The '7' challenge!

Last September I was with my daughter-in-law Katie at a Women's Weekend at beautiful Windy Gap, a Young Life camp in the mountains of North Carolina. Our lovely weekend ended with the announcement that the speaker for the September 2014 weekend will be Jen Hatmaker. Then everyone was handed a gift, Jen's book 7 an experimental mutiny against excess

Seven months
Seven topics

clothes • spending • waste • food • possessions • media • stress

There is a lot more to it than reading a book. It's a journey. In January I began my journey. I picked possessions as my first subject. That was pretty easy actually. Maybe because I've been married for almost 35 years. Maybe because I've lived in our current home for 20 years. That's a lot of years to collect stuff! I had to give away 7 items per day. It was easy until the 4th week. I had to give away some things that I probably wouldn't have otherwise. The items were not necessary items for me to keep. There was just some 'stuff' that I wanted to hang on to. But seriously? I'd been hanging on to some of that stuff for YEARS! I don't need quilt books from the early 90's. I don't need out of date scrapbook idea books/magazines. I held on to those outdated books just in case I MAY find an idea that would stir a better idea! I'm pretty certain Google can help me with that search in the future. I even gave away a set of 6 cups and plates that I had purchased when I was first engaged in 1978. I never used that sweet little set, NEVER! They were glass and meant to be used at a bridal or baby shower. You know the kind. The oval crystal looking plate with a rimmed spot for the punch cup. I kept them all these years because they represented being grown up. I was 19 when I got married so I needed all the help I could get to feel grown up. But really, who has a shower for 6 people? Not me. And now, I have more room in that cupboard and I haven't lost any sleep over it.

In February I picked clothes
That turned out to be much easier than I had anticipated. My seven items were:
my favorite skinny jeans
my new mustard yellow skinny jeans
white tee shirt (basic Jockey v-neck from Target)
gray tee shirt (Love Your Neighbors - Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors)
chambray shirt
teal long cardigan
gray long cardigan

I didn't count my shoes as Jen Hatmaker did. I didn't count my coat because I was going to visit my parents in Minnesota and needed it EVERY day! My grand plan (to beat the system) was to have February as my clothes month BECAUSE of my Minnesota trip. I figured I would have less to pack. Plus, I would be spending 10 days away from home. That's 10 days where the people who I would regularly see wouldn't be seeing me! Well, that sort of backfired. My mom got really, really sick while I was there. I canceled my flight home and stayed in Minnesota for 24 days. So for 24 of the 28 days, I was in freezing cold Minnesota. And I mean FRIGID! It was rarely over 0ºF in February. Many days were -16ºF and it even got down to -26ºF. That is cold for this now southern girl. I probably made a bad choice in having both my jeans be narrow at the ankle. My only shoes were my cowboy boots and my Toms. I'm always comfortable in my boots but wearing them on the outside of skinny jeans almost every day in a small town hospital was probably a bit much! It crossed my mind that people were staring at me as I clopped down the hall. And of course I imagined them to be thinking, "who does she think SHE is in her fancy cowboy boots?" Reality- they probably didn't give it a thought or care. I worry about things like this which is one of the very reasons I like the discipline of this book. There are so many 'things' that are not important, especially to other people.
When my clothes month ended I actually felt a bit lost. I had grown quite comfortable with those 7 pieces of fabric. And mostly just 6. The chambray shirt required ironing. With so many trips to the hospital to stay with my mom there was little time for ironing. I think I wore that shirt maybe 3 times. I ended up really liking the security and simplicity of having this small clothing selection. It felt strange and rather chaotic to have a closet full of options on the first day back to clothing freedom!

I took March off. We had a couple out of town trips. One was for a wedding and I didn't want to be on a restricted diet during a lovely wedding dinner!

April was up next and so was food. On the menu:
chicken
sweet potatoes
spinach
apples
tomatoes
Vanilla Greek Yogurt
bread

That list was a compromise with my husband. I would have traded the yogurt for eggs. And the bread was not my idea either. As it turned out, the yogurt was fine to have for breakfast every morning and the bread was a life savor. However, you won't lose weight eating bread as a snack! I lost 5 pounds in the first week. Then as we got hungrier and munched on bread for snacks, a few pounds came back on. Over the 28 day total and getting the bread consumption in check, I stayed at the 5 pounds total loss. We only used salt, pepper and olive oil for seasonings so we missed all the other options. We stand by our choices. Chicken was great since white and dark meat have different flavors. Spinach is great hot or cold and an apple a day? I still haven't stopped that new habit! But we have been staying away from our once favorite sweet potatoes.

