Kellie Stamps DT

Good morning!

I’ve been really excited about this piece of news. It really is the perfect fit. This goes back to me saying yes to things that work for me and (finally) saying no thank you to things I know will cause me stress and anxiety. This is one of those things that work for me. Kellie is such a lovely, warm and welcoming person, and I’m so looking forward to working with her beautiful stamps! Not to mention, check out this lineup:

Kellie Winnell | Nathalie Elphinstone | Tracey Holdyk | Lily Lane | Emma Speller | Michelle De Leon | Jessica Upton | Kari Stiles

Looking forward to a great couple of months with these ladies. Follow me on Instagram, where you’ll find the majority of my sneaks and project posts in the coming weeks and months. My handle is @taraelias

– Tara

currently

Loving | our family group chat

Eating | as clean as possible

Obsessed | with tiny homes

Trying | on last years summer dresses to see where we stand

Admiring | the farmer tan on my feet. Doing yardwork in an old pair of Toms is the only way my friends.

Happy | with how the backyard is coming along. I have zero interest in doing anything at the front right now

Dreading | coursework

Drinking | a smoothie

Considering | booking a week staycation, just so I can be at home for a full week

Purchasing | a circular saw. Lots of DIY’s I want to do that involve cutting wood, so I bit the bullet and bought one!

Happy Tuesday!

all of the things.

Fave recent acquisitions include the Get to Work Book (more thoughts on that to come), my cherished Fishs Eddy Notebook Mug, Illume Triple Milled Bar Soap in Coconut Milk Mango, and that beautiful Rifle Paper Co. Travel Journal.  You can file that travel journal under things I don’t need any more of, but try and stop me from buying something as beautiful as that paper specimen.  Anna Bond can do no wrong #amirite. I think it needs to live in my Carry On bag, so I can summarize my short business trips, and longer personal vacations with a quick picture and a bit of journaling.

Onto the Get to Work Book.  I used to be a planner girl.  Every summer, I’d buy what was going to be my crutch for the next year.  Coloured pens and highlighters were my friends (ok, still are).  Until technology came along, that is.  I got my first iPhone right around the time the planner craze started among scrapbookers, and yet I slowly felt paper planning slip through the cracks (for me).  I tried everything to stop it.  Erin Condren, Midori TN, Russel & Hazel, Kate Spade, even the handy and well designed Target planners.  But inevitably, it meant duplicating all my plans onto paper and it just wasn’t sustainable.  Technology won that fight.  So when Elise started marketing the Get to Work Book, I was intrigued – but then again, wasn’t I always?  I held off for awhile to really think about it and assess what my needs were.  Planning my daily activities was not a need for me.  But actually following through on all the 3758465725 things I want to do with my life?  DING DING DING!

I’ve always been an all or nothing kind of girl.  Oh, I only have 20 minutes to pick up around the house?  Might as well not even bother since I don’t have 4 hours to clean it top to bottom.  All those plans I have for the backyard?  I better be able to accomplish them all in one day, or I might as well not even start.  That is a special kind of crazy.  As I started to read more about the GTWB, I could see that it really gave way for breaking things down.  One of my favourite features is the three action items per week.  That speaks to me.  At first thought, perhaps one each of work, home and creative.  But things change and every week is different and since I love procrastinating so much, I have no doubt that there will be weeks where it is all about one of those things.  Speaking of my love for procrastinating, my GTWB is opened to that page for a reason.  Cause that seems to be the hardest part of everything for me.  I feel like this book is going to be like therapy.  The kind that tells you to get off your ass, stop thinking and just do it already.  I NEED THAT.

You know what else I love?  It’s sturdy.  That thing is prepared to be used and abused (all the heart eyes emoji’s for all that grid paper).  And the perforated art prints are pretty darn genius.  The design is so classic, I’m just really so very happy with it.  This book will not serve as a planner for me, in fact I expect the monthly spreads to be rather underused, but will serve as a home base for me for all the things I want in my life (most of which I have no idea about btw).  A monday morning meeting, if you will.  I can’t wait to start checking things off!

– Tara

Deep thoughts

I’d like to call this post, “blogging for no reason, except that I feel like I want to”. I’ve been in this weird place that I think sometimes people go through in their early thirties. “what am I even doing with this life of mine?”. Then I go through the checklist of the obvious: Family life? Never been better. Career? Very happy with how that’s been progressing in 2015. Balancing life? CHECK. So what could be missing? I haven’t quite figured that out yet, but I think it may have something to do with feeling like I may possibly be capable of doing great things. What those things may be? No clue. I love the idea of being creative on the side as a business and feeling entrepreneurial, but what does that even look like for me? Unfortunately I haven’t stumbled upon it yet, and I’m not about to go looking. That never works. You end up working towards something you’re not even passionate about, and 3, 2, 1, burnout. So, I’m just going to keep plugging away at life as I know it, and see where it takes me.

Blogging, although I have felt like it’s a bit of a dying art lately, has been at the forefront as at least a place where I could start. My girlfriends are so sick of hearing me say this next sentence, but I’ve been listening to a lot of Podcasts lately, and those have helped me to at least recognize that there are so many amazing, creative, smart women out there that are figuring it out one day at a time, just like me. And they are doing SUCH amazing things. Clarity and perspective, my friends. That is what technology + the commute to work has provided me with.

