Archives for October 2016

2016 Autumn Collection – Sneak Peek

autumn2016sneakpeekHello! How are you today? It’s cold and sunny outside in my neck of the woods. But nice and comfy inside. I have my cup of Chai and I am ready to wrap up work on my fall collection of cards. I had taken a long time off from production for my online store and focused on offline custom items and continuing to explore new techniques in my craft. So I have to shake off the cobwebs and get down to the business of making some products for my online store.

I based this Autumn Collection on one color palette. I have never done this before and it sort of just happened that I liked the palette I was using on one card and thought hmm, that might look nice on this other card. So I created the next one with it and then the light bulb moment occurred to create my collection around this palette.

I took teaser photos and included them of some of the products that will be released next week in the photo above. I am wrapping up a few and then on to the photography phase to make them ready for my Etsy shop. I am going away this weekend so I had to push my final launch date out into next week.  This time of year, it’s very difficult to push deadlines out so I am going to have to hustle onward to meet the next set of deadlines.  I will announce the final release date here so stay tuned.

I hope you all are having a blessed day and keeping warm if you are in the colder regions.

Belinda

Happy Monday – My Weekly Ramblings – 10/24

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Hey you! How are you today? I apologize for missing our usual catch up otherwise known as Happy Monday for last week. In fact, I think I dropped off the radar for the entire week. Have no fear, I am fine I was just having some fun and took the week off. My sister came to stay with us on Wednesday and we had a really nice time. For a long time (years) I have been trying to get my sister to color he hair. She had been going gray for a long time and I thought it would be a fun change. Finally she took me up on my offer to go to the hair salon I frequent to make that change happen. It is her birthday this week so I told her it would make me happy if I could give this to her for her birthday. So off we went and I am happy to say she looks amazing. What a transformation. We spent the rest of the week, catching up and her spending time with my boys. We even went out for a little (ok, maybe a bit big for me) retail therapy at The Loft.  Hey when great sales are happening, I get weak and try on everything!

Yesterday, I spent the day with my in-laws and celebrating a belated birthday for my father-in-law. October is a busy month for birthdays. My mum’s birthday was yesterday. I was glad to be near my sister for a little while before she left on my mum’s birthday. No day goes by that I don’t think about her and miss her terribly. Usually my sister and I share fun memories on her birthday over the telephone so being with my sister in-person was nice.

Last week, with our house guest present, I decided to take the week off from Belinda’s Crafts. But you know what that means for this week – major catch up. I have deadlines that I need to meet so I will need to work a few days this week after the boys arrive home. I typically end my day before I go to pick them up but I don’t want to have to push all of my deadlines out. This time of year makes that rather challenging. I have also been reviewing my inventory and ordering up my fall business supplies which included a great desk attachment that my friend Elaine recommended at our last Craft Crop. It attaches to my desk and has a place for my drink and a little trash can. So I can avoid spills while working. I just received it and love it.  I have a few more things to order and then I should by good through the new year.

My only dilemma is that after this weekend’s weather of strong winds, my first big batch of leaves await my attention. I usually do a little in the day after picking up the boys from school, but I need to work so a delicate balance of time management will need to be planned. I actually enjoy the beginning of the leaf raking season, something about clearing away those golden leaves to reveal the tidy yard beneath, makes me happy. But I promise you, by the third round, I am one grumpy momma!!

As to my reading adventures, I completed my latest read from Helen Oyeyemi and will be writing up a review soon. I selected my next read which will be set in Japan.  I also attended my book club last week, and was able to get my recommendation voted for our November read. It is called, “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly.  The movie version of this non-fiction book will be released on Christmas of this year. So I am thrilled to read it prior to the movie. More about this later in my Book Nook.

Well back to work for me, I hope you all have a great day!

Belinda

Fun Halloween Decor

halloweendecor1Uh oh…I apologize for the email spam yesterday for those who subscribe. I was shutting down my computer yesterday and accidentally posted the rough draft of this post. I quickly pulled it before it went live but unfortunately, I can’t stop the email once they are sent.

Any way, ditch that old email and check out this post which actually has some photos. I have a great area in my craft room where I often display photos, my boy’s artwork and seasonal décor. I decided that I needed some Halloween pieces so I headed over to my Silhouette and cut out these cuties. Joan would be pleased that I assembled them without assistance. She is one of my crafty friends that laughs because I always have some craft assembly project that puzzles me and I ask for her help.

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One of the great things about having my Silhouette is I can whip up things fairly fast to display in the house. So it will be fun to see the boys notice this little Halloween village when they enter my craft room.

I hope you all are having a blessed day!

Belinda

Happy Monday – October 10

breakfastHello happy Monday!! What? You thought I forgot you? No, I didn’t honest, I didn’t forget. Today the boys are home from school so our schedule was a bit different. I had to run some morning errands and now I am finally sitting down to wish you a happy start to your week.
I am very happy today for many reasons, for one, Leao made it home safely from his business trip in North Carolina,  and my family in Florida are safe after this treacherous storm. But I still have prayers for all the people of Haiti and other areas that have been completely devastated by this storm.

I am also happy for the long weekend with my boys, poor Leao had to work. Let’s see, oh and my quarterback has returned to my football team and they rocked it out of the park yesterday. I managed to finish another book and just started one of the amazing books I received on my birthday. So I am feeling good about reading what I own.

The sun is shining bright today and I spent a little while reading on the deck. I will squeeze out a few more sessions before the weather gets too cold and then off to my reading nook for the winter!

I paid to have a signed poster of Nick’s frames for him on his birthday and today we went to pick it up. He was so surprised. I will be sure to share a photo once we hang it in his room.

I spent time reading with Apollo today for his latest book report and reading comics with Nick. He scored big on Saturday when we went to a neighboring town for breakfast (that would be the yummy photo of my breakfast above!)and when we went to leave, we saw a comic book store he always wanted to visit. So he stocked up on some favorites. So he has been catching me up.

I hope you all have a good day and I hope the week brings you something to smile about.

Belinda

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