Move Over Photoshop, Make Room for Cricut!

My Cricut has come in handy yet again!  After many frustrating hours of trying to create a logo for my Disney blog, Pursuing the Magic, on photoshop, I decided it was time to turn to my Cricut.  What I ended up creating was just about exactly what I was looking for. 

Since the base paper I was going to use was a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper, I decided I would use that as my logo size.  I didn't see any need in cutting it.  I adjusted the size once I scanned it into my computer.  I then used my Storybook cartridge to create the blue frame.  To get this to just the right height, I used the "Fit to Length" feature (you can see my post Cricut's Fit to Length Feature & Toy Story Green Alien Glasses for more information on this feature).   As you can tell, I went to my most favorite cartridge again, Everyday Paper Dolls, to create my three kids.  I didn't plan to include that part in my logo, but how could I talk about pursuing Disney magic and not have that directly related to my kids?  My son did inform me after I was done that I forgot to make Emily's bear, which is never out of her hands and even has made the last two trips to Disney with us.  That  may need to be a later addition.  For the title, I used the Mickey Font cartridge, which I am finding to be one of my favorite font cartridges, especially since I have been working on my son's first year scrapbook.  I also used the Mickey Font cartidge for the Mickey Ears on my Joey paper doll and the Mickey Ears Icon on the "P" in pursuing. 

This came out much better than any attempts on Photoshop, though I am sure that is simply due to my photoshop skills, not the program itself!

Cricut Cartridge Review ~ Disney Dreams Come True

As you may already know, I am a huge Disney fan, so as soon as I purchased my Cricut, my goal was to get all the Disney cartridges available.  I was very excited when my family purchased the two princess cartridges, Dreams Come True and Happily Ever After, for me.  But I now have a love/hate relationship with them.  Let's start with what I love.

First, between the two cartridges there are 8 princesses, along with princes and supporting characters.  Dreams Come True includes Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Pocahontas.  Happily Ever After includes Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Mulan.  My daughters love all of these princesses, so I have tested out both cartridges extensively.  Just for an example, we'll talk about Jasmine.  You have the option of creating Jasmine in several poses, including two with Aladdin, as well as individual Abu and Genie.  There are also several icons to make, such as an elephant, the magic lamp, a slipper, Jasmine's headwear, and several others.  There is a great selection of embellishments that can be made just from the icons!  Each princess has her own collection from her story.  There are also frames and corners to match each fairy tale.

On Our Way to Meet Buzz Scrapbook Layout

2006 was my son, Joey's, first trip to Walt Disney World.  He was just 14 months at the time and about the best little boy you could ask for.  He rarely cried, loved to play, loved to cuddle and his favorite thing at the time was Toy Story.  If he could have talked, he would have told you that Buzz Lightyear was by far his favorite character of any story or movie.  Just the mention of the word Buzz and he would be beaming ear to ear.  So, for this particular scrapbook page I could have called it something like "Joey's 1st Ride on a Disney Bus" or "On Our Way to MGM Studios."  But when I see this picture of him sitting on a Disney bus seat with this big smile, I recall every second of that moment.  The bus was still parked at the bus depot at Port Orleans Riverside, of course, or he would have been in someone's lap.  As we waited for others to board, I asked Joey, "Are you excited to go meet Buzz Lightyear?"  I clicked a picture and here it is - smiling ear to ear!

When I scrapbook, I cannot put a picture to paper that I didn't take myself.  I find scrapbooking a way to display the emotions of the day or those special moments that for whatever reason you remember every small detail of what happened.  This is one of those pictures.  Most people would probably look at it and think a little boy with a big smile.  I see a little boy anticipating his first trip to infinity and beyond to meet someone he loved . . . . Buzz Lightyear.  Of course, the other picture is of Joey and his other buddy, Grampa!

