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 ...