Hubby & Me...

Today was the first time in 29 years that hubby and I didn't spend my birthday together.  He normally schedules a vacation day for September 11th.  Works on his own birthday but takes mine off.  Did someone say I'm spoiled?  You're right!  And I love every single minute of it.  This year, though, he was obligated to a retreat for the management team of the company he works for.  A camping retreat.  It's currently 92 degrees in central Indiana.  I feel so sorry for him and all of the others who are out there.

So, instead of being treated like a princess today, I decided to finally work on a project I've been wanting to do for quite some time.  Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog is holding "Vinyl University" all this week.  Since I'd never cut vinyl with my Cricut, I thought this would be the perfect time to give it a try.  There's a Cricut Crawl (similar to a blog hop) through all of the incredibly talented Design Team members' blogs....and they all have candy along the way.  Fun!  There are some great inspiration projects.  You should go check it out!

I ordered my vinyl about 2 weeks ago from Cricket Vinyl Supplies.com.  Hint: There's a discount code over at Fantabulous!  My order came super fast and I love the colors I got.  They are so vibrant and pretty.  I know that I'll be going back for repeat orders.  Great prices, friendly service, lightning fast shipping....yes, please.

The saying that I used in my project is from a Harry Connick, Jr. song that was in "Sleepless in Seattle."  I love that movie and I'm crazy about this song.  Here's a YouTube video that's compilation of scenes from the movie and the song.  I'll probably listen to it a half dozen times while I work on this post.  It always makes me grin from ear to ear thinking about how lucky I am to be married to my best friend in the entire universe.

A couple of things I learned today while using vinyl the first time:

1.  I followed the recommendations of a couple of the Fantabulous DT members and set my speed, pressure, and blade depth all at 3.  It worked like a charm!  Keep in mind that if you're using Craft Room, you'll need change your settings to "Custom" instead of any type of cardstock weight.

2.  The transfer paper is worth every, single penny!  I had seen a video of a gal using painter's tape instead and it was really successful for her.  Not so much for me.  I'm not sure if it was my inexperience or if I did something wrong but it was a disaster.  Let's just say I made a trip to Michaels today.

Here's my project that I'll be surprising hubby with when he gets home in a few days.....unless, of course, he's able to get signed on the internet out in the woods.  If anyone can, he would be that person!

The frames I used are from Ikea and I've had them for a year without doing anything with them.  Perhaps I was just waiting for the right project?  I love the finished product and can't believe how simple it was!  I have a suspicion there are going to be lots of things that become adorned with vinyl around my house very soon. 

I used the Tall Ball font from Plantan Schoolbook.  I can't tell you what size I cut them at because I sized everything in Craft Room to fit my frames.

I'll be submitting this into the following challenges:

Fantabulous Cricut Challenge -- Vinyl University
LEJ Designs -- Autumnal colors
The Crafter's Cafe -- No designer paper
Crafting By Designs -- Anything goes
Creative Belli Blog -- Orange, red, and yellow
Pollycraft Challenges -- Harvest colors
Crafty Sentiments Designs -- Anything goes
Through the Craft Room Door -- Anything goes
All Crafts Challenge -- Anything but a card, August/September
Parade Your Crafts -- Anything goes

And this linky party:

Not Just a Housewife -- Show me what ya got