Organizing my crafting dreams

One of my goals for this year is to figure out a way to organize all of my creative ideas so that I can just jump right in whenever I have time to craft. I feel like there are times when I could do something wonderful... but I am not sure what to make, or I just don't have all of the supplies.

I have books. I have magazines.I have pages torn out of magazines. And then, of course, is this beast:

The projects I have bookmarked online are ridiculous. Sure, some are really in-depth projects that you'd have to actually buy supplies for (quilts). But others are just quick things that need a few supplies I already have and 45 minutes.

So the big question is.... how do you organize all of this stuff? A binder? A spreadsheet? A list?

A quick Google search brings up information on how to organize your craft room and supplies - but nothing about organizing your brilliance.

If you're a crafter, how do you organize all of these things? As I begin my quest for the perfect system, any advice on how to do so? I promise to share what I come up with!

How I Stopped Biting My Nails

I'm a recovering nail biter. I've been a nail biter for as long as I can remember... and I even hold my pen in a way that doesn't work as well when I have actual nails. I've tried to quit a ton of times - when I was in middle school, my dad even offered me $50 to stop. I've actually stopped a few times, only to quickly start again when I have a huge project at work or immediately upon stepping foot on an airplane.

I figured I'd stop when I got engaged. Nope - a few months into getting engaged and I would try to show people my ring with my fingers curled so they wouldn't notice my ugly nails.  Finally, enough was enough. I went to a local nail salon and got fake nails put on. They looked like this:

Just kidding! They did NOT look like that - though I had avoided fake nails for years because I was afraid that this is how they would look.  You can see them if you look closely in our engagement pictures:

Yep - just pretty. I had them filled twice, and really enjoyed them. Overall, I spent about $80, which to me, was money well spent to stop having this nasty habit.  

I went today, and they took off the nails. What you see below is 100% MY nails!! (You get a left hand shot because I am right handed and it's the only way I can take a picture one-handed that is almost in focus).

Why I think this time I was successful:

1. My nails always looked great. It was a lot easier to leave them alone when they looked pretty.
2. I couldn't really bite them. They were essentially hard acrylic. That would have been dumb.
3. I had them on for long enough to break the habit. At the beginning, I found myself still going through the motions of biting/picking my nails, even though I wasn't actually doing it. Now, I just leave them alone.

It seems small, but this is one of my proudest accomplishments! I know fellow nail biters / past nail biters will understand. I have gotten more compliments on my engagement ring ever since my nails have looked nice - which is just icing on the cake!

Have you kicked any bad habits? How did you do it?

Things to Do in 2011

I'm a huge fan of lists. And of making resolutions. Not necessarily always at the start of a new year, but just in general. I think they can be good.

At work, we teach the students how to set S.M.A.R.T. goals - goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. My resolutions are none of those things. They aren't specific goals - on purpose. This is just a list of things that I'd like to pay more attention to.  On that note, things I want to accomplish in 2011:

• Get married!
• Organize all of my craft ideas into a binder, so I can actually create!
• Donate a quilt to a local fundraiser
• Start an exercise routine (about 3x/week) 
• Re-connect with old friends with whom I've lost touch
• Visit my grandma in New York for a sewing weekend
• Make an album of all of our pictures from 2010
• Pack my lunch / eat lunch at home as much as possible
• Make time to read
• Make smarter food choices - like wheat bread over white.
• Stick to a cleaning schedule
• Stop worrying about what other people think and whether I'm doing things the "right way"
• Make the most of my wardrobe. I tend to be a lazy dresser - I have great clothes, but I usually can't be bothered to put an actual outfit together.

I'm sure I'll think of more as the year goes on...and I'll add them to my list and keep you posted on my progress! What are you going to do in 2011? Jamie from C.R.A.F.T. is going to implement one new herb in her cooking each month.  Such a cool idea!

Happy 2011!

The Best of 2010

It's hard to believe that 2010 is already coming to an end! This has been such a wonderful year for us. Here's some of the high points.

1. I started a new job! I started working at Leadership Scholars on January 1, 2010. I can't believe it's already been a year, but I'm so grateful for a wonderful job that I enjoy.

