It all began with a Cricut.....

Well, not really. I have always loved to create things. Photographs. Cards. Kid-crafts. Yesterday I received my first Cricut, the Expression 2: Anniversary Edition. I.AM.IN.LOVE. I spent most of today playing around with my new toy, and the rest of the day was spent at the local craft stores stocking up on supplies adding to my rapidly-growing collection of cartridges, pretty paper, and any manner of embellishment you can wrap your tiny head around :)

My first project is going to be my daughter's birthday invitations. I can't say much but I will tell you that I am crossing my fingers that I didn't bite off more than I can chew with this project. I have about a month to complete 15 personalized invitations. And did I mention that my 6 year old is a tough critic?

Other projects I have in mind are seasonal banners for my mantle, framed 'artwork' for my powder room, playroom, and mud room, Christmas cards for my kids' teachers, and gift tags.

I have another goal: To re-purpose whatever I can. Tonight I took an empty tissue box (which happened to have a pretty green and white design on it), cut it up, trimmed the edges, and voila! I can use these 'scraps' for gift tags, or even backgrounds on smaller cards. I know that paper-crafting can be a very wasteful hobby, and I want to do my part to keep the waste to a minimum. Also, all of the paper scraps I ended up with after a day of crafting made their way to a 'scraps' box. The plan is to use these scraps to embellish future crafts. If you have any bright ideas on ways to re-purpose or recycle 'craft' items, please tell me!

Happy Crafting!