas Mint and Alpine Frost add such beautiful and elegant touches.

I’m looking forward to sharing more packing ideas with you throughout the week!
Melissa

Friday, November 6, 2009

Melissa Phillips, Guest Blogger

We would like to introduce you to Melissa Phillips. She is an amazing paper-crafter that will be guest blogging next week. Be sure to check out her blog, lilybeanpaperie.typepad.com for tons of project ideas and more!




Hi there! I'm so excited to be a Guest Blogger on the SEI Lifestyles blog....not excited to be chatting about myself, but here goes nothing. I am originally from American Fork, UT, but am now a country girl living in Southern Nevada with my two sweethearts...my husband Nate and little girl Sierra. These two are the wind in my sails I tell you...life revolves around them and together we have so much to be happy about. I started paper-crafting about 5 years or so ago and it has become a very rewarding activity that I hope I have time for each day...for just a few minutes, I get to let my creative mind take over and enjoy all things associated with it.

I have several fascinating quirks, but just for you I'll leave most of them out.
1. I don't text...never done it...don't even know how...am I pathetic?
2. I dream about all things crafty...from baking to quilting to card making...buttons, trims, glitter, fabric...I close my eyes and there they all are dancing across my dreams.
3. I don't know how to get the messages off of my cell phone...I know my box is full...and I wonder sometimes if I've missed out on something really important...but the secrets will stay there indefinitely. I don't even carry my cell phone with me...don't know where it is right now either :)
4. I would rather shop for paper than clothes...shoes are tempting, but I still think I'd go for the paper.
5. I love to read cookbooks back to front....over and over again...nothin' wrong with that though, right? I have such a lovely collection of these beautiful treasures....sigh...just one more simple pleasure.
 

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