a sneak peek at Granddaughter's present

Not my original idea, but this execution is mine for almost 8 year old granddaughter. The cuts were from A child's Life for the Cricut Expression. When the lamp is off, the shadows on the vinyl don't really show. Hope she loves it as much as I do !

my camera is in the shop...

Actually I am anticipating it's return any day now. I found a repair shop for my Sony digital, and shipped it off. Our amusement park trip to Kennywood and ride on the raging rapids managed to fry the lcd screen. I truly am going through camera withdrawal... I find I reach for it when the grandkids come to visit, at school, and with October and fall leaves starting I am really feeling it! I even priced out new cameras but couldn't see forking out 600 plus dollars when it is likely to get repaired for under 300.00. I am a bit nervous but the testimonials for this company are good. Really surprising how different our 'contacts' are with web 2.0 isn't it?

Great crafter item!

There is currently a contest running to win one of the Scrapbox storage systems. How would you like to own every crafter's dream organizing system? The Workbox does it all for Scrapbookers, Stampers, Cricut lovers (there is a special place to store it), Quilters, Artists, anyone with a creative bug could fill this thing up!The whole thing folds up, hides the mess, and then easily moves wherever you need it to go on wheels. This is a sturdy piece of furniture which will hold everything imaginable in a beautiful storage space.The Original Scrapbox will give away ONE Workbox to a lucky person. There will be 10 finalists selected from 10 different blogs to be entered in the final giveaway.

More ways to enter: There are 9 other awesome bloggers holding a contest to choose the 10 finalists for the Workbox Giveaway. Stop by their blogs and enter for more chances to win.www.rachellewrites.blogspot.com
Make It and Love It
Vanilla Joy
Auntie Thesis
The Mommy Files
My Organized Chaos
Life As Lou
PriscillaStyles
Cricut Christmas

Good luck!

I got an email letting me know about another Cricut contest, so I thought I'd participate and give you the opportunity to enter too. According to the rules you must copy the bold text below and answer the questions on your blog and then send a link to your post via email to info@todaysmama.com with "Cricut Meme" in the subject line.If you win you can choose a Cricut Machine or all four of the newly released cartridges - what a great prize. You have to copy all of the text below and answer the questions - so here goes!!
This is contest entry for those crazy folks at TodaysMama and Cricut. Be sure to check out Cricut's cool new cartridges and the chance at $30,000 in travel for you and your friends at the Great Gypsy Escape site!

Great Escape Meme
1. If you could escape to anywhere in the world where would it be?
definately somewhere with saltwater spray and some golden sands!
2. What song do you play when you are by yourself in the car?
anything Martina McBride
3. If you had a night to yourself, and money was no object, what would you do?
Perhaps go for a wonderful spa experience more likely play with my Cricut exploring the new cartridges.
4. What is your guilty pleasure? Chocolate - dark Belgium
and wanting to spend more time crafting
5. What is the farthest place you have traveled away from your home? Galicia , Spain
6. Last book that you couldn't put down?
The Wednesday Sisters
7. When you want to escape into another time, what movie do you watch? Dr. Zhivago
8. What is your favorite local escape?
My own backyard or working on scrapping pages and crafts.
9. How do you escape on a budget?
Reading a library book out in the sunshine. Making our own memorable gifts with the Cricut.
Best food you've ever had while on vacation. Fish stew in Galicia, Spain.

copy the questions and respond then post your answers - you never know you could be a winner!

Now here is an interesting contest --- wouldn't it be great to have a new HP netbook AND a notebook? http://daddyforever.com/2009/09/02/hp-laptops-notebook/). I would be able to create DS designs to cut everywhere!!!

convention favors

Our state affiliate is hosting a national convention for National Council of Teachers of English in November. We have a special affiliate breakfast and a friend and I are doing favors for that. Here is a sampling of the favors we are making with our Cricut. They hold a few patriotic mints. These pillowbox favors with the swirly cut window, and then are cuttlebugged with either Swiss Dots, swirly, or traffic squares. Notice the difference in the ones with clear plastic and the ones with vellum behind them (ran out of plastic) I like them both actually. There is a good video on youtube featuring this pillowfolder. So far I have one hundred of these done, have cut another 50 today. We have to make over 350 total.

Let Me Show You How to do that...

Friends, I have to tell you about a great learning opportunity for you and your Cricut. Let Me Show You How to Do That is the online cricut class hosted by Jen C. and Diane (Capadida) I took their wordbook class today and got some great tips to make books a bit better and a bit easier. Even better was the opportunity to see right over their shoulder with shared screens and the chance to ask questions. They went step by step through a FAMILY album and then showed some other great ones --- PLUS shared the files for three wordbooks at the end. Well worth the $15.00 imho! More classes coming soon to YOUR computer!

Diane & Jen
LetMeShowYouHowToDoThat

The Surburban Jungle

You might want to check out this blog and register for this giveaway. The Surburban Jungle advocates going green and offers daily tips.

Free Wallies Peel & Stick Chalkboard Wall Art ~ Giveaway
One lucky reader will win a box of Wallies Peel & Stick Chalkboard! Wallies peel & stick products are completely removable and repositionable. Just peel it off and restick!

I could see these chalkboard items used in crafting with ease!

Tri fold birthday card...

My baby sister deserves a wonderful card - so here it is...

Here is the inside... yes that is her face superimposed onto Barbie who is also celebrating her 50...

