wandering souls.

Holy shitballs.

Three weeks (and almost to the second) ago, we pulled in to our Virginia homes from a three-week motorhome adventure to Wyoming and back. I almost can't believe we pulled it off. But, we did and loved every second of it. We spent about a week driving to and from, and then a solid two weeks doing whatever it was any of us wanted to do throughout western Wyoming and southern South Dakota. It was one epic adventure that I will never forget.

Today is for getting reacquainted with my space and seeing things with a fresh, new perspective while processing the awesomeness that just occurred. Wow.

here + there

Things are busy around here this week! I am getting ready for my third 'real' craft market and have lots of new items to get organized and packaged. It is so fun. This particular one is pretty much across the street from where I live at the Sedalia Center where I will be amongst 70ish other local artisans showing & selling goods as part of the Bedford County's Artisan Trail. This was one market I was definitely not going to miss out on. I can go over tonight and set up the big stuff like a tent, table, chairs, etc. and then grab just my storage bins to take over in the morning. One of my good pals is going as my wingman, so it should be a laid-back and fun process. No stress here. Hence the coffee.

Well…except for making sure my items are properly labeled & priced, my handmade sign isn't wrinkled, the display is eye-catching, I have string & tape, and I have a hanky ready in case of an allergy attack in the midst of a customer interaction. Yep.

I've got all sorts of new stamp designs that I am super excited about and the personalized muslin storage bag is just making me plain giddy. These are pretty versatile stamps which was my goal, as I am a pretty versatile paper crafter. Whether its for stationery, scrapbooking/Project Life, or random stamped images in a daily planner (love it)…they will all work. I will also have little 'supply kits' available with kraft circle labels, washi tape, and a small black ink pad, so folks can get right to work on utilizing their new purchase. There's already been some Instagram buzz about the Virginia one (which happens to be my personal favorite…maybe I'm a little biased), so I hope tomorrow goes well with local costumer interest as well. I'm pretty optimistic.

Also added to the mix are a few postcard options for sending off a quick and cheerful note to birthday gals and boys, or to just tell someone you love to 'have a great day.' Postcards are so great for making someone smile, and with a less expensive postage price they just can't be beat. These were pretty popular at the last craft market, so I'm looking forward to sharing these new (and comical) designs.

I hope to get all of these items listed in my shop in the next couple of weeks. There's a huge adventure brewing around here that you'll be hearing about so stay tuned!

Also, if you are interested in any of the items you see in this post, please shoot me an email and we can talk about getting one to ya! And if you're in the area, come on out tomorrow from 10-5 and say hi!

this extra plywood came in handy.

This weekend is the 3rd Annual Mountain Run Jam, a music, food, and beer-filled weekend my niece started having on the farm for her and her college friends. This year, she asked me if I would design a schedule for her to pass out to her friends upon their arrival, and of course I obliged. A chance to informally (but formally) play with font and graphics on my computer and then print on a nice colored cardstock? Yes, please.

Well, being the procrastinator that I am and knowing I had a beach trip thrown into the mix right before the weekend, I remembered I had a nice new can of chalkboard paint from a decorating project I decided against before starting, and I knew there had to be some extra wood slabs lying around somewhere. I loved the idea of paper schedules but I just knew it was going to be an added stress...with the typical issues like running out of ink and having to drive over an hour for more ink, and schedule changes that I had a good feeling were in our future. 

So I got the plywood, grabbed my paint and added layer after layer of blue paint that dried black. Which doesn't make sense to me at all, but whatever.

It almost took the whole darn can of paint, but I have heard that the more layers of paint, the easier it is to erase. Then after it dried, we loaded it into the car and drove it down to the creek with a box of chalk and I got busy.

I think it turned out pretty nice...even if I did end of having to change the whole Saturday afternoon schedule. Such is the life of a schedule maker.

 

 

 

 

A (semi) day in the life.

I've always loved the idea of documenting a day in my life, but I didn't have a whole lot of faith in keeping up with it throughout the day from losing track of time or getting sidetracked and the whole thing going out the window. I decided last Wednesday that I was going to attempt it and see how it went...I thought I did pretty okay for a first timer. Woop woop!!

