New Year Card Swap

Come join in the fun over at Holy Cricut (totally-stamps.blogspot)! I love seeing everybody's cards!!

What I've been doing....

It's been quite busy around here...and everywhere I can imagine! With the holiday season upon us I have the usual hustle and bustle associated with that. In addition, I started a new job last week. I'm super excited about it, but I haven't quite finished my days with my old job yet....Phew. Things are getting crazy :)

So I thought I'd just pop on and post a couple of pictures of things to come. I've been cutting out pieces to slap together for my Christmas cards...

 Leftovers are pretty in themselves!

Here's the pieces for 40 cards....minus their respective cricut cutouts, as I've had a little oopsie with my cricut mat...

More to follow :)

Yay!!! My first award!

Susan P. sent me notification of this award, and I couldn't be more elated! I serve on the Totally Stamps design team with her and always enjoy browsing through her stuff!

So on to the nitty gritty of the award...
1. Thank the person who awarded you
2. Share 8 things about yourself
3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered
4. Contact bloggers and tell them about their award

Eight things about myself.....
1. I'm often quite random....as you're soon going to find out for yourselves :)
2. I just started a new job...though I haven't quite finished the last job....this makes for a busy Tara!
3. The fastest way to my heart may just be through a lovely pan of lasagna.
4. Currently my craft room is being inhabited by my brother-in-law, so I've been forced to craft on the living room floor...But sometimes I prefer it this way :)
5. I went black friday shopping this year and got everything on my list (AND limited myself to one cricut cartridge)!
6. I'm fairly certain that the worst chore in the world is cleaning dishes.
7. I am currently addicted to everything My Mind's Eye.
8. I sincerely hope everybody has a safe and happy holiday season!!! This includes, but is not limited to, my friends and family, no matter how far away, my new bloggy friends, my coworkers (old & new)!

And for my nominations....
1. http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com
2. http://totally-stamps.blogspot.com/
3. http://4craftyangels.blogspot.com/
4. http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com/
5. http://kandrewdesigns.blogspot.com/
6. http://craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com/
7. http://jegaspassion.blogspot.com/
8. http://shari-design.blogspot.com/

There you have it!
Have a super day!!

Angel

Just a quick pic before the DD gets her coat on to brave Wisconsin Halloween :) More later!

Thanksgiving Tag

Here's my submission for Michelle's Thanksgiving/fall challenge at Totally Stamps.

Sorry the photo is slightly blurry...My good camera is on trick-or-treating duty ;)
Go check out the rest of the design team's submissions!!!

~Tara

Stickers

I've run into a bit of a dilemma while organizing my crafty cavern. I've found that I have NO IDEA how to store and organize my stickers. I've tried organizing them in a binder...in a clear folder....hanging up....I just HAVE NOT found a pleasing way to sort and organize them, yet keep them handy and (mostly) visible so that I remember to use them :)

So I'm curious what other people do. Have you guys found a wonderful way to store stickers that works awesomely for you? And if so, I'd REALLY like to know your secret!!!

~Tara

My Monday minute....a few days late :)

A quick Monday minute :)

(1) Have you ever been hospitalized? (OK, maybe that one isn't so upbeat)

Numerous times. I have quite severe asthma and end up in the hospital at least once a year with that...The local heath care community knows me on a first name basis :)

(2) What’s the last bit of good news you received?

Hmmmm....It shouldn't be this hard to think of....I guess hearing that my car was finally paid off was a BIG relief!

(3) Who was your favorite teacher?

I've had a lot of inspirational teachers that became some of my favorites....My fourth grade teacher, who has since passed, was awesome....Rolf, Mort, and Jean in college were the professors that pushed me the most both out of my comfort zone and to realize what I had to offer as a person. I owe a great deal to them.

(4) Do you sing in the shower?

