Birds and Butterflies and Boxers OH MY!!

A couple of weeks ago I alluded to a big project I was working on. Well, I was actually working on 2 projects at the same time (note to self: not the BEST idea, if you want to keep you sanity that is). I had to keep quiet about the projects because 1 of them was for a dear friend and coworker who is going through some difficult times right now....

It all started a couple of months ago when my Mom was trying to come up with centerpiece ideas for the Minister's luncheon in April. I had just been fooling around with a really cute idea for a "garden" centerpiece using tootsie pops as the "flowers" on the top of the box. Well, she LOVED the idea so it was a go. No problem! 10 gardens.....not needed until the end of April....I have this under control! :-) I searched through my collection of SVG files and found lots of choices that I could use for decorations on the sides of the box. I played with the layout and edited the selection until I was happy with the look.

I am delighted with how they came out!! Super cute and super fun to make!!

Around 5 weeks ago we found out that one of my coworkers was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is not able to work right now, her husband has been laid off for over a year, her elderly disabled mother lives with them and they have 4 children.

A couple of my friends organized a fundraiser for her (without her knowledge) to help out. While I was discussing the plans with them they told me they were planning on getting those "fruit arrangements" (you know what I mean...right??) to use as centerpieces... did I mention they need 23 of them?!?  I said WAIT! Do you know how much that will COST?!?! I told them about the centerpieces I was making for the church and explained how I could modify them for the fundraiser.

They loved the idea and gave me the green light to make them. They had a graphic of a tough boxer chick that they had used for the t-shirts, tickets and a banner. I imported her into my SCAL2 program and went to town designing my ideas. She was an amazing piece of inspiration to use and I REALLY love how she came out.

Isn't she just ADORABLE?!?! I love her!!

So now I had 33 centerpieces to make....no problem right?! WRONG! LOL I was up to my eyeballs in paper and realized that I *might* need some help. ;-) So Mom and I rallied our crafting peeps, set up a mega craft night at the church, and went to town making all 33 centerpieces. 16 fantastic ladies showed up to help and we were able to complete all 10 luncheon centerpieces and *almost* finish the fundraiser boxes.

While I could have done this all on my own (I'm not sure if my sanity would have survived) I am forever grateful for all of the help I received! The ladies did a fantastic job and really made my life easier!

So, I am giving a HUGE Thank You SHOUT OUT to the First Church craft group! We also had co-workers and friends come to help that evening and they were just amazing! The support you shared that evening is greatly appreciated! I also wanted to thank Cheryl from Creative Kuts, she helped edit the file down to actually make this boxer girl usable for this project. :-)

I think both centerpieces came out great! Let me know what you think!!

~Christy

Spring has Sprung!

Hello Blogging Peeps!

I know that I have been quiet for a couple of weeks but life got CRAZY. :-D I'm back on track now and things are settling down - thank God!

While I was knee deep in insanity I did find time to get several projects done. The first ones that I'm going to share are the last couple of BAPs from Creative Kuts. Also, they still have their incredible sale going on, just use the special code SPRING at the time of check out and receive 50% off all sales of $15 or more. The first 3 are from before Easter. They have a wonderful stained glass effect that is amazing. What is really fun about these files is that if you don't have a lot of time you can just use a single sheet of pretty paper. That is what I did with the cross and I LOVE how it came out!

This weeks BAP is just too cute! I love how the card came out and I think that the bling adds just the right touch.

The latest Creative Kuts Design Team layout is stunning! I had so much fun putting this together! Cass helped me pick out the papers and I love the feel that it has. We are continuing with the owl theme and she is just too cute, I LOVE her eyelashes!! It was nice to transition from Easter to Spring....

The softer colors on the owl made for a nice twist and her hat is what every fashionable owl needs. :-)

I hope you enjoyed this layout as much as I enjoyed creating it!

~Christy

What a Totally "Owl" Some week!!

Between starting a new job, teaching this week's craft group, creating a special project (more on this at a later date!) AND working on my first COL for Creative Kuts I was pretty busy! I'm still trying to nail down my new schedule but I thought it was going to be a LOT crazier!! LOL

What I wanted to share with you today is the new Totally Owl-Some layout from Creative Kuts. The detail in this file is spectacular! I had so much fun picking out paper this week. I took my daughter to the store with me and she found a great pad from DCWV...it's called Once Upon A Time and it is BEAUTIFUL!! You can see two of the papers in this picture - they are the ones on top.

I got to cutting and had to think quick to keep track of all of the pieces......how do you keep track? I ended up going with the mini zip top snack bags.

While we were at the store I picked up some ink pads. Up until now I was just using markers. I LOVE how all of the inking looks on the lay outs! You can also see where I added some detail with my pens.

These owls are just too cute for words!

I just LOVE how this layout turned out! Super cute and super fun!

I also wanted to let you know that Creative Kuts is having a GREAT sale right now! Spend a minimum of $15 and get 50% off your entire purchase just use the code: SPRING during checkout! Head on over and take a look! Their files are the BEST!!

Have a great night!
~Christy

Hoppy Easter....

Some Bunny Loves You!!

I LOVE this weeks BAP from Creative Kuts! The bunny is SO cute! Are you imagining it yet with different papers?? I am! In fact, I had a REALLY hard time choosing which papers to use. The look will change dramatically depending on what combination of paper you use.

Once I narrowed my choices down the rest was a piece of cake. The file cut beautifully and quickly....you have to love that! Before I put all of the pieces together, I lightly inked all of the edges to give it a little POP.

And it went together as easily as it cut. :-) If you want, just keep it as a decorated door hanger. Either way, this bunny is just too cute!

Until next time!

~Christy

Easter Card

Good morning and happy Saturday!

Today I'm sharing another cute project from Creative Kuts. It is an adorable Easter Egg Slider Card that is super easy to put together. The exciting news is that as soon as I posted the finished project over at the Creative Kuts Fan Page they asked if I would like to join their design team.....ummm let me think about that for a second.......

YES

I was very flattered and excited that they liked what I did with their file. :-) I really liked the fact that I was able to use up some of the beautiful paper scraps that I had been holding onto. They were just too beautiful to throw away and I KNEW that I would be able to find a project to use them on!!

All of the eggs are actually from one sheet of paper, I just moved each file around the mat so I could cut exactly where I wanted.

Once I started glueing everything together I realized that I wanted to have "pop" on some of the pieces so I inked the edges to add depth.

Isn't it the sweetest thing? The inking really added the definition I was looking for. I'm always excited when a simple technique can add so much to a project!

Until next time.....

~Christy