Diary of a Crafty Girl

This week I was supposed to go to my friend/upline's house to make my card for the July class.  I ended up with a cold and didn't want to infect her, so we did it via video chat instead.  It wasn't as fun as being together for a stamp session, but it was nice to have someone "with" me while I was crafting.  I knew if I didn't get it done soon, I wouldn't get it done at all, so I'm glad I had the chance to sit down and work on it.  Not being at her house meant limited resources, so I wanted to go with a simple design.  I chose to use two coordinating stamp sets - Hello Beautiful and Framed Occasions - along with the new In Colors ink, DSP and embellishments.  I can't show the whole card yet, but the stamp sets and colors I used for stamping are shown below. I love the way the stamp sets coordinate and there are a lot of great sentiments you can use.  I will post the completed card once class is over since the designs must be kept confidential until

 May is Mental Health Awareness month.  My new favorite stationery company, Archer & Olive, provided some daily prompts for the month that helped you get creative as well as with your headspace.  I have never done a prompt challenge before but I thought I would give it a go since I was struggling with my health (mental and physical).  If you want to check out all of my pages, you can find them on Instagram @creationsbynikkil  .  I will post some of the more meaningful below. Doing the challenge itself was out of my comfort zone, but posting every single page online for the world to see left me feeling vulnerable, but also I felt like I needed to share because not enough people do. By the end of the month, I was more confident and real with myself each day and I am so glad I did this challenge.  Just know that it's ok not to be ok and it's also ok to ask for help when you need it.  You don't have to struggle with it alone.  #positive #myperfectday #favoriteartsupply   #

 Not a lot has gone on craft wise since my last post, unless you count me anxiously waiting for my new Stampin Up! stuff to arrive... It will be here Monday, fingers crossed.  My week wasn't uneventful -  I helped my friend move into a new house, did some yard work with my mom to spruce up for Memorial Day, watched our small town parade, took my nieces on a playdate to the museum, caught up on some TV shows and played volleyball with my friends. We also had a situation on our street that we still don't have answers about, but will haunt us for a long time.  I have lived in our neighborhood for a total of like 16 years - when I was born until like age 6ish and then we moved away.  We moved back to the same house in December 2012.  I remembered the parade from when I was a kid and it's been the thing I look forward to the most each year as far as our neighborhood is concerned.  The parade has slowly gotten smaller, but it still hits me in my feels.  I never really thought abo