Merry {late} Christmas!!!

I hope yesterday was everything you imagined and was filled with love and happiness. We had Christmases #4-5 yesterday. As much as I hate the fact the Christmas is over, I'm glad to not be running around so much anymore.

I will have pictures of the calendars I made sometime this weekend. I forgot to take pictures of the pages before I gave them away but I'll see my mom this weekend and will take pictures then.

Here's an ornament I did really quick for Christmas #1 (my mom's family - aka my aunts, uncles, etc). It was super easy and only took a couple minutes. All I did was spray the inside with adhesive, drop some glitter in and shake it around.

The favor bags from Christmas #1

Hi all! Remember me? haha Here's the favors I made for my mom's family Christmas last weekend. I made 30 in all and there was a good handful left over buy my cousin said he'd eat them and whatever was left over he'd take to his roommates when he went back to college. Sounds good to me! :)

I used the Winter Lace cartridge for the snowflake and Pink by Design for the nugget wrappers and "Let it Snow".

Details:
Winter Lace 1.75"
Blue & white paper - expo
Boxer Scrapbooking - Snowflakes on Blue
Hershey milk chocolate nuggets
Clear bags 3x5 1/8
Pink by Design - It's a Wrap & Winter Fun
Glimmer Mist Dazzling Diamond (I think)

Busy Busy Bee

I have been super busy trying to get a bunch of Christmas presents finished/made. I have a bunch of things to post but have to wait until after Christmas for a lot of them, since I have family that looks on here. So, just so you don't think I've left you hanging, you'll be glad you stuck around when I can finally reveal these projects. :)

Have a great weekend!!

A Thank you Card

Wednesday was our last night of Bible Study and we all wanted to thank the wonderful lady that organized and planned. By the end of the study, there were still over 20 women and that says a lot about the study and Erica. We decided to have a card and a collection of $5-10 each for a Nordstrom card to thank Erica for all the work she did. She even came to the study 2 days after giving birth!!!

Details:
Base Camp 2"
Kaleidoscope - "Friends" circle / Lime
Bazzill Limeaid
Value Pack white
Stardust stickles (on the flowers)
twine

So glad we're friends

First of all, sorry for the lack of posting. I have been busily working on Christmas cards, making presents and favor bags for a Christmas party. I got a couple projects done yesterday so I feel comfortable being on the computer right now. :)

My mom's fiance wanted 20 cards to send to his mom as a Christmas present. Originally he wanted 5 sets of 4 cards. This was the first set I made for her. I made another set yesterday (I couldn't take a picture because my hubby took my camera to work). And then while my mom was here for the day yesterday, we decided to do 4 sets of 5 cards and I pulled two sets I already had done to finish the 20 cards. Yay for getting it done and saving time in the process!!!

*Blogger won't turn the picture (it's right side up on my computer but blogger turns it. So you'll have to crane your neck a little. Sorry!*

Details:
Create a Critter 3.25"
Value Pack white & black
Bazzill Chablis
Recollections Light Pink Stripes
twine
Stampin Up! Ticket stub punch
Pink by Design "Friends to the End"

Quick Note

I have a card to post but that's going to have to be posted tomorrow.

If you would like to keep updated on our baby situation, I'm keeping our family blog updated. You're free to follow along at The Garland Fam. That way, the people on here that don't want to read the more personal posts don't have to.

Thank you for all the kind words and prayers. They are definitely felt by us.

First project on Cricut Craftroom

Here the first project I actually cut with the new Cricut Craftroom. I have everything for our Christmas cards and the favors for my family get together all set up for me to cut them. I love the Craftroom!!! I didn't want the Gypsy because I didn't want to have to link up my cartridges and the screen was so small. Well, my computer goes pretty much everywhere with me so this was the perfect solution. It was definitely worth the wait. :)

Anyways, onto the card. I'm having a Miche purse party next weekend and needed to send out invites. All I did was take the purse from Create a Critter (it's one of the accessories) and sized it to about 4.25x5.5 so that it would fit in the envelopes. I was able to get 5 to a mat and I made 20. Then I took my trusty ruler and measured about how much room there was for the black mat (3.5 x 3.25) and then went to work on creating a Publisher document for the information. That was cut at 3.25 x 3.

