Happy Halloween From The McVey Family!

I had a little fun this morning over at JibJab making this video starring my family.

Cast:
Son-in-Law Andy as The Doctor
Daughter Taryn as Frankenstein
Son Ryan as the Werewolf
Husband Mark as Dracula
and Me as the Bride of Frankenstein

Enjoy, then go make your own!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

New Projects on the Horizon

First, I'm happy to report that I am now stitch-free!  I had a nurse friend remove them Saturday, and I look almost human again without them.  No Frankenstein costume for me this Halloween! The black eye is now mostly yellow and red and decreasing in size every day. I was actually able to put on a little eyeliner and mascara this morning! 

In hindsight, I feel like I really was being watched over.  It could have been very serious, but just one week later, I feel great! Thank you all so much for your well wishes after my fall.  It was very special to have so many notes from all of you.

On the craft front - our current remodeling has given me a couple of ideas for home decor projects that will get me back to my Cricut.  I have three in my head so far: some framed art, an unusual jewelry holder/display, and a holiday project using the discarded wood blocks from the rubber stamps that I converted to unmounted. (If you missed the video about how to do that, see this post.)  I also realized that I never filmed and shared how I made an awesome, inexpensive ribbon rack, so that's to come as well.

I know Cricut and Gypsy are both feeling neglected, so I plan to get those projects started as soon as I can get this bathroom remodel done and clean up my craft room!  It's amazing how remodeling one room can spin the whole house into disarray. I also have to share with you that a few of my craft tools have come in very handy while working on the bathrooms.  My DH is very supportive of my crafting, but it's always good when he can see how many other ways my stuff comes in handy, know what I mean?

So, in summation, my eye is looking good, my house is looking good, and I should have some projects to post in the coming weeks. Thanks to all of you who have hung in there with me until I could get back to being creative!

Cricut Kisses and Crafty Wishes,

Enabler Alert: You WILL want the IMAGINE when you see the images!

Have you SEEN the awesome images for the new Cricut Imagine???  I've been out of the loop since its release, and I had openly said that I was not buying another machine. After all, I have the Expression, the Baby Bug, and the Gypsy. How could I possibly need another Cricut machine?

Alas, during my recent convalescence (see yesterday's post), I had plenty of time for some one-eyed viewing of videos about the Imagine, and I have to confess, I REALLY WANT THE DARN THING!  I had not expected the images to be so incredibly gorgeous!  The ones in this post are from Snow Angel, one of my favorites from the new Imagine Cartridge Collection.

My followers know that I had started working on breaking up the cartridge image sheets into smaller pictures for loading onto the Gypsy so you can see them easier - and not need your handbooks with you all the time.  (Note: If you search for videos about the Imagine on YouTube, some of the older ones will say it's not compatible with the Gypsy, but Provocraft has since updated the Gypsy software so it IS compatible!  Thanks PC!)  I still have more of the "regular" cartridges to do, and I will continue to work on those, but I confess that I've gotten totally sidetracked by the beautiful new Imagine images!  I've only gotten two done so far (click here to get them), but I'll have the rest uploaded soon, so check back here for updates.  And if you have an iPad, I'll be posting soon about how to view all the cartridge images on it, so watch for that, too.

I can't end this post without a special thanks to Robyn, The Pink Stamper for some major enabling!  When I saw her video about using RGB colors to match my Stampin' Up! paper, AND she used an old non-Imagine cartridge to print and cut images in her choice of colors, all the lightbulbs in my head went off!  Hop on over to her blog to watch a few of her awesome videos and see why you NEED the Imagine!

Cricut Kisses and Crafty Wishes,

My painting disaster

I've had to put crafting on the back burner for a while as my DH and I do some major redecorating in our 25-year-old, very dated home - stripping wallpaper, painting, replacing flooring, changing light fixtures, etc. So far we've completed the master bathroom, and we're now working on the other upstairs bath, which needed the most serious work due to mold. We have literally stripped it bare except for the major fixtures.

