Crafty Scrapper

Understanding Comes from Above

2012-01-28T11:07:00.001-06:00

Hello sweet ladies!

I hope your weekend is going along wonderfully :)

Here's a card I made a few days ago and just hadn't had time to upload to my blog.

All stamps are from Verve.

I love the cross stamp and that scripture....well, I am always trying to figure things out on my own. This reminds me to lean on HIM and not what I "think" I know. HE will give me understanding bye and bye. Sometimes I may think it's taking too long to find the answers, but I must remember it's all in HIS time! HE knows it all!!! I don't have to worry! :~)

Have a great day everyone!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

Oh Baby, What an Inspiration!

2012-01-26T16:44:00.003-06:00

Here's what I made today:

I decided, even with all my class prep for tomorrow night, that I wanted to play along with the current challenge over at Our Creative Corner:

Oh Baby Inspiration Challenge

And here's the inspirational photo:

I have never put these colors together,

Poppy Parade

Tempting Turquoise

Chocolate Chip

Very Vanilla

but that's the colors I took from the photo and I also had to use a cupcake image after looking at the beautiful cakes in the pic! Then the delicate way everything is set up in the pic made me think of my sheer cream ribbon I've been hoarding!

So, what do you think? Did I come close? :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

supplies:

card stocks listed above

SU! bitty punch pack

sheer cream ribbon

chocolate chip and tempting turquoise inks

A Word for You stamp set (SU!)

forgot cupcake stamp set maker

Thank You for being You!

2012-01-25T06:00:00.002-06:00

Here's another product of my weekend craftiness!

I just joined the Fan Club over on SCS and this is a card I made for the January gallery. It was a sketch challenge and a "kindness" challenge. What's more kind than saying Thank you?! :)

I am a Nature stamper big time. I love vines, leaves, flowers, birds, grass....all things outdoor. It's just so pretty! This stamp set is SU! and it's my favorite retired set "Best Blossoms" I happened across it years ago on Ebay and fell in love. I was not familiar with SU! when it was a current stamp set. So, I'm very glad I found it!!

I'm also an Earth tone girl. So, crumb cake, old olive and basic black are some of my favorites and are all used on this card. Other colors I keep stocked up are, chocolate chip and cherry cobbler.

Thank you so much for peeking in today!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

A Sooooo Girly Birthday!

2012-01-23T17:10:00.001-06:00

I have been in a real crafty mood! I have lots to post and no time to do it! hahaha

This card was made with the Featured Stamper challenge over on SCS (congrats Kim! (Luv Flowers) in mind and then I found 2 more challenges it "qualified" for....

This is such a girly card, I thought it went well with the Crazy4Challenges ~ A Child's Birthday

and also....

I never, ever get to play over at my friend Melanie's site, The Critter Challenge Blog. She is coming up on her 100th challenge! Wow! Way to go girl! Their 99th challenge is to use 3 embellishments. On this card I used 3 pearls on the sentiment piece. 3 embellishments on the embossed piece and I used 3 different pieces of ribbon!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I appreciate you!!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

supplies:

delicate doilies and afterthoughts stamp sets

pretty in pink, real red and white c/s

dots embossing folder

pretty in pink and real red ink

circle and scallop circle nesties

pearls

real red satin ribbon and pretty in pink taffeta ribbon

Crafters of Faith Mini Challenge

2012-01-21T13:25:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone!

Are you having a great weekend so far? I hope so.

The Crafters of Faith (blog group over on SCS) are having a mini challenge. Our fearless leader Kelly, Hi sweetie, assigned each of us someone in the group. We were to give that someone a color challenge, at least 3 colors. Liz, over at Right Brain Madness, gave me the colors, Red, White and Black! She is wonderful b/c that is a favorite combo of mine! Here's what I came up with...

I love Nature stamps and Silhouette Sentiments (retired hostess set from SU) is a favorite meal of mine. I haven't inked it up in a while. I'm glad I went with it here.

My Moon turned out a lot better than I expected. I used a sponge dauber inked in black and a white gel pen for the details.

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

supplies:

Word Play and Silhouette Sentiments stamps

3 heart & circle punches

basic black and real red inks

white, basic black and real red c/s

real red satin ribbon and basic black grosgrain ribbon

Where has the Time Gone?

2012-01-20T17:07:00.001-06:00

Do you ask yourself that question everyday like I do? I have so many things on my to do list.....well it never seems to get done. :)

I hope you are looking forward to a great weekend.

I have a card for the Creative Corner challenge Paper Piecing with a Twist. I only have a few hours to enter! Yikes :)

Since I'm in a time crunch, my stamped image goes right along with that....

I got a stamp set the other day I had never seen or never heard of the company/artist, Kelly Panacci. The clock faces, hands and phrases are really cute.

So, for the Creative Corner challenge, I paper pieced the clock face but instead of layering it on top, I reversed my layers. The hands are cut from pink passion c/s.

The twist to the challenge was no ribbon and only use 1 embellishment. I love Clean and Simple cards so I loved this part of the challenge. My only embellishment is the black brad holding the hands of the clock in place.

I stamped the background with the SU! well worn b/g stamp. Since the clock frame has a distressed look, I thought I would use that b/g stamp and distress the sentiment piece.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

Supplies:

Lucky Limeade and memento black ink

Well Worn b/g stamp & Kelly Panacci clock set

white, pink passion, basic black c/s

misc. green polka dot paper (scraps)

eyelet border, scallop border & sm. flower punches

black brad, mat pack, white gel pen

Bama Scrappin'

2012-01-20T09:52:00.000-06:00

Hiya everybody! Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate your visits and feedback.
Today I wanted to share some scrapbook pages I just finished.

"Roll Tide Roll" double layout

I also went by a sketch I found over on PageMaps blog. I rarely post any of my pages in contests or challenges, but, this one was a really cute one and I couldn't resist! I decided I could use it with some of my football pics I've been scrapping. I used it with the 1st page of my double layout.
Be sure and check out PageMaps. I get tons of inspiration from their blog and website found here.

The title is made with the CM Cheerful Seasons Cricut Cartridge. I used SU! cherry cobbler and sponged the edges with basic gray ink and then added doodles with a white gel pen. The arrows are free handed with gray felt. On the first page the hounds tooth is felt also. On the second page the hounds tooth is ribbon along with cherry cobbler quilted ribbon. As you probably already know my footballs are free handed. I'm not particularly happy with them but since the Sports Cartridge is at my mom's, I went with what I had. The paper in the squares is from a local specialty shop. I absolutely love writing on black c/s with a white gel pen. I got to do this with the scruffy borders, the football trails and my journaling :)

I hope you have a wonderful day! Come back soon :)

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Time to Reveal the Mystery!

2012-01-18T06:00:00.003-06:00

It's the 18th and that means our Mystery image can be revealed. The Mystery image sent out to all the Mysterious Gals over on SCS that is. Darlene was hostess this rounds and what an image she sent us! Wow! oh Wow! I was soooooo intimidated by it. I'm not much of a "colorer", so when I saw all the detail of this image I was a little scared.
Here's what I came up with...

I colored my scene like it was the beginning of Fall. The cats, whom my daughter named Peanut and Fred had to have a little detail added. They just blended in too much for me. so they both got spots. I also tried to give the frame a little wood grain effect with markers. The dp I added comes for the Fall We are Memory Makers pack. Then I added some twine and sewed on a button for the embellishments.
I can't wait to see what the other girls came up with!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

The Dueling has Started Again!

2012-01-15T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hello
Thanks so much for stopping by my little ole blog today. You are so appreciated!

I'm part of a group on SCS called the Dueling Darlings. We are a challenge group that has monthly hostesses that send card kits to each lady in her group. (2 groups, the Dazzlers and the Divas). This month I am the hostess for the Dazzlers! GO TEAM! :)
Joan is the hostess for the Divas and our theme is "The Little Things".
We sent 3 images/sentiments in our kits and they had to be small. The challenge was to use 1 of each image on our creations. Our embellishments and papers we sent were also small and had little designs on them.

I went all out this month and used lots of layers! So different for me, I loved it! :)
Sorry ladies, I didn't have anywhere to use my little blue circles of c/s or my white button.
I knotted my baker's twine in 3 places and cut off the ends for a Nautical look.

Another part of my challenge for the dazzlers was to use a sentiment that went along with the images. Since all the image I sent had "shells", I went with this cute sentiment from Inkadinkado.

Also, each lady was to post what was the first thing that came to their minds when they saw our theme title, "The Little Things".....my first thought were the things my children do for me that might seem small now but one day when they're grown, will be the things I remember most. :)

I hope you have a minute to visit all the other Darlings. Their blogs can be found in my left sidebar.

Have a great day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies:
Crab and turtle images SU!
snail image from Inkadinkado
paper ~ My Minds Eye & DCWV
c/s ~ SU!
baker's twine and crumb cake ribbon ~ SU!
yellow clip ~ Wal-Mart
green pearls ~ Queen and Co.

Circles, Circles, I love Circles!

2012-01-12T17:01:00.002-06:00

Hiya! Are you having a good week? I hope you're getting inky! :)

Here's a card I made today. I actually got 2 scrap pages and this card made all while doing school with DD and babysitting my 2 year old niece and getting the floors swept! Wowzers, now I'm tired looking at all that. giggle

I love circles! It's my favorite shape to craft with.
Circle Circus is of course, is one of my favorite SU sets! I used the little circle from the punch pack for my trail. The sentiment from Petite Pairs is punched with the curly label punch. All supplies come from SU!

Challenge:
ColourQ Challenge #119 ~ Now, I looked at the challenge on Tuesday afternoon. Then, didn't write down all the colors. I hope since I added black, it will be okay to enter the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Scraps Are My Friend!

2012-01-09T08:25:00.005-06:00

Hello all!
I hope you are having a great week.
Over the weekend I made this card and wanted to use my scraps for the weaving I created....

I love, love, love using up my scraps! My rubbermaid container is overflowing. Okay, it's not one of those big ones but a 12x12" maybe 5 inches deep full to the brim with little pieces of treasures just waiting to be used. I am getting better about what scraps I keep though. My mother, bless her soul, keeps it all! If a scrap has lots of punched out places or is smaller than 2"x2".....it goes in the garbage. I just don't have room in my little crafty spot to keep it all anymore.
Anyway, getting back to the card....EHEM.....my base is vanilla with a kraft pierced and distressed layer. The dp is from My Mind's Eye. The other strips are pretty in pink and green galore (yes, I still have bits of that color lying around! LOL) The hearts and circle (with piercing also) are punched (3 heart punch SU! and CM circle punch) I inked the hearts edges with pretty in pink ink. Oh and the heart colors are vanilla and tan.
Okay, now for the truth on the sentiment piece. I love how the distressed little snippet turned out but it is not how I started out. I stamped directly onto the kraft with chocolate chip ink with the SU! Petite Pairs set and of course it was not straight! It's even a clear mount set! LOL! So I stamped it again on a piece of scrap Kraft and distressed it a little then hid my "boo, boo" Yay for me!
I really like the softness of this and that's the main reason I went with a baby theme.
Challenges I'm entering:
Going with the baby theme also got me a chance to play along with the latest Cupcake Craft Challenge ~ Cupcake 174 - Something New....Not only with the sentiment but also for the fact that I've never weaved c/s or dp on my creations. :)
Also, I am playing along with The Pink Elephant Challenge this week TPE130 ~ Use hearts on your creations
And lastly (but not leastly), The Paper Players challenge this week is (theme) - All you need is Love! #77
Yay! Three challenges 1 card...SUCCESS! :D

Here's a little "advice" I came across a couple months ago. "Keep a hymn in your heart and your day will go so much better!" and once a hymn gets in my heart it usually comes from my lips with a hum also. :)
Have a wonderful day!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Sunday Challenge #6

2012-01-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

It's Sunday and time for another Paper Princess Challenge. AnnMarie challenged us to make something using black white and silver.

