Update to the Update

Well, it looks like I never did come back with all that awesome craftiness I talked about in my last post!! Life happens, as they say.

I am currently in purging mode of all my scrapbooking/crafting supplies.  Did you know that I bought a sewing machine in 2014, and I have NEVER used it?? True story.

As I do every so many years, I am in a crafting slump. Honestly, I feel like all my creative outlets have taken a hit the last three years, and I haven't quite fully recovered.  I remember when I didn't have a dedicated craft room, I used to create more. Now I think I have too many supplies to choose from which give me crafty scatter brain, and I get overwhelmed by it all.

Here is a before and after picture of my craft room. It is finally somewhat organized after almost two years!! All those boxes & bags near the window are filled with supplies I need to donate or sell.

I think this picture is from late 2018 when I finally started trying to clean this up. I used to go to Tuesday Morning during my lunch break at work when I was most stressed out, and I just kept throwing those bags in here. YIKES!!

This is definitely better but still a work in progress. I did clean the carpet since taking this picture earlier this month!!

I think I need to go back to the basics of putting together my scrapbook pages and albums. Memory keeping is still very important to me, and as a writer, the story telling of our lives is very important.
So, I am going to start making kit boxes like I used to back when I first started scrapbooking. Back then, it was due to lack of space, as I didn't have a craft room. It may work for me again, or not. But as creatives we are always evolving and trying to adjust to our circumstances and environment in order to continue making our art, right?

Hope all is well on your end, crafty friend. 

Virginia

Hellooooooooo, out there!!!!

Well hello there, Neglected Blog!!! After a 2 year+ hiatus, I am BAAACK!! I have some new and exciting projects in the works and I can't wait to start blogging and sharing crafty stuffs with y'all again.

For now, here's a quick update of the some of the goings on the last two years, not necessarily in order : 
*I never did finish my 30 days of lists...yikes!
*We moved. 
*I have an actual craft ROOM now!!
*We got a dog, then another dog, and ANOTHER. (Yep, that's 3)
*I turned 40. 
*My son turned 18.
*I joined the workforce again, got laid off, then found another job.
*I discovered there were a whole bunch of Planner Junkies out there, and no longer feel weird about having more than one planner.
*I gave up on Project Life. I started Project Life again, gave up and am currently in PL limbo.
*Survived the HailPocalypse of April 2016
*Graduated a Homeschooler
*Almost ALMOST enrolled my youngest in Public School 
*Finally rehomed my Silhouette Cameo
*Bought a Silhouette Portait
*Sold the Silhouette Portrait
*Started Bible Journaling
*AND soooo  much more that you'll see when I share my Scrapbooking projects!!

 Stay tuned.....  

 

30 Days of Lists

Guess what? I'm participating in 30 Days of Lists this month! I'd seen posts about it on Instagram and on some of the crafty blogs I follow. What is 30 Days of Lists, you ask?  Simply put, it's a journaling challenge for listers held every six months. For more info or to register and participate you can visit their site HERE.

Now you would think that with all the planners I own that I'd be making lists all the time. Well the truth is I don't, but I should. I should be making lists other than just writing down what bills to pay or what appointments to keep and what to buy at the grocery store. I should be making more lists about what I love or what I want to do or places I'd like to visit or who I am. Sure, I have a ton of  said stuff "pinned" but when do I really go look at it all, let alone go do it? And yes, I'm doing Project Life this year too, but again, it's not something I do everyday and it's mostly for documenting stuff that already happened. Plus, if you've seen my spreads, you also know that my PL is mostly about Lego Boy as he is the most willing subject for pictures and the kid says the funniest things!   So I decided to give 30 lists a go this time around. 30 lists will be all mine---all about me. Im really excited about it!

I'm using a tiny book that I can carry with me so I can work on the list prompts wherever I may be.

The first list is Ways to Add Magic to Your Life. You know I couldn't just make a plain list so I did it like I would my PL pockets. I'm hoping to do them all this way as it will help with #5 on this first list. 

Thanks for stopping by, and please comment if you make lists, are doing 30 Lists too, or just to say hello. I'm off to work on #7 on the list. Be sure to stop by my other blog Sleepless Girl in Texas where I will be posting the rest of my 30 Days Lists. Until next time...

Happily,

Virginia

Project Life Card Swap

My ear infection is slowly getting better!!  Yay, me! I had a bit of a set back after a trip to the Rodeo, yesterday what with all the exhaust smoke from the rides and lovely South Texas allergens out there. I'd tried weaning myself off the allergy meds I take, but it probably wasn't a good idea as they're the multi-symptom kind and the decongestant they contain helps with the pressure in my ear. Anyhow, enough about my sickies!

I'm still making PL cards and playing catch up with PL 2013 & 2014 whenever I can. Here are a few cards I have made for the PLCS group February Swaps and for my DT assignments. We have sponsors now, and I was lucky enough to be in the first group of DT members to get the awesome free goodies! The sponsor for our group was Trees to Treasures. I'd first come across TtT on one of the scrappy supplies selling groups on Facebook. The owners, Diana and Dale McRae make wood veneers and can customize your order to make pretty much anything you'd like! For example, for my set of veneers to create with, I asked for "hearts going up like bubbles." That is all I said! And they made this for me!! I mean, come on! Is is not exactly what I said?? I loved it!

Here are a few more cards made for the Sponsor Spotlight posts and for Sketches and blog posts, and swaps. To see more of my cards and posts, please visit the Project Life Card Swap group HERE  .

You can search my posts by clicking on my name on the right side and see some of my other swap cards by visiting the Gallery. I think I am the only Virginia there, but if not, look for Virginia D or Virginia Elizabeth. While you're there be sure to check out ALL of the cards in the gallery and some of the other posts by my fellow DT members. They are awesome and I always learn something from them!!

