The Cutting Cafe Front Door Shaped Card

This is my favorite Christmas card I made this year from The Cutting Cafe Front Door Shaped Card set.  This is the featured set the Design Team is using this week at The Cutting Cafe Blog.  This set features a shaped card that fits in a business size envelope, 22 sentiments and lots of assorted accessories for the door from wreaths to bows.  I modeled my door after the door of our house that we sold last year.  It was this same dark rich red color with a brass kickplate at the bottom.  I decked my door out for the Christmas holiday with a wreath and topiary cut from a dark green polka dot paper from my current favorite 6x6 paper pad from Recollections called Holly Day Wishes.  I used kraft cardstock for the bows and kickplate.  I inked around all the edges of my pieces with Colorbox Charcoal Chalk Ink.  This card will go to my BFF back in Michigan.  I wanted to make a special card for her so she would know how important she is to me.  even though we are many miles apart for the holidays.  I think this card fits the bill perfectly.  The circular sentiment around the wreath says Happy Holidays From Our Home to Yours.  I hope you'll find the time to visit The Cutting Cafe blog on Wednesday to see the rest of the Design Team's projects.

Cardz TV Stamps I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Holy cow, can you believe it's only two weeks until Christmas?  Where, oh where, has this year gone?  All the presents are bought, wrapped and in the mail.  Sadly we won't be with our family this year because they are all in other states than we are.   Lest you think, I worked my fingers to the bone shopping for five kids and nine grandkids, I'll tell you they all got gift cards.  Well, not all.  I insist on buying gifts for the three youngest (1 1/2, 3 and 6 yrs. old).  They want to see the box under the tree and unwrap it.  All the others in the family are teens and adults.  Believe me, the teens just want cash.  I know it's a huge disappointment to get a gift card.  I still feel like I should have some control.  LOL

Not long ago I was in Target checking all the end caps for clearanced items (big bargain hunter that I am) and found a bunch of red bags with blue handles.  Immediately I knew I could use them for Christmas with my two Christmas paper pads (s-e-i and My Mind's Eye) which both have lots of blue and red in them.  The exciting part was the bags were clearanced to 17 cents.  I bought a stack of them to alter and this is one of them.  For our Cardz TV Stamps assignment this week Mary has the theme I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas and we had to use snow, snowflakes or a snowman.  I combined all three elements on the giftbag.  I used my Cricut Imagine and the Mr. Frosty paper printing cartridge along with the Winter Frolic cartridge.  I started with a background stripe from My Mind's Eye sized to fit the bag with a small bit of red border showing around the edges.  Then I cut a scalloped oval at 7"--the shadow in white and the top with one of the patterned papers from the Mr. Frosty cartridge that has ribbons of blue and white with snowflakes on it.  Next I cut the trees at 3.5" and the snowman and his layers at 4".  I added a few black buttons on the front as well as a small pompom for the top of his hat.  Last but not least I added the little mouse with the gift to my scene.  He's cut at 2".  Every giftbag needs a tag so I used the tag feature on the Winter Frolic cartridge to make a matching mouse tag.  I used the Cardz TV Stamps Christmas Joy stamp set to add the To and From that are stamped on it and tied it on with a big red gingham bow.

The Cutting Cafe-Winter Bingo

This week for The Cutting Cafe the Design Team is featuring projects using the Winter Bingo Printable Stamp Set.  With Christmas only days away I decided to use the set to make some holiday tags for gifts.  These were so quick and easy to make using two tags I cut from white cardstock and one cut from a scrap of patterned paper with my Cricut Tags, Bags Boxes and More cartridge.  I simply cut off the bottom inch of the patterned paper and attached the top portion to the white cardstock tag. The patterned paper is double sided so a took a narrow strip of red from the back side and attached it to separate the print from the white.   I printed the mini bingo card onto a scrap of blue cardstock and attached it to the tag.  Using a Cardz TV Stamps set I stamped the To: and From: on the tag and then added a stamped star from the same stamp set for a little embellishment.  For the snowman tag I simply printed the snowman from the Winter Bingo set right onto the tag.  I printed it a second time onto a scrap of red paper and then I paper pieced the scarf.  I colored in the nose with an orange Copic marker.  Then I ran the tag through my printer again to add the Happy Holidays sentiment included in the Bingo set to the bottom of the tag.  Finally, I added three small black buttons to the front of the snowman.  I especially like how the snowman tag came out.  Of course, I'm a snowmanaholic, so I'm a little partial.  LOL  It took me only minutes to make both tags.  Thanks for stopping by today and make sure you head over to The Cutting Cafe Blog on Wednesdays for more ideas on how to put the Winter Bingo set to use.

Cricut Cardz Challenge # 122 'Tis the Season

For this week's Cricut Cardz Challenge on Cardz TV Mary asked the design team to make a card using the CARD FEATURE from any cartridge for a Christmas card.  I used the Christmas Cheer cartridge and used the placecard function.  Are you wondering how I ended up with a square card when it's a rectangular cut on the cartridge?  Simple I cut it at 8" and then cut it in half.  This gave me two 4x4" cards, the one with the Christmas tree cutout and the other is just a square to use for another card (Nov. 1st Cardz TV I'm so Thankful post).  I added a green polka dot print behind the tree cut out which is from a Simple Stories 6x6 Christmas stack from last year.  The star on top of the tree is from Cardz TV Stamp Set Christmas Joy.  I stamped it onto a scrap of gold paper and cut it out to place atop the tree.  Then I cut a strip of multi patterned paper (also from the Simple Stories stack) and trimmed the edges of each pattern differently with my scissors.  I took another element from the stack to stamp my sentiment on and attached the two pieces together on the left side of the card after adding a little twine and a button.  The sentiment came from the Cardz TV Stamps Home For Christmas Stamp Set.  Another quick and easy Christmas card.

