Back from a great trip......

Hi, everyone! Sorry that I have been M.I.A., lately! I took a trip to Port Clinton, Ohio to watch my son shoot in the JROTC National Air Rifle Championships this past week! we had a great time, even though the weather was a freezing 22 degrees with whipping winds off the lake! :0) The sun was shining, and the team did well.
For those not familiar, the championships consist of the the top 12% of all JROTC shooters in the nation. The fact that the Howe Team made it is fantastic! They did well, ranking 19 out of 39 teams that weekend.
They competition ran as two half matches - 20 shots in each shooting position: prone, standing and kneeling, on Friday, and then again on Saturday. They were given 40 minutes for prone and standing positions, and 30 minutes for the kneeling position.
Kyle did well (they all did), but not his best shooting ever. He shot a combined score of 992, and had 10 bullseye shots. He ranks #120 in the US. (There were 198 shooters in the Sporter class). His team is ranked in the top 6% in the country at #19. There were 38 teams that shot Sporter class this weekend.
They are all happy. This was the first time any of them had made it to the Nationals! :0) Yay, team!
Here's a few shots I took. The lighting at the range is certainly not optimal - ;ight is focused at the targets, always behind the subject, and we were not allowed to use our flash.

Prone Position

Standing Position

Kneeling Position

They are supposed to be making a "thumbs up" sign here, but it didn't work out so well! hahaha! The back and fronts of their hoodies were embroidered - awesome work! We had several other team coaches compliment them. A generous alum of the school donated the money for these, and for the cost of the trip!

This is at the awards banquet on Saturday night. We have five shooters on the team, and then we brought an alternate and an observer. Kyle is the far left, in the front row.

I've Been Busy! Free Smurf SVG

So, my move to WV is quickly approaching, and instead of focusing on my packing responsibilities, I've been creating paper decorations for my son's senior class golf cart decorating contest that's coming up. (I'm bad, I know!).
The theme this year is cartoons. Each class is to decorate a golf cart with their choice of cartoon. The winning class wins a pizza party. The Seniors chose The Smurfs, so I have created some things for them to decorate with: some Smurf Mushroom Houses, which I will string together to hang from the roof of the cart on each side, a title for the front bumper and some flowers and butterflies that they can tape randomly on the cart. My friend is making them some Smurf hats, and I purhased them some blue cream makeup for their faces. They also asked for some balloons to create a "mushroom topper" for the golf cart.
Here are the pictures of some of my paper decorations for them. I'll take a photo of the cart when it's all decorated next weekend to share, too. :)

Simple butterflies, cut from the SCAL shapes library, using leftover circles from the Mushroom Houses for more color. 

This is the pile of mushroom houses - I still have to string them together. 

And this is for the front of the cart. Today's free svg file is the pointing smurf. :)

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE SVG DOWNLOAD LINK

Please leave some love if you enjoy my freebies! I love to hear from you! :)

If you have any problems with the file, please let me know so I can fix it for you, and for others!

And, PLEASE....

Any files I offer are for PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY.  This means that you may not sell them, alter them, or share them. They are not for use on websites (including blogs), or for marketing in any way. 

Should you wish to share any of these with others, please post a link to my site and give due credit.

Links are available for one week only, so grab them while you can!

The files I offer are typically compressed, and will need to be un-zipped prior to use. Cut files are in SVG format, compatible with Sure Cuts A Lot, Make The Cut, and any software cutting program that supports svg files.

You can contact me at cherylfirst1@yahoo.com if you have any questions about any of my files, or if you just want to drop me a note! :)

Happy Crafting!

A Completed Pennant Banner for Fall & Free SVG File

Finally, a chance to sit in my favorite chair this week! :)
I had a storm of activity the past three days, beginning with towing a trailer to IN (my first time towing anything). Everything went just fine, and I feel "accomplished"! lol!
I went to Kyle's school to watch his soccer game on Monday (they tied 2-2), and I had dinner with him before taking him back to campus. During the day, while he was in classes, I had a meeting with the Director of Development. I'm making a TON of paper decorations for their Spirit Week (more on those later) and for the Founders Day Dinner. The first project I have finished is the Pennant Banner that I showed you in the Sneak Peek Post. I am SO happy with the way this turned out!

