Healthy Living Challenge – Inspirational Quotes + You Are Braver Than You Believe

For one day of our daily calendar this week we were asked to share a short inspirational quote with the Healthy Living Challenge group.  We all need some inspiration, right?  Here’s a list of our quotes.

• We are what we repeatedly do. – Jenn
• Don’t compare your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 20. – Pam
• I am awesome because I’m humble. (Woody Paige) – Brooke
• Hope on.  Journey on. (Jeffrey R. Holland) – Becky
• Strength and struggle go together.  The supreme reward of struggle is strength.  LIfe is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome.  The pursuit of easy things makes men weak.  Do not equip yourselves with superior power, then hope to escape the responsibility and work.  It cannot be done.  It is following the path of least resistance that makes rivers and men crooked. (Ralph Parlette) – Sandi
• Anything can become a habit – it’s up to YOU what they are. – Bonnie
• Embrace the suck! – Joy
• Nothing tastes better than thin feels! – Susan B.
• If you want to improve your life, start by being kind to yourself. – Amber H.
• Give up something good for something better! – Katie
• A successful woman is one who can build a foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her. – Pam
• Everything you are learning now is preparing you for something else. (Marjorie Pay Hinckley )- Lori
• You try, you fail.  You try, you fail.  The only true failure is when you stop trying.  Try again! (Haunted Mansion movie) – Tera
• We can do hard things! – Susan B. (this is her motto for the year – she has lost over 60 pounds since January!)
• If one dreams lofty dreams, so shall he become. There is magic in the way one thinks. If we expect the worst, we will get the worst. If we expect the best, we will receive the best. If we train our minds to have faith in God and ourselves, we are using one of the great laws of life. If we think and live righteously, happiness will find its place in our lives. It is amazing when we expect the best how forces are set in motion which cause the best to materialize. Our thoughts more than circumstances determine the course of our lives. These thoughts carve their impression on our faces, in our hearts, and on the tablet if our eternal souls. (Howard W. Hunter) - LynDee
• Nothing is impossible.  The word itself says, “I’m Possible!” – Kelly
• Start every day by giving everyone a clean slate. – Cassidy
• Never give up on anyone.  And that includes not giving up on yourself.  (Dieter F. Uchtdorf) – Becky
• Don’t you give up.  Don’t you quit.  You keep walking.  You keep trying.  There is help and happiness ahead….it will be all right in the end.  Trust God and believe in good things to come. (Jeffrey R. Holland) – Katie
• Anger is like holding on to a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone – you are the one who gets burned. – Susan H.
• It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is.  It all works out.  I say that to myself every morning.  It will all work out.  If you do your best, it will all work out.  Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future.  The Lord will not forsake us.  He will not forsake us…if we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings.  He will hear our prayers. (Gordon B. Hinckley) – LeeAnne
• Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.(Nido Qubein) – Diane
• I have a problem with low self-esteem, which is really ridiculous when you consider how amazing I am. – Pam

And my personal favorite contribution of the week from Brooke:

No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping the people on the couch.

Oh yeah.

I’ve also added more vinyl quotes to my Silhouette store.  Some are inspirational.  Some are for fun.  Some are because they seem to say just the right thing.

Enjoy them all!

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Silhouette Odds + Ends

Whenever I design things for real life I try to do it with other work in mind.  I think about how it can apply to the various work projects I am assigned so that I can use it a variety of ways.  It’s one way I can be efficient in my designing.  So I have some odds and ends from the last couple months that I have uploaded to the Silhouette store that I wanted to share with you.

If you are LDS, you will like the Young Men/Young Women theme images that I did to help out my friend for New Beginning’s activity.  With Girls Camp season coming, I wanted to make sure you had some artwork to play with on your Silhouette.  Click on the image to be sent to my store.

I also used this “shine” as part of the event and since it works for anyone, especially with summer here, I wanted to make sure you had it.  They used this as the event title.  Oh, how I love using one strong word for the theme of an activity or event!  I can’t think of a better message to give anyone, especially teenage girls, to help them understand their purpose on earth and give them encouragement to believe they are awesome.

And with my busy schedule I didn’t have a chance to blog about the set of phrase cards I did a few weeks ago.  Perfect for graduation, mothers, daughters, friends, grandmas, sisters.  Plus, teacher appreciation here and here.  Check them out – of course, I always have to include a thank you card option!  Click on each word or the images below to find them in my Silhouette store.

I tucked a mother’s day card into a gift I was giving to a friend just to celebrate her role as a mother.  This can be done any time of year – not just Mother’s Day.  I used the “Mother” card base and added the script “so grateful” from the “Thanks” card.  These can all be mixed and matched or even used for different projects.

Happy Cutting!

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White-On-White: Stop It

About a month ago my mother handed me a $20 bill and a tiny frame with a little post-it note attached.  It said, “Stop It.”  ”Blue and green.” “Small.”

It was her way of telling me that she wanted the words from Dieter Uchtdorf’s latest talk designed in some lovely way for her home and was willing to pay for it.  For Mother’s Day, I made this project for her and wrapped it up in a polka-dot bag with her $20 tucked inside.  To be honest, I love being able to give something that a person really wants so it was my pleasure to create this little treasure for her…minus the frame, minus the payment, and minus the blue and green color combo that she requested.  After all, I had thought of something so much more beautiful.  And cool.  Yes, I had to make my Mom’s gift cool.  She may be in her 70s but she doesn’t act like it so why should her home decor?

