Plastic Grocery Bag - Storage

I don't know about you, but when I go grocery shopping, I always wind up with a million plastic bags and no place to store them. I like to keep some of them around for use in the bathroom garbage cans. Well, last night, I got tired of trying to find a place to store these bags so I made my own storage. It didn't take long to make and it's perfect for what I need!

This took me about 20 minutes to make. I love it!

Recipe:
Fabric size 8-1/2 inches x 25 inches.
4 inches elastic.

I cut the fabric 8-1/2 x 25 and turned it inside out.

I folded the top down about 3/4 inch and stitched it. I did the same with the bottom. I then folded the fabric and stitched it closed (reverse side out).

I threaded 2 inches of elastic through the top and bottom and stitched the ends together, then stitched the closures. This gave it the "bunching" effect.

Lastly, I cut a 1 inch piece of fabric, folded it so that there were no raw edges and stitched it together, creating a loop so this could be hung. Voila!!! A nice place to store your plastic bags.

Getting Cricky Challenge - Birds

I created this cute little treat bag with Valentine's Day in mind. Getting Cricky is hosting a challenge where you have to use a bird of some kind in your project. I used the Stretch Your Imagination and the Plantin School Book Cricut Cartridges for this project.

Recipe:
Cartridges: Plantin School Book for the treat bag cut "to fit page".
Stretch Your Imagination for the chick, cut at 4 inches.
Yellow ribbon with orange flowers.
Yellow and Orange cardstock
Red printed paper for the treat bag.
I used foam pop dots to add dimension to this card.

Saying: U R So 'Tweet"

Thanks for looking!

Cricky Across the 50 - Blog Hop! Come Join Us!

Hi everyone!

I'm so excited about this. I have never actually participated in a blog hop before so this is a first for me! I was surfing around the net this morning and I stumbled upon Getting Cricky with K. Andrews. She has an amazing site, I must say! Anyway, she is hosting a blog hop for all 50 states and has a great giveaway with it. She is taking volunteers to join in and represent the state of your choice. I emailed her just this morning to let her know that I'm in and I'd like to represent Arizona!

Here's how it works:

Starting on Friday, 02/11/2011, go to Getting Cricky with K. Andrews and then bounce around to all 50 states. Become a follower and leave a comment at each one. The hop runs until Sunday, 02/13/2011 and then winners will be drawn on Monday 01/14/2011. There will be a giveaway at each blog you bounce to.

Cricky Across the 50 Blog Hop Feb. 11 - 13!

I will post more details when I have them. For now, mark your calendars and get ready. It's gonna be so much fun!!! Be sure to tell your friends so they can get in on this adventure!!!

Can't wait to see you.

My Craft Space

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to share with everyone my craft space. This is where I do all my crafting. My family just moved into this house and the basement is so huge. I took half of it to make just for me. It's not done yet, I'm hoping to get a nice rug and maybe do something with the walls so they don't look so "underground." LOL. I really like having a place to call my own. It's really nice to retreat down here when I need that break just to be alone and scrap. Although, I do have to say, when I'm here, my kids trickle down slowly one at a time and they do some crafting with me. That's okay too!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Forever and Always Scrapbook Page

Here is a cute scrapbook page that I did. It's a fairly simple layout.

I used:
Stretch Your Imagination Cricut Cartridge
Plantin School Book Cricut Cartridge

I used pop up foam dots to add dimension to the bride and groom. I also added dots and lines with pen along the edge of the paper and around the picture just to give it a little extra. That seemed to make it "pop".

Thanks for looking.

Embellishment Jars

I am always looking for new things to hold my embellishments and small scrapbooking things. I use a lot of bouillon cubes when I cook and they come in these little plastic jars with screw top lids. These are the perfect size for holding brads, buttons or any small embellishments.

Today, I decorated a couple of these jars and I wanted to share my project with you all.

First, I gathered my paper and supplies.

I measured my paper to be about 2-3/4 inches wide and 9 inches long. I cut the paper to size and used my Xyron sticker maker to put adhesive on the back and then wrapped the paper around the jars.

Using my hot glue gun, I glued satin ribbon around the jar and glued flowers and buttons on the lids.

I made little tiny bows, then glued them onto the ribbon as well.

I think they turned out super cute.

I'd love to hear what you think.

The Beauty of Winter!

Anybody who knows me, knows that I don't much like winter in Minnesota. I'm a sunshine girl from sunny Phoenix, Arizona and I've missed living there since I moved here 5 years ago.

Anyway, today, I was driving around my town and realizing just how absolutely gorgeous it is right now. I grabbed my camera and went around taking pictures. I was so inspired!

I wanted to share the pictures with you. I hope you enjoy them!

I love this one, there was a small frozen creek.  So beautiful!

I love how this tree looks.  I believe it is some type of willow.  Nonetheless, it looks so pretty!

This is a lookout tower down by the boat docks on the lake.

I love how the snowflakes cling to the branches.  The temperatures are around the 20s right now making the snow more wet than normal.  (I know it sounds weird but we have really dry snow.  When the temps get up higher into the 20s and 30s, it makes the snow more wet.  LOL)

It's a winter wonderland right now!!  I love how my town looks right now! :)  I guess it makes me appreciate it more when I can recognize the beauty of the snow.

Sometimes things are just hard.

Hey everyone!

Just a quick blog update for ya. It's been tough trying to get myself into this new "being home" thing without a job. I'm not used to not working. I've been working since I was 16 years old. The transition is a little depressing. (Maybe it wouldn't be so depressing if I didn't need to find a job! LOL) Anyway, I plan on doing some crafting this weekend with my kids so I will hopefully be posting some fun activities we try soon.

I was at Wal-Mart grocery shopping last night and I couldn't help but wander over to the scrapbooking section. It's so amazing how much stuff they carry. I also found a little store in the next town that sells scrapbook supplies. I have a feeling that will be my little guilty pleasure. I really love to look at all the scrapbooking supplies in there!

Anyway, for now, I have to get my house cleaned up a bit and run some errands. Have a happy Thursday everyone and I hope meet up in cyberspace soon!

Introduction!

I suppose that this should've been the first post but what can I say? I never do anything in order!

So, a little about me. I'm a busy mom of 4 kids ranging in age from 15 all the way down to 5. They are my life. My husband, Mark, and I have been together for almost 14 years and we live in northern Minnesota (the coldest place on the planet). We moved here from Sunny Phoenix, Arizona in 2006. The question we get most often is "Why would you move from Phoenix to Minnesota?" Well the answer to that is quite simple..... My husband is crazy! :P

I'm relatively new to the whole scrapbooking world but I love paper crafts. I got my Cricut Expression for Christmas in 2008 and I love it. It's so much fun to play with. I only have a couple of cartridges but I'm hoping that my library builds up quickly. My favorite thing to do is scrap my life but I like making cards too. I have a 7-year-old daughter who loves to scrapbook with me. She's my little crafter!

This blog was created as a way for me to share my creativity with the world. So, if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Just send me an email with your suggestions and I'd be happy to create it for you!

Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog. Please share your thoughts! I'd love to hear them!

Happy Birthday, Robyn!

Hi everyone!

This is my first official post and I thought it would be fun to try one of the challenges that Robyn at My Pink Stamper posted on her site. It's her birthday today so the challenge was to make a birthday card.

I used:
Stretch Your Imagination Cart
Ribbon
Card stock
Patterned paper.

I hope you enjoy my card and again, Happy Birthday, Robyn!!! I hope it was an amazing day for you!