Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom loves pansies. When I looked for a pansy shape on my cartridges I didn't have one (and I didn't have MTC at the time). All of the you tube videos I could find used the MS Butterfly punch, which I also didn't have. So I searched my carts to see if there was something similar.

On wild card, I found a bow on page 76 and improvised, using that instead. It required a little altering (it needed "notches" to make it look like wings) but I think it came out beautifully.

Introducing Margaret

I've made a lot of cards over the year and will be posting them over the next few weeks.


I had my second baby girl in September. I made the following announcement to introduce her to our family and friends.




I love making pedestal cards. When set up, it looks like a frame for whatever creation you've put on the front. A create way to showcase that special picture, watercolor or sentiment. Cards that are made to be displayed will encourage the recipient to set it up and put it out to be enjoyed. After all, isn't that why we make cards?

Material used:

PTI paper - white, sweet blush, and hibiscus burst

PTI ribbin - swiss dot in sweet blush

PTI vintage buttons - sweet blush and hibiscus burst

Cricut New Arrival Cartridge

Vellum paper

ATG

photocorners

glue dots

How to create a pedestal card:

For Base: Cut cardstock to 4.25" x 11" (width x length) and score the 11" side at 2.75" and 5.5". This creates 3 sections - 1 measuring 5.5" long (lets refer to this as section 'A') and 2 measuring 2.75" long each (we will call these sections B (middle section) and C)

For bottom mat - cut two mats out of cardstock - one measuring 4.25" x 5.5" and another measuring 4.25" x 3". This mat will be the same width as the base.

For top mat - Cut two mats out of cardstock (or paper) measuring 4" x 5.25" and another measuring 4" x 2.75".

Embellish your mats as you wish.

For the larger mat, I ran the top mat through the cuttlebug using the swiss dots folder. I attached the ribbon. Then using glue dots attached the rattle (cut out at 2.5") and bow. I included the picture that was taken in the hospital. A standard wallet size is 2.5" x 3.5" so I left space for the picture and attached it using photo corners.

The smaller mat I also ran the top mat through the same cuttlebug folder. I printed the birth information on vellum using my HP Photosmart printer and cut to 3.75" x 2.5". I again used photocorners to attach the vellum (vellum tape was sticking well due to the embossing and I was worried that the ATG tape would show).

Once you have your pieces embellished, here's how to assemble the pedestal card:

Take your card base and set it vertically on your workspace with section C at the top. Fold C over B. Attached the bottom half of your large mat to the back of section C (this is now facing up and should be laying over section B). The top half of your large mat will not be attached to your card.

Attached the small mat to the bottom of section A. When assembled correctly, this section will become the "stopper" to the large mat when it's set in the pedestal position.

I hope this makes sense! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions in making the card.

Bee Mine Valentine's Day card

Materials used:
Create-a-Critter cartridge
DCWV cardstock
Reflections cardstock
Bee Mine stamp from Michael's
Glossy Accents
MTC software (for hexagons)

A fresh start yet again

Wow...2011 already. This year really flew by. I let this go as I was adjusting to my changes in circumstances - losing my job, having another child and being a mom now to 2 beautiful daughters.

As I did last year, here is my review of 2010...

January - got a BFP!!! Due October 11, 2010.
February - Did you know morning sickness does NOT occur only in the morning? It's more difficult this time around as I am running after an almost 2 year old.
March - The one year anniversary of my grandmothers death. Do you ever get over it?
April - Well the time has come. Ater 11 years, I have to pack up my desk, hand over my duties and turn in my security badge. The one that has the picture I took on the first day I walked through the doors. My last week was weird. I had jury duty and ended up on a case. I went to work on Tuesday knowing that I had to report on Wednesday at the courthouse. I was not expecting to get on a case - I was pregnant, my DH is a Corrections Officer in the same county that I had to report, and after that Friday, I would the primary caretaker of a 2 year old. Wouldn't you know it - I got picked right away and the case was only supposed to through Friday. I couldn't get out of it. The case was fine, but I missed my last three days of work. I didn't a luncheon or even a goodbye celebration.
May - DD turns 2. We had beautiful weather as was able to have her party in our backyard.
June - Enjoyed the summer days with my daughter
July - I turned 37 :(
August - Practically on bedrest. This pregnancy is taking a toll on me and my hips
September - DD makes her appearance two weeks early. She was born September 27, 2010 at 11:56PM via c-section.
October - Now I have 2 to take care of? How do people do this!
November - (see October)
December - (see November)

Now onto a brand new year and a new start.

Awesome giveaway at MyPinkStamper.com Thanks Robyn!

Robyn over at MyPinkStamper.com is giving away a Cricut Exporession, donated by Custom Crops!! Head on over and grab this awesome blinkie:






Pop it in your blog or in your signature on a message board. Then let her know where it is.

Good luck!

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

I have to share. One of my online friends book debuted yesterday and it is getting amazing reviews.

Please, please, read. Besides being an incredible author, she is an amazing women. She is just in awe over the success of her book and she couldn't be more excited.

Here is a link to her site (I am having trouble entering links - you may need to copy and paste):
a href="http://bethhoffman.net/the-book">


Synopsis (copied and pasted from her site)
Twelve-year-old CeeCee is in trouble. For years she’s been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille— the crown-wearing, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town. Though it’s 1967 and they live in Ohio, Camille believes it’s 1951 and she’s just been crowned the Vidalia Onion Queen of Georgia.

The day CeeCee discovers Camille in the front yard wearing a tattered prom dress and tiara as she blows kisses to passing motorists, she knows her mother has completely flipped. When tragedy strikes, Tootie Caldwell, a previously unknown great-aunt comes to CeeCee’s rescue and whisks her away to Savannah. Within hours of her arrival, CeeCee is catapulted into a perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricities—a world that appears to be run entirely by women.

While Tootie is busy saving Savannah’s endangered historic homes from the wrecking ball, CeeCee encounters a cast of unforgettable, eccentric characters. From the mysterious Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in an outdoor tub under the watchful eyes of a voyeuristic peacock, to Oletta Jones, the all-knowing household cook, to Violene Hobbs, the loud-mouthed widow who entertains a local police officer in her yellow see-through peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer.

But CeeCee’s view of the world is challenged in ways she could have never imagined: there are secrets to keep, injustices to face, and loyalties to uphold. Just as she begins to find her ballast and experiences a sense of belonging, her newfound joy collides with the long-held fear that her mother’s legacy has left her destined for destruction.

Laugh-out-loud funny, at times heartbreaking, and written in a pitch-perfect voice, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt is a spirited Southern tale that explores the intricate frailties and strengths of female relationships while illuminating the journey of a young girl who loses her mother but finds many others.

Scrap Corner

Pics of my corner! Still a lot of work to be done, but now it's functional.






Working now on organization. I need shelves and paper holders.