February Makeup Looks, There is no Makeup Routine

 Hey Y'all!

When transferring photos over, I was shocked to see I had done several more makeup looks than I realized. I have also come to the conclusion I have no routine with makeup. I now generally start with whatever sunscreen I'm going to wear, and then do all face, followed by eyes, and then pick a lip product. Finishing spray, and I'm done.

Here's the months looks:

1) Closing on the house!!! I did my hair & makeup this day. Foam rollers are awesome for van life.

2)

3) I was dressed before makeup, and these shadow colors looked far more nude in the pan than on my face. (I think they are a bit yellow/orange leaning.)

4) Hair did not turn out how I envisioned with this roller set. I also had to take them out still damp, since we had errands to run.

5)

6) Listen y'all. I'm trying to show you the new Colourpop purple mascara. It's one of the items I bought the day we got the tires put on. It's far more noticeable in person. (This was one coat in the first pic, then 2 full coats.)

7)

Jelly highlight, IDK how I feel about this one, but it's not in the "take with" container.

8)

I think the first look is my overall favorite, how about you?

I did 8 looks in February, which I think was pretty good. For March I'm going to set a goal of 10! We'll see if I can complete that challenge.

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

Cricut Design Space News & Updates

 Hey Y'all,

There's been quite a few new things happening with the Design Space updates so far this year. 

Windows-

Right at the beginning of the year we got an update on notifications, and a save reminder. That save reminder is super helpful for me, how about you? Definitely a much needed feature.

In that update we also got several bug fixes, but nothing major.

Next we got (for Access Members only) Create Sticker! I ended my access membership in December, for two main reasons money at that time, and traveling I wasn't sure how much I'd use it. While this feature isn't something that would sway me one way or the other I do miss the ease of picking from any of the thousands of designs ready to go that are included with that membership.

Create Sticker looks like it makes the whole sticker process easier, so I'm sure access members are enjoying the simpler process.

 

The end of January brought some more fixes. The "Not enough material" issue was an annoying one, glad they fixed it quickly. There was also an update to Bookmarks, but nothing major at this release.

Starting in February we got some performance updates, and bug fixes followed by Zoom enhancements. This allows for zooming out further than 25%. I see this being very helpful to me when creating something very large. (Like the storefront signs I've done, or the banner I've yet to do for the van.)

In the latest update we got a collapsible navigation panel on the home screen, which allows for more visibility of the images and projects there. For me this wasn't a big deal, I don't spend much time on the home screen. I usually open a canvas and search/work from there. There were also a few small fixes, but again, nothing major.

I wonder what's next? I'd like to see a less busy/interactive home screen, but I know that's an unpopular opinion. It just takes too long to load, and I have to wait on it to do it's thing before I can begin (click on canvas). 

If your ever looking for what's included in each update patch notes can be found here:

https://help.cricut.com/hc/en-us/articles/19154203490327-NEW-Release-Notes-2024-02-20

Android-

Android has had lots of bug fixes and performance enhancements, from 5.42, 5.43, 5.47, 5.48, that was the only "updates".

5.44 brought us Create Sticker (still just for access members) & 5.49 brings us up to the current update with Create Layers, again for access only. Create Layers gives you the ability to upload multicolored images and create a layer for each color (as opposed to the single layer/one color image). This is a feature I'd like to play around with, but again I'm not currently an Access member. Maybe if I find I'm crafting more often, but currently it's not worth the additional $10 a month for the little amount of time I'd be using these access only features.

What's next for android? I'd like to see a simplified UI on the canvas, editing designs takes so many clicks back and forth it's a bit annoying. This is why even if I'm using the Joy (Bluetooth) I'll design on the laptop, save, and cut from my phone.

To find out "what's new" on Android it usually pops up when DS opens, or you can click the hamburger menu and scroll down.

What would you like to see in Design Space? Share in the comments below.

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

Design Space Series:

https://craftinwifescreations.blogspot.com/2022/12/how-to-cricut-design-space-on-pc-android.html

Hey Y'all!

 Hey Y'all! 

We've been busy now that we finally have the money from the house sale, so I haven't really had time to blog the past few days. My apologies!

We've paid off everything- some could be done online, others had to be in person, joined Planet Fitness, bought everything we needed for the van (plus a few extras)...

