BRAND NEW Workshop: Creativity 365

Do you love planners?  I know....dumb question, right?!  OK, maybe not everyone loves planners, but I do. :)  Check out this brand new workshop from Shirley Pando.  Learn how to create a custom planner and add a little creativity to all of 2015.

Dec.5th: Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

Hey Crafter's, Shirley Pando here. Did you join me this week for the 4 Product Challenge? This week it is all about buttons. We've got to use up all those products we have hoarded collected throughout the years, right??

Check out the projects, below, I made using buttons.

Dec 1st 4 Product Challenge: Buttons

Hey Crafters! Shirley, here!

Button, button...who's got the button? Ever play that game when you were younger? It was one of my favorites to play with my three sisters while my mom was busy sewing. Grab the biggest button from the button box and hide it! When they come looking for it you lead them to it by saying, "Warmer" or "Colder" as they walked toward or away from it's hiding place. We could play it for hours, and probably did! Oh such wonderful memories!

I do have a "few" buttons...how about you? Let's get those buttons out and create with them this week. They are one of the products we will use in our 4 Product Challenge.

Check out the short video, below, to see what other products I'll be using.

Nov 7th 4 Product Challenge: Embossing Folders Projects

This week's challenge is all about embossing folders. I don't have too many, or so I think! I store mine in a basket still in their original packaging, but I've seen some great storage ideas on Pinterest.

Check out my projects, below.

Cricut: Crafting with Fabric starts today!

Have you been secretly longing to use your Cricut machine to cut fabric but are afraid to try? Maybe you've tried, but gave up in frustration. There are some limitations, but with just a little know-how, you, too, can successfully cut fabric with your Cricut. Create fun little shapes for cards, T-shirts, pillows, tote bags, aprons, quilts, and more! Take your crafting to a whole new level!

A Crafter's Guide to Social Media Marketing

Everyone is using social media to connect with others these days. And that's exactly where you should be marketing your craft business, too! But with new social media platforms popping up all the time, how do you choose which ones to use? Where do you start? What should you post? And how do you fit this into your already busy day? Come join us for this jam-packed 4-week, 8-lesson workshop where Shirley and Jeri's will help you wade through the social media waters so you'll be ready to jump in the deep end with both feet!

Sept. 22nd Topic: Cricut - Getting the Best Use From Your Die Cut Machine

Hello! Shirley Pando here! I'd like to welcome you back to the My Creative Life 2014 challenge blog, the official blog of Craft Classes Online. We've taken a little hiatus to change gears and reorganize but we are now ready to bring you the best in crafting and creativity. We have a new website, new projects, new workshops, and, of course, new blog posts! :-)



Jeri's original mission for this blog is pretty simple:

1. To inspire you to make creativity a daily priority...or weekly or monthly...whatever works best for you.
2. To motivate you to use all of the supplies you have collected over the years. (Oh, goodness, I have so much it's embarrassing!!)
3. To explore the concept of creativity and practical ways for adding more creativity to our lives.
4. To find ways to lose the perfectionism, comparison, and pressure that are creativity killers. (I resemble that remark and I feel a new blog post coming on!)
5. Oh, yes, we will also offer a few online workshops along the way.

Now, let's get on with the show!

Cricut: Getting the Best Use From Your Die Cut Machine

So you made that big purchase of a die cutting machine. It can do some amazing things. And you are a crafter, so you tell yourself that it will make your life much easier, right? You may have purchased it many years ago or just a few months ago. You bought (most all of) your favorite cartridges with the adorable little characters and/or lovely fonts. Life is sweet!

Why I am finally joining the pocket scrapbooking craze!

I have never been one to jump on a trend....ok, that is a complete lie. :) I have a number of tools and supplies that ended up in my craft room because they were the next big thing. (The Cricut comes to mind.)  I do tend to wait to jump in, but when I jump in it is at 100%.  Such is the case with the topic at hand....pocket scrapbooking.

The whole Project Life/Project 365 craze never really appealed to me.  I will admit that I only recently started scrapbooking again. While I would make a page here and there, I was very inconsistent. So maybe I would have joined the fun sooner.

The future is NOW!

"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike....and all plans, safeguards, policing and coercion are fruitless.  We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip, a trip takes us." ~ John Steinbeck

Today is a bittersweet day for me.

16 things your Cricut can do...besides cut paper!

Did you know that your Cricut machine can do much more than cut little paper die cuts? Oh yes, my friend, it's true. Of course, there are some limitations, but don't let that worry you. ;-) The more you learn about your Cricut, the more you will come to love it!