Winner of the 100 followers giveaway!

Hello Crafty Friends!
It's been really busy around here.  This is really the first chance I've had to get on and update my blog.  Since I've been working so hard around the house, my husband let me go out (alone...NO KIDS) shopping.  It was so nice to be able to shop slowly rather than having to hurry and fighting my kids from touching everything in the store!  I was able to find some great deals at Hobby Lobby.

Anyway, the moment you're all waiting for.....the winner of the Wall Decor & More Cricut Cartridge (selected by random.org) was #5, Patti!  Congratulations Patti!  I have your email and will be in contact with you to get  your mailing address.  Thank you to everyone who commented, and I'll see you back here tomorrow with another layout.

Goodnight!

100 followers Cricut Cartridge Giveaway!

I must again say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to become a follower of my blog.  I'd like to give something back by giving you a change to win a Cricut cartridge!  I am so excited I cannot begin to tell you. 
I've decided to giveaway the Wall Decor and More Cricut cartridge!  This is in my top 5 all time favorites and I use it a lot in my scrapbooking.  In fact I have a fall layout coming up using it.  And since I am sponsoring it, I just wanted to giveaway something that I truly loved.

All you need to do to win is:

1. Leave a comment on this post and
2. Be a follower of this blog
3. If your comment does not link back to your blog, please be sure to leave a way for me to contact you!

The reason I am requiring you to be a follower is simply because this giveaway is as a thank you for following me.  You will have until next Friday, September 23rd, 6pm to leave a comment and enter.  I will use random.org to choose the winner and I will make the announcement later that same evening.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  Good luck!!!  And again thank you for helping me get to 100 followers! 

Welcome Baby Hailey – Simple Layout Sunday

A good friend of mine had a baby about 7 weeks ago and I am working on a scrapbook for her to put pictures of her new little bundle of joy in.  Of course I’m behind and was supposed to be done with this weeks ago, but traveling for my job kind of put a hindrance on that.  So here’s a 2 page layout.  It will be an 8x8 book.
Below are the supplies I used.  The patterned cardstock is from DCWV Safari Kids stack and I also threw in some Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink.  I also used my Gypsy (with the Phrases, Straight From the Nest, and Cheerful Seasons Cricut cartridges), designer templates from Kiwi Lane Designs, white StazOn ink, Vintage Photo Distress Ink, adhesive and a stamp from Pink by Design.


First thing I did was cut out my words.  ‘Welcome’ came from Straight From the Nest, for ‘Hailey’ I used the basic font on the Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons cartridge, and finally I cut a tag from the Phrases cartridge.

Here are my words with shadows all assembled.

Next I picked out my background paper and decided to go with the giraffe pattern.  Since all the paper I chose was from the same stack, it all goes together nicely.  I really like the DCWV stacks….what I don’t like about them is how they cut in my Cricut.  I typically have been luck with other brands but I make do since I like the stacks so much.  I then took out my Kiwi Lane Designer Templates and laid out the pattern that I wanted.  I believe I used the Paisley Place set and strips set.

After that I traced the templates and cut out my pieces from various other patterns I had picked out.  When that was done I took all the pieces and inked the edges with my Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I really like this color for inking and using a sponge dauber gives it a nice, soft, finished look.  It also helps separate the patterns from each other.

I glued everything down and then worked on the journaling tag.  I inked the edges and then added the stamp ‘You are loved’ in white StazOn ink.  The stamp was from the Pink By Design ‘Our Kids’ stamp set.  I also decided to hide the tag behind one of the photos.    Below is the completed layout.

The lion on the bottom was already printed on the paper I chose.  Since I have to do a whole book in a short amount of time, I need to keep it simple.  I didn’t add any extra embellishments but I still like how it came out.

I hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday.  It’s time for me to get back to laundry and cleaning (which take up the majority of my time) :)  Happy crafting!

I made it to 100!!

