Tiptoe through the Tulips!

March 4th is a very special day! First off, Queen Kat Designs will be releasing the new March Stamps! And they are gorgeous! And also it is me and my hubby's 6th Anniversary! It seems so much longer, but in a good way!! I guess because we've been together for 16 years! Make sure you visit the QKD Forum on March 4th!! There will be lots of fun and games! ;)

Here is one of the cards I made using the New Doodled Tulip Stamp Set being released Wednesday. It was designed by the very talented Beverly Douglas! This stamp is gorgeous and so versatile. It can be colored in or left with just the stamped outlined image. So elegant! I used some My Mind's Eye DP, Bazzill CS, Gold Glimmer Shimmerz and satin ribbon. I stamped a second tulip and leaf and applied it overthe original with some pop dots for added dimension. This card was made using last weeks Sketch Challenge over at SCS. I will be back during the week with some more cards to show you!

Well, just a quickie post tonight! My son is sick with Bronchitis, so I need to get back to him! I thought he was going to dodge getting sick this winter, but with this crazy weather, I guess it was bound to happen! His 3rd Birthday is next Sunday, the 8th and we had to cancel his party until the following Sunday! I feel bad, but I don't know what the week is going to bring and it is better to be safe than sorry. I don't want the entire family to get sick!

Hope you have a wonderful night and stay warm and healthy!!

Hugs,

Bunny Bottle!

Todays Ways to Use It challenge over at Splitcoast, was to create something using a frugal find, whether it is something inexpensive or recycled. So I decided to make one of those bottle people things. LOL I used an old glass bottle that I had gotten some of that flavored oil in, cardboard for her ears, toothpicks for her whiskers and I filled the bottle with some old crystal beads.






I brushed on some Pixie Dust Shimmerz Paint on the bottle for a nice crystallized look. Added some Daisy D's Brads on the front(I removed the prongs in the back and then hot glued them on) as well as a bow, button and some hemp cord. The spray of pearls is from a Valentine Pick I got in Michaels. And I used a Studio G stamp for the saying on the bottom.

For the face, I used a 2" Styrofoam ball and added some mini brads, toothpicks which I inked brown, cardboard which I inked white for the ears, and I used a black marker for the mouth.

Hope you have a wonderful day!!

Hugs,

Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge! ~ Baby Zoo Box

Today's Challenge for the Jacksonbelle DT was to use our stash and pretty much make whatever we like! So a friend of mine who recently had a baby girl, decorated the nursery with all cute little zoo animals. So I decided today was the perfect day to make a little box for her room and a matching card using all the awesome papers from Jacksonbelle Embellishments. So here we go!!

I adhered some October Afternoon paper (Crunching Leaves from the Weathervane Collection) to the bottom portion of the box and some OA (Night Light, Henry) paper to the top. I added some satin lavender polka dotted ribbon around the edge of the top. I then adhered some Memory Box paper and some more OA paper to a wooden giraffe and elephant that I had forever. I added some Pixie Dust and Angel Wings Shimmerz to them as well as some Fancy Pants Ball Trim(which I cut off of the ribbon ~OUCH!) I then stamped the cute little Prima giraffe onto some more OA Paper and the Palm trees, vines and Monkey are by Stampendous! The tree trunk was made by cutting some more of the OA Crunching Leaves paper. The coconuts on the large tree are actually faux pearls that I inked brown. And the Alpha Letters are stamps by Wordsworth. I adhered everything with a hot glue gun. And of course, I applied more Pixie Dust, Wintergreen and Gold Glimmer Shimmerz over everything else!! ;) The box is made more for display but can be opened and little trinkets can be stored inside.

I then decided to make a quick card to match. I used some more OA and Memory Box paper, the cute little Prima Giraffe stamp, vines from the Stampendous set, "welcome to the world" is from a baby stamp set but not sure who makes it. I also used the Fancy pants Ball Trim(fully intact this time;), some more Pixie Dust Shimmerz and some mini pearls by Kaiser Craft.

