Happy Mother's Day - sharing a few memories

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I have been bogged down at work with some things but hopefully after this weekend it is going to let up and I can get back to posting. I have been trying to craft some in my spare time and do have some projects to post this coming week.

I have started working on a new series of cards that I will be posting at the end of the month. I haven't decided what to call this series yet but I will give my standard warning of **if you are easily offended by off color humor or bad language please do not check my website during the time the series is posting** and I will post the warning again when the series starts to post.

Anyway, I wanted to wish all those mothers a wonderful Mother's Day today. I haven't celebrated the day with my mother since 2001 and over the years it has gotten easier and now I am able to spend the day thinking about memories of my mom and smiling to myself. My mother and I didn't always have a good relationship and there were a few years we didn't speak to each other. But, thanks to God and my Aunt Betty, we were able to be best friends the last 3 years of her life and there is NOTHING in the world I would trade to have had that time with her and get to work through our issues and truly love each other and enjoy each others company. So in celebration of Mother's Day I thought I would share some of my memories of my Momma.

First off, I am adopted, and I think I have mentioned that before but I can thank my Momma for saying some things to me that let me know that being adopted was not a bad thing.

• When I was first adopted I was 5 1/2 years old and quite the inquisitive child. I guess I have always been one to contemplate things, even back then. I asked her one time if I was different because I was adopted. She told me "yes you are, I had my other children so they were mine because God gave them to me. I got to pick you so that makes you special". Ahh, wise words to say to a small child!
• I am not sure why Momma came up with this next one, but it was something I took to heart and still to this day am thankful to my biological mother for giving me up. Momma told me one time "She didn't give you up because she didn't love you. She gave you up because she loved you so much that she wanted someone to be able to love you and take care of you the way you deserved because she knew she couldn't". My biological mother was an alcoholic and I vaguely remember seeing her a few times when I was a small child, it was always with a child welfare worker as we weren't allowed to be with her alone due to the neglect that she had shown in the past.

I think it was those things that kept me from ever feeling bitter or hurt about being adopted. I know there are some that do feel that way and I always wonder if it is a nature vs. nurture thing and I think it might be a combination of both. But for now I can't think about nature vs. nurture or we will have a "Squirrel" moment and I will get off on another tangent away from the subject of this post since that can send me into literally hours of deep thought *okie hears someone snickering in the back because it's hard for folks to accept okie can be a deep thinker* HEY! STOP SNICKERING!! IT'S TRUE I TELL YOU!!

Random memories

• When I was about 13 we got a bad snow storm and we were stuck in the house. Of course living 12 miles from town there wasn't much we could go do anyway, but this time we could barely make it out and only went out to feed the cows, but my Daddy did that. I think Momma knew she needed to entertain me some how and she told me we were going to bake some potatoes the old fashion way. We proceeded to wash some potatoes, wrap them in foil and then take them to the fire place and put them in the bottom and surrounded them with coals. Every now and then we would go and turn them over and rearrange the coals. I think that was the best baked potato I ever had!
• When I was 9 my sister was getting married and Momma was making the wedding dress. I wanted to help so bad as I already knew how to sew since Momma had taught me a year earlier how to use the sewing machine. Being the wise woman she was she told me that she needed to sew the dress, because I am sure my sister would have been mortified if I had been allowed to sew her wedding dress. But truth be told I could sew better than my sister, and my sister would tell you to this day that it is completely true! Momma was able to pacify me by allowing me to hand sew the pearls on the train of the dress and told me how important it was that they were secure and how that is what was going to make the dress beautiful. I of course took right to the job and my sister was okay with me doing that task, I honestly think she knew what a tedious job it would be and she wasn't wanting to do it *okie sighs now knowing how much her sister, who was 9 years older, was really good at tricking okie into doing icky jobs but making okie think it was the best thing in the world*. I sewed for days getting the pearls on the dress and I did a very good job, my Momma and my sister even said how wonderful the pearls were and it made me feel like I had been the one to make the dress so beautiful. Of course at the wedding I bragged to everyone about how I did all the pearls and basked in the praise from all those compliments and my sister and Momma would tell them "yes she did that all by herself".

I could go on with some memories but now I need to stop because I have some things to do today and if I keep on typing this out I will never get those things done! As I sit here reading over this I can realize I have my Momma to thank for helping me be a person that accepts things whether good or bad and see the positive in most situations. I haven't always been that way, but you know how teenagers can be at times, but as an adult I went back to the things my Momma said to me and it helped me realize that even in unpleasant life moments, unusual life moments....there are positive things to focus on and realize we are blessed.

I think it boils down to that I really was given to her by God, or actually she was given to me by God, or God had her and Daddy "pick" me as their child because He knew in the end we would realize what a blessing we were to each other.

And with that....


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MY READERS!! MAY YOU BE BLESSED WITH CHERISHED MEMORIES!