The Cutting Cafe Word Shaped Card

This week at The Cutting Cafe we're featuring word shaped Christmas cards.  Obviously, I've used the word NOEL Shaped Card.  During the Black Friday sales and a trip to Michael's I was so excited to find some new 6x6" paper pads by Recollections.  I fell in love with the Holly Day Wishes pad which features reds, greens, browns, adorable prints and some darling tag elements to add to cards.  The stack is perfect to use with kraft cardstock so that's what I used for my base card.  Then I cut the individual letters from patterned papers in the stack.  I fussy cut the little Christmas presents from one of the prints in the stack and added them to the bottom corner.  The cute little polka dot paper that I used for the holly leaves came from a second stack in the Recollections set called Sugar Plums.  I hope you'll have the chance to check out the rest of the word shaped cards from the Design Team this week at The Cutting Cafe Blog.  I'm saying an extra special prayer of thanks today for being able to post my photo.  I've been having problems with Blogger for two weeks and I have no clue what made it work today, but I'll take whatever I get at this point.  I'm hoping to have a new blog going by the first of the year to solve my posting issues.  Thanks so much for coming by today.

MY SINCERE APOLOGIES

I have been having problems with Blogger and I'm unable to load any photos.  I have paid to upgrade my photo storage and I'm still unable to add photos to my blog.  After the holidays I will be starting a new blog to alleviate this problem.  I hope you'll see my creations on Cardz TV Stamps and The Cutting Cafe Blog. 

Cricut Cardz Challenge #121 Speaking of Christmas

It's time for a new challenge at Cricut Cardz on Cardz TV.  Mary asked the Design Team to create a card with the theme Speaking of Christmas.  We had to use a Christmas word or phrase from any cartridge.  I used my go to, favorite font cartridge, Plantin' Schoolbook to make my word.  I also used the Joys of the Season cartridge for my snowflake and my Christmas ornament (letter O).  I decided that I wanted to make a long, narrow card so I cut my base card from white cardstock at 7.5"x8.5" and scored in half on the 7.5" side.  This card fits in a business size envelope.  I cut a mat of red and topped it with a beautiful patterned glitter SEI paper with blue and red dots  This is from a winter stack from two years ago.  I love the blue and red theme for Christmas.  I recently went to a local store and saw a Christmas tree all done up in blues and reds.  It was so gorgeous.  Next I cut three rounded corner squares from the Mini Monograms cartridge at 2.25" and ran them through my Cuttlebug using a Sizzix folder.  I cut the snowflake from a coordinating blue cardstock at 2" and added a clear rhinestone to the center.  My letters (J and Y) are cut at 1.75" from Plantin' Schoolbook with the Roly Poly feature button on.  The ornament is also cut at 1.75" from a coordinating red patterned paper.  I added some clear rhinestones around the edges on the ornament and embellished with a bow.  I added a small tag onto the letter Y that I cut from Tags, Bags, Boxes and More at .75" then I printed the word JOY on it.  This word is from The Cutting Cafe Christmas Mini Words printable stamp set.  I think this card came out so elegant and can't wait to send it out to one of my friends back in Michigan.  I suddenly realize how many Christmas cards I still need to get made.  So much to do, so little time.  I hope you'll be able to find some time to create a card with a word or phrase and join our challenge this week.  You can link your card up using Mr. Linky on the Cardz TV blog.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  Will you shop 'til you drop on Friday?  I'm planning a trip to Michael's on Thanksgiving evening to look for some Cricut cartridges.  I'm hoping to pick up Create a Critter2.  I've been there a couple times and haven't found it yet.  Maybe they're holding them back for the holiday shoppers.  I can always order it online if I don't find it.  Blessings to you and your family and be safe if you're traveling.

Cardz TV Stamps Scene It

Our theme for this week's Cardz TV Stamps challenge is Scene It.  Mary asked the DT to create a project for Thanksgiving or Christmas with a scene on it.  I've wanted to make this card since buying the Cricut Christmas Card cartridge when it first came out.  Not sure how long it's been, definitely long enough to have made this card before now.  But alas, I'm just getting to it.  I put my own little touch to it by embossing a piece of white cardstock, inking with a little creamy brown chalk ink and adding it for the snow.  I used one of Mary's newest sets, Fall Fun for my sentiment.  I thought "over the river and through the woods" was the perfect sentiment to go with my scene.  I hope you'll play along with our challenge by creating your own scene.  This challenge will run from today, Friday, through next Thursday, November 22nd and you can share your project with us using Mr. Linky on the Cardz TV blog.

The Cutting Cafe Snowflake Huge Circle-Fun with Frosty

This week at The Cutting Cafe Blog the Design Team is featuring projects made with several Cutting Cafe files to inspire your winter designs.  Regina asked the Team to use the Fun with Snowflakes , Snowflake Kisses Treat Box or Snowflake Huge Circle sets.  I used the Snowflake Huge Circle Set and an older Cafe set called Fun with Frosty.  My base card is a scalloped circle card shape that I cut with my Cricut Birthday Bash cartridge.  I added a dark red circle then printed the snowflake frame circle from the Snowflake Huge Circle set on a pretty blue paper from last year's SEI winter paper collection.  Next I printed my snowman from the Fun with Frosty set.  I paper pieced his hat and scarf using scraps of SEI glittered paper.  I colored Frosty's nose and heart with my Copics then added some crystal Stickles to the hat for some added sparkle.  I embellished each snowflake on the huge circle with a small clear rhinestone for a little more bling.  I printed the sentiment from the Huge Circle set and matted it with another piece of the blue.  I used pop dots on the back of the sentiment for some dimension.  I know you'll get lots of inspiration on The Cutting Cafe Blog from the rest of the Design Team so head on over and take a look.

