Cardmaking Mondays: Pre-Made Die Cuts & Buttons

Hello, friends!

Please forgive my absence, as I have been struggling with the technology and trying to take photos without good lighting.  I have figured out a way around it (hopefully!), but it has taken the time that would have gone into writing my blog posts over the last few days!  :-)

I am a cardmaker above all else.  I noticed recently that I reach for the same supplies each time it sit down.  Some call this a style, but I think mostly it's laziness for me.  I reach for the things that are WITHIN reach, as everything else sounds like a hassle.

My friend Karen Grunberg suggested that I  do 52 Tags to try out some new (or new to me these days!) tools and products, but honestly, tags just aren't my thing.  So bring on a year of cards!!

Week 1- Pre-Made Die-Cuts

This week, I began with pre-made die cuts.  I love them, I buy them constantly, and then I forget to use them!!  I am starting into the Valentine spirit, so here are some papers and a ruffle from Glitz, twine from Maya Road (love their twine!) and the die cut is from Dear Lizzy (Lucky Charm).  I added a little Pearlex to the die cut just to give it a little shimmer.  I didn't want to overwhelm it, but it just needed something shiny.  Heehee!

Week 2- Buttons

I never set out to own a huge jar of buttons.  Honestly, I am at least as likely to screen print a baby outfit and add a button to that as I am to add it to a card.  But in an effort to stashbust (and see what all the fuss is about), I wanted to get 3 buttons onto a card.  I failed, but I got 2 on, and I love the results.  Maybe there is something to this button thing after all....

 The buttons, enamel dots and chipboard are from My Minds Eye, the flowered paper is from Dear Lizzy (Polka Dot Party), the stripes are from Glitz.  The glitter tape is from Recollections.  The embossing folder is from Cuttlebug.

Thanks for checking in!  Hope those who went to CHA are home safely (or are getting ready to Play! with Big Picture Classes tomorrow!).

Memory Keeping Thursdays-Weeks 1 & 2

I am terrible about memory keeping.  I always WANT to do it, but finding the time to do it has been challenging.  

That is going to change in 2014.  I will be testing the waters with some mini-books, traditional 12x12 pages and pocket pages.  I may even try out some digital media.  It's a year of experimenting on finding the best way to keep memories, so hang in there for what I expect to be a bumpy ride of exploration, creativity and fun!

Week 1

This week has been mostly about getting myself organized in my memory keeping.  Since my boys started school 5 years ago, we have been overrun with papers and artwork that I want to save. 

I briefly used artkive, which is a fantastic app where you photograph your child's artwork and store it online (in the app) by year, etc.  If you like digi media best, this is definitely an awesome and easy way to clear the clutter and save the memories.

At the end of the day, I am a tactile person.  I want to see the actual crayon strokes and know that my child held this paper in his hands.  So ultimately, I had to find a storage solution.

I gave myself an early Christmas gift of 30 flat storage boxes, 15 for each of my two children, one per year they are in school until they graduate.  They are big enough to store the oversized preschool artwork, but not big enough to keep everything.  I plan to save some room in each box for a small album for each child with photos from their year.  Limited space will help me teach my boys about prioritizing, as they still think that every broken toy should stay with them forever.  :-)

This was definitely not a budget solution, but it has already made life so EASY to sort, purge and start saving bits from their childhood.  And look how pretty they look on the shelf!

Week 2

This week, I am delving into the land of Project Life while trying to finish up my December Daily from 2012.  (Yes, 2012.  :-))

We spent our holidays running (doesn't everyone?!), so we went to the Nutcracker after the New Year.  It's a first for my kids, and I was worried about my 5 year old sitting through it.  Holy cow did he love it!  My seven year old is a little too cool for school when it comes to ballet (although if you ask him specifically, he lights up talking about various of the characters).  But my little guy sat enamored through the entire show,  clapping loudly every time they finished a piece (and sometimes before they were finished!).  It was an awesome day and something I was so grateful to share with them.


My first ever December Daily (2012) has been slow to complete, but once I got over feeling bad about how late it is, I have been able to enjoy the process completely!  This has been an experiment in letting go of my expectations for myself-- both in the timing and the design factors.  I have officially let go of doing it the "right" way (whatever that is!).

I learned that you don't actually have to do the daily part of a December Daily-- just as much as you can.  I have put very little design pressure on myself, which means I definitely like some pages better than others.  The lack of pressure, though, makes the process so enjoyable.  I am almost finished with it, so I will share as soon as I have more done.

Are you done with your December Daily???

New Year, New Plan

My boys play baseball.  

This might not mean much to some, but to those parents whose lives are consumed by their children's sports or activities, I know you understand me.  We live in Miami, so our season is just beginning.  Both of my boys are competing, my husband is coaching, and I am a team mom.  We have 8 games or practices a week between the boys- the times and days of which vary- for a total of 16 hours (at least) spent on the field each week. It is our entire life from January-April.

When we decided to allow our youngest to play this winter, we made the commitment to double our already all-consuming baseball schedule.  To make it work, I elected to stop teaching my after school art program.  

Although I am generally opposed to New Year's resolutions, I find myself facing at least 8 months of no excuse to build fun, joyful projects that help my young students explore their creativity.  

To ensure my creative spirit is still being nurtured, I made a plan that is extra ambitious!   I also plan to forgive myself for whatever I don't get done!

I have created a schedule of pursuits or projects, if you like.  I have heard (and know from personal experience) that I only have so much energy in a given day, and too many decisions- whether big or little- saps that energy.  Thus, I am making the decisions now in order to reserve that energy for more DOING.  Besides, Karen Grunberg is my hero for these things (and many others!), so I am taking her lead and advice and trying out the scheduling thing.

My blog is going to look like this this year:

Mondays:  52 Cards 
Tuesdays:  Healthy Life, Happy Mom

Wednesdays:  Medium of the Month

Thursdays:   Keeping Memories

Fridays:  Color Me Crafty (aka kid project!)

I will do videos where possible and will post those with the blog posts.  I'd like to promise one per week, but until I get my feet under me (just took the crumbling Christmas tree down tonight and STILL am finishing my Christmas cards!), it may take some time before videos are a possibility!

Stay tuned for details of each of the projects in the next week, as I post for this week and last week (since we missed Week 1 of the year!).  

Happy, happy New Year!  May 2014 bring you and everyone you love health, peace and joy!