When DON'T I sing?!?!? FYI the shower has great acoustics ;)

(5) Describe the happiest day of your life.
The happiest day of my life, thus far, was probably the birth of my daughter. I may be a tad biased, but she's just the cutest, most precious being to grace the earth!

 

 

Card Swap

Michelle over at Totally Stamps is having a Thanksgiving swap so I thought I'd post a couple of pics of the cards that I made.

Not exactly how I had envisioned them turning out, but I like them nonetheless. The design was based on the sentiment I chose, "Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel."

Yay Design Team!!

Just wanted to share with you all...I made the design team over at Totally Stamps!
So pleaaaaase go check out Michelle's blog and leave tons of nice comments!!

YIPPEE!!!!

Monday minutes

Monday Minutes with Cristy

I just happened upon Cristy's site and thought it would be fun to participate and to get to know a little about me and my crafty buddies, so here goes!

(1) Did you play any sports growing up?

Perhaps it's more appropriate to say that I tried and failed miserably at basketball. I was awful....no joke. It may have had something to do with the fact that I was impressionable and didn't want to wear my glasses to games...and the fact that I was just too nice...Girls would try to rip the ball out of my hands or jump up and push me around with their tushes...and I thought, well gee, if you want it that bad, go ahead...much to the dismay of my team. Eventually, I found my true calling as a cheerleader and left the basketball playing to the big meanies :)

(2) Have you ever gotten an MIP (apparently people don't know what this is.  I guess it's the dorky law 
school part of me, sorry!  Haha...it's a minor in possession)?

Negative. No minor possession of any substance for this girl!

(3) Do you snore or sleepwalk?

I've been know to bring down the house. I come from a long line of professional log cutters...I just do my small part to make my family proud.

(4) Describe your last dream.

Some of the details are a little fuzzy, but I dreamed that we were having a family day at work and we had rented this ginormous inflatable trampoline type thing that we set up in a school gym. A bunch of people were inside testing it out and a guy from work comes up to me and tells me that he thinks he hurt a little girl when he landed on her...and then he left. Shortly after he tells me this, a little girl comes up to me with a smashed hand and a boot imprint on it. I carried her over to a table where I helped bandage it up and called the clinic to tell them I was on my way there with a little girl with a broken finger.

After this all, I awoke quite angry at the guy from work who probably hasn't the slightest idea that he broke some little girl's finger in my dream, and then just left her to suffer. Does this ever happen to anybody else...somebody in your dream makes you mad and you're still angry with them when you wake up?

(5) What's the one thing you've been meaning to do that you just haven't gotten to?
One thing...Lordy....I'm going to have to go with giving my doggy friend a bath. He's shedding like horrible, but now it's too cold to spray him down and send him outside to dry off.  

Let me know if any of y'all play! I'd love to see your answers as well!

~Tara

Tshirt fun!

Today I thought I'd share a couple of tshirts that I made with the kiddos a little while back using my cricut and some fabric paint.

I picked up a couple of shirts at HL for the kids and then let them pick out a design that they wanted on their shirt. I used freezer paper to cut out the stencil and then ironed it onto the shirt. Then I put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so the paint didn't go through and paint the other side of the shirt. I just used a foam brush for the larger areas and a small paint brush from my stash for the outlining and faces. And voila! Here's the finished products :) PS...ignore the time stamps on the photos, apparently I need to fix that!

 Stevie picked out a moose.....Kinda cute if I don't say so myself...

 Izzy picked out a puppy, which I was happy about because it was quite cute...then she insisted that I paint him green.....Oh well, it's her shirt, and she knows what she likes (GREEN)...so here's the lil Scotty alien dog.

And all in all a fun activity for me and the "satisfied customers." Look at those grins :)

MIA? I think not!

Hi all!

I know that I've been a little MIA recently...I had some work stuff to take care of as well as my regular mommy and wife duties. But I missed you all too much to stay away FOREVER! So I'm back with a promise to be more regular in my posting. I love seeing what you guys have created and love taking inspiration from your projects...Hopefully mine can do the same for some of you.

