Motivational Monday - Balance

Happy Monday everyone! I hope your weekend was filled with lots of quality family time! My goal this past week was to spend lots of time with my boys and hubby. We took time to play board games, read tons of books together, snuggle and talk, sing songs, dance, and have puff ball fights! :) You know those colorful pom pom balls that you use for craft projects...they are great fun to throw around!

Whenever you are working toward a big goal it is important not to forget to take time for your family. It's so important to have a balance. If you find your kids are acting out a bit more or you are feeling like you haven't been around much, set a goal for a week to spend good, quality time with them...you will never regret it!

I usually spend tons of time with my kiddos...sometimes to the point of not taking enough time for myself. But this past week I wanted to really make sure the time I was spending was extra special and engaging...not just homework, errands, sports, etc.

This week, with Christmas quickly approaching, my goal is to fill my Etsy shop up a bit more. Last year my card making kits for kids were a big hit and I have already sold several this past month. So, my goal is to get at least three more kits listed in my shop this week.

What goals have you been setting and achieving lately? Join me in a setting a small goal for yourself this week! I'll be back tomorrow with some Etsy inspiration!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Etsy Inspired Challenge #114

Hello all! Well, I have a weekend full of special time with my boys. Today we are relaxing at home...perfect for a Saturday, right?! And Saturdays are always a good time to do a little crafting too! So, this week for the Etsy Inspired Challenge we have another fabulous shop to spark your creativity. Happy Day Designs is a lovely jewelry shop with the most gorgeous color combinations...each piece is truly a work of art. I was inspired by these beautiful pieces.



I was immediately attracted to the green but when I saw that beautiful red in the shop too, I was inspired to create a Christmas card.

So simple but it still makes a statement, don't you think? I thought this design would make for a cute and simple gift box/bag too. The paper and ribbon are both American Crafts and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

I was also inspired to create a festive treasury on Etsy.

You can see these items up close along with the links to the fabulous Etsy shops that sell them by clicking HERE.

To play along in the Etsy Inspired Challenge:
~Go to the Happy Days Designs shop and pick an item to be inspired by
~Make any creation you'd like and post a link to your creation on the EtsyInspired blog
~Please include a link to the shop in your post~Challenge ends on Friday Nov 19, noon Pacific time

~If you upload to an online gallery please use keyword EIC114

I'm sure there will be some colorful creations in the gallery this week! Especially since you could win a lovely necklace from Happy Day Designs or a stamp from our sponsor, Whiff of Joy, by playing along in the challenge! See the Etsy Inspired Blog for all the details.

And be sure to visit the rest of the Design Team to see their Etsy Inspired projects!

* Angie (November Guest Designer)

• Ashley


• De


• Emily B


• Emily N


• Joy


• Kerry


• Savannah


• Stephanie


• Virginia

Enjoy your weekend!

Treasury Tuesday - Great Gift Ideas!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am enjoying a quiet day at home with my little one and took some time this morning to create a treasury on Etsy. As the holiday season gets closer I know we all are looking for the perfect gifts for family and friends and Etsy has some wonderfully unique and lovely items to choose from. I decided to create a treasury for all those crafty people out there who enjoy trying a new craft or having fun with a do it yourself project.

You can find links to all the shops that sell these items by clicking HERE.

And I found several other treasuries full of great gift ideas too!

A Unisex Gift Guide, Naturally!

Cream and Black, Gift Guide under $35

A Gift Guide for the Home Decorator

Also, I have fun card sets and card making kits for kids in my shop that are sure to put a smile on a loved ones face! :)

Have a great week! I'm going to be spending lots of quality time with my family this week so I probably won't post again until Saturday for the Etsy Inspired Challenge!

Motivational Monday - Be Your Own Cheerleader

Hello friends! Checking in again this week to let you know how I'm doing with my goal setting. Last week I set the goal (again) to create and submit some projects for magazine submission calls and I am proud to say that I submitted some cards to the Paper Crafts May/June call over the weekend. Did you set and meet a goal this week too?

