December 19, 2007

Doggie Christmas

I just loved this Crafty Secrets image, so I used it to make a Christmas Card for a dog-lovin' friend of ours. Again I used that faboo snowflake paper. Also used rubber stamps, white sharpie, pearl brads, stickles, and K&Co. die cut. Who says dogs can't ice skate? lol

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

December 12, 2007

Winter Swap


I made this card for a winter swap. I love love love that snowflake paper! I embossed the trees and added glittered snowflake tree toppers to them. I stamped let it snow and embossed that. I also used one of my Martha Stewart edge punches/embossers. I really like those. Very nice effects. I also sprayed the sled image with garnet RitzyDitzyGlitz, but you can't really tell in the photo. I added stickles to the tree edges and used white metallic rub ons to highlight the embossed areas too.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

BBTB Challenge - Penguin

Here is my latest challenge for Bitten By The Bug. We had to use the penguin, so I cut it out of DCWV cardstocks. The santa hats are s rubber stamp I cut out and used my white Sharpie and frosted lace Stickles on. The letters are rub ons. I tied them together with Scrapper's Floss so the sort of "hinge" to stand up. I think they'd be cute with a rechargeable candle in front of them. Check out the other creations from the other designers at BBTB.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

November 30, 2007

Construction Frame

I made this hinged frame for my brother Matt for his birthday. He just finished renovating our grammy's double block house and moved in recently. For his birthday "card" he requested something "wooden, hinged, with a construction theme." So this is what he got. The card turned into a frame. I hinged two wooden frames together, distressed them with inks and added 3D stickers and cut outs, then put scrapbook paper in each side where the pics will go.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

BBTB Santa Suit Challenge

Here is my design for the BBTB Santa Suit Challenge. I didn't have a lot of time to come up with an idea or to pull it all together, as that was the week of Thanksgiving and we were busy packing and just getting ready for it in general. Overall, I think it turned out OK. Of course afterward, I thought of other ways to make it better, but oh well. Sometimes the Inspiration is just napping somewhere in the corner. lol Lots of sparkles on this one too. I love sparkles....

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

November 19, 2007

BBTB Challenge - Bag

This was the latest Bitten By The Bug Challenge. A bag with rubber stamping. I cut out the bag from a striped vellum, stamped the multi-color leaves background, punched out the flower borders and used RitzyDitzyGlitz on all the black paper. I stamped the large leaf and the words. I also punched the border on the tissue paper. See the other designs at BBTB!

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

BBTB Box Challenge

Here are the pics of the Bitten By The Bug box challenge. I went with a dog theme and put treats inside. I love this fire hydrant paper (SEI?). Check out the other designs at BBTB.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa



November 15, 2007

Abundance

So Thanksgiving is only a week away. Can you believe it? I started working on some cards for the occasion. I had the idea that I wanted them each to have the same word on them, "Abundance", but I wanted to make each card different. It just seemed like a good word to use. Although it can relate to the abundance of the harvest at this time of year, it can apply to so many other things in our life: abunance of love, happiness, blessings, good health, friendships, and so on. At this time of year I like to reflect on all the wonderful blessings in my life. What is abundant in your life? What are you thankful for? Drop me a line and let me know. Maybe you will get some blessings in return!
So here is the first one I came up with. It's kind of a water color effect. The background paper actually has fall vegetables on it. I stickled the pumpkins and the silk flowers, and stapled some fall ribbon to the edge. The edges of the "abundance" tag roll up, but you can't really tell here. The pumpkins are attached with foam dots.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

November 14, 2007

YaY! It's my Birthday

My birthday was yesterday, the 13th of November. I had such a great day. I had many calls and received many cards in the mail. My hub took me out to dinner to Red Lobster (my choice) and he gave me a gorgeous strand of pearls. It is a long strand that I can wear a ton of different ways, so I am really excited about that (yeah, I'm such a girly girl). I even got flowers delivered to my office from some far-off friends, who are just so thoughtful. My younger brother's birthday is exactly 2 weeks after mine, and we usually celebrate both our birthdays at Thanksgiving, so that's when we will exchange gifties. That's always fun to look forward to. Thank you for all the warm wishes and sweet sentiments. It couldn't have been a better day!

