currently.

//image via//

All of this stuff is swirling around in my head lately and I really can't even really begin to categorize it to make sense of it. So I'm going to try and put it in writing and see what happens. It's transition time to a new season. It's also the celebration window for Michaelmas with thoughts of good/bad, dark/light…roads that seem obvious to follow but you may meet conflict in trying to. Oh, I could go on…but I'll save it. See, my mind is everywhere I tell you! 

welcoming fall like nobody's business.

cracking my bedroom window to feel the new cooler air.

planning for a holiday craft show in the next town over in a little over a month.

riding this wave of contentment like I'm a girl version of Laird Hamilton.

enjoying delicious & hot coffee after a seasonal break.

keeping my eyes open for lavender coffee everywhere I go.

encouraging myself to be patient and let go.

wondering why I feel the most creativity when it's bedtime.

craving more bear hugs.

feeling okay about this whole 'no wheat' thing.

actually enjoying not eating wheat.

questioning my personality habits.

loving how snuggly Fern is all of the time. even when she follows me around waiting for me to lounge.

taking advantage of eBay to earn extra money.

smiling when an item in my shop sells.

taking notes for some new designs I'd like to pursue for the holiday season.

realizing I love being busy…with a free afternoon to look forward to.

breathing a sigh of relief when I have that free afternoon.

excited about a short trip out of town this weekend to visit family, shop a bit & see live music.

hoping I find the perfect shirt to wear. and maybe a black hat.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

 

etsy: new items added.

I just wanted to let you know I've added some new stamps to the shop! These stamps are designed by me and made in the good ole US of A. They are multifunctional with an emphasis on documentation - whether it be through scrapbooking and/or letter writing. I'm a big fan of both…as if you couldn't tell. I've also updated my shop to include international shipping and there are a few sale items (hint, the whole first row!!) that I'd like to move out. I am in the beginning stages of designing products for the upcoming holiday season, which will be listed as soon as they are in my hands.

It's been so fun to design and package these - go and take a look! :)

adventures in custom cross-stitch.

I found these pictures in my draft folder that I guess I forgot to add text and upload! Whoopsie!

This was a project I completed earlier this year as birthday presents for each of the three people represented. It was my first custom cross-stitch project and I am absolutely going to do some more! It was so fun to pick out the outfits and hairdos for them and the similarities are pretty awesome. Now I just need to go back and add their puppy they just got (and find an antique embroidery hoop). 

Let me know if you are interested in a custom cross-stitch…these would be perfect for holiday gifts! All I would need is a picture of the subjects and an idea of their clothing style. Now I'm already thinking about who I can cross-stitch next...

 

a week in the life: saturday + sunday

Wow. This weekend was absolutely awesome. (as is finishing up A Week in the Life!)

We had an event on Saturday where we set up camp and demonstrated skills that we had been learning about the past couple of years to educate people about 'lost' skills and/or encourage them to become and part of the group if they are interested in learning these skills. We have learning so many important skills that are definitely not taught to the average person and are Native American-inspired, such as starting fires with bow drills, hide tanning, burning bowls & spoons, camouflaging, trapping, building shelter, filtering water with no equipment, etc. It's been fascinating, overwhelming, and eye-opening. I've been a part of the group for about 2 years and there is still so much to learn and so much that I need to practice. But, I have the confidence that I would need to tap into if I were ever caught in a situation where I needed to not depend on anything other than what I could find in the woods. A lot of people stopped by to check out what the heck was hanging in the teepee structure, make a bowl from clay, or just talk to a group member about who we were and what we were doing. My brother also had a table nearby representing the farm with Beledene and her bull calf, who lounged around all day in the shade chewing their cud. Oh, the life.

We camped down at the creek that night to celebrate the end of our second class series. I think I got about 10-15 minutes of sleep a few times and had Fern down in the bottom of my sleeping bag with the hiccups. Needless to say, some couch time and then my bed felt so good last night.
The canine beauty is a neighbor's wolf who is probably the softest animal I've ever touched in my life. I think all of the singing to he gets definitely helps. Isn't he awesome?

