Cricky Across the 50 Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Cricky Across the 50 Blog Hop hosted by K Andrew of Getting Cricky! I am so excited about this. This is my very first participation in a blog hop! Whoo Hoo!! If you are here from Scrapality than you are in the right place. If you just arrived here and would like to start from the beginning, please go to Getting Cricky! For this blog hop, K. is celebrating her big move across the country with a big road trip, and of course this hop across the 50 states! She has asked us all to post a little bit about the state we are representing, and then to post our favorite craft project. I am representing the state of Minnesota!

I'm originally from Phoenix, Arizona but we moved her 5 years ago. I know what you all are thinking...ARE YOU CRAZY? Well, the answer to that question is no, I'm not crazy, but....MY HUSBAND IS!!!! This was all his idea. :)

Let me introduce you to my family first before I tell ya how we ended up moving from the hottest place on the earth to the coldest place on earth!

This is my family. Me, my husband, Mark, and our 4 children in order. Alissa, 15, Brandon, 10, Catelynn, 7 and Dylon, 5. (Did ya notice their names are A, B, C, D??? Spiffy, huh?? LOL).

My husband had a good friend who moved his family here 2 years before we did. He called everyday telling my hubby how great this place was to raise a family, it was a small town and beautiful. He was right. It's absolutely gorgeous up here and you can't beat the summers. We sold our house, packed up our life in Phoenix (which both my husband and I were born and raised, never been anywhere else) and moved here to northern Minnesota. Well, 5 months later, my husband's friend packed his family up and moved back home!!! (Now that was a dirty trick! It's a conspiracy I tell ya!)

Anyway, it's right on Lake Of The Woods!!! You know that teeny tiny little spot at the very tippy top of Minnesota? Yep, that's us. We are 6 miles south of Canada.

Living in Minnesota and especially small-town Minnesota has been an experience. There have been good and bad times. It was definitely a shock moving from the hot Arizona desert to the sub-zero temps of Minnesota but I'm glad we did it! My kids actually like it here and I really do believe the small town life is a great way to raise a family. I really, REALLY miss Wal-Mart though, the closest one is 80 miles away from us! But, a trip to Minneapolis and we have the Mall of America and of course, the Minnesota Vikings!! (Now I'm not much of a sports fan, but purple is my very favorite color so I'll take the Vikings! *snickers*)

For my project, I decided since we are celebrating K. Andrews move across the country, I'd do a scrap page about my most recent trip. This past summer, one of my closest friends and I went on a girl's weekend together. Her and I are both huge fans of New Kids On The Block and they did a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas, Half Moon Cay to be exact, which is the island owned by Carnival Cruise Lines. It was the most fun I've ever had in my life! If I ever had the opportunity to do it again, I would absolutely do it! Janelle was so much fun to have a girl's weekend with (and it didn't hurt having all the random encounters with the New Kids. *giggle*) So, here's what I did:

I started this project as a card but it turned into a scrap page instead. I used my Summer Vacation Cricut cartridge to make the lettering and the sun. I added some design stamps and some bright flowers with glittery centers to give it a little extra "pop." I tried to keep it fun without overdoing it. I hope you enjoy it, I really had fun making this one! It made me smile thinking about my friends, not only back home, but the new ones I've made in the recent years. (The New Kids On The Block brought friends into my life from all over the country. Janelle (my cruise roommate) from Texas, Vanessa (who has been my best friends since the 7th grade) from Arizona, Stacey from North Dakota, Kris from Minneapolis and Gerri from IRELAND!) Meeting these girls is the best part of NKOTB reuniting! *awe...tear*

Here's a picture of all of us. (Top L-R Kris, Janelle, Krystal. Bottom L-R Vanessa and Stacey)

So there ya have it...a little peek into my personal life. (I hope I didn't bore you to sleep).

Of course no Blog Hop is complete without Blog Candy. So for mine, I'm giving away a set of 12 clear stamps from Fiskars.

Here's how to win:
1. I do not require you to become a follower unless you want to (but it would really be nice if you did. *insert puppy dog eyes*)
2. I do request that you please leave a comment on this post about your favorite place to travel. Be sure you leave your contact information (email) so I can get ahold of you when you win.
3. As an added bonus, if you do become a follower *whoo hoo* (or if you already are a follower), leave a separate comment stating this for a second entry.
4. And if you want a 3rd entry, please refer a friend to my blog, have her/him become a follower and leave a comment stating that she/he was referred by *name of referring person* and then also, the referring person should leave a comment stating the *name of the person referred.* (Clear as mud?)

