Spent some serious time in my craft room this weekend.  It was very inspiring.  After tidying up a bit (can't start a new project until all remnants of the last one are gone), I decided it was high time I got around to doing my Christmas cards. 

While I don't send out a ton of them, I do send enough that they needed to be fairly simple.  I came up with a design that was easy to replicate, but still enabled me to do each card uniquely.  No two are the same.  I used a variety of buttons for the embellishments.  Some were just plain red buttons, others were the crafty shanked variety.  I just whacked the shanks off the back.

For each button that didn't have any bling, I added a touch with Stickles.  A couple of the present buttons and the star buttons were very glittery, so they were good to go as is.  I used a punch to cut out the boughs, vellum for the sentiment on the front (sentiment from Stampin' Up!), and mixed papers from two different small paper packs.  The paper on the front coordinates with the paper on the inside for each card.  The sentiment I used inside was from a cd I purchased through Paper Wishes.  There were a ton of sentiments for every reason and occasion, so it was easy to find just what I wanted.  It was cool how the colors of the sentiment worked out so well with the papers I selected.

Thirty-six cards later.....



One of the great things about these cards was that there was literally no waste from the paper packs.  I cut the front down to fit on the front of the card, used one of the edges I cut off for the inside, and the remaining edge (with the exception of a very tiny piece) was the band on the front.  I loved how that worked out.  The Merry Christmas stamp was a $1 stamp that I had gotten at Michaels.  The inks used were from Stampin' Up!. 

I'm hoping I made enough.  But at least if I do have to make some more, they are easy enough to do.  Now, off to address those envelopes!

Hope you all have the Happiest of Holidays and the Merriest of Christmases.

Until next time, keepin' my fingers ink and my Cricut chirpin'!

I just had to share this tidbit of news.  I have my very first card published in the January 2012 issue of Scrap & Stamp Magazine (page 39).  I am very excited.  Just when I had given up (sent it in months ago).  NOW, I am more motivated than ever to work on more submissions.  And since my craft room is all organized and pretty (I've done a little more revamping), and the weather outside is becoming more and more dismal, I want to spend time in my little piece of peace and get crafting.

I will share some pics of what I have redone in my room (maybe even a better video) and a sneak preview of my published card a little later.

In the meantime, keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin'!

I have been a busy lil bee lately.  Got my craft room reorganized (hubby says I do it 8 times a year, I say only 4).  He doesn't understand what a help it is for me creatively to have things neat and organized.  Plus, whenever I change things around, I find "stuff" I lost or forgot I had...which brings new creative ideas to my brain.  So, it's all good.  Even all the bruises I have from moving big stuff around.  I'll spare you pics of them.  lol

Anyhow, here is a video of my room.  WARNING:  It is blurry, dizzifying, and VERY amateur.  But that's just me.  It's all a learning process.  Definitely no awards for this one.  lol



Maybe this will inspire some of you to share your crafting grounds.  I would love to see where everyone else creates.


I love the Getting Cricky with K Andrew blog.  Such fun challenges, great inspiration, and new ideas.  If you've not visited this blog yet, you really need to do so.  You won't be disappointed.  In addition to the wonderful posts and crafts she shares, she has some really amazing stamp sets.

Her latest challenge is a color challenge:  Use black and orange with one other color.  I chose yellow.  I used the "Child's Year" cartridge for the pumpkins and cat, sized and distorted using my Gypsy, and the background is a digital background.  The cat's eyes are Hero Arts jewels.  They give it kind of a creepy feel, no?  The "Happy Haunting" was done on my computer.




Would love to hear your comments on both my craft room and my card.  Be sure to check out the Getting Cricky Blog to see all the wonderful projects done for this challenge!  Happy Haunting to you!

Until next time, keepin my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin.

I just had to share this....I have come across some amazing software.  I use a Mac and sometimes finding the types of crafty programs I want in a Mac-compatible version is tricky.  I have found some amazing scrapbooking software that works with either Windows OR Mac!  It makes doing your digital scrapbooks so easy and leaves you with a great end product.  You can keep it digital, do hybrid (print it out and add more embellishments), save it to a book or share it via a cd. 

