Melody's Sofa

A SHORT LITTLE UPDAAAAAAATE....

................................................................................................................................................................Wanted to let y'all know that not ALL of the products have arrived here at the studio...so not only will there be MORE Artsy.licious photos coming soon.....frames, the ACTUAL books...alphabets, tags......THEN I WILL ALSO BE ABLE TO start sending out the prize packs...not only for this little round of fun N games...but also for the book giveaways I had a few weeks ago...promising a little bit of happiness as a bonus....

SOOOOOOO...that's the word.

AND SOON..I will be doing another proper blog post. I would tell you what I've been up to...but I'm not sure if (A.) you would care or (B.)you would even believe me.....ha ha ha .....I have had SO MUCH WORK TO DO...as well as school getting out.....sending my son on his East Coast adventure for the summer and lots of other stuff that maybe I'll ramble on about later...

BUT...I was sitting here going out of my mind from looking at my screen for so long, designing and proofing...and wanted to stop by and say HELLLLOOO....AND, tell you the skinny on the prizes....OH...speaking of skinny.....I have finally found a really good diet....I've lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks...10 more to go.

I will tell you about that later too!!!

HAVE A BEEEEEEEEAUTIFUL DAY!
melody
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A Fabulous Quote...

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Reading a little bit before bed...I came across this quote! ANd so...wanted to share....this is for all of us who are in "GROWTH MODE"....it's what life is all about...growth...I love this quote. Have a great night...sweet dreams...

melody

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“I am here again, in a familiar place feeling something I've felt before, wondering why it's still here, why I didn't deal with it more fully before. But I'm glad I have a second chance at it ... and I know that if I need a third chance, I'll get it. I also know that if it comes up again, I'll recognize it sooner and deal with it more readily. This is growth. And, I am happy to be alive.”
-Jan Denise quotes
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Yes...I said Holy Moley!!!

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I just want to say thanks! What a wonderful bunch of comments! I think everything fabulous has already been done in the scrapbooking and designer paper industry...and it's always fun to try to figure something out that hasn't already been thought of....or put a twist on the same kinda stuff......lots of evolutions we've all seen over the last 12 years! Thanks for loving the funky, artsy twist we got to put on monochromatic yumminess, you gotta really brainstorm to put a new twist on paper!!!...I really am in love with this stuff! I am so glad you are too!

We are gonna spend some time reading through all of your clever and fabulous ideas...then I'll tell you who is gonna get the goodie boxes....sometime in the next few weeks (so you have time to post your ideas until we are ready)...as we are deep in the middle of deadlines for stuff for next year.....that I WisH I COULD SHARE NOW....I'm gettin' my groove back! I am loving everything we are turning out in the studio these days....it's just so much fun!!!

I also wanted to tell you that Courtney Walsh is our new Design Team Coordinator...she is going to be putting out a call for Design Team Auditions soon.....so be watching for that if you are interested! She is one of my very favorite people, ever...and she was a long time Chatterbox Girl....on one of our very first design teams for years and years...I adore her as a person and as an artist.....it's going to be such a blast to see the team that she puts together.

I have gotten quite a few emails asking some of the same questions..."we are glad you are back...but where have you been?" well..........it's a long long story......getting through the rough rough rapids of the last few years...and not being able to design much at all for the last 4 years...but things are coming back full steam.....just before my husband's accident...I had so many things in the works...fabric, wallpaper, dishes, bedding, fashion.....and it's all picking back up...I AM SO THANKFUL....God has been very good to us. It's been a long, difficult haul....but we feel fortunate as a family and I feel so very fortunate as an artist to be able to do what I love.....I will share more as things evolve.....THANK YOU for the encouraging words...it's amazing how kind and wonderful people can be....I want you to know how much it means to me.

I had the opportunity to do the keynote speech on Saturday morning at a wonderful event...it's been a few years since I've done public speaking...I have to admit...with all of the issues that I dealt with when I lost control of the business, all of the yucky things that happen when something like that happens...I have sort of been terrified of people....know what I mean? Business failures leave a lot of fallout that is heartbreaking for everyone. It meant so much to me what a warm reception I recieved...how kind and fabulous everyone was....I want to thank all of those women.....so much, for helping me get my groove back when it comes to public speaking....I am doing another event in June...I will share the details with you later.
P.S.
I got a few emails asking about the big posters I had at my speech....I ordered them from Shutterfly.com for $11.99 and mounted them to foam core.....now I am hanging them in my house!

