What's Been Going On?

What happened to 2016?

How can it be December 27th already?

During the last couple of months I have been working through life (credit card compromised, email account hacked, deaths) and doing a little travel. I've also been trying to catch up in my memory planner (4 months are missing entirely!).

For your amusement I will share a photo of why my creative schedule is slower than usual:

Since I overhauled my craft space, I can now sit beside the window while I work. The lap dog seems to think that this new arrangement is so that she can sit on my knee and look out the window. And nothing gets done. (She also steals my cleaning rags and foam applicators if I don't watch her.)

That's all for now folks.

Roll on 2017!

SSS Anything Goes

Before the month is out I better load a project!

Crafting has been happening, just not things I'm able to share here yet.

The craft room is set up after being packed away for a couple of months. I love it. I'm really happy creating in there now as I know where everything is. It even makes me a tidier crafter as I clean off my desk at the end of my projects. Why? Because everything has a place.

This little beauty is for a friend. I challenged myself to use some unused items from my stash : the Stampin' Up! Hexagon stamps and punch. The acetate base was one I had on hand (ok, I found it when I was unpacking and decluttering). I was actually looking for the acetate base for a birthday card in September and I couldn't find it. After I made a shaker card instead I found the base on my desk! It must've been waiting specifically for this card 😉

A close up on the details:

This card is for the latest challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes. The details can be found Here

Materials:
Stamps: Stampin' Up!
Inks: Ranger Archival
Washi: 7 Gypsies
Embossing Folder: Sizzix
Acetate: Stamp Effects
Punch: Tim Holtz
Cardstock & Paper: Stampin' Up!, DCWV
Other: ribbon, charm,

SSS Monday Challenge - Put a Stamp on It

It's birthday month for us around here.  Thank goodness I have finally put my craft room back together.

This card took much longer to make than it should of.  I started with a sketch from DCWV (their challenge for the previous month).  I chose my paper and washi but when I put it together it just didn't look right.  So I chose a new paper and a new washi tape.  I am so glad I changed it as I really love how it turned out now! The ultra thin washi is printed with a bambo design - love it.  After I did all the changes then I needed to add an element in the top right.  I shouldn't admit that it took a lot of time to decide on the element and its placement. A labour of love perhaps?

I am entering this card in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Stamp it (or "put a Stamp on it" as I like to call it). Unfortunately I did not use a SSS brand stamp for this card. The details for the challenge are here .

Materials:
Stamps: Stampendous, Lawn Fawn
Ink: Stazon, Ranger, Stampin' Up!
Paper & Cardstock: Basic Grey, Bazill, Vellum
Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh and Other
Washi: Little B
Other: Ranger Perfect Pearls

SSS Anything Goes - Birthday Cards

Let's just skip right over the fact that I didn't post in August.  There will be an update about that eventually.

September is birthday month around here.  I have only just finished putting my craft room back together so when I needed a birthday card I was under pressure to make the card in time for the person's actual birthday.  The gift card holder that came with the gift card I got was already printed with a design so I decided to not re-invent the wheel (make a new card base) and used the gift card holder as the base for my card.  I layered two 3x4" Heidi Swapp acetate Project Life cards and made a shaker card.  I covered the shaker elements with a Heidi Swapp photo frame.  I topped it off with a balloon flair that I found during the craft room re-design process.

You know how Oprah talks about "Aha" moments? Well, I had the opposite of an 'Aha' moment when I was trying to create the shaker pocket.  I got a Fuse tool last year and haven't used it much.  I thought this would be the perfect chance to put it to use.  I ended up going through 2 self-cut acetate backers.  I just could not get them to fuse with the Heidi Swapp acetate.  The first one was a thinner acetate so when it didn't work I decided to try a thicker acetate. Again, it did not fuse. I tried going slowly.  I tried going over the lines more then once. Nothing worked.  After I abandoned the Fuse and went with good 'ole foam tape I suddenly realised that maybe I had the wrong tip in the Fuse! Yeah, I had the cutting tip on instead of the fusing tip. Duh! Yup, definitely a "Duh" moment. It was then that I remembered trying to see if I could foil with the Fuse, thus saving myself from having to buy the Wave. Of course I'd put the cutting tip on for the foiling test and hadn't thought to change it back after. Duh.

For this project I got to use the Fuse mat and holder I bought to use with the Fuse tool.  I have to say I found this rubber mat brilliant.  I've always found the little rest for the Fuse really didn't work effectively so it was nice to have the attached heat proof pocket to hold the Fuse when it was heating and in between [inept] use.  I have a plastic covering on my desk and the rubber mat stuck firmly to this.  I found that the acetate I was working with stuck to the rubber mat too and I wasn't worried about the bottom piece moving while I was trying to fuse the layers.  That's my two pennies worth on the Fuse mat.

I am entering this card for Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.  The details can be found here .

