Can't believe I haven't showed you this yet!

I really can't believe I haven't shown you this yet!!

Check out my logo!!

 

Thank you to Travis Tom for creating it for me! I have beautiful business cards and I even ordered T-shirts with the logo. Show up the Grand Opening and they will be available!

And the Wheels on the Bus...

I titled this post that because sometimes it feels like we are just spinning our wheels. I'm not complaining, but there is a lot of work that goes into a Grand Opening, not to mention a three day scrapbook event! I"m excited and exhausted all at the same time.So let me let you in on the details!!

May 3rd is National Scrapbook Day and being a scrapbooker, that makes me happy!! And it makes me want to have a HUGE crop at my place!! So...

THREE DAY CROP AT SNIPS OF TIME

FRIDAY MAY 2ND:   NOON-8PM

SATURDAY MAY 3RD:  NOON-8PM

SUNDAY MAY 4TH:  NOON-8PM

The crop is $10 a day, includes a table of your own to work on your pages, access to a Cricut Expressions machine and many cartridges, punches, and other tools. There will be soft drinks and other drinks available as well as scrapbook friendly snacks, and a lite casual evening meal. There will be some National Scrapbook Day 2014 goodies. One National Scrapbook Day 2014 shirt will be given away each day!

There are only six seats available each day.

Please call and reserve your spot today!

being held at 

404 Shallowford Cir

Augusta GA 30907

317-507-1166

snipsoftime@Yahoo.com

You can register for one day, two days or all three days.

There is also the Grand Opening Open House. This is the official event. This is the BIG one!! (LOL that made me think of Sanford and Son...) I would love for anyone and everyone to come to the Open House. You don't have to be a paper crafter, just appreciate creativity. Please come and check out my creative space!! 

GRAND OPENING OPEN HOUSE

SATURDAY MAY 10TH

NOON-8PM

held in my studio

404 Shallowford Cir

Augusta GA 30907

This is going to be amazing! It's being catered by my best friend since 7th grade...Nicolle Coleman who is a fantastic cook and baker. Being that it's Mother's Day weekend I'm dedicating the Grand Opening to my parents...all four of them!! I will be displaying some pages and albums about my parents. Please come and share this with me and see some other original artwork and my creative space.

No Man is an Island

No Man Is An Island

No man is an island,

Entire of itself,

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thy friend's

Or of thine own were:

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind,

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; 

It tolls for thee. 

--John Donne

I know, a pretty strange way to start a scrapbooking blog. But the other night as I was laying down to go to sleep the quote "No man is an island" popped into my head. I thought about it for a little bit and I realized I was thinking about what was happening in my life right now and how it wouldn't be possible without the help of so many people. I realize that my success or failure is ultimately up to me (I'm talking about Snips of Time becoming a profitable business.) But there are so many things that have been made easier because of my connections with other people.

I also realized that's where my love of scrapbooking and card making comes from...connections with other people. I love making someone I care about that special birthday card (even if it is late once in awhile.) I love scrapbooking other people's photos (and mine too) to show the connections between family members, friends, events.

So, remember that you are not an island...you are part of such a bigger whole and that's a good thing. You get to decide what you do, where you do it, how you get it done...but in reality you never really have to do it alone. 

BIG Changes

This is indeed a time full of big changes and I want to share these BIG changes with you!

First and BIGGEST is that I'm opening my studio to the public! I have always wanted to teach, share what I already know, what I'm learning, and what I love with others. Taking my studio public will allow me to finally be able to do that. Second (though this is the biggest size wise lol) my studio has finally moved to a dedicated and larger location. Upon acquiring our current home, we realized that we would NEVER use the formal living room/dining room and I instantly saw "studio" stamped all over the space in my mind. Thankfully my husband was all for it. It's about 300 sq ft (hubby says...I don't measure too much past 12x12 myself) and has been renovated with a sink, fantastic lighting, and doors to close it off from the rest of the house (and I can't leave out the full size fridge for the ever important cold drinks and other snacks that creative minds need!)

I'm over the moon excited because what this all really means is that I'm taking Snips of Time a step further. I'm going from a hobby I sometimes get paid for to full time. I've stepped down from my full time position at CVS (scary!!) and while I haven't left there completely, work a very limited schedule so that the studio can be open regular hours for you to come and crop and learn. The main business of Snips of Time is scrapbook for hire and card making....the teaching and cropping is just the icing on the cake for me!

