HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE !

BIANCA and HER BOO CREW WISH YOU A HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

AND FLAT STANLEY DOES TOO !

Houston Cricut Circle Meet Up Was Awesome !

WOW...it finally happened after all the planning and waiting with excitement.  The Houston Cricut Circle Meet Up was held this past Saturday, October 23rd at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church's Havens Center.
46 attendees enjoyed sharing our passion for the Cricut Circle and Provo Craft Products. 

So much happened that day....here is a brief recap of the day:

Everyone arrived around 9 am...ready and willing to have a wonderful day !

Everyone received a croppers treat bag that I put together and a Circle Head name tag!

Then everyone mingled and shared their amazing Calling Cards...I will post close ups of the cards in another post.

Mid morning we kicked off the Meet Up portion with Michael Wigton of PC who manages the Cricut Circle. Michael did a great job sharing with us some of the future things planned for the Circle and listening to our ideas and suggestions for further improvement of the Circle and Provo Craft Products.

And Michael and Provo Craft generously donated a bunch of prizes for Circlets to win! Congrats to everyone who won! 

Then around noon we all had a delicious deli lunch...Yum !  And we all chatted more and got to know each other better.

And of course we had to have some sweets for dessert...many brought amazing cupcakes and other snacks to share.  But these cupcakes laid out in a Circle head were too hard to resist, don't you agree?

After lunch we then had a CROP....several of us set up our Expressions and other PC products to share. And then we got busy crafting.  We wrapped up around 8 pm when the die hards finally called it a day.

It was a typical crop ....

we mainly ate, chatted, laughed and did a little scrapping in between !

I did make a shirt to wear to the Meet Up....it is supposed to match my online avatar. It was the first time 

I had used heat set vinyl and it worked great with my Expression machine. I loved how it turned out!

Well, as you can see...we all had a marvelous time.  There are too many pictures to post here. I am working on setting up a Picasa album and will post more there next week to share.

Thanks to all who attended and for all your kind comments on my efforts to put this Meet Up together! I can hardly wait for us to get together again soon.

Mystery Solved !

I had a house guest this weekend, Esther, who is a member of the Cricut Circle.  She joined me at the Houston Cricut Circle Meet Up.  She traveled here from elsewhere in Texas and as a thank you, she so generously sent me the two cartridges I mentioned in the previous post.

Thank you Esther....I loved having you here and you are welcome to come again anytime (without cricut cartridge gifts)!

A MYSTERY TO SOLVE...

Some absolutely wonderful person on the Cricut Circle Message Board sent me a Mystery RAK yesterday...yes, I have no idea who sent this.  But who ever you are....know that I am deeply touched by your generosity! 

You can only imagine my surprise when DH brought in a box left at our door step yesterday.  He was a little curious as to what I had ordered since we are cutting back expenses right now and was doubtful when I said I had not ordered anything.  I immediately opened the box to find out what was inside....and was so shocked to see this

Not One but TWO of the Creative Memories new Cricut Cartridges!

I started crying and laughing at the same time.  DH was stunned as well.  He knows how much cartridges costs and was just as surprised and thankful someone did this for me. Whoever you are who did this I just can't say thank you enough!  I promise to pay it forward and spread good will to someone else soon too!

I couldn't wait to use these and last night created this card using the Cheerful Seasons cartridge.  My time is limited this week as I am finalizing the Houston Circle Meet Up this weekend but really wanted to use and show off this adorable cartridge. I was able to combine making something fun with also making an entry for the Circle Weekly Challenge.  We had to use Gray, Tan, Orange and Burgundy with losts of textures this week. 

Lots of layeing, dry embossing, inking, textured ribbon and punched border plus a few rhinestones went into making this tribute to Fall.

Winner, Winner ...Chicken Dinner

Where in the world did the saying "Winner, Winner....Chicken Dinner" come from? I somehow have this stuck in my head from hearing this somewhere anytime someone wins a prize.

Well, Llmgrl of the Cricut Circle Board, you are the Winner of my 1,000 post giveaway on the Cricut MB. 

Tell her what she has won Don Pardo...

"Llmgrl will be enjoying some gorgeous sophisticated and girlie image RUB ONS WITH BLING ....crowns, chandeliers, swirls,etc.

She also receives a PACAKGE OF FOAM POP DOTS with two sizes of squares to give her paper projects a little dimension.

Lets don't forget a scrap addicts best friend...adhesive.  Llmgrl will be the proud owner of a ZIG TWO WAY CHISEL POINT GLUE PEN guaranteed to make those paper products stay put on her projects.

