Mickey Monday

Good morning!  I regret to inform you, my faithful readers, that I've not been very crafty lately.  I just joined a gym which may not sound like it would take time, but it does!  I've have been trying to get the gym when I can, and that time at the gym is usually the time I used to spend crafting.  Will working out take over my crafty time- ABSOLUTELY NOT!  I just have to figure a way to craft when I'm not doing my other activities!  

Today is another installment of 

Oh yes!  One of my friends is off to Disney tomorrow, and I'm so jealous!  I know she will have a wonderful time, but, in the mean time, it certainly makes me miss Disney World all the more.  

Today, I decided to feature meeting one of my most favorite characters: STITCH!  My friend Nikki and I decided on our trip to do things we hadn't done before.  One of those things for me was to go to the Best Friends Breakfast at O'hana.  This particular breakfast had Mickey and Pluto and Lilo and Stitch!  Two of my favorites at one meal- COUNT ME IN!  

Nikki and I meeting Stitch!  Don't I look about ready to jump out of my skin?  It was so much fun!  Right before the picture of Stitch and me was taken, I had told Stitch that Lilo had told me his badness level was high!  This is his reaction:

Isn't his reaction adorable!  I'm so glad Nikki captured this moment!  It truly was a magical moment for me!! 

Not only did we meet Stitch (and Lilo), we also met Mickey.

Nikki had said that Mickey wasn't her favorite- that she actually preferred Donald.  Look at the way she is looking at Mickey!  I just love it!

Me and my buddy!  (Yes, the lighting in there wasn't the greatest!  Oh well!)

I've shared far more pictures than I intended, but it was fun to go back and relive a little bit of my last trip!  If you want to read about our whole breakfast experience and see more pictures, see my Trip Report on the Disboards!  (That link will take you to the exact post, but if you want to read more, just go back to the beginning!)

Have a Magical Day!

World Card Making Day

Happy World Card Making Day!

Yep, the first Saturday in October is always World Card Making Day!  I so love that there is a 'holiday' devoted to (and, ahem, celebrated by) crazy people like me!  Don't you?

There are tons of challenges and giveaways today and through the week.  I've made a couple cards today for some of those challenges.

I did an ombre card for the Some Odd Girl October challenge and for Studio Calico's WCMD challenges.  I used my Caran D'Arch Neocolor water-soluble crayons to make a background.  Simple.  Once it was dry, I stamped with Stampin' Up's Day of Gratitude.  I used Some Odd Girl's Happy Gwen.  Isn't she adorable?  Just a fun and simple card- aside from the fussy cut of Gwen!

The second card I made was for another of Studio Calico's challenges.  I used Some Odd Girl's Sweater Pup!  I also made a cut file from the Studio Calico sketch!  

Thanks for looking!  I love making cards!  I hope you will try to make some cards for these fun challenges!

Free Cut Friday

Hello!  As a part of my new features, I want to include Free Cut Fridays because I LOVE making cut files for my Silhouette Cameo!  I love making cards for my Project Life, too!  Here is a special card for your Project Life.  Feel free to use it, but, please, link back to here!

Download here: Love This Arrow

Enjoy this card!  I hope you can use this!

Mickey Monday

Good morning!  I've decided to start some new features here on my blog.  They won't be a weekly thing.  They will just be when I decide I want to do them!  Fair enough?

Lately, I have really been missing Disney World.  About the time I started to realize this, Leslie at Violet Imperfection started her Mickey Monday feature to help her keep from missing Disney World so much!  I decided, I, too, had to follow suit!

For this first Mickey Monday, I want to give you some back story, so this doesn't seem random!  Who didn't love Disney movies as a kid?  Come on!  When my parents took me to Disney World in 1992, I was at the impressionable age of 13. (no laughing. ..it was the 90s!)

I LOVED Disney.  It was such a magical wonderful place.  One of the things that impressed me the most was seeing the animators working at (then) MGM Studios.  I remember taking the animation tour and being intrigued by the idea of getting to draw and color for a job!  From that moment on, I drew and colored Disney characters.  I decided I wanted to work at the Disney Store.  The moment I turned 16, I asked for a job.  Hmm. . .you had to be 18.  Guess what, I was there at 18 filling in paperwork!  I worked at the Disney Store on and off until I graduated college.  I was obsessed!  Disney was my life!