Other things are changing with all of this. I plan (and I REALLY mean it this time) to blog regularly. When I say regularly I'm actually going to make myself a schedule and just like with any job, intend to stick to it (or I'll have to write myself up LOL) I plan on having guest bloggers (so if you think you'd like to be a guest blogger, let me know.) And the content of my blog will be changing slightly. I'm planning on doing tutorials and maybe at some point videos as well!

If you've been following me for any length of time, you know that I'm so very passionate about creativity, scrapbooking, hand made cards and sharing all of this with others. I intend to be passionate about this blog and using it as a way to continue to share all of this with you. With that being said, please don't hesitate to email me snipsoftime@yahoo.com to tell me what you want to see on here or what you DON'T like. I've got a list a mile long of things I want to do with this blog and with YouTube channel and my studio, but your input is invaluable because I really want you to enjoy this. I want you to look forward to seeing my posts and what I'm sharing with you. 

Please share/forward my blog to others you think might enjoy it. Follow me on facebook   https://www.facebook.com/SnipsofTime. I often have give-aways on my facebook page :)  And never hesitate to contact me directly by email snipsoftime@yahoo.com. I will also have a website up soon, and there will be a calendar of events on it, with class and crop schedules. Don't worry, I'll make sure all the exciting dates will be posted on here too. 

Keep checking back, my big Open House will be coming up soon and I'll post the date and times on here for you so you can attend if you'd like. There will be goodie bags, drawings for prizes and one of my biggest supporters and friend since age 13 will preparing some incredible food to go with it. (She has a business baking speciality cakes, so it should be awesome!!) Hope to hear from you soon!!

Go be creative!!
LeighAnn

A New Leaf

Hello Everyone!!

WOW! I've been back in Augusta almost a full five months and that has brought about some changes. I've decided that Snips of Time really needs to be a serious focus for me, as a business. I've always said this is what I want to do for a living. I want to create and teach others they can create too. So....THAT'S WHAT I'M DOING!!

I still have my "day job," but I am on a leave of absence to help my mother (who has some serious health concerns.) Every cloud has a silver lining (at least in my world) so I'm using some of this time off of my "real job" to explore what I can do to make Snips of Time a success. I'm really excited about it, but at the same time scare. But, scared or not: HERE I GO!!

I've been pretty busy in the studio. I just finished an order that will go in a fundraiser auction basket, that included 10 thank you cards, a sample mini album and a gift certificate for a mini album. I also just finished 12 Easter cards for a neighbor. I'm also recently finished an amazing project that was for two adopted boys (brothers.) It was a scrapbook for each of them to give them a time line of sorts, a where they came from to where they are today. It was such an honor to be asked to work on their albums. I really believe that this was my  most important project yet :)

My next project is to get those two sweet boys' albums current...their mom and dad are sending more pictures!! I can't wait. I'm still working on the usual birthday and anniversary cards and whatever little projects pop up.

You can see examples of my work on my facebook page http://facebook.com/leighann.rebillard , please look for my Snips of Time Scrapbooking and Cards page and "like" it. When I hit 100 likes, I'm doing a drawing for a free set of five cards!!

Feel free to comment on here as well. Maybe if I get enough people commenting I'll do a give away on here as well!

Have a creative life!!
LeighAnn

Hello 2013

Well hello 2013!! At least half of the first month of the new year hasn't gone before I got around to saying hello!! And I do have a lot to tell you!

Snips of Time, as well as myself, has moved once again...and hopefully for the LAST time. 2012 was a tough year for me personally as I lost my GA dad and my GA mom was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. That's what prompted my move. I have moved back to my hometown of Augusta GA and have been working on getting my studio put back together down here. My husband is still in IN, finishing some things up there and will be joining me hopefully shortly. I'm living with my mother, right now just being some emotional support as her physical health is still holding on...as I pray it continues to do so.

Snips of Time didn't take much of a break. In the first two months of me being down here I made over 50 cards and worked on some scrapbooking at well. I've kept my "day" job with CVS and transferred to a store near my home here in Augusta and am the "Engagement Ambassador" for my current store, like I was for my previous store. I am incredibly blessed by walking into another store and feeling like part of the CVS family immediately.

My studio is a work in progress here, but it works and I'm still making progress on all my projects LOL.

So, 2013 is here. It will bring happier times and it might bring some sadness too. We'll have to wait and see what it brings. But I will bring a positive attitude and some creativity to the year!!

I have a ton of "goals" that in reality, I need to sit down and really give some thought to. I'd like to accomplish some things this year...and to do that I really need to have more focus. So, focusing is what I'm going to do.