Today we had an appointment to get the tires put on, and all that squared away- it took 2 hours. While we waited for that we walked around the nearby shopping center. Then we had some more banking to do, and stopped for lunch, then hit the gym. After that we had to stop by the UPS store for an Amazon return. Our emergency toilet was the wrong color, which would have been no big deal, but it also had a hole in the bag, so that should be exchanged in a few days. When we got back our main power source for the van had arrived. (We've been getting packages, mostly van parts, all week.) 

...Oh and we did an oil change today.

Good thing we had a beautiful near 60 degree day.

I'm writing this from the new laptop, it's nice to have u, 6, and 7 keys that work! However there are no pictures on here to add to the blog. And other than either another pic of the van, or a stack of packages there's not really much to share.

I'll work these 2 missed blogs in at a later date, and normal (as scheduled) blogs will return on Friday.

Thanks for your patience!

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

My Favorite Things To Do: Daily Life Living In A Van

 Hey Y'all!!

*Sorry this is so late, by now I really should know better than to rely on the "schedule post" to work correctly. I had this written and ready to go on Wednesday, for a Friday post.

This is a bit harder to write, since we've been stationary (for the most part) since moving into the van. We're (as of the writing of this) still awaiting payment, and then we can order parts, and then putting them on. So this has been daily life, but it will definitely change (for the better) very soon.

In this...limbo type period I've been doing a lot of:

Reading

Writing 

Cleaning

Organizing

Reorganizing

Re-reorganizing

Playing Monopoly GO

Watching YouTube 

General Phone Scrolling

and Waiting... 

I haven't taken any pictures, because beyond a little bird watching there hasn't been much to photograph. 

Sorry about the "meh" blog.

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

Current Skincare Routine

 Hey Y'all!

My current skincare routine is very simple:

It really hasn't changed since this blog~

https://craftinwifescreations.blogspot.com/2023/12/skin-care-im-currently-using.html

Other Skincare Blogs~

https://craftinwifescreations.blogspot.com/search?q=skin+care

However most of these products are close to empty...

Morning-

Wash face (currently still the Neutrogena), then moisturize, preferable with something containing SPF, then another SPF product- either a makeup primer, and SPF powder, or a sunscreen. Lip balm, any but prefer one with SPF.

Night- Wash face, 2x week I use the spin brush, moisturize with either Charlotte Tilbury, or Laneige Water Sleeping Mask,  and their lip mask 2 or 3 times a week.

I'm trying to keep it simple, and use fewer products. So far this routine has been working well. I will have to come up with some cheaper moisturizer options when these are gone. Any suggestions? Please leave them below!

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

No Blog...

 Hey Y'all!

I haven't really been crafting at all this past week. Especially not enough to blog about it.

Sorry for the lack of blog today.

I'll share my crafting (and setup) in an upcoming blog.

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

Music Blog

 Hey Y'all...

This meme I shared from my phone, I first saw it on Facebook but I don't know its origin. It looked like a fun blog, so here we go:

1) I don't know... I have a few I like but nothing current I would say is a favorite. What's yours?

2) That's even tougher... Maybe one of the Amanda songs.. If I have to pick one I suppose it would be the Waylon version, though I like the Don Williams one as well. And... completely different song, also called Amanda, by Boston- also good.

3) Jody Girl, Bob Segar

4)Angel Band (Hallelujah Version), Tyler Childers (Can I Take My Hounds To Heaven)

5) Truckin', Grateful Dead

6) I like all the LoFi Disney stuff for a more chill, quiet vibe.

7) Tubthumping,  Chumbawamba

8) Wrong Side of Heaven, Five Finger Death Punch (Mom, I think Dad would have like this one too, but not all their stuff.)

9) I'd love to see Tyler Childers, or Jelly Roll... but I'm too cheap for that, lol.

10) How 'bout Artists? The Beach Boys x2, Creed, 12 Stones, Tom T. Hall, JoDee Messina...

11) Brandy (You're A Fine Girl), Looking Glass *If you haven't seen the tiktok of this song preformed by vintage Fisher Price Little People you should look it up.