The picture of Mickey and me at the top is actually from Disneyland in California.  I went in 2001 on a mission- meet mickey mouse.  I missed him in '92, and this was something I had to do!  Yep, at 22, I HAD to meet Mickey.  It was a nice trip at Disneyland to be where Walt Disney actually walked!

Now, I've been to Disney World 5 times!  I miss it like crazy.  My last trip was 3 years ago with one of my best friends.  The Trip Report with tons of pictures is here.  I didn't finish, but you can see what fun we had!  Be aware, that some of those photos MIGHT show up here soon!

Mickey Mondays will be a way to show my photos and talk about my favorite parts of my trips!  I look forward to many more Mickey Mondays!

Monday Catch-up

Good Morning!  I had great plans to have all kinds of post ready for this week.  Um, yeah, that didn't happen.  I hope to have some big plans for this blog- not only my crafty things, but also more glimpses into my life.  However, for now, let's just catch up!

This past weekend, one of my husband's co-workers got married.  Since my husband is the manager, we, naturally, were invited and had to attend.  I had some reservations: I'm a good wall flower- especially when I don't know anyone.  I was worried it would be uncomfortable.  I ended up having a good time, so it all turned out well.  It was a beautiful wedding, and the reception was nice.  I'm glad I went looking back on it.  So, naturally, I had to make a wedding card.  I wanted something simple but nice since I didn't really know the couple.  I found a card on Pinterest I thought would be simple.  Ha!  I started working on it, and decided to watch Tangled while I was working.  Um, this was only my second time to see Tangled, so the card took me most of the movie to make because I kept getting caught up in the movie.  True Story!  Anyway, without further ado, here is the card:

I was happy with it.  I couldn't get the bow straight, but otherwise, it was very nice. 

Lately, I've been very inspired by Some Odd Girl.  Kristy Dalman is the artist and designer behind SOG.  She is amazing!  I love her work, and I stalk follow her instagram feed for her sketches and coloring.  They are amazing!  Aaaannnyhooo...I've been very inspired by her images and by the Some Odd World.  Most of these talented ladies on Some Odd World use Copics to color their images.  Er, well, honestly, I can't afford Copics.  I briefly looked into it a few years ago, and decided it wasn't for me.  I can't justify the cost.  However, I do experiment with other media!  Right now, my media of choice is Primsacolor pencils.  I've been in love with them since I was young.  My dad used to be a geophysicist.  He would survey land to see where was the best place to drill for oil.  He did a lot of maps, and I remember he gave me some colored pencils one time.  It was a mix of brands, and I was thrilled.  Mixed in with these colored pencils were some Prismacolors.  I was amazed at what they could do.  I started buying more and more.  Now, I'm obsessed.  They are so versatile.  I've been experimenting with them on the SOG images.  Ok, so they aren't Copics, but I get some nice shading and great coloring with them!

Here is my latest card with the SOG Winter Mae image:

I did this card for two challenges: one on Some Odd World where the challenge was to use our dies or cut files.  I made some snowflakes on my Cameo and used them on this card.  I also did the card for a challenge on the SOG blog.  They have a monthly challenge where they give you a sketch and ask you to use it as a springboard for a card.  This month's challenge was a very simple sketch, and I have seen all kinds of interpretations!  This is mine!

Thanks for catching up with me and my crafts! :)  Hopefully, soon, I will come up with many more ideas on how to liven this blog up!  Any ideas are welcomed!

Have a great day, and if you have any questions about my projects or supplies, just leave a comment!  (I love to read comments, anyway and would love to hear from you!!!)

Cards from the weekend

Good morning!  Please excuse my absence.  I usually blog on Mondays, but last Monday was Labor Day.  With my husband home, I wasn't able to blog.  Here I am; ready to go!

This weekend, I took some time to make some cards for Sublime Chocolate (where I work!)  My boss allows me to sell my cards there which go well with a gift of a box of chocolates!  My supply of cards at work is running very low.  This weekend, I had to make some more.  

I sat down on Saturday with a few cards in mind and went to work.  I decided having a plan and actually sticking to it gets me to make more cards for the time I'm working.  Great stuff.  I didn't get many designs done, but I did a few of each, so I have plenty to sell!  Here they are:

After posting the pictures, it doesn't seem like I got a lot accomplished, but I feel I did.  I guess as long as I felt good about what I accomplished, that is all that matters.

Hopefully, I will be back sooner rather than later with some other crafty things!  Have a good day!

Some Odd Girl Tag

On Some Odd World, there is a challenge called the Tic Tac Toe Challenge.  They give you this board as a prompt. 

