Close To My Heart Scrapbooking and Stamping (CTMH) with Katie Orse

: Happy Thoughts:

Have you ever been in a sticky situation and exclaimed to yourself, "Happy thoughts...happy thoughts..." just to help motivate yourself through the situation? I have. Am I alone? Probably not. The last few days I have been piling on way too much onto my plate.

When things get sticky and I find myself overcommitted, I need to step back and re-evaluate. I need to say, "No" more. Not only to people, but to ideas. I tend to have so many ideas bursting all at the same time. Don't think that I am complaining, especially when I have days without my mojo. Having lots of ideas is a wonderful thing, but not so great when you have 10 other ideas ahead of the other 10.

So to combat that fatigue, I have been knitting. My grandmother first taught me how to knit and crochet. But she used bamboo skewers because we didn't have needles. She was in her late 70's at the time and I was almost 12. Sadly, this was one of the last few things I learned from my grandmother before she passed away. It's the simple gestures in life that we remember right? 

Fast forward 10 years later, I re-taught myself how to knit. Went to the library and checked out several books on the subject. Then, I bought inexpensive yarn and metal knitting needles. (Yes, they made that loud annoying clacking sound when you knit too fast.) Now I have Japanese wooden needles. I am soaking in delight with them!

But here's the real surprise I found. A few days ago, I discovered this cute little basket at my local TJMaxx store. I was drawn to the hand painted design and the adorable hanging tassels.

 

Ah...it spoke to me, "May your days be filled with laughter, friendship and love." I knew that it would be a perfect addition to my craft storage and house my yarn for my current knitting project. And what a bargain price it was too! I only paid $6.99 for this handcrafted gem.

Like I mentioned, I now store my current yarn inside. A fuzzy furry lime green skein. I love the color and the feel is so soft! I don't know what I'm making with it, but it's very therapeutic just to have my hands jabber away. And you can get a glimpse of my lovely Japanese knitting needles. 

So share with me. What do you do to relax when things get too crazy?

 

Inspiration Friday

It's Friday! Kicking off the weekend with some of my favorite Etsy Finds.( I am absolutely in love with fabric finds. Well, actually handbags in general, but most recently fabric handmade bags.) These are some of my current loves on Etsy.

 

From Nancy

Bagel Creations 

And then there's Anthropologie. Again, more handbags. I love the last bag that features a ruffled look.

 
 

So finally the weekend arrives and that means time to relax. This week I have been busy working on my online course for my team and mentoring a few of my Close To My Heart downline. I am really excited to get to know these girls! My waiting list has grown and the next training session will begin in mid-April/May. If you are interested in finding out more about my training, shoot me an email! I'd love to help you get started as a Close To My Heart consultant. Here I am in my office taking a break. I promised a photo of my new hairstyle and cut. I did cut 4 inches off. It's still long and I love it! I'm looking forward to Spring!

 

Is it Spring Cleaning yet?

I'm at home unpacking and doing all the laundry from our Orlando trip. It was fun and also a learning experience for me in the packing department. I rarely get to travel and when I do, it's very tempting for me not to take everything AND the kitchen sink LOL! I hate buying things on the road, especially for things that I may have forgotten to pack. Like I said, a learning experience.

Now that I am settled and at home, I have this need to clean out things and also to clean myself up. I made an appt. at my Aveda salon for a much needed hair cut and style. At the last minute I asked for a new hair color. I think I'm going to go lighter and brighter. I'm anxious to see what the results will be. I've lightened and brightened my hair before, but it's always nice to anticipate the final results. 

One thing for sure...my hair is looooonnnnnggggg. Long as in below my midback. I'm thinking about getting at least 4 inches off. My husband says no way! We'll see about that. In the meantime, I have some blog candy to share with you. While in Orlando, I made a stop to Ikea.

I love the color of this chair. I think it would be fun to sit on this while I work!

Love the wall color- very light and airy feel to this room. Just a simple small office in the corner. That's what I love about Ikea. It's simple, beautiful designs for small indoor living spaces.

Comfy bed with lots of closet storage! Holy cow! I could store all my handbags, and clothes just on one side of the wall with this entire unit. My husband on the other hand will just have to take a dresser :)

Love the color they used on the wall! This was a daybed that was very comfy. I almost wanted to take a nap there for awhile! If you ever get a chance to visit an Ikea store near you, don't forget to bring your camera! I used my iphone to take some pictures of products, and design rooms I liked. If you have a short memory like me, a camera like my iphone always comes in handy.

My inspiration list

Where do you find inspiration? Ask any artist and they will probably tell you that they find inspiration everywhere! True. But I want to know specifics. (This need for detail must be from my accounting background). So, when I ask the simple question, "Where do you find inspiration?" I expect to receive a specific answer; as in location of places, website, books, you name it. List them all out for me. I love to learn from others.

With the advancement in technology, I'm finding that most people find inspiration online. It's very simple to "Google it" and find your information now with a touch of the keyboard. It's coming up with the right keywords, and combination of phrases to put into that search box that can be difficult. Most often websites and blogs offer so much these days, the list can become endless. 

So where do I like to find inspiration? Besides at the main Close To My Heart  and scrapbooking/cardmaking website, I enjoy visiting other craft/design sites. My list is only partial and hopefully I will be able to add more in future blog entries.

Amy Butler

Her beautiful site is very inspiring! Take a peek at her Lifestyle photos inspiration section. I absolutely love her fabric designs. These are not your Vera Bradley fabrics. And I'm not the Vera Bradley type, but Amy Butler handbags and totes I would gladly wear. Her fabric just seems to speak to me more. Whether it is her color combination and/or a mixture of design elements, either way, it is very well thought out. Most of her designs resemble what I see and use in the scrapbook industry. Very inspiring.

This is a bag that I would love to carry off into a weekend excursion. Once again, beautiful color combination and design of the fabric. 

 

This is an amazing idea for a project using Amy Butler's fabrics. I am inspired by the adorable tassels that hang off on the side. I could see myself doing this same thing on a card or scrapbook layout. Again, color combination works very well.

This is a photo of yumminess! Pink and green have always been my two favorite, but coordinating the right shade is always a challenge.  

Design Sponge

I visit this site often. There is always something interesting to find here. I especially love the Mini trends section. A little glimpse of what is trending. 

Decor 8

Lovely site for decor. It's the details that are often shared at this site that I love.

Hostess with the Mostess

One of my favorite site to find visually appealing art. I love anything that has to do with candy! Don't you? 

For Business:

White Hot Truth

Business inspiration. This is not like your average business site powered from a woman. I really like this website because of the honesty it displays. She inspires to help visionary people with their business. Search out her various posts for business ideas. They may not speak to you outright, but it's there. I really believe business and creativity go hand in hand. You need to think creatively to enhance and fire up your business.

These are just a few of my favorite sites. If you have any that you'd like to suggest for me to visit, drop me a note and let me know.