TGIF; Thankful Friday #140

Happy Friday and Happy Thankful Friday! This week I'm thankful for local harvest. A coworker of mine brought in peaches...lots of peaches! I brought some home and DS2 & I made a peach cobbler. It was amazing!

*

So not only did I get to enjoy peach cobbler this week, but also the sweetness of eating peaches and taking a trip down memory lane.

Eating peaches reminds me of my grandmother (my mom's mom). She lived across the street from a fruit packing plant and it always smelled like peaches. Extra bonus, the workers always brought over crates of them to my grandma. We ate them so much it would make us sick, but we'd continue to eat them day after day when we stayed there.  

A few years ago, I canned peaches and they were so pretty in the jars. I ended up gifting them but was able to enjoy one jar. You can't go wrong with peaches. They are so good no matter how you (inhale) them.

Leave a comment on what you are thankful for this week even if it's as simple as sweet peaches!

*These are not my photos since we ate the cobbler so quick, I didn't have time to snap a photo!

WOYWW #582

Happy Wednesday and Happy WOYWW!

My post will be nice & short today. Although I’ve been busy, my work space is clean!

Click on over to Stamping Ground to read more posts and see more desks!

Have a great week!

Update: Rainbows and Umbrellas Swap

I received my swap items for the FB Love RTS scrapbooking group. If you recall, the theme was Rainbows & Umbrellas. See my original post HERE to read more about it and to see my swap item contribution.

I received them awhile ago and I just remembered that I didn't share a photo of what I received. If you've never participated in a swap before, I highly recommend them. But I will give a warning...don't join up for all of them! I was a little obsessive years ago and was signing up for swap after swap. Many of them, the themes were nothing I would ever use.

I decided to join this one since it's been awhile.

Here's the pile of goodies:

I really enjoyed the variety. Some of the items I will use on cards, scrapbook layouts and even my Junk Journal. I'm excited to use them!

And just so you know...there have been two more and I did not join in. LOL

Have a wonderful week!

Quick 6x6 Paper Pad Layout

I'm so glad I purchased the 6x6 Paper Pad class from Scrapbook Generation. Allison Davis provides many sketches and examples of her layouts using the sketches. She also gives us permission to use those 6x6 papers in a variety of ways. Layouts don't always have to be difficult.

This page concentrates on using four coordinating 6x6 patterned papers along with your photos.  Of course adding embellishments is the fun part.

Check out the YouTube video I created...warning...I talk a lot.  LOL But isn't that what we do? 

I love working on these Month In Review layouts because you get to document so many events/photos in one two page spread. I talk about ordering collage prints at a 4x6 size. By doing this, you get smaller sized photos and it adds interest to your pages. I've been doing this a lot and they are so cheap.  Regularly, $.39 each but I always look for when they are on sale at 50% off.

If you're not already, become a subscriber to my YouTube channel. I recently purchased a new holder for my phone so it will help me with filming. Now I just need to remember to do it! 

Paper pad and embellishments are from Elle's Studio

The title and year was cut with my Cricut.

TGIF; Thankful Friday #139

Happy Friday!

I've been back to work for awhile now and this week we were instructed to wear masks anytime we are away from our cubicles. Because of the new rule, we were gifted with five masks each.

I decided to add some "pretties" to mine. Scroll down for photos, but I wanted to let you know what I'm thankful for this week.

This week, I'm thankful for the fact that I like to craft and I'm pretty good at it. You'll notice on my posts, that I am making fun things for my family, my friends and even for strangers. I love that! It makes me proud that I can create things that make people happy. 

So thanks God for making me crafty!

How about you? What are you thankful for this week?

See my new masks? Which is your favorite?

Fun With Scraps

I finished the layouts for our CA-AZ-NV-CA road trip we took last July. It's always good to check off something from your list but after completing the layouts, I ended up with lots of scraps. I love the Happy Days collection from My Minds Eye. I bought the kit from Tuesday Morning and knew it was perfect for this road trip. I love the cactus print paper and the color scheme.

I had extra stickers and papers so I created these cards:

Aren't they fun and colorful!?!  I love the rooster too! It sure does have a southwest/Mexico feel to them. Besides the card bases and enamel dots, everything is scraps from the collection. It feels good to use up scraps instead of storing or tossing them.

More cards to add to my card box...

Getting Wild with Leopard Print!

I received a last minute request for matching birthday shirts with a leopard print.  Mom provided the shirts and brought over leopard print vinyl...or at least that's what she thought.  She brought over Infusible Ink sheets but the problem was that the shirts were all cotton blends.

