NSD - Challenge two & three...

Welcome to Kellie Stamps Creative Team 2nd challenge - Use three different ink colours...

I have changed things up a bit for this challenge - 

What if you don't have three different ink colours or you don't have three colours that you think work well together?  The good thing is that you don't need lots of different ink colours you only need one.  On this project here I chose one colour ink (blue) and used a very simple but  effective technique called "stamping off".  It's simple, ink your stamp then stamp your image, then stamp your image again but don't re-ink you stamp.  For my title "May" I inked and stamped the letter M .  Then I inked the letter A, stamped it onto a scrap piece of paper, then stamped the letter A onto my cardstock.  This made the letter a lighter blue than the first letter.  I repeated the same for the letter Y only I stamped it twice onto scrap paper before stamping onto my cardstock.

I was having so much fun with this technique that I decided to create a pattern in a speak bubble using the same stamping off technique.

This is such a simple way to get more out of your stamps and inks.  Try doing this with other colours, have some fun and remember to share your project on Instagram using the hashtag #nsdkelliestamps to go into the running for some fun prizes.

Have fun

Love me :-)

Smoothie life...

As I continue to enjoy my smoothie lifestyle I have also continued to enjoy different ways to document this journey.  I am surprised that after 6 weeks I am still enjoying a smoothie everyday and feeling better for it.  

The latest release from Kellie Stamps - digital "Good food" and "like a girl" gave me the inspiration I needed to create this fun page in my February 2017 travellers notebook.  Both these sets are also available in clear.

I used my silhouette cameo and the sketch pen to draw seven mason jars and to cut them out.  I then used watercolours to add the colour to each jar to match the smoothie that I had on that day.  I had some red/white striped pattern paper from Felicity Jane that was perfect to make the straws.  I then added strips of cardstock that I added the day of the week and what smoothie I had.  I finished off my page with a tag to add some extra details.

I think I might have to do this again, I just love those stickin cute masor jars.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you all have a wonderful week.

Love me :-)

Headspace - learning to meditate...

Recently while on IG a post came up about Headspace, an app for guided meditating.  I had seen this come up before but just swiped passed it.  When it came up again, I stopped, and thought about why this keeps coming up in my feed.  I am a great believer in that things happen for a reason,  so maybe I was supposed to check this app out.  

I headed over to check out the app and really liked what I was reading.  I even read the reviews (which is not me, I don't really like reviews as I believe them to be a personal account and what I like someone else may no and vice versa) and most of them seemed positive.  So I check it out further and decided to take up the free "take 10" challenge.  The idea is to do a short 10 minute guided meditation every day for 10 days.  This is to give you a sample of what the app is like and also to see if it is something you like before subscribing (yes, there is always a subscription LOL!).

This year my OLW or mantra as I like to call it is "365 new day, 365 new chances".  I wanted to have something to keep me focused for a whole year, something to encourage me to live life in a mindful and positive way.  I am always looking for new things to try, new things to experience and new things to make me appreciate this life.  I thought that learning (or re-learning) how to meditate might help me to achieve this.  I also wanted to document this new experience in my "April 2017" travellers notebook.

I took the theme from the app (the orange circle) as my design element.  I took some of the words from the app and added them to first page.  My thought then was to create a page with 10 orange circles on it and each day when I completed the 10 minute meditation I would tick it off by adding a day of the week tag.  The days of the week are digital stamps from Kellie Stamps called "today was".  I also wanted to add some information from the app about meditating but didn't have any more room left.  I decided to print the information onto vellum and attached it to my notebook with washi tape.

I am up to day four and still going strong.  I am meditating at night, just before going to bed and I must say it is helping me go to sleep straight away.  My initial thoughts is that I love it so far.  I like calming myself right down before going to bed.  The speaker on the app has the most wonderful tone and speaking voice, very soothing.  Lets see what the rest of the week brings.

love me :-)

Hello February...

Hello February

Hello to turning 52 - really!

Hello to school going back.

Hello to continuing working on my OLW - mantra

Hello to a new Travellers notebook for February

Hello to going on school camp - love going on camp

Hello to working with a new teacher

Hello to doctors appointments and getting the all clear (skin check)

Hello to exercise

Hello to starting my gym membership - yep I finally did it and joined!

Hello to 21/90 - it takes 21 days to create a habit / it takes 90 days to create a lifesyle

Hello to sticking to my budget - well trying at least!

Hello to being a guest Creative Team Member for OLB - so excited

Hello to more decluttering

Hello to more blog posts

Hello to cooking - kinda missed this in January so making a big effort this month

Hello to more reading - I have started off the year well and I want to keep it up.

Hello to "unplug" days and weekends.

Hello to embracing my age - ???

Hello to keeping my stress levels down

Hello to using my essentials oils more - they made a difference last month in a positive way

Hello to more relaxing baths during the week

Hello to watching my savings grow - slowly but surely

Hello February - Let's do this!

Have a great month

Love me :-)

Kellie Stamps - January release #2...

Thank you for stopping by to check out my second project using new clear stamps from Kellie Stamps.  

I have been using a travellers notebook to document my mantra (OLW) for this year, and I am adding many different things to help me keep on track and to keep working towards "My Fabulous Year" concept.  This new clear stamp set from Kellie Stamps "Love your body" was just what I needed.  It had the perfect words and images to create a mind map, if you like, or brainstorm about the things I need to keep in mind to stay healthy and strong this year.

My main goal this year is to move more/eat well and most of all to Love my Body the way it is now and how it will be along all the stages of my life.  I have been really struggling lately with my body image, shape, size and the fact that i am getting older, really struggling with the getting older thing and that dreaded word menopause!    I have to say that this fun little brainstorm was just that, fun, totally fun, which made me realise that I am getting way too serious about the age thing.  LOL!

... but I have joined the gym and started walking again.  Still need to work on the healthy eating thing because I don't think that a chocolate sundae comes under that category - which is such a shame really because I could eat them all day!

Happy crafting!

Love me :-)

January Twenty Seventeen TN...

If you have been following along, you will know that I am not doing OLW this year in the traditional sense.  Instead, I have a mantra "365 new days, 365 new chances".  With this in mind I have created "my fabulous year" which is a sort of concept, a challenge for my self if you like.  I am challenging myself to live "my fabulous year", but to do so I need to think differently, act differently and be different more than I have before.  

I needed a place to document my year long journey of living more mindfully.  It needed to be a place where I could set goals, keep things that speak to me, write, show gratitude, evaluate, review and repeat.  I decided to make my own Travellers notebooks, a new one every month.

Since starting this journey I can honestly say that a few things have happened that I never thought would.  Some of these things I am not quite ready to share yet as they are very personal and not really like me, but I have to say I am liking the direction that I am heading in.  I a not sure if it's because of the travellers notebook or whether it's just because I am living life more mindfully,  Either way I am embracing this direction.

For my first page I printed "twenty seventeen" plus "365 new days, 365 new chances onto vellum.  Loved how it came out.

To make my cover and first page I used digital elements and papers from Paislee Press by Liz Tamanaha..  Right now you can get the "twenty seventeen" (as seen above) word art and cards at 20% off but if you are a press lister you can purchase it for free (check  your emails for the discount code).

"365 new days, 365 new chances" digital image from Kellie stamps.

Later in the week I will share more of my Travellers notebook.

How are you documenting your OLW this year?

Love me :-)

Unplug the noise...

I came across The Minimalists several months ago and I have been following them, listening to them and trying to get a feel of how I can add minimalism into my life.  I know I need to "declutter", not just physical things but in all aspects of my life.  I want to make big changes this year but I need to be mindful and tackle things one at a time.  

Last year I unplugged for a week, yes a whole week and while the thought almost made we want to vomit (such a good reason to unplug don't you think) and I wasn't sure how I would cope with not being able to "keep up" with everyone...  but I am so glad I did.  The first few days were tough, so tough that it shocked me. It was only then did I realise how addicted I was to social media (instagram is my weakness).  I turned off notifications so that I wasn't tempted to check out "just that one post" and so when I picked up my phone (out of habit) there was nothing on my screen, so no temptation was there.

I could write a whole book on my feelings from that week, but to sum it up - SO WORTH IT.

When I came across this post (see below) on Instagram it was a timely reminder to UNPLUG again.  This time however, I am going to schedule it in my diary for one day a week and, I am going to unplug one weekend a month.

With all the technological advances of the past few decades, we’ve become more efficient than ever.  But, of course, with every discrete bit of input from our laptops, tablets, smartphones, earbuds, email apps, and Wi-Fi toasters, our world has grown louder. Noise is an unintentional by-product of productivity.  The more we produce, the more we increase the volume. 

Eventually the noise is so loud we must shout to be heard.  

There are many ways to turn down the volume.

Check social media only once a day

Turn off all notifications, beep, bells, whistles.

Schedule alone time, quiet time free time.

Respond to only the emails that require a response.

Ensure your creations add value, not just noise.

Unfollow, unfriend, mute, block, opt out, let go.

Speak less, meditate more, breathe deeply.

The best way to turn down the volume is to avoid turning it up in the first place.  As with your car stereo, the potential for noise is always there, sure, but the noise itself is present only if we allow it to be -

Only if we rank the knob clockwise.  Otherwise, silence reigns supreme.

(this essay originally published at @Minimalism. Life)

Every Sunday night I am going to schedule in my "unplug" day for the week - I'm looking forward to turning down the noise.

Have a great week

love me :-)