Visual Designs by Chris

Chris Durnan

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What Should I do? Jar

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I saw this type of jar mentioned on a friends FB page. And I had a lightbulb moment. Perfect. My kiddo is an only son and he is super creative and we try to spend as much time with other kids as we can, but sometimes we just have to work. And he is really good at entertaining himself or learning what we are doing and helping, but sometimes the “what Should I Do?” pops up. I have seen this as an “I’m Bored Jar”. But I like the “what should I do?” better.

 

So I took this jar and added a ribbon and tag. I glued the top on with my Glue Glider Pro. I also printed out a list of items on different colored papers and folded them in half for in the jar. Then I took some of the magnets off the fridge that are business cards and I have never looked at and cut one up in chunks and made little magnets that give a certain amount of time during the summer days for reading and tv/game/computer time. My kiddo really liked this because he could control when he got to use the time up by putting them in the done side on the fridge. And when he was out of time he played legos and went on to color and read some more actually.  He loves the independence of choosing his own things he wants to do. He finished his chore yesterday and then went on to read, play games, legos and color. All as he wanted to. and I was happy to limit the tv time.

 

I cut the magnet up and glued it also with one of my GlueArts  guns. The glue Glider Pro. Love these Love these! I have one on every counter I work at it in my studio. And I also bought a 2 inch circle punch for quick projects. I just love circles and these is easy for me to grab and go!

 

Anyways. Below is my list of items I put in my What Should I do Jar? Some things we do. Some things I saw on the internet and thought what a great list. So it is a mish mash. Some of them may have been duplicated. And some I printed but threw away because they didn’t apply to us. And some I added are things for around the house. Like my son is responsible for cleaning the counter and mirror in his bathroom. And keep the clothes and towels off the floor. Easy peasy. So who knows what he will get from the “what should I do?” jar.

 

Hope you find lots of time for Summer fun! I know we are.

Enjoy!

Chris

 

A conglomeration list.

Make homemade finger paints

Make a masterpiece with sidewalk chalk

Go on a bike ride

Make a treasure map and go on a hunt

Make your own Memory game and play

Create puppets and put on a show

Build a bed sheet fort

Write and illustrate your own story

Make your own movie

Make a crayon/watercolor painting

Write some thank you notes

Create artwork using your hand/footprints

Activities w/ colored pasta

Make old coins shiny w/ salt and vinegar

Play pretend restaurant

Decorate letters cut from the Cricut

Red Light/Green Light

Play “Hot and Cold”

Play Hide and Seek

Make an obstacle course and time yourselves

Make a collage of your favorite things

Make an ABC book

Go on a color hunt

Create sculptures using toothpicks and marshmallows

Make masks from paper plates

Reverse treasure hunt

Make homemade bubbles

Make HUGE bubbles

Wash cars and bikes

Paint cement with water

Jump on tramp

Water games in the backyard

Squirt bottle tag

Learn some origami

Have a dance party

Have a pretend “drive-in” theater

clean up bathroom

 

paint a chalk mural

 

play checkers

 

play with your puppy

 

brush your horse

 

brush your dog

 

learn a new card game to teach M&D

 

play in sandbox

 

skate on patio

 

write a story

 

clean up patio

 

take a swim in the water tank

 

work on a wolf elective

 

write a thank you note

 

read for 15 minutes

 

color a page in your  coloring book

 

make a card for the next birthday

make something out of a craft magazine

 

put together a sock puppet show

 

make your bed

 

clean up your legos

 

run through the sprinkler

 

play uno or guess who?

 

play with bubbles

 

fly a kite

 

clean up your fort area

 

go through your sock drawer &

 

matchup socks teach Freckles a new

trick

 

call someone & tell them a joke

 

make a bird feeder

 

fill the bird feeders

 

write a secret code & mail the message & the code seperate

 

cut out pictures of your favorite things from a magazine

 

find a new recipe

 

cut letters on the cricut and decorate them

 

work on 2nd grade spelling words

 

practice scout motto, pledge and handshake

 

play with Legos

 

make your own Lego pattern with Lego builder

 

write and send a cousin a letter cut from magazine letters

 

write and send a cousin a letter or picture drawing practice crab crawl

 

 

make little cars out of boxes and
house goodie

Create puzzles from drawings/photos

Set up a mini golf course

Make pinwheels

Play a board game

Do some school worksheets

Have an impromptu photoshoot w/ props

Draw while blindfolded

Make slime

Make your own “Headbandz” game and play

Freeze things in ice and “dig” them out

Dress ups

Play charades

Research a topic on the internet (w/mom or dad)

Play with the R/C cars

Make a craft from mom’s idea

Straw and cotton ball race on the kitchen table

Do a pretend cooking show

Make finger puppets

Interview family members

Make a family tree

Write in your journal

Do something nice for someone else

Take care of our garden

Do a Wolf Scout elective

Play in the playhouse/swings

Memorize a poem

Do a science experiment

Diet Coke and Mentos experiment

Make up a secret code and write notes

bake cookies/brownies

 

make homemade ice cream

 

clean up book shelf.

