Christmas Time!

It's beginning to feel like Christmas! I LOVE this time of year! I've got the tree up. The decorations are out. Most of the shopping is done! I am feeling so BLESSED right now!

I made an advent calendar for the first time this year. I got this idea from the girls at Christmas with the Cricut blog! They have so many wonderful ideas! I love that blog!!! I lost the number 17 somewhere. I need to make another one.

I've never made the girls an advent calendar before. They are going to flip when they realize what it is! I can't wait to share it with them! I went to the Christian bookstore and bought little things to go it. Like little Christian books, braclets, rings, cards. I bought some goodies from the school's bookfair like pencils/erasers and candies, chocolates and candy canes from WM. I hope I have at least one more year/use out of that calendar. It was a lot more work than what it looks like! :)

Tomorrow we're going to bake cookies. Can't wait!

Give thanks Banner

Here's the "Give Thanks" banner that I made for the banister at church. I had the bows made. I've already bought the ribbon and made the banner for Christmas. Can't wait to put that one up too. I love how it turned out.

Fight like a girl

I won this cute little digi stamp today from this blog

I am so excited! See more digi stamps here

In the MOOD!

Here's the little apron Christmas cookie exchange card that I made for our annual cookie exchange at Cathy's. Last year was our first year doing it and it was so much fun. So now we're going to do it every year! If you've never been to one you should go. They are a lot of fun! I actually got this idea from the oriental trading magazine. You can find it in the Special Holiday Edition 09 on page 17.

Here's a little boo sign I made for the door. I think these are cut on 6 inches. It's bigger than it looks in the photo.

I've been in the mood for a lot of crafting lately! Since I went back to work I haven't had any time or (energy for that matter) to craft! But this past week or two I've been wanting to create and play every day after work and on the weekends. Who needs to clean, cook, cut the grass, do laundry or any of that kind of stuff? :) hehee

All that has flew out the window as Cathy and I anticipate the upcoming holidays. ( I mean about the cooking, cleaning and laundry). Cathy went to scrapbooking retreat this weekend. I can't wait to see her pictures. She even bought us a pair of scrapbooking jammies! Can't wait to see them and her wedding album that she started on. Next time I will go with her. NOOO ifs, ands or buts!!! We have one coming up in January. Also a Halloween Crop at the shack in October. Excited about that one!

I have so many things going through my head right now that I want/need to make.

These are in no particular order.

1. Make a Thanksgiving banner for church (give thanks)

2. Make a Christmas banner for church (a child is born)

3. Make a Boo sign (done)

4. Make Halloween cards

5. Make Thanksgiving cards

6. Make Christmas cards

7. Make TP Advent Calendar (almost done)

8. Make Christmas cookie exchange invites(done)

9. Start Christmas shopping for Advent Calendar gifts/candies

10. Make a bless you tissue box

and so so much more! Ever feel like you should quit work so you can play? haha Vote yes or no! Amuse me. Have a wonderful week!!

Gypsy Giveaway!

Want to win this sweet baby? I sure would. Go here to win.

Good luck!

Wedding Shower Favors

Made a few party favors for a friend that is getting married in November. I miss being able to play since I've started back to work! I have a lot planned to do starting this Saturday that I want to make and do.

So which candle do you like the best? I can't decide! :) Please leave your vote in the comment section below.

I am finally going to get to go back to Hobby Lobby and Michael's this weekend! I usually get to go about every month or two! I'm super excited! I haven't had time to do anything since starting back to work a couple of weeks ago! I really want to make some Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas cards. I also wanted to start on the girls baby albums.

I made some really cute treat bags for my girlfriend Pam to give to her associates at work. I should have gotten pictures because they were extremely cute! I added some chocolates and little cute things to go in the treat bags. But we were rushed for time so I didn't get the shots! So what has everyone else been up too? I feel so out of the loops right now! Hopefully I'll get back to scrapping/crafting soon! Take Care!

