I'm Back!!!

Oh my friends, my wonderful crafty friends, how I have missed you all!  I am so happy to see that most of you are still following me and I thank you deeply for that.  I apologize for going on hiatus with absolutely no notice or reason.  To be honest, I wasn't expecting it myself!

Since all of you here know about my condition, I feel no reason to hide why I've been gone... I've been struggling.  Struggling with the fibro, the lack of relief from the pain, the depression that goes along with it, the extreme exhaustion, and especially the weight gain that goes along with the use of painkillers.  I am also going through addiction.  Let me just say, when you have a chronic pain condition it is IMPOSSIBLE not to get addicted to the pain meds.  I am proud to say, I am almost off of Oxycodone, which was a major addiction for me and I didn't even realize it until I would wake up in the morning with the shakes and the sweats and couldn't even move until I had some in me.  Now, don't get me wrong...I am still on pain meds and probably will have to be unless by some miracle, my fibromyalgia goes away, but I am trying so hard to work through it with less addictive (at least in my opinion) medications.

To boot, I now have possibly another chronic condition Interstitial Cystitis, which is beyond annoying!  I don't know if you all know what that is, but for those of you that don't, it is a chronic condition in which your bladder is constantly irritated.  Basically it feels like you have a UTI, but you can't get rid of it!  I have what feels like pressure on my bladder all the time and OMG, it's extremely frustrating!  This is new... Just started about three weeks ago and I have yet to see a urologist, but my doc says there's a good chance this is what it is and for those of you with fibro, you likely know that once you have fibro, a whole onslaught of other chronic conditions may arise or go hand in hand with it.  Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!  Yes, I feel like screaming most of the time!

Ok, and one more complaint or rather, update... Pain meds (opiates) can ruin your teeth!!! I had no idea about all of these horrible side effects before I started taking it.  As far as the weight gain, within two years of being on opiates most people will double their weight!!!  and I did! and the fact that it's like using methamphetamine or heroin.  It will rot your teeth.  I have always had strong, albeit crooked, ;) teeth, but now they are starting to decay!  I couldn't believe it when I went to the dentist.  He's like "You must eat a lot of sweets" and I'm like "No, actually, I don't, why?"  and then I said I'm on pretty heavy duty medications and he told me that they are affecting my teeth.  Amazing that no doctors told me this before getting on it right?

So that, in a nutshell, is what's going on in my life and why I've been absent for so long.  I haven't done much crafting but I did get a custom order from a friend for a baby shower so I will share with you, that creation!

First off, I started with the cutest SVG file from Paper Piecings by Nikki (you may remember I was on Nikki's DT for quite a while).  I was so excited to see she had exactly what I was looking for!!! How cute is this cut???

The paper is DCWV Lemon Berry stack (I think that's what it's called), the sentiment is from Crafty Sprouts and I punched the ticket shape from an EK Success punch.  I used some pop dots to pop up the silhouette and the sentiment (inside) and that super cute silver/clear ribbon is from Flourishes.  I inked the edges with a Cat's Eye brown ink and used my ATG for the glue.  I also added some Stickles Pearls to the dress to make it a little fancier. ;)

There you have it!  My first project in ages and I sure hope you enjoyed it!  It's good to be back and it would mean sooooo much if you would leave your comments.  I would love to catch up with everyone!

XO ~ Amy Jo

FCCB Challenge Me Monday - #105 EGG-ceptional Easter

Good Morning my beautiful, wonderful friends,

Today is another Fantabulous Challenge Me Monday at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog (FCCB).  For this week's challenge we (you as well) were/are to create a project with an egg on it and of course you must always use a cut on your Cricut machine.  Now, if you used an SVG like I did today, just be sure to note that.  Please be sure to note any cartridges you may have used as well if you would like a chance to be chosen for the Top 5 or as our random weekly winner. :0)

I had so much fun with this project.  I actually had a fairly decent day on Saturday and got to watch movies all day with my wonderful husband, while working on my crafting.  Such a blessed day for me and so rare. :)  For my creation I used the Quacky Beans Pattern Set from my darling, Nikki (of Paper Piecings by Nikki's) STORE.  I just love this set, as I love all of Nikki's sets. ;)  She's just the best and has so many adorable new sets and even aps for your Android-based cell phone now.  I would be thrilled if you would visit the store, as well as her Facebook Fan Page as that's where all the action happens over there. :0)

