Thursday, July 28, 2011

No Cricut Thursday #4: You & Me Layout

Everyone says my daughter and I are very much alike and it is true..we are. She is like a mini-me in many many ways. This photo taken of us recently shows her true spirit I think and my husband says it shows me as well. I have been buying stuff again.

Naughty me! What I have been buying is page kits. I have seen some really great layouts done with these kits and so now I am drawn to them whenever I see them on sale. I love my Cricut machines and could use them on every layout, but two things have occurred to me recently:

1. I use my Cricuts so often that I forget all the other wonderful tools.
2. I get more layouts done when i use page kits on some of my basic layouts.

So...I have been looking out for page kits that I think I can use right away. I do not need to add to my paper and supply collection so I try and only buy kits I think I can take home, open and create with right away (pictures already in hand!)

For this layout of me and my daughter I used a kit from America Crafts called "Letterbox". I got it for about $7 and it came loaded with fun things: 8 12x12 patterned papers, 2 12x12 solid cardstock, 6 4.5x6.5 solid photo mounts, 11 phrase stickers, 3 flair stickers (look like buttons), a set of alpha cardboard stickers and 2 ribbons (4 feet each).

I only used some of the supplies for this layout (the only thing not from the kits is the printed out journal entry which I cut with my circle cutter) and still have a lot of supplies leftover to create more fun layouts or cards. When you set a goal of getting pages done these types of kits really come in handy, and often you can add to them with your own tools and tricks.

The start of wedding weekend is here so things are a little crazy. I hope everyone has a wonderful last week of July. I  look forward to being back next week with a new project everyday!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Break before the Wedding

I feel like I have abandoned my blog. As you may or may not know it is wedding week for my family as my brother-in-law will be getting married this Saturday and we are all (myself, hubby and daughter) members of the wedding party. I feel like I have no time to do anything right now. I would love to get some scrapping done today during nap time (yes I am so lucky my 5-year-old enjoys a rest time in the afternoon and often asks for one), but my energy level is down still from the month of dealing with illness and tooth pulling. Wish me luck and hopefully a new page or project will be posted this afternoon.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Boo At the Zoo (2009)


Every year Brookfield Zoo does weekends in October called Boo at the Zoo. We always have a great time attending and dressing up in costumes to play at the zoo. In 2009 my  sister was in town with my niece and we all went together. It was so much fun and I thought I  would share the simple pages I made with the photos. I used Mickey Font for the letters.


 This is the start of a busy time for me. My brother-in-law is getting married next weekend and this weekend is the bachelor party weekend. I go back to work for a meeting on Monday and than the wedding...I hope to get some posts ready to share with you before it all takes over. I hope you like this page form an older scrapbook. I had never shared it show I thought I would as I have a few things almost completed for the blog but not quite!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

No Cricut Thursday #3


Well I got off track for awhile with my No Cricut Thursdays, but 2 weeks ago I shared some fun gift tags to go on some wedding favors and today I have a simple page that was made using a Monthly Options kit from PineCone Press. I have been thinking about joining a monthly club that sends you a fun kit of papers and embellishments each month. I have gotten some great ideas from my Cricut Circle sisters and have yet to decide which one to join, but I was at Archivers and they had some of the kits you can get from PineCone press so I bought one to see what I thought. Here is what the kit included ($22 at Archivers):

- 4 double sides pattern cardstocks
- 2 deco edged with stitching pages
- 2 solid sheets that matched
- 2 rings to bind with
- 1 sheet of word art stickers (VERY COOL!)
- 4 pieces of coordinating ribbon
- 12 page book of ideas


I like what the kit included and the book has some good inspiration, but I am still on the fence about buying more from them.

