Introducing Merry & Bright

Melissa Bickford’s stamp designs can be associated with many descriptive words, such as clean, simple, trendy and VERSATILE.  Her newest set, Merry & Bright, merits the last characteristic being in all caps.  It is a tree building set that is SO much fun to play around with.  I have a had such a blast experimenting with different combinations and discovering new ways to use this set.

………………………………………………………………………………..


There are seven trees total in this set, five of which are each separated into three sections; top, middle and bottom.  There are three ways you can utilize these trees.  Just the top, the top paired with the middle or all three combined.  You are able to assemble the trees directly on your block to make stamping easier and eliminate the need to do any lining up.  The five trees individual parts can also be mixed and matched to combine different patterns together.

………………………………………………………………………………….

I created my own custom background paper by using just the tops & middles of the three patterned trees, mixing and matching the patterns.  As you can see in the photo above, I was able to utilize three blocks and keep each individual tree assembled throughout my entire project.  The star and tree trunk are each separate images that I added as a second step to each tree.  I also added small hollow dots around the trees, filling in any open spaces.  This was followed by a small dot in the center of each of these with our new ultra-fine tip metallic gold pen.

………………………………………………………………………………….

After I created my paper, I designed a simple card around it.  The sentiment is stamped with the Encore Gold Pigment pads we will be carrying this month.  I love how subtle it is.  I stamped the sentiment on a 1-1/2 inch circle and adhered it partially underneath my border.  A few people have emailed me, telling me that they have trouble using the color gold in their designs.  I always think of it as an earthy form of yellow, so anything I would pair with yellow, looks fabulous with gold!  Since Spring Moss is a yellow green, it falls into that category and they make a perfect pair!  Here I have used the fabulous Gold Tinsel Weave ribbon!  (insert me swooning!)

………………………………………………………………………………….

See that nifty scalloped border I created?  I made it by trimming an edge of one of the Long Rectangle Nestabilities dies!  Most of them are more than long enough to cross the span of a card!

…………………………………………………………………………………

The sentiment on my card inspired a small gift set, perhaps perfect for co-workers, casual friends, teachers and other people in your life that you would like to show a little appreciation to.  “Warm Winter Wishes” makes me think of hot chocolate, with marshmallows of course!  For my little ensemble, I wanted to something a bit unique with the marshmallows.  I cut a piece of waxed paper to the same width as three regular size marshmallows laid end to end.

………………………………………………………………………………….

I rolled them up in the wax paper and fastened the end down with a bot of tape.

………………………………………………………………………………….

I cut a piece of muslin fabric to 8-3/4 x 6 inches and laid the marshmallows in the middle.

………………………………………………………………………………….

I frayed the ends of the fabric slightly by pulling out the threads.  I then rolled the fabric up around the marshmallows.

………………………………………………………………………………….

After adding some similar elements that were used on my card, I had this.  The recipient won’t even know what surprise is inside until they have unwrapped it!

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Next up was a bag to hold a batch of homemade hot chocolate mix.  I used one of our small kraft coffee bags for this purpose.  I love using these bags for things like this because they are wax-lined and food ready.  So you just whip up the mix and dump it in the bag!  Quick and easy!

…………………………………………………………………………………

Here is the entire ensemble together.  One thing I wanted to point out is that even though these projects are using metallic ribbon, they aren’t *glitzy & glam*, they actually have a pretty rustic, homespun kind of feel!  Metallics are such an interesting medium to work with because they always take on whatever style or look you want, it is all about what you pair it with and how you utilize it! 

…………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………….
Stop by to see what Michelle has been up to with Merry & Bright as well!

Melissa has revealed a few more details about the set too.

Heather offers up a few more peeks at her new set as well.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………
STAMPS: Merry & Bright (available September 15th)
INK: White pigment, gold Encore
PAPER:Classic Kraft, Spring Moss, Vintage Cream
OTHER: Gold Tinsel Weave Ribbon, long rectangle Nestabilities, 1-1/2 inch circle punch