here + there

This week went by considerably fast it seemed...I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. I'm getting back into the swing of teaching the after-school art class two days a week, along with the mornings that I teach my nephew, and the one day I have all three of my youngest nieces and nephew. It sure does require me to shift gears, but so worth it.

Fern and I have spent many an evening upstairs in my craft room getting some year-long projects underway: One Little Word and Project Life and I wrapped up a invitation design job I was asked to do for a friend's bridal shower. With my January theme being 'be intentional,' I figured it was a great time to print out some worksheets from Elise's "I Choose" class and hammer out some details for crossing some goal finish lines.

Hoping to spend this weekend getting caught up on the past couple of weeks in my album to take pictures and post (my kit just arrived so I was really saving my journaling for it's arrival) and working on a sewing project I've been commissioned to do for a friend. I've only sewn one piece of clothing and that was for a two-year-old, so this should be interesting.

project life: this year's plan

This year's theme is keep it simple. Let's hope it keeps.

First of all, you probably could've guessed by my recurrent color schemes which kit I'm using for 2013. Seafoam...duh... :) It is amaze-balls. It is also SO much prettier and perfect in person, and it really makes me want to work on my album even more than I did before...even though I got behind every other week. But still, if this excitement keeps up, I'm golden. I have been a longtime blog reader of Elise Blaha Cripe, so I was overjoyed when she announced her kit design...I wanted to call and congratulate her like an old pal but in all reality I'm not, so a tweet was going to have to be enough.

I am also going to use the correlating binder (which will go great with my black one from last year), and the same Design A pages as last year. These are just my preference for weekly spreads, but then I have a few other random page designs/inserts to add in if needed.

I am going to be working very hard to not overspend on scrapbooking supplies this year - I think I went a little overboard last year. I ended up not even using half of the Clementine core kit I bought because I had so many other choices that I had gotten off the internet, bought online, etc. I actually started to get a little overwhelmed with what to use here, what to add to that card/picture there, and what I "need" _________ everywhere. So, my plan this year is to REALLY use the hell out of my Seafoam kit and any other supplies that I ALREADY HAVE. With the pages that I have been working on so far, it's been really satisfying to keep it simple with what I have...and it doesn't hurt that the core kit I'm working from is totally awesome.

I have purchased a couple of digital kits from the talented Liz Tamanaha (Paislee Press) that I am going to throw in here and there. Because I am using the title cards from the core kit, I am going to include one of these calendar journal cards at the beginning of each month with my own washi tape strip using that week's color scheme just to get a picture of the month ahead. And a hybrid version of you are my fave that I've purchased and downloaded will be used as well. I wouldn't be surprised if these also popped up in my One Little Word binder either...love the minimalism of her designs. So clean.

And last, but certainly not least, I cannot forget to mention that I'm also a proud subscriber of the amazing Studio Calico Project Life monthly kit.

This month's kit is amazing, not too overwhelming think about when putting together pages, and did I say amazing? Love that I have these to look forward to every single month.

Other supplies regularly used: HP Photosmart 7510, Epson Semi-Glossy 4x6 photo paper, Fiskars Corner Rounder, Uni-Ball vision black pen

So, there you have it. The backbone to my existence. No, in all seriousness, stumbling upon the idea of Project Life has really given my a whole new outlook of documenting this life that I am grateful to be living. I am really loving it.

If you're curious about Project Life and what it entails, check out this page and this fun video.

one little word.

A new year always brings feelings of want for me. And I'm not talking about material wants, but action wants. For some reason this one day, this one transition in time, allows us the motivation to make resolutions, goals, plans for a NEW year, NEW patterns, NEW rhythms. In this new year, I want to.... I'm sure for most of us this list is endless, at least for me it is. I tend to start new years off with feelings that this year will be different and I make crazy goals or resolutions and 85% of the time never complete them! It just sets me up for failure, and there is no room for that, ESPECIALLY at the start of a new year.

One thing I did know about beginning 2013, was that I wanted it to be doable. I didn't want those hard-to-each goals or completely unlikely resolutions to follow. One way that I felt that I could achieve what I wanted was to take part in Ali Edwards' online class One Little Word this year, and pick one word that set the pace for the year. I couldn't be more excited to have a personal (and completely doable) focus for the new year. I had heard about the class throughout the last couple of years, but was just never in a place where I felt I could or wanted to commit, but I took the plunge for 2013.

And my word this year is BE.

In the new year, I want to...

be intentional.

be kind.

be brave.

be content.

be active.

be beautiful.

be free.

be prepared.

be creative.

be inspirational.

be productive.

be present.

