Perpetual Calendar

Due to an unexpected and long bout of the stomach flu here in our house, I did not get to blog at all last week. Everyone seems to be healthy again and the house is back in order, which means I am back too!

Today's project is a perpetual calendar. This was an idea I came up with awhile ago so that I had all birthdays and anniversaries in one place. I wanted to create something that would stand up on a desk or shelf, so it would be easily accessible. That means I wanted it to look nice too, since it would be sitting out all the time.

The perpetual calendar pictured today is for sale for $30.  I had a lot of fun designing it again and I just love that it's cute AND functional! All of the papers are from the same product line, so they work together nicely.

Each page has a list of all the dates for that month and can be easily filled in with birthdays and anniversaries.

 

 

The pages flip over and the calendar remains upright, so it is easy to see what cards or phone calls need to happen in the coming month.

 

I ha some fun with some of the holidays. I may be biased since we have one, but I LOVE this little black cat.

 

A little sparkle to end the year!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

We Just Fit

Another simple, yet sweet Valentine's card. This card would also be great for an anniversary. I used puzzle pieces from a puzzle we'd already completed and painted them. I love reusing old things for a new purpose!

The price of this card is $3 and as all my cards do, includes an envelope.

Next week I'll be sharing a project I designed several years ago as a gift and have decided to revamp! So don't forget to check back. Have a fantastic and relaxing weekend!

Key to My Heart

Lately I've been inspired by simplicity and contrast in my cards. Valentine's is the perfect time to use the contrast because of the boldness of red. Today's card is simple, but I LOVE it!

This card is printed directly onto the cardstock and contains a chipboard key painted red. It is for sale for $3. Have a great Thursday!

Hand Stitched Heart

It's snowing here! It may not seem exciting to some of you, but I despise seeing grass in my yard during the winter time. If it's going to be chilly, it might as well be covered with pretty snow! :)

Today's card was a bit more involved than most of the cards I have made in the past. You will see in the picture below that it is a completely hand stitched pink heart on shimmery red paper. I popped it up off the white card to give it some dimension.

On the inside of the card I first stamped a red heart followed by a black "Love" sentiment. I "LOVE" how it turned out!

 

This card took quite a bit longer to make than my other projects and cards, so the price is $7 each.  I've got several more cards to share this week...And so far I'm loving them all! Must be that love is in the air!

Lip Balm Valentine's Favors - Last Day!

Today is the last day of Valentine's favor projects. But never fear, I'll be back next week with more Valentine's projects and cards!

Today's project would be great for any girl or woman in your life. It is a heartshaped lip balm card! The circular eos lip balms fit perfectly in the center of these hearts for a fun and creative gift! I would have loved this back when I was a tween or teen!

This little Valentine card favor is just $1, you provide the lip balm. A variety of styles and colors are available for these cards, and eos comes in a wide range of colors and flavors, so we can be creative!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I'll be back next week with more Valentine's projects to set your heart a flutter.

Valentine's Mason Jar

I LOVE mason jar projects. I think they can be a great little gift or fun décor item. While working on this cute little Valentine's mason jar, I go SO many ideas for fun and unique ways to use them in at many different events. I was excitedly texting my mom and cousin about all the ideas that came pouring out of me...I just couldn't keep them to myself! Keep watching the blog for more fun ideas with mason jars!

Here is a picture of it filled with sweetheart candies. What a great little teacher's gift for Valentine's! There are so many little things you could throw in there to fit the person you are giving it to. I love the diversity of it!

And here is a picture of I with a tealight candle. LOVE this look. And this is where the ideas started flowing for weddings and gatherings!

This project was made using a simple Kerr mason jar. I tore a page from an old book and mod podged it onto the jar. I added some pink glitter while the mod podge was wet to give it a slight sparkle and tied the bow around the neck. Love it! These jars are running at $5 each, you provide the fillers. They can be customized for an additional charge.

I hope you all have an amazing Thursday!

Valentine's Pillow Box Favor

Sometimes when you're creating, you get lucky and have all these ideas pouring out of you. Or maybe it's unlucky....because you want to work on them all, but can only do one at a time! This week I have been working on some Valentine's projects, and as I was making favors I was bombarded with ideas on how to change them up and use them in a million different ways! Hopefully I bottled some of that inspiration up for those weeks when it feels like nothing is working like you want it to!

