How Many Days Until Christmas?

61 days.

That is all...61 days. I'm feeling the crunch already.

In about 40 days I will have company coming and staying until after Christmas. I need to get myself moving if I want to have everything ready by the time she arrives! This past month has be derailed by situations beyond my control, so I do not have all the Christmas cards completed yet...but I am even more thankful than ever that I started so early this year. It will help emensely & my new goal is now to be completely done by Veteran's Day. Totally doable.

The bigger problem is I have yet to start shopping and scarier still, I haven't started on the homemade gifts I have planned. Again, I am thankful to have a plan...I just need the time to execute that plan!

I hope the rest of you are well on your way to a stress free holiday season and no matter what, remember the REASON for the season.

Since I don't have any new creations to post, I'll offer up some old family Christmas photos for Throwback Thursday. Enjoy!

Chelsea, Maya & Olivia

Maya

Olivia

My Mom & I ... 1978

Chelsea & My Dad ... 1993

Amy, Erica, Mom, David, Dad, Matt & Me ... 1981 (I think)

Erica, Mom, David, Matt, Dad, Me & Amy ... Early 80's

Gracellyn ... 2011 admiring her first year of decorating my tree.

TGIF!!!

Friday is probably my favorite day of the week. Yes, I still have to go to work, but...the weekend is just around the corner and that usually means plenty of time in my studio if I choose!

On the agenda for this weekend:

#1 - Finish bagging & pricing cards for sale at work. (I keep a box in my office that are for sale & have a couple of regular customers).

#2 - Finish cutting & assembling the 54 Christmas cards I've started cutting pieces for last week...I've been waiting on a punch to arrive before I continue cutting pieces...can't wait to see the finished product! (Most of these will be the cards I send out this year, the others will be for sale).

#3 - Photograph finished cards for blog!

I think that's enough for me to focus on this week. I've really been trying to finish up cards that were started & stalled for one reason or another. I have 2 drawers full of "in progress" stuff. It feels so good every time I complete one of those and get to move on to something else. There are so many new products I'd love to be creating with, but seeing those unfinished projects always makes me feel bad, so it's long overdue for them to get done & get gone! Also, a crafty friend will be joining me on Sunday afternoon...so that will be fun to have some company!

What crafty goodness do you have planned for this weekend? Do you sell your creations? I'm always interested in hearing what y'all are up to, please leave me a comment with your crafty plans! :)

Over the Weekend...

I had a great time on Saturday crafting with some friends. Forgot to take pictures as we went, so I'll have to get the pictures done of the finished cards I made and post them a bit later!

Hope you're having a great Monday and for all of you with kiddos that started school today, I hope it was a breezy morning for you!

Just a little distracted...

Things have been a little crazy around here for me & I've been unable to spend any quality time in my craft room. I recently discovered this crazy wrap thing & became an Independent Distributor for It Works! Global. I'm so excited about what their products are already doing for me and it's been fun to share with so many people already!

I still have large card making goals for this year, I just think I need to purposefully schedule "me" time to do it!

Just something on my mind...

A thought crept in my mind this morning and it has me wondering. If I didn't initiate phone calls, emails or conversations, how long would it be before I heard from a friend or family member? I hate to say it, but I think it would be quite some time! What's even more perplexing to me is that if I don't initiate the contact then I'm often asked "is there something wrong" or "are you mad at me". What's the deal? Why is it only my responsibility to foster relationships? Why doesn't it go both ways? Food for thought this morning as I start my day.

Just Make Something!!!

Sometimes I just get stuck. It's not that I don't have ideas of what I want to make, or plenty of supplies to make it happen...I think I just get stuck with the thoughts of "what if it doesn't turn out pretty" or "what if nobody else likes it". I know it's completely irrational. I make cards and other paper things because I enjoy it. I know that every card I make isn't going to be exactly how I envisioned it or something beyond fabulous...so what's the deal???

I just need to make stuff. I do know that the more often I sit down at my table to make something, the more confident I become in the end result. Taking long breaks between creating anything feels like starting all over again to me. Could it be that practice makes perfect...or atleast a little more fabulous?

On Saturday, I finished up a set of cards I started earlier in the week. It felt good...they are cute and I totally stole the design from Pinterest (had the same paper and everything!). Yesterday, I cut all the pieces for another card...another layout I found on Pinterest, but this time using my own paper match ups and tweaking it here and there. It will be my goal to finish those this week & start another set. Just keep crafting...just keep crafting!

So any ways, I hope I have some pics to post soon...I'm determined to keep chipping away at my goal of 600 cards this year! I could make 10x's that with the supplies I already have on hand...it's a shame to keep all that beautiful paper stored away!!!

I'm so neglectful!!!

My poor little blog has been dreadfully neglected since the move to my new place. I don't know why I find it so difficult to keep up with blogging, but it's not the only thing I've been neglecting. I haven't made much of anything crafty since my move either.

The good news is that the craft room, which I now refer to as "the studio", is set up and unpacked for the most part and I feel like I can get in there and create without having to search to find this or that. Now, don't get me wrong, there are still a lot of things I'd like to do to my craft room to make it more efficient, but that will have to wait awhile.

So, what's on the menu? For starters, I have some new Close To My Heart products from the Fall/Winter 2012 Idea Book I will be creating with. Look for cards featuring the Flirty, Clementine and La Belle Vie papers soon!

And secondly, it's time to start on Christmas cards! I was able to make all the cards I sent out last year and even sold several, so that is my goal again this year. I usually make 6-12 of the same design and then go on to another design. It keeps things interesting and provides a variety when chosing which card to send to whom. The new Pear & Partridge Cardmaking Kit ($29.95) from Close To My Heart will be my starting point. This new kit will create 15 cards using their designs/stamps/embelishments and then some. I can't wait to get my hands on this new kit!

If you'd like to see what this new kit, check out my online store at www.abbycandlish.ctmh.com to view the new Idea Book. It's fabulous and you will NOT be disappointed in all the great new paper lines, stamps and embellishments available.

That's all for now...artwork will be coming soon!