Cricut Cardz Challenge #120 An Attitude of Gratitude

I have two projects to share with you today. This week at Cricut Cardz Challenge on Cardz TV the theme is An Attitude of Gratitude.  Mary asked the DT to make a card for Thanksgiving expressing gratitude.  I made this card to send to one of my aunts.  It's a very simple and basic card.  I used the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge for my sentiment.  This tends to be my go to cartridge for a font.  I don't really have many font cartridges (they always seem like a bit of a waste of money to me).  I usually use PS or I'll use Gypsy Font if I want more of a handwriting look.  My letters were cut at 1" from white cardstock.  I used a plaid strip of scrap which came from a Simple Stories stack.  I love Simple Stories 6x6 paper pads.  I use them a lot in a scrapping/journaling brag book (below) because they have lots of little elements that are great additions, like the little heart I added.  Adding the strip at the bottom made it easier to line up the letters straight.  Nothing to this card, quick and easy. 

My second project I'm sharing today is the cover of my gratitude journal.  I started this journal last year when my husband and I sold our home and started to live full time in our RV and travel.  We have so much to be thankful for.  Not many people get the opportunity to travel as we've done for the last year and a half so I wanted to document our journey.  I found this Fancy Pants Designs Brag Book when we were in North Carolina last year visiting our daughter in Raleigh.  It was just the perfect book with 50 scrapping/journaling pages, 15 two slot photo sleeves (to hold 60 pictures) and 15 pocket pages for memorabilia from our travels.  The front cover came blank to decorate.  I used my Cricut Imagine for this project and the Imagine More cartridge.  The background paper, border strips on the left, banner, and the two frames were all printed and cut from this cartridge.  The word Gratitude was a cut from the Sophisticated cartridge.  I added some button embellishments to the flags on the banner and a small stickpin with a picture of a camper on it.

 

I hope you'll have the opportunity to play along with our Cricut Cardz Challenge on Cardz TV expressing an Attitude of Gratitude.  This is a great opportunity for you to get some of your Thanksgiving cards made.  You'll see lots of inspiration from the Design Team this week to get you started.  Thanks for coming by today.

BBTB2 Circle Creation

This week at BBTB2 we are designing projects with the simplest of shapes, the circle.  Do you have any idea all the things you can create with the basic circle shape?  If not, you must check out the amazing designs from the DT.  All I have to say is, thank goodness I took a picture of my creation as soon as I finished making it, because this card no longer exists.  My dog, Trueman, ate it.  Yes, you read that correctly, my dog ate it.  All that was left when he was done was two tiny buttons, the gingham ribbon and larger button.  My normally all around good dog has one nasty habit.  He gets mad when we leave him alone and to punish us he looks for paper to eat.  He has eaten $20, a Netflix movie (he was just trying to eat the paper envelope, the movie was a bonus), scrapbook layouts, newspaper, bills.  We always try to look around for anything he can get before we go out.  My card must have fallen off the counter I had it sitting on and gone under the dining table where it was camouflaged against the wood floor.  We came home from shopping and there in the middle of the living room rug was something obviously chewed up.  At first I thought it might be a leaf from my plant sitting by the patio doorwall.  Nope, not a leaf, but my snowman card.  Dang dog.

At least it was a card that was easy to replace and not something too fancy.  I started with a circle cut from Plantin' Schoolbook.  Since I can't measure it, as it's not here, I'm going to go from memory and say it's cut around 2.5".  The tophat is cut from the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge.  It was a considerably larger cut, maybe 5".  I nipped a little corner off a piece of orange cardstock for his nose.  Then added small black buttons for his eyes and mouth.  I cut a small piece of red gingham ribbon and frayed the edges and placed it under the snowman's head with a larger button on top of it.  My sentiment is from Cardz TV Stamps Snow Day stamp set. 

The Cutting Cafe Turkey Shaped Card

Isn't this just the most adorable turkey ever?  At The Cutting Cafe Blog this week the entire DT is creating with this fun file called Turkey Shaped Card from The Cutting Cafe store.  It comes with the folded turkey shaped base card, top shape and all the body pieces (head, body, feathers, gobbler and hat) as well as sentiments.  It comes in PDF, SVG and WPC forms for cutting.  As you can see I paper pieced my turkey.  I started with a base card from white cardstock.  On top of that I added the card top out of kraft cardstock then added my orange patterned feather layer.  This paper is from the Bo Bunny Apple Cider collection.  Next I added his body piece that is a Simple Stories Harvest Lane paper.  His gobbler (I know there is a more specific name for that piece that hangs by the neck, but I like calling it the gobbler) is a scrap from the Simple Stories stack, also.  I cut the face from kraft cardstock and added a Peachy Keen face.  I thought that expression was saying "no not me, I don't want to be Thanksgiving dinner".  I colored in the mouth with a Copic marker and added some white to his eyes with a white gel pen.  His hat is cut from a scrap of My Mind's Eye Halloween stack from last year called Mischievous.  As the finishing touch I added a little flag on a stick pin to his hat and used the Eat Ham sentiment from the set.  I just love how he turned out.  Thanks for stopping by here today.  I hope you'll visit The Cutting Cafe Blog on Wednesday to see the fabulous turkeys from the rest of the DT.

Cardz TV Stamps I'm so Thankful

This week at Cardz TV Stamps Mary asked the DT to create a Thanksgiving card with the theme I'm so Thanksful.  There is really no way to say how blessed I am and all the things I'm thankful for--So Thankful!  I could probably fill a whole ream of paper listing all the things I'm grateful for. One of the things I am most grateful for is my friendship with Mary and the privilege of designing with her Cardz TV Stamps.  For my card today I used the Thankful for You Stamp Set.  Sometimes when I'm making cards I think nothing should be more prominent than the sentiment.  A lot of times the embellishments kind of take over.  Sometimes less is more as the saying goes.  My base card is a 4" square of kraft cardstock topped with a 3.75" square of patterned paper from the Simple Stories 6x6 Harvest Lane stack.  I used a scrap from the same stack for the dark strip behind the sentiment frame.  The frame was cut and printed with my Cricut Imagine using the Imagine More cartridge.  Then I centered the So Thankful sentiment and stamped it with Momento Rich Cocoa ink. 