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

November 9, 2007

Cards for Charity

I know you all probably think I've been slacking in my card making lately, but I really have been busy! I've been working on Thanksgiving cards, Christmas cards for family, Christmas cards to sell, and these sets of Christmas Cards for a charity auction. Told ya I was busy!! LOL
Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa




November 5, 2007

BBTB Challenge

Here is my latest design for Bitten By The Bug. The challenge was to use the ampersand sign. I made this wall hanging. It's probably not easy to see, but there is so much sparkle going on here. I also didn't show the beaded hanger. I used silk flowers, punches, stickers, chipboard, brads, fibers, and of course Stickles and RitzyDitzyGlitz. I attached the "&" with foam dots. I love the snowflakes paper.
Check out the other designs at Bitten By The Bug, they are all really great!

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

Look What I Got!

Wow, Look at all the cool stuff I got from winning the contest on Jen's blog! I LOVE it all! I finally got me some Bella's! Yeah! And all the Queen and Company stuff is too cute. Thanks so much Jen! Still hard to believe I won (I never win anything!)

Miles of Smiles,

Melissa


October 31, 2007

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween! It's such a fun, scary, creepy holiday. Of course I can't get enough horror films! I love all the "13 days" of scary movies on all the different networks during October. Can you remember your scariest Halloween? I do. When I was a teenager, maybe like 14 or 15, my boyfriend and I went walking around the graveyard on Halloween night. The moon was the only light, but it made it bright enough to see clearly. This graveyard was on a hill, and we walked down the hill turned around and started walking back up. Only about half way up the hill, there appeared a coffin! Right there, where we had just walked! It was resting on some sort of table or stand or something, so the coffin itself was about chest high, and it was all black. We both stopped, we both saw it. We looked at each other and looked back at this mystery casket. We just stood there for a few minutes because we didn't believe our eyes. There was no one else around, not even a sound, so we could not figure out how it got there. I was half tempted to open it, my curiousity was killing me (no pun intended). I don't think my boyfriend shared this desire. Instead we just walked around it, keeping our eyes on it, then bolted the rest of the way up the hill and out of that cemetary!!! We were soo scared! I will never forget that. Do you have any super scary Halloween moments? I'd love to hear them. Just send me an email melisssa2000@yahoo.com. Maybe the scariest one will get a treat! bwa-ha-ha!
Now here are a few quick and simple Halloween cards. I used foam stamps, a rubber stamp,and some stickers.





Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

October 25, 2007

Hello Kitty for My Niece

I made this card for my six year old niece. I can't imagine anyone not liking Hello Kitty. Heck I'm in my 30's and I still like her! lol Talk about an icon that spans the generations. I printed her out several times and made her 3D with about 4 layers. I stickled her dress and flower and used clear glaze on her eyes, nose, buttons, and center of the flowers. The card is actually a buttery yellow, with a cranberry cardstock behind the orange patterned paper. Text is a glittered sticker. I also used my new favorite toy, a white Sharpie. The Sharpie is so much nicer and easier to use than those white gel pens. It is always smooth and fluid. I love it.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

SIL Birthday

This one I made for my sister in law. The colors aren't really right in the pic. The card itself is a sage green, and the printed paper is pinker. I also used good ol' Stickles on the Crafty Secrets image attached with foam dots, a corner punch, ribbon, button, and deco scissors.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

Contest Cards

I made these 2 cards for a contest, which I didn't win. I wish the pics came out better. The natural light was really bad that day.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa




Kitty Birthday

I had to use this picture for a card for a friend. She loves her cats and she is a professional photographer. This pic was destined for her card! lol It's a Crafty Secrets image, some flourish stamps, Stickles, RitzyDitzyGlitz, and brads.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

Hub's Birthday Card

Made this one for my hub's birthday, but it was also for the BBTB challenge a few weeks ago. Cut the B, embossed with copper and stickled the edges in bronze then attached with foam dots.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

October 23, 2007

WooHoo! I won

Wow! I'm so excited. For the first time I won some Blog Candi! I never win anything so this is pretty cool. One of the blogs I try to read frequently is Jen's over at Pieces of Me, and she had a contest going on regarding the background music on her blog. I knew it instantly cuz it is from one of our favorite movies: Ocean's 11 (you know what Vegas Nuts we are!) My name was randomly drawn, but I think it was a little bit of Lady Luck on my side! teehee If you get a chance, go on over and browse Jen's blog, there is always a lot going on!

