2020 Goals Quarterly Check-in

Time to check in on the goals I made back in January.

I will LEARN something new every week : I have learned so much already this year.  I learned new systems, new rules, student names, and my new school.  I reckon I could list at least 20 things I have learned this year and we are only 15 or so weeks into the year.  Does that mean I can go for two weeks without learning anything... wouldn't that be good?!  Anyway, this one gets a tick so far.  

I will IMPROVE my Excel Spreadsheet Skills: I am finding it a bit overwhelming having to learn the best ways to use Microsoft Teams, WebEx and One Note.  Excel has been on the back burner.  I have some good people around me who can help, though.  I have already learned how to use Excel to calculate the Mean and Median of a data set.  Good thing too, considering I had to teach my class how to do it! 

I will AVOID making old mistakes; I'm not really sure what this goal was actually about.  It could be a bunch of things.  You know what, this could be a whole blog post all of its own.  I've made lots and lots of mistakes all of which I want to avoid.  

I will MAKE TIME FOR exercising at least 4 times a week:  Hahahaha!  I am generally managing three times a week.  I am planning to exercise everyday while I'm on my Easter break.  Hopefully, that will help me transition to 4 times a week when school goes back (whatever that looks like).  

I will ORGANISE my Work and Personal Spaces: I started out brilliantly on this one.  My filing system was easy to keep up with and my craft room was staying tidy.  Even my bedroom has stayed tidy (because it's organised).  Marie Kondo really made a difference at my house.  

I will EMBRACE the CHANGE.  I had NO IDEA what I was saying when I chose this goal.  I thought that starting a new job at a new school, and teaching a subject I have never taught before would be all the change I could handle.  Then, the pandemic came to Australia.  Everything has changed.  I really miss hugs.   

I will BE my BEST self!  I'm doing the best that I can.  That's all I have to say about that. 

Join us next time.  No promises, because, who really knows what the future holds.  I certainly don't. 

Stay home! 

Crisis Mode

Well, hasn't this been an interesting turn of events.  Or not.

Unless you are living under ground and have absolutely zero contact with the world (let's face it, not many can say that), you know that the world is currently in crisis mode over Corona Virus AKA Covid-19. 

Typically, the Aussie's were in the  "She'll be right, mate!" camp until they started seeing people in the US fighting over toilet paper and cities such as Hong Kong running out of rice.  Then some of us have gone a bit silly.  While most of us are still trying to remain nonchalant about the whole thing, it's gone beyond mild interruption to flat out inconvenient.  Understatement of the year.

While many places in the US are in lock down ... "Don't leave your houses", international travel has been banned, people are losing their jobs, supermarket workers are being abused for purchase limits and the world of memes has exploded with observations about the human race in crisis mode.  Let's watch Netflix and 'chill' but only if you don't touch me. 

There might be something good from all of this.  The optimists among us are struggling to find it.  The conspiracy theorists have already discovered the science fiction novel written in the 1980's, set in 2020 and is beginning to read more like recent news reports. They are feeling pleased.  In all the madness, there is a glimmer of hope as we see that there are people who care about their fellow man.  Such as Salvo's who are volunteering to help out at the daily shopping hour reserved for the elderly and people with a disability.  Video of Italians singing on their balconies while in lock down has gone viral.  Parents are beginning to lobby for teachers to get a pay rise while they begin to understand why so many of us drink every Friday night (and Saturday and Sunday).  It really is the end of the world as we know it. 

It was not my intention to say this much about all this craziness, but there it is.
This seriously messes up my Blog schedule (yet again), how inconsiderate, so next time we might just add to the list of things I don't need or look at some photos of cards I have been making.  I have to admit, it's difficult to think about long term goals right now.  One day at a time is how it goes. 

One day, the panic will be over.  We will live differently as a result of all this, but it will be less stressful.  We need to believe that. 

Now is the time to pray, be still, carry the peace that surpasses all understanding with you.  While the world may seem to be in chaos, there is a purpose for all this and God will take care of His people.

