Dora Birthday Cake and Party!

Me: "What kind of cake do you want for your birthday?"

The Mess Maker: "Dora."

Me: "What kind of Dora cake?"

The Mess Maker: "PRINCESS!!!"

Can I tell you how HARD it is to find Princess Dora birthday party supplies?????  Luckily, it wasn't hard to make a Princess Dora cake which I think made the Mess Maker not notice the fact that all of the princess-themed decor wasn't actually Dora!

To make this cake, I used the Pampered Chef Batter Bowl.  One cake mix is baked directly in the bowl and then inverted.  I baked another cake mix in two 9" round cake pans.  I stacked the round layers, placed the dome layer on top and placed a Dora doll on the top. 

I iced it in pink (it HAD to be pink!) and then added fondant flowers I cut with some flower-shaped cookie cutters and sprayed with edible food coloring spray.  Super-simple and yummy!  Oh, and the cake was PINK (of course!)...strawberry.  Mmmmmmm....

BLOG CANDY WINNER!!!

Wow, we had a FANTABULOUS Crawl over at FCCB and we thank everyone for "crawling" along with us and entering your own projects in the challenge!

I apologize this post is a "little" late...okay, a LOT late!  With the holidays and traveling, etc. I completely forgot to post my winner!

Using Random.org, my winner is.....

#39 Joanne!!!

Joanne said, "What an adorable way to showcase your family! So cute! Oh, and I can't wait to try your cookie recipe, they look so yummy!"

Thanks, Joanne!  Please contact me at the email address below with your mailing address so I can send you your CTMH Felicity Kit!  You have two weeks to claim your prize!

TheHouseholdCEO (at) live (dot) com

Fantabulous Cricut Deck The Halls Crawl!

Welcome to Organized Chaos and the third Fantabulous Cricut Crawl...Fantabulous Cricut's version of a blog hop!

In honor of the approaching Christmas holiday, we're having a
"Deck The Halls" Crawl!

Each Design Team member will be featuring an original Christmas/Holiday-themed project to decorate and spruce up their homes for the Holiday Season!

If you've come from visiting Leinad at Scrap-Stickle-Pop, you're in the right place! If you've just happened across my blog and would like to play along with our Fantabulous Cricut Crawl, start HERE.

Make sure to check out each DT member's blog for some awesome inspiration! There will be PRIZES along the way at our DT members' blogs, AND there will be a Grand Prize up for grabs at FCCB for one participant that submits a "Deck The Halls" project at FCCB!

How fun is that?  :)

For my project...I made a sign for the wreath on my front door:

I recently got the new Car Decals cartridge and I've been wanting to make a little family sign for our house.  Since it's Christmas time, I decided to make a Winter-themed sign for my Winter wreath, to jazz it up a little!  The red sign came from Hobby Lobby last year in the Christmas section.  It was 50% of $5.00 at the time.  I used Cricut white vinyl to cut the winter characters (using the "Athlete" feature) from Car Decals at 2 1/2" and 3".  The snowflakes came from Joys of the Season, cut at 1".  The lettering is from Lyrical Letters, cut at 1/2".  It was super-simple to do and I just love the result!

Okie dokie, now for the details of the prize I'm giving away...

CTMH's "Felicity" Collection!

This set is valued over $30 and is no longer available!  It includes 3 color schemes, 6 pieces of double-sided decorative die cut papers, 6 pieces of double-sided beautiful patterned paper and an exclusive, and a full-size stamp set that includes flourishes, flowers, birds and an entire alphabet!

To be eligible to win this prize, you must:
1.  Be a follower of my blog, Organized Chaos.
2.  Leave a comment on this post telling me your MOST favorite cartridge (only one!) and why it's your "must have" cartridge!

That's it!  Easy peasy!  Now it's your turn! Let's see your Christmas/Holiday-Themed Decor projects! Make sure to include a Cricut cut somewhere on your project!  And make sure to link up your project to FCCB no later than Sunday at midnight for chance to win the Grand Prize!

Next stop...Melin's blog, Cooking With Cricut. Go see what she has in store for you today... it's sure to knock your "stockings" off.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Happy Crawling!

Yummy, Yummy, To My Tummy...COOKIES!!!

I made these super-yummy Chocolate Andes Cookies for a cookie exchange party last night with the girls...soooo fun!  They turned out really good and were really simple to make, so I'm sharing the recipe for anyone interested. 

The recipe originally came from Jackie Schmidt at AllRecipes.com:

Chocolate Andes Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 C butter

1 1/2 C brown sugar

2 T water

2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

1 1/2 C flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 (4.5 oz.) packages of Andes mints

Directions:

1.  In a saucepan, cook sugar, butter and water until melted.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted.  Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes.

