After the Holiday Hiatus!

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a long and wonderful holiday weekend!  I wanted to touch base with you and let you know I'm going to take an "after-the-holiday" hiatus for a few days.  The last 3 weeks have been filled with many busy and stressful things and I just need a break.  My house looks like this...

And....my obsessive brain will not allow me to function properly in a mess!  I have trouble going to sleep knowing my house is messy and I've had to do just that for a few days and I'm so done with it.  I have several cards and projects done and ready to share, but I haven't taken photos yet.  I hope to spend a few days doing laundry, cleaning house, getting things in order for the upcoming season and relaxing.  Then I'll get some photos taken and be right back here with ya!  I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Blessings,

Cheryl

P.S. I couldn't resist - I had to go Black Friday shopping!  I had posted last week how I was going to stay home and sleep in.  It didn't happen.  I couldn't help myself! 

Vote!!!!

I just wanted to remind everyone in the USA to get out and vote today!  I realize there are some of you out there with very strong political views (like me!) and some who don't really care or are undecided.  Even if you don't feel very strongly about it like I do, it's a right and privilege we have as Americans and we should never take it for granted.  So, go take a few minutes and cast your vote!  Now, I'm off to stand in what I hope is a fast-moving line at the polls...  (And, if you're not sure who to vote for, just ask me and I will gladly share my opinion....ha ha!)

Happy Election Day!
Cheryl

Cricut Artiste? To Buy or Not To Buy?

I would love to pose a question all of you fabulous people who read my ramblings.  I haven't a bought a new cartridge in a while and I've recently become very interested in the Cricut Artriste cartridge.  It's fairly expensive, but seems to have a ton of really good cuts.

Have any of you tried it?

Do you feel it's worth the money?

Do you know where I can get a good deal?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments on the matter and/or see pictures of anything you've made using it.  I am also considering Wild Card 2.  (I'm in love with that owl wearing glasses...)

Blessings,
Cheryl

Howdy!

Happy Wednesday!  I am trying to get back in the swing of things after my busy weekend and thought I'd check in with you guys.  I don't have any projects yet, but I'm happy to say Gypsy is working normally again, so I'm working on something for this weekend.  I will also have some pics of the craft classes from our retreat to share with you soon. 

For now, I just thought I'd check in and share this:

Besides that fact that I LOVE this quote, isn't it written beautifully?  I have a "thing" for handwriting and typography, so I thought this was great.  And I fully believe in being noisy, colorful and lively - Just ask my hubby when he's trying to go to sleep!  He says I'm the noisiest person on the planet.  I am always sure to correct him - I'm the second noisiest, because I'm pretty sure my mom takes first place.  She has a knack for putting away pots and pans just as you're trying to listen to something on TV.  

It never fails.  

Love you, mom, I promise.

Have a great day!  I promise to be back soon with crafty fun!

Cheryl

Coming Attraction!!

Happy Friday everyone!  I think this picture is hilarious.  

And, yes, I do love those hats on the dogs.  I will someday have a dog when I move somewhere with a good yard for them to roam free.  Until then, I will enjoy cute dog pictures.  And listen to my husband tell me to please not become that person that dresses my dog in clothes.

To which  I always reply "Not clothes....just rain boots, hats and sweaters!"  (Have you seen those teeny tiny little dog rain boots?? Oh my goodness.  Love em.) 

Seems perfectly logical to me.  They need their feet dry, their head cute and their body warm, right?

Anyway...So, I said I was taking a break, but I just couldn't stay away from you all.  I just love ya that much.  For reals.

I was driving home yesterday and remembered something I wanted to share, so I will share this, then take my break.

After I return, I will be starting to do product reviews, recommendations and tips once per week on the blog.  This is where you come in.... We all love our products!  I would love to hear about a product you have either tried and loved or one that you'd like to try or know more about.  I will be reviewing the items I use in my crafting that I love and/or hate and give you my honest opinions on each of them.  I will also share tips that will make our crafting life easier.  

If you have any product ideas or questions, tips or suggestions, please leave a comment with your name and email address or email me directly at pinkandpaper@gmail.com.  I can't wait to hear from you!

And, now, I am really gone to take a break.

Blessings,

Cheryl

Vacation....Sorta

Hi everyone!  I hope your day is wonderful so far.  I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know I'll be taking a few days off from the blog.  I'm taking a "vacation"...but not really.  (Does that make any sense at all?)  

As I've mentioned before, our church has a women's retreat every year in June.  We all head down there on Friday morning and come home Saturday evening.  I will be doing a craft class on both days.  I have been preparing for a few weeks, but because everything was so busy for me during May, I don't have as much done as I'd hoped.  And because we are at a retreat center away from home, I try to have everything cut and ready to go ahead of time, instead of hauling my Cricut and all the tools down there. 

Last night, I sat down at my desk to do just what PC told me to do to fix my Gypsy.  It did not work.  I'm not a happy camper, to say the least.  I normally have a lot of things to post before the week begins, but since the Gypsy died on Saturday morning (my main crafting day) and my projects were saved in there, I have nothing.  After a bit of thought, I decided to just take a vacation from my blog for a few days and get my retreat work done and hopefully get the Gypsy fixed.

So....that's what I'm gonna do!  My retreat is next weekend, and until then, I will be sitting at my desk getting things ready for my classes.  I can't wait to share what we're making and I hope to post those pics next week.  

Until then, Happy Crafting!

Oh....and just so you know - I won't be crafting a bit tonight because I have to watch our OKC Thunder whip the Spurs.  I am not a sports fan, but since the Thunder came to OKC several years ago, I love to watch and support them.  We have never had an NBA team and I've really enjoyed it.  I hate football but I actually enjoy watching basketball.  Tonight is a big game for us and if we win, it's on to the finals.  Sooooo...  I thought I'd share that random thought with you all.  Go Thunder!!!

Blessings,

Cheryl

Update

Good morning to you all!  I just wanted to do a quick post to let you know what's going on with me...

As many of you know from a previous post, my sweet grandpa had been pretty sick.  Over the weekend, he finished his life on earth and went to see Jesus.  As I said before, he served God with all of his heart and I can only imagine the reward he's getting right now.  Although my heart aches because I will miss him so very much, it also delights my heart to know that he is in heaven right now feeling joy that we can only dream about.

I am also working on 2 big projects right now.  I have been asked to make 50 birthday invitations and am working on 195 items I was hired to make for teacher appreciation week.  All of these items are "due" within the next 1-2 weeks.  On top of that, we're having a garage sale Friday & Saturday and I am totally not ready for that.

Needless to say, the next couple of weeks will be super busy for me.  I have one post scheduled for you later in the week, then I will probably be away for a few days.  I have some fun projects I did for teacher appreciation, and when it's all done, I'll have those pics to share with you as well.

I hope to be back to "normal" soon.  Until then, I wish happiness and blessings to you all!

Cheryl

Just FYI...

Good morning!  I just wanted to drop by and say a quick hello this morning and update you on my life.  I am sad to say I have nothing to post for you this week.  

I normally do some of my crafting during the week and most of it on Saturdays.  Since I've started going to the gym 4-5 times per week, it takes away 2 hours of my free time each night, which leaves little room for crafting after work.  On top of that, I had a big plan to make tons of projects this past Saturday and that didn't happen.  

My grandpa had a heart attack over the weekend, so we spent Saturday at the hospital.  He's stable now, but the prognosis is not good.  They're not giving him much hope at all, as his heart is basically worn out and can't be fixed.  Besides his cardiac issues, he has some memory problems and also struggles with that.  He's lived a good life and served God with his whole heart.  I know whenever his time comes, he'll leave this earth and walk into the arms of our Savior and receive a reward in Heaven that we can't begin to imagine.  He will get to see the One that created everything and spoke life into the world.  He will experience something he's only been able to dream about and has waited for his entire life.  Knowing this gives me great peace, but the granddaughter in me is still sad at the thought of him not being around for as long as I'd like.  He's one of the best men I've ever known.  I am so blessed to have been born into his family and am thankful to him for the man he is, who in turn made my father the man he is, who helped (with my mom) make me the woman I am today.  

I apologize for getting sappy with you all.  =)  As I've said before, I feel like I've known you all forever and we're old friends.

"As opposed to what we really are.  People who don't know each other's names..."

(from You've Got Mail)

I {heart} that movie so much.  Anyway...

