The Last Week of the Holidays

The last week has been busy! 

I spent the beginning of the week writing lots of lists.  

I listed the meals we plan to eat over the next few weeks and then I made shopping lists. There were lists of jobs to do, school supplies to buy and rooms to organise.  There were loads of laundry, dishes to wash and meals to be cooked.  

Then, it was Wednesday! 

Did you notice anything different today?

I changed up a few things here at AGT.  It was just a few things, but be ready, because there may be a few more changes coming our way.  

Next Week: It will be February!! Can you believe it? I can't! 

Something isn't working for me the last few days.  I seem to have some sort of writer's block.  Hopefully that doesn't set in.  

Tell me in the comments: What do you do in the last few days of your holidays? How do you prepare for Back to School or returning to work after a break? What else do you think needs to change around here.

See you next week

The Mighty Ones Winning

A year ago, I stumbled on a website/ blog called "The Mighty".  I was directed to the blog from a Pin on Pinterest, or maybe it was a Google Search.  After finding the article I read very helpful, I explored a little more and I pinned something.  Since then, The Mighty started appearing in my Pinterest 'Feed' much more often.  Some of the pins drew my attention while other pins didn't.  When I clicked on a pin, I was inevitably sent to an informative, interesting and helpful blog post of some description. These posts were all part of "The Mighty". 

What is "The Mighty"? you might be wondering and Why do I love it so much?

The Mighty is a community of people with disabilities including chronic illnesses such as fibromyalgia, adrenal fatigue syndrome, anxiety, depression, chronic pain and more!  You don't have to be a member to read the articles. If you want to comment, ask questions or participate in the forums you need to become a member.   You might be wondering why I am so excited about a website about disability and chronic illness.  I have chronic pain and you can read a little about my personal journey here.  

Reasons The Mighty is a great website

1. Members include doctors and allied health professionals and they contribute to the content. 

2. Most members are people who live with chronic illness or are close to someone who does. 

3. Articles are accessible for anyone who can read (you don't have to be a medical professional). 

4. The content is real and honest, written by real people who share their real life experiences. 

5. It reminds me that I'm not alone.  I'm not the only one who lives with pain every minute of every day. 

6. Some members are worse off than me and they keep getting out of bed every morning.  This encourages me to do the same. After visiting The Mighty, I feel grateful.  

7. Content includes strategies that others use successfully to manage their pain, their daily lives, household chores, social interactions and more. 

8. It's helpful for family members of people with disabilities, including chronic pain, to learn from other people living with disability.  Strangely enough, sometimes, hearing it from a stranger gives it credibility.  It can help you see that this isn't something your loved one imagined or 'plays on'.  

If you have a chronic illness, or you know someone who does (a family member, a friend, your partner), you need to visit The Mighty even if you only do it once.  

That's that then.  

Creating with Scraps

All crafters have them. We can't bring ourselves to throw them away.  They are all different sizes and shapes.  They are all different colours and patterns and textures.  They are our scraps. Some of us are very good about organising the left over scraps after each project, cutting them into a manageable size and filing them away.  Some just toss them into a box altogether.  Others put them back with the main paper they came from.  While we all think we will use these scraps again, some of us, forget they are there, or the projects we do just don't require those smaller, odd shapes.

While moving and setting up the craft room, I felt a bit overwhelmed by all the scrap paper and I decided it was time to do something about it.  Time to use it all up.  I want to buy new paper but I can't do that until I have used up all these other scraps.

My method was simple.
1. Tip out all of my scraps onto my worksurface and sort them by colour and usefulness.  I'm not going to lie, some scraps went straight into the recycle bin.
2. Pull out one card base and create a background using strips or shapes from various piles. I didn't adhere anything at this point, I just played around with the placement.
3. Set it aside and repeat step two with another card base.  I wish I had taken a photo of the layouts before I set each one aside; although it didn't really matter.  I repeated step 2 about 4 or 5 times.
4. Take one card base (with strips or scraps) and adhere the pieces onto the card base (you could use a front panel if you are nervous about messing up and don't want to waste a card base).  Repeat this step for each card base/ background you designed earlier.
5. I pulled out the word die cuts left over from other projects and pre-stamped sentiments that were in my pile of scraps and laid them onto the backgrounds until I found ones that I liked.  I decided a few of the backgrounds would look better with a fresh sentiment stamped directly onto the card base.  So, I got to do some stamping... my favourite! I also inked around the edge of some of my paper strips/ shapes to give them a bit of dimension.  I got inky. :)


Sounds easy enough, right? It was easy.  It was a bit time consuming though.  I was inspired by a few cards I pinned on Pinterest, but it took a bit of trial and error and trimming to get each one looking how I wanted it.


