Hi everyone. I am very late to the game on this month's release. I released it almost literally as I was headed out the door on vacation and wasn't able to do much in the way of promoting due to that couple with the fact that the same day my computer and printers decided not to play nicely with me, and I wasn't able to shoot anything. 
The good new is that I am back from a much needed lovely Spring break vacation with my family and yesterday my computer/printer issues were resolved. So, with that, I felt it was time to "officially" launch my latest collection - TRUST. 

This collection is very, very personal to me. It covers a lot of territory in the area of trust. From basic honesty, to trusting your instincts, to the truth (or lack thereof) in the world around us, to betrayal, to even going deeper into having very rooted issues revolving around trusting others on the whole. It's a darker collection. It's grittier, than COURAGE or STRENGTH. Sometimes there aren't pretty answers to our deep questions and issues. Sometimes, we just need to acknowledge those feelings and experiences, and that's what TRUST aims to do.

The trust collection includes:

• 24, 3x4" cards (PDF)

• 1 (4.5x8") sheet of emotion words (PDF, JPG + SVG format for cutting machines)

• 1 sheet (4.5x8") sheet of prompts and icons for planners/journals (PDF, JPG + SVG format for cutting machines)

3x4" Cards

STICKERS

BONUS CARDS -limited time only

In addition to the new TRUST collection, I thought that I would offer up a Freebie in honor of Earth Day today. The freebie is available in the shop now!

EARTH DAY FREEBIE

That's going to do it for me today.I hope you have a wonderful Spring day and stay tuned here and on the Nitt + Grit Instagram page for new images on the TRUST collection as well as another fun product I'm excited to tell you about. 

March is National Women's History Month. To honor all strong and courageous women, I designed this free card to honor eleven unbelievable women of history. Draw strength and courage from their stories while you document yours. 

This card lists the name of the following women of courage:

Susan B. Anthony
Marie Curie
Amelia Earhart
Frida Kahlo
Florence Nightingale
Mother Teresa
Rosa Parks
Harriet Tubman
Sojourner Truth
Malala Yousafzai

Click on each name to learn more about her story.

FREEBIE FILE INCLUDES:

• 1, 3x4" card (PDF) 

Available now in the Nitt + Grit shop. 

Designed to coordinate with the COURAGE and STRENGTH collections. 

For personal use only.

A portion of all Nitt + Grit proceeds will be donated to charities that promote mental health awareness, civil rights, environmental as well as other applicable causes promoted through the Nitt + Grit brand.

I hope you enjoy learning about these women, and can reflect on their stories as you look to document yours. I know that I sometimes need to be reminded of the difficulties that others have faced to know that I can get through my own. 

xo

COURAGE collection | Nitt + Grit

I don't know about you, but I have to listen to music. It's like water to my soul. I find my mood and emotions are amplified by what I am listening to.

When I was designing the STRENGTH and COURAGE collections I found myself listening to to songs that resonated with these emotions, but also the feelings and experiences that brought me to those places. I decided to put together a playlist for you that includes some of those songs - including one that I had on repeat a lot - Lose Yourself by Eminem. There are some great lady-strength songs in there, too, which I love.

STRENGTH + COURAGE Playlist

Speaking of lady-strength, I just discovered a new (to me) community for those (of us) in the scrapbooking community who believe in the power of us superwomen. The group focuses on empowerment and self-documenting. The site's founder, Kristin Tweedale, calls herself a feminist scrapbooker, and I'm on board with that! The site she founded is called The Awesome Ladies Project. The concept behind this community is right up my alley. They have message boards as well as challenges focused on the daily lives of the non-traditional scrapbooker. Make sure to check it out!

Lastly, I thought I'd share some of the images that were posted to the Nitt + Grit Instagram this week of the new COURAGE collection.  Both the COURAGE collection as well as the STRENGTH collections are each available now in my shop here, as well as on Etsy. Freebies will be listed only in my website shop, so keep an eye out for those :) A new one that coordinates with the COURAGE collection will be coming out soon! 

That's going to do it for me, today. I hope you have a super weekend!

