Keeley's back brace

We went this morning and fitted Keeley's back brace.  It is very pretty, it's light purple and has butterflies all over it.  She was very attentive and paid close attention to the doctor as he was explaning what she would need to do and how to put it on.  She is a real trooper!  It's very hard to see her in this "contraption", but she's not so very upset at this time.  Right now she wants everyone to see it!  I hope that she won't have to wear it forever.

Circle Blog Monthly Challenge Dec10:Holiday Gifts

For the December Monthly Blog Challenge, we had to creat a holiday gift item using the following guidelines:

• Use atleast 2 Cricut Cuts
• Use a tag made with a cartridge (there are so many great tags on so many cartridges!)
• Use the color red somewhere.
• Use ribbon.
• Use a phrase from one of the cartridges.

I used a charger plate as a picture frame for one of my mother's gifts.  Here's my entry:

Circle Blog Weekly Challenge #13--Inspiration Challenge

We had to use a piece of artwork by Laura Amiss as the inspiration for our Weekly challenge.  I was inspired by the zig-zag pattern in the piece.  I made a valentine gift bag with a zig-zag pattern of hearts.  Here is my entry:

Circut Circle Magazine December Gift Bag/Box Contest

I won!  I won!  The Baby shower gift box that I made was chosen as FIRST place!!  I can't belive that they chose my gift box--there were so many great entries!!  Here's the pictures of it:

The tale of my grand-daughter

I have been taking my grand-daughter to physical therapy two times a week for 12 weeks or more and yesterday she went to the orthopediac to see if there was any progress.  Sadly, there has been additional slipping between the discs in her lower back--lumbar region--and she now must wear a brace.  She is only 7 and so very active, how will she live with this brace?  I don't know if it is a soft or hard brace and I don't know when she will have to wear it.  Will she have to wear it all day or only at night?  I guess I'll find out more when my daughter gets the appointment set with the brace people.

She is out of school for the Christmas break and will be staying with us during the day for the next two weeks.  I'm exicted for her to be here.  We will make plans tomorrow on what we are going to do this coming week.  It will be fun.

Circle Blog Weekly Challenge #11--Card or Tag Sketch Entry

This is my entry for the Circle Blog weekly challenge.

Circle Blog Weekly Challenge #11--Card or Tag Sketch

Very hectic week this week, doctor's appointments and Keeley's Christmas party at school.  Finally had a little down time to make a card for this week's Circle Blog challenge.  You had to create a card or tag using  the sketch below.  It also had to have two Cricut cuts. 

I made a Christmas card that I will be sending to Keeley's teacher Mrs. Lamphere.  Here is my entry:

Circle Blog Weekly Challenge #10--Holiday Recipe Challenge

Here is my entry for the Circle Weekly Challenge #10.  You had to create a project that is about, includes or holds a holiday recipe--it could be a scrapbook page, a mini album, a recipe box/book or a gift for a neighbor.  It had to pay tribute to a favorite holiday recipe in some way and you had to use 2 different Cricut cuts. 

I made a gift for my neighbor--a "Cocoa" container full of cocoa mix with the recipe on the tag.  All they will need to do is cut along the fold line of the tag and they will have the recipe for "Hot Cocoa Mix".  I make a big batch of this mix when it begins to turn cold and have it on hand for the holidays and throughout the winter.

Keely's Ocean Card

While I was making the gift box for the Circle Mag challenge, Keeley got busy and made a card using punches and glitter glue.  Here is her creation--she calls it "Ocean".

Circle Magazine Challenge

This is my entry for the Circle Magazine Challenge--I made a gift bag for a baby shower.  You had to make a gift bag, use four Cricut cuts and use something from one of the magazine sponsors.  I cut my box from Tags, Bags, Boxes & More, I cut the baby clothes from Nursery Tales using the Imagine and the "poles" from the same cart.  I embellished the dresses using the I-rock & gems.  I also used the Cuttlebug and emobssed the tissue paper with baby sayings folder.

Circle Blog Weekly Challenge #9--Black Friday

Here is my entry for the Friday Weekly Challenge #8: Black Friday.  You had to use something black and recycle or repurpose something.  I recycled an old picture frame by painting it black and then cut three  phrases from the Wildlife Lite Cartridge--two in black and one in printed field grass paper.  The pictures are of the pronghorn antelope that Logan bagged in Raton, NM on his 9-11-10 hunting trip.

Well, I wasn't lucky enough to win the Monthly challenge (so sad, I really wanted that YuDu package deal), but my little Christmas tree will be used as part of my decorations.  Keeley thought it was just grand and has it sitting out even though I have no other decorations out yet.

I did get a great surprise today in the mail!  I received a package of goodies from a circle friend, Cindy Messer (aka momto2cuties)--I got a roll of beautiful ribbon, some Inkadinkado swirls stamps, and a Christmas tree mini book!  Thank you Cindy!

Circle Blog Monthly Challenge Nov10: Home Sweet Home

We had a good Thanksgiving, although Keeley wasn't able to be with us this year--she had to go with her Dad to see her other grand-parents in Center, TX.  Logan came home on Wednesday evening and was able to stay until Saturday morning, he got a call that he had gotten a trip out of St. Petersburg, FL leaving out on Tuesday.  It's a 16 hr drive, so he had to go home to get all of his equipment, he made it home & the captain of the boat called him and told him that the weather had turned and the swells were still high, so it was going to be a wait and see notice.   Oh well, at least he got to come home and made it back to his house safely.  He went flounder fishing with Carrie  and Mark late Saturday afternoon and they caught 6 big ones--he was happy.   Hellen didn't get to come over to Mom & Dad's for dinner, she had to take the train to be with her sister-in-law Pat, who had to have a masectomy on Wednesday, so we missed her.

