Cub Scout blue and gold 2017

So I received a text Thursday night, could I make 10 centerpieces for the blue and gold ceremony that was on Saturday morning the 28th. Trish said to make it simple. Looking at my schedule, I agreed and during my breaks at work, I planned everything out. Even though Wyatt is no longer a cub scout, I still have friends whose boys are and I also had my Cricut cartridge Do Your Best that I had been wanting to use. Sadly the cartridge came out after Wyatt's Blue and Gold. Now I get to use it on his scrapbook.
 Another one of the new things that Cricut has done is create and app, that is still in beta testing, where I can create on my phone. Oh Hallelujah! I was able to start and name each project so that when I got home I could put in the final tweaks and hit go. Since I was on such a time crunch I opted for using the print and cut feature. YES! YES! YES! In less than two hours I was about 90% done with my work. I was so confident, I ran to Hobby Lobby to look for wood bases and, you know, anything else I may need.
After I came home, Rob decided to get in on the fun by drilling holes in all the bases for me and Kelly helped by gluing most of the pieces together.

 This fire was my biggest pain, it didn't want to stay glued together and then I added to the fun by painting with a thin layer of stickles glitter glue to give it more dimension. I had seen this project done on the Cricut website and it looked so easy, but man did I learn some lessons.
I decided to make each table a theme and while I did run into some glitches, like how the bear, wolf and webelos signs would not flatten for print and cut and how also the space ship, boat and car wouldn't flatten for print and cut, made me rethink things.
I also need to remind myself to edit my phone photos before I upload to google. Yikes, I need to crop. If I remember I'll edit and replace these guys.
From what I've been told the centerpieces were a big hit and on a couple, people tried to walk away with the tent and the glass framed oath.
I'll take that as a compliment.

 

They say its your birthday....

Happy 46th birthday to my Rob. You are now officially middle aged, lol.
 We celebrated with most of our family Sunday afternoon by going to a new restaurant, Lin's grand buffet where he grossed out Chelsea by eating the little octopus from his stir fry. We really liked the restaurant and everyone is talking about going back soon.
On Tuesday, his actual birthday we gave him his gifts, some funko pop Star Wars characters, an AK-47 shirt and a copper pot. In lieu of cake, I had him stop off at Nadine's and pick up some of his favorite treats.
Overall I think he had a pretty good day, but I always want to do more for him. He works hard and is such a great guy, we deserves the world.
50 is just a few years away and my hope and prayer is to go ALL out for that one.

Rough patch

I'm feeling lost and frustrated today. I have stressed out my back just enough that I can only do limited exercises. I so fear my back going out completely, that was utter hell that I don't want a repeat performance. My weight hit 223.2 this morning, the same weight I was at in October of 2016 when I started my new job. Gosh, I'm beating myself up. I know your weight fluctuates daily but I should be losing, not slowly gaining. I know that I need to calm the F***k down, but if only I understood what was going on and what do I need to do to change.
I keep telling myself that this is a plateau and eventually I'll bust through it, but mentally it is so hard. Can I truly love myself at this number, this size? I would like to think so but knowing that I'm so so close, the feeling of failure sits on my shoulder like a bad tattoo.
So while I'm not giving up or giving in, I am having a mini pity party today.

I snagged this picture off of Instagram, it a excerpt from a book by Stephen Covey, and for me if feels like a mission statement for the next four years.

Tomorrow is the inauguration for our 45th president, Donald Trump. To say I'm nervous and a little scared is an understatement. What I choose to focus on is my hope. Hope that he will calm down and become a great leader, that he will improve the business side of our country, and find a way to unite us. That he will remain level headed and make America strong internationally. I didn't vote for either him or Hillary but I did vote. The people have spoken and I choose to respect the office of the President of the United States.

I am not adept enough to go into all the reasons and underlying motivations I feel I see coming from not only the P.O.T.U.S but also the everyday American. The hate and disrespect that has been flowing around our country is totally unacceptable and goes to show how much we need to want to change ourselves, to show love and be love in a country screaming hate and being intolerant to each other. We need to stop standing on the sidelines and have each others back, to be respectful and give respect. If you're going to criticize have a possible solution. The secret to life is love, to love yourself and to love others. You may not like them personally, but to love them for what they may bring to this world. This will hopefully be my focus. 