BBTB2 Witch

This week at BBTB2 our hostess, Susan, asked us to create a project with a witch.  Yes, I did use this same witch last week on my 3-D Halloween project, but it's kind of a matching set.  I made this card to go along with my pumpkin treat for my granddaughter.  This adorable gal came from the new Cricut Lite Trick or Treat cartridge.  I'm not a big fan of scary things at Halloween, or any time for that matter, so I prefer my Trick or Treaters to be on the cute side.  We actually, don't have any Trick or Treaters as I'm living in a retirement community now.  Thanks goodness, I can eat all the candy myself!  I started my card with a standard A2 card cut from black cardstock, a mat of green, then purple and finally my favorite, a polka dot paper.  It's from the Simple Stories Harvest Lane collection.  I'm going to be entering this into the Fantabulous Cricut challenge this week because they're looking for spots or dots.  My witch and all her layers are cut at 4".  I totally followed the suggested colors from the manual with this, because they went well with my polka dot paper.  I cut my tag from the Fabulous Finds cartridge and attached it with some orange brads.  As a final touch I cut a bat from the October 31 cartridge and my spider from the Doodlecharms cartridge.  My sentiment is from Cardz TV Stamps More Spooky Sayings stamp set.  I hope you'll join our Witchy challenge this week.  Remember to follow our BBTB2 rules which are posted at the top of the blog.  Thanks for coming by.

The Cutting Cafe Halloween Bingo

I wasn't going to do it, but I just couldn't help myself.  For this week's Cutting Cafe project I used the Halloween Bingo Set.  I've been really pressed for time since moving to Florida a couple weeks ago.  Setting up the new household has been taking up most of my time.  I finally had a day to sit down and get some Design Team assignments done and I just love Regina's bingo sets.  They're a fabulous project to give to children, especially if you're not fond of giving sweet treats.  It really doesn't take long to whip them up.  

The first step of the project was printing and cutting the Bingo cards.  There are eight of them in the set.  Next I printed the numbers for calling and punched them out with a 1" circle punch.  My orange and black circle markers were cut with my Cricut.  I used the fill page function with the circle cut on the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge.  They're cut at .75".  I cut a sheet of 8.5x11" in orange then in black.  The final step was constructing the box for the set to go in.  For my box I used The Cutting Cafe 8x5.5" Box with Dividers.

I wrapped it all up with a black tulle bow and added my circle sentiment that came with the bingo set.  I added a cute little Studio G embellishment in the center.  I found this set of four in the 97 cent bin at Walmart.

Didn't it come out so cute?  I know my granddaughter is going to be so excited to get it in her box of Halloween goodies I'm sending to her.  Of course, her mom will probably want to smack me for sending it because I'm sure she's going to want to play a million times.  LOL

Cricut Cardz Challenge #119 Let's Hear it for the Girls

It's time for a new challenge at Cricut Cardz.  Mary asked the DT to create a project for breast cancer awareness.  A subject near and dear to me.  I'm a survivor.  I was diagnosed in 2008, had a bilateral mastectomy, treatments and reconstruction so this is one of my favorite sentiments to use on awareness cards.  I used Cindy Loo for my owl, Life is a Beach for my pink bra and Elegant Edges for my scalloped square.  I computer generated my sentiment.  My patterned papers are from My Mind's Eye. 

BBTB2 Halloween 3-D Project

Hello my crafty friends!  I'm the hostess this week over at BBTB2 and, as such, it was my turn to pick what the challenge was going to be.  I have a weakness for creating 3-D projects with my Cricut so I asked the DT to create a 3-D Halloween treat holder of their choice from any cartridge.  I used the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More 2 cartridge for my pumpkin container.  It doesn't get much easier than this.  Push the button, cut and assemble.  I cut my pumpkin at 11 which is the largest cut that would fit on my mat.  I embellished with a witch from Cricut Lite Trick or Treat, bat from October 31 and spider from Doodlecharms.  A black checked gingham bow and tag with a printed sentiment from The Cutting Cafe Halloween Mini Words.  I know my two granddaughters are going to love their Halloween surprise treat when they get them in the mail.  Next week I'll be showing the card that I made to go along with this.

I'm so glad I was intuitive enough to get all my BBTB2 projects for the month of October done before we moved.  I've been struggling with my mojo since we've moved to our new winter home in Florida.  I'm having a hard time getting back into the swing of things.  Between trying to find, unpack and organize my new home my mind has been elsewhere.  For those of you who have been visiting my blog for the past 18 months or so you've heard me talk about selling our home which was about 3,000 sq. ft. and traveling around with hubby in our fifth wheel camper.  On Saturday I posted photos of our new place and if you're interested in seeing how we've downsized to 500 sq. ft. please see my post here or scroll down below this post. 

I hope you'll be able to join us for this fun 3-D project challenge.  You can post your projects on the BBTB2 blog.  Please remember to follow the simple rules for our challenges listed at the top of the blog.  We also ask that you have word verification turned off on your blog so the Design Team can visit and leave comments on your project.  Have fun!

The Cutting Cafe Tea Bag Holder

This week at The Cutting Cafe Regina asked the DT to design a project using the Tea Bag Holder, Hot Cocoa Holder or the Shaped Christmas Card Set.  As you can see I decided to make the teabag holder.  I used an very old K&Company paper for my holder.  This is one of those paper packs that I held onto for so long because the papers were so beautiful I just liked to look at them.  I'm over that now, as I decided my paper collection had become way too big and I needed to start using it up.  I simply printed the holder onto my patterned paper then cut it out, assembled it and then embellished.  First I added a ribbon around the whole holder to tie it together and keep it from opening.  Next I cut a teacup out from the Cricut Joys of the Season cartridge from a coordinating patterned paper and added little lace to the top of the cup.  I placed it on top of a crocheted doily made by We R Memory Keepers.  For a final touch I added a tiny tag I cut with Cricut's Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge.  My sentiment is from Cardz TV Stamps Brew Ha Ha stamp set.  You can see from the photo below how the teabags fit into the holder.  I'll be giving these holders to friends with mini loaves of pumpkin bread. 

