Community Thrift

I am going to create a new wardrobe for myself with my newfound love of the Community Thrift Store. I know thrift stores are old news to most people, but I could never get over the feel of being dirty when I touched their things. I know that is terrible, but guess what, I have gotten over it! I specifically adore this one I mentioned, but I think I'll start checking out all of them. I am on the hunt for a leather bomber like this one I found at Dillards for $137 on sale.

Is there anything you have been ignorant of and then finally seen the light?

I can't care about everything

I am constantly trying to be a good mother, a good human, a good Christian.  I care about a lot of things, but sometimes I just have to stop.

My family's Sitz im Leben is as follows:  we are raising funds to be able to move overseas as missionaries to Berlin, Germany and join a church plant called RESETBerlin.  They are doing awesome stuff and we feel we fit there, have been invited to join there, and have seen God continually open the doors for us to be able to go there.  However, since we started raising support full time (since the night before our son was born, almost 20 months) our lives seem to just be getting harder and harder.  Don't get me wrong, I still know and love how completely blessed I am that we have a roof over our heads and we are blessed with good health.  Our support raising has slowly grown to this plateau we've been at for about 2 months. A little more than a year ago we moved in with my mother, just after my youngest sibling moved out to attend university.  That's pretty much the raw facts of it.  Now, back to my point.

Things I want to show I care about:

• my children's health: eating unprocessed/organic foods, foot health (barefoot shoes), chiropractic care, no sugar, no tv, teaching them to make wise decisions about how to treat their bodies (whether that be with food/exercise or how to not stick keys into outlets)
• spending more relaxed time with my husband
• having a relationship with my Creator: quiet time, prayer
• the earth: recycling, growing/purchasing local food, owning earth friendly goods
• getting to Berlin: raising funds, learning German
• training my dog
• keeping a clean/simple household
• my children's education: a somewhat homeschool type of situation where their minds develop to think creatively and make good decisions
• my children's spirituality: teach them the Truth in all things, show them the love of God everyday and speak truth into their lives, teach them to obey their parents so that one day they will learn to unquestioningly obey their Creator, teach them self-control and patience
• growing my business: learn how to use social media, take better pictures, become more efficient, clean up my work space
• giving generously
• having relationships with people I am not immediately related to

Usually what happens is that my husband and I get caught up in our own mental survival and the kids are just along for the ride.  We are trying so hard to not go crazy, it gets really hard to care about all the things that I really do care about.  I kinda feel like we are living out of the bottom sections of the hierarchy of needs diagram, drowning and stuck.  I can't build my own existence and my own mental health because I am confined.  Anyway, it's hard to express the depth of sadness that I try to push away.  It's hard to focus on the mental/physical/spiritual health of my children and I feel really really incredibly bad about that.  Alright, sad rant over for now. I wouldn't mind if you'd pray and/or donate :)  thanks friends.

Not mine, but a giveaway nonetheless

I absolutely adore giveaways! Plume Perfumery, located here in beautiful Tulsa, is giving away a roll-on natural oil perfume.  I met the proprietor at a craft fair and got the chance to smell a whole ton of her lovely scents, definitely beautiful and earthy.  She also makes scent lockets with solid perfume inside which I think are a great gift idea.  My mom purchased one for her sister and it is absolutely gorgeous.  I love all things "natural" and "smelly good," so, if you get the chance, root for me to win it :) And go enter for yourself.  I'll root for you back.  Check it out rightchia

don't forget to smell good!

le Renard

I have to say, I have not taken my own advice. I have been neither "merry" nor "Mary."  I have not been too thankful this season.  I do indeed have much much to be thankful for.  However, right now all I can focus on is that I do not have a home.  I know that this suffering is slight compared to what some have suffered for Christ.  But I do feel that I am suffering and it is for him.

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."

..................and again...................

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
 
I feel this very deeply as a wife and mother.  I long for my own den.  Dear Jesus, please send me and quickly.
 
Amen amen.

to Jeannie Kirkpatrick

A couple weeks ago, my husband and I were speaking at a church in Freedom, OK (it is as small as it sounds).  He usually does a little spiel about my "talent" and "creativity" that I usually find incredibly embarrassing and I had asked him to stop doing it... anyway, he did it this time.  Afterward, a man came up to me and started telling me a story about his wife, her name was Jeannie Kirkpatrick, who loved to quilt.  She had passed away a year ago after a loooong battle with cancer, which wasn't supposed to be so long, but I guess she was a tough bird.  He said she had so many supplies, fabric, and equipment left over and he wanted to do more than just get rid of it.  He wanted to be able to give it to someone young, who was just starting out in sewing - because of course there were several older women who sew that he could've given it to, but that wasn't what God had placed on his heart.  Anyway, he and his youngest daughter were adamant that I should have it.  The next day or so later we went over to their house to see the stuff.  Not only did they present us with a TON of fabric, thread, notions, and a nice sewing machine but they invited us to stay for lunch and spend some time them.  They were incredibly kind and welcoming family.  We weren't able to take everything (which I felt really bad about), including the sewing machine, but I did feel like we were taking a part of their family with us.  Among the gifts was a large container of every different color of thread imaginable.