Drawing faces on Paper Dolls

Found a great video today! You can see her blog here! AWESOME stuff!

RAK TIME

Meg is having a huge giveaway on her blog if you'd like to enter at a chance to win!

Back to School treat bags

I made 20 Back To School Treat Bags for the kids at church this weekend. I actually forgot to take a picture before I gave them all away but I did have 1 left over. I did a blue theme for the boys, a pink theme for the girls and the yellow themed were the extra ones. I actually found several cute ideas from twopeasinbucket but didn't have a whole lot of money to invest in them so I keep them very simple.

I put in pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, rubber grips, highlighters, and lots of candy. I also typed a little card and attached it to the bags. It reads

Student Survival Kit

Eraser- to remind you that each day you can start with a clean slate. Everybody makes mistakes but Jesus always forgives. Others should too.

Sucker- to remind you not to be a "sucker." Be your own person. Remember WWJD!

Pencil- to "write" your wrongs.

Pencil Sharpener- to remind you to stay "sharpened" Always keep your heart and mind on Jesus.

Bubble Gum- will encourage you to be persistent. "Stick with it" and you can! All things are possible with God!

Over all I have a little over $1.00 in each bag. Thanks to the dollar tree!

Win a new cart

I just LOVE the new cricut cartridges that have been released this month!!! I can't wait to get my hands on them...lol the girls over at Christmas with the Cricut is giving this new cart away. So if you'd like to enter for a chance at it go here. They really have inspired me for the holidays already! I think you are going to flip over their new blog!

Busy Bee's

Aunt Ina working on her scrapbook. She worked harder than all of us put together that day!
Sandy teaching Cathy how to use her machine. :)

My little die cuts for the girls baby album that I'm going to make them.

Tuesday we got together at the shack for a "before we (meaning, me) go back to school crop." LOL Cathy wanted us to get together before I had to go back to work. It was a lot of fun! I used Sandy's New Arrival's cartridge to cut out a few things. I love that cart! I found a bunch of the girls baby picture's the other day while cleaning out my closet so I thought I'd make them an album each. Maybe I'll have it finished for Christmas. I didn't start scrapping until 2006 but luckily I did take lots of pictures!!!

Well this week has been extremely busy for me. Yesterday and the day before we went school shopping. YES! School is already back in secession. :( And today is Lacey's birthday. So yesterday after shopping all day I dropped off the girls with Clint and went back to get birthday presents for Lacey. I'm sad summer has ended so soon for us but I am really looking forward to cooler weather and the holidays!



I'm still excited about the new gypsy that is coming out! I saw this video on craft critique and thought I'd share with you. Maybe by some miracle my hubby will read my blog and surprise me with this for Christmas. NOT!!! :)

Happiness

WOW! I'm really excited tonight! Provo craft has just released new details about the new gypsy! You can watch the video here. I never thought I'd need the design studio or even thought that I would want it. I am just not one who likes to bog my computer down with pictures, files and extra software or anything else that would take up memory and make my computer slower. This tool really would be great for me! And who wants to lug a computer around when you can do it right there sitting in your sb room or away at a crop! It also comes with many different accessories! See those here. The new cartridges can be preordered on the oh my crafts website. Boy, do I wish I could have went to Orlando to the CHA this week because they were giving these babies away free!!! YES FREE! Well, looks like I'll be saving up for this baby! So what do you think about it? I'd love to hear your comments!

Generous People!

I have found out since I've started scrapbooking that scrappers/card makers/crafters are the MOST generous people I now. They are constantly giving away gifts! Whether it's store bought or homemade, they love to give things away. Check out what Melissa is giving away on her blog and let her know how great her new blog is!

More Summer Giveaways

I don't know about you but I LOVE giveaways!!

Enjoy!

Like to win these?

Oh I'd love to have these!!!