Last year I made the Hot Cocoa Holder to give to friend's at Christmas.  Here's a look at what they looked like.



Serious downsizing

I don't usually post personal stuff on my blog, mainly because I devote my space to papercrafting.  But, occasionally I mention a little about my life.  I've had quite a few requests from friends and followers to tell more about how hubby and I have been living since selling our home in July 2011.  We closed on our house sale and had our truck all packed and ready to leave with our camper.  Since then we've traveled in our RV around the country and seen lots of wonderful sites and visited lots of friends and family.  At first we went north to the quintessential summer vacation harbor of East Tawas, MI on the shore of Lake Huron.  We stayed there until early September.  Then we started traveling south.  We stopped in Manassas, VA which was the closest town to where our son lived.  He's a U. S. Marine in charge of a recruiting station near there.  We were anxious to get the chance to visit with our youngest grandbaby who had been born in May.  He is the spittin' image of his daddy.  Then we went to Raleigh, NC and visited our youngest daughter.  A little farther south we visited with some of my husband's family.  Then we headed for one of my all time favorite places in the country, Savannah, GA.  By that time it was early October and we were getting a little weary of traveling.  Mid-October we decided we were a tired of constantly towing and moving around.  I was tired of going to a different grocery store every week and trying to find what I wanted.  Such a simple thing you tend to take for granted.  I must admit, I was not a very good passenger.  I was a nervous wreck being on the road and we had a few close calls.  It's amazing how many drivers don't realize you can't stop on a dime when you're in a big truck with 40 feet of trailer behind you and cut in front of you and then slam on their brakes.  So if you've never thought about it---leave plenty of room around big rigs and don't pull in front of them and slam on the brakes.  The stories I can tell about people who don't know how to MERGE onto a freeway, a big pet peeve of mine.  Here's a picture of our home on wheels.

So we decided to head to Florida for the winter.  We just picked a campground from a big campground book we traveled with.  We ended up in Lakeland, FL.  Being from the metro Detroit area we grew up as Detroit Tiger baseball fans.  Go TIGERS, we hope they win the World Series and will be watching as it begins next week.  Lakeland, FL is where the Tiger's do their spring training so it seemed like a good place.  Little did we know when we arrived how our lives would change.  We had so much fun and made so many new friends.  Most of the people at this campground are "permanent" winter residents.  The RV's they live in are permanently left on the sites.  There are people like us that stayed for the whole winter but lived in an RV. 

After a lot of thought we decided that this area just felt like home and we decided that we wanted to have a permanent place here so that we wouldn't have to tow our unit down here every winter.  We purchased a park model RV.  It was very much like buying a house as far as picking out the model and how we wanted it finished on the inside with cabinetry, flooring and such.  It was built to our specifications at a factory and we had the opportunity to go and see it during production.  It was a really fun process, though it took much longer to get it than expected.  It was delivered to our site we picked in the campground only a couple weeks before it was time to go back north at the end of April.  Here's a picture of the day it was delivered.

Now, we lived in a very large home (because we had five kids).  We had five bedrooms, three bathrooms living room, family room, finished basement, dining room, etc.  We had about 3,000 sq. ft of living space.  It was a wonderful family home and we raised our children there.  But as is always the case, the kids grow up and move out and there we were with all that space for just hubby and I.  WE DON'T MISS IT AT ALL.  The upkeep was tremendous and took a lot of our time.  We sold some of our belongings to the WONDERFUL family that bought the house, had a garage sale to get rid of other stuff and then we put stuff into a storage unit not knowing what we were going to be doing in the future.  After making the decision to buy the park model RV we had to return to our storage unit this summer and decide what to do with everything.  In June we had a garage sale at the subdivision my daughter lives in and sold most of the remaining big pieces of furniture.  We kept a hutch cabinet, our king size bed and assorted household items, like kitchen things and linens.  The last week in September we closed up our camper in Michigan and winterized it.  It will stay on a lot in the campground up in Michigan through the winter.  We rented a moving truck, loaded the household items we wanted to bring down to Florida and drove for three days to get back down here.  We arrived on October 1st.  Then the work began.  We had to unload the moving van, get everything unpacked, put away and organized.  It was quite a process, but we're happy with the progress we've made so far.  From the moment we picked out our home with that cute little front porch I envisioned two white rocking chairs sitting on that porch.  I love to sit on the porch in the morning with a cup of coffee and the newspaper.  Every morning I open my front door and there is the newspaper right outside the door for me to pick up.  My dog loves to lay out there in the morning in the sun basking in the warmth.

As you can see, we added a covered patio on one side and a small storage room at the back.  Hubby wanted to bring his tools down and have a little work area along with some extra storage.  Notice my dog proudly sitting by the front door of his new home.  (Such a little guard dog).  We are planning on doing some landscaping around the front of the house, but haven't gotten to it yet.  Next is a picture of the living room.

See that ottoman, it's utilized for my papercraft supplies.  I store my 6x6 paper pads, Copic markers, Zutter binding machine, and a few other things.  The next photo is the dining area. (Like you wouldn't be able to figure that out).

The cabinetry on the top holds dishes and other kitchen stuff.  The bottom cupboards are where I keep the rest of my crafting supplies.  I do my crafting on the dining table.  The next picture is the kitchen area (also self-explanatory, I know). 

