Some things I will never learn

About cutting my own hair....

1. it is a bad idea
2. requires my contacts being in and the lights being on
3. should be done with clean wet hair
4. makes my arms tired about half way through
5. should not be done with Cutterbee scissors
6. requires steel guards on my fingers if I don't want to have blood in my hair
7. the back of my hair is almost impossible to cut straight

I am sure I could think of a few more but the above are very important lessons. I doubt that I will ever learn them though. I now have something on my head that looks like a cross between Tina Turner and a football helmet. *okie sighs and thinks she just needs to stick with cutting paper*



****UPDATE*****
I thought I would post pictures of my haircut for those who are curious to what happens when you cut your own hair. Yes I am smiling because ya know what....it's hair....it will grow back!! ROTFLMAO I am hoping I can maybe style it a bit better next time and get a decent lookin hairstyle from this mess I did. And if I don't...well let's just say I know where the scissors are! HA HA HA





It is really hard to get a good picure of the back of your head when you are taking the picture yourself. I am just glad I am not the one who has to look at the back of my head! I took a few shots but they were worse than this one. You can't really tell how bad the back looks in the picture because of the angle and my hair is flipped on my shoulder.....but that might be a good thing ya know!!




And this is what happens when you are not careful while cutting your hair. If anyone wants to say that Cutterbee scissors are not sharp....I will be willing to argue! I actually thought about getting some superglue and gluing my skin together. But I am hoping for a nice scar so it will remind me NOT to cut my own hair again! *okie knows there isn't really a chance of that happening because she is the worlds worst about grabbing some scissors and choppin on her hair...and if there weren't any scissors available she would likely find a knife to do the job*

Motivation Challenge for 2/25

This is the sketch I posted for the challenge on the Cricut messageboard tonight.













This one went together really fast after I found the pictures I wanted to use. I didn't use any Cricut for this *okie thinks about checking herself for a fever*. I have some K & Company paper packs that come with all kinds of nice punchouts and thought I should use them since I have them. I think it turned out nice even without cricut cuts.

LAYOUT INFO -
- Title is a punch out from a K & Company paper pack.
- Pattern paper from the same paper pack
- Flowers are Primas and a few others. I used different shapes of bling for flower centers.
- Journaling and stitching is with Signo UM-153 white pen
- Ribbon is Grosgrain
- Inking is done with Colorbox Cat Eye Chalk ink, chestnut roan

What a slacker I am! Two layouts...

I forgot to take pictures of these LO's and post them so thought I would get them posted now. I am trying to get most of my daughters pictures done from when she was a baby. Hopefully I can find a nice scrapbook to put them in when I go to the city next month.

This one is of when my daughter had her first dental appointment and they gave her a drinking cup. She took to it right away!! I just love the picture of her asleep in her walker!! I actually have quite a few like that. She still falls asleep quickly. I used Cuttin Up for the font and the cup is from Joys of the Season. I copy and pasted, flipped and welded to get the double handles on it. The patterned paper is K & Company.








I used K & Company Hopscotch this one also. I am actually using a lot of K & Company for her baby pictures right now. I think they have some good colors for baby layouts. The little envie and tag came with the paper pack as did the title punchout and photo corners.

Why I do NOT read

So I had planned on doing some more LO's this weekend to see if I can't get my DD's baby pictures all done. Well I was in DD's room Saturday, around noon talking to her and picked up Twilight. WHY DID I DO THAT?? She has been trying to get me to read the books but I keep resisting telling her "you know what happens when I read!" So since noon on Saturday I have read the first 3 in the series and I am about half way through the last one now. I can't wait to get home from work so I can finish it!!

I got absolutely nothing done besides reading this weekend!! The phone keep ringing and I never even got up to answer it. I figured they could call back. I did manage to fix myself something to eat during the weekend *okie remembers something about peanut butter and toast* and I did let Lucy out...but only because she would sit there and bark at me until I would get up and let her out. I have no idea what DD was up to this weekend....but I briefly remember her being in the house...I guess she ate this weekend *okie shrugs*

My poor LO that I started on Saturday morning is still laying on the scrap table with the papers and pictures scattered across the table, just waiting to be finished. Guess it won't get finished tonight either!!

Check out this blog candy!!

You gotta check out the blog candy at Cats Whiskers! Jacqui is celebrating her birthday and reaching 54,000 hits on her blog by giving away some awesome awesome candy!!

Being productive...

Can be very satisfying!! The last couple of nights I have managed to pull myself away from the computer long enough to finish up the 12 watermelon cards that I started some time ago, the 6 crabby cards that were started last month and do 3 layouts! It is almost midnight and I want to do more!! Don't ya love it when you get in the paper craftin groove!!

