Cricut Magazine!

Did you know that the people who bring you Scrapbook Trends magazine, Cards magazine, etc. is releasing a new magazine just for the Cricut? I've been getting newsletters about it for a few months. Well, I just got a newsletter letting me know that you can get this magazine online as a digital issue!! Check it out here. You can buy individual issues or get an online subscription. I've gone ahead and bought an issue and am looking forward to being even more inspired with ways to use the machine.

I'm not affiliated with the company in any way, just passing along the info in case anyone would be interested.

I'm off to check out the magazine...

How About Some Cards?

I've managed to sneak into my craft space the past few days and created some cards for your viewing pleasure (at least I'm hoping they'll please you...lol). I like them pretty well myself. The inspiration for the cards comes from various blogs, but not necessarily any specific one. I also made pretty good use of my Cricut. Yes, the love affair continues and I'm going to embrace having my baby bug and the joy that it has been bringing me.

The first three cards use snowflakes from the Winter Lace Seasonal cartridge. Did you know, the more snowflakes you have to choose from means it's that much harder to actually select one???

 I like the simplicity of this card and, until I looked at the photo, liked the black ink. Shoot, now I think it should have been dark brown. May have to do some corrective card surgery on this one! That's kraft cardstock and the brad...got that at Michaels...in the bridal section...before these types of brads were all the rage. LOL

Love, love, LOVE how this one turned out. Baby Pink cardstock (CTMH) and a bit of Cotton Bloom, a brand spanking new DCWV cardstock stack available at Michaels exclusively. Gotta love those 50% off coupons during the holidays! Oh the colors in this stack are so pretty!

Okay, this card was cased from one I saw in this post at iStamp waaaay back in November. Here's the direct link to the creator's beautiful card. The super pretty snowflake on top of the glittered one is from Hobby Lobby. I've only had it in my stash since last year. It's a Spare Parts brand (and I do believe they are on sale 50% off this week)...There are four in the package, 2 like this and 2 that are more white. The glitter is some cheapo stuff from....wait for it....Hobby Lobby! hee, hee I used the Cuttlebug and Desert Sand cardstock and ink. The sentiment is from a Hero Arts set Frames and Messages, I think.

And this final one....ohhhhh, makes me smile...I wonder why?

Here you can see some more of the colors from that new DCWV Cotton Bloom. Gosh, aren't they pretty? I searched my cartridges for a pretty butterfly and found this little gem on Home Accents. It's a layered cut. I like how the white pops against the blue. The edge punch is from Martha Stewart. The sentiment is stamped in Twilight ink and is a CTMH set called Birthday Script.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

As the year winds to a close, I hope you are looking forward to a creative 2011.

And Then There Were Two...

Hamsters, that is...

The front cage is Pam's and the back house is for Jessica's new friend, Mallory.

Steve bought this hamster house from a co-worker.

The initial idea was to give it to Amy for Christmas as a new home for Pam.

The pictures we saw of it made the rooms look a bit larger than they actually are.

When Steve brought it home, I knew immediately Pam would become claustrophobic. Can't have that!

Soooooo, we decided to give it to Jessica on Christmas

and yesterday they went out and picked up 

a dwarf Russian hamster that Jessica named Mallory...

She is pretty darn small, but pretty darn cute, too.

For most of yesterday, she stayed on the middle level (where the food and water is). She would start to go down the tube, then backtracked because she just wasn't sure.

Apparently overnight she figured out the tube because she was on the bottom level this morning.

And this afternoon Jessica tried holding her. Very sweet and thankfully she didn't bite.

This capped off a very nice Christmas for the girls

Pictures Amy drew for Santa, along with the baggie she used for carrots for the reindeer. Too cute

Obligatory shot in front of the tree (decorated by the girls). We had gone to a party on Christmas Eve and when we got home the girls were more interested in going to bed to get to sleep than in opening one gift (jammies). Who was I to argue? LOL So Jess is wearing jammies from a couple of years ago which are obviously too small, but she loves them.

And this is something I pulled together after seeing this idea at my friend Becky's house. She'd received the decorated rootbeer bottles from a friend.

On the way home from Becky's, the girls and I slipped into Walmart to buy the rootbeer and I put this together for the hosts of the party we went to. They were a hit. *Ü*

Christmas for the girls was fabulous.

