AuthorMelinda Stearns

Try The Ink and Spritz Technique!

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Come learn how easy it is to use the ink and spritz technique for the most beautiful watercolor looks! You’ve likely seen beautiful cards that look like they were hand water color painted. And while lots of them probably were, we can promise that many of them were made using the very easy ink and spritz technique. Today our resident watercolor guru, Melinda – check out her watercolor themed Paper Pads in our store! – is sharing her version of […]

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Simple Gorgeous Handmade Fall Cards!

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Come on over and get all the steps to making these simple gorgeous handmade fall cards! Today Melinda is sharing this idea for the most simple, gorgeous handmade fall cards and we LOVE how much these leaves look like the real thing, all just with some of our Color Fuse Ink! Melinda says “I am so excited for fall!! Its my favorite season and I look forward to it every year. Unfortunately we don’t get a lot of fall color […]

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Layered Die Cut Poinsettia Cards – GORGEOUS!

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See how you can make layered die cut poinsettia cards that will knock their fuzzy socks off – easier than you might think! There are lots of ideas out there for layered die cut poinsettia cards but we are venturing a huge bet that there aren’t many as spectacular as this one from Melinda! Melinda says “For today’s card I wanted to use some scraps from a large mixed media panel I created recently. I also had a few green […]

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Make Some Oxide Ink Mixed Media Backgrounds

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Learn to create gorgeous oxide ink mixed media backgrounds with these easy tips! Today Melinda is sharing her take on making oxide ink mixed media backgrounds that add so much excitement, color and texture to any project. And it’s so much easier than you would think when you use the tips she shares right here in the post. Melinda says “I have been so inspired by mixed media ever since I created the 6 X 6 Watercolor Beauty Paper Pad […]

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Make Some Pink and Silver Holiday Cards!

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Right on trend and oh so pretty, this idea for pink and silver holiday cards is also quick and easy! Today Melinda is serving up an idea of one of the prettiest pink and silver holiday cards we’ve seen. With pastels being one of this year’s holiday card trends, this soft pink with a metallic neutral – also on trend! – creates a soft look that will stand out on that mantle! Melinda says “I wanted to create a card […]

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Rubbernecker’s Scenic Route Paper Pad – GORGEOUS!

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From the designer herself, check out this gorgeous card made with Rubbernecker’s Scenic Route Paper Pad. Last month, we released two brand new 6 X 6 Paper Pads designed by our very own Design Team member Melinda Stearns. Today we have Melinda herself sharing a card she created using her own designs she created for our own Rubbernecker’s Scenic Route Paper Pad. Melinda says “I was so inspired by the Tree in Oval for this post. It really spoke to […]

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Learn a Cool Stenciling Technique With Masks

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This stenciling technique with masks adds so much to a card with almost no extra work! We love using stencils and masks together because you can get so much visual interest with so little extra effort – just a little inking! Today’s stenciling technique with masks to add both containment and highlighting is SO easy and, well, just look at that card! Melinda is going to take us through this and you will love how easy it is to do! […]

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A Super Fast and Easy Handmade Card!

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You are going to LOVE this idea for this gorgeous, super fast and easy handmade card! You all know we love cards that can be changed up in lots of ways. Changing out colors, sentiments, shapes, orientation, textures – any card that gives us tons of ways to make it and still be a knockout really gets us excited. Today’s super fast and easy handmade card from Melinda does just that! Melinda loves to make clean and simple cards and […]

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Use Up Patterned Paper Scraps – So Pretty!

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Today’s idea to use up patterned paper scraps is quick and clever and looks so great! Melinda made today’s cards for us and we are here for the super fun way she shared for how to use up patterned paper scraps. We can see this fun trick being used lots of ways and love the variety and unexpected pop of visual texture from the patterns Melinda chose. Melinda says she was inspired by her living in the mountains. She says […]

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How to Paint Simple Watercolor Cards

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Even if you are a beginner, today’s tips will show you how to paint simple watercolor cards that are just stunning! Today Melinda – one of our expert Design Team members with a real eye for watercoloring – is sharing her tips for how to paint simple watercolor cards. Once you get these basic techniques down, you will be able to create cards hand painted by you that will all be your own little miniature works of art! Melinda says […]

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Make Custom Paper For Die Cuts!

