Total Craziness!

Right now I am the epitome of the expression, "Flying by the seat of your pants!"

My room at school is finished.  Today I am writing lesson plans for the first week.

Travel arrangements are still being made for next week's Runway LOUD event.

Packing has begun.

2 college visits with Kyle this week. 

Broken window in kitchen fixed.

Van taken in for low tire light. 

My life is total craziness right now. (In a good way)

So I am taking the next half an hour to enjoy a cup of coffee and write a blog post.

I feel like I've been a bit out of touch with you this week.

I created this card many moons ago when I was part of the Cricut Circle DT.

I used the Flower Shoppe cartridge, some dimensional foam squares for the basket and bit of white paint. 

A couple of week's ago my family went on a weekender to a resort in Wisconsin.  It was a much needed getaway.  We needed time away from life's stress and just reconnect with one another. 

Brian and Kyle took time to rent a wave runner and enjoy some "guy" time. 

Cortney and I watched from shore. :)

Have a great weekend my friends!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Friday, it's Valentine's Day, and it's a half day institute at school.  I am a happy camper. :)

My longest week in history has finally come to an end!

I have a Valentine's Day banner to share with you that was published in last year's February issue of Cricut Magazine.  The pennants were cut using the Pretty Pennants cartridge.  I went with a traditional color scheme of pink and red....with a few touches of book paper, cream, and blue. 

I added clear dangling gems at the bottom to dress it up a bit and give it some movement. 

In between each pennant I a tied black tulle, blue string, and pearls.  The ends were finished with a dimensional flower.  

The flower was cut using the Flower Shoppe cartridge and adding a store bought flower to the center. 

Here is my girl all decked out for Valentine's Day.  She was so excited yesterday to pass out her treats to the students.  And was even more excited to eat the treats she received! ;)

Have a wonderful weekend with your sweeties! 

Check back later this weekend when I will be offering a pretty great stash of stuff to one lucky person! 

Lucky...

Today is my husband's 45th birthday.  It is hard to believe we met at the Burger King Drive Thru when I was just 16 years old.  We dated through high school and college before finally tying the knot 20 years ago.  I am truly blessed to have this man in my life. 

I created this LO for the February issue of Cricut Magazine. I used several cartridges including, Kate's ABC's, Flower Shoppe, and Cricut Font and Basic Shapes. I did a bit of painting, and used rhinestones.  (Which has become a fairly new obsession of mine)

I love adding depth to my projects with the dimensional foam circles.  I was able to incorporate the ruffled ribbon and allowing enough room for it using these handy little buggers!

I have always enjoyed photography, ever since my kids were little.  But lately, I have been taking my camera off the auto mode and learning to use it in manual.  I have a lot to learn and all I can say is thank goodness for digital!  After 25 or so shots, I finally get one or two that I like! ;)

So here is my attempt once again at being a real "photographer!"

I pulled my son outside trying to find those catch lights photographers talk about all the time.  He is a pretty good sport with his crazy, camera toting mother!

And when all else fails, I torture my dogs.  They don't seem to mind too much the camera in their sweet furry faces. ;) 

Can you say "groomers?"  I like to say he is extraordinarily fluffy.  

And of course there is always Cortney.  She is always pretty easy going.  My challenge with her is to get those baby blues open and straight.  She has severe visual impairment, nystagmus, and a lazy eye.  Many photos get trashed because I am simply not happy with how her eyes look.  But every now and then, I get that "money shot!"  (Think prom photos!) ;)

Thanks for letting me share a bit!  I am off to run some errands and get ready for hubby's birthday weekend!

Have a great one my friends!

Happy Mother's Day Tutorial!

Good morning and Happy Mother's Day to all of you!  

I often get e-mails and comments asking about my layering technique.  I am definitely a lumpy, bumpy gal!  Nothing flat leaves my craft room! ;)

I created this Mother's Day box using the Heritage, Flower Shoppe cartridges, and a perfume bottle box.

Here is the box I had in my container of “alterable” items.  Do you have one of those?  I actually have 2 very large rubber maids full of stuff to alter.  It is ridiculous how many things I have hoarded! I look at packaging a whole new way! It sometimes pains me to throw items out…..but I can’t keep it all! ; )

Here are the papers I used as well as the cameo from the Heritage Cartridge and the flowers created from Flower Shoppe.

I adhered my paper and lace to the box using Modge Podge glue and a soft foam brush to get an even coat. 

I love the look of doilies peeking out….there is something about the delicate edges I adore. It doesn’t look so great at the moment with the glue still wet……

My glittered cameo needed to be backed with black to make it pop, and I wanted dimension, so I added dimensional foam circles.  I like my projects to have depth. :)

Here is the cameo backed in black and placed on the two doilies.

I have literally hundreds of ribbons in my stash and I seldom go without it on my projects.  I found this soft, blue, silk ribbon and thought it was perfect for my box.

