The art of my life

I am married to a man of many talents, not the least of which is his musical ability.  My husband is an event planner by trade, but also happens to be a very talented percussionist.  Last year we learned about a new community symphony orchestra that was being formed in our area, and I encouraged him to get involved.  Well, he is definitely involved - he is now on the board of directors, is the percussion section leader, and plays timpani.  To say that I love to see him and hear him play...aaaah, there just aren't words to describe.

They had their first performance a few weeks ago, and it was fabulous.  My husband is honored to be working under the direction of a truly great man - a fantastic conductor and really nice guy.  He is the type of individual who brings the artistry out of a musician.  My husband wanted to express his thanks, so I was all too happy to make a card for the occasion.

 

And isn't it just so fortunate that I recently purchased the cartridge Quarter Note?  It was perfect for the occasion, as was the My Pink Stamper set Music Speaks.

Cricut Cartridge:  Quarter Note

Stamp:  My Pink Stamper Music Speaks
Embossing:  Cuttlebug Allegro
Paper:  AC Cardstock, Roberts Crafts, DCWV
Accessories:  Black organdy ribbon, gold gems

If you live in Utah and would like more information about the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra you can do so here.  Their next concert is Monday, June 20th, at the American Fork, UT, Amphitheater.  The guest artist that evening will be Jenny Oaks Baker!

Cricut Expression II Anniversary Edition - Celebration!

Let the countdown begin!  April 26th is the day that the Cricut Expression II Anniversary Edition will be launched on the Home Shopping Network.  I am so excited about this machine - it looks really cool!  I am so excited that I even decided to submit an entry for the Fifth Anniversary Design Challenge.  And since I live close to Provo Craft corporate headquarters, instead of sending mine in the mail I got to go there and deliver it in person.  Well, I wasn't able to give it to Jinger in person, but I did give it to the receptionist!  ;-)  It was one of those, "Aaaahhhh..." (insert chorus of angels singing) moments where you feel like you are on holy ground.  LOL! 

I don't know if it will win, but I sure had fun making it!  Those Toy Story cuts are a lot of work, but totally worth the time.  I just LOVE that bandana print paper in the background too.  And wouldn't you know, Robyn at My Pink Stamper had the perfect stamp set to go along:  Boy Crazy!

Cricut Cartridges:  Toy Story, Opposites Attract
Stamps:  My Pink Stamper Boy Crazy
Paper:  AC Cardstock, Bazzill, Roberts Crafts, The Paper Studio (red bandana)
Accessories:  hemp twine, misc buttons, white gel pen, Eyelet Outlet (star eyelets)

Don't forget that there is a My Pink Stamper LIVE Broadcast going on tonight starting at 10:05 pm CST where she will be announcing the winner of the Cricut Expression II Anniversary Edition!  And then afterwards is the launch on HSN!  Woo hoo!

He is Risen!

 “In our hour of deepest sorrow, we can receive profound peace from the words of the angel that first Easter morning: ‘He is not here: for he is risen.’”

Thomas S. Monson

Winner

Using Random.org, the winner I found for my very first giveaway is:

Purrbal said...
Happy Belated Birthday!

Oh what a great Woody bag of goodies. Cute!

TFS,
Shannon
http://cootiecreations.blogspot.com/

See your email!  And congratulations!

And don't forget to go over to My Pink Stamper where Robyn is having the most fabulous giveaway:  A limited anniversary edition Cricut Expression 2!!!! 

Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!  ;-)

Plus we are all still anxiously awaiting the big announcement of this month's Hello Thursday cartridges.  Stay tuned!

FCCB Bunny Hop Challenge!

I did a little experiment, and low and behold, it turned into a challenge - a bunny hop challenge to be exact.  I wanted to try making a carrot shaped box to put some Easter treats in.  I used the tree box from the Tags, Bags, Boxes & More cartridge, cut some green grass with Plantin Schoolbook for the leaves, put a bunny on it and there you have it.  Very simple, but very cute.  Well, I think so anyway!  ;-)  And of coarse Robyn at My Pink Stamper has a perfect stamp to go along!

Cricut Cartridges:  Tags Bags Boxes & More, Create a Critter, Plantin Schoolbook
Stamps:  My Pink Stamper Even More Punnylicious
Paper:  AC Cardstock, Roberts Crafts, Bazzill
Embossing:  Cuttlebug Swiss Dots

My Pink Design Team - April! **Giveaway**

It's always a party at My Pink Stamper - isn't Robyn just so fun?  Well the celebration continues as today, me and my fellow designers feature party favors!  With my little guy I just know that I have a Toy Story themed party in my future, so I thought it would be fun to use the Toy Story cartridge to create my party favor.  And wouldn't you know, Robyn has the perfect set of stamps to go along with it!  Today I am featuring My Pink Stamper's Boy Crazy:

This is such a fabulous set!  And it's great for boys of all ages too.  I know I'll be using this one a ton.  If you would like to see where you can purchase some of these for yourself you can click here.

