My favorite Christmas present...

...and it's not even scrapping related *gasp*....

Hubby bought me an Ipod Touch. Wow do I love this thing and all its free apps. I can download and read books for free, listen to my music, shop, email, have unlimited texting (I always get in trouble for going over the limit), check ebay, play poker and Scrabble with strangers and I can even check the cricut message board! All I need is a Wi-Fi connection. We even used it at the mall the day after Christmas to get info about other stores.

Of course I had to snaz up the hot pink skin with some vinyl cricut cuts and a silver stud!

I get to make stuff for ME now!

Now that the Christmas gifts have been made and distributed, I can finally get back to actually making scrapbook layouts! Here's my first one....it was based on a sketch.

This was Christmas 2008. Why take the girls to visit Santa at Bass Pro Shops you ask?? Well, for one it's Brian's favorite place on earth and two, it's FREE! The pic with Santa is printed off and handed to you as you walk away from Santa and his err...."live" reindeer, so when you have two terrified one-and-a-half year olds, it's the perfect price! (Brian says the reindeer in the picture are live...I say they used to be alive - it's a discussion we have every year).

Luckily for everyone involved, the visit with Santa went much better this year. I've got a pic of that too....just gotta get it scraped next!

The paper is all Stampin' Up, cardstock is Core'dinations (love it!). The tree I made from George on my Gypsy and then ran it through my Cuttlebug with the Divine Swirls folder. The Santa title was also designed on my Gypsy, with the script done in Opposites Attract.

Fa la la!

Yes, yes I know I'm a bit late, but I wanted to share this Christmas picture of the girls - they are now 2 1/2 (already!)

Isn't this pic cute? Looks so easy...just stand still girls, hold hands and look at the camera. Riiiggghhhttt....

And if you want to know what they asked Santa for, check out this funny video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNgqLO5FfRs

Christmas Ornaments

If you own a Cricut, then you must visit this fabulous blog:

http://cricutchristmas.blogspot.com

These ladies have some of the best ideas ever AND thanks to the fact that Provo Craft is one of their sponsors, they have fabulous giveaways as well.

Thanks to the Christmas with the Cricut blog, I was inspired to try some ideas on the plain glass ornaments that you can get at Michaels. (My M's had them 50% off last week...man, I love a bargain!)

The colored one was made by blotting two different colors of alcohol ink all over. After it dried, I tied a bow and then hot glued it on and TA-DAH! Seriously...it can't get any easier than this.

I haven't done any glass etching for awhile and I had never tried it on a round object. I checked the cricut message board for some tips first and Viola! Another simple gift completed! (The font is Blackletter - one of my favorites).

This idea was scraplifted from my latest issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. It's a styrofoam ball covered with cardstock flowers and leaves, attached with white-topped straight pins. In the magazine they used felt for the flowers but I have so much cardstock that I just substituted. (The flower is from Accent Essentials, the leaf is from Don Juan).

All the ribbon I used was from Michael's Dollar Bin last year.

Pirate Girls

On Sunday we took the girls to "Guppyween" at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. I couldn't get over the elaborate and (expensive!) costumes that some of the tots were wearing. I know that my girls will someday prefer a fancy store bought get-up instead of Mommy's hand-painted t-shirts and homemade tutus...but until that day comes, I'm going to enjoy the fact that I can make them wear whatever I want for now!

Yikes

How can it be October 23rd already? That means Christmas is just two months away. I'm not sure how that's possible...

Ok.... so I haven't been feeling very crafty lately. I seem to have lost my creative mojo somewhere. Please let me know if you find it laying around....I'd like it back ASAP. I couldn't tell you the last time I was at Joann's or Michael's *gasp!* You know it's bad when I don't even feel like looking at scrapbook supplies. '

Hopefully my next update will include pictures of something I've actually made.

IT'S HERE!

I ordered the Gypsy bundle last week from HSN. It wasn't supposed to be here until October 5, but it came today. I am very excited! Yeah for me!

I'm Cheap

I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what the girls should be for Halloween. I've been thinking about this for months. Seriously. I guess I'm worried that this might be the last Halloween I get to decide what they will be. (Not that there is anything wrong with wanting to be a Disney Princess - which I'm sure one or both of them will want to be sooner or later.)

A few weekends ago, my husband - the King of Garage Sales - came home with a box of black and red pirate accessories he'd picked up from someones driveway for 5 bucks. Since I had not been able to come up with any costume ideas on my own, I decided to see what I could do with the miscellaneous pirate paraphernalia hubby had brought home . I started googling and found some really cute girly pirate costumes, but the prices were ridiculous - especially since I need two. And I really, really liked the costumes that included tutus. After another few minutes on google, I discovered some DIY tutu making instructions that didn't look too hard. I hit Joann's first thing Sunday morning armed with coupons, bought my supplies, and made my first tutu during naptime. I made Baylinn's tutu first and when she tried it on, she didn't want to take it off. It looked so cute with her Steeler jersey and stretch pants that I let her wear it to Buffalo Wild Wings when we went to watch the Steeler game (I refuse to say any more about that game.)

