Time Changes Things

I have decided to shake things up a little bit on my blog.  As you can tell, I have changed the name.  It saddened me to see I made less a half dozen posts last year.  I guess it should come as no surprise to me with everything that happened last year however it did surprise and sadden me.    

I am also going to shake things up in my personal life again.  I have a lot of decisions to make (once again) and the biggest one is what am I going to do with the rest of my life.  Do I need to move?  If so, where?  Career?  Yep, starting all over again and not quite sure where to start in that department. 

One of the reasons I changed the name of my blog is because "Hugs4theHeart Designs" has been a business dream of mine for a very long time now.  I am definately going to grow an Etsy business (and I can do that from anywhere as long as I have a computer). 

Tonight is my jumping off point and writing has always been healing for me and helps me get to what is buried deep within my heart.  It time to do some more digging and see where I end up.  

So not only does time change things - only time willl tell.   

Until later

Laine

A New Beginning.....

It certainly has been quite a while since I have been able to post anything on my blog.  Life has been full of many challenges and struggles lately and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

First of all - I moved from Washington State and am now living in Medford, Oregon.  It was a huge leap of faith for me and it's been quite the journey thus far.  I have been off work since February 24th and am now unemployed.  It's a long story but one full of many life lessons.  One of which is having honesty and integrity doesn't always mean things turn out the way they should but at least I can look at myself in the mirror everyday and that is priceless to me.  And now I am moving on to new adventures and challenges and I have never been happier. 

I have been in Oregon a week now and I love how much slower life is here.  I no longer have to spend precious time stuck in traffic jams.  It takes only a few minutes to run to the store and get back home again.  Wow - I love it!!  My sister Dana and I will be moving into a two bedroom apartment at the end of June and we are excited about that too.

I now have my own craft booth in a business called Awstruck Collectibles which is located in the main mail in Medford.  I have been busy making many new things so that my sister and I can get the booth decorated and ready for business early this coming week.  It feels like a huge responsibility and yet it is exciting at the same time.  I have taken some photos of my booth and will post them as soon as I can.  And of course, I will post before and after photos!!

Lots of new changes coming soon here on my blog as well as at my Etsy store and new craft booth.

Thank you Greeting Card

This turned out to be an interesting card to create.  I found a great video about a "smooching technique" at Hero Arts and decided to try the technique myself. 

I stamped the flower image three times on the white cardstock.  I stamped the images again using the "smooching technique" for texture and cut out the outside edges of the flowers so I could add dimension to the flowers.  I used mounting tape to attach the top flower to the bottom flower.  You can really see the difference between the two images and I love the look of the top flower.  For the centers of the flowers I used stickles to add some bling to the flower itself.  I used "sage" ink to stamp the leaves around the three flowers.  There wasn't an actual leaf stamp in the flower set - I used an image of a small heart from another stamp set.  I stamped "thank you" with black ink.  I'm not really happy at how faded the ink is on the card but decided to post the card anyway because it took so much time to create this card in the first place. 

The products used are:

Versa Magic chalk  ink - Red Brick and Sage
Versa Fine Dry Pigment ink - Black
Verse Acrylic Stamp Set - Great Friend
Unknown background stamp to create the "smooshing technique"
Mounting tape, adhesive and stickles. 

I've also included a link to the video in case you would like to watch how the technique is done:  http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/

Hercules and the Power of Cheese

Sneek Peak At Christmas Cards

OMGoodness - I can't believe it has been such a  long time since my last post.  Where has time gone??  I have been working so many hours that I have barely had time to breathe let alone do anything else.  The insanity has to stop!!

I did have a friend over last weekend to help her make some Christmas cards.  I made a few of my own and decided to actually post them here.  These are just two of the cards I plan on making and hopefully later today I can make some more.  It feels great to be back and it seems I have a lot of catching up to do. 

**************************************************************

I have finally taken the leap with my love of writing.  I have just begun a new blog (heaven help me) about the lessons I have learned over the past 10 years from my little furry Hercules.  I've only made one post so far but I have only just begun.  I hope you will check it out from time to time and let me know what you think. 