2.  Pour chocolate mixture into large bowl and beat in eggs, one at a time.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt and stir into chocolate.  Cover and refrigerate dough at least 1 hour.

3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease cookie sheets.  Roll cookie dough into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

4.  Bake for 8 minutes in the oven.  When cookies come out of oven, press one Andes mint into the top of each cookie and let sit 1 minute.  When mint is soft, swirl with the back of a spoon to make a pattern with the green filling of the candy.

5.  Let cool.  Makes approx. 40 cookies.

Enjoy!  :)

Custom Christmas Gift Tags!

My friend Tommie, "The Seriously Sweet Party Expert" at OhMyGluestick! designs adorable party circles for any occasion or holiday you can think of...including Christmas.  I would normally use these as cupcake toppers attached to candy sticks, but since I'm not making cupcakes for the holidays, I decided to make gift tags out of them.

Now I don't know about you, but I think some of the stick-on type labels are kind-of tacky (not all, but most!).  Unless I shell out the bucks for them, they're usually cheapo and have somewhat of a glossy surface, which then makes my ink smear and look awful!  Unfortunately, they are absolutely necessary to keep the gifts going to right recipients!  :)

So here's the perfect solution:  use printed party circles and attach them to bows to make your own custom, perfectly-coordinating gift tags!  The set I used for these projects are from the Red & Green Holiday Set:

Aren't these super-cute?  There are several other holiday options available at the OhMyGluestick Etsy shop as well.

I used a 1 3/4" circle punch to punch out the circles, leaving a bit of the printed border surrounding the circles.  Then I used my Cricut (Storybook cartridge) to cut 2" scallop circles to mat the printed circles.  I used a cardstock from my scrap stash and made these little cuties for nearly nothing!  And the best part is that my writing (on the back of each tag) didn't smear a bit because I was able to write on mat cardstock!  :)

I also added tags to these little gift bags (20 for $1.00 in the $1 bins at Target) which hold The Mess Maker's handmade Christmas ornaments to give to family this Christmas:

Thanks for looking and have a creative day!

Sock Cupcake: FCCB Challenge #39 "Gifts Galore"!

I first made sock cupcakes almost a year ago...and I posted some of my first sock cupcakes in an earlier post back in February.  Well, I've been at it again!  This time I made them for Fantabulous Cricut's Challenge this week: "Gifts Galore": Create a handmade gift or gift package!  This has to be one of my most favorite gifts to give...and I made this one in Chrismas colors, just in time for the holiday!!!

For the cupcake wrapper, I have a Design Studio file graciously shared by Rach1Fun from the Cricut Messageboard.  You can find her blog HERE.  It uses the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge and cuts this lovely scallop-edge wrapper!  The socks are from the Michael's Dollar Spot and the cherries (which look almost black in the photo, but are really a dark red) are from Target.

To turn this cutie into a gift, I placed it in a cello bag, tied a red ribbon around it, and stamped a sentiment (CTMH) on a circle cut with George and attached to a circle tag to embellish.

Hope you'll hop over to FCCB and enter your own handmade gift/gift package for your chance to win this week's prize!

Happy Crafting!!!  :)

Looking For Help With A "Helmet Therapy" Insurance Appeal?

The Mess Maker and the Noise Maker were both born with Torticollis, a tightening in the neck muscles on one side, which made it difficult for them to fully rotate their heads.  Both went through rounds of Physical Therapy to treat the disorder, but the Mess Maker (above) ended up having to wear a special helmet for several months to correct the abnormal head shape that resulted from sleeping mainly on one spot of her head (see below).

This process was ubelievably difficult, stressful, time-consuming and heart-breaking...especially the casting part of the experience (which probably upset me more than her!):

And the worst part of the whole ordeal was fighting with our insurance company.  They wouldn't cover the costs of Helmet Therapy, claiming it was only "cosmetic" in nature.  We were out $3,000 for this much needed device.

I spent months researching and gathering information for an appeal.  A lot of people I came in contact with in similar situations had been denied coverage by their insurance companies as well.  I was determined to get coverage, and was able to compile an unbelievable amount of resources supporting the medical necessity of Helmet Therapy, which I turned into a 250-page successful appeal packet.  I would be happy to share this information with anyone interested.

1.  My 10-page appeal letter (entire document can be found HERE).


2.  If you would like a copy of my appeal resources and information, please email me your mailing address and I'll mail you a CD with all of the information I used.

TheHouseholdCEO(at)live(dot)com

If you have been denied coverage for a Star Band, DOC Band, Hanger Band or any other type of Helmet Therapy by your insurance company, don't give up!