Since my first tutu was a success, I'm headed back to Joann for more supplies. I'm going to make Breena a red one as part of her pirate costume. I bought a couple plain t-shirts from Walmart and I'm going to use my cricut to cut stencils and paint them to go along with the theme. I'll post pics of the finished look when I'm done!!

I've Been Creative - No Really, I Have!

I like blogging my craft stuff -( usually )- but when I make things for other people that read this blog, then I can't post the pictures! And since I haven't been scrapping for myself at all lately, that means I have no new stuff to post right now.

We took the twins to DisneyWorld yesterday and I hopefully will get around to scrappin' those pictures soon. After I've fully recovered from the experience. Which might take a few weeks. Or months.

100th Cricut Cartridge

Provo Craft just released their 100th cartridge - Winter Woodland. They are celebrating this milestone by giving away 100 carts in just 5 weeks - that's 20 carts per week...not too shabby if you ask me!

Here is a link to check out Winter Woodland:

http://www.cricut.com/shopping/ProductDetails.aspx?id=361&s=1&sc=2

Halloween

Now that it is September 1st, it's time to start thinking about Halloween. Right? RIGHT?! C'mon, who's with me?!!

Halloween is a big holiday here at our house. Before the twins were born, hubby and I would decorate outside, get all dressed up and scare the trick-or-treaters. It was great! Now we don't have time for all that, but I do need to start thinking about what the girls are going to be. (I have a feeling this might be the last year I get to decide for them.)

Since I'm already in the Halloween spirit, here's a couple shirts I painted last night. These are actually 18-month tshirts that the girls have outgrown, so I thought I would try out my designs on these before they head off to Goodwill. Who says Halloween has to be black and orange anyway?! The hot pink one says "Free Broomrides" - in black sparkly paint and the bat is done in pink metallic paint. I can't wait to get some more shirts and make these for the girls!

I Have Too Much Stuff

I took one of the twins (the good one-ha!) and flew home for a few days last week. ("home" is a small town east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.) The night before heading back to Florida, I dropped the 2-year-old off with Grammie and Aunt Ash and met my husband's cousin's wife for some scrapbook shopping, dinner and drinks.

I got there before Marci, so I had some extra time to look around this cute little store. It was on my 4th lap that I realized I really wouldn't be buying much. Not because I couldn't afford it, but because I ALREADY OWNED ALL OF IT!

Ok, so that's a little bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean. If it was something that caught my eye, by the time I took it off the hook or down from the shelf, it hit me that I already had it - or a close version - at home.

I did find a few things....some 1 cent buttons, Zip Dry Paper Glue (I've been wanting to try it and I had a coupon), and 2 sheets of paper (to match some cardstock stickers that I had in my stash). I couldn't really walk out without buying something....right??

So I guess my point is....I shop more than I scrap. Pounds of paper. Thousands of stickers. Never-inked stamps. Unused Cricut carts. My stash has grown to ridiculous proportions. And I know I'm not the only one out there.

It's time to stop shopping and start creating. I am going to start a new blog where I'll be posting projects that are created just from my stash. I will issue challenges where you can post your own Stash Creations and I'll offer blog candy for the winners.

To have something qualify as "Stash" it must be at least one month old. It doesn't have to be unused, but it should be something that you have not used on a project, layout or card in the last 30 days. The older the better!!

Tell me the truth...

...I can handle it!

I have been "collecting" stamps for years but never really knew what to do with them. Then a few months ago, I saw the coolest stamps from Bombshell Stamps - http://www.bombshellstamps.com - and just had to order a couple of sets. When a couple of my scrapping friends (I'm talking about you Summer and MC!) moved out of state recently, I looked into Stampin' Up!. I found a fabulous demo right down the road and fell in love with the products at the first class. Thanks to Lisa's great classes and workshops, I now know how to actually use the stamps I've got in my stash...and of course have added a few more!

When I was at CHA a few weeks ago, I saw a great demo using Distress Inks, Rubber Stamps and Masks from Tim Holtz. I picked some up and just got around to trying them out for myself. This is something new for me because... I didn't use my cricut *gasp!*

Tory from The Spotted Box - http://www.thespottedbox.com - saw my store on etsy and asked me if I wanted to contribute samples of my work to one of their monthly boxes. I am going to be making at least 25 of these cards to be included as part of September's boxes. So above are some of my first attempts using my new Tim Holtz products, as well as a few stamps from Stampin' Up! Tell me what you really think....I can handle the truth!!

