Celebrate!

Yesterday I talked about unfinished projects and getting behind.  I really like to plan ahead.  One of my favorite “do ahead” projects is making cards out of the scraps from my scrapbook pages.  This was a trick I learned many years ago, and it has never failed me.  The concept is simple:

Every time you make a scrapbook page, use the scraps to make a card.

I usually wind up making multiple cards, so I have a very large stash ready for any occasion.  Some people might think this is impersonal, but it’s actually quite the opposite.  I have a list of all the upcoming birthdays and celebrations, so when it’s time to make a card, I just refer to that list and pick an event I need to send a card for.  And because my colors are already picked for me (perfectly coordinated, I might add!), I can spend more time on creating a card that suits the personality of the recipient and less time picking out which papers match.

These cards were made for my handsome nephew who lives in Arizona and his dad, who recently vacationed in New Mexico where he enjoyed exploring historic sites, absorbing the Southwest culture, and communing with nature.  I thought the colors of this collection by Stampin’ Up! just screamed “Southwest”, and the pattern felt masculine, so I thought, why not? The "celebrate" banner was made using Close to My Heart stamps.  I think they turned out really cute, don't you?  And best of all, it gave me an excuse to use that lovely Triple Treat flower stamp and some of my SU punches.  Now that’s worth celebrating!

Unfinished Projects

Honestly, I don’t know how other bloggers do it.  I know a few people who post on their blog every single day, but I don’t know how.  I can’t keep up.  I started off this year doing so well.  I was even a few weeks ahead of myself at one point, but here we are in September, and I can’t even manage to get out one post a week.  I have this problem with everything I do.  I start out with a great routine and the best of intentions, and then somewhere along the way, something chaotic happens that sends me into a tailspin.  My routine gets scrambled like yesterday’s eggs, and there is no putting this Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Take for instance, my 365 project.  I kept up with my daily art journal project faithfully through mid-May, but a weekend retreat with the girls side-tracked me and I skipped one day, foolishly thinking I would catch back up the next day.  Did I do it? No, but I am happy to report that I did start working on it again, eventually, and even though I am behind, I still get every bit as much joy from the process as I ever did.

So why did I start working on my project again?  Because even if it is behind, I will eventually finish it, and what a great sense of accomplishment I will have when it is finally done!  I just can’t give up on something I’ve started.  There is something in me that demands that I finish it, otherwise I’ll be riddled with guilt over the time and money I’ve wasted.  And that’s exactly what an unfinished project is – a waste of time and money. 

So go on, get out there and dig up those old projects you started but never finished.  Let’s make September the “Unfinished Projects Month” and see how many projects we can get done.  To make it a little more challenging, and maybe a little more enticing, I will offer a prize to the person who completes the most projects!  Here are the rules:

• Complete as many projects as you can between now and September 30.  Contest ends 12:00 AM CDT, October 1, 2013.
• Items can be any arts or crafts project, but must be something started or purchased but never finished.  Examples of projects might be scrapbook page kits, crocheted afghans, mini albums, quilts, paintings, etc.
• Items must be distinctly different projects; multiples of the same item will be counted as one project.  For example, if you crocheted 3 scarves from the same pattern, they count as one project.  However, if you crochet 3 scarves from 3 different kits, they count as 3 separate projects.
• Take a picture or pictures of your projects and upload them to our Flickr Project Gallery at http://www.flickr.com/groups/cn365/ before 12:00 AM CDT, October 1, 2013.
• Post on the Crafty Neighbor Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/craftyneighbor and tell us how many unfinished projects you finished.
• Check this blog on Tuesday, October 8 for an announcement of the winner (I need time to check out all those projects!).
• Between now and then, I will dig out some cool prize that I know you want and I’ll post it here.  So stay tuned, and start working on those projects!  Good luck!

The prompt for this journal entry was "Once in a lifetime".  I couldn't resist stripping down the famous Talking Heads song to a few significant lines.  In case you wondered, this is the page that I previewed on July 23 in my "Getting Stuck" article.  I layered on some gesso before using my stencils and Dylusions ink spray.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!  That’s the theme for today!  Thank you for subscribing and reading my blog!  Thank you for your patience because I forgot to post the Superstar blog hop winner yesterday (oops!), and here’s a sweet little Thank You card from our stamp club card swap a while back.  I just love this stamp set from Stampin’ Up.  It’s called “Pun Fun”, and unfortunately it is retired, but you can still find them on Ebay, etc.

So I didn’t tell you who the winner was yet, did I?  Before I do that, let me tell you about some other blog happenings coming up for September.  Team L. I. is working on a theme for our monthly hop, and maybe some new procedures for prizes.  I think you’ll like what we have in store.  That hop will start on September 15^th.  In October, I will be participating in two hops – the monthly Team L. I. Hop, and the “All Treats, No Tricks” hop hosted by the DFW area scrapbook businesses.  Lots of fun on that one, I can guarantee you!

Okay, I promised I would name with winner of the August Superstar Blog Hop so here it is….(drumroll, please)…the winner is Brenda Normand.  Brenda Normand, please send me an email to claim your prize!

That’s it for today.  Check back tomorrow for some new art journal entries.  I’ve fallen behind the last couple of months because I was working on projects for our December cruise, so I’m really anxious to get back into it again!  Have a great rest of your Labor Day!