I, on the other hand caught a pretty bad cold, so I wasn't quite myself. It's much better now, thank goodness.

While I won't deny that not getting the Expression I was so hoping for was pretty disappointing, it was kind of nice watching the Broncos finally win a game on the 32 inch flat screen I did receive.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope your holiday was fabulous!

Lily, The Christmas Elf...

Hello again! 

My second post for today...I'm on a roll. LOL

You may remember the ornaments I made last week to give to our friends who are moving soon.

If you clicked over to the Lily Sugar 'n Cream site, you might have seen the other pattern that arrived in my inbox. And if you saw it, you might have wondered if I was going to make it. Well, wonder no more, for I did indeed make Lily, The Christmas Elf. 

Enjoy...

I followed the pattern throughout the project, except for the hair. I added the bangs, using the same technique as for the hair. I think it looks a tad more "natural" (as if yarn hair can ever look natural). And I didn't even attempt to put the hair up into ponytails. Not that it was suggested, I just remembered the futzing I did for Lily Witch around Halloween.

I love the addition of the jingle bells. hee, hee.

There are a lot of fun details on this project, I think.

She's ready to join her spool elf friends, I think.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Only 3 more sleeps until Christmas. Wheeee...

Deck The Rails With Crocheted Balls and Snowflakes...

Fa la la la...la la la la!

Sorry, just couldn't resist!

Guess who is pretty much d o n e and ready for Christmas?

That would be me.

Yay!

Well, except for the baking (which we'll do today or tomorrow depending)

and the gift card I have to buy because someone (not me) forgot to make a phone call to check on any gift ideas until I asked (again) last night.

I'm usually a last minute Lucy when it comes to wrapping gifts. I have visions of dolled up fancy wrapped gifts, but the reality is, the people in my house don't care about that, so they remain just visions in my head. I bit the bullet the other night and wrapped up a storm. 

I had to wait until my bedtime to even start because Jessica, who has only lost two teeth so far, has one loose tooth right now and it had been bugging her all day. She consistently refused ibuprofen the entire day (she kept saying it hurt) until well after she went to bed, when she came out and said she couldn't sleep because it hurt. THEN she said okay to ibuprofen. I tried sending her to bed then, but she wanted to "watch a show" with Daddy (kid's show-her delay tactic). After that, I had to wait to be sure she was really asleep, you know? I almost nixed even trying to wrap, but decided to throw caution to the wind and get ready a little bit early. LOL Got those done. I had a few more gifts tucked here and there that I didn't get to. So yesterday, while the girls were playing with a neighbor friend at his house, I took a chance that they wouldn't come home for awhile and finished the rest off. What a relief!

So, with gifts and Christmas cards sent off, presents wrapped and most everything done, I had some time to finish off a project I've been working on in fits and spurts for a couple of weeks now.

I totally copied it.

From a garland I saw at Joann's.

The garland was $20 full price.

I could have gotten it for half off.

But even $10 seemed too much to pay for something I could make myself.

So, I took a few notes and studied it real well and

came up with this.

And now I know why it was $20 in the store.

It was a lot of work and tweaking to get it finished.

The crochet part was easy.

The put together part took more time and patience than I anticipated.

But, I like it.

It's too short to put on the tree (guess I should have made it longer) and too heavy to put on the mantel, too light in color to hang on a curtain. So, the porch it is. I like how it nestles in the garland.

Let Christmas come...I'm pretty much ready!

Hope you are too, or are enjoying the getting ready for it part.

This Elf Keeps Hoppin'...

We made it to the last day of school and now are off for 2 weeks and a day. The teachers have a work day on Monday, so the kids don't go back until Tuesday. One thing that will be really nice is not having to get out of the house early in the morning...unless we want to, that is. *Ü*

The choir performance went off without a hitch the other night. Yay! The snow that had been predicted moved farther south, so the skies were clear, but it was cold! I didn't know this, but the kids performed by Santa's house. Santa and an elf came out to listen to the choir perform. How very sweet. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't like night shots, even on the appropriate setting, so all the pictures I took are very, very blurry. Oh well. The kids did a fantastic job and it was wonderful listening to them.

I was very excited yesterday when I took a shot and went by the post office to hopefully get the packages I needed in the mail. I must have hit it at the exact right time, as there were only a few people ahead of me and they added a 3rd clerk. Took me maybe ten minutes max. The line was out the door as I walked out. whew! Getting packages out is always a huge weight off my shoulders. Of course, the Christmas cards aren't out yet, but they will be soon, I hope!