Now, off to the studio to work for a bit before I have to go to my day job:)

Scrapbooking on a shoe string

So often I hear people talk about how expensive it is to scrapbook. Like anything, it CAN be, but it doesn't HAVE to be. In reality, there are only a few necessities that you have to spend money on.

• You have to have a way to crop your photos and cut your paper
• You have to have a way to adhere your pictures to your pages and in essence build your pages
• You have to have some kind of pretty paper
• You have to have something to write  your journaling with, even it all you journal is names, dates and places

Lets break these "necessities" down.

• Something to crop your photos and cut your paper

You can use a pair of scissors for any and all of that. You can buy any multitude of of paper trimmers and the price tag shouldn't necessarily be the deciding factor. I have three pairs of (straight edge) scissors and at least five paper trimmers. Because I scrapbook and make cards a lot, it made sense for me to invest in a trimmer that doesn't dull with frequent use. I bought a Purple Cow combination trimmer that has a rotary trimmer and a guillotine trimmer for around $60. I worked my way up from the very basic trimmers and found myself having to replace the blades too often. Not having to constantly replace blades off set the overall cost of the trimmer very quickly for me. I found the same with scissors. My CutterBee's weren't cheap, but I've had them for probably 10 years.

• A way to adhere your photos to the pages and to build your pages

Adhesives can be looked at the same way. I was buying tape runners at WalMart (which I still do on occasion) and they are relatively inexpensive.  However, when you  are using them as much as I do, it seems every time you turn around you need a refill. So, I invested in a Scotch 3M ATG (adhesive transfer gun) and after the initial investment (I think it was about $25) the refills are quite reasonable online. I still use liquid adhesive for some applications and usually use Arlene's Tacky Glue. It's inexpensive, easy to find and made for paper crafts. It adheres really well too, once you let it dry.

• Here's a big one PAPER

Oh all the pretty papers!! I've learned to discipline myself to buy the DCWV (Die Cuts With a View) paper stacks from JoAnn's when they go on sale for 40%-50% off or when I have a coupon. I only buy paper by the "sheet" when I need something very specific. I also buy my white and black cardstock at WalMart  as that seems to be the most cost effective route and I use a lot of both. If I need a lot one color (say for making Christmas cards) I typically go to discountcardstock.com and buy it in bulk. I also "force" myself to use what I already have. I don't take my pictures into Archivers with me to match papers with themes or colors, because I'm sure I already have something that will work in my stash or at the very least I can MAKE work. (It also stretches your creativity if you make yourself use what you have.

• What to write with

What you write with is important too. If you do all your journaling on the computer you need to make sure the ink you are using is acid free. If you hand write your journaling or do a combination, you still need to make sure whatever you are writing with is acid free. You don't need to have a pen in every color. Yes, it's fun and pretty, but a black acid free pen will still get the job done.

The point of all of this is that you can spend as much or as little as you want. I have a Cricut Expressions electronic die cutting machine ($300 when they first came out) and more cartridges than I'd like to admit, but I card making and scrapbooking are my PASSION. Rarely a day goes by that I'm not working on some project.

Basically, before you buy the newest and coolest anything, you have to decide how often you ware going to use it. Just like that pair of shoes that your REALLY like, you have to think about when and how often you are really going to wear them.

Yes, I have A LOT of scrapbooking stuff. But I've been collecting all of it since 2001. I didn't go out and buy it all in one shot. I bought stuff on clearance, on sale, with gift cards...you get the point.

Please feel free to comment and/or ask any questions. I would love all my blog posts to be interactive. And as always, you can email me at snipsoftime@yahoo.com

Monday, Monday

Oh how I would like to crawl back under the sheets for a few more hours as it's so grey and rainy!! I'll be honest, sunshine is a HUGE motivator for me and well as creative inspiration. I seem to be more creative when I can see the sun!! BUT...the show must go on!

So, I'm writing this post, and then heading to the studio to get somethings done before it's time to get ready to go to work. What I really wanted to share with you was the first thing I did in the new studio start to finish...

This was for our dear friend Danielle's new little baby. The picture doesn't really show how the colors pop, but at least you can see it.

Now off to go be creative...it makes my day brighter!!

Find your THING, it will ROCK your WORLD!

