by Sharon | Apr 4, 2016
This is a delightful image for a card or to make a 3-D house.
It all begins with the concept.
Then you can use clip art or stamps you colored or make 3-D flowers . . .
You can find plenty of templates and free printables for whatever project you decide to create. YouTube is also very helpful.
I find I enjoy learning from the free paper crafts available on-line. But the idea of creating something of my own is what I truly want to do. I found the image on the right to be quite inspiring. I wanted to make this concept my own.
I’ve watched a lot of how to videos and have been amazed by the confidence people have when building their own templates. Then continuing on to make it original and exciting.
I’m sure these people have gone through a lot of trial and error before they got the concept down. Some use die cuts or punches to give them some help . . . while others don’t care how long it takes, they want to master the concept.
But you can do it yourself. You may need to fold a paper in half to get the angles right on the cottage and for the roof, then you decide whether you want to use the image for a card or a 3-D free standing model.
Once you get started there is no telling how far you’ll go with your project.
This works well with scrapbooks. Building up a scene to go along with the pictures of your family and friends . . . on vacation.
You can also write about it and include that in your card, mini-album or scrapbook page. There is always a story to tell.
A picture or sculpture would remind my father of a place he visited when he was a boy . . . he knew the details of the place and the people . . . even a song someone made up when his brother was stung by a bee.
Pictures are magical . . . you never know what creative things you can make . . .
Here are some helpful links:
I always get a bit carried away. This will get you started creating some great cards and paper craft projects.
Thanks for stopping by.
Sharon
by Sharon | Oct 10, 2015
October 9, 2015, I wrote my 300th blog post. I didn’t make a big deal about my 200th or even 100th here at TwoCansOnAString.com
Maybe it was no big deal to me because this was the second time around for me with this website.
So why is this 300th post so important? Well, it’s fall for one thing — a time when change is in the air and I’m itching to do something new.
I do have two new websites:
And I have three additional niche websites:
TwoCansOnAString has always been special for me . . . even when I moved the website and lost all the content and had to start over. The original website developed into OldHauntedStuff, TheGreatTrainShop and BoardGameDiva as niche blogs.
IndefiniteVacation was the result of Wealthy Affiliate’s Affiliate Boot Camp and GreenSmoothieRecipesWeightLoss appeared out of a challenge one of my affiliate marketing friends made to a group of us. It was a friendly challenge, nothing serious, just to see how successful we could be within a couple of months.
The original idea was a micro-niche, but I wasn’t thinking of centering my new blog around a single product. I’m not one to put all my eggs in one basket . . . thus TwoCansOnAString is still very much a kitchen junk drawer niche. I do like the concept, but I started thinking . . . yes, a dangerous sign.
I enjoy celebrating “the holidays” here within this blog. The recipes are fun, but I’m not too sure about continuing them. There’s the paper crafts that I absolutely love. Of course, they’ll stay. Then, there’s the name, two cans on a string which could mean a niche of cell phones and cell phone accessories . . . but then this blog will be like all my other blogs to a degree. I’ve thought about “wearable gadgets” and delved a bit into the electronics realm . . . but it just didn’t seem appropriate given the different faces of this website over the years.
The only thing we can all count on is change. Nothing seems to remain the same.
Then, I put this picture on my Wealthy Affiliate blog to see what reaction I’d receive. You may remember it from this post.
To be honest with you, I wasn’t sure of the reaction I’d receive. It seems as though my original reaction and thoughts about it have changed since I first saw it.
It seemed appropriate for Halloween . . . but it could also be appropriate all year round . . . because we never know what might be “creeping up behind us.” It could be a new idea or a direction in life. A change . . .
It can be inspirational . . . and we do need lots of inspiration in our lives. One thought or quote can mean so very many different things to so many different people based on various factors.
One day you read the sign in the picture, smile and subtly glance over your shoulder. Another day you could feel all creepy as though you’re being watched. You could take the message as some opportunity coming your way or something not so pleasant. It is all a matter of perspective.
