Nerdy craft

This month, I took a course called Dictionary Couture by Jennifer Priest on My Creative Classroom.

I jumped at taking the course when I saw that she would be teaching us how to make paper cone wreaths.You see, she has a large wreath in her craft room that I have coveted since the first time it appeared in her videos.

Using old books (or in my case, books I was planning to chuck in my decluttering), I went to task on creating some fun "nerdy" crafts for my home.

The most tedious of the projects was a wreath covered in paper roses. I'm glad I chose a small base, but I love how delicate the flowers look and smile every time I get to my door (where it is currently hanging).

I literally tore apart an ENTIRE book to make this small wreath.

I thought about giving this away as a gift (as I do with all my projects), but I ended up keeping it!

 The second project was the piece I was dying to make! I thought I would end up putting the final project in my craft room, but I realized that it would fit perfectly in my dining room. I needed art on my walls, and pieces made with book pages seemed to fit the room well because that's where my bookshelf is located.

The base was a simple ring covered in book pages. I then proceeded to attach cone after cone after cone.

I added a little lace, some paper flowers and some buttons.

I just love the volume and subtle color this wreath gives my walls.

One of two cone wreaths that currently hang on my wall. I'm hoping to add a smaller third one. I believe in the power of three for visual balance.

 Love, love, love these projects. I'm so glad that there are so many mediums to learn new techniques. Being able to take a class online means that I can take my time to gather my materials and watch when I'm free. I'm definitely planning to take some more!

Mixed Media Project: DIY Masquerade Ball Mask

A long delay does not equal a lazy crafter!  I've probably done more crafting in the last two months than I have in a really long time, and it's been a ton of fun.

I've decided to dabble in the mixed media realm for the first time. While I'll always be a paper crafter at heart, I needed to push my crafting comfort zone a bit. If you know me well, you know I love a crafty challenge!

So what would be my first challenge....

For a work fundraising event, I was charged with adding a masquerade mask to my formal attire. I waited until the last minute to really start hunting for a unique mask and I realized I would have to drop a pretty penny to buy one. I much more preferred to give a donation to our cause then to buy a mask I probably wouldn't wear again.

I went to youtube and I did a search for DIY masquerade masks and came across this video:


I couldn't believe that all the ingredients I would need would be aluminum foil, tape, and newspaper. Lord knows I had the embellishment supplies to spare, so I figured I had nothing to lose in trying.

Off I went on my crafty adventure!

Are these really the majority of the craft materials needed?

Molding layers of aluminum foil on your face is much harder than I expected.

Ha! I needed to make sure my molding was on target. Had to make the eye holes a bit larger than originally drawn.

It wasn't until the papier mache part that I really felt like we had something coming together.

Painting my base

And then I lost my mind looking for embellishments!

I had a bunch of embellishment options, but I realized I also wanted to use up supplies that I hadn't touched in months. So I took some of this adorable "Day of the Dead" fabric I bought YEARS ago and went with it.  After all, I am Mexican...so why not celebrate it!

I also went with a mask on the stick...probably the smartest of my decisions.

I had a blast watching this unfold step by step and I liked the original look of my final project.

This first little dabble in the mixed media world was not as scary as I imagined. Here's to more fun projects!

What a hiatus - it's almost embarrassing

If you know me personally, you know two things are true:

1. I started a new job that I love
2. I de-stress by crafting

Almost a year ago, I happily accepted a position with Ronald McDonald House Charities. In this year, I have taken on the largest supervisory role to date and I've had to deal with some highly stressed individuals (the families we support). It has been challenging and rewarding in ways that I never imagined. Despite some of our crazy hours, I can almost always say that the little bit of crazy is worth it because we were able to support a family during their time of crisis. So even if it was an exhausting day for me personally, I know that my exhaustion and/or stress levels pale in comparision to that of the many families we support. I've learned to suck it up and move on because the end result is a happy heart.

However, I'm now getting to the point where I'm starting to really know some of our families...and growing pains as a new House are evolving into some dynamic expected and unexpected changes. Which means that sometimes I do feel stressed out. This is all outside of whatever personal situations and issues that I might be experiencing myself. For example...dealing with a sprained ankle that took about 7-8 months to finally heal! Dear me.

The one thing that I haven't been good about doing is using my love for crafting to destress. Now, don't get me wrong, I've crafted...but it's mostly been for clients or events. They have definitely provided me an outlet of artistic escape, but I need to get back on track and start doing some stuff for me...for fun...for my crafty goals.

So here are three crafty goals for 2013:

1. Finish setting up my etsy shop
2. Submit original work for potential publication monthly
3. Make myself a scrapbook

There is a lot more I want to commit to, but I'm going to start with those three. I need to finish the craftroom organization goal from last year, but that is more than half way done so I just need to continue what I've already started.

Here's to a crafty fun 2013!

Card Cupids World Cardmaking Event

Saturday, October 6th was World Card Making Day.  I'm a day behind on my posts and crafting, but I got back on track today to support a wonderful agency that I'm proud to work with.

Card Cupids is an agency based in Virginia whose mission is to provide happy mail and birthday bundles to kids facing difficult challenges.  A lot of this is done through handmade cards from nationwide volunteers.  So of course Card Cupids has to celebrate one of its favorite days!

Well, Card Cupids has something else to celebrate this year - it's officially a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.  I'm so proud of everything that Stephanie has accomplished since launching Card Cupids.  So let's keep with the celebratory spirit and continue to send some smiles to kids in need and earn some chances to win some great prizes!