WOW!! Lots going on and not a lot of time to sit down and blog about it. But I'm trying!! LOL

The biggest bit of news for Snips of Time is that I've (and therefore the studio) has moved! As is typical of, it was just a move of a few miles...but the studio now has it's own room and since I started working on unpacking it and putting stuff away just Monday, it's coming along nicely. My goal is to be able to be able to work in it come Friday evening at the latest. It's been KILLING me not to be able to create these past few weeks.

This lack of time (and place) for creativity has really brought me to what I want to blog about today. I have really learned what a huge part of being creative means to my life. There are a lot of people in my life who say things to me like "it's so nice that you scrapbook" or "isn't that sweet that you make your own greeting cards." I can almost hear in their voices "why would you waste your time cutting up bits of paper?!" But here's the deal people...I NEED to do it. There are so many parts of myself (as is really true for everyone) that can't be expressed at work, or in my "day-to-day" life, so to speak. My paper crafting, my "hobby" is what allows me to express what I need to express. My husband will attest to this...without my scrapbooking, or at the very least creating SOMETHING I am not a happy person.

Here is something that's interesting, just to think about. I suffer from depression and take Prozac for it. Do I think the Prozac helps? Absolutely...I wouldn't take it every day if I didn't. HOWEVER, Prozac alone does not make me feel "good." I had to find my positive thing. When I say that I mean I suppose there are negative things that could make me feel good, IE drugs, alcohol, whatever. But my creativity, or expressing it really is my POSITIVE thing. I have emotional issues without my Prozac, things get very hard for me to do, getting out of bed is a struggle and so on. Without my creativity it's like another world. It's a world I can function in, but I'm not happy in. 

Here's something else to think about and it was something else I had to learn. You can live to make others happy...and don't get me wrong, I'm a pleaser and struggle repeatedly with how it effects me when those I love aren't happy; but what if you CAN'T make them happy, or if they move away, grow up, leave you...whatever?! Then what does that do to your "happiness?" I've learned that your happiness has to come from inside yourself.  Not from what society has said you need to be happy, not what your best friend said you should do to be happy, not what I say, your mother says, or even a therapist tells you. If they aren't telling you to find it inside yourself...good luck is all I have to say. There HAS  to be something in your life, inside of you, that no one can take  away from you, that is not dependant on anyone else, that is about you alone that you can find happiness in. That my friends, is what my creativity is about.

Am I saying you have to be "creative" to be happy? NO, I'm saying you have to find that something that does it for you. Something that you can look forward to on a bad day, that something you know is always there for YOU. I have been through some tough stuff in my short life people...and my creativity has carried me through. It has managed to give me a sense of accomplishment when I couldn't find it anywhere else. It has allowed me to find like minded friends, make lots of new friends, and even have (albeit small) a second income.

So go out there and find your thing people. It will rock your world!! I promise!!

Brave Mothers and Daughters (and Fathers)

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Just a little random happiness

Random happiness

Just a very quick post

Actually this is more of a "test" than a true post. I want to see how easy/hard it is to post from my phone. I'm trying to get a feel for if this will work for quick posts and what have you. You'll have to be patient with me as I go through some "growing pains" in respect to my blogging. I am working at it, I promise you that!

Goodbye 2011, HELLO 2012

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Creative things

I haven't been blogging at all, much less about what I'm doing creatively...well, that's about to change! While watching CraftTV the other day I saw a video about altering a book in a way that uses it as a picture frame. I thought, what a GREAT idea...especially for those people in my life that are avid readers. Here is what I made for my dad for his birthday. The pictures are kind of blurry and I apologize, but didn't realize that until after I mailed the book out and couldn't retake the pics. Now my Dad loves westerns and has probably read every Louis LaMour and Zane Grey book out there. Thanks to my stepmom I had a copy of the three of us (from like 1987) where we were dressed up kind of like hillbillies and thought "this would go GREAT in a old western novel. I immediately thought "wouldn't it be great if I could find a Zane Grey novel?! I went to the Goodwill and guess what I found? A Zane Grey novel for $2.49!!! (The books have to be hardcover or the technique doesn't work.) Anyway...I thought PERFECT!!! So this is what I ended up with...

Okay, maybe it's not very modest to toot your own horn, but I think it turned out sooooo cool! And my Dad loved it. It wasn't difficult at all. I printed the picture in a size that would fit on the cover, then traced it on the back of the cover. I then cut the hole a 1/4 inch smaller all the way around to give it a border for the picture to be attached to. I inked the edges of the "window" so that you couldn't see the bare book board and to give it kind of an aged looked. Then I taped the picture onto the back of the cover and covered the back of the cover with appropriate paper. He thought it was so cool and even took it to work with him to show his friends! He has actually read the book before but because of the way you do this, none of the book itself is damaged and he plans on reading it again! It was quick, easy and cheap to make! I have some plans for Christmas presents using this technique.

