Happy New Year! I’m back!!! I feel like 2022 flew by but I am looking forward to my creative journey in 2023. I have my design planner and calender out to set some structure to my workflow. I took much of November and all of December to reflect and begin to identify what I want my creative play to look like for 2023.
One thing that I would like to see is some enduring consistency with posts on this blog. I am thinking that I might have set my goal too high last year with three posts a week. So I am going to aim for two, sometimes might be three but definitely one a week. I want to continue to share both my Belinda’s Crafts work with Inside my Studio but I also would like to share my creative journey with various mediums. I have some new series in mind, one of which will be called, Product Play Wednesday where I will share photos, tips, trials and errors with new products I acquire in my creative space.
This year I feel like I want to dive into painting and watercolor. It is a medium that has presented a little anxiety for me in the past. I think I shy away from the unpredictable aspects but that is exactly what I want to conquer and let myself have fun. So I have acquired some great products to sink into it. I would like to learn how to use it alone and then work to combine it with my color pencils.
Another area I would like to explore deeply is papercrafting (3D and papercutting with kirigami art). I have had some really cool project ideas I put on the back burner far too long. So do come back to see me fail often but have some fun in the process.
I hope you had a lovely holiday season and look forward to some creative bliss in 2023!
Happy crafting!
Well hello friends! Had some technical difficulties and didn’t get a chance to finish this post yesterday. I have been meaning to catch up with you for some time now. Happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2019? I am still wondering how last year flew past me so fast. I made a promise to myself on my last birthday to stop wishing for weekends and enjoy what every day brings to me, good or bad. This is what older people say because we recognize that every day is a gift. I didn’t do too bad last year but I think there is room for improvement. So I will wish that again for myself this year.
My mother-in-law bought all the ladies Christmas PJs so we all decided to where them Christmas day!
Then we had to have a male vs. female challenge and what better way than with puzzles. So each group selected a 500 piece puzzle. The men of course talked a lot of trash and anticipated their win from the start. While of course we quickly started plugging away at ours.
We had confidence that the monochromatic puzzle they selected would be more challenging but they thought our puzzle had too much details and that they would slow us down. Well I am happy to report the ladies came out on top and we pulled off a fantastic win!
We played a lot of board, dice and card games.
We even had a hot chocolate bar for a few nights. Apollo has just recently discovered whip cream and had fun adding it along with other goodies to his hot chocolate!
I even had a cup!
I had a surprise myself when my husband and boys bought me a Microsoft Surface Pro 6 tablet and when they surprised me right before Christmas, I did my happy dance and couldn’t stop smiling. I am so thrilled. You have to first understand that I haven’t owned a brand new laptop. I have always been quite fine “inheriting” my husbands old laptops. But as time has gone on and my demands have raised, I have been dreaming of a new machine of my own. So it was a pretty big deal to me. It is a really powerful computer. I bought a really cute case for it because I often work in cafes and lugging my old laptop around was a bit of a drag. So this tablet is a game changer. I can carry this and my books without breaking my back. I love the ability to draw/touch the screen. I have been using it mostly in laptop mode but have just installed a fantastic drawing program for work so I will be using it in tablet form quite a bit in the near future.
The only software I had to replace was Photoshop Elements and I will not embarrass myself and tell you what version I was working on up to this point. Let’s just say, I am truly loving exploring all the new features in the 2019 edition and so excited about the things that have been automated.
Hello Everyone! It’s been way too long since we’ve been together. I had every intention of writing and posting January 2nd but I was overwhelmed with vacation laundry, meal planning and now our first winter storm which was a blizzard that dumped over a foot of snow with below freezing temps and school canceled for two days. So I have been a little preoccupied. 
First, an update on our master bedroom renovation… The walls have been painted, crown molding has been installed, we bought a new bed frame, bought and installed new window blinds and a ceiling fan. Now I am going to slow down and slowly add accent items and new side tables. We will also be adding a new seating area. I am trying to be mindful and not just rush through the process. I have to say, the clutter-free room feels great. When I go to bed at night I am truly in an oasis. Even if I still have some purging to do in the rest of the house, I feel great about our bedroom.
While at my in-laws home we had amazing food, shared funny stories and played a lot of game playing. We even had a few days of football to watch. I feel blessed that we live close to them so our kids have grown up with them in their lives. I know as they get older, they will want to do other things with their time but right now, they are just as thrilled to go as my husband and I. They even had some quality time with one of their aunt and uncle too.
We love board games but one that my youngest hadn’t played the original Monopoly. He’s played the newer version called Monopoly Empire and he has played it on the Xbox but it’s not the same. So this year, we brought it out and let me tell you, it was priceless watching Apollo as his collection of properties grew and had the opportunities to buy houses. He absolutely loved it. He also won which made it even sweeter for him.
The snacks my mother-in-law made were so yummy. I think I ate a dozen while watching football and my pants are now reminding me of the indulgence.
I still enjoy taking photos of everyone even though its been years since I have created a scrapbook. Later each day, I send some photos to the family that could not attend so they can share in the celebrations virtually.
Some years, we have big gatherings when more family can attend but even when it’s a small group we have fun and I know the memories will last forever.
