Cards, cards and more cards!

I had a fun weekend with lots of time for crafts and just a bit of cleaning. I assigned myself some house cleaning tasks done in bits - clean, craft, clean, craft. It worked well, because I managed to get the house in pretty good shape and get lots of cards made too.

I've listed some new things in my Etsy shop and my 1000Markets shop - here's a sneak peek. Be sure to visit one (or both!) of my shops to see the rest.

This card is obviously a graduation card; it's designed as a money holder. I suppose you could also use it to give a gift card such as a card for gas - always popular with young people! If you pull on the ribbon a separate piece of card stock comes out with a place to include the gift, and there's also room for a personal message. There are additional photos in my shop that show the separate pieces. This was a fun card to make and I plan to make it in additional papers, and also for other events such as birthdays.

That's my girl!!

This is a picture of my daughter riding on a sailboat through the Panama Canal. How cool is that? She's with my sister & brother-in-law and my parents. They are in the left channel; there are three boats tied together and they are on the far left. It wasn't a great camera angle, but that's them!! Talk about a once in a lifetime experience!

I haven't been able to talk to them yet, but I'm sure they have stories to tell. I don't think they knew anyone else going through the canal at the same time so I'm assuming that the port authorities arranged for all of them to go through at once.

Hopefully they have been taking lots of pictures, but unfortunately my daughter will be going straight back to college in Oregon so I won't actually see her until May. I will get to hear her voice though, and I'm very anxious for that.

Baby Shower Invitations

I recently got a custom order for 52 baby shower invitations. How fun! I love everything about babies - don't you?

I went shopping to find some cute baby paper (it's a girl) and I found some that I thought was "it" . . . although I liked it more than loved it. I decided to check out another store just in case I found something I loved and sure enough, I found the cutest Heidi Grace paper. Truly "it"!!

I had so much fun making the invitations and even after looking at the paper for a few days straight, I still love it!

Here are all of the pieces - it's nice to have them all cut out and inked. Then it's on to the fun part . . . putting them all together!

You may notice that some have a green stripe and some don't . . . that's because I cannot count! It never fails, I'm always a few pieces of paper short no matter how carefully I calculate. No problem, I'm used to improvising!

Here they are, all done a ready to go!

School Journaling Blocks in Library Pocket

I just posted a new item in my Etsy shop and my 1000Markets shop. I love library pockets, so I'm always trying to think of ways to use them. These journaling blocks came on one sheet of 12" x 12" paper from Close to My Heart. They could have been used for background paper I suppose, but I thought they were all so cute that I wanted to highlight each one.

Here's a picture of the set:

I love the contrast of the black, red and white and I think the apple is so cute! Here are the journaling blocks inside the envelope.

Just think of the fun scrapbook pages you could make with this set! It was really fun to make and it's sitting on my crafting table right now so I can look at it!

On another note, I found out today that I won a drawing hosted by Kellie from Every Jot and Tittle! I won a set of label tags that look really cute - I can't wait to see them in person!

I got a Cricut!

Yes, after wishing, looking, and drooling, I finally got a Cricut! I have used one that a friend of mine has and of course I loved it, and I've had the money saved for a while. But geez, do I really need it? Should I buy new tires for my car instead? Probably, but oh well. Now I have a Cricut! I can't wait to put it to use making all kinds of fun things!

New items in shop!

It's been a fun weekend of crafting and I have listed a few new items in my shop:

Thread Spool Sentiments

This is one of four sentiments expressed - inspire me. I bought some old wooden thread spools last weekend when I was out of town with some girlfriends. I bought about 15 of the spools and when my girlfriends asked what I was going to do with them I didn't really have an answer. All I knew is that I liked them and I figured I could find something to do with them. They actually came together pretty quickly once I came up with the idea, and I think I'll make some more!

Cheery Decorative Sentiment Tags

I have had these little chipboard circular sentiments for quite a while and I was excited to finally find a fun use for them!

I have also re-taken a bunch of photos of items already listed in my shop. Taking photos is such a challenge as you need the light to be just right. Editing the photos takes forever, so I'll be updating photos just a few at a time. I can't say that I enjoy that task! I'm not alone either, just a quick read through the Etsy forums tells me that it's a task many people do because they have to, not because the want to!

Keep checking back for new items . . . my list of things I want to make is long!

To Do List(s)

Last night I sat down and wrote out a to do list for the weekend. I'm feeling very disorganized and behind and since I have a free weekend it would be nice to get caught up. I started with a little scrap of paper - trying to recycle and all - and by the time I got done I had filled 3 pieces!! I guess I should have started a whole piece of paper instead . . .

Most of the things on my list involve crafts, which is a good thing. However, the #1 thing to do is to clean up my craft area because it's a disaster! Once I get that done I want to make and list lots of new things, mainly for Easter and spring. I have lots of ideas in my head and hopefully I can get some of them done.