Another great giveaway! Check it out here

Melissa is having a blogaversary and she's giving away some really cool prizes! Check it out here for details. This is just one of the great prizes!

Kitchen Aid giveaway

Like to win a mixer? Check it out here.

ATC's and Baby Card

I entered my first ever ATC (artist trading cards) swap at outta this funk and I finished those up today. Blog Here, Site Here. I really wanted to use my cricut and cut something to go on the cards but of course the cards are too small for that. 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 So I decided to use some new Michael's $1.oo stamps and a new blender pen from HL that I haven't used yet. A good excuse to play with new stuff right? I'm not 100% happy with the sponging. I didn't have any sponges so I just used the ink pad which didn't work too well. But that's okay. I may end up redoing these just for fun.

This is a pink and brown card that I made Beth for the baby shower. Now that I think of it, I don't remember seeing her open it. I bet it got thrown away accidentally. Her little girl was opening the gifts and throwing away all the paper and I bet it got put in the trash by mistake. I'll have to ask her about that. I really need to invest in more embossing folders. I think I may just do that next pay period. I love the textured look the folders give.

Baby Shower Gifts

I went to a baby shower tonight for a friend of mine, so you know I had to make a little something for her. I love altering stuff! So I altered a wet wipe case, 2 baby bottles, a box of wet wipes and a diaper bag. All pink and brown. I cut some pink vinyl out for the diaper bag. I believe the letter M is 4 1/2 inches and I used the storybook cartridge. One of my favorites carts. The diaper bag is actually vinyl too so it sticks really great to it! I wished I had moved it up alittle bit but that's okay too. I love the new hot baby colors, pink and brown for a girl and also blue or green and brown for the boys. I had a lot of fun playing with pink and brown papers today! I'd love to keep the diaper bag for myself because it's so cute and it looks and feels like a large purse or small tote.

Tomorrow I'm going to work at the shack. I joined my first ATC (artist trading cards) swap last night. So I'm excited about doing those.

Welcome Home

This is vinyl that I put on the back door at Daddy's. A little "welcome home" surprise for when they get home from the hospital.

Today I went over to the shack to make a "welcome home" banner for Daddy. He is still in the hospital. I hope he gets to come home by the weekend. Bless his heart, he is so tired of surgeries, being sick and hospitals! They think he has a intestinal blockage. They really haven't given us a clear answer yet. It's no fun having your stomach pumped. He hasn't eaten anything in almost 2 weeks. Please say a prayer for him. He really needs them right now.

Anyways, I hope to surprise them with the banner and window cling. I used Cathy's Stand and Salute cartridge for the "my hero" and "welcome home soldier." My dad was in the military back in the day. I wanted to use a patriotic theme because he really is a troop.

Hero Arts Big Week!

Hero arts is having a big week on their blog starting today. Check it out here to see and enter the madness. Lots of prizes, challenges, ideas and more.

Vinyl Mania

Lacey's name over her window. I used the cartridge "storybook" my favorite cart so far.
Haley's name on her door.

Over the door in the craft shack.

inspire on the craft shack door

Lacey's name on her door.

Haley's name over her bedroom window. My walls are textured but it works like a charm. Very pretty. I believe I cut her letters at 6 3/4 inches. I had to use the 12x24 mat side to make it fit.

I've been having so much fun cutting out vinyl with my cricut lately. Surprisingly it's really easy. Well once I figured out what I was doing. :)

I cut the vinyl using the following settings:

Speed-low

Pressure-4

Blade-3

I noticed it was easier if it cut through both the sheet of vinyl and the backing. After cutting the vinyl I peeled off the negative part and that left the cut design of vinyl and the backing of the cut design on the mat. I then peeled off the white paper(the none sticky shiny side) from the transfer tape(the sticky side). I put the sticky side of the transfer tape directly down on top of the cut image(vinyl) and used a popsicle stick to scrap over the top to make sure the vinyl would stick to the transfer tape. I slowly peeled up the transfer tape and the cut vinyl image came up with it. Tip- if the vinyl image does not come up gently help it along by easily taking your nail and lift it up. After you have the image transferred to the transfer tape you can align it on the wall and do the same scrapping motion again. Peel the transfer tape off and the image stays on the wall. Super cool! You can find video's on how to do this on YouTube. This is how I learned. Money saving tip- You can use the transfer tape twice.