And to make this prize even more exciting...A BRAND NEW STAMP SET with  a few images that pair perfectly with the rub ons that Llmgrl won !!" 

Wooohoooo, Llmgrl.you certainly scored with this prize pack!!!!!
(Note: To claim your prize, contact ScrapHappyDeb on the Circle MB and provide her with your mailing address).

Think Pink Challenge Entry

On the Cricut Circle Blog, there is a weekly contest.  This week was a Think Pink theme.  When I think of pink I always think of an adorble baby girl !  Here is my contest entry.  We had to use 3 items from a choice of several...I picked Scallops, ruffles and pink !!

Fall Splendor

I am so excited that it is October !  I just love the fall and we have been having gorgeous weather in Houston for the past couple of weeks.  Long bike rides in the cool weather each morning, sitting outside and enjoying a glass of wine, putting out fall decor...perfect ! 

Fall colors are so wonderful.  And the food....I love fall comfort food.  In fact, I made these Cheese Enchiladas on Sunday evening...they were delicious and easy too !

I also made a fall paper necklace last week...I am calling it FALL SPLENDOR.

 I made the necklace to enter in the Cricut Circle contest. Lots of layered flowers that I cut out with my Cricut Expression, inked, rolled and curled to get varous shapes.  I also Glimmer Misted it so there is a nice little shine to it. 

I like it so much I do plan on wearing it at Thanksgiving Dinner! What do you think of it?    It was fun to make and inspiring to do something completely different with paper.

Isn't she lovely...Isn't she wonderful?

Well I just couldn't hold back any longer... I just HAD TO BLING UP my Pink ATG !
(Note: For those of you not familiar with ATG, it is a tape gun with adhesive I use to make all my wonderful crafty projects)

 ISN'T SHE GORGEOUS !   

I used some beautiful black and white pp on the inside of the lid. On the outside of the lid I added some Heidi Swapp Damask stickers I trimmed. And then of course, the best part....BLINGED IT ALL UP!

I was really happy that it was pretty easy peeling off the metal sticker that said ATG on the outside of the case so it didn't distract from the new decor.

I LOVE HOW SHE TURNED OUT !   

Hopefully this inspires some of you to step outside your box and dress up your ATG too.

Oh WOW....It's AWESOME !!!

What do you think has me jumping up and down?  The door bell just rang and the Fed Ex guy has brought me something I have been hoping to get for a while now.  Tada ................................

It's a lovely chocolate brown with pink polka dots rolling tote for my Expression.

A dear friend of mine knew I had been wanting one and ordered it for my Birthday.  I hope she could hear me sqeauling with delight as I ripped open the box !!

The inside of the bag is pink too !  he, he, he.

There is a velcro strap that goes around your Expression to hold it in place while traveling. Plus there is also an inside pocket to store things, plus the two outside pockets.

Nice sturdy handle that telescopes in and out of top of bag.

And easily rolling wheels on the bottom of the bag.  

 

The bag comes with a  Pink carry strap too. And guess what, I have had this cute cupcake luggage tag hanging around waiting for a home....I think I will use that on my rolling tote.

Best Wishes to My Friends Jill and CJ

Well folks, it was quite a weekend. Not only did I celebrate my 51st birthday with the family (I will post more on that later) but one of my best girlies got married this weekend !  Woooohoooo!!!!!

 Join me in wishing Jill and CJ

many many happy years together 

Jill is an avid crafter in her own right but she does admire my work from time to time. So I decided the best thing I could give them as a gift was one of my custom "Keepsake Plates" to display a photo of their beautiful event. 

Once they get their photos back, we will select a picture to display on the plate.

I used my Gypsy and Cricut to weld and cut out the black background images for the bling and sentiment stickers. I also cut out the letter "e" and glittered it since that is the first initial of their last name together.  Awwwwwwww.  The flowers are Prima with some added shine via Tattered Angels and Glitter.

I also made the reception favors for them.  Jill's colors were Purple and Silver so I used Hershey Kisses and purple ribbon to tie that theme together. I cut the tags out with my Cricut and found these perfect silver "thank you" stickers to add to them.  I love how these turned out.

My house smelled liked chocolate for days after I made 100 of these....well, that isn't a bad thing !  LOL

And so my friends, another couple is off on their wedded bliss adventure. 

And the Winners are.....drum roll please!

First I want to say thank you to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday. It was a wonderful day indeed to know so many people were thinking happy thoughts about me.

I wish I could give a present to each of you...but unfortunately I don't have enough prizes to go around :(

Glad I can bring a smile to the following Happy Birthday Wishers :

VINYL WINNER
Janice A said...

