Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year? Cricut Gypsy, Perfume, thread, handmade gifts from my girls and a new oven!
2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received? I've gotten so many and I love them all but I think the bracelet my daughter made for me last Christmas.
3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle? A quilt!
4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child? a bicycle
5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year? Bumble Bee Transformers,Caring Corners Happy Camper, Zhu Zhu Hamster and the Furreal Kitty
6. What is your favorite holiday food? Christmas cookies of course!! Nothing says Christmas more than cookies for me!
7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays? Camera strap cover, wine charms, coupon holder, fabric postcards and more. I better get busy!
8. What is your favorite holiday movie? A Christmas Story
9. Favorite holiday song? While You were Sleeping by Casting Crowns has become my favorite
10. Favorite holiday pastime? As a little girl, my grandfather would play Santa the morning of Christmas by handing out each gift. As I got older, Grandpa would let me hand them out with him. It was wonderful!

You too can enter!! What are you waiting for? Link back here if you do so I can see your answers!

Cricut Meme!

Do you have a Cricut and want more cartridges? Do not have one and you want one for your very own? If so, read below!

This is contest entry for those crazy folks at TodaysMama and Cricut. Be sure to check out Cricut's cool new cartridges and the chance at $30,000 in travel for you and your friends at the Great Gypsy Escape site!

Great Escape Meme
1. If you could escape to anywhere in the world where would it be? The Caribbean!
2. What song do you play when you are by yourself in the car? Jeremy Camp Speaking Louder than Before
3. If you had a night to yourself, and money was no object, what would you do? It would either be a spa night or scrapbooking shopping spree!
4. What is your guilty pleasure? Scrapbook stuff
5. What is the farthest place you have traveled away from your home? St. Lucia
6. Last book that you couldn't put down? Shanna Swenson's Once Upon a Stilletto
7. When you want to escape into another time, what movie do you watch? Pirates of the Caribbean
8. What is your favorite local escape? The Scrapbook Barn or Stamp Asylum
9. How do you escape on a budget? Into our den and scrapbook/make cards or watch a downloaded movie with hubby.
10. Best food you've ever had while on vacation. FRESH coconut.


Good luck!

Cutting Above Blog giving away TWO Gypsies!

Cutting Above launched a new blog and to kick off their new blog, they're giving away TWO Gypsies!

Here's how to win per their blog:

So how can you win? Well it's really easy.

1. On your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo or email groups and /or forums (where allowed), create/bump an existing post about the show on HSN airing September 24th. Please also post about the Cutting Above blog and its debut. (Note: If you do not have a blog, please get the word out in at least 3 ways to be eligible)

2. Become a follower of this blog

3. Put our blinkie on your blog or any other forum/group etc. you belong (again where allowed)

4. Comment to this post with your follower information, links of your 3 shout-outs along with a description of where your blinkie is located.

5. Comments should be posted by 12:00 midnight EST on October 2nd


So, head over to Cutting Above by clicking HERE and follow the steps for your chance to win! Don't forget their blinkie while you are visiting!

Good Luck!

Home

Just a quick post today!

We recently traveled to see some family for my little brother’s graduation.  I needed to send my dad back his memory stick so I created this quick little card to say thank you for hosting us in his home. 

 

Paper:  Rustic White Cardstock and Bitty Dots Polka Dots Parade paper PTI

Stamps:  PTI Boards and Beams

Other: Memento Ink, PTI twine, Nestabilities and miscellaneous button

I love this set from Papertrey Ink.  The sentiment is so perfect!

Have a great weekend!

Hey Cupcake!

I love cupcakes and polka dots lately.  So after visiting the message board, I stumbled upon a post where a mb member used this video from Fabulously Artsy to make cupcake gift card holders.   My niece’s Bat Mitzvah was coming up and thought this was an extra special way of presenting her gift.

The money holder and Star of David was created using a Cricut .cut file and the circle using my nestabilities.

It’s not hard per se but is time consuming.  I love the end result and will probably make more of these for special friends.  You know, the ones that understand and appreciate hand-made gifts?

Check out the video and her website.  Pretty creative!

Until next time,

Playing with my camera

I am trying to convince J that I NEED a new camera. You know, one of those fancy schmacy DSLRs like this one here:

(That's the Canon Rebel T1i. Isn't it SWEET?)

My little ones aren't so little any more and they rarely stand still which makes it quite difficult to get a good NON-BLURRY picture. A new camera with faster fps (frames per second) would come in so handy, especially since the girls are getting into sports! Mostly, I'm tired of shooting on Auto and want more control over the camera. While I would LOVE a non-crop DLSR, it's just not in the budget now. Maybe. Later. In. Like. Ten. Years.

I have been trying to get more out of my little P&S and using Photoshop Elements 3.0 (come to think of it, it's time to upgrade that too!). Tell me your honest opinions. What do you think of my images below?

E's first time back on a bounce house since she was diagnosed with cancer in 2007

Can you guess how old S is right now?

Our peach tree blossoms

Do you think I could convince him? Give me some suggestions on what I should say to him. When I bring this up, his standard answer is, "But honey, you already have a camera. You don't NEED another!"

Grill Master

I can’t believe it’s been since OCTOBER since I last posted! I know I’ve been busy but I didn’t know it had been THAT long. I’ve still been crafting, scrapping and creating, just not blogging! I’m setting a goal of posting at least once a month to get me motivated again. Maybe I’ll post more than that! We’ll see.

I’ve finished several projects: Seattle Mini book for big sis, graduation cards (2) and several cards including another wallet like this one, but alas, have FORGOTTEN to take pictures of them. *EEK!*

So, I thought with this being Father’s Day this weekend, I would start the new year of blogging with my gift to J and a chance to win over at Today's Mama and Cricut:

This was so incredibly EASY to do!

I think I've mentioned I have a die-cutting machine, right? It’s the Cricut Expression. I’ve not used it as much as I would have like as I got it right before E' was diagnosed but I’m trying to make up for lost time using it whenever I can!

Do you remember freezer paper as a child? We used it as kids for arts and craft projects. It’s so versatile! Well, I saw (on a blog of course!) tee shirt creations using freezer paper as their STENCIL. What an awesome idea. The shiny side of the paper adheres to your fabric so it makes a great barrier and when you’re done you just pull it off.

So, I used:

• Cricut Expression
• Freezer paper
• Acrylic paints
• Fabric Painting Medium
• Iron

I designed what I wanted in Design Studio, remembering that text must be REVERSED and FLIPPED in order to be able to read the text after it’s ironed on:

I then cut it out on a 12x12 mat with the freezer paper shiny side UP as the shiny side will not stick well to the mat.

Then once cut out, you then place it on your fabric item where you want it and take a hot iron and iron it on place. Don’t forget if you have letters I, E, O etc that you need those INSIDE pieces.

I then took my arsenal of acrylic paints (if I lay them out it’s like a rainbow!) and mix two parts acrylic to one part fabric medium. The fabric medium is what makes them fabric paints! No need to go out and purchase the expensive fabric paints. Just mix in a little medium and volia! Then paint away! Here’s what I used in case I’ve confused you.

Here is a picture of E’s shirt to her daddy just after she painted it before we took off the stencil.

Isn’t the freezer paper so cool? Will you try it? Come back and comment if you do! I’d love to see what YOU create.