The link is to the right and all you have to do is click on the photo of Hercules.

Thanks so much for looking!!

Six Quick and Easy Cards

I was in the mood for some instant gratication over the weekend and decided to make some quick and easy cards and below are a few of them.  I absolutely love the orange and pink combination and my only regret is that I don't have any more of that cardstock.  The "Hello Friend" is a digital stamp and I've been using it a lot.  You can also see that the common theme for all the other cards is the Eiffel Tower.  Paris is a place I hope to visit one day.  I'm not leaving a lot of details of what into creating all the cards because I think they are all pretty self explanatory.

Orange Floral Album - Part Two

As promised, here are two photos of the inside of this album.  As you can tell, I haven't completely finished the album.   I absolutely love how the album fans open and all the different colors and patterns of cardstock.  There are a total of 15 pockets holding 15 tags.  I think I will use this as an album full of my favorites quotes and scriptures.  Once the album is finished I will post another photo. 

I have a lot of cards, albums and other projects that I can't wait to share with you.   

Thanks so much for taking the time to visit.

Orange Floral Album - Just a peek!!

Wow!!  Time sure has flown by these past several weeks.  I have been working so much overtime that I haven't had a lot of time to create or post projects on this blog. 

This album was a lot of fun to make - it took a while because I made it from scratch but I am really happy with it.  I am only going to post the front of the album today and will post a photo of what it looks like inside tomorrow.  The real reason I have to wait until tomorrow to post the photo of the inside of the album is because I have to retake the photo again tomorrow and I promised myself I would post something today. 

The album is 3.5" x 5.25" when closed.  I've never been a big fan or orange but that seems to have really changed lately - it's really becoming a favorite color to use.

Thanks for looking and let me know what you think!!

Birthday Card with Beautiful Flowers

This is a photo of a birthday card that I made for my former boss.  I wish the photo did this card justice - it's really pretty and the flowers are gorgeous.  I love all the bling sprinkled all over them.  I used Spellbinders Nestabilities to make the front of the card.  The base of the card is black cardstock; the patterned paper is from Daisy D's and the pink cardstock is from Bazzill.  I used miscellaneous lace at the bottom of the card and attached the flowers with glossy accents.  The "just because" sentiment is from The Angel Company and I believe the flowers are from Prima.  I've been saving the flowers for a very special reason and Diane's birthday was the perfect reason to finally use the flowers.  The most important part is that Diane loved it and it made her smile.  I also decorated the inside of the card but forgot to take a photo of it (big bummer).  Thanks for looking and I will be posting again soon.

Etsy Shop - Finally Up And Running

I made myself a promise last Friday and that was I would get my Etsy Shop up and running before I went back to work from the three day weekend.  I had to stay up late on Monday night but thankfully I kept that promise and I am now up and running.  I only have 7 items listed at this moment in time however that will be changing soon.  I wish it would stop raining so I could take photographs of some of the items I will be listing.  Until that happens - I will continue to make things to add to the shop.  I have lots to learn and lots of projects to make but its still exciting to have finally reached this part of the goal. 

As I shared yesterday - mom's passing has been really hard and yet I knew I needed to start putting one foot in front of the other so I could continue moving forward.  I know that's what mom would want.  I'll be adding greeting cards, albums and lots of other things.  It's very exciting and gives me something to look forward to.

I've added the link if you'd like to check it out.  Let me know what you think - I'd appreciate the feedback. 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/hugs4theheart

This is one the key chains I have listed in the shop - It's my cute little pig keychain.

Sneak Peek at my Contest Entry

I have spent the last three weeks trying to get my home put back together.  I've been dealing with a lot of sadness over the recent passing of my mom and am desperately trying to feel grounded again.  The last three days I have managed to get a few things done and my home is starting to look a little more normal. 

I haven't had a lot of time to create but I did manage to get a project put together for the lastest TAC contest.  I thought it would be fun to share just a sneak peek from the front of it.  There seems to be quite a few TAC angels with little sneak peeks on their blogs that I thought I would join in on the fun.

One of my goals over the weekend was to get my Etsy shop set up.  I will post the link tomorrow and I am so excited that I have finally reached that goal.  Now I just have to make more stuff to add to my inventory.