I'm hearing that there will be a women's march on Washington DC the day after the inauguration,   It's followed by Love Warriors like Glennon Doyle Melton and writers Brene Brown and Elizabeth Gilbert, there are artists, actors and athletes galore. I just went to www.womensmarch.com and saw the title of this march. Its called The rise of the woman = the rise of the nation. I encourage you to read their mission statement. Heck, I just may print it out for myself. 

I pray for our new administration, may they rise to their offices, and govern with wisdom and be a light for our world.

major non scale victory

Yesterday I celebrated my one year Dr. Gann anniversary. That was the day that with help and accountability I took back control on my health.
On Friday, I had my normal 3 month A1c checkup. I must admit I was a little nervous, I had had a rough December and really had no idea what my blood sugar was going to be. 
Dr Hamant came in and started looking over my test results. I had lost a little more weight, my blood pressure was great, I'm on pins and needles here, your A1c was at 6.1 and is now at 5.9. Seriously?
He asked if I was still taking my meds and I told him that I hadn't taken them since September.
Dr. Hamant says that normal A1c is 5.7 and he said that I no longer have to test my blood sugar everyday!!! I'm in the pre diabetic stage and hopefully if I continue my healthy eating I just may get my numbers back to 5.7. How Awesome!!!
Admittedly, I started crying. This is so major huge for me. My doctor gave me the awkward pat on the shoulder and later on the knee that had me smiling. He told me that I did good, all my hard work has paid off, now keep going and don't slide backwards or he'll beat me up, lol. I said not as much as I would to myself.
So my doctor says that my weight loss is going to slow as I get closer to my goal and get harder to obtain, like I don't already know that. My one year weight is 219.2, a total loss of 57.2 lbs. it doesn't seem like much when I see other people who have lost 100+ in a year but my before and after has me very pleased and wanting to fight for the next 24 lbs that I want to lose. Onward and upward!
These photos were taken at my last appointment with Dr. Gann where I earned my 50 lbs lost star. Too bad they don't have one for 75 cause I'm gonna hit it!

Sabotage

I know in my heart that I won't be making my 215 weight goal by 1/16/17. I can't say that I've sabotaged myself but injury and my last two evening meals haven't helped. I'm told I beat myself up way too much over my weight. I'm just truly afraid that this is where I'm going to stand, and for me that's not acceptable. I'm sooo close to where I want to be. I want to finish what I've started, I can obviously maintain, but do I have what it takes to get me through to the finish line?
When I started this journey to health I took my plan and yearning straight to God. I asked him to walk with me and lift me up when I struggled or became stagnant. I feel that I've lost that lately. I think about inner voices and will power more and more lately and how it affects daily choices. (I can say that when two dozen donuts were placed on the table next to me at work, I didn't have one, and when someone brought in a bunch of beautiful oranges I snagged one up real quick. A few of the ladies at work are going to do a diet bet for the next 90 days, here's to hoping that it brings great results for them and less crap around here.)

On my lunch today I feel the strong urge to come to Him. I know there are a variety of factors why I've added a couple of pounds, just as I know they will come back down, but its my morale and mind set that makes me think sabotage. What do I need to work on or work through to get myself charging forward?
I screen shot this from Instagram a couple of weeks ago, as I was looking through for a photo to add to this post this one popped up. I have probably been feeling this way for a while now or maybe deep down I knew I was going to need this. I just pray to hang on.
Please don't get me wrong. If I stay this weight, its not the end of the world, I'm not a loser, my body is amazing and beautiful, my body is so much stronger. There will be a time where the occasional donut isn't going to be a big deal, like there is now, I'm just trying to finish what I've started. Believe me, I do not deprive myself of treats, they're just usually low carb, or in moderation, and I don't go as crazy as I once did.
Sadly, I'm having trouble really conveying what I'm trying to say. I think about both sides of weight loss, body image, moderation, loving myself and even though it may sound like I'm bagging on myself there is the other side that quietly pipes up and says why? is this really a bad thing? does it really matter? does it define who I am? does it make me happy? is it hurting me in the long run?