 

Like I mentioned, I have been working on Valentine's projects this week, specifically favors or small gifts you can give at a get together or to a friend of teacher. A lot of these ideas will translate to other themes.

 

Today I am featuring a Valentine's Pillow Box. I buy these clear pillow boxes at a local paper supply store. I stamped a flourish directly onto the plastic using Staz On ink, there are flourishes on both sides of the box. On this box I used twine, but I have used ribbon and paper in the past to get the look I wanted. The heart is silver heat embossed and hand cut.

These pillow boxes are offered for $3 each without the candy or $3.50 each with the candy already in them.

I'll be back on Wednesday with a fun way to give lip balm!

Back at my Desk!

After a LOOOONNNGGG hiatus from my desk and all things paper crafts, I am back. I even took a break from all crafts...not from buying things, but from creating them! Lately I've been feeling the itch again and got my crafty mojo back through creating a variety of needlework projects: cross stitch, embroidery and wool applique.

I just love how this Halloween pillow turned out! Such a fun design...and I only fought with my sewing machine a little bit to get that rickrack on the pillow correctly!

I am hoping to blog several times a week and share my progress on the various things I am working on. JUST in case you want to see things in person, I will be selling at a craft show on November 22nd at the Inver Grove Heights Veteran Memorial Community Center. You can find all the fabulous information here: IGH Moms Holiday Boutique.

I hope to see you there!

Birthday Gift Card Box

Tuesday is my "guaranteed" work day.  That means when the hubby gets home from work I head upstairs to my scrap area and make new projects, take and edit pictures, load items to my store and generally work on things for my budding little business.  Over the last couple of days I've been having a blast making templates for new products and turning those templates into fun new things.  There is a bit of trial and error, but overall it is a ton of fun for me.

This is one of my favorite new things that I made over the last couple of days.  This is a gift card box that I made in the style of a matchbox.  I decorated the top of the box with a feminine birthday in mind.  I love how it turned out!

In this image you can see how the inside of the box pulls out like a matchbox.  The boxes measure 3 inches wide, 5 inches long and half an inch deep.  Perfect to slip a little note into or just put a gift card to their favorite store.

A close up of the cover design.  I have no idea where I got those flowers....I've had them for that long, but I thought the coloring was perfect for the paper and everything just seemed to fit together.

After I'm done doing some more gift card holders for birthdays, I'm going to move on to Christmas.  Now those are going to be F-U-N!  I have so many ideas for fun shapes and styles that I can't wait to design and create.

Like I said, I've been working on a ton of stuff, so I'll hopefully get to show you all the fun things I'm working on in the coming weeks.

Also, I've decided to post things for sale on Shophandmade.com.  The link to my store is:  http://www.shophandmade.com/Store/Melissakaye80.  I will be posting things on my blog that will not be for sale in that store because of licensing requirements, so be sure to check back here for those things!

If you aren't a follower yet, I'd love it if you did that!

Cabin Fever

Today was a busy Saturday for us.  I had training at my new job in a group home, went out and bought a bunch of supplies to make cards and gift card holders, and went and got a haircut.  I've also been working away on new things to put in my store.  I haven't made an official decision as to where I'm going to sell....Etsy or ShopHandmade, but as soon as things are loaded and ready for purchase, I will let you know and link to the store.  I'm very excited about what I've been working on and can't wait to make more things in the coming weeks.

I'm also looking into doing a show in November, but I need to see if I can get the day off from my job....I'll let you know about that too.

I'm exhausted, but wanted to share a layout with you before I curled up with my latest Netflix DVD.  This layout has 6 pictures in it, which is great for the size of the page.  I may have used a sketch site for this one, but I have no idea which one, so if this looks like your sketch, let me know.  I want to give credit where credit is due!

These are all pictures from the dock at my parents' cabin.  The kids love to walk down there and look to see what they can see in the lake.  They're also getting old enough now that they can fish off the dock, or practice their casting.

