A Sneak Peek and a Request...

I imagine most of you are having a very busy weekend just like me - I won't be home or online most of the weekend.  This is just a sneak peek of something I found at Costco.  I have a quick and easy Christmas idea that will use this ribbon and I will share it in the coming week.

My friend Joy (Obsessed with Scrapbooking) posted some information the Let's Say Thanks! program sponsored by Xerox.  She asked for people to spread the word and I am happy to do this.

This program allows you to go to the Let's Say Thanks! site, choose one of the postcards designed by children from all over the country, add your name and a sentiment (they have a great set of choices or you can write your own) and then it will be printed and mailed to a member of the U. S. military forces stationed overseas to show your appreciation of their service.

It is very easy to do and takes only a few minutes.  You don't have to register, just choose a card, add the personalization and click send.

Here is the link again -  Let's Say Thanks!

Please pass this information along and let others know how they can send a message of thanks and support. 

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A New Cartridge...can you guess?

I only have time for a quick post tonight - this is a very busy week and I have been having some problems with my hands so typing is a bit difficult.  Thanks for all the comments and feedback on the digital layout I posted yesterday.  Most people seemed to prefer the title page on the left.  I have a few things to explain about why that might be, however, they will wait for another day.

I just got a new cartridge in the mail from Mandy at Scrappy-Go-Lucky.  Can you guess which cartridge it is from this tiny sneak peek?  I have several projects that will soon be posted on the Scrappy-Go-Lucky blog.  My fellow design team members have been making some wonderful projects.  This month, Mandy is sponsoring a great contest.  If you'd like to have a chance to win a Gypsy you definitely should check out  THIS POST for all of the details and the rules. 

I just had to share a couple of photos of our weeping cherry tree.  It is so beautiful right now - but the flowers only last for a couple of weeks.

Things change very quickly in the Spring - it is exciting to see what will bloom next (I think it may be the lilacs)!

A very long day...

Saturday was a very busy day.  First came all of the loading and packing the car for the trip to college (and still managing to forget a few things).  It was a great day for driving - good road conditions and not much traffic - but I am flat out exhausted after nearly 350 miles.  After unloading and helping with a bit of the settling in New Jersey, I got on the road again and drove the rest of the way to my Dad's in Pennsylvania.  I got thoroughly trounced in backgammon (and no, I didn't "let" him win).

I don't have the energy to finish up the post I started with another Doodlecharms design - that will have to wait until tomorrow.  I haven't even caught up on the news from CHA. 

I did want to share a little something - particularly since I have had a few emails lately from people who tell me that they enjoy getting a post via email from me everyday and I don't want to let them down.  The posting cycle has shifted a bit so I am writing Sunday's post late on Saturday night after two posts went out on the same day.

I wanted to introduce you to "Betty Kay"  - a new addition to my studio.  My friend Kay (aka Kopperhead) organizes a group of us in interesting swapping adventures on a "play when you can" basis.  The most recent one was the cupcake swap (you can see my earlier posts about that HERE and HERE).

Well, the package arrived the day before I left and this amazing apron creation was inside along with a fabulous card with another apron and some "apron info."  Kay hand stitched these incredible creations - she is so over the top creative and always has fantastic ideas (and a great sense of humor).  I remembered that we had a few of these posable mannequins for sketching and it turns out that the apron is a perfect fit.  I have named her "Betty Kay" - for Betty Crocker and Kay (who is a Southern gal and appreciates a good double name!).  She will be watching over me when I craft and making me smile often.

I received another exciting package this week. I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get home again - in the meanwhile, here is a "Sneak Peek."

I tried to get through at least some of my email but now I must get some sleep.  I hope you are having a great weekend and that your team (whichever that is) wins tomorrow.

A Busy Day...

I had a super busy day.  First I finished up two of the three swaps I meant to have in the mail before I went to New Jersey - just one more to get finished and mailed.  The lines at the Post Office are getting very long and I haven't mailed any gifts yet!  I also had all of the usual catching up to do after being away for a few days.