Happy March, everyone. Did you know that this month is Women's History Month? That got me thinking a lot about where we are at as a country currently and things that have come up over the last month in the world at large, but also personally. I found a reoccurring theme - courage.  I am not one who's made broad strokes in the greater world with courageous acts, but in my own life I've had to dig into places within myself for great amounts of courage. From the days where I simply didn't feel like I could face getting out of bed but knew I had to for my kids - to as a child routinely facing fear just to get through my daily routine - it took a resolve within myself to face whatever fears I was having and just do what I needed to do anyway. It took courage to say, I'm going to face this and get through it, and I did.

Whether big or small, we all have to make courageous choices/acts throughout our lives, sometimes daily. I wanted to create a collection this month that focused on that resolve - both the celebration of it, and the push needed to get through those difficult moments when facing the fears that bring you to the place of courage.

The COURAGE collection includes:

• 24, 3x4" cards (PDF)

   

• 1 (4.5x8") sheet of emotion words (PDF, JPG + SVG format for cutting machines)

• 1 sheet (4.5x8") sheet of emotion, empowerment, prompts and icons for planners/journals (PDF, JPG + SVG format for cutting machines)

• 1 CUSTOMIZABLE Planner Sheet with Journaling Prompt (Customizable for 9x11", 6x8" or A5 Planners (PDF)

FOR A LIMITED TIME - BONUS CARDS

• 4-3x4" FREE BONUS CARDS WITH QUOTES ELEANOR ROOSEVELT and NORWEGIAN PROVERB

I hope you enjoy the COURAGE collection as much as I enjoyed creating it. I'm very excited to start using this and the STRENGTH collection together as the themes go hand-in-hand. 

Make sure to check out Nitt + Grit on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for inspiration.

An un-intended new battle cry for women's strength and need for persistence was coined in the US Senate last week after the rarely used silencing (Rule 19) of Democratic Senator, Elizabeth Warren (D -Mass.) on the Senate floor. Senator Warren was attempting to provide factual evidence that criticized a man, the attorney general nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).

"Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.” - US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

No matter your political stance, as a woman, this type of misogynistic behavior is something we all have to face regularly. Not only is this a message to the state of our society, but a message that as women we all need to tell ourselves regularly. Keep going. Keep fighting. Keep persisting. Ultimately, it is a message of STRENGTH and resilience and a reminder to persist no matter the obstacles.

NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED is now offered as a FREEBIE in my shop and a perfect companion to the STRENGTH collection. Persist, my women friends. Don't ever give up.

What a week this has been. Thank you so much for your outpouring of support and positive feedback about the launch of my new brand, NITT + GRIT and the first collection,  STRENGTH. It fills me so much knowing that you see my vision and find value in this new concept in creative life documenting.

Over the past week, I've opened my new Etsy shop, which will carry the same offerings that I carry here in my shop, but with the added convenience of having it on Etsy while you do your other shopping. The Instagram account for NITT + GRIT is gaining a  following each day and the Facebook page  and Twitter account are also set up and ready to roll :)

Thank you so much for your kind words and comments, I love your feedback.  I hope that you continue to provide me with feedback on the types of products that you would like to see me offer; what parts of your life that are meaningful or difficult and deserve to be preserved. In doing so you may just help someone else out in the process.

I've been playing with the pieces in this collection myself and all kinds of ideas are coming to mind. I'm so excited to share those idea with you, some, as early as next month. :)

Now onto the giveaway. Thank you to everyone who left comments here on my blog as well as on my Instagram feed. I really appreciate them! I've randomly chosen a winner and that person is:

Congratulations, Teresa. Please email me at amyhellerdesign (@) gmail.com and I will send you the code to download your free STRENGTH collection set.

BONUS CARDS | NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Additionally, I will only be offering the 4 exclusive bonus freebie cards (shown above) in the STRENGTH collection for one more week. These freebies have beautiful, inspirational quotes as well as the definition of strength on them, perfect for those days when you need a little boost.

Again, thank you so much for a great opening week and I look forward to continuing on this journey with you as we begin to build a community who values the documenting of truly authentic, often gritty, real life stories that are naturally a part of all of our lives.

Be strong this week ;)

A portion of all Nitt + Grit proceeds are donated to charities that promote mental health awareness, civil and humanitarian rights, environmental as well as other applicable causes promoted through and support by the Nitt + Grit brand.

Thank you SO much for your fantastic enthusiasm in support of my vision for my new concept in truly authentic life documenting. Your positive feedback to my first collection : STRENGTH has been so validating to my soul and I'm so happy to begin the journey of bringing it to life with you!

