Furry Friend

Hello Again--

I made this scrapbook page with the Cricut Cartridge "Meow." This is my son Brady with our two cats who are brother and sister; Lola and Lucky.  I have a feeling Brady will always own a cat!

I set a goal for myself this week to scrap one page per day. So far, I have done 3 layouts! I am so far behind on pages for the boys. I am going to do one at a time to catch up.

Project Life

Anyone else doing project life? I just finished 2012!  I have done it for two years now and I absolutely love it!  I do mine on a weekly basis and keep the embellishing pretty simple so that I am always current. For some weird reason, I enjoy scrapbooking much more when I am working on current photos and layouts.  Anyone else like this?

Have a great day!

~Tracy

I'm Back--New Year's Resolution

Hi Friends!  

Everyone makes New Year's Resolutions and one of mine this year is to get my blog up and running again.  I am going to add some additional content such as maybe a recipe here and there, some rambling, or maybe a great bargain I discovered. I may feature a website, or show a photo that I have taken. I may show some organizing tips or something we did around our house. I will still be showing crafts, of course!  As a matter of fact, I received a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas that I am learning how to use. ( I would love some tips and suggestions!) 

Here is the holiday card that I made for my work this year: 

Recipe:

Northwoods Rubber Stamp
Making Memories Pigment Inkpad in Unicorn
Papertrey Ink Pure Poppy Cardstock
JudiKins Embossing Powder in White Diamond.


The camera doesn't show the sparkle, but it was really pretty.  I made 425 of these cards and I was definitely sick of embossing after that!  I make my whole family help do the card in stages at the kitchen table. There is a lot of cutting out layers--the white A2 size card, the black layer, the red layer, the photo that went inside and the sentiment that also went inside.  It really isn't too bad making this many cards if you have an assembly line to help do some of the work and if you just remember that any little step you add to the card, you add to 425 cards!  If I was to send this out to my family and friends, I would have added a ribbon and probably a sentiment.


Have a great night!
~Tracy

Your Story Laminator from Provo Craft

~`

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year and you are all feeling refreshed and ready to craft!  I have totally cleaned and organized my craft space and am ready to get caught up on some layouts!

Here is a pic of a gift I wrapped for my girlfriend.  I am really into using craft paper--in fact, I used it for all my Christmas gifts!   I love how pinterest gives you so many ideas for wrapping!  I made the "M" from the cricut alphabet and the card is from mini monograms that I welded with my gypsy.  The sentiment is from Creative Time with Me--gift Card sentiments.

Thanks for stopping by!
~pinkhockeymom

Sweet Treats Cards

Stephanie Barnard Stamps!!

I just got my stamp of the month stamp set today and had to play a little bit....these cards are not very original, but I think they are cute!  I am not much of a stamper, but I love watching the videos and learning new techniques!

This is made with the candy2share stamp set from thestampsoflife.com.  The middle pink lollipop 

is pop dotted up on the card.  I am using the you're so sweet card for a thank you card for my girlfriend.

These cards are size A2, so they mail easily! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

~pinkhockeymom

Mass Producing Christmas/Holiday Cards

For the third year in a row, I have made holiday cards for the clients and employees at my office.  Last year's card involved glitter and embossing and I got real tired of that after 400 cards!  This year, I did a card with multiple steps of stamping.

Here is the card I made 400 of:

Sorry for the lighting....the paper and ribbon I used is from Papertrey ink.  The stamp is from Stephanie Barnard--the stampsoflife.com .  It is penguins2love stamp set.  I love it.  The white layer on the black is empossed with the snowflake cuttlebug folder.

Making this many cards is definitely a commitment....and it helps if you have an assembly line to help you.  My family helped in putting the layers together and that was a huge help!

Are any of you making a large amount of holiday cards this year?  If so, please share your ideas!!!

Merry Christmas!
~pinkhockeymom

Brandon and Loom Knitting

My middle son is kind of "into" knitting....his Grandma taught him last year and he wanted to pick it up again so I suggested he try loom knitting.....well, it certainly didn't take him long to figure it out and complete a hat...he wanted to make one his school colors....I am pretty impressed!  For his first one, he did pretty well..He just needs to make it a little bigger.  Check it out!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hockey Projects

I have been making hockey projects for the upcoming season for my boys...Here are a couple of them...

