something new

New job, new season. 

To be continued ...

in the office: decor

A year and a half later, I finally decorated my book shelf!

i'm an artist ... kinda

Shameless plug I know, but I'm really excited about this. Working at this company for over 3 1/2 years, I finally had the courage to create a project for work. It was more of a push from one of my peers. I'm finally published in Somerset Apprentice, a magazine for novice artists.

A,B,C ... it's easy as 1,2,3

It's not every day that I have the privilege to write articles for work. This is one of the magazines I enjoy reading and writing for.

Here's my article ... enjoy!

sinking like a stone.

"Never good enough. Never good enough. Never good enough."



This tiny voice ran through my head multiple times today.

If I was asked how to break down my job, it would look like this: 50 % vulnerability, 50 % risks.

In my line of work, it's always hit or miss. I can never predict how my week or even day will look like. When I prepare for the worst, the sun is shining; when I prepare for the best, my expectations get the best of me.

As my boss says, "Welcome to the life of an editor!"

After days like today, it's hard to keep motivated, to keep my head high. But I just need to trust that this where I'm suppose to be. And so in the words of Fun, "Carry on, carry on."

In the meantime, my friend's, Liz, baby shower is featured in Mingle. Even though it's a page, it's still something share :)

Will post pictures soon!

pinned

My conversation earlier this morning with E: 

"Hope you have a happy birthday! May all your wishes come true!"

"Aww you're sweet, but today isn't my birthday :("

"Oh hahaha, Stampington said it was online!"

Confused, I check all avenues that my company uses for media. The final place I check was Pinterest ... and lo and behold ...

[bottom right] And always with food. This picture was taken over a year ago on Instagram.

#25 of my bucket list: Be on Pinterest. 

My company's Pinterest board. Check it out!

I'm on here twice ... can you find the other picture?

#25. Check.

inadequate

inadequate (adj)

not adequate; lacking the quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose 

[synonyms: inapt, incompetent, defective, imperfect, incomplete]

I've been feeling like this for the past month and a half. I'm only 24 years old, and I've been given the biggest responsibility: a Managing Editor for three magazine titles. When I was given the position, I was TERRIFIED. Me? Editor? No way....what? I had to learn things along the way, how the process went. For two weeks straight, I worked non-stop just trying to catch up and learning the ins and outs. Instead of celebrating this promotion, I was stressed, stressed, stressed. I wanted everything to be perfect; but instead, there was always something wrong or something that needed to be fixed.

I kept reminding myself of the story of Gideon, how God used an unlikely person to further His Kingdom. In the case of Gideon, he was just a farmer who had no intentions to do more than he was comfortable doing. But then one day, God called him to defeat the Midianites. Gideon was straight up scared and unprepared for the task that was given to him. Without any experience in an army, how was a small, young farmer going to defeat this group of people? God was with him along the way. Even when Gideon was left to lead an army of 300 people, his faith didn't shatter. He followed everything that God told him to do, and in the end God's army won.

God uses our weaknesses to show how great and powerful He is. Our faiths are tested when we solely rely on His strength. And when we allow him to use us, we are forever transformed. Gideon is one of many amazing stories where God uses ordinary people for extraordinary things.

As I noted in my "Letter from the Editor," we just need a little faith and dive right in. I think about all the things God has thrown into my life where I thought, "Why me?" When I was given this promotion, the same question ran through my head. Why me? Why give this role to someone who graduated from a small university? Why now?

Because it's part of God's story. This is part of my journey. Just need a little faith.

instagram noob

Busy busy busy. Seems like the past few months have blurred together. Piles of articles and artwork keep rising higher and higher at my work. Every weekend has been filled with birthdays, holidays, graduations, etc.; and when I'm not going anywhere, I bring work home. During my week, I try to balance time with friends and sleep, ha. Sometimes I imagine adding kids to the mix of my chaotic life, and then I  distract myself from that thought.

But in this crazy life of mine, I do have time for myself and having been resting a little bit more than usual. We recently moved into the Android world, and have been using Instagram since (well, at least I have). I try to keep myself sane by doing relaxing things, and this has been one of them. Here's just a glimpse of my past week:

Round 2 of growing a sunflower in my office/space. I say, I think this one is a winner

Tuesday dinner: Chicken fajita lettuce wraps. This is our attempt to eating healthier. Note to self: add more spices!

