Mom Life in the PNW

Cricut Machines – A Must Have For Any Crafter

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links.

If you read last week’s post, you now know why Cricut’s Explore One™ and Explore Air™ machines are so incredible – and a must-have for any crafter.

But what bridges the gap between the creative ideas in your head and the Cricut machine is the Cricut Design Space™.

Cricut’s Design Space™ is software for PC, Mac®, iPhone® and iPad® that you get for free with your Cricut machine of choice.

Instead of trying to figure out how to make your project, Design Space gives you the ability to focus on what you want to make. Your Cricut machine takes it from there and brings it to life.

With Design Space, you can start designing from scratch on your computer, iPhone® or iPad®, or you can use a pre-designed, Make It Now™ project. These ready-to-make projects are created by professional artists and include everything from home décor to fashion to paper crafting, and even a variety of FREE projects.

If you want to use one of Cricut’s 50K+ images, you can try them out in the Design Space to see which will look best in your project before you commit to purchasing it.

Uploading Images

When you’re ready to start designing, you can either use one of Cricut’s 50K+ images or easily upload your own using the “Upload Images” tool in Design Space. You can upload and cut .svg, .jpg, .png, .bmp, .gif, and .dxf files absolutely FREE. You can even use fonts already installed on your computer.

Cut What You Want® tool

The Design Space’s Cut What You Want® tool makes it easy to convert your design into a cuttable image in just a few clicks!

The Cricut Design Space™ app for iPad® and iPhone®

Cricut’s easy-to-use app for the iPad® and iPhone® makes it possible for you can design anytime and anywhere inspiration strikes you.

It also allows you to access all the project’s that you’ve personally designed, whether on your iOs device or your PC or Mac, and gives you access to all the Make-it-Now projects.

With this app, you can start a project while at the beach, enhance it at the ice-cream shop, add some embellishments while cozying up on your couch, and then cut it on the Cricut Explore in your craft room. Plus, it’s cloud-based, so your projects are always synced across all your devices.

P.S. Cricut is working on an Android™ app right now, so don’t feel left out if you don’t have an iPad or iPhone.

In a nutshell, Cricut Design Space™ gives you the creative freedom to design just about anything! Make party invitations, decorations, and favors. Create seasonal home décor or personalize wedding gifts. Add embellishments to your favorite photo memories.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! That’s why next week’s post (the last on in this series) will focus on some really fun and interesting projects that people have created using their Cricut machine and the Cricut Design Space.

Stay tuned!

Cricut electronic cutting machine: the best DIY crafting tool

Cricut electronic cutting machine: the best DIY crafting tool

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. 

Want the ability to easily make a personalized wedding gift or perhaps some unique home décor? Then you might find Cricut electronic cutting machines to be the best DIY crafting tool since the sewing machine. 

There are two machines that Cricut currently offers on their site:

Cricut Explore One™ 

cricut-explore-one-machine

Cricut Explore One™ is a simple design-and-cut system. It’s versatile, easy to use, cuts very precisely, and is also incredibly affordable. With its irresistibly low price and limitless cutting potential, the Explore One is perfect for a new or beginning crafter. Here are a few notable features of the Explore One: 

Materials – All Cricut machines can cut an unbelievable variety of materials, for example:

  • Paper
  • Vinyl
  • Iron-on
  • Craft materials
  • Upcycled materials
  • Fabric
  • Plastic
  • Thick materials

Precision – Features Cut Smart™ technology, which allows you to cut a wide range of shapes and sizes with exceptional precision, from ¼” tall up to 11½” wide x 23½” tall. 

Smart Set® Dial – Each machine features a Smart Set® dial, which sets your settings (e.g. speed, pressure, etc.) for you so you don’t have to keep track of them. You just select the material that you’re using on the Smart Set® dial and the machine’s Cut Smart® technology will deliver a clean, professional cut. 

Images and Fonts – You can upload your own images and fonts for free on all three Cricut cutting machines. 

Cartridges – Both machines work with any Cricut cartridge and have the capability to hold all of your cartridges “virtually” in the cloud within your Cricut Design Space online software. So once you’ve loaded a cartridge, you’ll have it everywhere you go. 

Cricut’s Design Space™ and iPad® app – All Cricut Explore machines work hand-in-hand with Cricut’s Design Space™ (for PC, Mac®, iPad®, and iPhone®) that you get access to for free. 

Cricut Explore Air™

cricut-explore-air


The Explore Air is the whole kit ‘n caboodle. It offers all the impressive features mentioned for the Explore One, but two key things set it apart:

  1. It has a dual carriage for cutting and writing or cutting and scoring in one step. If you do a lot of paper crafting, this is the machine for you!
  2. It has built-in Bluetooth® capability. You just use Cricut’s free iPad app and design anything you want from your iPad, just like you would on your home computer, but with the convenience of being able to take your projects with you anywhere. Then, you can just wirelessly send your project from your iPad to your Explore Air to bring it to life.

Now that you know a lot more about how Cricut Explore® machines work, I’ll focus next week’s post on how you can design here, there and everywhere with Cricut Design Space. You’ll be blown away by how easy it is.

Until then … Happy crafting! 

Benefits of Outdoor Play: Get Out This Summer!