One thing I find helpful for reaching your goals is to become your own cheerleader. First you need to set goals that are important and meaningful to you so that you will want to work toward them. Then you need to be your own cheerleader...if you feel too tired one day, encourage yourself to just take a tiny step to meeting your goal. For example, one day this week I didn't feel up to working on any cards but I knew I needed to work on my goal a little so I could achieve it this week. So I just sat and looked through my papers and embellishments to find coordinating items and things that I might want to create with. Then when I went to make my cards I just needed to work on the design. If you are your own cheerleader you are also less likely to rely on others encouragement or opinions regarding your goals and thus more likely to achieve your goals regardless of outside influences. It is always nice to have family and friends to cheer you on but the first pat on the back should come from yourself.

Okay, onto my goal for this week...to take some extra special time with my boys and husband. This week my oldest has two days off from school and it is my husband's birthday so I am wanting to make sure to enjoy this week with them. Playing games, movie night, reading together...fun times!

I'll be back tomorrow with some great gift ideas and fun do-it-yourself projects!

Thankful Turkey - Etsy Inspired Challenge #113

Hello friends! Time for another Etsy Inspired Challenge! Our featured Etsy shop this week is PutuPrincess Escapes, which offers lovely hand painted shirts. I really love the lotus flower design...so pretty and feminine.

Our sponsor this week is Some Odd Girl which has tons of great digital images. I absolutely adore this sweet rainbow image. But for my card I used Turkey Perky, which you can actually get for free this month!

Isn't that turkey super cute?! I had a lot of fun pairing him up with some Crate Paper goodies. That scalloped frame is actually a chipboard flower...I just took out the middle section and then popped the turkey up on foam squares. I thought this would be a fun thank you card to give to someone this Thanksgiving.

I was mainly inspired by this shirt from PutuPrincess Escapes. I liked the central focus of the owl and Fall feel to this shirt.

One lucky winner this week will get to pick their favorite t-shirt from PutuPrincess Escapes and another will get to pick 3 digis from Some Odd Girl! Lucky ducks! :)

And it's so easy to play along...so if you have never joined us before, make sure to check out the Etsy Inspired Blog for all the details!

Be sure to visit these lovely ladies for extra Etsy Inspiration!

• Angie (November Guest Designer)
• Ashley
• De
• Emily B
• Emily N
• Joy
• Kerry
• Savannah
• Stephanie
• Virginia

This weekend is busy for us...soccer games and celebrations plus lots of stuff to do around the house. Thanks to everyone for your kind wishes last week for my little one...he is feeling MUCH better!

Treasury Tuesday - On a cold, winter morning...

Each Tuesday I share a treasury I've created as well as a few other fabulous treasuries I have found throughout the week. I personally find a lot of inspiration from Etsy and sometimes a gorgeous treasury will inspire me to create a project around that theme or color combination and other times I find new favorite shops and some amazing items that I probably would not have discovered otherwise. So, I hope sharing them will do the same for you! :)

On a cold, winter morning...

Gorgeous, right?! Such talented artists on Etsy! You can see this treasury up close with links to these great items by clicking HERE.

Here are a few other winter inspired treasuries:
Let It...Snow

Winter Wish List

Let It Snow!

Motivational Monday - Allow for Imperfection

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! We had fun taking the boys trick-or-treating and my little one is feeling much better...no coughing for 2 days now! Thanks for all your well wishes for him!

So for those of you who have started following my Motivational Mondays, last week I set the goal of creating 2 cards/projects and submitting them to some publication calls. Well, I did finish one card that I am quite happy with it but I didn't quite get to the second project. So, I will be setting the same goal for myself this week and hopefully by next Monday I will be able to say that I have submitted at least 3 projects to magazines.

In every goal you set, there are likely to be obstacles in the way...sometimes you yourself are your own obstacle. I am known to be extremely hard working and a bit of a perfectionist so sometimes I can be hard on myself when I don't do something as well as I had planned. However, I have learned to have more patience with myself and accept that sometimes I just can't do it all. I'm sure some of you can relate and I hope you will remember to allow yourself to make mistakes and have the same sort of patience for yourself as you do for your children/loved ones.

Please join me in setting a small goal for yourself this week...either privately or share it in the comments section with me and next week I'll be back to share my progress!

Enjoy your evening! If you enjoy winter, jewelry, or the color gray you are going to want to stop back by tomorrow!