What IS this software?  It is My Memories.  Click the link to learn more about this easy, AFFORDABLE, scrapbooking software.  In addition, if you use this code:  STMMMS75372 you will save $10 off the purchase price!  Just copy and past the code when ordering and save $10!

Stay tuned, I will be posting some of my layouts shortly. 

Life has been a little crazy lately.  Camping season ended so we had to pack up the camper and seasonal site.  Very anticlimactic.  Can't believe the season is over already.  Also been spending a lot of time with my mom helping her with her needs.  And then there's work, parenting, grandparenting, family, and a little sleep thrown in for good measure.  But I plan to be spending more time in my craft room now and doing a LOT more sharing.

Thought I would post a few of the projects I've worked on since I posted, just so you know I really do exist and haven't given up crafting altogether.  lol

 This is a birthday card I did for my boss.  I used my Cricut (surprise, surprise).  I didn't write down my paperstock use or cartridges or ANYTHING.  But at least you know I'm crafting, right?
 This is the inside of the card.  The caption reads "I hope that your birthday is as happy as a chimpanzee without pants."  Found that one on an internet search and thought it fit pretty well.  And, of course, the monkey wobbles.  :)  So I have shared another one of my silly videos.


This is a sympathy card I made for a friend of my mom's who passed away.  I really like how this one turned out.

 So, there you have it.  I really have been doing some crafty things.  Didn't post all of them...gotta save something in case I have another blog dry spell!

Til next time....keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin'!  Happy crafting!

I have seen some really neat ideas for storing the Nestabilities dies.  I decided I needed to make one for myself as my collections seems to be growing.  I rounded up some heavy chipboard and cut it to 5.5" x 8.5" and used spray adhesive to cover the board front and back with coordinating paper.

Then I found this AMAZING magnetic tape at my local Meijer in the adhesives row (by tools).  It is very thin and comes on a scotch tape-like roll and you just pull and cut like you would ordinary tape.

I have seen others use different types of magnetic tape, but when I found this, I had to give it a try.  Allows the magnet to hold your dies without adding all the bulk to your book.
Just look how thin it is!

I am not sure yet if I am going to use my bind-it-all to bind the pages together.  I'm more leaning toward a personal planner notebook (like DayTimers) so I can add pages as needed.  I can use my Crop-A-Dile to punch the holes in the chipboard.  I will post pictures of the finished project as soon as it's completed.

Until then, keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin'!

Just a quick post to share my camper craftin du jour. Quick because I forgot my keyboard and can't type as fast on my iPad.

Needed to do a birthday card and haven't had the time all week to get to it. My Gypsy broke this week so I was without one of my favorite tools (no worries, Provo Craft is replacing it for free!). And all I have are meager supplies in my camper. I went from this...



...to this...


...to this...(outside)


(inside)



The cardstock is from Gina K. Not sure of the stamps I used for the lettering. Have had them a while. The faces on the paper bags were hand drawn.

Hope you enjoyed my quick lil share today. Heading to the golf course for some birthday golf with friends.

Until next time, keeping my fingers inky and my Cricut chirping!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I am a little delayed on announcing the winner of the Operation Owl Blog Hop blog candy.  (Life sometimes gets in the way)  The randomly chosen winner is meredemaison who said:

Great card! I especially like the texture on the tree! Great use of the wood graining and of course it has an cute owl! (I am going to get Give a Hoot very soon!!!!) By meredemaison on OPERATION OWL "THANK YOU" BLOG HOP on 7/24/11

Contact me with your mailing information so I can get your blog candy to you!  Thank you to everyone who participated in the blog hop.  What fun!  And congratulations to all the winners over all the blogs.

I hope to be back with you this week with some new projects.

Until then, keepin my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin!

