New Blog Awards

Wow!! The last couple of days have been full of love and support. Thank you for all the sweet comments about my car. It was on it's last leg anyway, but it's been my baby for the last 9 years. With all the craziness that's been going on, I've been awarded a couple of awards. So here is a list of them:

The first award comes from Diana at D.L Art. Thank you so much Diana, I really appreciate you thinking about me for this award.

For this award, here are the rules:

• Must share 5 things about yourself  (1 of the listed items must be something about your craft).
• I LOVE BREAD - any type. I have a slight problem with bread baskets when dining out. :0)
• I've made more scrapbook pages for my BFF than I have for myself. 
• I'm always second-guessing my projects (I very critical of myself)
• I spend way too much time on the computer, but at least I get paid for it
• I'm a big supporter of a 4 day work week. I already work 10 hours a day, so why not get another day off to craft!!
• Must pass it on to 5 people
• http://inkingitupcrazy.blogspot.com/
• http://craftyjar.blogspot.com/
• http://wahoocrafts.blogspot.com/
• http://accidentalscrapbook.blogspot.com/
• http://scrappingwithglitter.blogspot.com/
• Thank the creator of the button Grace.  Her blog is noted at the bottom of the button.

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The next award was passed along to me by Bunny Freak. 

The requirements to accept this award are : 

• Thank the person who gave you the award. 
• Thank you Bunny Freak (Have you seen Hop yet?)
• Tell 7 things about yourself
• My mother is 100% German. 
• I have a little (really big age gap, she's 14) sister who lives in GA with my mom and stepdad
• In the last 5 years I've lived in 3 states and 3 different homes
• I love taking baths, but haven't taken one in like 3 years
• I'm slightly obsessive about the littlest things (like how cups are put away in the cabinet)
• I wish I could lay on the beach all day, every day (except when I'm crafting, of course)
• I'm going to be buying a new car because some jerks decided to steal mine and smash it up
• Pass it on to 15 other bloggers
• I've been trying to come up with a list for almost 2 weeks. I follow a lot of blogs that I truly adore and I can't come up with 15. I'll post another post when I narrow them down.

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The final award comes from a dear blog friend

There are only two rules for this award:

• Post about it on your blog , and link back to the sender, and thank them.
• I would like to thank Janice, the Cricutologist, for thinking of me when awarding this award. Even though we've never actually met, we've got this great connection and visit each other often to leave sweet comments. THANKS JANICE!!
• Pass onto those who visit you regularly and leave comments.
• Kate - http://smallbitsofpaper.blogspot.com/
• Adri - www.macheriecreations.com
• June - http://simplyelegantpapercrafts.blogspot.com/

Phew! All of these ladies are special to me in their own way. When you get a chance, stop by their blogs and take a peek at some of their projects. Thanks for taking the time to read this really longggggg post.

Stay Crafty

Amber's Crafts and Stuff Challenge #7 - Use a Digi

Good Afternoon everyone,

I'm sorry to say that I don't have a project for you this week. I just couldn't get things together in time and was really not liking ANYTHING that I created. This week's theme over at Amber's Crafts and Stuff is to use a digital stamp or "Digi" as they are more commonly called. This week's challenge is being sponsored by Digis With Attitude. Head on over to Amber's site to enter for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate from their online store.

Again, I did try to create something for this week's challenge, but I have to admit, I am not a fan of the digital stamps. (Try not to hold that against me) I printed out my image, pilfered through Miss A's school supplies looking for colored pencils, crayons, etc. Anything that would help me color my stamp in. I gave up and used my Zig markers. Not the result I was looking for. Here take a look for yourself:

On another note, today's birthday started off to a rather bad note. Then one of my best co-workers brought me a stuffed Oreo cupcake!! It's slowly getting better, but I think it's time to officially stop celebrating birthdays.