I followed! Great Blog and Happy Birthday!
My favorite thing about birthdays is being swamped with hugs and kisses from family and friends! And Auntie Candy's spaghetti! LOL!

CUTTLEBUG WINNER
Sherri said...
Happy Birthday!! I just celebrated mine on the 9th. Hmmm.... the most favorite part of my day? Hanging out with my grandson! Glad I found your site - I'm now a follower!

MS PUNCH WINNER
MeganLynn said...
Happy Birthday!!! I hope you have a fabulous day. I love your blog and cant wait to see your upcoming creations! My favorite thing about my birthday is getting all scrapbook supplies as presents :)

CONGRATS LADIES  Please send me your name, mailing address and which prize you won to doneal1610@yahoo.com.  I will get the prizes in the mail the first of next week.  I have more birthday celebrations over the weekend so shipping these out has to wait until then!

Note: Please claim your prize by September 24th or I will need to select another winner.

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR THE WELL WISHES.  HAVE A FABULOUS INSPIRING DAY !!

Happy Birthday To Me ! And BLOG CANDY TOO !

Tomorrow ,September 16th is my 51st Birthday.  Where has the time gone?  It seems like a week ago I was a kid and I grew up during that week and just yesterday I got married and had a family.  And in the blink of an eye, now my girls are grown women and doing well on their own. Happily for me, DH and I are still going strong after 29 years of marriage so I still have him by my side on my journey through life.  And I have been blessed with many, many friends along the way.

I have decided to do something special this year on my blog to celebrate my birthday and share a little birthday joy with all my many crafty friends.  So I have some neat BLOG CANDY to give away!

LEAVE A COMMENT and TELL ME WHAT YOU LOVE ABOUT BIRTHDAYS to win. I will randomly pick 3 winners (1 for each prize) and announce them on my blog on Friday, September 17th by Noon.  Comments need to be entered by Midnight, September 16 CST to be eligible to win.

BLOG CANDY:

BLOG CANDY #1:  9 Assorted Sheets of Grafix Cling Vinyl in 9X12 sheets

    BLOG CANDY #2:  4 sets of Cuttlebug Dies shown above

BLOG CANDY #3: A Martha Stewart Floral Lace Edge Punch

It would really make my day if you also decided to follow my blog.  I am working on some wonderful projects and ideas to share with my crafty friends here and would hate to see you miss any of it. 

Thanks for helping make my birthday special by participating !  Hugs to you all!

Had a BLAST at a Cricut Crop Yesterday!

I got to meet some really nice ladies yesterday at a Cricut Crop I went to  hosted by Lori Brodnax.  It was so much fun with demos and door prizes and great food and wonderful crafty inspiration from everyone!

Lori asked me to demo the Cricut Cake and the Gypsy for the ladies. I was a lot of fun. A couple of people had bought the Cricut Cake machines and needed some help figuring out what they were doing wrong.  Hopefully my suggestions work for them...they seemed very happy with my suggestions.

I was also glad I was able to de-mystify some of the things the Gypsy can do for people who already own them but don't use them much.  Now they are Gypsy fanatics and enjoying the power of  the Gypsy. 
Plus I think I inspired a couple of people to buy a Gypsy as well :) 

Unfortunately, I was so busy making new friends, eating, laughing, creating and demoing that I completely forgot to take any pictures of the crop even though I had my camera with me. Bummer.

However, I did want to share with my new Gypsy fanatics some directions to make the Stylus fob they were admiring on my Gypsy.  

Note: If anyone wants a Stylus fob and doesn't want to make one, contact me at doneal16@gmail.com .     I do sell them and can customize one for you in whatever color beads you prefer.

This is an exampe of how the beaded fob looks when completed.  As you can see, it only takes a few beads.

Sorry for the dark picture...we are having thunderstorms here and it is very dark outside. 

This is a bit better picture I took on a good light day of my Stylus fob with my Gypsy.

Here are some simple directions:
I used the bead-a-lon beading WIRE (not the plastic stretchy one) that found in the jewelry department in any craft store. I picked one that wasn't the thinnest but not the thickets one either. Remember you have to slide the beads on the wire so that should guide you in which one to get.


I cut a length off that is about double the size I wanted the beaded part to be. Then folded in it half so you have a loop on one end and at opposite end is left open for now. Now you need to thread a jewelery crimp bead over both of the wires on the open end. Pull the crimp bead up towards the loop until it is about 1 1/2 inches from the top of the loop, then crimp (squish) the bead flat.

