Thanks a bunch -- I feel so springy today!

Wow, you guys really need to check out the designs this week on Regina's blog (there's a link at left)! I'd never used this feature on the Cricut WIMG cart before, but all the cards are amazing! I love how this one turned out, too. It makes me feel all spring-time-y! I cut the green part using the "thanks" button on window card mode at 4", then attached it to a standard 4 1/4x5 1/2 card. The flowers are a Martha Stewart punch, glued on then sewn. I embossed the card base with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. Best part of all -- this card is made entirely from scraps! TFL!

Remembering Carissa

A month or so ago I posted about my little sister Carissa being in the hospital with pneumonia and blood clots in her lungs. We thought she was getting better and had been out of the hospital for about 2 weeks, but about 3 weeks ago she took a sudden turn for the worse, and on the 13th of April she passed away. Our family misses her so much because she was really the light of our lives, but we know that her mission here on Earth was finished and that she is now with our Heavenly Father. It has been amazing, over the past couple of weeks, to see just how many lives she touched during her life. She helped so many people to feel the pure love of Christ, and she never missed an opportunity to share her testimony of God's plan. I made a book of remembrance for the viewing and funeral for people to write in, and it filled nearly 100 pages! I hope that I can live my life in such a way that I can bless peoples' lives the way Carissa did.

This picture is the cover of the book. The pp is from SEI, from the Winnie's Walls line. This bright, happy paper was the perfect way to capture her personality. I used a Coluzzle circle template to create the big scallops, and the Cutterbee piercing bug to do the holes for the stitching (this is the niftiest little tool!). The little letter rub-ons I used for her different nick-names are from American Crafts. "Carissa" is cut with the Cricut Alphalicious cartridge at 2 1/2", and the swirl behind it is cut from Christmas Cheer (it's actually two swirls glued together, one cut at 5 1/2" and one cut at 3").

Many of you who read this have already done so much to show love and support for me and my family -- thank you! We have been truly overwhelmed by the love of our family, friends, and neighbors, and many people we didn't even know! God bless all of you!

Board book baby-album & coordinating card

This project combined two of my favorite things -- board book mini-albums and coordinating papers! Both make it so much easier to make beautiful gifts. I was able to make this whole project and card from the book, three sheets of patterned paper, and one sheet of brown cardstock, with enough leftovers at least a couple more cards. Since I got all of this on sale at one point or another, the total cost of materials was very low. I love this Crate paper for a baby girl. I used the Cricut Stamped cartridge for "Zoe" and the heart, and Jasmine for the photo corners inside. The stamps are from Stampin' Up.

And here is the card that goes with it!



Thanks for looking!

Inspiration can come from anywhere!

I made this card for my little sister, but the inspiration for the design came from the music video for the Sarah Bareilles song "Love Song," which you can see at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQnqy-047gw. I loved how the black and white flowers popped out from the background when she was playing the piano at about 2:20.