ok, so WHAT is this machine?

So, for Christmas I used the cricut quite a bit for gifts... might as well, right? In return, i got a few cricut cartridges... by the end of the day i think my brothers were thoroughly confused... matt went so far as to ask, ' ok, i don't get it... what is this machine?' it's pretty much amazing... that's what it is :) haha
I have to admit that this idea came from someone else... but i tweaked it and made it my own knowing that my mom would appreciate it! I might even have to make myself one :)

yo-yo crazy

so i saw this 'yo-yo' canvas thing while i was randomly looking online... i loved the look of it but thought that the only place in my house that i could get away with having yo-yo's was in my craft room... so- seeing as how i've never made a yo-yo, i brought in the crafty hands of my mom. She helped me pick out some fabric then spent the next few days making yo-yo's haha...she's the greatest ever.
I spent one evening laying them out, then the next attaching them... I think it turned out to be really cute and definitely not something you see every day :)

Christmas time

I felt like sewing something- i found a fairly easy pattern online and began on it yesterday... the title of the bag 'one hour bag' wasn't a joke... I didn't make it all at once but in all it probably didn't take me much longer than an hour.

I love those kinds of projects.

Well, I haven't become the expert on heat embossing yet... but i still enjoy doing it. Basically, you just stamp a design on tissue paper then use the heat gun to 'melt' it onto the candle. I thought the plate needed a little extra decoration so i cut out some vinyl for that...

all in all i think it turned out well... (unless you look closely at the candles) haha

Black & white DO work

I decided that I would make a blanket for each of our friends '1st child'... a decision I might take back seeing as how I've made 6 in the past year & 1/2 :) But I really do enjoy making them...

This is my way of proving the fact that black & white can be pretty for 'baby colors'... I get tired of the same old pastels- so I went for something different... I knew prior to making the blanket that our friends were having a little boy- but I think it could work for a girl too...

I'm in the process of figuring out how to use my circut to cut fabric so that I can add names & designs to my quilts in the future... can't wait!

my 'de-stressor'

September always brings about many events & much busyness... typically leading to a bit of stress. I'm trying to avoid watching tv in the evening (mainly because most of it is trash) so I have to occupy myself somehow... recently making cards is my de-stressor... a way for me to take my mind off work or other things and just be creative.

These are some birthday cards i recently made... i realize the one looks a little 'Christmasy'... ah well.

Can everyone tell those are weights? Chris apparently couldn't :) haha

I workout twice a week with a friend from church... it's a great time to, again, de-stress... & grow in our friendship. I thought this was a fun way to say 'thank you' for sharing that time with me.

Joyfold cards

this was my first attempt at a 'Joyfold' card... it took me a while, but that's ok... i think it turned out well... i enjoyed it so much apparently that i made a second one :)

Going Hawaiian

This is a gift i made my cousin, lillie, for her & her husband's 'open house'. It's probably my third time to use etching on glass... i haven't perfected it by any means but i enjoy doing it... minus the fact that the etching cream smells like bad eggs... meh.

The plate is for a friend's wedding... i'm still learning the 'in's and out's' of etching- but i'm a fan ...

scrapbooking for mom

i had fun with this layout... it's for my mom's

scrapbook! the pictures are from my dad's birthday outing- it was a fun evening with family!

this card was for my mom's birthday. I LOVE the little swirly thing on the side... it's my new discovery from the 'home accents' cartridge... :)

Baby Caleb is here

My friend Aliceson just gave birth to her first baby, Caleb! Thankfully i got the doodlecharm cartridge in time to make this cute, and oddly shaped, baby face :) I think it's adorable in a goofy way. I hope she enjoys it.

these cards took me way too long to make

I don't know what it was... but something made me move incredibly slow on these cards... that's ok, it was a good stress reliever.
I got 2 new cartridges this week... i've used them some, but haven't quite 'explored' them yet as much as i've wanted to... in time.

i think i'm addicted

I was in another card making mood apparently.

the 'thank you' card was made for another Kenya donation...the 'birthday card' idea came from another blog i happened upon... i was a fan of the use of the vellum so i had to make my own :) ... i used a combination of stamps, punches, the 'cuttin up' & 'home accents' cartridge.

I'm wanting to get another cartridge- not sure which one though... so many choices haha

on a muggy Monday afternoon

My good friend, Kim, inspired this card. She gave birth to a beautiful baby boy three days before Mother's Day. I thought it was fitting to remind her of the blessing that God has given her & her husband... (as if she needs reminding haha)....


My 'skydiving page' was the first page to be re-done after getting my cricut. I figured, since it was such an amazing event, it needed to look good :). I'm not jumping up & down, but still relatively pleased with it.

'Oh, the Places you'll go' by Dr. Seuss is one of my favorite books... It seemed fitting.

New cartridge

I ordered 2 new cartridges last week- only one showed up... needless to say I was not a happy Lauren. After contacting the company, they realized their mistake & sent me the 2nd one... i LOVE it.

So my first project with it was making some "kenya thank you" cards... I'm headed to Kenya on a mission trip in November- as people send me donations I'm trying to take some time to personally make them a thank you card... seems like a small price to pay for their prayers &

donations.

With Mother's day coming up, & the fact that my mom was the one who got me the 'cricut', I thought I'd make her a gift.

The box is a 'storage box' for the monogrammed
stationary I made for her... simple, but I thought it was fun.

The best kind of souvenir

Chris & I were blessed to join my family in February for a trip to Aspen, CO. I've never known what kind of souvenir to get when I go on trips- I used to collect postcards...but have seemed to grow out of that.

What kind of souvenir represents the beauty of the place you visit, the fun you have, the memories you create.... the only thing I've come up with is pictures.

So, This is Chris and I's attempt at a panoramic in Aspen... we took turns taking pictures of one another... I think for amateurs we did a decent job haha

1st attempt with 'Cricut'

My parents got me a 'cricut expressions' for my birthday this year. I'm still trying to figure out all the craziness that is the cricut... but these are my first attempts at using it.

The flowers are a thank you gift for some volunteers we have helping with a girls ministry event coming up. The thank you cards are ones that Chris wanted for work.