I don't know if you know, but I have a wonderful husband who desires to help me in life in general, and also my creative business.  He helped me to detangle them, and he built me this fantastic peg board attached to my crumby crumbly desk, so I can see them and keep them organized.  He is fantastic.

I feel very blessed by this family, by this woman, for entrusting me with part of her heart... something she was passionate about.  I only hope that I can use this gift for a worthy purpose and pass the love along.

Sewing Bio

I am a new sewist, but ever since I have gotten the itch to learn, I haven't been able to stop.  The first pattern that I bought was from ithinksew.com - a zippered pleated coin purse/wristlet in three different sizes, and I only bought it because I had 2 yards of fabric by chance and I didn't know what to do with it.  I had never sewn anything before, but with the help of my mother I made several Christmas presents with this pattern.  That was at the end of 2009.  In the beginning of 2010 I took a sewing class at B Sew Inn in Tulsa, in May, my son was born.  In August I registered myself as an Etsy seller, though I had no merchandise to sell.  In November I listed my first item, an upcycled sweater bunny named Virginia.  Because I had two small children, my sewing and subsequent listing of items was sparse... my sales were 98% to people I knew.
Everything changed when I signed up for the Etsy Craft Party, organized by Trina.  It was there that she told me about a craft fair she was planning, the B.A.zaar, the first of an annual event.  I applied for the show, was accepted....... and frantically started sewing because I didn't have hardly any inventory to fill a craft fair booth!  The last 2 months was really where I picked it up, I started trying to find my real niche.

 I want to fill my home with handmade things and offer others the same opportunity.  Anything that can possibly be reasonably handmade, it needs to be.  

I started filling up my inventory with washcloths, dish cloths, place mats, curtains, pillow cases, and also custom dolls! I am really excited about this one.  For some reason, a beautiful, simple, handmade doll is one of my favorite things to make/own/look at/whatever.  And I figured out how to do it myself, make a doll with a persona and give it two accessories and a tote bag to all fit together in.  I am really proud of this.  I am usually pretty humble about what I make, because it's really simple to follow someone else's pattern, but these I own and I love.

I love this picture because of the early morning light coming in

The B.A.zaar was coming up quickly, I was still freaking out, staying up all hours, eating nothing. But once we started setting up, I just got caught up in the flow.  I talked to other vendors, friends, customers, it was great.  Then I started getting great feedback and I got really excited.  I made some excellent contacts and was invited to participate in the Alliday craft fair.  I made several sales, not enough to wipe out my inventory, but that's probably good :)  I also got a good number of custom orders for dolls.  I had a great time, and I am so excited.

Right now I am taking a Sabbath.  Taking photos, listing items that I was hanging onto for the craft fair that didn't sell, ah yes, and doing laundry, and cleaning up the house that has been so neglected for several weeks.  

Then I will be off and running again, trying to develop home items of my own design and working on my custom orders.  This is more than anything I really hoped for.  All I want to do is to bring handmade items filled with love and personality into peoples homes.  

I am momma. Hear me ROAR

My weekend as an adult.  Both my husband and mom (who we have been staying with) were gone this weekend, to different places.  I am very very not used to having to deal with my two kiddos alone.  Jace usually will get up with the kids and let me sleep in for hour/2 or so in the morning.......... okay, sometimes it turns into 2 hours(he is seriously the best husband).  I am not a morning person, I am probably not even an afternoon person.  But, it turned out okay.  I got up. I fed them, clothed them, even cleaned them!  I did the dishes, picked up, even sewed a bit while enjoying a class of wine and catching up on The Office.  It went by really fast, and I even think I could've handled it for longer.  Hey, guess what? it's been three years since my daughter was born and... I AM A MOM!  I definitely couldn't be a provider and a caregiver by myself. I am glad I have my husband to partner with me.  But, it is good to know that I can handle my own.  But, remember, this was only for a day and two half days. Or four half days, when you divide at naptime.

Milla's journal

I had no idea what if anything I was going to get my niece Milla for her 12th birthday. While we were all visiting my mother-in-law I found a letter Milla had written to no one in particular. I'm not gonna lie, I read it. It wasn't too personal, but it led me to think Milla could benefit from a journal. So I decided to make her one that would be discreetly disguised as an old book. I went to the Salvation Army and was pleasantly surprised with what I found, though it took just about forever. I found this old book which appears to be about womens' suffrage, but the cover is so cool! It's full of bright 70's colors and has one larger female face that is really pretty. It is called Never Jam Today. I looked up a bunch of tutorials that were very confusing, but I've come so far as ripping out the old pages, folding and binding the new "signatures" and now they are drying onto a ribbon waiting to be inserted into the cover. It is am exciting new adventure.

I am taking a break from making things for my shop to work on some presents. My niece's birthday is the beginning of the month, my nephew's is the middle, my daughter's is at the end, and my son's is the beginning of May!! I am also putting together their combined birthday party. Should be a busy blast!

In the middle of nowhere with everything I need

Today I was amazed by American mindset. I am visiting a very very very small town in SW Kansas and everyone drives everywhere in town. I believe the town is probably less than 1 sq mi. And it just makes sense to me that is you can walk, you should. Sometimes it is not so simple, but I know if I lived and worked here that is what I would do.

I actually have always said that I could never live here. But I think that might be wrong. It has actually been pretty pleasant staying here for a while.