I will be drawing the winner randomly on Monday, February 14. The winner will be posted sometime Monday afternoon.

Please make sure to leave comments on all of the blogs for a chance to win a ton of different Grand Prizes on Getting Cricky's Blog, from these great companies: Scrap N Tote, Scrap N Easel, Cri-Kits, Creative Charms, Memory Miser, Scrappy Chic Cafe, Loralie Designs, My Pink Stamper, Peachy Keen Stamps, Cricut Town, The Scrappin' Table, Piktails, and Pink by Design

Please make sure to visit ALL the blogs, as EVERY single blog will have fabulous giveaways (cricut cartridges, paper packs, copic markers, yourstory bundle, clear stamp sets, and tons more). Each blogger was extremely generous with their own personal giveaways!

Next stop on the hop is Jenny of Paper Crafting Crazy Me.

Thank you so much for stopping by and spending a few moments getting to know me. I hope to see you back here again soon!!!

Just in case you want it, here is a list of all the blogs on the hop in order. Please feel free to refer back to my blog if you need to!

START HERE:
Getting Cricky With K Andrew.

ALABAMA:
Tanya of Scrappy Scavenger.

ARIZONA:
Renee Kowalchik of KoolChik Crafts.

ARKANSAS:
Teela Young of Coffee24Tea.

CALIFORNIA:
Jess Marin of My Scrap Diary.
Nicolette Simpson of Beyond Scrapin.

COLORADO:
Jennifer Anderson of Scrappin Lil Turtle.
Amy Courchaine of Scrapbooking, Cardmaking and Living with Fibro.

DELEWARE:
Meagan Jarjabka of Beyond Paper Designs.
Peggy Brustman of Celtik Girl Creations.

FLORIDA:
Stephanie Hedderick of Always Crafting.

GEORGIA:
Brenda Haskin of Simply Bren is Having Too Much Fun.

ILLINOIS:
Lori Brown of Saving My....

INDIANA:
Angela Urell of Creative Crafting.

LOUISIANA:
Darlene Saucier of Simple Southern Blessings.

MAINE:
Karen Madden of Lilac and Lupines.

MARYLAND:
Karen Turner of Midlife Mysteries & Masterpieces.

MASSACHUSETTS:
Andrea Fogleman of Scrapality.

MINNESOTA:
Krystal Gibson of Krystal's Kreativity. YOU ARE HERE!!
Jenny Johnson of Paper Crafting Crazy Me.

MISSOURI:
Kathy Northup of I Love My Crazy Life.

MONTANA:
Kathy Floen of The Beautiful Life.

NEBRASKA:
Gloria Sleeper of Oma's Crafts.

NEW HAMPSHIRE:
Kristal of Getting Cricky.

NEW MEXICO:
Brynn Thornburgh of Flair and Frills.

NEW YORK:
Erin Span of I Am SpantastiKreations.

NORTH CAROLINA:
Amy Westray of Red Wolf Scraps

OHIO:
Patricia Logan of MDN Creates.
Joe, Carol, Joe, and Betty of Create N Craft.

OREGON:
Rebecca Maddux of Crafting with Becka.

PENNSYLVANIA:
Midori Vasquez of Scraps For Me.

RHODE ISLAND:
Karel Jennings of One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity.

SOUTH DAKOTA:
Brenda Burffrau of Creativity Is A State Of Mind.

TENNESSEE:
Shannon Lefew of My Scrappy Creations.

TEXAS:
Kista Orr of Scrapaleupagus.

UTAH:
Kathy of Creative Cutter.

VIRGINIA:
Chris Hanselmaan of Chris' Crafty Creations From The Corner.

WASHINGTON:
Mariam Satchell of Purple Lily Studio.

WISCONSIN:
Janice Wilson of Stamping With Janice.

WYOMING:
Jamie Larsen of Baby Jayden's Mommy.
Lindsay Loo of Lindsay Loo Designs.

END:
Getting Cricky With K. Andrew.

Happy Hopping!!!!!

Be a Fan