No More Excuses… Love Ourselves and Simply Make it Happen!

I have made the decision to stop making excuses and just make it happen.  The funny thing is, I bugs me when people make excuses why they can’t do something or why they believe something won’t work. Basically you have doomed it to fail right from the start. I have been sabotaging my business from day one. I had an Ahh-Haa moment last night. I have been making excuses by, subconsciously, telling myself everyday what I’m not. Today… no more excuses! Time to love ourselves and simply make it happen!

Who’s with me?

 

I Love Wood Boxes

There is something about a wood box that I just can’t resist. I have two big totes filled with unfinished wood boxes. I like the natural beauty of the wood but I love color. With the vast choices of paper a wood box is simply irresistible to me. Here are some of my favorite decoupaged wood boxes.

What Do I Do With My Paper Scraps?

As a paper crafter I am often left with the question: What do I do with my paper scraps?

I have a box in my craft studio that is starting to overflow because I refuse to throw away my scraps of paper that I know can use for other paper projects. I am not talking about the little tiny pieces, despite I hold on to those as well. What I talking about are the really nice sizes that if I used a little brain power, I can make really cool craft items.

Here are just two of the paper projects I started by using the paper scraps. I didn’t create new ideas, I just took other project ideas and incorporated my own style.

Handmade Assorted Black Envelopes – Gift Card Size ID9352

Envelope measurements: 4 x 3.75″ (10.2 x 9.5 cm)
Note card measurements: 3.75 x 2.75″ (10 x 7 cm)

Paper Rosettes

Paper Rosettes

Please feel free to share some of your paper projects you created by using your paper scraps.

Strength in Numbers

What a difference a year makes. I have made quite a few changes since my last post. I retired from the military thinking that I would find a job that pays the bills and I could work on my craft business when I had spare time. I had a great job working for the government. Keyword being had a job. I resigned my position over seven months ago to work for a private sector company. I never regret leaving the government but I started working just way to much that caused me to have to really examine what is truly important to me. After five months with the company I put my two weeks notice in to work from home. The catch is what was I going to do now.
Currently I am working on getting my craft business more organized and getting my mind focused on this not just as a hobby any longer. I also joined with a local company as a consultant. I have not been much on writing blogs but with new changes so do new challenges. Keep posted as this journey begins.
I am also looking for advice from folks who have decided to make a career change or just would like to share their stories. I think there is strength in numbers. Please chime in, I would love to hear from you out there.

Create Your Own

In the world of crafting its always about expressing yourself through your own creative talents.  I love to decorate wood items from picture frames to storage boxes. What I found is that is not how you decorate but also what you do with your crafts that can be just as exciting.

This past week I revived an old item by adding  a different spin on it.  I love these small boxes. They can be used in so many different ways from storage boxes to gift boxes.

I have wood burned designs on them in the past and now I enjoy decorating them with scrapbook paper. The paper offers themes and makes the gift idea even easier. Here are two of just a few scrapbook paper designs that I have used. The first photo is simply the scrapbook paper.  In the second photo I embellished with cut-out wood shapes and added acrylic jewels.

By simply adding a clear poly bag, a twist tie and a handmade gift tag they make the cutest gift boxes that the person who receives it can use to store small items in. I created the small gift boxes pictured below for my family as Valentine’s Day gifts.  For my children I filled the boxes with candy. For my husband’s gift box, I filled it with small holiday items I picked up at a local store.

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The boxes are available for purchase on Ebay as well as Etsy.  Feel free to stop by my store listings for more boxes.

Thank you for taking time to visit my blog. -Tonia

End of the Week Wrap Up 1/15/11

I just finished the week up and I accomplished some of the goals I had set for this week. I worked on some photo frames.  When I tried making cards for the holidays,  I was caught up in trying to make the card durable by using Modge Podge as an adhesive.  I really like Modge Podge just realized it’s not great on cards.  The paper curled up.  I won’t say my card making days are over,  but I will just simply wait for a special occasion to make them. Which leads me back to the picture frames.  I used the card and scrapbook sketch technique for designing the frames posted below.

For this first frame, I used  Annie’s Attic CardMaker’s Sketch Book http://www.anniesattic.com,  to design this frame.  I inked the edges of the paper to break up the bright yellow and embellished the frame with acrylic jewels and silk flowers.

I used Memory Makers Book – Page Maps http://www.pagemaps.com/ to design this frame.  I used silk flowers and Jolee’s Boutique Dimensional stickers to embellish the frame.

These frames will be added to my Etsy Store shop. Feel free to browse my frame shop to see other designs. http://www.etsy.com/shop/SwtTsCrafts

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com.  Thank you to  everyone who has already helped to make Sweettscrafts possible. Thank you for all your support! As we begin a new year comes new growth and adventures. I have added this site as a tool to provide information about my items as well as provide information as where you can find my items.  Share your experience and provide feedback. I’m waiting to hear from you. Happy Crafting -Tonia