Let's talk about our crafting philosophy

Finding myself in a contemplative mood today I wanted to blog about that. However, it isn't really related to crafting, which is what my blog is meant to be about. After some thought though, I began to see that there is a relationship.
 I often see posts on facebook requesting feedback due to insecurity about the content. I also see posts from those seeking solace because someone didn't like something they made for them. Or worry about someone tossing a handmade card.
I believe that all of these are related to our personal philosophy.
Using the thrown out card example you might say the makers' personal philosophy is that handmade items have value beyond the giving and should be so valued by the recipient.
The insecure makers' philosophy might be that everything given as a gift must be flawless or at least perfect in the eyes of the recipient.
Of course, there can be other explanations for these things. But I was questioning a personal issue which led me to understand that I have a personal philosophy which I think it is important for me to be aware of in my crafting as well as my personal life.
That philosophy is based on the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
So in my crafting life, that means that I do the best I can, aiming for perfection, but accepting that perfection is not always obtainable or necessary. It also means I can accept imperfection in others.
In my personal life, it means that I treat others as I want to be treated and not in response to how they treat me. My philosophy is not an eye for an eye. And sometimes that causes people to see me as weak. Not standing up for myself. Letting people walk on me.
After some reflection, I realized that I am most comfortable with being myself and not trying to live up to others' expectations.
I would love to know how your philosophy impacts your crafting life so please leave a post in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hoping everyone stays safe, warm, and enjoys the day with family and friends.

Stand Up * Pop Up * Woven

The title of this post describes our three cards from the November UMC card class. The first card was designed and taught by group member Nancy and used elements from Stampin Up. If you read the last post you know that we were not expecting Nancy to have this card prepared for us so we were pleasantly surprised and excited when we saw it. There is a space in the back to place a tea light.

Our next card utilized the Stampendous Pop Up Stages die set and Close to My Heart stamp set C1656 Joy to You & Me and the Merry Christmas stamp from Close to My Heart stamp set D1676 White Pines

And last was a weave card made using the Inky Antics Loom Die and designed by class member Patty

I am so grateful for the collaboration with the very creative group members of the UMC Card Crew

Card Class Week

Card class week is always intense. And, even though I have made improvements to my system, every day has been intense. I had planned to be completely ready by this morning, but despite all my efforts, I was still working on the last card. And even as I write this I just became aware of the need for a demonstration kit for that card . Fortunately for me I was working on something that I can easily turn into a kit.
I want to thank Launie and Patty for partnering with me on the planning and designing of this months cards. If all they had done was act as sounding boards for me that would have been great. What they actually did was work actively on designing two complex cards. This was not just a help to me, but will allow them to be able to help class members construct the cards.
I am loving the changes I have begun making to my daily routine that are making me more relaxed and productive.
I will post the pictures of our three cards after class tomorrow. I always like the cards to be a surprise for the class and I'm free to do that as this is a closed class with regularly attending members. I even designed
a tee shirt for us and will be making them as soon as I get the shirts from them so the sizes will be accurate.

Thanks for looking in and please like, subscribe, and comment.