I am so totally excited this morning!!  I made it to the magic number of 100 followers!  That means we'll be doing a Cricut cartridge giveaway!  I'll be doing some shopping then this weekend and I'll have the giveaway posted on Monday.  I am so completely excited I just cannot tell you.

I was up ALL night last night reorganizing my craft room.  I unpacked 12 boxes of stuff......yes TWELVE.  I located my Peachy Keen stamps which I haven't been able to find since I packed them up 7 months ago along with a lot of other things that I thought would be lost in storage forever.  The most surprising part is that it all fit into my tiny room.  And my room is TINY.  When we remodeled our house 6 years ago, we converted our garage into additional living space.  We have a large detached garage and just felt like, knowing we would be adding to our family at some point, that an additional bedroom and bathroom would serve us better.  The remodel took like a year and a half and one of the things I had my husband build was an office in our bedroom.  I didn't need a large space so it's only about 9x9.  It was just supposed to be a place for my computer desk away from everyone mostly so that I could keep the mail/finances in order and do school work with no interruptions.  This was pre-crafting days.  Well I only got to use it about 6 weeks and found out I was pregnant. :)  So then my nice space just for me turned into a nursery and was a nursery until my son was about 13 months old.  Yes he was attached to my room for forever mostly because he didn't sleep well and I really didn't feel like getting up twice a night every night to walk across the house to make sure he was ok.  Any of you out there with kids that were horrible sleepers will know the feeling. :)  When I was pregnant was when I started getting into crafting.  We have both a living and family room and we don't really use the living room.  So I took it over little by little with crafting stuff.  Then when we had hit a serious financial crisis and were having to think about moving, the realtor advised us to set it back up as a formal living room to make it more appealing.  So I had begun the process of downsizing my stuff to fit into my tiny 9x9 office.  What I learned last night after unpacking it all.....It all fits!  I actually didn't have to pack up any of it.  I could have left it as is.  And actually I thought it would take me forever to get it done and it didn't.

A few obvious things though....
     1. I need a few creative organization ideas.  I have some jars for my buttons and also for brads, but I definitely need a ribbon storage solution.  I have an idea I'd like to do that I saw on the Crafty Storage blog.  I can't find the exact post but it involved hanging 2 chains with bars running between them holding ribbon.  This would be a very cost effective solution.
     2. Do I really need 2 cricuts plus my imagine?  I'm really struggling with this one.  My original Expression has not been updated and still works with my SCAL 2.0 software.  And I've recently discovered Kerri Bradford Designs.  My have to keep it around and try out some of her designs.
     3.  I seriously need a clear stamp storage solution.  I'm thinking of going with a binder type.  I don't have a whole ton of them but what I do have is in CD cases, and while I like the CD cases, they take up too much space.  I need to condense it and conserve space. 
     4.  I have way too much paper.  More paper than I'd probably be able to use in 2 years.  Some of it I don't even like anymore.  How sad is that?  I haven't gotten rid of it because I paid for it so I feel like I should use it.  Maybe I'll figure something out.  Ebay may be the way to go.
     5.  I have many things that haven't been opened or that I haven't even tried out!  That tells me I need to be banned from online and in store shopping until I use what I have!
     6.  And finally that I just adore my husband....no one else would put up with me and this hobby of mine.....or rather obsession.....is there a support group for addicts of this kind?? :)  If so I may need to join.

Anyway, that's how my evening went.  I'd love to get some things done today....BUT, we actually have a leak that has to be fixed and I think I'm going to have to go to an immediate care doctor today.  I've been sick for over a week now and now I sound like a MAN when I talk!  Ugh....don't you hate that?  A few months ago we noticed a leak in our family room.  After several roof contractors looked at it, it was determined that the leak is actually coming from the chimney.  The top or our chimney is cracked, water is getting in and seeping through the brick onto our ceiling.  This was actually good news because my handy husband will fix it himself.  And since I was out of town on training for so long this has been the first chance he has to fix it.  So that's what is involved in today.  He'll be fixing the chimney and I'll be running after 3 kids.