Sweet baby girl...LO

I am trying to get my daughter's baby pictures done and decided to do these pictures. It isn't elaborate but effective. I used a sheet of cardstock for K & Company's Hopscotch pack. And then just matted the photos with some plain cardstock and cut the title from All Mixed up to match. The bling is Prima.








I used one of the ovals from the sheet to frame the middle picture. I really like the effect you get on a LO by framing it with bling!!











The flowers are Prima's as well. I just added stickles to the button for some bling. The swirl bling is off the same sheet as the oval.

Layout Challenge 2-14

I did another double page layout for the challenge this time. I got the sketch from Page Maps *okie gives Page Maps two thumbs up*.

Here is the sketch. I really wanted to try the block journaling but it just didn't work out that way for me. But I am determined to one day try this method!!







I have quite a few pictures for this one since there are more details than I usually do. But I wanted it to be special since my daughter's years in Girl Scouts are winding down since she will be a senior next year. This is of the girls making gingerbread houses *okie why do you always state the obvious when people can see what it is in the pictures*. The base paper is SEI Holly Lane. The patterned Paper is Basic Grey Figgy Pudding. The picture mats are Prism cardstock. Remember to click the picture if you want to see close up.

The gingerbread boy and girl came from Paper Doll Dress Up. I used Prism cardstock for the base and then some off white Mica for the icing look on the tips of the arms and legs. I used some Tulip fabric paint for the bows. I did have to do some hand cutting for the icing tips as well as the dress on the girl. I flocked some heart brads since I wanted something more dimensional than paper. I used some dusty rose cat eye ink on a qtip for the cheeks. The white dotting is with...can you guess? HUH? HUH? Yep! The Signo Um-153 white pen! *okie gives a nod of approval for everyone who answered correctly*









The gingerbread house came from Stretch Your Imagination. I used some yellow Mica for the windows to make it look like light inside. I used the off white Mica for the icing. The star is Stickles. The gum drops at the bottom were done with some Doodlebug Sugar Glitter. You can click the picture to get a bigger shot and see the detail better. The candy canes were cut in red then I drew the stripes on. I added some Glossy dimensions to them also.











The title came from Storybook. I cut it in the same color as the gingerbread house and people. I used Stampin Up Chocolate Chip for the brown doodling.





I used cellophane to make this candy look like it was in a wrapper. I had it just stuck on there at first and then thought about the cellophane. The little candy came on a sticker sheet that goes with the Figgy Pudding Basic Grey line.











The little clay gingerbread man came from Wal-Mart years ago when I use to make stockings and put little charms on them. I used the Stampin Up ticket punch on the date box and also the subtitle box on the other page. The ribbon is some I got on clearance at Wal-Mart after Christmas...I think last year.

Layout Challenge 2-11

I think I have been forgetting to post the challenges here on my blog! *okie cringes and waits for rotten tomatoes to be thrown at her*.

Here is the sketch for the challenge for 2-11-09. I chose a double page layout this time as I have gotten a few requests for these. Remember you can click the pictures for a better view.







I had other pictures picked out but then changed my mind. I went with some pictures from two years ago when some friends and I went to Lake Murray for the weekend.
LAYOUT INFO -
- Title is done with Base Camp, Cursive 101, Opposites Attract and Graphically Speaking
- Pattern paper is well I just don't remember to be honest and I am too lazy to go look! HA!
- Solid cardstock Prism *okie's favorite*
- Flowers are Petaloo's, I did the centers with pink cardstock and then used Doodlebug Sugar
- Journaling is with Stampin Up Chocolate Chip
- White stitching is with Signo UM-153 *don't forget to check out Jet Pens for ordering*
- Swirl Stamps are Autumn Leaves Flourish by Rhonna Farrer
- Ribbon is Grosgrain and satin
- Ribbon buckle is one I ordered from LTD commodities.

Here are some closeups of the title.

2-11 Card Challenge

Here are the sketches for the card challenge this week.










I did a birthday card for the first one. I used SYI for the cake and the sentiment is computer generated.












I did a Thank You card for the second one and didn't even add a sentiment since the paper had "Thank You" on it.

10 things I have learned about crafting....

I was over at my craft table making some cards when the UPS man came with my Oh My Crafts order WOOT WOOT *okie loves to see the UPS or Fedex or even th Post man* and I had been thinking about things *okie knows this is dangerous, especially without supervision but okie likes to live on the wild side sometimes*. So anyway I was thinking about silly things...so here it is...

