Glitter & Vinyl Ornaments

I know that making the glitter ornaments is the rage right now, but I decided to add a bit of vinyl to mine and I love the way that they turned out.  Especially since using vinyl is new to me.

And if you're one of the few that haven't heard about these easy to make ornaments I'll share how to do so and you can view the video that Happy Happy Joy Joy made on You Tube.  To make these you'll need:

Pledge Future floor shine
Glass ornaments from your local craft store
FINE glitter (preferrably Martha Stewart)
Ribbon, vinyl or other embellishments
small funnel that will fit into the opening of the ornament

Remove the hanger cap from the ornament, pour a little  of the floor shine into the ornament and gently swish it around so that the entire inside of the ornament is covered.  You can use a small piece of plastic wrap to cover the top so that it doesn't get on  your fingers.

Pour floor shine back into the bottle.  Using the funnel add glitter to the ornament.  Cover top and swirl around to coat the interior surface completely with glitter.

I allow mine to "air/dry" for a bit before re-capping.  Embellish with vinyl cuts, ribbon, etc.

We Thank Thee

This week's Cricut Cardz Challenge was to create a Thanksgiving themed card using the card feature from any cartridge along with any other cuts and colors we desired.  I chose to use one of the card features from A Child's Year cut at 5 1/2".

I also used Accent Essentials for the background layers cut at 3 1/2", 3" and 2 3/4" for the front of the card.  I pop dotted between the top two layers before adhering to the card. 

The corn was cut from Thanksgiving at 2 1/2" and then embossed.

Prayer Bugs - Inspired by.....

First of all I must give credit where credit is due as the original idea for these little cuties came from Jean's Crafty Corner.  Last month she had created these and I thought it was such a great way to spread encouragement that I scraplifted her idea and ran with it.

For my bugs I used Simply Charmed and cut the lady bugs at 2 1/2".  The little heart buttons I found at Michael's for a package of 20 for $1.99. 

Thank you so much Jean for this wonderful idea.  The ladies have really enjoyed receiving these.

The 7 Minutes Life System - REVIEW

A couple weeks ago I received a free promotional copy of a terrific book and supplemental daily planner titled The Seven Minute Difference by Allyson Lewis. I was asked to read the book, use the planner and then provide you, my fellow bloggers, with a review prior to the book’s release this Thursday, October 21st. Ready?


Like me, your first thought is probably “Great, another planner. What makes this one so special?” Now mind you I've tried the Franklin Covey planners and after a short stint they quickly became nothing more than a glorified address book for me. However, I found this one to be different. As a person who thrives on organization, I love the fact that this planner provides ample room for all the written organizational tools I need including: monthly calendars, task lists, space for voicemail messages, appointments and other sundry items.  

But before I even got into the layout stages of my "plans" I had room to reflect on my priorities, personal/professional/financial goals and projects – short and long term. This then allowed me to plan my time more efficiently and we all know how important that is.

And then there's the companion book, The Seven Minute Difference. All throughout her book, Allyson Lewis prompts the reader to perform what she calls “micro-actions”. (Micro-actions are basically the small actions that make the difference between okay and excellent.) Combine these with the Seven Minute Ideas mentioned in each chapter and there’s no way you can go wrong. Both sets of ideas and actions provide great support and encouragement to the reader.

My personal favorites:
In striving to reach excellence, either everything matters or nothing matters.
You must have fun in your work if you want to grow within your profession
Feed your mind with positive images.

The bottom line here is that Allyson has provided an excellent resource that is guaranteed to bring about whatever organizational or time management change you find yourself needing. To find out more about Allyson’s book and planner please visit her at The 7 Minute Life System.

Tootsie Roll Flower Bouquet

I've been wanting to try my hand at these for a while and finally did it.  My first try didn't turn out so hot and I went searching for a tutorial and found this one over at Paper Phenomenon.

Using George I cut my flowers at 3" instead of 2 1/2" because I thought they looked better.

Once I watched the tutorial a couple of times it was easy to create these and I will be making more.

Remember These?

I'm kinda of in a reminiscent frame of mind this week....creating (or should I say re-creating) cards that I made "back in the day".  Cards that everyone I've given them to has loved, but I quit making them and moved on to the next "fad".  Isn't it funny how we tend to do that with so many things in our lives?

Well tonight I give you an oldie but a goodie remade.  For this card I used:

George - welding a couple of shapes together to create the flowerpot itself which stands about 3 1/2" tall.  I also used George to create the shapes for the flower "tag".