So  Tired  Of  Sweet  Potatoes

May was for waste. 

recycle EVERYTHING

use cloth bags at the grocery store

compost

turn off lights in any room I'm not in (conserving energy)

buy local food

garden

drive only one car

I feel like I was the least compliant this month. Again, I took a trip to Minnesota to visit my parents (mom is doing great!). It's the buy local foods that I didn't do so well. However, I went above and beyond on the composting. I even bought a duel compartment compost bin for my back yard. I have a lot to learn about that but I'm on board and so is Jeff. My gardening is not stellar but there is effort shown. I have an upside down tomato plant hanging on my deck that should prove interesting.

After Jeff and I shared one car for 3 months last winter we thought it would be easy to do again. I rode my bike to my book study in the neighborhood so THAT was intentional. I stayed home until Jeff came home so that we were not using our cars at the same time. There were only a couple occasions where I needed my car when he wasn't home. A local shop carries my jewelry and sometimes the owner calls me for a custom tiny initials order. If I'm available I put it together and head straight over. I think that was a good enough excuse to break my 7 code!

4 down 3 to go. 

That brings me to the dreaded media month.

I mean seriously, 28 days of no Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? TV? Say it ain't so. My list:

No Facebook

No Instagram

No Twitter

No TV

No unnecessary texting*

No unnecessary World Wide Web**

No phone games or Wii***

Jen Hatmaker combined Facebook and Twitter. My feeling is that each one of the three are 'important' to me. And by important, I mean that they suck my time and I'm quite hooked. If I gave up two of them I would just spend the extra time on the third. In my opinion, each one carries a lot of weight with me so they deserve the 1. 2. and 3. spots. Then there is television. I can't deny it, Jeff and I love television. In fact tonight as I typed this we caught up on Hawaii Five O and Criminal Minds. Yes, I was multitasking and a couple times Jeff said, "did you see that?" No, I hadn't so we had to re-wind. The truth is that if I sat and watched TV without 'doing' something else I would fall asleep. I wonder what that means. Do I like to sit and watch TV? Or do I like to be entertained while I make jewelry or work on Adobe Illustrator or upload items to my Etsy shop? Over the next 28 days I have a feeling I will be very productive.

*unnecessary vs. necessary texting

my fast, my rules. (that's one of the things I like about Jen's book, she and her council made up the rules as they went along)

I've decided that I will not instigate texts just for checking in with people. If I want to know how someone is doing, I'm going to call them. If someone sends me a text, I will respond. But, I won't 'chat'. This one will be hard when it comes to my kids. Maybe they're going to like my self imposed no texting for 28 days!

**unnecessary vs. necessary World Wide Web

I make jewelry and sell it on line. No one is out there promoting me, it's just me. So I will continue to take photos, edit them and post new pieces to my Etsy Shop. I will probably post some of the new pieces to my business page on Facebook. I don't even have to 'be on FB' to do that. That happens through my Etsy Shop.

I am in the process of changing my entire it's by design web site. I'm working on some changes to my logo and combining my website with my blog. The way I look at it is that I will probably get it all finished BECAUSE I am banning myself from those social media sites! I'm still going to send and read emails. I am not however going to click on links unless it's for my business or Young Life for which I volunteer my time. This means I won't be going to my favorite blogs for 28 days. I'm going to notice that! It's not going to be easy.

***phone games and Wii

I couldn't think of a number 7 because I haven't played electronic games lately. But, I got to thinking that with all my social media sites off the table. I would probably revert to Flow Free or Words With Friends so that became my number 7. And the Wii? I own my own, it's not the kids'. So with no tv and no social media, I just may have resorted to the Wii. 

No, this girl is going to read real books, play board games with my husband, ride my bike, learn Adobe Illustrator while designing my new logo and website, and talk to people IN PERSON! I'm going to spend quiet time on my porch talking to and listening to what God has to say to me.

But, right now I've got 45 minutes to check my Facebook and Instagram. There's not even enough time left for Twitter.

