Paper and String

February Cricut Class

2012-01-30T14:33:00.000-06:00

Even though we haven't had a very cold winter so far, I felt like using some bright colors for the February cards. So I picked out a bright pink, yellow orange and green (and a little black to make the colors pop) and came up with these cards.

There are only four cards shown here, the fifth card I'm sending in to to the Cricut Magazine to see if they will publish it, so I can't post it online. You will have to come to class to see it.

Ok, first up we have a St. Patrick's Day card. This one uses Paper Doll Dress Up and Accent Essentials cartridges.

This cute little kitten is from Kate's ABC's.

The bright tropical flower is from Pack Your Bags. The shape behind it is from Elegant Edges.

The trio of butterflies is from Elegant Edges also.

The mystery flower card is from Accent Essentials.

Hope to see you in class.

January Cards

2011-12-22T08:39:00.001-06:00

Hey everyone - here are a few of the cards for the January card class.

This one is from Elegant Edges. The hearts are from Doodlecharms.

This one is from Phrases.

This one is from Graphically Speaking.

I'll have two more cards for you after New Years.

Merry Christmas!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2011-12-01T15:50:00.001-06:00

It is hard to believe that December is here already! Sorry for the delay in getting these cards posted, I just finished them last night.

I decide to go with a winter theme this month.

First up a nice warm cup of hot chocolate using the Joys of the Season cartridge.

Next a pretty blue flower, also from the Joys of the Season cartridge and Elegant Edges.

Then we have a pretty party dress from the Nifty Fifties cartridge.

A jolly snowman from Very Merry Tags. I attached the tag with a piece of string so that it could be removed if you'd like.

And finally some cold snow flakes which are much better than the real ones! There is also a little, ok a lot, of bling on this one too. The snowflakes are from the Christmas Cheer cartridge.

Class dates are: Friday, December 2 - 10:30 am - 12:30 pm; Thursday, December 8 - 10:30 am - 12:30 pm and 5:30 - 7:30 pm and Friday, December 16 - 10:30 am - 12:30 pm. Hope to see you in one of the classes.

Merry Christmas!

New Cards

2011-11-12T16:55:00.001-06:00

I woke up at 5:30 the other morning with some ideas for Christmas cards. So this is what I made.

I used the new Tim Holtz Christmas background stamp from the Seasons Silhouette set. Isn't that background stamp cool? I also used the holly leaves and tree from the same set. The music stamp is from the Mini Holidays 2 set from Tim Holtz. I'm having fun playing with all of these fun stamps and inks.

The pattern paper is from the Making Memories Mistletoe line and the BoBunny Father Christmas Collection.

I'm also really liking the great pictures from my new iPhone.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Second Six

2011-11-07T06:36:00.002-06:00

Hi All - Here are the rest of the 12 Days of Christmas Banners. Hope to see you in a class!

The First Six

2011-11-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

First up, I must apologize for the pictures, they didn't turn out very well. I'll try to get some better ones tomorrow.

Anyway, here is the first half of the project for the November Cricut Classes at Craft Fancy. This month we are making a 12 Days of Christmas Banner.

The flags and tops are from Straight from the Nest and the 12 Days of Christmas are from the Joys of the Season Cartridge. It is kind of hard to tell from the pictures, but the flags are embossed and distressed. I think this is going to be a great project.

I know it looks like lots of cutting, but all you will have to cut out are the items on the ovals. I'll cut out all the flags, ovals and words/numbers.

Class dates are Friday, November 4; Friday, November 18 and Tuesday, November 22. Hope to see you in class.

Wedding Card

2011-10-19T11:12:00.000-05:00

Our friend Jen got married a couple of weeks ago. This is the card I made to go with the wedding gift. I thought the bride and groom were so cute. I used the Simply Charmed cartridge.

Jen and Alex were married at Cuneo Museum. Isn't it a beautiful place to have a wedding? It was a beautiful sunny day and gardens are beautiful. It was also used in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding.

We had a little photo booth fun at the reception.

October Cricut Classes

2011-10-01T17:39:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone - it is almost time for the October Cricut classes at Craft Fancy. I wasn't sure what kind of cards I was going to do this month until I sat down and started playing around with the papers I picked out. I love the fall colors don't you?

So here is what we will be making this month.

First up, a Thanksgiving card. This pilgrim hat is from the Celebrate with Flourish cartridge.

Next up is a pretty fall card. This one uses the DoodleCharms, Mickey Font, Everyday Pop Up Cards and Elegant Edges cartridges. I got the idea for this one from the Cricut Holidays Magazine.

This fall wreath is from the DoodleCharms cartridge.

This card uses DoodleCharms again (I love the oak leaf on this cartridge) and Elegant Edges cartridges.

The final card also uses DoodleCharms and Elegant Edges.

Hope to see you in one of the classes.

August Cricut Classes

2011-08-02T14:11:00.000-05:00

It's that time again - August Cricut Classes at Craft Fancy are almost here.

Join me on:

Friday, August 5 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Friday, August 19 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Tuesday, August 23

10:30 am - 12:30 pm

5:30 - 7:30 pm

This month, to simplify things a a bit, each card is cut from one cartridge. Well, there is one exception, but I think using two cartridges for this card was worth it!

Our first card is from the Everyday Pop Up Cards cartridge. Cute flower box don't you think?

Next is a Thank You card from the new Phrases cartridge. I have an extra cartridge to give away to someone in the classes this month, so make sure you join us for a chance to win.

This cute little doll is from the Paisley cartridge.

This Get Well card is from Kate's ABC's. The background shape from the Elegant Edges cartridge.

Finally, we have a Birthday card for the man in your life. (Actually when we cut this one out, you will have enough stars to make 3 cards.) This one is from the Create a Critter cartridge.

CONTEST - CONTEST - CONTEST

As I mentioned before, I have a Phrases cartridge to give away this month. I also have a Mickey and Friends cartridge to give away too. So join me in one of the classes this month for a chance to win one of these cartridges.

Card Camp Week 3

2011-07-13T15:33:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody it's week 3 of the Summer Card Camp. This week we are working with these colors. A nice neutral palette, with a pop of red.

Here is what I've created so far. A cute little airplane and clouds from the Lawn Fawn Bon Voyage set. The clock background stamp is from Hero Arts. Isn't it great? I typed the saying on the computer, stamped the clouds around them and cut them out. I'm not sure where the ribbon is from. The paper is Bazzill and from JoAnn's. The graph paper is from Basic Grey.

The next card is a pretty butterfly from Hero Arts. I stamped it with a VersaMark stamp pad and embossed it with white Zing powder from American Crafts. I used the finger inking technique from Jennifer McGuire's video using the fired brick and vintage photo Tim Holtz Distress Ink stamp pads. The brown and red shapes were cut from the Elegant Shapes Cricut cartridge. The sentiment stamp is from Papertrey Ink. The background paper is from Basic Grey and I also used Bazzill cardstock. Oh and the pearls are from Hero Arts too.

Wonder how many more cards I can make this week?

June Socks - Flutter

2011-07-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

The Skacel 20 Years of Trekking contest is over (or will be on July 15). It was lots of fun. I learned some new toe and heel construction and knit some interesting patterns.

I think the June pattern is one of my favorites. There are sweet little butterflies fluttering all over them. I made these for my sister, but I think I am going to make a full sized pair for myself.

I have lots of projects on needles, so I hope to finish some of them before the summer is over. Right now I'm working on a Central Park Hoodie in a cream color. After that, there are several pairs of socks and a scarf that need finishing. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Summer Card Camp Week Two

2011-07-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

Wow, week two of the Summer Card Camp is over. I didn't get as many cards made this week. In fact, I only got one finished. I am going to try to get a couple more finished today if possible.