Mickey and Friends for the flowers
Accent Essentials for the leaves (also embossed)
TBBM for the flower tag hanging from the ribbon
Sesame Street and Friends for the little worm
Graphically Speaking for the word "friend"

Just a Note

This week's Cricut Cardz Challenge was anything goes.  That's right.  Any theme.  Any cartridge/s.  Any color/s we want.  It's all fair game.

I chose to create a card of encouragement.  Actually, I had started designing this one on my Gypsy a while back and never finished it for some reason so this was the perfect time to get 'er done.  To make things even more exciting I found a new mat stack at Hobby Lobby this week.  It's called Faith by Paper Studio and I love the papers in this stack!

To create this card I used:

Gypsy Wanderings for the 'placard' cut at 5" and the note cut at 1 1/4"
Gypsy Font for the verbiage cut at 1 /4"
Home Decor for the bird cut at 3"

Now that your creative juices are flowing - come and play along with us.  Just create your card, click on the link above and follow the directions to link your card and be entered for a chance to win the October prize.

Count Your Blessings

Here's a quick and easy card for Thanksgiving.  For this one I used:

Thanksgiving for the turkey and inside sentiment
Accent Essentials for the background shapes

This was a card that I had actually "designed" on World Card Making Day last week for a challenge that required an animal cut.  However, I had so much going on that day that I never had time to cut and put it together until late last night.

Santa's List Wall Clock

Anyone who's followed my blog for a while has probably discovered how much I enjoy altering clocks.  Of all the things out there to alter clocks are my absolute favorite!  And so for my last entry in the challenge world this week I thought I'd make....yep, you guessed it....another clock.

This one was created for the Decor to Make the Season Bright Challenge going on until Monday the 11th over at Moxie Fab World.  For this one I used Christmas Greetings and cut the reindeer at 1 1/2" and the Santa at 3 1/2".  I also flocked Santa's beard, moustache, boots and mitten.  The brim of his hat was done using flower soft and I embossed his handy, dandy list. 

Of all the clocks I've made thus far I have to say that this one is still my all time favorite.  There's just something about this ice skater cut that keeps me coming back for more projects.

If you'd like to see more of the clocks I've made click on the altered projects link located on the right.

Snowman Gift Tags

Here's another little challenge for you.  This one is for the All Wrapped Up Challenge going on until Monday the 11th, and the 'directions' are to "create a paper crafted gift bag, tag, box, gift wrap, etc. that for the holiday season".  So I thought why not give this one a try as well (and there's still two more going on that I'm thinking about playing with).

For this one I re-created an old favorite using my Gypsy and the Gyspy Wanderings cart.  Yep the good ol' snowman soup tags.  This is always a fun classic for giveaways at Christmas time and the variations are endless see?

These others were created a while back using Doodlecharms, TBBM and I don't remember which of the Christmas carts.

And okay, I've only created three so far but I tell you they are endless...........

Out of This World Bday

This is another card that I did for a challenge.  However, this one called for following a sketch.  And me being me - I didn't want to create a card using the obvious cuts.  You know - a hat (like in the sketch) or a tree.  I wanted to try something different.  Something that didn't have to be an exact triangular shape but perhaps similar.  So after some thinking I chose the rocket ship from Everyday Paper Dolls.

 The ship and the planet at the tip are both pop dotted for a layered look.  And the "fire" coming out of the ship is actually the shooting star from Everyday Paper Dolls that was coated with lemon drop and orange sorbet glitter from the MS line.

And this is the sketch we were asked to base our card from.

Fall Leaves - Offset Scallop Gallop Challenge in the Moxie Fab World

I've never created a card for one of the challenges on Moxie Fab as I've always been too intimidated.  However, this particular challenge instilled a sense of intrigue and I had to give it a try.  And even though this is my first attempt at such a card I think I kind of like it.

I used:

Accent Essentials to create my scallops cut at 1"
Simply Charmed for the tree and 3 extra sets of leaves cut at 4"
Simply Charmed for the clouds and the sun cut at 1 1/2" and 2"

God Puts a Smile on My Face

I saw this sentiment somewhere and knew that I had to create a card using it.  And then I found what I thought was a perfect Bible verse to go with the sentiment as well.  Put the two together, remembered the smiley face on Graphically Speaking and viola I had a super quick and easy card.

Don't you just love it when the sentiment does all the work for you? 

Santa, I Believe

This is a card that I created for this week's Santa Slackers Challenge #5.  For this week's challenge we had to use a Santa cut and at least one tag on our card.

For my card, I used Paper Doll Dress Up for the santa cut at 4".  I flocked the red portion of the hat and used Flower Soft for the white fur trim.  I then used Gypsy Font for the words cut at 1".

My tag is a shipping tag purchased from Office Depot, embossed with D'Vine Swirls and then inked with Broken China and Vintage Linen Distressed inks.