My first attempt at making a blinkie!

I think it was harder to get the darned thing to work on here than it was to make :P.

Fun Giveaway

Fun Giveaway January 15th


http://www.snoopyshomemadefun.blogspot.com/

Please check out this blog, great cards here. She is also doing a giveway on the 15th of January, hurry up and go follow!

First Craft Fair of the Year!

Yesterday my mom and  went to our first craft show of the "New Year," I am a teacher so I always think of the year as being from September to August, and I found lots of goodies.  I wanted to show photographs of some of my favorite finds.  They cost me a pretty penny, but boy am I glad I got them.  Can't wait to try and make some of these. 

First, the feather hairpiece or lapel pin.....I loved it as soon as I saw it.  I'm a bit fascinated with English fasinators, so this is a step in the right direction for me :)

 

Then I found the booth that broke the bank....this was what I saw first: The star album

Beautiful purples had me sold and THEN, I saw it opened and HAD to have it!

From there, I saw these amazing Skinny Notepads...but on steroids:

There is also a pocke on the back of this one!

And the piece I couldn't leave the craft fair without....this simple box:

And you are saying, "Why on EARTH would you want that box?"  Well, here's why:

Stunning...right?   I love this and can not WAIT to figure out how to make them.   Thanks for coming by and seeing these goodies!  If you know where I can find tutorials for these, please let me know!  Ciao!!

Creative Inspirations and Friendships

My September Swap flowers:



click on picture for a better view :).

ATC Swap

This year I participated in my first swap and it was for ATC cards....which I also had never done.  Now I'm ADDICTED to them.  They are so cool!  Here are the ones I received:



Penny Duncan



Charlene McCreight



Connie Goewey

 Thanks Ladies...I love em!

My Dollar Store SUPER FIND

'Ello!!
    Today while I was waiting for my pizza, I decided to run to the tiny dollar store in the strip. Oh Boy!!!  Did I luck out.  They have oodles and oodles of stamps.....rubber stamps and clear stamps.  I am new to the stamping so this find is MAJOR, as I am a bit of a cheap skate!!

Here's what I got:

My Therm O Web prize from Facebook

I entered a contest on Facebook and got an amazing price.   Check it out:

I love this stuff and I can't wait to use the products I don't already own.  I also had my first go at QUILLING...and here's the first project:

Sorry it's so blurry! 

Thanks for stopping by....Ciao!!

It's been a while......

Hi All,
    It's definitely been a while.  I've been working on pieces for a swap with the Creative Inspiration group on Aimoo.com along with cherishing these last  few days before I have to go back to work.  Today, while pondering ways to better organize my life, I thought of a way to set up clothes for my 7 year that he could easily understand.  I have made a file for hanger tags (click here).  I haven't made them yet, but I'm sure this will be a hit. I will make a tag for each day of the week.  The file contains a pattern for the tag and the days of the week.  He's not quite old enough to pick out his own clothes (atleast not to my tastes), so this will help me with hassling to pull out clothes every morning. 

    The pictures below are for my current swap.  Both of these projects were completely new to me and I have to admit that I'm kind of addicted to ATCs now.  Only problem is, I'm not sure I want to trade them :P.  They are sooooo much fun!

These are called ntxawm...which is Hmong for youngest girl.

Not sure what to call these???

And this is my first easel card.  I loved making the flower :P.

I Think THIS is the ONE!

Simple, but nice.  I like it!

Cover and Back....may add an embellishment or two :)

Front Page

This is an example of the inner pages....not all of them are the

 same (different designs)...some are blank (for the creative or journalists) and they are intended for 4X6 pictures.  I figured most people take pictures horizontally...so this should work.

Cheers!

Idea....not sure if I like it.

I haven't added text yet.  It will say "Remembering our Roots" across the trunk....probably in burgundy.

One more......

What do you think?

Harley Anyone?

I am taking a small crafting break.  My goal this morning was to design and put together a few layouts together for our upcoming family reunion that I could give away as "gifts."  Each adult has to bring two cheapy gifts, and being this is our 20th year of reunions....I thought a layout would be really neat.  Those of you that know me know that if it were that simple for me to get things done, something must be wrong with me. :)  SO instead of finishing this layouts (I'm drawing blanks guys) I decided to work on a project I started a few days ago.

I'm super excited about this book because I think it's coming together very well.  This was also my first time using glossy accents, which I have decided I LOVE!  I may offer this as a freebie.....so if you are interested, leave me a comment and let me know.  Cheers.

So far, I only that the front and back covers done.....I'm not sure if I will decorate the insides or not.  I wish I could better show the dimensions...the white is where applied the glossy accent...I think it looks really nice :).

Our New Friends!

I am happy to announce that I am now the proud parent of two new pets:  a velvet damsel and a royal damsel.   These are our "test" fish to make sure all is good in their environment!  Not sure what we will name them yet...any suggestions???

My Aquarium Adventure

Hello All!   For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted a salt water aquarium.  This week, I was able to start one!  And here's what it looks like so far:

Okay, you got me!  This isn't my aquarium...this is actually a shot from inside of the Aquarium I visited while in Virginia.  Pretty huh?  And not a piece of real coral...but anyway....

