Operation Owl

You can find friends in some crazy locations! I find myself making friends on the internet more and more these days. Although my new friends are people I have never met and may never meet, they seem to be in the same stage of life as me (plus they LOVE to craft just like me). It is so wonderful to have new friends! I am reminded of the Girl Scout song... Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver the other is gold! I have had the great opportunity in making a new friend in Kristal Andrew from getting Getting Cricky dot com :). Kristal is a very special person, from the moment I found her blog I knew she was not like most. She has an amazing gift to give the most inspirational blogs that I have ever read. She is uplifting and great food for the soul. If you have not had the opportunity to check out her blog please do! http://www.gettingcricky.com/

Kristal not only blogs but she sells amazing stamps at a low cost and donates a portion of her profits to different charities she has researched. I LOVE her stamps! I have three sets and can not wait to get more! So be sure to check those out as well!

Anyhow the purpose of this post.... Kristal has a Design Team (an amazing Design Team I might add) and there term with her is sadly coming to an end. :( We will miss the design team greatly! (No worries I will still follow everyones blogs so I will still have my eye on you! ;)). So as there time comes to an end they are thanking Kristal for a wonderful term and making sure she knows how wonderful she is. I thought I would send her some love with a card of my own. THANK YOU KRISTAL ANDREW! You have touched the lives of many and mean a great deal to us. You are an amazing person, never change. God has sent you to us and we are some lucky ducks! So thanks for being you girl!!

I went with the owl theme (because Kristal loves owl's and this is operation owl) I used the create-a-critter cartridge and the stamp comes from Kristal's stamp line Fashionable Friends

Some people come into our lives
and leave footprints on our hearts
and we are never ever the same.

Some people come into our lives
and quickly go... Some stay for awhile
and embrace our silent dreams.

They help us become aware
of the delicate winds of hope...
and we discover within every human spirit
there are wings yearning to fly.

They help our hearts to see that
the only stairway to the stars
is woven with dreams...
and we find ourselves
unafraid to reach high.

They celebrate the true essence
of who we are...
and have faith in all
that we may become.

Some people awaken us
to new and deeper realizations...
for we gain insight
from the passing whisper of their wisdom

Throughout our lives we are sent
precious souls...
meant to share our journey
however brief or lasting their stay
they remind us why we are here.

To learn... to teach... to nurture... to love

Some people come into our lives
to cast a steady light
upon our path and guide our every step
their shining belief in us
helps us to believe in ourselves.

Some people come into our
lives to teach us about love...
The love that rests within ourselves.

Let us reach out to others
and feel the bliss of giving
for love is far richer in action
that it ever is in words.

Some people come into our lives
and they move our souls to sing
and make our spirits dance.

They help us to see that everything on earth
is part of the incredibility of life...
and that it is always there
for us to take of its joy.

Some people come into our lives
and leave footprints on our hearts
and we are never ever the same.

~by Flavia Weedn~

Kid's Birthday Theme - Decorate to Celebrate Challenge

Good morning all! I am taking a second to enter the Decorate to Celebrate Kid's themed Brithday Challenge! I am excited to enter this as one of my favorite things to do is plan my kids birthday parties! I start planning their next birthday the day after the party! :) I like doing this because it gives me time to get stuff ready as well and buying stuff over the year instead of getting everything all at once is much nicer!

This party was a Disney's Cars birthday party done for my sons 4th birthday. He loves the movie Cars and I think he would have a cars party every year if I would let him. I did not get pictures of everything but this gives you a pretty good idea of what the party was like! Thanks for looking. Hope you enjoy! And if you have a chance check out the other great entries at http://decoratetocelebrate.blogspot.com/

This was the birthday invite. It was his Golden Birthday so I made it the Golden cup race.

I cut these letters from the Mickey Font Cricut Cartridge. I placed them on our garage so people could see it as they pulled up

I bought this sign at a discount party store. I wanted a picture of all the party guest in front of it but ran out of time...

Each child recieved a drivers liscense when they entered Everson Speedway. It was attached to the lanyard

We had lunch set up at Flo's V 8 Cafe. We had hot rods (hot dogs), dip sticks (carrots and celery with dressing), stop light brownies (brownies cut in rectangles with Red, Yellow and Green M&M's to make it look like a stop light), racing fruit, Sally's pasta  salad and Mater's Tator Chips!

The kids were able to get tattoos at Ramone's Custom Body art

For those kids who did not want to play a game I had Sally's Cozy Cone Motel where they could play on the cars mat and relax

Each child when they completed a game got Car's dollars and when the games were over just before the party ended they came to Sarge's surplus Depot where they could cash in on the prizes! Each prize was a car's dollar (each child ended up with about six dollars to spend) They had fun picking out prizes (the prizes where from Party City)

The sign is hard to read but this is Filmore's Organic Fuel (otherwise known as juice boxes)

We had an area called Guido's pit stop where the kids made race cars out of candy, peppermint and gum. It was a little tricky with the got glue gun and young kids but the cars came out pretty cute

This was Luigi's  Casa De La Tires. The kids had to toss bean bags and make it into the tire.

