30-Day Coloring Challenge: Day 1 – Lilacs in bloom

March 4, 2015 by 6 Comments

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Recently I have been trying to schedule in time for coloring with my Copics to continue to improve my skills and also to get back to making more products.  I was in luck when I came across this challenge online that I think is just what I need to jump start my mojo.

The Challenge begins today and ends on April 2nd.  All I have to do is spend a minimum of 5 minutes and color each day then share what I am creating. They don’t have to be finished cards or projects, just coloring. I like this because for me it takes the pressure off and let’s me play. So on some days I might have something complete and on others you will just see what I’m playing with. I will mostly be using my Copics, but I will also use my watercolor paint, watercolor pencils and distress markers from time to time. I hope by blogging and putting my stuff on Instagram, I will stay honest to the task.

To find out more if you would like to participate you should click here.

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Since all this snow is driving me crazy, I decided coloring flowers would make me happy. So I used a digital stamp from this awesome company called PowerPoppy. I don’t know if you remember me talking about Flourishes which was an amazing stamp company that went out of business last year.  I really loved the detail in their stamps and truly miss them. Well this company is on point too. The details of each stamp is so intricate. So lovely you could even leave them uncolored (blasphemy!!).

I also played with different color combinations.  So now I will know what colors to use for variety.

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I think I will add glossy accents to the lady bug so she will pop and  of course wink of stella clear all over the flowers! Might keep these for reference and color up some for cards.

Happy coloring!

Belinda

Filed Under: Belinda, Projects Tagged With: , , , , ,

OLW – friends update

March 4, 2015 by Leave a Comment

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One of my goals with my OLW which is Connect is connecting more regularly with friends. So I am a big believer in what energy you put out there, it will come back. And I really believe that what I am about tell you is because I put the energy out to connect to friends.

Two weeks ago, I was working on my blog and I have a program that automatically scans comments to determine if they are spam. If so, they put them in a separate area. It also allows me to approve comments. So I was going through a list of comments that needed to be approved and came across one that I wasn’t sure about. The first name rang a bell but when I clicked through they used a graphic rather than a photo as their avatar (pardon if too technical). So I don’t take chances, I deleted it.  A few days later, I received a comment with details of my childhood that just blew me away.

My father was in the service and I lived on the base for a short time before he retired. Where I grew up, I went to school with kids from the base and made great friends. The only problem is they usually have to leave at some point. This friend of mine was lucky, her date put it off somehow longer than most but right as were into high school she told me they had to move. I was sad. We tried to keep in touch and then as most people we lost touch. She contacted my mom when I was in college and then we talked again then we lost touch.

When a memory of her would occur, I would get online and start searching. I knew a few things to help but to no avail. Well, she found me…she found me. I believe in this energy and I know in my heart, that it was meant to happen because I put that energy out and for whatever reason she found my blog.

We have started a slow catch up but I intend on not letting her slip away again.

So that is my update for now thanks for allowing me to share this with you.

Belinda

Filed Under: One Little Word, Projects Tagged With: , , ,

Project Life: week four

March 2, 2015 by 2 Comments

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week4aWeek four was a great week. I took the boys to Barnes and Noble for Martin Luther King’s Birthday to look at books. I love the picture of Apollo in his own world with a book on the floor in the bookstore. This was also the Readathon weekend and I smile when I see the selfie of Nicholas and I with our books. He was trying to give me rabbit ears!  After the Readathon, Leao decided to introduce Apollo to circuits. So he was so excited when the final step led to the little green light coming on.

week4I am really enjoying using this page protector with the three large 4×6 portrait oriented photos.

week4bI was so excited I could shrink down the picture of the yummy scones to place on this 3×4 card. The sentiment is spot on! Yummy!

week4cI am not a big fan of my handwriting but I liked making small photos to include information on my One Little Word project which is very important to me. I really want to educate myself more on charitable giving opportunities and humanitarian injustices. I want to find my way to what I can do to help.

week4rightPage two was really fun. I think this is one of my favorite page protectors so far. I like the flow of it. I included a picture of my ‘Wizard’ and love that they will both still like dressing up. I also included my continued love of smoothies with a photo of the way I prepare bananas for freezing and a picture of one of my new favorites, Orange Goji. One of my OLW goals was more connection with family and bringing back Family Game Nights was one of the best things I have done. We play once we finish dinner. It’s a nice way to end the day. Lately Old Maid has become a favorite.

week4dThis boy keeps me laughing. Look how he puts “Bee” his bear on his head while he reads. He had him there the whole time.  It was so funny, I had to capture it on camera.

Overall a great week with lots of memories to cherish.

I will be back next week with week five.

Happy crafting!

Belinda

Filed Under: Project Life, Projects Tagged With: ,

Silhouette Sunday #16: Apollo’s Silhouette Journey

March 1, 2015 by 6 Comments

apollosilhouette1Apollo has always taken a strong interest in my crafts and Belinda’s Crafts for a very long time now. When I am in my craft room, he always finds an excuse to come in and check on what I am doing. I bought my Silhouette Portrait about two years ago and he took to it immediately. Before it even arrived in the mail, he downloaded the software and started poking around.  When it finally arrived, he was thrilled. He loved seeing all the cool cutfiles. He liked that it was on the computer since that is one of his favorite activities.

apollosilhouette2jpgSo when he found out I was receiving the new Silhouette Cameo for Christmas, he began his pitch for taking my Portrait.  I told him he could have it, if he promised to take special care of it.  Well we finally set it up on his computer in early January and he has been loving it. I have been teaching him how to locate free files online and to always download the weekly freebie at the Silhouette’s store.

apollosilhouette3In the beginning of February, he downloaded a free heart valentine card from Silhouette and he set to making me a Valentine. I love that he has no fear of jumping right in there.

I often think of my friend Cathy, who got me to take the leap into the world of Silhouette,  when I watch him working on his Silhouette and how she would be so thrilled to see another generation having fun with it. So I hope she will get to see these photos.

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Recently, he celebrated his 100th day at school. They had to bring in 100 of an item for some activities. So I sent him with dried beans.  But the day before he found online a website that a person made a ‘100’ card and he immediately thought he wanted to make one to take to school.  By the time I came to provide some help he had followed the persons instructions and selected the same font and size. So I took the opportunity to teach him how to use the duplicate tool and weld to create the card base and he did all the cutting.

apollosilhouette4I can’t tell you how proud I am of him and the look on his face when he took it to school to show his teacher and friends was priceless. At this rate, I might have to hire him in a few months to create some cutfiles for Belinda’s Crafts.

As Cathy would say, “They’re never to young to learn a craft.”

Happy crafting my friends and thanks for reading about my pretty amazing boy.

Belinda

Filed Under: Apollo, Silhouette Sundays Tagged With: , ,
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