500 Business Card Giveaway from PringKEG and ReleaseMeCreate!

Hellooooooo!!
My goodness, it has been a very long time since the last post.  Over the past year, life got a little crazy and the poor blog was selected as the thing I needed to set aside for awhile so I could focus my attentions on the other parts of my world aka designing jewelry for a growing Release Me Creations!
But I am back and ready to jump back into regular blogging!  I have lots of DIY projects in the pipeline, some things to reflect upon from this past year, but today I have an AMAZING giveaway from PRINT KEG!

Three lucky readers will be receiving 500 business cards from PrintKEG, an online printing company.  Yes, you read correctly, THREE lucky winners will win 500 fully customizable business cards!
As a small business owner, I carry my business cards with me everywhere I go.  Whenever people ask what I do, they always end up asking if I have a card.  It's a great way to drive traffic to your website, and to lock in more sales.  And all of my packages are sent out with business cards included, sometimes multiples so that they customer can give them to friends should they so choose.  So anyone out in the world wanting to represent you, or your business or trade, this giveaway is a perfect fit.

So now the important part... how to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bathroom Renovation Reveal and New Wood Floors in Kitchen!

Bathroom Renovation Reveal and New Wood Floors in Kitchen!

Oh my goodness, it has been ages since I have last blogged. I have been a busy busy girl since returning from Pennsylvania. I needed to get the bathroom finished. Here you can see the Textures Wallpaper up above the chair rail, and the beadboard wallpaper below.

 

Here's the ugly cement floor.  Yuck.

I snapped a chalk line, and then also used a string taped to the wall to help me keep my tiles straight.

You can see the string here.  It helped because once that thinset goes on your chalk lines disappear.

And then the tile went down.  Here's a pic of it up close, all grouted and lovely.  I used 12x12 Porcelain Tiles, and then grouted with Natural Gray Grout.

And so after I finished the tiling I stepped back to assess what I had completed so far, and my perfectionist ADD popped up when looking at the Beadboard Wallpaper. Due to the walls being completely destroyed from trying to remove three layers of wallpaper that were applied directly to the drywall wihtout any prep I had to go with the textured wallpaper.  The paper above the chair rail worked perfectly...very textured and thick.  But the Beadboard Wallpaper was not doing the trick.  It was showing the imperfections in the wall, thus showing that it was not true beadboard. So, I then went ahead and replaced it with actual beadboard.

After that it was time for my mirror!  Originally there was a giant mirror in the bathroom and it was just a slab of glass.  No border, no anything.  So I had to spruce it up, and I decided to do it using Mosaic Wall tiles.  I used one sheet of 1x1" tiles, and then one sheet of these hexagonal white tiles for accents on the corner and sides. I used the Epoxy Resin Glue from home depot for max hold.

Here is is being worked on:

I hung the mirror, had my hubby help me install the new sink and toilet.  Put up a shelf and decorated it, complete with a little DIY Toilet Message (you'll see in the picture) and I WAS DONE!!! YAY!

Yes, it says "Keep Calm and Poop On"Tee hee

 So, onto my next project which was waiting in the wings.  

Putting in the wood floors in the kitchen

dun dun dunnnnnnnh!

I ordered the Handscraped Hardwood Click Install for ease of installation.  And it was fairly easy once things got rolling.  Having to measure for some intricate cuts was a bit tricky, especially around door frames, but all-in-all things went very well.

I'm actually excited to get it installed in the Living Room and Bedrooms next because I love how it looks in the kitchen!

Here it is going in.  You can see the blue Vapor Barrier underneath, and then my essential tools of the rubber block and mallet, plus shims and a measuring tape.

 Here is a nighttime picture with the lights on it.

And here is a daytime picture:

Family Pain

Well, I have been clearly absent in my blogging lately. And I have been hesitant to really say anything regarding the 'why.' Just after Halloween I received a phone call from my Mom. I had missed her call, but I could tell from her message that something was wrong. I called her back immediately and she told me that the doctors had discovered a mass in her Pancreas, and that it was Cancerous. My entire world stopped. I booked a flight home, and have been with her ever since. We have since found out that the Cancer has spread into her Liver and that at this point all we can do is hope to buy some precious time with Chemo.

It has been a shock to me, and our entire family. Losing my Dad almost exactly 3years ago to Cancer broke me inside. But what really helped to get me through it was my Mom. She was the epitome of strength. And now we are having to face this all over again with her. It is beyond words the sadness we all feel. She is, as always, being very strong. Her faith is never-faltering and the only thing she really worries about is her children being okay. I'm trying my best to just keep a smile on for her, and to keep her comfortable and pain-free. Chemo just began, and we are hopeful that we can have at least some months more with her, who knows maybe more.