This poster may not look very fancy, but holy cow, it took about 6 hours to complete between cutting all the lettering, placement and then the gluing!  Not my most favorite project but it will be fun to have!  We hang this on the glass at the ice rink to cheer the boys on!  My youngest son made a B-1 team this year and we are having a blast with the parents so far!  (sorry about the mail in the pic!)

This next one is a bobblehead of my son...we wave it in the stands to cheer him on!  Super easy to do and the kids love to look at us moms waving them during the game!

Thanks for stopping by....Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I'ts Been Forever!!!! I'm Back!

Heah everyone--I know it's no fun to follow blogs when they aren't updated on a regular basis....so I am back and am going try and post some things I have been working on...I didn't so much this summer with scrapbooking, but am back in the swing of things and am caught up on my albums....

It's been a busy fall getting the kids back to school and all three are in different schools with different schedules...but I think we have it all figured out!

Anyone get the new Cricut Expression 2 Anniversary edition?  I got it a couple weeks ago and am really loving it! It really has some neat features on it and I have been having fun playing with it.

I am at a scrapbook retreat this weekend and have done some fun projects and my first banner. I also made a few cards and here is one:

This A2 card was made using the Winter Frolic cartridge and was cut at 3 1/4 inches..

Thanks for looking...Happy Crafting!

~pinkhockeymom

Homemade Lemon Hand Scrub

This is a great exfoliate for your hands--and it's all natural!  This makes a great gift for teachers, girlfriends, or co-workers.  I mixed mine and then packaged it in a pretty mason jar.

The recipe is from www.bystephanielynn.com

It's super easy!

2 1/2 Cups of Sugar
1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 TBSP Lemon Juice

You can add essential oils if you would like--I would recommend because the olive oil is kind of strong. Just Stir and put in a sealed jar.

Here's a pic:

Duct Tape Flower Pen

A video from my 12 year old son!!!  Enjoy!!

A Pot Full of Flowers!

Can you even believe two posts on one day??!!  I am enjoying my last night of solitude before my family gets home from camp this weekend.

This card was made for someone that works in my building and he is an avid gardener!  He often brings us cut flowers from his backyard for our desks--so although it is not very masculine, I think in this case, he will appreciate the card!  Plus, he told me once that his wife occasionally scrapbooks.

I used the Martha Stewart fringe scissors for the grass--they are kind of fun to play with! You can check them out here:

 http://www.amazon.com/Martha-Stewart-Crafts-Fringe-Scissors/dp/B002Y6HFJW

Thanks so much for stopping by!  How is everyone's summer going?

~pinkhockeymom

Fishin' You A Happy Birthday!

My sister-in-law loves fish--so I made her this card for her birthday:

I think my favorite part is how I ran the waves through my Cuddlebug bubbles folder to make the waves!   On the inside I printed "Fishin You a Happy Birthday!"  It was a fun card to make!

Happy Crafting!

Holy Cow--time flies!!

My hubby and boys are all at scout camp and bible camp this week--my two oldest needed signs to place outside their tents at boy scout camp.  There was even a contest for the best sign--and they asked me to help them make them!  Of course, Brandon asked me not to make Cory's as good as his, because he wanted to win!

                             I used the 50 State cartridge for this--the cartridge I always thought would be cool on one hand, and what would I use it for on the other hand?  My husband finally just bought it for me and I have used it a couple times for school related projects for the boys.  Cory wanted a loon because they have them at camp. I had to cut the State of MN out pretty large--I think this might have been cut at 8 inches--

                              

    
                                  I used the camp out cartridge for the tent and the sign--I just love the sign--it looks like wood. The letters were cut out with Life's A Beach at 1 inch.  The tent is cool because it reminds me of the tents on M*A*S*H--and the boys are camping in tents like that!  The racoon is from Create A Critter and is also funny because the boys can not have any food in their tents and have to lock food in a bear box!  The racoons come out at night and steal things from their campsites!


Thanks for visiting!!!
~pinkhockeymom

Holy Cow--Time Flies!!!