Without further ado here is today's Challenge Me Monday project!  I like to use two pics, one with flash, one without so you can better see the details of certain elements.  :)

For this card, I used my Cricut Expression to cut my SVG file.  All colors of cardstock and patterned papers are from my stash.  I two colors of jute twine that I purchased online and some stickers from Recollections (I believe).  I cut the bottom and top of the pink cardstock with "Peaked" scissors to make them look sort of like the crack in the egg shell.  I also doodled on the inside of the card to match that as well.  Will have to post that pic a little later as my camera is not handy.

I inked the background of the pink cardstock with pink ink and loved the watermark effect it had so I stamped my little egg stamp with the same ink and used it as a background behind the chick.

I'd love it if you'd leave a comment and feel free to ask questions if you have any!  Thanks so much for stopping by today and don't forget to head to FCCB to enter your own project for Challenge Me Monday!

XO ~ Amy Jo

Challenges I'm entering this into are:

My Craft Spot - #50 Easter Challenge
Simply Create Too - Challenge #10 - Eggs and/or Bunnies
More Than Favors - #68 Easter/Spring Theme
Word Art Wednesday - Challenge #22 - Thank you so much, Karen, for inviting me to link up even though I did not use the sentiment.  I will be certain to do so for the next challenge.  I appreciate your encouraging words.  You seem like an incredibly sweet person and I'm so excited to get to know you and your challenge blog better. :0)

FCCB Challenge Me Monday's #101 - Luck of the Irish

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog - FCCB

Hello Fantabulous Friends!

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I'm spending today catching up with things that I didn't get done on the weekend, which unfortunately is pretty much EVERYTHING!!!  AAAAAAhhhhh it's going to be one of those Mondays!  The good news is, I actually have a new project to show you! :0)  [Side note:  The reason I didn't get anything done this weekend is I was too busy on Yardsellr & EBay... Friends, if you don't know what Yardsellr is, please let me know B4 going there so I can link you through me.  When you link people, you get $ to spend on stuff!  I would so appreciate it!  It's free & it's just like a huge yard sale!!!  Leave me a comment & I'll get you hooked up, but you must have a Facebook account to really utilize all the features!  :0)  I ordered a ton of new cartridges this weekend, and my sweetest, awesomest, amazing hubby bought me one too (Kate's ABCs)!!!  I ordered Just Because (Cards), Straight From The Nest, Formal Occasion, Hey Diddle Diddle (Imagine cart), Hopscotch (Imagine cart), & three others that I can't even remember the names of!  Will update later...] Anyways...

Today at Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog (FCCB) is the beginning of the Luck of the Irish challenge!  For this challenge we are supposed to use a shamrock or the color green somewhere on our projects, along with at least one (1) Cricut cut.  Naturally, shamrocks & green go together so I decided to do both!  I hope you enjoy it!  The awesome prize up for grabs to one lucky winner picked by random.org is the cutest stamp set from Jaded Blossom.  Up until this point, I had never heard of them!  Boy was I in for a pleasant surprise when I checked out their store!  First off, followers of FCCB get a special treat when they place their order!  I can't tell you what it is so you'll have to check out FCCB to enjoy that gift. ;)  Next I discovered they have awesome stamps!  I will be placing an order right away!

For this project I used the most ADORABLE SVG set from another DT I participate in, Paper Piecings by Nikki (PPBN).  Please go check out her site!  I have linked you to her blog, but you'll want to click on her store and her Facebook group because that is where most of the action occurs.  Ladies who love paper piecing or those who have never tried it, Nikki's sets are awesome and she is very, very reasonable with her prices!  She always has lots of sales and discounts going on!  The set I used is called Luck-o-the-Irish!!! How convenient is that?  I knew it was serendipity when I saw the challenge on FCCB and took a look at my patterns from Nikki (the filename is the same as the challenge name - in case you didn't catch that)!  ;)