You have always been so kind and supportive in your comments and I feel like I can be real in what I share with you.  I just wanted let you all know where I'm at and what's going on in my life.  I still have videos that are almost ready to share and hope to be posting projects by the weekend.

Have a blessed and fabulous Thursday!

Cheryl

Questions about video

Hello everyone!  Are you sick of hearing from me yet?  I feel like I've overwhelmed you with posts this week.  This will be short, I promise!  After posting my video earlier today, I received a few comments asking about the editing program I used on the video.  I cannot take credit for the editing (Thanks, Padre!), my dad helped me out big time.  We used MoviesPlus by Serif and it's fabulous!  I know nothing about editing video and after just a few minutes, I was able to learn quite a bit.  I am not totally on my own yet with editing, but I will be soon.  If you're interested in the program, you can go to their website here.  They also sell a great photo editing program called PhotoPlus and it's really inexpensive compared to Photoshop.  

One last thing... I couldn't respond directly to those that asked about this because I didn't have an email address.  When leaving comments, please leave a way for me to contact you!  I love to respond to comments but can't if there's no email address.  

Have a great evening!

Cheryl

Weight Loss Update

Hello everyone!  It's been a few weeks since I bared my deepest, ugliest thoughts about myself and weight loss and I've had several folks asking how it's going.  It's been pretty steady.  I had hit 12 lbs last week and then at weigh in last night - UGH - I gained 0.2 lb!  I was so distraught.  I thought I'd done pretty well this week and I was not a happy camper to see a + on there!  I realized it's only 2/10 of a pound, but that's not the point here.  My hubby and I have both been fighting colds since last Friday, and over the weekend we ate fast food several times because neither of us felt like getting around in the kitchen, much less cooking.  We laid around and did nothing but go to church for the entire weekend.  Now, on Weight Watchers, I can have fast food as long as I count it, but several times in one week is never good.  And I know I didn't have enough fluids because my throat hurt and I didn't want to drink or eat anything for several days.  

So, today, the new week begins.  I am back at it and would love to see about 2-3 lbs lost this week.  My mom and I talked about possibly joining a gym together and I know that would super speed up my weight loss.  I have The Firm videos at home, and I like them, but I am more steady at exercise if I go away from home.  Once I get home, I think of 100 other things I need to do and tend to put it off.  I am waiting to make some more money from my side job and then I can pay for a 6 month membership all at once.  Until then, I'm really trying to amp up my walking at work and exercise at home.  

As for the food part...the last two weeks have been tough.  I have craved everything that has sugar, salt or fat and no matter what I eat, it didn't satisfy.  You know, grapes will never taste like a Snickers candy bar no matter how you eat them!  Not to offend any of you cute little grapes out there, but it's just not your purpose in life.  =)  I am learning to like more fruits and veggies, and that's helping me find better things to snack on.  I did try cauliflower with cheese sauce.  It was by Green Giant and it was this frozen box that had like 2 servings in it and it only had 1 point per serving.  (If you're not familiar, Weight Watchers gives each food a points value and I get 37 points per day).  I brought that box to work, popped it in the microwave and sat down to eat.  It looked delicious covered in cheese sauce.  WRONG!  I put that smelly cauliflower in my mouth and all I can say is....ICK!  I was sitting in our break room with a few other people and I'm trying to not gag and run to the trash and spit it out.  It was a lovely situation.  I managed to chew and swallow without   drawing much attention, but that box promptly went to the trash.  EPIC FAIL on the veggie front.  

As I look up the page, I've rambled on again.  Since my last weight loss post, I've seriously considered starting a separate blog about weight loss, tips, recipes, etc.  What do you all think?  Is that something you'd be interested in reading?

Blessings,

Cheryl  

Ideas!

Like most of you, I {heart}Pinterest!  Today, I was scrolling through and found some cute ideas for organizing your craft supplies and thought I'd share.

Isn't this great?  It's an oatmeal container turned into a ribbon storage container.  You can find it here.  I don't have room on my tiny desk for this, but when I move into a bigger place, I will have a craft room.  I can just imagine these all lined up on a shelf....covered of course in various shades of pink paper.  Maybe even shades of blush and bashful.  (If you don't recognize that, it's from one of the best movies ever, Steel Magnolias!)

I love this scrap storage, don't you?  I have mine in this crazy plastic accordion file and it's a mess!  When I have more space, this is my plan.  Go here to see her entire post.

