My thoughts on A Day in the Life...

I think you have heard me say this before, I am great at starting something, not so good at finishing it.  And that is particularly true when it comes to big projects like A Day in the Life. I love the idea behind it but I seem to run out of steam part way through and then never finish it up.

I promised myself that this time I would start and see it through till the end.

Right now, it's 10.30pm and I have just finished the majority of my documenting and I have made lists so that I can finish it up tomorrow.

Here are some of the goals I set myself so that I would succeed this time round...

I didn't get too fussy about the quality of the photo.  I just snapped what I wanted and accepted it just how it turned out.  It saved me a heap of time trying to get the best shot, editing etc etc.

I made sure I captured some everyday stuff, not alot, but some.  And I didn't worry about other "stuff" that might me in the photo ie. mess etc.

I also made sure that I made it into some of the photo's.

But... the most important thing I did was to use the Letterglow app to add journaling to my photos as soon as I took them.  Adding journaling etc after the event is where I generally fall down so by using this app I could do it right there and then.  All my photos have journaling on them and all I have to do is print them out and add them to my Project Life album.

I also kept a piece of paper where I added other stories that I wanted to capture.  I have already typed this list up and all I have to do in the next few days in the check it, set it out nicely and I am finished.

So excited to have this project organised and to know that I will actually finish it.

How did you go?

love me :-)

mmmmm coffee time...

As my term comes to an end for Feed Your Craft I am feeling a little sad that I will no longer be working with the lovely Elise and all the girls on the creative team.  It has been such an honour to be part of her first Creative Team and such an honour to get to play and create with her wonderful flair buttons.

I have had this layout in my head for some time and it finally came together during the week.  As you all know I have a huge obsession with coffee so finding photos to document is not hard and when I received these amazing flair buttons I was stoked.  As soon as I saw them the first thing that came into my mind was Coffee.

This layout completely explains how my brain works during coffee time - actually that's how I came up with the journaling on my layout (with stickers).

Other products used:- Kellie stamps, studio calico, stampin up & silhouette cameo

I sure am going to miss being on this creative team but I will definately be using these great mini flairs for quite some time.

Love me :-)

Note:  mini flairs are awesome.

#projectCRAFTroom part 2...

So, things are happening a little faster than I had planned (insert deep breath).  We are having a street rubbish pickup and that makes for the perfect time to get rid of stuff.  Getting rid of the two desks was always going to happen but not for some time, or so I thought.  But last weekend we found a new desk for my room so that meant we could get rid of the old ones in the street rubbish pickup.  That meant this weekend was all about moving out of the craft room so we could get the desks out, put the new desk in and then move back into my craft room.   A huge job to say the least but I just keep thinking of the bigger picture.

Once the desks were out, I cleaned the blinds, the windows, washed the floor and just generally dusted and cleaned.  While my hubby was putting the desk together it gave me the perfect opportunity to start sorting through some stuff.  And boy is there some stuff in this room!  

One of the things that I am sticking to is to only keep what I use.  With that in mind, I gathered up a whole heap of stamps that I no longer use and listed them for sale.  I was stoked when they sold as that gave me the money to start buying my new desks and shelves.  Initially I felt funny getting rid of the stamps but when I sold them and had the cash in my hand it meant I could start buying my new furniture and that made me feel so good.  Getting rid of stuff I don't use meant I can get stuff that I do use.

Although I still have a long way to go sorting, purging and cleaning it is already starting to feel light and airy.  I can feel inspiration getting ready to move in and I am so excited.

moving "stuff" out so inspiration can move in

Love me :-)

You are like...

Back in February I was given a set of watercolour paints, and since then I have been adding paint to just about everything.  This colour is my favourite and so I decided just to play around with it and see where it took me.  I made these circles using the paint and felt they would make  the perfect home to house an embellishment or two.  I decided to try out the new "Week circle set" of digital stamps from Kellies Stamps.  I loved the black with the orange and my layout grew from there.

I also added images from the new AM to PM clear stamps as well as from the digital version of the same stamp set.  This layout is a bit different for me but I love how it turned out.  Trying something new is a great way to keep you motivated.

This month when you order both the "AM to PM" and "Go See Do" digital stamps from Kellie Stamps you get the "Week Circle Set" for free.  I would say that's something to good to miss.

What are you obsessed with??

Love me :-)

(the coffee obsessed one)

Currently...