Miles of Smiles,
Melissa

October 22, 2007

Links To Our Vegas Vaca

Hey peeps!
Here are the links to our Vegas Vaca pics. I created 3 pages: one for the first half of the week, one for the Grand Canyon, and one for the remainder of the week. Thanks for taking a peek.
http://www.1melissa.com/vegas07.htm
http://www.1melissa.com/grandcanyon.htm
http://www.1melissa.com/vegas072.htm

Miles of Smiles,
Melissa

October 17, 2007

Vacation Pics

Yay, I've finally started to get our vacation pics posted on my web. Here is one of me at the Grand Canyon. Pretty cool, huh? There are a few good pics of my hub and brother out on a ledge. I crawled out there too. I wasn't really afraid, which was weird. I also have a funny pic of my feet dangling over the edge of the canyon. I am still sick. I swear, I feel like I have been almost constantly sick since July! This time I am just letting it work itself out. It has to clear up eventually, right? Grrrrr....

Miles of Smiles,
Melissa

October 11, 2007

Viva Las Vegas, bay-bee!

Hello again,
I am back from my week in fabulous Las Vegas. It was so awesome! We had such a good time. Unfortunately I came back with a cold which is why it is taking me a few days to post anything. I can't believe all that we saw and all that we did. It is such a cool town! It really is true, that time has no meaning there. I woke up when I felt like it and went to sleep when I was tired, or the slot reels started getting blurry, whichever came first! LOL We stayed in our timeshare villa for the first time and it was very nice. Only a block off the strip behind the Harley Davidson Cafe and next to Planet Hollywood. We took a day trip to the Grand Canyon which is just breathtakingly spectacular--I don't care how many times I see it, it will never cease to amaze me. Another highlight was the Cirque de Soleil's Beatles Love show. Sooooooo cooooool! That was our first Cirque show, and we will definitely see more. I haven't downloaded the pics from our camera yet, so be patient. Hopefully within the next few days. Viva Las Vegas!

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

September 25, 2007

Bitten By the Bug Challenge

The last challenge was to use a border cut from the Walk In My Garden cartridge. I chose a leaf border, which I stickled the edges in bronze. I stamped "Autumn" and embossed with copper as well as the leaves hanging on the ribbon. Check out the other designer's creations at http://regina-bittenbythebug.blogspot.com. They are all fabulous!


Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

Hi Hi Hi!

I have been swamped with getting things taken care of around the house before we leave for Vegas, and then TRYING to decide what to pack. Going to Vegas requires a little more thought on what clothes to throw into the suitcase. We've gotta look "pimped out" and that requires wardrobe testing, as in trying on different outfits in different combinations. It's exhausting! LOL Here is a pic of me and my Florida friend Daphne, at the SDV (Scrapper's Dream Vacation) at Disney's Contemporary Resort. This pic cracks me up, with the stickles in our hands!
Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

September 13, 2007

I'm Back!

I have returned from my first Scrapper's Dream Vacation (SDV) in Orlando, Florida. It was a blast! I met some really nice people, got to see some old friends, and scrapped away day and night. I would love to go every year. It was also my first trip flying by myself. I was a little worried, but I was travelling along like a pro. I have flown so many times before, there really was no need to worry myself so. The rest of September will be busy as well. We are getting ready for our trip to Vegas. Can't wait for that! It's good to be back!

