Cute Operator

Last year at Dutch Wonderland, Second Child rode these "baby" rides toward the end of the day. Why not, such good photo opportunities where things were moving slowly!  Lo and behold, aren't these photos perfect for one of Doodlebug's latest collection: Boys Only.  The colors are absolutely phenomenal if you ask me.  In hindsight, I probably should have covered up the gear patterned paper up with more gray.  I just wanted to show it off more but I think it's a bit too busy as it is. 

Check out these fun gears I have cut with my Cameo.  I downloaded them from the Make the Cut library. The Cameo does make very clean cuts on the most intricate designs.  I'm really happy with its performance so far.  I added some super awesome Boys Only Cardstock Stickers into the mix using foam adhesives.  It looks Pow! and Cool! :) 

One more work day till the weekend!  I can't wait! :)

Baby, It's Cold Outside...

According to the weather forecast, tomorrow is going to be a normal spring day tomorrow, at a bone chilling high 40s!  To think only last Thursday, the downtown YMCA finally turned on its air conditioning! And today, I pranced around at Target wearing a t-shirt and shorts. It's back to sweaters tomorrow!

All the papers used here is from Fancy Pants' Winterland collection.  Even though this winter was short, I am not short of winter photos!  This picture is from two years ago when we went to the big hill for the first time.  I went crazy taking and printing pictures from that one day.  You can even see the snow kicked up by her sled.  Oh what fun indeed...

There is a lot of debate between Cameo and Cricut on 2peas message board. I have always loved and used my Cricut Expression. I upgraded to Expression 2 this past September when my Expression broke. I never thought I would want another machine until I took a look at the Silhouette's online store where new designs are introduced daily! I think the images are better marketed than the Cricut cartridges. They are bright, large, and easy to see which make them very appealing. I added over 660 images to my wish list in no time. Even so, after the machine arrived, I have yet to buy a single one. With my Make the Cut software, I am actually searching high and low for free SVG cuts on the internet still!

Anyway, I used both machines for this layout, here the title is cut with the Winter Frolic cartridge, and the snowflakes came with the software for Silhouette Cameo.   So yes, I'm enjoying my new tools, both new and newer.  Now if only time can stand still while I'm crafting... 

Doodlebug Meets Ella

Doodlebug is joining Ella Publishing in "Thank you Thursday." With the help of this very creative book 31 Thank You Cards e-book. Check out Ella's blog and you could win a great pile of Doodlebug goodies! On Doodlebug's blog, three copies of this fun e-book is up for grabs as give-aways! 

My card was inspired by Kimber McGray's "grateful" card.  I used Doodlebug's new Hello Spring line. Words cannot describe how adorable the little spring critters are on the Easter Parade Icons cardstock sticker sheet!  Just look at the bunny!!  I want to ruffle her up and then take a bite!!  So cute!  For the sentiment, I used some Doodlebug alpha rubons. 

Here is a close-up of the bunny on the die-cut flower. I think this is my first Cameo cut that has made onto a project :)  I just got it after my return from vacation, and I greatly look forward to putting it to use in future projects.  I am now a two-machines girl: Cricut and Cameo :)

80 degrees in March!

I could scarcely believe it when we touched down in Twin Cities International airport that the temperature outside was the same as it was in Mazatlan, Mexico where we spent some time vacationing!  Today the temperature will set a new record high in the 80's!!  Is this a part of the global warming?

We had a wonderful time in Mexico.  I will always most fondly remember the incredibly hardworking and friendly people at our resort. They were the highlights of this trip for me. Now I am doing unpacking, laundry, and of course, after such a long time away from the gym, DH and I almost died on the floor of Cardio Kickboxing this morning. 

I do have a layout using the Front Porch Kits.  Over Christmas break, we invited First Born's BFF over for a playdate!  What a sweet and polite girl BFF is.  She had the most wonderful Chinese manner and I was blown away when she thanked me when I hung up her coat with "Auntie, thank you."  I was like, wowser, memory bank overflow!

I cut some mustaches for them just for fun and they looked hilarious in them.  A part of the fun was making chocolate covered cake balls which they ate with glee! 