Many people pass through our lives.  Some are here for a short time, others for years.  Each one is here for a purpose.  Some are here to nurture (parents), some to help us grow (teachers), some to show us what to do (mentors) and some what not to do (bad examples).  As each one in our lives serves a purpose, we also serve a purpose in the lives of others...as parents, children, teachers, friends...we are all here for a purpose.

Some people never fully realize or understand their purpose, while others are fortunate enough to know what they need to do in and with their lives.  Whatever your purpose, know that it is important to someone in some way.

I have been reflecting lately on a few of the people in my life and how they are affecting me right now.  My mom in the hospital and how much she needs me, my dear friend with her cancer battles and how inspirational she is to me, my granddaughter and how she shares her wonder and amazement with me each day.  Each person in our life shapes us in some way.

My craft friends are also a very important part of my life.  I have often said that my craft world is my therapy.  And all you who read my blog or share my passions are a huge part of my world.  I share with you, learn from you, am inspired by you.  And I guess I just want you to know that you have a very important purpose in my life.  THANK YOU.

I would like to welcome you to the Operation Owl "Thank You" Blog Hop.

Today, the Getting Cricky design team and some special guests (me, for one) are coming to you for a special blog hop thanking Kristal Andrew (K Andrew Designs and Getting Cricky) for all she has done for us.  The current Getting Cricky Design Team is coming to an end (see Kristal's blog if you are interested in becoming part of the next Design Team) and they wanted to let Kristal know how much she has meant to them (and us!) over the last three months.  We will each be featuring a special Thank You Card to be mailed to Kristal.  If you are interested in participating, you can add your card to the link (under Operation Owl on the left) and mail them to the address here.


As part of this Thank You Blog Hop, I would like to extend a special THANK YOU to Kristal.  With all she goes through in her busy life, she still has time to share and inspire us.  I was fortunate enough to be a guest designer on her blog and have come to look forward to each and every post from her.  She is a constant source of uplifting inspiration.  So, Kristal, I offer to you a very special THANK YOU for all you have done and continue to do for so many.

I am very pleased and honored to be a part of this special blog hop.  And I am happy to share my thank you card:




I used the Give A Hoot cartridge for the owl, squirrel, leaves and grass.  The tree was embossed with the Sizzix embossing folder then hand cut.  The leftover embossed sections were used for the branch and sign base.  I used the Wild Card cartridge for the Thank You inside, Dee Greunig ink to color it and stickles for the accents.  The sentiment on the front is from the K. Andrew Set "Positive Thoughts".  You can find this and other sets here.  (These are AMAZING!  The quality and clarity of the stamped image is wonderful.  And $1 of every stamp sale goes toward a special charity!)  The added colors on the front were done with Queue Chalk Inks and Marvy Markers.  The sweet little googly eyes I found at JoAnn's.  I had never seen ones with colored backgrounds or eyelashes before!  Gotta love em!  They give the characters such personality.

And, of course, an Action Wobble.



We have some Blog Hop Candy for one lucky winner!  Amy Chomas has graciously donated a mini gel pen set and holder as our grand prize and some of the ladies have also added to the pot (surprise package).

In order to qualify for the grand prize, you must leave a comment on EACH blog.  You can click on each one below and be taken directly to their blog.  Remember, you must begin and end with Brenda!  Brenda will be picking one lucky winner on Wednesday, July 27th.  So make sure you go back there to see if you won!

And for playing along with us, I have some surprise blog candy!  Just leave me a comment and I will pick a winner on Wednesday, July 27th.

Here is the list of the blog hop participants.  If you've hopped along from Kathy P, you are on the right track.  If you are just joining me from your dashboard or reading this via email, please be sure to start with Brenda at the top of the list and work your way through.  I wouldn't want you to miss a THING!
















Now head on over to Amy and see what she has in store for you.   

And THANK YOU to everyone who has, does and will serve a purpose in my life.

I know I showed you the picture of my tire cover in a previous post....all wrinkly and such.  Since the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday project theme was camping, I thought I would repost the picture of the tire cover in action, along with my lovely trash cans!  LOL




Ok, so it's still a little wrinkly, but that's the TIRE'S fault, not mine.  :)  I must say that I've gotten several compliments on the cover and even a request for letters for someone else's trash/can bins.  (I promise I will get those done soon, Gail!).

