Updates and Extreme Couponing

Hello all!
It has been a very busy month of May. Once the weather gets warm, I am nowhere to be found. Me and my family are big outdoorsy people, so we are always fishing, camping or boating. I dont do much crafting or computer time in the summer months... so bear with me until the winter :)
Another thing hubby and I have been doing is couponing. We started about 3 wks ago and have saved over a 1000.00 already! We spent maybe 200-300 at the most. And for beginners, I dont think thats bad! We started with zero coupons, so I am proud of what we have accomplished so far.
I have been posting videos to my you-tube channel and have lots more to add as well on my savings and how I do it. You can find my channel by clicking the "Twlight" blinkie in the top right of my blog.
As some of you may know, my hubby has been out of work since Jan. 2010. He has had 6 surgeries and been on workers comp. Well, today, he is released to go back to work, however, there is no work, so he will be laid off... bad thing is, since he hasnt work 20 wks prior to being laid off, he is not eligible to collect unemployment.... ut oh... I dont know what we are going to do... we will have to live on my small disability check for now... not that comp paid him much... it was less than a 1/4 of his salary... but now, without that coming in, we are in a mess! So say prayers we can do something with unemployment, or he finds work!!! I love having him home with me, but we need money to survive... I have found that you cant live on love alone... LOL.

I hope everyone is safe and enjoying the beautiful weather!

Hugs and blessings!
Cheri

Here is my first video I did on couponing:

Make your own Prima embellishments

I got these embellishments 40% off at Joanns.com and after getting them, I thought how easy they would be to make. So, here is a way to get your creativity flowing... the possibilities are endless in what you can use and the shapes you can make :)




Thanks for viewing!
Happy Memorial Day!!!
Cheri

My first art journal attempt

Ok, so here it is... todays challenge was to trace your hands and do something with it. I always wanted to try art journaling... I am a big Julie Fei-Fan Balzer fan and just love what she does. As you see, I am no Julie... LOL. The first mistake was using a household permanent marker on the words... OOOPPPS... the 2nd mistake was the rest of it... LOL.. But hey, I tried something new, it is my first piece of watercolor art... and I will save it so when I get better I can look back and see where I started.

