I Won! I Won!!

One of the great members of Creative Inspirations posted that she was giving Blog Candy away because she made it to 50 followers on her blog.  Of course, I jumped over to be sure that I was in the game.  Today, I found out I won!  I'm so excited.  Stop by and see all of Tammy's beautiful creations on her blog.  And, thank you Tammy for all of the great items!  I can't wait to get them, especially your creations!

Two of my favorites! Butterflies and hearts

A butterfly reminds us all of new life and what gives us life, but love from the heart.  This file was made with just those thoughts in mind.  The file took a while to create, but it turned out so well.  I wanted to be sure to share it with everyone so that if you love butterflies - and if you are loved, this may just inspire you to do something creative today! 

The file contains a base for the butterflies and hearts, the butterflies - of course, hearts, and then leaves just to give it more definition.  I wasn't concerned so much about the colors in the file for this first cut, but it does give us an idea of what the file will look like when it is complete. 

After you have selected the base paper, you can cut the file using the bottom layer.  The base paper does show quite a bit when the project is done, so you may want to choose a prettier type of paper than I did on this one.

The butterflies turned out better than I could have imagined.  I am still learning how to use Inkscape so this was a challenge, but once I had the left side done it was just a snap to copy, flip and join the two halves to get the perfect butterfly.  Then, when it was time to cut; it was absolutely perfect.  I am still quite amazed that it turned out as well as it did. 

I hope that this file inspires you to treasure life and those around you.  Love is scarce these days and so are butterflies during these hot summer months.  Here's some just for you!


You can get the file here and if you use it in a project, I would love to see how it turns out for you

Do Something Creative - Everyday

I found that I have a lot of ideas that never come to life because, well, life just gets in the way.  So, to help make those ideas have hope for a reality, I decided I needed a bulletin board to post them so I would not forget about them.  Not only were they forgotten due to the old adage; out of sight, out of mind.  They also were forgotten, because I'm not as young as I used to be. 

And, for my project, I really didn't want to spend any money on it, just because if I decide I don't like it, then it will be easier for me to take it down without guilt.  I had some 12" and 6" corkboard squares I had gotten on clearance forever ago, used some fabric and ribbon I had on-hand, staple gun, and voila.  The bulletin boards looked good, but it needed something. 


So, using  my Cricut Expression and some vinyl I had, I cut vinyl wall words, "Do Something Creative Everyday" to give it a finished look.  The vinyl letters for Do Something Everyday are brown with a little glitter/metallic finish and the word Creative is in a deep plum.  The photo doesn't show how well the plum looks with the brown, but trust me -- looks really great. 

So the bulletin board and the vinyl wall words accomplished two tasks in one.  It gave me a place to start putting all those notes and picture ideas for future projects and it allowed me to do something creative for today. 

That's all there is today from the lil cabin, I hope you have a wonderful evening.  Blessings to you all!

Has it really been that long?

Surely it is a sign of growing old when you don't post to your blog for this long - and it seems like it was just last week!  It's been a busy few months and I've not spent much time here.  Too bad there isn't an award for the most neglected blog.  To get back into the swing of things, I'l try to get caught up on some of the creative things that have been happening around the cabin.

My mom's birthday as well as Mother's day are both in May.  She's one of those moms that has everything and it is impossible to get her something that she either doesn't already have or that won't add to the endless items already sitting around her house.  So, the girls in the family got together and planned an outing for all of us.  We made a date for May 29th and met at her home.  The only bad thing was that we had a few that got sick (they don't even live together) and a couple that we knew couldn't go beforehand.  But we ended up with a group that turned out to be just the right size and we had a blast.

The way we invited Mom to the gathering was with an explosion box.  When she opened it on Mother's Day, it only contained the invitation rolled up and secured in the center of the box.  After we had our outing, we collected pictures from everyone (we all seemed to have taken the same pictures) and I put it all together for her.  We gave it to her just a few weeks ago.  It turned out pretty well and now mom can remember the fun we all had together.

Thanks for stopping by, and no, the big bad wolf didn't stop by the cabin.  All is still well in the lil cabin in the woods.  Blessings to you all!

My First Blog Award - Thanks Yolie!