     I was with my mother this week for the holiday and we happened upon a garage sale that had a tank and a stand for sale.  I thought...hmmm. I wonder how much it is.  Well, they lady said I could have EVERYTHING for $5.  Now, some of you are saying....Wopidity doo.  But let me use more detail (Dr. Cook would be very proud of my right now :P).  When I asked the woman for the price I was just acquiring about two pieces....but their where other pieces on the "stand" that were included in this price.  There with actually 2 aquariums (one 10 gallon, one 5) a hood, light, filter, and heater for the bigger, a bunch of decorations, gravel, tank cleaner stick thingy, and a computer speaker.  Now...do you see why I HAD to get it.  Five dollars was my garage sale find of the year! 

     SO......with these new finds, I decided it's time to get started.  A saltwater tank for me and a freshwater tank for my almost 7 year old (he almost had me totally convinced to get him a tail-less gecko today, that child is too darn cute)!  After I did lots of research, I went to VIPets in Jenison (gotta love this place) and the manager there gave me everything I needed to get started (about $60 worth of stuff....$25 of it being live sand) and now I am ready to go!  Here's my set up so far.

     It's taken a while, but the water is finally at the right specific gravity and tomorrow Xavis and I will go and get damsels to test out the tank.  If I'm a good mommy and able to keep them a live, I will then be able to get Nemo and his girlfriend, and Dory and a friend and MAYBE  a star fish...we'll see.  Wish me luck and I'll keep you posted as I add more creatures into the environment.  Thanks for reading!!

New Stuff

....check it out, tell me if you likey! :)

Father's Day Card

Hi All,

   It's been a while.  Haven't done much cricuting lately, in fact, I haven't even been home.  My newphew recently graduated so we tracked 800 miles to Virginia to show him our love and support.  While away, I saw a father's day card that I fell in love with, so I had to make one for my daddy, and my honey :P.  Not much, but cute nonetheless!  Enjoy!

Latest Creation

With the end of school being only a few days away, I am very excited that I will soon be able to craft, sew, and CRICUT as much as I would like to.  I was able to make a new book for my "newphew" who expecting  his first child in about 2 months.  I used a template from the "My Cricut Scrapbooking" blog and Zoobaloo to make the monkey, I also grabbed a few things from Penny Duncan's blog.   Now, if ONLY the We R Memory Keepers would only send me my return shipping info to I could return my defective Cinch, I could bind the book :(.  Ooooohhhh, well.  I hope you like the book. 

 

The page on the right has an accordian file so they can showcase more pictures!

The right page has a pocket that can store tags, pictures, and any other small keepsakes they would like to keep with their baby stuff!

Chocolate Anyone?????

Happy Mother's Day all!  I hope that you all had a fantabulous day.  Today was also extra special in our house because it's my honey's birthday.  So, ofcourse, I made him a cake.  I don't usually have much luck with baking so I was rather worried.  BUT I found an awesome recipe and the cake was a huge success!  In fact....it's almost GONE.   It's a recipe that's SO good, that I have to share.  Yes, I know I don't have many followers....but who knows....this may peek some interest. 

YES...those bits that look undercooked are actually chocolate chips!!

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 box devil's food cake
1 4oz chocolate instant pudding
1 small bag of chocolate chips (around 2 cups)
2 eggs
1 3/4 C water
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract (my personal addition :P)

2 tbsp butter, melted
1 C powdered sugar
3tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp warm water

Set oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a large bundt pan.  Set aside.
1. Combine the first three ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine the next 4 in a small bowl, mix well.
2. Add wet ingredients in the small bowl into the dry ingredients in the large bowl.  Combine with a spoon until well mixed.
3.  Pour batter into bundt pan and distribute evenly. 
4.  Bake for 45-55 minutes or until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean.
5.  Let cake cool in pan for 20-25 minutes.

To make glaze:  Mix all ingedients in a bowl until well combined.  Pour over cake and EAT UP!

Scout Book - Completed

It took a while, but I finally cut and got a book together.  This was my first time cutting "chipboard" as well, so I don't think it turned out too bad.  It can only get better from here.  Cheers!

I made the emblem on the left in inkscape today after doing a Scrappy Dew tutorial :P.  Turned out pretty good.

The ribbons are attached to a tag with a note I wrote to the eagle scout.

The red on the left is a quasi accordian file. I never feel like these books have enough room for pictures....so this makes room for a few more.  Next time (before it's perfectly glued in place) I will at ribbons then the accordian can be tied closed. 

Eagle Scout Book

Apparently it is that time of the year when young men are having their ceremonies to become Eagle Scouts. I have a very special student who will be receiving this honor tomorrow and I wanted to make something special for him as I won't be able to attend his ceremony.  I also wanted to share this with you as may of you may be scrambling (as I was) to find a gift for an Eagle Scout.  Enjoy!

http://www.4shared.com/file/1G7QVzXx/Scout_Book.html

Guitar Card

I was on one of the yahoo group forums and someone was asking about a guitar card/svg.  Intrigued by the idea, I decided to play a little bit and see what I could come up with.  Below is my result.  I've went back and forth because the guitar should have strings and frets, but being so small,  I think it best to draw them on....or even attach string, as opposed to cutting them. Let me know if you like it, and if you use it, I'd LOVE to see your magic! 

*each color is a different layer :).

http://www.4shared.com/file/pOIFhllU/guitar.html