These party favors are just so easy to make too.  I used my Gypsy to make this box from Tags, Bags, Boxes & More because the Gypsy would let me make the box a little bigger than I could with the Expression alone - at 7 inches.  Then I used the Toy Story cartridge to cut the sheriff badge in the background.  Once again enter Gypsy so I could just cut the basic star shape without the cuts on the interior of the star.  And then of coarse, Woody!  Put it all together, add some cute paper shred and some candy and there you have it!  What little boy wouldn't love this?  What little boy wouldn't tear this to pieces in 3 seconds?  I try not to think about that part...  ;-)
**Update**  For those who have asked about the difficulty of this project - There isn't anything terribly difficult about this technique-wise.  The boxes are easy to assemble and decorate.  The time consuming part is the Woody cut, as anyone who has the Toy Story cartridge can tell you.  This isn't like Create a Critter where the layering is really easy.  With Toy Story there are a lot of little parts to piece together.  This is why I went with this particular cut - Woody's head doesn't have quite as many little details to add.  But in the end, it doesn't really matter how long it takes if you're enjoying doing it!

Cricut Cartridges:  Toy Story, Tags Bags Boxes & More, Gypsy
Stamps:  My Pink Stamper Boy Crazy 
Paper:  AC Cardstock, Bazzill 
Ink:  Stampin' Up! 
Accessories:  Offray (ribbon), watercolor pencils (Stampin' Up!), hemp twine

**Giveaway **
And since we're talking about celebrating birthdays, guess who's birthday it is this week?  Mine!  But the presents are for you because I am having my very first giveaway:

I bet you didn't know when I advertised the DCWV warehouse last week that I was planning on going shopping for you too!  I'm giving away a 4.5 x 6.5 Spring mat stack and some coordinating brads.  All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me what your favorite way to celebrate your birthday is.  Then come back on Friday to see if you've won.

Spring Fling Challenge and a new cartridge!

I thought I would join in with the FCCB Spring Fling Challenge:  make a project using pink, green and yellow.  Thank goodness I have a new cartridge which was perfect:  Florals Embellished.

 Isn't it funny how you can take pictures at the same time, in the same place, but at different angles and the colors look totally different.  I am certainly not what you would call an advanced photographer.  The third picture is the one that shows the true colors in the card.  I am really happy with how it turned out!  And I was also happy that I had the perfect My Pink Stamper stamp for the sentiment.  This one came from her set Everyday Life:

Cricut Cartridge:  Florals Embellished
Stamp:  My Pink Stamper Everyday Life
Paper:  AC Cardstock, DCWV
Embellishments:  Stickles, assorted gems

And I just have to show you the adorable card my 11 year old made.  Isn't she talented?  I think she does a better job than most of the ladies I teach in my classes!

DCWV Warehouse sale!

At the risk of making those of you who do not live in Utah cry...

Tomorrow the Die Cuts With a View warehouse sale begins!  If you are in the area, this is definitely a sale that you can't miss.  Last year they had the 12 x 12 stacks for $5!  They had their wall vinyl for $3!  Just be prepared because you know what happens when you put a bunch of scrappers in a warehouse with prices like that - it gets a little crazy!  For the best selection you need to get there early, but be prepared to wait in line for a long time.

Corner of East Bay Blvd and 350 East

Building #1422

Provo, Utah

Thursday, April 14th- 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Friday,     April 15th - 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Saturday, April 16th-   9:00  AM - 1:00 PM

Pics from Hawaii!

I loved every minute of my trip to Hawaii.  I'm sure it helped, of coarse, that my husband's position had people falling all over themselves welcoming us, treating us to dinners, and generally spoiling us.  A mother needs that once in a while!  The weather was beautiful, the people were beautiful, the scenery was beautiful.  I just loved the relaxed atmosphere, and well, being kissed by Polynesian men wasn't so bad either.  ;-)

The beautiful lei the hotel staff presented me with.  It was incredible - every blossom was wrapped in a flower petal, and then the flowers and the stems were all woven together.

At Pearl Harbor - you can see the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial and the U.S.S. Missouri in the background.

We went to visit a macadamia nut farm, and it just so happened to also be the location where scenes for my favorite t.v. show (Off the Map) are filmed.  Look familiar?

