What a Bunch of Characters!

Grab a Diet Coke!!! This one is a long one!



Yea! We finally made it to Disneyland! Yes, I did say finally. I'm usually not a sharer of personal stories, but this one is a success moment so bear with me. Over 1 1/2 years ago I approached my DH with a deal...if I lost 25 lbs. then he would send me and Brooke (my 9 year old DD) to Disneyland. Seemed simple enough at the time (obviously because I'm the one who thought of the deal), but Mickey Mouse land turned out to be more illusive to get to then originally planned. For whatever excuses, I did the whole yo yo thing way too long.

In August, I finally decided to get serious and jumped in full force. I was officially motivated this time. There were many more factors why THIS time was going to be IT. The strongest one was so when I walked my son across the field on Senior Night on his last game of his high school football career, we could both be proud. I rocked it and lost 40 lbs! Here we are:



I love my #89! I wore Brandon's letterman jacket for the occasion. It was awesome! I've never worn someone's jacket. :) He also won Academic All-State in Football. Such a proud mother moment! Have you heard the song by Kenny Chesney - The Boys of Fall? You have to watch the video! I cry every time I hear it. Football has been our life for 9 years. I will miss seeing him (and his friends) on the field.

Senior Night was on Friday night and we (Brooke & I) left Saturday morning for Disneyland. TA-DAH! FINALLY!



Mickey greeted us each morning. He must be really tricky because we saw him at his house about 10 minutes later and he was dressed in his tux. :) Hmmm...I wonder how many Mickey's are in the park at one time? Do they ever cross paths?




If we weren't seeing the characters (priorities here) or riding rides, we were playing with all the fun hats! We literally tried on all the hats in all the different areas and took pictures in each one. The salesman in Frontier Land seemed a little annoyed. Who needs to buy the hats when you can just play with them? This Jack hat was my personal fav. I might have purchased it, but for some silly reason I only brought one suitcase for us to share. Note to self...bring an empty suitcase! Hello? Who only brings one suitcase for Disneyland!




Here's my favorite character I met while in Disneyland! It's Dustin! Even though we only live 50 miles from each other, this is the first time we've met! All the way in Disneyland! Our trips overlapped by a day. He's awesome! Darn it! I should have had him sign my autograph book. I'm one of his biggest fans! Maybe I can get an autographed picture instead! :)

It snowed in Utah 6" the morning the day we were flying home. It was 85 degrees in Cali. Mickey said we could stay as long as we wanted. Soooo tempting to stay until Spring!

So I still have 20 more pounds I want to lose. I wonder if I can get another vacation somewhere?!!! Where should I go?

Happy Halloween Challenge

Spooooooooky! Time has vanished and it's time for another Doodle Dragon Studio challenge! This week create something Halloweenish, then post it on the DT challenge blog by Saturday, October 30th.

I'm not sure why, but I just am not in the mood to make a card lately. So this challenge I chose to create candy in a can. It's super easy and fun to do! See the link below to learn how.



Watch how easy it is to make Candy in a Can.

One 12 oz bag of Hershey Kisses will fill one can of Dole pineapple can perfectly. Add in some black ribbon bats with the Martha Stewart Halloween fence punch and you're ready to roll.

Have a fun & safe Halloween!

Turkey Time!

The NEW Turkey Time set released from Dustin means Fun Time for me!




It's almost Turkey Time! I love, love, love Thanksgiving. I am truly blessed with a great life, especially when I'm surrounded by my family. The day fills my soul with warm, loving memories and new memories to make.



Try making these easy table assignment treats filled with M&M's. Only 19 more to create!

Some days I'm all about super simple! Forget the layering, punches, bling, embossing...just use Dustin's cute images!


Yummmmm. My Thanksgiving food assignment is always Green Bean Casserole. It's my favorite thing on the table besides the mash potatoes & gravy, hot steamy rolls, Stove Top stuffing (no homemade stuff - yuck!), the pecan pie and...no really, GBC is #1 favorite on my plate. I can't wait!