weekend update

On Friday night we went to the annual cookie kickoff at the U of A McKale center. For the second year in a row we got to watch the ladies gymnastics team perform. Just amazing.
Chelsea is still part of troop 534 and Kelly has stopped joining her old troop. With Junior strings, Saturdays got a little crazy, plus she felt she was outgrowing scouts and didn't want to go anymore.
This year is Chelsea's second as a Brownie and I have stepped down as cookie mom. Two years was more than enough for me. Granted I'm sure I will miss the control and the interaction with the moms but cookie season kills me. I'm dreading it, all of it. I'm kind of hoping this will be Chelsea's last year. We both feel like outcasts in the troop we created. I've been involved with scouts for a little over 10 years now. I'm tired, no I'm burned out. Hopefully we can get Chelsea to her goal of 500 boxes, but I'm just hoping she'll put more effort into working at selling cookies herself. Truly, my baby is a lazy little toad at times, and it drives me crazy.
Friday night was also the lock in for the boy scouts. Wyatt had such hopes about staying up all night to play video games but in the end he was out for the count at midnight-ish and back up before 6. That's OK by me because he wasn't grouchy on Saturday.
As weekends go, it was a pretty nice one. We are slowly making progress with decluttering our home. We got rid of one box of junk from the girls room, one box of clothes from me and about 5 boxes of old baby/kids books. I completed more of organizing my craft supplies and was able to make some cards with my mom on Sunday. I'm finding that now that I work full time, I use what time I have better. Where as a stay at home mom, I kept putting things off because I always felt I had all the time to do it.
My plan, at least for right now, is to start working on my side of our bedroom. Cleaning out drawers and under neath our bed. The transition of getting rid of the clothes that are too big, and new clothes, new work necessities has made my side a lot messy. Which is really starting to weigh on my nerves, especially with how well things are progressing in the rest of the house.

Word of the year for 2017- *Victory*

In 2015 my word was Faith, I was struggling in my godly walk and trusting God to take control. That year he opened my eyes and calmed my heart. In 2016, my word was Believe. Believe that I was worthy enough, that I was enough, period. Believe that good things could and would happen. In a lot of ways last year felt so light for me. Right now I chalk it up to all the physical and emotional changes that I was going through.
In December when the prompt for "one little word" started making the social media rounds, I started praying about it. My heart or my mind wouldn't let go of the word, Victory.
This is the year that I want to proclaim victory. I want to hit my weight goal of 215, and then hit my new goal of 195. I want to maintain a better love for myself and my health, aka blood sugars. Let's see, I want to get out from under the credit card debt. I also have plans to take two mother/daughter trips with my mom this year. The first trip is sch
eduled for May to visit family in Ohio and then the next in July where we head to Monterey so mom can attend a wedding. I'm so excited for both. In April, Rob and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, while no plans to celebrate have been made yet, I'll chalk it up as another victory for both of us that after all these years we still enjoy each other as much as the day we were married. No small feat in todays world and I know I owe it to the big man upstairs.
So with positive thoughts, a good work ethic and lots of God time, I own that VICTORY will be mine this year.
Carrie

New Year, new me

Happy New Year! 

I just re read my last post and so much has changed. I've decided that my blog is going to be for me. My online journal. I'm not going to try and turn it into a business or a popularity contest. Just my thoughts, my memories. This past year I have spent way to much time thinking about blogging and looking at resources about blogging than actually blogging. Crickets....chirping.

Now that a new year has begun I have regretted not keeping up with the last couple of years because I don't have a memory book to look back on. I've contemplated doing a yearly recap for 2016, but lets be honest, I'm too lazy to do it, lol.

Where to begin? In October I left my job as a monitor at Chelsea's school and went back to work full time with the Western Passport Center. My hours are similar to the kids' school schedule, so I'm not missing out on anything. It's been quite the adjustment for me but things are getting better.

One of the great benefits is the extra money that it brings in. Our goal for 2017 is to be almost completely debt free. I can just taste the freedom!

Looking back at my last post in March, I had lost about 20lbs. So, where am I now? 

I'm almost too giddy to post the answer.

These two photos, taken on the 2nd of January show my current look. I'm currently at 219 lbs, I've lost 57 lbs so far and I'm 4lbs away from the original goal of 215 I set at Dr. Gann's last January!!

In fact, my one year anniversary is on the 16th. The week of Christmas the scale actually hit 216 for two days but come on, Christmas dinner, work potlucks, new year and Mikeys' 39th birthday. I've cardioed my heart out to keep my weight somewhat in check, but still. My hope is to be back to 216 by the 16th or better yet 215. How awesome would that be?!

