Blog Name and Focus Change

If you were someone who visited my blog before you may have noticed the name change.  My blog used to be titled  PAPER TWO WAYS.  Before I focused on blogging about books in addition to craft related things- mostly card making. 

I decided to change the name of my blog to what it is currently now and also my focus.  I am going to focus solely on card making, crafts, and Stampin' Up! related items.  I really want to build my  Stampin' Up! business and felt that one way I could do this was to have one focus here on my blog. If you were someone that ever checked in once in a while for a book review, I will continue to do so over on Goodreads.

I am also working on changing the look of my blog somewhat, so thank you for being patient with me as I work through that process. 

Thank you for your understanding and support, and I hope to inspire you to do something creative!

Easter Card

 

 



 

Hi everyone - I have a quick Easter card to share with you:

 

 

 

 

That stamp! The Sheltering Tree stamp from Stampin' Up! can be used for so many occasions.  And I love when a stamp set creates beautiful stamped scenes effortlessly. Below are the Stampin' Up! stamp sets I used to create this:

Sheltering Tree Photopolymer: 137163 @ $24.95
Greeting is from: Crazy About You Photopolymer: !37137 @ $24.95
These are both from our current Occasions Catalog which runs through June 2 and you can order with me at this link: http://cindybeggs.stampinup.net

The cross is from a Paper Smooches stamp set that I have.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Reflecting on Life and Blogging

So... I was in a bit of a book and crafting drought for a while.  Hence, no blogging.  I made goals to update my blog at least once per week and that was not happening. For some reason I had it in my head to only blog when I finished something (book or crafting project) and that shouldn't be the case. 

Anyway, I became a first time mom back in May of 2014, and things are easier now that we have routines in place.  I was also not in a healthy mental place with teaching and was searching for "something" in my career.  What that was, I don't know.  I am debating going back to school for my Library Media Specialist Credential or for creative writing, or heck, maybe both.  All I know is that I am slowly discovering that my passion for learning and books may not be me in the classroom teaching.  But, I am praying about and ruminating on several ideas, and hopefully soon some kind of light will be shed as to where I am supposed to be in my career.

So blogging.  I've missed it.  I need to get back into it.  For now, I am not going to think too much about what or when I should blog but just do it when I have something to share - books, crafts, or otherwise.  I hope you will enjoy whatever it is I choose to share. 

Happy reading and crafting!

Watercolor for Cardmakers - days 7 & 8

These two days were about Faux Hand Painting on your cards which is a technique I really like! I do need to practice though or choose different stamps as some of the detail in the stamped image got muddled and lost.  I also need to think differently about which stamps I purchase and use to use this technique.  I used Distress Inks which I am finding I really enjoy using for watercolor techniques.  Here are the two cards I created:

I added Wink of Stella for some shimmer.  Overall, I am happy with these two cards - and these two were given to my mom and mother-in-law.  Perfect timing for Mother's Day!  Thank you for stopping by!

Watercolor for Cardmakers Days 3 & 4 - another card

Here is another card I created with the watercolor stamping techniques.  I used Stampin' Up! markers to color the heart stamp and then stamped.  Once I stamped the hearts in the same color I went in with water and a brush and dabbed at the hearts to give it the watercolor effect.  This was fun and am more happy with the results of this card.  I really liked using the Stampin' Up! markers - they were forgiving and reacted well to the water.  The ink in the markers and the ink pads are very juicy - I will practice more watercoloring with these inks!

Thanks for stopping by!

Watercolor for Cardmakers Days 3 & 4

Okay, so days 3& 4 were about watercolor stamping.  Here is what I attempted:

I used gelatos to stamp the image - I thought the flowers came out a bit smudged - and they kind of just look like blobs to me.  I will have to continue to practice.  I am also finding that with the gelatos they leave bits of the waxy substance behind (kind of like a crayon).  So I am sure it's something I am doing, as I have not seen that as an issue within the videos.  Either way it was fun to play!

Watercolor for Card Makers - Day 1

Hi everyone! 

Well nothing like taking an online card class to get me blogging again.  It's been quite the length of time... I have been preoccupied being pregnant with my first! :) He is due June 4, I'm on maternity leave now, so I have some to play as I take this card class.  One last little thing for me before he arrives. 

So Day 1 was working on watercolor backgrounds.  Here is what I created:

I used Gelatos as my watercolor - I haven't used them much since I bought them, so I thought this class would be a good opportunity to play around with them as watercolors.  I debated buying an actual watercolor set, but thought I should practice with what I have and can decide after what more to invest in as I see all the teachers use theirs. 

Creating the background image was a little tricky as it more of a scenic background.  I don't love it, but thought it's not so bad for my first try. 

Any constructive criticism and advice is welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

Hershey Nugget Treat Holder and Card

Hi all!

Been playing around with some Stampin' Up! stuff and put together this matching combo today:

 

The treat holder holds four Hershey Nuggets and the card is a 3x3 card (that also has a matching envelope).  The treat holder was originally found in our Stampin' Success magazine, and I have seen several folks add different touches to it here and there and this was my take. 