I haven't played with the Infusible Inks yet so I was a little excited to do so, but after doing a quick YouTube search, I noticed that cotton was a big NO NO with Infusible Ink.  Even though mom said, use it anyways - she was fine with it, I just couldn't make something I wasn't proud of.

So, I decided to make my own "leopard print" vinyl. I did this by layering some black glitter HTV over gold.

In Cricut Design Space, I selected the ARAB BRUSHSTROKE font for "Princess" and then searched for a leopard print cut image. Once I found an image, I sized it to fit over the word and sliced. This made the print fit perfectly over the top of the letters. (Before I sliced, I made a duplicate of the word since I needed the full image for the base.) I repeated the process for the crown on the birthday princess' shirt. (I used FELICITY font for "birthday" and ARAB BRUSHSTROKE for all the rest. Both of these fonts are free if you are a Cricut Access subscriber.)

I was nervous about how it would turn out, but OH MY, they turned out so CUTE!

And the birthday Princess & family modeling them:

And of course, the Birthday Princess!

I learned something new and was so happy with the results. Now I can't wait to actually use the Infusible Inks!

BBTB2; Cute Critters Challenge

Are you ready for another fun challenge at Bitten By The Bug 2? I sure am! I love using my Cricut and these challenges can take me out of my box. The current challenge theme is...Cute Critters!

If you are a regular to my blog, you know that I have set a goal for 2020 to send at least one card a week. I've been doing great and most weeks I send out more than one. My once full card box is getting thinner and thinner.

I had a request for a birthday card for a little girl turning five and came up with this cute card.

 This cut is called Unicorn (#M36F4C).

I don't always make square cards but I thought this unicorn deserved all the room it could get! I used a glitter pen for the wing & horn, but it's so hard to capture in photos.

The unicorn was adhered with foam adhesive to pop it up.

Now it's your turn...create something using your Cricut and a cute critter and share it at the BBTB2 blog.

If you are interested in receiving a handmade card from me, please contact me via my email that is provided on the "contact" tab on the homepage.

TGIF; Thankful Friday #138

Happy Friday! I took a lot of time off work this week and it was fabulous! My nephew is visiting so I wanted to be home more. This week I'm thankful for funny stories...you know the ones that your family will continue to tell throughout the years? Well, we created a funny story this week. On Monday, nephew, DS2 and I decided to take a drive up the hill and do a little hiking.

It was a beautiful and easy drive and we were jamming to music and laughing all the way up. The park was so nice and we randomly chose a trail to go on. It wasn't long, but it was steep. At least it was for me! It took me longer, but I did manage to make it to the top. 

Of course we took selfies and photos of the view.

Then it was time to backtrack down the trail. Can you guess what happened? I fell...yup...I fell hard!

I'm not even sure what happened.  I honestly just think I tripped on dust...LOL

I'm ok, scraped both knees and I am SUPER SORE, but thankfully I didn't break, sprain or twist anything.

I'm just here to entertain everyone.  Have a great week!

WOYWW #580

Happy Hump Day! Happy WOYWW!

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to visit desk last week - no real reason except I just forgot.  Thank you to those who commented and visited my desk.

I ordered a bunch of Posca paint pens - mostly white - and they arrived this week.

See that beautiful teal tissue paper on the left? They used it in their packaging. I love it! I ordered these from Joggles.com.

My daughter and I have bad luck with paint markers and we've heard great things about these ones. Crossing our fingers that they work for us!

I hope you have a great rest of the week and click over to Julia's blog at Stamping Ground to see more desks!

Cards are Blooming in the Command Center!

With my 2020 goal to send at least one card a week going strong, I now need to add cards to my card box. The goal started because the box was too full, but it has been slimming down (at least something is in my craftroom!).

I was commissioned to make a 40th birthday card for a friend. She said the recipient likes red wine, the rustic look and jewel tones. This is what I came up with:

Closeups:

I absolutely LOVE how it turned out and so does my friend. I used the Cricut to cut the Polaroid frame (I actually cut two to give it some more bulk), the number 40 and fabulous. 

Since I was stamping, I also made this card but instead of the black outline, I embossed in gold. I actually like the black ink better. LOL I kept the 40 theme since I had cut a second set.

This beautiful flower stamp is from Concord & Ninth and comes with the shading stamps to color in the leaves and flowers.

I originally created this card but changed my mind. I felt like it was too light for the jewel tone she was looking for.

Isn't the acrylic front cool? I cut this at 6 x 4.25 and scored at 5.5 to make a tab. The tab was adhered between the card base and the card front (although technically, it's the card "inside"). I used a variety of stamps and the masking technique to get the flowers in the jar. I used a variety of stamps (Altenew and my stash) and alcohol markers for this one.