Again I'd like to say how completely excited I am that I now have 100 followers.  It really uplifted me to see that so many people have clicked that button.  So on Monday I'll have something to give back.  Thank you all for making my day.  I'll have many projects to post VERY soon!  October will start my new blog schedule and I am so excited to be a little more organized in what I share.  I'll also post pictures of my craft room (still a work in progress) soon and will take any organizing ideas out there to try to maximize my space. 

Have a great day everyone!!  Happy crafting!

Organizing my craft room and new schedule

Life is still pretty crazy around here today.  My kids and I have been cleaning ALL day.  I cannot believe my house is this far out of sorts!  But I guess that’s what happens when I get sent away for three weeks for training.  I was able to go to Orlando, FL for my training.  It was hot and humid, but I did get to have some fun along the way.  I did so much shopping I almost couldn’t get my stuff back home!  I had taken a bunch of my scrapbook stuff with me and bought more while I was in Florida, so now I have the task of trying to get everything organized and cleaned up.  It’s a process.  I have a ton of organization ideas that I can’t wait to make a reality and share.

Starting soon, I’m going to be trying to follow a schedule on my blog, to try to help keep me sharing with you all and to try to keep it interesting :)

The first week of the month there will be a product review….something new I’ve picked up and had the chance to play with, and I’ll be giving my opinion about it (whatever that’s worth :) ) and also  sharing some projects made with it during that week.

Twice a month I’ll be doing a ‘Quick Tip Tuesday’ so that I can share some of the shortcuts and tricks that I’ve picked up.

Every Sunday I will be doing ‘Simple Layout Sunday’ where I’ll share a layout I completed that week that was quick and simple.  Doing scrapbook layouts can be fun and doesn’t have to take a ton of time.  I hear people alot saying that they don’t scrapbook because of the time it takes to complete pages, they fall behind, and lose motivation to even try.  Being behind doesn’t matter at all….I’m about 6 years behind.  The important thing is to just do what you love and tell the stories of your family and know that those stories will be treasured when your kids are grown.

At the end of the month, I’ll share with you a new blog I’ve found that has really given me a ton of inspiration in hopes that you can check them out and they’ll inspire you too.

I’ll be back very soon with a new project! Hope everyone has  a good evening!

Long overdue update!

Wow has it been a long time since I updated this.  There have been many big changes in my life and those had to come first.  I have seriously missed both crafting and blogging about it.  I wish I could say my shopping addiction stopped but that just isn’t the case.  I know have about 10 times as much stuff that I’m just dying to use, try and show you all about.
First, I had to move my craft room from one room of the house to another.  We were forced, due to our financial constraints, to put our house up for sale.  My craft space was in my living room, but to make the house more sellable, we turned that room back into the living room and I moved my craft room to a much much smaller room off of my bedroom that used to be my son’s nursery.  That was a huge undertaking and many of my supplies ended up in storage due to lack of space in the much smaller room.  That lead to me not doing as much crafting cause every time I wanted something it was in storage!  Ugh….
The summer was super busy.  In June I got an absolutely amazing job offer.  It seriously was like a dream come true for me and my family.  God completely answered my prayers by giving me this job.  I’m not working for the Department of Veterans Affairs in the Fiduciary Unit helping manage finances for incompetent veterans and their beneficiaries.  It is truly a very rewarding job in which I’m able to use my financial background to make a real difference in people’s lives. It’s the kind of job I’ve wanted for years.
Along with the awesome job came some awesome benefits!  More money meant that we didn’t have to move.  It’s still going to take awhile for our financial situation to improve, but we were at least able to take our house off the market and many of my supplies were able to be moved back inside.  YAY!  The job also meant I had to go out of town for training…..for THREE WEEKS!  EEK!  My poor spouse!  I actually just got back home on Friday (I’ve been back about 48 hours), my house is a wreck, but life is getting back to normal.  Now my only dilemma is what to do about crafting space….stay where I am or move back to the living room.  I could really use a scrapbox. :) Maybe I’ll get ambitious tomorrow and take some pictures.
If you haven’t visited me in awhile, you’ll notice that I’ve had a blog makeover.  I still have some tweeks to make to it, but Leslie at Sweetie Baby Blog Design did an awesome job.  I’m in love with the color combination!  Along with the new design is going to be a new blog schedule, to include a lot more scrapbooking layouts.  Layouts are what I like to do most and I’m excited to get back to doing what I love most.  Cards are nice and fun to make but scrapbooking is definitely why I started all this crafting in the first place.  I’m excited to share how I incorporate my cricut, my imagine, my serious paper addiction, and some awesome new products and share them with you all.  I’ve learned some new techniques I’m also excited to share.
I’m also ONE follower away from 100.  When I hit 100 we’ll do a Cricut cartridge giveaway!  New blog schedule and new project coming soon!  Have a good night everyone!

