I LOVE MY BIND IT ALL!

Hey yall! I'm so excited to show you what I just made. I had heard of a few people that had some technical difficulties using the Bind It All, so I was a little nervous about trying mine out. I decided to go ahead and try it out and it worked perfectly! I was worried about the part when you clamp down to close the O-wires, but it worked beautifully. Here's my kool aid mustache assistant showing you the final project.

This last picture is of the inside back cover. The instructional DVD tells you how to place the covers before clamping so that the "seam" is not visible. I love how this turned out! The boys want Mario & Luigi notebooks, so I gotta go get busy. Yall have a good evening!

Hula Hoop Champ & Yoga King

Hey yall. First I'd like to report that yesterday evening did not quite go as planned (in case you couldn't figure it out from Aunt Pat's snide comment). I got in my workout clothes, came into the living room, and discovered Joey had taken Wii Fit and the balance board to Mimi & Papa's house. I was not a happy camper, but figured I could get caught up on a few swaps and make a card or two. Here's a card I made for a birthday party we're going to Saturday.

We've actually got 2 birthday parties, so I need to make another card. This evening while the boys were in the pool I worked out on the Wii Fit for a while and I have a feeling I'm gonna feel those lunges and the boxing tomorrow. Of course as soon as the boys came in I had to turn it over to them. Here are some pictures of Joey working the Hula Hoop. He's actually quite good.

I have no idea why he had to wear flannel pajamas since it's July, but I try not to interfere with pj's as long as he wears something to bed. Next up we have Anthony showing his yoga pose.

His favorite game is a ball balancing game. He's not bad at it when he tries, but most of the time he likes to make the balls roll of the side. You can see him laughing in the picture--he thinks it's hilarious!

Ok, I'm worn out now. The sad thing is that the Wii Fit actually shows I've gained weight since I started using it, but I'm trying to concentrate on the positives. I hope yall have a good night. Thanks for stopping by!

I'm back!

Hey yall. No, I didn't forget my blogger password, I've just been super busy the last week and a half. I don't have any pictures to share--not of craft projects or my cute little boys. I will catch you up to date on me though!

I got my hair colored again today but instead of red I went back to my natural color, kinda. It's a medium dark brown because that's what color my roots start out. Usually the sun lightens my hair as it grows out, so this looks a little darker than my normal color, but I really like it. I wanted to avoid all the maintenance of hair color until I have to. I always figured I'd be gray by now, but so far so good.

I bought Wii Fit last week and really like it. The only part I don't like about it is having to share with the kiddos. Anthony is awesome at yoga! That little 3 year old body contorts a lot easier than mine. It's so cute to watch him do the step aerobics too! Joey has the high score in hula hoop and ski jump, but I plan on taking care of that this evening while they are at Mimi & Papa's house. Once I get started on the Wii Fit I have a hard time turning it off, which in this case is a good thing.

I won 3rd place in the Cricut contest the first go round, so I got 6 sheets of 12x24 vinyl (white, gold metallic, pink, yellow, turquoise). I placed 3rd the second go round, but it's ok because my stampin' sister Barb in Oregon bought me the blue Bind-It-All! She came across an awesome sale at a store up there that we don't have here. It's great to have friends all over the place!

I still haven't sold anything at Bayou Crafters, but I have gotten a sale from there. I'm gonna try to hold out until Christmas. Surely I'll eventually sell something! If not, at least I'll know I tried.

I guess you're all caught up on me now. I think it sounded a lot more interesting in my head, but that's ok. I'm gonna Wii Fit for a little while and then maybe make a card (if I still remember how). We've got quite a thunderstorm happening here so hopefully we won't lose power. If we do I'll just take it as a sign that I need to go to bed early. Yall have a good evening!

VOTE FOR ME PLEASE

Hey yall. I'm sitting in my very quiet house right now enjoying the lack of noise. Jason's gone to youth camp, Joey is at his Nanny's house, and Anthony is at Aunt Pat's house, so I'm all alone for several days. This will probably be my only post this week because although I plan to make lots of stuff, Jason took the camera with him. He also took the good laptop so I don't even have any pictures to upload.

Beth at My Cricut Scrapbooking is giving away a second Bind-It-All this week since 2 of the entries last week kept voting for themselves instead of letting it be an honest vote. The voting parameters have been changed to allow 1 vote per IP address per 24 hour period. Please go HERE and vote for 15. Glass Etching each day this week if at all possible. I appreciate all your help again. Yall have a great week!

Anthony's special friend

Hey yall. I just took pictures of the cutest thing. There was a little frog in the pool and Anthony had the best time playing with it. He talked and talked to the frog.

Joey was not a big fan of the frog. Jason tried to show it to him but he freaked out and tried to get away.

