Thanks a Bunch

I did it! I finally made a card! It seriously took me about three days to make, but I did it! I even snapped a quick photo so that I can share. 

As I've been cleaning, decluttering, organizing, and relaxing over the summer, I've been itching to get crafty. I had a little basket of goodies that my friend, Naki, sent to me last year when I declared that I would try to make 12 cards in 2018 (I only made 3). One of those goodies was the Paper Smooches Best Buds stamp set with this cute jar of blossoms. My original plan was to go vibrant and whimsical, but Naki suggested I try a metallic embossing powder with light watercolors. Boy, was she right! Thanks, Naki for your insight and advice! :)

I'm finally entering a challenge as well, which is something I haven't done in FOREVER! Paper Smooches has an Anything Goes challenge this month which makes it super easy and super fun to play along! 

The DEEtails:

Paper: Artist's Loft 140# Watercolor Paper, In Color 2014-2016 DSP, Lost Lagoon cardstock, Sahara Sand cardstock, White Vellum cardstock

Stamps: Best Buds (Paper Smooches)

Ink: VersaMark

Embellishments: Winnie's Sparkly Shaker Selection (Little Things from Lucy's Cards), DMC thread, Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder

Tools: Kuretake Gansai Tambi, Many Thanks Die-namics (MFT)

Summer To Do List

I finally did it! I sat in my office (crammed in a tiny corner) and made something!

I'm not entirely sure why, but I'm not a big fan of the phrase "bucket list"... call it what you will, but this is our Summer To Do List, our Summer Fun List, or our Summer Wish List. I was inspired by this project that I found on Pinterest and was determined to make one for our family.

My little girl requested a floral pattern/theme, despite my gentle push towards some other summery patterns and prints. We sat down together as a family and brainstormed some fun activities and then I made them into tags. It took me a while and I was actually a little worried for a bit that the summer would be over before I even had a chance to finish, photograph, and post this project, but here we are!

I dug through all my supplies and gathered whatever I could find to create these little tags. It's been such a long time since I've sat down in my craft space that I honestly didn't even remember a lot of what I had! I've been weeding through my stamps and supplies and selling things on e-bay little by little, but I still manage to have TONS of stuff!

The tags that we have are as follows:

• blow bubbles
• pick berries
• make ice cream
• swim
• board game
• pick flowers
• tea party
• have a picnic
• visit a museum
• visit the library
• ride bikes
• fireworks
• paint
• catch bugs

Now we just have to go do all these things before the summer is over! Thankfully we were able to knock off a few during our recent trip to visit family. I'll be posting some pics soon!

Currently... July 2019

Hi there! We were out of town last week so I'm a little behind on blogging... I'm officially on summer vacation and loving every moment! Here's what we have going on around here...

WATCHING: Music???
LOL. We are so behind the times around here when it comes to media and technology... After a big storm, the sound on our TV cut out, so we ended up getting a new one a few weeks ago. We aren't big TV watchers, but our little one loves to watch Disney movies and hubby plays games at night, so a working TV is helpful. A TV with sound is also a plus. We got a smart TV this time around and linked our Pandora account to it and our little girl is constantly requesting to "watch songs on the TV." She literally plunks down in front of the TV to watch it flash the album cover of her favorite Disney songs. What a silly girl!

READING: Hands Free Life by Rachel Macy Stafford

I just finished this awesome book. I absolutely HATE doing things out of order, and I was frustrated with myself when I realized that I accidentally got the sequel to Hands Free Mama before I read the first one. But quite honestly, I couldn't make myself stop. It took me a long time to read the entire book, mostly because I just wanted to sit with each story and let it resonate. I finally finished it last night. I just loved it and I can't wait to read the first book now.

LISTENING: to The Greatest Showman Soundtrack
I haven't seen the movie, but the songs have been stuck in my head. I think the kids at my school were singing them and they just kind of got stuck in my head since school let out. Anyway, I sort of became obsessed and now I'm listening to the soundtrack. non. stop. Sorry, Hubby. ;)

EATING: giant marshmallows (*I don't know if these are the actual ones we got)

That's right. You may remember back in May, our daughter was on a mini marshmallow kick. Well folks, we have upgraded to GIANT marshmallows! LOL. They are still a "special treat" for days that she has good table manners and the thought of them make her so giddy. Love that little girly! 

DRINKING: lots of water... again!
So long ago, I only drank water. It has been so inspiring watching our daughter truly love "fresh, cold water." Recently we decided to buy a large Brita water dispenser and start filtering water from our tap. We used to drink only bottled water, because I just didn't care for the taste of our water. We started to take an extra step in boiling our water before filtering and I can honestly say that our water is delicious. Plus our daughter loves that she can dispense "fresh, cold water" whenever she wants. 

WEARING: this sleeveless jersey swing dress
I've talked about how I got a few of these sleeveless jersey swing dresses from Old Navy last summer and they've become a staple for me again this summer. They are simple, comfortable and cool to wear. I usually pair it with a fun necklace and am good to go! I am such a black dress girl, but there are lots of fun patterns and prints if you want more variety! I'm also eyeing this one to add to my closet...

MAKING: progress on my 19 for 2019 list!
I'll be sharing details soon. I'm excited to report that I'm about halfway done with my list, which is pretty fitting since we are halfway through the year!

PLANNING: our trip to Japan
(The photo above is from our visit in 2017 to Tokyo Disneyland - my FAVORITE place on Earth)
We'll be heading to Japan in the fall and I'm so excited! I'm slowly starting to plan... rounding up my shopping wish list, putting aside things to that I need to pack, buying a few necessities... On our itinerary so far is Meiji Temple for Shichi-Go-San (the reason we are going to Japan), Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea (reason #2 & #3 LOL), and Arashiyama Monkey Park (have I told you our daughter is obsessed with monkeys?!?) 

TRYING: to clean up my office
I know... I know... I keep saying that I'm working on my office and really, I am! It's just always difficult because it easily becomes the dumping ground for anything and everything we don't want little toddler hands to get into! I am really making an effort to get it craft-ready because I'm really itching to craft!

WANTING: a new desk??? 

I don't know if this is a move in the right direction, but I'm wondering if a new desk will help make my office space more productive. It might make it feel more like an office space and less like a dumping ground... Hmmm... I'm on the hunt!

FEELING: relaxed
After a busy and stressful school year, I'm glad to be having the time off and am feeling a bit more relaxed. 

ENJOYING: summer!

We just got back from a visit with family and it has been such a nice way to start off our summer. Our daughter is at such a fun age and I am really trying to soak it all in!