Archive | December, 2009

Design House Digital

by Melissa on 31. Dec, 2009 in design

It’s been less than a week since my last day in an office and I’m already busy, busy on new projects. The best and most exciting one (besides the project of being a mom again) is Design House Digital. It’s new. It’s all about digital scrapbooking and it’s live tomorrow, Jan 1st.

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I’m not sure if any of you are familiar with digital scrapbooking, so let me fill you in. It’s like paper scrapbooking, except all it really requires is Photoshop. DHD is the brain child of designer Jen Allyson Nugent (aka Project Girl). She’s very familiar with digital scrapbooking and has been a fabulous inspiration and mentor. You should probably check out her blog. It’s full of all sorts of pretty things.

I’ve just been bursting with excitement about my first kit. This first kit is inspired by the genius of Ellen Gallagher and Studio on Fire’s Peacock wedding announcement. SOF is my favorite. And I wish to maybe someday have a smidgen of their coolness.

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My idea behind this collection was to do something a little crazy. A little unique and a lot loud. The neon colors help with the volume, don’t you think?

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This font is all thanks to my Intuos4. Now that I think about it, this whole collection is thanks to the intuos. I love that thing.

I hope y’all get some time between partying and resolution-making to stop by Design House Digital. Sign up for their newsletter and get a free kit. And after midnight please stop by to shop, browse tutorials and inspiration galleries. Oh. And don’t forget, everything is 30% off this weekend! Take advantage!

You’ll be seeing a lot more of this and other crazy things in the future. Do you digi-scrap? What are you looking for in a kit?

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Handmade Christmas

by Melissa on 22. Dec, 2009 in celebrate

Dad is an accountant by trade. He spends his days working up financial statements and digging through the minutiae of banking regulations. When he’s not at the bank, he’s riding his motorcycle, hiking, camping, photographing and silversmithing. The silversmithing was unexpected. Years ago my dad signed up for a silversmithing class with my older sister and he’s been churning out work ever since.

My dad's Jewelry

One of Dad’s first class projects is the bracelet pictured above. The image is a bit blurry, but the bracelet is beautiful! My dad gave all of these to me for Christmas with the exception of the heart necklace which I received on my wedding day. These pieces mean more to me than anything store-bought because they came from Dad’s own hands. I love wearing these reminders of my dad around my wrist and neck.

These handmade gifts are the pinnacle of gift-giving, because they come packed with personal and spiritual meaning. I’ve not had as much time to make all handmade gifts this year, but I’ve tried. What’s the best handmade gift you’ve ever received or given?

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2009 Christmas Candy Box

by Melissa on 16. Dec, 2009 in celebrate, freebies

Christmas Candy Box 2009 3

Merry Holidays everybody!! Here’s my 3rd annual Christmas candy box. I’ve been a little stumped with ideas for what to do this year. LAME. So 40 hours, a pep talk from Chris and a few temper tantrums later, here it is. My gift to you.

2009 Christmas Candy Box

click on image to enlarge

Christmas Candy Box 2009 1

The color scheme was inspired by 100 Layer Cake’s Red + Green colorboard. Have you been to that blog before? It’s a fabulous resource, wedding or no. I pretty much drool out the side of my mouth every time I visit that site. The pattern was inspired by Orla Keily and one of my favorite wallpapers.

Christmas Candy Box 2009 2

I really hope you enjoy this printable and USE IT! I plan on using these for the annual candy party with my mom and sisters. Oh, and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, it’s fairly holiday neutral, so feel free to use it for your holiday celebrations, or anything. Ever! Click on the button below to download for free.

download here

For the 2008 Christmas candy box, click here.

for the 2007 Christmas candy box, click here.

The assembled box measures about 3.25 in x 3 in x 1.5 in, which is perfect for homemade caramels, chocolates, jewelry, etc. Let me know how you’re using it! I’d love to see pictures or hear about what you did, so please comment!

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A Dash of Christmas on Our Front Door

by Melissa on 14. Dec, 2009 in celebrate, crafts, tutorials

I found the most lovely no-sew, no-glue wreath tutorial online last week thanks to twig & thistle’s lovely wreath tutorial round-up. Most tutorials I find these days end up collecting dust in my delicious account these days, but not this one. It uses felt + ruffles, the two most trendy things on the crafty interwebs these days, so there was no denying it.

Domestifluf Wreath 3

I added my own little pom pom mistletoe to the mix.

domesitfluf wreath 1

Sadly, I didn’t find any felt colors that I was happy with, so I used some scraps from my favorite Fabmo. Making the wreath wasn’t hard at all, all it really took (besides the materials themselves) was a good hour+ of tv and a thimble. Not Bad, eh?

Domestifluf Wreath 2

Giddy like a 12 year-old-girl is probably the best way to describe my post-project mood. After I hung up my festive little wreath I couldn’t help but point out it’s loveliness to Chris every 20 seconds. Thankfully I have a very indulgent husband who agreed with me. You can find the fabulous tutorial at domestifluf.

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Calligraphy Giveaway Winner!

by Melissa on 11. Dec, 2009 in giveaways & reviews

First of all, thank you to everyone who entered in my crazy little giveaway! There were so many great comments from you, I would’ve loved for all of you to win. There aren’t enough hours in the day to write 67 love letters by Christmas, so I’ll just stick to the one winner. The winner is:

calligraphy giveaway winnercalligraphy giveaway winner

I’ll be emailing you soon with details!

PLEASE NOTE: All IS•LY giveaway winners are given a 24 hour window to claim his/her prize(s) before another winner is chosen. ALL giveaway winners are picked randomly via random.org.
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