A Turkey Bowl fun is the perfect Kitchen Pass to not have to cook all day!

Happy Turkey Day!

Provo Craft Cricut Swarm

What better way to spend your birthday weekend than at a Provo Craft Cricut Circle Swarm? I love my Cricut and Provo Craft! I am formerly AdminKerri on the Cricut message board, which made it sooooo much fun to put faces to the MB family names.

I'm not going to lie...the highlight of my day was meeting Pam - thebugbytes. :) She is even more awesome and amazing in person! We had worked very closely together since she is a Bug Guide, but had never met. I'm so happy she jumped on a plane to come! AdminBecky was in her Halloween element. She's a riot to work with!

We had such a cool table. Phlenin convinced Makeupgirl217 and I to put on our crazy Cricut Imagine glasses for this pic. Love you guys too! Thanks for a great day ladies!

Of course, I had to use a Dustin image on my calling card! It's the cutest bear and pumpkin ever. Here's the front and back of my card.

Despite spraining my ankle (which is now a pretty black & blue color) in the dance off for the new Imagine machine, I had a fabulous time! I didn't win the big prize, but I won a cartridge.

I wonder when they will do another Swarm? I'm ready!

Happy Haunting!!!

Whooooooo's excited? Me! I was featured in the Provo Craft Chirp newsletter last week!

Macho, Macho Man Challenge!

Only 243 days until summer vacation and my son graduates from high school. :) and :( all at the same time. We attended College Night this week to get prepped for scholarships and admissions. The next day we had a SEOP appointment with his counselor. They had him write exactly how he wanted his name to appear on his diploma. What? Not yet! We still have 243 days until that happens! I know it will be here way too fast, so I had to make a count down card in my son's honor for our Masculine challenge.



He can change the numbers each day. Now it's your turn to pick your Doodle Dragon Studio image and create a card for your favorite man. Then post it on the DDS Design Team Challenge blog. Make sure you post it by Saturday, October 16th.


This is a 7"x12" side step card. The "Dude" phrase is from Feeling Groovy Cricut cartridge. The clips are from Stampin' Up.

Dustin is Dino Mite!

Dustin is Dino Mite! He just release a new set of Dino Birthday images. I looked and looked for pinata paper to glue around the circle. I know I have purchased something similar in the past, but I couldn't find it. So I opted to make it myself with crepe paper, very fun and very easy. The star blast is flashback from elementary school days projects when you made complete pictures by twisting small pieces of crepe paper. Remember those? The Dino Mite phrase is from Create A Critter Cricut cartridge (one of my new favorites).

Brown, Orange & Red Challenge

It's time for another challenge! I'm a little late, but I had to join in!



Create your project using only Brown, Orange & Red plus a DDS image. Then post it over on the Design Team Challenge blog by Saturday, October 2nd.

Spooky!!!

It's spooky! Halloween is coming upon us fast! Dustin has a new set of Halloween digis for you. Look at all the fun digis below.



Go to Dustin's site to see the Design Team's take on these amazing digis and get the link to purchase this Halloween set.

The picture doesn't show it, but on the skeleton I used glossy accent on the entire bones/skull except for the eyes and teeth. It turned out really cool in person. Try it! Oh, and I had to use my awesome new Martha Stewart Halloween fence punch.

Happy Halloween!

Fancy Folds Challenge #18

This card is a double duty challenge card. As Dustin said on his blog, the Utah State Fair is starting this weekend. So what better thing to make than a card to celebrate the occasion! I can't wait to go! The Doodle Dragon Studio challenge this week is to make a card with fancy folds. Fancy fold away with a DDS image, then post your card on the Design Team's blog for a chance for a prize from Dustin.

The challenge over on the Cuttlebug Spot blog is to create a card with a "It's a Fair" theme. Perfect timing! I love my Cricut & Cuttlebug!