Supplies:  All items are Crate paper, except for buttons, which are from my mixed up button drawer.  :)

Idea Book

Awhile ago I decided to create an idea book where I could write things down as I came across them, cut inspiration out of magazines, print things off and keep a list of websites that have challenges and inspiration.

This is the book I started out with.....the pages inside are blank.  I am thinking it may end up looking like a Smash book inside as time goes on.

Below is the completed book.  I used some Glimmer Mist and masked out a flourish/leaf pattern and then used a border bunch around the outside of the paper.  The "ideas" letters are Tim Holtz Grungeboard letters sprayed with Glimmer Mist.  The rhinestone flourish used an Imaginisce template and jewels.  Because I didn't have the correct tip for my dremel sander, I did not prep the spots where the jewels would be adhered.  You can see that this book has a shiny/glossy surface, and this can cause issues with the glue holding.  I've already lost several of the jewels off of it, so I would recommend not ignoring that step.  By sanding the spots you give the glue a rougher surface to grab onto and that way you won't lose your jewels.

So far I am really liking this book and I'm curious to see where it will take me.

Supplies:  Mead Sketchbook, white cardstock, Glimmer Mist: Jack Frost and Creme de Chocolat, Chipboard photo corners, Flowers: Floradoodles and Making Memories, button.

Sketchy Thursday - Rat's Nest

This week I decided to give Sketchy Thursday a try.  It's fun to be back in my scrap area on a regular basis and to be able to try out all these challenges that I've been wanting to do for a long time.  I love sketches and think they are especially fabulous when you are stuck, your mojo needs a kick start, or you just want a little guidance.

This is the original sketch that they posted for this week's challenge:

 

Below is my take on the sketch.  I'm really happy with how it turned out.

  
I used papers from a Colorbok pack I got for participating in their monthly surveys.  The yellow strip was a white border by Bazzill and Glimmer Mist.  The flowers are so old I don't remember where they are from and the brad in the center is by Fancy Pants.  The swirl at the top is a bling pattern and stones from Imaginisce, using their iRock tool.

Be sure to check out what other people have done with the sketch by visiting Sketchy Thursdays.

BOO Banner

It may be a little early for Halloween, but I like to get projects done ahead of time. PLUS, I got my new Black Cat 13" Cougar die cutting machine last Thursday and I just had to play with it a bit! I couldn't help myself.  Below is an image of the banner, I L-O-V-E how it turned out and can't wait to make more!

The first pendant in the banner is decorative.  To make the pendants I did a google images search for a scalloped triangle, found one that I liked and then live traced it in Adobe Illustrator.  I then size it how I wanted, saved it as an .eps file and cut it using Sign Cut and my new Cougar.   Like Buttah....  The embellishments on this are one are by Little Yellow Bicycle and Making Memories.

 

I alternated the patterns on the scalloped part of the pendants and then each one has a different pattern on the straight edged triangle.  In order to create the folded paper medallions behind the letters, I cut two strips of 1.75" by 12" and scored them at 3/8 of an inch intervals.  I folded on the score marks and glued the ends of the paper together.  Then I flattened it onto the pendant and used a hot glue gun to hold it in place.  You could create these medallions on a non stick surface and let it dry and have them made ahead of time if you would like.  I did need to hold the paper into position for a minute or two until it dried.

All the papers are by Echo Park with a little bit of My Little Bicycle, except for the letters.  Those are done in Bazzill Black Tie paper that has the slight shimmer to it.   As you can see in the image below I popped up the letters a bit to get them to stand out.

I love the patterns and colors of these papers.

All of the embellishments on this one are by Little Yellow Bicycle.  I used a small piece of embroidery floss for the "web" coming down with the spider.

That is my first big project with my new die cutting machine.  It was SO fun to make it and I love all the possibilities this machine has.  I can't wait to create more to show to you!

Scrapbook Challenges Seasons of Change Blog Hop

Hi All!  Finally, a new post and a new scrapbook page!  I'm on break from school and have been diving into my creative space.  It's awesome and I feel so rejuvenated!  To get my creative juices flowing I decided to participate in a blog hop/challenge at a site I regularly visit, but rarely have time to participate in:  Scrapbook Challenges.  It was the perfect way for me to get started, and I really like the layout I ended up with.