I thought I'd share a few more little gifts I've made this season. Enjoy!

My friend Susi told a month or so ago that she was on the look-out for a chain to hold her glasses. She also asked if I'd keep my eyes opened while I was thrifting. I thought it might be a smidge nicer to make one for her. {wink, wink} Those colors are so Susi colors! 

It's a quick and easy project. Well, quick and easy if you don't drop the strand after you've strung it and before you finish it off. Sigh...don't ask me how I know that. LOL

Another beaded necklace. I really like making these. The beads are fun and you can pick colors to suit the personality of the person you are making it for.

Again, a quick and easy project, in theory! I must have gotten a renegade spool of wire in this gold stuff. It kept tangling up on me and getting kinks. So, what should not have taken very long took about three times longer because I was fighting those issues. It might be wasteful, but I threw the remainder of that spool away because I was so frustrated with it by the time I got done. LOL

But, I'm glad I stuck with it, because I love how it turned out.

I hope you have a wonderful start to your weekend. Don't stress and enjoy the season!

Hugs!

Been A Busy Elf...

Lest you think I dropped off the face of the planet after that string of posting last week to almost none this week, I thought I'd pop in and say a quick hello. I also thought I'd share part of the reason I've been so quiet.

Our swim buddy friends, Heidi, Ray (well, I don't know him as well), Annabelle and Ryan are moving to Oregon right after Christmas. Sniff, sniff. (I'll be good Heidi) While I'm completely excited for them and this new opportunity, selfishly, I wish they'd stay in Colorado for they are a wonderful family and so much fun to spend time with. Since life moves forward, whether you want it to or not, we had a fun playdate yesterday to spend some final time together. I think I talked Heidi's ear off. She's such a good listener. *Ü* You know this means I had to get a little gift together, right? Wanna see? I couldn't post this any earlier because Heidi would look, even if I told her not to. LOL

The patterns for these adorable ornaments arrived in my inbox a few days ago and I couldn't resist making them up for Annabelle and Ryan. The pattern is from the Lily website. They are kind of big for ornaments, I think, but Heidi told me since they are moving right after Christmas the house isn't being decorated, so these will add a little festive atmosphere. Yay!

And for Heidi

I crocheted her a bead necklace. Those colors reminded me of Heidi and I had a wonderful time crocheting and remembering all the fun times we've had together.

I have a mile long list of things left to do, so I'd best get to them. I hope to post again soon.

Wish Amy luck this evening as her choir has a performance scheduled outside in a local shopping center. Last night would have been ideal weather for the event. Today, there is a storm slated to move in and bring the white stuff. We're hoping it holds off until much later this evening. 

Until next time, thanks so much for stopping by!

I do so appreciate your visits and wonderful encouraging comments.

*Ü*

Winter Scene Using Jolly Holidays

Weeee, I'm having so much crafting these days. I just love this time of year when I am feeling really inspired. The project I'm sharing today is what came to my mind when I saw a Cricut Lite cartridge called Jolly Holidays at Walmart on Black Friday. The cartridge was on sale and that was my only reason for stepping foot into that store on Black Friday. Hee, hee. Actually, I lucked out as I went in later in the day and there was no line! Anyway, one of the cuts is the snowman on ice-skates. That little guy got my mind to whirling and what I'm sharing today is the result. I'm thrilled to pieces with the final project. Hope you like it, too. All the cuts you see are from this one cartridge. I think I got my money's worth, and there are lots more fun cuts I would love to try!

*Ü*

I found the great frame at the thrift store for $1. {score}Of course, there was no back and no glass, but that should be easily remedied.

I love the houses and the lamp posts.

The houses are cut at 3 inches and the lamp posts are cut at 2 inches. 

That little guy on the left is what started it all! Both are cut at 3 inches.The little girl's outfit just makes me smile.  The frozen pond has a layer of vellum over the blue cardstock. I ran the vellum through my xyron so I wouldn't have issues with adhesive showing.

This little guy just had to have a hill to ride his sled. Wheeeeeee....

Amy told me he was gonna slide right into the skaters, but I think they'll be safe.