This week the color palette reminds me of melons; watermelon and cantaloupe. So did I use either of those in my card? No. My card is one of the Hero Arts Peeking Posies stamps. I colored it with colored pencils. I like the way it turned out.

Supplies used:

Hero Arts Peeking Posies Stamp

Papertrey Ink sentiment stamp

Jenni Bowlin Fountain Pen stamp pad

October Afternoon paper

Bazzill Paper

Mark Richards gems

Hopefully I'll get more cards made next week.

Day Four

2011-06-30T16:41:00.000-05:00

It's me again. I bet you are all shocked, since I have never posted this often :-)

On day four of Card Camp, Kristina Werner taught us all about balance. She has some really great card sketches and I'm going to try the others later. The sketch I picked was radial balance. As soon as I saw it, I knew what I was going to do. The doily card and circle sentiment are from the Wild Card Cricut cartridge. The paper is from Bazzill and Basic Grey. The flowers and ribbon are some that I've had in my stash for quite awhile. The brad is from Making Memories.

See you tomorrow with another card.

Today's Card

2011-06-29T23:08:00.000-05:00

Hi - it is day three of the Summer Card Camp. Today several guest designers showed off their wonderful cards using the color palette for this week.

Here is my card. I thought I would keep it simple.

See you tomorrow with another card.

Papers: Bella Boulevard (orange) and unknown (blues), Bazzill

Ribbon: Target Dollar Spot

Button: JoAnn's

Bakers Twine: We R Memory Keepers

Punches: EK Success

Summer Card Camp 2011 Day Two

2011-06-28T20:21:00.000-05:00

It is day 2 of the Summer Card Camp. Today's class was a window card based on a video from Jennifer McGuire. She showed us lots of new techniques to create our cards.

After a slow start, I think my recycling bag is full of my rejected ideas, I came up with this card. Jennifer's card had a large stamped flower that she colored with markers. Well, I have small flower stamps and my markers didn't work very well (I guess I need some new ones). So I had to come up with another idea.

Here is what I did: I stamped my little flowers with a VersaMark Watermark stamp pad and then embossed them with Zing embossing powder. I hung them inside the window with thread and then backed them with a piece of transparency so they wouldn't flip around. I drew dots around the window with my Signo pen and added some bakers twine to the sentiment.

The papers are from Basic Grey and Bazzill. The stamps are from Lawn Fawn.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow's class will bring.

July Cricut Class

2011-06-28T08:30:00.001-05:00

In the better late than never category... here are the cards for the July Cricut Classes at Craft Fancy.

I decided to go with a summery theme this month. Hopefully we will be getting some summer weather soon!

First up is a bowl of strawberries from the Simply Charmed cartridge. Don't they look good enough to eat? Other cartridges used on this card are Lacy Labels and Plantin Schoolbook.

This beautiful bird is from the Florals Embellished card. All of the images on this cartridge have multiple layers and are so pretty. The green background was cut using Lacy Labels.

How about a trip to the beach? Our beachy scene is made with the Summer Fun, Simply Charmed and Everyday Pop Up Cards cartridges.

Next up we have some colorful butterflies. While I like all the layers on the other cards, sometimes a simple, colorful card is just the thing for a Thank You card.

Craft Fancy is celebrating Christmas in July, so this last card is a holiday one. The cute little birdhouse is from the Winter Frolic cartridge.

Hope to see you in one of the classes in July!

Edited to Add:

I forgot to tell you about a give away I'm having for my students in July and August. I have an extra Mickey and Friends cartridge and would like to give it to one of my student. So if you are in one of my classes in July and August, you have a chance to win this cartridge. Good luck!

Summer Card Camp 2011

2011-06-27T19:18:00.000-05:00

I'm excited about taking this class:

Here is my first card for the class. I really like the color combination. I can't find the name of the company that made the blue pattern paper. The pink paper is from Basic Grey, the orange dot paper is from BoBunny and the cardstock is from Bazzill. I used the Hero Arts Friendship Definition stamp and the Thanks stamp is Lawn Fawn's Sophie's Sentiments. I also used the Paisley Cricut Cartridge to cut the butterfly.

I'm excited to see what tomorrow's color combination will be.

April & May Socks

2011-06-21T20:05:00.000-05:00

As you might remember (or not) from a previous post, I'm participating in the Skacel 20 Years of Trekking Knit Along. Six projects over six months with a new clue every week.

I finally finished the April socks, sort of. I have one finished (although it was too late for the contest) and the other one almost finished. I had a hard time with these socks, mainly because we were on the epic vacation and I didn't have as much knitting time as I thought I would. I wasn't real fond of the pattern either, for some reason I couldn't memorize this one. Anyway I decided to make them for Melissa because she liked the pattern and her feet are smaller than mine, so less knitting was needed. So here April's sock "Cranked". Hopefully she will get the other one before winter returns.

The socks for May is called Lacery and has a really pretty lace pattern up the front and a ribbed lace on the back. I really like these socks, especially the little ruffled edge along the top. I'm really tempted to knit these again in a solid color and run the lace pattern up the back of the sock too. The only bad thing about knitting wool socks in the spring/summer, is it is too warm to wear them.

The socks for May are called Flutter and they have cute little butterflies all over them. The yarn is a pretty rose color and is part bamboo so they will be really soft and cozy. These will be for my sister as they are anklets and I can't wear them, for some reason they make my ankles hurt. Weird I know, but it is what it is. I will definitely be making a regular length pair for myself. Pictures to follow as soon as they are finished.

I've really enjoyed the knit along, but am really looking forward to knitting something besides socks for a while. I have a Central Park Hoodie (a sweater) and a scarf calling my name.

June Cricut Classes

2011-06-05T17:23:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay in getting these posted. I didn't finish them until Friday and then forgot to post them! Oops.

Anyway, here are the cards for the June classes. They are all Birthday cards.

One Year Older - A pretty Birthday cake from Celebrate with Flourish. The sentiment is from Wrap It Up.

Next is a cute little bird from Straight from the Nest to wish you a Happy Birdie Day. The balloon is from Stretch Your Imagination.

Next up is a Happy Birthday Wish from Country Life and Plantin Schoolbook.

Next we have balloons, gifts and a cake from Stretch Your Imagination.

The last card is a mystery. I was still trying to decide what to make when time ran out. So what will the mystery card be. Will I design one or let my students design one? You will have to come to class to find out! (If it is one I design, it will probably be from Create a Critter or Walk in My Garden.)

See you in class!

May Cricut Class

2011-05-07T14:43:00.000-05:00

Happy Spring! The trees and flowers are blooming and the weather is trying to warm up. I chose some pretty, Spring paper for the May Cards. I really like all the cards this month. Click on the photos to make them bigger.

So, first up we have a card from the new Everyday Pop Up Cartridge. I'm having some trouble figuring out the pop up part of the card. Hopefully I can get it figured out so we can add it during the classes.

Next up are some cherries from the Country Life cartridge. The plain and scalloped circles are from Mini Monograms. You can't really tell from the picture, but the sentiment is on a straight pin. Very easy to put together and it looks great.

Next up is a great Father's Day card. This is from the new Wrap It Up cartridge. Melissa thinks it looks like one of the cars from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland. I think it is pretty cute. The will have a sentiment on it. I couldn't find an appropriate stamp so I will have to print something up on the computer. I also used the Accent Essentials cartridge for the label shapes.