After I wake up, the first thing I do is check my Happy Street progress (sad, but true), Instagram, and emails.

Being that it was Wednesday, I threw on some shoes and drove the mile and a half to my brother's house to pick up the kiddies for the day. It's one of my most-looked-forward-to-days where we just hang out together and play, play, play.

While I was there, I picked up my monthly bulk food order from Frankferd Farms that's gets delivered once a month. If you prefer natural and/or organic foods, this is a great company to check out. Prices are super fair for bulk and individual items and they do carry brand name items, all delivered to your door or somewhere nearby. We've been using them for about 4+ years now and I would recommend them being a great alternative for grocery store shopping. And you certainly can't beat a 5# block of grassfed mozzarella. So good.

Love a nice green, locally grown fridge.

And while I was putting away all of my Frankferd order and CSA goodies, this was happening upstairs.

We always reconvene after lunch to read and wind down for nap/rest. This week we cracked open Freckle Juice, and it was quite a hit.

Never a dull moment I tell you.

Like auntie, like niece. She lays them all out, then dresses and re-dresses and dresses and re-dresses all of them. Except the one with no head...she gets skipped over. Understandable.

Don't worry, it wasn't running. My nephew LOVES to push mow. Awesome for me, right?

Front porches are perfect for messy snack times. The ants really enjoy it too.

And we're off...back to my brothers to take the kiddies home. Somehow we picked up another passenger, so she naturally assumed a co-pilot position.

Yikes! A wonderful dark sky to watch as I silently sit and enjoy a cold beer.

*All photos taken with cell phone, and a majority edited using Valencia filter in Instagram (not sure why a couple are different sizes).

here + there: farm edition

Before yesterday, I feel like I haven't left the farm in weeks. And I definitely don't blame myself - I love it here. It is such a part of my life - I mean, I live here - but even with the day to day stuff. Each day brings something new, and there never really is a dull moment. Even if I feel like not much is going on, I know there is SO much happening that I just can't see from where I am. A few days ago, I was just piddling in my house doing my thing and I heard my brother yelling to me from the field across the street to grab my camera and go out back. So, I did and was struck by the view of crazy sheets of fog literally rolling in waves across the field...it was so eery, but yet amazing. The weather has been so dynamic these past few weeks - crazy wind gusts, strange cloud formations, dark skies, rain for days, heat waves, and cold fronts. I realize it's Spring, which is somewhat of a transitional season between temperatures, but I don't remember it being so full of character in years past. It sure has provided lots of "wows" from me, that's for sure. This past heat wave kicked my brother in the butt to get the sheep shorn, which they only have three + a lamb, so I was called to go and help with that. It was his first time shearing, and it was amazing how much wool came off one sheep and how soft and thick it was. I definitely want to be involved with the next steps of getting it washed, carded, and then possibly even spun into wool we can use.

My one-on-one homeschooling is still going on, and I absolutely love it. We are pulling from a couple of curriculums related to Waldorf, while throwing in some aspects of my past teaching experience. These past couple of weeks I've been adding in some handwork, which included making looms from sticks we walked around and found and some yarn I had on hand. It's so nice to take the time to really get hands-on with a project and also watch my nephew's wheels turn as he is figuring what works best for him. It's definitely a learning experience for me as well, and I really do feel fortunate to be able to actually use what I love about teaching and remember why I chose it as my career focus in college. I hope to continue this for as long as I can (and as long as my heart is in it) and maybe even slowly adding in a couple more kids to get a well-rounded little classroom going…maybe even growing into a small school. The possibilities are wide open.

advice.

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Feel free to join in blogging everyday in May here. Today's topic: A piece of advice you have for others. Anything at all.

what i do.

