Blog Award–My First!

I am so very excited – I received my very first Blog Award! I want to give a BIG THANKS to Brenda from Creativity is Only a State of Mind for giving me the Stylish Blogger Award! Thank you Brenda, I really appreciate it!

Now that I have this, I need to do 4 things:

1). Thank and link back to the person who awarded me

2). Share 8 things about myself

3). Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that I have recently discovered

4). Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards

Well since she made me feel so special, I will thank Brenda once again! Her blog is full of inspiration for me! Please stop by and visit her blog.

OK, here are 8 things I will share about myself (please don’t fall asleep here, lol!)

1. I’m a Christian, a wife, a mother.
2. I have raised a wonderful 18 year old daughter who is now in college and a 27 year old son who graduated from UNT and is now engaged!
3. As you can see in #2, I will be a new Mother-in-Law soon to a wonderful girl whom I love like a daughter already!
4. I am a retired Flight Attendant and I flew both domestic and international routes. I love to travel!!!
5. I’m a reality TV junkie!
6. Not only do I love paper crafting but I also love to quilt. In fact, I started quilting long before I started to scrapbook.
7. I am an OBSESSIVE and HABITUAL photo-taker!!! I take pictures of any and everything!
8. I’m the proud “Grandmother” to Boots, the tabby cat that my son adopted when he still lived at home. But somehow my son’s gone but the cat’s still here! But I didn’t know that I could love a cat so much!

I’m going to pay this award forward to some special Bloggers that inspire me every day. This was so hard because there are so many talented people out there but here are some of my favorites:

Shirley at Okieladybugs Scrap N' More

Sheila at She's a Sassy Lady

Tina & Wendy at Two Chics & A Cricut

Michelle at Michelle's Paper Affair

Tammy at So Happy Scrappin'

Diane at Capadia Design

Linda at Nothin' Fancy

Tanya at Time for Scrappin

Thanks to all of these incredible ladies for their creative inspiration and, some cases, their friendship (Michelle is the Happiest person I know!) I’ll be passing this award on and I hope that you can check out all of these blogs to see for yourself why I like them!

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Merry Christmas–Scrapbook Style

I found this on another blog and just had to share it with you! I have nothing to do with this company – just thought it was cute.

Enjoy!

(Wouldn’t you love to take a trip through this warehouse?)

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Sorry–I’ve Been MIA!

Well, that thing called life just keeps getting in the way! There has been some good things and not so good things. My DD and I were down with colds over the Thanksgiving week. Then I tried to brave the Black Friday crowds (I vow NEVER to go to Wal-Mart on Black Friday EVER AGAIN in my life, amen!) – enough said about that! But going to craft stores is completely different. But by the time I returned home my throat felt like a swallowed a porcupine! I’ve also been busy with the Cricut classes that I have been teaching at Hobby Lobby and I think that I may be teaching SDU at Michael’s soon. In the middle of all of the above, my DD had dental surgery (and while she was there I think they got their patients mixed up and kept my 18 year-old and sent an 8 year-old home with me, ! Ok, maybe it wasn’t that bad but those of you with teenagers will understand!) I’ve also been transforming our home into a Christmas wonderland. Ha! You didn’t fall for that one did you? So I haven’t had a lot of time to create and I don’t like that. I promise that I will have something to post soon. Thanks for being patient!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that you all have a happy and safe Thanksgiving today. Today I am thankful for my family, good friends, good health, and good food! I am thankful for all of you, my faithful readers and followers. I am thankful that I am loved and that I can return that love to others. I am thankful that we have a day set aside like today to reflect upon all of the many blessings that God has given us. But why wait for Thanksgiving? Let’s continue to be thankful the other 364 days of the year! If we all tried it, wouldn’t the world be a little bit happier place to live in? And I would be very thankful for that!

Ok, go eat, watch the game (go Cowboys!), and start planning your Black Friday shopping! Remember that some stores will be open TODAY! wow, times are changing! Michaels will be open from 5PM – 9PM and all of their scrapbook storage is 55% off! can you say Jetmax cubes? the more stuff I buy, the more cubes I need to store the stuff in! it’s a vicious papercrafting cycle! Cricut cartridges are on sale also at Michaels today, Friday & Saturday. The $89 carts are on sale for $35.99 and the $69 carts are on sale for $27.99. The $19 scrapbook paper pads are 50% off and the Gypsy is on sale for $99.99!!! All Disney carts will be $24.99 on Saturday. A little birdie told me that Hobby Lobby has ALL Cricut accessories on sale for 50% off on Friday! That means it’s time to stock up on blades and mats plus pick up some of those items that you may not have yet like that spatula or even the tool kit. Now that I’m teaching and have to transport my Cricut, I may look at the Cricut tote that they have!  hey, it’s half off! I was told that the sale is not on any of the machines but I’m not sure about the cartridges. JoAnn’s has the Expression on sale for $199.99 and carts are on sale for $27.99. Don’t forget about Wal-Mart. At 12:01AM on Friday morning the Expression bundles in the new cool colors ($185) and the new Cricut Lites ($20) will be available.

I think I’ve covered the highlights! So start making your lists and checking them twice! And only our credit cards and checkbooks will show if we’re naughty or nice!

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

New Cricut Lites

Provo Craft just announced the new Cricut cartridges for November on Hello Thursday. These are the Cricut Lites that are only sold at Wal-Mart.

Cricut Lite Zoo Day

Cricut Lite Playtime

Cricut Lite Twinkle Toes

Cricut Lite Jolly Holidays

Cricut Lite Inspired Heart

Cricut Lite Four-Legged Friends

Cricut Lite Cupcake

I know which one I am definitely getting! Well, pick your favorites and get ready to shop. These are advertised to sell at just $20 each on Black Friday!

Please visit Joy at Obsessed With Scrapbooking and enter to win 3 fantastic giveaways! She is giving away a Winter Frolic Cricut cartridge,

a Pink Advanced Tape Glider adhesive gun with two refills,

and a pad of SEI Kris Kringle paper.

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Hobby Lobby Cricut Classes & A Shaker Card - Cindy Loo, George, and Gypsy Wanderings

My Cricut preview at Hobby Lobby last weekend went very well. I want to thank all of you who came by - I enjoyed meeting all of you! Remember, the first class is this Thursday, so go by Hobby Lobby on South Cooper in Arlington and sign up if you haven’t done so already. You must sign up at the Floral Dept. to reserve your seat. We’ll have a lot of fun and you’ll learn so much about your Cricut!
Well, I got to make some things this past week and the first one that I’m going to show you is my Shaker Card. I was inspired by Sheila at shesasassylady. I had planned to make my shaker card more like the one she had in her tutorial but when I got ready to make it I wasn’t home and didn’t have access to her blog. So I improvised and this is what I came up with -

I used my Gypsy to design this 5x5 card. The Cindy Loo cartridge was used for the frame and tree. I adhered a piece of transparency behind it and then used foam strips to pop the frame out. I added the foil leaf confetti before adhering the background (Did you recognize that piece of paper in the background? It’s a K and Company Halloween stack! It kinda reminded me of wind blowing the leaves). Also, I now think I have found something that I like to do as much as inking everything – embossing everything! The embossing folder that I used on the frame is D’vine Swirl and the Tim Holtz Woodgrain embossing folder was used on the tree. Everything was then inked. I also used Gypsy Wanderings and George for the layers on the inside of the card. Cindy Loo has so many nice frames that you could use for cards but they work great for shaker cards – something that I might not have looked at if I had had internet access! I have another shaker card in the works and I’ll post it when it’s finished. Interactive cards are so much fun to make and to give!

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Black Friday Alert!

Can you believe that HALF of November is already gone? Where did this year go? Thanksgiving is almost here! And that also means that “Black Friday” is almost here! I remember the years that I would go shopping on that day to walk off the big turkey dinner from the day before (no, it wasn’t mainly for the great deals! That’s my story and I’m sticking to it). I haven’t done it for a few years now and even if you haven’t either this may change your mind:

Somehow this ad leaked and it’s been circulating around the message boards. We can’t make out everything in it except that great Cricut Expression bundle is just $185!!! And those colors are too cute: Aqua, Plum, Green, or Canary. It also looks like they have some kind of flourishes on them too. This bundle comes with two cartridges that we have never seen – Playtime and Cricut Classic Font. Wal-Mart is also getting 20 more Cricut Lite cartridges and these will also be on sale for $20 each! Again, we haven’t heard what the new titles will be but according to this ad some of the titles are Cupcakes, Pet Shop, Four Legged Friends, and Jolly Holidays (can’t read the others). Let me tell you from experience – these are GREAT prices!

I haven’t forgotten my Thirty Days of Thankfulness! On day 11, I had an awful headache so I was so thankful for a day of rest. On day 12, I was thankful that I was able to spend the day with my daughter – just special time together! I was so thankful to see so many people stop by Hobby Lobby to see me demo the Cricut on day 13! Day 14 and 15 were spent cleaning and organizing my scrapbook room – not fun but I am SO THANKFUL that I have space of my own to create in! By the way, I did take photos of the before (or as I like to call it – the storm before the calm) and when it’s finished I’ll take the after photos and post them.

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Thirty Days of Thankfulness–Days 8, 9 & 10!

Even though I missed the last two Thirty Days of Thankfulness posts I just want you to know that I am very thankful!!! So here are my makeup posts for the last few days. No, I am not making these up! Yes, I did write them down each day! On Monday, I felt so thankful for the warm weather. Here in Texas we usually have two seasons, not four, lol. We go from the hottest 100 degree days of summer to the almost freezing days of winter. Ok, I might be exaggerating a little bit but as the writer I can take some creative license here! We had some pretty cool (cold to me) weather last Friday but by Monday it finally felt like Fall and I loved it! Yesterday I felt very thankful for (now do not laugh or think I’ve gone completely crazy) Hobby Lobby, Michaels, JoAnn’s, and even Staples! I went shopping (thankful that I had a little extra $ to do that) and found some great deals (even more thankful that I was able to keep some of that $)! I was also thankful that I had a scrapbooking  and Cricut loving buddy to stay up with me ALL NIGHT LONG and crop with last night. And today I am thankful that I survived the ALL NIGHT crop (and no sleep!), got home safely today, and I’m able to get into bed early tonight and, after writing this, get some sleep. I am also thankful that since I actually got to craft these last two days that I also get to post some photos of things for you here tomorrow. So please come back to visit and see what I’ve been up to – I’ll be so thankful!

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

WIN THE ENTIRE RANGE OF 148 PROMARKERS

Going Buggy: WIN THE ENTIRE RANGE OF 148 PROMARKERS

ProMarker GiveAway!

I love all of the coloring and blending that many are doing on their stamped images. They are simply gorgeous! These crafters make the images look so real and that makes them pop right off the page. I really wanted to try my hand at this but the Copic markers were just a little too expensive for me! (Ok, I know that I could’ve bought a ton of them with the $$$ that I have spent on Cricut related stuff but when I’m on a roll with something I can’t just turn and go in a different direction on a whim. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!) Anyway, I still want to try it. With all of the stamps and stamp sets that I own it would really be a waste not to (Boy, see how easy it is to talk myself into something?) But there is another brand of markers called ProMarkers made by Letraset. They contain high quality alcohol dye based inks that are fully blendable and produce clear and vibrant color. I first saw them on two of my favorite blogs, Diane’s at Capadia Designs and Okie’s at Okie Ladybugs Scrap N’ More. Both of these talented ladies had a link to Enfys at Going Buggy. Enfys does wonderful work and has a lot of tutorials and, even better for me, videos of how she uses these great markers. Enfys also has a terrific giveaway on her blog right now. She is giving away an entire set of 148 ProMarkers! Look HERE to see their awesome marker colors! So hop on over to Going Buggy to leave a comment on her post to enter to win.
Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Thirty Days of Thankfulness–Day 7

Today I am especially thankful for my daughter! I am always thankful that God gave this remarkable creature to take care of but this morning she woke up early and surprised me by making breakfast for me! Pancakes! It was so thoughtful and there was no real reason except that she loves me! I am blessed.

Cricut Classes at Hobby Lobby and Cartridge Blog Candy

Well guys, I’ve been away far too long and I miss blogging. I’ve been busy getting ready for my new Cricut classes starting this month at Hobby Lobby. This is such an exciting opportunity and I can’t wait. I will do a preview on Saturday, November 13th from 1 – 3 pm. My first class will be on Thursday, November 18th at 6pm. The Hobby Lobby is located in Arlington, TX at 4628 South Cooper. If you, or someone you know, needs a little help getting to know their Cricut or wants to get a little more creative with their machine, please drop by the store to sign up or email me – angiespaperpassion AT gmail DOT com.

Now for some bad (and good) news. The winner of the Happy Hauntings cartridge never sent me her info! So I will be choosing another name. If you didn’t get a chance to leave a comment last time to win, here’s your chance. I know that Halloween is over but if you’re anything like me, you still have a ton of Trick or Treating photos to scrapbook! So leave me a comment and I will pick another winner on Monday! If you want more details on this give away just click HERE!

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

Thirty Days of Thankfulness–Day 6

Today I am thankful for my Cricut and the knowledge that I’ve gained to not only use it well but to share that knowledge with others - and the job that I now have because of this! Isn’t it amazing how this little hobby of ours can lead us to so much more? More than I could have ever imagined at least. Friendships, jobs, opportunities…. and more! For this I am truly thankful!

Thirty Days of Thankfulness

I just love the Cricut.com message board! These are best group of ladies ever. One of the members, Caitlynsmommy, started a thread the other day about the Thirty Days of Thankfulness. She is going to write a sentence or two each day about what she is thankful for and at the end of the month she’ll have a mini book of journaling and photos. What a wonderful idea! So I have borrowed her suggestion and I am starting (yes, late!) on one for myself. We are all grateful for the big things; family, friends, health, home, and of course, our Heavenly Father. But this is more about the little things, too. Those everyday blessings that we may overlook and, unless we document it, may forget. So join me as I journal my Thirty Days of Thankfulness.

Since I am starting late, I will just write 5 things I am thankful for at the moment:

1. that God loves me – no matter what!
2. I have a beautiful and healthy daughter
3. I have a handsome and healthy son
4. Very good friends that have stood by me through it all
5. That I got up this morning (Friday) and had a very productive day!

I am so happy to be doing this. It will make me look at things a little differently – I will appreciate the little things more. I hope that we can all complete this journal – this slice of our lives – together!

Until tomorrow, Happy Crafting,

A Card for Support

Although this card wasn’t made with the Cricut, I wanted to share it because you could use something like this to show support to a good friend.

This could just be used as a simple show of friendship to a girlfriend or, since this is Breast Cancer Awareness month, sent to a friend going through this terrible disease and showing them that you will always be there for them and support them (just like a good bra!). You can also be creative with the inside and do something like this…

(I’ll always be behind you!)

After I cut out the bra and panties, I ran them through the Cuttlebug using the Houndstooth embossing folder. The bra straps are made out of ribbon and the ‘lace’ edging is just a border punch that I snipped with scissors between the design so that it would easily bend into curves. This is not my design and I don’t remember where I got it from – it was a long time ago. But here is a copy of the pattern.

Place the top pattern piece on the fold of your cardstock for the card base. Use the bottom of the pattern for the bra and panties and embellish as you please.

Make one to send and bring a smile to a friends face! Until next time, Happy Crafting,

100 Followers! Blog Candy Winner!

I had a busy weekend and these next couple of days will be the same but the highlight of my weekend was reaching 100 followers! Thanks to all of you for helping me get there, ! I am so excited – I never thought at the beginning of this journey that 10 people would read my blog, much less 100. I wish I could send all of you a token of my appreciation but sadly that’s not in the cards. But I will be having another give-a-away soon to celebrate this milestone!

But for now, I’m announcing the new owner of the Happy Hauntings cartridge (minus a handbook, lol). I used Random.org to pick a number for me and the winner is…

 

 

#16 - Karen S.

Karen S. said...

“That handbook is just too crazy! I would be freaking out too! LOL! I'm a follower! Thanks for the chance to win!
I don't have a blog but I'll post this on the Scrapbook.com message board to hopefully send more followers your way. (I don't know anyone else with a Cricut in my area.) :( “

 

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

16	

Timestamp: 2010-10-26 06:40:45 UTC

Congratulations, Karen! You’ll be getting the Happy Hauntings cartridge! Email me with your information.

