Cricut Circle May Magazine Challenge

This was such a FUN challenge!  I almost forgot to do something until someone posted on the circle message board that all the entries were SO CUTE...and when I went to look at them...they WERE cute!  Thankfully, its a random draw for the winner (who'd will $150 to spend at cricut.com!) because mine is pretty pathetic compared to all of the rest of them - WOW - they all have elaborate backgrounds...I'm not that coordinated or talented.

I did mine this afternoon - I should have been working on treat bags for PJ's end of Kindergarten party...but I did this instead!

Ms. Pink is stylish in a brown dress supplied by Paper Doll Dress-up and accessorized by a Go Canada Leaf whilst roasting a marshmallow (from Campin Critters).  The marshmallow was covered in Liquid Applique.

Mr. Blue is looking dapper in his Mountie Hat and is being uncharacteristically patriotic by waving his country's Flag (both provided by Go Canada).  I wish I had pop-dotted the hat - but it was starting to rain, so I took the photos and ran inside.

All of the items on these two cute cricuts were done on white paper - I colored them all with Copics markers.  I believe the size of everything was 2" - the dress was a bit long, so I had to alter it a wee bit and I think that maybe the hat, might have been 1.5.

What a HOOT that was to do!

OK, so I CHANGED this a bit - please see updated post HERE.
 

WEEK 21 - Pens and Pencils

Did you notice how these are getting shorter and shorter....I guess I don't have very much to organize because a lot of these topics don't apply to me (or apply, but because I have so few of the items, I currently don't have a storage issue with them).  

So...in my pea-sized brain...these should be stored by type.  She does mention by color - but that just seems odd to me, probably because I have so few.  I do, however, have my copics together....AND by color...ha ha!

I have a couple of watercolor pencil sets and they are still in their packages and stored that way (and are currently buried in those iris storage keepers ... and now that I think of it, I also have some markers from Michaels that I bought a long time ago...hmmm...I wonder if they are all dried up - they weren't that special.

The original post about this is here.  She includes links to various ideas on how to store these items.

This is what I do with my copics - I originally had them in unused baby wipe boxes, but they were cumbersome and I wanted something easier to transport.  THEN I put them in the plastic clam-shell boxes that used to hold my Stamping Up stamps (I have them all removed from the wood, so I didn't need any of that any more).  They were fine...BUT I found these fantastic boxes with a lid in the bead aisle at Michaels and I LOVE them!!! 

Since I took that photo - its changed a bit...I bought 1 more container and use 4 of the narrow sections so I have them sorted better (by color) and moved the larger section with the other larger section to put my Stampin Up Ink spots in it.  LOVE LOVE LOVE!

WEEK 20 - Die Cuts

Another quick one for me...now that I have a cricut, I only cut what I need rather than having stashes of die cuts.  I do, however, have a 12x12 paper mailing box (aka, pizza box) full of some that I purchased long before I got a cricut.  There are several duplicates because I bought them from a company that was going bankrupt and thought...heh, if we have a 2nd child, I'd want to have these cute things in both scrapbooks...so, we only have 1 kid, so now I have duplicates - I also have 2 Santa stockings...so they would coordinate if we had the 2nd kid...sigh.  Anyhow, back to the real discussion....the original post about organizing die cuts is here.

She talks about how you will organize them...which might be the same way as you organize other embellishments...theme, type, color...whatever.    I think I'd put them by theme...unless they weren't theme related, then probably by color.  She, as always, has links to various ideas for storage.

SO...go at them...dig them out, organize them...and if there are some old and nasty ones - get rid of them!

WEEK 18 - Tools and Adhesives

Because everyone has different tools, it could be a hard one to describe on what to do about them.  The original post is HERE.

She talks about methods of organizing them...by size,  frequency of use, or function.  So, do you keep your embossing supplies with the heat gun or keep all tools together.  She suggests that if you go to crops a lot - then have 2 sets of tools you use all the time and keep one in your crop bag.  She has added several links to different storage ideas.

For me, tools that I use a lot are on my workspace OR in my crop bag.  I have 2 paper trimmers - one that stays in my crop bag and one in my work area.  My embossing stuff is with my heat gun.  All my ATG refills are together as are all my zig 2-way glues and my pop dots - so I guess I kind of keep like things together with SOME items duplicated in my crop bag (like I have spare ATG refills & zig 2-way and pop dots in there too).

Its been 5 years...

Five years ago today, my grandmother passed away...she was 97 years old and very feisty and hilarious right to the end.  She survived the dirty 30's, 2 sons, breast cancer, heart attack, several moves, the death of her husband in 1975 and living on her own, right to the end.

She brought a smile to everyone's face and the thought of her still brings a smile to everyone's face!  She was our loveable "Lucille Ball".

I love you Granny and miss you every day!

WEEK 17 - Punches

I have very FEW punches.  In fact, whilst I was in my clean-up the scrap area mood back when this all started, I put a bunch of HONKING huge punches in my give-away box...and they are still there.  The original post is HERE.

The orignal poster has, as always, a bunch of links for ideas on how to store punches.  She reminds us that they are really heavy, so something sturdy is best.  She also mentions that if you have them cateloged so that they are easy to find within your system, then you don't really need them out and displayed.  I have mine in a photo box (or 2?) from Michaels. There is 1 punch that didn't fit, so its sitting on top of the photo box.

She provides a link to a punch organization cataloging system (downloadable) which looks very handy.

SO - off you go...organize your punches!

2012 National scrapbooking day - card with cast-offs

The circle had another 2 hr challenge and it was to pull out your trash and cast-off cuts and make a card...so I did and it was fun.

I took off the flourish (French Manor cart - first time I used this circle cart) from the scavenger hunt challenge and inked it with copics (even the inside tiny areas).  Then I pulled out a background (Elegant Edges cart) that I had cut but decided I didn't like the size and it was in the trash.  I cut it in 1/2 and inked it with copics.  Then I pulled out the other 1/2 of the paper that I had used to cut out the flourish (which all was from a piece of paper that I printed from the imagine Enjoy the Seasons cart - but was going to TOSS!) and cut it into card size, folded in 1/2...glued on my flourish and YIPPEE - a card!

I pulled out my Stampin Up ink spots, a stamp and put on a sentiment and inked the edges of the card to finish it off! 

I'm pleased with it - I'm not much of a card maker - but I might do it for other quick card when I'm desperate in the future because I think its cute enough.  I stuck the back of the card in our baseboard in the kitchen and took the photo - looks funny, but it works.

2012 National Scrapbooking Day

Here it is...national scrapbooking day...and I'm not scrapbooking...crappola!  I think that I was only able to participate in it ONE year (back in 2007) - it was the day that I saw a cricut working for the 1st time and got to flip through some handbooks.  Someone at the crop said - I think they are on sale at Michael's this weekend...so the following day, I drove over and bought one - an expression - and I still use it today!

Actually, I think that I had girls over to crop one other national scrapbooking day (probably a year or 2 ago because I can't remember exactly when, I just remember it occurring).

Anyway, on the cricut blog, they are having a contest to give away a cricut expression and all you need to do is post a photo of you in your craft space - so here it is: