Cricut Water Bottle

 

I found this bottle in the clearance section of my local Target store.  A friend requested a bottle with the Army Black Knights logo on it and this is what I came up with!

I used my Cricut Maker 3 and matte gold and white Smart Vinyl.

Senior night gifts

My daughter is on the girls golf team at her school and it was senior night at their match this week.  With only one senior girl on the team, we had to do something extra special for her!

I ordered a sash from Amazon and added Cricut Glitter Vinyl to it. I think it turned out great and she was thrilled (I think she was planning to wear it to school the next day).

I ordered the tumbler from Amazon and cut the Cut the blue, red and black permanent vinyl with my Cricut Maker.

Cricut Joy Bundle @ Costco!

 Costco has the Cricut Joy and lots of extras for $150!  If you are a beginner, this would be a great place to start!  I have the Maker 3, and still use my Joy for small projects, especially for cards - that card mat is awesome!

My local Michaels store had quite a few colors of the Joy Smart Vinyl on clearance for $3 this week - so make sure to look for that too!

Graduation Gift Ideas

I had so much fun making these gifts for a college graduation!

 

Learning to make earrings with the Cricut

Earrings are so much fun to make with the Cricut!  

It was a learning experience but with the help of a few Youtube videos, I was able to create several sets of earrings within a couple of hours. 

I need to get new findings for the first two sets because the ball hooks I ordered are a bit short for where the holes are in these earrings.  

Overall, I like the way these turned out.  I used templates that I found in Design Space, but think it would be pretty easy to create my own and I'm excited to try because the possibilities are endless!  It was helpful though, to have that template to learn how they were constructed before trying it myself.

I also experimented with the earring card.  It is also a Design Space template, but I moved the holes up to accommodate the size of the earring set.  I need to re-work this a bit more, and am thinking I will move the logo to the top of the card and change the font of the web address (this was drawn on with the Cricut pen).  

Cricut Vinyl on Amazon - CHEAP!

 Amazon has quite a few shades of Cricut Smart (permanent) vinyl on sale for under $4!  

They also have the Cricut Standard Grip Transfer Tape in a 21 ft. roll for less than $9!

Deal on Cricut Mats!

Amazon has a great deal on Cricut mats!  The variety pack is only $17.49.  The best price I have seen on this elsewhere is $29.99. 

Cricut Smart Vinyl Deal at Target!

 If you love the Cricut Smart Vinyl as much as I do, RUN to Target's website and pick up a few rolls!  They are less than $4 each right now!

Custom Wine Glasses

I created these fun wine glasses for a 40th birthday party.

I am so happy with how they turned out!

 

Stitch Fix $100 Credit - 24 Hours Only!!

Have you tried Stitch Fix?  I love to get a box now and again.  Just recently, I was offered $49 for an entire year of fixes (and that gets applied toward an order) so I have no reason not to get one each month!

It's so much fun to get that box in the mail!  I have not shopped in a store in quite some time and this is an extremely convenient way for your clothes to come to you to try on!  

Your fix is tailored to what you want and need. You can make a Pinterest board for your stylist to get ideas from or you can just tell them what types of things you are looking for.  As an example, I'm trying to simplify my wardrobe and only want basic prints in neutral colors.  They have done a great job of styling me!

Here is an example of one of my most recent fixes:

I've been given a link to share that allows you to get $100 in credit toward your first fix!  Normally these codes are given at the $25 level so this is huge!  This code is only valid for 24 hours though - so shop soon!

https://www.stitchfix.com/invite/tb4kz4jgdj?pbid=8935866&sod=w&som=c

Monday encouragement

Just in case you are feeling down, or anxious on this Monday morning.  Be reminded that in an earthly world of chaos and fear,  you can find your strength in our Savior.  Let love propel you in everything that you do.

What happened to kindness?

As I sift through news posts on social media, I read the comments just to get a feel for what the rest of the world is thinking or going through.  It helps me to feel connected, and not alone in what I am thinking and feeling.  The problem is that there are so many people who are so quick to attack another person because they dislike what they are saying or don't agree with them. 

I read a comment on a local news story about restaurants opening back up to 50% capacity this past Monday.  One women posted a comment about how happy she was to be able to dine out with her husband for their anniversary.  The follow-up comments from others were telling her that she was going to die, and wishing for her to become sick with the virus.  Really?  Even if you didn't agree with what she was doing or saying, couldn't you just say nothing?  It seems that this type of behavior is only getting worse.  I continue to see hateful and mean comments on every story that I come across.  People attacking people for no apparent reason.  

Are we forgetting that there are real people on the other end?

As a child, I was taught that if I could not say anything nice, then I should not say anything at all.  Were others not taught this principle? 

The mental health of this world is in a fragile state right now.  I'm not suggesting that we stop giving our opinions and having conversations.  I am suggesting that we be more respectful of others, and not spew hateful remarks.  There is a way to get your opinion across without telling someone they are an idiot or that you hope they die.  You never know what the person on the other end is going through.  You don't know their story, or the reasons why they have the opinions that they do. What if they have lost their job, have sick family members, their home is being foreclosed, they have an incurable disease or depression.  What if your remark is the final thing that causes them to feel like they just can't take anymore from this world?  What if instead, you wrote something kind and reassuring for this person to read?  Do you know how quickly kind comments can change someone's state of mind?

Please be kind with your words and your actions.  We are all human.

More change

I've been busy over the last couple of weeks!  I finished up a semester of classes, continued to work from home, perfected my face mask sewing and even found time to read a book that has been on my list.

Just when we are getting settled into what we think our lives look like now, we are faced with even more change.  Now it is time to slowly go back out into the world and discover yet another new normal.

I have finally adapted to working from home and find that I like being here.  Before the pandemic even, I was thinking that our world had everything all wrong.  We spend more time with people at work than we do with the people we love the most.  We spend more of our lives trying to earn a living than we do actually doing the things we love and doing work that matters in our communities. I had hoped that this pandemic would create change in that direction.

Don't get me wrong, I completely dislike the social distancing protocols and the fact that I can't go in to work if I need or want to.  But when it comes down to it, I will miss working from home and spending the days with my family as my co-workers.  I will miss not having obligations after work and on weekends because those have become times set aside for family and enjoying life.

I wanted the world to slow down, and it did, but it seems like everyone is ready to pick up right where they left off - right back into the exhausting fast pace that is our society.  We only get one life to live, and I think we should focus more on God and family and what good we can do.  Yes, we have to earn a living but that job shouldn't be the main point of our existence.  Just my opinions, of course.