Hope you have a better day than I'm having,
Stay Crafty

13 More Followers Needed

I can't believe that I am only 13 followers away from 200!! This past weekend was a crazy one with the wedding and all. I'm hoping things slow down a little bit and I can get back into some crafty work. The rest of this week is going to be a bit crazy too. My birthday is on Wednesday and my boyfriend's mother's birthday is on Friday. (Guess that's why we get along so well!) I get a free dinner from my job, sheer luck actually. Trying to figure out what I want to buy myself for my birthday.

;o)

Stay Crafty

Friday Firsts

Good Morning Everyone,

Just checking in really quickly. Today is a super busy day and I just wanted to share some of the madness with you all. Firstly, today is my "baby" cousin's 20th birthday!! I can't believe how grown up he is. It seems like only yesterday when he was dressing up as his favorite power ranger and trying to keep up with his sister and I. :o)

Today is also Earth Day. There are many great projects going on across the blogiverse. What are you doing today to Reduce/Reuse/Recycle?

I had my first sell on Etsy!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited that makes me. The man-friend's BFFs wedding is tomorrow and I still haven't finished the scrapbook. :o(

My birthday is in 5 days!! The BIG 3-0. Man, it seems like only yesterday I was turning 21. LOL.

Anyway, have a great Friday and enjoy your Easter weekend.

Stay Crafty

Challenge #6 - Ribbons & Bows

Good Morning Everyone,

Today's is Wednesday and it's time for another weekly challenge over at Amber's Crafts and Stuff. This week, the challenge is to use ribbon and/or bows on your project. Here is my project for the week:

Details:

• The card base is from a pack of Martha Stewart cards that I got on clearance at Wal-Mart last year. It's a pastel green/blue color and measures 5 x 7.
• The yellow mat is cut at 4 7/8 x 6 7/8, then punched along the bottom edge
• The polka dot mat is from the DCWV mat stack called Mango Frost and measures 4 1/2 x 6 1/2
• I added the ribbon and bow about a week ago but couldn't figure out what type of card I wanted to make. I should have waited, because it needs to be moved over a bit. 
• The rattle is cut from New Arrivals Cricut cartridge @ 3 inches on all layers. I added Stickles to the cutouts on the top part.
• "New Addition" is actually cut from Graphically Speaking (this cartridge has such great word art on it) @ 3 3/4

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my project. To enter your own project, click here.

Stay Crafty

SALE - Custom Crops

Hey ladies,

Just dropping by really quick to let you know that Custom Crops is having a S-A-L-E. They have quite a few of the older cartridges on sale for $17.00. I've ordered through them a lot and have always been satisfied with the results. Click here to check out their sale. Click on their "Basket Full of Circut Sale" banner.

$1 Off Maxwell House coffee

Good Afternoon Bloggers,

Normally I wouldn't ask this of people, but an organization that I volunteer for regularly is trying to win a $50,000 grant for renovations. Maxwell House coffee is running a campaign called "Drops of Good" where a simple vote can help make a garden bloom, help rebuild a playground, or help 5 great organizations get a $50,000 grant towards renovations.

The Community Education Center is an invaluable asset to the Philadelphia area. Now I'm asking that you just take some time to follow the link and place a vote. I'd be delighted if you voted for the CEC, but honestly if your heart finds another organization, that's fine too. Everyone who votes will get a coupon for $1 off Maxwell House coffee. Here's the link. Thank you all again.

Stay Crafty and Inspiring to those around you.

Who's Ready for Some Chili

Every spring my office has a Chili Cookoff to raise money for the American Cancer Society. This year, I made a banner for the buffet area to add some festive flair. Here are a couple of pictures.

 

Stay Crafty

A Few of My Favorite Things

Good Morning Bloggers,

This week's challenge over at Amber's Crafts and Stuff is "Your Favorite Things". As I've mentioned before, my favorite color is green. I'm guessing you figured that out from the design of my blog. To me it represents nature and calmness. I'm a very earthy, natural person. My sun sign is also an earth sign.

My other favorite thing is green tea. I love, LOVE, love green tea. My favorite is made by Turkey Hill. Mmmmm.