This is the banner, shown full open. It is stretched across 6' in this picture, and it is meant to be draped in front of the reception table at the dinner. 

Below are some additional photos, shown close up for detail.

(Clicking on the photos will open them up in a new window, larger for a better detail image)

All of the flowers are from the 3D Mums and Fall Flowers SVG Kit from SVGCuts.com. The Scarecrow, Farmer and Crow are from the Autumn Cuddly Friends SVG Collection, also from SVGCuts.com.

On the Sunflower, I used a black gel pen, let it dry, and then a white gel pen, for the seeds in the middle. 

I used several of my Cuttlebug Embossing Folders on this project, including the Textile, Swiss Dots, Argyle. I'd love to give you the list of all the papers, but many of them are papers I have had for years, and don't know where they came from. The pennants are all Stampin Up Earth Element colors.

For the scalloped pennant shape, I created the file with SCAL Each pennant can be cut on an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper. I also made the letters into SVG's, and you can have the pennants and letters as a FREE download, so you can decorate it and make it your own style. :)

These SVG files are no longer available for free.

Please visit my SVG's for Sale Page located at the top of this blog.

And, PLEASE....

Any files I offer are for PERSONAL, NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY.  This means that you may not sell them, alter them, or share them. They are not for use on websites (including blogs), or for marketing in any way. 

Should you wish to share any of these with others, please post a link to my site and give due credit.

Links are available for one week only, so grab them while you can!

The files I offer are typically compressed, and will need to be un-zipped prior to use. Cut files are in SVG format, compatible with Sure Cuts A Lot, Make The Cut, and any software cutting program that supports svg files.

You can contact me at cherylfirst1@yahoo.com if you have any questions about any of my files, or if you just want to drop me a note! :)

Happy Crafting!

BIG Project I'm working on...Sneek Peak!

I know I was going gang-busters with posting almost daily freebies, but I'm working on a really BIG project for my son's school. I have the "base" of one part of the project completed so I can take it to the school tomorrow to talk details with the powers that be there. I will be gone for a couple days, visiting my son at school. He has an at-home soccer game tomorrow, and I'm dropping off a trailer full of donation goodies to the school while I'm there.
I'm happy I am going to be spending the night at my favorite bed & breakfast, and when I called for my room reservation, Karen, the wonderful 'hostess-with-the-mostest", said I am going to be the only guest tomorrow, so I will have complete peace and quiet! Yay!! :)
Anyhow, here is a sneek peak at my latest volunteer project. Come back soon for more details, and a BIG SVG File Download for Free, to create your own!

Can you guess what this is??

:)

Happy Crafting, everyone!

I'll be back Tuesday night to catch up on the latest and greatest with you all! 

Ring Ceremony Layout

Using the photo I edited in my previous post, along with some others, I made this layout for my son's book. This past weekend was when he received his class ring during a ring ceremony that is a school tradition. He is officially a senior now, and I wanted these memories to be captured on paper! :)

Material List

CTMH Emporium Paper Pack

CTMH Cranberry Brads

EK Success Tiny Flower Punch & 1" Circle Punch

Paper Piercing Tool

SVGCuts.com Scalloped Shapes Digicart

A little PSE fun today!

This weekend was my son's last weekend for school. every year there is a "Junior Ring Ceremony" held at St. James Chapel on the campus. This ceremony is when the Juniors receive their class ring. A senior presents the junior with his ring, and then the junior turns his ring around to signify the end of his senior year and the beginning of the senior year for the current juniors. So........Kyle is now "officially" a senior!

After the ceremony was over there was completed, several of the juniors hurried to "Senior Circle". This is the lawn area in front of the barracks buildings. There is a gazebo in the center of the circle, and there have been stone paths laid from four different directions to the center. Underclassmen are, under NO circumstances, allowed in this circle; it is for seniors only, and something that each and every underclassmen understands from the first day they set foot on campus.

I clicked a photo of Kyle at the gazebo that I just love - it shows his beautiful smile, and his face is beaming with happiness. It is as if I managed to catch the true feeling he had of becoming an "official" senior. I'm certainly not a pro photographer, so when I come home and see that shot that captured him best, I am thrilled!!

