More Cricut ART cards....

....I'm really liking this Life's a Beach cartridge. I needed some congratulation cards for the winners of my BLOGversary. So, this afternoon I whipped these puppies out and made them some matching envies. I really like how dragging an ink pad DTP (Direct to Paper) across them, makes the details "pop." :) Anywho....just sharing.....
I made 12 cards and 12 matching envies, so I have 6 notecards ready for another use. :)

New ART....COTM

....using the Cricut. He and I are beginning to become friends now. We have a ways to go, but there is hope. This is a COTM (Card of the Month) I made for a friend in Georgia. It took me some time, but I finally figured out what I wanted to achieve. :)

I made it using the Life's a Beach cartridge (which is by far my fave). I just cut the same image in similar sizes and layered them. I like how it's open to the inside. The stamps are the $1 clear ones from Micheal's.

The envie is made from scrapbook paper and more of the same stamps. Enjoy


Anyone who knows me, knows that the Beach is my fave place to be.....so it's not surprising that seems to be a recurring theme in my ART.

Some recent pics to share....

....thought I'd share some new pics here in our neck of the woods.
Wonder Boy bought himself this amazing new computer. It literally glows. It has a clear panel on the side and all these doo-dad that lights up. Trust me, my pics do NOT do it justice!! I had never seen anything like it!! LOL

We have two new house guests as well. One is a walking stick bug.

I have no idea what the big greenie guy is, but I named him Ralph!! :) Aren't they cool??

"They say it's a dog's life but I'm not buying it," says Jinx

"I said we's watching Animal Planet Mom and I's got the Remote"

BLOGversary Winners.....

...have been drawn. I am the ONLY one who knows!! Neener Neener Neener!! :)

We'll get to the winners in a sec....but first I should tell you that I chose one of my bamboo tile necklaces for prize #5. It is titled: "Got cute?" and is strung with fun fibers in shades of blue and silver, embellished with glass beads, pearls and sequins (pic to follow).

So, without further blathering for me.....here is how the drawing went down:

I paper punched 30 stars and wrote the numbers, imaginatively 1-30 on them.

Then they were given up to the wishes of the Pink Tiki God.


When Hubs came home for lunch today I had him do the drawing.



Winner #1 of the Brown Crocheted Cuff is #14. Congrats to Sharon.

Winner #2 of the Handmade Paper set is #5. Congrats to Diann!

Winner #3 of the Silver crocheted beaded necklace is #30. Congrats to Gloria!

Winner #4 of the Crocheted multi-gem stone crocheted necklace is #17. Congrats to Tami!

Winner #5 of the Blue Bamboo Tile Necklace is #7. Congrats to Nancy!

I have also decided to give a giftie to the 1st person to sign up, so #1 is going to get this lovely floral bamboo tile necklace. Congrats to Pat!

Congratulations to all the winners. Thank you to everyone who stopped by. Please don't be a stranger.....friends ARE always welcome here. Remember if you saw something you liked you can hop over to my Etsy shop and get one for yourself.....custom orders are always appreciated.

:::smiles:::

It's my BLOGversary!!

It's my 1 year BLOGversary and I am having a party but YOU get the gifts!! :)

I am LOVING my blog and sharing my ART. It has been a real learning experience for me.....and I'm still learning as I go. I hope you've enjoyed the first year and I look forward to the future.

So, what gifts will I give?? I have been thinking about this for quite awhile. I have decided on some of my fave ARTand a surprise or two!!

So, what do you have to do to qualify for the gifts??

You have to leave a comment on

THIS post ONLY

and share the link on your blog, in your group or with your friends. Thanks so much!!

Make sure I have a way to contact you should you be a lucky winner.

I will let Hubs and Wonder Boy draw for the prizes at the end of the day, Monday, July 27th, my 24th Wedding Anniversary. I guess "versaries" are everywhere. :)

While you're here, I hope you'll stay for a bit and look around. I'm sure you'll like it here.

My philosophy is simple: ars gratia artis.....art for art's sake

So, on to the gifts.....