Mom and I transferred to the gym back in April when it started getting too hot to walk around the block. We go roughly 5 times a week only taking Wednesday and Sundays off. I really like the consistency. In November moms schedule went a little crazy so I usually go to the gym on my own, well until I talked my friend Wendy into joining. We meet up after work and put in a good hour of sweating. I am

so close to my goal I've focused more on cardio than building strength. Does that make any sense?
Let's see... more stats, I'm wearing a ladies size 16 almost a 14 in pants and an XL in shirts. Oh to be able to find clothes easier! I've been hitting the local thrift shops for my work wardrobe and I have gone a little crazy, but I'm loving it!
I haven't been this small since the year we got married and it will be 20yrs in April.
New goals, my new goal is to get to 195. Back to onderland. I figure that getting to 195 I can consistently maintain my weight closer to 200. My other goal is to fit back into my wedding dress. I tried it on the other day and it fits except the arms which makes the neck about an inch away from buttoning up. Since the dress was tailored to me 20 yrs ago I can only hope to get my arms toned enough to get it buttoned. If not, no biggie, it fits everywhere else.
I plan on doing another post about all my feelings and the journey but my thought process is to wait until I hit 215 and right now I'm just jotting down thoughts about things I want to cover.
Gosh, I wish I had consistently blogged. Very frustrated with myself, because now I'm trying to back track and explain. Grrr.

 

Starting over...again.
I don't even know where to begin.
This is me now.
I'm 40, getting healthy and mentally doing better than I have in a long time.
Back in October 2015 I was officially diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic. It was going to happen eventually, almost everyone on both sides of my family has it. Heck, I've probably have been for years but ignored it.
Something changed though. I don't want to be on insulin. I struggle monitoring my blood sugar as it is. I can't push the button to do my finger stick. I have to take off the cap and watch myself stick the lancet into my finger. Crazy, I know, but that's how I get it done. There is also something else. I don't want to be on any medicine, I don't want any of the complications that being diabetic can bring on. I watch my dad, who is also diabetic and he hasn't changed any of his habits, he just gives himself more insulin. No.
So, I had a come to Jesus meeting with myself. This is my new normal, there is no more denying it, I have diabetes and unless I make changes, my health isn't going to get better. The first month or so I lost 10lbs, I stopped the soda and cut back on the chocolate. From October to January of 2016 my A1c went from 11 to 9.4, a great start but not good enough. I also began struggling just trying how to "figure" out diabetes so that I could manipulate and still eat what I want. Laughable now, but true.  Throw in all the favorite food holidays and I could've done better.
By January, my doctor was talking about insulin. Dread and self contempt poured through me. While he was happy with my changes it wasn't enough, my sugars were still too high. Instead my doctor surprised me, he was going to refer me to Dr. Gann's diet of hope. I was willing to try but skeptical all the same. I went in for my initial appointment and went through some quick tests, talked to the nurse practioner and received my first weeks menu. Lots of veggies and protein, okay, all things that I like to eat already just minus all the sugar that I am addicted to. Let me also mention I began this lifestyle change in the middle of girl scout cookie season and Robs 45th birthday party, yep, but I was serious. My first week I dropped 8 lbs and I had a cheat day on Robs birthday. That next week came off another 6lbs and I also had a cheat day. Then the weight slowed down coming off. A pound here, 3 there. Weekly visits, lots of questions asked. I was told, if I'm gonna cheat, go big or go home. I can't have a couple of Hershey kisses everyday, it not only throws my sugars off but I don't lose ounces for several days. I have also learned that if I have a carb heavy meal it takes me a day or more to bring my sugars back down.
So where am I now? I'm on week 8.5 and I'm down 20lbs. I haven't cheated since that 2nd week. I walk 2 miles a day, about 5 days a week. I plateau but push through. Rob has told me several times that there is no way he could do what I'm doing. At 6 weeks my A1c is down to 7.7 and my morning fasts are dropping daily from the beginning of 277 to now at 140.
While all the medical stuff is good and I have every intention of continuing, my favorite part is that I weigh less than I have in 15+ years, before I even got pregnant. I've gone from a size 24 to an 18.
When I did the weight loss challenge with the ladies from church a couple of years ago, I started at 296, I dropped 20lbs in 3 months mostly from exercise. I've kept that off and now this. Today I saw 247 on the scale. My ultimate goal, 215. Am I proud of myself, HELL YES! Do I still criticize myself, unfortunately yes. Diabetes isn't easy and there isn't a way to figure it out. You just have to keep plugging along and not give up.
Last week my doctor gave me a rare compliment after he received my test results. He said I was a poster child for a healthier lifestyle and he wished he could show his other patients my charts. I beamed with delight but I understand their struggle.