Little Ladybug Girl - Card

I got this image in an email recently and I thought I needed to make a card with this little cutie! I have to admit I totally lifted the layout and colors from an image I saw on the internet. The design varies slightly but pretty much...yep I lifted it! *okie is so ashamed* But in my defense, I was fighting a migraine all day and didn't get it licked until right before bed time. Oh, and I did make 6 of this design. Anytime I am doing a coloring card I always tried to make 6 so I don't have to go back and do more later.

Supplies Used:
Ladybug Image
ProMarkers
Pattern Papers of:
  Cosmo Cricket
  Bo Bunny
  Martha Stewart
  My Minds Eye
Stampin Up Cardstock
Stampin Up Boho Blossom punch
EK Success Medium Daisy Punch
EK Success Photo Corner Punch
1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon
Signo UM-153 Gel Pen
Colorbox Chalk Inks
Brad
Mounting Foam

I printed of several of the images so I could practice coloring with the ProMarkers since I haven't used them in quite some time and it's a good thing I did because I screwed up quite a few of them. I finally got the colors down that I wanted but I think I still need to work on my shading.

I had a hard time with the black because I wasn't sure how to shade it but I finally got it with using just a bit of black and the warm greys. I would like to tell you the rest of the colors I used but I honestly don't remember. I know I used 3 different reds and 3 different colors for the flesh.

I still haven't gotten pictures made of the other drink gift bags and I hope to do that this week. My job is keeping me pretty busy since getting back from vacation and I am in the middle of transferring some of my caseload to another database *okie wonders if people's eyes are glazing over like her's does when someone is telling her something she isn't interested in or doesn't understand* and basically that just means a lot of time doing a bunch of paperwork....which I H to the A to the T to the E! But the good thing is school will be out soon and I will have a lot more time to do some crafting, no money for extra goodies but I think I got enough in my scraproom to keep me busy for awhile!

Some Realizations Just Smack....

YOU RIGHT IN THE FACE!!

Naomi called me and was asking why I hadn't been out in a few days. I told her I had been busy with work stuff and explained about having to do new intakes on half my caseload due to changes in the database and trying to still get all my sessions done and have been tired. She and I talked for quite awhile. She was telling me a story about a woman that had met a man over the internet and ended up with some odd disease from where he kissed her on the cheek and wanted me to be careful about men I meet. Then she said "oh you met that last one from a text message though didn't you. I guess he wouldn't have a disease" and we both cracked up laughing.

We discussed what I had done today and also about her family having a weenie roast and they were going to go lay outside and watch the moon tonight. She asked me if I had seen the moon and I told her I planned on looking at it. She told me to go outside and tell her what it looked like. I went out in the yard and explained it was in the southeast sky right now and that it was a light orange and rather large. I told her you could see the craters pretty good as well and how it had a nice glow about it.

She asked if I had been to Walmart and I told her no and that I need to go soon because I haven't went and gotten groceries in about a month and a half *okie hates grocery shopping* and I am getting down to nothing. I let her know if I go tomorrow I will come and get her list and get her stuff for her.

We chit chatted about other stuff for a bit and then she said "well I'll letcha go. Remember if you get out tomorrow to come get my list" and I assured her I would do so, and then she added "but if it's hot again don't bother getting out". Like hot weather has ever stopped me from going and running errands for her before *okie giggles about how silly Naomi can be sometimes*.

I was posting on Facebook about Naomi calling and after I made my original post I had a sudden realization that is now leaving me almost in tears. After a year and a half I still miss having her right next door. It was so easy to just run over there anytime I needed to talk to her or if she needed anything. Even though Ada is not a big town she is still on the other side of town now and it's not so easy and convenient. But the thing that hit me the hardest tonight was realizing that when Naomi was right next door I always had someone to talk to and spend time with but now that she is no longer there...well, I do get lonely. I don't like feeling lonely....

The Things I Have To Explain...

If you read my blog regularly you know that I spend several afternoons a week at an ICF/MR where I counsel with those who suffer from developmental delay issues. I wrote a post sometime ago about a woman I see for sessions and walking with her and her finding happiness just from finding grasshoppers. I had a session with her again yesterday and while it was not inspirational but was rather humorous!

We were walking and talking again yesterday and made our way to the Koi fish pond and sat at the gazebo for a little while as she talked about some things she had going on and her feelings on some issues and we discussed how she can cope, because you know that is what counselors are suppose to do.

Winding down her session we started walking back to the workshop so she could return to her job duties. She noticed all the butterflies flying around and started talking to the butterflies, she often talks to insects, which is quite therapeutic for her. She said things like "oh hello pretty butterfly, isn't it a pretty day" "my aren't you a pretty butterfly", etc. We discussed some of the colors of the butterflies and then a beautiful yellow butterfly flew in our path and landed on the sidewalk. We stopped immediately just looking at the butterfly when my clients said "My you are a beautiful butterfly! Would you like to choke my chicken?" OH EMMM GEEE!! I about fell over!! As hard as I tried I just couldn't stifle my laughter.

