40 Weeks Pregnant – Life Currently

Hello, 40 weeks! My son wanted to take some baby bump pics today, commemorating what is *hopefully* my last week of pregnancy!

I’m so ready to meet baby Z – these last few weeks have been mega rough! I’ve been having what the doctor calls prodromal labor for almost three weeks, with on & off again contractions daily (most recently lasting 21 hours straight, 1-2 minutes apart, so painful I couldn’t breathe or talk through them over this weekend). So naturally, there’s been a few false alarm trips to labor and delivery, lots of wondering if THIS IS IT & lots of frustration when told to come back when I “feel like it’s the real thing” and then more frustration when having acquaintances & family tell me “you’ll know when it’s really happening, stop worrying about it” (because obviously I rush to the hospital crying in pain at midnight when I don’t think I’m actually in labor – ha!). I’ve struggled a lot emotionally with being told “you’ll know when it’s real” because I didn’t feel a single contraction with my son, and I slept through him crowning – so no, I’m not actually sure I *WILL* know when it’s the “real thing”. I mean, contractions 1-2 minutes apart that are so intense I’m crying & can’t breathe or walk? That SOUNDS like the real thing to me, that’s the sort of thing the doctor tells you to hurry in for – but it wasn’t the “real thing”. Just stinky prodromal labor contractions. This entire pregnancy has been so different compared to my pregnancy with my son 11 years ago! Especially this last trimester – whew, it’s been a doozy!

That’s life currently, and why I’ve been so quiet on social media. I work when I can between contractions, home schooling, and getting the house ready for baby Z. I sleep as much as I can, since the super intense contractions like to wait until bedtime to start happening.I’m up to 1-2 appointments a week because the doctors insist I measure too small on the outside to have a healthy baby on the inside, even though every ultrasound & test shows she’s growing fine & perfectly healthy. You know how doctor’s like to fixate on arbitrary “average” numbers like fundal height measurements, without taking into account the woman was 110 lbs prior to baby so obviously she’ll measure different than  the 130 lb woman of the same height just because that’s the “average” means of measurement.

So yeah.  Life is chaotic but beautiful.  I have a feeling AFTER Z gets here I will be able to get SO much more accomplished than I have this entire last trimester, ha!

So until I have some cute pictures of my babe to show off, here’s a cute picture of my sister’s new baby, Leah Alaska, my newest niece (making me an aunt ten times over!). She was born 9.23.2016, weighing a squishy 7lb 1oz! Isn’t she precious?! I keep going over to hold her in hopes it will start labor for me. No luck yet, but I’m not giving up. 😉

Home schooling as a maker mama – it’s not easy, but I love it.

In years past, back to school was always a little hectic, but as a work from home monster making mom, it made it a little easier to get out the door in the mornings. We had our system – clothes laid out the night before, breakfast items on the counter, lunches packed & in the fridge ready to be grabbed on the way out the door.

This year, like all other routines & just life in general since our move, is totally different. My son hated the public school he went to here in WNC last winter/spring. Here’s a quick example of just one of DOZENS of examples of my son’s horrendous short time in Haywood County schools last year: during a science discussion, the teacher told the class the Milky Way is NOT a galaxy, galaxies don’t exist. She told them there’s just one universe, and that’s the Milky Way. When my son tried to correct her by telling her, actually the Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, one of at least one hundred billion of potential galaxies in outer space, he was reprimanded and given a silent lunch for “lying” & I received a note about how disrespectful he was. Oh, and first week of school, when I tried to ask for more challenging work for him because he had already learned what they were covering in first grade, she told me right in front of Gauge that he wasn’t as smart as I think he is, even though right before we moved from Missouri he was testing at 8-9th grade level in almost every subject in 4th grade… so it didn’t take much convincing when he asked me if he could be home schooled this year rather than go back to school in this district.