 

Make homemade finger paints

Make a masterpiece with sidewalk chalk

Go on a bike ride

Make a treasure map and go on a hunt

Make your own Memory game and play

Create puppets and put on a show

Build a fort

Write and illustrate your own story

Make your own movie

Make a crayon/watercolor painting

Write some thank you notes

Create artwork using your hand/footprints

Activities w/ colored pasta

Make old coins shiny w/ salt and vinegar

Play pretend restaurant

Decorate letters cut from the Cricut

Red Light/Green Light

Play “Hot and Cold”

Play Hide and Seek

Make an obstacle course and time yourselves

Make a collage of your favorite things

Make an ABC book

Go on a color hunt

Create sculptures using toothpicks and marshmallows

Make masks from paper plates

Reverse treasure hunt

Make homemade bubbles

Make HUGE bubbles

Wash cars and bikes

Paint cement with water

Jump on tramp

Water games in the backyard

Squirt bottle tag

Learn some origami

Have a dance party

Have a pretend “drive-in” theater

Create puzzles from drawings/photos

Set up a mini golf course

Make pinwheels

Play a board game

Do some school worksheets

Have an impromptu photoshoot w/ props

Draw while blindfolded

Make slime

Make your own “Headbandz” game and play

Freeze things in ice and “dig” them out

Dress ups

Play charades

Research a topic on the internet (w/mom or dad)

Play with the R/C cars

Make a craft from mom’s idea

Straw and cotton ball race on the kitchen table

Do a pretend cooking show

Make finger puppets

Interview family members

Make a family tree

Write in your journal

Do something nice for someone else

Take care of our garden

Do a Wolf Scout elective

Play in the playhouse/swings

Memorize a poem

 

 

 

 

Sun bathing ??? How about Shade bathing? Giggle Bathing? hmmm

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These pics made me crack up. This was from a few weekends ago. My niece wanted to sun bathe. My son loves to follow her around and often says she is the funniest giggle cousin he has ever met.
So he asked if he could sun bathe and looked at me with the look… I gotta imagine he was thinking. I wonder if my Mom knows what sun bathing is she is always slathering me up with a 100 lbs of sunblock (by the way my new favorite one is neutrogena 70. it is lotion not spray. He never complains about it’s being sticky. Although I have to do pre-emptive blocking and slathering so it soaks in. I am okay with that. I work hard at keeping my son light by end of summer. Many cases of skin cancer in my family. ) So he asked me after I said. “hey don’t lay in the sun”. I told him “yes you can….. just lay in the shade.” So he did! ha! Because the point of the matter was to lay with his cousin and soak up her giggles and not the sun. Cute. I love the obvious shade line. haha. love it.

And of course laying still is not one of the many talents of a 7 year old. So it is better to be silly and move and soak up the giggles and not the sun. So maybe he is Shade bathing. this could start a new trend. Love it!
And today is THE day! last day for the Border Grab Bag. So if you want a bunch of ways to edge trim stylize and cut a border grab the May Grab Bag because it leaves the store tonight!!  Thank you to everyone who has purchased. Please jump in the forum and post a project so you can get entered in next month’s grab bag drawing! You can see larger version of the borders in the store!
 Have a fantastic day!
Enjoy!
Chris
Chris Durnan, designer at www.visualdesignsbychris.com GSD KNK WPC AI SCUT files for your personal digital cutters for use with scrapbooking, cardmaking and other hobbies. Whatever your creative mind can come up with!
My files work on many machines. Some of them are: Klik-n-kut, Pazzle, Wishblade, Silhouette, Cricut, Craft Robo. Some of the software involved with these machines are: Funtime, Scrapbooking, WinPC/Signlab, Inkscape, Create & Cut, Illustrator, KNK Studio, Robomaster, DesignMaster and the list goes on….. Enjoy!
And our cutter file “freebies” are kept in the forum. We add to them as we can.

Katrina Frame

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I made this for my niece. It was one of those mattes you get from walmart that had a wide border so you can have visitors sign it. I cut the letters on my new knkmaxx. Just mahvelous I couldn't be more pleased. I cut the Katrina part out of some random stash I had and was worried because I had two sheets of it and didn't want to mess both of them up. There was only one edge with this pattern and it just cut! Yeah. So double yeah. The funny this is I haven't installed the "velocity patch" and I se the speed for 200 hit cut and turned to look at the cutter and had bumped back up to 700 I quite lost my breathe it moved so fast. But when I looked at its cut I was beaming!! Okay yes I have a cutting machine addiction. I am in love with my new knkmaxx. Good thing since we will be spending lots of time together.