Because of the clear front, it was hard to get a good picture of this.

Card Goal Update; Weeks 22 - 28 & TGIF; Thankful Friday #137

My card box is thinning out! I donated 26 cards to Scrapbook.com on their cards for kindness drive. (If you're interested in contributing to this drive, check out my earlier post HERE.) That helped a lot, but I'm still making cards and sending them out.  Woo Hoo!

I've been gathering cards based on the occasions that I prepare for and put them aside to send out weekly. By the end of the time period, I not only send out the predesignated cards, but also other cards as reasons come up. So for Set 3, I gathered the following cards:

Week 22: RAK to Bianca; Get Well to a coworker
Week 23: Stacey's Birthday; DS2 Graduation; Thank You
Week 24: Father's Day and Thinking of You to a friend (she had surgery)
Week 25: Oops! Skipped this week by accident
Week 26: Just Because to my friend Katie and birthday card to a friend's son
Week 27: Thank You card for a friend
Week 28: Nephew Marcus' Birthday

And additional cards that I sent during this timeframe:

My granddaughter made this card with a little help from the Circuit. To be fair, I did not send it, she did, but I thought it was worth adding to the weekly card list! (Her cousin, my niece broke her leg hence the crutches.)

This was made using the Elements 1

stamp set from Bloom Art

This was on a YouTube Video

(Click HERE to see the original post)

If you are interested in receiving a handmade card from me, let me know.

This is also my TGIF; Thankful Friday post. This week I'm thankful that I'm sending these cards out. It's been great hearing from people that have been blessed by handmade cards. I'm having a lot of fun with this! Many are being encouraged to start sending their own cards (and many have purchased cards from me). Although selling them was not my intention, but hey...a little bit of green never hurt anyone.

WOYWW #579

Hello and Happy WOYWW! Click on over to Julia’s blog at Stamping Ground to see more desks. Basically every Wednesday we share a photo of our desk/work area with others and say HI!

My desk this week:

I am in the process of making a 40th birthday card commissioned by a friend for her cousin, but I’m just not sure exactly how I want to finish it. I stamped, masked and colored the flowers in the mason jar and added a clear overlay on top. I thought I’d put the “40” and happy birthday on that, but I’m still working on it. I also need to incorporate gold. I’ll try to remember to post the finished card next week.

Until then...click on over to Stamping Ground to see more desks! Have a great week!

BBTB2; Stars

Another great two week challenge theme at Bitten By The Bug 2 (BBTB2) has been posted and it is...STARS! The girls in my family have been decorating cups and I made one using a free cup wrap from Brinnykdesign. Some we purchased from Walmart (color changing) and some from Starbucks. They are the same size so it made it easy to work on the designs.

Sign up for her blog to be inspired and take advantage of her free SVGs. They are for personal use only. Here's the link to the actual post. Click HERE. 

I used the contour tool to remove the 'MERICA letters within the circle since I wanted this to showcase Mrs. Incredible. I also added the smaller center yellow circle so I could cover the Starbucks mermaid. The Mrs. Incredible silhouette was made by downloading the clipart into Design Space and making it into a SVG.

Be sure to join the challenge at BBTB2 before the two weeks are over and show off your STAR project!

Here are some other cups that we made:

TGIF; Thankful Friday #136

Happy Friday! Today is a nonwork day for me since tomorrow is the Fourth of July holiday. I decided to take Thursday off as well since my mama is coming to stay with us for a few days. 

This week has flown by and I hardly had time to think, so this week I'm thankful for the quick, short week.

I hope you enjoy the holiday weekend - be safe!

WOYWW #578

Happy WOYWW! Happy Hump Day! and Happy Wednesday!

Today is the day that we share a photo of our work desks at the Stamping Ground blog.

Here's my desk this morning...

Actually pretty clean! There's some random things spread all over, but basically I cleared the area to place my laptop earlier this week. 

Those two Halloween stamps on the top middle are two that I'm still considering to keep or gift as part of my Bash Your Stash series (click on the label to the right to read more about this series).

I'm sorry to say that my cute red and black polka dot scissors are on it's last days. They were cheapo ones from Walmart, but I love them! I'm not sure if you can tell, but I bought a small shelf to place the Lazy Susan tool holder and items. It's about 4 inches high but gives me more space to tuck in my "go to" stamp pads and other things. There's a drawer that I can also place some items. It's still pretty low so I can still see my daughter on the other side too!

Click on over to the Stamping Ground blog and share a photo of your work desk! Have a great week!