To celebrate my first collection, I am having a giveaway of the Nitt + Grit STRENGTH Collection. Head over to the introduction blog post, leave a comment and make sure to follow the new Nitt + Grit Instagram and Facebook page. One winner will be chosen this weekend! Thanks you!

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for taking interest in my little shop and upcoming personal endeavor :). 

I'll first start with what I've been working on. I've been working on this idea for a number of years but really started putting it together over the last year. What it is, is a new brand called Nitt + Grit. Over the nearly decade that I have been involved in the creative industry, I've heard time and time again, "I can't scrapbook myself", "It's so hard to scrapbook myself", and I myself have been guilty of this. Out of the hundreds of projects I've done, I've done less than a handful about myself. And I know why (at least for myself). None of the products available were reflective of my real life. I loved using them for documenting my children's lives - because that's how I view/ed their lives - happy and colorful. But nothing spoke to my reality - what I had experienced or was experiencing. 

I have always had a fascination with the human condition. I double majored in psychology as well as graphic design and was very conflicted on which profession to go into when I graduated. I ended up in graphic design, but my fascination as to the "why" people think and behave the way they do has always been something I've been interested in. The true meaning that shapes a person's perceptions and experiences.

After going through several traumas and challenges in my own life I began to feel like my truth wasn't represented in the life documenting world. Now the timing feels right and I feel absolutely compelled to offer something to the creative documenter who wants a way to preserve what's "real" in their lives, the true nitty gritty.

This isn't meant to be pretty. This isn't meant to be shared publicly and featured on beautiful feeds. This is meant for you to get real with yourself, and do what you love, but do it a way that is authentic to your experiences. And hopefully, just hopefully, it will be helpful and cathartic to you in the process.

To read more about Nitt + Grit and the background behind it, check out the brand page here. And be sure to follow on the Nitt + Grit Instagram page here and Facebook page here. 

Now to INTRODUCE the first collection from NITT + GRIT  | STRENGTH

STRENGTH collection | Nitt + Grit

There are three components to this first digital/hybrid collection:

• 3x4" cards,

• emotion words (stickers),

• emotion/empowerment planner stickers

3x4" Cards | STRENGTH

EMOTION/EMPOWERMENT PLANNER STICKERS + EMOTION STICKERS | STRENGTH

I chose STRENGTH as my first collection for several reasons. One was it was reflective of how I'm feeling right now, both personally and in the world around me. As it relates to the world around me,  I feel like there are many others who are in the same boat. But it's also very much an homage to where I've come from and where I am now. Looking back on certain pivotal times in my life, I didn't think I would get to this place. I knew I "could" I just wasn't sure it was going to happen. I just felt knocked down so many times, that after the last blow, I wasn't sure I was going to ever recover. Truth be told, I'm not the same person - but I am stronger. That strength was what I wanted to convey in this collection; that no matter what it is that you are going through, you will come out the other end emotionally stronger as long as you keep plugging along and fighting through each day.

So, what do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts on my new brand Nitt + Grit and the concept behind this type of documenting and product selection. I have SO many ideas brewing on where I'd like to take this. There is so much to cover and so many relevant topics I want to explore. To me, this isn't about building a huge company or selling tons of products. This genuinely is about filling a niche that I believe is much-needed, and I hope in some small way it helps someone. If that is what I can achieve as a result the challenges that I have faced in my own life, then it will be worth it to me. Additionally, it's VERY important to me that as I create products that cover many challenging topics that are meaningful to me and you, a portion of the profits from Nitt + Grit sales will go to related, reputable charities in support of their causes. 

The bottom line is, this has real, true deep meaning to me.

I plan to have a new release monthly in my shop as well as in my new Etsy shop (to be launched soon). I already have topics for the next 3 years, so that will keep me busy! I hope you find this idea compelling and one that might fill a void in your current documenting. I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Check out the shop here. 

With that - I will be giving away one collection of STRENGTH away to one lucky commenter between this blog post and INSTAGRAM - so please leave me your thoughts and I'll select a winner next weekend!

BONUS CARDS | NO LONGER AVAILABLE

Okay! Now that I've gotten that out of the way :) 

I have chosen two winners - one from my personal instagram and one from here on the blog to keep things fair. 