Oh Summer

Arizona in the summer can be both beautiful and miserable.
On those miserable days, we throw a sheet on the microfiber couch and let the kids veg out on their or my electronics.
This was one such day. Kelly was off working with Nina and Wyatt was off to Boy Scout camp. Chelsea and I were in veg mode.
I so remember doing these same things when I was a kid. I try as a mom and adult to capture the essence of being a kid but also our summer.
So far the kids go swimming several days a week with Grandma at the YMCA, we've been trying to have movie days and library days.
The biggest thing they've done is clean their rooms, Yay mom says, boooo say the kids. It was bad, real bad.
The laundry is now under control, the clean clothes kept finding their way back into the dirty clothes basket, sometimes still folded!

The kids have rediscovered some of their toys, in Kelly and Chelsea's case they tried to bring them to the kitchen table to play instead of their room. When I said they couldn't, all toys need to stay in their room, their reason was they didn't want to mess they're room up!
Shaking my head...kids
*Carrie*

Happy 60th Mom!

 

Happy 4th of July and Happy 60th Birthday to my mom.
Mom has been saying how she didn't want a big to do and that she was going to go do stuff that she doesn't get to do that often.
Basically a ME day.
Sometimes hitting these big numbers can be depressing, I get it.
I wanted to have some fun, so last night I blew up 55 or so balloons with the thought that I would go to her house in the morning and decorate.

There was one small glitch. Mom is dog sitting for a client and needed to be at her house early, but this morning mom was running late.
I drove to her house, taking the back way  just so we wouldn't cross paths and as I about to come around the corner, I see her truck still in the driveway. YIKES
I ended up waiting around the corner for another 40 minutes till she left.
I got in and put up the plastic curtain I made. I hung up the birthday banner and then began dumping big garbage bags full of balloons all around her living room.

I then proceeded to blow up another 30 balloons. In the end, which included me making a second trip out to her house because I left a bag of  balloons at home,
I think there was closer to 80 balloons on her floor.
It looks so cool.
The Reveal: Things didn't go exactly as planned for mom's ME day but she had let me know that she was going to stop by.
Crud, I had nothing for her because it was all at her house!
Ma stops by, we sit and chat for like an hour. At the end the girls came home from swimming and I have to remind them that she hasn't been home to see yet so don't say anything.
Mom leaves and the clock watching begins.
A short while later I tried to play it cool when she called and asked if I was involved. I started laughing with her as I explained the back story and struggling to not say anything that would give me away when we were hanging out talking and how bad I felt not having anything to give her because it was all at her house.
Mom says she can't stop laughing and loves it.
I wrote in her card if she gets frustrated she can always start stabbing the balloons, I'm sure that would bring some stress relief.
Happy Birthday Mom, we sure do love you.
 *Carrie*

Chelsea turns 7

  Last Saturday this amazing girl turned 7. How can that possibly be?
Chelsea is a sweet, strong-willed firecracker. Our house is never boring with Chelsea around.
I love the fact that she still loves to wear dresses almost every day.
She drives me nuts because she won't clean up after herself and heaven forbid you ask her to pick up her room. That is when the, I'm too little, card gets thrown around.
Chelsea starts 2nd grade this fall and we have put her in the gate program at her school. I pray that she has an easier time than Wyatt did.

This year we are going to do something a little different.
Chelsea hasn't been able to have a friend birthday because of when her birthday is and not having anyones addresses or phone numbres.
Alas, we had a family party Saturday and once school starts we are throwing her a big ol bash.
Hint: its Hawiiaan themed.
One of the things that Chels has been asking for is a ukelele. Can I just say I was so excited to buy her this, lol. This last week it has passed hands as we all strum and "try" to make music.

We had fun tricking Chels when my mom arrived and she opened her gift and received a bike helmet and pads but no bike.
The bike was hidden and at first Chelsea didn't see it, but when she did... she yelled for everyone to come see.