Making me laugh is something she enjoys so she kept repeating this "want to choke my chicken?". I was finally able to gather myself take a deep breath and ask her if she knew what it meant. She told me "no" and said a male peer asks her that sometimes. I tried to think of the most appropriate way to inform her what the phrase was referring to and finally just told her "he is asking you to grab his penis". She stopped and looked down like she was thinking very hard and then slowly turned her head to me and said "he is asking me what?". I told her again what the phrase meant and she took a deep breath and sighed deeply shaking her head and said "well that just isn't very nice and I think I will tell him he can choke his own chicken". Since she was being so serious I knew I could not laugh so I bit on my lower lip so I wouldn't laugh and simply told her "yes, that might be a good idea".

On the drive home I got to thinking about this all over again and just about had to pull over because I was laughing so hard. Sometimes I have to talk with clients where there are no easy explanations...loss of a loved one, overcoming years of abuse, how to deal with emotions you don't understand, how to deal with mean people, etc. But yesterday, well the explanation I had to give in that session had to be one of the most entertaining!

Love Creative Imaginations

Creative Imaginations really has some good products and I love some of their paper lines. I have been able to pick up some of their papers at different scrapbook events and also clearance sales at different websites on the internet.

Linda and I went to a swarm a few months ago and the store we were at had some stuff on clearance. I picked up this Creative Imaginations Bare Elements Wood Words "CREATE". I had forgotten about this until I was moving some stuff around the other night and decided I would get it altered. The letters are approximately 3" x 5" each.

Supplies Used:
Creative Imagition BE Create
K & Co Susan Winget Best Of
Cuttlebug Daisy Quilling Set
Cuttlebug Carnation/Rose Quilling Set
Cuttlebug Butterfly Die
Hot glue
Scotch Quick Dry Glue
Various Ribbon
Shrinky Dink Material



You might have to click the picture and make it bigger to see the little Shrinky Dink butterflies I did. There is one on the C, E and T. I added a little hot glue to the back and stuck them on the flowers.

This is what the letters look like before altering them.

I am very limited on wall space in my craft room due to storage units and shelves so about the only place I could find to put the word was above my Bygel rods that hold my punches. I think it looks pretty darn good there and when people walk in it will be the first thing they see on that wall. 

Now my little Cricut Plushie has something pretty to be happy about besides sitting amongst a bunch of ugly punches.

I think I really like altering chit.....

Gift Bag - Margarita!

 I have been trying to use Cricut Craftroom lately, sometimes with some I am actually able to get something designed and cut...but most of the time I get frustrated and quit, going back to my beloved Design Studio.

There are some of the digital images I like and one of the new ones that came out is Mixed Drinks. Of course me being the big party girl *okie snickers* that I am I knew I would have to get this digital cart. The bad part is that I can only use it with CCR *okie gives an exasperated sigh*. My friend Linda, aka LGuild, sent me a link to Melanie, of Courtney Lane Designs, website where she had made a wonderful gift bag with the images from this cart. Lucky for me Melanie was nice enough to include the file. All I had to do was copy and paste the images so I could cut 4 designs. If you would like to see Melanie's version please go to - Courtney Lane Designs. I really loved Mel's ida of cutting the blender smaller and using it as a gift tag! INGENUOUS!!




I have so far made the margarita, mai tai, daiquiri and pina colada and will be posting those later this week. Here is the Margarita bag I made with Mel's file for CCR. I only took a picture with my cell phone so the picture isn't great.The gift bag came with the stripes on it. They were some I picked up at Michaels on clearance last year. I love making gift bags because I use them as prizes at my Christmas party and all the guests love getting them. I have been told that they do NOT like to use them which makes no sense to me.

I used some Glitter paper for the drink and the salt on the rim. I think it gave it some great sparkle. I also cut the salt rim twice and then pop dotted the layers.

You Are Proving Me Wrong!

So yesterday I posted about how to apply for the Phone BFF position because I want to replace my current PBFF. Well not that I want to, but I am going to have to since she can no longer fulfill her duties. Ya know, kinda like when a beauty queen did porn in the past and has to be stripped of her crown and duties...something like that.

Anyway, PBFF Carmen told me that she was irreplaceable and that I couldn't find anyone. I told her I just knew I would get a few thousand applicants, afterall who doesn't want to be at someone else's beckon call anytime of day or night? I am highly UNDERwhelmed by the few applicants that casually mentioned they wanted to apply.

Let me say, this is a one person job. I can't have 3 shifts of PBFF! What if something happens during shift change and the new PBFF hasn't clocked in? Then I would be left hanging and that just will not do. Also I can't be repeating myself 3 times a day filling in each PBFF that would be too much like I was working for them instead of it being all about me! *okie knows it is always about her and likes it that way*.