I used the Campin' Critters cartridge for this with outdoor vinyl.  Layering vinyl is a little tricky, but if you have some patience you will prevail!

So go check out the Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday post and see all the wonderful projects there.

Until next time, keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin'!

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth.  After working all day then going to take care of my mom's affairs and visit her in the hospital, then go home and play with my granddaughter for a while, I am just too darned tired and emotionally drained to be creative.  I'm going to work on that though.  In the meantime, hope you are all having a fantastic week!

The sun is shining and boy is it bright outside! As the winner of the Getting Cricky Design Challenge, I am thrilled to be the Guest Designer for the Sunday Spot. Their challenge to me was to do something summer themed. My challenge to me was to do it in my camper with limited supplies (not to mention no space, no patience, and very little time). So, is it wrong to make a card for YOURSELF? Well, that's exactly what I did!

I got to thinking about the stamp I knew I wanted to use. Then it all popped into my head. Life is Bright. It can be bright from sunshine or lightning. Good or bad, it's what you make it. You can choose to see it as frightful and difficult, or you can put on your rose tinted glasses and find the good in everything. I believe everything happens for a reason, so I am constantly reminding myself to trust God and believe there is a purpose for everything that goes on in life.

A perfect example, my mom was rushed to the hospital a week ago with a bowel obstruction and had to have emergency surgery. Lighting. As she was undergoing surgery and testing, they found she had a mild heart attack and think there may be a blockage in her artery. Both are something that can be fixed, but if she had not had the bowel obstruction, they may not have found the heart problem in time. Sunshine.

So as I am sitting at my little table in my fifth wheel, preparing my blog post from my ipad, I am feeling very blessed that I am fairly healthy (I'm ignoring my painful knees and ankle) and that my mom is being well cared for with good physicians and nursing staff. I am choosing to wear my rose tinted glasses and see the good things in life today.

So, this is what my craft space looks like this morning. Kind of like a craft tornado hit.



But, it was all worth the mess. Cuz here is what I came up with:



I found the terrific background paper in my camper craft stash. Amazing how it fit right in with my theme and layout. I used the Everyday Paperdolls cartridge for the girls and their accessories, and the sun. The letters are from George. For everything on this card (except the background and the actual bodies), I used plain white card stock and my Stampin' Up markers to color everything in. The rose tinted glasses are done with vellum paper that was colored with a rose colored marker. And the faces I just drew in myself since I don't have my Peachy Keen stamp faces (yet). And the fantastic stamp was from the Positive Thoughts set of K. Andrew Designs Art Stamps.

This card is going to sit on my craft shelf to remind me that Life Is Bright and I am choosing to wear my rose tinted glasses and find the positive things God has provided.  I'm also going to enter it in the Pen Challenge at http://www.gettingcricky.com/

Until next time, keepin my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin.

I thought I'd try to kill two birds with one stone.  Although I would NEVER actually kill a bird!  I cry when I see dead animals by the side of the road!  I have to tell myself they are "sleeping" so I don't have bad dreams about them.  But I digress.....

I thought I would play along with a couple of challenges with making only one card.  And since I hadn't played with the easel card layout yet, I guess that actually makes three birds! lol

The first challenge is for Facebook Tacky Tuesday Challenge (HERE) which asked for a card with the word "SEA" on it, and the other is for Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Me Monday (HERE) which wanted red, white & blue.  There are a couple of other colors on there, but there's definitely red white and blue!  And of course, I had to use a wobbly just for my own entertainment!  And let's not forget my brand spankin new K Andrew Designs Art Stamps.  These are fantastic!!!



And my slightly silly video to see the wobbly (I have to work on my video "chatter" LOL).



I used Create A Critter and Everyday Paper Dolls for my crab, fish, sandcastle and shells.  I use Colorbox chalk ink for the highlights and stamping.  As I said, the stamp I used was from the Positive Thoughts set from K Andrew Designs and the "seariously" was computer generated.  And my Action Wobble (Find them here).

