Poodles Poodles Everywhere

I'm sure you all think I haven't been card making lately, but you are wrong. I started working on Christmas cards, and figured it was a little too early to post them! But I do have a few things to share. This card I made for my niece's 7th birthday. I used my Stardust pen over all the poodles on the patterned paper. I loved the pink and aqua colors together.
Miles of Smiles,

Scary Moment This Morning

So I'm getting into my car this morning on my way to work, and I realize that there is a spider web on my car. No biggie. As I get closer, I see that the web goes from the back door all the way to my rear view mirror. Wow. Kind of impressive. (tried to get a pic but the sun was working against me). I open my door....and I see movement. On the rear view mirror is a spider the size of Texas! Of course I involuntarily scream and slam the door. I remember repeating the phrase "holy shit" a few times as well. I mean this thing is a monster. It's ginormous when it's all scrunched up, but when it moves and stretches out, (again) holy shit! I have to remain calm....but I have to get a pic because no one is going to believe me. I very carefully take a pic with my phone (you can see my reflection with my look of terror). Then I got get the broom. This is not good. I feel the need for reinforcements but of course I am all alone and my knight in shining armor (Ben) is thousands of miles away. First I sweep the web away. This only infuriates the beast. Oh God...it turned around...it's LOOKING at me. ieeeeewwwww....it's got red something on it's face; I don't know if it's fangs or eyes or blood from its latest victim or what but it now sees me and is not happy. I swat the broom at it again. I have sandals on so there's no way I'm going to attempt to step on it. This time he flies off the mirror but is still attached to the spider web so I have to wait like 5 seconds for him to gently float to the driveway. Then I smash him with the broom! once....twice....three times. He's curled up, but I think he's only feigning death. Fine....feign all you want, I'm just gonna sweep you into the lawn and if a bird happens to swoop down and eat you up I'm not going to lose sleep over it. So I sweep, but then....where did he go? Seriously...where the hell is he? I NEED to see spider carcass somewhere to set my mind at ease. Oh God...did he fly up on me or in my hair? Oh noooo.....heebie jeebies! I have no idea where he went. He may still be in the broom......which I guess I will have to burn now. And for the rest of the day I will have the heebie jeebies thinking I feel it walking on me awaiting it's revenge. I know you'll probably look at the picture and think, oh that's not so big. But look at it in relation to my rear view mirror! When he's all stretched out walking he's like a quarter of the size of the mirror. oh so creepy! I think I was very brave considering I HATE spiders. Oh and then I get to work as as I'm walking to my desk, some weirdo bug starts trotting across the carpet too. I suppose he had some email to check....so I stomp him to death as well. He was a piece of cake compared to spidey. Not a good day for insects (OK, or technically arachnids)....What next?....Come on....Bring It On!!!

Melissa's Shopbooking Adventure!

