Scalloped Pocket Card and a Giveaway!!!

***Now Closed! Will be back later with my winner!!***
Hi Everyone! Well, it's that time again! Time for another giveaway!! But first I just want to show you a fun pocket card that you can make! And it only takes minutes to do! Today's fun Ways to Use it challenge over at SCS is to use white cardstock only. So I made this fun Scalloped Pocket card by first taking a piece of round scalloped DP and tracing just the top half onto a piece of white CS, trim it out and fold to make the pocket. Then just cut another piece of paper to put inside the pocket! These are alot of fun because you can also put a gift card inside of it along with the card!

After I made my pocket I just ran the closed pocket through my Cuttlebug with my all time fave Emb Folder, Swiss Dots. I then dressed it up with some pretty ribbon, pearl stick pin and a stamped Rubber Cafe butterfly. The card itself has a Studio G stamp(many thanks), a Prima Stamp(pink dots) and a Melissa Frances Rub-On as well as another butterfly. I hope you like it!

Now onto the Giveaway! Let's see I have alot of little fun things to give away this time!

~ Basic Grey 6x6 Lime Rickey Paper Pad
~ EK Success Scalloped Edge Punch- Medium
~ American Crafts Circle Calendar Stamp 2x2
and
~ A Crop-A-Dile II Big Bite!!

All you have to do is leave a comment here at this post and a link to my giveaway on your blog! Don't have a blog? That's ok, just tell me how you will spread the word about my giveaway!(I trust you! *wink*) And if you would like 2 chances, become my friend(follower)! You know the drill!! You have until next Thursday, April 30th! I will pick my winner at 3 pm and announce it sometime that night! And you know me, I will probably add more to this before it is all done!! So Good Luck!!

Have a wonderful day!! :)

***Now Closed! Will be back later with my winner!***

Hugs,

Exciting News!!

My friend Lindsay, who just opened up her own Digi Stamp Store, Lindsay's Stamp Stuff, had asked me to join her new DT! I am thrilled and excited for her and soo happy to be on her team! She is SUPER DUPER TALENTED! Such a great Artist! You are going to love her awesome Digi stamps! At first, I was unsure about using Digi stamps, since I never did before, but they are so easy and fun and you don't have to deal with black ink on your fingers! You simply pay (the average stamp is a buck!) and then you download it and have it forever! Just print and color in! So, please let's help her out and get her business booming! Try a Digi stamp today, you won't be disappointed! Just go HERE, to see all the adorable stamps for sale!

Here is a card I made yesterday using a couple of stamps from her adorable Babies and Bows Collection.
I used the rattle, Welcome Baby banner(which I trimmed down to fit my card)and that cute little button. I colored them in with some Copics. I also added some sheer pink ribbon, Kaiser Craft mini green pearls and some black dashes to match the images.

And here is another simple one I made using Lindsay's Ellie the Elephant digi stamp. Isn't she cute! I just used some Bazzill CS, a Melissa Frances Rub-On, a paper piercier, some Copics, mini button brads, ribbon and a Doodlebug flower brad. I hope you like what you see so far, her images are just adorable! So don't forget to check them out HERE! I know Lindsay would really appreciate it! ;)

I will be back later to announce the winner of my Blog Giveaway! Good Luck! You still have a few hours left to enter!! Have a wonderful day!!

Hugs,

Land of the Free!

This is a card I made for today's Sketch Challenge over at SCS. It is a simple sketch yet there are many different fun possibilities for it! I just used plain old Bazzill CS on this one, no patterned paper today! hehe The flag stamp is by Technique Tuesday and the saying was printed out of MS Word onto some white cs. The same saying came with the stamp set, but it was too small of a print. I stamped the flag in black Staz-On and then ran my Copics through it for some color. The star ribbon I picked up the other day at my LSS, I'm not sure who makes it. And to finish it off I added some gold star brads. The scalloped circles are Lg. Round Scallop Nestabilities. Love them!!

Have a wonderful day!!

Hugs,

Jacksonbelle Tuesday! A Shaped Card!