Come on guys this is a simple job! My friend Carmen Scrappinbee did it for years, well until she started nursing school and I had to put her on temporary hiatus. Actually she and Carmen in Houston shared the position for quite awhile because I was afraid it was too much for one person but then when Carmen Scrappinbee had to go on hiatus and the job fell on Carmen Houston's shoulders, she never once complained. She just bucked up and took over the duties full time. It's not like it's a burden or anything! I am not asking you to pay all my bills, carry my fat arse across an interstate, raise my child, feed my dog....All I am requiring for the position is that you be there to answer the dang phone whenever I call!

Maybe I should mention that as the full time PBFF you will have access to my card stash, which if you look at the picture you can tell it is a little low right now. Carmen is able to tell me "hey I need two dozen cards" and even though she makes cards herself I always send them to her *okie won't mention that she bitches the whole time about how Carmen could make her own dang cards if she would just get off her lazy arse*. You also get to do personal craft shopping for me. If there is a good sale you get to call me and have me look stuff up on the internet and I will tell you whether to purchase it for me or not. I will then reimburse you per Paypal or pay you in cards, Carmen likes the cards. I guess I should mention you don't get to charge me for shipping, Carmen and I never keep up with shipping since we send stuff back and forth to each other all the time.

As you might be able to see now, there are a few perks that come with the job so it is not a totally thankless job! I often thank Carmen when we are talking *okie tries to think about if she is thanking Carmen or bitching at her and figures it is the same thing so it doesn't matter*.

Now that you can understand what a wonderful and fulfilling position this is I am expecting some serious applicants who make no excuses! *okie thinks she better get started on a formal application to hand out to the massive amount of applicants that will be rolling in over the next few days*.

In Search Of A New BFF

No I am not replacing BFF Karen, that just would never happen! I am looking for a special type of BFF and it is only a temporary position. And actually I won't be replacing the BFF I am talking about, I just need someone to take over her duties for a while.

You see my BFF Carmen from Houston *okie figures she better clarify so people don't think it is BFF Carmen from Florida* has taken the position as President for the Bearkadette Mothers, which is the group of mothers that organize stuff for her daughters dance troop at school, and will be unavailable to me as required as my "PHONE BFF".  This is Carmen and Dani when they went on the Bearkadette trip this summer to California.

I am happy for her daughter Dani, as she made co-major for the troop, which is equivalent to football captain and if ya know anything about high school...well that is some stand up and be proud kinda stuff right there! This is a picture of Dani getting ready for one of her dance routines.

Anyway, I am rather upset that Carmen did not consider her duties as the PBFF *okie thinks she will just use that instead of typing out the whole thing every time* when taking the position as the president of this mother's group. I know Carmen knew the duties of her new position were going to take up her time but we found out just how much this past week.

You see Carmen's duties as my PBFF is to be available for phone calls anytime of day or night, okay usually not after 10pm on weeknights unless it is summer or school is out the next day. She also has to be available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for when I drive to McCall's Chapel to see clients there. This week she has missed phone calls numerous times because she was busy with those blasted presidential duties and I am just not liking it!

I have informed Carmen that I am going to take applications to replace her at this time. She is not liking it at all and says I can't do it. I told her I most certainly can and will! She even told me she gets to screen the applicants, which will never happen because she will find the slightest reasons to toss out an application.

The requirements are as follows:


1. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday morning phone calls for at least 10 minutes, hours vary from 10:30 am to 12:00 pm. You must be available during this time and answer your phone immediately and be ready to talk about any nonsense that pops into my head. Whether it be me whining about ungrateful teenagers or my love life - or lack there of, Lucy latest shenanigans, etc.

2. Phone calls during afternoon times, even if you are waiting at the doctor, giving the dog a bath, driving to Hobby Lobby, Joann's, Michaels, etc. If you do not answer you have to call me back within a 2 minute time period or you will be docked points and another applicant will be considered.

3. Phone calls during the evening time, this includes if you are making dinner, eating dinner with your family, talking with your husband, spending time with the kids. Now I am not a total hard azz and I will make allowances for you to tell me "hey I am eating right now" "I need to talk to my husband" and allow you time to do this chore and then call me back, but it must be within 10 minute time frame. Again if you fail to do so you will be docked points.

4. Phone calls at night and be ready to talk while you do laundry, tend to your family, work on projects, in bed, etc. And a very solid requirement is that you are ready to talk until 2am on weekends without complaint. The until 2am phone calls are not a regular thing but the midnight ones are so if this is a problem do NOT apply.




