My new Mac decals

 This morning was snowy and icy so we didn't have church. I spent the morning watching my current-favorite Disney movie, Moana, and playing with Cricut vinyl.

First I used clipart from Educlips to create a 5x5 schnauzer decal.

After YEARS of light-hearted arguing, my husband bought me an external hard drive for my computer while I was in NYC a couple of weeks ago. I insisted I didn't need one, but occasionally I do. My old Mac had an internal disc drive, but it didn't work. Now that I have a new Mac (yay Christmas!) this is perfect. So I went old-school and decorated it using my vinyl with some old CD logos.

Birthday Card and a New Cricut!

My mom's best friend is having a birthday next week, and she's had a really rough last few years. I made this sweet card for her, even though she says that she's not celebrating anymore birthdays. She needs to know how much she's loved!

The inside:

And the back:

On another note, I bought a new Cricut Explore machine back on Launch Day in February (backordered so I didn't get it until the 11th!) It's SO awesome because now I can not only use cartridges, but I can cut svg files, jpg files, and ANY font that's on my computer. Oh my goodness I'm in Heaven! lol I've been SO happy we've had snow/ice days lately because there never seems to be enough time to craft.

Here is my name I cut with pink vinyl and added to personalize my new machine. I think it turned out super cute!

Tweet Memories Birthday Card Book

I decided to play with the Heidi Grace "Tweet Memories" paper until I became sick of it (which happened around the time I realized I punched the holes in the book backwards and had to re-do it, I think). It has taken a few days, but I finally finished my birthday card book along with 12 cards. The only part I really don't like about making these books is that my rings (2" on the Cinch) aren't quite big enough to make the book close well when full of cards. I wish I could find a better binding for them. 

Here's what the inside looks like. I used brown vinyl to cut the months from Designer's Calendar.

Here are the front of the cards.

Here is a peek of the inside. I used Papertrey Ink's Birthday Sentiments for the words.

Here is an example of what the page looks like. These books are super easy to make. 

The envelopes were all identical.

Cute Stuff

I was playing around with my Imagine tonight and came up with this cute bowl of strawberries from Simply Charmed. I think it's my all-time favorite cartridge. I have no idea what I'll do with it, but it's cute! One thing I love about my Imagine is that I was able to make every cut with only white paper. 

The Husband spent most of the evening in the craft room with me (not sure why, lol) but he encouraged me to update my laptop cover. First I made a rough draft with paper, then used my printable vinyl to create this cute little owl from Hoot n' Holler.

Since I had the paper-version left over, the Husband wanted to make something with it instead of just throwing it away. Once he found out what a 'notecard' was, he picked out the paper and I made this for him. He picked out the ribbon too, lol. I enjoyed our time hanging out, even though it was weird to have him in there telling me what to do! Hahaha. I guess it's not very often he gets to boss me around ;-)

Cricut Onesies

I was playing around a couple nights ago and made a couple of onesies for Whitney's babe using my Cricut. I didn't have any freezer paper to make stencils, so I used vinyl. I am slowly getting the hang of it; I can't wait to get more practice!

Quick and Easy Vinyl Project

Today I was cleaning the kitchen (ha- that doesn't happen often!) and decided I really needed to fix the broken cup holding a plant (broken off from another one... apparently I break things a lot). So this was a random but super-easy project. Here is the broken cup. So sad.

Here is the new cup with vinyl... I used my gypsy to match the scrap of vinyl I had (around 3x5) and searched 'grow' on my G to find the beautiful design from Home Accents. It was a glorious reminder of why I buy so many cartridges... you never know when you'll need a particular image, so it's best to have them all!

And here is a picture of my newly re-potted plant. It was beautiful and healthy but this year the stinkbugs decided to hide under the leaves (It's facing the sun and they like warm, shady areas) and it's practically killed it.

And here is a picture with the vines lifted a little to get a better view.

Yay! Start to finish was less than 10 minutes!

Dog Rules

I finally created a piece of artwork to cover the 4 ft. wall above my dog cages at the front door. I might go back and add their names in vinyl above their cages, but I thought this was a great start! A couple of my background papers are a little too "busy," I think, but in real life it doesn't look bad. They're all readable.

I started off with a 24x30 canvas, painted it black and glued on strips of paper that I had cut with scissors to give the ripped effect. I added a layer of mod podge, then used black vinyl and my trusty cricut (and oh-so-many fonts I can't even name them all!) to create the phrases. I added another couple of layers of mod podge and my creation was ready to hang! The original idea came from The Pleated Poppy. I don't have any kids or need for "family rules," but I do have the next best thing... my precious puppies, Sophie and Alex. *Sorry for the glare, it's the best I could get!

BTW: I think this is all GREAT advice!

Dog Rules
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride
Take naps and stretch before rising
Eat with enthusiasm, Stop when you've had enough
Never bark when a growl will do
Never pretend to be something you're not
Run, romp and play daily
When a loved one comes home always run to greet them
When it's in your best interest practice obedience
No matter how often you're scolded don't buy into the guilt thing and pout- run right back and make friends
Be loyal
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk

Laptop Decor

I decided to update the look of my laptop with some new Cricut Vinyl. I wanted to use the chandeliers from French Manor, and my sister added my name (from Mini Monograms) and the hearts (from Lovestruck). I'm really excited about how it turned out, though I will probably add in some more hot pink (had it on the last design) to fill in the middle spot (where a chandelier was put on upside-down... oops!)

Requested Artwork for a Friend's Nursery

One of my friends is having a baby in July, and asked for some help decorating her baby's nursery. I was super-excited about helping; the only problem was that she lives across the country. Soooo all of this is based on a few pictures she sent me of the comforter from Wal-Mart. I think they turned out well.
This was an extra surprise for her, I cut-out the baby's name using Plantin Schoolbook (Tall Ball) on a sheet of 12x24 Walnut-colored vinyl from Oh My Crafts. The stars are from Learning Curve and the road border was from Everyday Paper Dolls (and matches perfectly with the theme).
This was the comforter all of the artwork was based on. Isn't it cute as can be for a little boy?
Here is the first picture. They're all 4x6 matted for 5x7. I love the little airplane from New Arrival. I think it matches quite well! The cloud is popped out onto the matte for a little extra coolness.
I LOVED the dumptruck from Everyday Paper Dolls. One of the piles of dirt is popped out.
And here is another of the 5 total creations. There wasn't a bulldozer on ANY of my cartridges, so I used various shapes and my Gypsy to weld one myself. I think it's my favorite! I hope she enjoys all of the decorations; I wish I was there to see them hung. She promised to send me pictures! :-)

Vinyl Lettering

Here are a few projects I've done around the house using my Cricut and vinyl (I love ohmycrafts.com's brand of vinyl that cuts perfectly!) The first picture says "Have a place for everything and everything in its place!" It's a perfect saying for my craft room. I used Opposites Attract for the font.
The second photo is the door to my craft room, also using Cuttin' Up. The scissors cut-out is from Locker Talk. I used orange vinyl. (This was actually my very first vinyl project, when we first bought the house!)
The third picture says "Home is where your story begins." I used Plantin SchoolBook for the words (Tall Ball) and the birdhouses from Stretch you Imagination. This adorable quote is over the inside of my front door. On the outside in the same space I have our address written in word-form (Can't post my address to the world, though!) I will say that it's fabulous, though, and it's probably one of my favorite things I've ever done (Also one of the most commented-upon, as it's the first thing many visitors see).