Hi Everyone! Today's challenge at Jacksonbelle Embellishments is to make a shaped card. It can be anything except a rectangle. And we would love for you to play along too! If you upload to SCS please use keyword JBE051 or you can send a link to your card to the Jbelle Blog!

I decided to make a moon shaped card. I don't like the way it turned out. Don't you hate when you envision something and it turns out WAY different!! But I didn't have time to remake another one, so here it is! I may make another later and post it! I sued some new Prima paper and some Pink Paislee papers. I also used some buttons, hemp cord, sheer ribbon, pink ball trim and the quote was printed out of MS Word.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the JBelle Rockstars!

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

Have a great day!

Hugs,

Happy Birthday Cake Card and a Bow Tutorial!

This is for today's Sketch Challenge over at SCS. I used some Inque Boutique stamps, My Mind's Eye and Bo Bunny DP and lots of glitter! I paper pieced the top 2 layers of the cake with the Bo Bunny DP. To finish it off, I added some gingham ribbon and a button.

I have posted the tutorial on how to make these 3-Looped bows on the Moments to Remember Blog! Just go HERE to see it! And while you're there, please go to the Forum and register at M2R! We have lots of fun things planned at M2R! Starting May 2nd, National Scrapbooking Day, we are planning a Trip Around the World, with fun challenges, giveaways and games throughout the entire month of May! So please join today! You won't be disappointed! And when you do, introduce yourself and tell them Melissa B sent ya!! ;)

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

JBelle Tuesday! Easy as 1-2-3!

Well, actually it's not that easy! LOL Today's Jacksonbelle Embellishments DT Challenge was to make a card using 1 stamp, 2 embellishments and 3 layers or less! I was going to cheat and use 1 Stamp Set, but then decided to be good! I had originally stamped this owl and a branch from the Pink Paislee Harvest Moon stamp set! But then decided to play fair and I added a real branch from my yard, instead of the stamped branch and that would also serve as 1 of my embellies! But then I CHEATED anyway!! LOL The card looked like it was missing something, so I then stamped the little itty bitty "Thankful" from the same set!! hehe But I did only use 3 layers including my white card base and only 2 embellies, the ribbon and stick!

All the Pink Paislee Captivating papers can be found at the JBelle Store as well as the Shimmerz Paints that I colored the owl with! I used Gold Glimmer and Blueberry Cobbler!

We would love for you to play along too! Just use keyword JBE050 when uploading to SCS or you can put a link to your card on the JBelle Blog! Now check out the rest of the JBelle Rockstars and see what they created!

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

Have a wonderful day!!

Hugs,

A Big Thank You!

Hi Everyone! As I just posted in my last post, I finally opened my little store, Keepsakes by Melissa, on Friday. I had only posted a fraction of what I will be selling! Well, guess what, everything has sold already except for one thing!! I am in shock and surprised but very, very touched and appreciative! I just wanted to thank those who purchased the items(you know who you are *wink*) and thank everyone for the sweet congratulations and for stopping by the store! I really appreciate ever single one of you!! I have the best friends and readers in the blogging world!!
So now I just have to go and open a separate bank acct for Paypal, ughh! I didn't know you had to have your acct on there!! And then I will update the store with some more stuff!

Oh yeah, and another big thank you to Michelle for giving me this award! I really appreciate it Michelle! Thank you! You are very sweet! I will give out my nominations shortly!

Thanks again and have a wonderful day!!

Hugs,

My Little Store is finally opened!

Well, I finally did it! I opened my Store, Keepsakes by Melissa! I am slowly added things to it, but I'm getting there! This is very scary for me! I don't like selling things, especially my own stuff!! A car salesman I would never make!! But I thought I would give it a try! If they don't sell, that's fine! I do this because it's what I like to do, but if I can make a little extra $$ for my Scrappin' Supplies what the heck! Right?! So I am super excited but nervous too!

So if you want to stop by my little store, you can click HERE or my little Store Logo on the right side! Thanks again for all your support and friendship! And a special BIG thank you to my friend Lindsay, for making me the beautiful Store Banner and Logo! I love it!!

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Home...where the ♥ is!

