Submissions

After a kick in the pants from a YouTube video, I am starting to look at different paper crafting magazines to submit my work to. I have been toying with the idea for awhile now and I just decided to give it a go. So, yesterday (and some of this morning since I got up so early -well, early for me!) I got the nerve to google how to submit cards and went from there.

Problem is, a lot of them are due June 1st. So while I should be crafting, I am sitting here writing this blog. But that’s not a bad thing. I think that by writing this, I am holding myself accountable to following through with this idea. Often times I think something sounds great, I am all gung-ho about it and then I lack in the follow through department. So I am asking all of you to help keep me accountable! 

The themes are mainly for the fall and a lot of them seem to be looking for masculine themed cards. I find that these are some of the toughest cards to come up with because the papers and stamps I have tend to lean towards the more girlie and kid-friendly side. However, I think for these submissions I am going to challenge myself to create at least one. There are about five or six different publications that I am interested in submitting to so at least one will be a masculine card. I can’t wait to get started on making them. 

I like that this will give me some direction in creating. Often times I will sit at my desk and be overwhelmed with the number of products I have to choose from and that causes “crafter’s block”. With these lists, I can narrow it down before I start creating. My final product is almost always different than the image I have in my head or on a sketch, which is one of the reasons my YouTube channel doesn’t usually include me making cards live. I have a hard time sticking with one plan because my mind often changes halfway through the design process. 

Well, I am off to print out the guidelines and start creating. Remember to keep me accountable to actually submit these designs!

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment or question and subscribe!

Michele

Letter to my younger self

Recently I read a book that had a bunch of famous people look back on their lives and write a letter to themselves at a younger age. At a time when they thought they couldn’t get through something. It gave advise and hope to themselves at that age. It made me think, at what age would I give myself advise? Have I been around long enough to look back and give my younger me advise?

The time I came up with was when I was a geeky middle schooler (although I don’t think I realized how geeky I was back then). Here is my letter:

Dear 12 year old me, 

The braces and glasses will eventually come off. You won’t be saddled with this look for life. Yes, your hair will always be poker straight and you will never be able to wear it like the cool girls, with their perms. No, you won’t always fit in. You are a shy person by nature, cautious of people when you first meet them. Sometimes it will take them starting a conversation with you to make you feel comfortable. Your sister will say mean things to you – don’t take them to heart. She will be mean to you for a LONG time. You may never know the reason why you two don’t get along. But it’s okay – it does get a little bit better. It will take a lot of time and work on your part, but once she finds the right guy, he will help mend the relationship – a lot! She will learn to be more patient with you and not say so many mean things that hurt your self-esteem. For some reason, you put a lot of stock in what she says – don’t. Be more confident in yourself. And stop listening to what others tell you to do. If you want to continue with art, do so. You are in talented art for a reason. You love it, even if your dad says that there’s no future in it. Take art classes in high school. Heck, major in art in college. You’re smart – you will find something to do with that degree! Most of all, believe in yourself. Believe that you can do what you want. It will take you a long time to figure out what you want to do in life. You will get a job that forces you to overcome your shyness. It’s probably the best thing for you, even though you will still prefer small groups to large parties. You won’t have a million friends – you will have a few amazing friends who will stick by you no matter what. You will find out who matters and who is more of an acquaintance than a friend. You will have friends that you go for long stretches of time without talking, but you can always pick up the phone and they will be there for you. You will accomplish a lot and buy your first house at 23. How many people can say that? And you did it on your own, regardless of what your sister says. Your mom will turn out to be a friend and a mom. You will tell her the whole truth about a relationship with a guy who broke your heart, but who you shouldn’t have been in a relationship with. It will be one of your lowest points and she will be disappointed, but she will be there for you. So will your dad, but he doesn’t know the details. He will just hate to see you cry, but not know how to make it better. He’s a dad. You will learn that family is important. In the blink of an eye, your little brother will be a grown up. He will be giving you career advise. How crazy is that? You will watch him get married and think, when did my baby brother become a man? And you will laugh at the irony of  how what he said he always wanted in a woman is the exact opposite of what he got. The day your sister gets married will be one of the hardest days. You just have to smile. Things will happen that will change relationships – let it. It’s for the best. Sometimes you have to let go. 