All the OA papers, Memory Box papers, Shimmerz, Prima Giraffe Stamp and the Fancy Pants Ball Trim can all be purchased at the Jacksonbelle Store.

And lastly, I just found out yesterday that 2 more cards were accepted for publication to the November issue of CardMaker magazine. I was bummed that my card wasn't in the March issue as I thought it would be, but I was assured by the awesome Tanya Fox, the editor, that it would be in a future publication! So I was happy about that! Ok, enough tooting!! Please make sure you stop by and visit the other Jacksonbelle DT Girls and see what they created!
AJ Otto
Beth Thomas
Heather Lee-Reppen
Jennifer Buck
Jill Dunn
Kimberly O'Rosky
Kisa Peters
Lindsey Botkin
Lynda Benden
Michelle Woerner
Rachel Baird
Shannan Teubner
Taylor Usry
Maren Benedict

Have a wonderful day!!

Hugs,

My Blog Candy Winner!

The winner of my Blog Candy is....Alexa luvs to Scrap!

Congrats Alexa!! Please email your snail mail addy to KeepsakesbyMelissa@yahoo.com So I can get your goodies right out to you!!

Thank you for all the sweet comments! Every single one means so much to me!! I will be having another giveaway very soon! And it is going to be even BIGGER than this one!! So Stay Tuned!!

Hugs,

Party Time! ~ Stars and Stripes Style!!

If you have never checked out the fun new challenges issued everyday over at Splitcoast Stampers, you must!! Mondays fun challenge was to make a Round Top Box and they are a blast to make. You can fill them with whatever little treats you like! And todays challenge is to use Stripes on your project. So I decided to make another cute box and combine it with the stripes challenge. I used some striped paper by My Mind's Eye as well as a tin star, some chipboard stars drenched in Pixie Dust Shimmerz, buttons, ribbon and best of all a Chocolate Star! (which my son and I will share later!! Shh! Don't tell my hubby!) HERE is the other box that I made on Monday!

And on my Striped card I used some striped paper by October Afternoon, Inque Boutique stamps(I actually shortened the stamped balloons a bit), ribbon, some mini gold brads and of course lots of Shimmerz! First I colored in my balloons with some Copics and then added some Pixie Dust, Celery and Aqua Marine Shimmerz. Here you can see just how much shimmer and shine you get when you use Shimmerz on your projects!

I will be back later with the winner of my blog candy!! You still have time to ENTER!! Just go to this LAST POST! You have until 2pm EST! Good Luck Everyone!!

Hugs,

The Fruit of my Labor!! {Blog Candy Time!!}

****Candy is CLOSED! Winner announced!***

Have you seen the oh, so yummy "Sweet" line by DCWV? It is so cute!! It makes you want some chocolate covered strawberries! Here are some simple cards I made with the 8x8 Sweet Stack of papers.

This first card was made with the cute apple paper from the stack as well as some Maya Road Chipboard apples and tree. I covered them with some cs, paint and glitter. I printed the sentiment out from MS Word onto some white cs and matted it onto some pink and green cs. I added some ribbon and a bow to finish it off.

This next one was also made with some of the yummy paper from the Stack. I hand drew a strawberry onto some red cs and then added some pale yellow glitter to it. I added some ribbon to the top of the strawberry. The quote is a Inkadinkado stamp. Isn't that a cute saying?!! I then added a bow to this one too, to finish it off.

Now onto the Blog Candy!! Here is what I have up for grabs!!

~ DCWV 8x8 Sweet Stack Paper Pad
~ DCWV Sweet Vellum Quotes Stack
~ DCWV Sweet Candy Glitter Rub-Ons
~ Creative Imaginations Mini Cupcake Chipboard Book
~ Doodlebug Loopy Lou Alpha Stickers
~ a bottle of Doodlebug Cupcake Crushed Velvet Flock
~ a jar of Hottie Pink Shimmerz
~ and last but not least, 2 2oz. bottles of Glimmer Mist, Black Cherry and Pink Taffy!

