2017 The Year of Change!

2017 Year of Change

Hopefully everyone is having a better start to this year, then many previous. I am not going to bring the mood down just yet, but will discuss some happenings during my journey. 

Since we last spoke I have been trying to make changes all around my life. Mentally, physically, spiritually, financially, and many more. 

I am having an AMAZING time watching my Granddaughter grow, learn and become her own little person. 

And her mother happen to remind me that I'm going to be 40 in 4 months!!! Well she didn't say that directly, but pointed out Gwendalyn will be 2 in 4 months.

So where do I go from here? I'm not really certain. I am in the long process of trying to clear out my craft room and sewing areas first. I've been listening to The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up By Marie Kondo. I can say it is helping me along the way. I will be doing a YouTube video soon showing my rooms and the items for sale. Really, IT'S A LOT OF ITEMS!!! Pretty much 300+ Stamp sets, inks, embellishments, fabric, tools, punches, any and everything will be sold. 

And now on to some of the not so happy stuff. I've been going through some extremely rough times physically! And after doing a little digging and making appointments with new doctors. I have come across in my medical files that they already have FIBROMYALGIA 

listed as one of the many issues. 

Yes, I have been on meds, from different doctors for different things. But at no point have I been treated for Fibromyalgia or was it discussed at any time from my doctors. This information would have been very helpful MANY, MANY YEARS AGO. Instead of making me suffer and not knowing what was actually wrong. Going to different doctors over the years for different symptoms, to never come to an actual diagnosis. When this whole time I could have been treated for the actual problem, knowing that someone put that in my chart but it has never been addressed has my slightly upset and confused. 

And so I try to carry on. I have my bestie, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis. Guess we just have to start our new chapters in our lives. 

If I must forgo much of what I enjoyed before to become a better me for tomorrow then I will have to try my best. Not that I don't want to give up most days, but for today I will press forward. 

Thanks for listening to me about some of my journey. Hope to see you around soon and you purchase tons of things from my HUGE closing up shop SALE. 

Here are just 2 pictures of some of my craft room. 

See you soon,

be Determined to get things scrapped😁

Really has it Been...

This insanely long since I last posted?!?!

I really do apologize! I miss you all terribly and have so many things going on right now I don't know what end is up.

Hello crafty friends, old and NEW! I'm so excited to see that we have finally made it through 2014 and into 2015 so things can work on improving. Hopefully everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday?!

There are so many and do I mean many things that I have been working on that I really don't know where to start. Like right now, I paused in the middle of something and just decided to write a blog post because I noticed it was SO LONG since I last posted.

For those of you that are not aware, I am expecting my first granddaughter in May and I AM BEYOND EXCITED!!!

Here is our little angel at 16 weeks. Mommy is now 27 weeks and 2 days. Dr appt was today and Gwen's heartbeat was so loud and beautiful!!! My son finally felt her move for the first time today and Kayla (Gwen's mommy) said that his eyes lite up like she has never seen before. I can't wait to she him when his baby girl is born.

In the life of a crafty mimi to be there are many things to get ready. Of course her mother and I will be hosting the baby shower and in order for us to do that we need invitations and decorations. So I'm in charge of those. So after this post I have to get busy cutting the almost 75+ invitations! Our guest list is HUGE at around 100 people! The one time having a big families is not so good. 

After those are finished I will complete working on other project for Gwen. There are many sewing project complete but there are also so many more to do and to complete the big scrapbooking project I started before we decided I was doing the invitations. 

Ok enough about Gwen for now even though there is a lot of craftiness around her, I can't post pics or it will spoil the surprise. Once we have the baby shower you know I will be posting a lot of pics since 99.9% of it will be DIY crafted by us. 

On to some other news. I have started my T-Shirt quilt for my best friend. Over the past 13 years we have done the local M.S. Walk to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis. Once she was diagnosed we have walked every year. So with each year she has collected each shirt and from any other event she has attended for MS.All the pieces are cut for this quilt and once I get the chance that will be one of the next big projects to complete. I can't wait to show you.

I just purchased the Knitting Board - Ultimate Afghan Loom!!! OMG you MUST try this if you are a loom knitter! You're going to love the size. I have only been working on it for a couple hours if that and have about a foot in length done. The loom knits up to 60 inches wide depending on stitch. OMG really I'm in love. 

