Angie's Paper Passion: Finally, A Crafty Post! It's been too long!

I can't even remember the last time that I wrote a full and crafty blog post! But things are starting to get back to normal. I have been reorganizing my craft room and doing some crafting. I feel so blessed and happy that I'm using the gifts that God has given me! Until I get up to speed, I will go back and show you some of the projects that I have created over the last couple of years, photos of my craft room (before and after), and some new crafty projects that I have gotten involved in. If you are still following me I just want to say thank you for sticking with me. If you are new to my blog - welcome. I hope that you will find something that you like here, try something new or rediscover an older craft, and be inspired to connect with your creative side!

First, I have a new Cricut! Well it's not new anymore but I realized that I have never had a chance to blog about it. It's the Cricut Explore and it has really changed my crafting life! This machine is incredible! It cuts like butter, it can score, it can write, it prints then cuts... it does a little of everything! It cuts not only our Cricut cartridges but also other types of cutting files. So for the last couple of years, I have been collecting a lot files - some I've already cut and put together but there are so many projects that I still have on my "To Do" list!

Here is one of the first 3-D projects that I created. It is a SVG that I bought from SVGCuts.com, It's the Seaside kit and I made the lighthouse from the kit for a friend of mine. It's pretty tall at about 15" and the very top section lifts off so I added an electronic tealight candle that shines through the vellum windows. The very bottom is also a gift box! I love how it came out especially since this was the first 3-D SVG file that I had used with my Explore. And it was very easy to put together!

Here is a closeup of the top that has the tealight. I really wished that I had taken a photo of the light on inside the lighthouse but I guess that I'm lucky that I have any photos at all. Now that I'm back in the game, I hope to start taking better pics!

This is the part that opens up to add a gift! It's hard to tell in the photo but I embossed the panels on the bottom part with two different embossing folders.

Next is a card that I made for my friend after she was married two years ago. It's a great example of how well the Explore works! It not only cut out the roses beautifully, it also scored the card and wrote the "Congratulations" on the front and....