Cricut Cowboy Card

My husband was starting a new job, and at the last minute I decided to make a card to let him know I was praying for him. Since the idea didn't dawn on me until...well, nearly dawn, I decided to use this little cowboy I had previously cut from the Cricut cartridge A Child's Year. 

Just to clarify a couple of things: My husband isn't a cowboy and his new job isn't in the rodeo.  But he did wear a cowboy-style shirt in his favorite elementary school picture, which was enough of a connection for me at 3 a.m.  And the card was supposed to say, "Howdy, cowboy!", but that didn't happen.

Back to the card...

I wanted to play around with some reactive foil and my new toner pen, so I added foil to the cowboy's spurs. I tried writing a sentiment with the toner pen and adding foil, but that was a total failure. (Why do I always think it's a good idea to try new techniques at the last minute???)  Anyway, since I had already glued the cowboy to my card, I had to cut the sentiment away and work with what remained. I grabbed a new blank card, mounted what was left of my cowboy card on silver shimmer cardstock, then added some snakeskin washi tape and silver star sequins.

It's the thought that counts, after all. Even if that thought comes just before sunrise.

Thanks for visiting!

Another Cricut Card

Creating anything is a slow process for me, so while we wait for my creativity to kick in (or while I search the internet for ideas) here's another card I made a while back:

This is a Mother's Day card for my oldest daughter.  The cut is one of my all-time favorites from A Child's Year, which is one of my all-time favorite cartridges.  I think one of the things that draws me to this cartridge is the simplicity (silhouettes don't require endless layering) and I just happen to love children (yelling at them all day doesn't negate the warm, fuzzy feelings I have for them when they're asleep).

The decorative strip beneath the flowers is a Martha Stewart punch (I wish I could remember the name, or better yet I wish the manufacturers would label them!)   The envelope was made using the Martha Stewart Scoring Board and one of my endless sheets of random 12x12 paper.  I think I get more satisfaction from making envelopes from my neglected paper than I do from any of my other crafty endeavors (one sheet down, 249,999 to go...)

Thanks for stopping by!



New Beginnings (And a Card)

Lately I don't know what's going on in my head.  It could be the effects of menopause, or maybe I haven't quite come to terms with the realities of my life.  Either way, I need a fresh start.  I can't run away from my life--and honestly, I don't think that's what I need or want--but something needs to change for my sake and the sake of everyone around me.  It's after midnight, so the only thing I can do tonight (except pray, which I've done and continue to do nonstop) is to find a project I haven't posted and share it with you.  Maybe it will remind me that there's a world outside my own head, and it isn't all bad.

(Image is from Cricut Cartridge A Child's Year)

Maybe this isn't the best project to remind me of the good things in life, or maybe it is the best thing for me right now.  It reminds me to appreciate the ones we love while we still can, because in a flash they can be taken from us.

I made this card a while back for my sister, Teresa, just to let her know I love her and am always thinking of her.  As I've shared with you before, she's been in a persistent vegetative state for over a decade now, but I still miss her constantly.  I remember how as a girl she always had a book in her hand, and when she wasn't reading it she was collecting four-leaf clovers and placing them between the pages.  She was a dreamer, but her dreams were cut short due to complications from a surgical procedure.  I want my memories of her to be a catalyst for me to make the most of my life, whatever it is that God has in store for me.

Life is often difficult.  We can make plans for our own lives (and we should), but ultimately we need to accept God's plan if we are to be happy.  Quite often they aren't the same.  It's impossible to sit here on this planet and understand how the disappointment and grief we feel in the present can be necessary in the big picture.  That's when we rely on a little thing called faith.  And a lot of prayer.

Birthday Card for my [Nosy] Husband

In the midst of the holiday frenzy last week, I tried to make a birthday card for my husband (who in their right mind has a baby during Thanksgiving??? ...Oops, I did that myself 28 years ago!)  Anyway, he kept interrupting me.   Everytime he stepped into my craft room I had to hide another piece of the card under one pile or another (this is a man who seems to avoid me unless I've got something to hide, then he's all over me like white on rice).  In the end, it was like a scavenger hunt trying to find all the pieces.  Luckily, there weren't that many.  Yet another reason to keep it simple.

As for the card, the boy and his dog were cut from the Cricut cartridge "A Child's Year", and the paper and rubber-stamped sentiment are just random finds from my ever-growing hoard.