Praying

Going "Green" in the Craft Room

Let's face it, paper crafting can get expensive.  This year, in my "rock what you got" series, I'm using the craft supplies that I have.  I'm not purchasing any new stamp sets or dies.  If I need adhesive (only if I run out of what I have), I will buy it and if I completely run out of card stock (as if), I will buy more, but other than that, I'm using what is in my stash. 

I'm also a strong believer in using what you can find to make cool stuff.  You don't have to buy lots of patterned paper or lots of stamps to make beautiful cards.  Look at any material or paper as a potential card project waiting to happen.  Today, I want to show you some cards I made from recycled materials I had at home.  Hopefully, this will encourage you to make something different too.

Tissue Boxes have Great Patterns

Have you noticed that? Tissue boxes come with the cutest patterns on them these days.  Why not cut them down and use them on your cards.  The leaves on these cards are from a tissue box. I collapsed the tissue box and used the perfect vine die (from Catherine Pooler Designs) to cut out the leaf pattern in the shape of a vine over and over. I ink blended the edges of the leaves to add some depth. 

A few weeks ago, my grandmother was given flowers and I noticed the wrapping was a gorgeous looking hessian and a frosty sort of plastic material.  She was happy to let me have them.  So I cut out some of this hessian and used it as a background for my first card here.  Then I added a sentiment and some jewels from Nuvo and I was done. 

I blended some distress oxide colours on some bristol smooth cardstock for this card and used some die cuts that were in my scrap basket as a background for these leaves.  A heat embossed sentiment made this look so classic.  A few sequins to embellish and I was done! :) 

One more tissue box that turned into a card, had the most adorable Mickey Mouse pattern.  I had to turn it into a card!! Working out which sentiment to add was tricky, but I'm happy with how it turned out. 

More Boxes that Became Cards!

This card was made using a strip of card stock that was wrapped around a block of chocolate.  The BFF was given the chocolate ages ago, when I saw the box, I asked if I could keep it.  She was more than happy to give me her rubbish.  Lol.  By the time I cut this down, the strip was not too big.  So I chose some strips of patterned paper that were in my scrap basket to go with it. This simple design and muted colours make this the perfect masculine card for any occasion. 

This cheerful card comes from a box that my perfume bottle came in.  The bright yellow background is so happy.  The white flower was just begging to be on a card.  A light grey mat was all that it needed.  Check this out. 

I really enjoyed making these cards, because I had to think outside the box (see what I did there? lol).  There was a bit of fiddling about and trying different colours to co-ordinate, but it was worth it.  No one would ever know where these bits of card came from either, which makes me feel really clever. 
What have you got laying around your house that could make a fun card?  Let me know in the comments. 

Happy Paper Crafting! See you next time.

Technical Difficulties

Well, so much for being organised and planning ahead!

I planned out the whole year of blog entries back in January, then I wrote about five posts.  Ahead of schedule heading into the school year and ready to go. No sweat.  Then, about two weeks ago, my laptop went to sleep and hasn't woken up again.  I need to get it fixed, which is proving more difficult than it should be.  The devastating realisation that my blog planner was saved on my laptop hard drive didn't arrive until a week later.  Hence, I have no idea what I'm supposed to be blogging about today! 

Of course, the technical difficulties don't stop there.  My year 12 students were supposed to submit the first part of an assessment task last week.  The paperless society we live in means that they have to submit it through a great software program called Turnitin.  Let me just say, that there is nothing wrong with this software/ online tool, it's great.  It works well and is a huge timesaver for teachers and students.  However, my account (which is supposed to be set up through the school) has not been set up properly.  My students have not been assigned to me (something I can't do myself) and there are a bunch of students added to the class list who aren't even in my class!!  This means that I can't check the work or my students because I can't access the online tools which they are required to use to submit their work.  I asked the students to email me their assignment as well, but some of them haven't followed through.  On top of that, our Online Teaching Program is undergoing maintenance this weekend (hopefully this will fix the problems making it difficult for me) so students can't access the tools and neither can I. 

Do I really want to plan ten months of blog posts... again?!  Not really.  However, as we have learned in the past, not planning ahead doesn't seem to go well for me.  So, I suppose I better stop rambling about my technology woes and start getting organised. 

