Good Morning Monday – Handling mundane tasks

November 8, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Good morning! The clocks have changed and I’m all messed up with the rest of the poor souls that must adjust to the daylight savings arrangement. Yesterday I started yawning at 6:30 and at 7 pm I felt like I was ready for bed!!! It gets dark by 5 and I feel very rushed. But enough about that, today is gorgeous. It is so bright and sunny and the temperature is rising as I type.

Running an Etsy shop is a lot of fun but there are tasks that are a little less glamorous. Today is one of those days, in which I am working on creating more card bases for new cards. As a one-person shop, I learned a long time ago that in order to speed up my production, I have to create systems that support the process of creation. One of those tasks that make the process run more smoothly is creating card bases in batches. So I will dedicate an hour or so to cutting high-quality cardstock and scoring them in preparation for cardmaking.

As we are fast-moving towards the winter holiday season, I decided I would like to put a few Christmas and winter-themed cards in my shop. Ordinarily, I would have all of them completed by now and would be marketing them on social media. However, this being my first year back, I am unfortunately behind which means I probably won’t capture the holiday sales as I would like.

I am always surprised by the joy I continue to have learning new techniques and buying new products and I realize that first and foremost, I am a crafter and that I still enjoy creating with my hands just for the fun of it. Despite the boatload of Christmas-themed stamps and products I currently own, I did manage to do a little shopping. This pile of new goodies is waiting for me to play with them before I commit some to new cards. So I am keeping the pile on the corner of my desk as I work on the card bases almost as an incentive.

One thing that I like to do when doing something that can be a bit monotonous such as cutting, scoring, and folding cards, is to listen to a good audiobook. It makes the time go by so quickly and I get some reading time in. Today, I am starting a new book by the incredible Stacey Abrams. It’s a legal thriller and I own the book but also have the audiobook for those hands-free moments like this.

I hope you are having a lovely Monday!

Filed Under: Belinda, Belinda's Crafts Tagged With:

Out with the Old and In with the New

June 14, 2021 by Leave a Comment
We removed our old veggie beds.

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful Monday. I am in a great mood. I could think of all the things I haven’t completed but that typically happens on any other Monday. Because let’s face it. Monday gets a bad wrap because it usually signifies the end of the weekend and back to work or school or a reminder of all the things I didn’t complete last week. So often, I find myself in a creative funk on Mondays because I have to play catch-up on projects or tasks. But today, I am turning the tables. I am treating today like a Friday. Now we all appreciate Fridays. They are the end of the typical work week and the start of the weekend and so many possibilities.

I wanted a round patio.
I enjoyed watching the process.
Cutting the circular shape.

I had a wonderful weekend. One of our big summer projects came to a conclusion and now we have a new patio. It took several weekends and a load of masons to come together to create my dream patio. I am looking forward to creating new memories with friends and family on it. We ordered a chiminea that should arrive in a few weeks. I also am on the hunt for some simple side tables and then the patio decor will be complete. We have two more summer projects to complete – a privacy wall, raised veggie beds with irrigation and lighting. Then my new garden room, as I am calling it, will be complete.

The finished patio definitely puts a smile on my face.

It has been relaxing not having to manage my veggie beds this summer. I will have more down time to enjoy family and our new outdoor space. I also can’t wait to sit out there early morning with a cup of tea and a book.

I hope you are enjoying your Monday!

Filed Under: Belinda Tagged With: ,

Where’d she go?

June 4, 2021 by Leave a Comment
removing screens on our deck

Well hello to you! I know I have been missing for several weeks and I am here to say I wasn’t simply just sitting on my hands. As the school year ends and summer approaches, I usually have a lot of things to do to prepare for the next season in our home.

I have been spending my time checking out contractors for some much-needed work as well as some new projects on our property. For one, I have finally decided to try out a mosquito spraying service. I have been thinking about this for years and the purest in me has always won out and so I never pursued contracting a company. But each year, it seems that the mosquitos have increased and are more vicious in the summer months forcing us to spend much of our time on our screened-in deck. However, after a year of quarantining at home during the pandemic, I am really looking forward to spending time out on all of our property. So I have hired a company to treat our property to create a barrier against both mosquitos and ticks. I can cancel at any time so I am going to give it a try.

painting

The other project my husband and I have been working on is repainting and rescreening our deck. It’s funny that I can color and paint in my craft room but painting out on our deck, well let’s just say that I am not a natural. Since our deck is pretty large this process has taken some time to complete so I have not spent much time in my office. Now that it is complete, I am not in the process of bringing out all of our deck furniture and decorating now that the time-consuming work is complete.

All painted

We also have decided to take down our old veggie-raised beds and redesign a new space in our back yard with irrigation. We have removed all the old soil and broken down the old beds and are now in the planning stages before we order wood to be delivered to begin this next project.

I had intended on releasing some new products at the end of May but that didn’t happen either. But rather than get mad or listen to my inner critic, I am embracing the ebb and flow of my work as I handle my home projects. So I haven’t had much time to write posts. But I will get back to this as well as back to work in the up coming weeks.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Filed Under: Belinda Tagged With: , ,

Happy Monday!

May 10, 2021 by Leave a Comment

Hello! I hope you all are well. I somehow managed to work through last week and missed writing a post so I thought I would share a recap of my peaceful Mother’s Day. The photos are not in order but I bet you can figure that out!!

My day began with a yummy homemade breakfast-in-bed and then I spent a little time reading in bed until my youngest joined me for a chat. Then Leao set up the new pump to our rain barrel and I was able to spend time watering some plants in the garden with rainwater. We always talked about getting a rain barrel and I am so happy we finally got around to doing that. It makes so much sense and the plants prefer the rainwater. We have two barrels and I could not believe how much I was able to water from only two barrels! Leao’s young lilac bush had its first bloom right in time for Mother’s Day. So I had to snap a picture of it. I have the old fashion lilac bushes but his bush has the beautiful fun white outline on the petals.

Then Apollo and I sat outside and ate some sushi for lunch. On Saturday, we spent the day with my mother-in-law and we ate lobster to celebrate. They also bought me a huge pot of dianthus and I knew exactly where to place it. I have a large pot I bought last year in place of the large tree we had to cut down. I kind of thought it would be a nice memorial for the tree so I bought a pot but never filled it. The dianthus pot fits in it perfectly and the flowers are so prolific. I look out my office window and smile at all those blossoms.

Leao took Apollo and I for a chai at Starbucks then we drove over to nearby lake to sit for a bit. Something about being near water is so calming.

At the end of the day I watched some TV with my husband and colored my first page in one of my new coloring books. I plan to complete it this week. I really enjoyed coloring this page.

What a relaxing but filled day I had. I didn’t miss laundry, cooking or cleaning one bit!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Filed Under: Belinda Tagged With: , ,
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