Wish me luck!

1st annual Craft Camp

That's correct! 

It was craft camp at 

the Peterson home in August

Holli and her friend Courtney flew in from Nashville
Katie and Daniel drove up from Aiken
Daniel didn't participate in craft camp
He had other things to do around Raleigh and Cary
and Jeff graciously took on the role of camp cook!
We even squeezed in a movie at the theater and a fun game of Canasta that we picked up and continued each night.

Everyone arrived on Thursday afternoon. The girls shared with each other what we wanted to accomplish. Then we heading out to purchase whatever supplies we still needed.

Holli wanted to make a pillow, cover a pad for a tiny bench, make a couple pillowcases and make new curtains for her bedroom!
Katie wanted to make an apron and some earrings.
Courtney wanted to cover some pillows for her sofa and some for her porch.
I wanted to at least start on a baby quilt and maybe even new valances for my kitchen!

This was going to be a big undertaking as Courtney was learning to sew for the first time and Katie and Holli were adding to their learning curve!

We purchased fabrics to go with what we had and found the perfect fabrics for both Holli's windows and mine.
We were already on a roll!

Here is day 2 when
the campers are really getting started.
Holli in the background at the ironing board
{sweet child of mine even ironed all my skirts and shorts in my to-do pile}
Courtney is in the foreground cutting out her first pillow cover
Katie is designing and cutting out the first part of her apron

 

Katie piecing her apron front

Katie was 'getting to know' the sewing machine that she got for Christmas from Daniel. Not to mention designing and figuring out how to make this apron WITHOUT a pattern! She's well on her way to being a pro at this sewing stuff!

here's me - piecing on the baby quilt
Holli did most of this while I was helping the other two. She is good at this piecing stuff!
But, I wanted to make this quilt so she saved some of the piecing for me!
And at the end of day 2...
we had a couple pillow covers for Courtney {background}
a pillow case for Holli {yellow bicycles on white}
a pieced pillow for Holli {bottom center}
an apron front for Katie {left}
a baby quilt top for Lois {right}

On day 3 Katie learned how to etch metal,
all this, while still working on her apron!
First the hole punching
then the stamping
then the actual etching

the finished earrings are fabulous

Katie is a quick study and has this down now too!
Plus, she has given me new etching ideas for
it's by design


There was lots of 'team' measuring and cutting for the two sets of window treatments.

Even Piper got in on the action! {Holli waits patiently in the background}
and because we were ALWAYS having fun at this craft camp
here is Katie on her magic carpet ride
AKA strips of my new kitchen valance

and MORE fun...

while Holli presses and pins the hem to her curtains
I just stand next to her and entertain!

more from day 3
custom reversible bib apron
by Katie

Katie checking out the reverse side {upper left}.
Just before the front and back were sewn together
tucking the bib, neck sash {not quite tucked yet}, and the waist sash inside the edge. Then side 1 of the apron could lie on top, right sides together {upper right} and the final machine seam could be sewn all around the rectangle. A small opening was left so that it could be turned inside out. After everything looked good and the sashes and bib were released from their captivity, the opening was hand sewn shut.
{arrrggg! the girls learned that lots of projects end with hand sewing}
Side 1 of apron {lower left}
Side 2 of apron {lower right}
Yes, that's a pocket on both sides!
we're officially professionals

the hand sewing begins

and here we are on day 4 just showing it all off!

Katie had to head back to South Carolina on the afternoon of day 4.
Holli and Courtney and I still had a full day 5 to finish hand sewing all the pillow closures and Holli's LINED bedroom curtains.
That was a big project
mainly because there was so much fabric!

the Loot photo on day 4
pillows, pillows and more pillows

and earrings that Holli commissioned me to make
the pearl necklace is a custom order for a special bride that I finished during craft camp. So it became part of the loot!

when the Tennessee girls returned to their homes
here's how they showed off some of their projects

Courtney's sofa pillows
Courtney's porch pillows
{there are actually two of each}
and a sage green pillow {pictured in the loot photo} for her sofa

lots of crafty additions to Holli's already crafty bedroom
the burlap type fabric curtains are lined with blackout lining
Holli LOVES to sleep in when her schedule allows!
the little black bench that Grampa made now sports a new cushion of salmon and white polka dots {left}

the cute little pieced pillow is backed with the polka dots
it's home is on the palette couch we made last fall

the bicycle pillowcases brighten up her new bedding
AND
hide her guest pillows
for when someone passes through town and sleeps on the sofa
{she and Courtney even built the trunk at the end of her bed}
this little apple doesn't fall far from her mama's tree!

that's it for craft camp 2012

my kitchen valances and baby quilt were not completed at craft camp but they will be blogged about soon!

testing one of my Pinterest pins!