My bathroom is so close to being done I can't stand it. My hubby got the toilet in today and the water lines hooked up to the sink. The last big thing is the baseboard and really at this point I can live without those. I mean I have been waiting almost a year for my bathroom back. Once I get his tools cleared out I'll have to snap a couple picture to show you how far we've come.

Well as for now I think this is a long enough post. I just wanted to let you all know that I have not forgot about you and that I am still crafting. I will try and post pics and info as soon as I can and stay crafty my crafty friends.

Blessings

Mindy - The Determined Scrapper

I Miss....

Hello Crafty Friends!!!

(My Ben watching YouTube with me)

I just wanted everyone to know that I miss you all! I know life happens and sometimes we have to step away from the computer for a little bit here and there but it makes me miss you all the more. 

I have been missing out on a lot of your crafty stuff as I have only been around Blogland here and there. Since the passing for my Father in Law, and two family friends things just seem to keep getting crazier.

 As always, during my fall crop,  I didn't get much done but I did find my mojo as I was packing up. I have now added more things to my " I MUST MAKE THIS LIST". 

I am really missing scrapping and have the itch to make some mini albums again. I am going to be working on pregnancy and baby one for my sons girlfriend.

But first I am working on Christmas gifts. My list is long and plenty and somehow it just keeps getting put off. I want to do things but then my body tells me its time to take a nap. 

I'm about 3/4 the way done with my daughters "Katwise inspired" sweater coat. I can't wait till it's done. It's not the best but this is my first one, of many many more. 

I of course don't have a full pic of it yet but this is just what the skirt of it was like at the very beginning. 

Tonight as I'm working on my post I have my embroidery machine stitching away. I have a lot of gifts this year that I would like to include awesome artwork on top of the gift itself. I can't wait to see the reaction of my Aunt and Uncle that receive these blankets.  Each year I put a fleece blanket in the family gift exchange and the first year they were the ones to receive it. This past year my uncle has had a rough go. Open heart surgery, stroke, another surgery to correct the growth of his chest.... Ever since he has been home this blanket has been his little security blanket. I'm telling you, he has been like Linus. He always has that blanket. So I thought it was time to give him a blanket that not only is big enough for him but is not blue and white polka dot and a little more personalized. 

I hope to get a tutorial together and up for this weeks Tour/Technique Tuesday. I really am working on my videos for my YouTube Channel. 

Since I seem to be rambling I will call it a post of tonight. I really am going to be working pretty hard at sharing what is going on here in regards to my crafty stuff. I hope everyone is well and I'll talk with you soon.

Blessings

Mindy - The Determined Scrapper

I'm such a terrible......

Blogger

One day, two days, three days in a row. Then what.... I can go for over a week without a peep. I really am trying to get on a schedule I promise. I just have had more bad medical news handed to me and was taking a little rough.

But what other way to get back on the horse than to share my days with my friends around the world. I know there are some that come back on a regular basis and some that just come back when they see that I happen to finally post something.

Well I will share with you the schedule I have worked out and what I will try to accomplish over the next couple of weeks. I will be down again for sure on July 25th due to a medical procedure I will be having done.

So here it goes - 

Tuesdays - Tour or Technique  Tuesdays

This will hopefully be a way to get me doing more videos again. It will consist of a tour of parts of my craft areas or a different technique. Hopefully I will be able to advise what the next project will be incase you would care to join along.

Wednesdays - What's on Your Workdesk Wednesdays

 This is something I have been following along with for a couple years now and truly enjoy talking and meeting new crafty friends. The main link up place is over at Julia's The Stamping Ground. This is when you take a snapshot of your workspace and give a little info as to what is going on in your world that day. I LOVE Wednesdays when I get to travel the world from my desk in just a couple of clicks. I also want to start doing videos for this when I'm able, but of course we will see how that goes. 

Fridays - Find your Mojo Fridays

Since I have dealt with my fair share of losing my Mojo I thought it would be fun to help each other find theirs. Maybe if I'm having an off day someone can help me find mine. Hopefully Fridays will consist of ways that I have gotten myself back on my feet craftwise after many many knockdowns. 

I will also be posting about my new machine.... My Janome Memory Craft 350E Embroidery Machine! I am so excited to add that to my collection of wonderful machines. I have been blessed with a hubby that helps me try to combat the ever changing medical conditions I have to deal with. 