Feel better, at least you're not the only one who has IT issues.  I know you have them too.  Was life so much simpler before technology took over?  or is it just me? 

Y'all come back now, you hear?

A List of Things I Don't Need!

During the school holidays, I did a lot of Decluttering and Tidying Up. The break between school terms is an opportunity for me to press the reset button.  Cleaning up, getting rid of the mess, organising what I'm going to keep and fixing things that didn't work is so nice.  The last week of my holidays was busy.  I managed to tidy my bedroom (after my Mum painted it) and I can't wait to finish the process of refreshing my bedroom.  That will probably be a job for the next holidays.  The study/office and my school resources got a much needed sort out too.  Leaving a school after 11 years meant that I had lots of stuff to bring home.  While I'd already got rid of lots of stuff and gave some things to colleagues at my school, I still needed to go through quite a bit.

In doing all this I realised that there are some things I will not need to buy for a long time.  Lots of people seem to think these things are also great gift ideas for me.  The thing is, I now have so many of these things that if I'm given more, I will probably have to re-gift them.  I can't possibly use all these things, let alone store all of them.  In no particular order, here goes...

My list of things I DON'T need! (2020 edition)

Post-it Notes/ Sticky Notes  

Actual Footage of me with my post-it notes

Please, stop buying me sticky notes.  Especially the bright coloured, novelty, sparkly, filled with pictures, in weird shapes and not even sticky, post-it notes.  I love them for the cute factor.  I do.  They are just too cute to use and I have so many that I can't possibly use them.  

Staplers and Staples.  

While I was tidying my desk and sorting through all the school stationery, I found not one, not two, but three staplers!  Why do I need so many staplers?  The answer to that question is simple... I don't!  Of course when you have three staplers you also need 5000 staples.  I found four unopened boxes of staples.  That's right, you heard me.  UNOPENED!  I also had the contents of two opened boxes of staples strewn through my desk drawers.  WHY? 

Pencils and Pens.  

I know that this one doesn't seem to track.  Don't all teachers use a lifetime supply of pens and pencils each school year? Don't all teachers always NEED pencils and pens?  While this is somewhat true, I have lots and lots of pens and pencils.  My father had lots of pens and pencils that were in unopened boxes.  Yes, you heard me, UNOPENED.  I often receive pens and pencils as gifts. THANKS!  The truth is, I don't need another pen with a fluffy end and a cat crystal springing off the end of it.  I don't need pens with glitter in them, (we are not talking about my craft pens, I need those).  I have plenty, thanks.  

Highlighters!! 

I must have a thing of highlighters.  I know I bought a bunch of them one year for students to use in my classroom.  I still have many of these pens and I have many more.  I used to buy a set of highlighter pens every year.  I used to lose them, often and now they have all been found!   I reckon I have at least 40 highlighters.   This isn't counting the tiny ones with lids that have cat ears.  

Cute Little Notebooks.  

This is another one of those things that people buy me and I used to buy for myself.  I don't anymore. The number of notebooks I found during my tidying up process was ridiculous.  There are a bunch of them, in all shapes and sizes.  Most of them have only one or two pages used from them or they haven't even been opened.  Yes, you heard me, UNOPENED! Please stop buying me cute (or even ugly) notebooks. 

Pencil Sharpeners and Erasers.  

These two items seem to be the most elusive in my desk drawer, until recently, when I emptied out all my stationery supplies and went through the whole mountain.  I found no fewer than  8 pencil sharpeners and 7 erasers.  Three of the erasers still had the plastic wrapped around them.  That means they haven't even been used.  Yes, you heard me, they were UNOPENED! Seriously?

Therefore, #RockWhatUGot, is going to apply to much more than my crafting supplies this year.  I'm going to add to this list as the year progresses, so stay tuned for more items I DON'T need.  What is something you don't need more of because you have too much? It doesn't have to be stationery.  Let me know in the comments. 

Rockin' it! 

