Category: My Favorites

My Favorites

April ’16 Top 5

Diana SanchezLeave a comment

Hey guys! I am back from what feels like a mini hiatus. April was such a blur. We have officially moved into our new house. We’re still unpacking and trying to figure out our new routines but we’re loving it! My new craft room is nowhere near ready, just FYI. But… I’m envisioning it in my head and it looks fabulous (fingers crossed it turns out that way)!

We also just got back from our Vegas trip and it was oh-so-awesome!!! The casinos, the food, the concert, the shopping…. ugh, I didn’t want it to end. But, alas, we’re back in Texas and I have some great news. I was interviewed by the sweet Jess Forster for her podcast, Pocket Talk. The episode is available now on her blog and on iTunes. I yelled in the jeep (and scared AJ) when she e-mailed me asking for an interview. She has interviewed so many of my favorite memory keepers so I could not believe I was going to be on the line-up among all these talented ladies! Please go check it out!

And now on to my April Top 5! This month I decided to go with my top 5 YouTube channels, Memory Keeping edition.

Apr Top 5

 

1. Julimakesthings by Juli Maniago

I love Juli’s style and I also enjoy her Instagram feed. She makes pocket page scrapbooking look super easy, especially on video!

2. Kelly Purkey by Kelly Purkey

Kelly makes it onto my top 5 yet again, but come on, she’s freaking awesome and I adore her style of memory keeping. Her videos are just as fun to watch as her layouts are.

3. Stephanie Makes by Stephanie Bryan

I love seeing someone’s layouts/spreads and thinking “how come I never thought of that?”, and that is what Stephanie does for me all the time and it’s so inspiring to be able to see her make her spreads on video.

4. Amy Tangerine by Amy Tan

Amy has some of the best videos! They’re fun and vibrant and I love how she gives us little sneak peaks of her personal life. Watching her videos seriously feels like your BFF is video chatting with you.

5. Martu Alterada by Marta Andilla

If you guys haven’t checked out Marta on YouTube (or Instagram), you’re definitely missing out! While her videos are in Spanish, you can still watch and see she’s very creative and has her own style of memory keeping.

I hope you guys check out these YouTube channels and leave some love for these ladies.

I hope you guys enjoyed this month’s top 5!

My Favorites

March ’16 Top 5

Diana SanchezLeave a comment

Hello everyone! We are getting closer towards our closing date for the new house! But… of course, this is a bittersweet time for me. Moving not only means a new house and better area for us but it means saying goodbye to my childhood home, my family’s home, and the pear tree my dad planted in the backyard. This past weekend we also said goodbye to Shadow and Lucky, our ducks. It was VERY, VERY hard for me. I did not take it as well as I thought I would even knowing that they were going to our friend’s ranch, here in the same city. I think everything is just hitting me all at once. But, I’m trying my best to think positive and to welcome this new adventure with wide open arms and I’m ready to embrace this new chapter in my life. I tend to get scared with changes but I know my husband and I have worked really hard for this new house, and that is something I am very proud of.

So enough about that.

Today I have a “normal” Top 5 for you guys! I know it’s been a while so if you don’t remember why I had to stop my regular Top 5, check out this post.

I was finally able to do some shopping, and most of this stuff I was able to get at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon (gotta love that coupon).

March '16 Top 5

1. Fiskars Deluxe Paper Trimmer with Aluminum Cut Rail

March '16 Fave 1

I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been pretty happy with all my Fiskars paper trimmers. This is the third one I have purchased. The first one is similar to this but it’s a rotary trimmer. It worked just fine up until I got the Sure Cut Deluxe Paper Trimmer. The Sure Cut just cut better and has been my go-to until now. Because of the aluminum cut rail, I get straighter lines, which is a must-have for my printed photos.

2. Hero Arts Kelly’s Coffee and DonutsMarch '16 Fave 2

The coffee addict in me just had to have this stamp set! It’s perfect for your planner and also for Project Life. I think the coffee cup, coffee beans, and the donut would be perfect as a background stamp. Now I just need to plan a coffee or donut date so that I can mark that special occasion in my Midori calendar!