I was all set and excited on Monday to spend the entire day prepping and painting, having decided at the last minuted to take the day off from work just for this purpose. I made a trip to Lowe's, stopped for a bite to eat, and rushed home to get started. Not more than 30 minutes into the job, I reached for the far corner, lost my balance, and down I went! I hit my head HARD on an unopened paint can, and I fell against the wall, hitting my hip, shoulder and knee on the way down. I don't remember too much after that except slapping a washcloth against my head to stop the bleeding and telling myself to call my husband and lie down before I passed out. Luckily, I never did pass out, but oh, what a headache.

3 hours, 8 stitches and a tetanus shot later, I left the emergency room. I was home 3 days - hubby's orders - but back at the office today and back to the remodel this weekend. In the meantime, I want to give DH a BIG shoutout for taking such good care of me with hot oatmeal cookies, frozen yogurt and back rubs. On top of all that, he's almost finished with the painting in the bathroom.

The good news is, I didn't spill the paint - and I don't have to spend much time on my hair for a while since people will only see my eye!

BLOG CANDY You Don't Want To Miss!

Today I want to introduce you to a fellow crafter AND Disney addict!  If you love Disney and Disney-related crafts, you'll want to sign up to be a follower over at Disney Dreamer Designs.  Be sure to tell MELISSA(sorry about getting your name wrong the first time) how you found out about her when you visit, and leave a comment before midnight tonight for a chance to win crafty blog candy!  She's giving away a pink ATG gun, so hurry over to enter! Thanks for the candy Melissa, and congrats on over 200 followers!

By the way, I started knitting a "nothing" last night.  Read the post below to see what that's all about!

Knit One, Craft Too

I suspect that many of you are multi-media crafters, as it seems that no crafter ever really just does one thing.  If you're anything like me, you have no less than 5 or 6 projects in the works at any given time.

One of the earliest crafts I tried was crocheting, taught to me lovingly and with superhuman patience by my grandmother when I was just five years old.  Years later, I discovered sewing, largely out of necessity in order to have pants and blouses that fit me at 5'10" tall.  In middle school, I taught myself to knit.  I learned by trial and error, following pictures and diagrams and ripping out many a row until I got it just right.  By high school, I was good enough to knit sweaters for my husband and boyfriend (who is now my husband of 30 years and my biggest fan!) for Christmas.

Various crafts have come and gone through the years.  In college, I learned quilting, needlepoint, crewel and counted cross stitch.  After my daughter was born, I learned smocking and made pretty little feminine dresses for her.  When my son was born, I was a stay-at-home mom and I delved into many crafts, including basket weaving and candy making.

Most of the crafts I've tried were tried out of sheer curiosity, the desire to learn something new, and the ultimate satisfaction of being able to sit back and say, "I created that!"  Some of them were one-hit-wonders, learned just well enough to complete a particular project.  Others resulted in my own little 15 minutes of fame, like the counted cross stitch design that I entered in an international magazine contest, won third place for, received a check for 50 bucks, and had published! 

I've found some crafts that serve more as stress relievers than others, and once in a while, I just get a yearning to pick up a needle and thread or a pair of knitting needles and some soft, fuzzy yarn and find a quiet place to work, lost in my own thoughts.  For me, the best craft for stress relief is knitting.  More than once, I've been know to knit "nothing" just for the fun of it and the relief from the day that it gives me.  It's a mindless, relaxing thing that I can do while watching TV or chatting with my husband, and when I'm done, I can tear it out, roll it back up in a ball, and use it again another time. 

Recently, I called my daughter to see what she was doing on her day off.  She was crocheting a granny aquare afghan.  Surprised, I asked her how she knew how, because I had taught her basic crocheting, but never how to make granny squares. "YouTube," she answered.  "They have videos about how to do anything!"   I couldn't help but feel a little pride.  As soon as I become a grandmother, I'll teach her to smock!

For those of you who knit, want to learn to knit, or know someone who knits, check out this great link with knitting-related gift items: Cafe Press, Knitting Gifts