2. I started this blog! I thought about starting this blog for months before I actually did it. I had no idea that it would become such a huge part of my life, and introduce me to an incredible online community. My favorite part has been "meeting" so many wonderful people from across the world!

3. We bought a house! It was sort of accidental... in that we weren't really looking to buy a house. That being said, buying this house was one of the best things we've ever done. I absolutely love it, and it's been fun to tackle home improvement projects together. It's far from finished, but we've in love with it!

4. I decided to go back to school. Getting my MSW through a part-time, UK program was a great decision, but it definitely has led to some adjustments in my day-to-day life.  I think it's going to get worse before it gets better, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

5. We got engaged!! July brought the most exciting thing yet... an upcoming wedding! Planning the wedding has been a lot of work, but it's also really exciting.. especially since it's just 100 days away!!

We also made new friends, spent time with old friends, worked on our house, attended weddings of people we love, played with new babies, went on vacation, volunteered, found a new church... oh, and I somehow found time to sew every once in a while too!

Wow - what a year! I guess I should spend the rest of it resting up before it starts all over again in 2011! Happy New Year, everyone!

Is Christmas over yet?

I love Christmas. I put my decorations up just after Thanksgiving with the best of 'em. They seem so magical on Christmas Eve. And the day after Christmas, they start to drive me crazy.

My mom usually takes her stuff down on New Year's Day. Zac's mom takes her down as soon as she can. And I usually try to do the same thing. I'm not trying to be Scrooge here, it's just that somehow, between December 24 and December 26, it turns from magic to clutter.

My co-worker leaves her tree up longer... as in, until Easter. No, I'm not kidding. I'll let you digest that one for a minute.

As beautiful as our tree and other decorations were, I can't wait to take them down. Now I just need Zac to get home so I can have some help doing it!!

I'm Back!!

Hello, friends! Sorry for my serious lack of posting - December was a crazy month for us! Between finals, wrapping up some major projects at work and the holidays, I just don't know where the time went!

We had the most wonderful Christmas ever. We were so spoiled by family and friends with gifts, ate until we weren't sure we ever wanted to eat again, and got to spend a lot of time with the people we love. I'd call that a great holiday!

One of our favorite presents was this little guy:

So far, we've realized that we have no idea how to use it, but we're excited to figure it out!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that Zac had built me a desk for Christmas! We had been talking about building one of Ana's desks, but I had given up on the idea when we discovered that we would need to invest in some major tools.  Then... I saw this!

I'll post a picture of the real desk once we have it set up. We're still unpacking from being gone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday as well... 

From our home to yours...

Wishing you the happiest of holidays - may it be filled with laughter and love!

Sewing for Others

I don't do a lot of sewing for other people, but this year I've done more than ever before. My sewing machine is also an embroidery machine (thanks, Mom, for foreseeing how much I would love sewing before I knew I would!), and sometimes I do embroidery for other people too.

And I hate it. Well, I sort of hate it. I love being able to save my friends money by monogramming their bags or other fun things. I love sewing quilted table toppers for friends. But I get SO NERVOUS in the process!

When I'm making something for me, or even to give as a gift to someone else, I don't worry about how it's going to turn it. It's almost always fine.  When I'm sewing for someone else, all I see are the millions of imperfections in what I'm making!

How do people who have ETSY shops do it? I recently won the world's cutest apron from Just Sew Sassy (picture coming soon!) and I swear it's absolutely perfect. As in, I looked for stitches that weren't totally straight and there aren't any. Incredible.

Today was a snow day in Cincinnati. I worked from home, but let's face it, can you really call working in your PJs work?? Yes, people who live where you actually get large amounts of snow, I know that this amount of snow is pathetic - but it's a lot around here.  Hope you're staying warm, wherever you are!

Going Global

I added this little widget thing to the bottom of my blog that tells me where people are reading from. Don't worry, it doesn't give me your home address or anything, it just gives me a general area.

This is pretty cool:

Pretty cool that there are so many readers outside of the United States, and that there are people who live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where there appears to be no land, who read my blog??

My last final is tonight, and then I promise I'll really be back. This has been a pathetic positing month, but the end is in sight!!

More flower girl eye candy

Seriously - is it possible to be any cuter?!?