Holly Jolly Christmas

It's almost time for Christmas songs.  Several of my friends have already started, but my husband is VERY resistant to any Christmas before Thanksgiving.  I agree with that, but since I have been wrapping Christmas presents getting them ready for sending, and a few Christmas decorations staged, I'm ready for the music!

This is one of the cards I created yesterday, I was going with a snowing feeling. I used natural paper with flowers and leaves embedded in it.  Letter Envy, Lyrical Letters, Joys of the Season and white pen.  It made me very happy when I was done! 

  

Practical Scrappers Turns 2

Practical Scrappers turned 2 this week!  Congratulations.  One of my favorite all time blogs!  The charge was to create a 2 page layout, or 2 go-together cards.   My layout is a 2 page layout, with 2 pictures.  Each picture has 2 brads.  The number 2 is on the lower fence with 2-gether.  All the flowers can be divided by two.  There are 2 heart charms and 2 initials (L & M). 2 clouds have silver linings.

This picture is from Lindsey and Michael's wedding that I did in Austin, Texas. My hope is that they continue 2 Grow 2 Gether. :0)

Lyrical Letters, My Community, Creative Critters, Martha Stewart Stickers. 

Practical Scrappers is one of the best blogs ever for encouraging you to use the things you have already in your stash.  I love that!  Congratulations Practical Scrappers on turning 2!

Purr-fect Palm tree

Two cards today.  The first day since being back, that I've actually had an idea for a card.  I've visited some of my favorite people's blogs, but I'm not fully back in the blogosphere yet.  I haven't visited the Cricut Circle in six months despite that I renewed my charter membership (or my husband did for me).

These are really basic as I delve back into my crafts and try to get them sorted and unpacked.... and put away the wedding stuff.

Purr-fect

 I was singing a Jason Mraz song when this card came to mind.  "What a beautiful mess."  Aren't we all perfect in our beautiful messes of life?  I think so.

Palm Tree

This card has a movement coil so the hand waves when it is pulled out of the envelope.

Foreign Roads of Micronesia

Hi all,

I have finished my last wedding as a wedding coordinator.  Bittersweet.  Having done Event Coordination for over 20 years now.  I'm ready.  More importantly......... my husband is ready.  He's the one who is glad I'm no longer missing in action on weekends while I "create" corporate retreats, weddings, anniversaries, changes of command, retirement ceremonies, etc....

 All the initials were done using Lyrical Letters or Storybook.  I used the deep cut blade on thick cardboard then covered it with moss.  The L&M at the front of the chapel were cut in paper on Cricut, then I cut them out  on styrofoam.

 The couple this past weekend wanted a several day wedding event.  AND they loved their initials.  We did initials everywhere.  The table cloths were made of burlap and table runners that were pieced together like quilt tops (thanks to my mother in law for sewing so MUCH).  We did Dahlias for flowers which were awful.  They wilted so fast. They were gorgeous and some of them were bigger than my head, but they didn't weather well.

 I forgot to take pictures of the cake which also had their initals on top of them.

Lastly, while in Italy, we bought a GPS unit to help us navigate the roads of Europe.  It came with the maps of Italy, France and some of Germany already programmed on it.  Rather than buy a new one right after we landed back in the U.S.  We reprogrammed it to use the U.S. maps and language.  This weekend while in Austin, TX for the wedding, we used it to get around for all the events of this weekend wedding party.  Texas has lots of FM roads (short for Farm to Market).  However, our foreign GPS interpreted the road FM to mean Foreign roads of Micronesia.  I died laughing...........  sometimes you do wonder what world you are in.

Let's Catch Up

 

There's nothing so wonderful as a good girl chat!  

George Circles 3" and 3.5" Create a Critter, birds, branches and houses. Lyrical Letters. Simple as pie!

It's good to catch up!  Let's do it soon!

Attitude, Gratitude, Fortitude

This is my entry for the Circut Circle Blog Friday Challenge.  Must use French Manor Cartridge and at least 2 cuts from the cricut machine and pearls or rhinestones.

 

An Attitude of Gratitude is Fortitude!

My New Motto!

Made using French Manor

Bird Cage cut at 5"

There is no shadow cut for this feature so in DS I hid the countour  (or you could glue the pieces back in) to create the back of the cage.

Bird cut at 2" and 2.5" in red, then again in black.

Lyrical Letters for the sentiments cut at 1.5"

Home Decor for the Flourishes cut at 3"

George to cut the mats, sized to my canvas and to cut the red pieces I used to highlight the inside of the cage, Oval and rectangle cut at 4.5" each.

Papers are Cricut Papers and 

Me&My Big Ideas Color Basics

Rhinestone Jewels for the bird cage accents and the bird's eye.

 

If I'm grateful for my experiences, only then do I have the strength to endure.

