Cut 'n Paste

My soul

has been so happy the past few days. After coming home from CHA I got the creative bug really bad and I felt like I just had to create. For the past many months just about everything I have been creating has had a purpose. Projects were for Melissa Frances, The Canadian Scrapbooker, classes, etc...the list goes on and on. While I'm by no means complaining (I know that I am very lucky to do what I love as my job) every once in a while you feel the pressure and want to do something for fun. Something to rejuvenate the soul and set your spirit free. Something with no stings attached.

I was very lucky at CHA to be given some fun goodies from friends in the industry that had my fingers itching to play. Finally, this Sunday and Monday I went to town. I used stamps that I've had for much too long without using them, I discovered that some of my ink-pads are dry (obviously too long since I've used them as I didn't even notice that they were getting dry!), and I fell in love with some of Daisy D's new cardstock tags. Yummy! Over the next few days I'll be sharing a few of my projects. Here's the first one. This card uses 2 great Hero Arts Stamps (the 2 larger blocks), an Anna Griffin thank you stamp and an ultra cute butterfly by Inkadinkado. The card is by Savvy Stamps and the little 'No' block is one of the afore mentioned Daisy D's cardstock tags.

In other news, exciting news on the Silver Bella front. A man I have long been a fan of, Chris Brown of Urban Prairie fame is slated to be a special guest at the event. I can hardly wait!!!
 

Sweet new Goodies

After arriving home from CHA, I had some wonderful goodies in my mailbox that I just had to share. Starting on the left of the photo, I bought this fabulous 'Summer' piece of art from the talented Cari Kraft's Etsy store. Hmm, it's so pretty. Not exactly sure where it will find a home in the house, but I've been enjoying looking at it each evening as it leans against my fireplace mantle. Beautiful work Cari! On the top right is my newest doll head. She is perfect. I love my doll heads, and the more worn, or 'loved' they are the more I adore them. She is a recent ebay purchase. The bottom two images on the right are from my swap with Tracy Scheurer. I love how she packages her necklaces and it is just as beautiful in person as it was in the photos Tracy showcased on her blog. Heaven.

I also am so excited to share that Rick called me the day before I left for CHA to say that he had signed up for a bunch of overtime at work and so I should call and add the white slipcovers to our sofa order that we'd place the week before. Ahhh...I was SO stinkin' excited. So, I called the store and the slipcovers are added. Now, I just have to patient while we wait for them to arrive!!

CHA Summer 07

As you know, I was at the Craft & Hobby Association Summer trade show last weekend. It's been great to share the Melissa Frances new product sneak peeks on the blog and on-line galleries, but seeing clients and customers see and react to the products at a show is always exciting. A huge thank you goes out to those who came by the booth to see the new goods, purchase the MF line for their stores, or just visit. We love the chance to see friends, colleagues and make new friends. Although the hours are always long, the work (especially setting up!) physical, and the pressure is always high, I really enjoy the shows and having contact with stores and end users of our product line.

I know that I promised at CHA Winter that I would post photos of our new Melissa Frances booth, but I never got around to taking photos. So, I made sure that I not only brought my camera, but actually used it this time! Here's a little collage of our ultra-fine Melissa designed booth. My favorite things about the booth are:

• the slipcovered chairs (we have these at our make and take area too - and they have the Melissa Frances logo on embroidered on the back of them!).
• the antique white frames that we use to highlight products (Melissa had collected these from auctions over the years, and you wouldn't believe the deals she got on some of them!).
• our chandeliers - there are five of them in the booth and they always get compliments!

We are putting the final touches on our Melissa Frances August newsletter which will be highlighting our new products (some of which haven't been seen on any of these sneak peeks!). If you haven't signed up for our newsletter yet, you can do it here. It's free, informative and is filled with gorgeous featured projects!

Happy Birthday...

to you, Teresa!

Unfortunately I missed the major launch of this surprise yesterday as I didn't get home from CHA until late at night. But, the thought was there! If you head over to Kim's blog, she will link you to many of the wonderful creations designed by so many of Teresa's talented friends!

Many Thanks to Kim for inviting me to be a part of this birthday surprise!

Teresa, I hope you had a glitter-filled, fabulous day!

One more for the road...

Today is one of those crazy days when I'm running around doing errand after errand. I leave early tomorrow morning for CHA, and I have tons of things that I need to do before heading out. Mostly just piddly small things, that are annoying but take up a lot of time. Oh well, that's life, right?

I have one more peek at Mulberry Hill for you. This peek uses the supplies from one of our layout kits. It has all these papers, the rub-ons, and tags included. Not sure if I'll be bringing my laptop to the show with me, but if I do, I'll try to update you at night.

If you're coming to CHA, please be sure to stop by the Melissa Frances booth. As always we have some fun make and takes and our new lines are beautiful.

Another look at Mulberry Hill

Our order is in...

Rick and I would like to issue a huge thank you to those of you who gave us feedback regarding our new sofa set.  It seemed like it was pretty much split down the middle with some people loving their white slipcover and some people really disliking them. So...what to do...after weighing our wants with being practical, we have settled on a compromise of sorts. Yesterday we went in and ordered our couches and we bought....a soft brown velour type fabric upholstered on all three pieces (couch, loveseat, chair), and an antique white linen on the ottoman. The sofa and loveseat will have four throw cushions each with 2 in a floral pattern, and 2 in aqua and the same linen as the ottoman (the aqua/linen pillows come with one fabric on the front of the pillow and the different fabric on the back). We have decided to be safe for now. But the manufacturer sells slipcovers for the set we bought, so we plan to order the white ones at a later date (When the budget allows!). This was a tough decision. So many things to weigh...but I feel really good about the choice we made and am so looking forward to the set being delivered. (It will take 8-10 weeks for us to receive them).

I took photos while we were in the store yesterday. The pieces are all really deep (41 inches) and the couch is long enough for my 6' 2 hubby to lie out on which is one of the things he really wanted. All the cushions are down with a foam core. Which was also one of the things we really wanted. The company that we bought with has a program called 'Designer Choices', where the purchaser decides everything from arm style, to leg style, to upholstered or slip covered. This made it easy for us to get exactly what we wanted. 

While we're waiting for the set we will start painting to get the room ready. If you remember the photo that I posted in the spring of my fireplace mantle, you'll remember that my fireplace is red, as are all the moldings in that room. For now we plan on painting the mantle and trim white. We may paint the walls too (right now they are soft taupe and I think I'd like them soft aqua). But we're going to wait until the sofas come before deciding 100% on changing the walls.

Anyways, thanks again for the feedback. Rick and I appreciate it!

CLICK ON PHOTO TO SEE LARGER IMAGE OF THE SET!

Winter Wishes

Introducing Winter Wishes. This is the third and final collection that we will be launching at CHA Summer.

You can see more previews at the following links:
Melissa Phillips
Ashley Gailey

Something sparkly!!

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of discovering a fabulous blog, full of eye candy photos and delicious creative artwork.  After 'stalking' the blog for a bit, I sent the owner an email raving about her work and suggesting a swap. What a pleasure it was for me that she agreed!

So, I introduce you to Tracy Scheurer, she has a fabulous etsy store Junk 2 Jewels and is just the sweetest gal!

Because I am just too stinkin' excited about the goodie she made for me, here is a photo that Tracy took of the necklace she designed. There are more photos of this necklace, plus much more of her work on her blog. I hope you pop by and visit Tracy's site and store, they're great!

From this Moment On

Here is a preview of the second Melissa Frances release for CHA Summer.

You can see more previews at the following link:
Melissa Phillips