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

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

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

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

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

Product Review Friday...on Saturday

Ok, so I'm a day late (and usually a dollar short, hehe) with the Product Review. I know, I know, I skipped last Friday. So here it is, no more grief please! LOL

Product: Cutterfly

Website: http://www.eksuccess.com/products_detail.php?product_id=8187&sess_id=827e7de166dde523f67f57b9c431c5ca

Purchased Through: Oriental Trading

Cost: $17 - $20

Review: As soon as I saw this, I think my jaw dropped! LOL My first thought was "Swiss Army Knife for girls" Maybe that's a little sexist, but that's what came to mind! Perhaps "Swiss Army Knife for crafters" is a better label. At any rate I could not wait to get it. Overall I think it is very cool. It says there are 11 tools here, but that's sort of a stretch. They think the end of the distresser can also be used as a screwdriver. Hmmm...not what I was thinking of in terms of a screwdriver. As a keychain, well, it's a little too hefty to put my house key and car key on (that's not good for your ignition) but I do carry it around in my purse. I feel like I could start crafting at the drop of a hat, anytime, anyplace with this little guy. hehe It needs to be "broken in" so to speak, cuz at first it is a little hard to open and get the little tools out, but gets easier the more I use it. Also, once I choose my tool, I can close it back up with just that tool out, giving it more of a handle. The keychain gets tucked up inside too so it doesn't get in the way. The ruler only comes out 11 inches. (I though that was a little wierd too, not 12 inches?? what's up with that?) I like all the tools though, like the necessary scissors, tweezers, ruler, plus the ones that may not be so necessary, but fun to have on hand, like the paper piercer, distresser, and stylus. It really is handy to have tucked in my purse or in my car even for "non-crafting" emergencies, like my sweet hub trying to open his new CD. :) I recommend it if you are the kind of person who wants to feel like you are prepared to craft at a moment's notice, or just cuz you want to carry around a really cool compact tool!

Have a great weekend!

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

Boarding Pass

This little cutie was also for my mom. We (her children and our families) got her a day trip to New York City with a friend. We didn't have the actual tickets in hand before Mother's Day, so I made this in their place.

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

Mom's Purse Bag/Card

I made this for my mom for Mother's Day (just got a chance to take a pic of it this weekend when I was visiting). The purse is made from glittery paper, with ribbon, corner punches, a metal charm, and velcro closure. Inside pulls out the "mom it's your day" hanging.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

Bitten By The Bug - Challenge # 2

We are now allowed to post our designs for the Bitten By The Bug challenges on our own blogs. In case you are wondering, BBTB is a blog by Regina Easter featuring designs created with the Cricut die cut machine. Many people simply refer to the Cricut as their "bug". Each week, Regina chooses the project and us designers create the projects. But anyone can take the challenge as well. To see the other designer's creations, go to http://regina-bittenbythebug.blogspot.com

Here is my design for Challenge # 2. It is a birthday bag using ribbons, a chipboard frame, metal charm, stickles, rubber stamp, and a sticker.

Miles of Smiles,
--Melissa

Baby Bag

I originally made this for the BBTB Challenge #2, but then realized it wasn't correct for the challenge. So, I gave it to my cousin and his wife this weekend. They just had a baby girl. I put a gift card inside.

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa

So Far Behind

Well, there goes my winning streak of blogging every day! HaHa. I knew it wouldn't last. Last week was crazy busy! I was working on a wooden chest for my nephew's first birthday, plus cards, swaps, and DT challenge. Phew! Now things are a little more calm. Yay! Had a wonderful weekend "back home." Got to see lots of my relatives, so that was cool. The weather was fantastic as well. So here are some things I made recently....

This first one was for a monogram swap. The card itself is a buttery yellow. The background paper has glitter all over it {I just love pre-glittered papers :)} A piece of vellum, then the "E" with glitter on it as well, wrapped with beaded wire and attached with pop dots. And the "fringe" is some fibers that are usually twisted, but I just untwisted it to make it look like a real fringe.

This next one was for my nephew's first birthday. I embossed the card with bubbles, attached the patterned paper behind the frames, vellum behind the smaller frame, glittered all the letters, and attached the epoxy giraffe with pop dots. I also used green glitter around the smaller frame. I made a matching envelope too out of the patterned paper.

Miles of Smiles,

--Melissa