The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

Hi Crafters,

Happy Friday!  We are wrapping up Spirit Week at my school.  I have always enjoyed getting into the school spirit so it has been a fun but crazy week!

The teachers at our school dress up as idioms for Halloween.  This year I took it to another level with the cricut.  My mom and I teach at the same school so we took advantage of the mother daughter relationship and came up with a 2 part idiom.  I made freezer paper t's for us. Hers says "tree" and mine says "apple" (darn my long hair ruining this quick photo snap).  I even have a little worm (from Sesame Street Friends) with a googly eye on my sleeve.  My headband has two leaves cut out of Home Accents.  The font for the shirts is from A Child's Year, the tree on my mom's shirt is from Give A Hoot, the apple on the bottom of my shirt is from Hello Kitty Greetings.  I'm so lucky to have a mom that is just as in to school spirit as I am!

What a fun day!

Happy Crafting,

Another Year :)

Hi Crafters,

My husband's sweet sweet grandmother celebrated her birthday this past week.  She is such a special wonderful lady.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives!  She always has something witty to add to the conversation.  Here's a birthday card I whipped up for her.

This pretty design came from Storybook.  The background color is more pink than coral color.  I embossed it with the cuttlebug and added a quick stamp.

I hope you all have a wonderful fall weekend!  I am headed to a mini day long retreat with some women from my church.  I will be hosting a Operation Write Home card making session as part of the retreat. It should be a wonderful afternoon.

Happy Crafting,

Glitter Pumpkins

Hi Crafters,

I went to the garden center to pick up some pumpkins this past weekend. My mom and I had so much fun looking at all the different gourds and pumpkins that they had.  I picked up a bunch of small pumpkins for little gifts for my lady co-workers (Victoria, act surprised when you get yours).  I have a larger faux pumpkin that I have covered in Martha Stewart glitter that gets pulled out every year, I think it is starting to grow on my husband luckily for me!  I used that as my inspiration for this project.

I added some glitter to the tops of these little pumpkins and they turned out so cute!  This is actually a mix of 3 different glitters that Martha makes blended together.  I got them in a 3 pack several years ago when the glitter pumpkins were the hot item for fall.

I cut the tags for this from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More.  The witch is from A Child's Year (cut using the shadow feature).  I used some ribbon and hemp to tie the tags on. So pretty!

Random side story about this project, When I was in middle school I had a math teacher who would regularly go off on tangents.  During my 7th grade year the popular make up accessory was colored glitter spread all over your eyelids (in a form of glitter gel, often scented and difficult to remove).  She was ranting about this new fashion trend because it was so dangerous for your eyes to have shards of glass so close to them.  I never had issues with this trend during that time, so we ignored this wise lady. While I was making the pumpkins I guess a piece of glitter got in my eye, when I was cleaning up I passed a mirror and had a bloodshot section in the corner of my eye.  Luckily it didn't hurt but it did make me laugh.  The hazards of crafting!

Happy crafting,

A few of my favorite things Friday

Hi Crafters,

Just wanted to share a few of my favorites for the week.

I got the Tipsy Finger Stylus from Oh My Crafts (picture from their site).  I use this with my gypsy and I must say it makes a huge difference.  The screen reacts so much better to this stylus as opposed to the ones that come with it and it sure beats the price tag for a pack of three!  It doesn't fit as nicely in the slot in the gypsy itself but that doesn't mater to me!

I am sure you've also seen the Provo Craft promotion for the gypsy going on through the end of the month.  They are doing free downloads of 6 different cartridges (1 exclusive one as well). 

The carts are

1. Smiley Cards
2. Indie Art
3. Christmas
4. Tags Bags Boxes and More
5. Black Letter
6. Printing Press

Make sure your gypsy is registered before October 31st! The downloads are supposed to be available starting November 1st.  I'm excited about adding to my cart collection!  I am thrilled that Provo Craft also extended this offer to current gypsy users and not just new gypsy owners.  THANKS PROVO CRAFT!

Happy crafting,

Not craft related but who can pass up a good deal?

I just got an email from RueLaLa and they are offering a special deal to new customers through the 28th of October.  If you sign up between now and then you get a $20.00 credit to use on any of the products.  If you are not familiar with RueLaLa they are on online boutique that offer designer products (clothes, accessories, housewares, gifts, vacations etc) at a great discount.  I have had great customer service with them in the past.  Last year I ordered a henkels knife for my dad and they accidentally sent two.  Before I received either of them they caught their mistake and told me to keep the extra free of charge (this is after they issued me a random $20.00 credit for the holidays, so really I got a great deal on two SUPER expensive knives).

Click Here for YOUR invite

Happy Crafting,

Halloween Cards

Hi Crafters

Look at this adorable ghost from Paperdoll Dress Up! How sweet is he?!  I embossed the orange with a halloween folder I got from Oh My Crafts for .77!  I found the brown cards and envelopes on clearance at Joann's for less than .50 for a pack of 8.  I didn't realize the envelopes were like this until I opened the package but I think it's kind of cool. I added a halloween stamp with white ink.

How sweet is this little witch? She is from A Child's Year.  I love the jagged detail of the hem of her skirt. Provo Craft really does think of it all.

I had so much fun making these cards for my friends. I got them done in no time at all!

Happy Crafting,

Good Deal Tuesday

I'm always up for a great deal.  A few folks had posted about finding $10.00 carts at their Joann's stores so I went to check it out on Monday.  Normally my piddly store has little inventory especially in the cricut department.  I was surprised when I arrived to find they had a bunch marked to $10.00
I got

• Base Camp
• Sesame Street Friends
• Hello Kitty Greetings

They also had

• Happily Ever After
• Tear Drop

I didn't get those because I'm not a big paper piecer and I don't have patience for skinny letters and little pieces.

The best part is I was able to use my teacher 15% off discount (I guess the computer didn't know they were carts). So they were really less than $10.00!  I hope you can find some great deals!

Happy crafting,

Want to win a Gypsy?

Mixology Crafts is giving one away.  You just have to subscribe to get updates to their posts.  If you have  a blog you can double your chances by linking back to their blog. Good luck!

Happy crafting,

Hi Strangers!

Hi Crafters,
Happy Fall!! I have missed you!  I haven't done much crafting after my marathon of a scrapbook week for my friend's wedding gift.  I made some cute last minute birthday cards and unfortunately did not take pictures.

I was inspired by Robyn over at My Pink Stamper who issued a winter challenge.  I also saw a call from Operation Write Home saying they needed winter cards.  I merged the two together and this is what I came up with.

The snowflake came from A Child's Year. I got this stamp from a studio g collection at Joann's last year.  I then embossed it with silver embossing powder.  I used the cricut markers around the outer edge and added a few stickle dots for a finishing touch.

I have a few more Halloween projects to post this week so be sure to check back!

Happy Crafting,