This has been a crazy month!  Lots and lots of activities and school projects and scouting events and of course, baseball 4 night per week! We are still waiting for a real spring to come to Minnesota--we have had so much rain and stormy weather already!

My oldest son graduated from 8th grade last week and it was so great---his class of kids are all so nice and it was such a special evening.  Here is a picture of one of the treats I brought to the class graduation party.

It turned out really cute!


It's been so long since I have crafted, other than my project life, but I did make these super duper quick thank you cards for Cory for graduation.

I made 4 of these cards in about 10 minutes.  I used my new Ephinany button maker--which is super cool!  You can customize your button to whatever project  you are doing!  

I'll do a video soon on my project life.  Tonight  I actually organized my scrap area and made my list of scrap pages to do--I just have to order my pictures, which is so easy using my iphoto!  

Have a great week! 

~pinkhockeymom

Card Making With Every Day Pop-Up Cards Cricut Cartridge

It was not a very nice weekend here~full of rain and cold and no sun.  BUT, it made for a good weekend to make cards!  My birthday was this weekend and I got the new Everyday Pop-Up Cards Cricut Cartridge..Admittedly, this is not an easy cartridge to use!  There is not much online about how to use this cartridge yet.  It is a cool cartridge, but a little puttsy with putting on the layers and attaching the pop up part of the card on the inside. This is the kind of card you only give people who appreciate your home-made cards!!!



Everyday Pop-Up Cards

Page 24     The card is 5 inches and the elephant on front is 3 1/2 inches---the cool thing about this cartridge is the way the card bases cut out--this one has these cool tabs on the bottom.

This is the inside of the card with the pop up  "thanks a ton"   It is not the easiest to photograph!

I think this next card is one of my favorites ever!!  It is on page 25 of the handbook--I love the zig zag on the bottom of the card base and how I added the print cardstock under it.  The sewing machine is sooo cute!

The inside says "thank you sew much"  I did spritz it with Glimmer Mist, it's just hard to see on camera.

The next card is found on page 27 and is the gift card.  The layers on this card are really fun.

You probably can't read it, but the pop up says "surprise"

The flower box is found on page 48--How cute is this?????   I added some grass using my Martha Stewart scissors---I did not add a pop up to the inside--honestly, cause I couldn't figure it out!  I am patiently waiting until Provo Craft releases the instructions for this cartridge! 

this graduation card is for my son who is graduating from 8th grade.  It's onto high school next year! I love how easy the hat is to layer---

the inside I stamped with a stamp I had. 

thanks so much for checking out my blog!!!  I love having you visit and any comments--if you have any tips or tricks on using this cartridge, please let me know!!  :)
Happy Crafting

~Tracy

Elegant Edges Cricut Cartridge

This is the new Elegant Edges Cricut Cartridge from Provocraft. I love love love this cartridge! This cartridge was released this month and I am sooo looking forward to seeing what projects other crafters do with this cartridge!

Happy crafting!

~pinkhockeymom

Paper Rosettes

So, paper rosettes are all the rage and I think they are soo cool.  I spent some time tonight playing around with them. They are pretty easy, but I admit that it took me several attempts to get the folding in part.  I love how you can make such a cool embellishment out of just paper!

I cut this strip of paper at 1 1/2 x 12 inches and then used my scallop edge punch.  Im scored every 1/4 inch for this rosette.

If you want to watch a video on how to make rosettes, www.archiversonline.com  has a good one on their blog.

My card is an A2 card and I ran the yellow cardstock through the cuttlebug using the Divine Swirl folder. Pretty simple.  It's kind of fun to make a quick card using basic embellishments without taking out a lot of your supplies.

Thanks for visiting me!  I'd love to see your rosette projects and share any tips you may have!!

Quick Cards

These are some quick cards I made for some birthdays this week.


             This first card is from Simply Charmed and the cake is cut at 3.75"--and I used a birthday candle border punch. There are several layers to cut with this cut.  I used Stickles for some extra sparkle.