I know this is a lot of advise and a good glimpse into your future. And, knowing me, you won’t listen to any of it because you hate being told what to do! Just know that things turn out okay – not the way you planned them, but okay!

Love from the future, Me 

At a crossroad….

That’s how I feel about my business right now. I am trying to make it more of a business, but I just can’t figure out how to attract more customers. My Etsy shop has been getting more views, but with only two sales this year I’m not doing so well! 

I was in Ocean City the other day and went to the library. Since I was in a little bit of a downer mood about my business, I thought maybe I should get some books on marketing. My mom had requested a book for me called The Complete Idiot’s Guide to selling crafts on Etsy. I also got some books on marketing on Facebook, Marketing for small businesses and two interesting titled books – Duct Tape Marketing and Guerrilla marketing. I walked out of the library with an arm full of books. I can’t wait to read them all and start putting the things I learn into practice.

My other issue though is one that I don’t think any book can help. I am trying to come up with a logo for my business and I am stuck. I looked at Vistaprint for ideas because I am going to need to reorder business cards before my next craft show. I also want to order a banner so that all of my marketing is unified. However, I am stuck as to what my logo should look like. I don’t know what colors to use or what image I want or if I even want an image. A graphic designer could help, but I am sure that they are expensive! Since my business is still in the red, I can’t afford to spend a ton of money to come up with a logo. 

I am excited about the future of my business. I have some great craft shows coming up in July and August. I am looking forward to using these books I got to help with my online presence. I am also toying with the idea of creating a website. 1and1.com has some great options from what I have seen. Stay tuned for some changes!! 

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave comments or questions and subscribe. 

Michele

Using the new Disney cartridges

I made a Mickey head the other day from the Mickey and Friends cartridge. Of course I can’t find it now to take a picture. One of my new followers was asking about the Disney cartridges I got recently after she watched one of my videos. She wanted to know how difficult it was to make some cuts from the cartridges.

I watched other people’s videos and learned some tips and tricks. I leaned that if you used the slowest speed, the cuts come out better. Also, make the cuts the biggest size possible. I made a video of all the tips and tricks and posted it on YouTube. http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=cQQkbsDAgPw&feature=plcp if you want to check it out!

Tonight, I decided to tackle the Disney Classics cartridge. I broke one of my own rules and made the cuts at 4 inches. I should’ve made the cuts bigger because a lot of them didn’t cut out properly. I made adjustments, however, and made due with what I had and salvaged as much of the cuts as possible. (Having a white and a black gel pen doesn’t hurt either!)

Im not overly thrilled with the way Alice turned out. You can recognize that it is her and I’m sure that most people wouldn’t notice the things I did notice. I did have fun making Alice in Wonderland though and I can’t wait to make the other characters on the cartridge.

Yesterday, I made two characters from the Mickey and Friends cartridge. I made a Minnie Mouse and a Donald Duck. When I was at AC Moore a couple of days ago, I bought a bunch of the $1 bin stamps. One of them said “Oh Heck! I missed your birthday”. I made the Donald cut of him jumping up and down, where he looks like he’s mad.  I thought that it would be perfect for that sentiment.

The Minnie Mouse cut I used was the one of her jumping in the air. I used one of the My Pink Stamper stamp sets that has the stamp “Kick up your heels”.  The interior of the card is blank so it can be a thinking of you or a get well card. I am really happy with the way those two cards came out.

The last card that I made was one using a new stamp I got from AC Moore and a new paper pack I got from Joann’s. I also used a Fiskar’s edge punch that I never used before that I thought mimicked the bubbles in the “Hello Friend” stamp I used. It was from another stamp set that I got from the $1 bin. I used VersaMark and some Stampendous white embossing powder on the sentiment.

Here are some pictures of the four cards. I am off to make some more cuts from those (and my other) new Cricut cartridges! Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to leave a comment or question and subscribe.