I broke out the 4th of July stamp set from SU! It's not available anymore but I had still not used it! I stamped the images in basic gray and basic black and mounted a piece of basic black c/s on the edge then adhered it with pop dots. The silver shimmer paper is some scraps I had. I don't know the vendor. The ribbon is also scraps. The sentiment is from the SU! petite pairs set. I punched it out with and oval punch and the curly label punch and added rhinestones. The stars are punched too.
This was the card we gave my Mother in law for her birthday.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Crafty Gals January Challenge

2012-01-05T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hello!
I'm finally back! Sorry it took me so long. I had to recover from the holidays and all the daily posts I did. giggle That took a lot but I'm glad I did it. But, now January is a new month and I need to get on the ball.
Today is the 5th and is the day for a great challenge. I started a blog group over on SCS. These ladies are spectacular! We are from all walks of life but with one common interest...crafting. We have monthly challenges that will be posted to our blogs the 5th of each month. This month our hostess is Heather. Here's her blog. She has a great style. She is also expecting her first child and so her challenge to us went somewhat along with her blessing. :)
Theme: Newness
Create with something new to you. Also, try a new technique, something you've never done before.

So, with my card I used a new stamp set that I haven't had a chance to ink up yet! The vendor is Inkadinkado. This set has the most precious tea/coffee cups ever. I love it. The new to me technique is 2 fold. 1 ~ I don't recall making a "window" on my card (nesties) or 2 ~ I don't remember putting a full layer on my card with pop dots (I may have done the second one some time, I just don't remember doing it).
For my "coffee" I colored the image with a pencil and added the stem.
The ribbon is tempting turquoise along with the ink color.
For my sentiment I cut a punched piece of card stock in half (SU! curly label punch) and the stamp is from SU! Petite Pairs.
I hope you enjoyed visiting my blog today. Be sure and check out all the other Crafty Gals blogs in my right sidebar to see what they created with Heather's great challenge!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.001-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS! FROM THE PYLANT HOUSE TO YOURS!

our tree

a few of the decorations (can you tell I collect Santas?) :)

and a new addition this year....we are finally in our new home and have room for another little tree. We love college football around here and the Alabama Crimson Tide is our team! ROLL TIDE!!! They have had a very good year. They're in the National Championship game next month! Woo Who!

Here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas! I hope and pray you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas Day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 25

2011-12-24T06:00:00.003-06:00

DAY 25! FA LA LA LA LA....LA LA...LA LA!
Yeah! I did it! 25 day of Christmas Creations.....I did it, I did it!!!! Thank you so much for visiting my blog during this event. Oh yeah, and here's a little surprise.....
I will have a little something for the lady that visited the most days!
(Nov. 30th post is first in the "series")
Yay!
Today I'm sharing another ornament I made. This one is big and "romantic" *giggle*

I made this ornament using the build a stocking punch from SU! to make the reindeer. Here's Rudolf and his girly friend :)
He has his Christmas sweater on (made with the It's a Wrap Holidays set from SU!). She also has a sparkly sweater on (made from a scrap piece ?? the maker)
Maybe they're getting ready to go to an "After Christmas" Party. You know he works so hard leading the team and everything, he needs some R & R afterwards. hahahaha

I pray your Christmas Eve is wonderful. Spend time with family and friends and thank the Lord for this time of year. That's what it's all about.
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 24

2011-12-23T06:00:00.003-06:00

Day 24! Thank you so much for visiting my blog during my 25 Days of Christmas Creations! I hope you were inspired by a couple of my crafty goodies.
Today, I'm sharing with you a goody bag I made for my niece. She LOVES!!!! chocolate :)

For the top I used the SU! large scallop die on some sparkly felt. I used a Tim Holtz tag die on the white sparkly felt. I finished it off with some c/s circles, a stamped sentiment and baker's twine.
Merry Christmas!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 23

2011-12-22T06:00:00.001-06:00

Day 23! No cards today....no tags....no ornaments....

Today is all about baking! We do all sorts of baked goodies for Christmas. I change it up each year but one recipe is a constant.
We always make peanut butter blossom cookies.

We make our favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. Form them into balls, roll them in sugar and press a Hershey kiss in the middle...and bake.

I wish you could smell these things.....WOW!

So, what's your traditional baked goodies each year? Leave a comment and let me know.

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 22

2011-12-21T06:00:00.004-06:00

Wow! Wow! Wow! Here we are, Day 22! Believe it or not it has not been hard to keep up with daily posts for my 25 Days of Christmas Creations here on my blog. It has been wonderful sharing my craftiness!
Today I'm sharing with you a little something I've made this year to give to friends and neighbors. I've decided that I would like to start making ornaments each year to give to neighbors/friends. I really don't like trying to think of monetary things to give to people outside my family. I don't want to sound like a "Scrooge"....not at all. I just think, there are so many people in need around the world that me thinking what I could buy for friends and neighbors just takes away from what's really important. If they are a true friend and caring neighbor, just the fact that we think of them at this time of year is enough. That's the way I think anyway....just my 2 cents. When I get something from someone unexpectedly, it just warms my heart that I was in their thoughts during this wonderful season!
This year, I went with a snowflake theme.....

What do you think?

These could also be used as tags on gifts.
I cut the snowflake with my Cricut. Then punched out another snowflake with the SU! punch, added a circle and sentiment.
I hand wrote on the back of each "God bless! From: The Pylant's 2011"
God Bless you too! Have a great day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 21

2011-12-20T06:00:00.001-06:00

Day 21! Almost there!

Well, has there been anyone at your door? Holiday guests? Family coming in? Here's a card that goes right along with all my questions today!

I've seen lots of door cards on SCS and I wanted to try my hand at one. I used my woodgrain stamp on the white c/s and a white gel pen on the knob. The inside circle on the wreath is cut with the Cricut then I punched the circle out with my scallop circle punch. The square windows are punched with a CM punch (discontinued). The ribbon is real red. The sentiment is from the Curly Cute set. I loved making this card. This is also one we made in card class 2 weeks ago.
Thanks for visiting my blog during my daily posts this month. I really appreciate it!
Have a great day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 20

2011-12-19T06:00:00.001-06:00

We're at Day 20! Oh My! 20th day of my 25 Days of Christmas Creations that is! hahaha I can't believe Christmas it is only 6 days away! Wow! (my Nov. 30th post will let you know what all the hoop la is about)
Today's creation is a card I went circle crazy with!

The circle has to be my favorite shape when paper crafting. I gravitate toward that shape more than any other. I used my nesties, punches, Jolly Holiday dsp and SU! Tree Trimming and Petite Pairs stamp sets with this CAS card. I'm hoarding that retired pack of dsp by the way :)
I thought the ribbons sticking out of the top made this look like a hanging ornament.

Thanks so much for stopping by
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Sunday Challenge and 25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 19

2011-12-18T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hello! Can you believe it is only 1 week until Christmas?! Are you ready?! :0
Today is the 19th day of my 25 days of Christmas Event. It is also a Sunday Challenge over on SCS with my blog group, The Paper Princesses. AnnMarie challenged us to make a center step card. Now, I'm no good at different fold cards. I mess them up every time. I messed this one up too, but I just covered it up. Maybe you won't see!............

I used the Jolly Holiday dsp on the River Rock base. I made the wreath with the delicate doily's stamp set stamped in Garden Green ink then I layered a couple circles on top with the sentiment from Petite Pairs.
I added a white scallop border and more garden green c/s on bottom. Then, I used some beautiful ribbon I got at Hobby Lobby a couple weeks ago. It was 50% off! I also got a roll of white just like it. The glittery accents are so pretty in real life. The pic doesn't do it justice.

Here's what a done to the inside.

...and here's the wreath up close and a little closer on the ribbon too. Be sure and check out the other Paper Princesses Blogs'. They are listed in my left side bar.
I do hope you have blessed Sunday!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 18

2011-12-17T06:00:00.001-06:00

Howdy! Welcome to Day 18 of my 25 Days of Christmas Creations event. (Nov. 30th post will let you know what all the hoop la is about) I'm so glad you stopped by. Have you got all your shopping done? How about about your baking? To tell you the truth, I've been baking since the 5th....trying new things and seeing what I want to give to neighbors, teachers and church folks.
Maybe some of these tags will be part of the packaging for my baked goods this year.

Now, I must say, this reindeer is tooooo cute! I got the layout for him from AnnMarie! Hiya! Thanks girl! She had a small oval for his muzzle and that looked a lot better but I don't have a small oval punch.
I also added his little tongue and mouth.

Supplies: Owl punch, 3/4" circle punch, circle punch from Itty Bitty punch pack, snowflake punch and white gel pen (oh an tag cut with Cricut)

...and here's my goofy looking Santa! He reminds me of the "Charlie" in the box on the Rudolf special "Island of Misfit Toys".

His "go tee" is made with the bits off the stocking punch. His hat and long part of his beard is made with the oval punch. The brim of his hat is also made with the stocking top (cut in half) off the stocking punch. The pom pom is the end of a q-tip.

Have a great day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 17

2011-12-16T06:00:00.001-06:00

Day 17?! Already?! Wow, time is flying by with my daily posts. I hope you're enjoying my 25 Days of Christmas Creations. (check out my Nov. 30th post to see what all the hoop la is about)
This card is not CAS. It took me a while but it was so worth it. I wanted to use Bravo Burgundy b/c at my house, that ink/card stock does not get enough attention. It is a beautiful shade for Christmas though...

First I stamped on a piece of white card stock. I then found the center line cut it then cut it into thirds. I inked around all the edges and mounted it on basic black. Then! I stamped versamark ink all over the image and clear embossed it! Yes, it is so pretty in person. You can't see it good in the pic. Like I said, this was a very involved card but it was well worth it. Needless to say, I will be sending this to someone I know will cherish it and not just look at it and throw it away! :)
I hope you try this technique!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 16

2011-12-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome to Day 16 of my 25 Days of Christmas Creations here at the Crafty Scrapper! Thanks so much for visiting, I appreciate it! (check out my post from Nov. 30th to see what all the hoop la is all about)
Okay, there is a warning for this card before you see it up close. You will be chilled. *giggle*

This card was made for a challenge over on SCS. The theme was "Baby, it's cold outside". The tree is by Verve. The sky is bashful blue with some craft white clouds (made with a q-tip) and some white gel pen winds. The snow drifts are glistened with dazzling details.
I love all the white space on this card and the middle panel having all the pizzazz. :)
Have a good one!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 15

2011-12-14T06:00:00.001-06:00

It's Day 15 of my 25 Days of Christmas Creations. (check out my post of Nov. 30th to see what all the hoop la is about).........and today I am showing you that even if you haven't finished your Christmas cards and think it's too late............think again!

This has to be one of the easiest Holiday cards I've made this year. One piece of Cherry cobbler c/s for the background and then a scrap of dsp.....then some circle punches with old olive and very vanilla scraps after I stamped the vv with a poinsettia stamp (SU! Jolly Bingo Bits)....add a sentiment at the bottom and you're done! I made this card in less than 5 minutes! Easy peasy!
You CAN do it! Don't go buy a box of cards, make em, make em! :~)
Have a wonderful day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 14

2011-12-13T06:00:00.002-06:00

How are you enjoying my 25 Days of Christmas Creations event? I hope you gain a little, tiny bit of inspiration from something you see. (Nov. 30th post will let you know what all the hoop la is about if you haven't been following along)
Welcome to Day 14...

I absolutely love basic gray and bashful blue together! With the white and stamped snowflakes....you get a little chill with this card :) This is similar to another card I posted but I left off the embossing folder and stocking and set up my sentiment a little differently.
Have a great Tuesday and be sure and come back tomorrow for another Christmas Creation!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 13

2011-12-12T06:00:00.003-06:00

Hello! Thanks for visiting on Day 13 of my 25 Days of Christmas Creations event! (see Nov. 30th post to see what all the hoop la is about)

Today's post is all about TAGS!

I cut these with my Cricut and the Pennant punch by SU!

Here it is up close

These were made with the SU! stocking punch and woodgrain stamp. I had some scraps of c/s from a card class that were 3" x 2". I cut a little 1/2" choc. chip strip and stamped it with the woodgrain stamp in basic black ink to make it look a little like a mantle.

