Family Friday and a Haaaaaaaaappy New Year!

Hi Everybody!
It's time for Family Friday!  Are you all ready for the New Year?  I know I am.  We've had some CRAZY (no pun intended!) stuff happen with our family this year, some good and some bad.  I am definitely ready to start the new year, which already promises to be a much brighter one!  Here are my Top 5 Favorite crafty things that happened to me this year:

1. Having my blog grow by LEAPS and BOUNDS!  I had no idea when I started it that I would be lucky enough to be able to share my passion with so many people.

2. Making some AMAZING friends.  Sarah (Pink Cricut), Michelle (Scrappin With My Bug), Theresa (The Scrapbooking Queen), Christel (Scrappin Sista), Karel (One By One the Flamingo's Are Stealing my Sanity),  and Emma (My Creative Time), and Candace (Papercrafts by Candace) are only a few of them.  There are a TON more, I wish I could list them all! 

3. When I created the Family Friday Design Team.  Family is VERY important to me, and I was ecstatic to find so many people who shared my passion for crafting and family.  So first, let me wish all of my Design Team Cheryl, Rhonda, Raven, Becky, Erika, Nicole, Abby, Kassidy, Sharon, and Christel a very Happy New Year, and thank you for joining me in celebrating family! 

4. Discovering Peachy Keen Stamps!  I feel like PKS did for my die cuts what the Cricut did for my crafting.  They just took it to a whole 'nother level for me.  I can't wait to use them more and more, and get even better with these stamps!

5. My ATG gun!!!
Speaking of my DT, let me show you what one of them created.  Cheryl made (another!) super cute project.  This time the challenge was to make a New Year's project.  First up is my project I made with my two older daughters.  I thought it would be fun to make some New Year's hats.  Here's what we used:

*Elmo Party cart (the hats and confetti swirls)

*Wild Card cart (Happy New Year Sentiment)

*Peachy Keen stamps (Laffy Taffy, and Everyday Character Faces)

*Stickles

*my Gypsy - I just took the hat shape and put it as big as it would fit on a 12" x 24" mat

*ribbon bow

*crayons

I let them attack the hats with crayons!  They put clocks, and 2011 on them. 

And of course they wanted to add some Peachy Keen Faces!

Then I stuck the ribbon bows on the inside for a cute pom-pom on top!

Cheryl

"My oldest son, Bryce (8 years old) wanted to design this project on my Gypsy.  He and my 6 year old son, Owen, came up with the design.  They picked the Songbird cartridge for the font.  I helped them size it just right for our card.  They also picked out the glittery paper with the balls on it.  Bryce said the bg paper reminded him of the new year's ball.  We added lots of blingy rhinestones too! I hope like it!!"


Thank you sooooooo much to all my followers, old and new, and for celebrating this year with me.  And if you have any resolutions goals this year, I hope one of them is to spend more time (crafting or not) with your families!  I hope you all have an amazing New Year celebration, and I can't wait to start the New Year with so many new friends :o)

CJ Too DT Project, QUICK Treat Tags, and a Meeeeeerry Christmas!

Hi Everybody!

This will be my last post until New Years Eve (I will have a holiday Family Friday post!)  But I have a couple of quick little projects to show you that I haven't been able to post about.  The first one was the one I did for my final project as a Craft Junkie Too Design Team member.  Here are the details:

*The cards were from a 3 x 3 card set I had bought at Michael's. 

*Then I cut a square of cranberry red paper, and white speckled paper to cover the front (it had a little circle shape on the front). 

*I used the snowman stamp from Peachy Keen Stamps (people got this one when they ordered during their big sale in November). 

*colored the image with watercolor crayons from Stampin' Up and a blender pen

*I added light blue Stickles to the hat and buttons, red Stickles on the hearts, and white Stickles to the snow.  Gotta have the bling!!

*This was a QUICK card, and took me about 15 minutes from start to finish, so this is great if you still need to make some quick tags, or small cards :o)

*For the candy cane holders, I used the Elmo Party cartridge.  It's actually the straw topper, but it works perfectly for candy canes! 

*I used my Gypsy to hide the lines of the Elmo shape.

*I used the Christmas solutions cartridge, and a sticker I had on one side.

* I then stamped a cute saying on the other side. 