I hope to be sharing more photos of techniques and even some videos soon. I'm trying to get back into the groove of blogging....it's tough for me sometimes, just to find the time. But I enjoy sharing so I hope I can get back to it.

God bless and go make something beautiful!!

So much to be thankful for

Today's Thanksgiving and I'm sitting in my apartment with my cat...with no turkey and dressing or the "fixings." I spent about an hour this morning (at work) feeling sorry for myself, that it looked like I would be spending Thanksgiving "alone." After my hour long pity party, I put my big girl panties on and started looking at my life (in between the many customers CVS had today LOL) and realized that what in the heck was I feeling sorry for myself for?! No, I wasn't having a traditional Thanksgiving. There was no family waiting at my house for us to eat a meal together (though I shouldn't say that as I think of my Ellie -my cat, as family LOL.) I was working an 8 hour shift on the register at CVS, waiting on many people that were less than gracious towards me and the fact that I was working while they had the day off and were on their way to spend time with family and friends. But you know what? I have SO much to be thankful for...so bare with me as I list all the things I'm blessed with. They may not seem like blessings to everyone, but they do to me.

• I have a job


• I have a kitty that thinks I'm the world (hey that matters after a bad day at work)


• I have family that loves me even though we don't live close to each other


• I have a husband, that even though we aren't living together right now, loves me and is willing to work on our relationship


• I have amazing friends


• I have a hobby that allows me to make extra money while doing what I love


• I have good health ...allow me to explain that further. I have fibromyalgia which is not the most fun thing in the world to have, but for the most part, it's managed very well and interferes with my daily life only a little. I have asthma that is managed very well as is the case with my allergies. There are a lot of people that are a lot worse off than I am health wise.


• I have an apartment that I absolutely adore and a landlord that is so very understanding and gracious in working out the rent with me when things get tight.


• I have customers that come in to the store and stop to say hi to me specifically, because while we never see each other outside of the store, we have developed a relationship that matters.


• I have good health insurance that allows my health issues to be dealt with, including my depression.


• Going back to my friends, I have friends that allow me to be me, which is amazing to me. I was always the kid that didn't fit in and now I feel like I while I may not be like everyone else, at least most people love me for who I am.

I could go on and on about everything I'm thankful for. I guess I look at my life and think, "no, it's not perfect....but damn I have it good." Yes, I have financial struggles (who doesn't in this economy) but some how it always seems to work out. I'm amazed everyday at the blessings I have. The computer I'm using right now...my laptop crashed and I was worried as I run my business basically through the Internet...within three days, I had a replacement computer, monitor and was up and running again, thanks to friends and my husband.

I guess I'm feeling a little "preachy" right now about the way people complain about their lives. We all have hardships. There are days I wake up and the pain makes me want to crawl back into bed, but I push on because I know that if I make myself get up and don't give it, I'll feel better after a hot shower and moving around. Yes, so many people have it much harder than I do, I know that. One of my best friends is dealing with some family issues that I can't even imagine having to live through, another friend passed away recently and her husband must be heart broken (we all miss her.) So when I feel "poor me" I think about all the things that could be worse and all the things that are so amazing.

A lot has happened in my life in 2011. A lot of really tough things, things I wasn't sure I could survive through. But I did survive and I'm stronger now and know that when the next obstacle comes (as it will) while it'll be difficult, it will not be impossible.

I don't love my life everyday, but am thankful for it regardless.

One of the things that made me stop and think about being thankful is I saw my "other" children today. Long story short, I had a friend that had three little ones that I fell in love with. While I'm not friends with her anymore, I still love her babies like they were mine. As I walked up to my place today after work I heard them yell for me (they were at their Papaw's just two doors down from me) and came running to see me. It made me realize that they will always love me and they know I'll always love them. It made my heart swell with happiness and love. Another thing is I have a very strained relationship with my mother, but I called to wish her and my step dad a happy Thanksgiving. She sounded happy to hear from me. That made me feel good. Even though our relationship isn't the best, I know she loves me and I could hear that in her voice today.

So now that I've babbled about all that, I guess my point is...we all have trials and troubles, but if we look to our blessings we can see what a good life we do have. Life is what we make it, not what it makes us.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. And be thankful EVERYDAY, not just on Thanksgiving!!