The first winner of the small flat-rate box o'goodies is:

And the second winner is:

HOLLY HUBERT (INSTAGRAM)

Thank you to everyone who put their names in the hat! Please contact me at amyhellerdesign (@) gmail.com with your shipping information and I'll get those prizes out to you this week!

Again, thank you so much for your continued interest in what I've been up to. :) You guys are the best!

(Side note, please also let me know if you really follow blogs anymore or if you prefer social media as your go-to and which platforms - I'm very curious! Thank you!)

Hey everyone - I'm back with another post - crazy, right!? Well, I'm pretty excited about something I've got going on and in preparation for sharing it with you, I thought I would have my first ever shop-wide sale - EVERYTHING IS 50% OFF - INCLUDING CLASSES! Between here and Instagram/Facebook/Twitter, I'm also having two giveaways of small flat-rate product boxes filled to the brim with wonderful un-opened product in exchange for sharing/tagging your friends to my shop sale post. Easy, right? 

I have to tell you, what I'm going to reveal to you soon, is SO very exciting and meaningful to me on so many levels. It's something that I feel is dearly missing from the world of documenting and I'm just thrilled to finally be bringing my idea to fruition here very, very soon. It's been over three years in the making and it's finally all come together. I hope you will continue to stay tuned as I think there will be a good segment of people who will be as excited about this as I am. 

Finally, I want to note - on the shop website there is currently a glitch on the product photos that says "FREEBIE" on every image. I am working to get this updated, but in the meantime please refer to the price shown as that is accurate. However, there still are several freebies in the shop, too!

To be eligible for the prize giveaways, comment here on this post and if you are on social media, make sure to tag a friend on my post, or share the graphic above with the hashtags #amyhellerdesign #AHD_Sale for your chance to win. Winners will be announced next weekend. Internationals welcome, but please be aware that some shipping may be required. Good luck!

Bella Blvd + Illustrated Faith New Releases Coming to the Bella Blvd blog on Wednesday!

It's been a while, friends, I know, I'm sorry. Truthfully, I'm not sure if anyone is still here! lol! I don't blame you if you've left - I've not had much to follow for some time :) This upcoming year, I'm hopeful that I'll be coming back here with some more regularity - hopefully being the word to focus on :). 

My role at Bella Blvd as the Marketing Director is great - super, super busy, but great. I'm stretching myself in all sorts of ways. One of my favorite parts is being involved in all the behind the scenes stuff. I'm going to be really honest with you - there is a LOT more that is involved in a growing business like this than I ever imagined and I'm learning a lot. My previous work lives have been at much larger, established companies, so it's taken some getting used to in how much one person at a very small company takes on to make things happen. I'm in awe of the dedication, perseverance, willingness to grow and evolve, work ethic and resolve this group of women (and one man!) have at Bella Blvd and Illustrated Faith and I couldn't be more proud to say I'm a part of that story now.

The last couple of months, I have been non-stop working. Lots of 12+ hour days, weekends, and holidays all leading up to the next week of new releases. While I was working PT for the last release this past summer, this is the first time that every single piece of marketing related around a launch will have passed through my hands. From all the photography, to all the brand related design on social media, emails, blog posts, to video shooting, editing and design, it's all been me. And it's been a LOT. I'll admit, I'm dog tired. And am REALLY looking forward to it all being wrapped up. The countdown is now on and I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Truthfully, though, I don't think I could have done it any other way. Because it's all been me, I want it to be perfect for the fans. This upcoming release is, in my humble opinion, the BEST that has ever come from Bella Blvd, and I think fans will be both surprised and SUPER excited about the direction. I really wanted to put this release in it's best light, and I think it's pretty close given the perimeters.

With all that said, in celebration of the upcoming releases, I'm going to be having some giveaways soon, as I need to make room in my office for the NEW product! So if you love Bella Blvd and/or Illustrated Faith, I have a whole bunch of unopened product that I will be giving away in the next few weeks. Once I get through the next couple of weeks, I'll put together some boxes, and all I ask is that you pay for the flat-rate shipping costs, easy, right? I'm looking forward to giving some stuff away again :)

While you're at it, if there is something that you'd like to see from Bella Blvd, or from me through Bella Blvd, let me know. I'm always open to new ideas and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks so much for stopping by and if you are still here, following me, thank you! Cheers to 2017!

Hi there! It's been a long little while since I posted anything here on the blog. But today's post is pretty special. 