While shopping at Michael's recently, I stumbled upon a DCWV stack called The Green Tea Stack. I had to buy it!! It just had me written all over it. I'm giving one away when I reach 200 followers, click here for details to enter the drawing.

Here's my project:






Details:
- Card is 4 by 5 inches
- The green polka dot paper is from the stack and is cut at 3 7/8 by 4 and 7/8.
- The blue mat is 3 7/8 by 3 and has been embossed using the Divine Swirls cuttlebug folder
- The yellow mat is 3 7/8 by 2 1/2 and both edges have been punched using my Fiskar's punch
- I cut the flower at 2 1/2 using my new April Showers cartridge

I will be entering this card into the FCCB weekly challenge. Thanks for stopping by.

Stay Crafty

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

200 Followers Giveaway

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Man time has been flying by and it seems as though I have been swamped with a million things to do. I had planned on doing a giveaway at 150 followers, but that number has come and gone. So I am going to do a giveaway at 200 followers. That's only 44 more to go!!

Here are the rules:
1) You must be a follower of my blog
2) You have to post this giveaway on your blog
3) Then come back here and leave a comment letting me know that you did

That's it. Easy Peesy. I will use random.org to select a winner. So do you wanna know what you'll get?? In a previous post I mentioned that my favorite color is green. So what better than to give away a stack that's all about another one of my favorite green things...green tea!! This stack is so stinking cute!! It has some pages with foil, others with a bit of glitter. Great stuff!! To see all the patterns available in this stack, click here.

Come back later in the week to see a project made using this stack.

Stay Crafty

What a day!!

Good Afternoon everyone,

No crafty post today (or at least right now). I'm sad to report that my beloved Honda Accord was stolen over the weekend (AGAIN - it was stolen 2 years ago). The good news is the police found it today. The bad news is the stupid person(s) who stole it were involved in an accident. I haven't looked at the vehicle yet, going over first thing in the morning, so I can't report on the damage. The tow yard says it isn't drivable, windshield is cracked and door is messed up. What would possess someone to take something that isn't theirs. Let alone something worth so much and is that important. Luckily we own another vehicle and a motorcycle, so the man-friend can still get to work and I can have a vehicle to pick up Miss A from the Boys and Girls club after work.

It's sad. The weather is nice for once and crime automatically goes up. I wouldn't say I live in a bad neighborhood. I live just on the cusp of one. What's even sadder, I lived in what you classify as a "rough" neighborhood before I bought my house and nothing ever happened to my car. Well the man-friend's truck was broken into and had the GPS stolen, but I blame that on him for leaving it out.

Anyway, just needed to vent. I promise to get around to checking out all the new followers and their blogs. I'm appreciative of all of your support and can't wait to see what projects you have on your blogs.

Stay Crafty

Keepsake Box

Happy Sunday,

My weekend has been rather crazy. Yesterday was a blur of eye doctor appointments, trip to Michael's, Barnes & Noble, coldstone, etc. When I finally got home, I sat down to work on this keepsake box.

It's been ages since I've done anything other than paper crafts. I picked up a wooden photo box and some flowers from M. The lady I'm making this for loves butterflies and I knew I had the perfect paper to decoupage to the top. I painted the inside white and the outside a deep purple. From start to finish, this project took 3 hours. Thankfully the paint I used dries rather quickly, so I was able to get the 5 coats of paint.

Here's the top:







I cut "mom" from Don Juan at 2 1/4 inches. I even got to pull out my hot glue gun!! Hope you like this project.

Stay crafty


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Cricut Cake Giveaway

Good Morning Bloggers,

Sweet Magnolia Rose is giving away a Cricut Cake Machine!! Head on over to her blog, become a follwer, and enter yourself to win. How easy is that?

I'll be back later today with another post and some crafty goodness. Taking the little one to eye doctor, this should be interesting.

Stay Crafty

300 Follower Giveaway

Another quick post. Diana over at D.L Art is giving away a Joann's gift card when she reaches 300 followers. Head on over to her blog and check it out. Become a follower and leave comment to be entered for a chance to win.