Thanks for looking and I will post again tomorrow.

Cute Gift Card Holder

I really enjoy making small albums from empty toilet paper rolls and I thought it would be fun to create a small gift card holder out of one as well.  I covered the toilet paper roll in cardstock from The Angel Company (Lilly Anna).  I added strips of cardstock to the edges for variety.  I added two eyelets to the left edge and added some wide white ribbon and finished with some bling.  I used Glossy Accents to glue to flower to the front of the cover.  A gift card can be added behind the small card insert.  Why is it the first one always takes the longest to make??

Thanks for looking!!!

April Stamp of the Month Samples

I've been so busy I haven't even have a chance to look at the Stamp of the Month samples that I was asked to create for The Angel Company. I must confess that creating samples with this stamp set was definately out of my comfort zone. I love the "vintage" look - I just don't have a lot of experience under my belt in this area.

Ironically - I fell in love with this stamp set and it's now one of my favorites. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to stretch my creative muscle.

These are the projects and cards I made using this beautiful stamp set.

Here is the link to more SOTM samples: http://www.theangelcompany.net/sotm.html

I hope you will check out the samples made by Yuki Zepeda.

Thanks for looking!!!

Tribute to Mom - Sweet Dreams Pretty Woman

The last three weeks have been incredibly happy, sad, challenging and at times extremely frustrating.  My sister and I rescued our mom  exactly three weeks ago from the Adult Family Home she has been living in for almost two years.  Mom was unhappy, she felt her boundaries weren't being respected and she wanted out of there.  My sister and I moved mom in with me and we had 8 glorious days seeing mom so incredibly happy.  Mom loves "water" and she was able to see Lake Washington every day as she sat in her recliner and looked out the living room window.  She smiled every day and had an appetite that made us smile.  Hercules loved spending time on his grandma's lap and she kept saying that "He is just to cute!" as she stroked his fur. 

What we weren't anticipating was having to move mom to a Hospice Center on the 9th day.  Fortunately we were able to stay in mom's room and we were with her until she passed away late Saturday night. I'm so thankful that my sister Denise was there with me.  Denise and I were like bookends - and we were each standing guard over mom each and every day.  It's so hard to watch someone you love slip away a little more every day.  It was gut wrenching at times but worth every single second. 

I really miss mom and my little home feels so empty without her.  I miss her smile!!  I miss her sparkling blue eyes!!  I miss her hugs, the touch of her hands in mine, I miss seeing the love in her eyes and now my heart has to learn to beat to a new rhythm in life.  I miss seeing her when I get up in the morning and tucking her into bed every night.  I will miss seeing her dance to "Pretty woman".  It was so cute - we would put that song on and she couldn't resist dancing to it - she loved it!!

Mom showed me how to be strong and to never give up!! 

Flower Pot Card

This afternoon I was able to attend my TAC unit meeting and had such a great time.  I offered to create a project for everyone to make and this is the card I came up with.  My goals in making this card was to only use solid pastel color cardstock and for it to be as quick and simple as possible.  I used one of the stamps from the Springtime set (T2944) to make the base of the plant and then added a few small paper flowers.  I added bling to the flower pot and I was done.  The 5 strips of cardstock are each 1" x 4".  I'm really happy with how the card turned out.

Bunny Birthday Card

This is one of the birthday cards I made for co-worker almost two weeks ago.  I wasn't able to post it until now since I am finally starting to feel like I have returned to the land of the living.  I've been really sick and can't believe I've lost 9 days.  It all began with an asthma setback which led to bronchitis, pneumonia and a sinus infection.  It's been a tough time and I have never spent that much time in bed.  Now with the help of modern medicine I am beginning to feel the spark of health coming back.   My little Hercules has been watching over me.  He has been by my side every single moment and has been such a comfort.  To bad I can't teach him to cook.  

This card was made using paper scraps and "Bunny Friends" (T3222) stamp set from The Angel Company.  I used Copic markers to color the balloons and bunny. Using the Copic markers was a big step for me since I have perfectionist tendencies and am not that comfortable with the learning curve at times.  I used a glitter pen to add some bling around the edges of the balloon.