For my page I used one of the fun stitched pages and a small section of a two-sided cardstock, plus one sheet of the solid as my back. I also used one of the word stickers. These are really fun. You can use them in many ways (solid, take the letters out, use as a stencil for on your page). I choose to leave the black letters of "joy" off my page and colored them in with some green Stickles instead. I also added two green brads to the corners of the sticker to give some more sparkle.
Overall I am pleased with what I created with this kit. This is a photo of my daughter with all four of her grand parents who adore her if you can not tell! The really do bring me joy as the sticker says. have a Happy Thursday.


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Another gift bag & a WINNER!

I have wrapped up my first year as a blogger and that includes selecting a winner from the It's a Wrap Blog Hop this past Saturday. I used the wonderful random number generator and popped all the numbers in (I had a few double comments so I did not count those twice...your first one counted) AND....

The Winner of Cupcake Lite Cartridge is...Lisa B who said, "LB - The date night basket is a fabulous gift idea. I love all of the little bags - very cute!"
I will be trying to reach you to get your prize mailed out to you ASAP! Congrats to you and thanks everyone for your wonderful comments on the wedding present I put together for the hop.
As a little add on to the wedding present, I decided that for this weekend's bachelorette party I had to have a little something as well, so I made one more fun little bag for a special gift card. I used Slumber Party to create this simple bag (I did this on my 12x24 mat) and the "slumber party cuts" (the silver circle is part if the layers for this). I added the "private" using  Birthday Bash.
I have a feeling we will all have a really great time this weekend. We are all celebrating together boys and girls at a comedy club so I think the potential for fun is high. Tomorrow I have a simple layout for No Cricut Thursday!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

1 Year: Thanks & Reflection

Today I have been blogging for 1 year. Last summer when I joined the Cricut Circle I started visiting all these wonderful blogs where amazing crafters displayed such inspiring things. I had shared a few of my projects on the message boards before, but a blog? ME? Well, I went for it and I am just so glad I did.

In my first post I wrote:
"This blog will be what I want it to be! It will be for me, my family, friends, enemies (if they really want to check this out) and people I am looking to get to know. I will talk about things that matter to me: my family (let's just say right now Sophie will be a main feature), scrapbooking, teaching, books and more!"

I do not think I have talked about any books, but other than that. I think my blog is exactly what I said it would be. My daughter is in basically every scrapbook layout I share (can you tell I adore her) and so many of the things I do for school are here as well. This blog is mainly for my craft projects, but seeing as they are all inspired by my life I guess it just works out.

Thanks for joining me the past year. I have gotten to know some great bloggers and love visiting new blogs still. I have been given so much love on my projects which only makes me want to make more. Again thanks for visiting and I hope you will stay with me as I share more.

Today I want to share the 10 projects from my first year as a blogger that are my favorites. I thought this would be a great way for me to look ack on my first year. You can link to the post under each picture. Thanks again for joining me. Tomorrow is the first day of my new blogger year!
 Mini Album using Imagine

Home sweet Home Layout
Alice in Wonderland Wall (those characters are hard)
Monkey Birthday bag
You Can Be Anything Layout (I think this is my #1)
All About Me Page
Scraplifted Layout
Birthday Bucket
Add caption
 
Ballerina bag that Matched costume






Monday, July 18, 2011

Play Ball Layout

As I mentioned yesterday, we took all the Dads to a baseball game for Father's Day. With my in-laws recently moving to Illinois from Minnesota it was our first time getting all the grandparents together (a thing that will happen much ore often now!). The game was a lot of fun with fireworks and running bases after the game. My daughter enjoyed herself, but I think my husband was even more excited to be sharing one of his favorite sports with his little girl.

I started this layout with the letters. I was flipping through the booklets for the carts that come installed on the E2 and loved the circle cut letters on Cricut American Alphabet. I thought they would make great baseballs. I  cut the letters at 1.25 inch and drew the red stitches on while the letters were still on the mat.