Because of the hype of the circle, others were present taking photos and I had to do some editing to make my pride and joy the focal point of this picture. I used Photoshop Elements 8 to work some magic. I outlined Kyle using my Polygonal Lasso Tool, and then "copied via layer" under the Layers Menu. I then hid the other layer and clicked over to the "Quick Edit" mode to brighten his cutout image a little bit.
Back to "Full Edit" mode, I showed all layers again, making sure that the cutout highlighted image was the top layer. I then hid the cutout image, went back to "Quick Edit" and darkened the bottom layer a little. (The goal for me here was to create more of a contrast between the background and Kyle). Once the layer was darkened to my liking, I went back to full edit, and while still working on the background layer, I chose the Gaussian Blur effect. This created a blurred, darker image for the background. I then flattened my image to the photo you see here! I can't wait to work on the scrapbook layout with this. I think I'll make it a 5x7, and after adding it to the other pictures, this will make a nice double page layout. :)

Vinyl on a Mirror

I made this for one of the barracks at my son's school. Their mascot is the eagle, and they have a large wall in their lounge that needed "something". My original plac was to etch the images on the glass, but the Armour Etch cream says not to use on large areas, and I did not want to chance the eagle image not working out and ruin the mirror. The mirror measures approx 60" x 30".  I still have a few air bubbles to work out of the eagle's body, and their are still retail stickers on the mirror to remove. I am leaving the cardboard "box" on it until I make it to the school. :)

Hope you like!

Prom Layout

This is crazy - I had some of this pink zebra stripe paper in my stash - leftover pieces of a 12 x 12 page froma previous project - and when I opened these photos to work on them and saw the dress....well...WOW! How cool is that?!

Material List

Stampin Up Cardstock - Groom (Specialty), Going Grey, Pink Passion

Paper Studio - Holographic Self-Adhesive 

Paper Company - Zebra Striped Pink

Pink Rhinestone Brads

SVGCuts.com My Big Day DigiCartridge  (limo)

King & Queen

For this layout, I tried something I've wanted to do for a long time with my journaling: I actually printed the type out on a piece of my DP, and then cut each word out individually. Each word was then inked on the edges before I pasted them in order to do the journaling.

Material List

CTMH Papers - That's Amore

Ink - Stampin' Up Soft Suede

Sponge Dauber

Fancy Brads

EK Success Border Punch

SVGCuts Freebie - Annies Edge

Fonts -  Bradley Hand, Old Script

Review Parade Layout

Today I worked on a traditional layout for one of the "donation" albums. I had no idea where this page was headed when I started working on it, and I am pleased with the way it turned out; especially, because I had no final goal for it! :)

The photo doesn't really do the colors much justice. I used some older papers and colors that I have had in my stash for a long time.

Material List

Stampin Up Card Stock - Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Kiwi Kiss

Cuttlebug Embossing Folders - Spots & Dots, Swiss Dots, Tiny Bubbles

SCAL Shapes File - Circle, Square

1/4" Brads

Misc Craft ribbon from my stash

MME Magnolia DP

Stampin Up ink - Tempting Turquoise, Kiwi Kiss

Sponge Daubers

Cuttlebug

Cricut Expression
Photoshop Elements 8

For the photo in the lower right corner I used a Gradient Map to make the photo black & white. Then I used a brush tool to "erase" the b & w on the areas where I wanted full color. 

Thanks for looking at my blog! Enjoy!

Battalion Picture

Battalion Staff as a Junior! I'm so PROUD!
This is the annual Battalion Staff picture for HMS. Kyle, as a junior, was appointed the Command Sgt Major (unheard of for a junior to hold a Battalion Staff position!). He looks so handsome! (All of them do!). I couldn't be more proud!

(He is the one on the far right of the photo).

Boars Head Dinner Dbl Layout

These are some pages I completed for an album for another HMS cadet's mom. I pulled the photos from the Howe Herald online blog - being the Battalion Commander makes Jake a "high profile" photo figure at the school, so I copied some of the school pics (with permission, of course) to use in the book I'm making for his mom. :) She wants to be surprised, so I think this layout will be a nice surprise for her.

This page shows Jake and Anna as the "Lord & Lady of the Manor", aka the dinner "hosts". Donned in their Renaissance garb, they look darling!!! 

This page has photos of the choir, wisemen, feast and jester. All of the kids partake in the event in one way or another, including the lower school cadets (as you can see by the jester outfit!).

