Graduation Card

Happy Monday! (yeah, right) I made this graduation card for my neighbor to give to a young gentleman who graduated high school this year. It's a tall card, 9 x 4. Inside reads, "Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll be among the stars." The stars are embossed with copper and attached with pop dots. The background paper has glitter on it. The "Congratulations" is stamped and embossed as well. I made a coordinating envelope to match. I liked the black and white, but I felt it needed a dash of some color, so I added the little bits of red.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

Product Review Friday

Here it is, Friday again! Woohoo! I've got another product review for ya. I don't know how long these little guys have been around, but I think they are fairly new. I'm sure not all my product reviews will be about new items, but more about items I am trying for the first time. So let's get on with it....

Product: Cutter Bee Piercing Bugs

Website: http://www.eksuccess.com/products_detail.php?product_id=8186&sess_id=75a3fc2a618b8cf7424f5ddb7a575b62

Purchased Through: Oriental Trading

Cost: $8 - $10 (got mine for $7.99) Review: When I saw these, I thought, "Oh wow, how much easier will that make hole piercing?" Well, they aren't the best thing since sliced bread, but I am growing fond of them. You can see them used on the bird card in the previous post. They aren't as sharp as I thought they would be. I mean Cutter Bee scissors are very sharp, so I thought these guys would be as well, but not really. They definitely pierce the holes, but I've noticed that you have to maintain even pressure when rolling them along. I used a piece of cardboard as the backing, and definitely a ruler. When using a ruler it's best to first place the bug where you want it to start and press it down, then line up the ruler. Otherwise, if you put the ruler in place first, the bug will get "caught up" on the edge of the ruler and not pierce through as deeply. It pierces the holes 1/8" apart, which is nice to have them evenly spaced. When doing the holes on the circular tag (below on the bird card) it was slow going, and I had to stop and turn the tag several times. It wasn't one smooth, fluid movement around the circular edge. But that's no biggie, you just need a little patience to pierce a round edge. One thing I didn't love about them was where the retractor slot was. As you can see it is on the side, and as I used the bug, my thumb kept pushing in on the retractor. So what, right? Well, it's one of those "push in and slide back to retract" thingies, and as I was trying to use it, the pressure of using it (ie piercing) in combination with my thumb accidentally pushing on the retractor button made it close, or retract some, in turn making some of the pierced holes different sizes. I just had to be very aware of where my thumb was at all times. Overall, they weren't difficult to use, once you figure it out. I like the texture they create, and I'm sure it will make life easier if I want to stitch with a fiber or ribbon instead of thread. Be aware that they are very small, only about 2 1/2" long, so it's not like they fill your whole hand. More of a fingertip tool. Also, I would like to try other materials to pierce on as a backing, instead of cardboard perhaps a foam sheet, magazine, mousepad etc.

There you go!

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

Blogging Almost Every Day!

Wow! I have been writing on my blog almost every day now. Pretty good. I'm sure I won't say anything over the weekend because I usually stay offline on weekends. Here are 2 cards to show. I finally got them scanned.

The golf cart is pretty simple. I colored it with pencils. The "happy birthday" is a clear sticker. I always feel like plaid needs to be used with anything golf. lol :) The green card is actually much more vibrant than in the pic {scanner does not like bright colors :( }

The bird card is for a swap. I used my Cutter Bee Piercing Bugs on it. (I love anything Cutter Bee!) I also used some flourish stamps in various colors and a phrase stamp. The flowers are dollar store. I used Stickles on the bird, round tag, flowers and brad. I like how this turned out.

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

Another Sad Pet Card

I was "commissioned" to make a card for someone who's family dog died. How sad. It is very similar to the one I previously made, but with different papers and slightly smaller. Again I used stickles on the letters, wings, and halo. The pup is attached with pop dots. The background papers have dog bones and dog words (grrr, bark, woof etc) and paw prints. I made a large heart for the inside of the card and you can see this paper better. It gets kind of covered up here on the front. I also made a matching envelope out of the dog bones paper.

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

Polka-Dots & Pups

I'm curious...do dots actually polka? hahaha Probably only people raised in NEPA will get that... I made this card the other night for a swap of thank-you cards. I crimped the white paper for the pup, used chalk for the details, and tan paper for the outside inked in brown. I think his nose looks like an alien. You see it now too, don't you? lol Ribbon on his collar and for the border, and one of the $1 stamps from Michael's. Attached the pup with pop dots.


Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

How About A Product Review?

Yay, today is Friday! Woohoo! Haven't made cards in the past few days, but I have been working on a swap. I was stamping and embossing several images and I tried out my new embossing powders from The Powder Keg. Somewhere along the line, I thought, hey I should write about these new products I try. :) I'm not associated with any company, so you are getting a totally honest, down-to-earth, no-holds-barred review of these products! I'll try to do a new one every week, probably Friday's. So tune back in! Ok, here goes.....

Product: Powder Keg's hand mixed embossing powders
Colors: Antique Copper, Bronze Patina, Metallic Marble, Not So Rusted Penny, & Copper Kettle
Website: www.powderkegembossingpowders.com
Purchased Through: got at a local rubber stamp show

Review: Although I used only 5 of the many powders available, I was very pleased. They were having a special at a RS show, all these metallics as a set. They had samples there using the product as well, and when I saw them I knew I had to have them. They melt so awesome! These special "recipes" have flecks of other colors in them as well, which makes them really lovely when they melt together. Some give a marble effect, while others are more "spotty", so to speak, but not grainy at all. They melt very smooth and don't stick where I don't want them to! They had some samples using them on chipboard, and let me tell you, they looked like real metals. I can't wait to find other projects to use these on! I would recommend them for sure.

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

Father's Day

Here is a card I made for my dad for Father's Day. I sent it off today and I hope he gets it in time. Our mail is soooo sloooow from here. I stamped and embossed the seagulls, and used torn papers and ink for the background which I then spritzed with 2 different Ritzy Ditzy Glitzy's, then added a few seashell, fish & lighthouse buttons.

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

A Couple of Animal Cards

I decided to make some cards with animals on them last night. I wanted to use "unusual" animals, so I ended up with a blue polka-dotted walrus and a splotchy purple octopus. Yea, I'd say that's unusual! I really like the contrast of squares and circles on the walrus card. I used a bunch of mini stamps for the background on the octopus card. I drew in the "bubbles" and stickled them. Of course, that Beatle's song is now stuck in my head....that one and "I Am The Walrus." Oh well.

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

Weekend Cards

Here are some cards I made over the weekend. I had some beaded stickers lying around for a while, and I finally decided to use them. They look a little darker in the pics, I think because of the beads.

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

Dinner Tonight

Tonight my sweet hub and I are going to dinner at a friend's house. Woohoo! Home cookin'! Always a treat since we rarely dine on anything that wasn't either frozen or from a box. So we'll bring a bottle of wine, and I made this tag to hang around the neck of the wine bottle. It is so hot and humid today I am actually considering turning on the AC. I don't like to do that until after the fourth of July. I can take the heat, but oh the humidity kills me! Have a great weekend!
Miles of Smiles,
Melissa