5. Since I have a headset phone, with speaker option, you have to be willing to bathe with me, go to bed with me, go to the bathroom with me, craft with me, do the dishes with me, garden with me, and any other activity I may be doing during the phone call. In case you are wondering, do not worry about be being intimate with someone while we are on the phone...that doesn't happen in my house, however you must be willing to stop being intimate at your house if your phone rings and it is me.

6. Your husband and children must not complain when I call. I also will require their numbers and will be texting and calling them as I wish and they must respond as well. 

7. Your mother must not me mind me calling her bad names, telling her she is gonna go live in the garage with the dogs, tell her she needs to get her lazy azz out of bed, etc. She must never complain about me calling at anytime and must welcome me with open arms when I decide to visit. It also helps that when I visit she doesn't mind me crawling in bed with her during a lazy afternoon to just talk.

8. You must be willing to be openly honest with your opinion and accept my opinion, we have to be willing to agree to disagree at times, but mostly you have to just agree with me so it leaves things uncomplicated and we can move on to subjects that are more important to me.

If you understand the cartoon to the left then you understand the importance this rule be followed and how to follow it.

Okay now that you have all the VERY SIMPLE requirements I expect the applications to be rolling in. You must remember that this is a temporary position and the tenure will be for the time limit of one year. At the end of the year you have to be willing for me to delete your number and you delete mine as my PBFF Carmen will be available at my beckon call once again.

All applications will be seriously considered and any applicants making it to the interview round must be ready for a grueling and enduring round of 5 interviews *okie sighs deeply wondering if anyone will make it past the first interview* before making it to the last round of interviews. Applying to be my PBFF is not something to take lightly. The pay for the position is the satisfaction of know I am happy and that should be enough for you, as it is enough for Carmen.


LET THE APPLICANTS BEGIN!!

Random Thoughts - April 25, 2012

I sprayed my yard with weed and grass killer before going on the cruise. I wanted to kill the weeds out before the Bermuda started growing, and besides this is what Linda, aka LGuild, told me to do *okie giggles at herself thinking about people believe okie always does what Linda tells her to do*. Of course some of the weeds do come back but not as bad and I will still have to mow. Truth be told, I wouldn't care if it all died out if we are going to have another summer like we did last year and since it is the end of April and we are already hitting close to 90 degrees the outcome isn't looking good at this point. But I am going to have faith that there will be cooler weather this summer than last summer.

I had to go out and mow since the grass did grow and some of the weeds came back *okie is now considering Linda's tale about a flame thrower spot treating yards...and believes her whole yard is a spot but isn't sure how she would convince the fire department* and  and when I mow my mind tends to wander off here and there. Actually my mind does that quite a bit anyway, but when I am mowing I am less distracted by other things...unless there is a SQUIRREL *okie cracks up knowing her Facebook friends will get the meaning of this one*.

While mowing last night I got to thinking about how I don't mind mowing until it gets hot. I remember years ago when my mom was alive I would tell her "every summer I remember why I need a husband" and she would laugh and tell me that is true but there are other good things about husbands beside having them to mow. I would have asked her to explain but I am afraid of what my mother might have told me and let's face it, there are somethings we never want to hear our mother's say! You can just ask my daughter if ya don't believe me HA HA HA, uh...but seriously, ya could! Oh and just to clarify, this is not a picture of my daughter but rather some random picture I found on the internet that I thought was too cute not to use to get my point across.

This little trip down memory lane lead me to thinking about reasons I have never been married. I actually think about this a lot, it's only normal since our society and nature is set up for people to be paired up. I have been paired up a number of times in my life but nothing that ever worked out. I started thinking about the relationships I have had in my life and what was wrong with each one and then I had an epiphany! Ya know the perceptive insight kind, not the appearance of a manifestation kind. There was nothing wrong with the relationship it is with my perception. I tend to see only the good in a prospect *okie cracks up at saying prospect but thinks it fits since the man is a "potential or likely candidate"* and then when the newness starts to wane I only see the bad. By focusing only on the bad I am then ready to let go and move on. I am trying to decide if I have a hard time compromising in situations and when it comes time to compromise I focus on the bad, which I don't think I honestly do, or if I just give up to easily because I don't want to put forth the effort it takes to make something work.

I suddenly felt like I was going to have a revelation in my life and then I noticed a callus on my hand and well ya know how my mind works.........SQUIRREL!! So I guess I will have to finish contemplating this thought the next time I mow.

Check out Crafts Unleashed!!

I have a project featured on CRAFTS UNLEASHED today! I was asked if I would make a Mother's Day project and Mother's Day is always hard for me to make things for since my mother passed away in 2001 and there really isn't any reason for me to celebrate that holiday. However I did come up with a project that I think celebrates just right!

I will be posting some projects later this week that I made using digital images from the Mixed Drink digital cartridge and Cricut Craftroom...NO ONE FAINT! Yes I really used the program! HA HA HA

Cricut Cruise Closing Social

After dinner the last night there were Cricut Plushies on our beds and each one had a note stating we would be sent a Cricut Mini machine! Now had I been told this before the cruise I likely would have rolled my eyes and thought "oh great another machine I can't use because I have to use Craftroom" but since we had played around with Cricut Craftroom while on the cruise and I got a chance to use one I was rather excited!

