Scrappin' Kitty

This past Saturday, June 20th was a very sad day.  Our beloved cat, Gizmo, had to be put to sleep.  We adopted him from the humane society 11 years ago and I was proud to be his "mom."   Gizmo loved the Cricut machines - every time I would turn the machine on, Gizmo would appear and he would sit in my scrapbook room watching the machine, fascinated by it.

About a year ago, he had to have surgery to remove a bladder stone.  The surgery was a disaster - a vet student let him loose in the back and they ended up breaking his K9 tooth trying to capture him (although they would never admit it but when he went in his teeth were perfectly fine).  The surgery took longer than it was supposed to (and cost several hundred more to extract the broken tooth) and they were never able to find the stone.  $2K and a month later, Gizmo's health deteriorated fairly quickly.  With medicine (antibiotics and pain medicine), lots of vet visits and speculation by different vets of what could be wrong with him, I made the decision to do what I could for him.  This past week, he was very lethargic and in pain.

Rest in peace my sweet boy.

Gizmo using the Cricut

July 2004 - newly adopted

July 2004 - love those cute white paws!

Gizmo loved being with the bunnies (I had 5 of them).

Cuddling with his adopted brother, Rocky

June 20, 2015

Cake, Cupcakes and Birthdays, Oh my!

My daughter definitely has the creative gene!

For her dad's birthday she decided to make him a cake that looked like him.  I think she did an excellent job - way better than I could have done.

  

We also made 4 dozen cupcakes to take to school for her {early} birthday treat...

 

She has also been making cards.  Here's a few of the one's she's made recently.

 

  

Dance Gift Bags

The Senior Team from the dance academy that my daughter attends competed at Dance Worlds at the end of April, so we made them treat bags with a good luck note.

The dancer cut is from Wall Decor and More and is one of my favorite dancer cuts from the Cricut cartridges.

Christmas Treats

I'm a little late, but wanted to share the "treats" that my daughter and I made for her Dance Team and School Classmates.  We made about 60 of these darling hot chocolate reindeer.  Aren't they adorable!?! 

We also had a family project that was sent home from school to complete in December.  A construction paper tree was sent home - the only instructions were to decorate it.

So, we decided to make it look like a real Christmas tree.  I started by backing it with cardboard.  

 I took a small artificial wreath and cut off the branches with a wire cutter.  These were hot glued on to the paper tree in layers.

We took bark off of one of our pine trees and glued it to the trunk. 

 Punched holes through the cardboard and put miniature battery-powered LED lights through the back; added ornaments, tinsel and glitter to the star.

Here's the finished project!

Happy Tuesday!

I made these a few weeks back but finally took a picture of them to post.  I tend to go in waves of whether I'm making cards with Cricut cuts or whether I'm more in the mood to pull out the stamps and Copics.

The stamp is from Whipper Snapper Designs.  Perfect to bring a little spring whimsy to a blustery fall.

Cards & Hunter Hayes

Boy does the time seem to fly by so fast.  I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post - so I figured I would just do a quick update post.

My daughter is a very fortunate little girl - over the past few months, I've brought her into work with me so that she could meet Jamie Lynn Spears and Hunter Hayes.  I should mention that my daughter is boy crazy, so she just adored Hunter and he seemed pretty fond of her too.

With so much going on, there hasn't been much time to scrapbook, but I did manage to make 40 cards to be donated to give to children who are hospitalized.  I'm glad I was able to rally and get some cards made for such a good cause.

Back to School 2014

Well, it's that time of year again...back to school!  This year our district decided to go back a week earlier - my daughter didn't seem to mind, but I wasn't ready for it at all.  I did manage to put together a quick Back to School Emergency Kit for her teacher.  Might as well start off school on a good note.

The tag printable is from CraftsUnleashed.com.  

The container was from Wal-mart and we filled it with Minion band-aids, Tide To Go pen, Chapstick, small lint roller, candy bars and chocolate, tiny stapler, tic tacs, hand sanitizer and these really cool Pilot B2P pens - they are pens that are made out of recycled water bottlers.

