Mini Me!

Good morning to you! I have a LO today to share with you of my two guys. The picture was actually taken in 2008 when we were in Disney. When I was going through my photos it struck me how fast Kyle is growing up. Just two years later and he is about a foot taller, voice deeper (although still cracking.....think Peter Brady! LOL), teeth straighter (thank goodness for braces!), and more mature. (At least as mature as a 13 year old can possibly be!) I want to slow time down......it makes me sad sometimes to think that all of his baby and toddler years are gone. Just memories. It makes me realize that I need to enjoy him now.....before he becomes a man and builds his own life. So Saturday he asked if we could decorate the house with my Cricut machine and vinyl......I stopped what I was doing and we did. "Bonding time" as Kyle likes to call it!

He truly is a miniature Brian. In so many ways. Even Brian sees that Kyle is a younger version of him. I married my husband almost 18 years ago because he has a positive outlook on life, he is extremely loyal, has such an incredible work ethic, has a soft heart, and he keeps me laughing......even after 18 years! Kyle is developing these traits. He works hard in school, has a huge heart, is extremely loyal, and has a quirky sense of humor! I adore these guys....in every way!
I used Noel Mignon's Office Party kit! (Sold out!) I also used my Cricut Machine and the Cindy Loo cartridge to cut the title and the tree.

Be sure to check out Noel's newest kit, Dear Diary. Pre-orders are being taken right now for Message Board Members! You can order HERE!

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Thank you for your kind words about my girl yesterday! It is the little things in life that make it sweet. : ) Have a great day!!!

Crafty Secrets DT Sewing Challenge!

Good morning! Today the Crafty Secret's DT has a challenge for you! Use sewing or sewing inspired images on your project! I chose this cute little gal from the, Thinking of You set. I colored her with my Copics and paper pieced the table. The papers are by Cosmo Cricket and Papertrey Ink. I used Spellbinder's Labels 16 and Classic Scalloped Squares, to cut the image and matte behind it. I like to hand stitch my cards a lot. Maybe because I don't have as much control with a sewing machine. (I think I am sewing machine challenged!) So hand stitching gives me more control and accuracy. I use several piercing templates to pierce where I want to stitch and then use a running stitch. It takes a bit of time, but it is so worth it! The stitches come out so even and straight!
I colored the cat twice and cut out the second image. He was placed on pop dots for extra dimension.

Sometimes it is these little touches that make a card really special..........

And here is what I use for sewing circular images or straight edges. Bazzill makes a whole line of stitching templates. HERE are the many that are available!

Want more inspiration? Be sure to visit the other DT members' blogs! Their projects are amazing!!!

Vicki Chrisman Team Leader

Pam Hooten

Heidi Blankenship

Linda Duke

Michele Kovack <----------------- Me! : )

Melissa Phillips

Flo Teixeira from France

Julie Campbell

Mary Hamer

Guest Designer Sheila Rumney

Heartwarming Vintage Blog

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Proud MAMA alert!!!! I know this will seem trite and insignificant to most......but if you know how hard my girl has to work at everything.....then you will understand my joy. I walked into Cort's room yesterday (She was on her tummy on the floor playing), and lo and behold she had taken her baby doll and stripped off all of her clothing. She has NEVER tried to change her dolly's clothes before. When I came in and told her how proud I was of her, she said in her cute little sing songy voice, "Pick out clothes for Gloria!" I could have just cried right there! So we did......we went through her dolly's wardrobe closet and picked out a cute Halloween dress for her. Cort helped dress her. She dragged that doll everywhere with her the rest of the night.

*sigh* my heart just doubled in size...............

JustRite's Friday Challenge & Flower Soft!

Good morning! Happy Friday to you!! I have a card to share with you today using JustRite's new cling stamps!! Yep! Just another fabulous alternative to the JustRite family! Also, Flower Soft is our sponsor for this week's Friday challenge! I love working with their product because it gives such wonderful dimension to projects!

My card was created using the new Hangin' Around cling stamp set. He was stamped with black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers. I stamped the pumpkins a second time, colored them, added Crystal Effects to them, and placed them on foam squares. I cut out the image with an oval Spellbinder's die. I also cut out a scalloped oval using a Spellbinder's die as well. I pierced around the oval. I cut 3 panels and hand stitched each one. I then added brads to the corners. I added ultra fine sage green Flower Soft to the image. The sentiment was done using JustRite's 50pt Myriad Pro font. I added twine to finish it off!
Love, love, love, the Flower Soft's added dimension!!!

Do you want to see more Autumn inspiration and Flower Soft projects? Be sure to head on over to the JustRite Blog to see what the other designers have whipped up! I hope you can join us for this week's challenge!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!!! No major plans here! Just exciting laundry and housework.........yes, I lead a Hollywood life don't I? ; )

Make a Splash!

