A New Year, New Goals, New Projects

I can't believe it is almost three weeks into the year 2014 already. Time flies! My word for 2014 is a repeat of a word from a few years back - FINISH. As I pondered what my new word would be, I realized I still had much to learn from this word. I am excited to be focusing on the word FINISH once again. I am a master at starting things, but just learning what it takes to get them done. As I went through my first year with the word FINISH, one of the things that really rang true for me was that I needed to take the time to really think about and plan exactly what is involved with not only starting a project, but in finishing it. To that end, I have been getting better about really thinking it through, and writing the steps down when needed to ensure I get all the way to the end stage. My biggest unfinished project from 2013 has to be my master bathroom. Back in the fall, I made the decision to tear out the closet and put in open shelving. With the help of a friend, we got the door frame removed and drywall up for new walls. The project stalled there for a number of months. I have since started back into it, and am making some good progress. Because the floor tiles had originally been installed around the door frame, when we removed the framing, I needed to replace two of the floor tiles. Lucky for me, the builder left a bunch of extra ones when they made the house. I had never done tile work before, but I had watched it many times on the home shows I love to watch and was confident I could tackle this job. As of this afternoon, the new tiles have been installed and grouted! I'm quite proud of how they came out. Next up - drywall! Here is where we started, and where we are today:

One Little Word 2012 - Finish

I chose FINISH as my word for 2012. So far, I am learning a lot about myself and how I do things. In the past, I have not been very good at bringing a project all the way through to completion, but I hope to change that with my focus for this year. Here is a photo of the two necklaces I have to remind me of my word. The dictionary necklace I made myself and the circle charms were ordered from JLynn Designs on Etsy.

Pinterest love!

I have fallen in love with Pinterest! There is no end to the great ideas out there. After pinning a bunch of stuff over the weekend, I took a trip to Michael's to see what I could find for supplies to make some of the things I really liked. This is project number one - a dry erase family calendar. So simple! I used a collage frame, some scraps of scrapbook paper I had at home and leftover letter stickers from different projects. I love the way it came out and can't wait to start using it to keep track of who goes where.

Here is the original pin:

Source: fey-next2heaven.blogspot.com via Christine on Pinterest

On the Pinterest to-do list right now are:

1) a menu planning board
2) a dictionary charm
3) placemats
4) a valentines garland
5) a new desk/bookcase for my craft/computer room

Family Holiday Greetings

We managed to get all of us in one place at the same time this past weekend! Here is our 2011 Christmas photo.

One Little Word - THRIVE

I am a big fan of Ali Edwards, and have been following with interest her journey of "One Little Word". This morning, I made a bit of a snap decision to journey with One Little Word of my own for 2011. The word I have chosen is "THRIVE". To go along with this, I am also taking Ali's "One Little Word" class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I'm sure there will be lots more blogging about this as the journey goes on.

This Scrapper's Got Talent - Week One

Wow... only a few people have posted their completed layouts so far, but the competition is HARSH! :-) I don't see a single layout that I don't like. I'm not sure how the elimination part of this contest will work, but it is going to be a challenge to keep up with some of these gals. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I move on to Week 2. They will let us know on Wednesday.

This Scrapper's Got Talent

So, I decided it would be fun to enter a contest that Stuff To Scrap is holding. It is called "This Scrapper's Got Talent" and will be held from May 26th - June 30th. It is an elimination contest so each week only some of the contestants move on to the next week. It will be fun to see what it involves.