As many of you know I am not tied to only posting about one craft. I was in the past mainly scrapbooking, cardmaking and paper crafts. But I have been sharing more and more of the fabric things that I have been working on. I would like to continue to keep my blog about all things crafty. This is how we can meet new people and talk through ideas and tough times. 

Since I had a really nice ending to this post and my internet crashed my post, I totally forgot what I ended with. 

I do remember that, I will be adding a couple new pages to my blog. Since I am a crafty girl of many crafts, I have come to find that I have a LOT of stuff. New stuff, used stuff and what was I thinking stuff. So that's good news for you. Why, you may ask. Well I will be posting items for sale with payment through PayPal and hopefully most of the items will be free shipping. 

So for now, that this has become a long post, I hope you all have had a blessed and safe week. 

Blessings
Mindy
The Determined Scrapper

WOYWW #266

As we all know it's that time of the week again, where we travel around the world in just a few clicks.

Give it a try, I'm sure you'll be back to try it again. Start over at Julia's Stamping-Ground to get the heads up and where to go.

Ben staking his claim on the ink table.

Finally have my runner already to quilt. 

I don't think I have introduced Varuna. This is my daughters baby bunny. Her other 2 bunnies had 4 babies and this was the only one to survive. She/he is getting so big now. And cute as can be.

This week my desk as of Wednesday is not too bad. I have been working at my sewing table for the past 2 days. This morning was another day in the adventure of the bathroom remodel.

I think for the first time in a long time I really don't have a whole lot to tell you guys about.  

Other than, I'm so super excited for August 1 to come. I have just received my new copy of the upcoming catalog for Close to My Heart and I CAN'T GET OVER ALL THE AWESOMENESS INSIDE!!!

So short post for tonight but hopefully I will get my schedule up and get some more things posted this week.

Blessings

Mindy

The Determined Scrapper

Videos...?

Hello everyone!

My beautiful lilies out front.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far. I've been doing some thinking lately. I think I have come up with a plan.

I really would like to get back into doing videos on a more regular basis. So I'm working on a room tour, since I have changed my room around...again. Also I have decided that when doing my videos I'm not going to be so concerned about the editing as much. I really am more about sharing my ideas and learning from others. For some that will be bothersome and for others they will find it to be a nice release from the - oh I have to have this and I have to have that in order to make videos.

No, we don't have to have the top of the line products or the top of the line best of everything. We should just enjoy the life we have and the talents we have been given. Share them with others and expect nothing in return.

(side note)

Going on vacation has helped me see a lot of things, things that I have known but just really pushed to the back of my mind. The city that I live in, people are so lazy and only care about themselves. They don't ever do for others because they want to know first what they are going to get in return. People of my community don't care about our planet and the lack of crap they are doing to it. I am not saying all, but I am saying the majority. 

(Rant Over)

I say this just because I really do enjoy sharing what I have learned. If it helps someone find their mojo or expand on an idea then I have done a little bit of good for the day. I was thinking of doing a series of videos and titling it "Find my Mojo Mondays" or something of that nature.

As many of you know I suffer from chronic pain and have yet to be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. This is where the problem comes in. I want to do these things and I hate to promise anything to anyone. But I would like to know if anyone would be interested in watching? Hopefully that would give me the little extra help on days when I'm not feeling too well.

I also would like to review some products. I am NOT a professional and have never claimed to be one. Sharing our thoughts and feelings on products though is a great way to help someone decide if they are willing or able to spend the money on a tool for their craft room.

Wow, I've done a lot of talking today. On the sewing front, I have a table runner and my large quilt to work on. I also will be starting mine and my Besties M.S. T-Shirt quilts. We have walked in the Multiple Sclerosis walk every year since she was diagnosed and attended many functions where we were able to obtain a large amount of shirts. Instead of not being able to wear them anymore due to the size I will make a quilt for each of us. I will record the process and some other things and add those to my list of videos.

So what do ya say? Ready to see me get back to work and making videos again?

Yeah, me too.

Can't wait to see you soon. If you have an idea or question about a product you've been considering let me know and if I have the product I will be happy to spotlight it in a videos.