We brought the bike into the house and after Rob made some adjustments we had her change her clothes so her dress wouldn't get ruined and took the bike out for a quick spin.

Now when her brother and sister go for a spin on their scooters she can join them.
I just know we need to get all of us moving more.
Granted now that the monsoons have arrived the afternoon temps aren't that bad. It really means getting our butts off the couch.

You sure can't miss Chelsea with her super cool unicorn helmet.
And just for posterity, she has been asking for  a bike for awhile and except for Rob, none of us ride like we should. So we are just learning and using training wheels.
Happy Birthday baby girl can't wait to see how your BIG party goes, hehehe.
*Carrie*

June recap

I can't believe that today is the fourth of July.
As most parents say, summer vacation is half over. I feel the same way, but I think I will keep my head in the clouds a little bit longer and deny that summer vacation is almost over.

In June I hid from the heat as much as possible, heck I pretty much became a shut in one week when our temps were over 107. My scrap room was almost unbearable to be in.

The big news around here is that Wyatt now wears glasses.
I want to get a picture of our family with the caption that 4 out of 5 Ross' wear glasses. So far Kelly is the only one with good vision. Of course my vision didn't start to change until high school. So who knows.
Chelsea was also overdue for new glasses so both kids got the hook up.
The one thing I like best about Wyatt having to wear glasses is that we have them made with transitions. He is very light sensitive and this has helped immensely.

Also in June we all went to the circus. Ringling Brothers knows how to put on an awesome circus. I teared up when the elephants came out to do their walk around. The oldest elephant they were using was 58, and she broke my heart. I'm really happy that Ringling Bros are phasing them out. I found the human cannonball so nostalgic and fun. I was lucky enough to get her entire flight in pictures, so cool.
My favorite part was the guys doing the aerobatics on the twin trampolines, that was insane.

But the biggest event of all was this young lady turning 7. Holy cow!
Birthday recap tomorrow!
*Carrie*

Victorian Romance Cricut Challenge

Summer is in full swing which brings lazy days, swimming and cleaning, ha ha
I have had a few days to play and look at the items I'm cutting out and asking myself how I can amp them up.
I took several of the hearts added some bling. The tiny white heart has glossy accents, the bright pink heart has crackle glaze, the light pink heart I added pink Martha Stewart glitter and on the big red and white heart is distress rock glitter. The giant pink swirly heart was just too pretty for me to add anything. My banner needed a little love, I originally cut it out in brown cardstock, and then I added Gunsmoke stickles. I love how it turned out. I also cut out the I Love you in a pale pink. The letters were completely washed out in the banner, so I sprayed it with Heidi Swapp color shine in Primrose. As a result the color and the sheen makes it stand out. Once I pick out or take the photo I'm going to add some more small hearts and maybe a few sequins.
My Cherubs, ugh. I swear the more I cut them out the worse they came out. I changed my blade on my Explore for the first time, since I got it in September of 2014, with this project. The cherub wings still did not cut clean but it wasn't so bad that they couldn't be used.
My next project took me a ridiculous amount of time and I learned several ways on how NOT to hang a mobile. All together I like how it came out.

I cut out 15 balloons in 5 colors and used 5 patterns. Each balloon is 3 sided. I took a coffee stirrer, cut it down and glued it in to run the fishing line through. I'm so glad I did this as I started out with too thick of line. I restrung the balloons and realized it looked empty.
I revisited the cartridge and decided to cut out the cupids. I spent hours moving the lines up and down trying to find a pleasing look. When I finally tied everything up and called it good I noticed that a couple of balloons are close in height. C'est la vie.
I have this hanging in my dining room and as I walked past it during the day I kept thinking, how can I jazz it up? I ended up hanging it from the pull cord to the ceiling fan in my craft room and gently added liquid pearls in Ballerina, Petal Pink, Flamingo, Ruby Red, White Opal. I'm still thinking about adding spray glitter to all the cherubs. I thought about embossing them, I just don't know how I want to jazz them up.

Chelsea is requesting that this goes into their room. Since I want it to last a little longer than a day, I think it's going to go back into my scrap room and I will add a small hook into the ceiling.
To make the mobile I used an 8 inch pink plastic embroidery hoop from Walmart.