Oh how lovely!  All that paper makes me drool.  Love it!  Check it out here.

Isn't this super duper cool?  I love it! It reminds of Martha Stewart's armoire she had on her show one time.  I have always wanted one!  You can find it here.

I am always looking for great new ways to organize my crafting space.  If you have ideas, I'd love to hear them!

Blessings,

Cheryl

A couple of things...

First of all, let me say thanks for all the nice comments about my flower made using ovals.  You all are so sweet!  It just gives me the warm fuzzies to read your comments.  =)  I had several questions on how I assembled the flower, so I will be working on a tutorial this weekend and hope to have that up soon for you guys.  If you're not sure what I'm talking about, it's the card from this post.

Warning - The next section has nothing to do with paper or cards, so if you're not interested, please feel free to stop reading now!

I wanted to share something personal with you.  Recently, I've started back on the Weight Watchers program.  Let me stop here and and say, if you are someone who doesn't have to battle with the scale, you are very blessed!  And I'm totally envious!  I was not born with the "skinny gene" or whatever you'd like to call it.  It's always been a struggle for me and the last few years, I haven't fought it very well at all. Until recently, I had stuck my head in the sand over this out of embarrassment, shame, guilt and disgust with myself. 

For most of my adult life, I've hated the way I look and feel.  I've tried a gazillion ways to lose weight (can anyone say cabbage soup?  I can't even eat cabbage now without gagging!) and have been successful for a short period of time.  It's embarrassing to admit all the silly things I've tried in hope of reaching that seemingly unattainable goal.  A few months ago, after trying to find some new pants and being unhappy with every pair I tried on, I had a meltdown in the car in the parking lot.  My husband and I sat there and had a long talk and I think for the first time - out loud - I admitted just how I really felt about this weight thing.  I know my husband, family and friends love me and accept me for what I am, but I had never trusted them with my feelings on this issue.  I have a type A personality and this has been the one thing that I've completely failed at, every time I've tried, and that's really hard to accept.  So....after my meltdown, I've come to a few conclusions...

1) I am not a diet.  I want to change my lifestyle.  Forever.  If it's not forever, I'll go back to the same habits and be in the same boat I'm in now.  When I say "DIET", I swear to you I automatically want everything I can't have!  Do you have that problem?  I know that the main things that got me here are Dr. Pepper (Oh, sweet nectar of heaven) and snacks instead of regular meals (I don't really like grown up food - give me some Goldfish crackers and I'm happy).  Instead of thinking "I can't have that until I'm off this diet", I now think "I can have that occasionally so I don't sabotage the other days".  It's all in how you think about it.  I have good days and bad days.  Today is a rough one! 

2) Being a failure goes right along with being a human.  We have all failed many times in our lives.  And as much as I love for things to be perfect (Hello, Type A!), I am not nor will I ever be perfect.  I now believe the reason for my failures in the past is because I see things very black and white and it's all or nothing for me.  When I've messed up before, I just quit because I failed.  No more of that for me!  I say this through clenched teeth.....It's OK to mess up!  You just have to get back up and keep going.

3)  Sharing my struggles with others is pretty therapeutic.  In my efforts to not burden others with my problems/failures/issues, I've kept alot inside that needed to come out!  I will no longer do that.  I decided yesterday that I'm going to keep a journal through this process.  I am not much of a writer, but now I'm thinking it may really help.  We'll see.

4)  I have to learn to accept me for who I am.  I am not very fond of myself.  I never have been.  I tend to worry so much about perfection that I am super critical of everything I do and I try to please everyone.  I will never please everyone.  NEVER.  And it's OK to be me, with all of my faults and quirkiness (there's plenty of that!).  I am learning, slowly, that God made me the way I am for a reason and it's quite an insult to him to complain about myself all the time!

Now, I realize that most of you follow my blog to see cards and paper crafts, and not hear about my weight issues.  I promise to not burden you with this very often.  I just wanted to share so that those of you out there with the same struggle will know that you're not alone - I'm here with ya!  I hadn't intended on rambling on forever, so I apologize that this is so lengthy!  If any of you are on a similar journey, I would love to hear your thoughts, tips, tricks or just ramblings. 

Have a blessed day!

Cheryl