Baby Shower Invitations

I actually made these a couple of weeks ago.  The theme of the shower is ladybugs and sunflowers.  My friend happens to love sunflowers.  The ladybug is for the baby...it's a girl but has no name yet....so its just ladybug :)

I had to make a lot of these so I kept it pretty simple.  I know there is a sunflower cut on the Walk In My Garden cartridge but I really did not want to put that many layers together on that many flowers so I went with something simpler.  The ladybug is from Walk In My Garden.  The flowers and the grass both came from Straight From The Nest.  I used my Gypsy to lay everything out so that I could cut it efficiently.  Surprisingly doing 25 invitations only took a couple of hours.

The background paper came from Joann's, the butterfly is from K&Company sticker set, I used a white gel pen to accent the leaves, copper Stickles on the inside of the flowers, and finally the stamp is from Pink By Design Big Thoughts set.  The inside is decorated too but I didn't get a chance to take a picture before I had to mail them out. 

The most important thing was that my friend loved them.  :)  Only 2 weeks left until her shower.

And just because I like her so much, I'm making her a special cake that looks like a sunflower, which was inspired by Sarah's (Pink Cricut) post "For Peep's Sake".  Click on the link to see her post.  I'll let you all know how it comes out. :)

Good night!!

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 12

And I made it to #12!  This was a kid-themed challenge.  I had to take some time to put my youngest to bed.  For whatever reason he's been clinging to me all day.  No big deal though.  We crafted together :)  I have some more pictures of my little cutie down at the bottom.  Here's the scrapbook page I made.  It is for my son's scrapbook but I don't have the pictures printed yet to put on it.  I was also working on the 2nd page to it but I'm whooped.  It's after 11:30 and I have to get up bright and early for church.  The paper in this layout was from My Mind's Eye and cricut cuts are from the Boys Will Be Boys cartridge.  I don't know about you all but I'm exhausted and am calling it a night.  I hope everyone else had a good time today too!  I can't wait until next year.....or at least I'll be looking forward to it after I take tomorrow to relax :)  Good night!

yes, he was making a giant mess out of peanuts

he was also playing with my bottles of stickles

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 11

I really love this challenge....my favorite colors....pink, green, and black.  Unfortunately I only had about 15 minutes to do this so the size of my present is a little off but.....present is from Create A Critter, cardstock from my stash, and the stamp is from My Pink Stamper "Everyday Life".  This has been a ton of fun but I am getting really tired!  I'll be glad to finish but so proud at the same time to have completed all the challenges in one day!

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 10

This one was neat...use a pet :)  Fish are pets too.  So I created a shape card using the Create A Critter cricut cartridge, cardstock from DCWV and my stash, and the stamp was from My Pink Stamper "More Punnylicious".  Dinner time :)  I can't craft forever.