I had to make about 60 of these for my 2 daughters classes, but they come together really quickly!! 

TFL!!  I also want to wish all of you a VERY Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.  I have been so lucky to have gotten some new followers, gotten to know my long time followers better, and been able to share my passion with people who feel the same way!  Thank you to all of you, and hope all your Christmas wishes come true :o)

Some Winners, and a special edition of Family Friday!!

**PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR THE SPECIAL FAMILY FRIDAY POST!!**

Hi Everybody!
I'm so sorry I am so behind on picking some winners for recent blog hops I've been in!  But I know a lot of you also have crazy stuff to get done for the holidays, so I know you will forgive me!!  Ok, so here are all the winners:

Holiday Cards and Gifts Blog Hop!!

craftymom205 said...

Love the card.

I am already a follower.

Thank You Gifts Blog Hop!

Tabitha said...

I already am a follower. Thanks for a chance to win.

tabitha4cm at yahoo dot com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY Suprise Blog Hop!

Emily said...

That cake is adorable!!! Perfect card :)

Whew! Thanks Random.org!!  Congrats to all my winners!! Please e-mail me at crazyaboutcricut@hotmail.com with the name of the hop you won in the subject line (that would be a BIG help!!).  Since it is the holidays, and I know people may not be checking their messages or blogs as much I will give all my winners until Jan. 4 to get in touch with me.  After that I'll have to pick another winner :(  

And now onto the special edition of FAMILY FRIDAY!!  I have had my annual big project of making calendars for my family (extended family included!), and this year I just didn't seem to find the time until this month!  I am happy to say that it looks like I will be able to get them done, excluding any copying incidents (fingers crossed).  I will definitely post about that as soon as I can :o)   But this major project has thrown my blogging definitely out of whack.  So I didn't get a chance to post this last Family Friday, so here it is!  (The challenge was to create a project with a snowman.)

I found this HUGE sign that said HO HO HO at a store that was going out of sale a couple of years ago.  I thought they would be great to hang in my house.  I hadn't decorated them at all before, so I thought adding some Cricut cuts would look awsome :o)  Here is the cut that my daughter added using the Joys of the Season cart, and Cricut markers (I'll add the picture of all three of them up on my wall in just a bit!):

Of course we had to add some Stickles!!  This snowman is now the proud owner of a blingy scarf, hat, buttons, and broom :o)

Cheryl 
**CLICK HERE TO GO TO HER BLOG FOR MORE DETAILS**

First I had my kids draw out a snowman scene. When they were finished, I scanned the image and they used Photoshop to color in the images. I then added their names and dates and set up a page to print four at a time onto card stock. Once we cut the drawings apart we had four card fronts finished.

We mounted the card fronts onto a red mat and then onto a card body. We added a "to" and "from" to the inside and my boys stamped their own personalized stamps on the back. TA DA!! We have hand drawn personalized cards for my boys to give to Grandparents, teachers etc. I just LOVE them!!

Isn't that sooooooooo super cute?!?!  Cheryl always has such amazing projects!  The Family Friday DT will be taking a break next week, but we will be back for New Year's Eve!  TFL, and hope everyone had a chance to craft today!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY!! Welcome to the Suprise Blog Hop!

Hi Everybody!!
SURPRISE!!!  HAAAAAAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY!  Our favorite Kathy (you know, THE Kathy from Peachy Keen Stamps!!) is having a birthday!  To celebrate a few us bloggers put together some birthday surprises!  I was so excited to be able to be in this hop, because to me, Kathy and PKS have taken my Cricut Cuts to the next level.  So hopefully you just came from Jess over at http://www.KinderStampo.com.  If not make sure you start at the Peachy Keen blog so you don't miss a thing!  In case you get lost, or need to stop along the way, here is the lineup:

Peachy Keen Stamps Blog - http://www.peachykeenstamps.blogspot.com/ 

Angelica & Adrianne - http://www.handmadebyangelica.com/
Viv - http://craftinghaven.blogspot.com/
Kim - http://www.paperpunchaddiction.com/
Lorie - http://www.thethinkinspot.blogspot.com/
Heidi - http://gotscraps.blogspot.com/
Janice - http://stampingwithjanice.blogspot.com/
Joanna - http://scrap-making.blogspot.com/
Nikki - http://scrappinnavywife.blogspot.com/
Erin - http://www.erinleecreative.com/
Emma - http://www.creativetimeforme.com/
Ruthie - http://septemberninth.blogspot.com/
Samantha - http://samanthacasey.blogspot.com/
Lisa - http://our2angelsinheaven.blogspot.com/
Jessica B. - http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/
Abby - http://www.scrapbookaholicbyabby.com
Gaby - http://www.gabycreates.com
Linda- http://www.krazyquilling.com
Dobea - http://dobeaalberts.blogspot.com
Theresa - http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com
Jessica K. - http://thecreativestamperspot.blogspot.com
Glorajean - http://glorascrafts.blogspot.com
Liz - http://skittles-and-scrapbooks.blogspot.com
Jessica M.- http://www.KinderStampo.com
Jenny - http://www.crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com *You Are Here*
Kimmy - http://scrappinwithkimmy.blogspot.com/
Sandra - http://365daysofcricut.blogspot.com
Sarah - http://www.pinkcricut.com
Mandy - http://stamping4u.blogspot.com
Lauren - http://laurenscraps.blogspot.com
Raven - http://love4stamps.blogspot.com
Janis - http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com
Momo - http://madebymomo.blogspot.com/
Paula - http://morethanfavors.blogspot.com
Corri - http://www.buglvr.blogspot.com/

Ok, now onto the projects!!  Of course you have to have a birthday card :o)  I used my favorite Smiley cartridge, with my favorite Peachy Keen set Laffy Taffy faces for the cakes.  I also used a Martha Stewart border punch, and Pink By Design Take the Cake set for the sentiment.  And what would a birthday celebration be without cake?!  I used Sweet Treats to cut the cake holder.

There you go, I hope Kathy likes it!  And I hope you guys do to. 

Now my "present" to you guys is a chance to win a SURPRISE present for you!  To enter:

1.Please leave a comment. 

2.You can become a follower if you want to, but you don't have to to be entered :o)  Only if you really like the projects!!

Also, Angelica is giving away 10 of Kathy's FAVORITE Crafting products! To qualify for any of those, you must leave a comment on ALL the blogs in this hop to have a chance to win some AMAZING prizes! 
Now keep the party going by heading over to see Kimmy at http://scrappinwithkimmy.blogspot.com/ to check out her awsome project!

Thank You Gifts Blog Hop!

**PLEASE CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THE HOLIDAY CARDS AND GIFTS BLOG HOP**

Hi Everybody!
If you came from Jen over at http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com, then you came from the right place.  If not, then head on over to our hop hostess Joy at http://joyslife.com/ so you don't miss a single bit of inspiration!


OMG, I can't tell you how excited I was to be invited into this hop.  There is such "scrap-lebrity" on this hop, that I'm scrap-struck!!  I know you all will get some great inspiration to for those little gifts we need for teachers, our mail carrier, neighbors, etc.  It makes the holidays so much easier when we keep a few of those on hand, don’t you think?  But in case you get lost, or have to stop along the way, here is the fantabulous lineup of these talented ladies:



Joy http://joyslife.com/

Ruthie http://septemberninth.blogspot.com/
Angela http://creativecraftin.blogspot.com
Carrie http://thegreenbeanscrafterole.blogspot.com
Denise http://cricutmyway.blogspot.com/
Gale http://www.thehappystamper.com/
Janis http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com
Jen http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com
Jenny http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com
Jin http://underacherrytree.blogspot.com
Julie http://cricutchick.blogspot.com
Lori http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com
Mari (Momo) http://madebymomo.blogspot.com
Misty http://abusyplace.blogspot.com
Natalie http://timelesslegacydesigns.blogspot.com
Raven http://love4stamps.blogspot.com/
Theresa http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/
Tracy http://www.craftjunkietoo.com/
 Yolanda http://yoliebean.blogspot.com

Ok, now onto my project.  I honestly have to be on the tightest of budgets when giving presents every year, so I bake a lot.  I have just as much fun (if not more) in making the presentation as the actual treat!  So I've had this idea in my head FOREVER, but never actually got to try it.  Here are the details:

*Elmo Party cartridge

-gable box cut @ 11.38" x 22.71"

*Christmas Cheer cartridge

*Christmas Solutions cartridge

*Bazzill 12 x 24 cardstock

*stickers from my stash

*white gel pen 

*I love the gable box (I think that's what its called) on the Elmo Party cartridge (p.71 in the handbook).  It has a little Elmo shaped head as the opening at the top.  Since this didn't fit with my theme, I used my Gypsy to hide the Elmo head, and put the tree from the Christmas Cheer cartridge to create a new handle/opening.