I used my Cricut Expression to cut it, of course b/c FCCB's challenges require you to use your Cricut machine!  I actually used several Cricut cartridges and designed my card in the Cricut Craftroom software available for free!  Friends, if you haven't tried this out yet, I encourage you to do so.  It's just like using the Gypsy, except you use it on your PC and obviously can see what you are doing, much, much easier!!!  Not to mention, the WELD feature is awesome on the software. Love it!  The only thing is, for this project, I accidentally welded my rectangle to connect the front & back of the card, backwards!  Aaak!  On the screen it looked right, but I forgot that when you close it, it's going to be BACKWARDS!!!  Oh well, let's just call it unique. ;0) LOL

Alright, so the cartridges I used are George & Basic Shapes, Designer's Calender, and Everyday Cake Sampler...Yes, you CAN use cake cartridges on the regular Cricut, and let me tell you, the cake ones are some of my very favorite cartridges!!!

Let's get to the photos!  I always take a bunch of pics because certain angles capture parts of the creation a bit better.  I also do one with a flash and one without.  Please click the pics to enlarge them for better detail.

 This pic is a bit confusing...the shamrock paper you see in the background is actually the same paper I used for the inside.  See below for better pics.

 With flash.

 Inside of card... The shape of the card is actually the scalloped circle.  I used a Stampin' Up greeting inside and some paper I had in my stash.

 How cute is the bear??? Don't forget to check out Nikki's Store!

I used two layers for the shamrock circle.  I pop dotted the top layer up about 1/8" or maybe even 1/4".  I decided to put some awesome purple tulle behind the bottom circle because all the little areas around the shamrock show through, so we have top layer - shamrock circle, then pop dots, then bottom layer, then behind that is the tulle and that shows through to the inside of the card which has the shamrock paper background.  Hope that makes sense!

When welding this card I added a rectangle with round corners so the circles wouldn't be compromised.  I love the way that worked, but next time, I'll make sure to not do it backwards! LOL  - The reason I did two shamrock circles is not only for dimension, but to make the card stronger.  I am going to add one more layer to the circles to cover up where the tulle is adhered.  

Thank you all for stopping by today.  If you have any questions let me know & since you're here, please do leave a comment.  I LOVE reading your comments! :0)

I will be entering this into the following challenges:
Sweetstamps.com Blog #55- St. Patrick's Day
Craft Your Passion Challenges 100th Challenge - Anything Goes

XO ~ Amy Jo

Awesome News

Good morning dear friends,

I have some very exciting news to share with you!  It should have been posted a while back, but you all know my situation... I have made it on the design team for Creative Cutting Room (CCR)!!! I'm so honored that Cathie chose me to be on her amazing team.  (We were teammates last term on FCCB.) I was scheduled to be on the first term, but had to switch because of health issues and now I will be on a later term; however, I will be posting things here periodically for CCR because I will still be participating in some of the challenges and what not.  I am so thrilled that I get to work with such a talented group of women!

In other news, I am staying on with Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog (FCCB) for another term!  I will not be doing the coordination this time around, but I will be a regular DT member, meaning I will be posting a lot more projects this time around! Robin, the owner of FCCB, is taking over the coordination again this time around.  I'm super excited to start creating again!  Plus, I will still be handling the Wednesday Winners posts over there as well.  I am so honored that Robin let me stick around for another term.  Let me tell you, the new girls that were picked for this term are AMAZING!!!  I can't wait to work with them!  Several of the ladies are on my Favorite Blogs list so I am thrilled!

As you all may know, I am also on the DT for Paper Piecings by Nikki (PPBN).  I will be continuing with that, and posting many projects.  I have been on it for quite a while just kind of hovering in the background because I didn't have the strength to do the challenges.  I believe I have what it takes now, so expect to be seeing a lot of posts for this DT.  We do a lot on Facebook as opposed to a regular blog; however, Nikki (the amazingly talented owner/designer of SVGs and Digis) does have a blog that she posts our info on regularly.  Please friend me on Facebook (FB) and check out the PPBN Fan Page on FB!  We'd be honored to have you join us!

We are in for a great Spring/Summer season and I am so thrilled to share it all with you!  Thanks for stopping by my blog and please check in as often as you can or subscribe to my emails!  I can also be found on Pintrest, listed as Amy Courchaine (I believe -- same as my FB name).  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

Thanks!
XO ~ Amy Jo