I finished them with a rhinestone to look like the nail that hangs them. :)
I hope you like my gift tags. I'll have a couple more to show in a few days.
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Sunday Challenge and 25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 12

2011-12-11T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hello! Happy Sunday and welcome to Day 12 of my 25 Days of Christmas Creations here at the Crafty Scrapper! Thank you so much for visiting. Also, you can go to my post dated November 30th to see what all the hoop la is about :)
This is also a Sunday Challenge creation with my Blog group the Paper Princesses!
AnnMarie is our Sunday Challenge hostess. I missed last week's challenge, to make a box card. I finally got it made and went ahead and combined it with this week's challenge to use this picture:

as inspiration for our creation. In making my box card I realized....I'm out of lime green paper! EKKKKKKKKKK! I've gotta get more! So, I had to compromise just a little with the green.

I used a piece of paper from a My Mind's Eye Stack for the tree and sleeve. The black polka dot paper is from a retired SU! pack. The scalloped pink is Melon Mambo. I had fun with my nesties and embossing folders for the circles. The tree image is studio g.

Here's the box card without the sleeve wrapped around. The melon mambo c/s came in handy where I placed it b/c the card was a little uneven at the opening. LOL! Nothing like covering up a boo boo with some pretty scallops :)

...and here's the card open. Hey AnnMarie, does the little goody inside look familiar? :D
I had a great time making this box card. Here's a link to the tutorial: BOX CARD

Have a great day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 11

2011-12-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

Day 11 is here! Are you enjoying my 25 days of Christmas Creations? I hope so. (see my November 30th post to see what all the hoop la is about)

Today I'm sharing a card we made in class Tuesday night. I had this idea while using the SU! stocking punch one day. What if you put something "in" the stocking? So, this card was born...

So, very simple, but so darling! :)
I used the Jolly Bingo Bits stamp set for the peppermint candy and gingerbread man. Just stamp them and cut them out. Then, put the stocking on with dimensionals after you adhere the "stocking stuffers" to the back.
The last few weeks I'm all about making my sentiment it's own show piece. I've been layering my sentiments all different ways. This card was no exception. :)
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 10

2011-12-09T06:00:00.003-06:00

Hello! Thanks so much for stopping by on Day 10 of my 25 Days of Christmas chin dig! :) I appreciate you and your comments! (See my post from November 30th to see what all the hoop la is about!)

This card is so very CAS. I know, "No, you're not serious Melina, you making a CAS card?!" hahaha
I have some 5.5" square envelopes that were given to me. I wanted to try and use them for Christmas cards so, here is the first one...it measures 5.25" square....

I love this size. I love square cards anyway. So, I think I'll go get more of these envelopes (I think they carry them at Hobby Lobby).
I used the medallion from Day of Gratitude (SU!). I have made so many Christmas cards lately, I wanted to use a different stamp set. I've used all my Christmas ones and decided to try Day of Gratitude on a Christmas card.
I paper pierced the corners and added a piece of black offray sheer ribbon.
For the inside, I used a scrap piece of white c/s and added basic black to the ends punched with the eyelet border punch.
Have a great day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 9

2011-12-08T06:00:00.005-06:00

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the 9th day of my 25 Days of Christmas event here at the Crafty Scrapper! Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate your comments :) (check out my post from November 30 to see what all the hoop la is about!)
This card started out as a very simple "red on white stamp a little" card. It just looked too plain so I dolled it up a bit :)

I added the black strips punched with the dotted scallop ribbon punch and then added the 3 black brads. I love the new Sounding Joy stamp set from SU!. Joy to the World is one of my favorite Christmas songs.
Have a good one!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 8

2011-12-07T06:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Day 8 of my 25 Days of Christmas event here at the Crafty Scrapper! Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate your comments :) (check out my post from November 30 to see what all the hoop la is about!)

Here' my first attempt at a pennant punch tree...

I know what you're thinking..."Where is she when all these things are posted and created by the professionals and tutorial are made". I know! I'm so behind with the trends. (If you follow my blog, you'll know that last month I made my first Lollie (scored piece of dsp laid flat to look like a flower/pinwheel). But, why am I telling you the description of those pretty little circles? I'm the one that's behind.
Anywho, I'm rambling. So, I used old olive dsp and my pennant punch to make my Christmas tree. The gifts are from the Party Hearty set and the sentiment is from the Petite Pairs set.
Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 7

2011-12-06T06:00:00.006-06:00

Happy Day 7 of my 25 Days of Christmas event here at the Crafty Scrapper! Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate your comments :) (check out my post from November 30 to see what all the hoop la is about!)
Here is the last card we made at October's Christmas card class.

I love the look of kraft/crumb cake with the white gel pen accents. It almost looks like you're looking into a snow globe at the lodge. I also like how she demonstrated the sentiment on the banner. Before we made our card she showed us to use the square punch to make the banner ends. I would always use my scissors and mess it up! Good Grief! Why didn't I know this?! I feel like a doe doe sometimes! :)
Happy Sunday to ya! Be sure to check back tomorrow for another "installment" of my 25 days of Christmas event!!!!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Crafty Gals December Challenge AND 25 Days of Christmas Creations Day 6!

2011-12-05T06:00:00.005-06:00

Hiya!
Welcome to Day 6 of my 25 Days of Christmas event here at the Crafty Scrapper! Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate your comments :) (check out my post from November 30 to see what all the hoop la is about!)
Also, today is the day to post my Crafty Gals project!
I am a part of a new blog group over on SCS. We are the Crafty Gals Blog Group. We have 11 super sweet ladies.
This is our first challenge. We'll be having one each month.
This month was just a "kick off" challenge. I asked the ladies to make a Holiday project keeping the number 3 in mind. "The Power of Three" challenge required them to use 3 layers (card base doesn't count as a layer), 3 images (or an image with 3 things on it), 3 embellishments and only 3 different colors. Not 1, not 2, not 4....3 and no more! :)
Oh yes, and your sentiment could NOT be on the outside of the card.
Now that I think about it, this challenge had lots of "no, no's" hahahaha
So, this challenge required a good bit of thinking. What was I thinking?!!! LOL Oh well, I tried my best to stay within the "guidelines"....here's what I made....
I made my card base 5"x4.25" That way I'd have room for my 3 ribbons at the top (they are sticking 1/2" out at the top). My ribbons are real red and early espresso. My card stock colors are crumb cake, real red and early espresso (and white on image). I have to admit I used a little ice blue on the background of all the reindeer so my coloring is red, brown, green and a hint of ice blue. Once I distressed my layers and inked around the edges, I still felt like it needed something so I added the white gel pen dots.
As for the image, I HAVE NO CLUE WHO MAKES IT! If any of you know, please tell me! I love this image, I want this stamp! But alas, I received this image in a swap and do not know the vendor. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA!

Thank you so much for stopping by! Please take a minute to see what the other Crafty Gals made for this challenge. Their blogs are listed in my sidebar, over there -------->
:~)
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 5

2011-12-04T06:00:00.005-06:00

Happy Sunday! Welcome to Day 5 of my 25 Days of Christmas event. (See my post of November 30th to see what all the hoop la is about! :)

Today there are no cards (sorry AnnMarie, I couldn't get your FAB box card challenge done, I will try for next Sunday). Today I am sharing with you a couple of handmade decorations my daughter and I've put on the tree.

This is our tree topper. Our daughter made it. The star is cut with the Cricut. She glittered around the edges and my mom helped her with forming the "P" with glitter glue. I believe she did an outstanding job! :)

I made this ornament with felt and fabric. I sewed around the edges of the pieces of glittered green felt then stuffed it like a pillow. Then I hot glued the Santa fabric to the front.
Can you see me in this pic? My reflection is in the gold ball. GIGGLE!
I hope you enjoyed seeing a couple of decorations from our Christmas tree today. Come back tomorrow for more card creations!
Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 4

2011-12-03T06:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Day 4 of my 25 Days of Christmas event here at the Crafty Scrapper! Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate your comments :) (check out my post from November 30 to see what all the hoop la is about!)
This card has to be my favorite of all the cards I made at the Christmas card class I went to in October. I love the addition of the scored dsp...

Also, I love that Snow Burst embossing folder. I think I've already sang my praises for that ef before on my blog. Sorry, I just love that thing! :)
As you can tell from all these card I made at the class, it centered around the Christmas Lodge stamps set and matching dsp. I don't have that set. Usually when I go to a class, I wind up buying the stamp set. It's a lovely set but I thought of other in the catalog I wanted more! hahaha
I hope you enjoy visiting my blog! Have a great day

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 3

2011-12-02T06:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Day 3 of my 25 Days of Christmas event here at the Crafty Scrapper! Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate your comments :) (check out my post from November 30 to see what all the hoop la is about!)

This card has to be one of my favorite ones I made this Season.

I used the new Snow Burst embossing folder on the white snowflake panel (Snow Swirled set). I love that ef. Then, I also got to use my build a stocking punch. Yay! I finished it off with some sheer white ribbon and white baker's twine. Oh and I also decorated the inside. That's a rarity for me. :)
I hope you are enjoying my Christmas creations! Have a great day.

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Note: I will not be listing supplies for these Christmas posts. But, if you have questions, feel free to email me and I will get you a list.

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 2

2011-12-01T06:00:00.003-06:00

Happy Day 2 of my 25 Days of Christmas event here at the Crafty Scrapper! And of course, happy 1st day of December! Thank you so much for visiting. I appreciate your comments :) (check out my post from November 30 to see what all the hoop la is about!)

Here's another card I made at the Christmas card class in October.

This is also another "out of my league" card. I was super intimidated by this card when my demonstrator showed it to us. 1st off all the layers, then stamping on velum and then tying a perfect little bow! Yikes! I made it through though. :) The little parentheses on the velum are made with the curly label punch. Who knew?! I wish I could think up all these creative way to use punches! I have a ton and always get my ideas from other bloggers! giggle. I guess that's what we're here for right?!
I hope you're enjoying my Christmas creations! See you tomorrow for another one :)

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Note: I will not be listing supplies on these Christmas posts. If you have questions, please feel free to email me for the list :)

25 Days of Christmas Creations! Day 1

2011-11-30T06:00:00.005-06:00

Hello! Happy last day of November!
I have decided to do my own 25 days of Christmas event here on my blog. I'll be posting Christmas creations from now until Dec. 24th. I'll try to have a little something different posted on the 25th.
I really don't like posting to my blog every day. I like trying for every other day. That way you ladies have a chance to get around to them. Every day is a hard task. Anyway, I thought if I tried posting all my Christmas creations every other day, you'd still be seeing Christmas stuff into February! LOL! So, I'll be posting my Christmas Cheer everyday. Some days there may be more than one pic in a post. Some days I have Challenge obligations so those cards will also be in the post. But, all post from now til Christmas Eve will be Christmas themed.
You might say, that's not a new concept....why wouldn't you post Christmas creations during December? I know this, but I think this will keep me blogging throughout the month, so maybe I won't be absent for weeks without posting something b/c I got too busy with life! :)
So, I'll stop rambling now and let you see my first Christmas card of my "25 days of Christmas event"....

So, not my usual CAS creation huh? This is an easel card I created at a SU! card class in October. We used the new jingle bells and pewter embossing powder and the Frostwood Lodge dsp.
I love the layering on this card and will definetly be sending this card to someone that will appreciate it! :)

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you can make it back for all 25 days!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Note: There won't be supplies lists on these Christmas posts. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me and I'll get you the list :)

Sunday Challenge

2011-11-27T11:44:00.002-06:00

Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We did, we traveled most of the day as usual, but, we love spending time with our family....it was all worth it.