The kiddos got to decorate bags before the party began so we could wait for all the guest to arrive.

 This station was Gudio's pit stop again

..

I also did a Golden Cup Race (which did not get pictured).... I took chalk and drew a rode on the driveway. I had Cars Shaker Cars that my son has been collecting... they took the cars to the start and shook them... first one to the finish line one a golden cup. We played until everyone won a cup!

 This was the orginally sign I had bought from a party store. After the party I converted it into the next sign... I took black paper and covered up the the Happy Birthday portion of the liscense plate and cut letters from the cricut saying " Thank You" on the top replacing birthday and "RACEFANS" replacing the word Birthday! And took this and turned it into my Thank you cards!

I took a picture of my son in front of the newly made sign and made it into his thank you's. I made a lightening McQueen cut out with the the Cars Cricut Cartridge and printed the words "taking a pit stop to thank my fans!" They turned out pretty cute!!

I hope you enjoyed the Disney Cars Party!

Getting Cricky Sunday Challenge Food for thought!

Wow... this week has flown by like a cloud of dust! So much going on. It has been a difficult week, but I am making it through. I am happy to have a quick chance to enter the Getting Cricky with K Andrew Sunday Challenge "Food for Thought" http://www.gettingcricky.com/2011/07/simply-sunday-food-for-thought.html. The idea behind this weeks challenge is to create a note with some "food for thought". I love this idea and remember notes my mom would leave me. It was always a joy to see a little something extra in my lunch box to brighten my day. Since it has been a bit of a rough week I have decided to make my note  lunch time words of encouragement. I have taken a piece of foil... crumpled it up and glued it to a sheet of paper then I took Kristal Andrew's stamp from the "food for thought" stamp set and stamped out the words.. "don't let anything foil your day". It is a simple card but the meaning can go a long way! Hope you enjoy!! :) Have a great weekend all!

If you have not had the opportunity to check out the Getting Cricky website I highly recommend it http://www.gettingcricky.com/!!!

And please check out her stamps as well. Each stamp benefits a different charity! The "Food for Thought" stamp set helps out Storefront Shelter for Homeless Children.
 They are fabulous stamp sets (I already own three and can not wait to build my collection). Plus they are made right here in the USA!

Diaper Cakes

Hi all! I am doing a post today on my diaper cakes! I had some comments about my previous diaper cakes and wanted to share a few more that I have done in the past. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you like and what you don't! I am not afraid of a little constructive criticism! ;) Enjoy your day everyone!

I created this cake for my friend Lisa. It was night time cake. Everything you need to get ready for Bed. I included PJ's, bottle, Nuk, blanket, towel, bedtime bath bubbles and shampoo and washcloths. Along with the diapers of course that I used to make the cake! :)

I made this cake for my sister-in-law. This was for her third child (my adorable Godchild :)) Because it was her third child and she already has a girl I went with the normal diapers that I use to make the cake. I surrounded it by receiving blankets and wrapped that with ribbon. But like I said because this was her third child I did not fill it with normal baby stuff. I went with a scrap theme because my sister in law loves to scrap like me. I got stickers, tape and lots of cute things to scrap out the first year. I took chip board letters and made her name on the larger part of the cake. It turned out really cute.  

 This cake I made for another friend that I threw a shower for. I made it into a bath time/"Bee" safe theme. I tried to stick with items she had on her gift registry. I did the normal blankets surrounding the diapers. This one I went with a burt's bees gift package she had picked out only I took everything out of the basket (I gave her the basket as an "extra gift" (anything I do not use for the diaper cake that I purchase as a set I still give to the mom to be I just wrap it up instead of using it for the cake) anyhow, the stuff I used for the cake from the basket was burt's bees Buttermilk Lotion, BB's Shampoo & Wash, BB's Diaper ointment, BB's Buttermilk Soap, BB's Nourishing Oil Mini and then I took one of those "grooming kits" that has the nail clippers, medicine spoon,  comb, brush and nasal bulb. The theme of the bee was in the blankets that I used as well.

I have posted this cake before. Again I went with a bath time theme. This one has baby shampoo and lotion with the diapers wrapped about it. The bottom layer is a hooded towel, the next layer is a regular baby towel and the top is a receiving blanket. It is topped off with a washcloth monkey mitt.  I filled the layers with a rattle, travel size shampoo, baby powder, lotion, wash clothes and a finger puppet.

This is my first ever diaper trike! I found pictures on-line and went off of the pictures. When I did it there were not a whole lot of instructions out there. Not sure if they are online now or not. I took diapers and rolled them up... it is hard to see but there are actually three sets of rolled up diapers. One in front, two in back. That is why I call this one a trike and not a motorcycle. I have seen it done like a motorcycle as well with one set of diapers in front and one in back. Anyhow! ;) I took about 30 diapers in the back to tires and 40 for the front. I wrapped those with ribbon to cover the rubber bands. Then I took a receiving blanket and went through all three sets of tired to hold them together (this is the pink blanket down by the monkey's feet). I then places a bib over the front and one over the middle (to act as a seat for the monkey, make sure this is a LARGE bib) I took another receiving blanket and tied it up through the front tires and placed a bottle in the center (head light) and kris crossed the blanket over the top of it to make the handle bars. I put baby mittens on the end of the blankets to make the bars look more complete. And then placed a ribbon over the crossed section of the blanket. Then I place the monkey on the seat... I know these instructions are pretty confusing and I am sorry! I made it a while ago and should have wrote the instructions down as I went through it. But of course I didn't think of it then!!!

