Life's Better in Flip Flops

One of the Cricut cuts that I mass produced but didn't end up using on cards for the bake sale was the flip flops and sunglasses from Pack Your Bags.  That was the latest cartridge that I purchased due to an AC Moore sale and the lovely $10 gift certificate I got from their rewards program (WHY did they not come out with sooner?!  I have spent SO much money at AC Moore over the years!!!).  I decided to stray from my usual pink color choice and go with purple instead.

I then chose a polka dot pattern paper, which I actually really like.  I tend to not use my pattern papers very often because I don't know how to layer them very well or match them.  I literally went through almost every single one of my paper pads with the Cricut cut in hand to see if it would "match."  Once I saw the polka dot, I knew it would be perfect because it just reminds me of the beach (even though I personally don't like the beach!).  To go along with the beach-y theme, I used a strip of kraft cardstock because it reminded me of sand.

The sentiment is from Pink by Design's "Summer Vacation."  That was one of the sentiments that really pulled me to that particular set!  I keep finding more and more sentiments that I love that I end up wanting, but thankfully, I've been really good about my spending lately.  A ton of sentiment choices means that there are a TON of cards that I still have to make!

Cuz Everyone Needs Birthday Cards

This past Sunday was my church's bake sale to raise money for the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist convention.  I've been making cards for that cause, so that's why I haven't posted anything here on my blog for a while.  Thankfully, Howard was able to help me with some of the coloring, and he helped me package everything too.  Boy, I really do love how the boxes and bags from Clearbags.com really make my stuff look even more professional!  Of course, I accidentally ordered A1 envelopes instead of the A2 that I needed, but that's a whole different story.  I also love my PSA Essential stamp that I won from a Casual Fridays challenge back when I still entered challenges!

I stamped the back of all the single cards I've made in the past for challenges.  Some of those sold at the bake sale too.  Since the ink is so wet, I have to make sure it dries before I pack it, so that's why they're spread out everywhere like that.  And yes, my room is an absolute mess from crafting, but I love it!

Anyway, I think my sales were pretty good!  I was able to raise $227 for missions from the sale of my cards, which was almost a quarter of what the English congregation of my church made!  The other things that were available were lunch items and desserts.  I was happy to be able to do something I love for a good cause.  And I was thankful that so many were willing to buy!

Well, even though the bake sale is over and I should be getting back to school work, I can't.  I'm just way too distracted and stressed, so I still crafted today instead of grading papers.  It was definitely much needed relaxation time because I took my time today whereas crafting for the bake sale was a little bit closer to the frenzied side!  Anyway, I'll show you one of the cards I made today.

I had 12 of these cupcakes from Sweet Treats cut a while ago, and I made 6 cards with them for the bake sale the night before because I realized I didn't have many birthday options!  I had one of my friends buy 1 of them, and then another friend bought the box with the remaining 5 in it!  I know a few others wanted this card too, so I made the other 6 today since I still had another sheet of that pattern paper from a KI Memories paper pad.  My cousin already claimed 2 of them, so I had 4 to sell.  After posting them in my Facebook store for just a short while, I'm already down to 1 left!  I really need to make more birthday cards!

I decided to go with blue accents instead of the normal girly colors I usually use.  It might still be a tad girly considering there are big polka dots, but at least it's not all pink and purple.  I used the Cuttlebug D'Vine Swirls embossing folder for the frosting on the cupcake (chocolate frosting, of course!).  I popped up the image using my Oriental Trading Co adhesive squares.  I love how I can use a ton of those on one image and it's okay since they're so inexpensive.  The sentiment is from Pink by Design; I love this set called "Birthday, Birthday" because it just says "Happy Birthday" in many different styles and fonts.  Perfect for any type of card!

That's it for now, but don't worry.  I won't leave this blog for such a long period of time anymore!  Well, at least that's what I'm hoping not to do!

Quorra at School

As promised, I took a picture of Quorra out and about having some adventures!  She was excited to see where I worked.  This is my classroom; it has been my classroom for the past few years (I'm in my 5th year of teaching!).  For once, I teach ALL of my classes here, so I don't have to move everything around from room to room.

Quorra's standing on the 8th grade math textbook.  She's ready to solve some equations that have variables on both sides!  After this picture was taken, she scurried on back to my bag.  Although she wasn't on my desk during the day (I don't want my kids' grubby hands on her, haha), she did listen to my ELA and math lessons.