I think her teacher really liked the kit.

Independence Day Challenge

Happy {belated} Independence Day!  I haven't had much time or mojo to be creative lately, so I decided what better way to start the creative juices flowing than with some challenges!

For my project, the bear is cut at 4.25" from the Cricut Teddy Bear Parade cartridge - one of my favorite cartridges.  The pattern paper is from DCWV Summer Dream paper stack.  The stamp is from My Pink Stamper.

I'm entering my project into the following Challenges:

• BBTB2 Independence Day Challenge
• My Craft Spot Monday Challenge #142 - Patriotic
• Paper Issues In The Navy Challenge
• Fantabulous Cricut Challenge - Anything Goes
• Shopping our Stash #158 - Red, White and Blue
• DL Art - Thankful Thursday Challenge #135 - Patriotic

Teacher Appreciation 2014 - Part II

Following are a few more of the cards we put together for teacher appreciation week.  We didn't have as much time this year to get too creative with our cards and gifts, so this year we primarily gave gift cards.

For the music teacher...

For the gym teacher...

Teacher Appreciation 2014

It has been a really busy last couple of months, especially as we headed toward the end of the school year.

I'm a bit behind on posting the teacher appreciation gifts.  I was a bit behind on making them too and usually had to stay up until midnight the night before to get them done.

We give her teacher a gift each day during teacher appreciation week and then something to each of her four encore teachers (art, gym, music, spanish).  One of the gifts was a grill kit.  We loved this idea so we decided to make two of them - one for her primary teacher and the other for her art teacher.  We included red gingham paper plates and napkins, mini condiment squeeze bottles, grilling tools (tong, spatula & grill brush), A1, grilling spices, grill wipes, BBQ oven mitt, towel, hamburger timer, gift card and my daughter made a Rainbow Loom hamburger charm.  

 Of course no gift would be complete without a handmade card.  

Good Luck Treat Bags

As many of you may know, my daughter is in competitive dance - and she loves every minute of it.  The Senior team at the studio she attends is going to Worlds, which is a super big deal for them.  This talented group of girls range in age from 13 on up.  Of course, no treat bag would be complete without some additional pizzazz with added Cricut cuts.

With how busy I've been, I had to make 20 of them pretty quick and not have too many layers or tiny pieces...my daughter helped, she just loves the Cricut and anything crafty.  Here's the finished product and some of the Seniors:

The dancer cut is from Wall Decor and More.  I love this dancer, she looks so graceful and is only 2 layers.  The world shaped like a heart is from Give a Hoot - also only 2 layers.  On the back of the bags is a sticker that has "Good Luck Seniors" 

V-Day Party Recap

I can't believe how fast the time flew at my daughter's 3rd grade Valentine Party.  The party games were a huge hit with the kids!  We played Cupid Bingo (see the February 14th post here) and every child got to spin the prize wheel.

I had really wanted the craft station since that would have been right up my alley, but even adults don't always play nice.  I ended up with the game station and decide I was going to make it the best station ever.  My daughter told me that her classmates could not stop talking about how great my station was and what a great party planner I am - yep, my station totally rocked!

Here's some pictures from the party:

Happy Valentine's Day!

I want to wish all of you a very Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm sorry I've been away for so long (exactly 4 months).  My new (well, not so new anymore) job has kept me so crazy busy that I rarely have time to do much else.

I do have some projects to share with you.  At the beginning of the school year, I signed up to volunteer for the valentine's party for my daughter's 3rd grade class so I've been busy putting everything together.

Tuesday night was spent making candy coated Oreos for my daughter's competitive dance team - I forgot to take a picture, but I hear rave reviews back on them.

Last night we made and decorated 100 mini donuts (some donuts were "injured" during this process). 

Treat toppers were next.  The owl is from CAC2 cut at 2".

