The Simple Life

 

 In a world filled with busy schedules, to-do lists and chaos, I am looking around and finding the simple things in life to enjoy. There was a time in my life that I thought I needed to keep anything that I bought or was given to me but that is simply not true. As we grow as people, we learn that we outgrow our surroundings and sometimes our belongings. The great thing about outgrowing our belongings is that "what is one man's garbage is another man's treasure". So what we don't use any longer, can be useful to someone else and never gone to waste. My goal this week is to start clearing out my outgrowth and letting it become a different person's treasure. So clearing out my bins, bags and drawers will help bring simplicity to my surroundings and my mind. Less chaos in my outside world will lessen the chaos in my mind.

*The above quote is a typography art print by BubbyandBean on Etsy. If you would like to purchase this print please click the picture or the blue links.

Gift Certficate Giveaway

"A hug is a great gift - one size fits all, and it's easy to exchange."  ~Author Unknown

I know that I have not been blogging this week but I had a crazy, hectic week with having to get a new computer and trying to retrieve my old files. Now I am back on track and just in time to announce my big giveaway! For the next 2 weeks you get to enter or a chance of winning a $10 Gift Certificate to my Etsy Shop!!!!!

WAYS TO WIN: Comment on this post wins you an entry, each comment on each of this week's posts wins you an entry per comment, for every person you refer to win they need to put your username as a reference you will win an entry so you have 3 ways to win and plenty of chances! I will announce the winner at Noon on Saturday February 25th! The winner will be emailed a $10 gift certificate good for my Etsy Shop . Good luck to everyone!

Pattern Winner

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”

Mother Theresa

Time to announce my winner of my first blog giveaway! Thank you all who stopped by and checked out my blog and for those of you who promoted my giveaway. I love to see the smile on people's faces when they see a finished creation so I am giving away 2 of my patterns to both of my readers that commented! Thank you so much for the support! I hope that you enjoy creating something new!

CONGRATS NEW ENGLAND QUILTER AND LAURIE! I will be emailing you to give you the information on redeeming your free pattern.

** I will be announcing a new giveaway next Saturday so tune in!

6 more weeks of Winter

"The second of February, you all know, the groundhog goes searching for his shadow.
If he should find it, the story is told, we'll have six more weeks of winter's cold.
But if it's cloudy, his shadow's not there. There'll soon be warm weather and days will be fair." Unknown 

I have never been a fan of the winter though this year we have barely had a typical winter in my area. By now we would have a ton of snow and a few snow days from school, but not this year. This season we have had 2 snow storms and one of those was a freak Halloween storm. So, believe it or not, I would actually like 6 more weeks of winter so that we can get at least one more snow storm in before the beautiful Spring weather shines down on us. 

As long as I can wear a warm, beautiful coat like this vintage, military style Yves Saint Laurent wool coat then I will be happy with 6 more weeks of winter. You can find this beautiful coat and other vintage beauties in TimelessVixenVintage's Etsy Shop. Please click the picture or any blue link to browse their shop.

Pattern of the Week

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo F. Buscaglia quotes

I have a collection of patterns that I have accumulated over the years with the thought in my mind that I would one day make this or that. Well now I am setting myself the goal to work on one pattern each week and reveal my creation every Thursday to all of my viewers. I am going to keep my first pattern a surprise so that when you tune in next Thursday you will see a new creation of mine that I created from one of my many many patterns. I am so excited to finally delve into my pattern folder and begin creating something new!   

Upcycled Crayons

"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." Edward Degas

As the mother of a preschooler, I am always finding broken crayons. I used to just throw them out but now that I am attempting to upcycled whatever I can in my life, I have been trying to find something to do with all these broken pieces. Someone suggested that I melt the crayon bits into one big crayon. What a great idea! My only reservation is that I don't want them to into one big, brown blob. So I am on the search for a good upcycle recipe and work on this creation this week. 

In the meantime, I found this awesome shop that creates the Alphabet out of upcycled crayons! You can check out this listing and many other upcycled crayon creations in art2theextreme's etsy shop. Click any of the blue links or the photo to go directly to their awesome shop! 

