Bottle Cap Magnets Are Back!!

I have more fabulous bottle cap magnets for sale in my shop and quite a bunch waiting to be listed. These make great gifts for Father's Day, the college graduate, or any other beer enthusiast in your life.



Check out my shop to see all the magnet varieties!
Happy Shopping!
~Melissa~

EtsyBlogger Featured Member - Cozy

This month's featured EtsyBlogger member is Cozy! Cozy is the ultimate crafter and she makes amazing creations with her knitting and crocheting skills.

I love her lipstick red knit headband:


Cozy also has some great kitchen cloths that are the perfect alternative to paper towels - you want a stong towel, use a handmade kitchen cloth!!


To see more of Cozy's items, vist her Etsy shop and her blog!

Happy Shopping!
~Melissa~

I <3 Freshwater Pearls!!

Freshwater Pearls!! So, how did this come about? Well, my mother wanted a special gift for her friend's big birthday party. So, she asked me to make a necklace for her. Knowing her friend fairly well, I suggested that some colored pearls would look nice on her. So, off to the store I go, and I find these lovely blue-gray rice shaped freshwater pearls. OoOoO!!! Me likes! I grab two strands and I just can't wait to get to work with them.

Here's the final product, sadly the pictures do it no justice, a simple yet fabulous 20 inch necklace with understated magnetic clasp:


And, because I am such a great daughter, I threw in free giftwrapping with this nifty pink paisley pillow box I bought from OhMyMommyClementine (although now it seems she has them in her other shop - ScrapDragon):


Needless to say, I love these pearls, so keep an eye on my shop, you may see some more freshwater pearls popping up! Also, feel free to convo me in Etsy if you'd like a custom necklace/bracelet/earrings. And if you pop by OhMyMommyClementine's shop, tell her Made By Melissa sent you!!

My First Ever Mother's Day Present!

This week was rough. Dean was sick, I was sick, hubby was sick - we basically had enough! I picked up the little guy from day care Thursday after work and there was an extra little bag hanging on his hook. And I don't mean the bag holding a bib full of spit-up or clothes that suffered a diaper blow-out... His teacher says "That's for you, its a Mother's Day gift. Oh, its fragile" She also explains to me that he made it while he was half asleep. See, it involved paint and hand prints and there is no way my Dean would cooperate with that!! I couldn't wait to see it! And since Dean was asleep, I opened it right then and there (yeah, I am bad with gifts). Here's what it is:



I know its hard to read, its the best picture I can get, so here's what it says:

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always leave my fingerprints on the walls.

But every day I'm growing -
I'll be grown some day
And all those tine hand prints
Will surely fade away.

So here's a little hand prints
Just so can recall
Exactly how my fingers looked
When I was very small.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
2008

Awww, its brings a tear to my eye!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's out there!

New! Made By Melissa has Vintage Jewelry!

Yes, you read it right, Made By Melissa now has vintage jewelry. Its only for a limited time as once my stash runs out, its gone forever (or until another female relative passes on her jewelry box). This jewelry is an assortment from my husband's grandmother Adeline and his great aunt Margo. There are some classic pieces from Margo's world travels and some simple and trendy necklaces and clip on earrings from Adeline's colorful collection.

These two pieces were snapped up less than 12 hours after I listed them!
Lovely black and gold multi-strand choker:


Golden Eqyptian Pendant:


This nifty wood and rope necklace is still available:


Keep checking back at my shop, I still have a lovely turquoise and pearl pendant, a gold ladybug watch necklace, some funky chunky totally 80's necklaces and enough clip on earrings to make your head spin!

Like vintage but jewelry isn't quite your thing? Well, how about vintage baseball cards? They are perfect for scrapbooking, altered art, collages and all your paper art projects!


In fact, these cards even made an appearance with my vintage crochet hook for the One Object, 365 Days Challenge!

May 2008 Crafter's Challenge

I'm in the May 2008 Crafter's Challenge! I entered this nifty purple heart beaded bracelet:


Here's the site, please vote for me!

PS - the bracelet is available in my Etsy shop here.

Much Thanks!

One Object, 365 Days Project

After several weeks of following Polka Dot Creations feet, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and join the One Object 365 Days Project. Today is my first day!!

I've decided to use a crochet hook as my one object. Selecting the object is key, it has to be something that is easily carried around, something that photos well and something that is mildly interesting. I chose this specific crochet hook for a few reasons. First, its the hook I learned to crochet with back in the 5th grade. I also rarely use it, mostly because its so old that I can't tell what size it is and its plastic.

So, here is my first picture:

It is my very first crochet hook, next to the hook I am currently using for this specific project.

Wish me luck!! You can keep tabs on me to see if I keep with it on Flickr

EtsyNJ FOJ Team Challenge Donation

The EtsyNJ street team participated in an awesome team challenge to help raise money for the Friends of Joey Foundation. Twentyone team members stepped up to the plate and donated awesome creations based on a spring time color theme and the outcome was truly stunning!

Kate of ShutterKate and EcoKate collected all the donations, packaged them up in a nifty basket and brought it to the annual benefit. The winner was thrilled!!
.

To see close-ups of all the amazing donations, visit the EtsyNJ blog posts here, here, here, here, here and last by not least here!

Also, please take the time to visit all of the generous shops who donated to this great cause:
AntiGenre.etsy.com
BeachChik.etsy.com
byAbpryor.etsy.com
CatRocks.etsy.com
CreationsbyDanielle.etsy.com
CreationsbyRobin.etsy.com
DonnaDidIt.etsy.com
DribsnDrabs.etsy.com
EcoKate.etsy.com
Fisheye.etsy.com
HappiKnits.etsy.com
Jtatmusic.etsy.com
Katylua.etsy.com
Krisamels.etsy.com
LDdesigns.etsy.com
Lindercella.etsy.com
LizArti.etsy.com
MadebyMelissa.etsy.com
NiceRakc.etsy.com
Purplelicious.etsy.com
Time4Coffee.etsy.com
WhatsEatingYin.etsy.com