Since last September, I started actively looking to "figure out" what my new career move was going to be. I've freelanced for myself for the last 13 years and the only thing I really knew was that I wanted a bigger challenge now than I had been doing with my freelance work while raising my kids. 

Since they are both a bit older now, independent and with their own active schedules I decided it was time to start looking. What I was looking for, I wasn't entirely sure. I had a lot of un-answered questions. Would I continue to freelance? Would I work in-house as a graphic designer, art director or creative director? Should I work at an agency? A design firm? Should I pursue part-time? Full-time? So. Many Variables.

Almost immediately, in September/October of last year I started working. At first I worked with a non-profit as a volunteer designer for a few months to get my feet wet and see what my time constraints for work were. I worked with them for several months before I decided that I wanted to take the time that I was using to volunteer to see what would happen if I jumped in and started in on applying for jobs. The response was overwhelming. I had many, many interviews, in all types of environments and creative/marketing positions. I turned a couple of jobs down, just because they didn't feel right. I even took on a semi-long term full-time freelance position at a marketing firm - where I went so far as to hire a babysitter to help with before and after school duties. It too didn't feel right. As fate would have it, during this super busy transitional time, an email popped into my in-box.

The email was from Stephanie Smokovich, owner of Bella Blvd. She was reaching out to me to see if I'd be interested in the new position at Bella Blvd as their new Marketing Director. She knew my background both in the industry and in the marketing/creative arenas and thought it would be a great fit with her growing business. I was surprised and super excited about the prospect of doing what I love in the craft and hobby industry. After several months of emails, Skyping, talking and working out the details of the position, here we are! I have been working with Bella Blvd behind the scenes for nearly a month now, and it's been so much fun! I have a to-do list a mile and a half long, but it's so much fun and I'm so excited to be bringing you both more of myself as well as Bella Blvd. 

The good news for this little blog, is that I will likely have more content to share here as well! Fun stuff for sure!

For now, I wanted to share if you head over to the Bella Blvd blog, Stephanie is having a $150 Bella Blvd product giveaway! So make sure to check that out, while you see a project I created using Bella Blvd as well as learn a little more about me. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!

A friend of mine is opening her own hair salon and she asked me to design a logo and business cards for her. Her name starts with an "A" so I went that route. Not bad for a couple hours work, I'm thinking. :) 

When we get everything finalized I'll post everything for the program.

I was drawn to graphic design before I knew you could make a living designing letterforms. I used to create my own letters in my sketchbooks - my favorite has always been lowercase "g". I started taking graphic design classes in 9th grade. That's when I designed my first logo. I still have it somewhere - a ski logo that we printed right there in the classroom on a letterpress (Cool!). I continued that passion all the way through college where I earned by degree in graphic design (as well as psychology). As a young graduate I was determined to own my own design firm, with satellite offices throughout the country. I was extremely driven - sometimes to a fault.

That extreme drive gave way with the birth of my daughter. It shifted (somewhat). When I went on maternity leave, I started my own business and things were thriving to the point that I was going to have to hire someone to help with the business end of things. It was an exciting time.

But, at the very same time, we were presented with an opportunity to move across the country to follow my husband's career path, which we did. I felt like a fish out of water. The NYC area was very intimidating to me, and I didn't think I could cut it in the design world with people from New York. Where I grew up, the biggest dream was to make it to Seattle and do well there - New York- that was way out of my league, at least in my mind. So I did continued with a long term client from the Seattle area, and a few others from around the country, but never pursued anything in the area, mostly out of fear. That's when I decided to start blogging and working in the craft and hobby industry. It was a way of staying in my field, to a degree, but being able to work with people from around the world from the comfort of my home.

Icon Study | I've always loved the simplicity of laundry icons. I have never known what in the world they've meant - but as icons, I've always been intrigued. I decided to put my own little twist on some laundry icons for my laundry room. This was a first go. I think I need to expand on this to make a full on poster with a key underneath each icon, so it can be practical as well as lovely in my room. 

Now my kids are older, they don't need me at home as much, and I'm itching to work again in my field. I've been on the East Coast now 12 years, and I'm finally feeling like I can cut it here. It's going to require me to learn some new technical skills and sharpen up my design chops again, but I am ready. 

That brings me to this place. I'm looking to use my blog as my sketch book. My place to share what I am working on for fun to sharpen my skills and things that I am learning along the way. Who knows, every once in a while I may even take glue to paper again. 