Benefits of Outdoor Play: Get Out This Summer!

With summer officially here, schools out and that means kids need some sort of stimulation; they crave to learn and explore. We love going to the community park with the nieces. They can run, jump, climb, explore, learn and be social all in one place.  A couple of my nieces don’t really have a yard at home and with it raining almost 9 months out of the year here in the PNW, they don’t get too much play time activity outside so they really enjoy it and so do we!

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Nowadays kids just want to stay inside and play video games; my nieces included. We as adults need to set time limits and make them go outside and enjoy the outdoors. I remember always being outside playing with friends from school or neighbor kids and having a complete ball. I didn’t need electronics to entertain me. My friends and I would put on shows like singing and dancing and whatnot. Being outside allowed our imaginations to flow.

So what will you be doing this summer with the kiddos?

Check out the Benefits of Play at IPEMA’s Voice of Play Movement.

Taking a Little Trip to Oahu

Taking a Little Trip to Oahu

A few months ago, my husband mentioned taking a trip to Hawaii at the end of the year before our little one starts walking so we wouldn’t be too stressed out from having to chase her around. I immediately started saving as much as I could from blogging income at that point because I knew that my husband would probably back out of it when the time comes because of funds being limited. He started this massive backyard project that’s going to take like 5k to finish, and we just got done with our master bathroom remodel in February which cost us 10k. A lot of money, but in the end worth it because it’ll help out with our resell value. I knew with all of those limitations, his mentioning of Hawaii wouldn’t actually happen unless I helped out. I’ve never been there and would love to go of course, so I am all on board!

We decided that early November or early December would probably be the best time to make this trip happen since it’s the cheapest overall for package deals. Just don’t plan to save money around the holidays when people are traveling during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I think we’re going to stay on Oahu since it’s somehow the cheapest. Maybe more touristy? They want to get you there so you’ll spend more money on what they have to offer? At least that’s my guess considering the capital is on that island.

I also liked Oahu because it has some of the most beautiful beaches and adventurous excursions; we’ll definitely need to be packing our comfy Reef attire and shoes/sandals for exploring the island. My Reef Braided Cushion sandals are a must for this trip. You wouldn’t think a sandal would be that comfortable, but it has support and is cushion-y; feels like you’re walking on air!

I can’t wait for this trip, it’s going to be amazing, that is if I end up saving enough at the end of the year. Hopefully I’ll get to see some pretty blue waters in Oahu that I didn’t get to see while in Mazatlan, Mexico. That’s always been one of my things to see in life, but I may just have to go to the Caribbean some time for that. Beaches around here are mucky, dirty and cold. Definitely not a pleasant experience.

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Have you been to Hawaii? Did you love it or was it overrated?

Urinary Pain Relief with Uricalm OTC Medicine

Urinary Pain Relief with Uricalm OTC Medicine

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Uricalm. All opinions are 100% mine.

I don’t know how many times in my life I’ve gotten random bladder infections, either from drinking too much soda (I know, bad bad) or having forgotten to go potty after doing the deed. Unfortunately, 20% of us will have recurring UTI’s with as much as 3 per year. It’s definitely not fun dealing with which is why I highly recommend Uricalm MAX Pain Tablets and Uricalm Cranberry with D-Mannose. Every time I feel that slight pressure coming on or the urgency to urinate frequently, I start taking the Uricalm Cranberry with D-Mannose and the Uricalm MAX Pain Tablets. They seem to help tremendously before it kicks into a full blown UTI, and the best part is, it can be bought over the counter.

URICALM® MAX:
  • Uricalm® Max is powerful medicine that works fast to stop the excruciating pain, burning, and sensation of urgency that comes with a UTI
  • Phenazopyridine Hydrochloride – the active ingredient in URICALM® MAX – is the #1 UTI pain relief ingredient preferred by women and by doctors
  • URICALM® MAX works directly at the site of the pain with 99.5 mg of clinically proven phenazopyridine hydrochloride — the highest dose you can buy over-the-counter. No other OTC UTI pain medicine has more!
  • The only stronger UTI pain medicine available is a prescription
  • Uricalm® MAX also has cranberry – used extensively by those concerned about urinary tract health.
  • Gluten free
  • Available nationwide at most major retailers
URICALM® CRANBERRY:
  • New Uricalm® Cranberry features a powerful combination of ingredients in every delicious, berry-flavored chewable tablet:
  • CRANBERRY: Scientific studies have shown a link between consuming cranberry and maintaining a healthy urinary tract*
  • D-MANNOSE: Helps prevent the adherence of certain microorganisms to the walls of the urinary tract – allowing your body’s natural defenses to help keep your urinary tract healthy*
  • Uricalm® Cranberry can be taken every day to help maintain your urinary tract health*.
  • Gluten free.
  • Available at Rite Aid, Kroger, and HEB and in select Walmart and CVS Pharmacies nationwide

After seeing all of the great benefits listed above, which one is your favorite? FYI, if you leave a comment, you will be entered into a contest in which 1 lucky reader will win a Uricalm care package.

And if you’d like to try either products, head on over to the Uricalm.com website and print off a $3.00 coupon.

Like with everything in your medicine cabinet, please make sure to read and follow all label instructions before using.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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