Christmas Gift Planner

I know that I am skipping projects, (you have yet to see the Disney Autograph album), but after I finished this planner, I was so excited that I had to share!

This planner is my Christmas version of the Dave Ramsey (cash) envelope system. If you know me, my family has been debt free for a while and we use this system every Christmas. The system works like this: Each person that I have to buy for gets an envelope. Then after decided on how much to spend on that person, I put that amount in cash in their envelope. Once it's gone, NO MORE SPENDING!!! It also helps you realize just how much you spend on Christmas presents. And if you want more info about the cash system and Dave Ramsey's baby steps to get out of debt, check out his web site www.daveramsey.com

Ok, now the detail on the planner. This is made from chipboard, cardstock, and envelopes that were left over from my wedding eleven years ago!! I took the envelopes and made sure they were all facing with the flap towards me. This is the easiest for opening the envelopes. Then I punched the holes with the Bind It All. Then using cardstock cut to the same size as the envelopes, I made three dividers. This will just help me find a persons envelope faster. The chipboard is from sticker packages that fit perfectly, I just had to cut off the hole for hanging. It is about a 1/4 inch bigger than the envelope all the way around.


















I decided that I wanted to be able to reuse my planner next year too. So I attached a 2 3/4 inch by 6 inch piece of cardstock to each envelopes flap.

















I will add the person's name, age, sizes, and budgeted amount to the front of that. Next year, I will be able to remove that piece of paper and replace it with a new one without tearing up the envelopes.

Now all the embellishing!! This paper is from a Christmas stack from Hobby Lobby. I love these colors for Christmas! It just seems so festive and girly!! It had some stickers that I wouldn't normally use on layouts, so I used them to decorate the cover and dividers. Also used were, CTMH Christmas Melodies Stamp set, Recollections stamp set, CTMH inks, Ocean and Watermelon, various ribbons, Cricut cartridge Joy of the Seasons, and bling. I hope that you like this as much as I do! Happy crafting!!

Competition for the Cricut?

I don't know, but it looks like my Cricut could have some competition come next year. In January at CHA, Craftwell will realease a new machine called the eCraft Personal cutting system. If you haven't seen this, then you should check out their website at craftwellusa.com Now I am a self proclaimed Cricut lover. I wouldn't have never thought of giving up my Cricut, but if the user reviews are good, I think that it will be sitting next to my E. Here are some of the details straight from their site:

Automatic Paper and Cutting Sensor (no manual adjustments needed)

Paper Tray / Feeder (no more messy cutting boards)

Unique Roller system handles paper up to 12” by ANY length (wow!)

Draws and cuts without changing from blade to a pen (really!)

Easy to use software and a big bright LCD display (looks great)

SD Fun Cards, with a wide assortment of themed fonts and shapes (cool!)

From what I understand, no software needed for those TT Fonts that we all love! No need for a mat because it can cut up to any length! You can buy images and fonts, but not at the 89.99 retail price you pay for a Cricut cart. And you add up all of the customer service nightmares from ProvoCraft and this is going to be competition for the Cricut. I was looking at buying the Gypsy, but with all the problems they are having, I am waiting. And now, maybe the eCraft will be what I save for! And I have to say that I am in no way affiliated with this company. I had never heard of them before this. But I will be waiting the see the reviews, and my Cricut is holding her breath! Happy crafting!

First Grade

Well, I am trying to get back into the swing of things, but lately I have had so many other projects to do, that scrapping has been last on the list. While I still have many of those things to do, I managed to get this layout finished today. I saw the challenge and design team call at Just Buggin Challenges and decided that it was time to dust off the ATG! I was glad to use another cartridge besides Mickey and Friends! (Still working on those projects!) And hubby is away on business, so me and the Cricut have a couple of date nights this week! We'll see how much I can get done! This is the second page of my son's school album. Very simple and it was a fast layout to finish. Both the title and apple are cut from Plantin Schoolbook. I also used some great stamps that I found at Michaels. The ABC stamp is from an acrylic set from Hampton Art, part of their Foot-long collection. There are six border stamps each one about 6 inches long. They are very cool and can be used on several different things. They were not very expensive either! Hope you like it! Now on to the next project! Happy crafting!

Back from Disney!

Wow! We just got back from our family vacation to Walt Disney World, and we had so much fun!! I can't wait to get all 400+ photos printed and in an album. Mason loved the autograph book that I made for him and we got lots of compliments on it. He met thirty characters, so some didn't have a page. I wasn't sure who he would want to meet, so I have some more pages to add. Lilo and Stitch, Red Power Ranger, and Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc are some that need to be added. And now I need to find another Disney album and get started on those pages! I will try to get some pictures uploaded soon. I have a ton of laundry to wash and put away! Until then, happy crafting!

And the winner is...........

Through a random number generated by Random.org, post #21 was picked and it was from Jana!! Congrats! Send me your info and I will mail it out on Thursday!

Sorry that this was a little late being picked. I spent the weekend in the ER with an infection in my abdomen, not very fun. Now since I am able to get up and move around, hopefully I will finish the Disney autograph album and post a couple of pictures of what I have been working on lateley. Thanks for all the wonderful comments on my blod, and thanks to all of you who come back to see all the things that I love to do! Happy crafting!

Summer Fun Layout

What happens when you take your Cricut machine and all of your cartridges to a crop and realize after you get there, that you forgot your mats? Well, this layout is a result of a crop-gone-bad at my church. I forgot my mats, my acrylic stamp blocks, and my ever essential white Uni-ball pen. Yes, most of the ladies there offered to help me out and I could have drove the five minutes to my house to pick it all up. But I after I realized that I forgot all my stuff, I challenge myself to make do with what I had on hand. I had white American Craft alphabet stickers, orange stickles, and left over scraps. I backed the white stickers on solid parts of the We Are Memory Keepers White Out collection, then fussy cut around the letters. I hand cut the sun behind the letter U. Then, I accented the letters with dots of orange Stickles. So even though it's not what I would have done if I was at home with all of my stuff, I like the way this one turned out. Maybe next time, I will leave my Cricut turned off and see what else I can come up with. Or, maybe not! Happy crafting!

Celebrating 10,000 hits!!!

WOW!!! I reached 10,000 hits!! Thank you to all my friends who follow my blog. I am so excited that I have reached my first big number. Actually, I missed the 10,000 and now I am almost to 12,000!!! So to say thanks to those of you who visit, I am giving away some blog candy!! All you need to do is leave me a comment on this post and I will randomly pick someone to win a few of my favorite things on Sunday, September 20!!! You don't have to sign up to follow my blog, but there is another gift for a certain follower of my blog!! I am not telling what number, so it will be a surprise to someone!! I will have to add the picture of the candy a little later, as I am sitting outside with the laptop enjoying a beautiful night! Thanks again to all my visitors and good luck! Happy crafting!!

Here is SOME of my favorite things that will be in the candy:

chipboard!-Mini books and shapes

Martha stamps, foam adhesive, & ribbon

My very favorite letter stickers-American crafts

K & Co stickers and chipboard

Autumn Leaves rub-ons