My 2nd post today! Whew! I'm on a Roll! LOL This is a frame that I altered for todays Ways to Use it Challenge on SCS. It was to use a frame. So I distressed an old wooden frame with some sandpaper, and added some Bo Bunny DP, Fancy Pants, Kraft Kuts Cut-outs, a chipboard heart, some Inque Boutique Alpha stamps, gingham ribbon, and a Making Memories Stick Pin. So simple and easy! It only took about 20 minutes to make. It would make a great gift for someone. I personalized the house with our last name but of course, you could put the recipients name on there!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hugs,

God's Heart in a Garden

This is a card I made for today's Ways to Use It Challenge over at SCS. We had to make something using a frame. It could be an actual picture frame, a stamped frame whatever you want. I made a frame out of an old Inque Boutique stamp. It looks like lace and it is from a set called Boutique Grunge. The sunflowers are also an Inque Boutique stamp from a set called Sunflowers. I inked my sunflowers stamps with a couple of different colors of inks. I used some yellows, oranges and reds. Then I colored it in with some pastel chalks and then adhered some small glass beads to the centers. To finish it off, I added some Heidi Grace sheer polka dotted ribbon and some rhinestones.

Hope you are having a wonderful day! I might just be having another giveaway soon!! So stay tuned! *wink*

Hugs,

SCS April Fan Club Gallery! My Sneaky Peek!!

This months theme at SCS Fan Club is right up my alley! I wish I could tell you more, but I can't since the reveal is tonight at Midnight CST! If you belong to the SCS Fan Club then you are in for a real treat! The Dirty Dozen has ROCKED it this month for sure! If you're not a member and you have a few bucks lying around, you should definitely join! If you would like to join, just go HERE.

So here is a little peak for you of one of my projects for this months reveal! I had so much fun making this!! I used an adorable Carousel Horse stamp from Whipper Snapper Designs and well, let's see, it also involves a wooden ribbon spool, a CD and lots more!!

And another reason to join the Fan Club this month, is we are starting a new and fun thing! You have to comment on all the DD cards and projects, because you have a chance at winning one of them! That's right! Each Dirty Girl is going to give away one of their projects to one lucky person! But the catch is you don't know which project it is! So, all you have to do is leave a comment on all the creations and you might just Win it!!

You also don't want to miss the 2 new Dirty Girls coming to the Dirt Pile this month!! WOWZERS!! They are Good!! So I hope to see you tonight at Midnight CST at the SCS Fan Club April Gallery!!

Hugs,

Jacksonbelle Tuesday! A Pink Paislee Sketch!

Hi Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Easter! Today's Jacksonbelle challenge is to use this sketch! You too can play along! Just upload to SCS using keyword JBE049(the keyword on the sketch is wrong) so we can find your cards or you can send a link to your card to the Jacksonbelle Blog! We would love to see what you do with this sketch! (click on photos for better view)

I decided to use all totally yummy Pink Paislee papers on mine. Lindsey is now selling Pink Paislee in the Jacksonbelle Store, so make sure you check them out! The back panels are from the Enchanting (pink) and the Sweet Cakes (green) lines, the graphed paper is from the Office Lingo line, the butterflies were cut out of a DP also from the Enchanting line and the flower is from a Spring Fling DP. I added some Daisy D's Rhinestones, sheer ribbon and a Melissa Frances Rub-On. Oh and the orange matted DP behind the graphed DP is Basic Grey's Sugared line. Hope you like it! Oh, and as you can see, I flipped the sketch a little for my card!

Now check out the rest of the Jbelle Rockstars and see what they created!

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

I'll be back later with a sneaky peek of one of my Dirty Dozen projects and also something special in this months DD Gallery you won't want to miss!! *wink*

See you later!!

Hugs,

Happy Easter!

I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Easter! I am truly blessed to have made so many wonderful friends through my blog and online scrappin' forums! Thank you so much to each and every one of you! I try to return my thanks through my giveaways but I also like to tell you too! ;) And before I go, here is a Butterfly card I made for a color challenge at SCS.

I used some Bo Bunny and Dream Street Designs DP's, Lace Butterfly Cardstock by Ki Memories, Making Memories Stick Pins, gingham ribbon and the sentiment stamp is by Inque Boutique. Yay! Spring is finally here!!