*The bottom flaps come together easily, and while you still have to put adhesive, they lock together for stability.

*While still flat, and I did the stitching with my white gel pen.  I also added all of my embellishments.

*I have so many cute Christmas stickers, I'm trying to use more of them :o)

*I love this huge lightbulb, and will use this to add the to and from for who I decide to give it to.

*I put some white tissue paper in the bottom, then sprinkled some large blue glitter all over!

Ok, now one more treat before you go!  For my blog candy, I decided to give a $10 gift certificate to one of my FAVORITE things, Peachy Keen Stamps!!

To enter for this candy:

1. Please leave a comment.

2. Please become a follower, and leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you became a follower.  If you are already a follower, please also leave me a SEPARATE comment letting me know.

That's it! I hope you liked it :o)  Now head over to see Jin at http://underacherrytree.blogspot.com to get some more fantastic inspiration!!



Holiday Cards and Gifts Blog Hop!!

Hi Everybody!
Welcome to the Holiday Cards and Gifts Blog Hop!!  Thank you so much for joining us on this amazing hop.  Hopefully you came from Nikki at The Glamorous Side of Scrapping .  If not, please head over to the hop hostess Jamie at Glitter, Stamps, and Paper, Oh My to start at the beginning.  And here is the lineup in case you get lost:



Jamie at Glitter, Stamps, and Paper, Oh My http://www.glitterstampsandpaperohmy.com
Jessica at Overjoyed Scrapper http://overjoyedscrapper.blogspot.com
Jill at The Scrapaholic http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com
Stacey at Stacey's Creative Corner http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com
Mandy at the Polka Dot Spot http://stamping4u.blogspot.com
Nikki at The Glamorous Side of Scrapping http://www.theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com
Crazy about Cricut at http://www.crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/   <-YOU ARE HERE
Nicolette at Beyond Scrapin www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com
Liz at Skittles and Scrapbooks http://skittles-and-scrapbooks.blogspot.com/
KarelJ at One by One the Flamingos are Stealing my Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com
Sandra at Sandy's Scrapbooks http://sandysscrapbooks.blogspot.com/
Kristin at Lil Sweetpea's Place http://lilsweetpeasplace.blogspot.com/
Meighen at Scrappin_3rdeeschik http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/
Ellen at Card Monkey http://cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/
Jennifer at Crafty Card Gallery www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com
Denise at Dee's Designs from my heart http://deesdesignsfrommyheart.blogspot.com
Jesi at Jesi's Things http://jesisonaroll.blogspot.com/
Dorly at Moderna Art & Designs http://modernadesignsart.blogspot.com/

Ok, so now onto my project!  Here are the details:

*American Crafts Foil Specialty paper

-card base = 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"

-red mat = 1/8" around

*candy embossing folder from Mini Monsters Cuttlebug Companion folders

*Holiday Stamps laser die cuts

*ATG adhesive

*ribbon from Michaels

(I love bling, and all things shiny, so....) WARNING, YOU MAY NEED SUNGLASSES TO LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING CARD:

So there you go, I hope you like it!  I'm sorry for the bad pictures, my camera batteries ran out before I could get better ones :( It was simple to put together, but when you have beautiful laser cuts, and such gorgeous paper (I HIGHLY recommend this for all your cards!), you don't have to do much.  And isn't this the perfect candy embossing folder?!?!  And speaking of candy, I can't forget about the BLOG CANDY!! 

The box has a little mini album, and some beee-uuu-tiful embellishments that come with it.  To enter for the blog candy:

*Leave a comment

*For an extra entry, you can become a follower.

That's it!  Now head on over to Nicolette at Beyond Scrapin to check out her amazing project :O)

A Festive Family Friday!!

Hi Everybody!
It's a Festive Family Friday!  This time I challenged my designers to create an ornament.  These are great to do with your kids, and become treasured keepsakes in the future :O)  Please click on the designers name to head over to their blog for more details!  And as always, feel free to show some love with a comment!!