It's time for me to get back to my laundry.  Have a wonderful weekend and I hope to be visiting your blogs soon! 

Lucky Owl

The Front Porch Kits' latest kit contained an 8x8 burlap canvas.  After thinking about it for quite a few days, I decided that I will try something different for me and make a wall hanging.  There was a journaling tag in kit and I thought that I could use it as the saying of some cute critter.  I went the simple route and came up with this lucky owl.

I put to use many of the elements included in the kit: handmade buttons, yarn to thread through the button holes, silk leaves, two different ribbons and this extremely stiff wired stem I used here as a border.  I think I've mentioned how jam packed this kit is with so many fun elements!

Here's one more look at the journaling tag that I trimmed to use on the canvas and the cute owl I cut with Cricut Lite Hoot N Holler. Lite cartridges are by far my favorite ones because each image requires a maximum of four cuts to piece together. I love simplicity!

Thank you for visiting! Until next time, keep on creating!

Be Healthy in an Obsessive Way...

After I experienced BodyStep over Christmas break, I knew my life would never be complete again if I don't have that class on a regular basis.  So I've gone over the top, at least it feels that way sometimes.  I can't say it will last, this seven times a week exercising thing. On the other hand, the free drug called endorphin is really addictive!

I created this layout for Miss Fancy Pants blog.  The assignment was to use the Be You rubons.  It is true that my absolute most favorite embellishments are rub-ons and stickers because for the first 8 years that I scrapbooked, I did only flat pages. It took a lot of therapy for me to conquer my fear of 3-d embellishments. However, my love for rub-ons and stickers have never waned: if I'm not using them, I'm collecting them. In the case of the Be You rub-ons, I cut up the long strip of 'Be You' and used them as five individual pieces on my page. My page is mostly rectangles and lines, so I decided to create little circles around these rub-on pieces by hand-stitch circles around them. I also cut up the three connecting circle rub-ons and used them as individual pieces on the page. Just a little tip, Fancy Pants rub-ons are opaque, so they cover up the background very well!

Just a couple of close-up shots of the rubon applied and the little hand-stitched circles

That's it for this very fancy day and I hope it is a good one for you!  I know what I'll be doing!  BodyStep! :)

Front Porch Kits - Nature's Charm

Front Porch Kits is back with its first kit for 2012:  Front Porch Kits March Kit: Nature's Charm. It is a jam packed kit as usual, just check out all that is included in the kit in the picture on the left!

The shades of green in the kit are my favorite colors so I had a ton of fun creating with this kit.  My go-to photos in my stash are always from my garden. It's a refreshing break from the bleakness outside!  April is not too far behind and there's anticipation in the air... the planting season will begin soon enough!  We added blueberries into our gardens last year so we look forward to a bigger harvest this year! 

My title is cut with the Perserves cartridge with my Cricut.  I love a no-brainer title sometimes, lol.  The gingham and the weather worn boards convey such a homey feeling to me, no wonder I love this kit so much!  I hope you go and check it out at the Front Porch Kits!

Unrelated to scrapbooking, Second Child got a new do at the salon last night. We were able to get three 10-inches locks to be donated to Pantene's beautiful lengths program. We are pleased that her beautiful hair can be used for a good cause.  And this mother is very thankful to say: Tangled No More! lol.

The Color Room Palette 100

How absolutely thrilling it is for the Color Room to release its 100th palette!  How the time flies when we play with colors! :) And how cute is that sketch?! 

Here is my take on this palette.  These are old photos of First Born and already back then, she was always scribbling in her little notebook.  Ever since I gave her a cute little diary, she's been recording the important events of her days.  For example, she really let her diary know just how boring shopping was and what a huge waste of a day spent on shopping was!  I plan to photocopy that and remind her when she is a teenager. lol.

I have been a major slacker in blogging and visiting recently.  Life is really busy right now in a fulfilling way, so I am quite thankful.  Stay tuned for a new kit from Front Porch Kits called Nature's Charm.  I look forward to posting those projects soon!