So, we officially “started” home schooling July 1st. We started in the middle of summer because when the new baby gets here, we’ll be taking a week or two off to bond & adjust as a family. A little over two months “into” home schooling, we are finally starting to find a little balance & normalcy – though with this pregnancy nearing it’s end, it’s been a lot more difficult to balance this new life style, home schooling, running Lu & Ed, and growing a tiny human all at once. But we have found a few things that work really well and for any other maker mamas out there considering home schooling while running their biz,  cheers! You can do it! Here’s what has helped me balance lessons & making monsters!

wake up before the kid(s)

Usually way, way easier said that done. But thanks to baby brewing in my belly, most mornings I am up between 4-5am. It’s rough. And I won’t lie, a lot of times in the past few weeks, I haven’t been able to muster the energy  to get out of bed and do productive things. But some mornings I somehow find the spunk to roll out of bed, brew some coffee, soak up a few minutes of me time while I set intentions for the day, and then get some work done before Gauge wakes up (like right now! 6am & I’m up blogging! Go me!!!). You can read my previous post about making the most of summer mornings as a maker mama here – a lot of it is still applicable as a home schooling mom, too!

create lots of opportunity for independent studies

This will vary based on the age of your child, but for us, after we work together through math, vocabulary words & science, my son has the rest of the day to work on reading, creative writing or studying history/social studies independently (right now we are covering Early American History, from the discovery of America to the Industrial Age, and I let him pick which time period to study in the evenings that week – right now he’s obsessed with the Revolutionary War!), which is usually done through reading historical stories/biographies, work books, or watching documentaries. While he is doing his independent studies, I get in some sewing! If he finishes up daily lessons while I’m still working, or before his dad gets home/dinner time, his options are educational programs, reading, art projects or outside play. This gives me about 4-6 hours a day to dedicate directly to my business. There’s a ton of ways to provide resources for independent study that allows you time to balance your handmade business – from work sheets to iPad apps, nature documentaries to free play with creative toys (Legos, blocks, fort building, marble mazes, obstacle courses, creating Rube Goldberg contraptions) or “recess” outside if you can work from a place where you can supervise your children!

make your creative business a priority

Home schooling while running a creative business from home means your kids are around you 24/7. It can be a little overwhelming at first adjusting to the new schedule and constant contact if in previous years, you’re child went to school outside the home. This is why it’s so important to set boundaries for you, your partner, and your child(ren). I made sure before we started my son knew that just because he was going to be home, didn’t mean he would 1) play video games all day & 2) have my undivided attention all day long, because I do have a business to run. So he knows during independent study time, to work through problems on his own, research & try to find the answers himself & we’ll review materials/lessons the next morning – so there’s no need to bust into my room while I’m sewing eleventy billion times to ask me questions about his current lessons. (Note: providing age appropriate study material with clear directions is essential to making independent study time, and therefore time for mama to make things, a success!)

get creative: utilize activities & classes

As moms, and makers, and creative business owners, we often feel as we have to do it all alone. You don’t! There’s so many amazing resources, both conventional and more creative, to utilize to make home schooling easier & more enjoyable.

Find your tribe. This was hard for me, because we couldn’t afford a co-op this year, but even if it’s just one other home schooling parent you can meet to have coffee with, chat about your day, share lesson time with or swap kids with for a day for a few hours to get some work done, find those people, love them, give them coffee and chocolate, and schedule a bunch of play dates! Finding a few great home schooling buddies (for both my son & I!) has proven to be the greatest home school aid. Taking time for social gatherings is essential for mental health, plus getting out of the house regularly keeps the creative juices flowing.

Consider outside specialized classes & use community resources. Not only does this take a load off of you if say, you aren’t feeling on par with current math or science standards, or your child wants to learn something you have no clue how to teach (like coding, sign language, Spanish or theater), there are many community resources that offer once a week classes for 1-6 hours a day that your child can participate in – which gives you a little more time to invest in your creative business! If you are in the WNC area near me, check out Elevate’s class list – they have a huge list of interests and subjects, from history & science to dance & parkour! Local zoos, museums & nature centers often have programs for home school students as well. And don’t forget to check your local library’s list of activities – most libraries have “after school” clubs for 1-3 hours a day, once a week. Ours has a Lego club that meets every Tuesday from 4-5:30, a Minecraft club, and a few other specialized interests clubs. Not only does specialized classes & community resources like these give your child a chance to socialize & explore new interests, you can bring your laptop & get some computer work done, or bring along your current hand sewing/crocheting/knitting projects to work on, while your kid enjoys their classes/clubs! This winter, my son is taking coding & Spanish classes. 🙂