Meet Quorra!

The last update that I wrote on my blog was about the giveaway Jennifer was having for the Cricut Collectible over at her blog, The Country Life.  I was so happy to see that I had won it!  And the mailing was super quick, as I got it today!  Jennifer packaged it up so cute.

It was such a fun thing to get coming home today as I was so exhausted from work.  I was frustrated as there were a handful of kids in the 7th grade who still did not understand how to make a table of values or write an expression based on a table of values.  I don't think I was speaking in Martian or any other foreign language that they couldn't understand because the majority of them did understand.  I just couldn't spend any more time on the subject because I had already devoted 2 whole class periods and part of another to the topic (and I've never had trouble teaching it in the past, and this is my 4th year teaching 7th grade math).  That was just one of the many interesting things from my day, so finding a package in the mail for me lifted my spirits.

I plan on taking this little pink cutie around with me so I can take pictures out in the "real world."  My fiance, Howard, has a few Disney Vinylmation characters, but I didn't get into it because I didn't want to spend on that (during the last trip, I just kept thinking about the cartridges I could buy instead of Disney souvenirs, haha).  Then the Cricut figurines came out, and I knew for sure that there was a reason I didn't get into Disney Vinylmation!  Of course, I couldn't justify spending the $10 because of the costs of the wedding and apartment.  That's why I was even happier that I won this one!

Although most of my plushies are boys, this little one is a girl because she's pink!  I named her Quorra (pronounced Cora).  I'm curious if anyone knows where the name originates!  Well, in the summer, Howard finally got me to watch Tron: Legacy (he LOVES Tron, even the original; and yes, I sat through that one too).  I actually really liked the movie as well, and I liked the girl character in it named Quorra.  I was fascinated by the weird spelling of it, and since then, we have been saying our future daughter's name will be Quorra.  Of course, that probably won't happen considering our family members will think we're a bit wackadoo (and relatives might pronounce it as "Quarter"!).  We're only partially serious when we say it (we've had other names that we've gone through and chosen; we just rotate often!).  Well, that's why this little pink Cricut will be Quorra so that that name will be used!  

Thank you so much, Jennifer!  I'm going to have so much fun!  I hope to get a picture taken tomorrow!

I also have to give a huge thank you to Jo from JoBoogie Stamping.  She sent me a package full of goodies for a belated birthday present after she read that my 27th birthday back in September really wasn't that special (I guess it comes with getting older?).  I also received that package today as well!  I'm so excited about my goodies!

I don't know if it's because I Just don't see them or something, but I don't often see the big Studio G stamps around, so I'm really excited to have those now.  I like the "Happy Birthday" one because I can use that for cards where I want the background to be the main focus.  I also really really really like the leaf one; I've been really liking leaves and trees lately on other people's blogs!  The little stickers are also awesome; the apples are the BEST!  Reminds me of my cousin's chocolate-covered caramel apple from Goofy's Candy Co in Downtown Disney that we all tried during our last trip!

Jo also included an adorable card in pink and green, which is absolutely fantastic because those are the colors that represent my fiance and me!!!

I'm just so grateful for the kindness and generosity of my fellow crafting buddies.  There have been other lovely ladies out there who have been very generous with me as well, but I didn't take pictures and post them yet.  I will definitely start getting back to updating my blog; I miss being here!  

I haven't been posting any cards because the things I'm working on right now are for my church's bake sale on November 6th.  We have a bake sale to raise money for a mission fund, so all the money from the sales of my cards will go directly to that.  I didn't want to give anyone a sneak peek just yet, so that's why I haven't posted much.  I just hope I have enough time to get a bunch more done!  I'm seriously lacking in variety!  Haha.  Anyway, thanks for being patient with me; I'll hopefully be updating more regularly even if it's just a pic of Quorra enjoying life!

Giveaway at The Country Life!

Check out Jennifer's blog at The Country Life.  She has a giveaway where you can get either a pink Cricut collectible or an unopened mystery color!

See post here.

So adorable!  During my last Disney trip, my group was getting the Vinylmation figurines.  I just didn't want to get into it, and I'm so glad I didn't because THIS is definitely more my speed!  How adorable would it be to have a Cricut Collectible as a mascot?  It would be so easy to fit in any bag with your camera!