Thanks for looking!!!

Laine 

I'm Jumping for Joy

It's always exciting to receive The Angel Company newletter each month - especially when I'm chomping at the bit hoping I was one of the contest winners. And today I found out I was - WooHoo!!!! It was really hard to let this project go but it's like the Lotto - you can't win if you don't play. I don't gamble but I do love to enter the contests - it helps me stretch my creative muscle and actually get something created. I've included the link to all the Contest Winners for this month so you can check out all the other winning entries by other creative and talented angels. If you click on each photo you will be able to see all the winners projects.

http://www.theangelcompany.net/contestwinners.html

Thanks for looking and for sharing in my joy.

Copic Container

I've had so much going on lately that it's been hard to get into the creative flow.  I needed something quick and easy to put together to see if it would help my creativity to flow again.  I have been keeping my Copic Pens in an old canister so I figured that was the easiest place to start.  It only took 20 minutes to put this project together but it has also sparked the creative flow.  The only thing left to do is face my fear of using the Copic Markers.  I play with them but my inner critique keeps telling me I have a long ways to go before I can post those images.  Anyone else feel that same way??  I am facing that giant today and will post the finished result regardless of what I think of the finished look.  I have a tendency to be way to hard on myself.  Thanks for looking!!

Laine

"Major Babe"

It's been really hard to find time to make some projects to post on my blog but I am determined to make a few items this weekend which I will probably post on Sunday.

In the meantime I thought it would be fun to show you a photo of the "Major Babe" in my life.  I think he looks adorable!!  This shirt thing all began because I had to cut off most of his fur last Sunday (believe me this was not an easy decision to make).  I bring him to work everyday and he gets lots of love.  All that love and attention means his undercoat can get really matted.

This is the second time in almost 10 years that he's had to have the whack job done on his gorgeous fur.  The first time he was so stressed at the loss of his fur that I had to make an emergency visit to the vet to help his stomach problems.  The stress was caused because he wasn't use to the feel of the wind on his skin or how a stick feels if he gets poked walking through the bushes.  It was major sensory overload. 

This time - he is so incredibly happy.  He absolutely loves his new look.  Ironically I put the shirt on him to help keep him warm and he loves it.  Believe it or not when he sees me pull out a shirt he leans his head towards me and lifts his right paw so that I can slip the shirt on him.  It's the cutest thing.   What do you think??  Personally I think the blue looks perfect with his red fur.

P.S.  I never knew he has such a cute "bottom". 

Altered ATC Container

Wow!!  Time has passed so quickly these past three weeks.  It's been a tough time.  My mom's health has continued to decline and it's heart breaking to watch.  My sister and I spend a lot of time making sure she has what she needs and most of all spending time with her.  As challening as it is - I still view this time with my mom as a precious gift and I am truly thankful for that.  I also decided that today was going to be a day spent at home with as much quiet as possible and time working on a project or two.  My wonderful secret sister sent me this really cute ATC holder and I've been wanting to decorate it from the moment I received it.  I was also wanting to work on a project that gave me a little "instant gratification". 

I used "More Mimi" cardstock from The Angel Company and attached it to the container with super takcy tape.  I used various ribbons to wrap around the container using super tacky tape and stamped "fantastical fun" from the "Bookoo Blessings" stamp set. 

Thanks Shirley Hotop for being such a great secret sister and for sending something that was so much fun decorate. 

New Year Wishes Canvas

It's been a while since I have had a chance to post anything on my blog.  December was a stressful and challening month.  My mom's health issues have only become worse and it has been a very sad couple of weeks.  I haven't really had time to make anything but thought I could at least share photos of a project that I submitted as a contest entry.

It was such a treat to find out that I was one of the contest winners for this month.  It's been such a challenging and stressful December and it was wonderful to get some good news for a change.  This project was made using two 8" x 8" canvases.  I used hinges to attach them after I painted and covered them with cardstock from the "Reece" cardstock collection.  I thought it would be fun to make a small album that was full of my New Year Wishes which is tucked inside the canvas on the right side.  I was so tempted to keep it but talked myself out of it. 