teach your child(ren) about entrepreneurship

Having your kids home with you while you run a creative business is a great opportunity to teach them about commerce, budgeting, consumer math, graphs & charts, conversion rates, scheduling, money management, ROI (return on investment, AKA measurable data for an action & it’s corresponding reactions, like purchasing an ad on a blog & tracking traffic/sales that it generates to gauge how much value that action garnered) and most importantly – the value in hard work & dedication to making your dreams come true! Involve them in the process. Give them simple, age appropriate tasks to do to help make the functions of your creative business run more smoothly – my son helps me a bit each day with things like stuffing monster bits, pairing fabrics, sewing, cutting things out, packing orders, and doing postal runs. He also has learned a lot about conversion rates, profit/loss charts, income projections, marketing, photography, public relations & more. He’s always been an active part of my business, but this year I’m really showing him more of the functionalities & processes that go into running an ecommerce business & how he can apply those skills to other parts of his life.

accept that some days, you aren’t going to get it all done

At first I was completely, totally overwhelmed, and between trying to find a good rhythm for lessons & try to find time to sew while dealing with third trimester exhaustion, there was a lot of bad days. For instance, I like to sew first thing in the mornings – Gauge does better with his math first thing in the mornings, and it’s one subject he does need more supervision & guidance on. So I have had to sacrifice my most creative time to do my least favorite thing ever (ugh, math), which sometimes ruined an entire day for me creatively because it just saps my juju; but after a few weeks of this, settling into a new routine of sewing after lunch (while not as creatively charged) is still a routine capable of productivity. It just requires a bit more effort!

I know here in a few weeks when Baby Z gets here, that’s going to throw our entire system out the window and we’ll be starting from scratch again. And that’s okay, because I also know we’ll find our rhythm again (eventually). If you are considering embarking on a home school journey as a maker mama, stay flexible, don’t be afraid of adjusting your schedule time & again, and know that once you find what works for you & your child(ren), it gets easier to balance productivity for your business & lessons for your kids!

Any other maker mamas out there home schooling their kids?

I would love to hear your advice, opinions & thoughts on balancing it all, what works for you, and what concerns you may have about running a creative business while educating your child. Let’s discuss in the comments!

On hanging tough, even when it sucks: How my divorce impacted my handmade business

This isn’t a happy-go-lucky how to find success in difficult times story. This is me being raw with the world about the realities of being a small business owner, and how making a life choice can have a detrimental impact on your business.

It all started last year, and when my ex-husband and I agreed to separate in October of 2015. It probably seemed sudden to pretty much everyone, but it wasn’t. There wasn’t any infidelity. There was no big, messy divorce. It was a simple matter of an inability to compromise, on both our parts, and failure to handle life changing events in an understanding way, on both our parts, over the course of several years. There’s no single person at fault, we just weren’t the right people for one another. I can say this with confidence, because he’s moved on, I’ve moved on, and mutual friends who were actively there during our seven year relationship and marriage openly tell me that we are both so much happier and better off without one another. We tried to make it work, and it didn’t, for the simple fact we just weren’t right for one another. And that’s okay.

Shortly after filing for divorce and moving half way across the country to NC, I deleted over a hundred people from my personal Facebook page. Old friends from KC, some random crafters I had added but never spoke to, my old hair stylist (who I loved and miss very much!), obviously my ex-husband and his entire extended family. No hard feelings against any of them, I just needed time to heal, and privacy. I kept only my close friends and family in the loop through that transitional period. I valued Facebook as this weird, sort of sacred space as a place to share my journey into my new life with only those I felt intimately able to open up to. I figured there were so many other channels to connect on, Twitter, Instagram, email, phone calls and text, that I could still keep in touch with anyone else I removed from my personal Facebook page during this time. What I was going through was very personal though, and my logic was if anyone was concerned about me during that period, they would reach out and ask me how I was doing, or if I wanted to talk about it. And I would have! Because reaching out to someone is personal, and my preferred method of discussing personal business is one on one, heart to heart conversations.