Materials:
Frame & Acetate Project Life Cards - Heidi Swapp
Other: Punches, Acetate (packaging), Foam Tape, Flair (unknown)

Finally a Challenge

It's been awhile but I have finally been able to create something for a Simon Says Stamp challenge.  Of course I chose an easy one: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.  The details for the challenge are here.

It is important to note that I have packed up my creative space recently.  I haven't had the time or the products available to me but I managed to create something with the limited resources I have on hand.  A few ordered items winged their way to me while my craft gear is packed away and I decided to re-purpose some of the packaging. I got a new Webster Pages Folio (love these things - you can get them at SSS) and they come with a piece of vellum with the word "Hello" embossed in gold. I'm not one to let a lovely piece of work go to waste.  I used the vellum to make a dashboard (?) for a newly acquired Kikki-K planner (she's blush and tangerine coloured - gorgeous).  I say dashboard (?) because I'm not sure I understand what a dashboard is!  In this case I used it as a decorative cover page for my planner.

Of course, I had to add a little decoration to the back as well.

Materials:
Stamps: Citrus Twist Kits, Technique Tuesday, StudioL2e, Studio Calico
Washi: Doodlebug
Printed Cardstock: Simple Stories
Pen: Sharpie
Ink: Ranger, Delight

SSS Anything Goes

The latest Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp is Anything Goes! I love it when it's that simple to meet the guidelines.

This year I am attempting to document everyday life in a Heidi Swapp Memory Planner. I'm using the black and white striped version from last year (they didn't arrive until April and I wanted to start from January). All last year I had to enviously see everyone else's feeds of their Heidi Swapp Memory Planner creations. This year it's finally my turn. I'm not sure if anyone would be envious of my creative planning play though.

This is where I admit that April is the most completed month in my memory planner. It would be great to add details on a daily basis but basically life doesn't always allow for that (especially when you're away a lot). Jan-March are penciled in; I just need to find the time to either write them up permanently or stamp them up. I need to get better at adding decoration; not just stamps and writing.

First up is my April at a glance page. I have used a variety of planner stamps; some may or may not have arrived in a parcel from SSS recently....

The blank spot is for a StudioL2e Stamp set I have yet to purchase.....

Next up is an example from the Weekly view from April:

The empty spaces are for photos (I have to get them printed)

And one close up of the right hand side.  The quotes at the top and bottom of the pages are quotes from people I follow on Instagram:

With the intention of adding things daily I pre-stamped the days of the week for May.  As you can see from the photo, that is as far as I have got. But, to be fair, it is only May 3rd today.

The stamp set I used for the days of the week is from StudioL2e (I'm not confirming if it was in the recent SSS delivery).  It was a last minute addition to my order and it is perfectly sized for planners. I think you will be seeing this frequently in future planner posts.

Challenge Details: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is here. The theme is: Anything Goes.

Materials:
Stamps: Pink & Main, StudioL2e, Technique Tuesday, Heidi Swapp, Kelly Winnell (new to me)
Ink: Ranger, Stampin' Up!, Prima
Decoration: Fancy Pants (Office Suite ephemera), MAMBI washi, Stampin' Up! pennant punch, Heidi Swapp Memory Planner paper pad, Typo days of the week stickers.

Planner Pages

Just in case I don't get around to posting any new posts in April, I thought I would share my planner pages from a week in March. Otherwise certain people, coughLeighcough, will let me know I haven't updated the blog lol!

It felt really good to stamp up a week ahead in my everyday planner. Not only was it creative it also made my day-to-day a little more pretty.  I put this spread together after I completed the Unfinished Projects lists from my previous post. For that project I used a pre-printed card by Simple Stories from Natalie May's class at CAD 2015. The "Unstoppable" [bottom left] and "I am enjoying the Journey" [bottom right] pieces are leftovers from this class as well.  I used washi tape from Illustrated Faith on the top and bottom borders. I scribbled over the words I wanted to highlight with American Crafts permanent markers.  Unfortunately, the stamping in yellow ink for the pennants and "Be Thankful" don't show up well in the photograph.

I liked using the stamped star pennant for my to-do lists each day and it was a new layout for me.

I do have a Heidi Swapp memory planner for this year but I have only managed to get everything down in pencil for now.  The Month in Review section is done for Jan-March though.  I pre-stamped everything for April with the intention of filling it in daily or weekly but that hasn't happened. I haven't even got April pencilled in at all yet. At this rate I will be still working on getting it all down in permanent ink way into 2017!

Materials:
Stamps: Pink & Main, StudioL2e, Technique Tuesday
Inks: Prima
Washi:  Illustrated Faith & Bella Boulevard collaboration.
Pre-printed Cardstock: Simple Stories

Gone Girl 2

It's been brought to my attention that I haven't updated my blog in awhile. Apologies for the neglect, but I'm sure you have managed to carry on with your lives much the same in my absence.

