Saturday, August 9, 2014

Tidbits and such....what I've been up to and some crafty shares

Hello!!  I've missed being on here, I've missed crafting on a regular basis!!  Time to get back into the swing of things!!

When I left you all in February I was 4 months pregnant and in the middle of moving.   We are in our new home - not completely settled but close enough.

real estate pic before we moved in
My crafting space is minimal compared to what it was, but I'm making it work.

part of my space - I'll do better photos or a tour later :)
Things were moving along, we were settling in and then in March my husband was injured, went in for back surgery and was home for 6 weeks recovery.  Those unexpected things!  Thankfully he is fully recovered and back to work now - in fact began a new job this week!

By the time he went back to work we were in full baby mode and getting things ready!


Big belly pic!
Then, on June 23rd our family and our hearts grew and we were blessed with our baby girl.

Guinevere Adele


Max is a proud big brother!
I started planning her baptism pretty much right away.  I made the invitations - which not everyone got because I couldn't get things together to get out of the house and make it to the post office.  But that's okay - I know these sleepless nights won't last forever and I already know with Max that time goes by way too quickly.

Baptism Invitation
 


I used one of the dresses from Paper Doll Dress Up and welded them together in CCR to make the shaped card.  I cut an extra front to run through the cuddlebug - I think this is an Anna Griffin embossing folder.

I also made everything for the dessert trays - The back tray has fresh lime shortbread cookies, coconut cream cupcakes with a coconut cream cheese frosting, dusted with toasted coconut and then dressed up with some cupcake toppers I made.  Also, my vanilla sugar cookies that I decorated as crosses.  The front tray has pink lemonade cookies and homemade funfetti sprinkle cookies.

Dessert trays I made for the baptism
Gwen in her baptism gown

My dear friend came and took us out to have the kids photos done!

My sister made Gwen the most ADORABLE mermaid costume!!


Max and Gwen together - my heart!!
Yesterday I finally finished the thank you notes ~

Sorry - no details, just sharing today :)

And here are some other things I've been working on....
Name banner for my friends son

cupcake toppers for a baby shower

Cake topper for a baby shower
I realized this morning that my maternity leave is two thirds of the way done....one month from today I need to return to my regular job.  So in the meantime, I am making the most of the time I have!  My nephew is getting married next weekend and Max is the ring bearer, can't wait for that!  Then school begins - 2nd grade already!!!  I'm taking advantage of this time and enjoying my kids! Things are going to become very busy soon enough :)

I'll be back next week - I've some other projects done for Halloween.  Tune in next week for the first installment of my 12 weeks of Halloween segment! 

Have a great week, enjoy life!!
Dawn





Sunday, February 2, 2014

Baby Nursery - Wall Art with Cricut and CTMH

Good Morning everyone!

My husband and I were at the hospital this past Friday for an ultrasound.  Baby is healthy and moving like CRAZY!!  In fact, they couldn't get all the pics they wanted because the baby was moving so much so I'll have to go back again in a few weeks  :)  I don't mind - I could sit and watch my baby all day on that screen!  They were however able to determine the baby's gender!!



We are all excited!  My son especially because he's been saying it's a girl since we found out and he was right!

So now we know, I can really start working on baby projects!  Of course we are moving in 13 days so I need to deal with that first - but I just haven't brought myself to pack up my craft room yet.  I know I need to start soon....In the meantime, it's still out when the mood strikes me.  Like last night!  I was on Pinterest gathering baby girl ideas and came across the most adorable owl canvas.  I had already decided weeks ago, girl or boy, the nursery was going to have an owl theme.

So I sat down with a 12 x 12 blank canvas.  I painted it pink with Folk Art Baby Pink acrylic paint.  While it was drying I cut out pieces with the cricut.


I started with the adorable owl from Create a Critter 2.  I love the hearts on this owl!  I sized it at 5" for my canvas using cocoa, blush, buttercup, and the dark pink was from my scraps.


Then I added the phrase.  The letters were cut using the Rock Princess cartridge using the heart font.  I cut the letters at 1.25".

Then, using Cricut Artiste I cut hearts to go both above and below the phrase.  They were cut at 1".  Once I had all the paper cuts down, I went over it all with a couple coats of Mod Podge to seal it all in.  


After the Mod Podge dried, I added some flowers and buttons from my stash and I added the glitter detail to the owl and hearts using some Studio G glitter glue.


And here it is all together.  The space over the owl was left empty on purpose so that after we agree on a name I can go back and add it in.  We have it narrowed down to two possibilities :)

Linking to:
Little Scrap Pieces - any card, project or layout
BBTB2- baby challenge

Hope you enjoy and come visit again!!  Have a wonderful day, and if you are going out for the Superbowl today, please be safe!