Next up is a pretty textured flower from Plantin Schoolbook. I used one of the Tim Holtz texture fades to emboss one of the flowers and leaves. (The vase on the first card is also embossed with the Cuttlebug dots embossing plate.

Last, but not least, we have Thanks a Melon from Simply Charmed and Just Because Cards.

Hope you can join me in classes this month. Classes are: Tuesday, May 10 at 10:30 am or 5:30 pm; and Friday May 27 at 10:30.

I'm also teaching a mini book class on May 17 at 10:30 am and 5:30 pm. I'll post pictures of that class tomorrow.

For those of you who are looking for pictures from our cruise, I'll start posting those on Monday.

April Cricut Class

2011-04-01T09:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a look at the cards for the April Cricut card class at Craft Fancy.

This month I decided on a theme of three and used BoBunny dots paper (it's one of my favorites).

So first up we have three butterflies. These are from the Serenade cartridge. The postage stamp is from Create a Critter.

With summer on the way, I hope, a beach themed card seemed like a fun idea. These three are from Create a Critter.

Graduation is right around the corner, so here is a card for the graduate in your life. The images are from Wild Card and the numbers are from Plantin Schoolbook. I'm thinking of coming up with another optional card for those who don't have any graduates in their life.

Are you ready for a Birthday Party? These images are from Straight from the Nest.

Mother's Day is coming up soon, so here is the perfect card for Mom. This would also be a great card to let someone know you are thinking of them. The flowers are from the Walk in My Garden Cartridge.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to our vacation this month, class dates have changed.

Classes are, Thursday, April 28 10:30 am-12:30 pm; 5:30-7:30 pm and Friday, April 29 10:30 am-12:30 pm. In May we will be back to the regular Tuesday and Friday classes.

Here is a list of all my cartridges for those who were wondering.

Accent Essentials

Bloom

Celebrate with Flourish

Christmas Noel

Christmas Cheer

Country Life

Create a Critter

Doodlecharm

Doodletype

Easter

Freshly Picked

Home Decor

Just Because Cards

Lacy Labels

Mickey and Friends

Mini Monograms

Paper Doll Dress Up

Plantin Schoolbook

Savory

Serenade

Simply Charmed

Simply Sweet

Summer Vacation

Straight from the Nest

Stretch Your Imagination

Tear Drop

Very Merry Tags

Walk in My Garden

Wild Card

Winter Frolic

Cupcakes!

2011-03-25T19:08:00.001-05:00

We have been eating lots of cupcakes around here lately. Most trips to downtown Chicago involve a trip to Sprinkles and there is a new cupcake place called Crumbs that we haven't tried yet.

There is also a cupcake truck (Flirty Cupcakes) in the city that travels to the suburbs on the weekends. They have some delicious cupcakes too.

Anyway, last time Steve was at Sprinkles, he picked up cupcakes and a couple of cupcake mixes. Today I baked the banana cupcakes. I tried piping the frosting for the first time. I used a ziplock bag and it worked really well. No mess, (well not much) no fuss, and looks great.

I'll let you know how they taste.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Knitting Contest

2011-03-10T09:00:00.015-06:00

The Skacel yarn company is running knitting contest to celebrate 20 years of making Trekking sock yarns. So each month, January to June, there is a new pattern using their yarn. Each pattern is a mystery, one clue per week is given out and at the end of the month, you have a new pair of socks or fingerless gloves. There are prizes given out each week and month and a grand prize of $1,000.00 spending spree in the Skacel warehouse at the end of the contest.

These are the January socks. (Click on the pictures to make them larger) The first clue was for the toes, the second for the foot, the third for the heel and the final clue for the leg and ribbing. A portion of the cost of the yarn was donated to ovarian cancer research.

February's project was fingerless gloves. I'm not a big fan of fingerless gloves, so I've decided to turn these into mittens with a flap. The flap is finished, I just need to sew them on and then I'll have a pair of mittens and will be able to use my iPhone and keep my hands warm too.

The project for March is a pair of socks in pretty tropical colors. These are top down, in a chevron pattern and I'll post pictures of them when they are finished.

Better late than never

2011-03-09T11:54:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures posted. I took bad photos and waited until I could get a copy of the lovely ones that April took. Didn't she do a great job?

Cards for men is the theme of the month. You can click on the pictures for a larger view if you like.

First up, a bicycle by a tree. I'm really loving the different trees on the Cricut cartridges and have used several of them in projects. This one is from the Serenade cartridge and the bicycle is from Just Because Cards.

Next we have a truck full of gifts. The truck is from Just Because Cards and the gifts are from Doodlecharms. I love the little tags.

Make A Wish - the letters are from Country Life. I really like the old fashioned alphabet on this one. The candle is from Straight from the Nest and the gift is from Doodlecharms.

For the golfer in your life. The golf bag is from Celebrate with Flourish, and the letters are from Plantin Schoolbook. I used the shadow version of the letters to give them a little more weight.

And finally, Catch You Later! The fish and pole are from Simply Charmed and the words are from Just Because Cards.

The paper I used this month is the Twig line from Little Yellow Bicycle. The colors are perfect for cards for guys.

Hope to see you in class!

Its Your Birthday!

2011-02-04T16:43:00.000-06:00

Thought I would share the card I made for my Dad's Birthday. I didn't use the Cricut for this one. Shocker I know!!

I had fun with some stamps and ink. I really like this Sassafras paper, so many colors to choose from. I'm sure I'll use it again for more cards.

Here are a couple of pictures from the storm earlier this week. The first one was from Tuesday night. Quite the blizzard. We even had thunder snow which was kind of weird. Tonight we get the 11:00 pm-whenever cleaning of the garage roof. They move the snow from the garage to the street and then load it into dump trucks and take it away. A very noisy process.

This one is from Wednesday morning. We ended up with about 18" of snow. One good thing about living downtown is all of the streets around us are cleaned up really quickly.

February Cards

2011-01-29T20:40:00.000-06:00

It is almost time for the February Cricut Classes. Here are the cards we will be making this month.
I used the following cartridges this month: A Walk in My Garden, Create a Critter, Freshly Picked and Straight from the Nest.

Class dates are:
February 2 - 11:00 am-1:00 pm; 5:30-7:30 pm
February 4 - 10:30 am-12:30 pm
February 8 - 11:00 am-1:30 pm; 5:30-7:30 pm
February 25 - 10:30 am-12:30 pm

We will also have a Cricut Club on Wednesday, February 23 from 5-00-8:00 pm. Bring whatever you want to work on and have some fun.

A pretty Get Well card.

A cheerful card for a friend

Send someone a Smile

A cute little snail

A card to let a friend know you are thinking of them

Hope to see you in class or at the Cricut Club!

January Classes

2010-12-22T12:55:00.000-06:00

Did you know it was almost Valentine's Day? Well that is what we will be doing in the January Cricut Classes.

The paper I've chosen this month is Graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime collection and the Le' Romantique Collection. I love the soft peachy colors and the pretty flowers. Perfect for Valentines don't you think? I also used some pretty ivory pleated ribbon and some pearls. The cards all have the same background with different images and green borders across the bottom.

A pretty flower with embroidery floss and a pearl center

Love and pearls

Two hearts and pearl

Two more hearts

A heart with wings

The cartridges used for these cards are: Straight from the Nest, Doodlecharms, Plantin Schoolbook, Create a Critter.

Class dates for January are:
Tuesday, January 4 10:30-12:30 am and 5:30-7:30 pm
Friday, January 7 10:30 -12:30 am
Tuesday, January 18 10:30-12:30 am and 5:30-7:30 pm
Friday, January 21 10:30-12:30 am

Hope to see you in class!