Later in the day I went to the home of someone I met while checking out the clearance bins at Michael's.  She told me that she had Design Studio but didn't know how to use it so I helped three Design Studio "newbies" get started (her sister and a friend were there too).  We were quite a sight  to see with laptops and Cricuts all lined up - we had to download and update the software on all of the computers and also update the firmware on the machines so that took a while!  Then I could explain the basics so they could get going with welding their words.  We had a lot of fun and I did a bit of enabling (don't you think everyone "needs" the snowflake cart  When It's Cold Outside?).  So, in addition to the online classes,  I have started making "house calls" for Design Studio help (but only in the local area).

Once I got home again it was late.  I started a post about one of the swaps I mailed but then I realized that I needed to review the rest of the comments for the Original Scrapbox EZ View Giveaway.  By the time I finished, it was after midnight and the entries were closed.  I haven't heard a final tally from Rachelle yet, but I hope we made it to 12,000 visits so the charity will get a Desk too!  I drew the winner at about 2 a.m. and I have sent an email.  I'll post the name here as soon as I get a response from the winner.

ETA - I have heard back from the winner with all of the information required.  Congratulations to Kitty from North Carolina.

There was no time to do a video today  - but I have high hopes for tomorrow!  In the meanwhile, I left a sneak peek at another project that you will see soon.  Now I just have to get some sleep!

Jet Lag - will post project tomorrow!

Earlier today I said I'd be back later with a "crafty" post. The day was very busy with all of the "just back from vacation" errands and chores so I finally got a chance to sit down to do this tonight.

However, I am struggling with jet lag - can't keep my eyes open - so I will have to do a full post after I get some sleep...

Here is a "sneak peek" at something I used for the other Cricut related project I took with me on my vacation.


PLEASE NOTE If you are leaving a comment to enter the Workbox Giveaway, please be sure to leave your comment on the correct post. Only comments left on the Workbox Giveaway post dated August 28, 2009 will be considered for the random drawing (click on the words to go directly to that post).

Class updates, some more awards and a sneak peek...

Jen and I have been busy teaching Design Studio classes. We started out with just the basics (101 class) for Design Studio beginners and have now added a Basic Card class. We will continue to add more topics as we work through the requests and will develop each new class to make these lessons as helpful as possible for those who are trying to figure out all the ways Design Studio can expand their creative potential with the Cricut.

We have had some great feedback and we are working to take suggestions for new classes into account. The unique feature of these classes is that they are live - we are online sharing our computer screens with the students so they can see exactly "How to Do that" and ask questions in real time. We will continue to develop new classes - if you have a specific topic in mind, please email either of us. If you have time constraints for attending, please let us know your time zone and what time of day works for you and we will try to accommodate everyone at some point over the summer months. Some of the more advanced classes will be project specific and include .cut files and project instructions.

The Basic Card class does include some files and other resources. Our Thursday class is nearly full (it may be totally full by the time you read this) but there are still some openings in the Friday class at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Click on the blog banner at the top of this post or at the top of the side column to see all the details and instructions for signing up for a class.


I am feeling very "awarded" these days - I have gotten several comments and notices about blog awards that people have sent me and I didn't want to let more time go by without acknowledging them.



Thanks to Rosy for this award - here is a LINK to her blog.

Thanks to Barb (Snowmanlover) who sent me this award - here is a LINK to her blog.

Thanks also to krazykropper for this award - here is a LINK to her blog

More thanks to Diane M or lostgrl16 also for this award - here is a LINK to her blog

Thanks again to Linda or Lilgreenbug also for this award - here is a LINK to her blog

There is a lot of "Honest Scrap" going around!

In receiving notice of these awards, I realized that I wasn't sure if I ever completed the process of notifying the bloggers I passed awards along to last month. I will try to find time tomorrow to catch up. Here is a LINK to the post with all of those awards.

