Valentine Luminaries....Kinda...

Do you ever have a project idea in your head and once you begin, it just doesn't look like what you imagined? 

Well, that's my crafting story for this past weekend. 

This is what I ended up with but it's not what was in my head.

I started out using red marble glass globs and clear/white to spell out I you. 

But that was definitely not what I had in my head either. I think I should have used stained glass pieces instead. 

So since I had more red globs, I decided to keep it simple.

 I added a little ribbon at the top to hide the lip of the jar.

And it now sits in our entry way.

It's okay, but not what I was picturing. Time to move on. :)

50% Off at Lifestyle Crafts

I always love a good bargain and so I wanted to share the special deal Lifestyle Crafts is offering.....

Starting January 21 and going until January 27, Lifestyle Crafts is offering  50% off (instead of the regular 20% off) of their products!

 It will start at on Monday the 21st at midnight and end Sunday the 27th at midnight Mountain Standard Time. 

So now is the perfect time to try those Lifestyle products that you've been eyeing.

I've been eyeing these metal sheets for a while now. My birthday is coming up....maybe Russell can buy me an early birthday present?

Being Who I Am in the New Year

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind for me. We've had my in-laws in town from NY and of course it was Christmas vacation which is always super busy. 

During the midst of all this busyness, I tweaked my back and have been trying to get my back healthy. Unfortunately, I've had to take it easy, which meant putting off any organizational projects, crafting projects or Etsy store projects.

Because this injury happened around the beginning of the new year, it made me feel behind. 

Last year at this time I was starting all of these cool journaling projects like......

.....One Little Word....

Last year, in January, I picked a word to focus on along with a bunch of other bloggers (part of the One Little Word movement). Mine was present as in being present. I even signed up for the Ali Edwards class on-line. She sent us prompts each month with suggestions for ways to live/examine your word. I think I made it to March and then got bored/busy. But I made this fun book to chronicle my journey. The book was fun to make, but keeping up with it was a burden. Some journey, huh?

Here's where that journey began and soon ended.

....Project 52....

Last year I also made this fun scrapbook called 52 weeks and the idea was that I'd put a picture a week into it, to look back on the year. unfortunately, I at one point was 15 weeks behind. Right now, I'm at week 40....almost done even though the new year has begun. But I did have fun making the book.

Here's my Project 52.

......Gratitude Journal.....

And then there's my favorite project, my gratitude journal to keep track of a thing a day that I'm thankful for. Nice idea but I just got distracted and fell off the wagon about Feb.

Here's where I made my Gratitude Journal.

As I was sitting here on my couch with my ice pack, nursing my sore back, seing all of these other bloggers doing these really awesome, fun beginning of the new year projects, I began to realize, why do I need to beat myself up over this. Why don't I just embrace my personality, my style, and what I LIKE to do. I love making journals and mini-books. But I don't like a strict timeline. 

I think the bottom line for me this year is to not start any new long-term projects that I have to keep up with over an extended length of time. Maybe just a simple journal that I can create and add pics, journal entries, and odds and ends that doesn't have a specific time line. That could be mixed media. Otherwise, I fall off the wagon and end up feeling guilty.

I will go ahead and try to finish my 52 weeks book and Gratitude Journal, but the Gratitude Journal might be over many years instead of just one. The 52 Weeks is actually pretty easy to fix. I just need to go back through my photos and pick them out. The book is already made, it just needs to filled.

So for me, this year is just to be who I am. To do things because I want to, not because everyone else is. And really just to take better care of myself (like eating healthier and my back care). That way, I can be a better mom, wife, teacher and artist.