It's Christmas at our house!

2010-11-30T10:00:00.000-06:00

While Steve was busy putting up the Christmas tree, I was putting this cute Christmas wreath together for our front door.

I've been wanting to try out the Nativity set on the Paper Doll Dress Up Cricut cartridge since I got it. I love it.

There is another Nativity set on the Winter Frolic cartridge. I'll have to try that one out next.

Here is our beautiful silver and white tree. Steve did a great job decorating don't you think? The village under the tree is pretty and a great way to keep the cat from playing with the tree. Who knew they would come in handy when Melissa was collecting them a few years ago.

I also cut out some snowflakes to add some detail to the covered boxes that the tree stands on.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours.

December Cricut Classes

2010-11-24T16:58:00.000-06:00

Hello December (well almost!). Time for some new cards. Cricut class dates for December are: Tuesday, December 7; Friday, December 11; Tuesday, December 14 and Friday, December 18.

The first card is a Thank You card. This card uses the Winter Frolic, Accent Essentials and the Freshly Picked cartridges.

The next card could be a Sympathy Card or a Birthday Card. I'll leave it up to you. This one is from the Country Life cartridge.

This card, from the Accent Essentials cartridge would be a great Birthday Card for any of the guys in your life.

Here is Birthday Card with a surprise inside. I used the Straight From the Nest and Doodletype Cartridges for this card.

A pop up Happy Birthday!

The final card is my favorite little owl from Create a Critter. The sentiment on this one says, "Just sittin' here thinkin' of you!"

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. If you have any questions about the cards or classes, leave me a comment or check out the Craft Fancy website.

November Cards

2010-10-23T10:22:00.001-05:00

Here are the cards for the November Cricut classes at Craft Fancy.

I wanted to try some shaped cards this time. I think they look really cool.

The cartridges I used this time are: Accent Essentials, Create A Critter, Stretch Your Imagination, Winter Frolic and Winter Woodland.

I will also be teaching a class called Itty Bitty Treasures. It is a small box and six mini cards. The class is open to everyone, no Cricut needed. I'll post pictures of the box and cards next week.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Flowers

2010-10-12T13:43:00.000-05:00

A flowery post for today.

Here is the newest Vintage Groove necklace in my collection. I love the velvet flowers. You can't really tell from this picture, but there is a little bird charm above the tear drop charm. I've had lots of comments on this piece.

Today's card is a lovely poinsettia. I've been wanting to try shaped cards for a while now. It was really easy to do. I cut out two shapes with my Cricut and hinged them together with a folded strip of paper so that you could open it enough to write a message inside. The polka dot paper is pleated, which is something I've been seeing on a lot of cards and scrapbook pages.

Today

2010-10-09T18:10:00.001-05:00

No card today because I haven't been home. I do have a lovely picture to share. It was taken from the terrace on the 16th floor of the Trump Tower.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Card of the Day

2010-10-08T21:20:00.001-05:00

Today's card is a remake of the ornament card for this months Cricut classes at Craft Fancy.

We had a lot of trouble cutting out the ornament in class today so I came up with this sparkly snowman.

Cute and much less frustrating to cut out.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just Chillin'

2010-10-06T16:06:00.002-05:00

Card A Day - Day One

I was thinking the other day that the only cards I have been making lately have been for my Cricut classes. I decided that I needed to do something about that, especially since my stash of cards is getting kind of low. So I'm going to try to make (and post) a card a day. They won't all be made with the Cricut machine, although I have some new cartridges that I want to explore. I'm hoping to use up some of my many embellishments I have laying around and the pretty papers that I keep collecting.

The first card is one that I've wanted to make ever since I got the Create a Critter cartridge. I think this penguin is so cute. Melissa just got this great border punch and I thought it went perfectly with this little guy, kind of like a stack of snowballs.

I used some bling for the dots of the i's and put some stickles on the word "chillin'" so it would sparkle. The paper is all from Bazzill.

I just bought the Winter Frolic cartridge today, so tomorrow's card will be something from that cartridge.

If you are taking my classes and would like to make any of these cards in class, just leave a note in the comment section and I'll work them into one of the upcoming classes.

See you tomorrow!

My New Favorite Thing

2010-10-02T12:18:00.000-05:00

Ok so this post isn't about card making or knitting. It is about my newest favorite thing - jewelry making.

I've been making necklaces and earrings using beads off and on for years, but recently I started seeing these cool pieces on Facebook and the Making Memories website (they make these in addition to wonderful scrapbooking supplies), but I couldn't find them in a store near me. So I ended up ordering these two kits online.

This one is my favorite, I wear it a lot!

Then when Melissa and I went to CHA this summer, we got to make this one at the Making Memories booth. We also got to see all the pieces in the collection and loved it even more.

Don't you just love the sweet little flower?

Recently I found out that one of the local Michaels stores was going to start selling the jewelry, so yesterday we took a trip over there and I got these pieces. I can't wait to put them all together. I think the fabric flowers are my favorites. The little charms would look great as earrings or on cards too (ok so there is some card making here).

Vintage Christmas

2010-09-25T12:10:00.000-05:00

For my October Cricut classes, I decided to go with a vintage Christmas look using the new My Minds Eye Lost and Found paper.

First up a sweet snowgirl in shades of pink from the Winter Woodland cartridge.

Next is a festive fireplace scene from the Christmas Cheer cartridge.

A trio of trees from Winter Wonderland with a scalloped rectangle from Just Because Cards.

The next card will spread a little Joy! It is from Very Merry Tags and the shaped rectangle is from Just Because Cards.

Last is a pretty, sparkly ornament from the Christmas Cheer Cartridge.

And now a sneak peek. This month I gave all my students these little boxes of 3" x 3" cards as a Thank You gift.

In November I will be teaching a class to make a box and six mini cards. Everything for this class will be pre-cut so you don't need a Cricut to make the cute box and cards. I'll still be teaching the regular Cricut classes too.

From the Knitting Needles

2010-09-07T14:39:00.000-05:00

I've been posting so many cards lately that you probably think that I haven't been doing any knitting, well there has been lots of knitting going on around here too. A girl has to have something to do while watching TV in the evenings.

Warning: there are lots of pictures in this post.

This little baby top (knit for a cutie named Rebecca) was quite a challenge. The pattern is The Dolphin Bay Eyelet Baby Top. It was quite a challenge to knit for several reasons, but I learned some new things and I really like the way the top turned out. The yarn is Ultra Pima by Cascade, it is a really soft cotton yarn and I'll be making using to make something for me soon.

I don't know why, but it seems like most of the things I've been knitting lately have been really challenging for me.

This is Ishbel from the book Whimsical Little Knits by Ysolda Teague. (There are two pictures because I can't seem to take a really good picture of this shawl.) The pattern is a relatively simple one, but for some reason I had a lot of problems with it. The yarn is from Creatively Dyed and the colorway is called Crazy. I loved the finished shawl and I'm sure it will get lots of use this winter.

I think these are going to be my favorite socks. The pattern is Air Raid Socks by Emily B. Miller and it is a free pattern on her blog. The yarn is Ranco by Araucania. The colorway is mostly blue, with little bits of purple and periwinkle. Melissa calls this "the evil yarn". It belonged to her and she tried to knit several different things with it, but had no luck so she gave it to me. I'm so glad she did, because I love these socks. I did pay her back with a skein of blue yarn, so we are good.