Yolie from over at JustYolie has really made my week by giving me my first blog award.  She also is so encouraging as she stops by my blog often and leaves me sweet comments on my posts!  She's precious and I really am thankful for her.

The rules of this award are to tell you 10 things that make me happy and then I am to pass it on to 5 more people:

1.  Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior
2.  My hubby who does so much for our family
3.  My daughters who make me so very proud
4.  My mother who is my real hero
5.  The rest of my family who make life special
6.  Friends that love me for me
7.  All of those that call me Momma G
8. The wonderful people that volunteer with me and do so much for others
9.  Long weekends at home with no where to be except in the Lil Cabin
10. Beautiful, sunny days!

I am going to pass this award on to five blog friends. Make sure you check out their INSPIRING blogs!

Here they are:

1.  Paulo
2.  Kay
3.  Connie
4.  Shelly
5.  Kat

Cards, Cards, Cards

I've never been much on making cards - I mean, what do the recipients really do with them once they've looked at them and the occasion has passed?  Do they keep them and realize the amount of time and love that went into the cards or do they just toss them aside to be forgotten?  I am not sure of that answer, but I do know that with these cards, I had a lot of fun making them.  Even if they do get tossed, it was worth the effort to let some of the special people in my life know how much I love them.

First up is the Valentine's Day card I made for my hubby.  Now, he probably wasn't too fond of the card - it doesn't have a tractor or a police car on it, but I hope he knew I still love him even after all these years.  It turned out very pretty - that's not a good term for a manly kind of card, but I am not sure how else to describe it.  And - if he thought it was too pretty - he didn't dare say it out loud.  Sweet, huh?

I also made cards for both of my girls.  I had to get the our oldest daughter's in the mail since she is away at college and it was a couple of seconds after I sealed the envelope and was putting it into the box of goodies I was sending her that the thought occurred to me!  I forgot to take a picture!!!  Oh well, she's the type that will keep the card until it gets lost in the clutter on her desk.  So maybe there's a chance you'll get to see that one.  It was one of Yolie's files - I Toadily Love You and was very appropriate as my oldest received a couple of pet toads for Christmas from her beau.  The toad was a svg file I found on another site, but for the moment, the addy has left me.  I'll edit the post when I remember where in the world it came from.

The card I made for our youngest daughter is definitely not the pretty type of card for a girl.  But, if you knew her and how much she loves our potbelly pig, Jillian, it has a whole new meaning. Even in church on Sundays, as I write notes in my journal, she reaches over to draw pictures of Jillian on my note pages.  So the card itself isn't pretty but it sure did make her smile. 

The final card I have to show you this evening is one I am making for a friend at work.  She's expecting her first child and all signs (okay - the ultrasound) says she's having a boy.  I made another tri-fold card for this one and it really is sweet.  I hope that she likes it - and maybe she'll hold on to it for a few days before it gets lost in the shuffle of putting things away in the nursery. 

I hope you enjoyed viewing the cards as much I enjoyed making them.  I have a few more baby shower cards for over the next few days, so maybe you'll get to see those too.  It seems like everyone is having babies these day!  Whew -- glad it's not me!! 

Thanks as always for stopping by the lil cabin in the woods.  It's been a pleasure sharing just a moment out of my day with you. May God's blessings shine upon your life and as the bumps in the road come upon you, look for the lessons that He may be trying to teach you, one step at a time.

It's a Cabin Day!

It began to snow late yesterday afternoon and this morning we woke up to a white world.  But it wasn't long before the sun came out and the white became very wet.  It was still a good day to stay inside where it was warm.  I spent the day in the cabin doing homework with a co-worker and then later working on the scrapbook for my mom.  I really was hoping to have so much more completed by now, but with classes starting back on February 4th and then work being so busy, not much has gotten done. 

I do have a couple of pages to share with you -- and maybe it will inspire me to do more.  These two pages show daddy in his early days.  I love the picture of him in the hat when he was five years old.  It is so very sweet.  All of these pictures help me to realize how much my three brothers look like daddy.  You can see all three of them in the various stages of his early years. 

Have a great weekend and thanks as always for stopping by the lil cabin in the woods.  I hope to see you again soon.