I want to thank everyone who viewed, commented, followed, and sent their friends to visit my blog. I feel so blessed! Please continue to visit. I hope to have projects and ideas that will inspire you to be your creative best. Until next time, Happy Crafting,

 

                

6 New Provo Craft Cartridges, Only 23 To Go & 1 Give-Away!

It’s Hello Thursday! –ok, I know, I know, it was yesterday!- If you are new to the whole Cricut World that means that this is the 3rd Thursday of the month when Provo Craft sends out their famous Hello Thursday newsletter and it usually contains the names of any cartridges that will be discontinued and, better yet, what new ones will be coming out! So today Provo Craft has just announced 6 new cartridges that will come out in November! That’s right – 6! The new ones are:

• Quarter Note – Musical notes, a font, band themes, etc
• Paper Lace – Beautiful for cards & layouts, has a font
• Ornamental Iron – Beautiful images too, also has 2 fonts
• Sesame Street Seasons – Includes 3-D images
• Car Decals – Outline figures that we all love
• Wrap It Up – My favorite! Includes cards, phrases, boxes, bags and tags!

Just click on any of the titles above to see a sample of each. To view the entire cartridge handbook, go to the Cricut Cartridge Library and just go to any of the titles and click the second ‘VIEW’ to see the handbook. I have at least two of these on my wish list!

Also there are updates for those of you that have the Gypsy and/or Design Studio. Click HERE for the Design Studio update and just plug your Gypsy into your computer and run Gypsy Sync to update it.

I just received an email from Walgreens with a code for a FREE 8x10 collage print – I like free! – so I wanted to pass along the savings to all of you! Just go to the Walgreens site here to get the code. It’s only good through this Saturday, so hurry!

Now, for my BIG NEWS – well, to me it is! I am only 23 people away before I reach 100 followers!!! I can’t believe it! I started my blog a little over a year ago for my Stampin’ Up! business but didn’t really post that  much and eventually let it go after I stopped selling SU. I only picked it back up this summer when I became a Cricut Demonstrator. Reaching 100 followers was a future dream of mine and now I have followers in 15 different countries! Thinking back, I only wanted to share my love of crafting with my Cricut, paper crafting, and crafting in general. And you know what, that’s still my goal! But now I’m more passionate about it than ever. I want to share everything I have learned, especially about the Cricut, Gypsy, and Design Studio, with all of you, my followers, and everyone who visits My Paper Passion. I want to give a great big Thanks to all of you!

Now, this isn’t an official blog give-away – just remember that! When I really reach 100 followers I will have an official one then. But for now, this is just a little something-something. Here’s the story – I purchased a cartridge and when I opened it, the handbook was completely blank! Nothing, nada. So I call PC and they told me that they did not have anymore of those handbooks –yea, the wailing that you heard that day was me :-(  But, he said that since they were out of them, they would just send me a whole NEW cartridge!  - yea, that was also me you heard, shouting out in joy and doing my happy dance! :-)  - I asked if they were also sending a shipping label or something to send the original back. He said, “No, just keep it or give it away.” WHAT? NO, WAY! I couldn’t believe my ears! Ok, folks, this is just the reason I {heart} PC! They have been so good to us. Thank you, PC! So followers, I am passing it forward! The only requirement is that you follow my blog, please leave a comment, and send at least one new person to my blog and have them follow me and leave a comment as well. Thanks. Oh, yea, the cartridge is Happy Hauntings! Just in time to scrapbook all of those Halloween photos! Just remember, there is no handbook (but you can download it HERE) but it does come with rewards – let me tell ya, it was hard not redeeming those 90 points though, lol!

Here is the proof, lol:

This will end this weekend so that I can get it in the mail asap! Until next time, Happy Crafting,

My Newest Cartridge!