Next up in the challenge to knit category is this lovely sweater. It is called Katydid (the yarn is also called Katydid) and is from the Classic Elite Picnic booklet. It was for a knit along that was held at Fuzzy Wuzzy yarns this summer. The challenging part of this one was sewing the bottom panel together. It is kind of hard to sew something together and have it look good when there are drop stitches. All in all the seam looks pretty good and I love the way it fits. I'm sure once the weather cools off I will wear it a lot.

In the fun to knit category (if there is a challenging category, then there must be a fun to knit one too, right?) is this little baby sweater. It is the Five Hour Baby sweater, which took this slow knitter more than five hours to knit. The yarn is a self-striping yarn from Bernat. It is fun to watch the stripes form as you kit. This sweater was knit for charity which provides sweaters and blankets to needy moms and babies.

I don't remember if I posted this one before, but it is a baby blanket that I made for one of Steve's co-workers son. The pattern is from the Creative Knitting Magazine and is called Cables and Lace. I used Caron Simply Soft in brown and teal (two of my favorite colors together).

This last project is from the "what was she thinking?!" category and I'm knitting it just because it is crazy and fun. Behold... two socks knit one inside the other. From the article in Interweave Knits Knitting Traditions magazine, this was the way socks were knit in the 1800's. So I thought why not give it a try, it can't be that hard. Its not and I'm up to the heel, which is about twice a long as this picture shows. I'm using two different yarns just to keep track of my stitches for the first time through the pattern. The next pair will be done in one color of yarn.

I'm trying to figure out an easy way to do the heel. The way the article describes it seems more complicated to me. There has to be an easier way to do it, maybe an afterthought heel, which has the added benefit of teaching me something new. Anyway these have been put on hold for awhile while I finish a baby blanket for an auction and another sweater for a knit a long. I'll let you know how it goes.

Meanwhile, back to card making.

September Cards

2010-08-26T13:02:00.000-05:00

It's that time again, a preview of the cards for the September Cricut classes at Craft Fancy.

We will begin with Thanksgiving/Fall cards. This cute turkey is from the Create a Critter Cartridge. I like the burlap background, a nice change from patterned paper.

Next up an acorn and some leaves. This card was inspired by a wall hanging in the latest Scrapbooks, Etc magazine. The acorn is from Create a Critter and the leaves are from DoodleCharms. I love all the different colors of the BoBunny dot paper. I also stamped the card with the Hero Arts Design Block Flourish stamp and a VersaMark watermark stamp pad.

Looks like we are going to be using Create a Critter a lot this month. The pumpkin and leaves on this card are from that cartridge too. More BoBunny dot paper and some pretty silk ribbon

Next we will move on to Christmas. This pretty ornament is from the Celebrate with Flourish cartridge. More BoBunny dot paper accents this card. You might have noticed that most of the cards have some distress ink on them. I used the Tim Holtz Distress Inks - this card has Vintage Photo Distress ink on it and the acorn card has the Wild Honey Distress Ink on it. I'll show you an easy way to apply the ink to the cards.

The last card is a snowy evergreen tree. You can't tell from the picture, but I brushed on some starburst Stickles (also from Ranger Ink) to give the snow a subtle shimmer.

Hope to see you in class!

Happy Halloween!?

2010-07-27T11:45:00.000-05:00

That's right and Merry Christmas too! Holidays are the theme for the August Cricut class at Craft Fancy.

First up, we have a scary witch flying through the air. This is from the Celebrate with Flourish Cricit Light cartridge.

For all you vampire lovers out there, here is a cute one from the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.

This cute little pumpkin is from the Create a Critter cartridge.

Next we move on to Christmas! The cute little reindeer is also from the Create a Critter cartridge.

Finally we have some pretty poinsettias from the Celebrate with Flourish cartridge. I may add a little something to this card, maybe a sentiment on the bottom left corner. It looks like it needs something more.

Classes begin soon. The first classes are next week: Wednesday, (please note the day change) August 4 at 5:30 pm and Friday, August 6, at 10:30 am.

The remaining classes are: Cricut Basics (beginner class) Wednesday, August 10 at 11:00 am, Tuesday, August 24 at 5:30 pm and Friday, August 27 at 10:30 am.

Hope to see you at one of the classes!

My Craft Space

2010-07-26T13:20:00.000-05:00

One of the ladies in my Cricut class wanted to see what my crafting space looks like. So Sherri here it is (click on the pictures to make them bigger).

It looks a little messy, but actually it is pretty clean. Usually I just have a little corner on the left side of the table to work on, the rest is covered in clutter. The big white box with drawers is from The Container store and is home to my alphabets (the top 4 rows), brads, gems, tags, ribbon and other small metal embellishments. The brown boxes from Ikea hold adhesives, ribbon, left over die cuts and stamps. Don't even ask about what is under the table. It is a mess and a place for the cat to hide.

My Cricut lives on this cabinet. There are boxes of pictures and some tools hiding behind the doors.

The white cubes are from Michael's and they hold embellishments, stamps and stamp pads, punches, paper and lots of little stuff. The brown drawers are from Ikea. The 9 drawer box is full of flowers sorted by color and the long box on the bottom holds sewing supplies.

This shelf is new. I needed more space for my growing collection of Cricut cartridges! It also holds my 8 1/2 x 11 paper and knitting books on the bottom shelf. The glass penny candy jars are full of ribbon sorted by color. The little ceramic bowls are from Portugal by way of Anthropology.

The left side of these cubes are full of scrap paper sorted by color. You never know when you are going to need a scrap of paper for a project! The right side is full of yarn on the top, a drawer of pattern paper scraps, a drawer of alphabet stickers and the bottom drawer is full of jewelry making supplies. If you look real closely, you can see my collection of tiny Disney figurines on the window sill.

The only thing I didn't take a picture of is the computer table which is on the right side of this picture.

Thanks for checking out my space. Hope the clutter didn't scare you too much. Who was it who said a creative mind is never neat?

Now I must get to work on cards for the August Cricut classes. The theme this month is Halloween and Christmas. I hope to have pictures to post tomorrow.

Time for More Cards

2010-06-28T15:44:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone - its that time again, new cards for the July Cricut Classes at Craft Fancy. I decided to use some different colors this time and picked a nice orange/coral paper.

The first card is from the Walk in My Garden cartridge.

The next card is from the Simply Sweet Cartridge.

Next is a sweet summer treat from the Stretch Your Imagination Cartridge.

A flower and lady bug from Plantin Schoolbook and Walk In My Garden.

And last a flowery fence/gate from the new Bloom Cartridge.

Thanks for looking, leave a comment if you like.

Changed Card

2010-06-08T12:46:00.000-05:00

I wasn't really happy with the 4th of July card that I designed for this month's classes, so I created another one today. This one uses the Accent Essentials and Plantin Schoolbook cartridges. I like this one much better, hope you do too.

It's June Already!!

2010-06-03T15:36:00.000-05:00

That means its time to show off the cards for the June Cricut Classes.

Up first is a cute butterfly using the Create a Critter and Just Because Cards cartridges.

Next is a Thank You card using the Simply Sweet cartridge.

The wedding card is from the Wild Card cartridge.

A 4th of July card using the Stand and Salute cartridge.

And the final card is from the Just Because Cards cartridge.

May Cards

2010-05-04T11:18:00.001-05:00

Wow where did April go? It is time for the May Cricut classes already. This month there are four classes to choose from: Wednesday, May 5 at 5:30 pm; Friday, May 7 at 10:30 am; Tuesday, May 18 at 5:30 and Friday, May 21 at 10:30 am. So here are the things that we will be making.

First up a cute little box using the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. The box is big enough for a small gift for a friend.

Next up is a Thank you card using George and Basic Shapes and Plantin Schoolbook cartridges.

For the graduate we have a cute card using the Wild Card cartridge.

