TGIF; Thankful Friday #88

Friday! You came so much faster this week. I love three day weekends. It sure does make the week following go by fast.

What am I thankful for this week? Nothing specifically stands out so this week so I'm thankful for the fact that it's NOT raining. Today is the kick off of our town's Apricot Fiesta. We have three days of food and fun coming our way and it would be terrible if it was raining. So, yup, that's it...I'm thankful for NO rain this weekend and sunshiny weather.



Two major things that I'm looking forward to starting tomorrow, June 1st...

1.  Official kick off of Summer Reading Marathon!
2.  ICAD 61 day Challenge!

I'm ready!

WOYWW #521

Happy Wednesday and happy WOYWW! Last week was the 10 year anniversary of this fun linkage. If you're not sure what it's all about, check out the Stamping Ground blog. Basically, Julia started by asking the question, "What's On Your Workdesk" on a Wednesday...I presume. LOL

I participated in an ATC swap and I'm super excited to see what I receive. I haven't gotten it yet, but I know it's coming.

I mailed mine out to a desker that lives in Birmingham England. Woo Hoo! Someone in England has a piece of my art.

Here's mine:

Nothing too fancy, but wanted to document the "10" years as well as the reason for the ATC which was WOYWW.

And a shot of my desk:

I gather all the supplies I plan to use for the specific album and place them in the container above. This helps so much when working on a themed album. It keeps me from digging around the room to find things...time saver!
Be sure to click on over to the blog to check out all the desks and leave a link to yours!

BBTB2 Challenge; Graduation

The current challenge at the Bitten By The Bug 2 (BBTB2) site is graduation. I can't believe it's that time of the year already!

I get a lot of card requests this time of year so I've been busy making these:

I mean, who doesn't love a shaker card!?! Am I right? Some close ups of the shaker element. Whenever I decide to make these, I realize I need to purchase more sequins.

I used my cricut to cut the faux polaroid frames and the graduate silhouettes. Both of these were created in Design Space.

I wanted to keep the colors pretty neutral so I added mostly white, clear and black elements.

Now it's your turn...click on over to the BBTB2 website to see the inspiration projects by the Design Team and link your own graduation project! The rules are simple. Be sure to use your Cricut for your project and let us know which cartridge you used. If you aren't sure of the rules, check the website for more details.

TGIF; Thankful Friday #87

Happy Friday!

It's been a wet week here in our area but that's ok, because no matter what, we need it! It's not supposed to rain over the weekend so that's a good thing!

This week I'm thankful for the Professional Development program at my work. I've thought about it before but never really took advantage of it - not sure why. I recently mentored a high school student on ASL and after working with him, I realized I really need to pursue it more. So, I decided to take my first course on ASL.

I may or may not have mentioned this before, but my parents are deaf so I've learned ASL throughout my life, but have never been formally trained/taught. I'm asked to interpret for my work and I'm always a little self conscience.

The course is on-line and it's pretty awesome. I just started this week and the first two sections are basically learning about the history of ASL and the alphabet and numbers. The history of ASL is very interesting. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the sections. There are eight total.

WOYWW #520

Happy Wednesday! Today is my middle son's birthday.  Dang! He's 32 years old. I can't believe my babies are getting so grown!

Today is also the day I get to show off my work area. Click on over to Stamping Ground, Julia's, blog to read all about the weekly linkage. Can you believe it's been TEN years! Wow!

Here's a photo of my work area:

Last night my daughter asks me to help her make some photo booth props and signs for this morning. Really? Well, instead, I went through my closet instead and pulled some silly things that I thought would work. But I did manage to make a sign that said "No Boys Allowed".

The container to the left is filled with random letters that I keep for times like this. These letters are my practice sizes or projects that were changed or whatever...and I didn't want to toss out. Years ago, I made baby gifts using an assortment of letters to create an alphabet chart. Click HERE and HERE to see some of them.

Be sure to click HERE to get to the linkage to sneak a peek into the other deskers' areas.

Have a great week!

More Cricut Fun

I love my Cricut! It's great for those big projects but also the little ones. We have a sports themed bathroom and I couldn't find a soap dispenser that I wanted for it. I painted a mason jar and added a pump but the lid rusted...it was weird. So, tossed that.

Then my DIL found a plain clear plastic inexpensive dispenser that I decorated with baseball laces.

Nothing fancy, but perfect for our sports themed bathroom!

It took a little bit of time to change the curve in Design Space, but other than that...simple!

What have you created with your Cricut today?

Cartridge Used:

Sports Mania

An Honest Request

Yup, an honest prayer request...

I love the “green” vinyl for this! I’ve wanted to put something on this cabinet for awhile and finally did it today!

I uploaded this image from lovesvg. They have amazing free svgs on lots of subjects.

Have a great weekend!

TGIF; Thankful Friday #86

Even though I don't feel well this week, I still have something to be thankful for and this week it is...the anticipation of the final episode of Game of Thrones and the season finale on American Idol.

Two things both on Sunday this week.

Eek! I don't know how GoT is going to end, but I know that I'm not going to be happy! Are you a fan? UGH! This show...I can't believe it'll be over. I don't know how I feel about the spin offs and if we'll watch. I guess we'll wait and see.

