Exciting News!

I am so thrilled to share with you that I've been published in the latest issue of Paper Crafts Handmade Home Décor! I've never been published in any of the Paper Crafts magazines before so this was an exciting moment for me! Here is a quick photo I took on the day that I received the magazine. I was too excited to set up a better picture! Sorry for the poor quality!

The best part about this wreath is that when I made it, I entered it into the local County Fair. Unfortunately, I entered it into too broad of a category where it was up against woodworking, metal work, embroidery, etc. and it didn't get any ribbons. It is tough to enter paper crafts into our fair since the judges are not paper crafters themselves, they often don't know what to base the judging on.

I truly loved it though and I knew it was destined for something better :) When I saw the Paper Crafts call, I thought I'd give it a go! As you can see, I am so glad that I did!

Thank you Paper Crafts Magazine for featuring my project! The issue is full of really fun home decor projects ranging from easy to difficult. Pick one up if you have the chance! Stop by the Paper Crafts blog today too!

If you are new to my blog...welcome! Feel free to go back and look through older posts. I hope you stick around for a while!

Scrap Happy~
Melissa

Friendship & BFF's

     Remember in grade school when you had that one best friend who truly is/was your BFF? My daughter has such a friend and watching their friendship grow from age two onward has been a joy. It helps that their moms are BFF's as well! :)
     I've had this layout created several ways in my mind. I knew I wanted to use map paper, I knew the title, I just didn't quite have the perfect design...yet.

Enter the sketch challenge over at Pretty Little Studio. From the moment I spotted it, I had no question what I wanted to scrap! I even did a little photo shoot of the girls to get some current shots. I wanted it to be special.

It was a complete shock to me that when I went to find my map paper, not only did a find it (that alone is a miracle in the disaster I call my scrap room these days) but it had their specific information on it...Romania and USA! I really felt that it was a page that was meant to be created!

I wanted to include the concept of connecting two points on a map which I achieved with some thread and the perfect little American Crafts button! I am so glad that I came across this sketch and even happier that the layout that has been hanging out in my brain has come to fruition!

Thanks for looking today! Have a fabulous week!

Scrap Happy~
Melissa

Five Friday Favorites!

     Hello All! I thought I'd so a quick post today about some of my favorite things this week. Just something that I thought would be fun to do! Let me know your top five in the comments as well! I'd love to read them! In no particular order, here are some of my favorites right now!

1. Online Target Clearance Shopping

I got this adorable dress in my favorite color today for really cheap! And, I was still wearing my sweaty running clothes when I purchased it. I love shopping without having to look presentable!

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2. Pandora Radio

This week I found two Pandora stations that pretty much rocked my world! 80's cardio (c'mon, you know you love it!) and Antonio Vivaldi Radio. I know, how different can you get? But, each one fits the mood I am in at the time! 

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3. Raspberries

My parents went to Costco and my only request was that they pick up some raspberries (and other fruit) for me! I have raspberry muffins in the oven right now.

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4. Solo Cup, Reusable K-Cups

It is no secret that my love for my Keurig machine has grown over the years. I love that this cup doesn't leak and is really easy to clean. Plus, I save a few little K-Cups from the landfill and change up my flavors for a little cheaper at the same time!

 

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5. Ziploc Three Compartment Lunch Container

This handy little thing has been so awesome for my kids and I this school year. Last year I had everything in their lunches in little containers that all had to be washed separately. I've used this since September and couldn't be happier. Love!

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And those are a few of my Friday favorite things! I'm not being paid for endorsements or anything! :)

Have a lovely weekend!

Scrap Happy~

Melissa

Sweet Sentiment

Recently, I was lucky enough to have won a stamp set over at the Mama Elephant page on Facebook. The stamps are so cute! I received the adorable Rustic Spring set full of sweet bird related things! This week they had a sketch to try...so I did!  

     Clearly, I strayed from the sketch a bit, but I was sure to get in the banner and the decorative top. I was really going for the clean and simple look here which is why I didn't use any patterned paper. I just used a paint sample from the hardware store!

Be sure to check out the Mama Elephant stamps...especially the new releases. They are so fun! Thanks for looking today!