Working my way toward my goal

Well, obviously I'm NOT blogging once a week LOL, though this might get a wee bit easier since Jamie has gotten his own computer and we don't have to "share" so much. It seemed that I always was inspired to "write" when he wanted to get online...or that was a good excuse my mind put up for me :)

I still intend to work on blogging once a week, just need to find my rhythm I guess.

About living creatively. I'm working on that too. I have gotten better about finding ways to be creative in everything. I have found ways to be creative at work (poor Steve) which means I think the wall in my photo lab looks awesome!! I'm getting better about carving out creative time at home too....it's all a work in progress I'm learning.

The toughest part of the things I'm working toward, is living in the truths my Truthteller gives me (tells me.) The reason I say this is the toughest is I struggle with a lot of self-negativism (is that a word?!!) and just a lot of negative self-talk, which is why I'm working toward living in the truth that my Truthteller gives me!

I think this spins into why I struggle to blog sometimes. I don't want to get on here and be a negative Nancy...I'm really not a negative person, though sometimes I stuggle with how I feel about myself or my own capabilities.

Okay, enough seriousness...check out this cutie-patotie card I made....had to tell a friend I was missing her...

Isn't it just the cutiest ever?!! I made it using my cricut Create-a-Critter cartridge and Punnylious stamps from My Pink Stamper. I think she looks so sweet!!

Just a test

This is just a test post to see if my blog is coming through on my facebook page:)

2011

It's January 2011 (and the month is over half over already I might add!!) I don't make resolutions per say, but believe in reviewing my life at the end/beginning of each year to see where I am and where I want to be. This new year I have three things I want to accomplish...

#1) I want to be creative EVERYDAY! That doesn't mean I have to finish a scrapbook layout every day or even a card, but that I want to use my creativity every day. I'm learning that being creative makes me happy and since I want to be happy every day, it just makes sense that I should be creative every day:) I'm hoping that eventually I just WILL be creative every day, without making the conscious decision...as in "oh, I need to be creative now."

#2) I want to blog at least once a week about this creative journey. I want to share what I'm doing, how it's going and the impact it's having in my life.

#3) I want to enjoy my life the way my Truthteller (God) has intended me to. I'm taking the class Soul Restoration taught by Melody Ross and even only being in the 2nd week, it's AMAZING!!

That's all I'm going to post about right now. Jamie wants the computer and I'm off tomorrow so I will have more time to go into detail about my 3 goals for 2011.

God bless and happy crafting!!

After a long "nap"

I have been gone for a bit. Not from everything, but from a few things as I'm trying to get done what needs to be done, and still fit a few "wanting to do" things as well.

This post isn't as much about what I'm "crafting" right now as what's in my heart. The Christmas season will do that to you :) My heart is so full that I just wanted to share.

Every year (usually about this time of year) I start to think about what's really important to me and what I want share with people about what's important to me. Everyone knows I'm a mad crafter and making things with my hands to share and give to others is important to me. I have always felt that it's giving more than a gift, it's giving a little bit of me.

This Christmas I'm buying very little. (In this economy, aren't we all trimming down our spending?!) I'm really trying to make as much as possible and even the small things are filled with lots of love and meaning.

As I get older, my "grateful" list is changing. Yes, I'm grateful for the "creature comforts" we all are, but I'm finding I'm even more grateful for the non-tangible things in my life. A perfect example is that I've recently "friended" a lot of creative people on my FaceBook account. Why? Because I'm so grateful for the inspiration they give me. Reading their FB posts puts me back in touch with my creative spirit when I've wondered away from it and I need that "snap" somedays to get me back to where I'm happiest.

Things are changing in our household. Jamie is getting more into his creative side. He's back to playing the guitar, to reading, to working on his pinstriping. That encourages me as well and I hope I encourage him :) I'm enjoying the silence more...which is tough with a houseful sometimes, so I find myself waking up in the middle of the night to create. That's not a bad thing, just something that brings me happiness in the very hectic season!! And we're starting to get ready for Bodhi's move to the west coast....so many mixed emotions with that!!

I'm slowly but surely getting more organized (though you can't tell that from this post LOL as it's ALL over the place!) and that feels good. I'm getting better at dedicating time to things and sticking to that. I'm learning that turning the TV off (though I've preached it for years) really does make you more productive. I'm learning that sometimes silence is my muse.

Now I must get back to some productive stuff....like finishing card orders and getting some Christmas presents finished!!