Card recipe:
Cuttlebug embossing folder: Spots & Dots
Monkey: Dustin Pike image (At the Zoo collection)
Farris wheel: Cricut Summer Vacation cartridge
Polka dot paper: American Crafts - Celebration

Anyone going to the Cricut Circle Swarm in Utah on October 9th?

It's Freebie time!

Dustin just released this freebie today! It has a blank banner so you can fill in whatever you want it to say. I say...We love Dustin! His creations are amazing. So swing on over to his blog get this cute monkey in B&W, colored jpg, and colored png files. Thanks for the set of great freebies Dustin!

Oh Baby! It's a Challenge!

I was feeling a little crafty today so I thought I'd venture into a different realm than usual and try something besides DDS. I know! Say it isn't so! Please forgive me. I wandered over to the Cuttlebug Spot blog and found a cute challenge with a baby theme. Perfecting timing! I needed a baby shower card. Here's my creation:



Here's the recipe:
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder
Cuttlebug Welcome Baby pack for the title
Spellbinders scalloped square frame
Cute B&W picture is actually my bear :)
Pattern paper: All My Memories - Juicy

Thanks for stopping by today!

No Designer Paper?

Say what? No designer paper? Yep. That's this week's challenge from DDS. Thank heavens Provo Craft just released a new set of Cuttlebug folders that are 5x7 (I found this one at Michael's). School is starting on Wednesday so I had to make a card to celebrate the day.

New Challenge Recipe!

This card describes how my life is right now! It's crazy, busy and down right NUTTY! And despite the daily 90+ degrees temperatures here in Utah, I can feel a hint of autumn coming in the air. So what better image to break out than this one!

Join us in the new Doodle Dragon Studio recipe challenge! It's simple...choose a Dustin Pike image (of course), add some buttons, stitching with a decorative edge and you've completed a card for the challenge! Be sure to link to your card on our DDS Design Team Challenge blog.

Hopefully things will slow down in the nutty department and I can do some crafting!

Here's a side view:

Dustin's New Awareness Set

Dustin just released an awesome new Awareness set on his blog! Thank you, thank you Dustin! You really could use the images for any cause. I chose to use it for breast cancer awareness. I have a friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I am amazed and inspired each day as I read her blog. Despite the journey ahead of her, she is always positive and determined to beat it. Go Monique!



Here's the front view:



If you're wondering what other awareness ribbon colors are, check out this website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awareness_ribbons

Here is Dustin new Awareness set:

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! Dudley the Dragon loves picnics and parties, so I invited him to our 4th of July party and challenge! Make your favorite patriotic creation with one of Dustin's images then post it to our design team's challenge blog.



Darn, I wonder who gets to eat all these cookies since they won't save until Saturday?!



Perfect party gift for the kids at your party. I purchased the little buckets from Target.



Napkin anyone?

Hope you have a safe and happy holiday!

Remember to join our patriotic challenge! For more inspiration, check out all the design team's celebrations! http://doodledragonstudio.blogspot.com/

Zoooooo-per!

Dustin just released a new Zoooooooooo-per set...a zoo theme! Everyone loves the zoo! I made this bookmark for my DD for her summertime reading incentive program. After she reads a certain amount of pages, we can go play at the zoo. And then I can use all the other fun zoo images on our scrapbook page. Can't wait!

Happy Birthday to you...you look like a monkey...Bday Challenge

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, you look like a monkey...

It's time for another Doodle Dragon Studios challenge! Make a birthday card using any DDS image you would like and post it to our Challenge Blog. http://doodledragonstudio.blogspot.com/ Entries for this challenge are due May 29th. I think I want to make some cupcakes today. Yummmmmm.

Happy Graduation!

Dustin is the best! If you need a graduation card, go check out Dustin's Dudley graduation freebie! My camera didn't pick up the colors very good. :( Go Purple, Black & White!

Doodle Design Studio Challenge #9...Green, Pink & White

It's time for another Doodle Design Studio challenge! Put together your favorite digi of Dustin Pike's using green, pink and white recipe. Then post it on the challenge blog by May 16th: http://doodledragonstudio.blogspot.com/