My husband lived in Japan for a couple of years, so it was wonderful to partake of the Japanese culture on the island.  This is the Byodo-In temple which is in the Valley of the Temples.  Many television shows have been filmed here also, including Lost.

My husband and I were on the island running a music festival for junior high school and high school aged children.  This was the setting for the awards ceremony that we presented after the festival.  We were at the Polynesian Cultural Center and this is the stage were they perform their night show.  Have you ever seen a more beautiful stage?  The show was incredible, and very moving.  After seeing such a display of incredible dancing and music it makes me feel that the American culture is just a complete lack of culture!

This is what was waiting for us when we returned to our hotel room after the awards ceremony.  I told you we were spoiled!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this!  We went to the Dole Plantation and these were for sale in the gift shop.  I opted to try the pineapple and the most delicious Dole Whip instead of the Spam flavored macadamia nuts.  Call me crazy...

We are Food Network junkies at our house, so naturally we had to travel to the north shore to Matsumoto's to try their famous shave ice.  We also ate at Hank's while we were there, a hot dog joint featured on Diner's Drive Ins and Dives.

And last but not least, we had to go back to Laie so we could see the beautiful temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I would have liked to have gone inside also, but being General Conference weekend it was closed.  Between the Polynesian Cultural Center, BYU-Hawaii, and the temple, all of Laie is just beautiful.

And there you have it!  Even though it was a working vacation, I loved every minute of it.  I can't wait to go back!

Pinkalicious Blog Hop Friday!

I'm back from Hawaii and hoppin' excited that it's Pinkalicious Blog Hop Friday!  Whether you arrived here from Tracy's blog or you arrived here on your own, I'm glad you're here!  If you would like to begin at the beginning, hop on over to My Pink Stamper and then you'll be sure to see all the wonderful projects made by Robyn and my fellow designers.

You know, it's great to take a break once in a while - I've had a long one between family visiting and going on my trip - but I've missed my papercrafting time!  I have some new cartridges, new stamps, and some other new supplies and I'm excited to use them!  The theme for this month's blog hop is birthdays!  And I am so excited to be showcasing one of Robyn's new stamp sets called Sweetest Cupcakes:

We LOVE cupcakes at our house!  My oldest daughter who is 11 years old especially loves cupcakes, and when that sweet tooth strikes her favorite thing to say is, "I feel like a big, frosted cupcake!"  I think the very first Cricut cartridge I ever bought was Sweet Treats, and it is still one of my favorites.  But today I wanted to try one of my new cartridges, so I decided to use one of the cute cupcakes on the Once Upon a Princess Cartridge:

I also tried a new technique with this card:  an accordian fold flower.  I have been wanting to try one of these for a while, and it was the perfect excuse to get out my new Martha Stewart Score Board.  What a super easy, fun technique?

Cricut Cartridge:  Once Upon a Princess
Stamps:  My Pink Stamper Sweetest Cupcakes
Paper:  AC Cardstock, Doodlebug Design Pastel Playful Paisley, Doodlebug Design glitter cardstock
Edge Punch:  Martha Stewart Flower Patch, Fiskars Apron Lace
Embellishments:  Offray ribbon, DCWV (button), green gem

Thank you so much for visiting me today!  It's now time to hop along to Pam's blog.  I've included the entire blog hop order below in case you get lost, and don't forget to go back to My Pink Stamper when you're done and join us for the challenge!  Have fun!

Robyn

Michelle--Meesh's Pieces

Shelley

Edna

Julie-readysetstamp

Lori

Cristi

Raechel

Bling Queen Wendy

Agnes--Flowerdisco

Sonia

Tracy--Craft Junkie Too

Andrea

Pam

Helen

Tammy

Courtney--Court's Crafts

Angela's Simple Creations

Kassidy

Shauna at Craftee She

CarrieAnne

Karlee

Maria

Aloha from Hawaii!

I just wanted to check in and say that I'm still alive and kicking - and in Hawaii!  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous.  Yesterday we went to Pearl Harbor - very solemn, but very meaningful.  They have a new museum that explains a lot of the history that led up to the attack - a beautiful facility and I learned a lot.  It was also very emotional going out to the USS Arizona Memorial - I truly felt like I was on sacred ground (or water, as it were).

Today I look forward to getting further out of Honolulu - to see a macadamia nut farm!  Then my husband and I have work later on this afternoon and again tomorrow, but then it's time to play again.  We're going to the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Dole Plantation, Matsumoto's for shaved ice!  Woo hoo!

Aloha!