Lessons Learned

UPDATE 8/12: Above are the pictures of the finished invite. I blurred out the names of the bride and groom to protect their privacy.

The bride said she wanted hot pink and black, Old English fonts, chandeliers, bling and she wanted "Rock On!" and the David Bowie quote somehow incorporated into the invitation. I put the photo corners on the inside so she can insert her RSVP cards - which she had done at a printer - when she gets the invites. The black square behind the first pic is the envelope (which I bought!)

The chandeliers are from the Home Decor cart, the pocket on the inside was done in DS using George and Storybook and the initials and shadows were cut in SCAL from a font I downloaded.

I am so happy that they are finally complete and on their way to the bride. What started out as a simple wedding invite, turned into the biggest project that I have ever done. Here's some math to show you what I mean:

1,020 cuts with my cricut machine

3, 400 dots of Glitz Stickes in "Tiara"

1,020 hand-glued rhinestones

300 sheets of cardstock

40+ feet of Xyron adhesive

72 yards of ATG tape

...and that's just off the top of my head and does not count all the supplies I used during the 2 week design process.

This job was most definitely a learning experience. I certainly now know what not to do when working on a project this large and I will make much better business decisions if I ever have an opportunity like this again!

I Got a Job!

Well, sort of a job....

A girl in California contacted me through my etsy store and asked me to design and make her wedding invitations. All she told me was that her colors are hot pink and black, her and her bridesmaids are wearing Betsey Johnson, she's getting married at the Hard Rock in San Diego, she loves tattoos, chandeliers, princess crowns and bling. Ummm....yeah, I can work with those details!!!

I worked on a mock-up over the weekend and sent her pics on Sunday. She wrote me back requesting a few minor changes which I got done today and sent her more pictures. Once she gives me final approval, I am going to start mass producing these babies. She needs 170 invites with matching envelopes and her wedding is at the end of September...yikes!

Wish me luck!!

I got a job...

...well, sort of...

A girl in California sent me an email thru my etsy store and asked me to design and make her wedding invitations. 170 of them in fact. Her colors are hot pink & black, she likes chandeliers and Old English fonts, bling and princess crowns. Yep...it's a rock n' rol

A challenge and contest from todaysmama.com!!

The latest SSPT Design Team Challenge was to use black, white and yellow on a project. I've been wanting to try making my own felt embellishments, so I thought I'd give it a try for this challenge.

Unfortunately, the cricut wouldn't cut the felt. But I wasn't willing to give up that easily. I used the cricut to cut the design I wanted out of vinyl, then stuck the vinyl to the felt and cut around it by hand. I thought it would look better as an applique so I used embroidery thread to sew around the edges and used Heat n Bond to attach it to the shirt.

For the shirt Breena is wearing. I used the skull from Indie Art with a little modification with the hearts from George in Design Studio. The flowers are from Accent Essentials. The one yellow flower I had leftover, I sewed to a ponytail holder.

I was going to use Baylinn as the model this time, but Breena wouldn't let go of the shirt until I agreed to put it on her. Then I had to bribe her to sit still with a cookie so I could take her picture. (Her sister wanted a cookie too, so that's why she's also in the picture lol...)

There is an awesome cricut contest going on at http://www.todaysmama.com/exclusives.php. I'm going to enter this project - so wish me luck!

Want to see more fabulous projects using the cricut? Check out all the talent here:

http://www.cricut.com/

SSPT Fruit Challenge

This 12X12 layout is all about the paper. The sayings printed on it fit my Breena to a "T" - !! (I do realize that putting her picture on paper with a grinning skull in a pink wig might cause some emotional damage later on....but I liked this paper so much, I decided it was worth the risk LMAO!!!) The cherries are from HK Greetings, the font is Blackletter. The crown and arrow are painted Grungeboard from Tim Holtz.

More pics from the trade...

Craigslist+CricutCuts=CutePictures

I try to make a habit of putting "cricut" in the craigslist search every once in awhile, just to see what comes up.  Well last week, I found a photographer in my area who was looking to trade a photo session for - are you ready for this? - CRICUT CUTS!  I emailed her right away and she sent me her website so I could check out her pictures and I sent her my blog so she could see what carts I had.  She sent me a short list of the cuts she wanted and we agreed to meet at a local park for the photo shoot.  She chased the twins around for an hour, clicking away.  Three days later, she sent me a cd with 50 fully-edited photos.  These are just a few....

SSPT *Bling* Challenge

Wow it's been a busy couple of weeks.  My mom has been in town for the last 9 days and is leaving tomorrow *sniff*, the twins turned the big 02 on Saturday and we had a party for them on Sunday.  I decided to bling up the boxes that I made as favors for their party to fulfill the June 1 SSPT Challenge.  