The reason for the lack of blog updates is I have been gallivanting around, enjoying my own country as a tourist to places I have never been, Northland, and as a repeat tourist,Wellington. I spent a few weeks travelling around Northland, first going up the east coast then back down the west coast. I have only been to Whangarei as a day trip to the 'city' when my family (minus 1 sibling) went on a last family vacation to Kelly's Bay (near Dargaville). I didn't want to mar the entire Northland with memories of that trip so it was nice to see some other parts which lived up to their hype. Beautiful scenery, beautiful beaches and a lot of important history. It actually left me with a desire to read up on New Zealand history but I was pleased to recognise some of the events and places that are important in the area. I was also really pleased to note how much my generation has picked up Maori vocabulary and use it naturally in everyday language simply by being exposed to it in a lot of settings (schools, public documents, slang even).

Some of the highlights include:
Russell - beautiful stone beach and lots of history including the place of our first capital (Okiato)
Waitangi - where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed (what some would call the founding document of our country)
Cape Reinga - you can see where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet ( just don't run out of camera battery half way down the long, steep and windy path - true story!)
Rarawa Beach - fine white sand that squeaks (especially if you kick at the ground with your feet - true story)
Buried Kauri - the sheer size of them is impressive to say the least.

Finally I can say I have been to the tip of the North Island, Cape Reinga, and the bottom of the South Island, Bluff, and a lot of places in between. Next on the list is the Nelson area.

On the crafting side of life I whipped up a UFO [UnFinished prOject] page for my Goal's book.  I created it from leftovers from the Simple Stories layout by Natalie May from CAD 2015, old alphabet stickers from my stash and bits and pieces from my pre-punched planner stash. Pretty simple but done. It means I can tick something off my to do list too.

Maybe I should add 'Update Blog' to the UFO list...

Materials:
Papers: Filofax, Simple Stories, Scraps
Stickers: Simple Stories, unbranded alpha stickers from the Warehouse (seriously old)
Stamps: Technique Tuesday
Ink: Ranger
Punch:  Franchville (pennant)
Die: Spellbinders (arrow)
Pen: Sakura

New Simon Says Stamp Challenge

Welcome to the New Year. As it is a new year I needed to choose a new One Little Word (OLW) for 2016. My OLW for 2015 was Sparkle and my new word for this year is Thrive. After the last few months I have had I definitely needed a hopeful and positive word for 2016.

It has been a good start to the new year so far: a little crafting, a little de-cluttering and a lot of resting. It feels wonderful to be creating again. I have only been doing short bursts here and there and finding new ways to create while keeping my body comfortable. I guess my new approach for 2016 will be finding new ways to do old things.

One of the projects I worked on is a cover page for my new goals book. This year I tried a new approach of actually writing down my goals for this year.  I put my OLW on the title page to remind me to thrive while I achieve my new goals. Behind the cover page I brainstormed what the word thrive means to me.  I used my new Heidi Swapp spray inks to create the page.

I have separated my goals into three key areas: Body, Soul and Spirit.  On the next pages I have written down the main goals under each key area.  I colour-coded each of the key areas: blue for Body, pink for Soul and purple for Spirit (not shown).

Next I created a tabbed section for each key area. Under each key area I repeated my goals but added in steps to achieving them. As Dr Phil says: the difference between a dream and a goal is a timeline. This is new for me as I usually think of the goals but don't necessarily put down all the steps to achieving them. For example, one of the goals I have under the key area Soul is Saving/Financial Stability. In the Soul tabbed section I have written down what that means - things like learning the difference between needs and wants and tracking spending etc.  I plan on using lists and encouragement under each key area for encouragement too.  Each tab got a title page as well. First up is Body:

Then Soul: I used new stickers from Rosies Studio and Simple Stories

Finally Spirit: I used my new stamps from Neat & Tangled and Illustrated Faith washi on this page

I am using a personal size Filofax (red - of course) and I am using the calendar from last year that came with it. I will white out the old dates and add new dates as needed. In this yellow tabbed section [daily] I will write down successes and failures that occur. Again the entries will be colour-coded.  I have also further colour-coded my Saving goal entries in green so I can specifically see which entries relate to that goal. For example on one day this week I had to write an epic fail entry in green as I ordered some more scrapbooking items online!!!

I'll let you know later in the year how this new approach is working for me.

I am entering this new project in two challenges at Simon Says Stamp as they both have the same theme: Something New (hence the emphasis on the new)
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is here
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is here.

Materials:
Filofax Domino
Inks: Heidi Swapp, Ranger, Stampin' Up!
Card: American Crafts
Stamps: Neat & Tangled, Studio Calico
Embellishments: American Crafts - Thickers, Puffy icons; Simple Stories - stickers; Bella Boulevard/Illustrated Faith - washi; Rosies Studio - stickers;  Ranger - perfect pearls; Kaisercraft - stickers; Creative Imaginations - rub-ons; Tassle Charm - Ribtex, Carfters Choice.
Pens; Frixion, Kikki K
Other: Labels