For my ornaments, I made this easy, but blingy one with my daughter.  We used a portait picture in the middle, and attacked it with glitter!  This one will be easy to put in a scrapbook layout, or put away with the ornaments to put up again next year.

I made these with my older daugher for her to pass out to her friends.  We used colored permanent markers to draw these trees.  Then we used Stickles to add some sparkly snow at the bottom of the tree. 

We wrote Merry X-mas from Marisa, and taaa-daaa! She now can proudly pass them out in class.

Cheryl

First up is my disk ornaments my kids will be making for our family members. These are super simple but so cute because they include pictures of my boys. I used "Keepsakes" flat disk ornaments. After I used Photoshop to add their names and the year, my boys cut their school pictures from this year to fit in the 3" circle and I glued the sides together. What a simple but soon-to-be cherished ornament.

The second is a wonderful ornament that could double as a stocking stuffer!! "Grinch Pills" could be perfect for that person on your Christmas list that just doesn't have the Holiday Spirit. Over on my blog, I have included jpg files for you to make your own double or single sided "Grinch Pills" and the Gypsy file for you to cut the tic tac wrapper with your Cricut.
 
 

Raven

We had soooo much fun this week with our challenge. The kiddos LOVED making these.

Even though the holidays are whizzing by, make sure you take the time to enjoy them.  If one less person gets a card so you can spend the time with your family instead, that's ok!!  Thanks for joining us :O)



Holiday Cards and Gifts Blog Hop & Thank You Gifts Blog Hop

Hi Everybody!
I wanted to let you guys know about a couple of hops I will be in this weekend.

The first one is the Holiday Cards and Gifts Blog Hop that will be on Saturday, December 11th.

 

Come join us for a super fun hop full of cards and gift ideas.

Here is who will be participating:

 

Jamie at Glitter, Stamps, and Paper, Oh My http://www.glitterstampsandpaperohmy.com/

Jessica at Overjoyed Scrapper http://overjoyedscrapper.blogspot.com/

Jill at The Scrapaholic http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/

Stacey at Stacey's Creative Corner http://staceyscreativecorner.blogspot.com/

Mandy at the Polka Dot Spot http://stamping4u.blogspot.com/

Nikki at The Glamorous Side of Scrapping http://www.theglamoroussideofscrapping.blogspot.com/

Jenny at Crazy about Cricut at http://www.crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Nicolette at Beyond Scrapin www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com

Liz at Skittles and Scrapbooks http://skittles-and-scrapbooks.blogspot.com/

KarelJ at One by One the Flamingos are Stealing my Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com/

Sandra at Sandy's Scrapbooks http://sandysscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

Kristin at Lil Sweetpea's Place http://lilsweetpeasplace.blogspot.com/

Meighen at Scrappin_3rdeeschik http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/

Ellen at Card Monkey http://cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/

Jennifer at Crafty Card Gallery www.craftycardgallery.blogspot.com

The other hop is the Thank You Gifts Blog Hop that will be on Sunday, December 12th.

You know those little gifts we need for teachers, our mail carrier, neighbors, etc? It makes the holidays so much easier when we keep a few of those on hand, don’t you think?



Join me and 17 other talented ladies for some quick, easy, and inexpensive "Thank You" gift ideas!

Joy http://joyslife.com/

Ruthie http://septemberninth.blogspot.com/

Angela http://creativecraftin.blogspot.com/

Denise http://cricutmyway.blogspot.com/

Gale http://www.thehappystamper.com/

Janis http://pausedreamenjoy.blogspot.com/

Jen http://scrapaholicjen.blogspot.com/

Jenny http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Jin http://underacherrytree.blogspot.com/

Julie http://cricutchick.blogspot.com/

Lori http://scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/

Mari http://madebymomo.blogspot.com/

Misty http://abusyplace.blogspot.com/

Natalie http://timelesslegacydsigns.blogspot.com/

Raven http://love4stamps.blogspot.com/

Theresa http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/

Tracy http://www.craftjunkietoo.com/

I'm SUPER excited to be in these hops with such talented ladies, and I know you all will get tons of inspiration, AND chances to win some great blog candy!!  Hope 2 c u there :O)