You Are My Sunshine Layout: FCCB Challenge #38--Ribbon!

I love ribbon...along with Cricut cartridges, it's an absolutely obsession!  I use it on almost every project I make.  So how fun is this week's Fantabulous Cricut challenge: Ribbon!?!?!?!  You can use any cartridge, any cut on any project...you just have to incorporate ribbon!  :)

For this layout, I used George to cut a 6" circle for the sun in the upper left corner.  I trimmed the sides to be flush with the page and punched holes along the bottom border to thread my ribbon into.  Both the ribbon and the strips of patterned paper mimic the sun's rays.

For the title, I used Storybook and used hot pink to make the shadow for each letter.  I also used Accent Essentials to cut the layers of the flowers.  I curled each petal, inked them, layered them together with a brad and then added a button (with ribbon!) for the center.

I used my CTMH Edge Distresser on almost every piece of this layout...so fun!  Gave it some fun texture, too.

  I also used my Autumn Terracotta ink (CTMH) to give everything an orange, "sunny glow"!

Hop on over to FCCB and link up your own Cricut ribbon project for your chance to win this week's prize!

Happy crafting!  :)

Feather The Nest Baby Shower Invitation

A friend of mine is having a baby and another friend is hosting a baby shower for her...and I got to do the invites!  :)  This idea/theme was not mine, and is based on one found HERE.

I used my Cricut and my Create a Critter and Cindy Loo cartridges.  The bird's tail is pieced together using the wing cut in a smaller size in 3 coordinating colors.  The inside says, "So Let's Feather Her Nest"...  Awwwwwwwwwwww!  :)

"Thankful" Layout: FCCB Challenge #37

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is called "Thankful For": create a project about something you are thankful for.  That's easy for me...my kids!  :)

I used the CTMH Twitterpated papers on this one, which I have to admit are my favorite CTMH papers of all time!  The photo was taken almost a year ago, right before Thanksgiving, and I love that both of them are smiling (it's rare to capture both smiling at the same time in photos these days!). 

I used the Cricut Cindy Loo cartridge for the tree, deer and leaves for this layout.  The kids were cut from A Child's Year.  The title is made with letter stickers, also from the CTMH Twitterpated line.  I also added several brads and some journaling printed on the computer.

Hope you like it!  Head over to FCCB and enter your own "Thankful" project to be eligible to win this week's FANTABULOUS prize!

Happy Crafting!  :)

THEY WON, THEY WON!!!

THEY WON!

To everyone who voted for my Aunt & Uncle to win the dream kitchen makeover...thank you, thank you, thank you! 

They won the News On 6 (Tulsa, OK) Dream Kitchen Makeover Contest and will be receiving a brand-new complete kitchen makeover worth $31,000!!!

I am so excited for them and can't wait to see their new dream kitchen...WOO HOO!  I'll post some photos of the finished project when they're done!

Please Vote: Dream Kitchen Makeover!!!

My Aunt and Uncle are one of three finalists to win a $31,000 complete kitchen makeover!  This contest is being held by one of their local TV news stations.  My cousin submitted their kitchen and here is the entry:

"I am submitting this photo on behalf of my mother and father-in-law. They purchased this house in the mid 70s and raised all 4 of thir children there. As you can see, not much has changed in the kitchen since the 70s, including the avacado formica, the dark cabintery, gold linoleum and the retro wallpaper.  My in-laws are wonderful people and are always lending a hand to others in need; always putting their wants and needs on hold in order to help out others. The kitchen was always an area they were going to get to, but never did. My father-in-law grew up building houses and has helped so many others with various updates and repairs to their houses, always putting his projects on hold until everyone elses projects were complete. Unfortunately, health and life have gotten in the way, including a back, arm and shoulder injury that will make ever remodeling their kitchen (which you can see from the photo that work was started, but never complete) impossible. This is the house they raised their kids in, retired in, and will be the house they live in for the rest of their lives. It would be so nice to give such wonderful people who give so much to others such an awesome gift! Thank you for your consideration."

Please take just a moment to vote for these very deserving people!  Voting closes TOMORROW (Tuesday, Nov. 23rd) at 5:00 p.m.

Vote here:

News On 6 Dream Kitchen Makeover:  Moyer House

Thank you so much and I'll keep you posted on the results!

MS WALK 2010!

Our Moms On A Mission: Team Colby team attended and participated in the MS Walk 2010 this past weekend...would have been great if I hadn't still been sick.  :(  I was there, but didn't walk.  I held down the fort...the tent set up in our name due to the amount we raised...

OVER $5,000!!!!!