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 9

The challenge was to use glitz, glam, and glitter!

I saw this stamp in the Pink by Design "Our Heroes" stamp set and decided to make a card for my husband.  I used Create A Critter for the dog and fire hydrant.  Patterned paper is DCWV and the solid is just from my stack.  For glitz and glitter I added some stickles...not too much though since it is for my man :)

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 8

Wow I cannot believe I got this one done this fast!  Literally only took me about 20 minutes but of course there is the photo taking and uploading to blogger that adds time.  I'm ready to take on Challenge#9!  For Challenge 8, the idea was to make something for summer.  So I made a BBQ invite....I mean really what says summer in America better than BBQ?  I almost put a pig on it :)  but decided for the flower which was from Life is a Beach cartridge.  Cardstock is DCWV, and I also used stickles and some Viva Decor glass effect gel that I received in a past Club Ruby kit.  Stamps are from Pink by Design "Party Time".  Is anyone else keeping up with these? :)

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 7

I'm still at it.  I've completed 7 challenges so far!  I'm not sure I'll get to number 8 since I'm running behind.  I might take a break and then just start with #9.  But I sure was lucky....Challenge 7 was to make a scrapbook page! So I was able to make the 2nd page of my daughter's birthday layout.  I used the same papers, some chipboard letters, American Crafts stickers, an EK Success border punch, the balloons were cut from Once Upon A Princess cartridge, and the stamps I used were from Pink by Design "Take the Cake" and My Pink Stamper "Everyday Life".

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 6

This challenge was to incorporate a tag. I made a scrapbook layout of my daughter's 5th birthday party.  I mostly just used paper from my stash.  Happy Birthday is from Simply Charmed cricut cartridge and the present is from Create a Critter.  The tag is from Birthday Bash.   The stamp is from Pink by Design "Take the Cake".  This will eventually be a 2 page layout but I didn't have time to finish the 2nd page :)  Thanks for stopping by.  I must say it is rough to keep up with all these challenges!!

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 5

This challenge was really tough for me!  I love making altered items but there was no way I could do it in an hour.  So I decided to just try to make something off of one of the cricut cartridges...I chose Wrap It Up.  I made a little box to go a long with my mother's day card and cut out a rose to put on top of it.  I know...It's way too plain but I was running out of time!  So here it is :)

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 4

This challenge was to make a Mother's Day project.  Since I took some time to eat and still wanted to participate in the challenge so I went through my stash, pulled out some scraps of cardstock, some stickers, and stamps.  Here's the result.  The patterned cardstock is a scrap from the Club Ruby May kit as are the cardstock sticker letters, ribbon from my stash, stickers are American Crafts that I got awhile back from http://www.scrapbooksteals.com/ and I stamped my sentiment on the inside.  The stamp is from My Pink Stamper "Happiest Moments".  I put it in the bottom right to leave me room to write.  Hope everyone else is having a good time today too!

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 3

So for this challenge you had to make something (card, scrapbook page, 3D item, etc) that has a breast cancer theme.  Here's  my card.  I used cardstock from my stash, my I-Rock, cricut (I think the heart was from gypsy font but now I can't remember...eeek!), my cuttlebug and Pink by Design "Faith" stamp set.

I'm going to take a break and eat lunch now :)

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 2

Well I managed to get challenge #2 done and by 1.  It woudl have been posted by now except blogger was giving me fits.  The challenge was to make a card for a man using Kraft cardstock.  I used Kraft cardstock for the base, the patterned paper is from DCWV and all the other plain paper is from my stash.  The twine and the stamp are from Pink by Design.

And here's a little peek at what Oliver is doing....we're crafting together :)  I have a mess to clean up later.

My Pink Stamper NSD Challenge 1

To my credit it did take me less than an hour to do this BUT the photo taking and cleaning up after my 2 year old is adding to the time :)  Here's my card for the "Anything Cupcake" Challenge.
The Cupcake is from Birthday Bash cartridge and the papers are from the Club Ruby Designers May kit which I used cause it was on hand and accessible :)  The stamp is from Pink By Design "Take the Cake" set.

