In 45 minutes, we begin the last month of 2010...another year has almost passed. It is only logical that I begin to reflect on the events of this past year and all's I can say that there was a lot that happened; I had some great times and also some bad times. This was probably my most difficult year in a long time...it is hard for me to write that last line because I am a generally happy person, I see the positive in most things but I can say whole - heartedly that I was definitely tested many times throughout this year. I look forward to 2011 being a year of growth and hopefully a little less stressful than 2010.

Do you like my December sign above? I made it for the bulletin board at school using my new Winter Woodland cartridge that I scored 60% at Michael's on Thanksgiving night. I am definitely getting better at layering my shadow cuts. I also cut out the cutest wintery house to put on the board too but I want to wait 'til I am all finished with the entire scene I am making before I post it.

This weekend I hope to finish up making the rest of my Christmas cards to send out on Monday. After my craft extravaganza last weekend I am getting a little quicker with the creative process. I do hope to finish up my Christmas shopping this weekend...I did quite a bit yesterday with Cyber Monday but nothing crazy. Is anyone asking for anything special this year? I was surprised that I was able to come up with a few things that I wanted..usually I struggle with putting a list together. Of course I always want clothes but I doubt anyone would be brave enough to pick out some for me. Something on my list that I really want is a the new Zumba Fitness Wii game. I love to Zumba but is so hard to get to the gym, I think this would be the perfect thing to have at home. So hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge to any family members reading :)

Let's hope for some snow this weekend, it would be the perfect way to start out December!

Alright, I believe this is the last project that I can squeeze into my Thanksgiving break.

I saw these beautiful ornaments on Everyday Cricut. They were super simple to make and rather inexpensive as well, I bought a 4 pack of glass ornaments at Michael's 50% off (they ended up being about $2.50) and glitter for .99 cents Although I should have used really fine glitter for better results. Martha Stewart Crafts make a great fine glitter but it is a little expensive...$4.99 for a small container (More than I want to pay for glitter!) And then I purchased the Pledge floor cleaner from Home Depot for $8, I had no choice by to buy a really big bottle and I used about an ounce of it to make 4 ornaments.


The results:
Tomorrow is back to school time and I have a lot of planning to do...a week's worth of lessons as well as grades to import. I will have to put the crafts on hold for just a short time but I will be back with more!

I got up this morning and kept working on my cards and I have to say I am quite impressed with myself...I even designed two that were originals.

First off was this little gal...isn't she cute? I plan on making her into a tag as well by attaching some ribbon to her back. Although she is missing part of her shoe, she still turned out well for one of my first layered cuts. I am loving the new Cricut Lite Jolly Holiday cartridge that I got from Wal-Mart, however it is going to take me awhile to master these multi-layer designs. Having long nails and intricate, small pieces to glue down have made things quite difficult...luckily I had an old pair of tweezers that are helping me with the really small bits.



The tweezers were necessary for this little guy...again, how stinkin' cute? This was actually really simple to make once I cut out all the pieces, which I have figured out, that putting all my paper on the Cricut mat at one time really makes things go a lot faster.

This was a design that I saw over at Courtney Lane Designs however hers' looks a lot better :) I didn't have the cute papertrey ink paper like she did so I improvised with my swirly paper from KI Memories. Look! I tied a bow....on paper! It was pretty thrilling!


This was one of my original designs from today... a wreath from Jolly Holiday. I used all the layers except for the base, then embellished with some red glitter glue and and another ribbon (both found in the $1 bin at Michael's!)

And now one I am most proud of...another original design. The snowflakes that I used for this card I actually cut out yesterday and ended up not using so this card took even less time to make since I cut the blue and white pieces by hand and added the ribbon. I love the gem in the center and sequins I added at the corners...I pretty much love anything sparkly.



 Don't you love how you can see my messy workspace in the background?  It is amazing that a card actually comes together with the mess I keep on the table.

