A few months ago I plugged the heck out of the new Cricut Explore machine. I was honored to be amongst a group of very talented bloggers who were at the unveiling of this fabulous machine and were gifted a machine to play with and review. You may have noticed that since that exciting announcement I have made no mention of my Cricut since…it’s been all crickets when it comes to the Cricut (no pun intended). Let me take a short detour to explain before we get to the fun stuff.
Just a few weeks previous to Cricut unveiling I had found a lump in my armpit. Great. The doc immediately ordered an early mammogram to be done. I did not one, but three separate rounds of mammograms, after which the tech and doctor did an ultrasound. The doctor showed me several spots in my breast and said they would need to biopsy the area to see if they were cancerous. It was a day filled with a lot of tears and fear…not my best day to say the least. They took 8 samples from my breast (which resulted in a very uncomfortable recovery). A couple days later I distracted myself with the Cricut unveiling while I waited for the results.
When the results finally came in it was revealed that I did not have cancer (phew)! However, I had what are called Intraductal Papillomas which are best described as growths in the breast. While at the time they were not cancerous they can develop into cancer down the road. Um, no thank you. I went to three doctors to get a 1st, 2nd and 3rd opinion. Each one of them recommended having breast surgery.
During the surgery I had a large chunk of my breast removed (no reconstruction). Today I am superb and happy (and slightly fraternal as opposed to identical) to have anything potentially cancerous out of my body. You want to see where your faith is, go through that ordeal. It was no picnic physically, emotionally or spiritually, but on the flip side I couldn’t be more grateful for the care I received (thank you Jake, mom and dad) and doctors who didn’t take the situation lightly.
That was heavy. Time to switch gears…
Post surgery, I finally got around to taking my Cricut Explore out of the box and created my first ever project.
Using some vinyl iron-on matrial my Cricut cut a stock image I found online. I then removed the negative space around it and ironed it on to a canvas bag.
No more loosing piano books between piano and home. I had so much fun creating one bag for my son’s piano books I then decided to make more.
One of our downfalls is loosing library books. They come home and next thing you know they’re under beds and mixed in with books on the shelf.
Now, books come home in the bag, stay in the bag when they’re not being read and go back to the library in the bag. No more lost library books (and expensive fines).
Last but not least, the church bag. Church is a lesson in patience and reverence for little kids (and most adults too). Coloring books, crayons and quiet activities come to church with us every Sunday. However, packing a bag every Sunday before church is time consuming. Now we have a permanent bag that stays on the hook ready to go each Sunday.
As a mother I find if there is place for everything life is so much less stressful. This pretty much sums up 90% of my day:
I’m hoping my new organization bags knock that percentage down to 89%.
I’ve reviewed a lot cool products in the past and I can tell this one is on my top 3 list. This baby can draw and cut to your wildest imagination. Check out this video:
I’ll be honest, part of the reason it took me so long to take it out of the box was 1) my little bump (or bumps) in the road and 2) I was pretty intimidated by the machine. It looks complex and tricky but let me tell you…it is SOOOO user friendly.
I’m also taking part in the Cricut Design Space Star challenge team 7. I didn’t participate last month but my team did awesome with an ice cream theme. Once all our individual team member’s projects are up I’ll let you know what everyone came up with for our Geek Chick challenge.
To learn more about the Cricut Explore machine go here.
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Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!
love these bags, such a great idea! xoxoxo
Love these Michelle! And that MeMe is the truth! haha! Go Team #7! Pinned!
So glad for your positive no cancer result but you have all my sympathies regarding your surgery. Cute bags!
Thank you Susan, I appreciate it. 🙂
Am I missing the video link somewhere? Very possible as cup of coffee #1 hasn’t started yet 🙂
Whoops…my bad. It’s up now. Thanks for the heads up! 🙂
I’m so sorry to hear about your health ordeal – mammograms, biopsy, doctor visits, surgery…I can’t begin to imagine how scary that was. But I’m so very glad to hear of the favorable test results and that you had your faith and family to keep you strong. Praying for continued health and healing.
Thanks Katrina. Yes, it’s something I hope to not have to visit again. I appreciate your prayers and well wishes.
I am so happy to hear that you are healthy. Thank you for making your part of the blog world awesome.
Oh Anna, if only we hung out more when I was in Tucson. We could have built a DIY empire!:) Thanks friend.
Michelle,
My heart goes out to you for going through that process. Soo very happy to hear the no cancer result! You are, and continue to be, strong and brave for dealing with that.
And you managed to make cute bags! Wonder Woman!
Take care,
Kate
Thanks Anna, I think I’m going to adopt that title…”Wonder Woman”…I like it! 🙂
Michelle, Sorry to know what you went through. But I am really glad that you are healthy.
Those are very cute bags.
I’m so glad you are okay– what a scary ordeal! I had to laugh at the e-Card. Seriously how I feel so much of the time.
I know, right? It’s more like 99% of my time is picking up my kids (and husbands) stuff. 🙂 Thanks gal.
I am so happy that you caught this before it turned into cancer! I can relate to the scary factor of it all. A couple weeks ago my 33 yr old hubby was diagnosed with cancer with a tumor behind his eye & underwent surgery to remove it. As a result he’s lost his vision on that side. But he considers it a small price to pay to save his life. I felt that same attitude come through in your post. I wish you all the best & happy to hear you’re feeling better. *hugs*
Holy cow. So glad they were able to catch it. You don’t realize how insignificant something becomes when the stakes are your life. Breasts are a woman’s “thing” but they mean nothing if they could endanger your life.
Hi Michelle,
I am a long time lurker coming out to sayso glad you are well. I have to second the wonder woman title. If it were me, I would have spent the entire time awaiting the results in the company of my good friends Ben and Jerry.
Lurker no more! Thanks for saying Hi! I told my boys my new title was “Wonder Woman”…they didn’t buy it. 🙁
Yes, I know Ben and Jerry well. Maybe too well. That haven’t been doing me any favors lately. :/
Oh wow. Thank God you’re okay and the procedure went well.
I know what you mean, “breasts are a women’s thing.” I had that same surgery in February. It sure put things into perspective for me. I really could care less about those things and more about other things now. Thanks for sharing. You are an inspiration in all that you do!
So glad all is well! It’s a scary thing. My friend is going through chemo now for breast cancer. It’s tough but she is tougher and is beating it!
Okay, I totally busted out laughing at “89%.” I…..totally…..get…..that.
I hope your recovery has gone well! That is a terrifying experience that opens up so many emotions and conversations that you would never imagine having with loved ones. Your news is bittersweet, but I hope you are proud of yourself for being proactive about your health. I know it means the world to your family!
Hope I didn’t miss this information somewhere. Can you tell me where you get your canvas bags? and what size they are? Thanks so much
I actually just got the canvas bags from Hobby Lobby. I don’t know the size.
It’s so easy to make. I must try it for my boys!
It really was easy! You can do it!