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Learn two easy ways to make custom paper for die cuts! Today’s beautiful card comes to us from Melinda and we are so excited to learn her tips to make custom paper for die cuts so every card you create can be uniquely your design! Melinda says “I just love this butterfly die – it gets a ton of use in my craft room. I also knew I wanted to use some other items in my craft stash that haven’t […]

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A Quick and Easy Card With Die Cut Frames

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Add tons of interest to a quick and easy card with die cut frames. Today we have Melinda to thank for this great idea for a quick and easy card with die cut frames to add some instant, easy interest. She says “I wanted to create a colorful card today that didn’t require extensive coloring. I love these new frame dies and definitely wanted to incorporate them into today’s design.” We love how Melinda used the different stamps in our […]

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Make a Simple Floral Thank You Card

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See why this simple floral thank you card can have therapeutic benefits! Did you ever had a day when your soul just needed to sit down and color, like when you were a kid? Well today’s simple floral thank you card gives you just that opportunity. Melinda says “I stamped a whole page of the florals from Always On My Mind stamp set. I grabbed a bunch of alcohol markers in colors I was drawn to and sat down and […]

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An Idea for a Beautiful Card Made With Scraps!

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This beautiful card made with scraps is so versatile and is one of the prettiest ways to get rid of your stash! This beautiful card made with scraps of all things is from Melinda and we are in LOVE with this design that can help you clean out your stash. Melinda was inspired by both her scrap stash and a baker’s rack on which she has a collection of house plants. Her genius is our inspiration and we love that […]

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Add Highlights to Flowers With Copics

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See a quick and easy way to add highlights to flowers with Copics for beautiful results! Today we are sharing this beautiful mini slimline birthday card from Melinda. Melinda is showing off a very simple but effective way to add highlights to flowers with Copics and we can’t get over how just this one quick little step adds so much dimension! Let’s get right into it! Melinda started by making her mini slimline card base by creating the base and […]

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Make a Card With a Color Wheel In Ombre!

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Today’s beautiful color wheel in ombre is all you need to make this card a work of art! Today we have a beautiful, clean and simple birthday card made by Melinda. She created a color wheel in ombre effect with die cuts and it is simply breathtaking! We can see this done in so many variations with different die cuts, a single color ombre look and even as a row instead of a circle. Any way you put this together […]

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Silhouette Stamping Over Ink Blending – Stunning!

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Come see how to make this simple yet gorgeous card with silhouette stamping over ink blending. Melinda says “I love checking out older trends in card making. I was super inspired recently by some cards using silhouette stamps”. That inspired her to create this beautiful, moody, mystical card using silhouette stamping over ink blending. It’s so simple and we think an undersung technique, which you can appreciate when you see a card like this! Let’s see how Melinda made this […]

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Two Easy Watercolor Effects for Cards

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See two easy watercolor effects for cards in one project! There are lots of techniques out there to add color and interest to projects and today’s two easy watercolor effects for cards from Melinda is a perfect combination. Melinda used a leftover piece from this project and an incredibly fast way to add so much textural depth and we can’t wait for you to see it so you can try it out! About that leftover piece, Melinda says “The background […]

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Easy Color Burst Background For Christmas Cards!

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Check out this stunning background for Christmas cards that you can make easily with Color Bursts! Despite the atypical colors, this background for Christmas cards gives us all the winter feels. And it’s SO easy to achieve this beautiful, dimensional, watercolor-y look using Color Burst powders and a stencil. Melinda says “I enjoy making a bunch of backgrounds that I can use anytime I need a quick card. Its also nice to make a mess clean up and you have […]

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A STUNNING Watercolor Card Background!

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The watercolor card background on this project is so gorgeous and you will not believe how easy it is to make! We love a pretty watercolor card background – the way the colors blend, the lovely movement watercolors offer. Well, THIS card takes that to an entirely new level and when you see how easy it is, we suspect we will be spending a LOT of time in the Color Burst section of our warehouse! Read on to learn Melinda’s […]

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How To Use Stamping Foam With Stencils

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Learn how to use stamping foam with stencils in just a few easy steps! If you’ve been wondering how to use stamping foam with stencils to make custom stamps, you are in the exact right place! Today Melinda is taking one of her favorite stencils from our collection and using it to make a custom stamp for her oh-so-pretty Fall themed Thank You note. She shared with us that she is “going to spend the month of October making thank […]

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