There are some really great contest winning projects this month - follow this link to check them out on The Angel Company website.  http://www.theangelcompany.net/contestwinners.html

Thanks for looking!!

December Angel Blog Hop - "All Wrapped Up"

This has been a fun event to get ready for - I just wish I had more time.  It's been a very busy week especially with my mom having to go to the emergency room on Monday and the challenges at work.  I had to come up with some ideas quickly in order to get these projects up and running on time.

This event was planned so that a group of us Angels could share some of our ideas for wrapping Christmas presents using products from The Angel Company.  Due to my time constraints this year I need to keep things as simple as possible.  Shown below are some of the ideas I came up with.  It was so much fun decorating my own packages this year and I plan on doing more (hopefully). 

I love the "Reece" cardstock which is what I used for most of these projects.  I used an aluminum round canister; a little white box shaped like a purse (so cute); a 4x4"square box and another box that I thought would be fun to hold gift cards.  Please check out the links listed below for the other angels that participated in this blog hop and you'll find some great ideas.  Enjoy!!  Merry Christmas!!!

Jen: http://jensinkspot.blogspot.com/

Shirley: http://glitteredpaws.blogspot.com/

Chris http://allamericanstampers.blogspot.com/

Angela http://www.angelakelley.blogspot.com/

stacy: http://stacy.typepad.com/angel2389

www.dianasdesignsonline.blogspot.com

The Joy of Christmas Cards

I was hoping I could post photos of my latest contest entry (that didn't win) and ended up cropping out the best part of the project. In other words - you will only be able to see two of the cards that were stored inside the really cute tote. The tote was so CUTE!! 

I only have photos of two of the cards so you can't really see the whole contest entry. 
These cards were quick and easy to make. I used the "Ornamental Joy" stamp; "Amelia" cardstock from the Soar With It Collection and just added some bling.

Beta Bob and Bubbles

I have been having so much fun watching my Beta fish the last couple of months.  I named him Beta Bob.  It turns out that Beta Bob is a very happy Beta.  The reason I know that is because of all the bubbles on the side of his fish bowl. 

From the research I have done about this phenomenon its all about the following:

1.  It's the male beta's that create all these bubbles.
2.  It's because he is happy.
3.  He's hoping to win the heart of a female Beta (if only for a brief moment in time).
4.  The bubbles hide the babies.

Ironically he thinks I am his kindred spirit.  Makes me chuckle to think about it.  Anyway - I took some photos and thought it would be fun to share them with you.  What do you think??  I wonder how long it took Beta Bob to create all those bubbles??  I should have timed him. 

Altered Wooden Plaque

On September 1st I posted a sneak peak of a wooden plaque that I was going to alter. I realized a little earlier today that I never posted the final project. This is one of those wooden plaques that you can find in the dollar bin at the local craft stores. This plaque is 4"x 6.25". 

I covered the front of the plaque with Mia's Cottage Cardstock using Mod Podge to attach it to the wood.  I used the butterfly stamp from the "Want to Fly" set and "Life is An Ongoing Adventure" from the "Life Thoughts" set. The stamp sets and cardstock are from The Angel Company.  I stamped the butterfly again and cut it out and used mounting tape to pop it up to give it some dimension.  And last but not least - lots of bling on the flowers. As you can see I have photos of the original wooden plaque and the finished project. Thanks so much for looking!!

Altered Box for a Little Boys Treasures

This is a wooden box that I altered for a co-workers little boy.  My youngest grandson always loved boxes and all types of storage containers when he was smaller which is what gave me the idea for this box. 

My co-workers son is 3 years old and has lots of little treasures that he carries with him where ever he goes.  So I decided to make this box as sturdy as possible for his little hands. 

I painted the box and then used Mod Podge to attach the cardstock to the front lid and to the inside of the box.  I used the cardstock from the TAC Hip Hop collection.  Once everything was dry I applied a couple more coats of Mod Podge to help seal and protect the box. 

Fortunately the box was a hit with the little boy and his mom says he takes it every where he goes.  To me - there's no better compliment than that.