Angels v Giants. Too bad they lost this game. Forgot how crazy people can get during these events. I found myself getting into the mix as well...good thing I have this one to keep me sane (for the most part).

She's the Guatemalan version of me. 

(L) Vanessa's aunt got us a sweet discount...yep, we're at field seating. (R) It's Heather's first baseball game. My initial reaction was shock, but then again...you don't see much baseball action in Guam.

Working at an arts & crafts company has its perks. Why not have a boat-themed editorial meeting?

I can honestly say that I'm a fan of Instagram. I know that I'm still new (or "noob") to it all, but I'm excited to see what stories I'll be able to capture!

embellished wine bottle

I have a collection of empty wine bottles in my home. They sit on our very lengthy windowsill. I've been hoarding them since I've been married hoping that one day I will use them to decorate our place. Sadly, spiders have found more use of them then I have.

A couple of months ago, I wrote an article for artist Leslie Shewring for the Spring 2012 issue of Somerset Life titled Transformed Bottle Décor. She transformed empty bottles into unique collaged vases for her fresh flowers. I loved how she embellished the bottles with Washi tape and other bits as well (acreativemint.typepad.com/a_creative_mint/2011/06/summer-raspberry-peach-and-mint.html ). 

One night, I decided I wanted to paint one of my empty wine bottles. After soaking it in hot water and soap, I peeled off the label and started to work. But after painting a couple layers of white acrylic paint and coating it with Mod Podge, I was stuck. I didn't want to copy exactly what Leslie did; I wanted to add my personality to it. And with moving and all, I didn't want to create a bigger mess by opening my arts and crafts bins.

I eventually brought it to work because there was no place to put it at home. For a couple of days, it sat on my desk. At first, I was just going to leave it as it was: a painted wine bottle. But then I realized it was an excuse for my laziness. I looked through my desk drawers to see if I could find anything. I ran into a roll of mustard-yellow Washi tape, twine, corrugated cardboard, old book text, patterned paper, and millinery flowers. Perfect.

I was happy with the results. And I feel a little bit more confident in my arts and crafts skills. Practice makes perfect, right?

Thank you Leslie Shewring for your creativity. To view more of her art, visit her blog at http://www.acreativemint.typepad.com/.

the makings of a flower headband

I love arts and crafts.

I’m lucky and blessed to work in a company that showcases talented artists in the crafting community (http://www.stampington.com/). From cards to handbags to even themed parties, I’m constantly in awe of how the artists create these ideas. As I peruse through each magazine I always tell myself, “I want to make that when I go home.” It’s been a year and a half since I started working there. And I have yet to create something artsy other than crocheting, my go-to craft. In my art bins, I have paint, yarn, tulle, Mod Podge, canvas boards, Walnut Ink, adhesives—just sitting there.

But today’s conversation would change all that. I was talking with one of the other editor’s this morning. We were talking about how creative and innovative artists can be in this industry. I knew she had created previous works, so we talked about her artful journey. But then she asked me if I had created anything since being here. Shaking my head, she asked me, “Why?” As much as I tried to answer the question with “Well I’m not that talented,” “I can’t compete with these artists,” and even “I’m afraid to mess up,” I knew that deep down I had no real answer. She gave me the best advice anyone can give: Just do it. I know it’s a bit chessy, but it’s the truth. Why not just do it instead of making up reasons not to? It was the push I needed to start crafting.

Of course, I went on Pinterest to find some inspiration. I clicked on my “Crafties” board to see what project I would focus on tonight. At first, I wanted to paint something onto my canvas boards that I just bought. I looked through all the canvases and collages I had pinned, and nothing really stood out. Disappointed, I looked at other crafts hoping that something else would pop out. My eyes drew on a picture of hair pins made out of felt material. When I clicked on the image, it opened into a blog dated a couple of years ago. There, I found a step-by-step of how to create this adorable flower head pin. I love hair accessories, so it was an obvious choice to pick this project.

When looked at my finished piece, I was quite happy with the results, and I couldn’t wait to show it to someone (95% of the time it’s my husband). Even though it was simple and had been done before, I did it. I created something. And I even added my own personality to it by creating it into a headband instead of a hair pin.

Special thanks to the artist for posting this blog. To learn more projects from her, visit http://www.befickle.blogspot.com/.

And a special thanks to Jenn inspiring me to start on my artful journey.