Where have I been?!

Wow, I have seriously been SLACKING in my blogging. I suck! I've had such a busy few months though. Here's what I've been up:

I've fully moved in to the new house and have renters at the old one (and they signed a 2 year lease!!!). Of course there's still plenty to do around the new house and it feels never ending. Here's a link to some pics of the new house (they are pics from the listing) http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=182971&id=757844115 I absolutely LOVE it and feel so lucky to have such a beautiful home.

August started a string of great vacations all in a row. First up was a girl's weekend in Vegas. I drove up with a friend I've known since HS and reconnected with about a year ago when I found out we both moved to AZ. The rest of the girl's that we met there were friends we were meeting for the first time in person. Sounds kinda crazy I'm sure, but we all met through our love of shoes on a Facebook page and became friends and decided it was finally time to meet up. We all had a blast and got along great! It was like we'd known each other forever and I can't wait to see them again.

Next trip was back home to IL for my 10 yr high school reunion. I almost didn't go, but I hadn't seen my family in awhile and I figured why not?! The only real cost was the plane ticket since I could stay at my moms. I'm soo glad I went. I had way more fun than I expected and there was a really good turnout. I got to hang out with some of my best friends from HS and FINALLY got to meet my friend's adorable little girl. I wish that I lived closer to them still but I'm so happy that I stay in contact with them 10 years later. And that through moves, marriage, kids, etc, we can pick right up where we left off. I also got to spend the day at 6 flags with my niece, nephew and sister.

A few days after I got back from IL, my hubby came home on leave!!!! YAY!!! I hadn't seen him since April so it was a long time coming. It was extra weird for him this time since he was coming home to a new house that he'd only seen once before we'd even found out the offer was approved. He is still here but leaves in about a week. We've been relaxing and doing house stuff (all the things I can't do alone). Oh and playing with our new puppy! (more on that in a second!)

He had almost a week before it was time for our 3rd trip. This time we went to Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. My sister lives there and she was celebrating her 40th birthday. We had an amazing rooftop dinner one night and then her big party was an Undead party. Everyone had to be in costume. I went as Miss Argentina from Beetlejuice. It was a blast dressing up and celebrating my sister's bday on the beach. This trip was awesome. One day was spent swimming with whale sharks. OMG it was an amazing experience. These things are HUGE. We also went snorkeling 2 times (got my little brother who is scared of water to go one of the times!). I also taught my brother how to swim!!! He did great considering he learned for the first time at 25. We had tons of amazing food also. Here's a link to some of the pics. There are more that I haven't gotten around to posting yet. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=240044&id=757844115

So, last major new thing is the puppy! I got her on the way back from Vegas. My husband has missed having a dog to come home to each leave. He loves having a running buddy. So, we decided to go for it and I figured I'd do it in time for this leave. She is a beautiful Weimaraner. She is now about 14 weeks old and growing soo quick. During the week we were in Mexico, she lost that puppy face! We named her Zuker, which means Sugar in German (since they are German dogs, they have to have German names IMO). It took a lot of emails back and forth to decide her name (I can only imagine how hard it will be to pick a name when we have a kid!). We narrowed it down to Anka (means graceful) and Zuker. Well within 10 min of meeting her, she'd fallen over about 20 times so obviously Anka was out of the questions. But, she was as sweet as can be so Zuker worked perfectly. She's definitely a handful, like any weim is, but she makes me laugh out loud pretty much every day. It's nice having someone else around when my husband is gone too. Here's a few pics of here. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=201651&id=757844115

Ok, that might be the record for the longest blog ever, but like I said, it's been a busy few months. Now that the house is mostly unpacked and the hubby will be back in Afghanistan soon, I will be better about blogging. I miss my craft room and want to start making stuff! I just knew if I unpacked that first, I'd never get anything done! lol

New purses

I mentioned Justfab.com in a post once before and so far, I have ordered 6 bags from them! (Shh...don't tell my husband!). I have to say, the quality has been awesome on all of them. And I love getting to see the new styles they recommend each month. Here's the ones I've purchased (not including the Rockstar that my other post showed).