Link Up Party

Good Morning Bloggers,

Just a quick note today. K Andrew over at Getting Cricky is having a link up party. Hop on over and check out her blog, then leave your link. Don't forget to become a follower of hers if you aren't already. Then check out all the other bloggers who've linked up.

Stay Crafty

Amber's Crafts and Stuff Weekly Challenge #4

Good morning bloggers,

This week over at Amber's Crafts and Stuff, the challenge is to use a technique that is new to you. I decided to try and make a shutter fold card. Oh, in case you haven't caught on yet...my favorite colors are green and brown. :0)





Details:
I started with a 5.5 by 12 inch piece of paper. I scored the paper at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 inches. I then turned the paper 90 degrees and scored the paper at 1 and 3/8 inch. Then rotated 180 degrees and scored again at 1 and 3/8 inch. Here's a photo showing the score lines:






Now using either your paper trimmer or a craft knife, cut along the 1 3/8 inch line from the 2 inch score mark to the 10 inch score mark. Repeat on other 1 3/8 inch line.

Now the complicated part. Please look at this picture first.






With the top and bottom section, starting at the 2 inch mark, fold back. At the 4 inch mark, fold forward. At the 6 inch mark, fold back. At the 8 inch mark, fold forward. With the middle section, fold back at 4 inches and forward at 8 inches.

Next, select your pattern paper. With the "T" section, trace the section onto the paper and trim 1/16th from all edges. You will also need 4 pieces cut at 1 3/8 by 1 7/8, 2 pieces at 1 3/8 by 3 7/8, 1 piece at 2 3/8 by 3 3/8. Confused yet?

Dry fit all your pieces before adhering down. I cut the Kanji Tag, which means mother, from Pagoda at 3 1/4 inch. The shadow circle is cut from George. The filigrees are cut from Graphically Speaking at 1 1/4. The flowers are cut from Designer's Calendar at 1 inch.

I don't own a stamp that says "Happy mother's day" so I just hand wrote it. I plan on putting a poem on the back part before sending it to my mother. If you haven't tried this type of card, give it a whirl and come back and let me know so I can check it out!

Stay Crafty

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pinkalicious Birthday Cont

Just a quick check-in from the scrap cave. I just finished up the fairy princess wands  to go with the cupcake banner that I made. These were super simple to make, keep reading for the details.

Details:

• I used 20 inch lollipop sticks and wrapped them with curling ribbon (you know the ribbon you tie to ballons). I used my refined skills of re-gripping tennis rackets to wrap the ribbon around each stick.
• I cut the stars from George and Basic Shapes at 4 inches. 
• I cut strips of curling ribbon and taped them to the "inside" of one of the stars, then taped down the stick
• Using my ATG, I adhered the two stars together
• I then used my scissors to curl the ribbon.

Viola! Fairy princess wands. Hope you are having a super crafty Saturday too.

Stay Crafty

The Scrap Cave

Ok, so I decided I would give you a little tour of my scrap cave (aka: the basement). It's nothing much, nothing to gawk about. It's just my little corner of solitude, down in the cold basement next to my water heater and bicycles. LOL.

TADA

My Cricut Corner / Stash Tower

Utilizing Wall Space

This thing hold paper, stickers, pens, and all kinds of stuff

Did I mention I knit and crochet too?

Oh yeah, it's full and that's not even all of it 

When I started scrapbooking, oh so many years ago, all of my things fit into a bin about the size of the one above. I've come so far!! These photos were taken after I had organized a little bit. I'm hoping to upgrade my paper storage soon. The Cropper Hopper works well for now, but it's really hard when you want to go somewhere and need to take your paper. In the second picture, you'll notice a little container with a blue lid. That thing holds a LOT. I was able to put my tools, even my ATG, and carts/booklets in here when I went to the crop.

So next time I mention the cave, you now have a mental image to associate with it. It's not as fancy as some that I've seen. But it's all me!! How about you share your space with us too!

Stay crafty (even in a drafty, 70s throwback basement)