Yes, you read that right...it's not misspelled....a SHOPBOOKING Adventure! I had scheduled a vacation for myself since the spring. Originally it was supposed to be to go to the SDV (Scrapper's Dream Vacation) at Disney in Orlando, as I had done last year. But us girls got to talking about it, and how super expensive it is to do that....and, well, before we knew it, D. asked if we wanted to save some money and use her timeshare for a condo in Tampa (Indian Shores, actually) and have our own little scrapbooking getaway. We knew there were several stores in the surrounding areas that we wanted to visit, a few rather well-known ones. The idea was we'd save money from going to the SDV and use it to go shopping instead! Ok, well this was a no brainer. We all said YES! duh And this was for a whole week, not just 4 days like the Disney one would be. So I (strategically) packed my paper and scissors, glue, inks and embellishments for my trip to Tampa. I was so organized and proud of myself....I had all my paper, buttons, stickers etc in my carry on (basically anything that wouldn't set off a red flag) and the rest of my glues, inks, scissors etc in half of my suitcase. The other half I did have to pack some clothes and swimsuits (yes, I know, unfortunately!) It was CRAZY. There were always 4 of us. It was Me, D, V, and L, and then V left midweek and R arrived. Yes, we were silly and called each other by our first initial most of the time too. The mini van was loaded to the brink of explosion! Aside from XL bags, luggage, food etc we also had a few folding tables to use at the condo. We had a Cricut Expression, Cuttlebug, stamps, inks, rub-ons, and paper galore! And that doen't even count the ginormous piles of scrap stuff we purchased. There were "seat gifts" and prezzies flying all over the place. One of our gifts D made us was adorable pink T's with an iron-on of our adventure: Shopbooking Adventure 2008 with all our names listed. Too cute! We have many pics of us in those shirts. So in case you need explanation of that, we SHOPPED during the day and SCRAPBOOKED at night - hence shopbooking! Great, huh? Since Tropical Storm Fay was heading right for us, all we watched on TV was either the Weather Channel or the Olympics, and an occasional DVD movie. We didn't get hit too bad from the storm. It headed inland and stalled. We had one day of rain and wind, but nothing like what the east coast ended up getting. Even Deltona got a ton of rain. We had soooo much fun, laughin' and scrappin' and shoppin' and drivin'. And boy, did we do some driving! Like I said we were on the gulf, and we drove to Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, St. Petersburg, just to name a few. We hit a shop on the way in, called Violette's and it was my favorite out of all the shops we visited. It was super cute, very large, good selection (slightly higher prices), and a wonderful staff. We ended up stopping there again on our way home. With all the shopping I did, I couldn't bring too much of it back with me, so I left it at D's for now. I figure I will only be without it for about a month, and then we'll be living down there. Poor D has a bunch of my stuff (thanks, sis) probably getting in her way and I'm sure she'll be glad when I can retrieve it! When I do, it will be like Christmas, because I'm sure I won't even remember what I left. That'll be fun! Throughout the trip, there were 2 things in particular that I was on a mission to find: a Basic Grey stamp set called Grow A Garden and a corner punch that makes a notch (think backwards corner rounder). Did I find either? Nope. So bummed about that. But we got some good deals with clearance items and sales, so I can't complain. We drove back up to Deltona on Saturday and I got to see my hub and our house until I left on Monday to fly back home. It was such a great trip! Met some fab new gals, and I hope we can do it again next year.

Miles of Smiles,

Train Challenge, BBTB

This week's BBTB challenge was to use the train. I created the caboose myself. Mine doesn't even compare to all the great designs done by my fellow designers. Go check them out at BBTB and see for yourself. These girls ROCK! They are so clever!

Miles of Smiles,

Purple Hippo

Such a happy little hippo! Tiptoeing thru the tulips! Buttery yellow cardstock, embossed metallic purple cardstock. Green torn edge with border punch. The yellow shiny brad-looking things are those metal bangle bling things that just get glued on. I love the purple metallic cardstock. The pic doesn't do it justice. Of course I used my Stardust pen for her freckles as well!

Miles of Smiles,

Froggy # 2

Here is another froggy card. I guess I'm into the froggy images lately! I used a bubble corner punch to frame the image. Two corner I slid under the bubbles and the two other corners I slid over the bubbles but still under the corner. Light green and dark green cardstock. DCWV glittered flower paper. Ribbons. I printed out the words and chalked over them. I used my Stardust pen on his freckles, which you can see more clearly in the close up.
Miles of Smiles,

Feel Better Card

Here is a card I made last night for my aunt / godmother who recently had surgery. I really love the colors, muted green and purple. I used the Cricut to cut out the layered frames. I inked all the edges with brown. Used brown polka-dot ribbon and a brown cardstock sticker behind the flowers. The flowers are just some silk ones I had lying around still on the stem. They are attached to the card beneath the ribbon. I added the felt flower border over the ribbon. Those are my faux brads again in the corners. I hand wrote "feel better" and Stickled the flowers. I hope it will cheer up my aunt.

Miles of Smiles,

Hang On Frog

I made this card last night for someone who recently had surgery. That frog is such a cute little guy! I used Heidi Grace papers. The metal that looks like brads really isn't. I love these accents. I found them on clearance and they are supposed to be used in jewelry. They just get glued on. Fabulous! I used my Stardust pen again for his freckles, over the words, and in the flower centers. Can't ya just tell I am loving my Stardust pen? It's great cuz it's not as "heavy" as Stickles, but you still get a nice glitziness. You KNOW I am all about the bling! This card is a little bigger than my usual. It's 6.5 x 4.5. I distressed the edge of the flower paper too. I like doing that cuz it gives the edge a "rough thickness." I added the close-up so you can see the sparkly parts. We all have sparkly parts, don't we? Have a great weekend!

Miles of Smiles,

Number Signs, Anyone?

Here is my design for the latest Bitten By The Bug challenge. We had to use the # sign (number sign). I had NO idea what to do with it, aside from the obvious. I ended up cutting it out in silhouette, which is basically an outline. I layered a few of them on top of each other, rotating each layer slightly until it created a frame in the center. I added the photo, beads, and fibers. It turned into a photo frame ornament. Who knew? I liked that with the # signs layered, it gave an Asian flair to it, or so I thought.