Super easy and they turned out pretty cute. :)

Details:
Create a Critter
Bazzill Chablis
Wausau Paper black

Link Parties:
Joyful Stamper

With a Heavy Heart

On November 16th our lives changed forever. We had an appointment for our anatomy exam and to find out the sex of the baby. Part way through the ultrasound, the technician said that she had some bad news and was going to stop the ultrasound. She said that she could not get a clear picture of the baby's skull and brain. We set up an appointment with our OB for the next day to talk about what this meant. He explained to us that when the skull and brain were developing (at 4-6wks gestation), it stopped. This means that there is no upper brain and the skull stops at the hairline.

We set up an appointment with a pernatiologist for the next week to get a specialist's opinion and another look at the baby. That appointment was yesterday. He confirmed what the technician had seen and explained what Anencephaly is. This is a fatal diagnosis. There is no way that the baby can live outside the womb. He went over the whole body to see if there were any other defects (there aren't) and we learned that it's a little boy. He gave us some pictures and was really helpful.

Once we were done there, we set up another appointment with our OB to talk about our options for a course of treatment. That appointment is set for next Thursday, December 1st at 3:30pm.

We're still in shock about everything but we have a great support group of family and friends that have banded themselves around us and have become our prayer warriors. We don't know what we're going to do (either deliver early or ride out the course of the pregnancy) and it will be something that we talk and pray about a lot before we come to a decision.

On this day that we are reminded to give thanks for what we have, I am extremely thankful for everyone that has been praying for us, those that have brought us meals, and those that send encouraging emails/texts/messages. They are all deeply felt. I am thankful for this life kicking inside of me right now. We don't know what the future will hold but I can guarantee that God has something special for this precious little boy. I am thankful for Carver. He is the perfect distraction and brings so much joy into our lives. I am thankful for my amazing husband. He is grieving as well but he has been my pillar, my rock, and we lean on each other.

My first project with the iBond

Here's the first project I did with my new iBond. All I did was take an old ornament and covered it with jute cording. My mom gave me all of her old ball ornaments and I was planning on making a wreath out of them but realized that I didn't want to replace the ones that break every year. So they've been sitting.

This was super easy! And I love how it turned out!

This is Carver's "cheese" face. And yes, his shirt is too big but that's what he wears to bed when he doesn't want to wear footie jammies. haha

Finally the HAUL!!!

Finally! Here's everything I got at the expo a couple weekends ago. No one guessed the two things I had you guess on so they are the first two pictures.

This is the second corner chomper I've bought. I love them but hate to pay shipping so it was good to find this and it was only $15!! Can't beat that.

Big clothes pin and the iBond

Template for making flowers.

Fabric tape; sanding blocks, screens for glimmer mists

The packs of paper were $4 for 25 sheets! Two things of glitter and a Pearl Pen. This was the first time I'd actually been able to find them so I snagged one up. I guess I'm into a blue thing this year for Christmas/winter.

The clock paper will the the background for Carver's delivery pictures; The snowflakes is for some favor bags for my mom's family christmas (No one lets us bring food so I'm going to do Hershey nuggets instead), the Peppermint paper is for our Christmas cards.

Stickles (Waterfall, Lime Green & Silver) and buttons.

Lace tape and handmade by stamp. Who knows if I'll actually use the stamp but figured it'd be good to have. And since Boxer is closing it was really cheap!

My first glimmer mist

Ribbon and Brads: Sock Monkeys (for last year's halloween pictures); Snowflakes, Bees, and tools.

The Haul

So I recorded a video of my haul but am having the hardest time uploading it. I've tried youtube and blogger but no luck. So when my battery on my camera is charged, I'll take pictures and have it up.

Quick Post

Just a quick post to let you know that I went to the Scrapbook Expo here in Bellevue WA and will try to either take pictures or try a video (if I can get the video to upload, having problems with that lately). So I should be back later today.

