Tales From a Paper Hoarder

I, my friends, am a paper hoarder. I have known this for a while and have come to accept it. And if pretty paper makes your heart go pitter patter and anxious that if you don't buy it right then and there, the giant stack will be sold out tomorrow...welcome friend. There is nothing but love and acceptance here {and maybe some paper envy!}.

For those of you that can walk down the scrapbooking aisle without noticing which paper is new, here is what it looks like.

This...this is my 2nd {!!} trash stack of the year. {That I may or may not have been hanging on to for a few weeks...}

My drawer for scraps...because the world might end if I throw away a usable piece of paper.

My 8.5x11 papers...

Which sits on top of my 12x12 paper holder...

That is filled to the top...of course.

 

 

 

Why do I have all this paper? Back in the day I was an avid scrapbooker and then I started my journey of making photo blocks with the scrapbook paper. Then I started painting signs and that part of my business took off and the paper was pushed to the side.

 

 If you read my post "Spreading My Wings" I mentioned that I missed working with paper, I really do. Last month, without even giving myself time to talk my self out of it, I signed up for a mail swap that was paper themed. This is exactly what my creativity needed.

 

The person I was matched up with listed fun and bright paper as one of her favorites, as well as flowers. While digging through my stash of paper I found a really fun flower print. Then I found a polka dot paper that coordinated with it and decided instead of just filling her box with paper, why not make a little something that she could hang for inspiration. I found a print that Kristi at I Should Be Mopping the Floor {and my blogging mentor} had posted on her blog and after a quick email to see if it could be resized to a smaller size {Yay, it could!}, she sent me the file which I printed.

 

Now let me tell you, I am one lucky girl. One, because I have a great friend that is also creative and was willing to help. Two, because I had decided on papers to use with a print forgetting that sometimes what you print from your computer does not match the colors you see on the screen...this time, they matched perfectly! Phew!

 

 

Do you love?! I had grabbed some sparkly Duck Tape earlier in the day, I thought it would be fun to use to go along with the shine part. I haven't sat down and crafted with just paper like this {outside of school projects with my girls} for a few years now and I forgot how much fun it is to just sit and put papers together. To brainstorm about what to use them for.

 

 

Like I had hoped, this mail swap, and other new creative things I have been trying has begun to open me up a little more each day to get my creativity going again. If you would like to print out an 8x10 Rise & Shine print from Kristi, you can click here. Like I mentioned earlier, she has quite a few printables and I'm sure you'll find something!



Spreading My Wings

I have been working my way through the Building a Creatively Built Business 2.0 courses in my free time. It is a series of videos made by Jeanne Oliver, Jennifer Rizzo and Miss Mustard Seed {aka Marian Parsons} and the information these ladies have to offer is incredible. Really. Like make you break down in tears incredible because you realize that you are not the only one that has ever faced whatever growing pains you may be going through at that point.

You can click here to go directly to the website to find out more about this class as well as all the other wonderful classes Jeanne Oliver offer {I have my eye on a few other ones at the moment!}.

I just finished the chapter about diversifying your business and that is one that struck a chord with me. I have always felt that because my signs sell so well, I should just stick with making and selling signs. But the creative person inside of me isn't happy. There are so many other things that I would like to try, so many other things that I enjoy making, so many other items other than paint and wood that I enjoy working with. And at times...well...I've thought that I would be perfectly fine with never having to paint another sign. And that, my friends, has lead to quite a few periods of being burned out and even more periods of not being able to create new designs because my creative side feels trapped.

 In the videos the ladies talk about how branching out, creatively, has helped them fall back in love with what they originally started making. Yes, it was another one of those tears streaming down the face moments.

So I've decided, I'm going to do more of these.

I've always enjoyed making wreaths and they actually help me decompress and relax when making them. {I'm weird, I know, I've accepted it!}

I'm going to play with paper more.

I have always wanted to try making cute tea towels. I've been working on a line of vinyl wording to go on your front door.

I may even get a little crazy and try sewing some things...maybe...like really easy things.

But don't worry, I'm not quitting the sign business. The funny thing is that just working on some other things has sparked my creativity again and for the first time I sat down and started designing again. So be on the lookout for some new signs coming as well as lots of new stuff! And maybe even some pictures of some flops, I have lots of those from time to time!