When Kellie from Kelly Stamps told me that she was bringing back clear stamps, you could hear me shouting WOOHOO from the top of my lungs.  Don't get me wrong I love the digital stamps but I do miss  stamping and get messy with ink.

This new set AM to PM (avail for pre-order until midnight 19th March 2016 Australian time) is perfect for documenting my here and now.  One of my favourite things to do is to repeatedly stamp in one area to create a place to hold a title.  I have used the stamps to create my background and then used the digital stamp to create a cut in my silhouette.  Having both the physical stamp and digital stamp of the same images just opens up so many more options.  I then typed up my answers, ran it through my printer then stamped the headings.

This layout was so fun and a great way to capture how I am feeling and what I am doing right now.  I may just do one of these every month and just change the pattern paper and embellishments.  It would be great to see what stays the same and what changes.

Happy stamping

love me :-)

Please note:  the AM to PM stamp set is only available on pre-order which has been extended till midnight tonight, 19th March 2016 - Australian Time

#projectCRAFTroom...

several weeks ago my husbands Aunty & Uncle contacted us to tell us they are planning on coming to Oz for a holiday.  We were so excited and we are really looking forward to them coming.  

But... yes there was a but!  Where are they going to stay.  All our bedrooms are full.  My husband looked at me, you know with that look of "I want to suggest something but I don't think you are going to go with it" followed by a very long stare. Then he said "well we could always clean out your craft room".

"Are you insane" I screamed (yes I screamed, I mean who in their right mind would suggest such a thing) where would I craft? But the bigger question "where would I put all that stuff?"

My husband very quickly realised that this was probably one of his worst suggestions ever and we moved on.

Several weeks later...

Since that initial conversation about my craft room, it got me thinking.  Moving out of this room would be a HUGE, TOTALLY HUGE project.  I mean it's full.  Probably more than full, it's at the point of bursting.  But if I moved out of this room it would give me the best opportunity to clear it out, declutter, destash, de-everything.  I could really go through everything, be ruthless and only keep what I truly love and use.

But I pushed the idea out of my head.  Too hard, too big, too difficult!  Plus I need all that stuff right??

The idea kept coming back though, each time stronger and stronger.  The urge to get rid of stuff starting to sound exciting, do-able, possible.  At the same time all this was going on in my head I had started to read "the life-changing magic of trying up" by Marie Kondo.  I used this method to clean out my wardrobe and the result have been amazing.  

What if I used the same approach to my craft room.  What if I moved out, cleared stuff out, sorted stuff, purged stuff, donated stiff, sold stuff and only kept stuff that I truly loved and used.  I was already feeling a sense of space, clarity, room to move, room for inspiration to grow, just at this thought.  So how good would this space feel if I actually did move out.

So I chatted with my husband, made a deal with him (that I was only moving out temporarily and as soon as they leave I am getting new furniture for my craft room, more shelving in the closet and then I am moving right back in) and #projectCRAFTroom was born.  

These are some of my guidelines to keep me on track - 

1.  I have got  approx 12 months to complete the moving out process.

2.  I am going to tackle small chunks at a time.

3.  I am only going to keep what I actually love and use (no exceptions to this rule at all).

4.  Stay focused on the end result.

My mantra for this project - 

moving "stuff" out so inspiration can move in.

So here we go, wish me luck ...

love me :-)

FOCUS - March

As we move into March and as I settled in to work on my OLW prompt for March, 

my word sat heavily in my head.  

I find it very hard to Focus on any one thing.  

I am always thinking ahead, planning ahead and worrying about what is coming up.  

Sometimes my head is overflowing with ideas and sometimes it's just plain empty.  

I start way too many projects, 

and because I have way too much going on, I don't ever finish most of them.

I needed to empty my head of these "thoughts".  Not because I didn't like them or thought they were silly but because it was important to acknowledge these thoughts.  Too often I push things aside to rush onto the next thing, so it was time to stop, listen to myself and Focus on what I was trying to tell myself.

When I ordered these mini flair from Feed your Craft my intention was to do a layout with them.  But I think I will keep them and put them into my OLW album along the way, when I need a reminder to work on my word.   Having them scattered through my album will be a nice gentle reminder to FOCUS.

How are you keeping your word visible.

Love me :-)

Note:  these custom mini flair are available at Feed Your Craft and they are a great way to add your OLW word your album.