I'm still waiting for all of my supplies, so in the meantime I'm taking notes and getting stuff ready to begin working on my notebook as soon as it gets here. I tend to get a little anxious when I know something awesome is due to arrive in the mail...especially a package that will open the door to so much personal growth and (healthy) challenges. Bring it on!!

Anyone else out there taking the class? What would be your 'one little word?'

//card received in package from love, maude. I love that it looks like a note passed along with love//

best of 2012.

I wanted to jump on the wagon of putting together an end-of-the-year post, so I scoured my iPhoto and picked out some random, but goodies from the year. It was so nice to go through all of my memories with the intention of picking a only a few...it was apparently a good year because it was hard to pick! I could probably put together a few of these posts, which I guess is a good thing that I had a lot of "bests."

I'm looking forward to what comes about in 2013. Hoping it will be the best yet.

//all photos by me except for best picture text taken by a friend and best day ever taken by my niece//

2012 holiday tags: my pick.

One thing (among MANY) that I do look forward to around the holidays are all of the round-ups on other blogs, like the diy crafts, gifts for him/her/kids/pets, and especially the free printable gift tags. Here are some of my favorites that I collected from blogs that I follow - some are from direct artist's websites and some are curated from other bloggers. These will definitely be put to good use!! I do make one of my sister-in-laws gift tags for her gifts, but I choose to use the real cute ones I find from other artists to shake things up a bit at the family-gathering-mayhem we like to call Christmas. Enjoy!!

links: one//two//three//four

here + there

I started teaching my seven-year-old nephew three days a week, which has been so exciting!! He is learning how to read and I am learning more and more about Waldorf-inspired homeschooling...it's a win/win situation!! I used to teach Art in a public primary school, and I loved the activities, I loved being with the kids, but I certainly didn't love the restrictions and impossible pressure the state decided to put on children they've never even met. So, after three years, I retired (I love saying that in my 30s) and started working on the farm with my brother and sister-in-law. After about three years of that, I realized that was not right for me either. So now, after a year of random job opportunities, and talking with my brother & sister-in-law - we decided that I would teach my nephew! Genius! We meet at the barn office those three mornings, greeted by "Jerry Garcia" and any other cow standing around to say hello, and have our time together. I love it, and I think by the smile plastered across his face when he gets there, that he does too.

It has started to look a little more like Christmas around my house! I just love this holiday and all of the decorating that it inspires. I had my 3rd Annual Christmas Cocktail Cheer on Friday night, and literally got my tree in the stand and lights put on an hour before party-time, where it stood naked of ornaments until the next morning when I decorated it wearing a tiny headache from the night before. Tis the season, right?

holiday greens hunt.

We went out last Sunday on our annual adventure to collect greens from around the farm to make our holiday wreaths. We even added another "vehicle" to the mix to be able to collect as much as we wanted, with room to put our feet. It was not the prettiest of days around here, and certainly not a winter holiday temperature, but we donned our gloves and clippers and headed out on our search.

This is my niece opening the gate for us - I just think her little tooshie looks so cute in her new skinny jeans (which she LOVES), so I had to include it. ;)

There were TONS of pine cones, which I plan on using to yarn-bomb Rachel-style some friends' houses on Wednesday, but the trees definitely didn't look as healthy as in the past due to not having a lot of rain this season. But I think we got some good options for our wreaths/hangings.

The cedar was abundant, although not a lot of berries on some types which was a bummer, but I stuck cedar in some random vases around my house and it smells SO good! And it just puts a smile on my face with it coming out of the vases all crazy.

Here are the Blue Ridge Mountains looking very blue on this gray day.

So, thank you trees for you bounteous clippings to make our homes beautiful and smell like Christmas!

around my crib: christmas crafts.

 

Things are getting busy around here. Again, I am trying to gift handmade as much as possible, and I am loving it. I've rekindled a love/hate relationship with knitting, a very loving friendship with embossing on paper, and an obsession with cross-stitch. I already have an order in for a custom family cross-stitch and I couldn't be more excited to get started on it. Of course, I'm still in the planning process, but still, it's gonna be a goodie.

My brother always opens his "woodshop" on Christmas Eve, so I'm thinking that's going to be my busiest day yet. Maybe I can talk him into opening it some on the evenings to get me started and then he can have it all to himself on the 24th. I'm hoping to do a lot of wood-based projects, more specifically with branches and small trunks. I don't like to cut live trees, so I'll have to check woodpiles and maybe take a little jaunt around the farm for some downed ones. I'm pretty excited to execute what I've got brewing in this head of mine...and I'm pretty sure they are going to be popular with the fam. :)

My cards are all finished and ready to be personalized (I always make it a point to write a little note special to the receiver somewhere on the card). I changed my mind last minute about envelope color, so I'm going to get some more this afternoon and get these puppies mailed out tomorrow.