Also, if you could, I would love you to stop by my friend Michelle's website http://totally-stamps.blogspot.com/. She's got a lot of nifty projects over there that she's created in addition to hosting challenges and card swaps! You won't be disappointed!

And here's a quick project of mine....It's a scrapbook page that I'm redoing because I'm not happy with the white background.....

My daughter...a Lady Gaga fan (yes....she's 6 but can sing all of Alejandro)...and always wanting to share in the card playing fun that our family and friends partake in. On her birthday she was allowed to play one hand of poker with the neighbors for pennies. She ended up winning 20-some cents :)

Pictures aren't all that great, because it's still dark here and I don't want to wake up my sleeping family :) I'll let you know how the "remodel" turns out!!

Until next time,
Tara

EGADS!

I'm so excited! Hubby was a dear for our anniversary (5 years on Friday) and purchased me a new toy!! Pictures to follow!

Ohmigosh! The Scrapbox!

Now I know you've all oogled The Original Scrapbox at some point or another and now here's your chance to win one!!!

First of all, if you haven't oogled the Scrapbox then head over to their site and look at all the goodness like the Limited Edition Workbox! Then hurry on over to Emma's blog where you can enter her preliminary contest!!

Absence!

I'm sorry for my recent absence from the challenges and my blog in general! My mother is getting married today so I've been busy getting stuff ready for that. I promise to post some pictures of my creations soon!!

~Tara

Pink Cricut Giveaway

http://www.pinkcricut.com/2010/08/giveaway-contest/

I'm really quite excited about all the new stamp sets, cartridges, and whatnot that are arriving as of late! Sarah at Pink Cricut has just released her new stamp line that coordinates well with the four new cricut cartridges. Go check it out and stop by her blog for a chance to win one of these nifty stamp sets!!

~Tara

ScrapFest 2010

Is anybody going to ScrapFest 2010 at MOA in September?
http://www.scrapfest10.com/
Just wondering if anybody else is in the area and plans on making an appearance?

The end of procrastination as I know it

Okay, maybe not an end to my procrastination altogether, but having this blog has definitely helped me in getting a jump on my birthday and holiday cards! It's July and I've just finished my first Christmas card! Now that may be of no importance to y'all out there, but this is a big step for me :) Only 8,323,435,667 (slight exaggeration) more cards and I can be satisfied with my holiday bunch.

Here's the one I've been speaking of...

I entered my card in the following challenges: Fantabulous Cricut Challenge #20, Charisma Cardz Challenge #30, and the current Cupcake Craft Challenge.

Thanks for taking a peek!!

~Tara

Mojo Monday 149

You're not going to believe me when I tell you that this is actually the first wedding photo of mine that I've ever worked with. How long have I been married? Only four years, eleven months, and two days....I think I just have that underlying doubt that I won't be able to do my special day justice...I know, I know, craaaaazy.

When I saw the sketch for Mojo Monday this week, I knew exactly what I had to do....

This is one of my favorite pictures from my wedding. It was actually taken at the reception hall after our "I dos". It's one of the most endearing photos that somebody snapped with a disposable camera. <3

Here's a closer look at the photo. The DH kissing my baby girl in her fancy lil mini bride dress :)

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in a small slice of my wedding day! And if you would like to follow my blog, by all means click on the follow button on the right! I love hearing all your comments, they just make my day!

~Tara

Wheee!

This week has passed by like a whirlwind! I'm slightly bummed that I couldn't make it to CHA with everyone and ogle the goodies but it just wasn't in the cards for this year! Instead I've been holding down the fort in my crafty cavern....Or rather the living room...It's the easiest place to get my stuff done and keep an eye on my (almost) six year old who may be equally imaginative...and messy :)

Here's a hanging that I'm going to frame up for a friend.