I am always trying to come up with a great backdrop for taking my product photos.

I love the outdoor shots but sometimes that can be too busy for the jewelry.

So one day this summer I see this pin on Pinterest.

I bought a square piece of wood so I would have lots of surface

for taking my jewelry photos.

I soaked the steel wool in the vinegar just as instructed in the original blog.

and this is what I got...

brown

wouldn't you say?

not black

So I tried it again for another overnight and it didn't change.

I'm not sure if it was the fact that the wood was new and quite hard or why it didn't change it to a nice grey/black finish.

Not to be defeated, I bought some black stain and rubbed it on.

I thought it would rub off easily with a rag for the look I wanted.

no, it didn't.

So I grabbed some sandpaper and sanded away.

I even added more black stain

rubbed it 'off'

and sanded some more.

Eventually, I decided to be satisfied so I rubbed a finish on it.

Here is one of the ways I use it.

Here is what shows up in my Etsy Shop

better at projects than posts...that should count

I've actually been quite crafty since my last post,

just not diligent with my crafty blog.

Let's catch up.

First I came up with a good use

for two of the old doors

that came out of the back hall remodel.

I had been contemplating something new

for displaying my necklaces at shows.

cut down the doors

remove the knobs

pull out my favorite paper, scraps and maps

 and the white glue/water mixture

and

voila!

I added corkboard to the other side

and then hinged it together.

Here it is in action

at The Handmade Market!

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Then there was the pillow for Piper.

I got out the fabric samples that Holli had given me

from when she worked for an Interior Designer

I began by cutting squares and rectangles

out of the samples

and sewed them together.

As I got closer to the overall pillow size

I had to sort of work it like a puzzle.

 

side one

side two

The pillow insert is a very used insert from a chair.

That's what led me to make this in the first place.

My favorite chair and a half had lousy pillow inserts.

I finally purchased some great feather inserts.

I couldn't just toss the old ones!

They looked sort of flat and even split in the center.

But, for some reason it just looked like a comfy doggie pillow to me!

look at those sad pillow inserts

before...

after...

one happy Piper!

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Next up

 the paper poms

*

Oh, the paper poms

who knew the paper poms would be tricky to make?

certainly not I.

I had this great idea to make paper poms

for decorations for a

Bridal shower I was hosting 

for my dear friend

Alison.

My friends and co-hosts 

Becca and Libby

got in on the fun.

My first shock was that the flowers would turn out so large!

For some reason, I thought they were going to be 

these small little flowers that would turn into

a garland.

They could have been,

but as we tried them

we found out that the smaller the flower

the harder it was to work

First you cut a width of tissue paper

about the same size as what you want

the finished diameter of your pom to be.

Libby had just folded her purple paper accordion style

and was adding the floral wire.

We followed the directions

on 

Martha Stewart.com

I worked on the green poms.

We rounded some of the ends

as shown on Martha Stewart.

Some of them we trimmed to a point.

 Becca worked on an orange one

with rounded ends,

Carefully pulling layers

of tissue out from

each end.

Here is a green pom in progress.

The funny thing is that we thought

our poms were awful at the time!

Looking at these photos now...

They were actually

some pretty great poms!

No one can see the torn pieces here and there!

The holidays came and went

and

it was time to use our tissue paper poms

for the shower.

Our original plan of a garland

was replaced with

this awesome bunch of flowers

hanging

from a light fixture.

Cheers for Libby

and that idea!

If you look closely

you will see 

additional flower poms made of tulle.

They were made on the spot

out of lots of loops.

It was the perfect filler.

I know that I learned more than just a new craft

with this little project.

Three capable artists

thought they could whip through

this little project.

When the tissue paper

started tearing,

the frustration level

starting growing.

We expected perfection

from the start.

