Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Life Update

Hi everyone!

I hope you're all well and your loved ones. :o)

Today I want to share with you a short post on what has been going on in my life for the past 8 months, as I'm not crafting neither sharing so much on my blog as I did previous years.

I've cut number of I Love Math Challenges for this year, I will pause some DT duties for next couple months and reduce blogging to a bare minimum (or even take a break for some time).

On to the point: I'm pregnant and counting 20 days to my due date (due date March 16th, 2021, my 40th birthday). :o)

There are no words to describe how happy my partner and I are. We had a lot of troubles in the past with my pregnancies, but this time, we've been blessed and we will have that amazing privilege to become parents to our little sweetie. We are very grateful. :o)

Due to the issues that I had in the past (five miscarriages), my pregnancy was classified as a high risk pregnancy and there were quite a lot of health issues I had to overcome during this pregnancy. I was on a sick leave since July 2020 until the end of the January 2021.

I had to keep any kind of activities on bare minimum for months, until it was safe for me to add short walks and easy house chores on my daily to do list.

Luckily, everything went well through the critical period and now I can relax, enjoy the maternity leave and count down days to meet my little sweetie. :o)

In the months to come, I'll give my best to jump in from time to time and say hello, but I won't force myself on anything, as I imagine that things can be quite challenging for new mommies. I will go with a flow. :o) 

I've already scheduled some blog posts of my DT projects for months to come and working on couple more.

I'm crafting a bit more than I had during my first 7 months of pregnancy, as I have much more energy than I had previous months, but not so much. Everything is very exhausting for me at the moment. 

Due to the pregnancy and the fact I can't make obligations for myself, this year I'll take a break from my Celebrating 30 Days of Pisces personal annual challenge

Sadly, last year I failed it completely. I was not in a mood to craft when the pandemic hit... actually, I was not in a mood for anything. I enjoyed spending time in isolation during the lock down with my family, spent time in nature and gardened.

I also worked from home, which brought me new knowledge, improved my accounting skills and had good impact on my work conditions. :o)

Although quite a hard year 2020, it was very good for me. :o)

And that would be all from me for today. Thank you for stopping by and reading. Sending you all big hugs!!!

Enjoy and smile!! :o)


Milka

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

CASology Simple Studios Blog Hop


Hi everyone! :o)

Welcome to a CASology Design Team Simple Studios Blog Hop, a special blog hop where couple of us from CASology DT will show you around our crafting space and share some tips. :o)

For today I wanted to prepare a video, but it didn't work as I wanted, so I took photos to take you on the tour in my craft room. I'll also tell you a bit about myself and how I maintain my craft room (and home). I hope you'll enjoy reading and getting to know me a bit better. :o)


A bit about me, my organization and how I maintain my home...

I like everything clean, tidy, organized and neat in my home and my craft room is no exception. Yes, sometimes my table and die-cutting station do get messy, my crafting stuff can be find on other tables in the apartment where I craft from time to time (kitchen, living room), often there is a pile of inked and unwashed stamps that I used for crafting, but that mess doesn't last for long. :o)

I don't find myself as a "crazy obsessed with cleaning lady", I just like my home clean, neat and organized. My wardrobe is no exception either. I like everything to be ironed, neatly folded and sorted by types and colors. :o) Ehmmm, yes, I love to iron. :o) 

I'm a person who feels quite uncomfortable in messy and dirty spaces, so I give my best that my home doesn't look like that.

I love white, black and/or grey furniture and white walls. That colors are dominating in my home. :o) I like it because it looks simple and elegant and I can play much more with various colors in that "simple" environment.

I'm very satisfied how I organized my entire home, as there is no problem to find anything at all. Everything has it own place. :o) My partner loves it too, especially his wardrobe. LOL 


And now to my craft room....

I'm very lucky and happy because I have an entire room in the apartment for my crafting tools and supplies and for crafting, but as I mentioned earlier, sometimes I do craft on the kitchen or the living room table. It's mostly when my partner is at home and not working and I want to hang out with him while crafting. :o)

When I was arranging my craft room, I did mostly by myself. My father helped me to hang shelves on walls as drilling holes in walls is not my strong side. :o)

And now photos of my craft space, close-ups and peeks in drawers. :o) I wrote short description below each photo. :o)


SECTION 1

My crafting table and shelves. I LOOOOVE shelves!!! :o)
Most photos that I publish are took on the table.
As you can see I don't have a chair. I didn't invest in that piece of furniture, as I rather spend my money on stamps and other craft supplies. Instead, I bring one from the kitchen. :o)

Rainbow butterflies... I created these using die cuts, Distress Inks, white cardstock paper and adhesive. I LOVEEE how they look on my wall. :o)

Plastic containers to store die-cuts, a powder bag and most used embossing powder: white. :o) Off course, more rainbow colors: Chakra chart. :o)

Top drawer... inks.

Middle drawer... various glues, adhesive tapes, labels, magnets.

Lower drawer... scissors, rulers, heat gun, glue gun, various tools.

Papers and card stock.

Typewriter machine, scoring board, paper trimmer, cutting mat, glass mat.


