Embossing Upcycled Packaging Materials – Mondays with Melissa

Have you ever upcycled something or repurposed it? Do you know what upcycling or repurposing is? If you don’t, you are going to LOVE me.. and maybe hate me a little too. Upcycling or repurposing is when you take an item and find another purpose for it and in many cases making it better! Whether it is an old book, table, chair, outfit.. The possibilities are endless!

As a crafter, I LOVE to buy new creative items because the industry is forever changing however I also want to be kind to our planet. This is where upcycling comes in. Embossing Upcycled Packaging Materials is really fun and makes you think outside of the box. Its a great way to get your creative juices flowing! I love to try to upcycle and repurpose as much as I can-almost to a fault-so that I can try to find another way to use an item. Especially on creative projects. You would be amazed at what you can come up with!

Here I created a card using the upcycled packaging material from an embossing folder set I purchased as seen in the video. I punched a circle out of paper and stamped the celebrate sentiment from our Sentiments for All Occasions stamp set. It’s a great set that covers just about anything you would need for a sentiment. I thought it would be cool to use the sentiment as a background. I really love how the project has the added texture with the upcycled element.  I think the embossed upcycled element also helps to highlight the colors surrounding it. In this creation, I punched out a flower from the upcycled material with a flower punch. It worked GREAT!

 On this creation, I decided to do something a little different. I made an embellishment by punching out a circle out of decorative card stock and put it BEHIND the embossed upcycled tag so you can really see the dimension and texture of the embossed tag. I used a punch after I embossed the upcycled material to obtain the tag shape. The sentiment with sympathy is from our Sentiments for All Occasions stamp set. The upcycled material is easy to use and work with. A word of caution; be careful with the edges when you are cutting them because they can be sharp.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. If you enjoyed what you saw be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more tutorials, creations, surprises and of course for Mondays with Melissa!

I Just Love You

Love is in the air, the butterflies are fluttering around, the birds are chirping and romance is the word of the day. I hope you have a wonderful day with loved ones celebrating what YOU love. I love my 3 boys, (my kids and hubby) friends and family. I also love to share awesome creations too!  These creations were made using the I Just Love You Stamp Set by the AMAZING Laura Williams. Oh! And I know… YOU LOVE ME TOO <3

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#FiftyShades of

How many of you are anticipating the new #FiftyShades of Grey movie? Well, while you are waiting, I thought I would show you an AMAZING creation done by Alease on our Design Team using the Sentiments for all Occasions stamp set. It’s not the same exciting but it is just as amazing and awesome, don’t you think? I love the details she used. Not only in the lovely picture but the adorable bicycle with the flowers on it? It looks like a bicycle that was just taken for a ride to pick flowers!

MarthaStewart was a little uhhh… STIFF at the #CHAShow??

Good Morning!

We really had a great time at the #CHAShow. Amazing products, demonstrations and of course the people are just awesome! I wanted to share with you a few of my highlights as well as the highlights of some of the DT…. Including.. Martha Stewart!

Meeting awesome people… like Leticia meeting Richard Garay…

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and Brandie and I meeting Joy MacDonnell while getting lunch…

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Marie hanging out with Glossy from Mod Podge

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Rhoda hanging out with er uh…. Martha Stewart….She was a little stiff but has a nice smile..

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And of course it wouldn’t be CHA if Rhoda didn’t get to see the amazing Teresa Collins… They are both amazing women!!

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I hope you enjoyed these pictures and if you want to see more, please check out our Facebook Page CHA SHOW photo album to see more!

Have a wonderful and creative day!

#BellaCraftsQuarterly – A FREE #CREATIVE MAGAZINE – Yes it’s TRUE!

20150111_141013-706x1024I know, I know… You think I am embellishing… Just because I am a crafter and often embellish on my projects DOESN’T mean I embellish on my stories. Actually, quite the opposite. Bella Crafts Quarterly is an AWESOME publication that you can sign up for and it’s FREE! YES FREE!!  There are a number of amazing people behind this magazine mainly three and I was lucky enough to get a picture of two of them! Her20150111_140954_HDRa-1024x1024e is Lisa Rojas and Ann Butler. I should have gotten a picture of Theresa Cifali however she was teaching a class at the #CHAShow! This magazine has a ton of tips, tricks and just everything you would want to know about being creative. It’s FREE.. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! SIGN UP ALREADY!

#CHAShow #CHA2015 Pictures of AMAZINGNESS!!

Good Morning!

Today is my last day at CHA- The Craft and Hobby Association Convention. It has really been a lot of fun and I am looking forward to seeing a few more amazing things! I have an album on my Facebook Business page that has all of the pics. One of my favorite things were the Doodle Bug Designs booth! LOVE the bright, cheerful colors and designs! I hope you enjoy the pics and be sure to check back as I will be adding a BUNCH more that I took!

#ProjectLife, Who doesn’t LOVE the latest and greatest at the #CHAShow

If you read my previous post, you know that Becky Higgins is truly an inspiration of mine. I love everything about her. She truly embodies what I believe to be the American dream for a woman entrepreneur. Here are some pics of her newest lines along with some of the favorites too from the #CHAShow! IMAG3645-579x1024 IMAG3648-579x1024IMAG3653-579x1024IMAG3655-579x1024IMAG3649-579x1024IMAG3651-1024x579 (1)IMAG3647-1024x579

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#beckyhiggins #projectlife #chashow #acreativejourneywithmelissa

Good afternoon!!
I don’t know if you know this but for some reason.. every time I see Becky Higgins, I cry… Like a goober. I have been inspired by her for so many years. I am so proud of her and her amazing creativity. She is so gracious, kind and genuine. There really isn’t anyone like her. And yes, she posed for this one :-D

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#CHASHOW Education day #TeresaCollins

Good afternoon!

Today, I have taken some awesome classes. Not only some great business classes but some technique and product classes too! Is there anything you would like to see from the show? Any type of product you are interested in? Let me know and I will do my best to get information for you!! The show floor opens tomorrow!!

One of my favorite classes so far was with Teresa Collins. She shared some amazing projects and product she is working on and I can’t wait to see Some of them on the floor tomorrow! She is amazingly inspirational, uplifting and really encourages you to not limit yourself. I am really bad at that. I have that negative voice too but I am going to work hard to overcome that….Or at least put it at bay.

Stay tuned..I will be sharing more with u!!

#CHAShow is coming!! Are you ready?

 

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I am really excited that both my husband and I along with some of my amazing design team members will be going to CHA this year.We hope you will stay tuned and check out the amazing things we see so that you can feel like you are there with us!!