Materials

Stampin Up Cardstock - Elegant Eggplant, Real Red, Glorious Green, Summer Sun, Brilliant Blue, Whisper White, Basic Black, Blush Blossom

Karen Foster Designer Paper

Font - Blackmoor LET (on the iMac)

Stampin Up Vintage Brads (retired)

Stickles

Sure Cuts A Lot Shapes File

SVGCuts.com files - A Royal Festival, 3D Birthday Cards (Argyle)

CTMH - Boutique Borders

Stampin Up Ink - Glorious Green

Iron Guard Layout

Now that he is a junior, my son is on the Iron Guard at school. This is typically comprised of the junior cadets that hold positions within the corps. The ceremony they perform is a traditional ceremony on Founders Day Weekend, and again on Mothers Day Weekend.
During one of the practices this past fall, the school Commandant approached Kyle and appointed him as the Iron Guard Commander. He was the cadet calling the commands during each ceremony, and he did a fantastic job! This was the first year, since we've been present anyhow, that the commander could be heard clearly across the hall. :) Way to go, Kyle! Your parents are very proud of you. :)
For this layout, I did some more work on my PSE program: I created a gradient map layer to remove the busy background color to focus on Kyle in the photo. In addition to this, I worked in my SCAL program to create the shield photo frame by using the Trace Image option and a jpg of a shield and some leafy decoration clipart that I found for free on the web. I also created the swords on this page by using the shapes file in the SCAL program. Basically, I used an oval and stretched it out to create the blades. I layered a brushed silver cardstock and a shiny mirror cardstock to make the blade look like it has a sharp edge.  The grips are wrapped with embroidery floss.  The paper I used here is by Karen Foster. On the creamy paper, I added some paper glaze over the little dots to give it some dimension.

I'm not good at using any of the file sharing sites, yet, so my SCUT2 files for htis are on the repository at www.svgcuts.com if you're interested in using them. I ask that you please make note of origin on anything you publish using my files, please. :)

Material List

SCAL

Embroidery Floss

Paper Glaze

Stampin' Up Not quite Navy Cardstock

Karen Foster Designer Paper

Finally!

I have finally completed a complete demo scrapbook for the auction! Woohoo!
I am happy with the way it turned out, and think there is a good assortment of ideas and techniques that I use for people to look at.
Now I think I need to concentrate on going back to my card making. I want to start making cards to send to Operation Write Home - it's right up my alley for "causes", and what better excuse to spend time in the craft room?! lol!
Today marks the beginning of a loooong month ahead - Chris starts working midnights tomorrow night, so we will be like two passing ships for a long time. He'll be on his way to work before I am home from my work, so I will see him on Fridays when I'm off. He's working seven days, so it will only be for a few hours. :(
Today he is home, though, so we are going to see a movie together, and then do some grocery shopping. Not exactly exciting, but it's time together! :)

Picking Pumpkins Autumn Layout

This is a two-page layout I worked on this weekend. These pics are from my visit to HMS to see Kyle. We found this great roadside wagon at an Amish Farm, His pumpkins were $ .50 or $1.00, depending on the size. Super great deal!
Sporting his new hat in these pics, he chose seven of the dollar pumpkins to take back to the baracks for carving,

On these layouts I used SU cardstock for my base, and their Autumn Traditions for the background papers. The photos are matted on Elegant Eggplant CS, as are the Ruby Red letters. The letters were cut from Wild Monkeys Font and Jokerman font was used for the capital P's. Each 'branch' was cut from the SVGCuts.com Harvest Hill Collection and the pumpkin border was created by me using the pumpkin (top and bottom) file from the same collection. I welded each pumpkin together before cutting them. The top layer is covered in a coperry-orange glitter gel pen for some contrast and depth.
Thanks for checking out my latest project! I'll have more layouts posted soon!

Village View Bed & Breakfast

This is the grounds of the B & B we stayed at this past weekend, called Village View, in Howe, IN.
Karen Wieland is a wonderful hostess, and has a great passion for details, as you will see here.

Not much craft time

What a wonderful weekend I had with my son at Howe! This is the first time I've put together a slideshow with any of my pics (and there's a type-o! Did you see it??). I really wanted to post something about the weekend quickly, so the photos are all pre-editing. :) Turned out okay, I think!