10 things I have learned about crafting

1. Cutterbee scissors are very sharp...always keep bandaids around

2. No matter how many colors of blue cardstock you have you never have the right shade....keep credit card handy

3. ATG tape is very very sticky...never just put lines of it on your craft table thinking it will keep the cats off of the table

4. Ink gets everywhere...cat eye, pens, alcohol, you name it, it will get all over your hands!

5. If your Cricut is hungry it will eat!...yelling at it pushing, the stop button, hitting cancel on DS or any other method will only angry it and make it eat more

6. Undu is a must have...especially when you stick down a photo on a LO upside down

7. If you only have one sheet of paper you love you will mess it up...always buy in 3's!

8. If you buy one punch you WILL buy more.......every shape and size there is, there needs to be a 12 step program

9. If you go to the scrapbook store for just one sheet of 79 cent paper you will spend at least $20...again keep credit card handy

10. If someone posts a neat or cute product on the Cricut Messageboard it will soon become in short supply....AGAIN I STRESS KEEP CREDIT CARD HANDY!!

My white doodling....

Is done with a Signo UM-153 pen. I have had people ask me what white pen I use so thought I would share a little info on them. I got one from ScrapperDelighted and well when it started to run out I got in a bit of a panic!! Luckily there were people posting about where to get the pens. I chose to go with JET PENS since they had free shipping with an order over $25. I ordered a box of 10 of the white and then ordered one gold and one silver to make my order over $25, the total was $26. They have super fantastic service and the shipping was really quick!!

So if you ladies are lookin for the perfect white pen and don't want to pay the retail price of an average of $3.99 I would look into ordering from JET PENS.

Can it be true?? My beloved Design Studio...

will be obsolete?? I just heard on the Cricut MB that there will be a new version of Design Studio, called Design Studio Pro, released. It will have more features and the ever coveted group all feature that we have been salivating for! But what about my old DS program?? How can I abandon it like a poor little puppy caught in the rain after it has been so good to me?? I am so torn right now! Do I jump right in and get the new program when it is released and toss my baby to the side like a used up dishrag or do I keep it and just use both programs??

OMG and what about my .cut files I have? Will they work with the new version or will I have to remake them all? *okie is starting to get a migraine from the thinking and decisions she will have to make*. This is just too much for me to handle. I think it is time for me to go to bed and look at my new Stampin Up catalog and hope they don't come out with a new improved rubber that will only work with their inks!!

Why I doodle....

I got to thinking of why I have been doodling so much on cards lately. I do love the look that hand doodling gives a card. It seems to give it that extra touch of something sometimes when a card looks to plain. I like the different colors you can use and also the different techniques such as using a glitter pen, white pen, etc.

But after sitting here and thinking about it I think the main reason I doodle is because I am lazy!! I am just too lazy to go over to the sewing machine and change the thread color and sew on the card. I can probably doodle faster than I could sew. Not that I am slow at sewing *okie almost put slow sewer but then decided that sounded really bad* it's just that I can sit there at my desk and doodle quicker than trying to find the right colored bobbin thread and right colored top thread.

So yep....I DOODLE BECAUSE I AM LAZY!!

Hello Friend

This is another one where I got the idea from Card Maker magazine. The paper is from DCWV Spring Stack. I did make a .cut file for HELLO FRIEND Plantin. and HELLO FRIEND George. It is set to cut 6 at a time and uses Plantin and Beyond Birthdays or George and Beyond Birthdays. You will need to cut your own large mat though as I used my Purple Cows cutter for the decorative edge on mine. I did my mat at 5" x 3.75" but you can do yours how you want. You could also change the sentiment if you like. Just make sure you line up your shadow on the word weld mat how you want it.

I used the MS butterfly punch for the butterfly. At first I didn't have the butterfly on there and the card looked kinda plain, so figured it need a little something. I did the base of the butterfly in brown and the pink is vellum. I didn't have anymore scraps of the pink cardstock that is on the card and that is why I went with the vellum and I actually like it better.

I did pop dot the horizontal mat with the sentiment for some dimension. And of course I doodled *okie is totally addicted to doodling, she is just glad it is legal!* I used Stampin Up Chocolate Chip marker for the brown, Signo UM-153 for the white and a Sakura glitter on the butterfly and sentiment to add a little sparkle.

Flowers on acetate

I saw this method in the Card Maker magazine I got and wanted to try it. I think it would work better with a stiffer acetate but I still like the look of it. I stamped on the back side with Stazon and then used acrylic paint to fill in the flower, on the back side. The front is smooth and I don't have to worry about the paint coming off.









I think I should have chose different colors, but I still like the over all effect of the card. The images on this card aren't too bad but the ink did smudge some on others. The stamped image is from a See D's stamp set I have.











