Started an Etsy account

I just finished creating my first Etsy account, and I am excited to be able to share my cards, on a website known for its crafts. I know very little about marketing this way, and see I have only minimal viewers, but it's a start. There are plenty of sales resources available, with information on how to market yourself. You can track everything from traffic, to sales, and location of your viewer. I think it's a pretty easy opportunity, to make money, doing what I love doing. I've only posted 2 cards so far, and will post more as I make them. What intrigues me, are the wedding packages people are selling. $80 for 50 cards that would take me one evening to mass produce with my digital cutting machine! There is a small commission of your sale that you pay to Etsy, but I am sure there are ways around the quantity issues for these packages. I will figure that out before I post anything like that. In the meantime, I have individual cards for purchase which you can check out here. I am taking a small reprieve card making, since the massive amount of Christmas cards I made, but I will get cracking very soon. Check back for updates, as I am sure to blog about my progress.

The challenge, of not taking anymore challenges

You've all heard of the 30 day ab challenge, or the 30 days of no (insert unhealthy food here) challenge, or 30 days of whatever... Well I would like to start my own challenge, to not take anymore challenges. That doesn't mean I am going to grab a bag of cheesy Doritos and flake out on the couch, next to the bowl of chocolate ice cream I ate moments before. It means something so much more meaningful, realistic, and relatively obtainable. It means I have decided to accept myself, for me.

Before you think I am promoting things like obesity, or unhealthy ways of living- like not exercising, and eating copious amounts of crap, or giving up on oneself, I'll explain. First, I am not an unhealthy person. I eat large amounts of vegetables, that I steam, because I think it's better for you. I have two kids, so I am always busy, and despite what you may agree with, that counts as exercise. I eat regular, at-home meals, and try to avoid fast food when I can. I have just come to realize, that anything in moderation, wont kill you.

This self acceptance goes further than diet and exercise though. I have also come to "love the skin that I am in". I had two kids, I got really huge, then I lost only some of the weight. I am, in no way, the person I used to be, and that's OK. I am not one of those "tiger stripe" moms, who bears all to present her stretch marks with pride. I am just OK with them, and I've learned to be OK with myself.

So, I decided, I am no longer taking challenges. Instead, I am going to just live a regular existence, with no societal pressure, and self acceptance. My New Years Resolution for 2014, is just to be me.

All things photographed

If you're following my blog, you should be coming to an understanding, I photograph everything I can. Photography is my #1 passion!! If I could afford to go to school, and learn a few more things, I would make it my business. I don't feel comfortable yet with the idea of snapping someone's intimate moments, and not being capable of compensating for lighting, etc. I'd like to take a few classes, but it is really expensive. Although, that doesn't stop me from demanding, that my own poor family poses for any opportunity I see to get a good picture.

I take pictures, I print them, and then I display them all over my walls. I get compliments every time someone sees them. I am really proud of my accomplishments thus far, but I would like a bit more practice. Over the holidays I came up with the idea, of starting an entirely separate blog, specifically for photography. I will keep you updated, once I get that started. I think this would give me good incentive to start documenting my work, and hopefully start a business site in the future. I would really like to hear my work is being hung on other people's walls. Who wouldn't want to know their passion is being shared by others.

I have a few sample photos to share. (I wish they were more recent, but my other computer has a virus, and I am trying to get all my photos off ASAP. I 'borrowed' these from my facebook)

Enjoy!

Crafty lady

Anyone who knows me, knows I make everything. My friends call me "Crafty lady". My favorite thing is card making. This year, I thought I would jazz my cards up, and go for something with a punch. (Since I know my English teacher is reading this, that explains why I haven't submitted any work lately). It has taken me up until 2 days ago to finish them!! Actually, that's not entirely true. I forfeited a card to give to someone else, and now I have one more to do. 35 cards!! It would be so easy to buy cards, but I feel like someone who sins against God by doing that. So, I tried starting them early, and I think, if my memory serves correct, I started them just after Halloween. As I said before, I only JUST finished them (almost) 2 days ago.

On top of raising 2 kids, cleaning up after their messes (see previous post), holding a house together, and doing school via correspondence- I have no time. A third of my cards were being sent to New Zealand, so I really needed to get them done in a timely fashion. I would really like to start making a list of everyone's birthday's, and sending them out on special occasions for Halloween etc., but I have too much going on.

Anyways.. here are photos of both last years cards, and this years as a comparison. I'll explain a little how they were made.

 

So the first 2 are the snowmen family. They were a representation of the 4 of us. I printed the images, colored, and cut them out. Then I cut out separate sections, for the scarf and hats, to give the image a 3D look. The background is embossed using a snowflake folder, which you can purchase at Michaels crafts. Here are some similar folders, although the snowflake one is not listed at this time.

http://www.michaels.com/Cuttlebug/products-scrapbooking-diecutting-cuttlebug,default,sc.html

 



 



 The next set of cards is made with Mo's Digital Pencil's "Winter Fairy Halla" stamp. I love, love, love her. I don't normally purchase online images, but I couldn't resist. I also had to buy copic felts, as my sharpies and bics were too saturated, and didn't do her justice.

 The bottom of the card was cut out using my digital cutting "Cricut Machine", and then glitter glued.

 I added some glittered snowflakes, also cut out with my Cricut. A snowflake border embossed in the same snowflake folder as mentioned above. Really, on this I cheated as I had some backgrounds left from last years cards. Then, lastly, the red Poinsettia- to give the card a little zest.

 

 

A ton of work, lots of cutting and glitter gluing, but so worth it in the end. I feel there is something really special about this card. 

A little Christmas love

Every year at Christmas I bake, and clean, and bake, and clean. It seems never ending, but it's so worth it. Especially with two Christmases, and all that many more people to please. My son's preschool requested volunteers for Christmas cookies, so naturally I relished in the idea. Since he is old enough now to help, we made these delicious treats together. Although the pictures make it look rather charming, and like the process went smoothly, let me tell you- it did not!

The day we were supposed to be baking these cookies, I had a little cleaning to do in preparation. All the ingredients were laid out on the counter and ready to go. I took my eyes off my kids as I tidied, for what seemed like a fraction of a second, and I began to hear giggling from the living room. So, I came out to investigate, only to find they pulled the jar of cocoa off my counter, and were dancing in brown powder. This powder was ground into my cream carpets, and literally coating everything in sight. I just rented a carpet cleaner from Home Depot two days prior, and washed all my carpets before my company arrived for the Holidays. In my frustration I banished them to their rooms, so little brown foot prints were all over my floor, and powder covered their beds.

Of course, this powder does not vacuum easily, and I had to re-wash my carpets, wash all the bedding, and bathe two kids. *sigh*...

The next day, we managed to bake the cookies, with very little incident mind you. Unfortunately, I did not get any photos of the mess, as I didn't want to have it track any further into my house than it did. However, I did get some photos of my kids making the cookies for the field trip. We took them to Hawthorne Seniors Center, where my son's preschool class sang Christmas carols. It was quite a beautiful thing to watch all these elderly folks smile at all the kids. Sadly, the seniors did not get to eat any cookies with the fear of influenza. I learned though, that this was something I would like to do voluntarily every year if I could- and hopefully with little to no mess next time.

Here is a link to a chocolate cocoa and chips recipe for your pleasure- although it is not my recipe (I don't like to share baking secrets) ;)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chocolate-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe/index.html

 

My son says the white and brown mix reminds him of dirt and snow.

 

 

Here you can see a mix of both the 3yr old and 4yr old classes.