National Scrapbook Day!

I cannot believe it's been so long since I've posted.  Happy NSD!!  I look forward to this day every year.  Unfortunately it comes on the same day as the Kentucky Derby so I can't dedicate the day to scrapbooking cause there is partying to be done, but its going to be a great day anyway :) 

In about 25 minutes I am planning on following Robyn's, My Pink Stamper, blog and trying to participate in the challenges that I can.  Would you believe the grand prize is a Cricut Imagine??  Oh how I would love to have one.  I know people have had their problems with them but I just keep drooling over it.  I want one so badly!!

I have lots of upcoming posts of projects I've made.  I've been out of the loop for awhile due to having surgery a few weeks ago.  It wasn't any serious, but it was important....at least if you like breathing :)  I had my septum (which was completely blocking my right nostril) fixed and a bone growth cut out as well as some glands that were taking over my airway on the left side.  I will have to say that a few weeks after having it I can breathe SO much better.  It won't be my last surgery unfortunately.  I have to have sinus surgery too but that won't be for a few months to give me a chance to heal really well from this one.  My doctor was awesome....I had NO bruising and NO swelling at all, which was nice.  It was quite painful though and at the moment I have stitches inside my nose driving me nuts! Enough gross stuff though....

Long story short, I'm hoping I'm getting back into the swing of crafty things.  What better day to start than NSD!  Have a great day everyone!!

Test

This is just to see if my new computer is functioning.  This is only a test.

Glitter It Ornaments - A Christmas Gift I forgot to share

What a night it was with all those Ustreams going on!  I managed to see part of all three of them (My Pink Stamper, My Creative Time, and Above Rubies Studio).  Above Rubies Studio had several big announcements and I can't wait to see what comes in the future.  I am a member of Club Ruby Designers and I have LOVED the kits I get.  Emma (My Creative Time) announced her new DT.  I would love to be able to buy her stamp sets but I'm on a buying freeze....and I already spent my craft budget for the month on 2 new cartridges.  My craft budget is very small :)  Robyn (My Pink Stamper) announced her new DT and unfortunately I didn't get picked but it was still fun to participate in the challenge.  She is coming out with a brand new product that she hasn't been able to announce yet.  I cannot wait to hear what that is!

When I was doing gifts for my family this year, I saw the post on My Pink Stamper about Glitter It!.  I had been trying to think of something I could easily make for my each member of my family and this was perfect.  I bought the Glitter It online from Signature Crafts.  It was very inexpensive ($3 I think) and I found glass ornaments online also.  I bought 16 and with shipping only paid $20 for those.  These were SO easy to make, I just couldn't believe it.  Literally all you do is pour in the Glitter It, coat the inside, let it drain, pour in the glitter, coat the inside and dump out the excess.  It only took my an hour to make all 16.  And let me tell you, they were SO PRETTY!  Here's a few pictures.

Once that part was done, I wanted to personalize them.  I used my Songbird Cricut Cartridge, some white vinyl, and Armour Etch.  My initial plan was to glass etc the initials of who they were for into the ornaments.  This did not exactly work as planned.  The glass etch cream says to leave it on for 10 minutes.  I left it on for 30 minutes (after reading some recommendations from other blogs from people that have used it).  It still did not have a very strong image.  So after that, I decided to use the letter cut out on the other side of the ornament.  So each one was etched with the initial on one side and had the vinyl initial on the other side.  My family completely LOVED them. I was so excited that I was able to give them something so pretty that they actually liked!  Here are the pictures of the finished ornaments.

After going through my pictures, I found out I have a couple more projects to share from things I made over Christmas so I hope you'll come back when I get them posted.  I hope you all have a great day!