I'm hosting the Valentine Party with 2 other moms.  I took the game station (I wanted the craft station but we won't go into that...)

The game for the party will be Cupid Bingo.  The bingo balls were made with ping pong balls and Cricut Vinyl.  Bingo Cards I created in Excel and the finishing touch are conversation hearts as the card markers.

I was also able to borrow the prize wheel from work and am so super excited about it - what kid doesn't love to spin the wheel and win a prize!  I'll post pictures later - I have to get everything wrapped up and get out the door in a few minutes.

Birthday Dude

The fall months are always extremely busy for me.  Lots to do and only so many weekends to cram it all in.  This weekend was jam packed with events.  Friday was Halloween Hauntings at our public museum where the kids dress in costumes and trick or treat throughout the exhibits.  Our favorite was the creepy corridor which was like a mini-haunted house.

On Saturday, we went to the Carroll University homecoming game.  Just as we got there for the parade it started to downpour.  Luckily we were prepared with umbrellas.  The weather cleared up nicely for kick-off and the sun even came out.

Finally, today (Sunday), we went to our second pumpkin farm this season.  The weather was a tad cold/windy but not too bad.  We had a great time    

Today is also my nephew's birthday and with all of the activities, I hadn't had time to make him a card.  Once we got home, I knew I had to get one put together.  I bought the Cricut Dude cartridge a while back since I knew he'd be outgrowing the cutsie cuts that are on most of the cartridges that I own.

Here's what I came up with:

It will go out in the mail tomorrow - better late than never is my motto these days!

Splish Splash

Wow, I can't believe how fast time flies!  Things have been busy, so there hasn't been much time for crafting the past month although I did manage to finally get a one-page layout done.  

The title is from Animal Kingdom.  Bath is from Baby steps and the adorable bear is from Teddy Bear Parade.

Christmas In July Blog Hop - Anything Goes

Welcome to the Christmas in July Blog Hop!  We have a great line-up of talented Cricut crafters who will be sharing their creativity with you today. And, we have a giveaway - a Christmas Village cartridge!  You can earn entries by following and commenting on each of the blogs in the hop. You get one entry for each comment!  Since this is the fourth and final posting of the series, all entries will also be eligible to win the Christmas {Noel} cart on July 31st.

If you arrived here from Brenda's blog you're in the right spot.  If not, you'll definitely want to start at the beginning with Paulette http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/ so you don't miss any of the fabulous projects.  

I was hoping to have more than one project for you this week, but unfortunately life got in the way.  So, the project I'm sharing today is a 12x12 Christmas layout.

Patterned paper is DCWV The Homemade Christmas Stack and DCWV The Heirloom Christmas Stack.

I cut Merry Christmas from the Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake Art cartridge at 2" in a dark red and a dark grey cardstock.  The red cardstock was slightly offset on top of the dark grey to give a shadow appearance.   The present is cut at 2.5" from the Christmas Solutions cartridge - gold paper was hand trimmed to fit behind the cut out.  Lastly, I cut the ornament at 2.9" from Winter Frolic.  I added some silver stickles and pop dots for dimension.  It's pretty simple right now, so I may come back at a later date and add some more Cricut cuts to the page.

Thanks for stopping by!  Your next stop is Donna

In case you get lost along the way, here's the full line-up.

1~Paulette at http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

2~Sis at http://papercraftscissors.com/
3~Maria at http://stampcutcreate.blogspot.com/
4~Laura at http://www.coolbeansbylb.blogspot.com/
5~Brenda at http://happyscrapper64.blogspot.com/
6~ Lisa at http://addictedtothecricut.blogspot.com/     
7~Donna at http://carolinascreativecropper.blogspot.com/     
8~ Cindy at http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/
9~Angela at http://angiespaperpassion.blogspot.com/
10~Theresa at http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/
11~Beth at http://seaswancreations.blogspot.com/
12~Betsy at http://betsymcreates.blogspot.com/
13~Loraine at http://www.lorainespaperplayhouse.blogspot.com/

Christmas in July - Christmas Card Blog Hop

Welcome to the Christmas in July Blog Hop!  Each Saturday of the month there will be a different hop featuring holiday themed projects.  We have a great line-up of talented Cricut crafters who will be sharing their creativity with you today. And, we have a giveaway - a Christmas Cards cartridge!  You can earn entries by following and commenting on each of the blogs in the hop. You get one entry for each comment!