This next card is made using Camp Out--I have a nephew who is very into fishing.  The blue strips are crimped just to give it a little extra texture.  Hopefully you can tell the yellow funny shaped circle is a bobbin with a hook on the end! (this was my husbands idea when I told him I thought the card was too blah with just the fish on it)  Gotta love sharing a workspace!  :) 

                              This next card is made with Walk In My Garden and the butterfly cut at 3.75" and then layered with black. It might be hard to see but I used glitter paper from a paper pack for some sparkle.  Are you detecting a theme here with the sparkle and bling?   It was fun to do a spring card in the midst of all this crummy weather that keeps coming and coming.

        

            Have a great day--thanks for stopping by!

My New Scrap Room!

Hi Everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've posted--I should back on track now--we have had so many sporting events going on that I can barely keep up! We are in the midst of hockey district games and then it should get a little quieter before baseball.

In the midst of spring cleaning--my husband and I re-did our office/scraproom. We went to Ikea and installed a built in counter top instead of the 2 individual desks that we had in our room. It is soo super cool and the room flows sooo much better! With the Ikea Expedia cabinets, everything is sooo organized now and there is plenty of room for the kids to join us when we are working and they need help with their homework.

My husband was so great in the little touches of my room--under cabinet lighting, and power outlet strips hidden. I love it!!!

Thanks for looking!

Project Life

I am so excited to start Project Life by Becky Higgens. I am excited to use it to document daily life in our family. I am pretty good at keeping up with the boys scrapbook pages, but that mainly features events or things they are involved in and not day to day stuff.

Let me know if anyone else is involved in Project Life--I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Here is Becky's website: http://www.beckyhiggins.com

Have a great day everyone!

My First Blog Award!!!

(this is the 2nd posting today--please scroll down to read the first! )

Ola over at http://zloe.blogspot.com has awarded me with the stylish blogger award! How super cool is that??  Go check her out and the other blogs she has linked on her site!  Us new bloggers love to read comments from people--especially other crafters!  I am loving learning how to do this blog because I have learned so much from other crafters blogs!  I have sooo many of them saved in my favorites!  It is so much fun to watch and learn from other people crafting!

One of the things I need to do for this award is list 8 blogs that I love--that is hard and easy at the same time because I love so many!

Here are my favorites--check them out and leave a comment~

The Pink Stamper
Creations with Christina
My Creative Time
Made by Momo
The Happy Stamper :)
Scrappin 5 Little Cupcakes
Craft Junkie Too
PinkBlingCrafter

I have learned so much from these ladies!

One final thing I need to do is tell you eight things about myself---hhhmmmm, here goes...

1.  I love the color pink---hence, the name :)
2.  I am the only female in the house with 3 boys and a husband
3.  My husband is so supportive with my crafting--he helps make me things to keep me organized
4  My two youngest sons like to craft with me sometimes--I love hanging out with them while creating
5.  I work full time
6.  Two of my sons play hockey and the other son plays basketball
7.  Our family camps almost every weekend in the summer
8.  I live in Minneapolis

Thanks for checking me out!!!  Have a great day!

Scrap Weekend

Hi Everyone--

This past weekend I was at an awesome scrapbook retreat!  It was so relaxing and I got so many scrapbook pages done that I am caught up with my three boys albums.  Each of my boys has an album and I am often finding myself scrapping the same event three different times!  LOL!  I do not spend hours and hours on one scrapbook page because it is more important to me to keep caught up, but I admire the people who do!

I took a break this weekend to do a little something different and I wanted to try out my new Cricut Cartridge--Create a Critter.  I held off getting this cartridge for so long because I am not really a cutsie person and so many of the critters have smiley faces.  However, I have really loved using my gypsy with the cartridge because I black out the faces and use the Peachy Keen Stamps and the My Pink Stamper stamps!  It is so easy to make these in bulk--I made several of each card!


Both of these images were cut at 3.5 inches--I love the crab one--I am going to make one that says "Got Crabs?"  ha ha ha!!

Have a great day!  Thanks for viewing!

12x12 Layout 3 Birds on Parade

Here's a video with the Cricut Cartridge 3 Birds on Parade.  This was a cartridge exclusive to HSN, but I think you can now order from other websites.  Let me know what you think!  Thanks for watching!