Welcome to my new journey!

Hi everyone! Back today with another Make Use Monday video. Today's episode focuses on the repurposing of file folders. 

In addition, I share with you a process portion of the video in which I create 8 separate cards for the end of school year. 

Here's the end results of those cards:

I mention this in the video, but thought I would mention it here too. I have a couple projects going on behind the scenes, so I am going to take much of the summer off from blogging and these Make Use Monday videos, to complete those, as well as a major personal project I am taking  on. So I will be back late in the summer/early in the fall with all new videos for Make Use Monday as well as some fun other stuff. Until then, I hope you have a safe and happy summer and make sure to Make Use of that time with your family and friends! ;)

If you decide you want to play along and make use of repurposing file folders, feel free to link up your creations here!

Hey everybody! If you are in the United States, I hope you were able to enjoy the long weekend last week, and are having some good weather to start off the summer season!

I'm a week off schedule, because I had a nasty cold a couple weeks ago, that has continued to linger with a terrible cough, so couple that with last weekend's long holiday weekend, I decided to chill and recoup before I kicked things into high gear over the upcoming weeks. More on that later . . .

Today I am bringing you the 2nd episode of my new YouTube series, Make Use | Mondays on my YouTube Channel here. Today's episode came about when I was looking through my studio, and I saw a basket filled with unused chipboard mini albums. I knew that I could use them in my favorite format of late, my 6x9" albums, as divider pages. The issue was, how to get them to fit in the holes of the rings, since they wouldn't match up. Well, I came up with a fun solution. And the great thing is, that those of you who are doing the spruced up planners can use these pages for your dashboards or dividers as well! I love it when I can repurpose something that then acts with multiple functions!

Here's a couple close up images of the finished dividers. BUT to see how they started out and the process to get them to fit like any other page in my album make sure to check out the video above! I now have a stack of these dividers ready to use in my album for the upcoming months! 

If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel here, where you will find all of my upcoming Make Use | Mondays videos. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and I look forward to sharing more of this album with you soon!

Want to share your versions of creating album dividers? Link up your blog or other link here for everyone to see!

October Afternoon Witch Hazel Here & Now Chapters	Cakewalk Here And Now Chapter (October Afternoon)	October Afternoon Here & Now Mini Book Smile	Cakewalk Here And Now Mini Book (October Afternoon)
October Afternoon Here & Now Mini Book 5	October Afternoon Midway Here & Now Chapters	BasicGrey Attach Me Stickers, Clear/White	BasicGrey Attach Me Stickers, Cream/Brown
BasicGrey Capture Program Attach Me Stickers, Red/Pink	BasicGrey Attach Me Stickers, Peacock/Aqua	BasicGrey Attach Me Stickers, Black/Grey	BasicGrey Attach Me Stickers, Emerald/Seafoam
Here & Now Mini Book 5	Classic Calico - 2 Pocket Page Protectors - 6pk - 6x8 inch	Studio Calico Wanderlust Handbook Page Protectors, 6 by 7-Inch/7 by 7-Inch	9 To 5 Here & Now Chapter-
Classic Calico-D-Ring Chevron Album	Studio Calico Handbooks Album, 8.75 by 9.75-Inch, Linen	Classic Calico - 4 Pocket Page Protectors - 6pk - 6x8 inch	Studio Calico Handbooks Album, 8.75 by 9.75-Inch, Red
Studio Calico - Page Protectors - 6pk - 6x8inch	Studio Calico Handbooks Album, 8.75 by 9.75-Inch, Black	Studio Calico Handbooks Album, 8.75 by 9.75-Inch, Brown	Classic Calico - 3 Pocket Page Protectors - 6pk - 7.25x8.25 inch
Studio Calico 331961 Handbook Made In A Snap Page Protectors 6-Pkg-3 Each Of 6 6 in. x 7 in. & 5 7 i	Swingline 1-Hole Punch, 1/4	Simple Stories Mix and Match 3 by 4-Inch Page Protectors	Studio Calico Handbooks Album, 8.75 by 9.75-Inch, Gray
Simple Stories Mix and Match 6 by 8-Inch Page Protectors	Simple Stories Faux Leather Binder, 6 by 8-Inch, Pink	Studio Calico Here and There Printed Handbook Album	Simple Stories Snapt Burlap Binder, 6 by 8-Inch, Red
Simple Stories Snapt Burlap Binder, 6 by 8-Inch, Teal	October Afternoon 3-Piece Daily Flash Pocket Sleeve Protectors, 6 by 8-Inch/2 by 8-Inch, 10-Pack	Simple Stories Mix and Match Multi Pack Page Protectors	BasicGrey Capture Program Clear Pockets
Simple Stories Mix and Match 4 by 6-Inch Page Protectors	Simple Stories Faux Leather Binder, 6 by 8-Inch, Teal	Simple Stories Snap Album, 6 by 8-Inch, Red	October Afternoon Daily Flash Pocket Sleeve Protectors with 5-Styles, 6 by 8-Inch, 10-Pack
October Afternoon 3-Piece Daily Flash Pocket Sleeve Protectors, 6 by 8-Inch/6 by 4-Inch, 10-Pack	Janome HD1000 Heavy-Duty Sewing Machine with 14 Built-In Stitches	October Afternoon Daily Flash D-Ring Binder Album, 6 by 8-Inch, Poppy	October Afternoon Daily Flash D-Ring Binder Album, 6 by 8-Inch, Sunshine
October Afternoon Daily Flash D-Ring Binder Album, 6 by 8-Inch, Seashore

