Gobble Gobble!

Yeah, it's a little early to be thinking about Thanksgiving. But the mail around here is shady. It's been taking 2 weeks to get a card to Arkansas, where all of my family lives. I used the turkey from the Create a Critter cart. I love the colors of the different layers. And I stacked a few layers of the "feathers" to give it a 3D look. And I didnt glue the turkey's head down so it can come off the card.

Pen Pals

A friend of mine asked for addresses on Facebook because she wanted to start being an avid letter writer. I sent her my address and joked that we needed to be pen pals. So I wanted to send the first card. I made this pup from the Create A Critter card. The dogs are my favorite, there is a second one, a terrier, that I made before. This dog is pictured with a fireman's helmet on. It would be perfect for a young boy. But the regular puppy is just so adorable. I hope it makes my friend smile.



And the "So Dear" card is my attempt at a "congratulations" baby card. I have wanted to use this deer for a while, but I just didnt have a good reason for it. But a good friend recently gave me one! Oh, I hope she doesnt check the blog before she gets it in the mail. :o) It's also from the Create a Critter card.

A card of thanks

My family has been supporting the troops since before I ever married my husband, who, if you didn't know, is a Soldier in the U.S. Army. We have sent care packages to numerous Soldiers and Marines since 2006. And it's like pulling teeth to get them to tell you something they need. It's understandable, they are very far away, supposed to be strong brave men, and we are just strangers writing them letters. But one of these guys broke down and told me he needed a new toothbrush. Well, this just got my family in an uproar! These guys are over there for a whole year and they have to ask a stranger for a toothbrush?? Not to mention, my grandmother was a dental assistant and now works as the receptionist for our dentist back home. Dental health has always been a big deal in my family. So since that one Soldier asked for a toothbrush, all of the care packages my mother has sent have included at least 2 toothbrushes, so they can share.

A good friend deployed to Afghanistan about a month ago. Their living conditions are some of the worst I have ever heard of; very similar to the stories I heard about Iraq in 2003. I have heard that many of the guys (if not most) are physically ill with the food and water they have available. So I asked my mother to once again rally the troops (i.e. my family) and get some care packages off to this guy, and no worries, he'll share, he's a great guy. So she called my grandmother for some tooth brushes. Her theory is that if they are getting sick, they NEED to change their toothbrush fairly often. Our awesome dentist gave my mom whole boxes of toothbrushes, small variety tooth pastes (which one deployed Soldier told me he liked because it was just another variation for his very "Groundhog's Day" deployment), and floss! And of course, all of the old "dude" magazines from their waiting room. I just couldn't believe it. So the nerd I am, I immediately thought about making him a card! (Sadly, this is not the first card I have mailed to my dentist, but that is a different story. And quite frankly, my dentist rocks!!)

So here is the card I mailed to him and his staff:

They're dog tags!! Aren't they awesome?!?! I love the Stand & Salute cart for just this reason. They have so many images, but then each image can be made into a note card, dog tag, or border.

A theme?

Sorry I've been kinda absent. In an odd turn of events, I found out I had a gallbladder full of gall stones and was admitted to the hospital for semi-emergency surgery two weeks ago. While recovering, I couldnt bend over to craft. My cricut is on the floor in our living room and it was hard to operate when I could barely bend over and sitting on the floor was a chore. But I found out that my cousin was admitted to the hospital for a very serious condition only days after I was discharged. So I sucked it up and sat in my floor to make her a handmade card. She is still in the hospital, but seems to be doing better. Her aunt even contacted me to let me know she got the card and absolutely loved it. That was the first time in my adult life I had ever been in the hospital, and I knew that even a little color would help brighten up the room.

This is from the Create a Critter cart. The card is made at 5 1/4 inches, as are all my cards. I love this cart. The layers make the animal so detailed.

Check out this awesome giveaway!

Patty over at ScrapbookPatty is offering an AWESOME giveaway!! You should go check it out! Watch her video too!!

Create a Critter

I finally found a moment to play with my new cart! I really like the way these little animals are coming out. They are super cute and have lots of layers to give them so much character.

My mother has always told me I am a very literal person. I like to color inside the lines. It's just who I am. So with this new creative kick, I have been trying to think outside the box with my cards. The dog is my best attempt today. What do you mean the images go off the card?? Yeah, after my initial forehead wrinkle, I decided I liked it that way. And it's so not me!! The cow belongs to my mother. She has real cows. They aren't spotted milk cows though. But I thought she would think it was cute. There is a farm themed cart coming out in August, called Country Life, or something similar. I want it!! It has realistic looking cows. And farm implements. And people with rakes.



This card is mine!! He looks just like Rigel!!

This is the first non-card I have made. But isnt it just adorable?!?! My husband and I are both really into fish. We would have a big aquarium if we didnt move around every two years.

Critters?

I got the Create a Critter cart in the mail today!! It's been a looooooong day so I will play with it tomorrow. I have to make a cow for my momma! :) It looks very detailed with the different layers and accessories. Pics to come!

Leaves of Green

I made one tree card yesterday and wanted to send it to more than one person. Luckily I have a way to fix that.