Here's a sneak peek at what i got... Something from Imaginisce an something fom We R Memory Keepers. That's it! That's all you get.

How about this! If you can guess what those two things are before I post my haul I'll have a prize for you! Good luck!!

Alea's Thank You Cards

My friend will be having her baby in two hours!!! Sorry, just had to post that. :)

Here's the thank you cards I made for Alea's party. You can tell, they are pretty similar to the card I made for her.

Details:
Simply Charmed 5"
Recollections Light Pink damask
Bazzill Limeade & Chablis
scraps
Fiskars tag punch
Pink by Design "Bountiful Blessings"

Link Parties:
I Heart Naptime
Joyful Stamper

Beautiful Birthday Girl

I feel horrible for not posting anything!!! I sat down every day since Saturday ready to post this card but then something always came up. I'm going to schedule the thank you cards I made for tomorrow so that I definitely have something then.

This is the card I made for my niece's birthday. According to Alea, she wanted a 'mermaid-princess theme'. Well, her mom got invites that had cupcakes on them and from there it turned into a cupcake theme. haha

Details:
Simply Charmed 4"
Recollections Light Pink damask
Bazzill Limeade & Chablis
scraps
Fiskars cupcake border punch
Pink by Design - My Type & Take the Cake
Gems

Link Parties:
Blue Cricket Designs
You Had Me At Craft
I Heart Naptime

Big Birthday Smiles

Today is my mom's "friend's" birthday today. Carver picked out the alligator and so that's what we went with. Its one of those that we cut out a few days ago.

Today is my niece's 5th birthday party (her actual birthday is on the 8th) so I'm making this short. Have a great weekend!!

Details:
Create a Critter 2"
Value Pack Chocolate
DCWV Brights stack
Marcella K - Clove
Pink by Design "Crikey"

Challenge:
Whimsical Designs - anything goes

Link Parties:
Joyful Stamper
The Idea Room
Blue Cricket Designs

It was THIS big!!

A couple days ago, Carver and I cut a few things out on the cricut, knowing that I was going to make some birthday cards. This is one of them and it's for my brother-in-law's birthday on Saturday. He's big into fishing and hunting so this is perfect for him. I made the buttons look like bubbles coming out of the fish's mouth.

Details:
Create a Critter 2.5"
scraps
Marcella K - Clove
Value Pack Chocolate
American Crafts buttons
Pink by Design "Just 4 Men"

Challenge:
More than Favors - Button, bling or brads

Link Parties:
You Had me at Craft
I Heart Naptime

Winner for the My Memories Giveaway

I'm surprised I'm actually posting this when I said I would. haha Without further ado, here's the winner of the My Memories Suite software...

#2

Melissa said...

I love the Dazzle papers, purple is my favorite color. I would love to win this as i am working on a cookbook for a non-profit organization and Iknow this would make things easier and more professional looking!

Melissa, please email your email address to: chris.tana08@hotmail.com so I can pass it along. Thanks everyone!!

Trick or Treat Ghost

Here's the ghost that inspired Carver's Halloween cards. Like I said yesterday, I've had this ghost cut out for a couple weeks and just sitting on my desk.

Details:
3 Birds on Parade 3.75"
Recollections black
Bazzill - Limeade, Desert Marigold, Orange Slice
DCWV Ghosts an Goblins
twine
Martha Stewart gooey punch
Pink by Design - Cute Halloween (Boo!) & Ghostly Greetings (skull)

Challenge:
Fantabulous Cricut - ghost

Link Parties:
Patches of Pink

My Memories Giveaway!!!!!

I was contacted by My Memories, a digital scrapbooking software company, about doing a review and giveaway of their software. I've never done digital scrapbooking so I thought I'd give it a try and see what I thought.

It took a little bit to get the lay of the land, so to speak, but I took a few pictures I had on my computer that I liked and got to work. It was fun playing with the elements that come with the software and I browsed the additional kits they had on their website. Cute stuff!