3. Heidi Swapp LightboxMarch '16 Fave 3

I just love this! Once I started planning what my new craft room was going to look like, I just couldn’t imagine it without this lightbox. It also didn’t help seeing all the pictures of it on Instagram. I’m so ready to decorate with this, especially for holidays!

4. A Beautiful Mess Emojis Stamp SetMarch '16 Fave 4

Who doesn’t love emojis? This is another great stamp set to use for planners and Project Life. This set deserves a thumps up, a fist bump, a dance number with your twin, and a “put your hands up in the air and wave’em like you just don’t care”, that’s what that emoji is, right?

5. Mama Elephant Zenith Borders Stamp SetMarch '16 Fave 5

You know I love me a background stamp, yet I don’t know why it took me so long to get this stamp set from Mama Elephant. This would be perfect for making your own Project Life inserts or for making backgrounds for cards. Imagine doing a repeating pattern in pastel rainbow? Egads!

I’m excited to be able to do this kind of Top 5 but I don’t know when the next one will be. This will be a very busy month for us. If everything goes according to plan, we should be moving next week. My entire craft room has been packed up, I waited until the last minute to pack my “essentials”. So please bare with me, not only are we moving but going on a trip a week after that! So much fun stuff coming up!

Thanks guys for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed!

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(Photo courtesy of Bldg 25 Blog)

My Favorites · Uncategorized

February ’16 Top 5

Diana SanchezLeave a comment

Hello again! I’m a little late on posting my February Top 5 but I have been enjoying spending time outdoors. We have been having beautiful weather out here in west Texas, plus we’re getting a lot closer to moving into our new house. So fingers crossed that everything goes well!

For this Top 5, I am listing my 5 favorite Adobe Lightroom Presets. I use Lightroom to edit ALL my pictures that I use for Project Life. I found these presets on Pinterest and I know there is a lot more out there that I have yet to discover. Most of the presets I use are free but there are a couple I paid for.

If you don’t have Lightroom, they do offer you a free 30 day subscription. After my free subscription was over I had no problem paying for a monthly subscription. I am definitely not an expert with this software but I feel like I have learned enough to play around with my pictures and I’m satisfied with how they come out.

Feb Top 5

1. Catch A Fire Preset

Catch A Fire 1Catch A Fire 2

The Catch A Fire preset is free, and if you click on the link above, it’ll take you to an awesome website, LookFilter, that offers 27 free Lightroom presets.

This is my black & white go-to, I just love the vintage feel to it. Almost all my black and white photos have been edited with this preset.

 

2. La Tuna Preset

This preset is also available in the LookFilter website. Again, I love the vintage feel to this, I love using this preset on portraits. This is also free!

3. Warm Retro Preset

Warm Retro 1Warm Retro 2

If La Tuna is a little too dark for my picture, I end up using Warm Retro. This preset is from a different site that also includes free presets, Preset Love. You guys might remember this picture from one of my Project Life layouts from last year.

4. Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers 1Blood Brothers 2

As much as I love a good vintage feel on my photos, I also love when pictures pop. I love all the detail and color you get with this preset, which you can also find for free on LookFilter.

5. Dragan Inspired Presets

And last but not least, the Dragan Inspired presets. Yes, I meant presets and not preset. I paid about $20 for this bundle which includes 58 presets, and I do not regret it at all. I use these presets on the majority of my pictures. I used two of the presets in this bundle for the photos above, I usually use about 2-4. It might sound a little daunting but it’s very easy to use.

I have made a couple of my own presets but definitely nothing like the ones I mentioned here. Please let me know what you guys think, I would love to hear what you do with your PL pictures, do you edit? If so, what do you use? What are some of your favorite presets?

Thanks for stopping by!

 

My Favorites · Uncategorized

January ’16 Top 5

Diana SanchezLeave a comment

Something I started to do this year is reading, and I mean REALLY reading, blog posts. I’ve always enjoyed checking out blogs, but I would usually just skim through posts and just look at the pictures or the blog design. Now I actually sit in bed and read posts from my favorite blogs and not only do I look at the pictures but I absorb every part of the written material, I read the “about me” pages, and even read the comments and I learn bloggers writing styles. I’m very proud of what has become of The Lovely Pear yet there is so much to learn and I feel like I’m barely wetting my toes in the pool of blogging.