Our team rocked it!  So glad to have been able to help raise funds for such an important cause.  And it was all in honor of our sweet friend, Colby, who lives with MS.  Love ya!!!  :)

Thank you so much to everyone who donated...it is much appreciated and definitely went to a GREAT cause!

"Under The Weather" Card: FCCB Challenge #36--Achoo!

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is called "Achoo!": create a project having to do wither being sick (i.e. get well card, band-aid, flu-bug, etc.).  I decided to make an "Under The Weather" card!

This card took three cartridges to complete...the cloud is from one of my newest cartridges Serenade.  I LOVE this cartridge!  I didn't use the detailed layer for the cloud, just the base.  Second, I used Forever Young to cut the umbrella and its layers.  And last, I used Create a Critter for the chickie.  The eyes on the chickie are made by following Melin's tutorial at Cooking With Cricut.  Everything is inked and poped with foam adhesive.  The light blue base of the card is also embossed with the Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles folder.

Hope you'll head over to FCCB and link up your own "Achoo!" Cricut project for your chance to win this week's awesome prize!  

Happy Crafting!  :)

Viola's Boutique Crochet Flower Cards

Some of the Fantabulous Cricut Design Team members were very generously given some free crochet flowers from Viola's Boutique, one of our newest sponsors...with the challenge on using them on a project! 

I chose some white daisies with yellow centers, each with green leaves.  I just adore these little lovelies! 

I used some patterned paper scraps in my scrap bins and put together a standard-size red floral card, and a mini 3x3 yellow dot card.  On the red card, the yellow centers didn't match, so I insered pearl brad (Eyelet Outlet) through the centers to cover the yellow.  It gives the flowers a completely different look.  I added some computer-printed journaling on a layered frame from Storybook and tied a ribbon to finish.

For the yellow card, I used a small jewel brad that still allowed the yellow center to show, which coordinated perfectly with the yellow paper.  I used Stroybook to cut out the black scallop circle shape to place behind the daisy to make it pop.  The sentiment is a CTMH stamp, stamped in black to match the die cut scallop circle.

I am so grateful to Viola's Boutiqe and can't wait to use more of these adorable crochet beauties!

Flower Pot Card

While at my friend Jen's house this weekend, I was able to go through my photos and organize/delete to get them ready to be printed...I'm talking TWO YEARS WORTH!!!

Anyway, I found a photo I took of this flower pot card I made for my mom for mother's day a couple of years ago, before I had a blog.  Forgot about it until I saw the photo and thought I'd post it!  I have no idea what cartridge(s) I used, but I'm thinking by looking at it, maybe WIMG or Accent Essentials? 

Just pull the flowers and the card/sentiment comes out from the pot.  It's not a new idea...like I said, I made this a couple of years ago.  But I still think it's a nifty little concept and could be modified for a lot of different themes: Christmas toys coming out of a stocking, sun coming out from behind the clouds, lid coming off of a stock pot, etc.  My wheels are turning now!!!  :)

Happy crafting!

"Live Life" Card: FCCB Challenge #35: Color & Shape Challenge!

This week's challenge at Fantabulous Cricut is a color/shape challenge: use the color green and the shape of a circle somewhere on your project!

I combined the shape/color requirement in my little tree on the card above.  The papers were all scraps I had in my scrap bins.  The circle is cut from the Cricut George & Basic Shapes cartridge and the tree is cut from the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge.  I added a little bluebird from Create a Critter as well.  The sentiment is a Close To My Heart stamp, stamped on white cs and matted in blue.  To finish, I tied a white bow and added a red pearl brad (Eyelet Outlet).

I hope you'll play along with this week's challenge for your chance to win a FANTABULOUS prize!

Happy crafting!!!  :)

Using Party Circles On Cricut & Scrapbooking Projects

My friend Tommie, The Seriously Sweet Party Expert from OhMyGluestick!, gave me early access to her new Harvest Party Circles to prepare some projects and a tutorial over at Fantabulous Cricut!  How stinkin' cute are these:

Adorable!!!

My tutorial shows how to use your Cricut to assemble these cuties into everything from cupcake and treat toppers (which they are designed for) to magnets to cards and more.  Click HERE to go to FCCB and see the tutorial. 

Here are some of the projects I made with the Harvest Party Circles by OMG!:

1.  Cupcake/Treat Toppers (tutorial at FCCB)

2.  Glass Marble Refrigerator Magnets

3.  Custom Brads

4.  Greeting Card (Owl is from Storybook cartridge)

5.  Gift Tag (acorn is from Create a Critter cartridge)

Head over to FCCB for more information!  And be sure to check out OhMyGluestick! for adorable graphics for your next party or Cricut project!

Have a creative day!  :)