Next up is a card for that special guy - could be a Father's Day card or a Birthday card. I used the Wild Card Accent Essentials cartridge for this one (Wild Card has a Fleur di Lis on it too).

And last, but not least, is my favorite card. This cute little monkey comes from the new Create a Critter cartridge. All of the animals on this cartridge are so cute, you will be seeing more cards with them in the future.

Hope to see you in one of the classes.

For those that are wondering, there is some knitting and traveling going on too. More on those in another post.

April Cards

2010-04-06T15:40:00.006-05:00

Here are the cards for the April Cricut classes.

This first card is a clear one. I used a piece of a transparency for the card. I love the way it turned out. The cartridges used for this one are Accent Essentials and Plantin Schoolbook.

This cute little bird was done with Wild Card, Accent Essentials and Plantin Schoolbook.

Next we have some nice, spring tulips. The cartridges are Accent Essentials and Walk in My Garden.

A trio of iris are next. These are from Walk in My Garden also.

Someone asked for a card for a little girl so here is a cute princess and her frog. The cartridge for this one is Paper Doll Dress Up.

I figured we needed to have a boy card too, so here is a pirate with his flag. Arrgh! This one is also from Paper Doll Dress Up.

Some good news, the classes have become so popular that we will be adding two additional classes in May. There will be two Wednesday night classes and two Friday morning classes. I will also be offering a basics class for those who are new to the Cricut.

A Sneak Peek!

2010-03-29T15:48:00.003-05:00

Here is a first look at one of the cards for the April Cricut Classes.

I'm not sure if you can tell, but the card is clear. I used a transparency and glued a white piece of paper on the inside of the card for the message. The colors look a little washed out, the card looks much better in person. Check back later in the week for the rest of the cards for the class.

Here is a picture of the finished blanket for baby Xayne.

Some Things Are Finished, Some Things Aren't

2010-03-16T12:33:00.003-05:00

First up, the last card for my March Cricut class. Something simple and easy to finish up with.

On to the knitting front...A finished a pair of socks for me. The pattern is Bremen Muster and can be found here on Ravelry. The yarn is Claudia Handpainted in the Watermelon colorway. I love them and the pattern is really fun to knit.

My favorite new top is the Josephine (Ravelry link) which I finished just before our February Cruise. It is knit in Berroco Comfort DK which is wonderful to knit with. I'm going to have to take a better picture that shows the detail more.

This cute little sweater is for baby Zayne who was born last Friday. It is the Five Hour Baby Sweater (Ravelry link), knit in Red Heart soft in a pretty red color.

And now for the unfinished. A baby blanket for Zayne. It is the Paneled Lace Afghan from the July 2009 Creative Knitting Magazine. It is also knit in Red Heart Soft in teal and brown. Hopefully I can get it finished by the end of the week.

March Cricut Class

2010-02-25T13:35:00.003-06:00

Here are the cards for the March Cricut class at Craft Fancy. I used the Easter and Wild Card cartridges for these cards. There will be one more card and I'll have that one done next week.

First a chocolate Easter Bunny. Notice the bite taken out of his ear.

Second a flower card. This one will have a sentiment on it, I just haven't decided what to use yet.

Third a pretty cut out Easter Egg.

And last a cute Get Well card. I love the band-aid.

Don't forget, there will be one more card which I will post next week.

February Cricut Class

2010-02-02T15:35:00.003-06:00

Wow it is almost time for the February class already. How time flies.

I had a request this month for cards with different folds and cards for men. So I spent some time on the Splitcoast Stampers website and this is what I found:

A Double Fold Pocket Card... (My scanner didn't do a very good job with the colors, it looks much better in person)

A cute little Flip Top Card...

A Card Within A Card...(the red section flips open to the right and the plaid section flips to the left)

And two regular folded cards... (Can you tell I really like the My Mind's Eye plaid and dot papers?)

This month I used the Wild Card and Simply Sweet Cartridges. Hope to see you in class on the 19th or the 23rd!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

2009-12-23T22:04:00.003-06:00

Valentine's Day! (Bet you didn't see that one coming did you?)

This week I've been working on cards for the January Cricut class. So here they are. Not quite traditional Valentine colors, but I like them. There will be a limited number of kits available too if anyone is interested. Cartridges used: Doodlecharms and Simply Sweet.

Now back to our regularly scheduled holiday.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas Wreath

2009-11-24T12:10:00.003-06:00

Here's a Christmas Wreath with just a little sparkle to brighten up your home for the holidays. This is the December Cricut Class project using the Christmas Cheer cartridge. Sorry the picture is so dark, its hard to get a good picture on a cloudy day. (Hopefully there will be a better picture on the Craft Fancy website.) There will be ribbons attached at the bottom below the holly leaves.

Hope to see you at the next class, December 14 at 5:30 pm or December 18 at 10:30 am.

It's beginning

2009-11-01T19:26:00.002-06:00

to look a lot like Christmas. Here are the cards for the November Cricut classes at Craft Fancy.

I decided to keep things simple for this class.

A tree with some sparkle

A snowflake ornament

A snow globe with a jolly snowman

A gift from Santa

Another sparkly tree.

Now I need to get started on my Christmas cards.

Happy, Happy, Merry

2009-10-10T16:04:00.001-05:00

This is the other Cricut class for the month of October. Clicking on the pictures will enlarge them.

Special Days Book

2009-10-10T15:55:00.006-05:00

This book is one of the October Cricut classes this month at Craft Fancy. Each page has a pocket on the back. You can click on the pictures to make them larger.

To the Ladies in my class

2009-10-09T17:39:00.001-05:00

I didn't have time to post the pictures today. I'll get them up sometime tomorrow.

Wow It's Been a While

2009-10-02T15:37:00.004-05:00

I've been doing some secret knitting and now that my friend Nicole has them, I can show you the socks I've been working on.

It is a cool bubble pattern in her favorite color, orange (with a little yellow thrown in for good measure). Aren't they pretty? They will certainly brighten up a cold, dreary winter's day. The yarn is a blend of silk, wool and bamboo that was so easy to knit with and they are very soft and squishy.

I loved the pattern so much, that I'm working on a pair for me. The colorway is called Watermelon and you can't really tell from the picture, but it has little black spots in it to resemble the seeds. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough yarn to finish them as this pattern eats it up quickly.

I have finished one other project, the mitered squares scarf. The picture is kind of washed out, the colors are dark and fall like and I can't wait to wear it.

I do have some scrapbooking things to post, but I'll leave those for tomorrow.

It Looks Like Fall?

2009-09-03T12:32:00.003-05:00

We noticed yesterday that some of the leave have started changing, that must mean Fall is on it's way, right?

As far as the September Cricut classes at Craft Fancy are concerned, Fall is here.

We have some lovely pumpkins.

A basket of apples.

Some fall leaves and an acorn.

A scary spider (minus his googly eyes, need to go shopping, oh darn!)

And a silly pumpkin.

Have you started your Fall crafting yet?

Get a Room!

2009-08-25T17:05:00.005-05:00

I bet that got your attention didn't it?

After complaining for two years about how bright our bedroom is at night, we finally decided to do something about it. Last Saturday, we made a trip to Ikea and came home with some pretty dark purple curtains. They are almost the same color as the flowers in the artwork. The curtains are semi-sheer and with the blinds open provide light during the day, but with the blinds closed at night the room is really dark which makes for a better nights sleep.

While we were at Ikea, we found a duvet cover that matched the curtains, so we bought it and a new duvet too. The first thing Steve said when we had it all put together was, "It looks like a grownup's room now." I think it looks great and now the sun doesn't wake me up at 5:00 am!