To participate in the Sending Smiles Challenge, we are asking people to share a card that they've made to make a child smile. We have several requests for cards, so we're hoping you'll also send in your card to one of the many kids on the Card Cupids referral list!

Because of my busy past couple of months, I've sort of slacked on my design team responsibilities, but it's time to get back on track.  I decided I'd start with this challenge (which ends on October 12th).

Below is one of my cards for this week. I'll have a couple more to share throughout the week :)  Yay for crafting for good - it makes crafting extra special.

When sisters rally

On June 25th, I received an email that no one hopes to ever get from a friend.  A sorority sister  whom I had seen over the years since graduation, informed us (her Sigma Lambda Gamma sisters) that she had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.  Being in my 30s, I knew that I would one day be faced with this very situation, but I had somehow convinced myself that I was going to escape the direct relationship with someone battling this disease.

Rather foolish, I know.

Deyla is a force of nature.  She served as a paramedic....married the love of her life....had two adorable kids...and lives her life with a very sweet smile and huge heart.  Though no one should ever have to battle this illness, I know that her inner strength will help her in this battle.

One of her previous partners decided he was going to throw her a benefit.  This man's huge heart was in the right place, but boy did he need some help organizing the event.  One of my sisters had been on his original outreach list, and she called on us to come together to do what we do best.  Many of us have had years of experience in throwing large events and fundraisers...but now you also throw in our love for Deyla and you get an unstoppable force of a committee.

So on September 30th, we hosted our Pink Ribbon Warriors' Benefit for our dear friend Deyla and raised over $12,000!!!  We were exhausted...we battled with competing personalities....and were astonished by the generosity of others. 

Deyla's battle has just begun, and her committee of sisters, family and friends has only just started on their journey.  Our September 30th fundraising event may have been a huge success, but we know we can do more.  So watch out world - you ain't seen nothing yet!

We were so happy Deyla was healthy enough to come and see how many people loved her.

Our committee organized over 30 incredible baskets for raffles, about 15 silent auction items and multiple money raffles.

If we made it through pledging...then we'll make it through anything.  Together - we are unstoppable!  Hermanas por vida!

A special request for a special daddy

One of my newest coworkers received some difficult news regarding her dad's health last week.  While there isn't anything we can do to change the circumstances, we are all trying to rally around her to give her the support she needs so she can be there for her dad.  Her mental strength and positive attitude are sure to be a source of comfort for him along this long road...but we all want her to know that she can lean on us!

I was absolutely touched to receive a request for three cards for her very handsome and sweet papa.  One is needed tomorrow, so I raced home to create something masculine enough for him but pretty enough to represent her.

In digging through my arsenal of supplies, I found a card I had started making in an Archiver's class, and I realized it was perfect for what she needed it to say.  So I whipped out my vintage type-writer (bought at Nest Vintage Modern) and added the final touch to the sentiment on the front of the card.

The typer-writer font was perfect for this vintage themed card.

view without the camera flash glare

Sending this very sweet man some positive vibes!!!!  If his daughter is any indication of the type of life he has lived, then we need him to stick around for quite some time longer so more goodness and love can be shared.

We're rooting for you!

Declutter update

So shockingly enough, I haven't stopped on my quest to declutter this House. I'm still following the book I mentioned in an earlier post and finished organizing my finances and health records.  It's amazing what happens when you list your bills monthly (with your corresponding paydays).  I now know exactly what should be paid with each paycheck and I've somehow started not blowing my entire my paycheck (just because I can).  I'm one for instant gratification normally.

Here are some of my favorite organization tools for finances - both found on pinterest!

I've never looked at how I spend before - so I'm creating my first true budget this month.

I know my general monthly expenses, but how do I really spend my money? This is helping me capture all those non-mandatory spends.

This was also my year of getting on track health-wise.  I finally had a physical and have established a medical home for myself.  All that stuff I put off for no reason at all has now been done.  And well, I had some not-so-great blood results which made me push my mission for better health even further.  Nothing serious....just something that could turn serious if I don't start tackling how I eat and how much I exercise.  So I'm all over that too!

I'm also continuing to tackle the scrapbook room.  Tiffany Spaulding of The Scrap Rack is launching her organizing course now that all the kids are back at school.  It'll be a great way to finish the course I started before my new job.  Since I already started the first couple of sessions and they are mostly complete, I decided to tackle my biggest challenge - STAMPS!

I started the organization process by stamping and labeling each stamp as I stored them vertically in a box.  The outside of the box will then tell me what stamp numbers are in them.  Three stamps bins were condensed into one 12x12 photo box.

After I finished storing all the wood mounted stamps (haven't yet tackled the cling stamps), I would sort the stamped images by themes.  For example, if I was looking for an owl, I would go to my animal theme sheet and see what owl stamps I had. Each stamp is now labeled so that I'll be able to find it easily in its appropriate box.

By the time I finished organizing most of the wood mounted stamps, I almost died of embarrassment.  I have almost 400 stamps (that I found in the clutter)...I know there are more!  Oy vey!  At least now I know what I have and can start the declutter/donate process.  I love most of these stamps, but if I don't use them over the next year, I'm going to seriously consider donating the ones I don't use.  Here are all the stamps organized on my shelf.  They now take up very little room.

The process will continue today!