Sparkly Things Blog Candy WINNER!!!!

I am so sorry that I am just getting here to announce the winner of the candy for the Sparkly Things Blog Hop.  I stayed up way too late watching the Oscar's and all of the post award show coverage and then I overslept this morning!  I NEVER over sleep!  I couldn't tell you the last time I even had to set an alarm clock to wake me up.  Needless to say...the boys and I were rushing around this morning like chickens with our heads cut off getting ready to head off to school so there was no blog time for me! 

So are you ready to see who the winner was????   I was giggling when I scrolled down to see who the random org selected number belonged to... 

Why was I giggling?  Because #21 belongs to........

no other than........

the lady...................

who put this...................

whole blog hop together........................

JANICE!!!!

Janice said:

I love your stuff always!!! And Cheshire cat is why I will own that cart by the end of today!

Thanks for the sparkle!
Janice


Congratulations Janice!!!  I know you have my email address so please shoot me a message with your snail mail address and I will get your goodies into the mail this week!  I do hope that you are now the proud owner of the Disney Classics cartridge!  I promise you will love it! 
Hope you are all staying tuned to my blog especially during the month of March because I have some AWESOME blog candy to share with you during the various blog hops I'm participating in.  I also noticed that during this past weekend I surpassed 30,000 visitors and 600 followers!!!  Horray and thank you!  I wasn't anticipating doing any blog candy for that with all the other blog candy coming up, but you never know...I just might have some goodies to throw out there as a "thank you"! 

Hope everyone is having a good start to their week.  I figured it can only get better after the start we had this morning so I'm very optimistic!  Enjoy! 





Still time to hop for blog candy!

Good Sunday morning!  There is still time to participate in the Sparkly Things Attract Me Blog Hop!  Please click here for >>> yesterday's blog hop to find the lineup and a chance to win some sparkly blog candy! 

Most important to note is to PLEASE take a minute to stop by Michelle's blog who was late getting her post up yesterday due to a family emergency.  She has had a rough few days and could use our support and prayers, so please make that a priority.  Michelle, I hope today is brighter than yesterday and I will continue to keep your family in my thoughts and prayers.  

Today is sadly our last day of mid-winter break and the boys head back to school tomorrow.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the down time and just being able to hang out here around the house.  I accomplished pretty much everything on my crafting to do list that I wanted/needed to get done for upcoming hops and challenges which is a huge relief considering these next few weeks are going to be crazy busy for us.  I have also been learning a new program which is exhausting and exciting all at the same time!  I will be posting about that sometime this week so stay tuned!  I will also be having a couple more sneak peaks of blog candy to come that you won't want to miss!  

Today is our good friend Diane sons 16th birthday!!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARMEN!!!  I have a card to share with you, but I want to wait until after we give it to him today because Diane (the kind and wonderful friend that is letting me use her Expression!!!!) sometimes stops by my blog and I'd rather she see the card in person before seeing it on my blog.  

How late should I let the boys sleep in this morning?  I don't want to make getting back into the swing of things tomorrow any harder than it's already going to be!  Maybe the smell of french toast will lure them out of their beds!  Have a super duper Sunday everyone!!! 

 



Sparkly Things Distract Me Blog Hop

********************************************************************

Welcome to the Sparkly Things Distract Me Blog Hop brought to you by our amazing hostess Janice from Cricut Confessions! This is the first time that I am participating as a contributor to a blog hop!  Thank you to Janice for the invite!  If you have arrived here from the very talented Celeste's blog then you are in the right place!  I'm not sure what Celeste's project for this hop is going to be, but if it isn't some of her new jewelry she's been making be sure to go back and explore what she's been up to. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!  If you just stopped by my blog and would like to start at the beginning of the hop then please go to Janice's blog Cricut Confessions. 

Here is a layout of a picture I took that I love.  This is the Cinderella fountain statue in Fantasyland located behind the castle at WDW.  I stood off to the side of the fountain and took the picture from behind shooting up at the castle.  Dreams can come true...