Giveaway

Stampinaddicts is having a sweet giveaway on their blog. Check it out here if you'd like to enter.

I finally finished the last of the twilight books. Great series for sure! I really enjoyed reading each book and I'm really sad that I've finished the last one. I really can't wait until the movie new moon comes out this November! I have really enjoyed my summer. I'm so sad because it's coming to an end really quick! We'll all be back in school before you know it. I'll be holding back the tears! I love summer! I will miss our pool time, late night movies, sleeping in, visiting my family, reading,relaxing, grilling, crafting all day, soaking up the sun, vacations. It's almost to much to bare. Can you tell I'm not ready?!

Saturday Ramblings

Thursday night we went to the movies. Clint and I saw my sister's keeper (per my request) and the girls saw ice age. It was a GREAT movie but it was extremely sad. I cried like a baby from about half way in through to the end. It was a movie that could really happen and the sad thought is that things like these happen everyday! We take life for granted everyday. And I couldn't help but to think of my girls when watching this. My mother always told me that I didn't know what love was until I had my own children and boy was she right! I can become a very over protecting cougar when it comes to my girls! LOL But isn't that the way it is supposed to be? :) I am extremely blessed with a beautiful family and my heart is all warm and fuzzy. Great movie. Go see it.

One Day Late

Keith's new song. I love it! Sandy, this one's for u! ;)





I love this movie! One of our all time favorites! I love the way it's been edited! Brillant!

And we are living our love song. It doesn't get much better than this!

Yesterday was our anniversary. lol We both forgot. I remembered right before midnight last night. We've been really busy this summer, my dad is in the hospital and it was not something that I had in my forethought. We both thought it was kind of funny.

I'm so lucky to be in love with my best friend! I wouldn't have it any other way!

Happy Late Anniversary Babe!

Want to win?

A cuttlebug and some goodies? Check it out here Good Luck!

Grocery List Notepad

Angie just posted a new tutorial and it's super cute so I thought I'd share with you. I love her video's. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July holiday.

Today I'm cleaning and cleaning out clutter. I'm taking a short break right now. Have a great day!

New stuff

I love these new carts! I really love the one below! Got to have that new font. :) These are new releases. You can see more here.
I

I love the new embossing cuddlebug folders that have recently came out. You can see more here.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming because of all the new scrapbooking products that constantly come out. If you're not careful you'll be caught up in just shopping and shopping again for scrapping goodies and yet never using them. I always use new products when I get them. That's the fun of it. I do wished I had more embossing folders though. I only have about 4 or 5. I find that I'm constantly borrowing Cathy's swiss dots. :) I guess I do NEED more.

Tuesday I did get to cut and play with some vinyl. Boy was that fun!! I finally got the hang of it. Next time I go to the shack I'm going to take a few pix to share. Have a great night.

Beach Layouts

The picture frames I made for the girls as a "welcome home from camp present".

I miss them!

Yesterday Cathy and I played in the shack. I finished up my beach/vacation album. Kind of bitter-sweet though because I love "working" on albums. I love to go shopping for things to go in an album, thinking outside the box for ideas and seeing what others have done with similar products.

Cathy made the cutest page of Clint and I yesterday. She used swirly borders and frames with her home decor cartridge I believe. Super cute! Super fun! She also altered a couple of "friends" chipboard albums to give as gifts. I'll have to remember to get a picture before she mails those off. Super duper cute! I'm really going to be extremely sad when I have to go back to work! I'm going to miss all of our 'play dates' out in the shack/shop.