Inspirational card via Print Therapy

Perhaps severing those connections wounded some. That wasn’t my intention. I was simply taking the time & space I needed to heal. My business felt the almost immediate throat punch of my transition though, more than I did at the time. Upon my move, I lost my support network I had built in KC over 6 years. Some to bitterness from being removed from Facebook, I’m sure (if they had asked I would gladly have explained why!), some perhaps simply to the fact I wasn’t a local business anymore. Either way, I was fully unprepared for the next 8 month stint in which online sales slowed almost to a halt right when I needed them the most, as I was fully reliant on my monster making income for the first time in the history of being a small business owner.

I struggled with feeling deflated & depressed about my business during those months; After years of successfully growing Lu & Ed, suddenly, the silence was overwhelming. The lack of income was terrifying. I attempted to find a job locally but was turned down for every position I applied for because my work history – having owned my own company for seven years & the list of skills that went along with that “overqualified” me for every position I tried to apply for, even when I dumbed it down. Tax season helped a bit; I was able to use money from my return to secure my own place, where I thought if I had more room to produce more inventory, sales would increase. Unfortunately, not the case. And now I had rent and utilities to worry about it. And the cost of living in WNC is much, much higher than I anticipated.

It was a very scary point in my life for me.

Thankfully, my family & support network here helped me as much as they could – my brother let me live with him for the first five months free of rent so I could save money. My mom and dad pitched in when I couldn’t make ends meet after I moved into my place in March and had the slowest month for sales ever recorded in the history of Lu & Ed. They all encouraged me to keep working my dream, to keep making monsters. They split foods in bulk from SAMS Club to offset food expenses for me in April, which enabled me to finally able to write my first rent check completely on my own for the month of May.

Me mailing the very first rent check I wrote all on my own since moving!

From there, things began to look up. My new partner, Kris, moved in with me to help alleviate living expenses & help raise our son. I was able to relax a little about bills & reinvest a small portion of my income into doing local shows to help establish my little business here. While the shows were hit or miss, and I had to back out of a few for time issues or health reasons, I have had several good stockings in my shop since then, and sales are steadily picking back up. I secured a seasonal wholesale account with Scout & Timber Co in Colorado, a consignment deal with The Littlest Birds here in Asheville, and will be meeting with another children’s store locally this month to discuss another wholesale opportunity.

I also started babysitting a few kiddos during the week, which has greatly helped while I work to become established here in WNC with my monster biz, and it’s also super helping me with making connections & building my mama tribe here!

So slowly, things are coming together. True to my word of the year, the first half of 2016 was all about grinding off the jagged edges to expose the loveliness underneath. I couldn’t have gotten through these last few months without my family, and Kris. I am so thankful to have them, and to be so very close to my parents, my siblings, all my nieces and nephews. It’s such a beautiful life here, even when things are scary, volatile and uncertain.

I have a good feeling about the second half of 2016. Still got some grinding to do, but I feel like things are going to start smoothing out soon – I am stronger than I was before, and more eager than ever to embrace this brave new life, no matter what it throws at me!

Here’s to a beautiful second half of the year!

Tips for Maker Moms: Make the most of your summer mornings.