The patterned paper is by Fancy Pants Designs.  The vellum quote was from my stash and attached with CTMH mini brads.  The flowers were cut in various sizes ranging from 1 1/2" - 3" out of Colorbok pearlescent paper, with inked edges and topped off with EK Success gem stones.  The picture was matted on DCVW Glitter Stack paper. 

I just love the Cheshire cat and I couldn't wait to make this cut with the hot pink Best Occasions metallic paper I had!  This card makes me smile all over my face!  Cheshire Cat was cut from the Disney Classic Cricut cartridge at 5" using Best Occasions metallic paper, Best Occasions shimmer paper and Colorbok cardstock.  The  yellow and white background patterned paper is from the DCWV Spring Glitter Stack and the colorful zig zag paper is by K & Company.  The kid quote stamped sentiment is by Inkadinkado. 

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!   I hope you will become a follower if you are not already.  If you like what you see please come back to visit me soon!

Of course I cannot participate in my very first blog hop without offering up some blog candy!

Look at all that sparkly goodness!  Candy includes:  3 pack of Stickles, 1 pack of Flora Doodles by Petaloo, 1 pack of purple Rhinestones by Kaiser Craft, 1 pack of green and blue rhinestones by Studio 18, 1 pack of All That Bling dimensional rhinestone flowers by Jolee's, 1 pack of glitter clears embellishments by Making Memories, 1 pack of self stick gems by Darice, 1 pack of decorative pins by K&Company, 1 pack of red rhinestones by Kaiser Crafts and 1 pack of gem ribbon buckles by Jo-Ann Scrap Essentials. 

To be eligible for a chance to win the blog candy please:
1.  Leave me a comment including what your favorite sparkly things are.
2.  Please become a follower of my blog. 

That's it!  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy huh?  Good luck!  You will have until Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 11:59 PM to enter.  I will use Random org to draw a winner on Monday, February 28, 2011.  Winner will have one week to claim their prize.

Here is a list of all the blogs in order that are participating in this hop.  Please feel free to refer back to my blog if you get lost along the way! 

http://www.cricutconfessions.com/ - Janice
http://jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/ - Jamie
http://lilbitcreations.blogspot.com/ - Patti
http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/  - Celeste
http://disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com/  - Melissa *You are here*
http://www.justyolie.com/  - Yolie  <<< Next Stop
http://leahscarddesigns.blogspot.com/ - Leah
http://karelj.blogspot.com/ - Karel
http://sneezy1956.blogspot.com/ - Jane
http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/ - Bonnie
http://beyondscrapin.blogspot.com/ - Nicolette
http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com// - Michelle

 I will be participating in TWO more blog hops next weekend.  Be sure to come back here for the It's All About the Green Blog Hop being  hosted by Kathryn from Creations with Kathryn and The Spring Blog Hop hosted by  Lisa from Scrappin in NJ.  There will be some exciting blog candy including a Scrap N' Tote!!! 

I am also co-hosting a Disney/Pixar Blog Hop on March 26, 2011 with Shawn from http://www.cricutsearch.com/ and Crafty Chics Blog.  So please be sure to come back for that.  I have some AMAZING sponsors for the Disney/Pixar hop that you won't want to miss out on! 

Your next stop on the hop is the wonderful Yolie at Just Yolie! Be sure to stop by and show her some love!

Thanks for stopping by and have a magical day! 



Oh Brother! She's giving away a sewing machine!!!

Holy mother load of giveaways!  Check out what Melissa (how could she not be wonderful with a name like that!) at Keepsakes by Melissa has to offer up as blog candy!  WOW!  WOW!  WOW! 

HURRY over and check out the details for your chance to win all of these goodies!  Blog candy is open until March 11th!  Can't wait to see who wins!  Thank you for your generosity Melissa!  You are right...it is nice to make people happy and smile and you will for sure be doing that! 



Guest Designer for Karel's Birthday Bash!

Today is my first guest designer post over at Karel's Blog One by One the Flamingos are Stealing my Sanity!  In case you didn't know, Karel has been having a month long celebration for her 55th birthday!  I wanted to try my hand at something new to me and make her a birthday banner.  I think it turned out pretty cute and I hope she likes it!  I was able to get her banner and card into the mail on Tuesday which should make sure it reaches her house in time for her big day! 