How to Install a New Light

I think in my past life I was an electrician. Seriously. I don't remember learning from my dad how to work with wiring things, it just feels like I've always done it and enjoyed doing it. It no longer surprises my husband to come home and find a new light or ceiling fan up when I find one for a great deal!

So today I am sharing...

 

 

We have been in the process of painting and updating the outside of our home and in this tutorial I am replacing the light on our back porch. The good thing is that whether you are replacing a light outside or inside, on the wall or the ceiling, it's the same steps.

 

These are the tools that you will need for replacing a light.

 

 

 

 

The new light, the hardware that came with the light and a drill {or screwdriver}. Photo bombing chocolate lab not required.

 

 

 

 

My project also required our brad nailer and the air compressor. My parents built the house in 1993 and at that time, the home builder didn't take in to consideration that, at some point, future homeowners might want to upgrade certain parts of the house, like the lighting.

 

 

 

 

The space that the old light was in was too small for the new light I bought. Luckily it's an easy fix. But first, make sure the breaker that controls the light you are working on is turned off. I usually have one of my daughters watch the light while the other stands halfway between us to tell me when the other yells that the light is off. Now you can remove the old light and the bracket that is attached to the wall.

 

 

 

 

My husband had already removed our old light when we were painting the house and he just capped the wires off until we could get a new light up.

 

The bracket should be attached to a box (usually blue) that the wires are coming out of. Challenge #2 with our house, I'm pretty sure the back porch light was an after thought. No box, just a hole in the wall with wires coming out. Thank goodness Challenge #1 will take care of #2!

 

 

 



My ever growing scrap pile was the answer to my problems. I cut two pieces of the trim we used for the French doors to fit in the space between the window trim and the door trim and nailed them in using the brad nailer. I made sure to check which way the wire was coming through the hole before nailing.

Now is the point where you would line up the holes in your bracket to the holes of the electrical box and screw them in. Since there is no box on this light, I took the wood screws that were used on the bracket from the old light and used them to screw the new bracket to the wood I just nailed up to fill the gap between the wall and the light base.

As I was climbing down the step ladder at this point I realized I had a captive audience that couldn't wait to get back outside. (Please pardon the nose prints! My new project is finding a way to keep them from scratching up the freshly painted doors.)

Next up for the light is hooking up the wires! I promise it is easy. When connecting the wires always remember: White always goes to white, black always goes to black and the bare copper wire coming from the light is always the ground wire that will attach to the green wire coming from the wall and/or the green screw on the bracket. Twist the matching wires together clockwise (you may need to trim the wire if too long or remove some of the plastic coating on the wires) and then take the wire nut (plastic cap item) and insert the wires into it and twist clockwise until tight.

Now push the wires back in to the electrical box and put the mounting screw(s) through the holes on the light and use the provided cap to tighten. Before you tighten it down completely take a second and make sure that it looks level and straight. If it does, tighten that baby down and give yourself a pat on the back!!

Go back and flip the breaker back on and go test out your new light. Stand back and say a few choice words in frustration when your light doesn't work...because you turned on the wrong light switch!

Wasn't that easy?! Now there is nothing stopping you from getting rid of those tired, outdated lights you avoid looking at.

In case you were wondering, this is the brand and stock number of the light I used from Lowe's. There are two sizes, I went with the smaller version that was $29.88 (?). It will go with the new cedar patio cover we are putting up that will have a galvanized roof (squeal!!). I will definitely be taking photos of that project to share with you!

If I missed a step or if you have a question, leave me  comment and I will get right back to you!

An Update on Updating Photos

(Right before publishing this post I realized I had posted about updating photos once before. So this is kind of an update on updating photos since a few things have changed for me.)

I haven't been able to create new items as much as I would like right now. Why? There is a list of why's but the biggest one is trying to update photos of the items I offer in my Etsy shop.

 

Like this photo of one of my top sellers. I shot this 2 years ago in a tiny closet in my office with absolutely no natural light. All because I believed that a white background would be best. That is true for some people but I have grown to love seeing pictures of my items in a home setting with props (that is a whole other post!).  I have also changed my method of painting. So it's no surprise that at times I will get feedback on Etsy that the sign someone received was so much better than the picture.

 

I have now embraced the power of natural light. So when I find good natural light I try to take as many photos as I can.

 

The other day was one of those days. I don't even remember why I looked out the front door, but the light was perfect. I was about to pack this one up to ship and decided to snap a few photos of this sign, as well as a few other signs. I'm pretty sure the roofers that were working next door were wondering exactly what I was doing. Every few minutes I would walk out with another sign and sit down, stand up, kneel down, move the sign and on, and on.