Today is memorial day. I hope you Enjoy! It with family and friends. I hope you also find a moment to ponder the reason for the day off work. I know many in the military and I could not be more blessed to have them in my lives, protecting the lives of those around me. I am honored to know them for who they are and what they stand for. God bless every one of them and all those I don't know, as well as, their families who serve with them.

Happy Memorial Day!

Enjoy! Chris

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

I fell and so what am I doing???

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I fell on my hand yesterday and it hurts like a bajeebas. Yes this might not be an official word in the dictionary, but it is my kinda word for sure. So what am I doing? Sitting here typing. Is it crazy or what?

 

Today I pick up the kiddo from school. Yeah I am so excited. Last day before summer. As always every summer start I have all of these ideas I plan to do. Or rather I print out the possible of things to do. I write as much on the calendar to help us be reminded of the specific date ones. I also have a magnet board that is broken down by days So I can write on it the things he needs to do like.. “clean up book shelf” and the fun things we plan to do “ Go swimming with friends” Also, I am going to put together a jar tonight that is the I’m so bored jar. I saw this on a friends page. I am loving it. I am going to put one together some time this weekend.

 

The weekend is coming. It is a holiday weekend. Are you excited? Spending time with family and friends or bbqing? We have plans some of the days. So should be fun. I am picking up 36 lbs of apples. I cannot decide on which to can. Apple sauce or apple??? Not apple butter that is for sure. I did it in a crockpot so easy peasy to cook down. However, I had a hard time giving it away and it wasn’t our favorite at all. So I plan to make some apple things in cans and we will see how it goes. I am looking forward to it.

 

Well I better go get some things together to head to get the kiddo and put some more ice on my hand. It isn’t the whole hand really. It’s just this one finger. So I am typing with out it and it is sticking up in the air. ABSOLUTELY! Looks ridiculous.

 

If you have a pinterest I would be interested in hearing your thoughts. My friend Heidi I think is a pinterest queen. She is so cute when she finds something she likes. I am gonna try it out and see.

 

Hope you are happy and smiling!

Enjoy!
Chris

 

choices in the QMC!! Wooohoo!

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If you are a QMC Member you have two choices to make in the forum private area…
I will load the top two of the softball choices.

And choose between one or the other for the sentiments.

Thanks for helping me out with the indecision!! Here is where the polls are…
If you want to join… here is that place.

On to life..
My son came home today and said it was the best day ever! Love that! Apparently the fire dep’t was there today for field day at the school and they got more then a little wet starting out with a bucket brigade. My kiddo is excited about summer, but is worried about missing out on his friends. Summer for us is short and sweet as it is year round school. I am already looking at our break in fall and what/where we can go camping. Yearbooks came out this week and my little one was looking through his as I was filling up gas. I looked in the window of the truck and he said with the perfect smile and a cock of the head. “I love you Mom. Thank you for this.” as he pointed at the yearbook. he had found our ad in the yearbook for him that said how proud again we were of him. The first thing he flips to when showing off his yearbook is the ad in the back from us beaming over him. It is wonderful that I can make him smile with just a few words immortalized in print in this little book filled with smiling faces. love my life..

Have a great day!
Enjoy!
Chris

Chris Durnan, designer at www.visualdesignsbychris.com GSD KNK WPC AI SCUT files for your personal digital cutters for use with scrapbooking, cardmaking and other hobbies. Whatever your creative mind can come up with!

My files work on many machines. Some of them are: Klik-n-kut, Pazzle, Wishblade, Silhouette, Cricut, Craft Robo. Some of the software involved with these machines are: Funtime, Scrapbooking, WinPC/Signlab, Inkscape, Create & Cut, Illustrator, KNK Studio, Robomaster, DesignMaster and the list goes on….. Enjoy!

And our cutter file “freebies” are kept in the forum. We add to them as we can.

Sweet 16 birthday card using VDBC #CD00731

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My baby girl turned 16!  *sigh*  And she definitely fits the SWEET!  She is a tomboy so I went for the denim look for her card.  I used a Judikins stamp.  Stamped it twice using faded jeans Ranger Distress Ink.  (The detail of this stamp required that I brayer the ink onto the stamp rather than dabbing – not sure why that makes a difference but it makes a HUGE difference in the image.)  I cut out the pocket on one image and pop dotted the sides and bottom to the card base that had the same image stamped.  Added a little distressing with Old Paper Distress ink and a sponge to the pop dotted pocket and the few areas of the edge of the card.  I used just the birthday sentiment from Visual Designs by Chris file #CD00731.  I used mini brads for the dot of the i and the point of the exclamation.  Added a few stitch marks with black thread.  Cut the 16 from Sizzix Fun Serif dies.  The “sweet” was from a K & Co. package from years ago.  Added a green brad to pull the color of the dots from the patterned paper of the 16.  Topped with a green button that was pre-threaded.  I drive myself crazy sometimes with the little details.  *wink*