CTMH NEWS:  The new idea book is now available on my website!  If you haven't checked it out, please do - lots of new products and gorgeous papers!!  Click here to view - or leave me a comment if you would like me to send you your own book. 

We also have a couple of great specials going this month!



Embossing is Boss!  If you haven't heard, CTMH is now selling embossing folders!  YAY!!!!
There are 5 designs available for purchase.  They are $8.95 each, but you can get yours for FREE!!! During the month of February, you qualify to receive a free embossing folder for every 2 packs of bulk cardstock (single color or combo) you purchase! That is a savings of $8.95! Select from 5 new embossing folder designs—dot, chevron, quatrefoil, damask, or stripe—when you submit a qualifying order.


And of course, with the start of each new month begins a new Stamp of the Month!  This month we have "Wild about Love" waiting for you!  Isn't it so cute!!  And it coordinates with the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge! The stamp of the month is only available in the month it is presented.  You can purchase separately for $17.95, or you can get it for only $5.00 with any $50.00 purchase.

Check out this video featuring some new stamp sets and one of the exclusive Hostess stamp sets.

Lots of great stuff going on!  I'll be posting soon with some of the new, exclusive Hostess only stamp sets available from this book soon also.  If you have any questions at all, or are interested in hosting your own online gathering to earn exclusive Hostess only items, free product and half off items please let me know!  

Have a wonderful day!!!
Hugs ~ Dawn

Sunday, January 26, 2014

You are FIN- tastic -- a Valentine

Hi Everyone!  How are you all doing this wonderful Sunday??

I'm up to my ears in moving boxes :)  Only about 3 week till our move day.  And since I need to start packing up my craft room I decided to get Max's school Valentine's done early.


OMGeeeee I love them!!!!  I used Create A Critter for both the fish and the fishbowl.  The bowl is cut at 2 1/2" using white daisy and indian corn blue cardstock.  The fish is cut at 1"  using black and  honey cardstocks.  The lines in the fins didn't show the black very well from underneath so I just went in with a black gel pen to add some color.  The stamps I  used are from a K. Andrews design set called Splashtastic Summer using black ink 


On the back I used B1399 Crafted With Love stamp in Cranberry.  Then I useD1560 Holiday Tags for the Happy Valentine's Day and the from stamps in Hollyhock.  There's just enough space left for Max to sign his name :)


They will all be attached to the snack size bags of Goldfish crackers - once I get to the  store  LOL

And now I'm going to pack some more boxes....Have a wonderful Sunday!!!

January Specials:
Cloud Nine cardmaking kit
Stamp of the Month

Retiring Items - available while supplies last or Jan. 31st.  New catalog begins Feb. 1st!

While Supplies Last - deeply discounted clearance items

Linking to:
Little Scrap Pieces - anything goes

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Happy Birthday, with Cricut and CTMH

Good Morning Friends!  How are you all today?  I'm spending a few quiet minutes with my coffee and computer before everyone is up and about for thee craziness of the day :)

A good friend of mine's daughter has a birthday coming up next month.  She's turning 10 and I wanted to make something special for her.  I have the card done, but still brainstorming some gift ideas.


The card base is 5" square and is cut from Cricut Art Philosophy with slate cardstock.  I cut 2 square mats, one from twilight sized 4 1/4" and the other from white daisy sized 4".  (I used CCR to search for the images I wanted so I do not have page numbers to locate them in the handbooks) The banner is cut from Birthday Bash at 1", the balloons are cut from Creative Cards at 1 1/2".  The paper for the banner is from Fancy Pants Designs, a 6x6 paper pad called Time for Spring.  A super cute paper pad!  For the balloons, I covered them with the bonding memories glue pen and covered them with glitter.  I used bakers twine to make a bow for the banner and the strings for the balloons.  They are both adhered and raised with foam tape.


The owl is from Hoot n Holler at 2" out of scraps.  The sentiment is from Joyful Birthday, B1419 and is stamped in Hollyhock.


On the inside, I cut the same square mats as the front.  The sentiment is from The Party is On, C1568.  This is one of the exclusive Hostess Sets available when you host a gathering.  I stamped this with Hollyhock also.  Along the bottom I stamped a border with one of the Washi Wonder stamps, D1558 using second generation stamping.  This again is another Hostess Rewards sets available when you host a gathering.  This was stamped in twilight.  I wanted something a little extra so I used the tiny heart stamp from Lifting Spirits, C1570 and stamped it over the washi border in cotton candy.


I think it turned out super cute!  Hope you enjoyed today's project!

Be sure to check out the While Supplies Last and the Retiring Items sections!  When they are gone, they are gone forever!  New catalog coming Feb. 1st!