Now I'm off to work on my submission for Simply Sundays at Getting Cricky with K Andrew.  I actually won the Face challenge!  (So excited!!!!!)  Check it out here: K Andrew Simply Sunday Challenge.  I also got the Design Team Top 5 at Fantabulous Cricut (Wednesday Winners).  Congratulations to everyone else who entered these challenges.  I get so much inspiration from you all.


Til next time, keepin my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin!

My mom just went through some pretty serious surgery over the weekend.  She had a perforated bowel and was in pretty bad shape.  Thank God she went to the hospital where they did emergency surgery and she is now recovering.  So, of course, it's no surprise I had to make her a little inspirational card. 


I used the Pagoda cartridge for most the trees, bridge and pagodas.  The bridge is sort of 3d (boy, do I love dimension on my cards).  The kanji (health) and grass were free svg files.  I love having the flexibility to use either cartridges or SCUT.  That way I can make sure I get the best of all elements on my projects.  I used miscellaneous papers (I'm trying to use up scraps) and chalk inks to color. 

When y'all are saying your prayers today, I would sure appreciate it if you'd include my mom in your well-wishes.  Thanks!

Until next time, keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirping.

Today I am sharing a card I made for a very special lady who is getting married today.  Congratulations to Jenny & John.  It's another one of my funky step cards which I seem to be enamored with lately.  You'll probably all be glad when I get off this kick, but I don't think it will be any time soon! lol

I used my new Pagoda cartridge for the flowers, branches and love tag.  Everything was done on black and white cardstock, except the sentiment which I printed on vellum and cut out with decorative scissors.  I used a white gel pen to add the date and a little accent at the corners. I also added a "W" brad and stuck on a small rhinestone for an accent.  I just love the oriental feel of this card.

One of the next projects I am going to be working on is getting some pics of my teeny weeny craft room.  Quick! while it's fairly clean and organized.  Hopefully sometime next week I can get that accomplished.  I change it around so often (depending on what "stuff" I'm working the most with at any given time) so it will be a fun record for me to compare to after the next time I revamp the room.

I hope you have a fabulous day.  Until next time, keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirping!

I updated my June 16th post to include a couple of contest entries.  It was too funny that I had made this card last week and then two contests I've come across this week wanted faces and sunshine.  Since I had them both covered, I decided to enter the card.  Wish me luck!

Had another creative evening.  Worked 13 hours yesterday and was too darn tired to do ANYTHING. But today, I just new I couldn't stay away from my lil craft room.  I have to admit, this card took me about three hours to do.  The putting together part doesn't take too long, it's the planning and sizing and laying out.  But since I like the end result, I'm going to say it was all worth it.

I have a very dear friend who is battling inoperable brain cancer.  (Hey, McQzy, if you're reading this, I love ya, girl!)  My motivation as of late has been making cards to try and cheer her up.  She is amazingly strong and her faith is unmovable.  So, along with many prayers, I am trying to let her know how often I think of her by sending her a card every few days or so.

Here is my lil sunshine card for Suzy McQzy....




There is something a little extra special about this card....You have to see the sunshine wiggle!!!

 
I got these new little Action Wobbles that I ordered from Amazon.com and they are a hoot!  I've made my own before using thin wire, but these are SO easy! It's a little plastic spiral with a sticky circle on the top and the bottom.  Genius!  This is what they look like:


I can foresee MANY a wobbly element on my cards in the future!

OK, so, this is what I used for this card (I'm trying to remember to write things down in case anyone is interested, although I'm not to the patience point of tracking cut sizes yet, lol).