You have to use the center sqaure, and you make anything that is in a straight line with the center square.  Fun, right?  The different people images represent a different character of the Some Odd Girl clear and digi stamps.  You can you whichever image of the represented character.  (For more information, go here).

I chose the center line with the brads and the SOG character, Tobie.  I chose Puppy Tobie to use on my tag.  What do you think?

Isn't he just too adorable??  Come join the fun at Some Odd World!

Social [Media] Butterflies- Skipping5

Hey guys!  Guess what, SMB is back and ready to go.  After a summer break, the Butterflies are back and ready to share all their creativeness with you!  Aren't you excited???

This month, we got to work with products from Skipping5. They have such fun and appealing products!  Every Butterfly got some different stuff to work with.  I got  a whole sheet of the diamond stickers plus a few others.  The minute I saw these little beauties, I knew which sentiment stamp I wanted to put with it.  

After much deliberation, I decided to make a card.  I made a very simple card, so the stickers would be front and center.  What do you think:

Don't the diamond stickers and the sentiment go perfectly together?  I just love it!  

I know you can see how awesome these stickers are!  Now, you get a chance: use the code SMB15 when you order from Skipping5 and you will get 15% off!  Isn't that fun?  Ok, if you like that, check this out: two lucky readers will be randomly selected to win 4 sheets of stickers from Skipping5!!!  How awesome is that??  Simply leave comments on some of the blogs in this hop for your chance to win!

Be sure to follow along on the blog hop to see all the great creations!  The next blog on the list is Jen, so hop on over and see what she created!  

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Crafty Fun

This weekend was a blur of craftiness!  So many projects and so little time.  However, to my amazement, they all got done thanks to my lovely hubby who allowed me to much needed "play" time!

First of all, today is my mom's birthday!  Happy Birthday, Mom!!!  We decided to celebrate last night with dinner and some fun times together!  I made my mom a card (naturally!) and a necklace.  I also got her a box of chocolates from Sublime with her favorite pieces in it!  

The necklace was a big hit (as was the chocolate!)  My mom said she had a great birthday celebration!

After my mom's birthday crafts were completed, I worked on several other projects.  Some I will show now and some I will save for later!

First up, I discovered Some Odd Girl Digital Stamps back in 2011 when I saw a sample on Splitcoaststampers that used "Kiss a Prince Tia."  I was so smitten, I bought that digi right away and made a card for my hubby for our anniversary.  I have always called Hubby my Frog Prince, so this is perfect.  I didn't want it to be too girly, so I stuck with some simple, natural colors!

Well, I recently rediscovered Some Odd Girl on Instagram and fell in love again with the cute stamps.  I bought a few more digis!  I colored these new ones, but I experimented with just using Prismacolor Pencils and the colorless blending pencil.  Long ago, I decided Copics were too expensive for me to obtain.  I have experimented with other ways to get that awesome, real-life color look.  Here is what I came up with:

I "fussy cut" her out and layered her on some patterned paper and vellum snowflakes.  I knew I wanted to use the 'my world is brighter because of you' sentiment because of the lights she is holding!  I had everything laid out, but wasn't totally sold until I added a few sequins.  Then, my card came together easily!  What do you think?

My last and final crafty thing this weekend was a Project Life spread.  This was the week of April 28 through May 4.  It was my first time to try out the "A Day in the Life" project that Ali Edwards created.  I shot pictures throughout the day.  It was really cool!  I also used some of my Studio Calico kits again.  I love using these up and seeing how great they look!  Here is my spread and some close ups!  

Left side

A Day in the Life close up

Right side

Thank you for looking at my accomplishments.  I will have more up later in the week with the Social Media Butterflies Blog hop!  See you then!

Project Life Week 17

Last Saturday was supposed to be my catch-up with Project Life!  Haha!  What is the saying. . .something about when man makes plans, God laughs?  That's how I felt.  It was a such a big mess at work, I don't want to go into the details.  Ultimately, I got called in a few hours on Saturday.  Not a huge deal, however, I wanted to use those hours to catch up on Project Life.  Oh well.   I did get one week finished before I got called in.  

Yes, and that week was . . . .wait for it. . . . .WEEK 17!!!!!!!!!!!  (Trumpets fanfare!)  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am woefully behind and just finished Week 17 when we are WAAAY past that.  Oh well.  It really doesn't bother me too much because I'm proud of each week I finish!

