Archives for February 2014

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Hello!! Happy Valentine’s Day. Yes…that was my Silhouette you heard humming at 8:30 last night. Somehow I managed to forget to make Valentine’s cards for the boys’ teachers. I always make them and then buy the store versions for the kids to swap with their friends.  Well we had a snow day yesterday and the boys were home and I managed to forget what I had to do for the day.  So yes, I snatched up the easiest file I could find and cut out these cards.  I have also made an extra one for the crossing guard.  I am always so amazed how she manages to get out there way before all the kids are released from school and stand in that bitter cold. I stay in my car until the last minute and I still freeze my butt off. I wonder what kind of thermals she wears?  Anyway I made an extra one for her.

I also made a few for my son’s ‘special valentines’. I printed up some digis and colored them up real quick.  

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The boys completed their cards too. Apollo is sitting at his new desk in his bedroom writing his cards.  I am so happy they have desks now. They both like to write and especially at bedtime so they will be well used.

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Our seven days of love has gone well. I even received a chocolate in my mailbox last night from my husband. (Love that man.).  Well I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s day and a great weekend.

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook Book Review: The Charm Bracelet by Melissa Hill

the charm bracelet

The Charm Bracelet by Melissa Hill

Holly O’Neill knows that every charm bracelet tells a story.

Many years ago she was sent one with just a single charm attached. The charms have been appearing ever since, often at challenging times, as if her mysterious benefactor knows exactly when she needs a little magic in her life.

As a result, Holly’s bracelet is her most prized possession. So when she finds someone else’s charm bracelet, she feels she has to try to reunite it with its owner. Even if the only clues she has to follow are the charms themselves.

On a search that will take her all over New York City at Christmas, Holly becomes ever more determined to piece together the details of this other charmed life. But what she doesn’t know is that her quest may also lead her somewhere she never, ever expected . . . 

I bought this book  on sale for  $1.99 on my Kindle back in November and didn’t get around to reading it until January while I was reading, “The Ruins of Lace“.  I used it on days I felt I didn’t want to read the dark places in The Ruins of Lace.  The Charm Bracelet, immediately struck a cord with me because I have a Pandora bracelet and one of the reasons I really love collecting beads to put on it is the meaning behind each bead.  Although not all of my beads have the same personal significance as the main character Holly in this book, but I do cherish mine.

The book moves back and forth in the present and past for Holly and Greg another character in the book. Although a few chapters in, I predicted what might happen, it didn’t spoil the book in any way. The story had a great mystery and an element of surprise at the end that made it worth the read. I liked all of the characters and felt she developed them well throughout the story.

The main character worked at a thrift shop and she had a beautiful way of describing the stories behind the clothing they sold.  It made me want to drop in on some of my local thrift shops. I love books that make you smile and feel that warm and fuzzy.  This book achieved that. It also makes me want to go buy some more beads for my bracelet!!

I would recommend this book.

I would rate it a 4 out of 5 stars.  I rate books on my GoodReads account so I will give it a go here too.  Hope it’s helpful!

Happy Reading!

Belinda

 

 

 

Valentine’s Mailboxes

 

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Well our 7-days of love has begun at our house. I completed these mailboxes last week and each has been placed near our beds waiting for love notes.  Each day I write 3 love letters and slip one in each mailbox.  Then at bedtime we all open up our mailbox and read them.  The first box, from left to right is Apollo’s then followed by Nicholas’, mine and Leao’s.

valentinesboxes2Of course I had to add flowers to my mailbox because I needed an excuse to use my glue gun and truly can’t resist using flowers.  I also got to use some old brads to attach the arrow so that it could spin.

valentinesboxes3I put it on my nightstand so it is ready to receive some love notes. The book on my night stand is a new one I bought to help me with my genealogy research. More to come on that project sometime in the future.  I you would like to get this cut file for the Silhouette you can find it here.

Have a blessed day!

Belinda

 

Shortcuts for Designing in Silhouette

Hi everyone! I have been seriously having so much fun with my Silhouette. I have been making Valentines, cutting out some words for my Project Life and even working on a logo design for my son.  I used to do multimedia development way back before having my boys.  One thing I did then was learn all the shortcut keys for the various applications I used to speed up my work.  In Photoshop, I learned all the shortcuts and created actions to reduce repetitive tasks. So I am thrilled to learn that there are shortcuts when working in Silhouette Studio.

Some of you might want to resist this but trust me, in the end you will be so happy you took the time to learn them.  Because whenever you want to create something you will do it with ease and very quickly.

Silhouette has compiled a list for both PC and Mac users.  One way to learn them is to start with a few at a time and as you use  new features, refer to this sheet to see if there is an equivalent shortcut key to perform your task. Before you know it, it will come to you without you thinking about it.

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The photo above is a sneak peek of a finished Valentines’ mailbox I cut out with my Silhouette and now using with my family. So be sure to check back on Monday to see all the mailboxes.

Happy crafting!

Belinda

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