Pool time is normally my stamping time, but this evening I had to check out all the action. Maybe I'll make a frog card this weekend.

Beautiful buttons

Good evening yall. I made a few cards again last night--I've really been on a roll this week! I used my new bottle of buttons last night (I think I told yall about them--I bought an old bottle of buttons from Bayou Crafters last week).

This is the first one I made. The zig zag stitch at the bottom is a Cuttlebug embossing border and the flower stems are from SU's Border Builders. I just couldn't stop with one.

I got the idea for this topiary from PaperTrey Ink's new Button Bits stamp set. I was trying to save myself $24, so I improvised with a pot from another set (SU) and a narrow trunk drawn in with a marker. Thanks for checking out my creations!

4 cards in one night!

Hey yall. I've got a few cards to share with you. Last night I made 4 cards! One of the pictures is very blurry, so I'm only gonna show yall 3 of them.

The first one I made uses some of the pin, button, and crocheted flower set that I used on the baby girl card the other day. It also uses the birds & swirls embossing folder. I don't have this one, but received the embossed card front in the swap I did a while back.

This next one does not impress me. I've had the ribbon for quite some time and have been wanting to use it. I got the image from my SCS Big Sis. She's cute, but the colors are just not great. I think I'm gonna move this ribbon to the giveaway pile.

This last one is my favorite. Anthony and I made this card together. He helped me pick out the colors. I call this one a story card because we made up a little story about it. This is Betsy and she's on her way home from her friend Sandy's house. She had fun playing with Sandy, but her mom said it was time to come home. This is another image I got from my Big Sis. That's all I've got for tonight. I need to etch some glasses for a friend and since the boys are playing Wii, now sounds like the perfect time. Yall have a good evening!

Happy Father's Day

Hey yall. I know Father's Day was actually a few weeks ago, but we just gave my father-in-law his card and gift today. He's one of my blog readers, so I couldn't share the card on here until after we gave it to him.

This card uses several of the stamps in the set I got from H&M stamps right before Father's Day. The cabin was one of the first images I colored with my Copics.

The boys came back from my in-laws today, so I've got my hands full this evening. They had a blast from what all they've told me, but they are worn out which has made them a little whiny. I think they grew up while they were gone! I was calling Anthony "little guy" and he told me he was not a little guy, he was big. Then he told me he was a teenager. I think they're gonna go swim a little to finish wearing them out for bedtime. I haven't been sleeping well but hopefully tonight I'll sleep better. Enough tired rambling. Yall have a good evening.

I almost forgot--be sure to check out Loretta's blog and sign up for her blog candy. She's my extremely generous Big Sis on SCS (you know, the one who has sent me tons of stuff, including Copics). Of course if you win, you're gonna have to share with me since I told you about it, but she's giving away plenty for both of us!

The voting continues

Thanks for voting on me! It seems one of my competitors (or a friend) is sitting at her computer, voting constantly. I'm not quite sure what my strategy is going to be, but I'm thinking maybe if we stop voting for a couple of days she'll stop too, then we can outvote her at the end. I really want to win the prize, but it would have been more fun to win because my project was great. I've never been that much into popularity contests. They seem so juvenile. Of course, this is not my resignation speech, I just wish it hadn't come down to this. Again, thanks for all your help. Have a great evening!

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!

Hey yall. I'm here to ask a huge favor. I'm in a contest and I need your votes. Please go to My Cricut Scrapbooking and vote on 15. Glass Etching, which is the place setting I made last week. I just voted for myself and realized even though I haven't asked anybody to vote, I'm in first place with 4 votes! Please tell all your friends. I'm not sure how often you can vote, but I appreciate all your support.

Baby card

Hey yall. I've got a quick card to show yall. This is for my friend Jaime. She has 2 boys and is now expecting a little girl, so I had to make her a super girlie card.



I know the picture isn't as great as when I take them outside, but I'm bringing this to her at church in the morning and I'm usually running late, so I doubt I'll have time for an outside picture. I finally used my crocheted flowers, buttons, and pins I got from Peachy Cheap a while back. The buttons says "Love" on it. I love how it turned out. Hopefully I'll have time to make a few more like this tomorrow while I can still remember the design. I have tons of cards that I love and plan on going back to make duplicates, but it usually doesn't happen. I hope yall have had a great Saturday!

New pics of place setting

Hey yall. Here are the pictures I took of the place setting today. Chrissy asked if the charger was glass--it's not. It's very lightweight, but I'm not sure exactly what it's made of.

That's all I've got for now. I'm hoping to make some stuff this evening after dinner, but I might go shopping. My friend Debbie told me Pier One has some glasses on sale for $0.59 and yall know I can't pass up a good deal on glasses! I hope your weekend is great!