The banner pieces were cut from the Country Life Cricut cartridge at 7”.  The patterned papers were all from DCWV Spring Glitter Stack and the solid pearlescent paper is by Colorbok.   The ribbon used to string the banner was organza ribbon by Offray.



 Karel’s trademark flamingos were cut at 4” from the Life’s a Beach cartridge

I am also entering this banner into Kristal's Getting Cricky ABC to Z challenge!  Crossing my fingers that I win the new Pack Your Bags Cricut cartridge!!! 

The card also has flamingo cuts from the Life’s a Beach cartridge, this time using the border feature.  They were cut at 4 1/2” from  Colorbok black cardstock and Colorbok pearlescent paper.  The background patterned paper is from the DCWV Fun in the Sun stack.  The green strip is not ribbon, even though it looks like it in the picture.  In the Colorbok stacks you will find the nice strips of paper with the hole cut in the middle where they hang the stacks of paper from.  I have started saving these after the 12X12 sheet of paper is removed to use as embellishments.  The circle cut is an embellishment from my stash and the “happy day” looking glass embellishment is by Making Memories. 



Don't forget about my first ever blog hop participation tomorrow!  I know...how could you forget as often as I've been reminding you?!?!  :)  I'm just a little excited!  Have a fabulous Friday and I hope to see you back here tomorrow! 











You like me! You really like me!

I've been trying to catch up on some of my comments tonight and I noticed that two wonderful bloggers left me notices that they have passed on the Stylish Blogger award to me! 



Thank you to Chelsea at Create Share Love  and Patty at Creative Diva !  I really appreciate you choosing my blog.  It is a nice feeling knowing that others appreciate and like what you do!  I have received this award in the past and followed the rules in paying it forward so I am going to take a pass at doing that again and just say "thank you" before adding your names to this award on my sidebar. 

I think I am at the point where I am too tired to fall asleep.  Ever get that way?  I'm tired.  I didn't sleep good last night.  I should be ready to fall asleep.  I'm wide awake.  Maybe I will work on a card or a layout.  Wishing all of you sweet dreams.  Hope I will eventually get to have some of my own! 

Another sneak peak!

Here is another sneak peak of some more of the blog candy up for grabs during the Disney/Pixar blog hop!  I am lucky enough to have Samantha at Purple Pumpkin Crafts donating a sampling of her amazing handmade buttons and embellishments!  Aren't they gorgeous!?

I just love her creations and she's getting ready to sell her newest sets in just a few hours!  She is located in Brisbane and she will be releasing her new sets for sale at 7:30 PM her time.  It is currently 6:53 PM EST time 2/24 as I type this and it is 9:53 AM 2/25 where she is!  It is cool because she has a clock on her sidebar with current local time so blog readers are always aware of the time she releases her products for sale.  If you want in on any of her collections you have to grab them right away because they always go fast and she always sells out!  Her stuff is in high demand!  

I am very lucky to have her sponsoring the Disney/Pixar blog hop!  Thank you Samantha!  Be sure to stop by Sam's blog and check out her amazing creations!  Purple Pumpkin Crafts



Ooops! I just realized...

I somehow missed posting the main picture from the Bruce LO I posted earlier this morning!  DUH!  I added it below on the original post, but here it is! 

I'm blaming the mistake on lack of sleep!  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!  



Hello, my name is Bruce!

Sharkbait ooh ha ha!  One of our favorite photo ops at WDW and always a must do!  I was so excited when I saw that they were including Finding Nemo on the Best of Pixar cartridge!  I just love this Bruce cut! 

The patterned background paper is DCWV and all of the other paper was Colorbok Pearlescent Paper.  "Sharkbait" was welded with my Gypsy and cut from Lifes a Beach cartridge at 1 3/4".  The little crab at the bottom of the page was cut from Lifes a Beach as well at 2".  I also used my Martha Stewart red glitter pen to bling him up.



