Birthdays - I still love my Cricut

 Remember my Cricut? The paper cutting machine I HAD to have? The paper cutting machine that my Mom and I ventured out for at 4:30am on Black Friday 2009? The paper cutting machine that has since cost my hubs even more money as I collected cartridges, paper, vinyl, and fabric to make "stuff" with?

Well, years later and it's still one of my favorite crafting tools! Here's how it helped me with a few June birthdays:

The personalized beverage dispenser

Last year I saw a personalized beverage dispenser at Pottery Barn. For $80ish I could have it with my name on it. Hello children with no fresh water. Should I really spend $80 on something to occasional dispense water, for fun? No. So I found this:

 I loved the green. I loved the shape. I had big plans for personalizing it. Flash forward to this year. My friend Kelli's birthday was coming up and I wanted to have a handmade flare to my gift for her. She is the homemade gift queen. In fact a few short weeks ago I got the most amazing produce bags from her...I should blog that too. Or, you can jump over here to read about them and see them on her blog. I'm not near the seamstress she is so I opted out of sewing anything. I had to do something she didn't have access to. Hello Cricut! She is also a super fabulous hostess so one day when I saw my beverage dispenser I thought, she needs that! I immediately was on the hunt for one for her. Green is her favorite too so I went looking....to no avail. So, I opted to personalize mine for her and hopefully one day I can find one for me...even if it isn't green!

Here's her personalized beverage dispenser with help from the Cricut:

 

The Birthday Cake

Next up was our neighbor's 1st birthday. Andrew was born last June when I was pregnant, hot, and let's not hide that I was slightly jealous that Toni got to have her baby before the hottest ever summer on recorded Austin history. It's been a fast year! He is so darling and I figured he should have a little birthday cake of his own. Of course the cake plate needed some personalization too. My mother is probably gasping at my hideous attempt at icing a cake as she is the cake decorating pro. Thanks to the cricut, the cute birthday wishes detract from the cake imperfections. Happy birthday sweet boy!