Cheri

The truth about me- cleaning out my closet

So, yesterday was my 43rd birthday- I spent most of it in bed as I was up the night before cleaning out my bathroom closet. At 7am Monday I realized I was still up, and the birds started to sing and the sun started to come up- I love that moment... I love to hear the birds, I love the sun, I love cool breezes on my face... God is good, he gave us such beauty- its up to us if we see it or not.
So, another year older- age doesnt bother me. I didnt freak when I turned 30 or fear turning 40... its part of life. But the eve before my 43rd birthday I got a revalation... I guess I should start with ten years ago... I had spine/neck surgery. I had two fusions at C4-5 and C5-6. It left me crippled. For a few years I tried to get on with my life and then finally after the struggles I gave up. I spent 5 years in bed, wouldnt leave my house, became agoraphobic (fear of leaving house/going out) and have severe anxiety attacks. I gained over 100 pounds and totally let myself go. I used to be alive, beautiful, the "doer"... and then one day, one instant, it was all over- I just laid there waiting to die. A few years ago, I was forced to move to PA from NY cause my house is in foreclosure and we were told there was a sale date- well, they lied... so for 6 months me and my kids were in PA and my husband stayed in NY cause he couldnt find work in PA. After the 6 months, and the NY house not foreclosing, me and the kids moved back to NY. We are still in the house- I dont know how, its been almost 4 years in foreclosure. But, I am not going to question it. So... my husband has been out of work for 1 1/2 years and we live on a few dollars a month I get from disability- we went from living middle class comfortable (well, paycheck to paycheck, but still able to get a few little extras) to having nothing. This year has been tough- no holidays at all- we didnt have a Thanksgiving dinner, or a Christmas, and Easter and my birthday came and went... But... my beautiful 18 yo daughter, who works 2 jobs and goes to school full time went out and got her 15 yo brother a bunch of stuff for an Easter basket and brought home a dozen eggs from her boyfriends and hid them for him. That is the best gift I could ever have... and no matter what goes wrong in my life- my kids are so right! I couldnt be prouder of my babies... and more pleased with how they are growing up. Its been hard on them and my husband with me so depressed and lifeless all those years. My husband is not the most understanding patient man... he has put me through hell... but I cant blame him, as it takes two. When he was working I spent money like it was free- he busted his hump and I took every dime and shopped on line every day... he resents me so much and I cant blame him. I put us in this financial ruin because I couldnt be strong and fight for my health... I just gave up and shopping became my out- my heroin. I look at him now, and see what a good man he is and how I have broken him and wish I could take it back... but I cant... To this day, he caters to me, not with a smile of course, out of obiligation... cause I have so let myself go that I can barely move anymore.
Also, through-out the years, I had a lot of losses- the pain was too hard to bear- to hard to face- 26 years ago, April 10th 1985- I lost by soul mate- my best friend- he was 13 days away from turning 17, I was 15 days away- he passed of Hodkins disease (cancer) at 16 yo's old. To this day, I ache for him. It changed my life. It changed the month that is my and his birthday. Then Jan. 1st 2000 I lost my grandmother- the woman who raised me- from a stroke. My grandfather- who was my best pal died when I was 17- and no one told me :( my father is a crack addict and he wasnt talking to me (the many times he walked out on me) and so he told the family not to tell me or he wouldnt go to the funeral. SO it was months later I found out. I still dont have closure from that. Then my sister in law passed away and was buried on my birthday 3 years ago. She was 39, left behind 2 small boys. She had ovarian cancer that was found while having a c-section with her 2nd child. A very dear friend of our family- a soul mate to my mom- a wonder woman- one day she found a lump in her breast-a few months later she died- on my moms wedding anniversay. So quick- just like that- life changes. And I ask you- if your life changed in one moment- would you be happy with what you have said to others?- what you have left on others?- what you have done for yourself?--- well I am now 43 and I choose life. I choose to get off my ass and help myself. I choose to stop the pity party I have been living and take one day at a time to put myself back together. I WILL get out of bed every day. I will work on healing my broken body, soul, heart, self... I am an artist- a little glue and a lot of embellishing- I will re-create myself! I will one day look in the mirror and see myself again.
So, on the eve of my 43rd birthday, I cleaned out my bathroom closet, and in there, I found me.

Everyone has a story- this is mine.

Thank you for reading- I hope this inspires you :)

Cheri

Four more days of the challenge.

My latest projects for the 31 day challenge I am in. I had to create a library pocket, playing card, rosette, and make a bottle animal. This is what I did.


Above: I hand made the paper rosette after failing miserably with the Tim Holtz die. I even went the extra length to make the edges decorative... AND THEN... I put the deco edges on the inside of the flower which is covered up by the center piece!!! I am so dumb... LOL!! But this was my first flower, and after struggling with them for 30 plus minutes, I was glad to be done with it! I made it in leftover Disney paper and put it on a mini album page.

Below: I just hand cut a piece of paper, used some of Tims stain and inks and some stamps and shimmerz and wa-la. I am going to add this to my Disney pages too... I think it fits :) I love the saying... " A mans home is his castle, until the queen arrives." So true!!!

Above: Here is my bottle animal. He is a ZEBRASS. Part zebra, part donkey. I used the leftover paper from the library pocket, cause I thought it was so colorful for him. It brought him to life :) He's so cute!! But what to do with it now??? hmmmm, not sure.

Below: So, the paper is UGGGGGLLLLLYYYYY... but... it is from the Disney paper stack and I do want to use all of it... so I thought I would make a pocket with it. Its ok... I will put some journaling and a picture on the tag, and call it an embellishment!


Thanks for watching. Enjoy your Easter everyone!!!

Cheri

Disney Clock FINISHED

Here is a quick pic of what it looks like done! I finally got the clock die and added it. Its all glued together now as well. I will try to get better photos, the glare is too much.

Hope you enjoy!