OK...I think that's all for now...like I said...if you still want to post your ideas...it's not too late! The more the merrier!! I am LOVING reading all of your terrific ideas!

Have a beautiful, joy-filled week! Thanks for bringing so much joy into mine!
All the best,
Melody
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WANT SOME???????

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OK....here's the deal....
Want some Artsy.licious????........here's how to get some FREE.....

I am gonna send a big box to lots and lots of people....

TELL ME WHAT PROJECT YOU WOULD MAKE WITH IT....if I sent it to you....

AND THEN

I will pick a bunch of people who have great creative ideas....I don't know how many yet....and all you have to do is send me back pictures of what you did with it...so we can put them on my blog and on the NOW BEING REMODELED Chatterblog......

Tell me your favorite colors...what you want to make....etc.

AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!! I have LOTS OF STUFF TO GIVE AWAY....

HURRY!! I wanna do this SOOOOON!!! TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

p.s. thanks for all the sweet emails! :)
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WITH A HUGE SMILE....Introducing.......

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Ok....this has been almost as good as having a baby...ok, maybe not THAT good.....but....pretty close. I wish I had EVERYTHING to show you....but only a few products have made it here thus far.....AND...I am showing you first round samples of the Artsy.licious books....so THEY ARE BETTER now....they have bronzed rings and coils and they are OH SO BEAUTIFUL....but I still had to include my samples in here......because even those are STUNNING....
So...here goes:

this is like a candy shop to me....and...PHOTOS DON'T DO THIS STUFF JUSTICE......whoa whoa whoa......I am serious....I just wish you could grasp the incredible yumminess of this stuff...........I will start by showing you how the stuff I have here in PEACOCK BLUE goes together....we have everything in all 7 colors....but I chose PEACOCK today because it matches with my blog....and you know....the shoes gotta go with the purse, etc....

Look at the textures....all different.....the papers you can get in FLOCKED, TINSEL (vintage super-sprarkly glitter designs...tone on tone) ENGRAVED (stunning foiled designs) and LACQUER (ultra-thick shiny goodness....) and there's wonderful books that go with them with FABULOUS deeply embossed designs on each page...and the pages are thick art-board...kind of like the stuff coasters are made out of?? They are thickly flocked on the outside...and like I said...the rings and coils are bronzed (not in these photos...but will show you as soon as they come in....next...I will move on to some close-ups...where, I invited some KOHL BLACK to join us on this Artsy Expedition.....again, because it matches with my blog AND because it is FREAKIN HOT....ok...sorry...I swore I'd stop swearing...and that's my default for a half swear word......but...I want to express to you how LUSCIOUS this all is.....
OH YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!!!!!!!!! I want to glue dot this stuff to everything...including my own self........it is so very very pretty and high-quality and artsy and funky and wonderful....ok....next....let's take a close look at each of the kinds of paper.......when I said LACQUER IS FAB...I AM NOT KIDDING....check out the KOHL BLACK LACQUERED paper......WOW!!!
And.......if that's not the bee's knees....let's move on to TINSEL PAPER....I am loving this all....dreaming of how I'm gonna combine it together to make incredible stuff......all of the mono-chromatic stunning-ness with so many different textures and deliciousness....
....and of course....our scrumptious flocked paper...that I wish I could wallpaper my entire house with.......oh man oh man is it lush........and plush......and thick and soft and velvety....and GORGEOUS!!!
....and we can't live without the foiled paper to bring elegance and blingy blinginess.........lovely lovely lovely...can you see the possibilitites??????? YOU MuST!!! My mind is going CRAZY over this....
NOW....let's talk about these INCREDIBLE and jaw-dropping.....drool-inducing books........perfect for gift books, mini-books, photography portfolios.....suitable for framing to just stare at...I took some close-ups so you can see the textures...I hope you can get from these photos how wonderfully thick and textured the cover and pages are....notice the "M" on the page...that's the artsy.licious alphabets in peacock...which I have not recieved yet...but saved one single M from earlier samples....


available in 7 colors....2 sizes...different designs on each of the 14 of them.......inside and out......FABULOUS FABULOUS FABULOUS!!!!