We were to meet later that night for the Closing Social. We knew at this point that the last Golden Cricut Expression was going to be given away! I had told Dan "don't put my name in there, if I won it I would have to polish the dang thing all the time because I wouldn't be able to stand the finger prints!". Now whether Dan left my name out or not is unknown to me. However the winner of the Golden Cricut was none other than my friend Sandie!!

contributed by I2BZ2W8

Here is Sandie showing her new Golden Cricut some love. Somehow she managed to pack that thing in her bag and get it home. I don't think she trusted anyone to ship it to her *okie cracks up laughin*. 

Another big prize was the rather LARGE Cricut Plushie which my friend Treva won. Treva got such a case of the giggles about winning this and thinking of how she would have to buy another plane ticket to get it home. She just kept giggling and that made all of us start laughing as well! Treva was very lucky since this is the ONLY Cricut Plushie this size! I think she could catch a pretty penny for it on eBay but I have no idea what she plans to do with it or how she got it home.

Here is Christy Carson, one of the fabulous instructors from ProvoCraft giving the giant plushie a little love.

contributed by Danita Kinney

Senor Cricut and Senor Cuttlebug even showed up for the party! Being the suave bugs they are they danced with a few of the ladies! My friend Karen Silva can sure cut a rug as she danced and glided with the Cuttlebug! I will see if I can find a picture later of Karen dancing. I was totally jealous of her skills! A lot of ladies clamored to get their picture taken with the Rico Suave bugs!











There were many other prizes given away that night as well. People were winning Cuttlebugs, Quilling Sets, Cricut Back Packs, Imagine Inks and I don't even know what else. Not everyone won a big prize and those that didn't win were asked to leave while the ones that didn't win were suppose to stay. I thought this was very nice of Dan and the others with ProvoCraft to want to make sure everyone got a little something extra. I mean we had already won the Ole cartridge, a back pack, a scoring tip, got $25 in Cricut.com credit for completing a survey, a Cricut figurine, a small and large Cricut Plushie and a Cricut Mini...how much did they think we needed to win??

Let me tell you something about women and free stuff....it is NOT A GOOD COMBINATION! Well the generosity turned into a fiasco as women started grabbing stuff left to right. One woman grabbed 4 of the quilling kits as others were just trying to get one. People were snatching supplies from here and there off the front table. I offered to hand out the Cricut Mini mats because at this point some of the PC folks were starting to look a little frazzled at the chaos. I don't think they had any idea what ugliness would come out of the situation. There were a few ladies trying to snatch the mats out of my hands. Well if you know anything about me you should know that is never a good idea to try and snatch something from me. One lady told me "you need to put those down" and I told her "you can have them if you pry them out my cold dead hands because I am not letting go until a PC employee tells me to put them down". I knew there were a few ladies that had gotten NOTHING during the, well the only way I can describe it is...SMASH AND GRAB and I was going to go down with the mats if I had to but those ladies were gonna get some extra mats if it was the last thing I did!

The ProvoCraft group was nice enough to donate a tool kit and a cutter for the school where I work. I did actually ask since they had donated an Expression during a promotion a few years ago. I took the items to the school and they were thrilled to get the donation!

After most of the ladies left when they felt they would get nothing else *okie sighs deeply and rolls her eyes just thinking about the chaotic frenzy* some of us stayed to help clean up the room. There was stuff everywhere and we sure didn't feel like the PC folks should have to do it all since we knew they had to be tired as well. We started gathering what was left and tossing stuff in boxes and taping them up. Within no time it was all packed up and we were ready to go finishing packing up our personal belongings and get ready for the trip home the next day....

MORE TO COME! I will be posting more about the cruise and sharing links to blog posts by some other cruiser's. I want you guys to be able to get the experience from the point of view of others as well as I might be a little boring...oh wait, who are we kidding? That is one thing no one can ever accuse me of is being boring!! HA HA HA

Day 7 - At Sea, Project 4

The last day of the cruise was a bit melancholy for me, I was feeling sad about the cruise coming to an end and having to leave my all my friends, not only BFF Karen but also the new friends I had made. I was wishing we could just have two more days to spend together where we had no classes or no plans but just time to relax and hang out together. I know many others were just ready for it to be all over, including BFF Karen, but then again she as stressed about just moving to Florida and starting her new job. Wendi was ready to get home and see her kids as she hadn't been away from them that long before. I think Sandie and I were the only ones ready to just stow away and spend another two weeks on board.