Etched Place Setting

Hey yall. I have some preliminary pictures to show yall of my newest project--a monogrammed place setting. I put black vinyl on a red charger and etched on a dinner plate and tea goblet.

I'm gonna try to take better pictures tomorrow.

Who Moved My Paintbrush???

The answer to "Who moved my paintbrush?" is me. The problem is that I can't remember where I moved it to. You see, the other day, I was cleaning the bathroom counter. I have a little cheapo kids paintbrush that I use to paint the etching cream on my glasses. Since I usually rinse the paintbrush in the bathroom sink, it usually stays by the bathroom sink. Well, while I was cleaning I thought, "Hey, I could just put it _____________ and then I would know where it was and it wouldn't be cluttering up the bathroom counter!" See how that works? Fill in the blank with your best guess, cuz I can't remember for the life of me where this perfect storage place is. I have hunted all over the place. During my search I did find my great aunt's expired driver's license (she left it in a coat pocket she gave me and has since gotten a new license), a large purple crayon (from when Joey was in PreK--he's almost 7), and a roll of masking tape (I just bought a roll last week to use instead of tranfer tape with my vinyl). So, I ended up using a foam sponge. It worked, but it would be like using a sock to paint a wall--it gets the job done, but it takes way longer and looks terrible. At least the end result should look normal. I'm off to clean the glasses now. If you see my turquoise handled paintbrush, could you pick it up and put it on my bathroom counter, next to the sink?

Fruit is Cute

Hey yall. I've got 4 cards that I made this evening. It sounds like I've been working hard, but these were actually quite quick and easy. I used Basic Grey paper and Aunt Pat's Home Accents Cricut cartridge. All 4 cards were made and photographed in less than an hour.

I cut the pear and apple blackout at 3 inches out of the Basic Grey paper, then cut the shadow of each out of blue cardstock to make the first 2 cards. The 3rd card was made with the blackout leftovers and the 4th card was made with the shadow leftovers. These are very simple, but I like the way they turned out. I'm going to leave them blank on the inside so I can use them for whatever. It sounds like the boys are getting out of the pool, so I gotta go help them get dressed. Have a good night!

Sleeping Beauty

Anthony finally passed out on his little Spiderman couch this evening while gazing out the french doors and asking to go swimming.

Here's a picture of the lego powers Joey made earlier today. They are proudly on display in front of his tv now.

My favorite thing about this picture is Joey's outfit. The red and blue striped polo really goes well with the yellow, brown, and orange plaid shorts, don't you think? I think both of the kids have permanent koolaid mustaches too, which really adds to the ensemble. We've got friends coming over to eat and swim, so I better finish up. Have a great evening!

My kids are too cool

Last night on the way to get fireworks, I asked Joey (almost 7) what he wanted to be when he grows up. He wants to be a kindergarten teacher. I thought that was so sweet, so I asked him why he decided on that. He said, "Well, kindergarten is just about learning your letters and numbers, and I already know them, so it should be pretty easy." I was speechless, except for the laughter I was trying to contain.

Joey wants me to share with everyone the Mario powers he has formed out of legos. He has made star power, fire power, ice power (from Super Mario Galaxy), flying power (Super Mario 3 raccoon), mushroom, 1 up mushroom, teeny tiny power mushroom, and huge power mushroom. They really are pretty cool looking, but him running around the house pretending to use these powers is a little annoying. For example, yesterday he had "star power" so he ran around humming the star power song and running into things. I guess I was a bad guy because when he ran into me he said that he killed me.

I've gotta find some lunch for us. I hope yall have a wonderful Sunday afternoon. Maybe we'll all get a nap today. By the way, I just started uploading to my SCS gallery yesterday, so check it out if you're over that way. My username is PaperAddictJenn. Happy Crafting!

2 Challenges in One!

It's been quite some time since I've played along with a challenge, and today I played along with 2! Of course, they kinda were the same theme, but that's ok. The challenge for Three Clover's Thursday #20 and From Courtney's Closet #47 were both to use red, white, and blue. Here's the card I made.


I feel like it's missing something, but I'm not a big embellisher. In fact, I've had this ribbon thingy for years and just now used it.


I also wanted to share pictures of the boys in the pool this afternoon. Anthony is only 3 years old but can swim across the pool all by himself without floaties.


He's "helping" me with this post and this is the picture of himself he requested. He and Joey both love the new goggles Jason bought them.


It's about time for dinner, but I hope yall are all having a great Saturday. Maybe these challenges will inspire someone else to make something red, white, & blue!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone is enjoying a nice Independence Day. I'm so confused about what day it is since yesterday seemed like Saturday. I've got a few things to share with you today. First, here's the plate I made James for his birthday. He's a huge baseball fan, so I used a free svg file from www.svgcuts.com with SCAL and my Cricut.