SECTION 2

Shelves. :o)

 More rainbow colors. :o) Colored pencils and decorations.
I store most of my craft supplies in recycled items. These glass jars are recycled.

Paintbrushes, decorations.

Embossing powders, decorations, woodblock stamp (the only one I have).


SECTION 3

Die-cutting station and clear stamps shelve. :o) 
These cabinets are metal and I decorated them with some cute magnets. I LOVE magnets!!! :o)

Clear stamp sets. I have more clear stamp sets. They are behind these two boxes. :o)

My most used die cuts placed on a magnetic sheet. As the cabinet is metal, I didn't use any glue to put the sheet on it.

Die cuts.

Left cabinet, top drawer... re-inkers, acrylic and tempera paints and other media.

Left cabinet, middle drawer... patterned papers, sticker sheets, paper and plastic bags.

Right cabinet, top drawer... embellishments, ribbons, twines and some broken items to fix. 

Right cabinet, middle drawer... punchers and other various cutting tools.


SECTION 4

More storage cabinets, book shelves and reading corner. :o)

Colored pencils, coloring books, crochet thread storage, wooden stork decor and my favorite photo captured by a very talented friend. :o)

Distress Ink pads, ink blending tools and foams.

Books, badges, wooden fan I have for years and a box where I store wax seal stamps and wax.

Crochet dishes made by a local crafter. Love these.

Planners and fine liners. :o)

Left cabinet, top drawer... notebooks and unused fine liners, markers and pens. It's good to have a stash of these when using them on daily basis. :o)

Left cabinet, middle drawer... fine liners, fiber tip pens, markers, colored pencils, paper stumps... never enough of stationery. :o)

Left cabinet, lower drawer... stencils and tiny unmounted rubber stamps.

Right cabinet, middle drawer... stickers and enamel dots.

Right cabinet, lower drawer... everything for mailing: envelopes, post stamps, address book and all the stuff I have to mail out. :o)

Lover shelves... Crafting books, magazines and various boxes where I store various stuff (polymer clay in a white box, rubber stamps in a black box, cards that I made in a wooden box).

Rubber stamps. I don't have them a lot, so storing them in the box works well for me. :o)


And that would be it. I hope you liked it and enjoyed reading and looking. :o)


And now to the Blog Hop prize...

Prize for one lucky winner is $20 gift voucher to Simon Says Stamp. The winner will be randomly selected from all comments on the DT blogs.

The Blog Hop goes live today, Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021 at 9:00 AM, CST (UTC -6) and ends on Thursday, February 25th, 2021, 11:59 PM, CST (UTC -6).

To be eligible, you have to leave a comment on all stops along the hop by Thursday, February 25th, 2021, at 11:59 PM, CST (UTC -6).

The winner will be announced on CASology blog on Friday, February 26th, 2021, during the day.


And here is the Blog Hop order:
I'm so excited and can't wait to visit my DT mates' craft spaces. :o)

Link to this post will be in a right sidebar until the Blog Hop ends. :o)

Now hop over to Deepti's blog and visit her crafting space. :o)


Thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoyed on my stop today. :o) Happy hopping and good luck to all!!! :o)


    Milka

    Monday, February 15, 2021

    Colorful Birthday Card Set - Croatian Sentiment (bastel-traum challenge #98)

    Hi everyone :o)

    It's time for a new challenge over at bastel-traum and our theme for the challenge #98 is Birthday. :o)


    The challenge started today, February 15th, 2021, at 9 AM, CET (UTC +1) and ends on March 15th, 2021, at 8:55 AM, CET (UTC +1). Find all the details about the challenge, rules and prizes in a challenge post (here).


    And here is my take on the challenge: Colorful Birthday Card Set - Croatian Sentiment. :o)


    To make this card set I was inspired with two Card Sets that I created in 2019 (here and here).

    I went with same design, used same products, just used a different patterned paper from Lawn Fawn 'Really Rainbow' petite paper pack.

    I used a same speech bubble stamp from Jane's Doodles 'Croatian Sentiments' stamp setSretan rođendan means Happy Birthday. :o)



    How I made this card set...

    I stamped the speech bubble twelve times on a white cardstock paper and fussy cut them out leaving a white thin border around them. I fixed some lines with a black fine liner.

    I cut a white cardstock paper and folded card bases, 3 1/4" x 3 1/4". 

    Then I cut patterned papers on 3" x 3" size squares.
     
    With all parts ready, I assembled cards. I glued patterned papers on white card bases, glued some foam squares on speech bubbles and glued them on cards and the set was finished. :o)

    Super easy and quick to create. :o)



    Card measurements: 83 mm x 83 m(3 1/4" x 3 1/4")

    List of supplies:


    hope you'll like my card set for this challenge and get inspired. For more inspiration, check out AMAZING Birthday themed cards my super talented Design Teammates and our Guest Designer created for the challenge. Do join us in this challenge, we are looking forward to see your creations. :o)


    Thank you for stopping by and your kind feedback. Enjoy and smile! :o)


    Milka

    Sunday, February 7, 2021

    I Love Math Challenge News

     


    Hi everyone!!

    I hope you're all well. :o)

    Today I'm bringing some news for I Love Math Challenges.