In other news, I finished my Hey Teach sweater. It was a quick and easy knit. I love the color and the way it turned out. What I don't like about it is the size. It is a little too big and a little short. I should have made a large instead of an extra large. I will definitely be making another one in the near future.

I also finished the blue lacy socks. I like the way they turned out and they didn't take that long to knit either. This is the same yarn that I used for Dad's socks.

The Fun Never Stops

2009-08-18T08:22:00.007-05:00

Last week was certainly full of fun.

It started on Monday with a visit with our friends the Sandlin's. Steve was out of town, Melissa had to work, so I had them all to myself. We had a great lunch at the Mexican restaurant across the street and then spent a couple of hour catching up on everything. Melissa did come home early, so she got to spend some time with them too.

On Tuesday, we headed to the airport and ended up here.

Our original flight was delayed, but we were able to take an earlier flight so we made it to the city in time to have dinner at Victor's, our favorite Cuban restaurant before we went to the theater.

After dinner we headed over to the theater to see this.

It was a great show. It is so emotional, I don't know how they do this eight times a week. The audience was so spellbound, that no one spoke during the whole show. That in itself was amazing to us as we always end up sitting by people who talk through the whole performance.

Afterwards we waited by the stage door for autographs and pictures. The whole cast was so nice signing autographs, taking pictures and chatting with everyone.

On Wednesday Steve headed out to his conference (it was a business trip after all) and Melissa and I headed to Starbucks for breakfast before we braved the subway system on our own.

Our destination was SoHo and two yarn shops. The first was the Lion Brand Yarn store. Melissa and I each got yarn for sweaters. They have a sampling wall with cones of their different yarns. You can wind some off and knit up a swatch to see how you like the yarn. It was pretty cool.

The second was Purl SoHo which is a tiny little shop. It is amazing how much yarn they have in such a small space. We both bought sock yarn here. Koigu for me and Spud and Chloe for Melissa. Melissa's purchase was as much for the name of the yarn and the tag as it was for the color.

After our yarn shopping spree, we took the subway back to Rockefeller Center and a stop at Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes. On the way back to the hotel we passed Crumbs, so of course we had to stop and sample their cupcakes too. There was also a stop at Pinkberry for our favorite frozen yogurt and berries.

We met Steve and Deann (his client) for dinner at Kellari and had some yummy Greek food. After dinner we went to see Billy Elliott. Another great show and amazingly enough another quiet audience. The kids in this show, both the Billy's and the girls in the dance class, are awesome.

Thursday morning brought another rushed trip to the airport due to a cancelled flight and the need to take an earlier one to make sure we got home in time to see the Jason Mraz concert that night. The concert was awesome. They were filming it for a DVD, which will be out sometime in the fall, so he played for over two hours. The venue was right on the lake so we got some amazing city views as well. It was fun to see all the boats lined up along the lakefront to hear the music.

Friday was a normal day (thank goodness) Steve and Melissa both went to work and I did some things around the house.

On Saturday we had brunch and then took the train into the city to see Spring Awakening.

Sunday was Steve's birthday and we were supposed to go to Ravinia to see David Hyde Pierce, but it was pouring rain so we went to Buca di Beppo for dinner and then went to see the Harry Potter movie at the Imax theater.

So how was your week?

August Card Class

2009-08-18T08:02:00.004-05:00

Here are the cards for the August Cricut card class at Craft Fancy. Isn't the Basic Grey Lemonade paper pretty?

This one will have a button in the center of the flower.

I found this on on Splitcoast Stampers and couldn't resist. The card for the class will use the same Basic Grey paper as the others. This is the one I sent my parents for their anniversary.

Halloween Mini Book

2009-08-01T16:45:00.002-05:00

The ladies in my morning Cricut class at Craft Fancy decided that they wanted to to a Halloween Mini book for their next project. I added a ribbon tie on the spine to hold the pages together. I'm thinking about changing the pumpkins on the cover to solid orange ones. What do you think?

It doesn't show in the pictures, but the spiders have gems for eyes and the candy was coated with glossy accents so they are shiny.

Thanks for looking.

Cannes

2009-08-01T16:09:00.006-05:00

Our first port of call was Cannes, France. This is a tender port, so we took one of these boats (the ship's lifeboats) to the dock.

We walked around the harbor to the center of town.

There is a fort that overlooks the harbor.

One of the beautiful streets we wandered down. We did find a McDonald's and they guys wanted to get french fries. We told them that we weren't eating at McDonald's in France. Although it was a very nicely decorated McDonald's, as was the one in Venice where we did get fries. More about that one later. Without the sign, you wouldn't have know it was a McDonald's.

This is the Palais des Festivals where the film festival is held. After seeing all the beautiful buildings, I was expecting something much different than this modern building. All around the courtyard there are hand and footprints of movie stars from all over the world.

There are several small parks along the waterfront. Carousels must be very popular in France, there were two of them fairly close together in the park. We did walk down to the beach but the water was kind of murky so no one wanted to stick their toes in.

Of course we had to have crepes and Coca Cola Light, which tastes different than Diet Coke (or so Melissa says). My favorite was the Nutella crepe. Yummy.

Barcelona, Spain

2009-07-13T20:31:00.006-05:00

We left Chicago and flew to New York City. After an overnight flight from New York, we arrived in Barcelona. While we were waiting for the bus to take us to the ship, our friends, the Smiths arrived so we were able to travel to the ship together.

Some sights along the way to the port and our home for the next two weeks, The Brilliance of the Seas.

The Christopher Columbus statue.

This fort overlooks the port.

La Sagrada Familia - we were sad that we didn't have time to go see the church. It is one of our favorite things in Barcelona.

Sculpture at the entrance of the port.

The Centrum.

This is the 4th deck of the ship and you can see all the way up to the 11th deck.

Next: Our first port - Cannes, France

It's in the Cards

2009-07-13T08:07:00.006-05:00

It is Cricut class time again at Craft Fancy. Here are the cards for this week's class

A summery watermelon card

A cute dragonfly card

A garden card

A folded flower card

And last, but not least:

A Santa card.

I know it has been a couple of weeks since we got back from the cruise and I haven't posted any pictures yet. I'll post some later today or tomorrow, I promise.

New Cards for Class

2009-06-03T12:40:00.003-05:00

I'm teaching another Cricut class at Craft Fancy next week. This time we making cards.

This wedding card is my favorite. I love the sparkles on the veil and the flourishes. If you want to see a larger version of any of the pictures, just click on them.

Next up is a Father's Day card.

A Thank You card. (Thanks Nicole for the color combination inspiration.)

A 4th of July card. The little stars on wires so they are kind of springy and fun.

And last but not least, a cute baby card.

I'm also teaching a class this week. We will be making a 4th of July layout using the same paper as the card. I don't have a picture of it, but you can see it on the Craft Fancy website. Just use the link at the top of the page.

Widget

2009-05-20T10:29:00.001-05:00

It's a Shocker

2009-05-12T17:32:00.004-05:00

I've actually been doing some scrapbooking. I know you probably thought I had given it up in favor of knitting, but no. I must thank Susan at The Scrap Room for inspiring me with her new Sketch Class.

These layouts are from the first three sketches. I think if you click on the pictures, you can make them larger.

Our friends with Melissa on her birthday at Disneyland

Aww...aren't they cute?

More birthday fun at Disneyland

I've also been making cards. These four are for a class I'm teaching at Craft Fancy. Who knew teaching classes on using the Cricut machine would be so popular. I have quite a following in the classes each month. (Sorry they are a little blurry, I need to work on my photography skills)

This is my favorite card, I'm sure you will see several versions of it in the future.