~Angie~ (Missouri)
~I am blessed!!~

Visual Designs by Chris Creative Team Member
http://www.visualdesignsbychris.com
(cutters: Blue Wishblade and Cricut Expression)

Graduation Card using VDBC #CD00832

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A card for my niece, Spencer, who graduated yesterday.  What is it about Pomp and Circumstance that makes you bawl like a baby?  LOL  My girls were making fun of me because Spencer came out before the ceremony in her cap and gown.  I was looking at her thinking of when she was a baby and of moments as she was growing up… then the thought crossed my mind that I was going to hear Pomp and Circumstance soon and I couldn’t stop the tears.  *sigh*  The wedding march has the same effect on me.  LOL  I used part of the Visual Designs by Chris file #CD00832 called Senioritis ’11.  It pretty much made the card.  Added a few dotted circle stamped images, some bling and a ribbon.  Enhanced the 11 with a little white pen stitching using a chalk writer from Zig.  Used my corner chomper on two corners.  Of course, red and black were her school colors.

~Angie~ (Missouri)
~I am blessed!!~

Visual Designs by Chris Creative Team Member
http://www.visualdesignsbychris.com
(cutters: Blue Wishblade and Cricut Expression)

From the Mouths of Babes …

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So this morning, we did our Friday morning run down of weekend plans. Visit Grandma see how she is feeling, visit friends, go swimming, go to golf n stuff, when will be cleanup time (kiddo is responsible for his bathroom. He loves to use the 409. Weird) so we were running through and my son proclaims…. “ When I get out of school and you(talking to my husband) get out of work, It will be the weekend!”. I am standing in the closet and whisper to my hubby “what about me? Do I not work?” So my husband puts out the question… “What about Mom?”. My son proclaims from the end of the hall… “She never quits working!” And you can hear the eyeroll of exasperation in his voice.

 

HA! I had to cover my mouth with giggles. To funny and excellent comment. As my Sister in Law said, my son is born for Politics! And on that note. I am off to fold his little clothes so he can put them away. Yes a Mom’s job is never done. But oh wonderful job it is. I love it almost as much as being a wife to my fantastic hubby.

 

Here’s to great plans for the weekend! Woohoo!

Enjoy!

Chris

Graduation Cards with Chris Durnan’s files

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Here are two graduation cards I made with Chris’s Graduation borders. These are two of the borders she included in May’s Grab Bag. You can find the Grab Bag here. I sized each page border down and layered it on top of a graduation themed piece of paper, matted on black. I also cut a small graduation cap out of black and placed it on each corner.

Sussann

Digi-Cutter Files offered in SCUT, GSD, KNK, WPC & AI (SVG) at www.visualdesignsbychris.com

Uploaded files. gettin’ ready for June…

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Getting ready for June… I like to celebrate June by giving away little gifts. These are files from the Quarterly Membership, but soon I will work on getting up some of those other files I have on backup. Make sure your store Wishlists are cleaned up and current.

If you are not or were not a part of my QMC last quarter, there are some graduation, 4h, and cupcake wrapper files.

Have a fantastic day!!!!!
Enjoy!
Chris

Flower Moments 823 Flower Moments 823
Dinosaurs Dinosaurs
Frogs Rule! Frogs Rule!
fancy bird cage fancy bird cage
Family that plays .. Family that plays ..
Identity Crisis Identity Crisis
Fancy Card Blanks 825 Fancy Card Blanks 825
Elephant Under the Rainbow Elephant Under the Rainbow
New Car New Ride New Car New Ride
Runners Club Runners Club
Bunches of Cupcake Wrappers Bunches of Cupcake Wrappers
Gift Box for Sweets Gift Box for Sweets
Popcorn Boxes Popcorn Boxes
Fleur de Lis collection Fleur de Lis collection
Dancing Across the Page Dancing Across the Page
My heart is filled with clover My heart is filled with clover
Heart hands Heart hands
ABCIloveU ABCIloveU
Senioritis 2011 Senioritis 2011

Chris Durnan, designer at www.visualdesignsbychris.com GSD KNK WPC AI SCUT files for your personal digital cutters for use with scrapbooking, cardmaking and other hobbies. Whatever your creative mind can come up with!

My files work on many machines. Some of them are: Klik-n-kut, Pazzle, Wishblade, Silhouette, Cricut, Craft Robo. Some of the software involved with these machines are: Funtime, Scrapbooking, WinPC/Signlab, Inkscape, Create & Cut, Illustrator, KNK Studio, Robomaster, DesignMaster and the list goes on….. Enjoy!

And our cutter file “freebies” are kept in the forum. We add to them as we can.