Our last project of the cruise actually took up both class times and the ProvoCraft team was great about not rushing us as we all wanted to make sure we got this one right because it was THE BEST PROJECT EVER! Although, I did accuse Dan of them stealing the idea from my blog when I had done a PHOTOTRAY when I was on Joy's Design Team last year.

Here is a picture of Christy showing us the project before we got started.

I swear that woman has the patience of a saint putting up with everyone in class. She seemed to fret, as did Richard and Sharon when I would sit and do nothing and tell them "it's okay" when I didn't have all my pieces or room to work. I guess I should have explained to them that I don't scrap well with others. Hmmm, maybe some thank you notes are in order! Sounds like a good weekend project!

Here is the example we had for reference. I would like to thank Annette, a fellow cruiser for allowing me to use some of her pictures. I am sure there will be others I will thank in following posts about the cruise since there were a lot of things I didn't get pictures of.

Here is the photo tray I completed, again once I got home. I did get some of the parts done during class but I knew I wanted to add pictures so I chose to finish up at home.

The ProvoCraft team pulled all the stops out on this one. We used pleather, vinyl, sand, and even did etching!!

We added sand that we gathered from the beaches on the words Mexico and Jamaica. This was done by adding Glossy Accents on the lettering and then covering with sand. If you try this method I will say don't over use the Glossy Accents or it will be hard to read the letters. We also added sand in the little bottles, one for each place we ported.

I wanted to choose pictures from each place that meant something to me so for the Cozumel I chose the picture of us in front of the ship when we were going to board.

I used my photo program to size the pictures to the correct space I had allowed. I love the passport embellishment!






For the picture at the Caymans I chose the picture of Karen and I with the pirate, it just seemed like a fun picture to use! It's a bit hard to see and you might have to click on the picture and make it bigger, the year 2012 is etched on the bottle of sand. I actually didn't have enough shells to finish this project from what I got on this trip but luckily I had some from my stash from last year's trip. I figure at least they all did come from the Caribbean Sea so it is still pretty authentic.



For the Jamaica picture how could I not use the one of me and our taxi driver? Although, I might have to cover his eyes when I take a shower or go to the bathroom!

The picture was a little more difficult to do because of the shape. I had put plastic over each of the pictures since this will find a home in my "beach" bathroom and I don't want steam messing up the pictures. I did finally decide that brads around the picture would hold the plastic in place.

The embellishment in this little area was designed so nicely and I absolutely love it!

I did add one other little special thing to my photo tray! My friend Sandie had made me this little chotchkey and brought it to me on the cruise. Since it had an ocean theme, it was given to me on the cruise and Sandie was on the cruise I thought it was a perfect way to display it!

I loved it so much that I ordered a bunch of the Memory slides, frames and other supplies from Blitsy so I can make some of my own!

Tomorrow's post will be about the Closing Social and the fabulous gifts we all received! So stay tuned, it isn't quite over yet!

Day 6 - At Sea, Project 3

Our project 3 was an Autograph book, although I am not sure anyone got an autograph in their book. I of course didn't finish mine until I got home. I didn't finish any project until I got home. Why you ask? BECAUSE I DO NOT SCRAP WELL WITH OTHERS! I am too dang nosy and too dang social to sit down and finish a project. I did work on my projects so at least I looked like I was doing something, at least for a few minutes I did. Then I would become engrossed in thoughts about one thing or another *okie knows she better not even try to explain her deep thoughts to folks or she will either be sent to a hospital for a nice little inpatient stay or be landing in jail*, or be walking around looking at what others were doing or just yakking with someone.

Luckily I do have pictures of the project since I did finish it at home!

When we were shown the project there was a lot of "oohs and aahs" going on for sure! I thought this one looked fairly easy and I would get it done during class...YEAH RIGHT! I did get some inking done and my flowers cut with the Cuttlebug and put together, but once again I had to bring the project home so I could finish it.

This is the book that was displayed for us to look and use as an example. Very pretty isn't it!!

We used the Chrysanthemum quilling kit to make our flowers for the book and they were simple to make, even though I was told by a classmate "oh you did your flowers wrong...but they are pretty anyway". Of course since it was my book I figured I could have artistic license to make my dang flowers however I wanted! *okie won't say she read the directions wrong...especially since she believes "there are no mistakes in crafting, only creative opportunities"*. Evidently I didn't cut my papers correctly or something because I had to make snips on each line with scissors. I think it was because my kit had cardstock instead of paper and it is more difficult to cut cardstock with the kit.

Here is my book finished. I did add a few things extra on mine, including stamping the "create" definition in the yellow area. BFF Karen cut a "K" out of the pleather *okie thinks pleather is such a fun little word* and added to her yellow area and it was really nice looking. I wish I had a picture to show you, but I don't.

I also added the bling and the little bird out of my own supplies at home.

In the close up picture you can see where my big flower has 4 layers, I think it was only suppose to have 3, if I remember correctly. I added some Liquid Pearl dots in the center of the flowers because, well I just love the heel out of some Liquid Pearls! I think the bling swirls really added a lot as well.