Over on SCS, I'm in a blog group called the Paper Princesses. We decided recently to try some fun weekly challenges. AnnMarie is our challenge Princess! :) She wanted us to think about whom we are thankful for in our lives and make them something.
Well, I'm of course thankful for my hubby and our kiddos and all our family, but for this challenge I wanted to thank someone who didn't even know they were a blessing in my life. Those that follow my blog, know we moved February of this year. Where we did live was at times scary. Now, it wasn't a drug ring part of town or anything, but we had some neighbors that were sketchy and there was another that raised big, crazy dogs for other purposes than just man's best friend. We would get knocks on the door at all hours of the night and when we would check there would be shaving cream on our car or poop on the doorstep, stuff all over the walkway, laughing and cursing in the bushes. It was never ending teenage pranks that we called the cops for on more than one occasion. Not to mention the goats in our yard everyday from the neighbors crude, broken fence. I was DONE! I wanted a neighborhood that was quiet, but that had good neighbors that would be there when you needed them. Okay, now I know that is a large order, and we thought we'd never find it. BUT WE DID! I know we've only been here 9 months, but our neighbors are wonderful! Brandon got his truck stuck in the ditch one day and 2 of our neighbors saw it and got chains and got to work! I've had 2 yard sales (yes 2 we had lots of stuff!) with one of my neighbors. The ones across the street moved a couple months ago because of her hubbys job and we all about cried because we knew we were loosing great neighbors.
So, anyway, I thought about all this when I saw AnnMarie's challenge and knew what I wanted to do.

It's not much but my daughter and I made cookies for our neighbors and delivered them before we left Thursday morning for our family get-togethers.
Each one of them were surprised and happy to see us and took a few minutes out of their busy mornings to say thanks. I am so thankful for good neighbors. I sleep so much better at night now.

Here's a close up of the little turkey I made. He is made with the leaf from Day of Gratitude stamp set, the small oval punch, one of the Itty Bitty punches from the punch pack and circles from the Owl punch. I used the rock and roll technique on the leaves (also on the 3x3 card I attached to the cookie package) with cherry cobbler, pumpkin pie, daffodil delight and choc. chip ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Mystery Time Again!

2011-11-21T05:00:00.002-06:00

We have finished another round of Mystery swapping! (a group of us ladies over on SCS take turns hostessing rounds, send the images out to all the participating ladies, no one can say what the image is or what they are doing on their cards. The due date to have these to the hostess is the 18th of every other month. We then can post them on our blogs after the due date.) I can't wait to see what the other ladies did with this adorable Whipper Snapper image Barb sent us!
You that know me, know I rarely color images. I just don't feel I'm that good at it. So, I stick to simple, solid images most of the time. I have to say though, I enjoyed coloring this adorable snowman and his blue bird pal. Well, mine's a blue bird, everyone else's may not be! giggle

I used watercolor pencils and a blender pen to color the image. I also outlined the image with a Copic (BV23). You can't see it well in the picture but I used dazzling diamonds on the snowman's face and belly. I had to give him some sparkle to cheer him up :) The glittery paper came from my scrap pile (love when I can use those pieces) and I added a purple rhinestone to the sentiment along with pearls and purple satin ribbon to the side of the image.
Do you know someone that could use some cheering up? Maybe winter time gives them the blues or they've lost someone close to them recently. Or maybe it's someone that feels lonely around the holidays. I think this would be a good card to give, a good image to use for one such card. The snowman just looks like he's had it and the bird is there for him. :) That's why I chose this sentiment (SU! petite pairs).
Happy, happy Thanksgiving week! Have a wonderful holiday!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

My First Attempt at a Lollie!

2011-11-18T06:00:00.003-06:00

Goodness, goodness, I know what you're thinking. How can this be the first time I've ever attempted a Lollie (the pleated circle on the card). Well, I tend to stay behind on trends. I'm too busy trying to catch up. Usually I get to the "it" thing about 3 months after it's become popular! LOL
Anyway, this is the card I made for Monday's CAS challenge over on SCS. Jen challenged us to make our projects centering around the word "Party". That was our inspirational word to use as we wished.

I had just gotten the Party Hearty SU! set about 1 month before the new catalog came out. Wouldn't you know it would be on the retired list, just after I got the money to buy it? Well, the bright side is, I got it before it was gone!
My Lollie flower/pinwheel whatever you call them, is 3/4" wide by 6" long. I scored the dsp (numbers paper from Celebrations pack) at every 1/4" Then after I pleated and laid it flat, I adhered it to some pacific point c/s that I punched with the small scallop circle punch. Then for the top I used a 3/4" circle punch on some more pacific point c/s and on top of that used a punch from the Itty Bitty Punch pack on some old olive dsp.
I found that ribbon at the back of my drawer. It's real red taffeta that I bought a long time ago.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend! :)

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: white c/s, Celebrations dsp, pacific point c/s and old olive dsp, real red and pacific point ink, real red taffeta ribbon, scor tool, circle punch, scallop circle punch, Itty Bitty punch pack
stamps: Party Hearty

Welcome Baby!

2011-11-16T14:30:00.000-06:00

My Sis is Preggo!
This will be she and her hubby's 2nd child.
Congrats Elisha! Love you! :)

I don't make a lot of baby cards. I needed a little help so I used the Mini VSN challenge #2 (SCS). To make a mostly white card with a little sparkle.

My sparkle is dazzling details on the polka dot embossing.
Love, love using the SU! stocking punch as baby booties :)

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: stocking punch, top note die, big shot, white, bashful blue and pretty in pink c/s, bashful blue ink, circle punch pretty in pink ink and blender pen (for doodles), white baker's twine
stamps: petite pairs SU!

Dueling Darlings ~ What Not to Wear Challenge

2011-11-15T06:00:00.006-06:00

Okay, before you look at this card, I was so totally stumped by Jeanette and Kelly's challenge. They sent us clothing images (an image having something to do with clothing) and then sent lots of mismatched papers and embellishments. We had to sort through using what was in the kit to make a card. I will be the first to admit I was so lost and I don't like what I created.

There is so much stuff covered up on this card it's not even funny! Jeanette I did use all but 2 of the papers you sent...most might be covered over though.
It seems I don't have much fashion sense. LOL! The people on that TV show might be knocking on my door any minute telling me how bad I am!
For the sentiment (not the one on the American Arts, Body By stamp) I punched a piece from one of the papers and then the 100% is from a sticker sheet Jeanette sent. I love the floss she sent and thought with me making lots of circles on my card that the floss would look best left like it came to mimic the circle shapes. The doodle dots I made, I thought, brought a little unity to this very fussy card.

Now, there was 1 more challenge this month. J and K asked us to post a picture of ourselves or someone else depicting WHAT NOT TO WEAR.
Have you ever played a game at a Christmas party and thought "how embarrassing" only to find out that it made it's way online?!
This is my mother in law playing a game at a BIG family get together.

The object (or I think this was the object) of the game was to get as many balloons as you could into the stockings and then place the stocking over your head while singing your favorite Christmas song. The one to finish first, won. They were so goofing looking! I just had to get pics. I can't wait to make scrapbook pages of these! hahahaha

Be sure and check out all the other Darlings cards. Links to their blogs can be found in my left sidebar (toward the bottom). Thanks!
We also have a guest designer this month! Please check out Janet's blog found here!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Mini VSN Challenge #1

2011-11-12T19:00:00.000-06:00

Mini VSN was yesterday over on SCS. I didn't have a chance to play then but I made my cards today.
Here's a card I made for the first challenge....Bundle Up! and use felt.
I have plenty of felt lying around....love that stuff!

My felt is pink cheetah print. I cut it to look like a scarf.
My stamps are from Verve Hello Pumpkin set and a swirl set from Inkadinkado.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Backyard Inspiration!

2011-11-11T00:45:00.000-06:00

Hi All! Happy Veteran's Day and while I'm at it, Happy weekend!
Take time today to pray for our soldiers, veterans and their families.
I made a card for the Featured Stamper's challenge and Ways to Use It challenge over on SCS. I love when I can combine a couple challenges into one card :)

I chose the colors mostly because I get to look at these colors everyday in my backyard. We have lots of trees on our property and it's a joy to watch the colors changes. So, I decided to go with a "backyard" color palette :)
For the panel, I started with a scrap of summer sun c/s. I tore the edges and then stamped my flowers. I then sponged the piece with cajun craze, chocolate chip and early espresso inks. For my butterflies I stamped them in cajun craze ink onto textured crumb cake c/s and cut them out. I adhered them with glue dots and then lifted their wings a little to give dimension. I love how this turned out. It's a little more involved than I'm used too and was afraid of doing too much. I hope you enjoyed it though. Ever get in a rut....take inspiration from the things around you!
I hope you have a blessed day. Thank you so much for stopping by my little blog!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

suppiles: textured crumb cake c/s, early espresso c/s, summer sun c/s, cajun craze, early espresso and chocolate chip inks, sponge daubers, early espresso brads, modern label punch
stamps: watercolor trio and three little words

Finally A Scrap Page!

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hello!
I can't believe it the start of another week. It's sad to think about how time just flies. Especially when I'm scrapbooking. I was playing in my craft room the other day and decided it had been way too long since I scrapped. I'm a chronological scrapper so, when I looked at where I had gotten to, it shouldn't have surprised me that I'm up to Fall of 2008!....but it did. Oh well. Anyway, looking at our kiddos in these pics made me a little sad. They were so little. Now our son only like about 3 inches being as tall as me! Wowzers!
You know if you really sit and think about it, scrapbooking can be a sad art form. We're trying to capture memories in a book. Scrapbooking is a wonderful journey, but it can also "pull at the heart strings". I'm a little weepy just typing this post! Good Grief!
Sorry, I'm getting all mushy! I want you to come away from my blog happy and inspired. Not weepy and depressed! Ugh!
Look at what I did....

It is certainly not the best page I think I've ever done. But, I'm looking at scrapping from a new point of view these days. I need to get all the pictures I have organized in their neat little drawers.....SCRAPPED! These beautiful memories deserve a page and an album. I can't keep worrying if my pages look as good as Sally Suzie's over on SCS (advanced apology if there really is a lady with that user name over there! :) or on any challenge blog I may run across. I gotta scrap the "Melina" way. That and I gotta hand write journaling. I want my albums to reflect me so that my kids (and maybe grandkids someday waaaaaaay down the road) can see "me" in them.
Well, I'm so sorry I spilled my heart out so much to ya. Forgive me :) I just got a little "mom"motional. giggle

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Christmas is Only How Many Days Away?!!!!

2011-11-04T21:42:00.002-05:00

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those that jumps directly into Christmas mode and forgets about Thanksgiving. My house is Fall decorated right now. I am very thankful for my family and friends. We will get together and eat way too much in 3 weeks.
But, you do have to admit, it is very hard to ignore the calender! Have you done any Holiday shopping? I have my dear hubby 2 things. He's great at dropping hints and when I run across those things, I grab 'em! :)
Another reason I tend to gravitate toward Christmas sooner is that I don't send that many Fall cards, unless they're Fall Birthdays. Christmas is my biggest card giving holiday as I know it probably is yours. So, I'm sharing the cards I've been making these past few weeks. I like making all different designed cards to send. I know some of my friends like to make 1 card and mass produce for their card each year. What do you prefer?

This is a card I made for a CAS sketch last week over on SCS. The 3 pieces in the background are made with some scrap dsp and real red card stock. I ran the scallop border punch over the rr.
I love, love the Tree Trimming set from SU! I put a little pearl at the top of the ornament image. Mostly b/c there was too much space between the ornament and the stamp string! LOL :)

Thanks so much for visiting me today.
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: very vanilla c/s, SU! dsp (can't remember the name), real red c/s, old olive c/s, old olive ribbon, linen thread, Cricut George basic shapes cart for ovals, real red ink, scallop border punch, pearl, sponge daubers, choc. chip ink
stamps: Christmas Greetings, Tree Trimmings

Patterned Paper is My Friend!

2011-11-02T16:21:00.003-05:00

Hi all!
I hope your week is totally crafty so far!
I made a card last week for a couple of challenges over on SCS. In making the card, I wanted to do something I don't do a lot and that's use patterned paper. It's a real challenge for me. I most of the time, think it looks to busy on my creations.
I do really like how this one turned out though...