Cheri

Some things I made for a group challenge

I am in a 31 day challenge for a group I am in. These are some things I have made. One was a tag sketch. I used Tim stuff. I even used the paper that comes in his packaging to write my "things I adore" words strips on. The other was a bookmark sketch. I had to make a Twilight one, as my favorite books to read are the Twilight series. The paper is from DCWV... and Edward is playing the piano in the photo.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheri

Tim Holtz grid blocks.... really do work!!!

So, I was very hesitant in buying the grid blocks from Tim Holtz. Not that I ever stray away from anything Tim... but I have a ton of blocks already! Well, I found them real cheap on ebay and am so glad I bought them!!! Here is the proof.... so if you ever were reluctant... hope this changes your mind!


**If you want to see what I made with the stamped image... look here... warning... I learned a valuable lesson here!!! LOL...too funny!!!!**



Hope you have a great one!!

Cheri

Priceless.... Had to share!!!!!

I wanted to make a video showcasing some of the projects I have made from the patterns I purchased from the talented Laura Denison of http://www.followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/ .... well, it turned out to be so funny that I had to make a video of all the ut-ohs and out-takes... I hope you enjoy....
And here is the actual video that made it into production :)

Look what I did !!! Funky Women !!!

Well, now its official! I have used every part of the configuration boxes that I used for making my Disney clock. These were the last two boxes I had left, but the first idea I had when I saw those little boxes. I just new I had to make them! They are really little, they just look big in the picture. The gold box is about 3" high and the silver one is about 2". I cant get a good shot, the metal reflects too much, so I hope you can get the idea.

First I painted the boxes, one gold- one silver. (above)

Then I sprayed some Lindys Stamp Gang moon shadow spray onto a piece of paper and dabbed it on the boxes to create a marbled look. (below)

I picked the stamps I wanted... I think they might be from I Brake For Stamps, but I am not 100% on that. I stamped one on silver paper with distress ink. The other one I wound up stamping and embossing with silver embossing powder and cutting it out. That one was on gold paper.

I knew that I wanted one of them to have a corset. I dont sew... but I did okay with this one. I used a piece of flour sack, copper eyelets, and silver metallic embrod. thread to lace it up.

I used some double sided thin metal sheets and put them on adhesive back paper for support. I used 2 different stampin up punches to punch out the arms and legs. I attached them with jump rings and foam dots.

I wanted the legs from one of the boxes to dangle so I took 2 T-bar pins, cut them down (thank you hubby for doing that for me!) and wired it up to the bottom of the box. The legs slipped right over it. I also put the corset around a foam block and pinned it on the back.

Here is the silver box. I cut out the head, and put a piece of copper metal behind it. I cut wings out from a Nestie die and added 2 metalic flower stickers to the hands. I love the Medusa style hair! That looks like me in the morning!!! (no, really, it does...) She is silver and copper.

I think I am in love with her! Look at that face!!! Silver and Gold... dragon fly wings... cigar label belt.. wrapped in wire.... what more could I ask for???

Well, I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Cheri

I had a busy day... Disney clock... day 4 (3 wks later.. lol)

I worked on my clock today too. So that would be a layout, my glue caddy, and the clock & mini album for the clock!!! Whew... tired now! So... I did some work to the bottom of the clock... I dont have anything that really will go in a shadow box, so I used 2 pins I got from Disney and 2 key chains of mickeys head dangling down. I added my pics and a few embellishments to the album (couldnt add much cause it cant be thicker than the box, so its mostly just pictures) and put it in the box.


Again, this is inspired by Laura Denison from http://www.followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/ She had made a GORGEOUS vintage clock for Tim Holtz for the 2011 CHA. I saw it and fell in love!!! I am not going to tell how I made this as it is not my design and I am sure Laura will share as soon as all the materials are out for sale to the public. Mine does differ from hers, hers is much much much better... I made my version. Go check out her blog for details for her upcoming ustream classes, kits, and patterns. She is AMAZING... you wont be disappointed!!! So a big shout out to Laura for inspiring me to finally start using all the stuff I have collected, for thinking outside the box (with a box.. lol) and for sharing your most admirable talents!!! Now, onto the pictures of my work of the day.... just note that the clock face isnt here yet... its on pre-order... so when it gets here I can hopefully finish it! Cause as you will see below, they are still in pieces :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheri

What is it you ask???? Its....