I found the prettiest pink and orange hibiscus napkins and plates at Tuesday Morning and decided to use those as the theme for the party.  The boxes were cut with TBBM, the flowers from Storybook.  I used Design Studio to make the tag on the lid and used Stickles and a sparkly Jelly Roll pen to decorate it all.  I used a whole bottle of Stickles on 20 boxes...but it's really hard to tell in the picture.  You'll have to trust me when I say that they really did sparkle!

SSPT Challenge #4

This was a baby shower invite I was asked to make and it just happened to also fit in with the Sugar Sweet Paper Treat polka dot challenge for this week!  

SSPT Challenge #3

Here's Deb's 5/1/09 challenge for the Sugar Sweet Paper Treat Design Team: "April showers bring may flowers...Main focus for May 1st challenge is flowers, but there is a twist...something has to be 3D - it doesnt matter what, it can be a box, journal, purse, an altered item or a card with a 3D embellishment on it. Anything goes the choice is yours...just remember flowers and 3 dimensional."As I've mentioned before, I love to use challenges as a starting point for a project that I have in mind. I knew I had 2 Mother's Day cards to make and what goes better together than moms and flowers?!

I saw this 3-D flower in a recent edition of Creating Keepsakes and I thought I'd try it for myself. I used Plantin Schoolbook in Design Studio to cut the circles and then score them in thirds...the font is also from PS and welded in DS. I had never used my Bug to score before...what a time-saver! The flourishes are from my new Home Decor solutions cart. The purple card is all old paper from my stash - it didn't photograph as nicely as I would've liked - the embossing is Floral Fantasy from Cuttlebug. The gorgeous purple satin ribbon is Martha's (only $.99 on clearance!) The paper from the pink and green card is from the Spring Glitter Stack...the ribbon was a scrap from my stash.
Thanks for looking!

T-Shirt Painting

After posting the second challenge for the SSPT Design Team, I've gotten many requests for instructions on how I made the ice cream t-shirt (scroll down for more pics). I did not come up with this idea and I really wanted to give proper credit, so I posted a new thread looking for the original genius who came up with this. Cricut MB member Kut-n-Print (aka Kay) saw my post and responded....here it is:

http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=4448730&mpage=1&key=&#4448730

Here is a link to her blog where there is a 7 minute step-by-step video on this technique using just your cricut, freezer paper, fabric paint and a plain t-shirt.

http://cleversomeday.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/freezer-paper-shirt-video/

I would love to see what you make, so if you try this please let me know so I can link to your blog!

Get(ting) over it!

Happy Monday....

I haven't been doing much of anything lately. Not scrapping. Not blogging. Not working out. (Certainly NOT spring cleaning!) I came down with the latest bug that my girls brought home from the play center at our YMCA. It always seems to take me down hard. We all went to the doctor on Friday and we've all been appropriately medicated so hopefully I'll have some relief soon. Right now I feel like I'm trying to breathe underwater and I just muddle through the day in a kind of fog.

I have some things planned to make once I get over this. I recently bought a secret new stamp set online and some Prismacolor Premier Pencils from ebay and I can't wait until I feel well enough to stay up past 8pm so I can actually use them. The reason the stamp set is secret is because I have never seen any like this before.... so i'm really excited to see what I can come up with. At least I was able to get all 72 of my Prismas sharpened while I've been sick, though I did get a huge blister on my thumb as a result. As much as we pay for these pencils, the least they could do is come already sharpened for Pete's Sake!

My First Blog Award

I was nominated for my very first blog award from Sugar Sweet Paper Treats Design Teammate Crystal (aka Magoo). How cool is that?!

There are some rules for this award, so let's start with those:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they've been nominated.

Okay. Give me a couple more days to get everything on the list done. I'm not entirely sure how to do all the linking yet, but I'm going to work on it! Thanks again Crystal!!

Sugar Sweet Paper Treats Design Team Challenge #2

This challenge was based on Neopolitan Ice Cream. Chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. Seriously...how fun is that?! After thinking about it for awhile I decided to do a very literal translation of the challenge...

The ice cream cones are from Indie Art (my favorite cartridge!) with some minor changes done in Design Studio. I used Freezer Paper to cut the stencil with my E, ironed it on a t-shirt that we already had, then carefully applied sparkly fabric paint that I found at Michael's and Joann. Of course since chocolate is my favorite, it's the largest cone!

I had also cut out a phrase using Alphalicious, but decided at the last minute not to add it. It just looked like too much on a such a little shirt.

Now that I've gotten the hang of fabric painting (and trust me there was much trial and error involved in this process) I can't wait to make some more. Of course I need to make a matching one for her sister....

(The red-headed model in the picture is Breena - who definitely needs a bang trim....and a nap!)