I like how the tree from the SU! "Snow Swirled" set looks when you off set it. Probably cause I never can get it straight when I want it front and center! This is the first project I have used my red corduroy buttons on. I am hoarding them! :~)
Well, what do you think? Did I use the patterned paper well? To give the card a little more dimension, I inked around the paper, image and red frame for the image with crumb cake ink. The sentiment is from the SU! set "Word Play".
Thanks for visiting! Your comments make my day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: white, old olive and cherry cobbler c/s, jolly holiday dsp, cherry cobbler baker's twine, real red corduroy button, sponge daubers, old olive, crumb cake and cherry cobbler ink, ticket corner punch
stamps: Snow Swirled, Word Play

Watch Out For.....

2011-10-31T20:14:00.002-05:00

Black Cats.....
(our daughter)

Crazy College Football Fans......
(our son)

and Giraffes?!!.........
(our niece)

This Halloween!

I made Bethany's cat ears and painted her face. She thought that was the grandest thing. When our niece came by, she wanted her face painted and cat ears too! My sister said she's just gonna have to start checking with me each Halloween to see what Bethany's going as and let Presley go as the same thing! hahaha I went ahead and did it for her. She left with a cat head and giraffe bottom! *giggle*

Happy Halloween!
Oh and enjoy the candy but don't get a tummy ache! :~)

Blessings...

Melina

From All Us Penquins!

2011-10-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hello!
I hope you've had a great week so far.
Even though there is no snow on the ground quite yet around here......I am in Christmas card mode and made this card for yesterday's Card Sketch Challenge over on SCS.

We have 4 family members but our 3rd member is a little silly and is hiding inside the card. Well, if he would have joined us on the front, I wouldn't have had the right sketch LOL! Anyway, I can see him doing this, hiding, when we have Family Christmas pics made! hahaha!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderfully crafty weekend!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: All SU! white, bashful blue and not quite navy c/s. northern flurry ef, circle punches, dotted scallop ribbon border punch, silver brad, white baker's twine, sponge daubers, basic black and craft white ink, white gel pen
stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits, Family Phrases

You're in My Heart

2011-10-26T06:00:00.002-05:00

Hiya! I hope you're having a great day.
Have you been crafting today? :)

I made this card last week. But, with all my crafting for the sale, I've just now had a chance to upload it.
Sympathy cards are tough. I think there are a few of us that think that.

I like the crumb cake, black and cherry cobbler combo. It's very subtle, a trait I think all of these types of cards should be. I haven't double stamped in quite a while. The stamps in this set work well for that. I made the corners of the crumb cake piece by placing them slightly in the decorative label punch (the point).
Thanks so much for visiting me!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: SU! natural white c/s, cherry cobbler c/s, basic black c/s, and crumb cake c/s, scallop circle punch, circle punch, decorative label punch, black marker, crumb cake, cherry cobbler and basic black inks
stamps: SU! Fabulous Florets, Word Play

Fall Blessings

2011-10-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hello
Is is cool where you are? The highs around here are in the high 50's. In Alabama that's cool for October. Anyway, I guess this card is my "Ode" to my vanishing colorful flower bed. :( Oh well my potted mum and pansies are beautiful too :)

Here's my tribute *giggle*

I used the SU Sweet Summer set (sale-a-bration). I love "build a" sets. The flowers and stems in that set are too cute. The sentiment is from the Little Pumpkin set by Verve.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: SU! natural white c/s, linen thread, crumb cake ribbon, brights button, Lucky Limeade, cherry cobbler, elegant eggplant and pumpkin pie inks.
stamps: SU! Sweet Summer, Verve Little Pumpkin

My First Step by Step Tutorial!!!!!

2011-10-20T12:28:00.004-05:00

**>>First off the project I am making in this tutorial is not a brand new idea. My project is a little bigger than the original and doesn't use ribbon<<**
I got this idea from AnnMarie's blog. Hey girl! Here's the link to her post....Boo
She lists in her post where she got her idea from.

I made a Candy Corn Treat Box. In AnnMarie and Heather's posts they used ribbon as a handle for the treat box. I am very stingy with my ribbon and wanted to find a way to make this cute as can be box without using my wonderful ribbon.
So here goes....

First get a 12x12 piece of basic black c/s. Cut it in half at 6" then fold it in half. Then with the open end facing up, make a mark at 3". (see pic)(I made my mark with my Scor Pal tool.

Then with the c/s folded, place it on your cutter lined up with the 3" mark and one of the corners. Score a line on that diagonal. Then do the same to the other diagonal.

Then flip it over and do the other side.
Put the black piece to the side and get out pumpkin pie c/s, daffodil delight c/s and white c/s.

Cut the pp c/s 2"x6.25". The DD c/s 2"x4.75". And the White c/s 2.25"x3".

This is a triangle box. Adhere two of the flaps (see pic for where to place adhesive on flaps) to the outside of the other flaps.

After you adhere the flaps, your box should look like this.

Now, adhere your c/s strips to the front of the box. **MY ORANGE AND YELLOW ARE BACKWARDS!!!! ON A CANDY CORN THE YELLOW IS THE TOP AND ORANGE IS THE MIDDLE. JUST SWITCH THE CUTS ON THE YELLOW AND ORANGE TO FIX!!!**

....Leaving overlap as shown in above pic. Cut the strips around the box, leaving overhang and round the corners, I just did this freehand.

I used a sponge dauber and inked the edges of my candy corn then made some doodles around the edges.

I drew on a smile with 2 weird looking teeth (filled in with white gel pen). You will do much better teeth, I know! The eyes are done with the circles on the SU! owl punch. I glued them together with tombow adhesive.

You treat box is complete! Now, all that's left is to fill it with candy. The slot at the top is large enough for smarties, nugget Hershey's, peppermints, jaw breakers, anything small like that.
To give you somewhat of a measurement, the box holds a good handful and a half (my hand that is) of candy. The way to fill and empty this box reminds me of those coin pouches from long ago. You know the ones you could squeeze the ends and it opened like a mouth? Same concept with this box....press slightly on the front and back (at the top, white part) to make the opening wider. Turn it over and shake out your treat!
I hope you get to make some for Halloween!
Well, this concludes my very first step by step tutorial. How was it? Easy, hard, uninteresting? Give me your feedback, please. Let me know how I did.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog today.

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Psalm 46:1-2

2011-10-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

I SHALL NOT FEAR! HE IS WITH ME!
I tend to forget that a lot when I start my worrying. I have to continually pray about this. I'm such a worry wart!!! Ugh!
2 things:
I finally got a SCOR PAL! I don't have to score using my cutter anymore LOL
and...
Okay, so I don't have a lot of new SU! sets. I keep using the same ones. I really love Watercolor Trio and Refuge and Strength though! Don't you! :)

Even though this is a tame color combo, I really like them together especially for a Sympathy card.
...hope you have a great day!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: Crumb cake c/s, choc. chip c/s, white c/s, scor pal, pearls, choc. chip ink, crumb cake ink, sponge daubers
stamps: Watercolor Trio, Refuge and Strength

Oh Tidings of.....

2011-10-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

Another CAS creation by yours truly!
I know what you're saying, "CAS from Melina! NO WAY!" *giggle*
That's me, Queen of CAS, I love CAS!!!!
Here's a sweet CHRISTmas card I did...

The new SU! Tiding of Joy set has a big outline stamp in it. It is very intimidating to me. I tend to stamp solid images. This, is the way I like to color outline images, punched out so there's not so much to color. I'm NO good at coloring.
I used SU! retired paper pack, Jolly Holiday. I have 2 packs of it. Don't know how that happened! LOL

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you have time to leave a comment. I do appreciated them so.......MUCH!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: SU! Crumb Cake c/s, Jolly Holiday DSP, Choc. chip c/s, white c/s, circle punches, watercolor pencils, blender pen, white gel pen, sponge daubers, choc. chip ink
stamps: Tidings of Joy

A Crisp Dueling Darlings Challenge

2011-10-15T07:00:00.004-05:00

Hello all!
Fall has officially arrived and I LOVE IT! This is my favorite Season. So, when I received my kit from the Dazzlers hostess ~ Darlene....I fell in Love! She sent so many beautiful things, papers, leaves, ribbons, brads, balsa wood pieces, die cuts....I was overwhelmed BUT in a totally GOOD way!!!! :~)
This is what I made with her outstanding kit....

Darlene wanted to see how creative we would get with the pieces of wood. Well, as far as what I made with them, a pumpkin, I think that was the obvious choice. So, I wasn't creative with them in that way. But, I think the way I altered them was a little different. I colored them with a More Mustard marker then used a cotton ball and "sponged" on pumpkin pie ink. Then, over that I stamped the smallest doily from the SU! set Delicate Doilies in chocolate chip ink. I added some twine for the stem.
I colored the image with watercolor pencils, copics and a blender pen. I added some of the wonderful ribbon she sent behind my sentiment (SU! Curly Cute set) that I stamped in Old Olive ink and cut into a banner before distressing it and inking with chocolate chip ink (did that around the edges of my image too).

My Mom's birthday was the 7th. This was her card from me :~)
Darlene and Tami (the Divas hostess) also wanted us to post a favorite Fall recipe. My has to be Chicken Stew. There's nothing better on a cool day. And of course, like my crafting, my recipes are simple too!

Chicken Stew
3 Chicken Breasts 1 large can Veg-All
1 medium onion 1 can whole kernel corn
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon Seasoned salt
1 clove garlic 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon table salt 1 teaspoon sugar

In large pot sprinkle seasoned salt over chicken then add water to cover chicken. Boil for 25 minutes or until no pink can be seen. Take chicken from pot, let rest on paper towels until cool enough to handle. While chicken is cooling chop onion and mince garlic, add to pot (leave broth that chicken cooked in, in the pot, add the other ingredients to this). Add in can of crushed tomatoes, drained can of corn, pepper, table salt and sugar (the sugar takes out the bitter bite of the tomatoes). DON'T ADD VEG-ALL YET! Cook on medium heat 10 minutes. Shred chicken and add to pot. Cook, covered, on low heat 40 minutes. Add can of drained Veg-All then cover and cook an additional 25 minutes (since everything is already cooked in the Veg-All, if you add it at the beginning, the potatoes in it will become mush). Serve. Add more salt to taste if desired.

Thank you so much for visiting me today!
Don't miss out on all the other Dueling Darlings! Their blogs can be found in my left sidebar.
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Need Coffee?

2011-10-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

I'm still making craft fair projects.
I need to make lots of gift card holders with the Holidays coming up.
I decided a pocket card would work well with a gift card.
This is what I came up with...

My "coffee cup" is 1.25" at the bottom and 1.75" at the top. I scored my "sleeve" b/c I don't have a crimper :( I love the patterned paper. It came from a My Mind's Eye stack. SU!'s old olive matches it perfectly!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: SU! old olive c/s, very vanilla c/s, Crumb Cake c/s, choc. chip c/s, My Mind's Eye, glittery c/s, Prima Chocolate flower, SU! brights collection buttons, misc. cream button, SU! linen thread, sheer vanilla ribbon, choc. chip marker, circle punches, computer generated sentiment, sponge daubers
stamps: SU! Sanded

My Ribbon is Not STRAIGHT!!!!

2011-10-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know, odd title. But, ever since I took the pic of this card that is what stands out to me! UGH! I'm such a prissy pot! :)
I'm in the process of making projects for a Ladies Fall Luncheon. They will have tables set up for sell items and they invited me to make some crafty goodies to display and sell! This will be my first "craft show" of sorts. I'm very nervous.
Here's a set of cards I'm selling (after I fix the ribbon of course *giggle*)

I got the idea for this card looking in the SU! catty. Page 192 has the cutest card made with a kit. I decided it could also work with the stamp set Circle Circus. This has to be one of my favorite sets. I love circles. A lot of my creations have circles somewhere on them.
I appreciate you stopping by today!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: white c/s, choc. chip c/s, circle punch, scallop border punch, old olive ribbon, old olive ink, cherry cobbler ink, choc. chip ink, pumpkin pie ink
stamps: Circle Circus and Watercolor Trio

Another One Just Like the Other One

2011-10-07T07:00:00.003-05:00

Another week winding down. Wow, the older I get the faster time goes. YIKES!
I liked the layout on the card I posted Monday so much that I decided to play around with it and make another card along those same lines. Same images just different colors and papers.
Here's what I did...