The original sketch:

My take on it:

You can start the blog hop at:  Brynn Marie's Blog.

To see what other people have created with the sketch, you can go to the Hop On Board.

This was a very fast layout for me and was the perfect way to get my creative juices flowing.  I can't wait to do more challenges (I have several on my list already....).  Let me know what you think!

Products Used: Reminisce Snowflake glitter paper; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist; Archiver's White Cardstock; All other items are Momenta.

My very first Guest Design!

Hi all!  Head on over to Frosted Designs to check out my very first guest design.  I've been working on a bunch of stuff lately and hope to get pictures of other layouts and projects posted soon!

If you are here from Frosted Designs, thank you SO much for stopping by!  My blog has been quiet lately because of school, but I've got a bunch of projects in the works and will be posted soon.  I would love it if you became a follower to view more of my work!

Thanks again for the visit and I was SO honored to be asked to guest design at Frosted Designs.

New Christmas Decor

About a month ago I decided to create some things for my house for Christmas.  With the craft show, school and work, I was only able to get this one thing done so far....although I do have an idea for a card display for all the wonderful Christmas Cards we get.  For now this will hang on our wall with the photo updated every year.

These are available for custom order, in a wide variety of colors, styles and themes.

Supplies:
12x12 Canvas
Miscellaneous Christmas Paper: My Little Yellow Bicycle, Jilly Bean Soup, Imaginisce
Chipboard Words: My Little Yellow Bicycle
Flowers: Color Me Crazy
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Scarlet and Gum Drop
Jewels: Imaginisce and iRock Heat Setting Tool
Modge Podge

Happy B-Day!

I've been away for quite awhile!  I started school in January for Graphic Design and took a ton of credits the first quarter.  I won't be making that mistake again!  I missed my scrapping time and haven't gotten to make as much for my shop as I would like to.

On a positive note:  I'm BACK!  During my hiatus I had a couple of custom orders and one of them was for a set of matching birthday cards.  Below are samples of the cards.

Quick tip for the buttons.  I have a MILLION buttons, but mostly in pastels and greens and reds.  The colors I had didn't work for these cards and I didn't want to go out and buy more.  So I picked out a button that was the right style and size, covered one side of it liberally with VersaMark and dipped it into my American Crafts Zing Embossing Powder.  I picked it up with a tweezers and heat embossed it.  That quickly and easily I changed the colors of my buttons!  I love that I can now customize all of my buttons to whatever project I'm working on.  Be careful though, if you heat it too long, your button may warp.

In order to get a full bow on top, rather than the cut out like it is on the cartridge, I went into Design Studio and hid the lines so they would not cut.  I like this look a lot better and I think it adds a lot more contrast.

Both cards were made using the Lyrical Letters Cricut Cartridge and BoBunny Love Bandit Collection, plain white cardstock and miscellaneous buttons.  The second card uses Archiver's pink cardstock.

Custom Journal - Follow Your Heart

Another custom journal ordered as a Christmas gift.  Again, the cover and wire are by Zutter and the interior pages are plain printer paper.  All cover items, except for the flower are by My Little Yellow Bicycle and the flower is by American Crafts.

I really like how this one turned out, happy and cheerful!

Custom Journal - Life is Good

This is another journal from the custom order for 6 journals.  I, once again, used the Zutter Bind-It-All bracket cover in white with white binding wires.  The paper inside is plain printer paper cut to size.  Cover paper is Bo Bunny, "Life is Good" is from Me and My Big Ideas, I think.  Clear frame around "Life is Good" and the dotted flower are from Making Memories.  Ribbon is by American Crafts.  Jewels by Kaiser Craft.  I used Pearl Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels on the white flower.  All other items are big unknowns as to the manufacturers.

Custom Journal: Flower Power

This is a custom journal I made as a gift to a college student.  I used Zutter Bind-It-All bracket covers and wire in silver.  The paper on the inside is plain printer paper cut to size.  The patterned paper and ribbon are  We R Memory Keepers.  Unsure of the flowers and buttons.  The white flower is decorated with Stickles.

This picture does a better representation of the colors and sparkle.