It is.... a glue caddy made with my left over configuration box pieces that I am not using in my clock. I had all these left over pieces and thought.. hmmm.. I have all these different types of glue... foam glue, tacky glue, paper glue, jewel glue, glitter glue, diamond glaze, etc... so now, they are all out in arms reach for me to grab so I dont have to dig through my huge basket of glues! This keeps all my favorites right there! I covered the front, outer two sides, and inside bottom with some paper scraps and waaa-laaaa... I love it!!!! I left the back undone... where I am going to keep it, it wont be seen.

I have two more boxes left over... I am going to use those for something else in the near future! Cant wait to share that one with you!

Thanks for looking and hopefully you will find a good use for your leftovers!!

Hugs,

Cheri

I tried something new....

I had to make a specific titled and sketched layout for a group... sooooo, I have been a big Julie Fei-Fan Balzer fan for awhile now and recently found her on Prima and her blog... so I wanted to try her style of water colors and doodling. Its plain, cause that is what the sketch called for... but I am proud of myself for trying something new, as I never go outside my comfort zone. These are pictures of my hair through-out the years. You can tell by the colors of the pictures how old they are... lol... I am actually aging another year this month... ut oh... time to update my profile soon :) and maybe my hairstyle :) Hugs to all!! Cheri P.S. Boy my parents dressed me funny!!!

STAMPERS BEST IS THE BEST!!!!

SO, LAST WEEK I WAS HOME SICK IN BED AND SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON YOU-TUBE. I CAME ACROSS A WOMAN (enastasia) SHOWING THE MOST GORGEOUS STAMP SET (I LOVE VINTAGE) AND SHE POSTED THE LINK TO THE PLACE SHE WHERE SHE GOT IT FROM. SO, I GO OVER TO THE SITE AND INSTANTLY FALL IN LOVE!!!! I PLACED MY ORDER AND WENT TO CHECK OUT AND I HAD A LITTLE ISSUE WITH THE CART, SO I CONTACTED THEM. I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL WITHIN MINUTES! PAUL, FROM STAMPERS BEST WAS RIGHT ON THE ISSUE AND WITHIN NO TIME MY ORDER WAS PLACED. WELL... I GOT MY PACKAGE TODAY AND HAVE TO SAY THAT HE WAS SO GENEROUS IN THE FREE EXTRA'S THAT I HAD TO GIVE THIS SHOUT OUT TO THEM!!! AND NOT TO MENTION THE QUALITY OF THE STAMPS... THE DEEP ETCHING, THE THICKNESS, THE GORGEOUS CLING FOAM!!! OMG... ITS AMAZING! AND BEST OF ALL... THE PRICES... ACTUALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS COMPANY, FROM QUALITY PRODUCTS, CUSTOMER SERVICE, GENEROSITY, PRICES, TO FAST SHIPPING IS TOP NOTCH!!! AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT I AM A PROFESSIONAL AT SHOPPING FOR STAMPS AS I HAVE THOUSANDS OF THEM!!! I FOUND MY NEW HOT SPOT AND AM GLAD TO SHARE THEM WITH ALL OF YOU!!! SO HEAD ON OVER TO : http://www.stampersbest.com/ AND SEE FOR YOURSELF HOW WONDERFUL THEY ARE!!!!

go see my you-tube video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmW9Y-BZaBc

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheri

Blog Candy at Cooking with Cricut.com

The folks over at http://www.cookingwithcricut.blogspot.com/ are giving away tons of stuff!!! All you have to do is go on over and become a follower and leave a comment. There are two other ways to enter... so go check it out for yourself! Tons of goodies, I mean tons!!! are being given! Enjoy your weekend! Cheri

OMG.... ITS LAURA!!!!