Being grateful for my life experiences makes me stronger.  Sometimes though, it is so hard to be grateful for things like... being in a cage.... but during that time, there is gratefulness for security, gratefulness for routine, gratefulness for food.  Being freed from the cage by things such as learning a new language or exploring the world I am in.....lots of things to be grateful for.  Getting to view the cage from inside and out, that's strength.  I am preaching to no one but myself. This trio of pictures, I created to remind me of the wonderful things that can be experienced with attitudes of gratitude!

Monster Hello

I got my new Mini Monsters Cartridge this week and have been playing with it a lot!  There are many Halloween type cuts on this cartridge, but I also like it for the little kid type fun cuts.  I did this Monster Hello..... Monster Smile..... Monster Hugs card which will be really good for a kid.  Counts for one of my new folds for a card too!!

Mini Monsters cut at 2"
Tags cut at 3"
Lyrical Letters cut at 1.5"
Stash papers
Distressed with Cat Eye liquid chalks
Faux stitching with Sig gel pens.

Cut the front of a regular card by slicing it about halfway down.  Then taking the remainder slice to make the other sideways pocket which formed two pockets on the front of the card.  The tags are actually the tombstones on the Mini Monsters cartridge, punched a hole, added the ribbon and the heart brads.   Covered the back with the coordinating paper and a rounded rectangle and wah lah, a monster card, with a monster hello, a monster smile and monster hugs!

Challenges:

Corrosive Challenge Blog - Die Cuts Challenge # 67

Pile It On - Challenge #22 - Quirky

Crazy Challenge - Distress It
Crafty Little Place - Anything but Square Challenge

Making a Splash

The challenge over at the Sophisticat Challenge is Splish Splash.  This is their last challenge before they close down that challenge blog.  I feel like many are doing that lately but life changes for everyone.  And some of the DT girls are starting a new blog at Craftalicious Challenges

The stamp is by Provo Craft.  I didn't know they had made stamps, but I was digging through some of my old stuff this week and I found three clear stamps that I have never used and the sticker said Provo Craft.  The inside has no sentiment because I haven't decided what to put in it yet.  Could be Happy Birthday, maybe Summer Fun, maybe Congratulations. 

 

Challenges

Sophisticat - Splish Splash

Shower The Baby

The Fantabulous Cricut Challenge for this week is  "Shower the Baby."  Create a project that has something to do with a baby shower. Example; invitation, gift, baby album etc..

 This is my baby shower invitation for a boy's baby shower.  I didn't put my real address or phone number on this one to put up on the internet - for obvious reasons. :-)  

The card is postcard style.  Measures 5x7

The stop sign, telephone poles and road signs are on George

The Truck, Baby Shower, It's a Boy are on New Arrival

The Road is on My Community

The little birds and the grass are on Create a Critter

The truck is shadowed and pop-dotted.  The clouds are cat-eye liquid chalks. The back of the card is computer generated with the name of the baby and parents,where they are registered and other pertinent information. 

I also did this wall-hanging of round frames of our grandson Ellis. I'm going to keep adding the round frames until his first birthday in a few months.  

Four round frames cut at 5 inches using the Paper Pups cartridge for the double round cut out frame.

Lyrical Letters for the Font

Computer generated saying:

A baby has a special way

of bringing joy to every day

  

Started with a square of paper measuring 6 x 6 square and cut a 5 inch circle. I welded the letter to the circle in DS but if you don't have DS just cut out  out the letter to the size you want it, mine is 3 inches.

 

I printed the pictures on my picture printer so I could size the actual photo the way I wanted it.

I used some old DVD's for weight

Trimmed the photo down to size

  Punched the holes with my Crop a Dile II Big Bite, which punches easily through the DVDs.  Added buttons, twine, a little red bird and some blue ribbon.

He really does bring us daily joy! 

What's your baby project??  Join us at Fantabulous Cricut and link up your design.

CHALLENGES

GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES - CHARISMA CARDZ

CELEBRATE the TEACHERS!

This week on FANTABULOUS CRICUT the challenge was to create something for the teacher with an apple shape on it.  Teacher appreciation week is coming up, May 3-7 and I wanted to do something fun for my sister. 

This apple pen holder is made out of toilet paper rolls.  

 

Apples cut at 5 inches on heavy card stock, four times, twice in red, twice in white. 

Shadow feature, apple cut twice at 5" on heavy card stock.

The toilet paper rolls were were wrapped inside and out and around the bottom with black card stock. then glued together.

I attached the apples on both sides and then filled with these fun colored gel pens. 

I read that teachers say they would like anything that shows appreciation, just no more coffee mugs. Ha ha ha.  This is a simple gift and could even be filled with candies or other goodies.  

Show your appreciation and then post your photo at Fantabulous Cricut!