Monday Smunday

HAPPY MONDAY all my pickled followers,

      Or if you are like me this cloudy morning, Monday Smunday who wants to be perky on a cloudy gloomy day!!  Well, that's how my morning started when I awoke and I am sure for a lot of you it was the same. My CRPS is kicking my butt this morning as the weather is changing and the storms are brewing and my desire to do nothing has totally set in. I have received a lot of  email from several of you who follow me that suffer from the same and I want you to know the precious comments and inspirational notes keep me motivated to carry on with this blogging regardless of how I may be feeling. Like I have said before ART really does sooth the soul and can be a HUGE source of healing for those of us who suffer from chronic pain.  Art is also a great relief for those suffering from depression and PTSD which can be associated with chronic pain. I can't say it enough, if you have a hobby that involves any form of art DO it even when you have those Monday Smunday blues. 

Also, if that pain is just kick'n booty force yourself and you will find that peace that will turn the intolerable into the tolerable even if only for just a little while. God gave us  creative minds and hands for a reason USE them for your benefit as well as others!! It is just so worth any relief you can get!!

      So, lets get Happy everyone read on and see what I have for you today!!


     During my force myself morning I was checking out what some of my artsy friends had been up to and came across this fabulous video to share!  Now, I actually found the video on my friend SpiegelMom Scraps blog ( spiegelmom.blogspot.com) but had trouble actually getting her video to link up so I had to use another, But please go and check her blog out she has some great ideas and is having a free giveaway right now!!  Now, as I was saying about the video. The video is on how to refurbish your Cricut Cutting Mat!! Now those that know me know I have already been doing something similar but this by far is much easier and cheaper! So check out this video and let me know what you think!

     So there you have it! Cool don't ya think? Works great and now you can save money by not having to keep buying those expensive mats! If you are like me I love ways to save money especially during these hard times so run out and get your bottle of  glue and give it a whirl!!

     Well, so much for Smunday Monday I'm in the mood to art so Tah Tah for now all. Hope you have a blessed day and remember when the Monday blues hit put  your pickled brain to work and ART!!!!!

Hey my sweet artsy followers,

As promised today I will share with you the first of many projects to come in my FREE online sessions about “Scrapbooking Your Faith” Our first project will be a 2 part series. Before I show you the first half of the project let me tell you a little about it. I chose this particular project not only as an organizational tool for later down the road but because of its size and versatility. Easter is among us and Mother’s day as well as Father’s day is right around the corner and what a precious gift to either tuck inside a sweet Easter basket or into a sweet basket of fresh picked garden flowers for Mom. I can totally see this sitting atop a humidor for dad or into his suitcase if he travels a lot with special little pieces of your favorite thoughts, quotes or scriptures and pictures! Do I have your brain pickled yet!!! LOL! Well if not maybe this will! So, without further ado, may I introduce our first project?

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Isn’t it sweet!

Yes,  I know it does look like a star album and while yes I guess you can call it a star album I prefer to call it my ” Mini Faithfull Pocket Book!”  You see this sweet thing measures overall approx. 3 5/8 in x 4in closed and is packed full of little places to tuck away all those little musings about your faith. Over the next week while you are creating this I will be giving you ideas to get your faith thoughts out and into your art while you create little things to place in your little Faithfull book. By the time we have completed it you will have a wonderful little book packed full of faith to keep or share which ever you prefer to do! We will then build from this as we move forward onto other projects over the next 6 weeks.

I hope you enjoy what you see here and will join us! In order to join in you will need to do the following:

1.       Classes are FREE!  However you WILL need to sign up with your name and email address as the class project dimensions, materials, etc. will NOT be posted on the blog! They will come to you in separate emails each week. I will be explaining how to put the project together but the instructions come in email each session.  Unless you purchase the premade kit. Then ALL instructions and materials for part 1 and part 2 are included in the kit. A separate email will be sent to those interested in purchasing kit with details of where you can purchase it.