This phrase was just a part of a bigger message that has been put together nicely here by Nick Sorensen, but I like these two simple words – I think they can stand on their own.  I believe that everyone has something in their life that they want to change or improve and these six letters are a gentle but clear reminder to stop whatever it is we are doing in favor of making a change.  Chewing your nails, eating a bucket of fried chicken every day, choosing negative comments or thoughts…we have to just stop it, right?  Motivation doesn’t come simpler than that.

My Silhouette files this week were inspired by this project.  You get a variety of Lace Background Patterns (Chevron included) and Stencil Phrases in current themes to pair them with (Father’s Day, Graduation/Congrats, Thank You, Love Life).  I also threw in some borders and blank frames because I know how much we all need those as well.  They match the Artisan Chain design.  Hooray!

LACE PATTERN BACKGROUNDS

STENCIL PHRASES

ARTISAN FRAMES AND BORDERS

How did I make Mom’s “Stop It” wall art?

1.  Scaled Chevron Lace pattern to be 4″ wide and cut it out.  Cut out a background square as well.  White-on-white again – could anything be more beautiful?  And subtle.  She knows what it means and why she is inspired by it.  It doesn’t have to scream at her to get the point across.  Soft, lovely, approachable.

2.  Cut a piece of chipboard 4″ square and mount solid square and chevron pattern to it.  Cut out “Stop It” phrase from “Love Life” shape file.  Remove words from phrase (ungroup and highlight words then delete them) and cut out an extra solid oval.  Mount it behind the phrase so you can see what the words say.  I used a very, very light blue color.  Just a tiny bit of contrast to be able to read the words.  Again – subtle.

3.  Punch two small holes at top of 4″ square and tie a ribbon through to create a hanger.  The ribbon is the pale shade of blue I used behind the words.

Tiny.  Lovely.  Sweet.  Subtle.  Perfect.

She loved it so much more than how it would have looked in her fancy frame.  Dieter Uchtdorf’s wife is her friend so she asked for one more to give to her.  High praise, if I do say so myself.  Use any of the Lace Background Patterns and Stencil Phrases that I have uploaded this week in my Silhouette store to create a project just like this, a card for Father’s Day or Graduation, or just to say that you are grateful.  You’ll want all of the files this week – lots of uses and lots of choices so add them to your library and start creating.  Click here to go to my Silhouette store.

As you can see, I’m in love with white-on-white right now.  It’s so clean and fresh.  Check out this great technique while using color here at Inspiration Ave.

Happy cutting!

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Pop-Up Cards – Silhouette Store Files

This week in the Silhouette store you will find my new Pop-Up Card series.  It seems a little confusing at first but after one look at these pics, you’ll be heading to download all 10 files.  Here’s how the 3 components work:

1.  CARD (outer card and inside pop-up card) – cut out both cards and simply fold them in half, popping out the strip that runs down the middle of the inside card, so that you can attach an embellishment to it.

2.  SENTIMENT SET (embellishment & phrase or 2 phrases) – one goes on the front of your card while the other attaches to the inside pop-up card.  You’ll notice I give you some extra embellishments to attach to the background of your card as well.  Hooray!  Any Sentiment Set will fit on any pop-up card.

3.  ENVELOPE – each envelope matches a different card design.  The flap is the same shape as the card but…wait for it…the envelope front has a fabulous matching design cut out of it for a little peek-a-boo fun before the card is even opened!

Here are some examples of how to put together the 3 components.  I am really in to using a white-on-white canvas right now.  It’s so fresh and clean and any color added really pops (pun intended.)  But you can use any color of cardstock to create your cards – contrasting colors look fabulous, too.

Click on the file name of each card to be sent directly to the correct files in my Silhouette store.  Mix and match Sentiment Sets with Cards & Envelopes for lots of different looks.  Enjoy!

Happy Birthday / Cupcake Sentiment Set
Scallop Pop-Up Card Set
Scallop Envelope

How to create this: Place washi tape strips vertically, overlapping the edges slightly.  Cover card base with washi tape at the top and bottom so cut-out shapes show through.  Wrap some ribbon around the whole base for a colorful surprise when the card opens.

It’s Your Day / Party Like a Rock Star Sentiment Set
Crown Pop-Up Card Set
Crown Envelope

How to create this: Ink the card base in the space where the pop-up card designs show through to give shapes a little color.  Use the “Party Like a” banner at the back of the pop-up card to tie the whole look together.  Place a strip of masking tape or painter’s tape vertically on the card front then ink within that space.  Remove tape for a clean edge of ink.  Add thin strips of ribbon to create stripes over the ink.

You’re My Favorite / Hedgehog Sentiment Set
Chevron Pop-Up Card Set
Chevron Envelope

How to create this:  Washi tape is our friend.  Place a few strips on the side of the front of your card.  I had a solid blue tape that I used with a green polka dot over the top of, creating a completely different pattern that perfectly coordinates.  One strip is hanging off the edge to create a tab.  For the pop-up portion, layer washi tape across the bottom portion to help the chevron pattern stand out.  Then use the banner files to create a banner on the back of the pop-up card.  I attached my baker’s twine with a thin line of Elmer’s Glue.  Who wouldn’t love a hedgehog today?

Welcome Little One / Elephant Sentiment Set
Chevron Pop-Up Card Set
Chevron Envelope

How to create this: This is the simplest design but my favorite card of all.  Here I kept the white-on-white and simply left the subtle pattern to stand on its own.  Attach the balloon to the background of the card and use baker’s twine to connect the balloon to the trunk of the elephant.  The interaction this creates between the embellishments is a sweet treat to find inside this darling card.  Then add a wide ribbon around the front of the card for a simple but lovely addition – just like the little one you are celebrating!  Package the whole thing in a coordinating envelope and you have the perfect little treasure.

Click here to see my whole store.  Happy Cutting!

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