OK, I realize it is fall......and I am about to show you a summery card......but blame it on my forgetfulness! I created this card a bit ago and never posted it! (gasp!) It uses Bathing Beauties by Crafty Secrets! This gal reminds me a bit of the Titanic movie. See? Even Leonardo DiCaprio is behind her! LOL! I know, I know......I am a complete dork!

I used the Labels 4 die from Spellbinders to create a shadowbox effect. I did a bit of airbrushing with my Copics and added my own coffee stained seam binding. The water was also Crystal Lacquered and sprinkled with glitter. (No card of mine is safe from glitter......ever. )

As always thanks for stopping by my blog.....I so enjoy your visits!!!

JustRite's 12 Week of Christmas Blog Hop #6!

Welcome to JustRite Stampers’ newest Wednesday feature, 12 Weeks of Christmas Blog Hop #6! Every Wednesday up until Thanksgiving some of your favorite designers will be joining some of the JustRite design team for a series of Christmas blog hops, showcasing JustRite’s entire Christmas Collection of stamps! This week, it’s most of the Copic design team and Certification instructors! So mark your calendars for Wednesdays at 9am Central for great Christmas gift, card & project ideas, starting at the JustRite Inspiration blog!

My card uses the Whimsical Christmas set by JustRite! I just adore this cute lil' penguin! I stamped him in Memento black ink and colored him with Copic colors, C1, C7, C8, Y32, Y19, B0000, BG01, BG72. I used various Spellbinder's dies in Circles and Scalloped circles. The shaker is by Impression Obsession. To create a fuzzy set of mittens and earmuffs, I used Flower Soft in Polar White. I added more to create snow for my shaker. Paper is by Papertrey Ink and We R Memory Keepers . I used a silver ribbon from Michaels and a snowflake brad from my stash to finish it off.

For more amazing projects to inspire you, be sure to check out the rest of the designers!!!
JustRite Inspiration Blog


Sharon Harnist


Debbie Olson


Kellie Fortin


Becca Feeken


Marianne Walker


Kathy Jones


Barb Schram


Lori Craig


Stephanie Kraft


Jenn Balcer


Angela Barkhouse


Sherrie Siemens


Sankari Wegman


Colleen Schaan


Regina Mangum


Jennie Black


Kazan Clark


Sally Lynn MacDonald


Michele Kovack < ----------- ME! : )
Have a great day everyone!!!!

New Challenge over at Noel Mignon!

Good morning! Hope you had a great weekend! After my weekend in Utah it was nice to have Monday off to catch up. My hubby and I had the opportunity go couch shopping and have a nice lunch out.......just the two of us. Cort had school and Kyle spent the day "shadowing" at a high school he is interested in. (Hard to believe he is in 8th grade!)



This week Noel is hosting a brand new challenge called, "Time Capsule." Since we just passed 10/10/10, she thought it would be kind of cool to scrap about life in 2010. Kind of a way to record the happenings of today. So I decided to make little pockets for 8 different categories of topics. Just pull them out and all the info is there! The title was cut using the Cricut Storybook cartridge and the banner was cut using the All Occasions Cake Art cartridge. I used the Lemonade Stand kit. (sold out)

.....oh, and did I mention I used LOTS of glitter? ; )

I used a Spellbinder's die for the butterfly and some remnants from the kit.

I aged the round metal tag with coffee........I am addicted to using coffee to age things!

I hope you can find the time to participate in this week's challenge!! I would love to see your version of a "Time Capsule!"

Noel is posting sneaks of her November kit......check it out HERE!!!

Have a great day! Off to work I go!

Back from Utah!!

Hi there! Happy Sunday to you all!!! I am back from Utah and the Provo Craft Cricut Circle Swarm!!! I had such a great time! I got to meet all kinds of wonderful ladies and mingle and chat! I am pooped, but wanted to share a few pics of my weekend.

Here is part of the Cricut Circle Blog DT......Cindy, Jana, and Shantaie. They were hard at work blogging for the Circle Blog!
Here is our fearless leader of the Circle Magazine.....Amy! I adored how she rocked out her Circle T-shirt and totally mummified it!!!

And here is Amy and the Imaginisce gals getting a bit slap happy at the end of the day!

Here is a more mature pose..... ; )

Here we are posing with Woody and Buzz.......

Jana, Shannon, Me, Cindy, and Shantaie. (Oh and did I mention that I am the total goof with a big ole spider on my head?)

Da, Da, Da, Daaaaaaaaaaa.....Superman! Shantaie and I posing with this handsome fella!

I've never laughed so much in all my life......these girls just crack me up!

Oh! And did I mention that Theresa Collins paid us a visit? She was delivering some goodies for a fabulous giveaway!!

Farewell Circle gals! Hope everyone had a blast! I know I did!

Whew! If you would like to see more pics and video of the Swarm be sure to visit the Cricut Circle Blog! (Only open to the general public one more day!)