Here's two of the five pages I completed. I have to say, it was a lot different that actually touching things and moving them around but I think they turned out pretty fun. :)

*Just a little disclaimer, there is a border on all sides that shows what won't print so that's why everything is away from the edges a bit.

Final thoughts: Will I totally switch from paper/traditional scrapbooking to digital? Probably not, it's not my style. But I definitely will use this for smaller projects (did I mention that you can make calendars??? yeah!) and when I'm on the go.

Now... who wants to play with this fun digital scrapbooking software? Here's what you have to do:

• Go to www.mymemories.com and look around. Then come back and tell me what your favorite digital paper pack or layout is.

You have until Tuesday November 1st at 11:59pm PST to comment. I will announce the winner on Wednesday (11/2/11) morning.

Oh but wait!!!!!! For of those that just want to go buy the My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software, here's a code to get you $10 off! How great is that? Just use the code: 11MMSBlog

Witches Broom

I've had this little witch cut and sitting on my desk for a couple weeks now (along with the one you'll see tomorrow). When I finally sat down with this little girl last night I had no idea how it would turn out. But I love cards like that. :)

Details:
3 Birds on Parade 3.75"
Bazzill - Berry Blush & Chablis
scraps
DCWV Ghosts and Goblins
Martha Stewart gooey punch
Recollections black
ribbon
button
Pink by Design "Ghostly Greetings"

Challenge:
Paper Playtime - Sentiment / button / bow (there IS a bow, its under the button and the picture isn't picking it up)
The Paper Variety - cute or spooky halloween
More Than Favors - anything goes

Fall Wreath

Sorry I've been so absent lately! I haven't had much time to get to my craft table lately. I made this a couple weeks ago but have been waiting for my dear husband to get the wreath hook out of storage. Well I couldn't wait any longer so here it is. haha

I got a foam wreath form and 5 different colored rolls of tulle from JoAnns (the tulle was in their 2 for $5 bin) and got comfortable on the couch. I was having an emotional day - darn hormones - so it was good to do something mindless.



I have a post in the works for later today. So I'll hopefully be back. :)

What's kept me busy... crafty wise

Yes, I know I said I'd post Tues/Wed but I've been trying to get my Halloween cards finished so I can send them out next week. My crafting schedule is minimal right now with the weather changing and hubby working later at night. Oh yeah, and being pregnant. haha

Here's the cards Carver is sending out to his friends this year. :) The Inside says, "Just a spooky little greeting to wish you happy trick-or-treating". It's from Pink by Design's Ghostly Greetings stamp set.

One more thing, can you believe that all 30, yes 30!, of the ghost birds were cut with scraps!!! And I didn't have to substitute any colors. That just goes to show how many scraps I have. haha

Details:
3 Birds on Parade 3.75"
Paper Pizazz Halloween Stripe
Bazzill - Orange Slice, desert Marigold, Limeade
Value Pack white & black
Celebrate it Halloween ribbon
Pink by Design - Cute Halloween & Ghostly Greetings

Challenges:
More Than Favors - Halloween

Link Parties:
Patches of Pink
You Had me at Craft
Blue Cricket Design
The Idea Room
Joyful Stamper
I Heart Naptime

Just a Pause

Just letting you know that I'll be talking a short pause until Tuesday/Wednesday. We're out of town since tomorrow is opening day of hunting season. We'll be back Monday but I want to give myself a little time to make something. :) Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Owl be Home for Christmas

Here's another owl card. :) Sometimes, you just need to make a cricut-less card. My cricut is on the other side of my desk, and depending on how I'm feeling that day, it can be too much to walk around my desk to cut something out. I know, lazy me, but hey! I'm pregnant. haha

Details;
DCWV Christmas Combo
Recollections kraft
Pink by Design - Beary Merry Christmas & You're a Hoot
Star Dust stickles (on the hat)

Thanks for Giving a Hoot

I have always loved this owl from Create a Critter. It tends to be my go-to owl - unless I'm trying to challenge myself to use a different one. haha I used Pink by Design's You're a Hoot stamp set. This can be purchased from Oh My Crafts, unless you're a Stamp of the Month member.