After living in a camper, one of my favorite things about a park model is that it has full size kitchen appliances, even a dishwasher.  It was difficult to cook in the camper, but I find I'm enjoying being in the kitchen again.  Especially being able to bake.  A few days ago I made six mini loaves of pumpkin bread.  I'll be giving them to our friends as they arrive back at the campground.  We were pretty much the first winter residents to arrive, four other residents on our street have arrived this week.  Most of our friends will arrive by the first week in November.  We have a very roomy bathroom for such a tiny place.  Tons of storage between the large cabinet above the sink and the sink cabinet itself.  I do feel rather strange showing a picture of the bathroom and it was hard to get pics in such a tiny spot.  I hope I don't offend anyone with these photos.  We have a full size shower and next to the shower is more cabinetry.  I keep my linens (towels and sheets) and other misc. toiletries in there. 

Besides my full size appliances in the kitchen, my absolute favorite thing about my new place is it has room for our custom made king size bed.  We had only gotten this bed a few months before we sold our house.  We went to a furniture store and had it custom made with a firm side for hubby and a soft side for me.  I really missed that bed and I'm so happy to be sleeping in it again. 

Now granted, there isn't a ton of space after the bed got into it's place, but I'm more than okay with that just to be able to have it again.  As you can see we have more cabinetry above the bed for storage.  Hubby claimed four of the cupboards and I have the two on the right.  In my left cabinet I have storage containers that hold my Cricut cartridge manuals (I missed them a lot, too.  I'm a total hold it in my hand, visual kind of person).  I also have two containers of ribbons and trims. 

On the other side of the bedroom are his and hers closets with a chest of drawers in between.  We also downsized our wardrobes in this process.  This storage is more than enough room for our clothes.  In fact I use one drawer to collect dirty laundry in.  I was surprised at how many things in my closet I hadn't worn in years.  Of course, I no longer needed all the clothing that I wore to work in, being retired, so that took care of a lot of it.  We donated all our clothing that we didn't want anymore.  In the hallway we have a full size washer and dryer.  Most people down here hang their laundry out on a clothesline.  We found we especially enjoy putting our bed sheets out on the line.  It's so warm and sunny here most of the time that we rarely use our dryer.  (Except for undies, I refuse to put my underwear outside for the world to see. LOL)

This home has a total of 500 sq. ft.  It has everything we need.  A living area, a kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom.  When we think back to our house before we sold it---those are the only areas in the house that we used.  My husband says what we had was a five bedroom storage unit.  Our life is so much more simplified now.  I don't have to clean every single day for hours at a time, never catching up.  I can clean this home in an hour, including washing the floors.  It gives us more time to enjoy our retirement years and live an active lifestyle.  One of the first things we did after getting our Florida IDs was head to DisneyWorld and get a Florida resident annual pass.  We live about 35 minutes away and will head over there every couple weeks for a few hours at a time.  It's so much fun to know you don't have to cram everything in like you do on a vacation.  We feel like we are vacationing every single day.  Sometimes I don't even know what day it is.  Weekends are no different than weekdays.  I'm telling you, retirement is fantastic. 

I hope you've enjoyed my little tour.  Next week when my papercrafting supplies are a little more organized I'll be sharing my craft space and how I've organized and store my supplies.  I admit, I slightly miss my craft room I had in our house, but most of the stuff I had in there was many years old and never used.  Now I have only the things I use all the time.  My only purchases tend to be 6x6 paper pads and new Cricut cartridges (much to hubby's chagrin, LOL).  Thanks for coming by and I'd love to hear what you think of our successful downsizing.  I know some of you will think we're crazy.  This lifestyle wouldn't work for everyone and to do it, both spouses must be on the same page and you can't be the type of person that has to have a lot of things to feel successful.  But, I promise you, it's the most liberating experience.  I must also say, we save tons of money not having a big home with all the associated expenses (utilities, taxes, insurance and upkeep).  We don't owe any money to anyone.  We paid cash for our park model RV using the money from the sale of our house.  Living in the campground we don't have to pay utilities or property taxes.  We do, of course, have insurance on our home.  Before we leave to go back to Michigan next summer we will be purchasing a new vehicle and paying cash.  We've saved money for this because we aren't paying all those other expenses.  We know we are very blessed and we're very thankful.

Cardz TV Stamps Fall Fun

Time for a new challenge at Cardz TV Stamps.  Mary asked the DT to design a Halloween or Fall project using any of her stamps sets.  I don't really need any more Halloween cards so I decided to make a card to send to my granddaughter using one of Mary's newest sets, Fall Fun.

I thought it would be fun to use my new Cricut Lite Teddy Bear cartridge because I found this cute little bear wearing a sweater and it was perfect for my sentiment.  I know my bear is a little odd in white and black, but there is a reason.  This is the first card that I've been able to make since moving to our new place in Florida.  OMG, I can't find anything.  LOL  When I went to start on this card I realized that I left all my plain colored cardstock back in our camper in Michigan.  Looking for a way to condense some of my supplies I thought it would be easy to replace the plain cardstock when I got here and could buy it on sale at one of the craft stores.  Didn't give it another thought until I went to create this card.  The only colors I had were black, white and kraft cardstock.  Hence, the poor white and black bear.  Then I had trouble getting my Cricut Imagine to work since it's been in a storage unit for over 15 months.  I'm ashamed to say I uttered some bad words during the making of this card.  I was so frustrated between the Cricut machine and not being able to find things I was ready to scream.  The good thing is my granddaughter will never know what a struggle it was to get this card made.  She'll love it. 

Before I get to my card details I want to mention to those of you that have been following my story since last year when hubby and I sold our home and started traveling in our RV, I'm going to be posting about our latest adventure in a post on Saturday.  I will be sharing a little about our travels and some photos of our new winter home.  Hubby and I became experts in living small over the last year and a half out of necessity, being in an RV.  We found we absolutely loved living with less.  To go from living in about 3,000 sq. ft of space to 337 sq. ft. was very interesting.  Our new place is 500 sq. ft.  So for those of you who would be interested in finding out how we could possibly manage in such a little place, come by my blog on Saturday and see for yourself. 