Well, I've made a Paper Ribbon Tree to enter in the Cricut Circle Montly Blog Challenge--Home Sweet Home.  You had to make some home decor project, using one Cricut Cart Cut, use the Cuttlebug, use Felt, and use color Green.  I used Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake cartridge to cut paper ribbon strips and glued them to a green cone that I made with the Tie the Knot Cart.  Before gluing them to the cone, I embossed them using the Cuttlebug Cindy Loo branch embossing plate.  I cut two stars from A Child's Year using White Felt and punched Red Cardinals from Red Felt.  I glued the Star to the top and glued the birds on the branches.  I wound white Christmas package ribbon around the tree to look like garland.

Here's pictures of my entry.

DCWV Give-away

I love all things that DCWV has to offer.  Their paper pads are such great value and they are always so very beautiful--it's hard to make my self use the paper because it is so beautiful that I want to keep it just so that I can look at it over and over again.

Check out the blog for a great blog hop and give-away!  http://dcwvinc.blogspot.com/

Also, I forgot to post last Saturday about my win on the Cricut Circle Blog contest.  I entered a card for the weekley challenge--#6 Feathered and WON!!!   Here's a picture of my card!

Contest on Obessed With Scrapbooking

Check out Joy's blog www.obsessedwithscrapbooking.com/ for great ideas and for a fantastic contest!

I enjoy seeing all of her fine creations.

Friday, 11-5-10--DCWV Blog Hop

I love DCWV paper and embellishments.  I have joined in a blog hop where I have a chance to win one of their new "stacks" Street Lace or Colorful Life--I would love to win either stack, but would especially like to win Street Lace!  Check out their blog  http://www.dcwvinc.blogspot.com/

Cricut Circle Blog--Friday 10-29-10 Brithday Sketch Challenge

This is the layout I made for the Circle Blog Firday Weekly challenge.  I hope that my number is picked!!  Would love to win!

Meet-Up in Houston on 10-23-10

I went to a Cricut Circle meet-up in Houston on Saturday, 10-23-10 and met a bunch of new friends--it was good to put a face to their message board names.  We had a great time.  Michael W. from Provo Craft was there and he brought a lot of door prizes.  I won a brown & pink Cake apron--I would have liked to win something else, but I did win something. 

McKinzy went with me to Houston and he visited Logan on Saturday.  They went fishing, but didn't catch much.  After the meet, I drove down to League City to be with Logan too.  We stayed in Webster at the Econo Lodge and it was very clean and smelled fresh.  Visited with Carrie too, but she had to leave to go to work in Bioluxi, MS last Sunday evening.  While she was still there, we went over to Kemah and had dinner at T-Bone Tom's and it was very good--we'll have to go back again the next time we visit.  I got to go to Archivers scrapbook store--that store has everything!  It reminded me of the Recollections stores that we used to have--I wish they had a store around DFW.  I also went shopping at Tuesday morning while the guys went fishing on Sunday morning and found a laser trimmer--I haven't used it yet, but it looks cool.

There is going to be a Cricut swarm in Dallas on March 18, 19, & 20--yeah!!  I'm so excited.  I talked to Michael about having a meetup for the DFW area--so I'm trying to get enough people interested so that we can have a meet-up before March 2011.  We need 50 or more for Michael or someone from PC to come bearing goodies.  Maybe I'll be able to pull something together.

I'm still having trouble remembering "stuff", my brain is foggy most of the time and if I think too hard I begin to get a headache.  It gets so very frustrating!  I hate being like this!!!

Cricut Circle Swarm, Salt Lake City, UT--October 9, 2010

I just returned from the Cricut Circle swarm in Utah last night.  Aunt Betty and I had a good time, but we were very disappointed because Provo Craft didn't create the WOW experience that they advertised nor was anything set up for handicap access.  The classes weren't classes at all, only lectures with no hands on, the make-n-takes weren't given to the Circle members first and you had to stand in long lines and the drawings were jokes.   You couldn't participate in the challenges because you couldn't hear what you needed to do and you couldn't hear anything--everything was loud and garbled.   The classes were advertised that you would learn all of the ins and outs and features of your Expression, Yudu, Gypsy and Imagine--nothing was done in a class situation.  The Imagine ran out of ink and the PC staff that was in charge didn't know very much about it.  The Expressions and other Cricut machines were set out, but there were only 2 Expressions, 1 Create and 1 Original--there were 200 or more people there. 

Also, this was supposed to be a Cricut Circle Swarm where all the Circle members would be treated special.  NOT---PC opened the ticket purchase to non-circle members and most of them were very rude and condescending as though the members didn't have first choice of anything.  Heck, why wouldn't they think that, the PC staff didn't even attempt at it.

I feel that we were robbed of our time and money.  We spent a good amount of money to drive to Utah for nothing that we thought we would be getting.  I will be sending Provo Craft a letter expressing my opinion of their goof.