Details:
Create a Critter - Owl 2.75", Branch 2"
Recollections kraft & brown
DCWV Harvest Gathering matstack
ribbon & button - Scrapbook Expo
Stampin Up! Pumpkin Spice
Peachy Keen Everyday Asst
Pink by Design "You're a Hoot"

Challenges:
MAG Challenge by the Page - Create a Critter page 25
Peachy Keen - face / leaves

Link Parties:
Joyful Stamper
I Heart Naptime
Blue Cricket Designs
Skip to my Lou

Roarin' Good Birthday

This is the card I made for my brother's birthday last week. Carver had picked out the lion so that's what I had to work around. I love how the colors came together!

Details:
B is for Boy 4"
Bazzill - Orange Slice & Desert Marigold
Recollections Chocolate
DCWV Celebration stack
scraps
Pink by Design "Take the Cake"

Oct 31

Here's one of the cards I made yesterday. I used Card Patterns sketch #135 (it closed yesterday). I am loving DCWV's Ghosts and Goblins stack. I wish I'd gotten the small stack to go with the 12x12 so that I could use some more of the bigger designs on cards.


Details:
Recollections black
Bazzill Orange Sice
Core'dinations Boysenberry
DCWV Ghosts & Goblins
DK Success border punch
Marvy Uchida 2" circle punch (yellow)
Pink by Design - Cute Halloween & Ghostly Greetings
Stampin Up! Pumpkin Spice
Black Diamond Stickles

Challenges:
Paper Playtime - Black, Orange & Purple
Fantabulous Cricut - Pumpkin
More than Favors - Purple, Green, Orange & Black (hopefully this is enough green)
Crafting for all Seasons - Fall leaves or pumpkins

I'm a Winner!!

I was the winner over at Cooking with Cricut!!! This card was what I submitted. You can check out my cute badge on the left column. :)

I'm working on a post right now so stay tuned!

An "Owlie" Birthday Card

One of Carver's friend's has one of those small blankets that has an animal head on it. His is an owl and he carries it everywhere!!! So when I was trying to figure out what to make for his birthday card, I had to do this cute owl from Straight From the Nest.

Details:
Straight From the Nest
DCWV Celebration Stack
Recollections kraft
scraps
twine
Pink by Design "Go Green"

Challenge:
September Ninth - Owl & "Hoo"

Winner of the National Coffee Day Giveaway

Since there was only three comments on my giveaway I had my dear hubby pick a number. He picked...............

#1 Debbie said: Happy Coffee Day! My hubby and I are starting a week long road trip this weekend, just the two us (we have 4 kids) to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. We will end up in Florida for a few days before we turn around and come home :)

I hope you're having a great weekend Debbie. Please email your address to: chris.tana08@hotmail.com so I can get this out. Congrats!!!

Shades of Autumn

I will post the winner of my National Coffee Day giveaway shortly. Here's a card while you wait. :)

I went to the Scrapbook Expo in Portland, OR last weekend and had a blast! I'll fill you in on that later. I picked up some of these leaf buttons and had to use them! I originally made this card for the Peachy Keen challenge to use a face and a sun but I'm too late in posting for that. But I found a couple challenges that still apply. I love when that happens. :)


Details:
Simply Charmed - Tree 4", Sun 2.75"
Bazzill - Desert Marigold, Orange Slice
Recollections kraft
DCWV Harvest Gathering matstack
Peachy Keen Everyday Asst
Corner chomper Deco (green handles)
Leaf buttons (Expo)
Pink by Design Bountiful Blessings

Challenges:
Fantabulous Cricut - fall colors
Celebrate the occasion - use ribbon

Link Parties:
The Idea Room
Joyful Stamper

Candy Day

**** Scroll down to see my giveaway under the title National Coffee Day. It ends tonight at midnight PST***

Here's another Halloween card I made a few days ago. I am LOVING this set from Pink by Design! I highly recommend being a stamp of the month member. You can find out more information about it here.


Details:
Recollections black
scraps
DCWV Ghosts & Goblins stack
Pink by Design - Ghostly Greetings & Guess Who?