This one is cut at 2 inches

There are a few different tree cuts, but I thought this one would work best. At the last minute I added the stickles to the branches and really like how it looks.

Most of the papers I used are from DCWV, with the exception of the blue. Those are from Martha Stewart. I used felt for the snow.

Thanks so very much for stopping by! 

I hope you have a great start to your weekend.

Amy's final game of this session is tomorrow. 

Hopefully, they'll end with a win.

*Ü*

SnowFamily {giggle}

The project I am sharing today was mostly completed yesterday, and is partially the reason I was so bummed to have run out of crafting time.

Isn't it adorable?! I like surprising the girls with the crafts I work on and this is one of those projects.

Jessica walked by as I was taking this picture and saw it. She was so cute in her enthusiasm for this. Ahhhh, feels good when that happens.

Anyway, this is another project I've been itching to work on since before Thanksgiving. I saw the idea on a blog (but I can't remember which one) that led me to the tutorial on Childmade. You should check out the tutorials on this site. SO many ideas, so little time! LOL

I didn't have any white gloves, so Dollar Tree to the rescue. That's where the frame comes from as well. I got a fleece scarf there too, because we don't own any patterned fleece. You could easily use stuff from around the house, but I got it in my head I wanted a fleece scarf. Oh and the fabric on the daddy is from some I picked up at the thrift store. The pattern paper is  DCWV winter stack. I had as much fun creating this as I did the elves yesterday. Although getting the finished piece into the frame just right took a few tries. LOL

I got a later start on creating today than I wanted, so I had to stop mid-project again today. Ah well. I was having a blast listening to Christmas music and getting more into the spirit of the season. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks so much for your enthusiasm for what I create, it makes is even more fun for me.

Got To Create Today...Finally!

It's been two weeks since I've been able to wander into my craft space and I'm excited to be able to share these projects with you today.

Well, what do you know? Another Christmas Tree! LOL I actually finished crocheting this a couple of weeks ago and it's been sitting on my end table waiting for me to find something to decorate it. The pattern for this neat tree is from Amy Gaines and you can find it here. I enjoyed crocheting the tree, I just wasn't thrilled about putting felt circles on it. I found these miniature lights on sale at Joann's as well as the star. The star had a wire attached in a spiral so you could use it as a tree topper. The wire spiral didn't look right, so I pulled it out and just hot glued the star to the top of the tree. The tree skirt is attached, so it's all one piece. I really like those tiny lights. *Ü*

These little elves are sure making me smile and giggle. I'm so happy at how they turned out!

The idea for these isn't mine. I saw it in the 2010 Gooseberry Patch Christmas book several weeks ago. I saw the book at Joann's and was thumbing through it trying to decide if it needed to jump in my basket. Overall, I didn't think so as I've picked up two older versions of Gooseberry Patch holiday books at the thrift store,  but when I saw these guys, I made sure to soak in all the details for recreating later. I've been itching to work on them since before Thanksgiving!

In case it's not obvious in the photo, I used wooden thread spools found at Joann's. I picked up some large wooden balls at Michaels (on a different shopping trip) and the rest of the items I had. That's scrapbook paper around the body and a heart punch for feet. I used DMC floss for the hair and green felt, red fleece and green burlap for the hats. They are completely finagled. I just cut a square, heated up the glue gun and winged it to get the square cut down for the shape I wanted.  I liked the idea of ribbon scarves and pom poms on the end of the pipe cleaners. Those sort of "finish" the arms for me (that idea is all mine). I used a micro pen for the eyes and mouth and pink chalk for the cheeks. 

Another project that's kept me busy is this:

What is it, you might be wondering.

Maybe this photo of my cheesy model will make it clear

I originally saw the idea here on MaryJanes and Galoshes and fell in love with the idea.( That blog is pretty awesome, too, I must add. I love that Taylor is taking up crochet! She's shares oodles of great ideas, too. Be sure to take a few minutes to look around).

I'm making the cowls for the girls' teachers. How funny that Amy's top coordinates with her teacher's gift. LOL

You can find the pattern at The Plum Giraffe and it's very reasonably priced too. The pattern is very easy to pick up and it works up pretty quickly. I'm now working on the second one in a dark olive green for Jessica's teacher. 

I was so bummed when my creative time ended today, it flew by. I have more ideas I want to work on. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back at it. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope your week is happily busy and productive.