Scrap Happy~

Melissa

    

My Lost Hour

     I decided that since I was losing an hour of sleep last night anyway, I may as well just scrap the night away. Well, almost...if you count going to bed at 11pm "scrapping the night away", lol! Why can't I keep my eyes open past 10pm most days? Anyone know? I can't say I am complaining...too loudly anyway. I get to create pages like this and then go to sleep and dream about how I can make it better! :)

    
     I had these photos of one of my sweet nieces. Little baby bits and pieces that I snapped to capture about a year ago. The color combo challenge from Chic Tags this week totally caught my eye so I knew the colors that I wanted to use. I also had a lovely sketch to work from which I found here at the Scrappy Friends March blog challenge!
     To preserve the limited scrapping time that I get, I often use kits from one manufacturer. That way all of the colors and styles match. So, this one was a little outside my norm and had me pulling bits and pieces from different kits and collections to get the combo that I liked. And, of course, since sequins are my thing lately, I had to add some of those as well! Washi, sequins, twine, buttons, stamps, wood veneer...this page has it all!
     Thanks for looking today! I hope that you are having a splendid weekend!

Scrap Happy~
Melissa

Quick Kiwi Fun!

     **Click here for my second post for today featuring Creative Scrappers!**

Happy Tuesday! I am determined to make today a good one. Why you ask? Because, I have two layouts to share with you that are being featured on the Kiwi Lane Blog today! Hooray! Plus, today has to be an improvement from yesterday!:)
     Over at Kiwi Lane there are some amazing designer templates that are being featured this month. I had the opportunity to play with them, along with some gorgeous paper by Quick Quotes! I was able to use the gorgeous Stowaway collection from Quick Quotes and also show a fun way to use the Wildflower Designer Templates. Here is one of the layouts that I created...

I'd love it if you would stop over at the Kiwi Blog and see the step by step in creating this layout. It was really fun to use some nontraditional Disney colors to create a Disney layout!

I also made one more layout, again using the Quick Quotes paper, just because I thought it would look cute with my photo. This is their Summer Breeze collection along with my sweet little niece! One of the large Floral templates was a nice addition to this page as well!

I am glad that you stopped by my blog today! There are two blog postings that I am sharing today so if you haven't seen the other, please check that one out as well! If you have something that you've created and would like to share it, please leave a link to your blog in the comments! I love to look at others' work! Until next time..

Scrap Happy~
Melissa

Here & Now (plus something for you!)

     *Blog Post #1 of 2 today! Check back!**

      I am so excited to share some fun news today! I recently created a layout using a sketch from Creative Scrappers created by Kristine Davidson. Kristine had an invitation on her blog to create a layout based on the sketch that she had created and the chance to submit it to be featured in her *new* sketchbook, Creative Scrappers Creating with Sketches Volume 2.
     Happily, my take on the sketch was chosen to be one of several featured layouts! The new book has 125 new scrapbook sketches in it as well as many different designers with their interpretations of the sketch. I am excited to be one of them!

     Additionally, I am really excited to share a coupon code for YOU to recieve $2.00 OFF of a digital copy of the new sketchbook! Use the code CWS2Discount at checkout to save on your copy! 

     If you haven't had a chance to look at some of the sketches at Creative Scrappers, check out their blog as well: www.creativescrappers.blogspot.com. I am never disappointed! Let me know if you pick up a copy for yourself!

     Thank you for stopping by today! Until next time...

Scrap Happy~
Melissa

7,103,380,564 + 1 Little One

     While the number above is just an estimate of the current world population, I can say that I know of one more little being that has entered into the mix. A friend of mine just had a baby boy and I am so excited for her. What could be more magical than a newborn? The baby sighs, the sweet baby smell, the cries in the middle of the night...well, I guess some things aren't quite as magical! :) At any rate, a baby card was in order.

     I created this card based on the Pinspired Challenge #4. I was inspired by the woodgrain in the  background as well as the pop of green.

I used my Silhouette to get the circle and add the words to it. I love this gorgeous American Crafts ribbon too as well as the sweet border punch at the bottom.

Here is another angle:

I am hoping that the new momma loves the card as much as I enjoyed making it! Thanks for stopping by today!

Scrap Happy~
Melissa