Michele

I think hell may have frozen over

Because I went to church today. I am by no means an atheist. I grew up Catholic and was forced to go to church every week. I attended CCD classes until my Confirmation. However, once that was done, my interest in attending mass was done as well. I became a “Chreaster” person. (For those of you not in my family, that’s a person who attends mass on Christmas  and Easter only. My family likes to make up words. Just ask them!!) Lately, it’s become only on Christmas Eve, midnight mass to be more specific, and the occasional funeral.

But today, due to the fact that we were having an open house down the shore, the library didn’t open until 1:00 AND it was too cold to walk on the boards, I attended mass. Now I know that sounds really bad. But, it was my only option, unless I wanted to sit in the car for 45 minutes to an hour while my parents were inside. 

I am actually glad I went. (Just don’t tell my parents!). The priest’s homily was about how people have so much stress in their lives and that is mostly because of worry. He said there are three types of people. The first he called “Yesterday’s Children”. There people are so worried about the past that they can’t move on. They obsess with what they already did. The second type he called the “Disney Children” because they are off in Tomorrowland. They’re the ones that are constantly worrying about the future. Neither of these two are living in the present, which is the third type. The “Present Children” live in the here and now. We can’t change the past and who knows what they future will bring, if we have a tomorrow. It’s not a guarantee. 

And yes, I do have someone in my life who is constantly reminding me that we don’t know what the future holds when I start having panic attacks about what’s going to happen. I think I live 90% of my life in Tomorrowland, instead of living in the here and now.

One of the things that I found most interesting is the priest said that he found some of the most together people are ones in recovery. Why? Because of their motto – “One day at a time”. So many of us find this difficult to live by. Especially in this day and age. 

So, my lesson for today is to enjoy more of the here and now. Stop obsessing with what might be. For the most part, I am ok with my past. It has made me the person I am today. I’m not proud of everything that I have done. But, what’s done is done, I can’t change it even if I wanted to. It’s the future I have a more difficult time with. 

I do believe in God and I believe that there was a reason I heard that homily today. I needed it. Even if I don’t go to church very often, I am still a spiritual person. Everything happens for a reason right? 

*I know this isn’t my normal type of post. I’m having a tough time categorizing it! However, I just thought I would share it with you because it has a good lesson! If you usually read my blog for crafting tips and suggestions, thanks for reading this as well!*

They have a day for everything!

Happy National Scrapbooking day! I didn’t realize until a year or two ago that this day existed, like many of the other “National so-and-so-” days. I am not sure who decides that it’s a National day, but I am glad this one came about. Not only do stores give great deals, but it’s an excuse to craft all day. (Who needs an excuse to do so, though??)

Unfortunately, I won’t be participating this year. At least not in the traditional sense. I am heading down to the shore to spend the day walking around at the Ocean City Block Party. It’s always packed and there are great vendors. I love walking the ten or so blocks to check everything out. This year may be difficult – I am going to need to stop and sit a lot because of my knee, but I am going to try to push myself. So, instead of working on things to sell or my own projects this National Scrapbook day, maybe I will buy from another fellow scrapbooker.

I will, however, be working on some sketches and new ideas for projects. So, I guess that means in a way I am participating. I have so many new products that I can’t wait to use and need to draw some sketches so that I can get started on using them. I went to Jo-Ann’s and A.C. Moore last night and got a couple of things. I didn’t go crazy like I have been at the online stores.

I was disappointed in Jo-Ann’s. Their scrapbooking section was so tiny (in my store at least) and it wasn’t that great. Their prices were higher than A.C. Moore’s or Michael’s on some things. For example, I bought a Zig 2 way glue pen that was a whole dollar more than at the other two stores. I only bought it because I had a 50% off coupon. In retrospect, I should’ve used that at Michael’s and got more for my money, but I didn’t want to go there too.

Anyway – I am getting a little of topic. You all know I can ramble! I just wanted to wish my fellow scrapbookers (and I’d include carmakers as well!!) a Happy National Scrapbooking Day! May you be creative all day long. Oh – and is there a separate National Cardmaker’s Day? I wonder………

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