Too Long...

I've been gone too long from my 'ole blog. I've missed it and missed hearing from my readers! I hope I haven't lost all of you. So I have a plan! I am going to get back into this blogging hobby of mine, but I'm going to change it up a bit. Instead of being mostly a crafty blog, I'm going to spread the love with other things in my life! I noticed that many of my readers are personal friends or family, and they love to hear about more than just my crafting... so I'm going to give it a try. I plan on posting at least 4 times a week, with a theme each day I post. I am going to try these themes:

• What I Made Monday
• Thrifty Thursday
• Family Friday
• Scenic Sunday (above is a picture of me having a cappuccino in an adorable little cafe down in my town's center)

Mondays will be posts about things I've made including my paper crafts, baked goods, decorations, etc.

Thursday posts will be be about Treasures that I find at the Thrift Store that I manage. I seem to come home with at least ONE fabulous find every week, and since they make me so happy, I would like to share them with you.

Friday posts will be about our family life. I know my friends and family would love updates on what we've been up to, and how the kids have grown up.

Sundays will be mainly picture posts with little or no words. Just a pretty or interesting picture of Bella Italia... I love living here and I want to share that with the world!

Well, I hope there are still people around to see the changes that I plan on implementing here on the 'ole blog. I'm excited about these changes and I think the blog is going to help me keep a little sanity in this crazy life of mine, as well as entertainment for my readers. Until later, SMILE!

Wow, where has the time gone?

How long has it been exactly? Sheesh, too long! I hope I didn't lose EVERYONE that used to stop by and read my blog. I have a lot to catch you all up on... a lot... but I really don't have time to let you all know right now! I PROMISE that I'll be back soon and let you know what's been going on in my life. In the meantime, here is the last project that I completed:I made this little date book for my friend about 3 months ago. It's one of those agenda books that starts in August and goes though the school year rather than the calendar year. I used Creeper Crew Thursday and various metal embellishments that had on hand. Okay, so I have to run off to work now. I PROMISE I'll be back later!

Amy's Candy!

Hello there friends! So, it's been over a month and I have not gotten crafty AT ALL! I am really hoping that my mojo comes back soon, I miss my crafting table, copics and stamps! School Starts in just over a week, and I'm cleaning out/organizing my stamping stuff and getting "back to basics". Hopefully those things will help me get back into the crafty mood and inspire me!

In the meantime, let me show you something that is truly inspirational:AND....
Doesn't that look WONDERFUL??? Amy from 1000 Sheets of Paper is celebrating her blogaversary AND cutting into 1000 sheets of paper! Head over to her blog and check it out! You could win some of this deliciousness!

I'm getting my life in order...

Hello there! So, as my title says, I'm getting my life in order. Since we moved into our new, smaller house, I have felt unorganized, crowded, claustrophobic and just plain frustrated. Slowly but surely I am putting things in their places and eliminating unnecessary things. This isn't just about our "stuff" though, it's also about people, emotions, and priorities as well. A lot of things have changed in our lives over the past few months and we need to be able to keep our heads up, looking ahead, and progressing positively. Don't get me wrong, things are not bad! The family and I are doing well, there are just things that can be improved. For example, in the last two weeks alone, Angel has started actively potty training, I've gone back to work after a short "stay-cation", the boys are going to a summer program at school, David is transitioning for the NCO Academy and then a new position at work, I've lost my Abuelita, David's father passed away the day after Abuelita, and more... Can you see why I feel like we need a little more ORDER in our lives? haha! So I'm moving forward. I will be starting with ME, because I can't change the world without changing myself first, right? Or something like that. There are things in my life that I love to do, like blog and craft and read, but I have been neglecting those things. Also, I love to play with my kids... but I don't actually play with them nearly enough. Another thing, and probably the biggest, hardest change... I am not nearly as close to God as I used to be and want to be. I plan on doing something about that! I plan on changing up my blog just a bit... I will still be posting my crafty stuff, but I am hoping to include more things about me, the kids, our family and life in general. I want to be held accountable for my progress (or lack of progress) and I feel like maybe putting it on my blog will be a good thing to help with that. We'll see how it goes.

If you are a regular reader, I hope you'll stick around! Until next time, be blessed!

Love Card

Just for the fun of it, I decided to use one of my Cheeky Cherry girls and make a Love card. I copied the sketch from one of Amy's cards but flipped it so the sentiment is on the right and the image is on the left.

It has felt so good to get back to crafting, but it seems that my crafting has turned into a weekend hobby instead of daily like it used to be. Not sure why... but as long as I get to craft sometime, I'll take it! I've gotta run so I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Ciao!

Quick Post

Hey all! I'm about to head off to work after 2 weeks off! It's going to be a busy couple of days but I wanted to post something in case I don't get a chance to pop back on here for a few days. I was able to participate in another TGF challenge! I made this scrapbook page for the Saturday Sketch over on Club Anya & Friends:I bought a scrapbook kit and finally decided to start making the pages for it! The album is travel themed, and I want to scrap the pictures from our Greek cruise. Just imagine a picture of me and the kids in front of our cruise ship on that blank panel on the page!

OK, I have to run off now and finish getting ready for the day! Until next time, be blessed!

Happy Independence Day!

Hello! I hope you are all having a wonderful celebration today with your friends and family! Even if you aren't in the U.S.A., I hope your day is fabulous. Instead of just a regular Scenic Sunday post, I thought I'd give you a picture and a project. Oh, and Angel Baby says Hi!LOL, she's all about sticking out her tongue lately, HAHAHA! So, I recently discovered a new blog called Simplicity that has a weekly challenge called "One Layer Wednesdays". This is exactly what I've needed to get myself trying things that are a little different than what I usually do with my cards. This week's challenge was to make a patriotic card and this is what I came up with:
It was a little difficult for me to make this card. I don't have any stamps that are geared toward Independence day, so I had to come up with something! I colored a white felt sticker with a red copic marker, stamped the blue lines stamp from TGF's Spotlight stamp set, and used some stars from a SU! set then colored those in with red. I added glaze in the stars to make them a little shiny, and finally I added faux stitching with a blue marker all around the edges of the card. This card sounds simple, but it took me forever! I really wanted to stretch my abilities, try something different than my normal style, that way I can also enter this into the Raise The Bar challenge my blogging buddy, Joni has going on! I love her challenge blog, but I never participate! So with this card, I am entering two challenges! Woohoo! Speaking of Joni, her awesome daughter, Maali, just graduated Kindergarten and is about to have a birthday! In celebration of these momentous events, Joni is having a CANDY. Go to her blog and check it out! Okay, I'm off to celebrate the festivities with a movie, some live bands, and lots of fun to be topped off with FIREWORKS of course! Have a wonderful day on Independence! Be blessed!