We are all just taking things day by day, and are cherishing every second, every hug, and every smile and laugh. I wish I could just stop time and just hold her forever. She is the most beautiful, amazing, loving and wonderful Mom.

Please keep her in your prayers, that she can ease through this time with the least amount of pain possible, and that when the time comes she won't have to suffer very badly.

I love her so much.

Black Friday Release Me Creations SUPER SALE

Announcing the Black Friday Super Sale for Release Me Creations!
Starting after Midnight tonight!

Not only do you get 40% off of your entire purchase, but you will also receive FREE SHIPPING (United States only for the free shipping offer)

P.S. I apologize for the lack of blogging lately.  I have had some medical family health issues that came about suddenly that my family and I have been tending to.  Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Raw Natural Born Artist Dallas Accessory Designer Finalist

I'm so very excited about next Wednesday's RAWards Show in Dallas.

I have to extend my deepest heartfelt thank you to all of my friends, family and supporters who nominated and voted for Release Me Creations for this amazing opportunity.

I actually had no idea that this was happening behind the scenes as I chose not to promote for the awards, which is why this is even more special to me as an artist and designer.  You are the people who I create for, and to have you reflect your support back to me, it is just amazing!

If you're in Texas next Wednesday, be sure to stop in at the show at the Texas Theatre.  It starts at 7pm.

You can purchase a ticket from my artist profile page, or at the door!

If I win I will go on to the finals where I'll be going up against the winners from the other states.

 

 ABOUT RAW Natural Born Artists Organization:

In 2003, a small-town girl graduated high school and moved to the big city of Los Angeles, CA.  Her only wish was to pursue her life-long dream of becoming a fashion designer.  Not wasting any time, she started her own clothing line.  She soon realized that she was just one small fish in a very big pond.  She sold her pieces at swap meets onthe weekends while going to school full-time, working part-time and interning in the fashion distrcit.

After a while she thought... "there's got to be a better way to get my work out there."

Surrounded by new friends and talented people in art, music, performance and film that were facing the same plights, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

RAW:natural born artists is an independent arts organization, for artists, by artists.

We're a community made up of creative individuals across the nation.

Our mission is to provide independent artists within the first 10 years of their career with the tools, resources and exposure needed to inspire and cultivate creativity.

We welcome all genres of art including independent film, fashion, music, visual art, performing art, hairstylists, makeup artists and more.

we encourage the creative success of the many visionaries and storytellers of our generation.

RAW currently operates in 54 cities across the United States & Australia and counting...

ABOUT the Annual Indie RAWards Show:

At the end of the season in October we host our annual RAWards Show.  During a two-month process, we ask the community, a panel of judges, and the nation-at-large to vote for their top five favorite artists of the year in film, fashion, music, art, photography, performing art, accessories, hair and makeup.  RAW takes that popular vote and narrows down nominees in each city location.  The winners from each city then go on to be judged for the final awards.  The winners will receive big career-boosting prizes like distribution, store placement, studio time, gallery placement and consultations with industry executives and professionals.  It's truly an awesome event with performances and highlights from the RAW season.

Kitchen Renovation

As I am sure some readers have noticed, my blog has been neglected recently and there is a very VERY big reason.

I started the demolition/renovation on the kitchen!

Last week I pulled up 220sq feet of glued down hardwood. I loved those floors, but after two leaks ruined them we had to say bye bye.

Here I am starting to pull up in the kitchen.  We are putting handscraped hardwood down here.

 

I did it all with a hammer and a screwdriver.  Sounds crazy...it was, but it was also the way that worked best for me.  Here's a little demonstration of how I did it board by board.  I used my phone propped up, many apologies for the narrow screen.

This about sums up my experience in pulling up 220sq feet of glued down hardwood:

 

Mango saying her goodbyes to the last little bit:

Helping Mama:

About to be tiled!

First cut with the wet tile saw...this was fun until I had to do about 20 more...

Getting there:

 

Back buttering the very last tile!  YAYAYAYAYAY!

 And in she goes!

Now time for grouting...ugh

Stay tuned!

RAWards Dallas Accessories Finalist

I am beside myself right now.  I just found out that Release Me Creations is a finalist in the Accessories Category for the RAWards Dallas ! 

This came as a total shock and surprise.  I knew that they were doing these awards for the different artists, and that you could promote for people to nominate and vote for you, but I have such a hard time campaigning for things like this so I just left it alone.  But then today I got an e-mail stating that I was a finalist!  OH MY GOSH!!
Not only did someone nominate Release Me Creations, but others followed up and voted.  I am so honored and excited.