BBQ Birthday invitations

Liam's birthday BBQ invitations are done! Now, I just need to get them delivered or in the mail!

I knew I would be using my new Cricut Lite Block Party cartridge for the cuts, which I did, and Liam knew he wanted burgers on the front. Luckily, I had also just run across a fantastic card on the cricut board. It was made by Tammy of cricutcritters. I loved her background/base ideas and card-lifted them! This led to the use of black and the cute scallop oval from the B is for Boy cartridge. I knew I wanted to use some gingham, red and white ribbon, inspired by the table clothes we'll be using, and Liam wanted some turquoise in there too. The burgers were cut at 4". The oval and scallop oval were cut at 10" (but are layers and not actually that large). BBQ was cut at 2", and the tag, from Very Merry Tags, was cut at 3". I wish I could show the inside, as it has a gingham boarder, grill, and the phrase "come 'n get it," but it also has contact info, our address, and map, which I'm thinking I'd rather not broadcast quite so openly! LOL

Now, to work on the decorations!

This month's Stampin Up workshop projects

Easter 2005

Liam is very matter of fact. When he turned 8, he stopped playing with Thomas the Tank Engine, becasue the packaging said, "For Children 5-8." LOL Luckily, SpongeBob Squarepants caught his attention and was made "For Children 5-99." This picture happens to be from 2005. We were in Albuquerque for spring break, and he was so worried that the Easter Bunny wouldn't know where to deliver his basket or hide the eggs. Luckily for him, the bug bunny is wise and knew exactly where we were. He managed to deliver the basket and hide the eggs in the very room where Liam slept! Needless to say, Laim was astounded when he woke to Easter in a hotel room!

I'm not sure how much I like this layout. Really, if it were anyone else's, I probably love it, but since it is mine and not really my usual style, I feel disconnected from it a bit. Anyhow, the cuts are mostly from Cricut's SpongeBob cartridge, though the eggs are from the Easter mini. SpongeBob was cut at 5", and still, his pieces were very, very tiny. The ocean floor is chalked with brown, chestnut roan, and creamy brown. Most of the paper is just solids, but the seaweed has a stripe to it that is hard to see here, and the coral is mottled with a bit of glitter too. They are both from My Mind's Eye and were scraps left over from other projects. The Stickles on the jellyfish are waterfall and cotton candy, and the date on the egg is lemon.

I had to laugh

Okay, I don't usually just post thoughts, as I like looking at photos when I visit other blogs, but this time, I just have to share a funny story! A son of a friend of mine stopped by my blog for a visit, after the prompting of his mother, and his post about my blog on his brand-new blog, cracked me up. Apparently, to the around 20-year-old crowd, my blog title "Goddess of Whimsy" aligns me with the cougars of the world! Apparently during Greek and Roman mythology lessons these days, kids are only learning about Aphrodite, because otherwise, the term "goddess” would mean more than just beauty and love. Whatever happened to the goddess of home or the hunt or fertility—just to name a few? I happen to believe that I have a bit of goddess in me—the whimsical sort! I love swirls, swishes, and bling, reasons to celebrate, reliving memories, and making the world a more fanciful place, and I promise that except for a crush on the grown-up Harry Potter and Edward Cullen (both fictional btw and technically, Edward is over 100), there isn’t the least bit of cougar in me!

Additionally, during the discussion of my blog, I got termed “middle-aged!” Granted, I am in the latter half of my 30’s, but I in no way feel or consider myself middle-aged! I know it is all a matter of perspective, but getting called middle-aged was a blow! Mind you, the students I teach tell me I act more like a kid than an adult, and my husband of nearly 20 years impatiently waits for me to grow up! I probably could have even allowed this fallacy to slide off me without notice had it not preceded a comment about the perceived drudgery of middle-aged life! What on earth, he asked, could women of my age have to blog about? Apparently, I am so old as to have stopped having experiences worth sharing with others! LOL

I guess it is time I start acting my age, and while to a 20ish-year-old that means eating Tums and using arthritis rub, I know it means getting ready for some tubing down the Guadalupe River when we visit San Antonio this summer, jeeping and hiking above tree-line (up around 12,000’ above sea level), enjoying Walt Disney World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, singing Ke$ha at the top of my lungs while driving….. Thank goodness wisdom comes with age. Imagine the life I’d be living if I lived like I thought I would when I was 20! It’s a good reminder that the years ahead of me don’t have to be anything like I imagine them to be; they can be much more!

Meeting Jan Brett

Let me start off by saying that I adore Jan Brett's books. As a mom and teacher, they are fantastic books to read with children. The stories are gentle and the artwork amazing. So, I was thrilled when I saw a sign that she was visiting my little city! I called my bff, a fellow teacher, and we made plans to attend.

Ms. Brett gave a wonderful presentation, which included drawing her newest character, and her words were full of encouragement for the kids listening. Then, we got to meet her one on one, where she signed our books, took photos with us, and had a conversation, which included her asking questions too.

Okay, so here are the layout details: The background paper is by The Paper Studio. The egg one is called "Random Easter Eggs." The pink and blue are from a stack called "A Day at the Beach." I used cuts from 3 Cricut cartridges. The swirls are from Home Decor. The bunny and eggs are from the Easter mini, and the font is Storybook. The felt flowers are from Creative Impressions. I used brown and cheasnut roan chalks, and a pink zig to color the inside of the bunny's ear.