Happy Shabby 4th!

Posted on by Melissa Samuels · 12 Comments

Hey ya'll!  I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!  I spent a little time this weekend creating.  It felt so good to be at my nice clean desk making something just for the pure fun of it.  I was in a shabby chic mood, imagine that, right?!  Okay, so no big surprise there.  I thought I'd use my favorite things.  I gathered up some Prima laces, Maya Road lace, Melissa Frances Pearls, and a Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Sewing Room die.  I cut the dress form die out of a plain cardboard box, and kissed the edges with a little white acrylic paint.  The cover itself is made from a 7 Gypsies embossed bookcover.

7gypsies10095The book covers started out looking like this, and I painted it white with acrylic paint.  I then added a coat of this soft aqua color (my fav!), and sanded the heck out of it.

DressformCover (1 of 1)-5I got this wonderful distressed, shabby chic look.  I layered a ton of lace, added a set of Melissa Frances wings to my dress form, and not too bad…

DressformCover (1 of 1)-3
DressformCover (1 of 1)-2
DressformCover (1 of 1)-4 I hope you like it!  Thanks for stopping by!  Come back later this week to take a look at a few cards I made on my day off.  Later! XO

P.S.- Here's a peek at the new Puppy Princess.
Annabelle (1 of 1)-2
Annabelle (1 of 1)-3

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Tutorial Thursday: Making a tag using Movers & Shapers Dies

Posted on by Melissa Samuels · 7 Comments

Hey Scrappers!  I bet you thought I had forgotten it was Tutorial Thursday.  Well, here I am ready to give a little lesson.   Last week I did a tutorial on using the Vagabond.  I had a few comments asking me to do a tutorial on using the Movers & Shapers dies.  Ask and ye shall receive.  I'm going to show you a super quick and simple tag.  Let's get started, shall we?!

WindowTagTutorial (1 of 1) To start you'll need a die cutting machine & 2 acrylic plates (I'm using my Vagabond), a Movers & Shapers Bigz L Tray, Movers & Shapers die (I'm using Mini Butterflies Set), 2 shipping tags, and tape (optional).   Use a tiny piece of tape to tape your tags together to hold them in place.  Once you cut your shape out of the tag you're going to pull them apart, so only use a small piece.

WindowTagTutorial (1 of 1)-2 Now you're going to make a sammy starting with an acrylic plate/pad, then the Base Tray with  the magnetic Movers & Shapers die inside the tray, position the 2 shipping tags over the die where you would like it to cut out the shape, and finish it off with another acrylic plate.  Run your sammy through your diecutting machine.

WindowTagTutorial (1 of 1)-3 Now that I have my shape cut out, I'm going to ink the front and the back of the tags using Distress Stain Broken China.  Using the dabber makes it quick and easy, because you can cover a large area in a short amount of time.  You can also play around with shade.  The one on the left is one coat of stain, the one on the right is two coats of stain.

WindowTagTutorial (1 of 1)-5 Roughly cut a piece of transparency slightly larger than the cutout, and about the width of the tag.  Stamp a script image onto the transparency using a permanent ink such as Stazon or Archival Ink.  I left the paper backing on the transparency so you could see it better.

WindowTagTutorial (1 of 1)-6 Sandwich the stamped transparency between the two tags to create a window.

WindowTagTutorial (1 of 1)-7 I inked the butterfly cutouts with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink, and stamped it with the same word stamp.
WindowTagTutorial (1 of 1)-8 I added some super cool Webster's Page trim and a wide eyelet…

WindowTagTutorial (1 of 1)-9 Done!  This tag took about 15 minutes from conception to finish.  I hope you will try one!  The Movers & Shapers magnetic dies can be used in the tray like I did today, or mixed and matched with other Movers & Shapers dies with magnetic bottoms, such as the tag die.  And, using the same idea you could sandwich pattern paper or Webster's Pages Netting between your tags.  The possibilities are endless!  Happy diecutting!

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UStream Recording-Life’s Moments Journal

Posted on by Melissa Samuels · 1 Comment

Hey Guys!!  Thanks so much to everyone who joined me last night on UStream.  I had a blast!  You guys are awesome!  If you missed it, not to worry.  Here’s the recording:


PlayJournal If you liked the show, and want to purchase a kit here’s the link http://www.melissasamuels.net/store/Life%27s%20Moments%20Journal%20Workshop%20UStream%20June%2027th,%208pm%20%28EST%29  Of course, the recording is free and open to everyone!

I don’t have any UStream shows presently on the calendar, but I’m expecting to have more soon, so stay tuned…

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Tutorial Thursday: Vagabond

Posted on by Melissa Samuels · 5 Comments

Okay, it's Thursday, and you know what that means, tutorial time!!!  I'm so excited to give you a little tutorial on my new toy, a Sizzix Vagabond inspired by Tim Holtz!  This may sound crazy, but after I opened my little box of diecutting joy, I realized I had to figure out how the heck to use it.  Yeah, yeah, you're probably thinking how hard could it be, but without consulting the manual (which by the way was easy to read, but I thought I'd give you the abbreviated version) it was kinda like trying to get into Fort Knox.

Step #1- Opening the bad boy

Vagabond (1 of 1) The machine looks like a suitcase, and to use it you must open it up.  I tried, "Open Sesame!!" but that didn't work.  Just under the handle is a slider that you push to one side and….

Vagabond (1 of 1)-2 VIOLA!!!

Step #2-Finding the freakin' power cord

Vagabond (1 of 1)-3 Call it a stroke of genius, or a game of hide 'n seek, but the power cord is tucked safely away in a little secret compartment at the end of the machine.  Push the little metal slide button thingy down, and it opens to reveal the power cord. 

Vagabond (1 of 1)-4 The cord plugs into the opposite end of the machine.  FYI, this is the US version, and apparently if you try to use it in a European outlet it will almost instantly implode and your head will simultaneously fall off…okay, that was a little dramatic, but you really can't use it in an European outlet or it will destroy it.

Step #3-Make a sammy, and get ready

Vagabond (1 of 1)-5 The machine comes with a nice plateform and 2 acrylic plates/mats.  Follow the directions printed on the platform for determining the correct combination for your particular die.

Vagabond (1 of 1)-6 I'm using the new Tim Holtz Alterations Bigz Tiny Tabs & Tags die.  I'm going to make a sandwich using the 2 acrylic mats, a piece of chipboard, and the die.  The order is: acrylic mat, die cutting side up, chipboard, and acyrlic mat.

Vagabond (1 of 1)-7 Insert your sammy into the machine (that's the "get ready" part).

Step #4-Which way?  And, go!

Vagabond (1 of 1)-8 On the top of the machine, set the arrow to the direction the die is going, and press & hold down the "on" button beside the arrow button.  Then, like magic, it smoothly glides through one side and out the other.

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Vagabond (1 of 1)-10 Look at these perfect little chipboard pieces perfect for painting, misting, or inking!!!

I can't wait to play with it more!!  I've got some glitter and foil sheets I'm dying to send through.

If you'd like your own, you can visit  my online store.  I'm having a promo until the end of the month for flat rate $5 shipping, and the Vagabond qualifies.

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