I started with a white cardstock A2 size card.  I'd like to tell you what brand my patterned papers are but I don't remember which paper pad I managed to unbury from a box.  My bear is cut at 3.5" as well as all the layers.  I stamped the sentiment onto a strip of white cardstock and used a 1/2" circle punch on each end.  Then I added two pink buttons (total miracle that I found two that matched).  I added a white pompom to the tip of the bears hat for a fun little touch.  It's such a simple card I can't believe it took me so long to get it done.  I know in time I'll be a little more organized and my mojo will return.  I hope it's soon.  I've got a lot of projects I need to get done.  Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your visit and the comments you leave.   I hope you'll come back on Saturday for my post about our new home.  I'm so very excited to share it with everyone.  It may just give you some ideas for when you retire and want to downsize.

My Creative Time Thursday Challenge

I don't often get the chance to play along with challenges, but I had to make a thank you card for a dear friend. I found a fabulous Designer's challenge issued by Miss Shar going on over at My Creative Time that inspired my card.  If ever you need a little inspiration this is the place to find it.  Emma and her designer's are amazing.  The challenge required three self-made flowers and asked that you use the color palette of yellow, blue and brown.  I used My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Hattie 6x6 paper pad for my patterned papers.  It's been a real struggle for me to create anything since making our move to Florida.  I'm still having a hard time finding my craft supplies and learning to use my Cricut Imagine all over again.  They've been in a storage unit for the last 15 months while hubby and I traveled around in our RV after selling our home.  Now we're just getting settled into a tiny new place that will be our winter home.  It's called a park model RV and it's 500 sq. feet.  We have truly mastered the art of downsizing and couldn't be happier.  We don't miss our 5 bedroom, 2600 sq. ft. home at all.  In fact it's been one of the most liberating experiences ever.  I'll be sharing some pics of the new place in a post on Saturday.

For this card I used the top note shape that came with the machine and the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  I used my favorite quote stamp that I've had in my stash for years and years and I stamped it with Momento brown ink.  My flowers use two layers each.  The center flower has layers cut at 1" and 1.3".  The two smaller flowers are .80 and 1" layers.  The leaves were also cut from the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  After cutting the leaves I used my bone folder to put a crease in the center, cutting each section into the center of the leaf to separate them a little and then I accordian folded each leaf to add a little dimension.  I used some sparkly Twinkle Goosebumps embellishments for the flower centers.  They're made by Queen & Co.   Now I've got to quickly get this into an envelope to mail before hubby leaves for a trip to the post office.  Thanks for stopping by.

BBTB2 Breast Cancer Awareness

Well, my friend and DT Sister, Brenda has done it again.  She chose this week's challenge at BBTB2 and it's another cause near and dear to my heart, literally.  (Her last choice was honoring our Servicemen and women and I got to brag on my son, the U.S. Marine). This week the Design Team's making breast cancer awareness projects.  For those of you who don't know, I'm a breast cancer survivor.  On November 12th it will be four years since I had my bilateral mastectomy.  I must take this opportunity to retell my miraculous story.  Four years ago, after returning from a wonderful trip to Hawaii to see my daughter get married, I was reading through my stack of mail that accumulated while we were gone for a month.  I found a letter from my insurance company which was offering a Target gift card to women who had a mammogram.  I figured, what the heck, I love to shop at Target.  So off I trotted for my first mammogram.  I was so confident that it was the one thing I didn't have to worry about.  After all, I breast fed five babies (which is supposed to be good for protecting against breast cancer) and no one in my family has ever had breast cancer.  How wrong I was.  My whole life changed that day.  Ladies, no one is safe from this disease and you MUST get a mammogram.  I'm living proof that early detection saves lives.  My doctors told me that where my tumor was located, I would not have felt the lump until it was much larger.  Maybe so large it would have been too late.  Okay, I'm done preaching.

Onto my card.  Every one knows that pink is the color associated with breast cancer so, of course, that's the color I used.  My papers are from My Mind's Eye.  Most people also know that more than any other word, HOPE, is the one that most breast cancer patients hold onto through surgeries and treatments.  Even when the journey is over HOPE still remains strong because a breast cancer survivor knows that it could return.  I used the Home Decor cartridge and cut Hope at 1.75".  Then I placed it atop a portion of a top note shape that I cut from the Elegant Edges cartridge.  I embellished with sheer cream colored ribbon and a few pink buttons.  I apologize for the glare on the photo.  I was going to take another picture but I decided I kind of liked the way there was a glow around the word hope.  Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to schedule that mammogram if you haven't had one.  It could save your life.

The Cutting Cafe Breast Cancer

This week at The Cutting Cafe Blog the DT is featuring breast cancer awareness projects.  Many of you may know that I am a breast cancer survivor.  I never pass up the chance to encourage getting a mammogram.  I am living proof that early detection saves lives.  I found out I had cancer when getting my very first mammogram.  My tumor was buried deep and the doctors told me it would have been a long time before I was able to feel it with a self-exam.  Perhaps, by the time I was able to feel it my outcome might not have been a good one.  I also want to mention that no one should think they are safe from this disease like I did because no one in my family had ever had breast cancer.  I also had the thought that I was protected because I breast fed five babies.  Neither of these mattered in my case.  So I urge you to go for a mammogram.  The discomfort of a mammogram is nothing compared to what you'll go through if you're diagnosed with cancer.  Enough preaching for now.

I used the Breast Cancer T-Shirt Printable set for my card.  I simply printed it out, cut it, and folded it on the score line.  The only extra I added was the pink ribbon that I cut with my Cricut Stand and Salute cartridge then embellished with a pink rhinestone.  Super simple and quick!   You could easily make up a bunch of these to send to friends or family members as a reminder for them to get a mammogram. 

If you like this little T-shirt card but would like some with a Halloween theme so you can whip up some quick and easy Halloween cards, Regina has another fabulous set that would be perfect called, what else, Halloween T-Shirt Printable set and you can find it here.