I had decided I wanted my twine longer to help “frame” the cameo, so I tied a longer piece to the center.  I also added leaves that I inked and creased.  When doing projects like this, I do use my glue gun.  I get impatient otherwise!

Add a couple more leaves and the flower. 

I decided to add 3 little flowers to the left side to help balance the box visually.

  The sun is shining, I got to sleep in a bit.....and I am heading to brunch soon with my family, sister, and mom. So it's a perfect Mother's Day for me!

What are you up to today for your special day?

Another Easter Card.....

I hope you aren't totally burned out on Easter cards!  I think, maybe, this is my last card for the season! 

I used my Cricut and the Teresa Collins' Cartridge to create my egg shaped card.  I went a little ( a lot) nuts with the glitter.  

The flower was cut using the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  I added a couple of leaves there were inked and scrunched.

I nestled my bunny in some Melissa Frances paper fringe that was colored with lime green Glimmer Mist.

I am off and running today!  So I'm going to keep it short and sweet!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Paper Loft...

Good morning my crafty peeps!  I am so glad it is Friday!  We are celebrating our last installment of Kyle's 16th birthday.....with movie, dinner, and laser tag tomorrow night.  I think the "old" people are gonna whoop some teenage butt!  (Hopefully, I don't end up in traction!) ; )

I have a card today that uses papers from the fabulous Paper Loft Company.  The card base was cut using Spellbinder's dies, and the flower was cut using my Cricut. I added a bit of glitter to the edges of the flower.  

I have been buying twine in all sorts of colors and I just loved this bright green.  I decided to use it as my accent color to go with my leaves.  

Thank you too, for all of your kind words regarding Cort.  She did go to the GI doc and he did some blood work.  He is testing her for a few things that could affect her GI tract.  In the meantime, he changed her meds a bit, and now we have to wait and see what the effect will be.  

There were no tears last night, as she seemed to rest comfortably.  No tears is always a good sign. :)

Have a great weekend!

I will have some VERY exciting news next week!

Stay tuned! :D

XOXOX

Just Married and Other News....

Good morning to you my friends!  I have so much to share with you, but I will spread it out over the next couple of days, so as not to bore you! ;)  

But first, let's start with my card shall we?  

I created this wedding card using the Divine Wedding Cartridge by Creative Memories.  I dolled up my bride quite a bit with glitter, a lace doily for her skirt, a pearl for her hair, and little posies for her to hold.  Oh! And a bit of blush!  Every bride should blush on her wedding day! 

The large flower was cut using Flower Shoppe.  I added a few Prima flowers I had on hand to fill in around it.  I wanted it to resemble a wedding bouquet.  The stamp is from Papertrey Ink. 

As you know, Cortney had her big photo shoot on Saturday.  It was in Chicago on Michigan Ave.  From start to finish, it was like a dream.  The studio is only something I've seen in movies. A total "pinch me" kind of day.

Michael Canavan, the photographer, was so incredibly warm and down to earth.  He treated the kids with such kindness and respect.  Cortney's boyfriend, Jimmy, was selected too. : ) Michael decided he wanted to take a few pictures of the two of them.  They have such a cute relationship that I couldn't wait to see what he captured.  These blurry shots were just from my I-phone, but it makes me giggle when I see the two of them.  My daughter looks like she is being a bit bossy? ;)

There was a make-up artist there for touch ups, assistants to help us, and a talent agent named Markus was there too.  He runs a talent agency called, Real People.  He also took our kids' pictures to put in his data base.  He explained to us how it works and such. How cool would that be? My daughter possibly chosen for an ad or something?

I feel like this is just the beginning for these kids.  It is time they were really seen by the public.  They have so much to offer.  If everyone in the world were so kind to one another, what a peaceful world we would live in. 

So continue to cross your fingers and toes......

and a prayer or two.....

That these children will be made visible to the public.

Make a difference.

Change attitudes abut disabilities.

And be "seen" in a whole new light.

And thank you Michael Canavan for letting their light shine!

Thank you for taking this journey with me and allowing me share this piece of myself with you.

Using Distress Markers to Color Flowers

Halloween yesterday and almost a spring like card today. A bit crazy right? ; )I actually made this card awhile back and forgot to post it.  It uses watercolor paper and the Flower Shoppe cartridge from Cricut.  I cut an entire sheet of flowers in various sizes and then colored them lightly with my Tim Holtz Distress markers.  After I finished coloring it, I spritzed them with water and let the colors blend into each other.  You have to let the flowers completely dry before assembling them. 

I love the variations in color and the depth it gives the flowers.  I did the same thing with the leaves.  The sentiment is by My Craft Spot. The ribbon is from Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply store.  

I am hoping to share a bit more news with you later this week concerning Cortney.  More exciting steps on her new journey........

Have a great day my friends!