Back on NSD, I introduced a new collection called "SeaSpray". I recently realized that when I did that, it may have gotten a little lost amongst the hoopla of that post, so I thought I thought I would follow up that initial introduction with a dedicated post about this super fun, summer, beach-and-everyday-themed collection. 

One thing I forgot to mention in the video, is that each set comes with PNG files specifically for digital scrapping, in addition to the PDF files for printing. For more information, check out the video above, then check out the collection, here in the shop. 

Thanks so much and have a wonderful day!

Is it success or mastery that you are trying to achieve? I know for myself it's a bit of both - some days it weighs more in one direction than the other depending on my mood, I suppose. In the end though, it's mastery that I seek to achieve.

I think that is why right now I'm trying so hard to get back to work. Because I feel I have un-finished work to complete. I have new creativity to express. I have a new perspective for that creativity to be fueled from.

Before my hiatus, I was able to accomplish a certain level of mastery as well as success, but that was interrupted by life events - as Ms. Lewis explains, that became the "near-win" in my creative journey, I believe. It's an inner drive because my soul has more to create and do. It feels incredibly unfinished. 

Does this resonate with you? Do you seek success or mastery of your craft? Perhaps some food for thought . . . .

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day - if you celebrated. :)

That's why I am a few hours later than I would have liked in publishing this, but I had to MAKE USE of my day and celebrate it with my family. (Sorry for the bad pun, but you know, that is what this is all about - making use of the small things!)

Today I'm excited to introduce my new YouTube series, "MAKE USE | MONDAYs". I talked about it here on the blog last week, and it's finally time to start! (One thing I want to note though - I need to work out the kinks - almost like taking out that first piece of pie, it isn't perfect, but once that first piece is pulled  out of the way, the rest will be just fine - I keep thinking of it a little like that. ;) 

Anyhoo, with this first episode, I am sharing with you a few ideas on how to use up some of your washi tape stash. 

It seems like I could never get enough new rolls of washi a couple years back. Now, I have a bountiful supply, which is great, but....... whenever I go to use it, I think to myself "How on earth am I ever going to use this stuff up?!" I know it will come in handy on gifts and the such, but even when I am scrapping with it, it feels like I don't ever make a dent in a single roll. 

Well, today hopefully, I'll give you a couple different ideas on how to use washi in new ways.  I've put together a few samples on ideas on how to use washi, and a couple of layouts using the same colors and scraps of washi to create different end results. 

So check out the video here and subscribe to my You Tube channel here so that you will get the latest when Make Use episodes get uploaded. 

If you want to play along with MAKE USE Mondays, link up your creations here and show us how you made use of your washi tape stash. And make sure to also note in your blog post, what you did to Make Use of your life this week. For me, as I mention in the video, I decided that spending Mother's Day with my family was more important to me than making sure that this was launched at 9am this morning.

Sometimes we have to make choices like that and I'm so happy I did, as we had a lovely day at the beach as a family. I can't wait to see what you create and how you made use of your time recently. 

Have a wonderful daY!