What do you have to do to win this?? Simple, just leave me a comment on this post and link up my blog candy on your blog telling everyone about my candy! And if you don't have a blog, just tell me how you will spread the word! If you would like 2 chances, you can become a friend of my blog!(up at the top!) :) My son will pick a winner out of a bowl next Thursday, February 19th at 2 pm, est! So Good Luck!!

A BIG Thank You to all my friends who regularly read and leave wonderful comments on my blog! I appreciate every one of them more than you know! Thank you!! ;)

Hugs,

Woo-Hoo!! I Made the Shimmerz DT!!

That is my good news that I have been waiting over a month to tell!! In Mid-January I was asked to join the Shimmerz DT but couldn't tell anyone until now!! I am super excited to be a part of this fabulous team!! A BIG Thank You to Stacey McElyea, the owner of Shimmerz and to Kim Ross, the DT Manager, for having me!! You both ROCK!

And for all those who didn't make it, some are my friends, keep trying! Just because you didn't make it this time, doesn't mean your work isn't any good, it's just not what they were looking for at the time!! Keep trying out for those DT's!!

If you never tried Shimmerz, you definitely must! Shimmerz are a water-based iridescent paint that adds just the right amount of shimmer and sparkle to just about anything!! And they come in the cutest jars! It can be used on paper, chipboard, to jazz up stickers, glass, metal, acetate and the list goes on!! Here are a few things I made recently with Shimmerz.

On this Shamrock shaped card I added some Celery Shimmerz to the felt shamrocks.(click on photo for a closer look)

On this Valentine Birdhouse that I posted recently, you can see how the little birdie just sparkles. I used both Pink Poinsettia and Hotty Pink Shimmerz on the birdie.



And on this Paper Valentine Cupcake, I added some Pink Poinsettia Shimmerz to the Cardstock Stickers.

A Big Thank you to everyone who left me a comment on my last post! I am still bummed about the magazine, but hopefully it will be in the next issue. I already got paid for it, so I hope they will use it! I emailed the editor but haven't heard back yet. I will keep you all informed! And I will keep submitting!! Thanks again everyone!! My "friends" are the best!!

Hugs,

I am soo bummed!

I was supposed to be published, for the first time, no less, in the March issue of CardMaker Magazine! And I had everyone going crazy to buy a copy! And guess what?? I'm not in it!! I am so upset! And I feel stupid telling everyone I was going to be published finally!! Oh well!! Next time I won't say anything until I actually see it!! :(

Anyway, here is a card I did for today's Color Challenge over at Splitcoast. We had to use Rose Red, Kiwi Kiss(olive)and Mustard. I don't have these exact colors, so I improvised! I used paper from My Mind's Eye, Bazzill cardstock and stamps from October Afternoon and Studio G. Just a fun little card for a new homeowner!

Have a great night and thanks for listening to me Rant!! :) I will have some good news tomorrow though!! ;)

Hugs,

Jacksonbelle Tuesday Challenge~ Casing Kim!!

Todays's Challenge at Jacksonbelle Embellishments is to Case our fellow talented and sweet DT member Kim! Her SCS gallery is full of adorable cards! It was so hard to choose. I liked them so much, I decided to case 2!! If you would like to play along, please used Keyword JBE040 when uploading to SCS or you can link your card to the Jacksonbelle Blog! We would love to see your cards!! And you don't have to use Jacksonbelle stuff, but it would be extra sweet if you did!! ;)

For my 1st card I decided to case this one by Kim. Isn't her card beautiful?!! (click on photos for a closer look)

On my card, I used some of these gorgeous papers by Memory Box from their Sprout Collection. They are so pretty and subtle. I thought they would be perfect for a spring type card. I also added a stamped Butterfly by Inque Boutique/Darice and then covered it with some Pink Poinsettia AND Pixie Dust Shimmerz and some mini pearls!! It looks so beautiful and shimmery IRL!! I also added some sheer ribbon, photo corners which I drew and cut out, a button and the saying was printed out of MS Word. The beautiful Memory Box papers and Shimmerz can be purchased at the Jacksonbelle Store!

For my 2nd card I cased this beautiful card by Kim!