I'm loving the images in the SU! set Delicate Doilies...soo pretty and fussy.

TODAY IS MY MOM'S BIRTHDAY! SHE IS 20 YEARS AND 5 MONTHS OLDER THAN ME *GIGGLE* THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT OLD! :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MAMA! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY! LOVE U!
Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: SU! very vanilla c/s, old olive c/s, pearls, My Mind's Eye patterned paper
stamps: SU! Delicate Doilies, Curly Cute

SUO Challenge 29 ~ Leaves

2011-10-05T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hey girls!
The crisp air around here in the mornings is really getting me inspired!
I checked out the Challenge over at SUO Challenge blog. They're wanting to see LEAVES this week :)
Here's what I came up...

I love my Leaf Lines stamp set from SU! The background might be a little too bright now that I look at it. I always second guess my creations :)

Thanks so much for coming by!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: whisper white c/s, pumpkin pie c/s, choc. chip c/s, Play Date patterned paper, scallop circle punch, circle punch, 1/16 hole punch, sponge daubers, old olive ink, pumpkin pie ink, choc. chip ink
stamps: Leaf Lines, Watercolor Trio

Simple Doilies

2011-10-03T16:04:00.002-05:00

Helloooooooooooo! :D
It's time for the CAS challenge over on SCS.
Here's the card I came up with....

It's very simple. Just the way I like it! *giggle*
I hope you're having a perfectly crafty day! Thanks for visiting and leaving me comments. They are so appreciated!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

supplies: crumb cake c/s, cherry cobbler c/s, white c/s, vintage brad, pearls, night of navy ink, elegant eggplant ink and circle punches
stamps: SU! Delicate Doilies, Curly Cute

Hay Lofts and Tractor Tires!

2011-10-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Scrapbook pages!
Yay!
I've finally gotten back into the scrap mood. It's taken me forever it seems. I'm so behind. I do believe my scrapping "drought" was mostly caused from trying to scrap like everyone else by myself. I see all these beautifully embellished, 1 pic pages that I tried to duplicate and just wasn't satisfied. So, I've gone back to my scrappy roots......SIMPLE. I like it. I hope that other people that look at my albums like them too, but if they don't, that's okay too. :)

These are pics from a farm we visited. They had all sorts of fun things to do. It did seem that our kids favorite though was climbing the tractor tires. Who knew? If you look really close, you can see Bethany with her arms up....she's not at the top but she was saying "I'm on top of the world!!!" hahahahahahahaha
Thanks so much for coming by today!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Don't You Love Paper Piecing?!

2011-09-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

This week's CAS challenge over on SCS is to use the paper piecing technique. I rarely use it, so it was a great challenge for me.
I made a 3x3 card. I love these but have never tried doing a pocket card with them....decided to try....I think I really like it :)

I don't get this stamp set out a lot, who knows why b/c I really like this image!

Thanks so much for traveling to the Crafty Scrapper today!
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Supplies:
SU!: old olive c/s, marina mist c/s, white c/s, play date pp, very vanilla ribbon, rose red marker, so saffron ink, old olive ink, basic black ink, blender pen
stamps: SU! A Slice of Life

My First Mini Album

2011-09-27T08:00:00.002-05:00

Hi!
I tried something new over the weekend. I made my first mini album. I have been wanting to do something like this for a while to showcase our kiddos school pics. I decided to start with Bethany's first since hers was shorter (she's in the 2nd grade :) to get a feel for what I was doing. Aaron's will come next with lots more pages!

I started with a 12x12 cardboard insert from my CM page packs. I cut the cardboard into 4x4 pieces. This size holds decorations and a wallet size pic nicely. I used the Jasmine Cricut cartridge for her name, punched the circles and used the SU! Play Date rub ons over them.

I picked a pack of SU! patterned paper called Play Date for my color scheme. I liked the bright, primary colors.

I had to include her first cheerleading pic. She loves cheering! I got to use my pennant punch, love that thing. Also on this and the cover I used my Verve notebook paper stamp, so cute!

I finally got to use my SU! owl punch. I just haven't had a project to use it on until now. I also tried to use my baker's twine in a fun new way on each of these pages.

Finally, the back cover....simple but cutsie :) Those SU! Play Date rub ons were a little tricky but came out good. I punched holes in each page with my crop-a-dile (large hole) and then tied baker's twine, tempting turquoise and choc. chip ribbon to finish the book.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I appreciate your comments :)

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Paper Princess Challenge!

2011-09-25T08:03:00.003-05:00

Hello peoples! Happy first of the week.
Today I'm sharing a card I made for a special challenge. I'm in a blog group on SCS called the Paper Princesses. We are a busy little group. So, it is a thrill that we are taking a few minutes to create. Moira challenged us to make a Christmas card. I told her I had usually already started my Christmas cards by now but that I'm way, way behind. So, I'm hoping this will give me a good kick in the rump! :0
Here's what I came up with...

I'm leaning more and more toward my SU! bird punch for Christmas cards. I love making the wings a different color to match the cards. I love the look of the split top note also.
Here's hoping you have a great day! Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Supply list:
SU! bird punch, big shot, top note die, jolly holiday paper pack, cherry cobbler c/s, old olive satin ribbon, old olive c/s, very vanilla c/s, basic black ink, misc. black rhinestone.
stamps: SU! Word Play

Where did the Summer Go Darlings?!

2011-09-22T13:46:00.003-05:00

Hey Everyone! I've been really crafty today! Yay!

This Summer has flown by hasn't it?!
I didn't get to do a lot of crafty things during the hot temps. I missed 2 Dueling Darling Challenges.
The month of July ~ Hostess Terry
and the month of August ~ Hostess Paola
This is the card I made with Terry's July kit.

She sent the cutest image and felt flowers. I love the sentiment also. The papers she sent had great pastels in them. The ribbons and flowers she sent went great with them!

Here's the inside.

Now, when I slack I really do a bang up job. I missed 2 months in a row with my sweet Dueling Darling Group.
This is the card I made with Paola's kit.

What a cute image. She sent a wonderful Summer kit. The circles I punched are from the patterned papers she sent. She also sent the blue embossed c/s behind my image. SO CUTE! I used some green ribbon that she sent as well. I love it! I want to get some of that!
Well, there is my July and August Dueling Darling Dazzler cards.
So, so sorry it took me so long.

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Mystery Time Again!

2011-09-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's Mystery Swap time again!

Karly sent us a great image this round. I love this cute little hedgehog.

I colored him with watercolor pencils. My papers are from a DCWV paper stack (Fall). My sentiment comes from SU! Watercolor Trio set.
Since it's turned a little cooler around here, I couldn't help but use Fall colors. It's my favorite Season! :)
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

School Days Are Here!

2011-09-15T14:15:00.002-05:00

I know what you're thinking. "What? Melina has another blog post so soon?!!!" I told you I was gonna be trying harder! :)
Today is the 15th and even though I have missed the last 2 months, this is the day the Dueling Darling groups post their card kit creations. April is our (dazzlers) hostess this month. Our theme is School Days. She sent the brightest, cutest kit ever! I love it April.
Here's what I made...

Aaron has a new teacher this year. She works so well with him. I'm going to give this to her, hoping it will help to keep the good year going. :)
I thank you so much for stopping by. Be sure to check out the other Darlings' cards. Their blogs can be found in my left sidebar.
Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

I Am So Bad!!!!!!

2011-09-10T22:18:00.003-05:00

I've not posted in almost 3 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How horrible am I? I feel awful. But, life happens and things come up and here it is September!!! OMGoodness....I can't believe there is only 3 1/2 more months left in this year! Gracious!

Well, another reason I've been so bad is that when I have had a few minutes to create, I've been creating these.....

instead of cards and scrapbook pages. These are what I like to call "pretties" and my daughter loves them. She almost has one for each outfit! I mount them on alligator clips. She clips them to her stretching head bands or pony tail holders. You know since these are made of felt, buttons, ribbon and beads, I'm gonna make a few and add them to my scrapbook pages (without the alligator clip of course). There is all kinds of colors and prints of felt available.
My big shot has been getting a lot of use these past 2 months! I use my SU! dies and nestibles for the shapes.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I know you were so very shocked to see me at the top of your blog roll! :)

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

SUOnly Blog Challenge ~ Anniversaries!

2011-06-28T00:05:00.002-05:00

Hello all!
I hope you're having a great start to your week. My crafting mojo is flowing!!! I'm so glad too b/c it's been a dry creek bed for a while now! *giggle*
Today is a new challenge over at the SUOnly Blog. Our challenge for you is to make an Anniversary card. You can find the link in my right side bar (top)
Here's what I came up with...

My supplies for this card are: basic black, whisper white and cherry cobbler c/s ~ Patterns 1 Sizzix plate, big shot, white baker's twine, 3 heart punch, circle punches, blender pen ~ It's the Thought stamp set ~ basic black and cherry cobbler ink pads

I hope you enjoyed my post today. Leave me some bloggy love. I love coming back and seeing who visited me! :)
Until next time...
Blessings...
Melina

A Flying Mystery

2011-06-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

I know what you're thinking. Melina has another post? 3 posts in 6 days? What's up with her? *giggle* *snort* I know right?! I told you my crafty mojo was comin' back!

It's time to see the Mystery image Sweet P sent all us Mystery swappers (thread on SCS). Yesterday was the due date to have the card to her so it's now safe to post what we created on our blogs! Yay!

I love the image she sent us! So cute! Super girly! Right up my alley :-)

I used a retired pink SU! card stock as my base. I had to fussy cut the sentiment Sweet P sent us so it would fit on my card. I had so many elements and left the image so big, that I was running out of room. I especially love the dew drops she sent with the images. I don't have any of those so it was fun to work with them. I added dazzling diamonds to her wings and the center of her flower.

Thanks Paola for hosting this round!!! Love ya! :-)

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

A Little Outdoor Dueling!

2011-06-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hiya!

I told you I was gonna try and do better! Here I am 2 days later!.....not 2 weeks! I told you I loved you! :) *giggle* I'm gettin' back in the crafty spirit.

It's Dueling Darling time again. This month Michelle from the Dazzlers and Barb from the Divas decided on a Great Outdoors theme. I absolutely love the kit Michelle sent us! Wow! The papers, the cute Whipper Snapper image! Love it! Sooooooo, cute! Thanks so much Michelle.

Here's what I came up with...

Look at those papers! Did I not tell you they were tooo cute?! The little pine cone brad was such a cute touch Michelle, you put together a wonderful kit. (can you tell I'm in love with this kit?)

I tried a ribbon technique I've seen a lot lately. I just did it facing doward instead. I colored my image with watercolor pencils. I decided the buttons all needed thread and fibers :) Before I added my image to the card I ran it through my Big Shot with my circle die. I hope you like my creation!

OH! We were challenged to tell of an outdoor adventure/experience we had good or bad. Mine has to be last Summer. My husband talked me into going camping with him, our kiddos and his parents. I'm not that much of an outdoors"wo"man, but I have to say, I LOVED camping. It is so relaxing, the kids had a ball and the bugs weren't bad at all *LOL* Of course, we were in a camper and we had nice showers and bathrooms to use at the campground too. The moral of this story...."Don't be afraid to try new things!" :-)

Please visit my sister Darlings. Their blogs are listed in my left sidebar.

Thanks for visiting me today!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

SUO Challenge Blog Celebrates Weddings!

2011-06-13T23:44:00.008-05:00

Hello everyone!

Well, here I am again, 2 weeks later. I'm such a slacker! I'm gonna try and do better, I PROMISE!!!!

Thanks to all of you that stick in there with me and still visit my blog from time to time. It is such an encouragement to me to see your comments.

This week over at SUO Challenge blog, we are celebrating Weddings. This is my card...

I'm gonna be taking my photos outside from now on (gonna try to anyway). I love the new pic! I used the new Fablous Florets stamp set in Rich Razzleberry ink to give the neutral colors a pop. I stamped the stem stamp on the card base. It's barely peeking out from the white panel. I also added dazzling diamonds to the flower centers.

