Travel Challenge and Pregnancy Update

Hey everyone!  It's time for a new challenge at Bitten by the Bug 2!  This week Pam has selected a travel theme.  All you have to do is create a card, layout, or project using a Cricut cut and a travel theme.  

I knew exactly what I was going to do for this challenge.  We just got back a month ago from our surprise Disneyworld trip.  I wanted to create a layout for the beginning of my Disney album.  I have three photos that show the surprise box I put together, what was inside, and our decorated van.  We had so much fun surprising them!  Click here for that post!

For my layout, I got my inspiration from Pinterest.  There are so many great Disney layouts on there.  I used the basic look/background from a site called The Scrapinator.  I really love how it turned out and how quickly it came together!

As always, I used Cricut craftroom to help me layout the design:

Then I just hide all the mats that I will cut by hand, rearrange all the cuts to cut on a sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock:

Supplies:

2 -12 x 12 sheets black cardstock

Red background mats - 11.5 x 5

Yellow background mats - 11.5 x 4.5 (Recollections Basic Bolds Pattern Paper)
Red pattern mats- 11.5 x 1.75 (DCWV School Stack Pattern Paper)

Title and Mickey Hat - Mickey Font 

Hand Border - Mickey and Friends
Journaling Tag - Plantin Schoolbook
Solid cardstock-Recollections

We hope you will join us this week over at Bitten by the Bug 2!

So onto baby news...I am 38 weeks and I go to the doctor today to find out some more news.  He has been telling me this would probably be the week!  My last day of work was last Wednesday.  We had an early birthday party for my son this past weekend, so now I feel like I'm ready.  I know my body feels ready!!  So I'll post some pics or updates soon!

And if you are interested in making any good grilling suppers, try these:

Bobby's Bolo Burgers

Bacon Jalapeno Lime Shrimp

Summer Fun Cricut Challenge

Hey everyone!  It's time for a new challenge over at Bitten by the Bug 2!  This week is a Summer Fun theme using your Cricut cuts, which has to be one of my favorite things to scrapbook.  So of course, I decided to do a summer layout of my two older kiddos when they were 3 and 2.  I remember thinking how those days were crazy, and it is hard to believe I am about to be there again except with 4 kids this time!!  Two kids at 3 and 2 seems pretty simple right about now. 

For my layout I used two of my favorite cartridges:

Simply Charmed (Such a good year-round cartridge)

and 

Artbooking (Great for year-round with awesome titles)

Title:  Artbooking cut at 11 inches
Sun:  Simply Charmed cut at 4 inches.

Ice Cream and popsicles are from Simply Charmed and cut at 4 inches.

Face Stamps are Peachy Keen Happy Lashes Assortment set(one of my favorites)

Journaling card came from paper stack

Pattern Paper-Echo Park Summer Days 

Solid cardstock -  Recollections
chalks for inking edges
white gel pen for title

Baby Update:  Right now I am 36 weeks pregnant and cannot wait to be done with being pregnant.  I'm swollen, not sleeping well, and just pretty miserable.  I start my weekly check ups this week, and I am anxious to see if I've made any progress.  Even though this is my fourth child, I am still so nervous and praying for a healthy baby boy.  

On my food blog, I've put together a great round up of summer lunches to beat the boring lunch rut I sometimes have.

20 Easy Summer Lunches

And these really are the Ultimate Chicken Salad Rollups perfect for showers, picnics, vacations, or just a good lunch.

Graduation Challenge

Hello everyone!  It's time for a new challenge over at Bitten by the Bug 2!  This week we are challenging you to make something with a graduation theme.  You can make a card, layout, or papercraft using a Cricut cut with the graduation theme in mind.  

For my project I wanted to make a graduation card for a young man, so I wanted to keep it relatively simple.  I used his school colors too.  As soon as I saw the overlay in the Artbooking cartridge, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.  This card would be really easy to mass-produce if you have multiple graduates.  

The card base is 5 x 10 folded to be a 5 x 5 card.
The overlay from Artbooking is sized at 4.75 x 4.75 using the Cricut Craftroom.

The numbers are cut using the Cricut Craftroom Basics file available to everyone for free.

I ran them through my cuttlebug using the swiss dots folder.

The striped paper is from Recollections Basic Bold Stack.

Solid cardstocks are Recollections.

The inside contains a white 4.75 x 4.75 mat with a "Congrats" sentiment.

So we hope you will link up your graduation theme projects this week over at Bitten by the Bug 2!

And if you are a lemon lover or know someone who is, I have some lemon treats to share over on my food blog:  Diary of a Recipe Collector.


Lemon Burst Muffins

Lemon Blossoms

Have a great day!