I thank everyone who sends me these awards - it is getting to the point where I find it difficult to keep track and promptly pass along awards and I think it would be great if you could find a newer blogger who needs some encouragement when you have one of these awards to pass along. Just having people read and comment on my blog is award enough for me! Thank you.



Finally, here is a sneak peek at one of my designs that will be shared on another site very soon - more details about that in a day or so.

Stand and Salute (serious enabling ahead!)

Well....I told you last week that I had an exciting and unexpected email - and now I can tell you all about it! I was contacted by Provo Craft to see if I would be interested in previewing and reviewing some of the new Cricut cartridges - before they were generally available to the public or even to the vendors. So, let me think about that for a minute,...hmmm.....YES, OF COURSE I WOULD!!! What a fantastic opportunity!



Today the Fed Ex truck delivered this big box - Provo Craft sent not only cartridges but some supplies to go along with the cartridges to be sure that I could get to work on something right away (obviously they haven't seen my "stash," but there were some things I didn't have and I am eager to try - more about those later).



I ripped open the box and inside were



Jubilee, Stand and Salute, Simply Sweet and Home Decor. Since I know a lot of people may have already purchased Jubilee and Home Decor through the Mother's Day Special on Cricut.com last month - I am going to focus on Stand and Salute today.

I know that what everyone wants to know when a cartridge comes out is "what exactly is on this cartridge?" - particularly with all the creative features on a full cartridge. So I asked if I could show the contents and they said that was OK.

There are six special features on this cartridge; Dog Tag, Note Card, Frame, Border, Shadow and Blackout - here are photos of the overlays.













It is hard to make out all the details on these overlays - so I went ahead and photographed the book for you - please do not copy these but respect the sneak peek and send your friends here to see the photos.

FAIR WARNING -
If you look at these photos you will want to buy this cartridge - it is GREAT!!!!

With no further ado...



Flags, flags and more flags...



The full US map (well without Alaska and Hawaii) - remember how we all thought it should be on the 50 States cartridge? The Statue of Liberty - sightseeing trip to New York to scrap? - and the torch would work for Olympic photos as well.



Banners and bunting and badges and Uncle Sam hats - Fourth of July Parade photos will work wonderfully with these.



Two different shields and eagles - so many possibilities for these!



The Liberty Bell (a special favorite since I grew up near Philadelphia and went to see it on many school trips). Also a "cause" ribbon - one that many people have created on Design Studio but this one is ready to cut even if you don't have the software (OK - if you don't have Design Studio yet - we need to talk!)



Stars, stars and more stars! These look like great borders - can't wait to try them.



Even more stars and a couple of anchors.



More anchors - the globe and anchor and sailor hat. I wonder if you can put the eagle together with this for the EGA?



Military hats - of various types...



Male soldier and female soldier and great banners that work for any title.



Ranks and ribbons and medals...



Even more medals and ribbons...



Dog tags and boots and a suitcase (that one seems a bit unusual but it looks nice and makes a neat border and frame)



Compass and star (these will work for Scout camping photos) and weapons.



Fireworks! The Fourth of July is just around the corner....



Tanks and Trucks and Helicopters - and a paratrooper!



Another truck, a cannon, jets and clouds.



More planes, aircraft carrier and submarine.



Coast Guard Boat and Jets and the start of some great title phrases.



Camo (I am curious to see how this looks cut out) - and notecards and envelopes (always useful)



USA, USA - the border options are really neat!



More phrases - I think these are very well done.



Support for our Military and patriotic phrases.



More great phrases! - and look an aperture card for the 4th of July - just in time!



Finally, the last of the phrases - I can see "Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness" on the wall in vinyl. Some of these phrases will work well for historic sites too.

So there you have the whole picture - this is the actual cartridge so what you see here is what is on the cartridge. I am going to grab some supper and then try some cuts - I'll probably post again tonight or in the morning. Then I'll move on to the other cartridges - Simply Sweet will be next - this is fun!