Well, I'm off to start some cooking for tomorrow. I am going to have another house full! I love it! There is nothing better than having your family and friends together!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Hugs & Kisses,

My Good Friday Blog Candy Winner!

Happy Good Friday everyone! Well, today is the day that I announce the winner of a Cuttlebug! I first want to thank you all for your sweet comments and for stopping by my blog! I wish I could give every single one of you a Cuttlebug! Unfortunately, I can't! But I do like to give things away and there will be plenty more giveaways in the future! Before I announce my winner, I have a couple of things I want to share with you!

First off, my good friend Cheri's daughter has made it to the next round in the 2009 Wet Seal Model Search Contest! Woo-Hoo Ashley! But she needs your help! Please visit Cheri's blog at this POST to see how you can help her advance! We would really appreciate it! And please go asap it ends today! Thank you!

And next here is a card I made with my friend Lindsay's new Digi Stamp. Please check out her new digi stamp store HERE! She has the most adorable digi stamps for sale, starting at only $1! That's a stamp for only a buck! Don't forget you can print them out over and over again! And she also has a DT call out too! Just visit this post HERE! Thanks again!

And so on to my winner!! The winner of a brand new Cuttlebug is..................



*************Anne Thomas**************

Congratulations Anne!

Please email your snail mail addy to Keepsakesbymelissa@yahoo.com You have until Monday the 13th, or I will have to pick another winner!

Thanks again to everyone for stopping by! I really appreciate it! Have a wonderful Easter or Passover!!

Hugs,

My BIG Giveaway!

***Now Closed! Winner Announced***

And, NO, this is not an April Fool's Joke!! I am giving away a brand new, never opened, CUTTLEBUG! Yes, you read it right, a Cuttlebug Die Cut Machine! And I just might throw in a Swiss Dots folder!! ;) And I also have a brand new Tim Holtz Bracket Grungebook up for grabs too! And before it is all over, I may just add some more to it! :) I just love to give things away!! It makes me happy to make you happy!

What do you have to do?? Easy!

1) Just leave me a comment here at this post;

2) Leave a link on your blog, linking my Giveaway (don't have a blog? that's ok, just tell me how you will spread the word!)

and;

3) for an extra chance, you can become my friend (follower). If you already are my friend, you already have 2 chances once you leave a comment here!!

See, I told you it was easy! So, you have until next Friday, Good Friday, the 10th! And it will be a "Good" Friday for someone! I will announce a winner at 3 pm EST!! Good Luck!! ♥♥♥♥♥

****Now Closed! Winner has been Announced! Thank you for visiting!****

Hugs,

Charlie the Horse!

I am loving all the stamps by Clear Dollar Stamps! I love Charlie the horse in particular! Isn't he just the cutest?! This stamp set is called Charlie Daisy and there are 11 stamps in the set for only $7.99. You can't beat that and they stamp awesome! You get a really crisp image! And no, I am not designing for them, I just love the stamps! hehe

I made this for today's Sketch Challenge at SCS. I colored in the image with some Copics and added some gingham ribbon, hemp cord and a Making Memories heart stick pin. **TIP!** If you use stick pins, dab a little bit of hot glue on the end, so you or the recipient won't get stuck with it! The papers are by Inque Boutique, DCWV and Bazzill CS. Hope you like it!

Now, I'm off to Toys R Us with my son! I promised him a day of shopping, since he is such a good boy! And he has a lot of gift certificates from his Bday. So this should be fun!! I can see some more Thomas the trains in my future! And on my family room floor!!

Have a wonderful day!! And don't forget to check out my friend Lindsay's New Digi Stamp store and her DT Call! See the post below for details!!

Hugs,

Lindsay's Stamp Stuff! & a DT Call!

A huge Congratulations to my friend Lindsay, who just opened her own Digi Stamp Store!! Her art is amazing! You can visit her new store HERE! She is also having her first Design Team Call! The Call runs until April 27th. Go HERE for details!

Digi stamps are simple and fun! All you would do is,(after paying for it, of course) download it, then print it onto white cardstock and color it in! That's it! And once you download it, it's yours forever to print again and again! Her images are adorable and affordable! Some images are as low as $1! Here is an example of one of her digi stamps, that she is offering for free on her blog! Isn't it the cutest!!