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

August 28, 2007

Butterfly Birthday

Made this one for a friend's birthday. Bright green card, embossed floral paper, ribbon, fabric scrap, sticker, and butterfly (die cut from Cricut). The butterfly's wings are spritzed with Ritzyditzyglitz so they shimmer and the spots have Stickles on them.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

August 22, 2007

Have A Tall Frosty One

This is a birthday card I made for a neighbor who is (obviously) a Dallas Cowboys fan. I hand drew the template for the mug, handle, top & bottom lips, and the frothy brew. teehee The logo is printed on vellum. The handle and lips are coated with a glaze to give them a shine. The "brew" is sprayed with bronze RitzyDitzyGlitz (like a sheer glitter) then the froth is highlighted by gold Stickles. I have other ideas for this template as well!

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

August 21, 2007

Birthday Card & Monogram Notecards

Well, we had a lot of fun at the baseball game on Friday night. They were having silent auctions for charity for the player's jerseys, which were made special just for that night and they were very cool. Blue hawaiian with a parrot. We won one of the jersey's, and we took a pic of me on the field with it. I have to get that pic to post on here. Lots of fun!

I made this birthday card for a friend who turned 40. I also made her a set of monogrammed notecards. Hope she likes them!
Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

August 17, 2007

Pink & Chocolate Baby

I love pink and chocolate colors together. I made this baby card last night. This one I'd say is a little more "trendy" than traditional. The brown satin ribbon with pink stitching is just lucious. hehe. Textured card, Prima flowers, rhinestones, Stickles, tulle, rubber stamp, chalk.

We're going to a baseball game tonight, so that should be fun. I may miss Monk and Psyche though. I told the hub we should just leave at 9:00 since we live literally 4 minutes from the stadium. I think there are fireworks though tonight, so I think we'll be staying 'til the end.

Have a great weekend!

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

August 16, 2007

Some New Cards

I made these cards last night for a friend of mine.

This first one is obviously a birthday card. I like to try using color combinations that you wouldn't normally think of, in this case, turquoise / orange / fucshia. The flower is 3D and I created the word circle on the computer. Button is vintage Grammy. Stickles on all the aqua.











This next card is also a birthday card, very girly I think. Sage green and purples. I stitched around the card and to hold the ribbon in place. Paper and silk flowers, gold brads, rubber stamped (Happy Birthday), and Stickles.





This card was fun because it says "Heart Felt Wishes", and the hearts are cut out of felt! teehee The card itself is green parchment, with chocolate cardstock and a printed paper with flowers and ivy and words. The scallops around the felt hearts are more of a raspberry color, though hard to tell in the pic. I did more stitching! My sewing machine got a workout last night!


This birthday card is for a young boy. It's a larger card (5 x 7). The card is aqua with printed papers, embossed turquoise paper, mustard letters/numbers, chipboard frame, party hats, and of course, Stickles. The Stickles are on the letters and numbers but you can't really see it in the pic. I have a better pic of that.






Last one! A baby card, but I'm not quite happy with it. It's supposed to be a bib, but it looked better when I sketched it out than it does here. I stitched the edge of the bib to the felt edge. Used ribbon to edge the card, buttons, rubber stamps, Stickles. I can't quite figure out why it doesn't look right...is the bib too big? I don't know.
Anyway, I've been busy! And I've got some more to do tonight as well. Whew!
Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa


August 14, 2007

Bitten By The Bug #8

Another week gone by....where oh where do these days of summer disappear to? Here is my latest creation for Bitten By The Bug. The challenge was to use any animal from Zooballoo. These vultures had such a cuteness to them, I had to try them. See the other girls' creations at http://regina-bittenbythebug.blogspot.com. As usual, they are all so clever!

On another note, in just a few short weeks I will be attending a Dream Events crop in Orlando, Florida at Disney's Contemporary Resort. www.dreameventsinc.com/sdv.cfm I have never been to a crop, so this will be truly amazing, I am sure. I love Disney to begin with, and to be there doing paper crafting is just too much to handle! lol I'm very excited and so looking forward to it.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

August 9, 2007

Bitten By The Bug: Challenge #7

Here is my latest creation for Bitten By The Bug. The challenge was to use the wheelbarrow from the Walk in My Garden cartridge. I had a little trouble with it, but in the end it turned out OK. Check out the other designs at www.regina-bittenbythebug.blogspot.com. They all came out so great! I love to see everybody else's creations each week. Those ladies are so talented. :)