If you arrived here from Diane's blog you're in the right spot.  If not, you'll definitely want to start at the beginning with Paulette http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/ so you don't miss any of the fabulous projects.  

Now on to my projects:

For the first Card, I decided to use blues as my main color palette.  The pattern paper is from DCWV Winter Combo Matstack.  The snowman is cut from Winter Woodland at 2.7".  Snowflakes are cut at 2" from Accent Essentials.  I used the iRock to adhere 2 blue and 1 green gem to the snowflakes to add a little sparkle.  Broken China Distressed Ink was used on the edges of the light blue square.  Finally, pop dots were used to adhere this friendly little guy.

This next card I used more traditional Christmas colors.  Pattern paper is from DCWV The Christmas Matstack.  Santa is cut at 2.5" from the Christmas Solutions cartridge and white flocking was added to his hat and beard.  He is adhered with pop dots for added dimension.  The circles were cut in graduating sizes from Plantin Schoolbook.  The smallest circle was cut from white paper and colored with Peeled Paint Distressed Ink to give it a shaded look.  Prima Flower poinsettias and 3 black iRock gems were added as finishing touches to help balance the card.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Your next stop on the hop is Linda at http://ladybuglair.blogspot.com/. But before you go, be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win this week's cartridge giveaway.

Here's the line up:

Paulette at http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/

Sis at http://papercraftscissors.com/

Diane at http://dianesdribble.blogspot.com/

Lisa at http://addictedtothecricut.blogspot.com/   << You Are Here

Linda at http://ladybuglair.blogspot.com/       << Next Stop

Donna at http://carolinascreativecropper.blogspot.com/

Cindy at http://www.inlovewithpaper.blogspot.com/

Fran at http://lovebugtimme.blogspot.com/

Colleen at http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/

Theresa at http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/

Beth at http://seaswancreations.blogspot.com/

Christmas in July Blog Hop Starts on Saturday

Hi Everyone!

You won't want to miss the Cricut Christmas in July Blog Hop.  Each week in July there will be a different Christmas theme to help inspire your Christmas Creativity.  The hop will start off Gift Card Holders on July 6th. 

And, if the inspiration isn't enough, there will also be a prize each week and another one at the end of the month. You can earn entries into the prize drawings by following and commenting on the blogs in the hop! 

The prizes are:
Week One- Gingerbread Cart- Hop starts July 6- Winner to be drawn July 12
Week Two- Christmas Cards Cart- Hop starts July 13- Winner to be drawn July 19
Week Three- Trim the Tree Cart- Hop starts July 20- Winner to be drawn July 26
Week Four- Christmas Village Cart- Hops starts July 27- Winner to be drawn July 31

Here's a list of blogs for the first week (July 6) ~ Cricut Christmas Gift Card Holders
1~Paulette http://scrapalette.blogspot.com/
2~L.B. http://www.coolbeansbylb.blogspot.com/
3~FranTimme http://lovebugtimme.blogspot.com/
4~gonescrappin' http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/
5~scrapsbygracie http://scrapsbygracie.blogspot.com/
6~SeaSwan http://seaswancreations.blogspot.com/
7~BetsyBoo http://betsymcreates.blogspot.com/

Happy 4th of July!

Circleville NSD 2013 - The Crazy B's Challenge (button, brad, bling and a baby)

My entry for the Cricut Circle NSD Crazy B's Challenge.

The baby is from the Baby Steps cartridge.
The bling is the the pearls on her hair bows and the crystal microbeads on her bib.
Three pastel colored brads and
One translucent pink button complete the challenge.