Hopefully, I will be back soon with another 5 cards (remember, my goal was 10!)  Unfortunately my Thanksgiving break comes to an end tomorrow...back to the grind. Although, only a short 25 days until Winter Break!

Oh goodness....after the turkey daze settled last night I decided that it would be a great time to start crafting and I really haven't stopped. After hitting the Thanksgiving sale at Michael's, I loaded up on plenty of paper, glitter, ribbons, and God knows what else to make crafts until the cows come home (or at least until Christmas).

So I begin with some gift tags.

I decided this year I would not only adorn my packages with fancy bows (like usual) they would also come accompanied with a handmade gift tag.
I got a new Cricut cartridge (after standing in line for an hour to check out at Wal-Mart last night at midnight) called Jolly Holiday. It had a cute little tag cutout so I just went to town. I made about 8 of these in an hour, just slapping them together. I also purchased these cute stamps from Michaels with a 50% off coupon (yea!)

Then I decided I should make all of my Christmas cards too. I really have some lofty goals for the 2 remaining days of my Thanksgiving break!

So I give you my first attempt:



The  pictures made the background look super dark but I think it turned out pretty well. I cut everything using my Cricut and did some stamping on the inside of the card where I plan to put my sentiment.

The plan for right now is to make 10 different cards...but I can see my self replicating this one, it is just so sparkly...LOVE it!

How I wish these design ideas were all my own but I simply can't take credit. I received inspiration from Busy with the Cricky as well as Everyday Cricut for both of these projects. The ladies that run these blogs are awesome and should bottle their creative juices and sell it...they'd make a killing.

I am an avid reader of many magazines, one being US Weekly. I love the "25 Things You May Not Know About..." article they run each week with a different celebrity, so I thought it might be fun if I give it a try, here goes!

1. I have a fear of balloons popping.

2. I like to collect things, over the years I have collected ink pens, beanie babies, and "Got Milk" print ads (all grade school collections.

3. I have always wanted to learn how to play the steel guitar.

4. Actually, if I had genie grant me one wish, it would be to be able to play any musical instrument (and sing) as good as a professional without any lessons. I figure I could use that kind of talent in a lucrative way.

5. I hate lettuce.

6. My dream profession (at the moment) would be a professional scrapbooker.

7. I won a "Most Beautiful Baby" contest in 1986.

8. My sisters and I can have an entire discussion in movie quotes.

9. I have worked as a food expediter, sales representative, grocery story cashier, bra fitter and now currently, a 6th grade teacher.

10. John Mayer is my favorite musical artist and I have seen him in concert 4 times. That man knows how to play a guitar and I think he is hilarious.

11. My 7th grade English teacher told me I would grow up to be the voice of a cartoon character. I am kind of sad that hasn't happened.

12. I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at age 15.

13.I could shop at Target every day of the week, I could shop anywhere every day of the week.

14. I will try any mascara once, my current favorite is Revlon's GrowLuscious mascara although DiorShow Blackout is my all-time favorite.

15. This post has taken me over an hour to compose.

16. I have never sang karoke but dream about doing it often.

17. My boyfriend and I met when we were both presidents of our sorority/fraternity in college.

18. I've never gotten a professional massage and I have had a gift certificate to get one in my purse for 3 years.

19. Christmas is my favorite holiday, I listen to some Christmas music throughout the year.

20. Tiny holes grouped together freak me out (think like a honeycomb or the toothpaste commercial where they zoom in on a tooth at a microscopic level). It just makes my skin crawl.

21. I have a birthmark shaped like Australia.

22. I love Jack in the Box $1 Funnel Cakes.

23. I am a fast reader (especially when I am interested in the topic) When I do read books I can finish them in a couple of hours.

24. I've never read the Harry Potter or Twilight series.

25. I cried and called in sick to work when my computer's hard drive crashed.

to sleep more in the afternoon than you do at night.

to fake just washed hair with dry shampoo (best invention ever!)

to shop just because you have a coupon.

to start your Christmas wish list in September.