Okay so I know these are not a diaper cake but I had to add them on here! They are wash cloth lollipops! You take a wash cloth and wrap it up, pin it and then attach it to a tongue depressor or large craft stick. I then wrapped them with cellophane and tied it off with a ribbon! They are super cute, super easy and pretty inexpensive to make!

I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping! Please feel free to follow my blog! I always love having new followers!

GC...Fallen Hero Blog Hop

Happy Sunday Morning all! Today is a great day! A little hot but a great day! :) I was so inspired by Kristal Andrew's and her Getting Cricky Design teams Fallen Hero Blog Hop (http://www.gettingcricky.com/2011/07/gettin-cricky-with-it-blog-hop-for.html) that I decided to create some cards of my own to send to DT member Rebecca to take with her to the Run for the Fallen Maine. Rebecca of The Crafting Misfit, will be hand delivering cards during this event to show out thanks to our troops! Thanks so much Rebecca for doing this! Unfortunately I did not purchase K. Andrew's "Freedom Isn't Free" stamp set so I had to go off on my own and create. But I thought the cards turned out okay. I am blessed to have members of the military in my family and so thankful for them! I am thankful for all our troops and pray for their safety everyday. If you have the time and can make some cards to send to Rebecca so she can share them please do! All the information is located on the Getting Cricky web link I posted above! The non-profit organization is also excepting donations of other forms... please check out there link here (http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/john-mixon-1/runforthefallenmaine). Thanks for stopping today! Have a great day!!!

Sorry color is kind of awful on some... not sure what is up with my camera!

****Run for the Fallen Maine is an organization dedicated to keeping alive the memory of our military heroes that gave their lives to protect our freedom since September 11, 2001. On Sunday August 21, 2011 the 4th run to honor our heroes will be held. This is a 65 kilometer event with each kilometer being dedicated to the memory of one of our heroes that lived in Maine, had family from Maine or had some ties to our home State." ********

Simply Sunday "Fashion-ista" Challenge

Happy Saturday everyone! If you are in the midwest...hopefully you are keeping cool. It is going to be gross out this week! Great week to stay in and craft! Haha...

Today I wanted to enter one of my scrap pages in the Getting Cricky Simply Sunday Challenge. This week's challenge is called "Fashion-ista".  I thought there was no better display of a "Fashion-ista" then my little Mo! Mo is 2 and she is just a character! She loves to play dress up and babies. She is a crack up. You never know what type of outfit the girl will come up with, and she has three-five "costume changes" a day. Somedays it is exhausting doing laundry because of this but then I remember how much fun she was having and it all becomes worth it! ;) So here is scrapbook page. I used paper I had around the house and some rhinestone for a little added flare! And of course Kristal Andrew's "fashionable friends" stamp set!

If you have not heard of these stamp sets you have to check them out! (http://www.kandrewdesigns.com/)  Every single package of stamps that you order from K. Andrew's goes to help charity.  Kristal researched every charity she donates to very carefully, and each one of them gives atleast 85% or more directly to the people in need.  As long as my stamps are in production and for sale, $1 from every single set will be donated! She has also arranged to send $1 from every single one of her stamp sets to benefit the Children's Shelter in San Diego, CA, where she lives. Storefront Shelter   takes to the streets every night in search of homeless children. Kristal has a very low profit margin but  believes her real work in this world is to do good, and I can think of no better way than to help a child. ***Kudos to you Kristal! This world needs more people like you!!***

"Fashionable Friends", stamp set  goes to a charity for something I hold close to my heart, The Cancer Angels. The Cancer Angels is a non-profit organization that helps aid Level 4 cancer patients of ALL kinds. Many of these patients have such severe cancer and chemo that working or holding down a job is near impossible. Cancer angels gives them hope and monetary help while undergoing treatment in this stage. Imagine finding out you have cancer, and losing your job, home, and everything else because you can't work. Sometimes you just need an angel...and this is my way of becoming a silent angel (all of us together) to those who so desperately need some good news in the midst of such a storm.--- Having had a loved with with cancer in the last year I know how trying it can be on families both emotionally and finacially! Please be sure to check out these stamps! Hope you all have a great day! Thanks for stopping!! 

P

Anniversary!

On Thursday I had the great privilege to celebrate my anniversary with my husband. He is a wonderful husband and father. I never thought I would find this kind of love but it is amazing. 6 years together and I still get butterflies in my tummy when he looks at me! :) Anyhow. I made him this card using a stamp from getting cricky's (www.gettingcricky.com)  Food for Thought stamp set. It has a ton of fun stamps and the great thing is they are all interchangeable! :) I thought this would be the best for our Anniversary though! Have a great day!!!