After playing around for quite sometime I landed in this page filling layout with my photos. I just really wanted to use as many pictures as possible and this seemed to do the right thing. I decided to use my computer to print out the journal entry for the page. I do not do this all the time because it is important (I think) to show your handwriting on your pages, but when you have a lot to say or want it to be in a different font it is a great way to add to your page (and many computer inks are now memory quality for long lasting, no fade prints).


Thanks for stopping by my blog. Tomorrow is my 1 year anniversary as a blogger. I am super excited to reflect on this fun year. As always your comments are welcomed!!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Daddy & Me Page

I was lucky to get some time in my scrap room today between cooking some yummy goodies (chocolate pie, vanilla cupcakes and a cheesecake) and getting ready to go to a BBQ at my parent's home with a group of family friends and my sister's family.

I, like so many others, have been playing with Page Maps and today I picked a one to use with the photos I have from our very laid back Father's Day a few weeks ago.

The paper for this layout are all from the DCWV Cotton Bloom Stack. I love the colors on this stack and it has some very nice coordinating prints. I selected what I wanted and layered the pieces together.Instead of using a paper for the center design I used a matching piece of ribbon form my stash. I used my Creative Memories Cutting System to cut the circles. Most of the time I find this easier to use for cutting my circles than my Cricut, mostly because I am so familiar with the sizes I will get.

I went searching for a "daddy & me" cut and while I did not find one, I did find, "Me & Mommy" on Just a Note (this is one of the fun cartridges that is built in on the new E2). I  cut "daddy" from this cart and re-sized the "Me" and "&" cuts from "Mommy & Me" to get what I wanted for my page. I was excited to find this ad have a feeling I will go back to it over and over for different projects.

I want to quickly say how much joy I got from everyone who left me a kind comment during yesterday's It's A Wrap Blog Hop. If you did not leave a comment and still want a chance to win Cupcake Lite go back and leave a comment before Tuesday evening when I will pick the winner. Thanks again!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

It's A Wrap Blog Hop

Welcome to the It’s a Wrap Blog Hop!! This is my very first time hosting a blog hop and I am so excited to have you here. This hop is the kick off to a week of celebrating my first full year as a blogger. I have enjoyed sharing projects with you and look forward to sharing more.

This hop is all about wrapping. This year I have really started playing around with gift bags, tags, cards and boxes and I wanted to show you what other's views on this is as well. There are 22 wonderful stops on this hop and we hope you will take some time to stop in and see everything we have created for you. There are several stops along the way offering some very fun blog candy as well. (you can see mine at the bottom!) But first my project:

For my project I am showing off our wedding present for my Brother-in-law and his soon to be wife. They both own their own homes and have tons of stuff so instead of getting household items from the registry (they have double of many things already) we will be providing "date night" gift cards. We got their favorite restaurant, movie theater and some random things for just staying in.  I put each card in a separate little date night bag and put all the bags in a fun little basket to give them. I have to say I have never had so much fun putting a present together. 

All the little bags were cut using Once Upon a Princess. I just think the scallop top is so sweet. Here are my cut details and some more photos:
Movie Night Bag:
- Mickey Font: letters
- Summer Vacation: tickets
- Carousel: popcorn box
- Slumber Party: single popcorn
- Splish Splash: back tag

Date Night Bag:
- Formal Occasion: everything

Game Night Bag:
- Old West: cards
- Designer's Calendar: game night and dice
- Plantin Schoolbook: square

Picnic:
- Everyday Paper dolls: basket
- Kate's ABC's: butterflies
- Cherry Limeade: lettering

Let's Stay In Bag:
- Slumber Party: TV

Pizza Night Bag:
- Alphalicious: Lettering
- Slumber Party: Pizza slice

Date Night Banner:
- Mini-Monograms: circle tags
- Hello Kitty Font: Lettering


NOW that you have seen my project...you should try and win some blog candy. For this hop I am giving away The Cricut Lite Cupcake cartridge to one random winner. In order to win please leave a comment on this post, if you are a follower that would be wonderful, but is not required. I will be selecting a winner on Tuesday evening so check back Wedesday for the winner!