Miles of Smiles,

Another Girlie Card

This image was just too cute. I backed it with green, then on black that I border cut the bottom of. The card is black. The background is bright pink embossed circles. Polka dot green brads, polka dot ribbon. Paper flowers with black brads that I made white polka dots on with my white Sharpie. Inked the edges of the papers in black too. Stickled her scarf, car, and hubcaps.

Miles of Smiles,

Girlie Card

Here is a Girlie Card I made last night. I just loved the image of the girl in the mirror, and the phrase was perfecto! I punched and layered the flowers. The phrase is attached with foam dots. And of course, I stickled her sweater and hat, and used my stardust pen for her lips, over "princess" and around the swirls on the mirror. The second pic is so you can see all the "glitziness" going on. Oh la la.

Miles of Smiles,

Cowboy Hat Challenge

The latest Bitten By The Bug Challenge was to use the cowboy hat. I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it. I cut it out in the brown distressed paper, inked the edges, and walked around with it in my hand. I held it at different angles, higher, lower, this way, that way.... I could put it on a person, or put it on an animal. "Nah. Too predictable", I thought. How about upside down? Could something be coming up out of the hat? An animal maybe? A puppy would look cute. How about flowers? And that's when I really got going. The card it pale yellow. I cut out the scalloped frame and inked the edges there too. It's hard to see, but there is a piece of embossed vellum (birds & swirls) within the frame. The "vine" is some sort of wired garland. I attached that with a brad beneath the hat. The hat is attached with foam squares. I punched out the flowers with 4 layers. The centers are yellow rhinestones that match the ones on the hat. The flowers are attached with foam too. I added the chipboard "grow" as if it were a plant pick. Go see the other designer's work at BBTB. Very cute!

Miles of Smiles,

Happy Independence Day!

Graduation Card

This card was made especially for our neighbor's son who graduated high school. I really liked the colors when I finished it. I don't think it's too "girlie", which is always my problem when making cards for guys. The image is from Crafty Secrets, and the aqua paper lace ribbon is from K&Co. I punched/embossed the edges of the red cardstock with a Martha Stewart punch. No stickles here! lol

Miles of Smiles,

Father's Day FIL

This is the Father's Day card I made for my FIL. He just recently got back from travelling The Great Loop on his boat. He is Chesapeake Bay born and bred, so to speak, so I thought the blue crab would be appropriate! I stickled the large crab and attached with pop dots.

Miles of Smiles,

Bebe' Card

This card I made to send to my hub's business partner, who is from Spain but working in China right now! (yeah, follow that!) It's a blue card with periwinkle cardstock that I punched a border edge on. Topped that with a striped paper that I embossed with Swiss Dots, and chalked the edge. The onesie I cut out from Cricut's New Arrival with shadow. Stickled the stars on it and added tiny star buttons. I cut out the scalloped squares and the rounded squares from Cricut, chalked the edges, and added white rub-on letters and more tiny star buttons. I attached these with pop-dots. I then finished it off by adding larger star buttons and accenting the edges and letters with my white Sharpie and some more Stickles.

Miles of Smiles,

Wings Swap

I made this card for a swap. The theme was "Anything With Wings." I stamped the border with my fabulous peg stamps from Rubber Stamp Tapestry. I also faintly stamped a butterfly background. I added the Prima flowers with rhinestones and leaves. Then finished it off with 3D stickers with glitter and rhinestones. I do love the bling!

Miles of Smiles,

Father's Day

I made this card for my dad for father's day. He likes to fish (obviously). It is actually a 3D image, but can't really tell from the pic. I stickled the letters too.

Miles of Smiles,

Elephant Post It Holder

This week's BBTB challenge was to use the elephant from Zooballoo. This was fun because that elephant is so cute! I used ribbon to frame the design on cardstock. Pearl brads in the corners and letter stickers. I had the post-its from Target. Check out the other designers concepts, they are great!

Miles of Smiles,

Sweet Land of Liberty Popsicle Card

The latest BBTB Challenge was to use the popsicle from Doodlecharms. All I could think of was the "rocket" pops we used to have as kids that were red, white and blue. I tested several inks before I decided on the red and blue that I chose. It had to be just right! yummy. It just makes me think of summer, and it's been really hot here lately! We went to the store to get popsicles last night!

Miles of Smiles,