    Due to some life changes, I decided that would be the best to take a short break from I Love Math Challenges here on my blog. My Design Team Collaborators supported me in my decision and we've decided to have only one challenge this year.

    Our next I Love Math Challenge #19 will start  on October 7th, 2021, 10 PM, CEST (UTC +2) and it will last for two months, if nothing unexpected occurs, of course.

    In year 2022, we will continue with three challenges per year, one every 4 moths, if nothing unexpected comes up.

    I'll share my Life Updates blog post here on my blog and share a bit more about my decision with you soon.

    Thank you for stopping by. Enjoy and smile!! :o)


    Milka

    Wednesday, February 3, 2021

    Penguin Skating Sour Cream Container Gift Box no. 3 (Jane's Doodles DT Spotlight)

         


    Hi everyone! :o)

    Today was my turn to be on the spotlight over at Jane's Doodles and I made this Penguin Skating Sour Cream Container Gift Box no. 3. :o)


    To make this box I CASEd (copied and shared everything) a box that I created for our's last Jane's Doodles Release Blog Hop (here). This is my 3rd box of this kind and will make more of them to have them by hand for next Christmas. :o)

    I used same products, same Jane's Doodles stamp sets (check out full list below in a list of supplies), went with same color scheme, techniques..., I just used different penguin image from Jane's Doodles 'Sweater Weather' stamp set. :o)


    How I made this Sour Cream Container Gift Box... 

    First I created a patterned paper that I used to fold the container. I stamped randomly snowflakes on a Kraft paper in watermark stamping technique using VersaMark Watermark Ink. Then I cut a rectangle size 3" x 6" from it.

    I mixed a white tempera color with a bit of water and splattered the snowflakes patterned paper and left it dry on air.

    After drying, I folded the container. Couple years ago I found great photo tutorial here. I folded the container following the tutorial. I left one side of the container unglued and open to fill it with sweets or something else later.

    Next up was the penguin. I stamped the penguin on a watercolor paper and colored him in watercolor technique with Distress Inks. After drying, I fussy cut the penguin and traced edges with a black marker.

    Then I stamped the penguin again on a white cardstock paper. I colored him with a grey marker and fussy cut him, leaving thin white border around the penguin. I glued watercolored penguin over the grey one. I did this to make the image thicker, as the watercolor paper I use is very thin and I needed thicker image.

    Then I drew white highlights on the penguin using a white gel pen.

    You know I love dimension on my projects. :o) I glued 3-D foam squares on the back of the penguin and glued him on the box.

    As a finishing touch, I pierced a hole on the unglued part of the container and closed it with a brad. :o)


    I love how my Sour Cream Container Gift Box turned out!! :o)


    List of supplies:



    Thank you for stopping by and your kind feedback. Enjoy and smile! :o)


    Milka

    Tuesday, February 2, 2021

    Penguin Skating Sour Cream Container Gift Box no. 2 (Jane's Doodles DT Spotlight)

        


    Hi everyone! :o)

    Last week, Monday, January 25th, 2021, was my turn to be on the spotlight over at Jane's Doodles and I made this Penguin Skating Sour Cream Container Gift Box no. 2. :o)


    To make this box I CASEd (copied and shared everything) a box that I created for our's last Jane's Doodles Release Blog Hop (here). I really liked the box and decided to create bunch of them to have them by hand for next Christmas to use them as gift packages or even to make an Advent Calendar from them. Will see how many I'll create through the year. :o)

    I used same products, same Jane's Doodles stamp sets (check out full list below in a list of supplies), went with same color scheme, techniques..., I just used different penguin image from Jane's Doodles 'Sweater Weather' stamp set. Those penguins are just too adorable. :o)


    How I made this Sour Cream Container Gift Box... 

    First I created a patterned paper that I used to fold the container. I stamped randomly snowflakes on a Kraft paper in watermark stamping technique using VersaMark Watermark Ink. Then I cut a rectangle size 3" x 6" from it.

    I mixed a white tempera color with a bit of water and splattered the snowflakes patterned paper and left it dry on air.

    After drying, I folded the container. Couple years ago I found great photo tutorial here. I folded the container following the tutorial. I left one side of the container unglued and open to fill it with sweets or something else later.

    Next up was the penguin. I stamped the penguin on a watercolor paper and colored him in watercolor technique with Distress Inks. After drying, I fussy cut the penguin and traced edges with a black marker.

    Then I stamped the penguin again on a white cardstock paper. I colored him with a grey marker and fussy cut him, leaving thin white border around the penguin. I glued watercolored penguin over the grey one. I did this to make the image thicker, as the watercolor paper I use is very thin and I needed thicker image.

    Then I drew white highlights on the penguin using a white gel pen.

    You know I love dimension on my projects. :o) I glued 3-D foam squares on the back of the penguin and glued him on the box.

    As a finishing touch, I pierced a hole on the unglued part of the container and closed it with a brad. :o)


    I love how my Sour Cream Container Gift Box turned out!! :o) I'm sure there will be more of these. :o)


    List of supplies:



    Thank you for stopping by and your kind feedback. Enjoy and smile! :o)


    Milka

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