Okay... I am totally star struck!!! Larua from followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com commented on my disney clock day 3 post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am in awe!!! She is the most talented person out there and the one person who inspires all my work!!! She is the person who has made the clock originally and inspired me to try one of my own! Of course, it will never be like hers and I cant wait until she demo's the one she made!! Her talent is above words and the time she puts into sharing it is beyond! If you have not heard of her... which I doubt... then you must check out her blog, her ustream channel, and her website. Her blog http://www.followingthepapertrail.blogspot.com/ will bring you to everything. And then you can too can start to create things you never imagined possible!!!!

Thank you Laura for your time in looking at my page and for making a beginner like me look like a pro!! And for taking a collector into a doer!

Here are some other things I have been inspired to make because of her. Patterns available through her website. See her blog for more information.

Greatful,

Cheri!!!

Disney Clock- day 3

I spent all day working on a mini album that I created with paper bags... took me FOREVER to figure out how I was going to construct it... and guess what... IT DIDNT FIT IN THE CLOCK BASE!!!! UGH! So, I had to start all over again, and created a smaller simpler paper bag mini. These are my own creations. I am so proud of how the first one turned out. I didnt embellish or finish them, I had enough for today. But here are pictures of my progress so far. This is the second mini I had to make. I am no where near done with it... I just got the cover, back, and inside pages put together... not done with the binding, embellishing, or tags for inside the paper bag pages. This is the mini I worked hours on! It took me about 3 hours to figure out how to fold, cut, attach, bind, etc... and I really like how I did it... but... it doesnt fit... so this will just become a regular mini album of our Disney trip... Lord knows I am going to need tons of albums... 3 wks worth of pictures! This uses 2 paper bags and has 4 pockets, you could have 7 pockets, but I made it to go inside the clock base... now that it is done and I didnt know it wouldnt fit, it is too late to add more pockets. But it has tons of real estate for pictures! Each pocket holds 2 tags, and much more can fit in them!

Okay... so here are some close ups of the clock parts.... I have gotten a lot of comments about it being to red or to silver... its neither...

This shows 5 boxes from Tim Holtzs configuration box. There is a tiny bit of the 6th box showing at the top, but I wont discuss that one for now. The main middle large square box is going to be where the clock goes on. It is made up of the 2 pcs. that come with this box... both sides have acetate covers and you can look in one side out the back. The back has donald and daisy peeking through. The inside of the box has all the disney characters lining the sides, top and bottom. Then there are 2 small boxes on each side. The are adorned with Mickey and Minnie which I made from the cricut cart "Mickey and Friends" (daisy & donald and goofy pictured below are all made from that cartridge and took me about 4 hours to piece together!!!) The large middle box has silver foil tape on the outer edges and Tim's corner pieces on each corner as well. Inside the Mickey and Minnie box is the Castle from the Magic Kingdom.

Here is the top of the clock which has goofy falling off the top of the clock. I made him from the cricut cart named above. The front of that piece will have a saying that is shown below.

Minnie side shot.... I did all the polka dots by hand.

Mickey side shot.... yes, goofy has minnie ears... lol

Full shot of the top piece of the clock. It is painted black with irridescent medium over it. I wanted the clock itself not to be the focus, I wanted the Disney characters to be the main focus.

Here is the base by itself. I first painted it, added the patterned paper in the back, cut out the dividers and painted them. And finally attached the dividers... not easy!

I layed the clock down flat so you could see that the top middle box is see through. It is not assembled, but I put the boxes where they will go. The bottom section will have doors and a mini album, so you wont see all that red. I made the dividers on the bottom, as the box is originally open.

Here is a shot with the unfinished mini album in its place. Just so you can get an idea.

This is the clock I originally made for the front of the box... but I dont like it at all... I just put it there so you could again get the idea of where the clock face will eventually go.

I cut a large mickey head and was going to put it in the back of box peeking out... but still not sure I want to cover all that space.... It does help donald and daisy stand out more.

And here it is with the mickey head shadow in the back and the clock face... again... its just to show the idea of what it is going to resemble.

Now, I just have to figure out how I want to do the doors. I spent a good time thinking about that today and got nowhere. Until next time....

Thanks for looking!

Cheri