Next you thread your beads and findings on the rest of the wire. Remember to put the beads through BOTH of the wires. Once you get the beads and findings on there the way you like them, then add another crimp bead on the open end of the wires. Make sure you crimp it well so the beads don't fall off! If any of the wire is left sticking out on the end, I just snip it just below the crimp bead.

I added a little piece of gossamer ribbon to the top of my fobs just above the first bead on the end with the loop.

To use, just thread the loop through the hole on the top of your stylus. Waaaalaaaah!!!

You can make these for your Stylus and even make the loop larger and use on your scissors.  They are great to identify your stuff at crops and add a little bling to your life too!

Look What I Have Been Up To Today !

I am getting ready to go to a Cricut scrapbook crop tomorrow and take my Expression with me so I  decided it needed  a little something to identify it as mine.   I would hate for her to get mixed up and go home with wrong person :)

So I dug out some pink Vinyl and used the Elegant Cake Cartridge to make beautify my "E".

The two shades of PINK look great together. And yes, that is BLING on there too!

It just wouldn't be mine without the BLING, right?

And of course I couldn't just stop there....So I did a few more items for good measure.

Well. I couldn't stop myself.  My Cuttlebug was feeling left out so of course I HAD to give her a little love too.  Then my Pink Cricut Tool Set started to whine about feeling bare, so I had to include her of course.

And then wouldn't you now it, those darn Cricut Cartridges started demanding that they get some bling too and so.....

 

What do you think?  Will everyone know that these are mine ?  LOL

Happy Labor Day !

Around here Labor Day is for spending time with friends, enjoying some bar b que and crafting  ! May not be your perfect long weekend but it sure is mine.

I got my new 3Birds Cricut Cartridge and found some perfect images to inspire this layout that captures the spirit of the weekend.

I used the 3Birds cartridge for the adorable barbque bird and his amazing grill.  

I hope you can see the shiny red metallic paper better in the picture that I used for the cowboy hat, the apron and the top of the grill. And I like the added touch of the bakers twine on his chefs hat.

 Plus I couldn't resist making one little cowboy bird since he seemed so perfect with his little hat and boots.

The font on 3Birds is so cute ...it has these little bird feet as part of each letter. I used my swiss dot cuttlebug folder and embossed the letters for added dimension.

AND THE CRAFTING DIDN'T STOP THERE........ 

Part of being in the Cricut Circle is getting to meet new friends. Provo Craft asked us to create some 3X3calling cards to exchange with other Circle friends. Here are the cards I made to represent me..I just had to add "my crown" too!

 I found this great pp with various shades of pink circles on it...so perfect to represent the Cricut Circle.

 AND You just have to swing the cover image over slightly and find my contact information. I made 140 cards and can make more as the Circle grows and I meet more people.  How fun is that !!!!

Hope you found something to INSPIRE you over the weekend too !  

Took Kit Review

I recently received the CGull Pink Tool Kit for use with my Cricut die cut machine projects.  I was so excited to get this since I only had the Cricut Spatula.  And of course, since it is PINK , I am doubly excited !!!

The Pink Tool Kit includes:
*Pink Leatherette Case with Magnetic strap
*Bone Folder
*Large Scrapper
*Small Scrapper
*Hook Tool
*Scoop Hook tool
*Small Scissors
*Stainless Steel Tweezers
*Wide Blade Spatula
*Narrow Blade Spatula
*Exacto Knife
*2 Exacto Knife replacement blades

It arrived sealed in one of those blister packs which I thought was nice.

The case is a nice true PINK color and is made of a Leatherette material.  It has a lighter pink nylon binding trim and is stitched in place.  The CGull logo is a soft plastic piece that is stitched on.  The case is held together with a magnetic closure and works great to keep the case closed as intended.

The inside of the case is a hard grey foam and holds all the tools in place. 

When I flipped the case over when opened everything stayed in just fine.

You can see in the picture above the layout of the tools included.  The quality is good and similar to the original Cricut tools.  I like the fact that it has two different size scrappers and spatulas.  

The little pair of scissors is sharp and will come in handy to snip those cuts that need a little help.

The quality of all the tools is very good and similar in weight and style to the original Cricut tool kit tools.

The green tool in the picture above is the original Cricut Spatula.  As you can see, the blade of the green spatula is a little larger and angeled to be flatter.  The pink spatula blade is slightly smaller is angled up a bit so it doesn't sit completely flat.  It works just fine when I tried it and is sturdy like the green spatula.

I am very pleased with my new  PINK Tool Kit.  I know I will be getting a lot of use out of these tools.