Thanks for stopping by! Stay healthy, friends!

Until next time....

Happily, 

Virginia

Throwing my Cameo Out the Window and other Scrappy Problems...

I have a love/hate relationship with my Silhouette Cameo. I love how it makes the most awesome cuts, and I hate when it totally screws up and tears the paper. Our relationship has definitely been one of trial and error...aren't they all?!! It turns out I just needed to clean the cutting blade, and get a new mat.
I went from this mess:

to this loveliness:

Here is the PL card I made with this file cut: 

Card I made for  the Project Life Cardswap Facebook group. I guess I am glad the cuts on the blue paper did't turn out well as I love the way the words look in red instead

A huge thank you to my friend Kathy over at Scrapping Felkatz  for her help in cleaning out the cutting blade. She is like a Cameo Whiz!!

Another dilemma I have been facing as of late is space in my little crafty corner. I currently occupy the corner of our bedroom near the window so I can make the most use all of the natural light. I love that I at least have a dedicated space for my crafting, but I have definitely outgrown the space. We're currently house hunting and you better believe that I am trying to make sure I get a craft room somewhere, somehow! Haha! No more limiting myself to the corner with the best natural light! And speaking of lights, I'll tell you about my last problem--I am without my Ott light!!  I left it at my friend's house from our February Crop weeks ago and I've scrapping in semi-good lighting since then. So please bare with me as some of my future posts might have pics with bad lighting. 

I suppose I should be grateful that these scrappy dilemmas are really my only 'problems' in life right now. I feel so blessed!

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time...
Virginia

One Little Word®

Hellooooo, out there!!  I'm now dealing with this ear infection, oy!! Had to go to Urgent Care and get meds and what not. I really didn't want to take more antibiotics, and looked into cures with Raw Apple Cider vinegar as an alternative. I think the infection was too far along so I've started the meds. Anywhooo, I probably won't be posting quite regularly until I am well again, but I wanted to share my OLW {One Little Word®} or word for the year with you: BE.

Card I made for the PLCS One Little Word® Swap for February using mostly Heidi Swapp's Hello Today

Collection, old HS rub-ons, and some Thickers.

If you're not familiar with OLW, be sure to visit Ali Edward's blog HERE to learn more.

I struggled a bit with choosing a word this year, and even considered continuing with my 2013 word, LIVE. But, after getting so sick again, and having a number of other things to deal with, I kept seeing the work BE everywhere....BE happy, BE free, BE healthy, and my favorite one, BE present. I could on and one with my BE list, but I will save some of them for future posts. Are you doing OLW or have you selected a word for 2014? If so, I'd love to hear about it!

Until next time,
Virginia

So What Happened Was...

We got the Flu in December. Aaagh! Believe it or not, I am STILL coughing. My brother told me he heard or read somewhere that there was this "thing going around" called the 100 Days Cough. At the time {early January maybe?} I didn't want to believe him. But now that I am closer to having had a cough for almost 100 days, I WANT TO believe him!! It means I will stop coughing soon, woohoo!! Don't get me wrong, I am MUCH better now and the cough attacks are very few these days. They mostly happen when the allergens tickle my throat too much. {Uh, that sounded kind of dirty didn't it??? Where are my iPhone Emoji when I need them?? Haha!}
Anywhooo....enough about coughs and the flu and onto some crafty goodness!

First, let me catch you up a bit:
~I did not, I repeat, I DID NOT finish my December Daily this year and I am STILL working on Project Life 2013. I have decided that I will not complete the separate album for DD and will simply add our December Dailies to December PL. Whew! You got all that, right? 
~I was asked to be a Design Team member for the Project Life Card swap group I belong to on Facebook...EEEK!! I was so super excited, and I still am! I have been blogging over there twice a month, so be sure to check out the PLCS tab at top which has links to read my post.
~I FINALLY got a Selphy CP900 photo printer which  I have yet to use! It's just so intimidating, hehe! I did try to print some pics for some invites I was making and they didn't turn out well at all. I am sure I need to be looking at YouTube videos or something for tutorials and what not.
~I am going on a Scrapbook Retreat with our Local FB group! So stinkin' excited!!


I'm sure there is more that I am missing, but I am now battling an ear infection {I know, I know--when does it end??}. I have never been a sickly person but I have had my run ins with anxiety, increased muscle pain,  and what not since my "year with Mono". I definitely have to take better care of my self, which reminds of one more thing I forgot to share--my One Little Word for 2014: BE.

I will tell you more about that on my next post. In the meantime, here are a few things I've worked on this year: 

 I made this PL card with some goodies received from one of our sponsors, Trees to Treasures. Here, you can see a close-up of the card and then where I used it in my PL album. Trees to Treasures  specializes in custom wood veneers. For more info on TTT and this card, please visit the PLCS blog.

 I made these PL cards for one of my blog posts on the PLCS blog about finding inspiration everywhere. For more details, please visit the blog HERE

My first layout of the year!  I made this LO there as part of a challenge to use multiple pics, a doilie, and a Project Life type card. For this LO I used some paper from an old Fancy Pants collection, Love Story;  'Love Day' card from the same collection; random papers from my stash for the layering; Thickers from my Marshall's finds; You & Me sticker from Cosmo Cricket; brads and buttons from my Stampin' Up! stash; a doily; some black rhinestones from JoAnn's store brand; arrow sticker from Paper Studio; and I stamped the word 'Forever' in black Palette ink using my new Heidi Swapp stamps.

             

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happily,
Virginia