So, please, go and visit her Blog and her Store for more details! And don't forget to try out for the DT Call!! Congratulations again, my friend! I wish you much success!!

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Jacksonbelle Tuesday! White on White!

Our fun challenge this week was to make a white on white card using only 3 layers or less and only 2 embellishments and just a hint of color. And we would love for you to play along too! If you are uploading to SCS, please use keyword JBE048, so we can find your work or you can send a link to your card to the Jacksonbelle Blog.

This card took like 5 minutes to make and only because I had to run the paper through my Cuttlebug!! It is so simple yet I really like the elegance of it! Didn't think I would, but I do! I used the Swirls and Swiss Dots Embossing folders and the beautiful Prima Butterfly can be purchased at the Jacksonbelle Store. And while your there, check out all the new goodies that Lindsey now has, including, 1 of my faves, yummy Pink Paislee!! And for my little bit of added color I stuck 2pink flower stick pins through my ribbon.

And don't forget to check out the rest of the Jbelle DT Rockstars!

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

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Flower Pot Pocket Card!

This is for today's Try a New Technique Challenge over at SCS. What a fun card this was to make! I decided to make a Mother's Day card for mine. You can get the instructions on how to make this HERE on Stephanie Luman's wonderful Blog! If you make one, stop back and here and let me know! I would love to see yours! ;)

I used some flower stamps by Inque Boutique, butterfly stamp by The Rubber Cafe, a Melissa Frances Rub-on, stick pins by Making Memories, and patterned papers by October Afternoon, Daisy Bucket Designs and the sheer polka dotted paper is by Ki Memories. I also used my Martha Stewart branch punch, ball trim, crocheted ribbon, buttons and some hemp cord. All the flowers are attached to a pull out card. I hope you like it!

I'll be back tomorrow with my White on White card for Jacksonbelle! See you then!! Have a wonderful day!!

Hugs,

Happy Spring

Another quickie post today! I just wanted to share a couple of cards I made for yesterday's Limited Supplies Challenge over at SCS. You could only use 1 Cardstock Color, 2 pieces of patterned papers and 3 embellies! And of course a stamped image and neutral colors cardstock didn't count.

This first one took less than 8 minutes to make, but I love it! The colors are so me as my friend Lindsay would say!! ;) The striped DP is by My Mind's Eye and the Sheer Polka dotted DP is by Making Memories. I added some gingham ribbon, stick pins, Kaiser Craft adhesive pearls and the Happy Spring is a stamp by Inque Boutique.

This next card, I kinda cheated on! LOL I added some glitter which would be considered a 4th embellie by some!! Oh well! The DP's are by Pink Paislee, Office Lingo and Sweet Cakes, the Carousel stamp is by Whipper Snapper Designs which I colored in with some Copics. I added some gingham ribbon, rhinestones and a Melissa Frances Rub-On.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting me! I love reading all of your sweet comments! And I promise to visit all of your blogs as soon as I get a chance!! ♥♥♥

Have a wonderful weekend and a Blessed Palm Sunday!

Hugs,

Dancing in the Rain!

Today is a rainy, yucky day here! So I am playing with my son, cleaning (YUCK!) and catching up on emails, blogs, etc! I have been so crazy busy, I haven't had time to do much of anything lately! The yucky weather reminded me of a card I did last week for a SCS challenge.
The stamped image is a House-Mouse stamp. I just love the cute little faces on these mice! And I love that Melissa Frances Rub-On! The bright colors are just what I need for this dreary day! I hope you like it!!

I have so many fun projects that I am doing right now for the April Dirty Dozen Reveal over at Splitcoaststampers! I wish I could show you, but we can't post any of our projects for 3 months, due to the Fan Club being a pay-to-see! If you are not a member, and you have a few extra bucks lying around (these days, who has $$ lying around though, right?) but if you would like to really be inspired, join the SCS Fan Club! You won't be disappointed! It is only $24.95 for a whole year or $14.95 for 6 months. And if you do, stop by and say Hi! I am Melissa1872 on SCS!

Well, I hope you have an awesome day!!

Hugs,