THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT THE BUG

Here are some naked paper dolls.  Why do I have these?  Well, they are the base for a lot of projects that I do on a regular basis. 

These were cut out using a Cricut machine (pronounced like the insect, cricket).  I am absolutely in love with my Cricut machine.  I've owned it now for a few years.  It is the original smaller machine.  I wish I would have known they were coming out with a bigger one.  I would have waited, but anyway. . .

Here is my little baby:
(Please do not look at the creative genius' mess surrounding the Cricut!)

I use it all the time for scrapbooking, but it has many many other uses.  See, I teach the 3-6 year olds Bible class, and this machine has been worth its weight in gold!   Let me explain about the Cricut, in case you don't know.  You buy this machine.  It will not cut anything out without a cartridge.  They have over 50 cartridges on the market now - I think I own about 8.  Each cartridge cuts out a variety of things.  For instance, the "Walk in my Garden" cartridge has a variety of flowers, insects, garden-theme things.  You can cut these out from 1 inch up to 5.5 inches (up to 12 inches on the BIG Cricut).     Here are some of my cartridges (again, ignore the mess -I'm working on a lot of projects right now!)

The cartridges are a bit expensive (around $40), which explains why I own about 8.  I always ask for a new one for holidays/birthdays, so I hope to keep my collection growing.  But even with my small number of cartridges, I can do A LOT!

The naked paper dolls were the base for Adam and Eve, which I made for my friend, Jeri's baby Bible class.   Here is what they look like completed.

The Cricut will cut out paper, chipboard, vinyl, material - imagine the possibilities!   Here is a link to the Cricut messageboards where ladies post their finished crafts.  There are some talented ladies out there!  http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tt.aspx?forumid=8

As I said before, I mostly use my bug for scrapbooking and for my Bible class.  I am a very simple scrapbooker!  Some ladies spend 2 hours or more on a single page!  Ugh - who has the time???  Plus, the page goes in a scrapbook and gets put on a shelf.  How many people actually see that artwork?  I like to do some cute things on my pages, and sometimes, I take more time on certain pages.  Usually, though, it is a slap together work.  Here is a page I recently did for Noah's book.  This was late at night and I have a whole stack of pictures to scrapbook, so I was in a bit of a hurry!

Not too bad, but nothing fancy.  I know I should cut out the letters for the title, but seriously, I have probably 100 or more pictures just to catch up Noah's book to Feb. 2009!  If I cut out all those letters, it would take me forever.  I have 4 boys to scrapbook!  I usually write in the dates and I don't journal very often.  I feel that my pictures tell the story :-).

So, if you are thinking you might like a Cricut - you probably are wrong - you will LOVE it!  Wait until after Black Friday to buy one - you might get a good deal on the big one like my mom did last year - she spent less on her's than I did for mine!  NOT FAIR!

Well, enjoy your day and don't forget to scrapbook those memories!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:  If you can't find peace within yourself, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.