What's next??
I've taken to letting the kids pull out the slips that decide my next few challenges. This gives me a little more time to think creatively, lol
My next challenge is using Sports Mania.
I know I will be doing a couple of scrapbook pages.
See you soon.
*Carrie*

Spring Holiday Cards Cricut personal challenge

This cart is perfect for all those spring holidays: Valentines, St. Patty's and Easter.
That being said, I tried to think outside the box a little. I opened up Design Space and made the cards all 3x5. I then attached either a colored index card or one sided pattern paper and turned them into note cards. I though this would make a cute teachers gift or tucked into a child's lunch box.
I made 3 of each pattern with the plan to make more in brighter colors. We will see if I actually do this, lol

When I created the box, I did a lot of guessing to get it the right size. My other box, snicker snicker, didn't work out. The sides didn't match up so I couldn't glue them together.
I can't stress this enough to NEVER use your best paper on your first try writing. I had my paper on the mat, lined up on Design Space to be squared up. When it began to write I realized that it wasn't centered. I took another piece of paper and realigned to get it as centered as possible. I'm very happy with the results.

I also made some card toppers to fit onto a 5x7 card base.
I must say I got a little bored with this cart because I wanted more of a variety of sayings. But for something quick and easy, and most of my friends would think is cute, this will do in a pinch.

Now these two cards look much cuter in person. I really struggled with trying to find a print background out of ALL my pattern paper. The rainbow card still needs some jazzing up. I'm still debating about outlining all the elements to make them stand out more.
As I look at this picture more, maybe adding a white pen to the you rock card would help.
Always learning, always growing in creativity.

I have a love/hate relationship with stickles. I love all the colors and the glitter. I hate how long they can take, when I don't speed it up with the heat gun, to dry, lol.
I did have one incident where my orange bottle of stickles got clogged. I was using a small needle to get it unclogged and when I squeezed and then squeezed harder, the bottle top actually popped off and I ended up with sparkly orange stickles on my hands and my shirt.
Thankfully I didn't lose too much and I was able to get the top back on. Also thankful for having baby wipes next to me.
So what is my next project??
Victorian Romance Cricut Cartridge

Martha Stewart Birthday Cake Art Cricut cart personal challenge

 I have been having way to much fun with this cartridge. When I first looked at what was offered I thought that what I was going to create was going to simple or basic.
Sometimes I think my brain freezes up creatively and once I let it thaw and then marinate, ideas just flow.
One such night, I was playing with my distress inks and a stencil and created this background. I shoved it off to the side and on another day I started cutting out all the different pieces to make all these different cards. When I got to cutting out the flower, I made a mistake in color and cut it out in oranges instead of pinks. Wondering what I could use this for, I saw in my piles this distress card base. The colors matched almost perfectly!! Now I just need to stamp or cut out a sentiment and the card is ready to go!!

Last Saturday, Kelly had a birthday party to go to and I had just finished this fun card and asked her if she wanted to use it.
Thankfully she thought it was just as cute as I did.
I used the happy birthday embossing folder to give the chevron paper some dimension and then added red bakers twine to the balloon dog. I think that balloon dog is pretty fun. I see this as a card elements that I can use over and over again.

There are some fun elements that were originally made to be put on cakes but I cut them out to see how it would work on a card.
My plan is always to use what I cut out but sometimes I end up just adding them to my small box of cuts to be "used" later
I adore this cut but didn't know how to utilize it. One night it came to me and this is the result. Elegant, fun, blingy.

A baby card was a given when I was looking over all the images on the cartridge.
This elephant is just too sweet. I pop dotted him and the balloon and added the Charles embossing folder. I dug through my massive stash of paper to find some boy pattern paper. I rounded the corners and... hello baby card!
Simple, fun and easy.
So now I'm coming down to my last card. Oh, how I struggled with this last card.
I cut out the butterfly and set it aside. Later I was playing around and decided to use glossy accents. This not only made it shiny but more flexible. Another great thing about glossy accents is that its an awesome adhesive. I used some pretty tiny gems and since everything is already covered in the glossy accents it all dries clear and strong.
I didn't know what I wanted to do with the butterfly or how I wanted to structure the background. I played with pattern paper,