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Ok....lemme tell you....this is why I made Artsy.licious...I made it because I wanted it...I look for stuff like this...stuff that goes together but doesn't look the same....stuff that you can layer and stack and group and make ANYTHING with....simple or complex...and it always looks AMAZING because the materials are so OUTSTANDING and BEAUTIFUL...........I am SO SO SO SO SO SO THRILLED to have this line of products moving out THIS WEEK into stores.....TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!! CALL YOUR STORES!!!! Lots more to come later....this is just all we have here at the studio so far......Please pass this on to anyone who would love it...PLEASE!!!??? thank you!! Soon I will be posting loads of products made with this and all of the other DELICIOUS stuff that's on it's way.....



Prices? REALLY GOOD!
the pack of treasures...which has all sorts of buttons, gems and felt shapes is about $7.95
the lovely selection of brads...$6.95
the specialty cardstock paper with the yummy treatments...$1.95
the tone on tone cardstock....$.95
and the books...and I can't believe this price...you won't either
Big one...$12.95
Small one...$11.95
GATHER YOUR PENNIES ARTSY PEOPLE!!!!

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ok...I'm gonna go stare at it some more....***sigh*** I am in love...

OH MY GOOOOOOOOOODNESSSSS!!!!!

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Ok...you are just gonna die when you see the stuff that I just took photos of.....now I have to head to a meeting for hours...but the photos are downloading and I will post them when I get back.....WHOA!!! It's the first shipment of ARTSY.LICIOUS stuff that I just got...that will start shipping to all stores this week....I will be getting shipments of more new stuff all week.....but this stuff could NOT HAVE TURNED OUT more STUNNING, GORGEOUS, FUNKY, ARTSY, ELEGANT....never seen anything like it...it's everything I dreamed it up to be......it's SO GRATIFYING to finally see some of what I have been working on in PHYSICAL FORM...and

YOU KNOW
I WILL BEING DOING TONS OF GIVEAWAYS!!!!

YIPEEEEEEE!

You are gonna love love love it!!!!!
Come back and see the photos soon!
Artsy.Melody :)

Let's Go Blog Surfing....

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I have a whole bunch of photos to share....and some killer writing that I'm gonna post later (not mine...but that of my first born...) I can't find my card reader and I am deep in the midst of creating massive amounts of products that won't even be in stores for another year!! (I so wish I could show them....but I will be doing some previews soon of stuff that will be out next month)

OK......SO TODAY....

WOULD YOU PLEASE POST LINKS TO:
(a.) your personal blogs
(b.) any blogs that you absolutely love and frequent often

I will post my favorites later...

Have a great day! I can't wait to see where you take us!!

Melody

ONE MORE

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one of just the kids.....

OK....so several of you are in BIG TROUBLE for giving me ANOTHER addiction to deal with...I AM IN LOVE WITH THE PIONEER WOMAN'S WEBSITE!!!! WOW!!!

Ok...now...

Once you load the actions...how do you get them to work in Photoshop?
Can you believe I am so behind when I use Photoshop for a living almost every day?? Old school me....

Can someone tell me how to use actions?????

THANKS!!!
have a gorgeous day,
melody

It is Time....

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I can't believe all of the conversations I've had this week about people being in "transition"...life is sort of up in the air...things are pretty unpredictable...even unstable...BUT...the cool part is...when I ask people..."so what are you gonna do?" they start telling me wonderful things that start with one of these sentences...
"Well I was thinking I could..."
"Something I've always wanted to do is...."
"This is giving me the motivation to finally...."

......and other wonderful phrases like that......I challenge you this week...NO, TODAY...to ask yourself the questions under the WAKE UP! birdie up there......ASK YOURSELF......Maybe THiS IS YOUR TIME!!! Don't let uncertainty get you down...let it PROPEL you toward the stuff that you've been thinking all along.....

I love times like these....I keep hearing the most amazing ideas...I can't wait to see what comes from all of it...I am going to journal these very questions AGAIN today.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR LIFE!!!
It IS time!!!
Lots of Love
Melody

Couch in the back yard?

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I have been wanting to do this for a long time...and finally talked Marq and Brock into moving the couch out the front door (not without lots of bribes!)...all the way around the side of the house and out to the field in our back yard......I didn't know what would be the best time of day...but we tried to get out there right around sundown....maybe another 30 minutes would have been softer light....

I am experimenting a lot right now with photography....having a blast....anyone know great websites with tutorials, etc?

....will be sharing lots of creative experiments this week.......in a creative blitz right now.....having a blast!

Have a wonderful week!!
Melody

P.S.
Thanks, Chels for shooting for us...and Angie and Tess for making us laugh in the background