On my card, I used some fun paper by October Afternoon (Hometown, Main Street) and the cute little Giraffe and sentiment stamp set by Prima. I added 2 Scenic Route chipboard stars, which I rubbed my ink pads onto them for the base color and then some December Sky and Sunny Shimmerz for a little added bling!! All the cardstock is by Bazzill except the light blue cs. Not sure who that is by, but it has cute little stars embossed on it. To finish it off, I added some pale yellow crocheted ribbon that I just got on Clearance at AC Moore for like a buck!! This awesome October Afternoon paper and Prima stamp set can be purchased at the Jacksonbelle Store!

Make sure you check out the rest of this talented DT and see what they created this week!!
AJ Otto
Beth Thomas
Heather Lee-Reppen
Jennifer Buck
Jill Dunn
Kimberly O'Rosky
Kisa Peters
Lindsey Botkin
Lynda Benden
Michelle Woerner
Rachel Baird
Shannan Teubner
Taylor Usry
Maren Benedict

Have a great day!!

Hugs,

Hoppy Easter ~ Round Top Box!

This was today's challenge over at Spiltcoast Stampers! To make a Round Top Box and boy was it really easy and fun!! If you would like to make one yourself, just visit HERE for the directions!! I decided to make an Easter themed box. And since it came out so cute, I will make some of these for Easter and give them to my nieces and nephews with some goodies in them!

For mine, I used some Inque Boutique stamps, a Sassafras Chipboard Bunny Sticker, an Easter pick that I got in Mike's, some Rusty Pickle pp (White Chocolate Bunnies), some green and pink CS, gingham ribbon and some pink shredded paper. I added some Pixie Dust Shimmerz to the bunny and some Pink Poinsettia Shimmerz to the "Hoppy Easter" CS for a little added shimmer!!

I will be back tomorrow with my Jacksonbelle Tuesday challenge card! See you then!!

Hugs,

Queen Kat Designs Stamp Winner!!

The winner of this stamp set from Queen Kat Designs is Norma (Ragdoll)!! Congrats Norma!! Please email me your snail mail addy so I can have Vicki send out your stamps!! My email addy is on the side bar of my blog!!

And don't forget you still have time to enter my blog candy giveaway!! Just visit THIS POST!! Good Luck!!!

Sorry for no new projects, busy working on DT stuff for a later reveal! But I will definitely post something tomorrow or Tuesday!! Have a great night!

Hugs,

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Just a quick post today!! I just want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!! I hope you have a great day with the ones you love!!

Hugs,

**True Friendship**

I must say that since I have started making cards and other paper crafts, and have been posted them online, I have made alot of great friends! I think that the people who are in this type of craft are the best there is!! Just look at all the blog candy, RAK's and just generous and kind people there are out there!! I love this craft!! And I truly hold dear to my heart all my friends, new and old! Thank you for visiting my blog and for putting a smile on my face with all your sweet comments!! I made this simple yet sweet card with all of you in mind! (took less than 5 minutes to make!)Click on the photo for a better view, sorry for the bad pic!

I used some more of the yummy DCWV Sweet Stack paper that I am giving away. Such great papers! I also used some white chipboard Thickers which I loaded up with some Gold Glimmer Shimmerz! If you haven't tried Shimmerz yet, you must!! They are awesome! They give just the right amount of shimmer to ANYTHING! Paper, chipboard, flowers, glass, you name it! I also used part of a new stamp set that is going to be released next month for Queen Kat Designs. It is the cute little sentiment up top. Wait until you see how pretty this set is! I love it!! And to finish off my card I just added some simple light green ribbon, a bow and some Making Memories Love Notes Flower Pins. I hope you all like it!!

Oh, I almost forgot, does anyone out there have the March 09 issue yet of CardMaker Magazine?? I have a card in this issue but I can't find the magazine anywhere?!!! Just curious, if anyone has it!! ;)

And last but not least, I want to send a BIG Birthday hug to my friend and fellow QKD DT member, Kristine! Happy Birthday Girl!! You must check out her blog, Ink Something! She is super talented and one of the sweetest people I know!!

