Spring is ALMOST here

Well a few weekends ago we had a warm weather teaser. We were riding bikes, playing in the yard, swinging and sliding, wearing flip flops and shorts. Unfortunately it was short lived. Since Saturday it has been cool and rainy. Monday night and this afternoon we had some heavy rain. But there is SPRING in our future. Tomorrow it is suppose to clear up and hit 60 degrees. By Easter we should be sunny and in the high 70's, possibly in the 80's. I think we will turn the corner this weekend and welcome SPRING.
In anticipation I have been decorating. A few weeks ago we all decorated a birdhouse (yes, even Sean). I have displayed the birdhouses in a "springy" way.
I hope everyone enjoys the weekend and wherever you are you have BEAUTIFUL weather and a blessed Easter.

See that little speck of green in the front middle??? That is a plastic grasshoper that has found a home in my decoration, thanks to Abby. He looks kinda cute in there :)

What I've been up to...

Sorry I've been away soooo long. I really don't have any excuse. Haven't been overly busy....just caught up in life.
So here is what I've been up to:

Been watching: American Idol - on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Been reading: just finished Dan Brown's Lost Symbol and Nicholas Spark's Dear John recently
Been listening to: Darius Rucker's new CD...loved him in Hootie and the Blow Fish years ago.
Now he is solo and went country.
Been wanting: the weather to break and stay nice. Enjoyed the weather two weekends ago.
Been eating: some good beef, since our cow was ready the end of February.
Been wishing: for money to bloom on my trees
Been enjoying: time with my family

Looking forward to:
the warmer weather, playing outside, opening my windows, turning OFF the heat for good, losing a few pounds, spending more time with my family, having a few fun days off this week to enjoy Spring Break.

Hoping to catch up soon and post more. Check back often.

Cricut Wall Art

I got my Cricut for Mother's Day 2 years ago and instantly fell in love. I have the original.

Since then Cricut came out with a bigger and better version: Expression. Even though the Expression has capabilities mine doesn't have, I am very happy with my original. For those that don't know what a Cricut is here it is:

You can purchase different font and design cartridges.

I am always using my Cricut for scrapbooking but found some other uses. Not only can you cut paper but you can cut vinyl, contact paper and fabric (haven't tried the fabric yet). For Christmas I used the vinyl for wall art.

Then for Christmas gifts I used contact paper (yeah the stuff you used to line a drawer) to decorate plates.

After Christmas I took down the "Believe" and put this up. By the way the vinyl peels right off with no damage to the paint. When I peeled them off I put them on wax paper (not sure if they will hold up or stick next year but I saved them anyway).

Next I want to try and cut fabric. I'll let you know how that goes. Here are some links to Blogs with tips for using your Cricut:

Imperfectly Beautiful: cutting fabric

Imperfectly Beautiful: cutting fabric to then adhere to a wall

Imperfectly Beautiful: making your mat sticky again

I won

....a contest on 93.1 WPOC (country radio station) that I didn't even enter!!! How can that be you ask??? Well a wonderful person entered for me. Let me start at the beginning.

I was walking into work last Wednesday when my co-worker, Margie, called me on my cell to congratulate me for winning. I explained I had no idea what she was talking about. Margie told me that Laurie DeYoung from WPOC had just read a letter about my family and my scrapbook room. As soon as I got to my desk I went straight to WPOC's website. I saw an advertisement for a contest called: I'm not lying, I'm crafty because....". You needed to submit a 50 word essay. Well I didn't send anything in. After asking around another friend suggested that maybe my father's wife, Kay, may have done it. So next I called my Dad who confirmed that Kay did enter the contest on my behalf.

So I then learned I won lunch with Laurie DeYoung at Phillips on Sunday, along with the 9 other winners and their guests, and VIP admission to the Arts and Crafts Show (not sure what the exact name was) at the Baltimore Convention Center.

So on Sunday Kay and I attended this wonderful event. I had such a nice time hanging out with other crafty ladies, including a woman that Sean works with. Here are some pictures:

I want to thank Laurie DeYoung and WPOC for picking me and for such a nice time. I would also like to thank Kay for thinking of me and entering me into the contest.