Well, Hello There...

Wow, wasn't that blog hop with K Andrew a ton of fun? I know I had a great time hopping across the country. I also got a lot of new followers (bonus). So, I thought I would start out with an introduction.

Hello, my name is Midori and I am a stay at home mom of two teen age boys. My oldest is 16 and my youngest just turned 13 (we tell him he is only 12.1 - not allowed to become a teen). I am married to my high school sweetheart for over 18 years. We still act like teenagers as we have date night every Friday night. I am a lucky girl (shhh I am not getting older). We also have a great border collie Rocky (named after the blue Power Ranger) who is now 8. We now reside just east of Pittsburgh. I say reside as we are transplants of the beautiful state of Washington via South Carolina.

My Family :)

Now, I know I said I am a stay at home mom and my boys are my first priority but I also teach scrapbooking classes at my local store (Art-Tech Supplies) and any retreats that find their way into the area. I am also the Education Coordinator and E-Commerce Coordinator for Creative Charms. It is a wonderful embellishment company and I am having a ton of fun working with the design teams and running the websites/blogs/facebook accounts.

Now for some scrappy stuff. I am just dying to get back to my scrap table, but have been unable to due to a few health issues that will be resolved soon. Thank goodness for laptops. I have been taking some great digi scrapping classes over at Jessica Sprague's site. Her classes are so great and I have learned a lot. Photoshop has come a long way since I learned how to use it for work waayyy back in 1996. It is a lot easier to use and therefore a lot more fun. Right now I am taking the final class Digi: in Deeper. Here is the latest project:

The goal of this assignment was to work in a "Grungy" style, break up a circle into different mats and also to fill a font using a brush. We also learned how to make our own brushes using a stripe generator. This class is just way too cool.

On Monday, we start a new class Mouse, Paper, Scissors and it is a hybrid class. Just got my goodie box and I am so excited to start sharing the projects with you all.

One more thing. Want to be a guaranteed winner? Go to Creative Charms' Facebook page and "Like" them. Then send a self addressed and stamped (44 cents) business envelope to Creative Charms (PO Box 186; Wexford, PA 15090) and they will send you something blingy back! This is to celebrate the 1,000+ "Like"s on Facebook. Everyone WINS how great is that. Just make sure your envelope is post marked before Saturday, February 19th.

Have a great week!

Congrats!

I am so overwhelmed by the response to the blog hop with KAndrew. Everyone was so positive and enthusiastic. Thank you for becoming a follower and hopping to my little blog.

Ok now to announce the winner of this portions hop:

Again thanks for hopping to my neck of the woods. I promise to keep on blogging and try to make it interesting.

Have a great day!

Cricky Across the 50 Blog Hop

A Big Cricut Hello & Chirp to each of you! Welcome to the Cricky Across the 50 Blog Hop hosted by K Andrew of Getting Cricky! (http://www.kandrewdesigns.blogspot.com/) If you are from Rebecca's blog Crafting with Becka in Oregon (http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/) then you are in the right spot. If you just arrived here and would like to start from the beginning please go to K Andrew's Getting Cricky! (http://www.kandrewdesigns.blogspot.com/). For this blog hop K Andrew is celebrating her big move across the country with a big road trip, and of course this hop across the 50 states! She has hasked us all to post a little bit about the state we are representing and then to post our Favorite Craft Project. I am representing the state of Pennsylvania.

Right now Western Pennsylvania is FREEZING cold! However, it is a very nice place. We have all four seasons and the summers are not too hot. Pittsburgh is home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins and the Pirates for all you sports fans. To the north is Erie and Punxsutawney (home of Groundhog Phil) and also a very large Amish population. To the east is the great city of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia. If you are a foodie or historian this is the place for you. The middle of the state is home to the Hershey factory and amusement park (free chocolate!!!).

This is a card that I made last year for my nephew's birth announcement. I made it on the simpler side as I had to make quite a few. Now, I hope this doesn't come as a shock, but I am not a regular Cricut user. I do have an Expression which I love to cut out large backgrounds and mats. But, I really love my Silhouette. This is where I cut out all the layers of the card. The fish and crab are multi layered and the "its a boy" was welded together using a font that I have on my computer. All the edges were chalked and then pieced together.

I also have been falling more and more in love with digital scrapbooking. Lately, I have been taking all of Jessica Sprague's digital scrapbooking classes. Currently, I am working on the last class: Digi in Deeper and this is the latest project that we created.

Now for the goodies! I have a packet of over $50 worth of Creative Charms goodies. It is full of the brand new Vintage Velvet Poppies, Vintage Brads, Vintage Jewels and of course some bling. Gotta have the bling. To win this prize all you have to do is leave a comment and become a follow of this blog. The winner will be announced on Valentine's Day.

Please make sure to leave comments on all of the blogs for a chance to win a ton of different Grand Prizes on Getting Cricky's blog, from these great companies: Scrap N Tote, Scrap N Easel, Cri-Kits, Creative Charms, Memory Miser, Scrappy Chic, Loralie Designs, My Pink Stamper, Peachy Keen Stamps, Cricut Town, the Scrappin' Table, Piktails, and Pink by Design. Please make sure to visit ALL the blogs, as EVERY single blog will have fabulous giveaways (cricut cartridges, paper packs, copic markers, yourstory bundle, clear stamp sets, and tons more). Each blogger was extremely generous with their own personal giveaways.

Next stop on the hop is Rhode Island to Karel Jennings of One by One the Flamingos are Stealing my Sanity (http://karelj.blogspot.com/).

Thanks for stopping by.

Review of the New

Hello - I have been looking and reading enviously all the great new things that everyone found at CHA. Some were some fabulous paper lines and other great new tools. Ohhh and do I love a new scrapbook tool. Here are some of my top five favorites so far (there really are too many to comment upon):

1. Lucky 8 Punch by We R Memory Keepers. There are six punches in all, but each punch will create your own diecut style papers. How cool is that?!?

2. Toy Box Collection by Crate Paper. I am always on the lookout for great boy lines. There are not that many out there that are good for not only little boys but also the older teen. This collection will work for all the male species.

3. Daily Junque by Pink Paislee. I oh so love anything that has to do with "office supplies" and adding the double bonus of vintage this is just my cup of tea.

4. Twig by My Little Yellow Bicycle. Love these green, blue and browns mixed together. The best thing about their collections are: the stuff! I love that they have tons and tons of embellishments, stickers, papers, and mini books that all work together.

5. Mini Kraft Alphas by Jillibean Soup. I love these mini letters that are set on a type background. There are four different colors to choose from and are loaded with tons of letters.

There are tons and tons of other great new products that are out there, but these are my personal favorites. This week I am starting Jessica Sprague's new digi class: Digi in Deeper. I am so excited to be learning advanced techniques and hope to share more soon. Here was our first assignment. The theme was Graphic and Grungy. I hope I kept with the simplicity of Graphic and the well grungy of Grungy.

Have a great week everyone. Don't forget to stop back by for the 50 States Blog Hop on Friday.