I used mounting foam and hid the pieces under the petals of the flowers to give it dimension, besides that is what it said to do in the magazine! HA HA HA I was worried about the foam peeling off the paint but it seemed to adhere just fine.

Saddle Up!

I just love the My Favorite Things Stamps! This cute little cowgirl has been in my head for awhile and I just couldn't figure out what kinda card to do with her. Finally I thought of it. This was another one that took a couple of days to get from my head to the paper.

I used Stamped for the mats and the strip of paper. I used Fabulous Finds for the bookplate. The card mat was embossed with the cuttlebug using the Paisley folder and then lightly inked. The sentiment is computer generated. The font is with Abilene in MS word.

I don't know if I am really happy with the colors. I did use the SU Color Combo's site to get the colors but since the papers aren't Stampin Up I used the closest I could find in my stash. Yes I do have some Stampin Up card stock.....but I still refuse to use it....I don't care what Mandy Ferg says!! *okie cracks up laughin*








Here is a close up of the image. I did the double image trick and cut out the skirt and boots and pop dotted them on to the base image. The background is some cloud paper I got at WM in the office section. I used Stampin Up markers to color the image. I used diamond Stickles on the boots and Glossy Dimensions on the rope to give it a little pop.













Here is a close up of the inside. I usually make a table when I want to print inside images in cards that way I can set the size I want for easy cutting. This time I chose a border from MS word on the table and deleted the parts I didnt need. I used a white Signo pen to do the doodling around the white mat. I also cut a piece of card stock and adhered to the inside to hid the brads from the bookplate and the stars.

So Happy We BEE Friends

I know some of you are familiar with Scrappinbee from the Cricut message board, well I did this card with her in mind. She loves bees like I love ladybugs!! I kept looking at the bee's on Walk In My Garden wondering what I could do with them. It took me several days to get what was in my head out on the paper. I had the most difficulty getting the papers to look right.

After I got done with the card I wasn't happy with it...not at all. I tossed them to the side and went to bed. The next morning when I looked at them....I LIKED THEM!! I think we all do that sometimes.

I used Walk In My Garden for the bees and the flowers. The patterned paper is from last years DCWV spring stack. I used my Purple Cows Cutter with the deckle blade for the cuts on the mat and strips. The sentiment is computer generated. I used the Stampin UP scallop punch, the EK Success 1.5" circle and 1.25" circle punches. I added a bee stamp to the inside of the card for a little decoration. My neighbor Naomi liked this one so much she kept one for herself to give to a friend of hers.





Here is a close up shot of the bees and flowers. I used Mica cardstock for the bees bodies and pearlescent vellum for the wings. And I doodled, and doodled and doodled some more!! I had the flowers cut out in white but the looked kinda lost so I used a Stampin Up marker to give them some color, but left some of the white to peek through. You can click on the picture if you want to see the details better.

Birthday...simple but cute!

I made this birthday card last week....well okay I did 6 of them actually *okie thinks of making cards like eating Lays potato chips.....ya can't have just one*. I used Celebrations for the hat and Tags, Bags, Boxes and More for the tag. I honestly can't remember what the pattern paper is!! I just know I messed up when cutting and almost didn't have enough, which just seemed to tickle my daughter to no end!! *okie grits her teeth* Ya know some folks just don't get it do they? I MEAN I CAN'T GET THIS PAPER ANYMORE AND IF I MESSED UP THEN I WAS CHIT OUT OF LUCK!! *okie composes herself* Luckily I was able to make it work and had enough paper.

Baby Buggy

My neighbor, Naomi *okie random thought - I haven't gone to see her today, she is probably wondering where I am at*, asked if I could make a card for her nephew and his wife who are expecting a baby soon. I wanted to make something special for the occasion. If you remember not long ago I posted a birthday card that had a hunting theme. That card was for her other nephew. The nephew that is having the baby is also an avid hunter. So many times the father's are left out so.....I made this card to his tastes!

I used the baby buggy from New Arrival. The camo paper is some I printed from my computer. I used DS *well Duh okie everyone knows you can't use a cricut without DS!* and flipped the shadow image. I did add a little tab that you can see on the left hand side of the card for more stablity. The shadow is with black card stock. The green and brown are Prism cardstock. The brad I embossed myself. The silver paper is.....uuhh....I don't remember, I got it in some scraps from my former LSS owner. I used Stampin Up Chocolate Chip maker for the stitching and a white Signo UM-153 white pen for the highlighting.









I used the regular image for the inside to help cover the brads and also to make where she could use a regular pen for her own writig. The sentiment is from a Stampin Up hostess set.

Oh I have gotten lazy!!

I haven't posted anything in a few days! I guess I got lazy! I have some cards I will be posting now!!