I hope you stop at all our fun stops and get some great inspiration. Your next stop is Deb's Eclectic Thoughts.

Cool Beans By L.B. http://coolbeansbylb.blogspot.com/ (HOST)
Debbie from Deb’s Eclectic Thoughts http://www.debseclecticthoughts.blogspot.com/
Cindy from In Love With Paper http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/
Amy from Amy’s Digi-Scrapshttp://scrap-pix.blogspot.com/
Cindy from Scrap Obsessed http://www.scrap-obsessed.blogspot.com/
TX Scrapper Mom http://www.txscrappermom.blogspot.com/
Scrapalette from Around the Block with Scrapalette http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/
Suzelle from www.craftsandmorebysuzelle.blogspot.com
Confessions of a Scrapoholichttp://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/
Stephanie from onceuponapaper http://onceuponapaper.blogspot.com/
Brenda from Random Thoughts of a Scrapbooker http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/
Maria from Stamp Cut Create http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/
Lori Apgar from http://www.scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/
I Came, I saw, I Created http://icameisawicreated.blogspot.com/
Anabel aka cricutaddicted from http://scrappingformorefun.blogspot.com/
Michele from Green Girl Scraps www.michelegreen.com
Alicat from http://scrappingwithalicat.blogspot.com/
Everything Digital Scrapbooking http://digipage-blog.everything-digital-scrapbooking.com/
Robin, The Scrappin' Delta Diva http://scrappindeltadiva.blogspot.com/
Gamma's Creative Corner http://gammascreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Paper Crafting Chic: http://www.papercraftingchic.com/

Friday, July 15, 2011

TOMORROW: It's a Wrap

I am super excited that tomorrow I am hosting my very first blog hop. We will be showcasing fun gift wrapping ideas (bags, boxes, tags and more). I actually changed my mind about my projects and started a whole new one on Wednesday so get ready, get set...hop time is almost here.


Check back later today for a simple layout I have been working on.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Kisses Bag

Today I am getting 2 teeth pulled! YEAH! I am trying to look at it form the positive side
- All the ice cream, pudding, & jello I want
- Everyone rushed to take care of me
- Oh yeah, no more pain in my mouth from the tooth.

One of my friends joked with me that I just need to have a lot of chocolate before going in and I will be all smiles the whole time. It made me think of this fun stamp I have. It is from the Inkadinkado Friendly Advice collection...
(I cut off the name and age part of the stamp)
After thinking about it I had to make her a fun little bag with her favorite chocolates inside. I used the wonderful Tags, Bags, Boxes and More for the mini bag (set to fit to page I believe) and the rest I did by hand. I even made cute little kiss tags.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Summer Goals part 2

Well, I made myself some summer goals for the first part of summer and it is time to reflect on those and than move on to some new ones for the second part of my summer.

SUMMER GOALS #1: (deadline July 9)
- Use at least 30 cartridges in some way (one cut counts)
   I used 35 carts this month in some way shape or form. 
- Get closer to my August goal
  I used 7 carts that I had not used since last August!
- Finish at least 15 scrapbook layouts
  OOPS I only got about 4 layouts down in the time frame.
- Make 5 cards
  I am happy I got 5 fun cards down (several with my Imagine!)
- Make a stamp with my stampmaker
  I did this and it was a learning process for me! More coming.
- Use my Your Story to do something
   I just did not get to this yet. Maybe soon.

Overall I am happy with what  I got done the first part of my summer. Now it is time to move onto some new goals. For the second part of summer I am going to focus on getting caught up with my scrapbooking so the layout goal is actually going up! Lets see:

SUMMER GOALS #2: (July 10 - August 10)
- Create 20 scrapbook layouts
- Use at least 40 cartridges in someway
- Take part in at least 15 challenges during the month

I am only going to have 3 goals for this second half, but I have a good feeling about them. You can check on my progress in my Summer Goals Tab during the next few weeks. (I admit I already got started.)