I can't pick a fave, because I really love them all!

This is my newest one: Anthology in pink. Has tons of space inside and the flowers are soo cute! This one also comes in black

This is the Oscar Worthy in black/white. LOVE this clutch. The handle has rhinestones all along it and it's big enough to hold more than the typical clutch. And the zebra print sequins are awesome! This also comes in bronze.

This one is the Special Effects. I LOVE the vintage feel to it. It has a decorative border and clasp with rhinestones. It also comes in black and gold. 

This is my least favorite and I ended up exchanging it. It's very cute and nice quality, but I'm just not sure that I would use it much since it's all white and I already have a tan bag that's similar in size. This also comes in black and a pinkish color. 

This is the tan one I just mentioned. It's the Take A Bow. I loved the bow on it and it's a really pretty cream. I don't use it as much as the others because of the color and not wanting it to get too dirty. But very cute. 

And last, but not least. This is the one that is on it's way for my exchange. It's the Prop Master in pink. I love the pics and have liked it for a few months but worried I'd never use it enough. But after seeing how much I loved my other pink bag from them, I figured I'd get another one, but in a clutch instead. It also comes in a greyish color. 

OOH and while typing that, I decided to check tracking on it and it showed delivered! So I just ran out to my mailbox and it's here! It's very cute and will be great for dressy events. Each of the rosettes has glitter along the edges. :)

So there's my newest additions to my closet :) Don't worry, I didn't buy them all at once, it was a couple months worth. If you want more info about Justfab, let me know (or check out my previous blog post where I go into more details). If you decide you want to sign up (it's free!), I have a referral link at the top right corner on my blog. That way I get referral points towards a free bag.

Oh yeah, and you ALSO get point for every purchase you make. After buying 5 bags, you get 1 free (Or it can be shoes or a combo, I've just only been buying purses). So, one of these was actually a free bag that I bought with credits. And exchanges and shipping are free too. So if you don't like something, it's very easy to send it back for something else. Their customer service has been beyond amazing too which is rare these days!!

Facebook

I decided to start a FB fan page since I'm always on FB. Figured it would help me keep this blog updated. It's so easy to let it fall to the wayside and not update it. I'll be posting past project pics up over there later in the week. I already put up most of my cards.

Please join! It would be a great place for everyone to also share their projects and blogs. I know I don't get a chance to check out everyone's pages as often as I'd like, but if it's all in one place, we can all share our creations and get inspiration from each other. :) And a place to just chat about anything going on in our lives and get to know each other better.

Look up Sweet Teetle and it should come up! Hope to see you over there.

New house

Sorry I haven't posted in forever. As some of you may remember, we were getting really close to closing on a short sale property. Well, we FINALLY got it! It has been soo busy since then getting it ready to move in, all the paperwork, packing, etc. We've been trying for over a year and a half and none went through until this one.

So, my craft room is all packed up which means no new projects. And unfortunately, it will prob be awhile until it is unpacked and ready to create again. I have to get our old house ready for move in for the renters and then unpack the daily things here first. Tons of work means no time for fun. :( But, hopefully it goes quicker than planned.

Gypsy review

I used my gypsy for the first time earlier in the week to make those piggy cards. Now, I was one of the few people that was not in any way excited about the gypsy and never thought that I would want to buy it. But, my old laptop broke and I'm only on a mini laptop for now and my DS doesn't work on it since the screen is too small. I decided to take the plunge and bid on one on ebay. I ordered from seller proudparents2005 and got a great deal. They seem to have plenty of them and shipping was quick. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone wanting to buy one. Best deal I've found.

My fave option on the gypsy and what really got me to finally want it, is they have currently added the option to hide features. This made it possible to save TONS of paper by not having to cut things I wouldn't use.

 Since I made 20 of these, I did each separate thing in a row. Cut all the paper together, stamped all the faces in a row, etc. That way I didn't have to constantly keep switching tools. Made it go soo much faster. If you are making things in bulk, I definitely recommend the assembly line style.