Would you like to see?  Naturally!  I think all of you who come to see my blog do so from scrapbooking sites or because you follow me (thank you my three followers!).  Here is week 17!

Left side

Title card!  I was inspired by Jen on instagram (who, by the way, has the two cutest boys you ever saw!).  She posted a picture of her Title card (which can be seen on her blog!)  I decided to use it as a springboard!

Again, I used up some more of my Studio Calico Project Life kits.  I just can't get over how they manage to pull the pages together!!  I LOVE them!!!!  (Their current kit, Marks & Co is still available!)

If you don't already know, I work at a chocolate shop called Sublime Chocolate where I am Production Manager and Assistant Chocolatier!  Yes, that means I made chocolate!  Great job!  The chocolates in the upper left photo of this page were ones I created.  My boss gave us a time to experiment with making whatever we wanted.  I made a blackberry piece that was very well liked!!

Right Side

I will admit my journaling on this spread was sparse at best.  I had so many photos I wanted to include that journaling came second.  Is it sad- a little, but I did discover 'writing' on photos.  Before I print them, I add a caption or short description.  That helps the viewer to see and understand more of the photos.  It also helps me to remember more of what happened those weeks!

There you are!  Project Life Week 17.  I still love the project!  I love recording everything!  Even though I just have three dogs and my hubby, I still have my own stories to tell.  So for those of you who think you are too boring for Project Life- Guess again!

A Desperate Plea for Help!

Ok, maybe it isn't 'desperate', but I think I'm going crazy and I need help!  HAHAHA!!!

A while back, I made a Cheez-it chicken recipe in the microwave.  It was so simple and so good!  I'm pretty sure I made the chicken by just using the recipe off my computer.  However, I can't find that recipe now!  I've looked everywhere.  I think it was Pinterest, but I can't find it there.  The main thing, it was in the microwave!!!!  All the recipes I find are in the oven, and those aren't the right ones!  Here is my plea: does anyone know this recipe?  I think it was simply chicken breasts, sour cream, and cheez-its.  I think you rolled the chicken in the sour cream and then rolled it in the crackers.  Then you put plastic wrap around it and microwaved it.  (Could be wrong about the plastic wrap!)  If you know this recipe and where I can find it, please, please, please let me know!  Thanks!

A little catching up!

Good morning! First of all, I am hoping to blog more often and either share my projects or inspiration! I hope to blog weekly and possibly twice a week. Anyone going to hold me to that? Anyone? Anyone? 

In my attempt to blog more, I shot some quick photos of my latest creations with my phone. They are the best photos, but it will allow me to share my creations now with the idea of doing better photography later! :) 
First off, I've been working on an initial for a friend of mine. Her last name starts with an M, so I wanted to create something she could hang in her house. I have other plans up my sleeve, but this is the only one that has gotten mostly finished in my last few crazy weeks! 

What do you think?  I still need to add a hanger of some sort to it, but otherwise, it is done!  I am pleased with it!  I hope she will be, too!

Second, I've been dabbling in jewelry making!  Yes, me!  I'm usually more of a paper person- it is cheaper and easily fixable should something go wrong.  Well, I decided to jump into jewelry making.  The idea was to get into Christmas craft fairs this year to earn some extra money, however, I soon discovered craft fairs are expensive AND most of the deadlines have past!  WHAAAT??  Yeah, so no craft fairs. . .THIS year.  Watch out for me next year!  Here is a sample of a necklace I made.  Yes, it is plain, but I like it.  I might play around with the design some more.  The edges may need something. . .hmm...

Finally, yes, I am kinda keeping up with Project Life!  I am several months behind, but I'm still doing the best I can!  I had a whole bunch of pictures printed, so I am ready to get going.  Here are the last two week spreads I've recently finished:

April 7-April 13 Left side:

Right Side:

April 14-April 20 Left side:

Right Side:

Sorry about the bad photos.  I'm going to work on that!  However, like I said, I just wanted to share!

I've been using up months and months of my project life kits.  I have been very free in allowing myself to use whatever I want from the kits.  Usually, I'm very timid to use things out of the kit for fear that I might need them later.  I decided that was the dumbest reason to not use things.  So, I used whatever I wanted.  The cards go so well together, it really brings my pages together.  Considering they are just a mass of random life photos.  I LOVE using the kits.  Duh!  I wish I'd used them sooner!  Oh well!

Enjoy your week.  I'm off to work shortly!