Finally made progress on one of my agenda items

Let me start by saying that on Friday I spent a good part of the day attending to posting on my various websites and then I had a Cricut beginner class at Joann's in the evening. There were two students and one of them had an Expression 1 which cannot connect to Design Space. In addition, I have forgotten everything I ever knew about working with that kind of machine. Thankfully the other student was familiar and was able to help. Also, connecting to the internet was difficult and time-consuming. If I'm making it sound like a failed session that would be wrong. We had a great time co-making one card and both asked for future lessons.
Unfortunately for me, there was a bad storm that started while we were in class and, since tornados were predicted, I decided to spend the night in a motel.
When I got home in the morning I finally had time to attack one of my organizational agenda items. As I have posted frequently, I have a card class/group that I facilitate monthly. No matter how carefully I plan to get all the makings together I almost always forget at least one important item. Launie, the group leader, and I have begun setting up the day before in order to help us notice any missing items and I wish I could say that we have been successful, but that would not be true.
So, when looking at how I could develop a more foolproof system of preparing for the class, I decided that I need a check-off system.
To digress for a moment let me state that I usually make my prototype cards well in advance of the class, which is on the second Saturday of the month. So one of the reasons I forget items is that the card making process is not fresh in my mind. Another issue is that some things are so automatic that I don't think to plan for them.
This morning I decided to remake one of the cards. As I did this I made sure to place all supplies used into my packing case. I also made notes on a packing list so that I could make note of items I wasn't currently working on.
By the end of the process, I felt certain that all needed items were packed and accounted for. In the
future, I plan to follow this new process when I first make each prototype.
I feel very accomplished today!!

Phone issue resolved, wall art installed, and new business started

If you read yesterday's blog you know I had an awful experience with adding a second number to my phone. I implored my neighbor, the wonderful Harry from the Youtube live adventure, to intercede again. It turned out that TJ, my daughter's boyfriend, had already fixed it. So while Harry was here he resolved a computer problem that I hadn't even been aware of. I am sooo lucky to have him for a neighbor. I hope someday soon I will be able to afford to offer him recompense for all his good works. And now that everything is working smoothly I will tell you that the program I am using for my second phone number is Google Voice and I am quite pleased with it.
Later I went to a friends house and installed the wall art I had designed for her son's bedroom. It is a police badge with his picture. It is made from print and cut vinyl and was very easy to apply. I had put a test piece on my own wall where it stayed for many months while she was waiting to repaint her son's room. It adhered very well and removed easily if anyone is interested in using print then cut vinyl on walls.
My most exciting news is what happened today and I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to tell you about it.
I posted yesterday on a local facebook group that I was offering lessons on how to use the Cricut. I got some responses but wanted to post on a more user-friendly site (that I happen to personally manage)
I wrote a post but when I reviewed it there was just something missing. I remembered that I have a Canva account so I went to that site and designed an ad which I was very proud to post. AND I got a response almost right away.

At this rate this project is going to take a really really long time

So, fairly early in the day, I had the idea to boost my business by offering in-person Cricut instruction. The only phone I have is my personal cell and I didn't want to use that as a contact number. I went online and looked up second cell numbers and found a free service that looked like it would meet my needs. (I won't mention the name of it because I don't want to give a service a bad name when the problem is likely my fault). Once I had it set up I called a friend and asked them to call me so I could try it out.
I was sitting right near my computer and when my friend called instead of the phone ringing the sound came from my computer.  I was so discombobulated that I couldn't think what to do so the call went to voicemail.
I called my friend back and explained what happened and asked her to call back so I could practice answering correctly. She did call back and, this time, when I answered the phone I was prompted to press 1 if I wanted to accept the call. I frantically searched for the number pad so I could answer before the call, once again, went to voice mail. By the time I answered the call I had forgotten what I wanted to say as a standard greeting.
Next, I apprised my daughter of what I was up to and asked her to call the new number so that I could continue to familiarize myself with the answering process. After her call, which I was able to answer correctly, I realized I would need a method to know which number was being called because both numbers ring the same and just show a name or number of the phone that is calling. So I went online to see what could be done. It looked like all I had to do was open the website and indicate I wanted the new number to show when it was being called. Once I had done that I asked my daughter to call me again to see if it worked.
That is when tragedy struck. Her call went right to voice mail. I asked her to try calling the regular number. The call wouldn't go through at all. I messaged my grandson and asked him to call and that call wouldn't go through. When my daughter's boyfriend got home I asked him to try and his call would not go through either.
I tried removing the new number and am unable to accomplish that.
Hopefully, I will have good news later today when my neighbor, who is a computer expert, takes a look at my phone.
But the bottom line is that I, once again, got little accomplished toward my goal of organization and productivity.