Well, our three day weekend is over. I tried to cram as much as I could into this valuable time away from the office. My husband came down with pnemonia last weekend and he's out of work until this upcoming week. With him being ill and this being the week of gradutaions (and nails in tires), I actually achieved quite a bit.

One of the biggest tasks I completed this weekend was taking photos of over 123 handmade card that were in need of being posted. You can check them out in my WEBSHOTS album. The cards came from various swaps I have been in and some I made myself.

The second biggest task was making my very FIRST instructional video! I'm SO excited to finally have the chance to sit and try this. I've been wanting to make an online tutorial for two years now. This tutorial shows part of my upcoming "Patriotic Centerpiece". I'll be teaching a class at the local Whole Foods. Of course, this is not the completed project, there will be a few more bells and whistles, but this will show you a bit of what it involves.



With it being such a beautiful day, I took the oppurtunity to film this outside. You can hear the birds singing in the background!

Here's the unveiling of my first tutorial! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. (Oops. Had to reissue this post to adjust the video).



Here's a few other fun images I took during this Memorial weekend which officially, kicks off Summer!

I purchased some buntings at the local Wal-mart. I saw them on Wednesday, didn't get them, so, I had to rush back on Friday just in case they sold out! One day I'll learn to purchase the things I want when I'm in the store. We need to be mindful of all the extra driving we're doing with all these outrageous gas prices!

Isn't it lovely? My husband doesn't know it yet but these are staying up until the 4th of July! How can looking at this not make you happy? It reminds me of those old movies that celebrated the 4th of July with the entire town. Things have changed of course in the larger cities but I know those small towns till get together and do it the right way.

This little plastic banner came from the Dollar Tree. I think the windsocks did as well.



I have been drawn to Patriotic colors and design the past two years. Anything dealing with America and the USA I'm all over it! It was a bit warm outside but really not all that bad, as long as you had shade an water. Here's another photo of the star banner.



The boys had fun playing in the pool! Yes, it's a kiddy pool, but it cooled them off. Wanna know what else cooled them off? WATER BALLOONS. What on earth was I thinking when I purchase these? Probably because the colors were so pretty in the pack. Look at how vivid they are.



Lastly, I made this YUMMY bean and corn salsa. It's so good on a warm day, any day really. Here's what's in it:

Black beans (drain them)
Yellow corn (although I've used the white Shoepeg before)
Green onions
Feta

Dressing: Apple Cider Vinegar, oil and sugar.

Sorry for not posting measurements but I RARELY measure...always on the go. I used a can of corn and a can of beans, green onions and feta to suit 'my' taste, and the dressing is also a 'to suit your own taste' thing.



Well, it's back to work tomorrow. I'm working on some more special "Patriotic" decorations. Hopefully I'll have the one I started on today ready for tomorrow.

I hope you have a great week!

I thought I'd share a sneak peek of the brag book I created for Allie over at Croppinsville. It's designed using the FAA papers by Creative Imaginations.

I'd love to show you the entire album, but we're waiting until the Croppinsville store is completely up and running so you can get the suppleis to recreate this album yourself. This little album is on it's way to the store so all those who visit on opening day can get an up close looksie for yourself. Can't make it to the store....that's OK, you can have all supplies shipped directly to you. Make sure you read about Allie's previous post about FREE SHIPPING.

I had a great time designing this project! I hope you enjoy it as well when it is unveiled at the end of the month.

Enjoy your sneak peek.

Well now, I posted about the stamp club I had in Metairie over the weekend and I completely forgot to share the cards we created.

This first card was my favorite. The circular yellow text was stamped with So Saffron directly to the card front. The wavy guava circle was stamped on a separate sheet of white card stock and the center was punched out with the 3/4" punch; we then punched the entire guava image out with the 1 1/4" circle punch.

The star was created with the smallest Star punch SU! carries and it was layered with a dimensional to the top of the circle. Aren't the colors great? So clean and crisp.

Here's another card using the Wild Rose stamp set. The inks used are Cameo Coral and Purely Pomegranate. There is also Dazzling Diamond glitter around the edges of the Wasabi card stock layered under the rose.




The last card was the Father's Day shirt card I offered at my May rubber stamping workshop at the Whole Foods in Baton Rouge. You can view the card here: MELANIES CREATIVE PROJECTS

Now, here are a few more fun photos from Perkins Rowe I promised to share.

I guess Blogger is having a few issues with the 'scheduled posts'. I scheduled something to be sent out at 11am this morning, and apparently that didn't happen. I guess it's a good thing because I was a busy bee today and have some Saturday ramblings to share with you.

Today I was off to Metairie to start a new quarterly stamp club. I always enjoy morning drives this time of year into the New Orleans area. It's a peaceful drive, especially when the kids aren't in the car arguing (they were off to St. Francisville with dad for a picnic with friends and some creek wading). Our hostess for the club (Becky) was prepared for everyone with great breakfast foods, like bagels with whipped philly and lip-licking pastries from the famous Haydel's bakery.