Here are a few cards that I created using nothing but a card base and my scraps... oh and a couple of stamps!

As these are all scraps, just enjoy the picture.  

See what scraps you have and try the lay out or a completely different layout. 

Diagonal stripes are easier to work with and more forgiving

if you struggle to line things up. 

I love how this card turned out! 

The sentiment is a Neat and Tangled stamp set called "painted thanks". 

I don't usually go for this colour palette, but it works.  

I took some inspiration from two You Tube videos and several pins on Pinterest.
Jennifer McGuire makes rainbow cards using scraps.
Black Sheep 303 uses scraps to make a pretty New Year's card.

I would love to see what you create using your scrap cardstock and patterned paper.  Leave a photo or link to your social media in the comments.  :)

My One Word for 2019

You may have heard of it... the "one word" movement.  I have seen it around and I liked the idea.  Then, I learnt that this was established by a book that was written by a Christian.  The concept springs from one of simplicity, a "less is more" approach to goal setting.  Instead of making a long list of 'resolutions' or goals for the New Year (which we all know are rarely successful) you choose a single word.  This ONE word guides everything you do for that year.  It brings you clarity and focus. At least, that's the idea. 

According to the book, there is a process which needs to be followed.  

1. Look In: examine yourself, your life, your choices, decide what you need to change, improve, eliminate or maintain. 

2. Look Up: pray.  Ask God to reveal whatever it is you need to work on.  Ask God to reveal the right word for you. Spend some real time meditating on God's word and allow Him to speak to you.  Listen, Watch, Wait for His answer. 

3. Look Out: Write down the word God has revealed to you and Live it out. Focus on your word.  Write it on your mirror, on your fridge, in your Bible, on post-its, in your car, at your work.  Put it where you will see it.  Keep it fresh in your mind.  Tell a friend or family member your word and talk about it regularly.  Pray about how God wants you to Live your "Word".  

I went through my own process, but it did include the steps above as well. 

1. I reflected on 2018 and what I achieved, I thought about the frustrations and difficulties that I faced too.  I tried to work out what I could or should have done differently or what I wanted to do differently.  I thought the word "LESS" would be a good word for 2019.  

2. I found a four-day reading plan in the You Bible App, and read it. 

3. During my reading of the plan, I wrote down the Scripture references  and as I read each one from my Bible, I wrote down key words.  I wrote words like, focus, generosity, sacrifice, simple, forward and trust. 

3. Using some of the key words and more words that came to mind, I wrote a list of words.  It included words like; less, rest, smile, kindness, better, quiet.   

4. I prayed and put a star beside the words that were standing out to me and aligned with scripture. 

5. I slept. 

6. While reading some quotes on Pinterest I came across one that said, "Practice the pause...when you pause; pray." It became clear.  

My word this year, is PAUSE! 

There are some other goals that I have.  I want to lose some more weight.  I want to exercise regularly.  I want to be grateful.  I want to speak with positivity and encouragement instead of irritation and criticism.  Losing weight is a result of  self-control (for me anyway).  Choosing to exercise instead of flopping on the couch in front of the TV, means thinking about long term goals instead of short term feelings.  Being grateful, often involves seeing the big picture and knowing that even in the worst moment of your life, you have a great deal of wonderfulness in your life (I know it's not a real word).  Speaking positively and encouraging instead of criticising requires self control and sometimes means 'biting one's tongue.' All those things require an ability to step outside of the situation you are in, recognising your feelings, being rational and making a choice.  I don't know about you, but I can't do all that quickly.  I need a minute.  This year, I want to take the time to pause before I eat, before I yell or snap, or even speak.  Sometimes, pausing will mean, praying, being silent, exercising, napping (I love napping), moving away from someone or something, moving towards the right people.  Pausing, means getting out of the situation (if only for a second) to handle it better.  

I am excited!  

You will hear more about this over 2019.  

What would your 'one word' be? Let me know in the comments! :)