~Mandy

My Pink Stamper Challenge Submission

Robyn, My Pink Stamper, is having a challenge to pick 2  members for her upcoming design team.  I have never submitted anything before, mostly because I don't think I have a chance, but I decided to take some new chances in this new year, so here goes!

The challenge was to make a project (card, scrapbook layout, etc) using the following colors:
Pink
Green
Brown
and one optional color (I chose blue)

The details for the challenge and the design team are (from the MPS site):
*You will need to have a blog



*You cannot already be serving on a DT that has product that is a conflict of interest (most DTs are just fine as long as they do not sell product that is similar to My Pink Stamper Original Cricut Stamps idea)


*Your project must be made just for this challenge


*Post a pic on your blog with a full recipe along with what the challenge is about


*This needs to be a new project that you make just for this challenge


*Only one entry per person, please


*You must have either a Cricut or Imagine to serve on the team


*No experience necessary but you must have a love for the craft! :)

I decided to make a scrapbook layout.  All of the paper was DCWV.  The green patterned paper was a scrap from my stash.  I used the Celebrations Cricut cartridge for the party hat and noise maker.  Happy New Year was from the Wild Card cartridge.  The banner (incl. numbers), the ballons, and porcupine are from Birthday Bash.  Birthday Bash is definitely my favorite of all my cartridges.  There are so many images on the cartridge and I love the font.

If you want to submit something for the chance to be a My Pink Designer, you have until tonight at midnight to post your project to Robyn's blog here.

Thanks for letting me share :)  I hope everyone is having a great day!

~Mandy

Quick Journal with Bind It All

Good morning fellow crafters! Today I am a guest designer over at The Bug Bytes. Thank you Pam for having me back to share with everyone this hobby that I love so much. Crafting is a such a release in my crazy life.

For this project, I have been wanting a new journal. I am getting close to filling my current one and since we have begun a new year, I wanted to start it off with a new journal. I am not making many resolutions this year, but the few I am making I want to put a lot of effort into. With that said, I made a journal with my Bind It All tool that I acquired several months ago but haven't gotten to use yet.

I used the Graphically Speaking cartridge and my Gypsy to design the cover. I kept it very simple and with the exception of the Stickles drying time, this only took about 30 minutes to make. I used my big Carl cutter, O wire, Bind it All, wire cutters, adhesive, plain white paper, and colored cardstock from Papertrey Ink. Later I added some stickles and glitter for embellishments.

I believe the Papertrey Ink colors were Simply Charteuse, Aqua Mist, Plum Pudding, Pinefeather, Linen.....and I can't remember the others :) Getting old...the memory is going. I started by laying out the cuts in my Gypsy and cutting all of my paper to size.

While the cricut was working on the cutting, I punched holes in my cover and in my pages. I need some more practice at this though. I didn't exactly end up with them all lined up correctly.

Also, when it comes to cutting the Papertrey Ink cardstock, because it is thicker, using the multi cut function is a good idea. I also find that this type of cardstock is good for cutting more intricate designs...at least for me, because it doesn't tear as easily. I don't usually have good luck with thinner cardstock or paper when it comes to making detailed cuts.

Once the cuts were done, I put everything together. The cuts I used were all from the Graphically Speaking cartridge. The flower was on the "icon" creative feature and the enjoy life was from the "phrase" creative feature. I cut the "enjoy life" twice in two colors and pieced them together. The background was also from this cartridge. I used my ATG to put adhesive on the background piece and completely covered the holes with adhesive. After sticking the background to the cover, I poured gold glitter over the holes and it stuck to the adhesive.

Next I glued my other elements to the cover.

After everything was assembled, I followed the instructions that came with the Bind It All and bound my book. My O wire didn't exactly come out "O" shaped since I'm not very practiced but hopefully it will get better if I try to make another one. :)

I hope that you enjoyed my project for today. I'm so thankful that Pam has allowed me to share with you all. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!!