  

A Prescription for Happiness and Personal Organization

I read this online today and thought it was worthy to post--I loved it and wanted to share!

10 Things To Do Every Day: A Prescription for Happiness & Personal Organization

1. Make your bed Don’t underestimate the sabotaging power of an unmade bed. It sends a negative message to your subconscious. Make your bed daily and you’ll form a habit of doing it fast (mine takes me about 3 minutes). It will mark the threshold into starting the day well, and provide a welcoming sanctuary when the day is over.
2. Deal with the urgent Every day, scan your emails, mail, noticeboard, phone messages, etc, for anything that demands prompt attention. Matters like notices for school, renewals and bills due for payment can become time-consuming or expensive problems later. Avoid those problems by dealing with the urgent today.
3. Get some exercise Take a gym class, go for a walk, lift tins of soup, lunge around your house while on the phone – do anything that gets you moving. And if you have a sedentary life, move as often as you can. Stop making excuses (no one is listening) and just do it.
4. Have something to look forward to Plan something that makes you happy every single day. I can’t wait to get out of bed every morning because I love sipping coffee and doing the crossword. And I love reading in bed at night. Your daily treats could be playing Angry Birds on your iPhone, taking a bath, making your favourite tea after dinner, listening to tunes – anything you enjoy and look forward to.
5. Eat vegetables They help you stay slim and healthy, so eat them! Add salad or vegetables to your meals wherever you can.
6. Do something nice for someone else This is a lovely habit to get into. Can you give someone a genuine compliment? Offer encouragement or compassion? Give a gift or do a favor? The important thing here is to choose things you can do lovingly – not things that feel like an imposition or burden. Find one to do every day.
7. Achieve something productive and/or meaningful Can you make progress on an important project, take time with a loved one, take action toward a goal? Forget busywork and instead focus on achieving something every day – big or small – that gives you a sense of meaning and/or achievement.
8. Tidy up at night Spending 10 minutes every night doing a quick tidy will make all the difference to the way you feel as you head to bed, and especially to the way you feel when you start the next day. Keep it simple – even if all you do is wash the dishes, put toys in a toy bin and clothes in a basket, and use a hand-vac to scoop up the day’s crumbs, you’ll feel pretty pleased with yourself.
9. Feel grateful Psych research has shown that counting your blessings boosts your happiness, so make it a ritual to reflect on the good things in your life every day. Do it as you eat breakfast in the morning or while you brush your teeth at night – but make it a habit. Got all your limbs? Have a nice house, good friends or a talent for ikebana? Lucky you!
10. Make a list for tomorrow Before you head to bed, make a quick list of things to do and remember tomorrow. This will get them out of your head so you sleep better, help you feel organized, and give you a map for the next day.

The Get Organized Tips newsletter shares tips for organizing your life, achieving your goals and being your best.
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How many of you do these tasks on a regular basis?  I do some of them,  and certainly regret it the next day when I don't do something I should have done the night before!  My number 11 would have to be opening the blinds in the morning.  When I get home from work in the late afternoon, it instantly effects my mood negatively if the blinds in the house are closed--especially in my bedroom.  I need to have the light shine through the house! 

Have a great day!  Do something creative!

pinkhockeymom

Ribbon Storage

Thanks for viewing my ribbon storage--How do you store your ribbon?

Easy Winter Mitten Card

Thanks for watching!  I promise the video quality will get better.  :)

Happy New Years!

Happy New Year!  My girlfriend's birthday is on New Years Day and we had their family over for a special dinner--using my china!  I enjoy setting a nice table and I think it's important that my boys learn proper table manners and appreciate the amount of work that goes into a nice meal.  Most importantly, I want them to learn the importance of having special family time while sharing a meal. 


Anyway, I added some fun nametags to welcome each person to the table and to celebrate the New Year!  The nametags were made from "Simply Charmed" cricut cartridge.  These were a little time consuming to make because of the pieces--so I made the names detachable so I can re-use them next year! 

Thanks for looking and please leave a comment--it's fun to know if people are actually reading my blog!  

Penguin Card

This is a cute penguin card that I created with the Simply Charmed cricut cartridge.