and then I decided to try using green foil paper and my cuttlebug cut and emboss flower bramble . I will say that the foil paper was a bit too heavy to emboss great but it cut out very well.
I dug through my stash and came up with a few flowers to add.
I will say that its not my favorite card but I'm trying and experimenting.
I still have sitting on my desk two more cards that are for Christmas. I haven't had the time to run to the store and get another snow marker since I somehow have misplaced mine.
 The last thing I plan to create is a baby scrapbook page. Like I have said, I have all the elements cut out but have yet to put it together. My biggest issue is finding the time to go through photos for one that works.
School ends this coming week and I have to say that it has been so hard to work on these challenges while working during the day and all our extra activities in the evenings. I'm hoping that summer will offer me the chance to play some more.
Next cartridge up will be ... Spring Holiday Cards
I have noticed that this is a very simple basic cart. We shall see what I come up with. :)
*Carrie*

Lyrical letters and Simple cards cricut challenge

A couple of weeks ago I threw my back out and wasn't able to work let alone sit at my craft table to create. I was able to design on my tablet while lying in bed.  I planned my projects with  Lyrical Letters and decided to try and get ahead of the game and I picked my next challenge...

Simple cards.

Once I was better, I got to crafting and really enjoyed making some cards.

I spent hours playing in my craft room, trying new things, trying to decide on colors and pattern paper. I didn't want to go simple but it looked so good to me. I cut and played and although I'm not 100% happy with all my cards I'm learning.

So when I was taking pictures of the cards I didn't even think of separating them.

My first photo has the back three cards from Lyrical letters and the front two from Simple Cards. I guess I should have taken individuals. For the back three my card bases were 5x6.5 and the front two were 5x7's. They all cut so beautifully. The die cuts that say hello and thanks are from Hero Arts. Oh how I adore these sayings.

I plan on making more of both cards, they just seem very versatile. And with the XOX card, I can cover the letters with flowers, buttons, sequins, etc. My favorite from the second photo was the Get well soon card. I loved the negative when I peeled the card off the mat so much so that I tried to make another card with it. I bombed miserably and ruined two cards in the process.

I also did my first attempt at using the writing function. I'm still learning the ins and outs and hope to use it more in the future. Peace and Comfort are in writing, while the swirl was also in writing I was also able to cut it out of cardstock and cover the pen marks. 

The middle card was one that I really struggled with. The cut on the card is more of a southwest kind of look but then I cut it out with circle pattern paper. When I went to find some matching or coordinating cardstock I was ready to rip out my hair. I feel that I have an extensive cardstock supply but yowsers, so I settled on a dark green. The strip of cardstock on the front is Bo Bunny double dot in dark green with the happy in bright pink. I plan on using the stamp set that went with it and adding more.

Short and sweet, there you have it.

What cartridge is next?...gimme a second....

Martha Stewart Birthday cake art

Big smiles, off to design... see you soon

 *Carrie*

Best of Pixar cricut challenge

I was so surprised looking through the Best of Pixar cartridge to see this seascape elements. I have several friends that go on vacations to pretty places like this so I thought I could send this card the next time they're  heading off.
I will admit trying to cut the trees on the explore was tricky and ended up using my distress markers to get the colors back to what I was expecting. I ended up using texture paste for my cloud because I couldn't find my snow puffy pen. Still it was fun to use this cart in a way you wouldn't expect.
Now Mr. Incredible is a funny story, well funny to me.
A little back story for you. I usually design on my big computer in the living room, and that is where I do my printing. Then I take my tablet, open design space and go into my craft room to cut.
I had originally cut Mr. Incredible smaller and with the Incredible logo. After printing I set it aside and later changed my mind and deleted the logo and made Mr. Incredible bigger. A few days later, I took my original print and went to cut him out and when I opened my project in Design space, realized that my first print was now useless because I had changed the file. Back to the living room to print the new file and then I went right back to the craft room to cut.
Once I had gotten my Mr. cut out I went through a bunch of different backdrops trying to find the right fit. I finally gave up and made my own. I took a 4x6 project life grid card and then used my Dylusion sprays in London blue and Post box red. I dried it with my heat gun and called it good. Wyatt likes it, so I'm assuming another boy will like it for a birthday or get well card.
Of course there are other characters I could have used but when I originally cut Mr. Incredible I was going to use him on a Disney character page. When I found the picture I had planned on using, it wasn't as I had remembered it and wouldn't work for my page.

My next challenge will be...

*Carrie*