My Biggest Endeavor Yet

Four and a half years ago, my husband and I made a decision.  We were living in Massachusetts, both had great jobs, my son was 14 months old and I was pregnant for our second child.  We decided that since we were having children, it was time to move home, we were both from New Hampshire, and raise our children near family.   My husband was able to transfer within his company to a place in New Hampshire and I made a very emotional decision to give up my job as a third grade teacher.  Because I had such a strong resume, we figured I would have no problem finding a job in the area I grew up in.  We both agreed that this decision was best for our children, and to this day I don't regret it because the time my children have spent with my parents, aunts, uncles and cousins has been amazing and the bonds they have now since moving here are so much better than had we stayed in Massachusetts.  But since it has been four full school years since I last taught, I have come to realization that it is time to give up on my love of teaching.  I have applied for so many jobs here and every single one of them has been given to a first or second year teacher.  Basically, the economy has determined who schools can afford to hire.  With my MEd and my years of experience, I am much too high on the pay scale.

My Top Rachael Ray Cookbooks

During the holiday season, I shared a few recipes with Natalie over at Meet the Magic (if you haven't checked out her site, you should.  Great Disney tips and stories!  Plus, every Tuesday she gives a new strategy to save for Disney and ways to save in Disney!).  She asked where I got the recipes and I explained my collection of Rachael Ray cookbooks and how I taught myself to cook (see my previous post A New Recipe ~ Blueberry Almond Buckle).  When she asked what my favorite Rachael Ray cookbook was I was inspired to post my favorites.  Initially, I planned to post my top three, but I couldn't leave some off the list, so I ended up with my top six. 

A few things to know about Rachael Ray recipes.  First, they sometimes make a lot more food than it says.  A lot of recipes say they feed four, but we could feed four a couple times on some of the meals.  Second, she loves food spicy.  Our family loves spicy food, but not like Rachael Ray.  I have learned the hard way to reduce the ingredient which causes the heat to about 1/4 or 1/2 of what she suggests.  So, beware!  Next, she loves pasta.  Many dishes include a significant amount of pasta.  I am not such a big pasta person, so I do sometimes reduce the amount the recipe calls for.  Finally, these really are 30-minute meals, though it does take me a couple times of making a recipe to complete it within that time.

With that said, here are my top 6:

Disney Scrapbook Layout ~ On Our Way

I'm very excited to say that we are in week two of my New Year's Resolution of creating one Disney scrapbook layout every week and I am keeping up! Ok, so pretty easy to keep up just two weeks in, we'll see what I am doing around week 6!  If you missed my first one, I posted my Port Orleans Riverside 2-page layout.  It is one of my simplest layouts, but it does my pictures justice.

For this week, the page I created is from pictures we took before leaving for the airport.  I remember that day because it was -8 degrees that morning and freezing.  My parents had driven down from New Hampshire to our home in Massachusetts.  We were flying out of Logan and all driving in together.  New Hampshire had a tremendous winter storm just days before and my parents had been out of electricity for almost three days.  They were on the verge of canceling the trip because with the frigid temperatures at that time, they couldn't leave their house without heat and not knowing when the electricity would come back on.  Luckily, late afternoon the day before we were to leave, their electricity came back on.  Disney magic already at work!  My husband and I were very relieved because this was Joey's first trip to WDW and we would hate for them to miss it.  Plus, my brother and sister in law were already in Disney waiting for us to arrive. 

Port Orleans Riverside Scrapbook Page

In celebration of our 2011 Disney trip, I've decided to hold to my New Year's resolution to create one 2-page Disney scrapbook layout per week.  My son, Joey, was just 14 months for his first trip to WDW in 2006.  Since we will be staying at Port Orleans Riverside in October, and I just paid my deposit, I figured I would use my excitement to inspire this scrapbook page.  I have most of the 2006 scrapbook done, but this was one page I just couldn't seem to put together.  It has been a while since we visited POR, so before beginning, I took to the internet for a little inspiration.  What I came across not only inspired my scrapbook layout, but also exponentially increased my excitement for staying at POR!  All Ears (one of my favorite unofficial Disney sites) posted a video of the resort: Port Orleans Riverside for AllEars

For the background paper I used sheets from DCWV paper stack Old World.  I had searched and searched through all my Disney paper and just couldn't find anything to fit this theme.  While working on another scrapbook project, I found this paper and it seemed to be just what I needed.  When I tried to use frames for the pictures, it just didn't work, so this is one of the few layouts I have done without them.  The picture of the resort is actually the postcard in our packet of information we received when we checked in.  The little Mickeys are embellishments I came across some time ago. 


What is your favorite Disney resort scrapbook page?  Leave a link or a comment below.  I would love to see it!