• Sun - Wild Card cartridge
• Sunglasses - Everyday Paperdolls
• Snail - Create A Critter
• Background paper - Cricut Tags, Bags, Boxes & More
• Sentiment - This & That from Creative Time
• Grass & Flowers - Rubber Stamp Tapestry
• Ink - Colorbox Chalks and Stampin' Up!
• Accents - Gelly Roll White
• Stickers - Sandylion
• Action Wobbles from AWI

I have decided to enter this lil card in a contest over at K Andrew.  You can find her here: http://www.gettingcricky.com/.  Please visit her blog.  I'm sure you will find lots and lots of ideas and inspiration there.  I also entered it in the Fantabulous Cricut: Challenge Me Monday contest.  More fantastic ideas and inspiration.  Check them out at: http://fantabulouscricut.blogspot.com/search/label/Challenge%20Me%20Monday.

I hope you enjoy YOUR sunshine!  Til next time, I'll be keepin' my fingers inky and my Cricut chirpin'!

I love that I still felt creative yesterday. It's amazing what an organized space does for me. I had so much fun creating this card for someone special. Sometimes they are ALMOST hard to part with! lol


This one was actually a happy accident in a way.  For those of you who are interested, I got the layouts from Splitcoast Stampers website.  (Here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/sidestepcard/ )  As I was bustling through the directions, I accidentally scored the wrong side. But I knew I would figure out a layout to use it for.  And voila!  This happened!

I used the Create A Critter cartridge for all the cutouts.  The stamp I used for the sentiment wasn't laid out to fit the way I wanted it to, so I stamped and embossed it (twice, once with copper and once with black) and cut it out so it would fit the card layout.

Hope you enjoyed this little "share" of mine.  Please leave me comments.  I get such a thrill from reading them all!  :D

I have been in a creative rut lately. My craft room has been in disarray which makes me not want to be in there!  I finally got it reorganized.  I received a new corner desk from a friend who passed away and finally got that incorporated into my space.  Of course, that required a huge rearranging of my room.  It's finally pretty much done and I can stand to be in there creating again.

We just got home from a week in Williamsburg.  We had a great time and saw a lot of historical places.  I wanted to do a couple of thank you cards for my in-laws who provided our rooms for my family and a cousin who played tour guide while we were there.  I spent the cool weather weekend in my lil craft space and was happy with the results.  Here are the two cards I made:




I used "blooms" for the stair step card and "simply sweet" for the free floating card.  (At least I THINK that's what they're called...lol)  I like both cards, but the step one is one of my favorites in a loooooong time.  Would love to hear what you think!

I did a little Easter Card for my granddaughter (who turns 1 today), Kaileigh.  I made the bunny wobble with a homemade wobbler.  Hopefully you can see the side view clearly enough to see the wobbler.





I used the bunny from the Create A Critter cartridge.  He is just too stinkin' cute!  And to see him wobble just makes me giggle.  I'm not sure who got more of a kick out of it....Kaileigh or me!

Hope you all have a very Blessed and Happy Easter.

I'm looking forward to doing a little crafting this weekend.  Need to make a birthday card for my granddaughter's 1st birthday on Easter.  Also need to make a sympathy card.  Hoping to play a little and be a little crafty with my Cricut.  If I do, I'll be sure to post.  Until then, I hope you all have a very Happy and Blessed Easter.

This was done for a friend with a recent adoption.

Baby Shower Gift for a Boy

So, I thought I would share a few of the wooden frames I've done over the past few months.  I generally do these for gifts or to donate for fund raisers and auctions.  Now that I have my Cricut and SCAL, I am thinking about all the wonderful things I can do to incorporate that into my frames. 

For an Anniversary Gift

Did a matching card too!

For my Boss's Birthday.  He is a hard person to buy for, so I got a little creative.  This is his favorite pet, Tosca.

This was for a fundraiser.

More detail.

Close-up detail.

I buy my frames at Michael's.  They are just unfinished frames that I paint and then decorate with various things like paper, stamping, dried/silk flowers, tiles, shells, etc.  No two are ever the same.  I did a bunch of them with a beach theme for bridesmaid gifts for my daughter's wedding two years ago.  They were so unique and a big hit.

I would love to hear your comments.  And if you have any ideas or suggestions, I'd love them too!

Happy crafting!