Christmas Cards Sneak Peak

Today I began working on my holiday cards. I got one finished and a bunch more designed. Hopefully I will be able to knock the rest out this week and get them in the mail early next. Since tomorrow is my first day of my new job, here's just a sneak peak of the card I finished today.



This card was made using my new Holiday Cakes cartridge.

Happy Thanksgiving

cross-posted

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I know this post comes a little late in the day, but I'm back in Hawaii. While this is the third or fourth consecutive Thanksgiving that I've spent in Hawaii since heading off to college in 1997, this is the first year that I didn't have to do mad plane-dash to make it on time. A couple years ago, I carried 4 pies in my carry-on on the plane that I'd made in Baltimore so that we could eat soon after my plane landed. I'm thankful for being able to do my own grocery shopping, my own prep work, and cook a good portion of the meal myself this Thanksgiving.

Other things I'm thankful for:

1. My family, especially my husband and auntie. While the move back was extremely chaotic and scary at time, family helped it run smoothly and worth the trouble. I'm also excited that I am finally living with my husband after nearly 4 years of marriage, mostly apart.

2. My friends, past and present. Each has added something meaningful to my life. My extended family. I am also thankful that I survived, thus far, this visit and that it ends before I start my new job.

3. My cute and thus-far comfortable new home, even with the wildlife.

4. My health and my nifty new gym just down the street. I am also thankful for the good health of my family and friends.

5. My new job and past work experiences, all have benefited and shaped me in different ways.

6. The educational opportunities I've had and the numerous further learning experiences to come.

7. My hobbies that give me an outlet for my creativity, and the ability to share my passions with others through blogging, paper crafts, cooking, and crochet.

And finally....

I am thankful that Thanksgiving is here and dinner will be soon, and that Black Friday shopping starts online in less than 5 hours!

Thanks for visiting.

Thanksgiving Banner

WARNING: Lots of pictures.

Happy Tuesday before Thanksgiving! I almost didn't make it, but here's my Thanksgiving Banner, which will likely be gifted away later today. I was inspired by the Banner Blog Hop hosted by Ruthie a couple weeks ago and really wanted to make both a Thanksgiving and a Christmas banner. Originally, I was going to make the banner do double duty and have a Christmas greeting on the other side. That idea had to be abandoned once I decided to use eyelets, which are only pretty on one side. I've been working on expanding my selection of fall colors from just browns, oranges, and reds, which is why I chose the peachy/coral shade, along with the burgundy. Hope you like it.

It reads, "Give Thanks"








Materials:
- Paper: Papertrey Ink colored cardstock and Recollections kraft cardstock. Each tile is 5.5" tall.
- Cartridge(s): Create a Critter (turkey, pumpkin, maple leaf), Celebrate with Flourish (hat), Paper Doll Dress Up (pilgrims), Doodlecharms (leaves), B is for Boy (banner) - Most are cut at 2-3".
- Embellishments: large eyelets and ribbon - Michaels or Joann's store brand
- Adhesives: Pink ATG gun, Zig two-way glue pen, Xyron
- Special Tools: Corner Chomper, Crop-A-Dile


Here is a close up of each letter:

Thanksgiving treats

I had another occasion to bake this weekend and decided to send more treats with my auntie's friends at her Sunday cooking class. View the recipe for Cranberry Shortbread Cookies on my other blog. I found the treat bags at my local Party City and trimmed them down to fit the number of cookies to be given to each lady.



This adorable hat is found on the Celebrate with Flourish Cricut Lite cartridge and is cut at 3.25. I matted the image on a 3" square mat and a 3.25" square card base. I then used my corner chomper to round the corners. This tag really dwarfed the bag of cookies, but cutting the image any smaller resulted in tearing for me as I think I need to replace the blade in my Cricut.

Here are all the goodie bags ready to go. I hope her friends like them.

Tons of Fun Car Card

A neighbor of my auntie helped me purchase my new (used) car. I wanted to give him a quick thank you as he saved me tons of time. Plus, the car's nice too. Here's what I came up with.



I used a sentiment from My Pink Stamper's More Punnylicious stamp set, Everyday Paper Dolls (car), and Create a Critter (elephant). My Gypsy welded two cars together to form the card base and I used my Xyron to neatly adhere a white lining. I'll get back in the swing of printing the specific card recipe sometime soon, but for now I just wanted to quickly show what I'd made. Thanks for visiting!

New Cricut Lite Cartridges!

I really hope Walmarts in Hawaii have the new releases on Black Friday. There are seven new Cricut Lite Cartridges. See them all here.

These are the three that make my wish list.

Jolly Holidays



Four Legged Friends


Cupcake (font cartridge)

Happy Fall Kid Muffin Bags

Sorry for the long delay in blogging. The move was finally completed last week. However, this is the first bit of crafting I've done since unpacking my craft room a couple days ago. Despite having a craft "room," I share it with my husband's gear and lack my big desk and shelving from Chicago. Still, even though it's cozy, I think it will work nicely. These treat bags were made for my auntie's friends at her Sunday cooking class. The recipe and more pictures of the muffins can be found on my kitchen blog here.











I used the Simply Charmed and Paper Doll Dress Up cartridges for the die cuts, as well as my Corner Chomper. Adhesive included my pink ATG, score tape, Zig two-way glue pen, and Xyron.