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

August 8, 2007

Trying To Keep Coooool

Oh my word, it is sooooo HOT today. When I open our back door, it's like a blast furnace, practically pushing me down. Whew! We had some house guests this week, so they have been keeping me busy, plus I have been very busy at work. We had a lovely day at the beach yesterday. Thankfully, it was a little overcast so we weren't baking. So needless to say, the little ol' blog has been neglected a bit. But never fear, I'm still here. My little niece was crafting with me during her visit. She really likes all my "crafty stuff" and we had such a good time.

I managed to make another project using an ice cream container. This one is for Christmas Cookies. I am having a fine ol' time altering these ice cream vats! teehee

Think cool thoughts....think cool thoughts.....think cool thoughts......



Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

July 26, 2007

Altered Ice Cream Container

I needed a place to stash all my crafting CD's...ya know, fonts, patterns, clip art etc... I saved an ice cream container knowing one day I'd make something purrrty out of it. I realized it's a perfect size to hold CD's in their cases. Woohoo! I have tons of other ideas for these containers as well, so quite possibly you will see other creations. Whew, I better get started eating all that ice cream....oh darn....LOL! By the way, I did visit the doctor, and good thing cuz to my total shock I have strep throat. I've never had that in my life. I could not believe it. Anyhoo, the antibiotics seem to be helping a little.



Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

July 24, 2007

One Week Later...

Yes, I am aware that it's been a week since I posted anything. I've had a cold that I just can't shake, and lower back pain, so the last thing on my mind is my blog. But here is a card I whipped up last night for a family member. Maybe I'll drag my butt to the doctor at some point.


Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

July 17, 2007

New Design for BBTB

Here is my latest design for the BBTB Challenge #4. The challenge was to use one of the two "blurbs" from the George cartridge. I like to call them "thought balloons." Anyhoo, I figured the most obvious thing would be to put some sort of words or thoughts in them. But as I just stated, that's so obvious. Since it is a challenge, I challenged myself a step further: to use them in a totally unobvious way. I picked the rounder of the two, cut it out four times and layered it with the tails pointing in different directions. Hmmm... Kinda looks like a beetle, so I added the swinging wings, and some text underneath. Voila! Beetle Swing Card. It's glitzy, creepy, and even a little cute. :) Perfect for a boy's Halloween card....I may just give this to my nephew.

See the other designer's creations at http://regina-bittenbythebug.blogspot.com/. They are all sooo cute!
Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

July 13, 2007

Product Review Friday

Hello again. It's that special day of the week....time for a product review. Hmmmm...what will it be this week? Oh the suspense is killing me....especially since I have no idea. hahaha! Just kidding. Here we go....

Product: Rubber Stamp Tapestry peg stamp sets

Website: http://www.rubberstamptapestry.com

Purchased Through: Got at a RS show

Cost: varies by size of set, average @ $10

Review: This company was referred to me by an older crafter lady who has since passed away. She had trouble with arthritis and found these peg stamps easier to work with. Indeed, they are fun to use, arthritis or not. They are each a little tid-bit, but when you use them together, you get fantastic results! Just browse their website to see. You can buy them in sets, or they have singles too. I buy the sets, and find myself mixing and matching images. Too fun! They now have pretty border stamps as well, but I don't have any of those (yet!) On the back of each set are instructions for how to layer and create beautiful wreaths, backgrounds, or frames, so there's nothing to be intimidated about. The result looks like you spent hours creating it, but really, it's fast work, fun, and very pleasing. I recommend them, especially for anyone who may occasionally get a little "bored" with stamping (yes, it happens even to the best of us!) lol

Have a great weekend!
Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

July 11, 2007

Bitten By The Bug: Challenge # 3

Here is my design for the third BBTB Challenge. It's other life was a candy tin. Now it's a really pretty gift tin. You can see more at the BBTB blog site http://regina-bittenbythebug.blogspot.com. These ladies made some really great projects. I honestly love them all! Great job girls!













Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa