New Year

Year in Review: 2016

January 2, 2017 Diana SanchezLeave a comment

Happy New Year guys! I know January 1st is just another day but the new year always feels like a fresh start to me. 2016 was full of ups and downs but yet I am very fortunate that my downs were not all that terrible. I went into 2016 excited and ready to tackle anything that came my way. This year I would say instead of excited, I am aware. 2016 was the best year I’ve had creatively. I was on the Becky Higgins Project Life creative team and did a guest post on her blog, I was invited to appear on Jess Forster’s podcast, Pocket Talk, and I was asked to teach a class at Big Picture Classes. I also made it into the Kellie Stamps and Color Cast design teams. I never would have imagined I would have all these opportunities, much less all in one year. Tomorrow, January 3rd, will be The Lovely Pear’s two year anniversary. That alone means so much to me, being able to continue my little blog that could. I have put in so much thought and hard work into this blog and it’s been worth it to me because of all the friendships I have formed on social media with my fellow creatives!

I’m not participating in Ali Edward’s One Little Word, not because I don’t want to (believe me the want is there!), but if I was, my word would be “Freedom”. Maybe listening to a lot of George Michael has inspired this word, but I would choose it because this year I plan to free myself from any negativity. 2016 was one of my most stressful years, mainly because I let myself become influenced by negative people and negative thoughts. I even confided to my mom that I had been feeling very negative towards people and about life in general. I knew I had no reason to be/think that way and I was missing that happy-go-lucky side of me. Even though this was a rough year mentally, it really taught me a lot. I may be in my thirties but I feel like I’m still trying to figure it all out. It all boiled down to knowing and appreciating the positive people I have in my life. My family and my real friends, people who care about me and are genuinely happy for me.

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Ok, it’s getting pretty deep up in here but I think you guys know what I mean and I’m sure many of you have been there.

So on to a more happy topic, I want to (re)share some of my favorite projects from 2016.

I’ve put a lot of thought into how I want to do my documenting for 2017 and I have decided to do a 9×12 Project Life album with monthly spreads and continue doing an “all about me” mini album.

At the end of my Year in Review: 2015 blog post, I shared my favorite picture that I took that year and I thought I’d do the same again for this post.

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So instead of Freedom 90, this is Freedom 17. I hope I have another great creative year and a much more positive one and I wish the same for you! Thank you from the bottom of this Texas gal’s heart for taking the time to visit this blog and reading my posts!

Here’s to 2017!

New Year

Year in Review: 2015

January 1, 2016February 10, 2017 Diana Sanchez1 Comment

The Lovely Pear is a year old! I remember I was sick when I created this blog and I sat in bed as I typed my first post on Shawn’s laptop. I posted my first blog post on January 3, 2015 explaining the meaning behind the name “The Lovely Pear”. I seriously had no idea what I was getting myself into but I’m glad I ended up doing it.

I wrote about my New Year Resolution for 2015 on my third post, and I actually fulfilled it (yay me)! My resolution was to keep up with The Lovely Pear and I have had an awesome year with this blog, joining in on challenges, trying new things, and meeting A LOT of new friends!

One of the new things I tried this year was Project Life. It was in June that I decided that I really wanted to focus on Project Life as a way to keep my pictures in a scrap book. Because of this, I also put more effort into not only taking more pictures, but trying to take better ones and learning to edit them better. With that being said, I’m exited to announce that I have made it into Becky Higgin’s Project Life Creative Team for 2016!!!

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I actually cursed out loud at work when I got the news that I had made it onto the team. I even waited awhile, regularly refreshing my e-mail, thinking Becky and her team had made a mistake and sent the e-mail to me on accident, but the news broke on December 30th and my picture is on the creative team page! Can I get a WOOT WOOT!?!

Like I mentioned earlier, I started off blogging mostly about cards. Even though I don’t make them as often as I was, I still enjoy making them. I was so excited to win a challenge and to be mentioned on blogs like Paper Smooches and Lawnscaping Challenges. It was also exciting to see my cards posted by Lawn Fawn, Hero Arts, and Ranger Ink on Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram!

When I first started The Lovely Pear, I knew I wanted to do a “Top 5” but I’m actually surprised I kept up with it. The Top 5 is something I look forward to doing at the end of each month. I’ve had a lot of fun doing it and it’s also pretty cool to get likes/comments from the companies mentioned!

Something I do want to mention is the crafting community. I have been blown away by all the support/likes/comments/followers that I get on social media. I LOVE the crafting community, and that includes all the card makers, scrapbookers, all the stamping companies, the Project Life designers, the companies that sell all these supplies, EVERYBODY! Everybody is so welcoming, positive, and supportive of each other! I hope to meet a lot of these people face to face sometime soon!

So for my resolution this year, I am going to try my best to relax. I want to make sure I take my time to “stop and smell the roses”. I want to focus more on my family, especially my son who will become an official teenager this year (so scared…). I’m going to try to stop having my phone with me everywhere I go, especially at the dinner table (I really sucked at that this year), and I am going to try my hardest to keep it together during our big move! This includes getting everything ready for the new house and allowing myself to take the time I need to say goodbye to my childhood home (see, I’m already tearing up just typing this).

2016 is definitely going to be a big year for me and I’m ready for it! I hope you guys had a bad-ass year and I hope we all have a more peaceful one this year! I’m going to leave you guys with probably my most favorite picture I took this year, and because of this I will proclaim 2015 as the year of the duck!

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New Year Resolutions

January 6, 2015January 10, 2015 Diana Sanchez1 Comment

So it usually takes me a while to come up with a good New Year’s resolution, only because I want it to be something fun and unique yet realistic. Even though I can come up with some cool resolutions, well… I just never follow through with them. Like 2014’s resolution, learn the choreography to Janet Jackson’s video “Rhythm Nation”, didn’t even happen, I’m sure I could have just googled it and I would have aced it, right? I also said I was going to do the money challenge where you add the same dollar amount as the number of week of the year you’re in to a savings account (for example week one, you add a dollar, week two, you add two dollars and so forth). That only lasted a couple of months because I kept dipping into my account, plus I really needed new cowboy boots. BUT THIS WILL BE THE YEAR that I will keep up with my resolutions!!!

For my first resolution…. I will learn the choreography to Thriller!!! Just kidding. No, I am going to attempt the money challenge again, I know, I know <insert eye roll>. I will ALSO do my best to keep up with this blog, though it’s mainly for my crafting hobby, I still want to keep it ME! And of course in order to keep up with The Lovely Pear I will have to get in my craft room more frequently.

With that being said, my craft room is AWESOME! It is my favorite place to be (other than in my Jeep <insert another eye roll>). My room is about 90% done, I’m still adding a few knick knacks here and there only because I love to be surrounded by things I love. Not only do I have all my craft supplies in here but also all my books and my whole music collection.

I totally took this idea from this pin on Pinterest. I just love these shelves. I have my vinyls on top, some funky stuff and Project Life supplies in the middle, and my Copics and the lovely Frida Kahlo on the bottom shelf.

I love a good inspiration quote and I really wanted a wall like this pin, but I couldn’t find anything like that at the local craft stores and I didn’t want to pay a lot of money for some that I would have to frame myself anyway so I just downloaded some pretty fonts and printed them. I bought frames at Hobby Lobby when they were on sale and there you have it! The wall is still a work in progress.

I don’t have that many wooden stamps and ink pads right now but what I do have I store in this old contraption I found in my sister’s garage.

My collection of clear stamps keeps growing and growing. I hope to some day be as organized as Jennifer McGuire (she’s the Oprah in the paper crafting world, believe me, anything she links to sells out quick!) But for now, because I’m cheap and impatient, I’ve been storing my stamps in 5.5″ x 8.5″ page protectors from Office Depot.

I found my “signature” pear stamp on Etsy from Cretiate. I love that hand carved look. Definitely my most valued stamp!

I got the idea for my craft table from this pin. All it consists of is a door on two 9-cubby bookcases. Pretty easy, right?

I store my adhesives, ribbons, vinyl, and special pens/markers in these paint cans. So cute and super cheap!

So now you see why I have no reason not to be crafty this year and not keep up with The Lovely Pear!

Not only do I hope for a year of fun crafting but also a a year full of peace, love, and laughter for me, my family and to you as well!