What I am learning about my days: I am still processing this whole project, which really, this is just the half of it. I am so proud of my self for completing it which has certainly sparked a little confidence in the creative department. My phone died on Saturday which was a huge bummer with our camping adventure and I was using my brother's camera during the last class on Sunday so I don't have those pictures yet on my computer. And I was okay with all of that. I was capturing what I could capture with what I had at the time. I think the main things that I learned through this project were to use my time wisely and constructively, and to relaxing about photo documentation helps to ease the pressure in turn allowing me to get through the week. I am happy for the break of not lugging my camera around, and excited about getting this all organized into an album. I'm sure more that I learned will come to me then and I'll be sure to keep you posted!!

Ali Edwards has a great list of folks at the end of each day's post who also took part in A Week in the Life this past week…check 'em out!

a week in the life: friday

I MADE IT THROUGH THE MAIN PART OF THE WEEK!! HOLY CROW I DID IT!! Here we have Day 5 and I couldn't be more pleased with myself. A rock in the bucket for sure.

Things I am learning about my days: Fridays are considered my days off, and I was SO productive…which was something I was battling with earlier in the week. It may have something to do with the cup of coffee I treated myself to, I'll never know. Friday was a day of checking things off lists, shipping a couple of orders + returns, collecting pine cones for a school project next week, frying up some delicious party + rosemary chips in coconut oil, and finally taking Fern for her mani/pedi at the vets. Although once I left my house to eat dinner with some friends, the pictures stopped. I knew that was going to be a challenge and I was okay with not stressing about getting pictures with horrible lighting and robot eyes. I also decided to compile Saturday and Sunday into one entry which took a lot of pressure off because I knew this weekend was going to be a busy one. I've been researching some documentation ideas on Pinterest and blogs, and I'm getting closer to printing some pics and making it happen!! 

a week in the life: thursday.

Day 4…still at it.

I was back to my half day teaching schedule and had the afternoon free. I made sure I kept busy doing constructive stuff: updating and streamlining Etsy site, mailing back returns, cleaning up a little, etc. It was nice to be busy during this 'free' time.

Things I am learning about my days: Same daily process as the previous few days and feels a little more natural today. I'm wondering about the weekend and how I am going to document it in pictures. I'm thinking I'll just do a "weekend" compilation instead of Saturday/Sunday. It's going to be a busy one and I'm not sure I will be able to catch something every hour. But, I feel good about changing it up and allowing myself a little leeway. I also feel good about just seeing what happens.

a week in the life: wednesday.

Day 3 and I'm still hanging in there!! I am so proud of myself!!

Wednesdays are pretty nutty because it's the set day that I keep my brother's three kids. I look forward to Wednesdays so much, and I just never know what we're going to get into. The kids have the best personalities so there are always funny comments or faces or really imaginative play involving moving cows where one of them (usually the youngest) is the main steer to try to get through the fence. They are something. Needless to say, the quiet time at the end of the day is much appreciated.

Things I am learning about my days: Keeping up with this project on such a busy day was easier than I first speculated. I was into trying to document this Wednesday and after explaining to my nephew what I was doing, he also got into it. I also let myself relax and gave myself the whole hour to snap a pic instead of trying to catch each and every change of activity during that hour. I'm still loving this project and I'm excited to get it on paper and see how it all looks in a cohesively bound way. I enjoyed being busy today and it was a welcome change from the previous couple of days this week. It feels weird to complain about not being busy, but I'm learning (through this project mainly) that I do much better mentally when I have set things on my schedule that need to be completed on that day…not just a to-do list I can keep putting off. I'm loving this insight.

I'd love to see how you're doing with this project…of course, if you are participating!!

a week in the life: tuesday.

Here is my day - although I left out food pictures in hopes of not being totally boring. I made it through Tuesday!! YES!!

Things I am learning about my days: I'm starting to get in the rhythm of the project and remembering to grab a camera as I move around. I"m aware of my time and how I am spending it. This was another day of no afternoon plans, so I intentionally made myself do some things around the house (after checking blogs and snuggling with Fern a little bit) and then celebrating with a dip at my parents' pool with my niece and nephew. I want to be busy and this project is allowing me to see how I can set a little schedule for myself when I'm not teaching to get household/creative projects done around the house. And I'm enjoying seeing it through the lens instead of a self-induced breakdown. (That was a little dramatic, but it happens.)