I paper pieced this lovely digi from http://stretchnbubbles.blogspot.com/p/digital-stamps-store.html .
Challenges: Sweet Sketch Wednesday 60 & SNB Creative Chicks 9

I considered for a moment that I may have went overboard with my dear cuttlebug....but then, can you ever go overboard with such a lovely tool? :)

Hope those of you that made it to the windy city for CHA are having a splendid time!!

Have a wonderful weekend,

~Tara

Friday Sketches 112

Today I participated in Friday Sketchers Sketch #112 as seen above. (http://fridaysketchersblog.blogspot.com/) as well as Paper playtime's challenge 8 (http://paperplaytime.blogspot.com/) I had a friend who passed recently and thought this the perfect layout to honor her memory. Peace Christy. You will be missed.

Sorry the lighting isn't the greatest. It's getting late here and I have to work all weekend so I'm trying to squeeze the last of my craftiness into the next few minutes before bed! I hope you all play along with the Sketch and I wish you all a safe and happy weekend! Have a little fun for me! :)

~Tara

Surfs up!

Every summer we pack up and head to the lake for some (much appreciated) fun in the sun. It's always a good time (even though I'm not huuuuge on swimming with the fishies). Most of the time I forget my camera, but I got lucky this time. Amiss sand castles, snack time, and splashin around in the water I was able to capture a few moments on camera. I loved this series of a friend and his surfing attempts that was quite anxious to throw it in the ole scrapbook. I'm also entering this in the "Under the Sea" challenge at http://laurenscraps.blogspot.com/  Kids....don't try this at home...hehe.

Hope you have a great day! I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that we don't get any more flooding in the near future! Rain, rain go away!

~Tara

Just a Quick Card

Here's just a quick card I whipped up. It's made from all scraps, which is what makes it aaaaawwwesome in my book! Thanks for stopping by and stay tuned for a few projects and a couple pages from one of my scrapbooks! ~Tara

Monday Mojo + addition

Today I'm posting another Mojo Monday Sketch before I get off to the "real world."

And my interpretation.....

This was a fun card to make. I even went on an adventure to find the perfect ribbon for the bottom....when I couldn't find any I went out to the shed and brought some hay back in....PERFECT! Okay, this living in the middle of nowhere isn't always bad. And who doesn't love getting a jump on the holidays?!! I'm also using it as my submission for a design team call. *fingers crossed*

And if you get a chance, hope over to http://inkedinspirations.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-my-birthday.html. Who doesn't love blog candy from a talented artist like Jodi!!

Hope you enjoyed! I love browsing through everyone's submissions! I'm glad I got some time to play again this week!

Happy Wednesday a.k.a. halfway to the weekend!!

~Tara

I know...but...

I know this is supposed to be a site displaying my creative abilities but I just wanted to share my little hitch in the road.

I was fully prepared and on my way to my crafty cavern when I hear, "Ohmigod. Ohmigodohmigodohmigod." Upon further investigation, I found the DH on the porch staring off into the sunset. And then I catch a whiff of something. Something putrid. I mean like a gallon of sour milk, with 27 day old cauliflower, sprayed by skunk putrid. DH looks at me and says...."The pigs are out." I follow his glance to see six little piggies...scratch that....Six fat porkers waddling through my yard. *Thank the heavens above that they didn't get my tomato plants* Upon this discovery I get coerced into luring the pigs back into the pen by any means necessary.Now those of you who know me know that I am by NO means a country girl. I am content to play indoors, in fact I'm allergic to most things green and I pride myself on never having to shovel poo or bale hay or anything else that takes place when raising non-pet animals. My perfect setting would be a roomy apartment with neighbors on either side and no yard. That's about how anti-nature I am. So armed with a shovel, my only pair of tennis shoes, and a bucket I made my way into the yard to help the DH.

But not before a snapped a picture, of course.