Yes Karen, Mom did get a handmade Mother's Day card (it just didn't arrive on Mother's Day) and here it is:

And finally there has been some knitting. One of the ladies in my knitting group has a 3 year old neighbor with leukemia who needed some hats to keep her head warm. So a few of us made some for her. Here is the one I made.

I'm also working on Mom's socks and a top for myself. Hopefully both will be finished before we go on vacation in June.

I also want to thank Kimi for the cute knitting project bag she made for me. I haven't had a chance to take a picture of it, but will post it in the next blog.

Thanks for reading, feel free to post comments if you would like.

The Countdown Starts

2009-05-01T15:03:00.008-05:00

Every vacation needs a countdown right? So here is the one for our Mediterranean cruise in June. It is right by the front door so we can see it every time we pass by. By the way, as of today the cruise is 45 days away.

He has socks!!!

2009-04-26T20:17:00.005-05:00

I finally finished Dad's socks while we were at Disneyland. We went a little crazy taking pictures of them all over Toontown. These are just a few of the many photos we took.

These are in Mickey's house.

At the Toontown Post Office

Near Alice in Wonderland

On the White Rabbit near the Alice Restooms

And finally a close up on a random shrub in Toontown.

Fun new blog

2009-04-15T16:02:00.002-05:00

Hey there, for those of you who don't know, Melissa (my daughter) just started a blog. She is doing some cool scrapbook and crafty things and wanted a place to share them. Drop by and take a look.

Happy Easter

2009-04-10T12:31:00.003-05:00

I'm teaching another Cricut basics class at Craft Fancy on Tuesday, April 14.

We will be making this cute Easter layout. I was kind of surprised that Melissa would let me use these pictures of her on the layout. I thought she might be embarrassed to have pictures of her as a kid in the store, but she wasn't. (For those of you that don't know, she works part-time at the store.) I just love the bunny and the chick, they are so cute.

Have a Happy Easter everyone!

Oh My

2009-04-03T15:20:00.007-05:00

It has been a long time since I posted anything. Where did March go? As far as the weather is concerned around here, it is still the middle of winter. More snow is expected this weekend, will spring every arrive?

I have lots of things to share. First up, a pair of socks for my dad. This is the first sock which I hope to have finished in the next day or two. I only have about 1 1/2" left to do (the foot is longer than it looks in the picture, I couldn't get it to lay flat) and then I can start the toe. Hopefully I'll get a good start on the second one before I see him in a couple of weeks. They have a nice diamond pattern on them that doesn't show up too well in the picture.

Like my cool new shoes? They are from Land's End and are really comfy and show off my socks too. They will be great for all the walking we will do in Europe this summer. The socks I'm wearing are the Bellatrix socks. I love the way they turned out.

This is a mitred squares scarf. I haven't worked on it for a while. Too busy with the previously mentioned socks. Anyway it is a really easy pattern and will be great for next winter.

I'm also working on a tank top for myself. I was hoping to have it finished by the time we went to Disneyland but it doesn't look like that will happen. It looks kind of pink in the picture, but it is really a nice red. For some reason all my pictures look washed out when I post them here. Not sure what is going on with that.

One more yarny thing. Buddy decided that he needed to watch over my yarn mess while I was off doing something else. He didn't make the mess, I did when I unwound it to use on my knitting machine and then dumped it in a box for a couple of years. I decided I'd untangle it and wind it into balls. It took me two days, but now it is all wound up and ready to make a nice summery top.

There has been some paper crafting going on as well. This is a wreath I made for a class at Craft Fancy.

This is a layout I did about a painting that my friend Marilyn did for me. It is one of my favorite paintings.

And finally a card and some cute paper posies.

That's all for now.

Disney Mini Book

2009-02-20T11:14:00.004-06:00

I'm teaching my first class at Craft Fancy next Tuesday (another class will be held the first week in March). It is a Disney Mini Book. There are 10 pages in the book with space for 18 2" x 3" photos. Here are a few of the pages. There are a limited number of class kits available. Contact Craft Fancy for more information.

I've Got Flowers

2009-02-18T18:02:00.004-06:00

I also have a wonderful husband.

These arrived last Friday for Valentine's Day. Aren't they pretty?

These arrived yesterday and are for our 30th Anniversary. The day also included a romantic dinner at KFC and a Jason Mraz concert. Thanks dear, I love you!

Buddy just doesn't know what to make of it all.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T22:31:00.003-06:00

Since I didn't get Valentine cards made and sent this year, I thought I would share the wreath I made for our front door.

Happy Valentine's Day

Look What I Got

2009-02-06T12:35:00.003-06:00

I picked up a rather large mailing tube at the office this morning. This is what was in it. A handmade yarn swift. My dad is the best. This will make winding yarn so much faster and easier.

Thanks Dad!!

Finished!

2009-02-05T11:04:00.004-06:00

I've been busy knitting and trying to get some projects finished.

Karen asked for a pair of fingerless gloves, so here they are. The pattern is called Fetching and I used Cascade 220 wool. They are a really pretty dark red color too bad the picture doesn't show the true color. Hope she likes them. (They are going in the mail today.)

Next up is the Over the River socks. The pattern was a mystery pattern on the Yarnarian's blog last fall. I after putting them aside for several other projects, I finally finished them on Tuesday. The yarn is Lorna's Laces Shepherd sock in the Winona colorway. Don't they remind you of creamsicles or rainbow sherbet? They are so soft and squishy.

These are also Over the River socks that I knit for Karen. Hmm, she's been getting quite a bit of knitting lately. The yarn is Girl Scout Cookies from my friend Jen of Knitting Like Crazy .

Finally something for fun for the Family Guy fan in the family. Unfortunately he thought it was "scary" looking. Oh well, see if I knit anything for him again. :-)

Picture of the Day

2009-02-03T16:01:00.002-06:00

Box + cat = perfect napping spot.

Makes Me Smile

2009-01-23T22:46:00.004-06:00

I know most people will think these are just strange, but Disney geek that I am, I love them. No they aren't pencils, they are Mickey Mouse knitting needles and point protectors. How cool is that? They were part of a learn to knit kit for kids that I found at JoAnn's and I couldn't resist (I did however, resist the pink sparkly princess set.) They will be perfect for knitting dishcloths.

Here are the latest cards. A birthday card for my Dad. Happy Birthday Dad!!

And an anniversary card for our good friends the Smiths. Happy Anniversary!!

I promise I'll post more cruise pictures soon. I also have a knitting project or two that I need to take pictures of.

The Cruise

2009-01-14T13:32:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our recent Caribbean cruise. I'll do a more detailed post tomorrow after I download all of M's pictures since she took a lot more pictures than we did.

Here is our ship, Independence of the Seas. It is one of the largest cruise ships in the world.

Our itinerary was Belize City, Belize; Costa Maya, Mexico and Cozumel, Mexico. The picture isn't very good, but you get the idea.

One of the great things about Royal Caribbean ships is the wonderful artwork. This amazing piece by Devorah Sperber, is made from 17,760 spools of thread on thin wires. You can check out more of her work here.

More pictures tomorrow.

Contest Card

2008-12-23T16:45:00.005-06:00

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.

I thought I would show you some of the latest cards.

This Birthday card is an entry in the Page Maps Blog card contest. Page Maps is a site full of card and scrapbook page ideas that I use quite often.

I'm not sure if I posted this one before. It is Karen's Birthday Card. The picture isn't very good, but it is a tri-fold card.

Here are a couple of other cards from earlier in the month.