This month I want to share my top 5 favorite bloggers. I enjoy these blogs because they have bad-ass looking sites, I love how they write, their message, crafts, pictures, and style. Each one is unique in their own way and I have to admit that I get excited when they upload a new post!

Jan '16 Top 5

1. Give A Girl A Blog

First of all, the name itself is so clever, second, I just love Kellie’s style. Looking at Kellie’s blog page made me realize that the look of my blog was important (which I’m still trying to work on). I also enjoy reading her “currently” posts and I love her Project Life layouts and the crafts that she does. I first found this blog when I saw her stamp sets on Instagram, and after buying all the sets I could get, I’ve been hooked. Plus this girl can give you the 411 on essential oils and you get hooked up with freebies when subscribing to her blog. And, I give her full credit for the idea of my Top 5 posts!

2. Kelly Purkey

Kelly opened the door of Project Life for me. I had really never noticed how photography and journaling could play such a big role in Project Life until I saw Kelly’s layouts. She makes memory keeping look so easy but so fun. I’m still trying to get that great food shot like she does, maybe it would help if I ate something other than pizza and tacos. I love using her stamps and dies for my Project Life layouts and I always go back to her blog when I need some inspiration.

3. Damask Love

Amber’s blog is one that I really enjoy because I have that “omg, that’s how I feel!” moment when I’m done reading one of her posts. Yes, her blog is super cute, and yes, she takes GREAT pictures, but that “she gets me” feeling I get is why I read blogs in the first place. You can find great tips and DIY projects on this blog, and I obviously enjoy the “Damask Loves” posts.

4. Becky Higgins

So when I say I like to “sit back and relax”, first thing that comes to mind is Sunday mornings, sitting in bed, and reading Becky’s “Good Life With…” posts. I do this every Sunday before I start my day. I feel like I learn a new life lesson with these posts, and I enjoy learning new things from different creative people. You can also find great photo/tech tips and loads of Project Life inspiration!

5. A Beautiful Mess

I just wish I was born with Elsie and Emma’s style and creativeness! Their blog has everything, from crafts to recipes, interior design to blogging tips, and to top it off, they’re the creators of the Messy Box! They also just came out with their own app and I can’t wait to try it out (still waiting for the Android version)! Just like their style, they have very unique photos and I really enjoy reading their posts.

If you haven’t already, you really need to add these blogs to your Feedly subscriptions. My reviews seriously don’t do these blogs any justice. Let me know what you think and feel free to let me know what some of your favorite blogs are so I can add more to my feed!

My Favorites · Uncategorized

December ’15 Top 5

Diana Sanchez2 Comments

Hey guys! I’m FINALLY posting my Top 5 for December. This time, I am posting my 5 favorite Instagram accounts that are Project Life related. But before I start, let me clarify, I have A LOT of favorite accounts and it was hard to pick only 5 and if I listed all my favorites, well, you can just see who I follow because I love all the accounts I follow.

I am addicted to Instagram. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the crafting community is so awesome and I love how everybody is so supportive of each other. I get a lot of positive energy from my fellow crafters on Instagram and anytime I need a little inspiration I can count on Instagram to get my creative juices flowing again, especially with the following five accounts.

Dec Top 5

1. Jen Carlson

https://www.instagram.com/jecarl/

2. Kari Stiles

https://www.instagram.com/crafty.kari.crafts/

3. The Urban Display

https://www.instagram.com/theurbandisplay/

4. Azzari Jarrett

https://www.instagram.com/azzarijarrett/

5. Emma

https://www.instagram.com/emspell/

Just click on the links and see the awesomeness that is their accounts! Now this will most likey be part 1 because I have many more accounts I would like to share!

I hope you guys enjoyed and please, feel free to share any people who you look to for inspiration in the comments below!