Stinky critters. I came away with one large cut on my pinky finger, 87 mosquito bites, and a giant pile of mud (please let's pretend it was mud for my mental well-being) in my only pair of tennis shoes.

On the plus side....I should probably go shoe shopping.

The end.

~Tara

Happy 4th!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a happy 4th of July!
I also had to bite the bullet. I've been able to hold off on buying any of the lite cartridges...in fact I've even prevented myself from lingering in front of them for too long...except fooooooor one. I caved!

This was a must-have! My daughter is almost six now, and I have soooooooo many pictures I need to get working on in the scrapbook! I can hardly wait! There's also several ladies at work expecting so I'll get good use of this one :)

Celebrating the red, white, & blue!

Tara

Design Team Submission

I recently submitted this card for Robyn's Pink Stamper Design Team request. It wasn't chosen, but her new team is full of talent and I'm excited to see their new creations. But here's my submission for your viewing pleasure :)

Have a great day, all! And happy Independence Day!

A quick peek into my scrap nook!

I took some pictures of my crafting palace today. I've been rearranging and rearranging to find a set up that works for me. This is finally what I've come up with. It's a small space, but I've made the most of it so far! (And it sure beats having all my stuff packed up in totes in a closet)! Here's a few of the highlights!


Here's a picture of the wall behind the entrance. Little space, HUGE opportunity. There's some of my stamp collection on a shelf that the hubby and I made a while back, one of my paper holders, a few items that my father crafted for me, some pictures, binders, my Cuttlebug, and so on.
A closer look at the shelves. My dad made the wooden bowl and candle holder you see. He's super talented.


Moving on to my next corner. We have another paper holder, my clock to keep me on task *snicker*, a catch all basket, and some storage where I keep my fabric, more stamps, sewing patterns, paint, and some scrapping tools. On the wall is some artwork from good ole HL and the card the ladies at work got me when I moved away from Rochester :(


Moving over is a file cabinet that holds paper (duh), and stuff for projects that I'm working on. It's also the home to the cricut carts I'm using most right now, my Xyron, and a three hole punch. On top is another catch all and some bottles that I'm trying to find a home for currently :)


Here's one of my desks. The basket holds pieces to my current projects so I can lug it wherever I feel like adhering stuff. I have a three drawer tote underneath that holds ribbon, chalks, watercolors, and office supplies. There's a little do-hickey (for lack of better term) on the desk that has three pull out drawers that holds embellishments and such. Also have an old fashion picture of my hubby and daughter when she was itty bitty, and what space is complete without a picture of Audrey Hepburn!


Here's my other corner. Shelving courtesy of yours truly. This is my main go-to spot. It houses pretty much everything I use when I'm crafting. There's two shelves with pegboard underneath. The shelves house buttons, eyelets, brads, etc, as well as adhesives, some tools and punches, and other little random things. Strung from the shelf is a line that holds a couple of current card ideas that I'm working on.

Here's a closer look at my top shelf. Some markers, flowers, adhesives, glitter, and a lil bit of Hope :)

On on my second shelf we have a vase that belonged to my grandmother, a candle holder Iz made for me, a bin with a bunch of extras, my Crop-A-Dile, and a watercolor. There's also baby food jars screwed into the bottom shelf for quick access (and decoration) of some more embellishments.



Last, but not least, we have my cricut corner. On the wall, we have the molecular makeup of Serotonin because it is a well-known contributor to feelings of well-being.


Here's my desk all opened up. It's folds up all nice and pretty when it's not in use....*ehmm* hardly ever *ehmm* It's the home to some more fabric, my sewing machine and iron, my alcohol inks, and most importantly, my cricut :)

I hope you enjoyed my little tour. I'm hoping for good news on July 1st as I have sent in a project for Robyn's call for new design team members over at http://www.mypinkstamper.com/ . I've got my fingers crossed but in all reality was just happy to be able to submit something!

Wishing you all a good week and oodles of fireworks this weekend!

Tara