Bruce was cut at 4" from Best of Pixar cartridge and the seaweed and coral were cut from either Lifes a Beach or Best of Pixar.  Sorry, I was looking at both cartridges for a good mix and didn't write down which I used.  They range in cut size from 2 1/2" to 9".

I am very excited about the next few days!  Tomorrow is my first Guest Designer spot at Karel's blog  and then Saturday I will be featured for the very first time as a blog hop stop for the Sparkly Things Distract Me Blog Hop!

Looking forward to hopping with all of the other wonderfully creative ladies!  Hope you will stop by to support me!  Have a magical day! 





Sneak Peak of Disney/Pixar Blog Hop Candy!

Okay, so this is just ONE of the exciting pieces of candy I am going to have for the Disney/Pixar Blog hop, but Kathy just sent me an email with a picture of the finished product and I couldn't resist sharing it with you!!  Kathy has been generous enough to design, create and donate one of her custom made Cricut Cozies for me to give away!  Feast your eyes on this!!!

Here are the details she sent me along with the picture....

It has a light pink background and Minnie is wearing a red dress with white polka dots. The ends/middle strip are also red with white polka dots. The embellishment is a hand-crocheted, pink flower with a red button. The entire Cozy has been machine-quilted by me and features three layers of protection for your Cricut Expression.

Isn't it beautiful!?!?!  I am lucky enough to own one of Kathy's Cozies.  My friend Stephanie bought a gorgeous pink one for my Expression for my birthday this past November.  Her quality and workmanship is amazing!  Be sure to stop by Kathy's blog and give her some love! 

Hope you are all having a great evening!  I'm enjoying me some Steven Tyler on American Idol as I type this! 





Testing 1,2,3...trying to post to blog from phone!

Pixie Hollow!

Sticking with the Pixie Hollow and fairy theme... 

The patterned paper is DCWV and I used Colorbok Shimmer Stack to cut the tree and mat the pictures.  The "Pixie Hollow" tree was cut at 4 1/2".  The Tinker Bell is by EK Success (I've had it in my stash forever and thought it was the perfect compliment rather than cutting one from my cartridge myself).  The flowers by Creative Memories (thanks Steph!)  

Sorry for the poor picture quality.  It was kind of gloomy out when I was taking the pictures so the natural light wasn't too kind!  The paper has a nice shimmer to it and the colors are much brighter in real life. 

I don't like how fast our week is going by!  How come when you have a zillion things to do and places to be that the week seems to drag, but when it is time off it seems to FLY by?!?!?  The good thing about today is some Mexican food and margaritas are in the plans with some friends!  Yummmmmmmm!  Hope your Wednesday is wonderful!





Meeting Tinker Bell!

**********

Super simple LO here for our Tinker Bell meet and greet pics.  The background paper was from a pad of Tinker Bell paper I bought a lonnnnnnnngggg time ago that was perfect for these pictures since everything is oversized inside Pixie Hollow.  The paper I used to mat the pictures is DCWV.  The butterflies are layered for dimension and cut at 1 3/4" from Designers Calendar cartridge.  "Tinker Bell" was cut from the Tinker Bell cartridge at 2" and the gem for the "i" is by K&C.  

I think we might actually venture out today!  I need to get to the post office to send something out.  At least it isn't snowing today.  Mother Nature was horrible to trick us into thinking spring was coming last week only to bury us in another 10 inches of snow during the last couple of days.  I am thoroughly enjoying my creative time and getting a lot accomplished!  Hope you have a fantastic day!  







Blog Candy I've won!

Here are a few more goodies that showed up at my house last week while things were crazy busy! 

The Rock Princess Cricut Cartridge that I won from Lisa's Blog Paper Fashions for her birthday giveaway arrived when I was in the depths of H E double hockey sticks last week and I just today got a chance to open it and sync it to my Gypsy!  Horray!  The fonts on this cartridge are super cute! 

Then I got a  flat rate box FULL of goodies from Judy at Be Present Be Real!  She does a OMG (Once a Month Giveaway!) I couldn't believe all the stuff inside the box and this picture doesn't even do it justice because each of the plastic bags has papers, embellishments, stickers, ribbons...so much stuff!  Can't wait to use the Scrapbooking with Lisa Bearnson book!