For the pig base (the darker pink layer), I used main pig image and set it to 2.75 and set the cricut on autofill. That set it at 20, which was perfect! So with 1 piece of 12 x 12 cardstock, I made all the bases. Since I wanted to use the cute pig face stamps (They are from Peachy Keen stamps...Critter faces medium size), I didn't need all the layers. I decided to use layer 2 since I wanted the dark pink to show through on the ears, feet, and hands. This is where the gypsy came into use. I was able to hide all the other cuts so that the face parts didn't come in. After I made one on the gypsy w/o the extra cuts, I was able to copy the image 4 times and lay them side by side. Then, to make it even easier, I was able to select all 5 across and copy that 3 times. So I was able to quickly make 20 hidden faced pigs to fit on one mat!! Seriously LOVE this option.

While that layer saved me tons of time, the next cut I did is where I saved all the paper that I would normally have cut. I still wanted the layer with what looks like a dress?! But, on layer1, the dress cuts with another pig layer. Well, here I hid all the face cuts AND the pig. Then I copied just the dress 19 times and laid them all in a row. I saved a whole sheet of cardstock by having this option! No more waste!

Sorry, I'm so wordy as usual. But, I wanted to share how happy I am that I got the gypsy. I recommend it to everyone now! I still can't believe how quickly/easily it won me over. I now wish I'd bought this ages ago when it came out (although I sure saved a lot of money by waiting). If you don't already have one, go get one! If you have any other questions about it, let me know!

The paper I used is all Stampin up, the punch is my free one from Sale a Bration (I'm impressed I remembered to use a punch for once), stamps are My Pink Stamper "Punny-licious" and Critter Faces from Peachy Keen, the ribbon and flower are from Michael's. Also used white gel pen, blue stampin write marker, chalk, watercolor pencil and blending pen for coloring the pig face.

Hope that helps anyone who has been thinking about the gypsy. :)

Rhia's pigfarm & Superstition Farm

A few weeks ago, I saw a post from my fave local farm, Superstition Farm, about how they were selling some stuffed piggies that a 9 year old girl made to raise money for the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary. I was touched that  someone so young could be so involved in something she's passionate about. So, I messaged the farm to let them know that I would donate some cute pig cards they could sell as well to help her out. Figured it was the least I could do, plus it gave me an excuse to buy the Create-a-Critter cartridge that I've been wanting. :) Win/win right?!

Well I finished them up and dropped them off to the farm today. Here's a pic. For the crafters that follow, I'll have a more detailed post about what items I used and a review of my the gypsy since I got to use it for the first time on this project. Quick review is I love it! lol But I'll tell you why later this week.

 I made 20 total, 10 "stinkin' cute" and 10 "hog wild"

If you'd like to check out Rhia's FB page, look up Rhia's Pigfarm. I bought one of her cute stuffed piggies today too. Her name is Swirly. I'd post a pic but I can't find my SD card!

And if you are local, please make sure to support your local dairy farm, Superstition Farm. They have a FB page as well. Some of the nicest people, super clean farm, and cool shop. I bought some fresh milk and some new milk mix ins today too. :)

Cricut circle

Did any of you get the email that finally explains the Cricut Circle? It's pretty much what I guessed it was and like I thought, it's WAY overpriced in my opinion. It's a membership based program and you get 4 exclusive cartridges a year. That's really the only major benefit. The other stuff (discounts on cricut.com for example) are no use to most people since most buy online at other places to save money. It's $275/year or if you do quarterly payments, it's $80/quarter. So much money for what you get. Especially since you don't even know what the cartridges are yet.

Anyone considering signing up?

I'm also not very impressed with the Cricut Lite cartridges that are exclusive to Walmart. The only one I will probably even buy is the Slumber Party one since it has different images than other carts and it's cute. But, again, I think these are overpriced. They only have 50 images and limited extras for layering. But they are $40. I don't even pay that much for brand new regular carts. I think PC is making it really hard for most crafters to be able to keep buying their product. They are releasing too much in one year IMO. Between the cake, gypsy, cricut lite, and cricut circle. And it's all soo expensive!