I don’t find it especially threatening, but I do find it as a message that I want to take TwoCansOnAString.com into a different direction.
One where, hopefully, I’d receive more interaction with my visitors. I don’t want to get all cranky on you, but I’ve given you a lot and I’ve received no comments from you. And maybe that is a sign that I haven’t given you what you want and/or you haven’t been moved to leave a comment.
I know I need to make it easier for you to share posts with social buttons. I’ll get rid of the captcha in the comments section — I’m not very fond of that. I’ll also invite you to subscribe to my blog. This may give you a better sense of belonging and feel welcome to leave a comment or share a post.
I know there is so much more for me to do than just talk about it. I do need to implement the changes I suggested and make TwoCansOnAString more engaging.
What message did I communicate when I played with two cans on a string so very many years ago on a summer’s day with my friend who sat on the other side of the hedge?
Was it, “Can you hear me?”
Or was it something much more profound . . . for a six year old?
I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a nursery rhyme or something we sang while jumping rope or playing hop-scotch. This was my world with roller skates, tea parties, dolls, comic books, fairy tales, playing board games and jacks on the front porch.
Maybe it was about Mrs. Livsey’s kittens. She invited me to see them in her garage. The little fur-balls were so tiny.. I fell in love with a grey one with white little mittens on his front paws. He was a sassy spit-fire my brother named “Spit!” Yes, with an exclamation point.
Our mother refused to call him by that name. So we worked on finding a suitable name for him. I wanted something to rhyme with mittens and my brother was thinking of the kitten’s grumpy expression, so we combined the two and came up with Griffin. Yeah, I know it doesn’t work out phonetically, but what did we know, we were just kids.
I loved Aesop’s Fables as a child. I especially liked . . . “the moral of the story is” . . . or words to that effect.
As a child it was nice knowing the significance of the story. It was also interesting to discover how many of these stories or the lessons found their way into literature and movies and everyday life. It may have been my lesson in thinking and discovering for myself the meaning behind words.
The great thing is that there is a definite lesson to be learned in many quotes of famous people that stem from their particular background or what was going on at the time. It’s easy to draw wrong conclusions . . . we hear them everyday in the news and by some commentator . . . it is their interpretation. I guess the common jargon is “spin.”
I’m not into the controversy of every situation, as adults we can sift through that. But, I do like the idea of writing about thoughts . . . something that would build conversation. There could be a lesson or moral . . . it could be based on historical significance . . . or even family traditions. I’m a bit fascinated by that and how many of us relate because we were raised similarly and we’ve read the same books or watched the same movies.
I love learning something new. This may be what I’ve been missing here. So, this is where I plan to take TwoCansOnAString.com and we’ll discover together where we’re going. I remember hearing it isn’t about the destination as much as it is the journey. We’ll see if this is true . . . or not.
Thanks for stopping by and reading through this blog post. If you’re so moved to leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you.
Sharon
by Sharon | Sep 17, 2015
I love having something I can make, set out and make minor changes to from time-to-time.
It is inspiring to paint messages on rocks as reminders of how very blessed we truly are.
I may get into my fall mode and write “thankful” with a “boo” here and there. It can be like a memory game. I can paint the sayings and turn the rocks over and as the season progresses try to remember where I put the saying I want to feature.
I’ve added crystals to my rock assortment. The images does look a bit generic to me, but you can add fall leaves and small pumpkins and dried fall flowers to make it a bit more festive. Then change it for winter, then you’re back to the beginning for spring and summer. You could do some lovely things for Christmas and Easter, too.
This does look summer to me. I’m sure you have a gazillion ideas of how you can make a holiday centerpiece with this idea and candles.
Inspiration always begins from within. This is like a blank canvas . . . it just needs your master touch.
Thanks for stopping by!
Please leave me a comment with your thoughts about this post.
Sharon