I also have a few other things that I've won in transit and can't wait for the mail lady to ring my doorbell!  I've been very lucky lately and I love the generosity and kindness of the crafting community!  As much as I love to receive, I also love to give and I cannot wait to share some of the awesome blog candy I have for all of you during the upcoming blog hops!  Stay tuned for my first ever blog hop this Saturday! 

Not only will I have some sparkly projects to share with you...I think I might just have some sparkly blog candy to share as well!  Hope you come back to see what's in store for you! 



How would you like to win a Your Story Bundle?

I know I would!  Cindy over at the Scrapping Room is running some very generous blog candy which includes the grand prize of a Your Story Bundle!  To make it even better, she is giving away a second and third prize too!  Hurry over to Cindy's Blog and follow the rules she has left for your chance to win!   Good luck!  I would love for one of my followers to win! 

Grand Prize! Your Story Bundle.





2nd winner will receive the Christmas Village seasonal cartridge!

3rd winner will receive Precision Scissor pack

Happy Sunday!

Phew!  It is so nice to just chill out, relax and have NO PLACE that I am scheduled to be!  Yesterday I spent most of the day just catching up on my rest and doing nothing much!  It was FANTASTIC!  I did manage to get a couple of things done for my upcoming guest designer post over at Karel's One by One the Flamingos are Stealing My Sanity this coming Friday, so stay tuned for that!  Today I am working on projects for a couple of blog hops I'm participating in, the first one taking place next weekend starting off at Janice's blog Cricut Confessions is the Sparkly Things Distract Me Blog Hop!

I also received some blog candy that I won in the mail during the week that I need to take pictures of and share.  I will try and get to that today or tomorrow.  

While you are here I will share a link to some awesome blog candy up for grabs at Victoria's blog!  She is trying to grow her list of followers and will be giving away the motherload of candy when she hits 300 followers! 

Take a look at that stash!  I see a Paisley cartridge, some Action Wobbles, one of Emma's stamp sets and all kinds of embellishments!  You need to stop over at Victoria's Blog, sign up to become a follower and then leave her a comment for a chance to win!  Good luck! 

This is day 2 of 9 until the school is back in session again.  I cannot tell you how much we needed this down time and some rest and relaxation.  It doesn't even matter to me that we aren't going away...I'm enjoying just being home with my Cricut and Gypsy!  Time to make some lunch and throw a load of laundry in the washer so I can get back to creating!  Have a super day! 





Science Fair 2011

Wow, what a night!  This is absolutely my favorite event of our school year.  I always look forward to the planning, the exploring, the inventing, the discovering...then I start looking forward to it being over! lol  There is so much work that goes into an event like this, but to see all of the hard work pay off is worth every single minute put into it.  The smiles on the kids faces is all that I need to get me ready to work on it again next year! 

Here are a few smiles I'd like to share with you....

This is Parker's individual project

This is his AWIM (A World in Motion by General Motors) group project he worked on in school with 3 other classmates.  This is a fantastic program that our school is lucky enough to be a part of!



Here is Tanner's individual project

Tanner wanted to add "China coins" to his board for his Daddy.  He thought it was cool that the magnets wouldn't stick to US coins, but that it would to a coin from China that Jim gave him.  This was his little shout out to his Dad since he's been gone a lot lately to China for work.  I thought it was so sweet that he came up with this idea...and apparently the symbol on the coin stands for "love" which we didn't even know when we did it!  How cool is that? 

Here are some other projects from the night...

This is my friend Kaye's daughter's project

These are my friend Shauna's kids, Zach and Alex

These are our friends Joe and Angela's kids, Maria & Joesph's (Parker's best friend) displays

...and just for fun because I know she looks at my blog...

Here is a picture of me taking a picture of my friend Angela!  lol

Here is Tanner participating in a few of the hands on activites...

...and us waiting in line for our liquid nitrogen ice cream with was DELICIOUS! 

I cannot begin to put into words what a great night it was!  So proud of our kids and our school!