Many Blessings

Mindy

The Determined Scrapper 

WOYWW #263

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday #263

Some weeks I think, wow, it's taken forever for Wednesday to arrive and other weeks.... It is here again and I don't even realize the rest of the week has happened. That was this week.

Where's what my main desk looked like right before I started my post. A little bit of a mess. But there is usually fun where there are messes in craft rooms.

I have been a busy bee this week. I have even posted on my blog a couple of times and I still have more to share.

As I ready to leave on a road trip to wherever my little heart desires (with my teenage daughter) I am finding my heart a little more at ease than normal.

So last night when visiting my parents I noticed a bag of crayons, of course I had to ask what they were going to do with them and they were going to throw them away or give them to a shelter. Now normally I would not want to take away from others but some of these crayons were from when I was younger, so I thought it was time that I re-purposed them for my craft room. 

I just loved doing this and can't wait to do another. 

I also received my new storage container for my washi tape. And after sorting through them, honestly I thought I had more. But that is ok, that just means there is room for more. 

And one more exciting thing came in the mail this week. Too bad I can't use them just yet...

I am still waiting for my machine which was in the world release on HSN. What was pretty awesome was the total was less on the world release and I will come home to a surprise. It should be delivered while I'm away. Too bad hubby doesn't care to play with it.

And one other item I can't wait to come home and play with is my new Quilting template. My best friend and I have decided we are going to make some T-Shirt quilts with our collection of MS shirts from over the years. She was diagnosed 12 years ago with MS and together I will fight every step of the way with her. 

Ok, so for this week's WOYWW post I think I have shared a lot and made a rather long post. Sorry lots going on here. I still have more but don't want to bore you. If you don't know what this WOYWW is all about make sure to stop over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground to find out. 

Join in this week or next. Just make sure to join in it is a blast to travel the world right from your desk.

Have a blessed week and until next time.

Blessings

Mindy

The Determined Scrapper

FIVE YEARS!!! WHAT'S ON YOUR WORKDESK WEDNESDAY #260

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!?!

5 YEARS

Five years of traveling the world to look at others workspaces and see what they have been up too. I know I'm a couple days late but around here you just never know what day it is. 

Welcome to WOYWW #260. If you are not aware of what this wonderful creation is or if you are interested in looking around the world in just a few clicks make sure to stop over to Julia's blog and check things out. 

I have been doing WOYWW for about 3 years now and I have to say it has been great fun to see and meet people from all around the globe. I try to take this time every week to see what everyone is up to and look into the creative minds of others. It really does help if your mojo has gone for a vacation or if you just need a little cheering up.

So for this week in the life of the Determined Scrapper

While finishing the last couple rows of my quilt my cat Maggie decided that she was going to be a weight and not let me get to it. But I finally was able to get her to move and...

FINISH My first quilt top. This top has taken me a couple months but it is a King Size quilt top. Now the rest of the quilt hopefully will not take me as long. 

While I'm waiting to get the rest of the fabric for the backing on my quilt I decided to start a little project. On Thursday morning I pulled out my new Block idea book from MSQC and decided to do the Flower Fancy Table Runner pg.21. I was VERY surprised when I was completed with most of the top in just a couple hours. 

Here it is on my design board waiting for the border and to be quilted. Wow I really wish I knew what took me so long to get to quilting. 

Although I've been down for a couple days. The pain from my neck hasn't gotten much better so I am still having a lot of trouble feeling my arms. 

Enough of the boring stuff. Hope everyone has a wonderful week and gets lots of crafts completed or started. 

Have a blessed week.

Mindy

The Determined Scrapper

Fabulous

Everything is coming up FABULOUS!

This has been a very busy week since we last spoke. Last Thursday and Friday I attended the women's conference at my church. Fabulous - A conference to uplift and empower godly women. All I can say is it was FABULOUS!!!

This was my first year attending the conference and not only did I attend I volunteered both days to help. I will do that again in a heartbeat. Not only did I get to work with some wonderful women I had already met, but I was able to make many many new friends. It helped make my church feel smaller by getting to know more people on a personal level.

Not only did I get to meet new friends, but I attended with my Bestie Carrie. This was some of the BEST QUALITY time we have spent together in a very long time.

To top off our Thursday evening..... MANDISA was there and did a concert and had very uplifting and encouraging words. She was on stage for almost 2.5 hours. Of course I had to get her new CD, and I have already memorized the whole thing. It's AWESOME!!! 

