You know it has been some time since you logged into your blog when you cannot remember your password and have tried every combination! As you can see, I did finally get in! The break from blogging was much needed as it's been very busy around here with company, the holidays, morning sickness, and SURPRISE news of a move in our future. I also felt with as long as I've been blogging, my posts were getting very repetitious to write out etc. Maintaining a blog requires a lot of work behind-the-scenes and although it appears they may be quick to type up and share, they can become time consuming and overwhelming. That being said, I will try my best to update regularly here on the blog as much as I do on the Jademingmei FB page. Facebook has made it very easy to post a quick pic and if you ever have any inquiries, it's a much quicker response!
We have a busy year ahead of us! Pregnancy is going well and Jack is an aspiring gymnast in the womb. We are 25 weeks along now...only 99 days to go as of today! On top of baby coming, the military has also given us our 'eviction notice' to move this summer. We were not expecting to go anywhere and felt very settled in our home so with overwhelming excitement(took a while to sink in!) and somewhat bittersweet feelings, our family is headed to Japan this summer. I know once we get there and settled, it will be a wonderful experience for not only us, but the girls and baby as well. I do plan to continue all my craftiness when we move abroad and suspect I will be seeing LOTS of Hello Kitty in my future...ha!
Anyhoo, during my blogging break I decided to start dabbling in vinyl on my Cricut. I must confess(you can too!) here that I've had this machine for several years but never used it as much as I thought I would. Quite frankly, my husband has used it more than I have and he uses to cut reflective vinyl for decals etc. If you've never used reflective vinyl, its pretty cool as it 'glows' when light reflects off of it....hubby made me an EGA(Marine Corps symbol of the eagle, globe, and anchor) for the back window of our van and I love it! For all of my latest projects I only use matte or glossy vinyl...the finish only differs for if you're using it on inside/outside projects. I certainly prefer the matte over glossy any day, but I'm learning to like both! Below I've shared a quick tutorial on my new 'Welcome' sign that I put on yesterday...yup, that quick and simple! Step 1: Before you install any vinyl, make sure you clean all surfaces of dust and dirt. I just eye-balled it here to see how placement would look before completely pressing down my transfer tape. Step 2: You can buy grid or non-grid transfer tape, but I will tell you this, go with grid! You can purchase transfer tape by the roll or sheet...I've cut mine down to 12x12 sheets(same size as my Cricut cutting mat) for easier placement...here I'm using a 12x6 cut size...cut your transfer tape to the size of your vinyl as not to waste too much! While 'Welcome' was cut and still sitting on my Cricut cutting mat, I simply laid my transfer tape over it using the grid blocks to keep it nice and straight. Since my transfer tape was 6 inches in the middle, I lined the up with the lead line in my glass window(finger pointing to it). Step 3: Press transfer tape slowly onto your door. I used a spatula from my Cricut tool kit but a CC or ruler works just as good! Once you have the bubbles worked out you can press more firmly. Step4: Time to peel off! When you go to peel back the transfer tape, be sure to pull back slowly! Step 5: Voila! I really love this gold matte vinyl! If you didn't want to put the vinyl directly on your paint, you could always opt for putting it on the window above or also your glass storm door. I had considered putting it on the storm door at first but figured since the sun never shines directly on my door, I wouldn't have to worry about fading or painting my door anytime soon.
Your vinyl "love" is contagious! Thanks for sharing your updates and information today, Dawn. I for one am extremely bittersweet about your upcoming journey. The selfish part of me wants you to stay, the Marine Wife in me knows that we do what we gotta do and make the best of every opportunity life has to offer. I'll be keeping my eye on your blog as I always do...thanks for the inspiration and friendship!
So cute!!! Now that Christmas and the New Year is over my kids are already talking about Valentines Day so I need to get started decorating. This is a great idea!
Glad to hear that you are feeling well and can't wait to meet the newest member of your family. Best of luck with the move and though hard to leave what you are comfortable with I know that your new home waits with new adventures for you. I'm exciting to "follow along" for the ride with your blog.