Father's Day Challenge

Hey everyone!  It's been a few weeks since I posted.  I have a good excuse though!  We surprised our kids with a trip to Disney World on Memorial Day.  I have some pictures below to share with you.  We had an overwhelming magical time!

But first I wanted to share my Father's Day project I made for Bitten by the Bug 2 this week.  Father's Day is right around the corner.  I decided to make a special layout for an 8 x 10 frame for my husband's office.  I plan on putting a picture of him with the three kids at Disney World in the photo mat.  I also included a fishing pole with a fish since that is his most favorite thing in the world!

  

Supplies:  

"DAD" - Mickey Font Cartridge

Fishing pole and fish - Simply Charmed

Solid Cardstock-Recollections

Pattern paper - Recollections Basic Bold Stack

Peachy Keen-Critter Faces Stamp for the fish

The Craftroom was a huge help as I planned out the size of the mats I needed.  

So we hope you will join us in this weeks Father's Day Challenge over at Bitten by the Bug 2!  

I'm also entering this over at Fantabulous Cricut.

Now for some picture overload, but I just had to share!

The whole trip was planned in secret.  I had to pack secretly all weekend.  This was not easy!  I also packed up this huge box of goodies full of Disney stuff to take on the trip with us.  

We also decorated the van and got ready for the 12 hour drive (which we split into two days on the way).  

That morning we woke them, dressed them, and told them we had a surprise for them.  We led them into the kitchen to open their box.  At first, they thought it was just like a Christmas present, but as we asked them questions my oldest daughter said, "Are we going to Disney World?"  I said, "Yes!"  Screams of joy followed! 

The first day we went to Magic Kingdom.  End of May...33 weeks pregnant...it was HOT!  

I teared up when I saw the castle for the very first time!

My youngest is 2, and she LOVED every minute of it!  

We had such a great time.  We took advantage of every minute!  We ate at some of the most fabulous places too!  Yes, it was overwhelming and we were exhausted at the end of each day, but we definitely got our money's worth! 

I can't wait to scrapbook all my photos too!

School Days Challenge

Well hello everyone!  It's time for a new challenge over at Bitten by the Bug 2, and it's my turn to host.  My kiddos have 8 1/2 days of school left!!  So school ending and summer approaching is on my mind.  I thought it would be fun to celebrate the year with a fun school challenge.  All you have to do is create a card or project focused on anything for school (awards day, field trips, teacher gifts, class parties, school plays or concerts, etc.)  Just be sure to use a Cricut cut, and tell us which one you used.  

For my project, I decided to create a double 12 x 12 layout of the last day of fun my kids had last year in Kindergarten and Pre-K.  The day is basically a kid's dream school day.  They go outside and play games, the teachers spray their hair wild colors, get their faces painted, eat pizza, and many other fun things.  

This layout was SO FUN to create!  I knew I wanted something funky and fun.  I used a few "oldie but goodie" cartridges.  For the font, I used Cuttin Up (a fun funky font).  For the swirls and star, I used Mickey and Friends.  For the the zig-zag, I used Plantin Schoolbook. 

The background paper came from DCWV School Days Stack.  I thought the little shoe border was so cute for this layout.  The "Memories" flag came from that stack as well.

The craftroom makes it so easy to weld shadow letters, and then make sure the non-shadow looks good over it.

I first weld the shadow layers (white letters).  Then I place the non-shadow layers over it, and depending on how close these are, they may get welded too.

This just makes the cutting, layering, and gluing go so much faster!

Supplies:

Cartridges:  Mickey and Friends, Cuttin Up, Plantin Schoolbook
Cardstock:  Recollections

Pattern Paper:  DCWV-The School Days Stack

So we hope you'll join us by linking up your card or project over at Bitten by the Bug 2 this week!

And be sure to check out some of my latest tasty creations over on my food blog Diary of a Recipe Collector:

Thanks for stopping by and visiting!

Mother's Day Cards Challenge

Hey everyone!  It's time for a new challenge over at Bitten by the Bug 2.  Mother's Day is this weekend!  Emily has challenged us to create a project with Mother's Day in mind.  I decided to see what was available in Cricut Craft Room.  They always have free cards available for a limited time.  You can find it under "My Cartridges."    

I made two different cards to share with you.  

 I cut the card at 5 inches.  I cut the white mat out twice.  

I used Papertrey cardstock and scrap pattern paper.
This was really a quick and simple card if you need one pretty fast.  I love how all the thinking was done for me.
Please join us in our Mother's Day Challenge this week over at Bitten by the Bug 2.  

Also, don't forget this week is teacher appreciation week.  I'll be sharing what I created this week.  You can also view past creations under my Treats and Gifts link at the top.

And if you are looking for something good to eat this week, check these out:

BBQ-Frito Corn on the Cob

Hibachi Supper