If you are EVER are in the New Orleans area, you should make a stop to Haydels Bakery. I would recommend the DOBERGE cake....YUM! So, SOOOOO good! Just look at all these layers of pudding, chocolate ganache and cake.



I should probably eat something before posting any more dessert images.

Everyone did an excellent job of completing their cards today. These girls are real paper crafters and enjoy scrapbooking as well as 3D projects. Here's a photo I took while they were working on their last card. You can see they are quite busy .....moving at the speed of light.



Thanks for your hospitality Becky. I enjoy visiting and love that your family is so close by, it's very cozy and warm to see you all interact together.

Once the girls finished all their projects, I packed up and headed to the flea market. There's one thing you should remember about Flea Marketing, and that's to bring LOTS of water or some beverage to drink. I forgot how hot and humid it gets in New Orleans and being inside of a metal warehouse is even hotter. Still, it was nice to rummage through things looking for treasures.

Here was the Flea Market of my choice (which I am happy to say still exist, in spite of Katrina). It is right against the levee on River Road.




I did take a few 'inconspicuous' photos, but THIS is by far my favorite.



Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?!!!! I should have purchased it when I was there....but no one was around to pull it out for me and I didn't feel like walking back up to the front (it was getting hot-er).

This piece was only $22.00. Do you think that's a reasonable price? I do. I just LOVE it. They say, when Flea Marketing or Antique shopping you should always get the item that sparks your eye, or that gives you the feeling of "I just CAN'T live without it". Check out that big pearly thing in the upper left corner. Kind of cool huh? I guess I can kiss that cameo good-bye since everyone knows where it's located now. You may know the building...but finding it in the shop is gonna be tough...mwwwahahahahah.


Here are a few more interesting objects I spotted. I think this item was called a plaster cabinet. NO clue as to what it was for. I thought plaster was sold in buckets (like at the hobby stores). It was appealing regardless. Something about the wood and peeling labels on front. It seem so many labels back in 'the day' were done in black.





Here's a close-up. Such a neat item.




Next we have this pink straw hat. I'm not a hat person (although I have tried on occasion), but I thought the color was fab. Very playful.





There you have my Saturday ramblings. The family will be home soon after their bonfire and I should eat before they arrive. Tomorrow I'll share a few of my purchases from the Flea Market and some more fun images for Perkins Rowe canvas ads.

Well, it's Friday and here I am playing catch-up, again. I've been cutting back (eliminating actually) on various activities to generate more time for stamping. Not a day goes by when I'm not thinking about creating SOMETHING. Thinking about something doesn't get you far, you have to actually implement the idea...and move on to making it happen.

No worries, I'll be on track soon. I've been compiling ideas in my trusty idea books. These idea books happen to be stuffed with random pieces of paper that have my 'idea of the moment' jotted down. Ideas can come from simply riding down the street, or sitting outside with the kids. The "random pieces of paper" can be anything from a napkin, box or an old gum wrapper lying in the bottom of my purse. Don't act so surprised...I know MANY of you do the same...especially those with creative minds.

Let's move on to activities of the day and my Fresh 'n Funky post. First, I'd like to share a card I received from a friend (not sure who, there was no name on the back).



Isn't it lovely? Look at all the layers and the colors! Notice the thin chocolate chip cardstock backing the pink and green designer paper? The colored brads really add a special touch, matching wonderfully with all the cardstock colors on the card.

Now I'd like to share some wonderful graphics I took photos of today while out at Perkins Rowe. I LOVE these images. They're so up with today's graphic images; colorful, animated, crisp, Fresh 'n Funky!

Here's the first. These colors are so vivid. I guess the idea behind this is, if you shop all day you get a figure like hers, LOL!



Here she is close-up. So stylish!



Here's another. The entire canvas is colored in the background. It makes quite an impact compared to being just white.




Here's the far right side of the canvas shown above. I wonder what they do with these canvas's once all the stores a opened?



Sadly, none of these images were my FAVORITE. I think they took her down. Maybe I'll scout out the area again and get some more shots.

Now I'm off to pack for a workshop tomorrow in Metairie. I'll have more images later. Have a GREAT weekend my friends.

Who's up for some FREEBIES?!!!!

Allie Gower over at Croppinsville is giving away some awesome Green Goodies for anyone leaving a post here "It's not Easy Being Green" as to ways you'll try to go green in the future. The winner will be selected by a random vote on May 7th, 2008. Make sure you mention you found your way there through Rubbapalooza or tell her Melanie sent you....and we'll BOTH get a pack of Green Goodies! Who doesn't enjoy having MORE paper crafting goodies!!


Allie is also giving away some yummie VITA BELLA project pages to...

The first 25 who order from the Brick and Mortar store.... AND
The first 25 who order online! How's that for loading up on freebies during National Scrapbooking Month?