Sketch:
Card Patterns #134

Link Parties:
Blue Cricket Designs
Just a Girl
Joyful Stamper

National Coffee Day

Today is National Coffee Day!!!! And since I haven't been posting much...

How about a giveaway? This will be a short one. You have until tomorrow at midnight (PST) and I'll announce the winner on Saturday morning.

Oh wait! Don't you want to know what you'll win? How about a $10 Starbucks card.

All you have to do is leave a comment here on what your plans for the weekend are.

My brother flies in from CO tomorrow so we're going to be hanging out with family.

Beary Merry Christmas

I'm loving this new set from Pink by Design. Aren't these polar bears adorable?

Details:
DCWV Christmas Combo
Pink by Design "Beary Merry Christmas"
twine
Black embossing folder

Halloween Delights

This is my second post tonight. This one took a little thinking trying to figure out the size of the layers but once that was done, it was super fun to put together. The layer size is 3.75x2.5 for all three layers.

Details:
DCWV Ghosts & Goblins
Pink by Design - Ghostly Greetings & Cute Halloween
Glitter Gem

Challenge:
Mojo Monday - sketch (I'm too late to link but here's the link for the sketch)

Link Parties:
I Heart Naptime
You Had Me At Craft

Autumn Wishes

This is the first of two posts tonight. I love this card! The colors turned out so well.

Details:
Just Because Cards 5"
Doodlecharms - bucket 1", apples 0.5"
DCWV Harvest Gathering Matstack
Recollections kraft & chocolate
scraps
Pink by Design "Bountiful Blessings"

Challenges:
More Than Favors - Fall Theme
Cooking with Cricut - Fall Colors
Tattered Time - Pop Up Neighborhood (I don't have this so I took the truck & the bucket)

We're Growing!!!!!

I figured it's about time I let you in on a little secret...

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!!

We've had two ultrasounds and it appears that there's only one baby in there.
I'm showing a lot sooner than I did with Carver but that's expected from what I've heard.

Due April 6, 2011

July 21, 2011

7 weeks

12 weeks (yesterday)

Birthday Brew

This is a copy of a card I made back in August. I loved the layout and colors so I made some more with a different sentiment. (The original was a belated birthday.) I also made one with blue instead of white layers for a friend's birthday.

Details:
Pink by Design - Perk Up & Make it a Venti
Bazzill Mud Pie
Recollections white & kraft
*DCWV Blue #2 (no picture)
button
twine

Link Parties:
Blue Cricket Designs
The Idea Room
You Had Me At Craft

Baby It's Cold Outside

Here's another Christmas card I made last week. I really like how this one turned out. I used Card Patterns sketch #132 (linking is closed now). I will probably use this sketch again. It was really quick and simple.


Details:
Jolly Holidays 1.75"
DCWV Christmas Combo
Core'dinations Evergreen
scraps
ribbon
stickles (kind of hard to see)
Pink by Design "Christmas Wishes"

You Keep me Grounded

Since I'm a stamp of the month member at Pink by Design, I got this freebie with my September set. I'm in love with these two stamps!!!

Details:
Pink by Design "Coffee Grinder"
Core'dinations Coffee
My Minds Eye Always Floral/brown
scraps
Fiskars in stitches punch

Challenge:
Peachy Keen - sketch

Wishing You a Christmas Wrapped in Joy

Here's one of the first Christmas cards I've made so far. It's hard for me to get into the spirit of Christmas when I'm having a hard time transitioning into fall. Especially since we had maybe two weeks total of summer this year. And never more than 4 days at a time. :(

This card turned out super cute and I love all the kraft paper. I'm thinking about wrapping all my presents in kraft paper this year. But then I also need to use up all my regular paper. We'll see what happens. :)


Details:
Winter Frolic 2.75"
Recollections kraft & chocolate
DCWV Christmas Combo
Celebrate it ribbon
scraps
Pink by Design "Christmas Wishes"

Challenges:
More Than Favors - Live Simply cartridge (I don't have this so I took the mouse from Winter Frolic instead)
OWH Stars & Stamps - sketch