Happy Valentine's Day! and Best of AGT

The Hallmark Holiday has come around again.  Instead of being guilted into buying flowers or chocolate OR feeling sad because you have no one to buy for, take the choice to enjoy the love you do have.

You are an amazing being of light and you are worthy of love.  You don't need chocolate or flowers to know that there is someone in the world who loves you.

If you are desperate to give a gift this Valentine's Day, make it original and special by following the advice I have given in the past, with this little selection from the Best of AGT collection.

Valentine's Day 2019

Valentine's for your Cat

Love Languages: Gifts

Ten Gifts for your Crafty Friend

Gift Guide Round up

Have an Awesome Day!
Love You!

Rock What You Got!

This year, my card making motto is "Rock What You Got"!  I'm going to make cards using what is in my stash.  I have been decluttering, purging and organising this past week, which has led to quite a few discoveries.  I have found so many things that I forgot I had!  Does that ever happen to you?

Let's have a look at some of the cards I have created this year, using stuff in my stash.

An awesome Birthday Stamp Set!

These four cards were created with the balloons from the HB2U stamp set from Sugar Pea Designs.  I used some die cut sentiments and stacked them up for dimension.  This stamp set is a classic and I had so much fun making these cards.  It was so easy.  I will have to pull out this stamp set again.  On the first two cards I stamped the balloons as usual.  On the second two cards, I used a technique I learned from Jennifer McGuire which she called Swipe Stamping.  It's great for getting a different look from your solid stamps.  I dressed up the card bases in different ways to make these cards all a little bit different.

Digging in my Scraps

The green watercolour background on this card, was the product of an experiment I did last year.  I almost threw it out, but then I realised it could make a great background.  This card is for one of my nieces.  The glitter cardstock, sequins and Wink of Stella glitter pen, really made this card sparkle.  I love it.

The frame I put on this card was also a leftover from another project.  I got the flower stickers from a friend who gave me her whole scrapbooking stash.  Unbelievable, right?! A simple sentiment popped up at the bottom and some gold sequins, and Bing Bang Boom - I have another cute card for my stash. It isn't like the other cards I usually make and I really love it.

Finally, this card was almost entirely made out of bits and pieces just sitting in my stash of scraps, left over backgrounds, experiments and extra die cut pieces.  I usually find it so hard to pull together cards using these kinds of things.  It took me some time, but I had lots of fun making this card too.

What do you have in your stash that you need to pull out and play with again? Let me know in the comments!
Stay Inky!

AGT 2020

Hey Everyone,
AGT will be a different place this year, so I wanted to let you in on the plan.

I will be posting here fortnightly, that's every two weeks, on different topics. As I am starting a new job this year, I will be really busy, so I am hoping you can all forgive me for fewer posts this year.  Check out what we are planning to cover this year.

Craft and making cards will continue to be part of the rotation, of course.

I will keep you updated on how I'm going with my 2020 goals, as I have in recent years. Keeping you in the loop really helps me to stay on track, so thanks everyone! I also love this habit tracking app.

We will celebrate some special events like Aunties' Day, Mothers' Day, Harry Potter's Birthday and of course, MY Birthday! There will probably be a few other fun things to celebrate too.

I'm going to share some games and activities that you can play with children and young people.  Click here if you are interested in my past posts about Bible based activities for children.

We're bringing back the Best of AGT, so stay tuned to relive some of the best posts from the last 10 years.. That's right.... I started AGT near the end of 2010, can you believe it?!  Let me know about your favourite posts in the comments!

I'm looking forward to the fun we are going to have this year.

2020 - Let's Do This

This Year, in 2020:

I will LEARN something new every week.

I will IMPROVE my Excel Spreadsheet Skills.

I will AVOID making old mistakes.

I will MAKE TIME FOR exercising at least 4 times a week.

I will ORGANISE my Work and Personal Spaces.

I will EMBRACE the CHANGE.

I will BE my BEST self!

Everyone is making and breaking New Year's Resolutions right now.  I hope you are setting some SMART goals and working towards reaching them.  We can do this!  Let's not make resolutions.  Let's make some goals, share them, and celebrate when we reach them.  Share your most important goal for 2020 in the comments.