2.        To register for class go to the March “Scrapbooking Your Faith” class link at the top of my blog page and click on it. Scroll down to bottom of page to the “POST COMMENTS” section in pink. Just under that in greyish pink you will see in small print a “Post Comment “ link click on that  and it will take you to the page where you will leave the following:

Name:

Email:

3.       The last day to sign up will be March 26^th and class will be ready for viewing on March 27^th. If you have any questions please feel free to email me or leave a comment in the comments section! I am looking forward to hearing from all of you and to the great fun we are going to have!! Well, back to the art table I can’t for you to see what we are going to tuck inside this cute little book!!

Tah, Tah for now all and have a Pickled Pink Blessed Spring Day!!

SNEAK PEEK MONDAY

Hello my Pickled Pink Followers,

Well, it is definitely Monday and daylight savings time is among us! I don't know about some of you but I do NOT do well with this crazy time change and today has been a complicated one for me!! LOL! But, thanks to my faithful father above and some wonderful artsy friends and their sweet encouraging words I have managed to make this day click for me!

I have been crazy jamming in the studio today trying to get out several things. In the midst of my crazy day I even managed to get a few of my own swaps in the snail mail!! So be watching out there my swapper friends snail mail on the loose!! I have also been blessed to have my granddaughter hanging out with me today and she has been busy as well crafting away. She started on a rag quilt from a kit handed down to her by yours truly. The kit had been tucked away for just the right time after being given to me by my father after my mothers passing last November. She was so tickled to have it and has been working diligently all day on it. She has been doing a very nice job I must say.
 Next, she created her very first piece of altered art from a small necklace box she had. I was reading at the time so imagine my surprise when she tapped me on the shoulder and said "Nana look what I made"

She is becoming quite the artsy young lady for only 12!!  Her Papa will sure be proud when he sees the sweet little box she created for the necklace he found for her!

Anyway, just goes to show that our children are watching what we do so we need to be careful and direct their paths in a positive direction can I have an amen!!

Now, for my title, yes I do have a few pictures of what we will be creating for our very first online class. Now, remember it is NOT finished and NO it is not a star album or a smash book as I have heard them called. You will just have to wait a few more hours for the true reveal. But I do hope you will like what you see so far and it will inspire you enough to join in on the fun. Remember the class is free. You will be able to purchase the kit for 24.95 plus s/h or you can use your own supplies. A list will be provided of basic supplies such as inks, glue, etc.

Now for your sneak peek .........

And photo # 2

Still lots of embellishing to be done but I think you will love showing this little sweetie off!! Just in time for Easter!!!!  Well, gotta run friends hope you enjoy your day and may God Bless all of you!!

Tah Tah for now!!

HAPPY 2012 EVERYONE

WOO WHO!! Hey friends so glad you could join me in saying goodbye to 2011 and HELLO 2012!! I am so ready to get going this year and am excited about some of the upcoming events here at Pickled Pink Dezigns!! I have been MIA off and on for a bit and if you read my past posts then hopefully you will understand why.

With that said, things have gotten better and I now have it under control for the most part and am ready for this everyday adventure called LIFE!! LOL! So, without further ado lets get this year started and what better way than with a few SURPRISES!! Read on my friends!

     Alrighty here we go...

     Surprise is I am going to be doing a lot of FREEBIE online classes here at Pickled Pink Dezigns! We will be creating anything from Scrapbook Pages,

to Altered Trading Cards,

Altered Canvases and Tags,

Mini Albums,

 

Altered Art and more!!  First Class will begin on March 26th and NOT to worry if you cannot attend that day you will be able to do it at your own time because it will all be available right here so you can keep referring back to it as need be for entire month. I am soo excited about this I can hardly wait!! I have been asked why Free?  My answer: GOD! He has blessed me with this creativity so what better way to give glory and honor back to him than sharing with others!!

Want more surprises well keep reading!!