But, after a few hours

and a lot of laughs,

it turned out

we made some

pretty nice

tissue paper poms!

Thanks Becca and Libby

for the memory!

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And finally,

the sweetest project of all...

Footprint pictures with "the greats"

I like to call my great nieces and nephew

"the greats"

After all,

they are pretty

G R E A T

!!!

We spent part of the holidays

with family in Des Moines this year.

That gave us the priceless opportunity

to hang out

with 

the greats!

We searched Pinterest for a project idea.

Made a few creative additions of our own.

And here is how it went.

Camryn

Sat perfectly still

not one bit ticklish.

Gage

Super ticklish!

Hayden

Another ticklish one.

It was a challenge

to keep those toes

out of the green paint!

This one was Camryn's.

I added the star.

Holli added the trunk.

And for our crafty addition

to these mini masterpieces.

Holli added song lyrics.

Camryn's and Gage's

Auntie Carol and cousin Emma

wrapped them up

to surprise

some happy parents.

T H A T

was a fun afternoon!
I
L O V E
my greats!

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sometimes you win, sometimes you don't win

but you never lose!

Every now a then I get my ducks in a row and enter something that I have designed into some sort of publishing 'competition'.

My first experience was simply a pair of earrings that were published in Stringing Magazine in 2009.  They landed on the '17 earring designs page' and I was thrilled!  I think I even received a check for $15.00 for that big event.  But it was simply the accomplishment that I enjoyed.

Then about a year ago I tried my hand at needle felting and turned it into a pillow for my bed.  A short time later I saw that a publishing company was looking for 500 felted projects.  I thought, what the heck, I'll send photos of my felted pillow.  I waited months and months for them to decide.
Finally only weeks ago, I received the news...
Thanks, but no thanks.  That's OK, I love my pillow.  And after all, it WAS my first attempt at needle felting!

So, that's when I didn't win.

Here's when I won!
In the very same week I that I was turned away from the felted projects book I heard word from the magazine Cloth, Paper, Scissors. I had entered a reader challenge titled 'all buttoned up'
I'm pretty sure that I sent my photos in October or November.  I heard that I was a top contender in December!  I sent in the actual button necklace for further judging and low and behold....
I was published as one of the 17 winners to the challenge.  No prize money this time, but more joy and excitement!

what does this mean?  Just keep pluggin' away, keep tryin', keep creating!

Inventory Celebration!

 I just finished my it's by design inventory.  Now we are one step closer to getting ready for tax time.  That is always a big weight lifted off of my shoulders.  Today while I finished up, I watched this weeks episode of Parenthood.  I LOVE that show!  It just may be my all around favorite TV show this season.  It's about, as you can probably guess, the dynamics of family.  I love that you get to see it from all sides, the kids, the young parents, the struggles of being a teenager and the struggles of parenting, all the way to the grandparents who are still parents too!  You ever think of that?  Just because you become a grandparent doesn't mean you don't stop being a parent.  I love how everyone learns from each other on this show and it's not easy.  It pretty much always chokes me up.  This episode ended with a song called Next Time by a guy named Meredith Bragg.  I couldn't find it available yet on itunes.  It looks like it will be coming out later this year.  So for now, click here to listen and enjoy.

Next Time by Meredith Bragg

when God gives you sun, take photos

So today it's in the upper 50's and I've got inventory to do in my 3rd floor studio.  My studio has a sky light so that's a plus.  But, it's really a great place to be when it's cold, even snowy.  Awww, the 3rd floor, the toastiest place in the house.
So rather than spend the entire day with a calculator and bins of supplies to count.  I grabbed whatever needed to be photographed and headed outside.  OK, so 56º wasn't as warm as I thought it would be and I chose today to air dry my thick locks (something I rarely do but enjoy the treat).  Since that takes hours, I flipped up the hood on my sweatshirt and carried on.
Even the slightest breeze wreaks havoc when trying to take detailed photos of jewelry, so I moved the shoot into the porch.

I use whatever is around for my props.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.  This time I had added help from two very old spools of string.  The string was always too shiny to actually hold a knot.  But, hold a pair of earrings?  or a necklace?  divine!  And flip a stone candle holder on its side and you've got another interesting background.
Now it's back to counting and perhaps some RDjr as Sherlock Holmes to keep me company!
Thank you Jesus for the sun!