Starting Gratitude Tuesday

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, 

but to live by them." John F. Kennedy

This year I started a gratitude list that everyday I write down things that I am grateful for in my life. Yes in the beginning it was easy to just the easy things I was grateful for like my children, family, friends, food and house. Now I am at the point that I am looking at the little things that I am grateful for like having patience with others and my artistic skills. This great feeling I am filled with everyday when I add to my gratitude list is one that I want to share with all other you. More than just making a list of things that you are grateful for, people need to tell and show those they care about how much they mean to them. You never know if a small gift or words of kindness will be just what a person needs that day. Everyone needs to know they are loved by others! 

So I challenge you to go out and tell the people you love that you love them and how you are grateful to be in their lives! Not only will you feel better about yourself but you will make someone else feel great!

Every Tuesday will be Gratitude Tuesday where I will be showcasing people or things we all should be grateful for in our lives. So check back next week for another gratitude post.

 You can share these delicious LOVE cookies by justcrumbs with someone you are grateful with and they will be grateful for your gift! You can purchase these cookies or other sweet treats in justcrumbs Etsy shop by clicking any blue link or the photograph. Enjoy!

Pattern Giveaway

“Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.” Brian Tracy

I am having my first giveaway! I want to share with one of my readers a pattern of mine so one week from today I will be giving away one of patterns that are in my shop. See creating patterns is a special passion of mine because I can take just one of my patterns and alter 10 different ways to create something else completely different and new. Creating new patterns also keeps my creative juices flowing. I just began listing my patterns in my shop to share this passion with others. I have created so many patterns over the years that I haven't even written down but they are in my mind. So this weekend I will be writing them down and listing them in my shop. By next Saturday's give away there will be at least 15 patterns for one lucky winner to choose from in my shop! 

WAYS TO WIN: Comment on this post wins you an entry, each comment on each of this week's posts wins you an entry per comment, for every person you refer to win they need to put your username as a reference you will win an entry so you have 3 ways to win and plenty of chances! I will announce the winner at 10am on Saturday February 4! The winner will be emailed a free coupon code good for my Etsy Shop for a pattern only. Good luck to everyone!

Here are just a few of my patterns that you will be able to choose from:

Recycle Rather than Trash

Every day is Earth Day.  ~Author Unknown

One thing that I am trying to become more aware of is recycling. What can I do to encourage my family to separate the recycling? Well I will admit that my family does not recycle so trying to encourage and change is going to take a lot of effort and time. Everything from newspapers, magazine to soda bottles and cans have been thrown in trash for as long as I can remember which is basically my whole life. It is amazing how people really don't think about where these items go once we place them in the garbage. So many items that can be recycled but are thrown in the garbage are not biodegradable so they sit in landfills, contaminating the ground, water and wildlife for much longer than we are on this earth. This concept is enough for me to think about the future generations and attempt to make some changes. I challenge all of you that do not recycle to start today!

This set of pop up trash and recycling bins by Hobnob will encourage your family and guests to separate their trash from recycling. To purchase these bins or check out the other great items in Hobnob's Etsy shop please click any of the blue links or the photo. 

Have a positive day!

A Child's Imagination

"Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up."

Pablo Picasso

This morning, as I was trying to figure out what I should write about today, my 4 year old became very impatient and bored. So what better subject to blog about than a child's imagination. Just to sit and observe my daughter's playtime is fascinating because she absorbs everything around her and it reflects in her interactions with her dolls. My daughter is artistic by nature just like the rest of my family. She loves to sing, dance and perform for people just as much as she loves to draw, paint or create some beautiful gift that she will give someone special in her life. At this age the creativity and energy is endless and I am at awe at the things that she comes up with somedays. Whether she is sings a song that I never knew she had listened to but at some point did or the abstract drawing of her family that most adults would call scribbles, her imagination is endless. My only wish is that she keeps this creativity and imagination for the rest of her life.  

This adorable crayon case was created by OurLittleMesses and is the perfect toy to kick up a child's creative side. The case will fit crayons, pencils or markers. With the handle, this case is easy to take on the go for the car ride too! To check out OurLittleMesses collection of crayon cases and other awesome creations please click any of the blue links or the photo.