 

Stampin' Up! Materials used:

 

Label Love Clear Stamp set: #130622 @ $17.95

Artisan Label Punch #130920 @ $15.95

Chalk Talk Clear Stamp set: #130634 @ $18.95

Chalk Talk Dies #129983 @$24.95

Scalloped Tag Topper punch #133324 @ $22.95

Coastal Cabana 80 lb. 8.5x11" cardstock # 131297 @ $6.95 for 24 sheets

Fresh Prints Designer Series Paper Stack #132996 @ $6.95

Inks: Real Read #126949 and Baked Brown Sugar #131174 each @$5.95

 

Have a great weekend!



Medium Sized Gift Bag

Hi there!

I wanted to share a new paper craft that I learned this week and am absolutely in love with! Gift Bags! Check out the image below:

 

I learned how to make this gift bag from watching this video here .  But I first found out about making these great little gift bags from the lovely Andrea Thompson who is my Stampin' Up! upline gal.  She has some fabulous ideas! She gave me a gift in one of these make your own gift bags like the one above; I fell in love with it and had to figure out how to make them. 

 

It is quite simple; I timed myself and it took me about 20 minutes.  I figure I will shorten that time now that I have made one.  It takes two 12x12 pieces of paper (that have a pattern on both sides if you want to have the two pattern look) to make the size above.  The dimensions end up being 6" x 2 7/8" x 7".  I plan on playing around with different sized paper to see what I get.

 

Thanks for stopping by! 

About My Blogging Break...

Hello everyone!

As I am sure many of you can see it's been a while since updating my blog.  Life got a little crazy right around October when I found out I was pregnant! And well, I got a LITTLE distracted.  :) So I apologize for not putting up a post explaining my absence from my blog. 

I will continue to blog, but I am debating the focus of my blog and also debating a second blog.  I love to read and craft, and I am thinking about how I can weave crafting into my life more seriously.  I have been pondering if the two part focus on my current blog here is working. I have been giving it some thought, doing some blog and business research and have yet to decide which route I will pursue.  In the meantime, I do plan on updating my blog about once a week, whether a craft showcase or a book update.  In the past, I blogged mostly about books, but my reading life has slowed down considerably since I started putting an emphasis on crafting.  I found it challenging to keep up with posting about books when I wasn't reading much - it would take me a couple of weeks to get through a novel, and therefore I didn't have anything to post regarding books.

So, thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to read about my "blogging break." I hope that in the future if you decide to come back and visit you will be inspired to do something crafty or read a great book! Thanks again!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 10.7.13

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? from Picture Books to YA is a meme started by Kellee over at www.unleashingreaders.com and Jen over at www.teachmentortexts.com to share and wrap up our reading for the past week.  They expanded the original meme started by Sheila over at www.bookjourney.wordpress.com to include picture books up through YA literature.

Another slooooow reading week for me.  But, I finished a fabulous book!

I finished:

and oh how I loved it! I think this is Jo Knowles best book yet.  Every character was well thought out and I kept cheering on Josh and his commitment to change and focus on improving his life.  Some may say that he ran away from his problems, but I think he did the right thing for himself in order to become the better individual he wanted to be.  He was a well thought out and well rounded character and I think many teen aged readers (male or female) can relate to Josh.  A+ (in my opinion).

I then started for book club:

You can go to Goodreads here to read the summary for this book.  It's getting a lot of buzz so hopefully it will live up to all of it.

I want to read next before I see the movie:

A few other books in my TBR pile:

A couple of novels that have been out for a while but have yet to read (although I've seen the Perks of Being of a Wallflower and LOVED it!) and I just received an ARC of Ishmael Beah's new one.

Thank you for stopping by! I hope you have a great week of reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? 9.30.13

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? from Picture Books to YA is a meme started by Kellee over at www.unleashingreaders.com and Jen over at www.teachmentortexts.com to share and wrap up our reading for the past week.  They expanded the original meme started by Sheila over at www.bookjourney.wordpress.com

This week was a slow reading week for me. But I was able to read a couple of picture books that I received from the SCIBA Trade Show event this past Saturday.  I had the privilege and honor to listen to each author/illustrator speak about their process in creating the book - I always love to hear the story behind the story.

I read:

BUGS IN MY HAIR by David Shannon was a great read! And what a topic! I think this is a great story to read aloud to primary grades to explain how this pesky bug ends up where it does.  It teaches without being preachy in classic David Shannon style.  Not a disappointment.

Love, love, love LOCOMOTIVE by Brian Floca.  This book was intensely researched by Floca and he created beautiful illustrations to accompany his rhythmic words throughout.  I believe this rich text can be used as a read aloud for both young and older readers.  A must have for all libraries in my opinion.

I am still reading and enjoying:

And I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of this on Saturday:

So many great books - so little time! I hope you had a great reading week! Thank you for stopping by!