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Thursday, June 8, 2017

FabFri 113--Complicated Anniversary Phase 1

I had a bit of card creator's block today. I was having a really hard time creating anything and I was getting a bit frustrated because this was the day I had set up to spend a lot of time creating. I spent time looking at Pinterest and old challenges and watching videos from my Aim for Alaska group. Nothing was sparking inspiration.

Then, mid-afternoon, I had a realization--this is a complicated anniversary for me and I needed to give myself permission to truly focus on all that it means and design my cards around that today.

 I was very inspired by a blog post by Brian King not too long ago talking about his own personal anniversary that needed to be addressed. I too was 29 when my live changed forever on June 7. My husband and I were in a car accident on our way to lamaze class. That night began a whole lot of changes in my life and will forever mark my life into 2 parts--before and after. My son was born that night 10 1/2 weeks early and is doing amazing and I can't believe he turned 13 today. My changes are quite noticeable especially if you knew me during the "before" time in my life. I came home from the hospital three months later with a traumatic brain injury, nerve damage on my right side, double vision, a new voice, and a wheelchair. I realized as I tried to create today that before I could move forward with happy cards, I had to take a moment to create a card to address the grief and loss involved in this anniversary. I had to acknowledge the loss of the "before." So, that is what I did.


I used the inspiration from the #FabFri113 challenge to create a card with to help process the grief and loss of this day.  I used my favorite of the 2017-2019 In Colors--Fresh Fig and the main color for this card.  I decided to add a bit of dimension by layering two circles in Very Vanilla and stamped flowers and leaves from the Flourishing Phrases stamp set on the larger circle and the sentiment and more leaves on the top circle and attached it with dimensionals.  Tying the bow was probably the most challenging part of this card for me.  Anything requiring fine motor skills with my right hand is difficult.  But, I think this was probably a good struggle for me today.  I did not give up; I kept working at it until I had a bow to attach to my page.  It did, however, make me think about the already tied bows that are available in the new In Colors in the new catalog.  I think that is something, I'll definitely have to add to my next order.



Make sure you check out the design inspiration and all the other great entries in #FabFri113
This card helped me get through Phase 1 of this Anniversary.  But, did I mention how complicated this anniversary is and how many layers of feelings there are to work through?  So, we made it through Phase 1.
Read the rest of the story here:
Phase 2
Phase 3





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Monday, June 5, 2017

My favorite returning items in the 2017-2018 Annual Catalog

I know it's easy to get excited about all the great NEW products in the 2017-2018  Annual Catalog, but I don't want to just focus on those.  I thought I would make a list of my favorite returning products as well.  Some of these I use with every project I make; some are just favorites.

Here is the list in no particular order:
  • Work of Art Stamp Set
  • Sheltering Tree Stamp Set
  • Star of Light Stamp Set and Starlight Thinlits
  • Sprinkles of Life Stamp Set and Tree Builder Punch
  • Swirly Bird Stamp Set and Swirly Scribbles Thinlits
  • Flourishing Phrases Stamp Set and Flourish Thinlits
  • Regals Color Family (Especially Elegant Eggplant)
  • All Colors of Enamel Shapes
  • Clear Stampin' Blocs (Especially sizes A, D, and E)
  • Stampin' Scrub
  • BigShot, Magnetic Platform, Precision Base Plate, and Die Brush
  • Hexagon Dynamic Textured Impressions Folder
  • Layered Circles and Layered Ovals Framelits
  • Embossing Needs: Heat Gun, Embossing Buddy, Versamark, and Embossing Powder
  • Watercoloring tools: Watercolor Pencils, Aqua painter, Blender Pens
  • Balloon Punch
  • Fine Tip Glue
  • Bone Folder

If you have questions about any of these, let me know.

If you would like to be part of my shares for the NEW Catalog, let me know.  You can check them out here
Shares from 2017-2018 Annual Catalog

Remember to use host code RXWU72UV if you place an order between June 1-10 and your order is under $150.00  If it is over $150, don't use the host code so you can pick out your own stampin' rewards.  Every order over $20.00 that uses the host code will get host rewards from me. 
If your wish list is over $99.00, you might want to consider joining my team.  In your starter kit, you will get $125 of Stampin' Up product of your choice for $99.00.  And will then get a discount on future orders as well.  Click on the buttons below to shop in my store or join my team.



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