Hope she likes it! It was fun making it for her!

my take on the lollipop bouquet... 50

One of my sisters is celebrating her 50th birthday this year. We will be celebrating early while we can all be together. Here is her bouquet... 50 sucks... with 50 dumdums.

a layout with A Child's Year

had the two year old grandson out for a walk and we found some black raspberries. He surely knows exactly what to do with them!

I used some cuts from A Child's Year on this one.

for our Church's picnic

SUMMER – and the living is easy.
This eleven page handcrafted Summer wordbook is the perfect way to scrap those special memories from cookouts to poolside fun. Just Add Photos and you have a perfectly done scrapbook with just the right amount of bling. BABY book ready for 7 pages and 15 journaling tags. SCHOOL book with 11 pages ready for your school memories of friends, learning and fun in 2009-10.

Our church's summer picnic is upcoming and
they wanted chinese auction items. I am donating these three wordbooks . What do you think?

sample pages

handcrafted by Jan Spohn

My take on the gift card cupcake

My MIL kept having folks keep her Rubbermaid. I told her I could remedy that. Gave her deviled egg container a spiffy monogram!

Now for my longest project to date...

I FINALLY finished the gift card cupcake that I wanted to add to Amanda's Graduation Party. I had seen this on youtube and wanted to put my Cricut to work on it. Cut the 6 " circle in cardstock. Did the flowers from Plantin Schoolbook in orange (A's favorite color) an even pulled out my old hot glue gun. I didn't want to give her a gift card - figured that cold hard cash could be more useful. So I once again used the plastic from the cartridges and made a little plastic sleeve that will help the greenbacks slide up and down like the giftcard. This project DID take a lot of time - I would estimate roughly 5 hours off and on but I was doing two at once. The second one I did not use ANY ribbon as recommended in the video only the wet paper technique that the whipped cream is done in. This one has yet to get the 'whipped cream/binder clip/cherry to hide and hold the gift card. No bling here either.

Watch the youtube video from Fabulously Artsy the Stamp Goddess:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkVm1Tif6gI

Happy Crafting!

Jan

Ice Cream Banner - partly premade!

wanted to work in vinyl to craft an outdoor decoration for DIL 's family ice cream store. Costing out the vinyl to make pennants became pretty steep so opted to purchase online a vinyl pennant from a PA company. Believe it or not I placed the order YESTERDAY and they got it to me today about noon . Online Stores in New Stanton , PA rocks!!! Anyway this premade pennant banner left me with only 12 ice cream cones to cut and apply. Hope you like the results!

NOT Paper but example

Photos of some of the book squares that are done with acrylic paints with fabric texture added.

This is the 29th quilt I have made. Each teacher contributes a square and does it and gives the book to the parent to be at the shower. I quilt them all together. It is now a strong tradition

in our building. (PS - some choose to use transfer paper in the computer instead of painting)

The one for Are You my Mother and the one to the left are acrylic paint+texturizer.

Play list

jers52's Playlist (12 tracks)
by jers52
Featuring: Imagine by A Perfect Circle, Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac, Hey There Delilah by Plain White T's, Hotel California by Eagles, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, I've Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra, American Pie by Don Mclean, Scarborough Fair/Canticle by Simon & Garfunkel, In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, and more!

Here is the table bouquet I did for the Fourth of July. I am wishing I had painted the skewers before hand. I will likely do that quickly tomorrow PM and throw some red over the floral foam. Most of this was cut with Base Camp, Graphically speaking (LOVE that Freedom jumble!) with just a few cuts from the new Stand And Salute that came in the mail just this afternoon. This was the first time I used vinyl and it was wonderful sure won't be the last time I use vinyl!

Chester's Train Layouts

Here are the layouts for my grandson's scrapbook. The Thomas paper was so busy I didn't really need much cut from the Cricut. I did use the Martha Stewart Train punch to boost a few photos. All with DS with some Graphically Speaking, some base camp, and some stickles.

thanks for taking a look!

Jan

Delaney's wordbook

This is the photo book for our Thomas Trip for Delaney - made as a name book. Some tags are journal tags and some photo tags fit behind the 'pocket photo' that I made with chipboard attached with pop up dots.

Have you visited this site for The Cutting Cafe ? You can get some really great digital stamps here for just a few dollars! http://thecuttingcafe.typepad.com/ Well worth the visit to browse the galleries.

Happy crafting!

TILT... in Design Studio

Did you know that you can tilt your work in Design Studio? This comes in so handy when you want to weld letters for word books and are working with one with a 'wide top' and skinnier bottom (t) In the lower left corner of the letter you are working on (or element) you will have a curved double ended arrow. Use that to TILT your placement. Great fun and keeps thinking from getting too static. Plus if you know me, I prefer tilts and curves to straight lines anyway!

Also I just figured out I can use Graphically Speaking FRESH word and implant 'Man" to make FRESHMAN for the University book. Good thing I have it 'done' --- of course it is hard to keep my hands off it... keep wanting to add more to it. Poor Amanda would have no place for her photos or memory tags!

Off to University gift...

seemed like I couldn't get moving on a graduation wordbook, so figured that one with the University name might be more useful at this point! Amanda is having her grad party in July, so thought I could get away with making a university album rather than a grad gift. I also added some "Questions to Ask" about your family history from ancestry.com that I figured could nudge conversations with roommates and new acquaintances. A great tip - sometimes the open letters of a wordbook get a little tipsy... so I cut some of the plastic from cricut packaging and made a clear back up for the G the double n's and the final n to give them greater structure. Barely visible even with the flash and makes a better project.