Supplies:
Paper ~ Basic Grey, Whisper White

Ink ~ Rich Razzleberry, Basic Grey
Stamps ~ Fabulous Florets, Happy Everything

Accessories ~ Basic black ribbon, white twine, corner rounder punch, dazzling diamonds, 2 way glue pen

Thanks so much for visiting...come back soon!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

An SUO Challenge Just for Fathers!

2011-05-30T22:36:00.002-05:00

Hello ladies!

I'm so sorry I've only been posting once every 2 weeks. End of school (year) with our kiddos being at 2 different schools is nerve racking trying to be at all their events. They are both done now though, so I should be able to post more frequently. Thanks for you patience. :)

This card is for our Challenge over at the SUO! blog. May 31st (challenge #20) challenge is to make a Father's Day card. Be sure to only use SU! products/items on your creations to be eligible for our top 3 picks.

I hope you can join us! Just follow the link in the top, right of my blog.

Now, after I made this card, it reminded me a lot of Christmas colors. I'm stickin' with it though to use as a Father's Day card. I think it will be cute for the kiddos to give hubby.

Supplies:
Paper ~ whisper white, old olive, bashful blue, real red, Celebrations DSP
Stamps ~ Oval All
Ink ~ Old Olive
Accessories ~ circle punches, oval punch, cherry cobbler baker's twine

Have a great day!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Another Great SUO Challenge!

2011-05-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

Hiya!

It's time once again for a SU Only challenge! This week we're focused on flowers. Any SU! flowers you like, we want to see them. Come on over and join us.

I immediately thought of the Just Believe stamp set when I heard of our theme. With this card I stamped it over our Medallion stamp.

Supplies:

Paper~very vanilla

Ink~crumb cake, old olive, perfect plum

Stamps~Medallion, Just Believe

Accessories~very vanilla satin ribbon, circle punch, sponge daubers, hemp twine

I love how light and simple this one turned out.

Thanks for stopping by for a peek!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

I'm Late, I'm Late, For a Very Important Date!

2011-05-16T21:51:00.003-05:00

Hello!

I'm so late getting my Dueling Darling challenge card posted! So sorry ladies!

Debbie was our Dazzler's hostess this month. She sent the most chic kit evah! I love it lil dj I do :)

My placemats matched the kit hahahaha so I just had to take the photo with my placemat as the backdrop. *giggle*

**Part of our group's challenge was to tell our leaders how much we appreciate them. My friend Jeanette is the leader of the Dazzlers. I LOOOOOOOOOOOVE Jeanette aka Forest Ranger over on SCS. She is a great swap hostess and a wonderful and constant blogger. I have learned so much from her! She is also a Pastor's wife as am I so I feel a true connection with her. She is so sweet. Whenever I've needed her, she's always delivered and I appreciate that girl! You're the best. I love how much you care about your online friends. Thanks so much for all you do! BIG HUGS!**

Be sure to check out all the other Dazzlers and Divas blogs! They are listed in my left sidebar.

Thanks so much for visiting...(again sorry it's late)

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

The Power is Back!

2011-05-03T08:59:00.003-05:00

Now that might be a strange title for my post today. Since this is a post involving the SU! Only Challenge we're having. But, for any of you that know me, know that I live in Alabama. All of you know what happened in our quiet little state last week. We have been knocked to the ground, literally for some people. Some have nothing left after many, many tornadoes passed through Wednesday, April 27, 2011. That day will forever go down in history as the deadliest tornado outbreak since 1931. The closest tornado to us, was the one that ripped through Cullman County. It missed our house by 4 miles. We watched it go passed. It was the most hair raising, out of body experience I've ever seen. Everything was calm around, no rain, nothing but the sound of a train roaring through. That train being an F4 tornado. Some are saying it should have been labeled an F5 with as much damage that was done.

All of our family is okay. No one in our family was harmed or has damage because of the storms. You just don't know how amazing that is since there were numerous tornados that touched down in our state. The tornadoes were no respector of persons. They touched down in big cities. One being the biggest College town in our state, Tuscaloosa. They are still, today, finding bodies there. The tornadoes hit little towns, places with no mayor or city hall. Places where people had no insurance because they are living at or below the poverty line.

We were out of power for 4 days. Our kids re-discovered (haha) some of their toys & played outside a lot. We cooked everything on our outdoor gas grill. You know biscuits are, I think, better cooked on the grill! We had to cook, prepare, everything in our freezer before it spoiled. We invited my sister & her family over (they stayed for 2 days because they didn't have a gas grill at home to cook on) along with my parents for meals. What we didn't eat, we gave away to our neighbors.

Baths were a challenge. I boiled water on the gas burner (on the grill) and added it to the icy, cold water we had in the tubs. :) But, on a nice note, all the candles in the bathroom while you took a bath were very soothing! hahaha

We are not complaining though. We still have our home. The power came back on Sunday at lunch. We are better off than a lot of folks. I pray for them every day. I plan on volunteering in nearby Cullman County, once the kiddos go back to school. I feel an obligation to do so. Any of you that have lived through a natural disaster know what I'm talking about.

Please pray for Alabama. We so need it.

Okay, the card I have today is for the SU! Only Challenge we're having. Create a card with a butterfly(butterflies).

When I heard butterflies, I immediately went to my SU! embosslit. I love that thing! I used dsp from the brights collection. My sentiment is from the Family Phrases stamp set. The ink is Pretty in Pink.

Thanks so much for visiting. I hope to see you over at SU! Only challenges. The link is in my sidebar, top right.

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

What a Cute Mystery!

2011-04-20T20:00:00.002-05:00

The Mystery Swappers are at it again. This image is sooooo cute. I think I'm gonna have to stroll on over to The Angel Company and look around. I decided to go with a semi-monocromatic theme this go around.....blues and greens.....

I used my SU! ink pads to watercolor the image. The colors I used were, Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip, Real Red and Wild Wasabi. I used my copics for the skin (E00, E000, R20, blender)

I'm really just learning the whole shading thing when I watercolor. It's a work in progress. :)

On the ticket that Tami sent us (thanks Tami for a gorgeous image!) I decided to make it my sentiment piece and I just wrote my greeting, "The Sun Will Shine Again!". I thought this could be a great "pick me up" card for someone.

Thanks for visiting today!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

Movie Night with the Dueling Darlings!

2011-04-15T08:00:00.002-05:00

That's right! It's time again for a Dueling Darlings Challenge.

This round Joan (Divas) and I (Dazzlers)(yep! it was my turn!) hosted. We decided on a fun theme, "Movie Night". I thought that was something new and different. Good Job Joan! :) *giggle*

Well, I went with my DS's favorite Movie for this challenge......."Toy Story". Any of the 3, he loves them all!

I sent the Dazzlers 2 Woody images and 2 Buzz images. I also sent them Toy Story paper from Creative Memories and star paper from DCWV. I embossed a piece of chocolate chip c/s (that I ran through my big shot with the top note die cut) with the spots and dots embossing folder. Their accessories were star buttons, silver brads and hemp twine.

Here's what I came up with...

The images were very detailed. Sorry girls, I know how long it took me to color them! Yikes!

I'm gonna use mine as a scrapbook accent with some pics of DS with his Toy Story fiqures.

Hope you like my creation! Be sure to check out all the other Dueling Darlings and see what Joan sent her team too. Their blogs are in my left sidebar.

Have a blessed day!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

Chinese Forest?

2011-04-11T12:12:00.002-05:00

Well, this is the card I made for the latest Forest swap over on SCS and the circles reminded me of beautiful Chinese lanterns. So, hence my post's title. :)

I love this color combo. It's very "Spring" and with temps in the high 70's today, I'm really feeling it!

Supplies

paper ~ whisper white, wild wasabi

stamps ~ circle circus, punch bunch

ink ~ tangerine tango, melon mambo

accessories ~ melon mambo pom pom ribbon, circle punch, rounded corner punch, scalloped circle punch, cardboard, silver brad, sponge dauber, 1/16 hole punch

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day :)

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

SUO Animal Challenge

2011-04-04T22:24:00.003-05:00

Hiya!

I've got another SUO Challenge to share with you. Challenge #16 is to show us your animal cards (using only SU! products of course ;) I hope you take time to join us! Just click the SUO Challenge blinkie at the top right corner of my blog to go to the challenge blog.

~Supplies~

Paper ~ Not Quite Navy, Greenhouse Gala, Jolly Holiday, Very Vanilla

Stamps ~ Animal Stories, Three Little Words

Ink ~ Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie

Accessories ~ Modern Label punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, pumpkin pie taffeta ribbon

I hope you enjoyed my creation today. Have a great week.

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

The Darlings are at it Again!

2011-03-15T09:21:00.002-05:00

Hey!

How are ya today? I hope all is well and you're having a perfectly crafty day.

The Dueling Darlings are at it again! That's right today is another kit challenge. Jeanette is the hostess this month and what a "darling" little kit she sent! I love this image girl! How cute!!! The theme this month was kids stuff, using things that can be found with toys. Now, Jeanette really did challenge me because I've never used Scrabble pieces before but I really like how this "darling" card turned out...

I'm sorry for the dark pic.

I used copics and ink pad watercolor on my image. When I think of things that can be found with toys I think of the cardboard box the toy comes in. My kids still love that better than the actual toy! So, I added a little torn cardboard behind my image.

Thanks Jeanette for a super cute kit this month! I love it!

Be sure and check out all the other Darling cards. You can find the members and their blogs in my left sidebar.

Have a great day!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

Retired and Old or Oldie and Goodie?!

2011-03-08T11:58:00.005-06:00

Hello!

SUO Challenges is having their biweekly challenge today, use your favorite retired stamp set. Mine is Best Blossoms. I love the leaf and sentiment stamp.

Here's my card...

I used bashful blue as my base. My ink colors are old olive and rich razzleberry.

Come join us at SUO Challenges! You can find the link in the upper right corner of my blog.

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

Oh Good Grief!!

2011-03-06T22:06:00.003-06:00

That title sums up all the frustrations I've had the last month.

We've just gotten our dial-up....yes, I said dial-up internet hooked up! Can you believe that? I thought they had done away with that years ago! (no I actually know it's still around, I just don't like having to use it!) All the DSL ports in our area (our area at the new house) are taken up. We're on a waiting list with AT&T to get DSL as soon as a port opens up. There is no other providers in this area, believe me I've called them all.

Then, if having to deal with slow dial-up wasn't enough my computer is acting up. It's that crazy Vista! I'm having to use our old laptop to get on the internet. The newer one won't run the latest version of Adobe Flashplayer and won't run the one that's on it. And, we all know with no Adobe the internet is pretty much worthless!

Well, enough of my sad, sob story. I'm able to get back on my blog now and that's what I was wanting to do all along. I'm glad to be back. I hope it'll get back to normal.....whatever normal is! LOL!

I missed the deadline to post our Competing Princesses card (last day of the month). I had it done, just couldn't get it uploaded. So, Terria....here's what I made with your very cute kit! I never have enough masculine cards around. Thanks for giving me the tools to make one!

Okay, so this is more of a scrapbook accent I'm gonna use in my scrapbooks than a card. (it doesn't open, LOL!) When Terria sent the kit, she had knotted the twine. I left the knot b/c I loved it! The only thing I added was the hemp twine at the top right. All the rest came from her great kit!

It feels good to be able to post again! Thanks for hanging around ;) You all are the best.

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

We're Dueling Again!

2011-02-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

That's right! The Dueling Darlings are at it again! We're going another round :)

April C. sent out this month's kit and wow, what a cute one it was. There were all kinds of Valentine"y" papers, black glittery c/s, mirror c/s, all kinds of ribbons and pearls and images and sentiments and, and, and......... You should have seen it all! I have plenty of leftovers to do 1 or 2 more cards! Thanks April :)

I went a little punchy crazy with this card...

After I used the mirror c/s as my base....I realized how hard it was going to be to photograph it. Oh well, I tried to stand off to the side, but you still can see my lime green shirt I had on while getting the pic! LOL! I loved the little pom-poms April sent. They were strung on wire so you could turn and line it any way you wanted. With the black glittery paper I used my 3 heart punch. With a couple of the Valentine papers I used my scalloped circle punch. I used the inkpad watercolor technique to color my cherub, ain't he cute?