Next I am happy to announce my upcoming swaps!! I have been participating in swaps and using them as a part of my personal therapy for my CRPS! You see I am happy to say GOD has blessed me with the ability to use other means of  pain control besides pain pills, etc.  Now, I know not everyone can do this and there is absolutely NO shame in that!! But for some reason God has seen fit for this to be happening in my life  right now, so once again I want to give him praise and hopefully help and bless someone else. Therefore, I want to begin bringing monthly swaps here to my site. The first swap will be March 15th so stay tuned for more news and instructions.

 Oh, I almost forgot, I will also be debuting some amazing products by some of your favorite companies so be looking for that as well!! Where would we be without our wonderful products!! Well, that's about all the news for now.

Tah, Tah everyone, wishing you a PICKLED PINK DAY!!!

Pickles MIA

HI everyone,
     It is so good to be back! Yes, I have been MIA for awhile but  all is better and I can't wait to hear how all of you are doing plus, what you have been up to. I have recieved several emails wondering where I am and if I were ok. First let me start by saying THANK YOU SO MUCH for your sweet words of encouragement and concern. It means so much especially during my down time.

     What have I been up to alot of you have asked? Well not a lot to be quite honest other than Dr's appointments, physical therapy yatta yatta yatta!!  As a lot of you know I am temporarily disabled due to issues with my right knee replacement back in 08. Some know the details and some do not. For now I will just leave it at that. But there is one detail I need to make the pubilic aware of and that is...

 " Never Judge a book by it's cover"

     You see, I suffer from a dibilitating disease known as CRPS aka RSD. This disease happens to people who have had trauma to their limbs typically. For some reason the bodies Sympathetic Nervous system ( the part of the brain that controls pain response) gets stuck in the "ON" position so a person feels pain that may or may not truly be there, all the time. Sometimes the pain is bearable and sometimes it is not. The pain is usually worse at night or after excercise or sometimes just doing typical everyday living. There are different stages of the disease and for now there is NO cure only ways to try and control the pain. For most there are times when the pain is soo unbearable that nothing helps and you are forced to suffer through the best way you can. Other times while you may appear ok by those watching you, it is only because you are able to put on that happy plastic face amd suffer through it while praying it doesn't get worse. 

     Here is a video that describes the life of someone suffering from CRPS.

This is why I say don't judge a book by it's cover!

     For those of us who have this disease one day to some may look quite normal. We get up if we can and push through the day doing the things we can to keep us busy and functioning the best we know how, doesn't mean we do not hurt nor that we are ok. It just means we are lucky enough to have a so called "Good Day" We live day to day with the knowlege that any minute our good day could become a nightmare of agonizing pain and discomfort. For some good days are few thus a high rate of suicide has been documented.

     My desire in sharing this with you is not for sympathy but truly in hopes that if you took time to read this that you will pass this on so the world will know of this ugly disease and maybe one day a cure will be found! In closing, I ask that you please remember if you come into contact with someone who may appear normal yet they say they hurt and you just can't understand, "don't judge that book by it's cover" because what you see on the outside is typically only half of what is truly going on in the inside!

Thanks for reading everyone!

MemoryWorks Blog: Guest Designer Tues: Melody EXPRESSes herself

Well it's week 3 as the Memory works Guest Designer and what fun I have had. I was a little stumped at first but hey with a little patience and a lot of prayer check out the results!!

MemoryWorks Blog: Guest Designer Tues: Melody EXPRESSes herself: "Okay, that was a dumb pun...sorry :) Without further ado - Melody has created some beautiful projects with this month's Express kit! Check i..."

MemoryWorks Blog: June Guest Designer: Meet Melody Isaacs!

Wow what an honor! Imagine my surprise and thrill when I was asked to be the June guest designer for this absolute Amazing company!! I absolutely love Memory -Works and can't wait for you to check out what I created for their site. To see more click on the link provided!! I just know you are gonna love what you see!
Have a Pickled Pink Day everyone and don't forget to check out the link!!!

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