It's funny, because I was just asked this question yesterday by a neighbor that I had not seen in a while and I immediately shifted my eyes to the right and replied, "Uhmmmm...." She knows what my 'day job' is, so she was wanting to really what I had been doing with my time...where had I been...was there anything new? And I guess I don't like answering because I don't really know what I do 100% of the time and it's difficult for me to sum it up in a casual conversation answer. So, if I could just carry around a piece of paper to read a list off, it would make those awkward moments not quite so awkward. 

"So, Hannah, what do you do (besides the 3-tiered day job)?"

"Well... let's see...":

I play with paper.

I take pictures.

I write.

I document my life with said paper, pictures, and words.

I am currently designing new stamps.

I help friends and family with creative projects.

I organize...constantly.

I make and tear down piles.

I do what I love.

And last, but certainly not least, I do dishes. 

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Feel free to join in blogging everyday in May here. Today's topic: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer the questions, 'what do you do'?

creative life.

I have soooooooo many quotes that are "my favorite," but this one is definitely one that I am connecting with lately. I have a "quotes" board on my Pinterest, and this is and has been one that really needs to be repeated by me on a daily basis.

I am a creative and sometimes that comes along with a little creative insecurity because I know, at some point, someone will be seeing my products - whether it be scrapbook pages, drawings, or items for sale.  So there comes this feeling of questioning what I'm doing and why I'm doing it and who I'm doing it for...and whether I should be doing it at all with a fear of being wrong somewhere in my creative thinking process. It seems so ridiculous as I'm writing it...but it is sometimes my truth. And I have to tell myself that there is no possible way that being creative should be feared in any way, shape, or form...especially if it feels so right to be doing it. I have so many projects going on at this time, and there is absolutely no room for creative insecurity to rear it's ugly head. So I love this quote because it reminds me to close my blinds to that fear and fulfill of my creative visions...for my self and no one else.

Feel free to join in blogging everyday in May here. Today's Yesterday's topic: Favorite quote and why you love it.

discomfort.

I've never been one for pictures…therefore I've never been one for self-portraits. It's a collection of insecurity, feeling stupid during the process, and disinterest in the product. I know, terrible, right1? But I'm working on it, I really am. I look at the above picture (which was taken a couple of months ago) and I see a self-taken photo of myself that I do genuinely like. So I choose it. And as it's sitting here a little large on my screen I start to question if this is a good picture (like I've done every time I pull this picture to use). Does the light hitting my left eye make it look weird? Is this a smile or a smirk? Is my uncomfortableness just screaming through the lens? Where are my eyebrows? SHUT UP YOU! You're hair looks awesome, that scarf is the bomb, and I see some fun secrets in those baby blues.

But because of the self-depricating, negative, nit-picky observations that are much easier to believe (like Julia Roberts tells Richard Gere in Pretty Woman), I've strayed away from putting pictures of myself anywhere on social media (unless I'm with someone else within the frame), and when I look back on feeds or albums I notice there is always one thing missing. Me. And I don't want to be missing from my own life.

So, hi, nice to meet you.

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Feel free to join in blogging everyday in May here. Today's topic: Something(s) that make you uncomfortable.

la vie.

I was born, hiccuping, into a family of three sons. My parents met when they were in high school, had 2 boys back to back, took about a 13 year break, then had my brother and I three years apart...and just celebrated their 53rd anniversary I might add. I was always "the baby," or "the youngest of three brothers," or the "then you came along…bet your mama was happy!" We lived in a modest home in a beautiful area of Lynchburg, Virginia, down the street from my grandma and about 10 minutes from my other grandparents. I grew up wearing pigtails and thick Annie glasses with a constant stream of patches over my right eye in order to maintain muscle strength, (resulting in my mother wrapping Southern Living magazines around my elbows so I wouldn't consistently rip them off). I went to public, then private, back to public school after we moved out into what we thought was "the country," then back to private school where I would remain (enter another move to the real country) until I graduated in 1995. I went to Guilford College in North Carolina where I stayed as a five-year-student and studied abroad twice - one time in Paris and the second in Ghana. After graduating, I stayed in NC for a couple of years stretching my wings before moving back home to the farm. All of my jobs have centered around working with children, and after taking a break to put some farm time in and assist a local midwife, I'm back to teaching in a homeschool setting. I enjoy paper everything, great tunes, sitting on porches and good-ass food & drink. I've wanted children for as long as I can remember (and focused on making this happen). I live on the farm, enjoying a pretty laid-back-with-intent lifestyle. I rescued a dog named Fern. I inhale the beautiful fresh air of the Blue Ridge Mountains all day long.

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Feel free to join in blogging everyday in May here. Today's topic: The story of your life in 250 words or less…(or close enough).

this wednesday we...

…went to the local library!

Every Wednesday, I pick up my youngest nephew and two nieces and we have a day hanging out together. It's really the highlight of my week. We usually just stay at my house with favorite activities being reading books, playing with Little People, or playing/working around the yard. The other week my nephew (who is 7) planted all of my flowers and then greens in the garden! I thought it would be fun to shake things up a bit and every now and then go somewhere fun that we haven't been or its been a while since visiting. This past week, I picked them up with their backpacks on and library cards in hand to hit up the local library for some new-to-them books for nap and bed time. They were so cute and excited - I had been talking to them about it for a couple of days, so they were all ready to go.

When we got there, they each emptied their bags of books I had gotten them a couple of weeks ago and then we hit up the children's section for some reading. Of course they went straight to the building blocks and letter-sound bean bags, but that's ok! We were surrounded by so much written imagination that even being in that environment was inspirational. I gave them a "flexible" time limit for free play and then they were allowed to get five books to check out.  Since my nephew decided that all of the picture books were "girl books," I encouraged him to ask the lady at the information desk about hide-and-seek books - so he was pretty excited about that. So, we loaded up our 5 books (myself included), checked them out independently (it's all self-checkout now!!), then loaded up our totes and packs and left with new characters to love and new stories to remember.

There was not a peep of sound on the ride home. Only the turning of pages.

what's on my...

via Ali Edwards
vanity: I don't have a vanity…and I have never really wanted one. I love the romantic look of a mirrored table and cute poofy stool or chair (...and then catching your lovers eyes in the mirror while he tells you how beautiful you are…ONLY IN THE MOVIES), but I've never had one. I just use my bathroom countertop as a vanity I guess. And I do contain my toiletries and makeup on a little shelf unit hanging above my toilette.

perennial to do list: wash dishes, do laundry, decide what to make for meals, make the meals, print pictures, call this person, text that person, work on Project Life, etc., etc., etc.

refrigerator shelves: Oooooh right now I've got fresh greens from a friend just waiting to make me healthier, raw milk, leftover soup that is delicious, and cheese. Lots o' cheese. Always.

itinerary: I've got a possible beach in May with one of my oldest pals and her family, hoping to make a fun trip with my brother and his family in June, family beach week and Floyd Fest in July. I'm sure there will be weekend jaunts to NC, but those are all of the biggies.

fantasy itinerary: Paris (I lived there for a semester abroad in college and I am dying to go back). Disneyland/Harry Potter World. California Coast again. I'm not one for airplanes, matter of fact, I just flew for the first time in 11 years two years ago…and not since. It really takes a lot for me to get on one.

playlist: First Aid Kit, Ed Sharpe, and always rotating in some Langhorne Slim.

nightstand: So many books that I want to read. I always come to bed too late to read so therefore the piles just keep on piling up. Although, I am actively reading Looking for Alaska by John Green.

workout plan: Cut the grass with a push mower.

iphone/Android: Instagram, What's the Word, texts from some folks, Drudge Report, Pocket.

top 5 list: working upstairs in my craft room, a new season of my favorite shows on DVD, iPad, Fern's yawns, my bed.

bucket list: Have a baby. Go on short day trips to new places. Get the contents of my house to a manageable, bare-bones (for me), pile-less environment where I love everything that I have and have passed along those that I don't. Love myself for who I am, not who I think I should be.

mind: Is is time to get my eyes checked again? I hope I stay on track this month. Planning this big trip with my brother and his family and really hoping we do it. Happiness for being outside today with a picnic lunch in the grass. Hoping I'm not getting my niece's cold. Making plans for school this week.