Specials available only in January:
January stamp of the month, only $5.00 with a qualifying purchase.
Cloud Nine cardmaking kit, only $15.00 with a qualifying purchase.

 Linking to:
Pause Dream Enjoy, balloons
Jo's Scrap Shack, anything goes
Friday Mashup, birthday theme with twine
Crafting by Designs, birthday
Fantabulous Cricut, use a sentiment






Saturday, January 11, 2014

It's been a while....a personal update on life and what's been going on

Hey everyone...Wow it's been a long time since I've posted!  A lot of stuff has been happened on a personal level.

The last week in September, just a couple days after my last post I had the first of a few anxiety attacks.  It came out of the blue and for no reason at all that I can imagine.  It was a Saturday afternoon, my husband and son were at the park and I was home cleaning house.  All of a sudden I got real shaky and I swear my heart was going to pound right out of my chest.  I seriously thought I was having a heart attack.  I called my husband to come home then called 911.  The wonderful dispatcher stayed on the phone with me keeping me as calm as possible until the paramedics arrived.  When they got here, they put me inside and hooked me up to a bunch of machines.  My blood pressure was out of control - 212/180 - they told me later it was a wonder that I didn't stroke out.  They put an oxygen mask on and kept monitoring me until my husband and son arrived home.  It felt like hours, but it was only about 5 minutes or so.  The ambulance ended up taking me to the ER so  I could be put on IV meds to bring down my BP.  By this time the anxiety attack had passed and I was so weak and tired.  Once my BP was down they sent me on my way with instructions to follow up with my doctor.

I happened to be in between doctors at this time.  I never really cared for my previous doctor and didn't have the trust you need to have with someone who could quite possibly hold your life in his/her hands.  Then Sunday evening I had another anxiety attack.   Again, for no apparent reason.  I was home relaxing with my husband and son watching tv.  This time I knew what it was so I didn't freak out as badly.  The wonderful ER nurses had taught me some breathing techniques and that helped me through.  This one didn't last quite as long but left me  wondering what the heck was going on. And quite honestly, I was pissed off.  There was absolutely no reason for this to be happening.  I'm screaming at myself in my head to just knock it off, but my body just wouldn't follow through.

The next morning I began talking to the other moms at school and some friends to get a recommendation on a new doctor.  The doctor I finally chose was mentioned to me by a few people so I called and made an appointment.  No surprise when I got in to see him later that week I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and too much stress.  He put me on some meds and ordered a ton of blood tests.

This was a wake up call for me, obviously.  I was stretched far to thin, putting too much responsibility on myself.  I needed to make more time for me and less doing everything for everyone else.  I shut down my Etsy store for a while (still not open yet) put all my crafting on the back burner.  I reduced the hours I work to a normal 8 hr day (working from home, you would not believe how easy it is to slip into a pattern of 10+ hr days) I napped when I wanted to, I read books again.  It's amazing, when I was a child you couldn't pry my head away from a good book and yet it had been 6 years - the last time I read a book was on maternity leave with my son!

I ended up having one more anxiety attack after that, went back to the doctor.  He prescribed me a daily anxiety medication but it made me so sick.  I  just took it that one time and thankfully I haven't had another attack since then and I hope never again.  I do still go to the Dr. once a month for a BP check and thankfully it is under control with the meds and diet changes I have made.

So the last few months I've just spent enjoying life and my family.  I did some crafting and a lot of baking for the holidays.  If you like my FB page you can see the school treats and some of the gifts I made for my family.  I also continued the gifts from my kitchen segment over there with a few recipes.

Then, just before Christmas, my husband and I received the greatest gift of all!  We discovered we were expecting a baby!!  This was a huge surprise to us because we had been trying/waiting for 5 years and now we are blessed again.  We told our families over Christmas, but couldn't actually get in to the OB until Dec. 26th.  Unfortunately, the Dr. was out sick but the nurse tested and confirmed.  We set an appt. for Jan 3rd for our first ultrasound.  I forget how amazing that is!  To see the little peanut move and hear it's heartbeat.  Such a gift from God.  It was determined that I was already 14 wks along and our due date is June 30th.

So now, I am feeling better, I am feeling stronger and am ready to get back to some crafting!  Especially since there are baby projects to be made!  There won't be a ton of baby stuff until I hit the  20 wk mark for my next ultra sound and hopefully find out if it's a boy or girl.  And I'll be changing direction on here a bit.  Some days I may have a paper craft, maybe a sewing project, kids craft or a recipe thrown in.  And I realized I put too much pressure on myself by trying to post daily so for now I promise a weekly post.  May be more often than that, but at least once a week as I get into the swing of things again.

Thank you for being here with me and I look forward to sharing what is to come with you all!

Hugs & Kisses!!
Dawn