I think I could go on for days about the fun I had and telling you more about everything I did but I have other fun stuff to tell you. If you are interested in finding out more please stop by the website and check it out on Facebook.

So after those 2 very busy days, I had to take time to relax. That took a lot out of me and I was not sure I was going to make it at one point. So Saturday it was time for a change. 

I thought it was time to cut my hair. I will only cut my hair when it is long enough to donate it. This time around I cut 16 inches off. I am loving how easy it is to take care of and how much lighter my head feels. 

You can't see the ends of my hair here but it is past the middle of my back when it is brushed out. 

And now it is just barely touching my neck. It is so nice and easy to take care of. 

Still more exciting stuff to tell you.

So Sunday I went for my acupuncture and when I arrived there was a wonderful sign welcoming me.

My birthday was on Tuesday and they made sure that when I came in on Sunday that they had a sign for me. I was very nice to see. (The owner was also a speaker at Fabulous)

Upon my arrival home from acupuncture that day I was going through emails and was just FLOORED by one e-mail I had received. It was an email from Wood Magazine. Now it's not the typical magazine I would expect to get a message from but I was so excited when I read it and responded back, it had made me even more excited.

They are doing a special towards the end of the year that will be covering craft rooms. They had watched my room tour on my YouTube Channel and liked a lot of things about my room. They had pointed out a lot of things they  really enjoyed and asked if I would be interested in being in this special..... HELLO OMG YES!!! So I messaged him back and he told me what all I need to do. I'm so excited, you just don't understand. So as soon as I find out if for sure I'm going to be in the article and when it will be published I will let you know. 

As of today, Tuesday, May 20. I have assembled the first 8 rows of my quilt and have 7 more to go before I can start quilting it. It really is not taking as long as I thought it would for my first quilting project. 

Okay, so as for the past week, I've had a lot of things going on. BUT, they have been FABULOUS. I hope you have all enjoyed your week and I will be back again tomorrow for WOYWW. See you then.

Oh here are some of the PhotoBooth photos from the first night of the conference. 

Blessings

Mindy

The Determined Scrapper

WOYWW #258

And here were are again for another week of  WOYWW #258

If you don't know what it is or you really would like to find out. Please join us and travel the world. It all starts over at Julia's. She tells you what it is all about and you can connect with people from around the world in just a few clicks. 

So this week in the world of The Determined Scrapper... I am still trying to recover from my visit to the ER last week. I don't think I had mentioned it because I woke up Thursday morning with a pinched nerve in my neck that left my right arm in terrible pain and completely numb. But I will try not to continue to complain about my pains and troubles. They are not nearly as much fun to talk about as the crafty things we all have going on. 

Now that I am trying to find my MoJo, I was able to get my desk cleaned off a little and get almost all of my stamps and supplies listed in Evernote. I really am still working on getting a post together about that. It will hopefully be very informative. 

I think my MoJo is at the bottom of my clean desk. Yesterday was my birthday and I was able to do whatever my little heart desired.... Pretty much nothing. No, not really. My BFF picked me up and took me to breakfast. After that I had gone and looked at some flowers. I did end up getting a couple of starters from the garden center and came home and planted those in containers and by the time I finished up it started to storm. It was a beautiful day and I received wonderful Birthday wishes. Thank you for that. 

Today, I have finally. Finally! started to plan out the beginnings of my quilt. 

So I decided to hang some fleece on the wall since the little piece of batting that I had was definitely not going to be big enough.

My quilt is going to be 16 squares across by 15 squares down. I am going to be able to do about 6 rows down on this piece of fabric but that should give me enough of an idea for my planning board. I think I will be able to get it mostly up there and then start sewing. Hey, I figure it is my first quilt and so far it's working. 

Well so far it is working and I decided to stop after I had gotten 2 rows completed on the board. Hopefully I will be able to get to a little more tomorrow.

The next 2 days are going to be pretty busy. I am attending the women's conference at church, which is going to be the highlight of the year. 

I've been a little chatty Cathy tonight. I'm running a little late, but later than never right.

Until later this week (hopefully). Or until we meet again. Have a wonderful time traveling the world from the comfort of your desk and have a blessed and safe week.

Mindy

The Determined Scrapper