blogroll: Elise Blaha, Exactly, Mucho Mucho Bueno Bueno, Chalk White Arrow

walls of your favorite room in your house: I just painted an accent wall in my kitchen and I am in love with the color. It's a dark greenish/gray/brown and I hung two wood shelves and it looks so good (if I may say so myself…)

liquor shelf: Vodka and Coffee Liqueur

last credit card statement: oh geez. I'm not even going to go there.

screensaver: One I got from a blog that I am ashamed to say I cannot remember…I do try and change it up every month though. It's a circles graphic that has the most wonderful color combo.

tv every night: I just finished all 3 seasons of Walking Dead (I was seriously looking out over the fields for Walkers), and Sons of Anarchy Season 3. Also on rotation: Shameless (my fave), Girls, Parks & Rec, Modern Family, The Office…I like something on in the background when I'm home.

I'd love to find out what is on your…..!

project life: week eleven

Week Eleven…here you are. 

Yep, I'm fully aware that we are currently on 15 (?), and yep, I'm a little behind on the postings. But most importantly, I am almost totally caught up with the actual album. And I am loving that feeling. Project Life is a huge part of my creative life, and it certainly doesn't feel good when I am so behind that it is just an added project I never completed or got behind on. I don't stress about it, but I do really enjoy my time with it. 

I do try to keep my spreads organized according to the week's happenings…just part of my particulars. ;) And I try to at least get one picture from my Wednesdays with my youngest nieces and nephew. Even though it usually ends up being more because they are just so darn cute. My niece gets so excited about clothes (especially when they are cozy) so she was thrilled about her new-to-her pink slippers passed down from a cousin. The 'love this' die-cut was a gift, and I think it's safe to say it came from an Ali Edwards file. And how about that pizza? Looks delish, right? It was.

I love that 'hello" card that I just had to document how the time change through me into complete upheaval. It was so ridiculous this year! Do I just forget how it affected me the previous years, or does it just get harder to deal with the older I get? It knocked me on my buns…big time. Loving using my vintage typewriter on journaling cards, and especially love when all I have to say fits so perfect in the space.

Sidenote: I'm totally digging working on a custom cross-stitch for my 'pseudo sister and brother-in-law' (I say pseudo because really my sister-in-law's sister and brother-in-law, but we're all super close to feels weird to not call an in-law…ahh family dynamics…), and they have been so excited over it. Lucky for me, their birthdays all fall in monthly rows, so I completed one in February for one birthday, added another for a birthday in March, and will complete it with a little gal for her birthday this month. It has been so fun, and something I have been considering adding to my Etsy shop. I plan to do a post all about it when I have a completely finished product. 

Weekly Supplies used (that weren't noted otherwise): Seafoam Core Kit, Studio Calico Monthly Project Life subscription, Design A photo pages, American Crafts Slick Writer, black Uni-Ball fine point pen, Fiskars 1/2-inch corner rounder, Martha Stewart Avery labels from Staples. I print all photos at home.

To find out more about Project Life, check it out here.

here + there

Please pardon the silence around here…days are just chugging along full and good. The weather has been b-e-a-utiful this week and there has definitely been some outside hang time. Although just last week at this time there was snow on the ground. Needless to say, I enjoy the sunny days when they decide to show. We even got some greens in the garden on Wednesday (all thanks to my 7-year-old nephew who did it ALL), and I'm planning what else I want to grow this year. I want my garden to definitely be a focus of daily activity…not just something I tend once a week. I'm pretty excited about it.

I've been doing lots of spring cleaning and decorative updates around the house. A college friend came for a visit last weekend and she provided support as I cleaned out my main closet and my 'junior' closet. I have a huge bag for Salvation Army, another bag for consignment, a stack that is already listed on eBay, and a bag I handed over to a niece. Feels so damn good. And I'm not even close to being finished. I greatly recommend it…everything feels so much lighter and it is amazing how that transfers into my thoughts and daily outlook as well. Perfect for this new season.