That's probably all I'll etch this weekend because my vinyl I ordered won't be in until Tuesday and I'm almost out. I'm also almost out of etching cream and Hobby Lobby doesn't have a 40% off coupon this week, so it'll have to wait until next week. I've been using the same bottle of etching cream since January, so it lasts a long time. A 10 ounce bottle is $15-$20, so 40% savings is at least $5, which definitely makes it worth waiting on a coupon.

Next, here's the card I made last night for my quilling swap. It's not what you would normally think of for quilling, but I like it. The sun and the flower in Sophie's hair are quilled and I guess the seagulls count as being quilled.

Last, I have a flower treat box I made for Aunt Pat. Of course I didn't have any treats the right size to put in it, but I still think she'll like it. I got the SCUT file from the Craft Edge forum and cut it using SCAL and my Cricut.

I've got a whiny 3 year old that needs to take a nap, so I'm gonna try to get him to rest a little. Have a wonderful 4th of July!

Mario & Luigi

Here's the glass Joey picked out. It features Mario & Luigi. At dinner tonight Anthony drank out of the Mario glass and Joey drank out of the Mario & Luigi glass. Hopefully I won't croak when they drop and break one of them, because I'm sure it'll happen at some point.

Ok, I'm almost in tears now. A commercial just came on for some type of exercise equipment - Body by Jake. Anthony & Joey both love commercials and infomercials, so I'm used to them watching closely. As the commercial was going off, Anthony said, "Hey, I want that when I get fat" in his sweet little 3 year old voice. Kids are awesome. Jason is trying to explain to Joey right now why we have belly buttons. He's not getting it, but he tends to be a little slow like his mom. Ok, I'm gonna try to sneak off to my desk and make some Christmas in July cards for my SCS swap. I should probably start on the cards for the quilling swap due in August. They are most likely gonna be more time consuming than my estimate. Yall have a good evening!

Super Mario Bros

Hey yall. Just wanted to show yall what I made to become the coolest mom ever, at least for a little while.

Yep, that's Mario etched on a glass. Joey was excited, but said he really wanted Luigi. He said I'm still the coolest mom in the world. I've gotta go show him all the options on this font now so he can place his order for future glasses.

Christmas in July, card 1

Hey yall. I received my first July card with the theme "Christmas in July." This was made by PatinTN on SCS.

I also want to share with yall the Lego house Joey built for Indiana Jones. It has a blue toilet, a living room with a tv, and a kitchen with 2 chairs. I like how the chimney has white smoke coming out of it. Joey wanted me to also mention that the roof is kinda nice and you could actually walk on it.

Next, I wanted to show you Anthony "relaxing" in the recliner. He's usually passed out either in the recliner or on the couch when I get home from work since he's allergic to naptime, but he's awake in this picture.

Last, I wanted to show you (mainly Aunt Pat) the pitcher I just bought at Dollar General. I don't know what I'm gonna etch on it, but I think it's super cute.

I've just been informed that I need to edit the paragraph on Indiana Jones' lego house. The house was actual made for Joey (by Joey), but Indiana is sitting in it right now since Joey's too big to fit in there. He said after I write that I can do whatever I want on here. Anthony is sitting next to me saying, "I wanna kitty cat" over and over. Parenting is an experience unlike any other. I gotta go now--Joey wants to display his lego house somewhere so that everyone who comes over can see it, but Anthony can't reach it to break it. Maybe we should go buy a special cabinet. I mean, we don't have a china cabinet, but why not have a lego cabinet?

gotta have a sense of humor

Hey yall. Sorry for the weird title, I'm just not coming up with anything to describe today's card, which I think is hilarious. I finally colored an image I swapped with someone recently and made a card.

Isn't it too funny? I don't know what I'm gonna do with it, but I decided to go ahead and make a card. I'm sure just the right birthday will present itself. Andrea--it's too bad I didn't have this in time for Jay's birthday!

I also wanted to share a picture of what Anthony was doing the other night. He was just in his underwear and t-shirt, so I'm only sharing the picture of him from the waist up. Or would it be waist down since he's upside down?

He's got his feet quite comfortably propped up on the wall behind the couch. He kept vaulting up there, then flipping back down on the floor. I don't like to share pictures of one kid without giving the other kid equal blog time, so here's my favorite picture of Joey at VBS.

I think Jason said they were doing announcements during this picture. It perfectly shows his "I'd rather be at home" attitude that he shared with us daily after bible school, which was "40% good and 60% bad" every day. That's all I've got tonight. I etched 14 glasses this evening, but I didn't take pictures and I've already gotten them boxed up and in my van, ready to be delivered at work tomorrow. I hope yall have a good evening. I'm glad tomorrow is the last work day of the week!