If you read my post from last Wednesday you know that when I went scrapbook shopping the weekend before that I picked up a cartridge that I have wanted for a while. But I didn’t say which cartridge it was or if I even bought it. Well, it was From My Kitchen – why Angela? you don’t even cook! do you even know where that room is located in the house? – and, no, I did not buy it. Something told me not to even though it was on sale! But I still wanted it. When I got home I remembered that my buddy, Dawn, from ScrappySales had it and at a very good price so off I was to do some online shopping! But as I was checking out, I was so surprised when I saw that it was even cheaper than I thought it would be – and this was after the shipping was added. What I didn’t realize in my haste, was that Dawn was having a sale! And it’s still going on right now!

ScrappySales carries The Cinch, Bind-it-All, My Pink Stamper, Teresa Collins, Provo Craft products of course, and many others. The sale is good through November 1st. This would be a great time to get a Gypsy if you don’t already have one since the Provo Craft promotion is going on. Remember, all you need to do is to register your Gypsy by October 31st to be able to download 6 cartridges starting on November 1st! You’ll be able to download the following:

• Smiley Cards (new and exclusive to this promotion)
• Tags, Bags, Boxes and More (not available in retail
• Christmas (not available in retail)
• Blackletter (not available in retail)
• Printing Press (not available in retail)
• Indie Art (not available in retail)

That is a $419 value! This is in addition to the two cartridges that are already come preloaded on your Gypsy: Gypsy Wanderings and Gypsy Font. But you only have until Oct 31st to register your Gypsy to get the free cartridges so you need to order now!

Now on to my Blog Candy Winner! Thanks Chelle for following my blog and leaving a comment!

Chelle said... “You must have done the only honorable thing and bought it too...especially if you've wanted it for a while and it was on sale. I'm holding out for a few Imagine carts myself (at least until Hello Thursday, lol). Love your projects. I think I'm going to make a platter tomorrow...my daughter is having friends over for scary movie night.”

Please email me your name and address so I can send you a package of goodies!

Before I go, I wanted to share this cute little scrapbooking video from YouTube:

                           Here is the link to the YouTube page.

Until next time, Happy Crafting,

3-D Haunted House using Happy Hauntings; BBTB2 Challenge

I had wanted to make the creepy haunted house from the Happy Hauntings Cricut cartridge ever since I got it. So when I saw that the house was the blog challenge this week on Bitten by the Bug 2, I jumped at the chance to play along. They said that the cutting was easy – cutting is always easy using my Cricut – but warned that the assembly took time. Boy, were they ever right! There seemed to be hundreds of pieces to this thing and even though the step-by-step instructions are in the back of the handbook, there are 22 steps – and 9 of the steps have 2 parts! You do the math! LOL! But once I started this project I couldn’t stop simply because I couldn’t wait to see what the finished house would look like.

I followed BBTB2 recommendation and cut it out at 7” and when all assembled the finished house is almost a foot tall. I used black cardstock for the whole thing but when it was finished I used a deep purple Twinkling H2O by LuminArte and brushed it onto the roof, balcony, and railings. Finally after buying about 20 jars of this stuff several years ago I actually used some! You can see the Twinkling H2O’s HERE. Then I sprinkled some purple and black Doodlebug brand glitter mixed together on top. Another old purchase! I could have been a little neater with this step but by this time I just wanted to be done! So please excuse the mess. Because I put two electric tea lights inside the house and I wanted the light to shine through, I cut the window parts of the design out of yellow vellum. You can see one through the door…

I used my Gypsy to weld extra fence lengths together and glued them all around a 12x12 piece of black cardstock. After everything was done, I just kept thinking that it needed something else. Surprise, surprise! I couldn’t just stop there! So I came up with the idea of the witches legs and feet sticking out of the chimney. I actually cut this out free-hand using DCWV Midnight Spell Glitter Mat Stack. But because it was a little hard to see the legs, I cut out a circle for a moon to place behind it.

I photographed it with the same spooky tree that I posted a couple of weeks ago. Here is another view of the house…

Although it took some time and there were a lot of pieces to the house, I really did enjoy the outcome. I hope you’ll like it too. At least appreciate it after seeing the next photo of the haunted house in progress, lol…

(And this was after step #13B!)

Head over to Bitten by the Bug 2 and take a look at all of the Haunted Houses created by the wonderfully talented designers over there!

Until next time, Happy Crafting,