Photo Love #1: The Leshan Giant Buddha

Here is one of my favorite photos taken in Leshan, China. 

My husband, Brien, and I lived in Chengdu, China for a year and had so many amazing, life changing experiences.  One of the places that we visited was The Leshan Giant Buddha.

The Leshan Giant Buddha is the largest stone-carved Buddha in the WORLD...Brien and I spent a very hot and sweaty crazy busy day here. When I say hot and sweaty I mean INSANELY HOT AND SWEATY....As in droplets of water running down our foreheads and shirts completely soaked through...Being smushed and pushed through weaving lines, and almost thinking we were going to be pushed down the INSANE staircase we had to climb down in order to get to the Buddha's feet.
If you look at the Buddha to the top right, near the Ear, is where the lines started....Imagine the busiest day at Disney World, lines without any fastpasses times 30 and that was the line....But it was SO WORTH IT!  This photo isn't even the entire Buddha....I took this picture when on the staircase of doom...There is a whole lower half with massive feet.!!!  It's almost impossible to get a picture of the entire Buddha unless you take one of the boat tours on the river that runs in front of it.
It's easy to get amazing shots of the Buddha, I just kept snapping at every angle.
Anyways, if you are ever in China, and near Leshan, you MUST go here, DO NOT pass this opportunity up, pictures do not do this justice.

I just have to show you the steep staircase of doom winding it's way down the mountain!

HAPPY 100!!!

WOW

My blog has had over 100 visitors 

(excluding me of course) 
in its FIRST week!  

Thanks everyone! 
 Don't forget to Follow me!!  ;0)  

My First Card Using The Cricut Expression!!!

 

Here it is!  I used my Cricut Expression Machine to make everything!!

I made this Thank You card for my AWESOME mother-in-law and father-in-law since they were the ones who purchased this for me for Christmas!  THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH YOU GUYS ARE THE GREATEST!!!

So...I finally was able to get the Cricut Expression up (Ok ok, the hubby set it up for me! Thanks Brien!)  I first tried to use a regular piece of printer paper to do a trial and error run...NOT a great idea...it didn't want to come off of the sticky cutting mat and was hard to scrape off....Also, after installing the blade, we didn't think about turning the size nob down so that it would actually be low enough to cut something...so at least we figured that part out before cutting on good cardstock.

After a few bumps in the road I was able to figure out the sizes that were appropriate for my card...

The base of the actual card itself measures 5 3/4", and I made the envelope at 6".  I cut the floral background using a rectangle feature at 5 1/2".  I made the whole card using the Plantin Schoolbook Cartridge and found it was easy to use and has some cute features to work with.

I used a plain light lavender color for the card base,  a dark purple color cardstock for the flowers and the letters for "thanks", and a plain white cardstock for the scallop edge on top...I added a cute piece of green ribbon on the bottom and I used sheets from the Latte Stack (which has a ton of great designs I love it!) for the top of the card and for the envelope itself from DCWV .

 I purchased my cardstack, cardstocks, and ribbon at JoAnn Fabrics  

My Cricut Expression Machine!!!

Here's a pic of my Cricut Expresson Machine!!!!  I just LOVE that it's green!!!! I had no idea so it was a nice surprise when opening it up!

Thanks to my awesome in-laws for this amazing gift!!!!!!

NOTE:  If you have a dog that sheds, THE DOG HAIR WILL STICK TO THE CRICUT CUTTING MAT!  Haha...Yeah it is already COVERED in my dog's hair....but the paper still sticks well so it hasn't really caused any problems...so far....

This is our dog, Neela!!!!

PLEASE CONSIDER ADOPTING A PET!!

Jewelry Making!!!

Yesterday, my cousin Brielle and I had such a great time making earrings.  We took a trip to JoAnn Fabrics and they had an awesome sale on jewelry items!  It took us 3 hours to make 3 pairs of earrings each...but hey, we are beginners!!  I can imagine that once you get the hang of it, you could rip out a ton of earrings.  

The hardest part was the twisting the wire, but it was very therapeutic for me.  I have a neck, back and shoulder injury and I needed something to do while sitting in bed with a bunch of pillows behind me... jewelry making was perfect!  I just used my lapdesk and it worked perfectly.  

We had some lighting issues....Even with all of the lights on in my room, it was hard to see the beads, especially the tiny ones!  I'll have to get a different lamp next to my bed!  

Oh, and sharing only one pair of each of the tools you need slowed us down...it seemed like we always needed to use them at the same time so I will pick up my own pairs soon. 

I can't wait to buy some more beads and start making some more!  Thanks for showing me the ropes Brielle!!! 

(Sorry for the crappy pics, have to find a good camera!)

     






Here are the beads that I used:                               

      Jesse James Dress                Beaders Paradise Bit 

       It Up Blackberry                 Lavendar Mix Beads
          Jam Beads 

 

Extreme Makeover Buffalo!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition was in my hometown, Buffalo, NY!  It aired tonight, and I was very impressed.  Not only did they completely re-build a home, they re-built a community.  I hope that the hard work continues throughout Buffalo.  

Sale at JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store

I was so excited to see that there is a SALE at JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store today!!  

Up to 40% off Papercrafting Supplies which includes Paper, Tools, Diecutting Machines and Stamps!  

Can't wait to start collecting paper for my Cricut Expression Machine! 

Some of My Favorite Cookies!

Here is a collage of some of the fun cookies I made when I owned my own business. Hopefully someday I will get back into baking and decorating!! It is so much fun, and just another way to display art!

Hello Everyone

Hello Everyone, 

       My name is Natalie and here is a little bit about what I hope to blog about:  Arts and crafts, using my new Cricut Expressions Machine to make fun cards, displaying some great photography I have taken on trips, making jewelry, showing some cookies I made when I owned my own business, restaurant and movie reviews, product reviews, and anything else that I want.  

       Thanks for visiting my site, and hopefully I will be able to keep up with it!