 

Now for what has changed since the last time. I took class in January from a local photography studio, Solas Gallery in Salado, Texas. My youngest had her pictures taken there as a baby and I have always admired Tim's work. I was excited to soak up all of his knowledge. His first suggestion was to stop shooting in manual, not that there is anything wrong with it, but the settings he showed us cuts down on how much time you spend adjusting settings. Like I said, there is nothing wrong with manual, I was just having a hard time getting everything right. I also learned so much about fstop, aperture, ISO, lighting, why I need to use a tripod and that sometimes it is ok to just use that awesome photo you took with your iPhone. Tim admitted to us that he had just spent a week in New York City with his family and only took photos with his iPhone. Just proof that having the top equipment isn't all that matters

 

I know that I still have a lot to learn about photography and props, it's kind of a necessary evil with having an online business, but I am enjoying the process.

 

 

Ramblings For 2013 and 2014

I've been struggling with getting this blog up and going the way I would like. That seems to be a theme in my life, hard to get something new started but once it becomes part of my usual routine my true inner self shines through. So I'm going to experiment with this for a while. I have so many blog post started but they feel so forced. I apologize in advance for the randomness and ramblings that may occur for a while. {p.s. This post will be one of those rambling post.}

December went by in a blur. Thanks to Thanksgiving being later than we are used to meant that people began shopping online later and there was a sense of urgency all around.

This was on the downward slide of Christmas orders to be done and shipped. My husband started a new position in the company he works for and had to travel off and on so I would take advantage of having the garage to my self and cut and sand as much as I could before I felt that the neighbors would call the cops for the excessive buzzing sander noises.

December 1st brought back Elvis, our Elf on the Shelf and boy did he make an entrance!

Luckily he wasn't as mischievous as he has been in the last few years.

I also took advantage of some tutorials on Pinterest and had some fun with my camera.

And I just realized that this is pretty much the only photo I took during the holidays that has any type of holiday feel to it! I don't think I touched my camera at all after taking this. If I couldn't snap a quick photo with my iPhone, I didn't get a photo of it.

Major news that I shared quietly on my personal Facebook page, but left me feeling like I had hit the big time also happened in December...

Sale #1,000! It has always been on my list of goals to accomplish, I just never thought it would happen as soon as it did. I did a quick little happy dance in my head, shared it on Facebook and then got back to work.

I also turned 34 in December. Growing up my Nana would call every year and ask if I felt like I was however many years old I turned that year. This year she was here {along with my Grampie} and I was ready for her to ask because my answer was yes...yes, I feel every single day of my 34 years. Luckily I didn't have any big plans in place. My day was spent with this sleeping beauty.

She had finally succumbed to the stomach bug that was being passed around at school. 

Christmas was the usual chaotic day for us, but the girls enjoyed it and that's all that matters.

New Year's Eve came and went quietly. Kind of. We managed to stay up past midnight {Yay!} to ring in the new year, but I spent most of the evening in bed with severe back pain that went down my leg {Boo!}. Turns out sitting on a hard floor for hours putting together desks from Ikea doesn't agree with my sciatic nerve. Add my already bad posture to that and it didn't help at all. For days ibuprofen, a heating pad and YouTube videos on how to massage areas that were sore were my best friends!

Now we're in to 2014 and I've been thinking about my list of resolutions things I would like to continue working on. The word resolution seems so overwhelming to me so I'm going to focus on areas that need improvement and work on them gradually. Like I mentioned before, one of them being this blog.

I have so many things I want to share and Facebook used to do it for me, but as we all know, Facebook has been frustrating the past year for businesses. I want to share news about my business and tutorials for DIY projects but I also want to give you all a glimpse in to my day to day life. I follow so many other blogs that share all of the above and I truly feel that if I was to meet one of these lovely ladies, I would immediately feel like I was reuniting with an old friend {once I got over the school girl giddiness of actually meeting them!} and I know there may be some awkward phases as I figure all of this out and find my happy medium.

But most of all, I am so happy that you are here to watch me go through it. I'm hoping that 2014 will be my year to inspire you in to trying something new!

p.s. I would really love to be able to add the thingy in the side bar that allows for you to sign up for email alerts of new posts {and so many other things} so if you have any experience with blogging, any help is greatly appreciated!!