Giftie #1 - I have been having a great time making these fun and flirty crocheted cuffs. I shall be giving this one to the first name drawn from the hat.

This one is perfect for fall with it's earthy tones and vintage orange trim.

Giftie #2 - Another passion is making handmade paper. I will send you a packet for your ARTing pleasure. My paper has been sized so you can stamp, write and print on it.

This is an assortment of yellow,natural and green papers.


Giftie #3 -Yet another pastime is beading. I will be sending winner #3 this necklace.

This one is crocheted and braided silver wire with an assortment of clear beads
It is perfect with nearly ANY outfit.

Giftie #4 - Another necklace. It is crocheted with assorted gemstone chips.

It has such a great "feel" to it with the natural stones. Aren't the colors amazing?

My rooster thinks she looks Divine with her new jewels!!

Giftie #5 - TBD I'm still thinking on this one....but aren't surprises just deliciously fun??

Remember, if you don't win, you can always stop by my Etsy shop and pick out a giftie of your own.....including a custom giftie!! http://www.shellyraewood.etsy.com/

So who is bringing cake??

Please share this give away.

I really want to have fun and that means lots of participants.

I will keep adding prizes as I get more partiers. :::smiles:::

Thanks again for stopping by......Shelly

Paper JACKPOT!!

Woo Hoo!! We went down to a local printing company to get some prices on a job John needs for his school. Because we used to have a printing company we were interested. They showed us around the back room. There was of course paper everywhere!! I said....I sure would like to have some of your paper scraps. She gave me one of the 3 boxes sitting there. Lookee what I got. I am sooooo grateful. I'm sure I can get more from them in the future too!! :)

I think we may be having red Christmas cards this year!! :::smiles::: Plus it's great for the cricut!! Yippee!! :)

Moo cards galore....

Woo Hoo.....my Moo cards order has arrived!! Yippee!! I am thrilled with them. They are so much better quality than I imagined. They are almost like a plastic rather than a cardstock. They have a good "feel" to them. I highly recommend them to anyone. I will be ordering other versions for my ART for sale. Here are a few of mine:

I was given a code to share for first time buyers:

Your refer a friend code is: QFHAJW

Your code gives free standard shipping to anyone making their first purchase with MOO, and is valid until August 31st, 2009. Your friends' individual purchases must be over $15 to qualify.

Anywho.....let me know if you want more info. I highly recommend these Moos. I will definitely be ordering some full-size business cards from them too. :)

Dresser to Buffet Repurpose Project

Well, you know that DH and I love to give new life to tired or discarded item. We found this dresser at a yard sale for $1......yes, you heard me....for $1. Somehow doofus me either lost or didn't take the before pic. :::Sigh::: But it was just a plain old drab brown dresser with these rather large wooden knobs. Ugh!! We have been needing a buffet in our dining room.

Hmmmm......let's see what we can do. Handyman hubbs took off the top and re-glued the crack and sanded it all down. I opened the paint cabinet and found my "I can make anything look better" gallon of black paint. I have been watching HGTV like a pro now....and decided to try out something I learned. I got out my mini paint roller....it's cute.....like maybe 4 inches long. I thought it would make painting the drawer fronts easier without brush lines. Boy did it ever. It was the quickest, smoothest paint job I have ever done. I ended up using the mini roller for the entire piece!! Worked great. I put on 3 coats of black paint and voila......a brand new buffet. Now, what to do about the knobs......a) I did NOT like the wooden ones, b) 1 was missing, c) they just screamed bedroom dresser, d) I really wanted faceted glass ones.....but have you PRICED knobs?? It is ridiculous......several dollars a piece and I need 16. My $1 bargain would be totally lost. Hmmmmm Enter hubs.....he bought a BAG of knobs at a yard sale for $5. There were like 50 in there. Wonder of wonders, there were 20+ knobs that matched and I even liked them. So, I figure between the price of the dresser ($1) the amount of paint used ($3) and using the knobs ($2) for the bargain basement price of $6.....we have a new custom buffet. Yippee!! I am happy.