I hope you get a chance to look at all the other Darlings blogs. They are listed in my left sidebar.

Thanks for visiting today.

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

SUO Challenges Are "Rolling" Along

2011-02-08T05:30:00.003-06:00

Hi everybody!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted to my little 'ole blog.

Being between houses is proving to be challenging in the uploading department. I get confused trying to use Mom's software. You know, when you get use to doing it your way, then have to learn a new way, well it just kind of throws you for a loop.

Anywho, I made a card for this week's SUO Challenge, to use your Stampin' Around Wheels. I truly don't use them as much as I'd like. They are just not my go to stamps. I loved getting them out though and playing.

My hubby and I celebrated 13 years of marriage yesterday and this is the card I gave him...

Supplies:

Paper ~ Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Basic Gray

Ink ~ Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black

Stamps ~ Baroque Motifs, Baroque Border wheel, Well Scripted (I think?)

Accessories ~ Big Shot, Circles #2 die, Top Note die, Basic Black grosgrain ribbon

Red is hubbs favorite color, so I wanted to work that into the card. It's very hard for me to make masculine cards. I hope this one fits the bill. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Until next time...

Blessings...

Melina

Another Party?!

2011-01-17T07:00:00.003-06:00

Hello............Hello..............Hello!!!!

The start of a new week already! Wow! I hope you have a great one ;)

I'm working my way toward my scrapbooking goal! I'm so proud of myself for getting more pages done. This is #4 for the year...

My new favorite crafting goody comes from a sight called My Tattered Angels. On the journaling piece I spritzed it with their Glimmer Mist....2 colors....Dranonfly (blue) and Starfish (pink). I love this stuff! It's a lot like smooch spritz but Tattered Angels shimmery stuff comes in loads more colors.

Okay, so too the pics. This was the 2nd party of the day for Bethany's 4th Birthday. The first one was with hubby's side of the family, during the day, out to eat, presents, shopping and a carousel ride. The second one was with my side of the family, a late afternoon of swimming, games, presents and a homemade cake by........moi! This was my first attempt at a pretty, layered cake using fondant. And well, I'm not too crazy about the taste of fondant....don't know that I'll ever use it again...but it did make for a pretty cake.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Darling Little Chickens

2011-01-15T08:00:00.002-06:00

Hiya!

It's that time again. Dueling Darling time! Little Miss Paola was the Dazzlers hostess this month. Our theme: Fun and Laughter for ever after!
Paola sent us the cutest Penny Black image and the most darling embellishments!

I used Cherry Cobbler as my base. The other goodies were all in the kit Paola sent.

One other thing she asked us to do when we posted our DD cards was to share a New Year's resolution we NEVER kept, but really wanted to.
*Okay, mine is, has always been, TO DRINK MORE WATER. I've never accomplished this to my satisfaction. As always, I'll try better this year. :)

Thanks so much for visiting today. Be sure to check out my other Darling Sisters blogs. They are listed in my left sidebar.

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

My Quick Valentine

2011-01-13T20:39:00.002-06:00

Hello!

Do you have snow where you are? If not, I'd be glad to send you some. We have plenty.....still! Today was the first day I've ventured out since Sunday. Our daughter's school had their first day of class since this storm came through. We don't park in a garage, so, I cleaned off what I could on the windshield. I felt like I was driving a big polar bear! The car was covered in the white stuff. And, of course I had been hearing about black ice all week so I kept looking out for that and driving like a grandma (no offense to all you wonderful grandmothers out there!). Needless to say, I was glad to get back home.

I had a chance to sit down and make a few Valentine cards for some friends today. Here's the simple little cards I came up with...

I love SU!'s Fifth Avenue Floral set. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.

Supplies:
Paper ~ cherry cobbler, pretty in pink, white card stock
Stamp set ~ Fifth Avenue Floral
Ink ~ cherry cobbler
Accessories ~ pink seam binding, white crochet thread, white button

I do appreciate you stopping by my little blog today!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

2011-01-11T16:29:00.004-06:00

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW....

I've been cooped up in the house way too long....watching way to much Food TV. I decided to do some baking and I wanted to share pics of these Hot Chocolate cupcakes I made. I thought up the name and made up all the stuff to go together. Didn't use a recipe. Are you impressed?! *giggle*

Devil's Food cake mix

Frosting I made from scratch....(I'm very proud of myself for that! :))

and hot fudge drizzle.

They are very good. The cake is moist. The frosting is shiny and oooooozzzzzy! The hot fudge on top makes you think you're eating a solid form of hot chocolate. Yummmmmo!

Well, that's what I've been doing today, stuck in the house because of all that beautiful white stuff outside.
Now I think I need to get as far away from these little beauties as possible or I'll end up needing to do my Walk Away the Pounds video 15 times tonight!
....think I'll venture over to my crafting desk :)

Thanks for coming by.

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

New Year....New Babies?

2011-01-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

Hi!

Does my title make you wonder what's going on in my world? tee hee

hummmmmm....

Well, I'm gonna make you squirm for a second while I tell you my goals for this year...
I've set a goal of 300 pages this year and 100 cards. I'm also going to try and enter a few more challenges than I did last year.

So, in keeping with that, here's my card for today's SU-Only Challenge ~ Baby cards
and my entry for the Critters Sketch Challenge ~ Colleen's Sketch

NO! I didn't make a card for myself!

This is a simple, funny card I made for a friend of ours and her husband. They were married in November and she just found out she is PREGGO! Whoops!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahaha
They are the sweetest couple. We love to kid around with them. Especially with this little "whoopsie" I thought it would be cute to tease her about how many babies there really are in there!!!! hahahahaha

I used the SU! Love Bug stamp set and the abc Alphabet lower stamp set.

Thanks so much for visiting me!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Back to Scrappin'

2011-01-10T22:17:00.004-06:00

My first post of 2011! It took me 10 days, that's pitiful...
I promise to do better!!!!
It's going to be a great year. I've already decided. :)

My #1 crafty resolution this year is to get back to scrappin'.
I'm so behind. I'm working on my 2008 album! ugh! ....and me being the chronological scrapbooker that I am, I can't scrap out of order. so I'm right now, making my daughter's 4th birthday pages.....and yes, she's 6 years old.......ummmm really 6 1/2!

She had a great 4th birthday. I bought her a birthday girl shirt with matching hair bow. She walked around all day showing off her new digs. I'm exactly like that when I get new clothes (probably cause I rarely ever get new clothes). Of course, I don't go around telling everyone like she did (giggle) but I do "wear the new" out of them rather quickly! :)

I used lots of Pepples ~ Twitterpated Collection and heidi grace designs papers with this layout.

I used the sketch provided by Sketchy Thursdays Challenge blog this week.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

It was a Mystery

2010-12-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

............to me what April was going to send us with our Mystery package last month. But, isn't this image a beauty?!

I'm a part of a Mystery swap group on SCS. Each month a different hostess sends out images, the same image to each swapper. When you get the images, you make 4 cards all the same with that image and mail them back to her. She then swaps them out and sends you cards back that other swappers have made using that same image. It's so neat seeing how everyone else used/colored the image.
April had also sent a roll of decorative tape for us to use on our cards. I used mine under the button....

I used Melon Mambo card stock as my base. Then a strip of Chocolate Chip and a piece of dp from my Stack 6 (DCWV) paper stack.
I have a few copics now. Mostly flesh colors and browns. I love them. I'm just trying to get the shading right.
I can't wait to get cards back from this swap :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Stampin' Up! Only Challenge #9

2010-12-28T08:00:00.000-06:00

It's that time!

Another Challenge over at SU-Only Challenge Blog.

This round, we want to see all your Stampin' Up! creations with bling! Use rhinestones, pearls, glitter, embossing powders, etc. Anything that shimmers, shines, sparkles or is just plain "showy"! We want to see it!

Here's what I came up with...

Now, I'm still not an expert at using the Smooch Spritz. But I think it came out okay.

Supplies:
Paper ~ Natural White, Pretty in Pink, Old Olive, Melon Mambo, Perfect Plum, Crumb Cake
Ink ~ Versamark, Perfect Plum
Stamps ~ Butterfly Prints, Perfect Punches
Accessories ~ Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, Log Cabin Smooch Spritz, Butterfly punch, 2 way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds glitter

I hope you'll get a chance to join us for this challenge. I'd love to see what you come up with!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

They Say It's Very Rare....

2010-12-26T09:28:00.003-06:00

....to have a white Christmas in Alabama....but we got it this year!
We woke up Christmas morning to this...

and as I type this, the day after Christmas, it is still snowing! Two days of snow is really unheard of around here. Right now we have about 6 inches! That is also a rarity and by the way it's snowing right now we're looking at an inch or 2 more. Wow! I love it. It's beautiful. The only down side is that church was called off today and we really can't go anywhere. It's 29 degrees so the roads are covered over and icy and there are no salt trucks in site. Oh well, we have great indoor plans. Bethany and I are going to make cookies in a little while and both the kids get lots of time to play with their great Christmas gifts. Oh yeah, we got a WII gaming system "for the kids" that is keeping Brandon and I busy! We love it! Hummmm, I think stew or chili will be in the plans today too. Yummy.

Here's our little crafty snowman. He has button eyes, a sewn scarf and a ribbon mouth. :-)
Ain't he cute?!

Speakin' of cute, here's my niece, Presley (my sister's daughter)...

Is she not the most adorable child?! She just had her 2nd birthday and she is so sweet. When she sees you come in the door she runs to you for a hug saying "HI!" at the top of her lungs and then there's the sweetest little "I uv you" while she's hugging. Another cute thing she does is saying "I sorry" when she bumps into you.

Oh and of course out of all the great things she got for Christmas, at Nana's house she decided the box was the best of all!

I know you have a pic of your kids or grandkids like this. The box is always the greatest!

I hope you all had a great Christmas.
Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Teacher's Christmas Gifts

2010-12-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hiya people!

How are ya? I hope you are all well and looking forward to Christmas!

For my kiddos teachers I bought some Christmas tins from Wal-Mart. You know the ones they have this year that look like a pale with the little metal handles?! They are the cutest!

I filled those with hand towels, candles, candies and these cards:

very, very simple note cards with envelopes that I wrapped with ribbon.

I can't believe Christmas is this week. It's really come up on us quickly hasn't it?

Have a great day and thanks so much for visiting my blog :)

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

Forest Friends Swap Card

2010-12-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hello Lovelies!

Here it is the last shopping weekend before Christmas! Are you ready?! I know I'm SO not! ;0) It's really going to come down to the wire for us this year. But, I have no other choice than to be up for the challenge! What will be, will be...

Another thing that came down to the wire is getting these Forest Friends Swap cards out to my good friend Jeanette. I'm working around boxes so it's taking me longer to get to crafty things as far as time goes and it's like an obstacle coarse here! But, they did arrive, which I'm so happy and I can't wait to get cards back.

I found this great patterned paper at Hobby Lobby. I thought when I saw it that it fit the swap theme perfectly! I loved the earth tones in it too so to give the card a punch of color I used this coral red card stock (also from HL) for my base. I used more mustard with the sentiment and added a mustard brad. The flowers are from my stash along with the wide grosgrain chocolate ribbon. The hemp twine finishes the card.

Have a great weekend. Be safe!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina

This Month's Dueling Darling Challenge;

2010-12-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

This month's dueling darling challenge is just..............well............DARLING!

Terry sent out the kit this month and how cute is this?

I love the paper she sent and the image. I wish I had this SU! retired set! Those are the cutest little snow people!

With her challenge, Terry wanted us to list a "few of our favorite things" :)

Well, mine would have to be..........
My belief in the Lord
My Family
On a little lighter note, Red Velvet cake (hee! hee!)
Crafting of course!
Seeing my kids faces on Christmas morning
Baking
Sharing /Giving to someone who needs it a lot more than me

I could go on and on but I know you have other blogs to visit, so I'll cut my list a little short.

Be sure and stop by my other dueling sisters blogs to see what they created for this challenge. Their blogs are listed in my left sidebar.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Until next time...
Blessings...

Melina