American Idol...I haven't watched in years, but for some reason, hubby and I decided to this season. Man, you sure do get sucked into all the AI contestant life drama but it's exciting to watch every week and rate their performances. They are definitely a talented group. Who's your favorite? I think Madison is going to win, but obviously Alejandro is the extremely and uniquely talented one. He'll do something for sure when this is all over. Laine...he's a cutie for sure, but don't think he'll win it.

Have a wonderful weekend and remember, no matter how you feel, there's always something to be thankful for!

BBTB2 Challenge; Music

It's time again for a new challenge at Bitten By The Bug 2. The current challenge is:
MUSIC.

I'm knee deep in my son and DIL's wedding album and have plenty of photos of music and dancing at the reception.

I searched the internet for mariachi silhouette free clip art and made them into SVGs in Design Space. So fun and easy! If this is something you want to do, check out YouTube. There are plenty of channels that give step by step instructions.

The music notes and title came from the Create-A-Critter II cartridge and I cut them to accompany the mariachi images.

Here's my layout and some close ups:

Right Side

Left Side

Oh my goodness, I'm in love with this two page spread! I cut the hearts from Design Space as well by searching for hearts. I just realized that the "Mr. and Mrs." cut is also from the Cricut. I believe I got that from lovesvg.com.

Now it's your turn...link your project on the BBTB2 site. Be sure to read the rules if you have any questions, but basically you just need to use your cricut!

Additional Note:
So, I purchased these barcode thingies at the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in March. If you haven't seen them, they are a GAME CHANGER. The company is called Penless and they have an app. Basically the sticker has a scan/code/mark (I don't know the real name), that you scan and then you upload a video to it. Later when someone goes through your scrapbook, they take their phone camera and it opens up that video. I'm sure I'm not explaining it correctly so if you get a chance, check out their website. It's pretty cool!

So, honestly I almost forgot that I took a video of this particular moment of the reception so I added the "video" to the page.

I know it's not the prettiest thing and if I remembered this before completing the layout, I would have arranged it differently, but it'll be awesome to see the video while going through the album.

Sewing Project

Last year one of my son’s picked up this bench and table FOR FREE on Craigslist. He’s always finding stuff and bringing stuff home. I still don’t know if it’s good or bad, but he does come home with good stuff! LOL

Anyhow, the bench needs cushions and they are so expensive so I suggested that I make them. Also last year, Joanne Fabric’s had a 70% off sale on their foam so I bought what I needed and also some material. That stuff sat for about seven months. The sun is out and hubby said he was going to buy some and I convinced him that I would finish them.

The first cushion took forever. I didn’t have a pattern nor a really good plan on how to make it but after a long time, I figured it out and finished. Once I knew what I was going to do, it took about 1/2 hour to finish all three.

I probably should have lined up the stripes on the back cushions, but too late!

I haven’t sewn in a long while so I was pretty excited about finishing these and the fact that they look fabulous!

TGIF; Thankful Friday #85

Happy Friday!
This evening my work is hosting an Employee Recognition event so of course we have to go and be appreciated. It's really nice to be recognized for hard work especially when it involves food, drinks and a chance for raffle prizes!

So even though work is work and all that, I am thankful that I have a job that I enjoy, a boss that is understanding, caring and personable, a less than five minute commute and some pretty cool co-workers.

Your turn...what are you thankful for this week?

WOYWW #518

Happy Wednesday and happy WOYWW!

I'm so happy to share my desk today since it actually looks pretty clean. I spent last night organizing the embellishments for the wedding album that I'm working on. I also organized the photos and papers.

Look! I have room to work now!

That stupid little hole in my craft mat is because I forgot to put the cutting mat before cutting out a circle. Oh well, it's a peek of my actual table now!

Click on over to Stamping Ground and check out all the other deskers and join the linkage!

TGIF; Thankful Friday #85

Hello Friday!

Can you believe we're already in the month of May? Wow! Time sure does fly when you're having fun. This week I'm thankful for the talent of my neighbors. Awhile back, we had our fence redone by our neighbors (they are in the construction business) and they just finished our stage. Yup, we're calling it a stage since we told our granddaughter we were making one for her. I mean, every girl needs a stage, right?

I'm going to be honest with you, in my mind it was just a little flat deck type thing, but it sure did end up like an actual stage!

It's gorgeous and our neighbors sure did a great job.

You

r turn...what are you thankful for this week? Please share in the comments section.

CWS May Challenge #38; Baby

Hey there card makers! It's time for a new monthly challenge at the Creative With Stamps blog. This month's challenge theme is:

Be sure to link your stamped card to the site before the end of the month to be eligible for the prize. Click on over for some DT inspiration!

I used an assortment of baby inspired stamps for the background of my card. I used my grid paper pad to help keep the stamps in a level line and Tin Pail ink for a subtle background.

Once I did that, I stamped the words/background stamp in blue over the top. The banner holding bear and balloons were stamped and fussy cut before adhering to the card front.

I could not find a simple "congratulations" stamp in my stash (although I know I have one somewhere) so I just handwrote it in the banner.

I also inked the edges before adhering to the mulberry paper mat. Do you remember that stuff? I was surprised I still had some of it!

So fun! Now it's your turn...create a stamped card and link it up on the CWS site before the end of the month.

Stamps are from older Stampin’ Up and Hero Arts.