The birds denote the number of people in their families.

Serenade

I got the Serenade cart the day my family arrived last week so I didn't have time to play around with it. Today was play day!!

Rigel decided to be in most of the pictures. He's a ham for the camera and cant stand not being the center of attention!

So all of the images were made using the Serenade cart. All of the cards were made with the Stretch Your Imagination cart. The square cards are 5 1/4 inches. The rectangle is 5 1/2.

The tree is too freaking cute. It's awesome in person. The leaves and branches are so intricate and delicate. It goes to my mom.

This bird house card has a white insert inside with more red and pink birds on the left side. It's my new favorite card. I think it's going to my mom too.

Cricut Cartridge Sale

I have yet to buy a Cricut cart at full price. This sale is happening over at cricutmachine.com. Not too shabby, if you ask me. The one I got today was originally $69. So more than half off, yay!!

My mother in law was here visiting this week. I showed her my new toy. She wants one now! She is a fellow scrapbooker AND a 4th grade teacher! She could have so much fun with a Cricut!!

Ode to my Anniversary

Our 3rd wedding anniversary is TODAY!!! Our wedding colors were celadon and tangerine. I couldn't match the colors exactly, but these will do. Our flower was the Gerber daisy, primarily in orange. I don't have a Gerber image, but I had this lovely daisy. So I just cut it twice and layered it.

I dont know if I have told y'all yet, but all of my cards are cut at 5 1/4 inches so they will fit in a 5 1/2 inch envelope.
Made with the Walk in my Garden cart.

Made with the Stretch your Imagination cart.

KricutKrazy Blog Candy Giveaway!!

Have you heard about KricutKrazy's Blog Giveaway? Click HERE to get the link to her blog. You just have to do a few very simple things to enter. Dont forget to email her!!

Stretch your Imagination... with new papers

I ordered a few packs of 6x12 inch paper from cricutmachine.com. Many were solids, but two packs were designs. I really like that present card. The paper just puts it over the top.

This card was especially made for a friend in Arkansas who has a birthday in August.

I love balloons, did you know that? When I would throw myself birthday parties in college (yeah, I was lame), I would blow up a whole package of balloons and just have them on my dorm or apartment floor for days. Cant do that anymore with the pup, don't want him to choke.

Turtle!!

The snowflake is for a friend. But I read on someone else's blog that they make holiday cards in the summer to beat the holiday rush. So I'm going to use that as an excuse to make Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas cards in July. :) It makes sense though. Think about how many Christmas cards you will need to send off all at once.

But I must point out that the snowflake on the Stretch your Imagination cart has 7 sides. Really folks?? This bothers me to no end. I will need to find a 6 pointed snowflake very soon.

I know I got 2 new followers yesterday. If anyone has any helpful hints or tips, please feel free to point them out to me! I've had the Cricut for only a few weeks. I'm still mostly just playing around and learning about the machine. But any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

cardmakerkitclub.com

I just signed up for a Carkmaker Kit-of-the-Month club! You can click on that to check it out. I am so excited about how cool this could turn out to be. Takes me back to my Babysitter Book Club of the month and Stickopotomus club (anyone remember that one??). I absolutely love mail. And pathetically, I will even by $15.95 a month so that I get something fun and happy beside all of those bills. Although, the 1st month is half off. And you get some pretty cool "free gifts". I would pay $7.95 for the stamp I'll be getting. I'll let y'all know if it's something I will be continuting when I get the first one. Says I can cancel any time.

I hope it's as cool as they make it seem online.

Red, White, & Blue

Happy Independence Day!!

I got the "Stand & Salute " Cricut card in the mail yesterday, just in time for the 4th of July!!

That star is 3D, it pops up off of the card front.

The dog tags were inspired by Lucy (yes, the same "Lucy" from Welcome to the Blog of an Army wife). She wanted dog tag shapes. But she got her Quickutz Silhouette before I got the Stand & Salute cart so she got her dog tag images. :) Now she just needs to start a blog so I can see what she's making!! I think the thing I like best about the Stand & Salute cart is that I can make a dog tag with ANY image or saying that's included on the cart. More dog tags to come. I wish I could write names in them. But I can make a solid one and use the Don Juan cart to make letters.

FREEDOM!! And a firework. I like the glitter paper I got, although it is a bit thicker and has a hard time staying on the mat, since it isnt as sticky as it used to be. But I have ordered new mats.

My Hero!! I was given a bunch of handmade cards from a friend a few weeks ago, before I got my Cricut, they included 2 of these My Hero cards. Hers are much nicer than mine, and have plastic stars on the star images. But I was so excited when I saw this image on the cart! I know so many women I can give these to so they too can celebrate their husband's dedication!

I love the plain star. I tried to put other stuff on it to "fancy" it up, but I just couldnt. Red star, that's it. And I had to try out the 4th of July image!

Bugs & Flowers

All of these cards were made with the "Walk in my Garden" cartridge.

I love to put a little surprise in the card too. Most of my cards have something inside of them. The bee is especially cute. There are two different bee images.