Happy Birthday Bag

This weekend I am hosting a blog hop all about wrapping gifts. Well, I made the bag above using a pre-made gift bag and added my own flair to it, but I have decided to create a new project for the hop this weekend (this bag is just not what I wanted and a new idea has totally popped into my head) so I am going to share this bag with you today!
I wanted the bag to be a general birthday bag. All the paper is from the American Craft Everyday collection. I have been using these paper collections in my work a lot lately. It is easy to work with and you can often find it as single sheets (often double sided) in the loose paper, but I realized I buy  so much of it that buying the whole collection made a little more sense for me.

I cut a fun frame off of Ashlyn's Alphabet and backed it with a different pattern paper. The title and presents are all cut using Create A Critter. This is one of those carts that I go to all the time for little embellishments. I always seem to find what I need here.

Upside down title for putting
glitter on  it.
I wanted to add glitter to my gift bows and lettering. I used my Xyron sticker maker and put the cuts in upside down so the tops would have the sticky glue. I sprayed them with Elmer's Craft Bond to make the glitter stay. I hope this works a s a little teaser for the hop this coming weekend.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

So Serious

It seems that lots of people are getting ispiration from sketches and page maps lately. I bought the book Page Maps 2 by Becky Fleck and I have been trying to decided where to start with it. Pages maps are so great in helping you find a starting place for your pages and even cards. Today I had 3 photos I wanted to work with so I looked through my page map cards to find a layout to use.

From Pagemaps 2 by Becky Fleck
This layout had what I was looking for and I used it as my guide to create a page using these fun photos from a night when we were al just relaxing and enjoying being a family. It all started with a new pair of pajamas and some swim goggles and well let's just say we were not being all that serious at all.

The paper is Amerian Crafts Teen collection. For the rest I went with this weeks Cricut Cartridge Chaos Challenge being held at Tattered Times. The cart for the week is Don Juan so I decided to use that font and some of the symbols for my layout. I even welded a cut from the cart together 4 times to create my side piece.  I also used my fun Shimmer Spritz on the sprials. (I am not sure if you can see it in the photo below I tried to play with the color to show it off!)

Monday, July 11, 2011

Birthday Bucket

I have been working with vinyl a little bit more and have found that I love using the Cricut adhesive backed printable stuff a lot. I find myself walking through the store thinking about what I could put it on. It layers very nicely, so if you want to cut out fun layered pieces in different colors you can do on using your Imagine machine.

On a recent trip to Walmart (waiting patiently for the new Lites to come in!) I  found those large 18 gallon tubs with the string handles for $6 each. They have them in blue, red, yellow and green. I got the twitch when I walked by and knew they would be wonderful with vinyl on them. I needed a birthday present for a soon to be 3-year-old and thought of all the toys the family has in their home. I made a quick call to the family to make sure it would have a place for it and to find out what the birthday boy is in to these days and bought that bucket!

Once  I got it home I started planning a racing themed bucket for my gift. I printed and cut all the vinyl using my Imagine machine and it goes on so nice. I used:
- Plantin Schoolbook for all the lettering: Roly Poly & italics
- Everyday Paper dolls for the cars and flags.
- The base Imagine Images for the circles and all the fill in colors.

I wanted two of the flags  to be checkered flags so I hand colored them. I tried a few tests with different markers and ended up using Permapaque markers. They did not smear to the touch quickly.
I can not wait to give this bucket to the birthday boy.  A totally awesome, hand-made gift for about $10 dollars (the adhesive vinyl was $10 for 5 sheets and I used 2 pieces). I have a feeling I will be heading back to Walmart to get some more of these buckets as other gifts!! Enjoy and as always comments are welcomed! Here is my final product! Very  pleased.
I also wanted to mention that this is being posted to a fun link-up party. Made It Myself Mondays. The button to get to this great site will always be sitting on the side of my posts!!