In this picture you can see the dimension a little better and also see the little closure ban that we put on the book. All the pages in the book are blank. I showed a picture of this to my friend Carmen, aka ScrapperDelighted, and she wanted to know if I was going to use this as a prize at my next Annual Girlfriend Christmas Party. I told her "I think I will keep it for myself", she sounded a little disappointed with that but I did tell her "ya know you can make your own dang book!".

Another "okie addition" was inking the book. It was white...just plain stark white, and in my world that just will not do! I dotted Chestnut Roan and Creamy Brown Chalk Inks on the back and then smeared, yes that is a technical art term, with a paper towel to get the effect shown in the picture.



The book was a lot of fun to make and I think BFF Karen was really proud of her book she completed. She was afraid of the flowers getting smashed on the way home but as far as I know it made it home safe and sound.

Day 6 - At Sea, Project 2

Our sixth day on the cruise was spent at sea and attending Cricut Project Classes. It was nice to feel like we had a little time to relax instead of running off the boat, enjoying off shore activities, running back to the boat, running to the bar, running to get ready for dinner, running to the bar, running to get ready for Cricut events, running to the bar and running to bed so we could rest for the next day! *okie hopes no one notices all the running to the bar*. I will be breaking down day 6 into two segments since we had two projects that day and I want to show off the great projects in a detailed way and feel each deserves their own post.


Due to the size of the group the classes were broken into Group A and Group B so there would be room for everyone to work. Group A, the group I was in had class at 9:30 am and 3:00 pm. That left us plenty of time to do other things in between classes, which we decided to walk around the ship a little and also enjoy the sun up on one of the decks.

Here is a picture of our room we worked in while on the cruise. I think it was by this time, or likely a few days before that some ladies found I was not their cup of tea. Not that I want to be everyone's cup of tea because that would make life boring wouldn't it? But there are some folks that don't condone to drinking, and I guess don't like people drinking in classes. I however feel it's my vacation and if that is what I want to do then I shall do it...and I did *okie smiles triumphantly*. Not that I stayed drunk the whole time, but when there is a different drink of the day each day I thought it rude not to try at least one or two of them during the day so I could give the bartenders my review on their concoctions.

To be honest I had not been excited about the projects and classes until this point, although I was still having a blast with my friends and the new friends I made so far! I did realize that most of it was not ProvoCraft's fault but rather issues with the server and some of us not being able to use the CricutCraft Room software, which was essential for doing the projects. But like I mentioned before, Dan was awesome and was able to get everyone up and running before we were buckling down to do the next few projects.  Our first project was a layout and when I saw the finished product they had as an example I thought "YES! THIS IS WHY WE PAID FOR THE CLASSES!"

As I said earlier I finished mine at home. I knew there were things I wanted to add to the layout to make it my own, and as most of my readers know...I am heavily addicted to embellishing with ink, glitter, pop dots, etc. This is the finished project. I would love to tell you the supply list but it varied greatly and I honestly just don't remember!

I did add the Cozumel title since I chose pictures from that stop to use on the layout.
 
The background paper on the kit was plain light blue and I just couldn't deal with the starkness of it so I used "SKY" paper I had in my stash at home for the background and it made the world of difference to me.








  
I did some variations on the second page as well and will explain those in the next few photos.

I added the glitter to the clouds by running them through my Xyron and then sprinkling with Doodlebug glitter. Perfect Pearls and Stickles were put on the waves, they shimmer quite nicely now. I colored the orange on the smoke stacks on the ships as my orange pieces didn't make it home and I was too lazy to go back in and cut them when I could just use some markers and color them much more quickly.





 
I dotted some Liquid Pearl dots to the palm tree, birds and the sun. I inked the trunk of the palm tree diagonally.

The arms of the chair were orange and since I managed to lose them as well I cut them in white.I also inked in between the slats of the chair for depth. I know, I know, sometimes I have the tendency to over do it and simpler is better...but hey, this is MY project so I will ink if I want to! *okie cracks up laughing*.
 

That little cute Cricut head is very tiny and believe it or not, I did make it home with it! However, another cruiser didn't make it home with it and I mailed mine to her since I own the cartridge it was cut from and was able to easily cut another. I think it is adorable on the life preserver and definitely ties in the Cricut Cruise theme in the layout without being over powering!











I didn't have all the pieces for the sun when I got home and I did have to cut that again, it's actually smaller than the original and I am not sure if it is cut right but it works for me. There was a bottle cap the glitter center was suppose to go in, yet another item I managed to lose.












While I didn't finish my project until I got home there were plenty that did and I don't think there was one bad review about the Layout Project!

Tomorrow will be about the second project on day 6, the Autograph Book and learning to use the Cuttlebug Quilling kits!