It's bright and sunny here in Minnesota today but only 6 degrees, so making some spring things would help me to forget the cold weather outside.

In the meantime, there are still items for sale in both my Etsy shop and my 1000Markets shop. Stop by and take a look!

Why I love Mexico, part 3

Drum roll please!

Why I love Mexico - Reason #1

The people! Did you guess it? If you have been there you know that the people working at the resorts in Mexico work very hard and are very happy, friendly people. The only people that I have found to be unfriendly are the folks at the front desk . . . of every resort I've been to! I think it's because they tend to deal more with tired people with lots of requests, but for whatever reason they are crabby!

Let's focus on the fun people. Here are some of the people that have made my vacations in Mexico so much fun:

Meet Argel and Valerie . . . two members of the Entertainment Staff at the Catalonia. I met Valerie last year at a sister resort, the Catalonia Tulum. Since my visit there several of the Entertainment Staff have moved to the Catalonia Riviera Maya (CRM), and I was so excited to see them this year! Valerie is just a little bitty thing - but a spitfire! She's from Italy and since I remembered her she vowed to remember my name, and for the entire week I would hear "Nancy" over the microphone every time she saw me. She was so much fun! Argel is from Mexico City; his dad manages a theatre and his mom is an actress. Argel wants to become an actor and promised to remember me when he's famous!

This is Carlos, another member of the Entertainment Staff. Carlos has been at the CRM for 4 years and we remembered him from past visits. Carlos is soft spoken and shy and was embarrassed when I took his picture. He is good friends with Raymond, a former staff member that we loved but is no longer there. Carlos tried to arrange a meeting for us but it didn't work out as Raymond now works in Cancun (about 1 hour away). Carlos is also from Mexico City.

Juan, the bartender (obviously). Juan works hard all day and always has a smile on his face. He's quite the jokster and is well liked by staff and guests alike. He must have his picture taken a lot because when I walked up with my camera he instantly posed!

Then there's Freddy and Nelson - good buddies and quite the characters. Freddy was at the CRM when we arrived and quickly became our friend because I remembered him from the resort last year. I asked where Nelson was and was happy to hear that he would be starting in two days. When he arrived Freddy brought him right over me and told him that I remembered him. They love to hear that! These two are a riot, always up to something.

The Entertainment Staff work very hard - from 10 a.m. to midnight, six days per week. They have tons of energy, speak several languages, and love to have fun.

There are countless workers at these resorts and although I don't have any pictures of waiters or maids I can tell you that they are all friendly and work very hard. We love visiting with them, learning about their lives and they feel the same about the guests. At least they make us think so! Actually that's how many of them learn new languages, by talking with guests.

So there you have it, the 3 reasons I love Mexico:

1. The people
2. The weather/scenery
3. The food

We have snow on the way . . . I sure wish I was back in Mexico!

Wisconsin weekend getaway

Dear blog readers,

are you still with me? Are you waiting for the #1 reason I love Mexico? I've kept you waiting for so long. Can you stand a couple more days?

I'm leaving at noon today for a weekend in Wisconsin with my girlfriends from college. For those of you not familiar with this area of the country, Wisconsin is a bordering state and a popular destination for Minnesotans, especially for snowmobiling and cabin weekends.

I'm going to the cabin of one of my girlfriends and we plan to eat, talk, have a cocktail and relax. We may leave the cabin for dinner (most likely since we aren't bringing any food excepts snacks!) but that's about it. I'm looking forward to spending some extended time with them. We typically meet for dinner about once every other month; having 2-1/2 days will be a real treat.

I promise I will post the #1 reason when I return . . . any guesses yet??

Treasury!

I'll keep you waiting for one more day to find out the #1 reason that I love Mexico!

In the meantime, I thought I'd let you know that I was lucky enough to get a Treasury on Sunday to spotlight some of my favorite Etsy items and sellers. Here's a look at my Treasury:

Cute things, huh?

Why I love Mexico, part 2

I'm back with the 2nd in a 3 part series . . . read on!

Why I love Mexico - reason #2

This reason has two parts - weather and scenery. Going from Minnesota to Mexico in one day is quite a shock to the system. It's great to leave the freezing cold temperatures and wind chill in Minnesota and arrive in Mexico to hot, humid temperatures with balmy breezes.

There's something great about getting up everyday (when you wake up, not when the alarm goes off), putting on a swim suit and laying by the pool until it gets so hot that you have to get in the pool. That's the life!

The resort we stayed at had several pools, not to mention the beautiful Carribean Sea. Here are a few photos:

It's stunningly beautiful, and I don't take it for granted when I am there at all. It's so nice to see green grass and foliage and beautiful flowers. You can feel your whole body relax, and your skin goes from dry, white and scaly to tan and moist - and it happens surprisingly quickly!

Tomorrow I'll post my #1 reason for loving Mexico - be sure to come back to find our what the #1 reason is. Any guesses??