The good news is, I’ve learnt a few things about myself in the last little while, podcasts notwithstanding. I’ve had some opportunities lately to do creative work in a field that I always wanted to break into, and these opportunities are things I would have died for a couple of years ago. Turns out I don’t love creating for other people/companies under their restrictions, just for the notoriety. It always ALWAYS feels like a chore. So I plan to be intentional about what I take on in that field in the future and make sure it’s something I love. I have a fun opportunity coming up that I can’t talk about yet, but I think it’s going to be a perfect fit. Not at all demanding, no real rules, just creativity. I don’t even have to post on anyone else’s blog, which is a big winner in my books. And it’s not going to take up a lot of space in my craft room, which makes me feel so at peace just thinking about it. Clutter stresses me, y’all.

I never say y’all. Why did I just type it?

Also, fun fact – I really enjoy writing, so I think this blogging thing may be a way for me just to work through a few interests I may think I have, and see where it takes me. Maybe the things I think I’m interested are just pathways to the real deal.

I know. Deep.

Signing off for now,

-T

Something Old, Something New

Hi all!  I’m here with a layout for Something Old, Something New.  Goodness knows, I have enough “old” stuff 😉

In fact, there are only two things that are new about this layout.  One is the plaid piece of fabric I used, which I purchased at the Fabric Store last week so that I could somehow use it in a layout with this pic of me in my fave fall plaid scarf.  The other thing that’s new is the “You are Loved” gold phrase, which are part of the Crate Paper Accent Stickers from their “Notes and Things” line.

That’s not a new line, but this item was new to my stash, so that totally counts.

Everything else on this layout is old.  The PL card from an old Studio Calico kit, the Christmas (yes, Christmas) October Afternoon paper that I layered my photo on, the chipboard shape and the Gold Foil Phrase card that I cut up.

I would love for you to play along and use Something Old & Something New from your stash.  Make sure to share with us on the Come On Get Crafty Facebook page!

Tara

Product Showcase – Tara Elias

Good morning!  I’m here for Come on Get Crafty for this week’s Product Showcase.

When I went through my stash to see what I might like to feature, it took me about 2.3 seconds to zero in on these babies:

Those gold foam phrases – I need at least one more package for sure.

I wanted to keep it simple and graphic, so I didn’t use many other embellishments.  Just some patterned paper for layering, some Alpha stamps and two tiny chipboard word strips. That’s it!  I think when you have a product like these that shine, you don’t need much else competing with it 🙂

Here’s what I came up with:

Oh, and some mist.  Always mist.

Thanks for looking!

Friday Sketch Challenge over at Come On Get Crafty

Hi all!

Stepping in quick on this beautiful Friday to share my take on the Sketch Challenge over at Come on Get Crafty!  Here’s the sketch created by Danielle 🙂

and here’s my take

Hope you will all play along!  Post your page on the Come On Get Crafty Facebook page so we can all see!

Everyday Life, Documented

Good morning blog readers!

I am up with my very first blog post as a Creative Team member at Come on Get Crafty with Everyday Life, Documented!

I started Project Life out in 2013 and have always done 12×12, but in 2015 I decided it was time to change it up and switch to 6×8.  I wanted a simpler approach, but I also wanted to document differently.  Rather than trying to fill as huge spread with everything my family said or did on any particular week, I wanted to tell more pointed stories and I wanted to include more about myself.  Kind of like a diary, without the lock and key ;).  One that includes my family, but is more from my narrative.  Talking more about how they fit into MY everyday life.  At first I wondered if this was selfish, and then I remembered what the whole point of documenting was (for me).  I want to tell stories.  I want my family 100 years from now to be able to read what was going on in my life, from my perspective, and all the people in it.

Here’s what I had going on this week… let’s just say it could have started out better!

I am really looking forward to capturing more of my daily life with this method, and I’d really love to see how you’re approaching documenting your Everyday Life!

Thanks for stopping by 🙂

Tara

52 Week Online Project Life Workshop

Good morning!

I was so honored to be invited by the incomparable Celine Navarro to take part in teaching a 52 Week Project Life Workshop over at Entreartistes.

Here is some of what you’ll see in class!

Every Monday, during 52 weeks, you’ll receive an email with a link directed to our private message board. Click on the link and download your PDF class.

In this class, you’ll find :
•photos ideas/tips & tricks/inspiration & ideas
•how to get organized to be more efficient in your Project Life
•chow to use your computer the best way for your Project Life (create cards, journaling, etc…)
•FREE goodies each month
•and 20 international teachers gathering to offer you the BEST to keep up with your Project Life all year long!

Every week, a new teacher will be your host on the message board. She will have a PDF for you along with a new Project Life spread. Different styles every week = more inspiration!

The aim of this workshop is not to teach you new techniques (even though we have some in store for you) but to have 20 of the best Project Lifers from all over the world to share with you how to get organized so that you don’t waste time, to inspire you, to offer you tips and tricks to stay up-to-date with your Project Life.

More information about the workshop, including the list of talented contributors!

You can sign up for the workshop HERE!

Hope to see you all in class!