Happy Birthday to Me! Meet my new Cricut Explore!

I celebrated my 24th birthday a few weeks ago, and it totally slipped my mind that I should show off my new crafting tool!

My fiance bought me a Cricut Explore, so I can enter a whole new world of crafting. I had been eyeballing it for a while, so intrigued by what it can do. I was so happy when I opened it!

Let me tell you though.. it is intimidating. I thought I'd be all over this thing, cutting out little craft pieces right away. I haven't been able to properly cut anything yet.

The set up for this machine requires connecting to the computer, cutting some samples and making sure everything lines up correctly. Well, it said it couldn't connect to my laptop, then it wouldn't cut on the right lines, now I can't figure out how to cut my own image.

I started watching some YouTube videos on how to use this beast. I have a lot of learning to do!

The first thing I wanted to make with the Cricut is a homemade Christmas present for my mom. Awe. I'm going to cut out the state outlines for Arkansas, Texas, Florida and Michigan, and stick them each to a coffee mug. Then I'm going to paint a dashed line, connecting each of the states from one cup to the next. It's a way of connecting all of her kids in a way... my mom lives in Arkansas, one sister in Texas, my grandmother in Florida, and the rest of us in Michigan. I thought it was a cute idea.

If I can figure out how to cut my vinyl, I'll show a picture of the cups next week! :)

Allow me to introduce myself...

You may call me Melissa... or Missi. Almost twenty-four years old. Artist. Crafter. Avid DIYer.

I'm in my last year of business school at Walsh College. When I'm finished, I'll have a BBA in Business Management.

I ask myself all the time, what's an artist doing at a business school? Well, College for Creative Studies was out of my price range. The idea is that the business degree might be able to help me with my artistic hobbies, and maybe even turn it into a real job one day. A girl can dream.

Because college and an office job was sucking the life out of me, I decided I needed a creative outlet. Or I was going to go mad.

When I moved into my first apartment, I turned my second bedroom into an office. I call it Le Studio. As it went from an unorganized storage room to a studio, I went from just college student to amateur entrepreneur. I didn't just want to make and paint things for myself in Le Studio. I wanted to share my ideas. What better way to share my ideas than with a blog?

This is probably the fifth blog that I've started. 

Onward! Into the over saturated world of bloggers! I'm going to need to work on my blogging and artist skills if I want to stand out in this world. Let's hope the fifth time is a charm.

Speaking of charm!

I started a small business out of Le Studio. I called it Charming Creations, and decided it would be a Boutique. I started with a Facebook fan page  to spread the word of my creations.

Reviewing my projects, I think I need to practice painting. 

So what prompted this business idea? I've always had fun making cakes, cupcakes, invitations and custom paintings for friends and family. They knew I loved it. I was asked to paint a custom wine glass for a 21st birthday. Okay, cool. That was fun. The ladies loved it. They instantly suggested that I create more and sell them online.

And just like that, Charming Creations was born.