Have a wonderful night!!

Hugs,

Sketch card for SNR's Card-iverse!

Have you checked out the new site yet for cardmakers over at Scrapbook News and Review's Card-iverse?!! It is one of the hottest new sites for cardmaking!! There are fun sketches, challenges, tutorials, tons of info and a fabulous gallery!! Come and be a part of something new and exciting!! Join SNR Card-iverse today and tell em' Melissa B sent ya!! ;)

Yesterday's sketch was such a beautiful one, but I didn't have time to make anything for it until today. This was the sketch.

For my card, I used some Little Yellow Bicycle paper and some Pink Paislee papers. I love both of these fab companies, Don't you?? I also used some LYB cs stickers (the large b&w heart and the sentiment) as well as some glitter hearts stickers and some ribbon. Such a simple but pretty card to make. Such a great sketch!

Well, I hope you like it! Off to make dinner!! Good luck with my blog candy! Have a wonderful night!

Hugs,

Jacksonbelle Tuesday! Sketch Time!!

Today's challenge over at Jacksonbelle Embellishments is to use this sketch. If you would also like to play along, we would love to see your cards!! If you upload to SCS please use keyword JBE039 or you can send a link to your card to either this blog post or to the Jacksonbelle Blog!

For my card, I used some yummy Bittersweet papers by Basic Grey and the stamp set is by Inkadinkado, Birthday Cupcake. I colored in the cupcake with some Copics and then used some Pink Poinsettia Shimmerz to bling it up a little! I added some heart gems in the corners to finish it off! Hope you like it! The papers, stamp set and Shimmerz are all available at the Jacksonbelle Store!! And they are all 30% off! See below!

Don't forget to visit the other Jacksonbelle DT Girls to see what they created!!

AJ Otto
Beth Thomas
Heather Lee-Reppen
Jennifer Buck
Jill Dunn
Kimberly O'Rosky
Kisa Peters
Lindsey Botkin
Lynda Benden
Michelle Woerner
Rachel Baird
Shannan Teubner
Taylor Usry
Maren Benedict

And make sure you check out all the great new items on sale Jacksonbelle Embellishments! There are the new Lizzie Anne and Memory Box stamp sets, new Cosmo Cricket papers and more! You have until midnight est tonight, to get 30% off anything and EVERYTHING in the store!! Just use coupon code Feb30 at checkout!! Happy Shopping!!

Hope you have a wonderful day! I will be back tomorrow with some yummy Blog Candy that you don't want to miss!! ;)

Hugs,

**Attention Cardmakers!! This one is for you!**

Do you love to make your own cards? Want to be a part of something New and Fun?!! Well, today is the Grand Opening of Scrapbook News and Review's Card Universe!!
SNR Card Universe is a new Forum dedicated to cardmaking! There are entire galleries and forums dedicated to sketches, tutorials, video how-to's and so much more! Here is the press release for it:

Love making cards? Love stamping? Love talking and learning about making cards? So do we!! Scrapbook News and Review is thrilled to present an entire universe created just for you!! The SNR Card Universe is built with the card maker in mind, and has resources you have only dreamed of having at your finger tips! Resources that include:

Sketch Vault: We have included an entire gallery dedicated to card sketches.

Video Archive: We have pages and pages of card making videos already cataloged for your viewing pleasure. We have gathered videos from all over the web into one easy to navigate collection...and we would love to add yours, too.

Tutorial Library: We have gathered a huge list of fun and exciting tutorials for you to try.

Blog Roll: Our Blog Roll is divided into Sketch Sites, Challenge Blogs, and Card Making Blogs for easy navigation.

Event Calendar: Want to know what is going on in the Card Making world with a single glance? Here's your source.

Forums: Ever wish there was a forum just for card makers? Well, now there is! Come visit with us, discuss your passion, and make new friends! We can't wait to meet you!

The hottest new online Magazine is launching the hottest new online card making community...and you are invited!!

So make sure you join up!! It is going to be a blast! Just go HERE to join!

Have a wonderful day!!

Hugs,