12) Cannonball, The Breeders

13) Astronaut in the Ocean, Masked Wolf

14) I Swear, All 4 One

15) He Stopped Loving Her Today, George Jones

That's all I have time for today, but if you'd like me to finish this leave a comment below!

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

What Are We Doing Now?

  Hey Y'all!

As I mentioned in the previous blog closing happened on the 5th! Yay!

However we have to wait for the check to be cut, about a week- so not too bad... But that means all the van fixing plans are on hold until then.

So what have we been doing?

Enjoying the weather, rearranging the van, watching YouTube, reading, and cleaning. Doing all the things we can do for free in the van. Visiting local parks on days we have other errands to run as well.

How are we?

Excited to begin this next chapter! Planning, and planning some more- van layout, trips, budgets, returns to TN, etc.  A bit bored, we really can't start traveling until the check clears, and we get the van squared away. 

Other than that we're doing well. The van is more than comfortable enough and plenty warm on these past few nights when it's been in the upper 20s. The days have been in the upper 50s/lower 60s so I'm sure that helps.

We really have rearranged things a couple of times, and are getting it all figured out. Today we painted the rear tire mount, and then attached it to the rear drivers door. Next up is running lighting, and laying down the "area rug" now that we're sure on the layout.

What are you working on? Share in the comments below.

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

Not Monday, Not Craft Related

 Hey Y'all!

So things actually turned out well, and closing happened yesterday (Monday the 5th). We finished moving out Saturday morning, and filmed our "Final Day" video:

They had their final walk through early Sunday morning. We spent that time making more decisions on van layout... and moving things around yet again. Thankfully the weather has been beautiful and we've spent a good chunk of time cleaning and rearranging the "garage" as well as getting our makeshift window coverings cut and in place. 

Monday we went for a walk at a park, killed some more time running a few errands, then at 3pm went to the closing on the house. That only took about an hour total, and was pretty uneventful. Just signing a million documents, and letting the buyers know a few last minute details. (Small details like trash day, the app for the thermostat, the main water shut off location, etc.) 

After closing we returned to my Mom's where we're parked until we can get a few things on the van squared away.

*I will probably change the blog schedule one last time, going back to the original plan (mostly).

Any questions about the selling process? Leave them in the comments below!

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife

February Blog Schedule

 Hey Y'all!

January went extremely slow for us. Between the massive snow storm that shut everything down for over a week, plus waiting on the confirmation that closing is happening on Feb 2nd it really drug on & on.

Things are really moving ahead, and changing here in February, and the blogs will reflect that moving forward. Your input is important too, let me know what you'd like to see in the blogs. You can leave your suggestions in the comments below! Thanks!

I believe I'll still follow the Monday = Crafty, Wednesday = Beauty, Friday = Anything Goes

 format, but I'll await your suggestions for March's blog schedule.

Blog Schedule:

I had this schedule ready to go early, everything was set. It was ready to post. Then...

Therefore the closing isn't happening today and we've heard nothing (about anything really) from the buyers side... 

So things originally scheduled in this blog have to change, because we aren't saying good bye to the house today.. we're here still, until who knows when. Our assumption is the whole deal will fall through and we'll be relisted come Monday. Extremely frustrating. Also, we really don't have the money to keep this up and were heavily relying on the sale to go through. We were assured less than two weeks ago everything was good to go on both ends.... We're irritated, but we'll just keep on keeping on. Not much else we can do right now.

FINAL UPDATE:

2/5/24 CLOSING HAPPENING TODAY!!! YAY!

2nd F- Blog Sched.

5th M- Saying Good- Bye To Our Home of 9+ years! (Not Crafty, but fit best here) 

7th W- Almost One Week In... How's the Storage in the Van Working Out? Life in Limbo, How are we?

9th F- Music Blog (from phone saved meme)

12th M- How To- Crafting in the Van  

14th W- How We Do Hygiene, Van Life Current Skincare Routine

16th F- Our Favorite Things To Do, Daily Life Living in a Van

19th M- Color with Me, Favorite Coloring Books

21st W- Makeup Routine

23rd F- Books! What I've Been Reading

26th M- Design Space Updates, and News

28th W- Feb Looks

March:

1st F- Blog Sched.

Remember, please share your suggestions/ideas for March blog topics!

Have a great day,

Craftin' Wife