BBTB2 It's Pumpkin Time (but not for Halloween)

I was so excited when I found out our challenge for this week at BBTB2.  Our wonderful DT Sister, Glenda, asked the Team to create using a pumpkin.  The catch is it can't be a Halloween project.  Now, why was this so exciting for me.  I DO NOT like Halloween.  Gasp and shudder.  I think it stems from the fact that I had to come up with Halloween costumes for five children.  Now that is a real gasp and shudder!  To me pumpkins mean the fall harvest and the wonderful colors of the season.  I've always been fond of the taller, skinnier pumpkin and I found this one on the Happy Hauntings cartridge.  The smaller pumpkins came from Celebrate with a Flourish.  I used my new 6x6 Bo Bunny Double Dot paper pad for my pumpkin cuts.  I placed the pumpkins on a decorative square I cut from Elegant Edges.  My sentiment is from Cardz TV Stamps Thankful forYou stamp set.  Be sure to check the amazing designs from the rest of the DT for your pumpkin inspiration then play along with us.

The Cutting Cafe Spiders and their webs

Jeepers Creepers I don't like spiders, but isn't this one cute.  This is my Cutting Cafe card I'm highlighting this week.  Regina asked the Design Team to use some of her spider sets.  Spiders and Their Webs is the set I used.  I started with an A2 size base card of black cardstock, then added an orange mat.  On top of that I printed out the card size web background from the set.  Next I printed the spider on green Bazzill Dotted paper and cut him out by hand.  I cut a piece of black and white twine to place behind him to look like he was climbing down from the top of the card and placed a piece of dimensional foam under the spider.  I added the gingham ribbon and the sentiment is from Cardz TV Stamps More Spooky Sayings stamp set.

Cardz TV Stamps Buttons and Boos

It's time for a new Cardz TV Stamps challenge and the DT is using Mary's newest stamp set called Oct 31st.  We're making Halloween cards using the new stamp set and had to include buttons on our card.  I used the Cricut Lite Trick or Treat cartridge.  As soon as I saw the Fraidy Cat sentiment in this stamp set I thought it would be perfect to pair with the cat from the October 31 Cricut Cartridge.  Then I saw this Frankenstein peeking around the door from the Trick or Treat cartridge and new it would frame my frightened cat perfectly.  Wouldn't you be afraid if you saw Frankenstein peeking out at you?  I followed the color guidelines in the cutting manual that came with the cartridge.  I also added a googly eye so I could enter my card in the My Creative Time googly eye challenge. My background paper is Cosmo Cricket.  I hand cut the banner for my sentiment.  I had to go buy some buttons for this card.  I have a huge container of buttons, but do you think I could find three black buttons that matched.  Nope, so off to the store I went.  Wait 'til you see all the fabulous cards the DT made for this challenge.  Then I hope you'll be inspired to play along.  This challenge will run from Oct. 5-Oct. 11.  Have FUN!

BBTB2 Tree

This week at BBTB2 our fabulously talented DT Sister Jayne asked us to create a project using a tree from any Cricut cartridge.  I've been on a kick to use some of my older, little used cartridges so for this project I used the Jubilee cartridge.  Yes, I know this is a font cartridge, but it has a few images on it, too.  This is a quick, simple easy card.  That's pretty much the only kind of card you're going to see from me in the next month.  My husband and I are in the midst of packing, moving and traveling.  More about that to come in future posts.  I do want to mention that I am currently without the internet and unable to visit blogs and leave comments.  So please forgive me for not visiting you.  I'm feeling terribly guilty about it, even though it's completely out of my control at the moment.  We're hoping to be settled in and have the internet hooked up within the next couple weeks.  I cut the tree at 4" and ran the top section through my Cuttlebug. Sorry, I forgot to look at the name of the folder before I packed my craft stuff up and it went to the moving truck.  Then I cut a section of grass from the Plantin' Schoolbook cartridge and added it to the bottom of the tree and scattered leaves around.  My sentiment is from Cardz TV Stamps Thankful for You stamp set and I embellished with a bow of brown jute and small yellow button.  Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you'll join our tree challenge at BBTB2.  Remember, to enter the challenge you must have a tree cut from any Cricut cartridge.  You'll find some fabulous inspiration this week on the BBTB2 blog.

The Cutting Cafe Map Shaped Card

This week at The Cutting Cafe Blog Regina told the DT we could create with any file we wanted.  I was so excited and knew just what I would do for this challenge.  Right now, if everything is going according to plan, as you're reading this my husband and I are driving a U-Haul truck from Michigan to Florida with our belongings to our new winter home.  I'm so excited and can't wait to get there and get our household set up.  In the next week or so I'll be sharing some photos and news of our move.  But today, I'm going to show you the card I made to send to a family member to announce our move.  I used The Cutting Cafe's Map Shaped Card and I just think this turned out so darn cute.  I cut the shaped card from kraft cardstock and the top piece from the Simple Stories Take a Hike 6x6 paper stack.  The banner is cut from the same stack.  I added a tiger's eye brad to approximate the places we live in each state and stretched a piece of brown jute between them.  Then I computer generated the We've Moved sentiment and cut it into an arrow shape to point towards Florida.  Once we arrive in Florida, get settled in a bit and I can go to my favorite scrapbook store (which is only two miles from where we live) I'll be picking up some kind of map paper and making a few more of these cards because it was so quick to put together.  It will be a great way to give everyone our new address.

Cricut Cardz Challenge #117 So Spooky S-Fold for Halloween

It's time for another Cricut Cardz Challenge on Cardz TV.  Mary's up to her tricks again, challenging me and putting me out of my comfort zone with this Sssoooo Ssspooky challenge.  Confession time---I don't enjoy the actual Halloween holiday and I don't do spooky at all.  So, this is my best attempt at spooky.  I know, I'm a failure.  Sorry Miss Mary!  Think of it as spooky elegance.  I used the Happy Hauntings cartridge (I should get points for that, right) for the fabulous frame and witch head.  My papers are Pink Paislee.