Summer break can make being a maker mom exceptionally difficult, especially if one or more of your kids are school aged and you have gotten adjusted to having several kid-free hours a day to get things done for your little handmade biz. I’m far from a list making, future planning, staying on schedule mama/maker (I’m actually REALLY FAR from even being remotely organized in any way, ha!) but I do have a few things I’ve implemented over the years that really boost summer productivity for your life on the maker end of things, while allowing lots of time for summer fun with your kids, too!

wake up early

I opt to wake up early, since my son stays up fairly late in the summer some times to use his telescope or watch a movie together or something. Plus, night time is my time – it’s time I invest in my partner, and myself. I watch some TV, color, read, have a sweet snack or just sit and stare at the wall. Gotta get that me time in! Self care is so important. Some mornings “early” is 7am, some mornings (like this morning) it’s 5:30, when my partner’s alarm goes off and my eyes pop open and I immediately know there’s no way I’m going back to sleep. This gives me between one and four hours of kid free time center myself & tackle some projects.

drink some water

Seriously, before your coffee, drink a glass of water. It really does wonders to wake up your body through hydration instead of caffeine. For me, I feel more focused, less achey, and more awake after drinking water than I ever did when I drank a cup of coffee right after waking up! Add in some lemon for some extra health benefits while you’re at it!

eat breakfast

Eat something nutritious for breakfast to give yourself an extra boost of energy & get your gut moving. I don’t know why, but eating first thing in the morning helps set a good foundation for the day and helps to keep my energy levels up through the day,  while helping wake my body up naturally.

“meditate”

I put quotations around mediate because I feel like it’s different for everyone. I don’t expect you to pop into lotus position and “ommmm” your way to peace – just find your inner zen, set some intentions. Maybe you do this in the form of stretching, doing some yoga, or just drinking some tea/cocoa/coffee while it’s still hot (you know, since you’re up early, before the kids, and are able to enjoy it all, right?). Whatever centers you – do that. For me, I drink my water, then I light some incense and make a cuppa cocoa. I sit for a while and just breathe and enjoy it, and think about what I’d like to accomplish today for a few moments. Usually this practice lasts about a minute, sometimes five minutes. Sometimes I take a little extra time and color a picture in one of my zen adult coloring books while I drink my cocoa and just let my mind wander for a bit before I get up and set to work.

get some sh*t done

After I’ve “meditated”, I use this quiet time before the kid(s) wake up to tackle some projects – whether that’s drafting some blog posts, scheduling social media content, cutting out monster bits, sewing, playing around with some design work, reordering business cards, packing up orders – I use it to do something, anything to move my business forward & keep up productivity. The more I can get done before my son wakes up, the more time I can spend with him! I still have to a bit of work while he’s awake, but there’s a lot less pressure to be working, checking social media, posting to social media, even thinking about my business if I am up early and getting things done before he’s awake. Sure, I’m a little more tired some days, but that’s just a reminder to go to bed a little bit earlier the next night (hello, back to the whole self care thing).

set up independent play in the mornings

For my son, whose 10, before he can play video games or we go out to do fun summer activities, there’s a list of things he has to do independently – all total it takes about two hours. I help with some of it (checking his work in his work books & math lessons) but the other stuff, like doing the dishes, tidying his room, reading, practicing Spanish, doing an art project – those are all things he can do independently and it gives me a little more time in the mornings to get some work done when I need to prep for shows or stockings or I’m rushing to finish a wholesale order. Depending on the age of your kids, this could be settling them in for a TV show or to color for a bit while you type up a blog post. They could have special toys they are only allowed to play with this during this time. It could be them running around the yard while you watch from your work space. This may not be feasible for you at all, and that’s okay – it’s just something we have found works really well for us during summer vacation because it provides my son with unplugged activities for a few hours, prevents boredom, promotes a healthy variety of interests & gives me a bit more time to dedicate to my monster biz. Whatever works for you, do that.  It may be something completely different for you. Plus, having the “quiet” activities be the first activities of the morning is just so peaceful – after about ten, things get cray & noisy up in here.

take days off

Sometimes, throw work to the wind and just embrace being a mom. Take a day to go hiking, go swim in the rivers (or the pool if that’s more your thing), go to the art museum or science museum or something! Completely unplug for a while and just enjoy time with your kids. I bet being home with them is one of the driving forces in your mama maker business dream (I know it is for me), so live it.

And that’s how I do around here, to keep things running smoothly over summer break. Feel free to weigh in down in the comments – how do you keep up momentum when all you want to do is just sloooow it down & relax in the summer?

Do you struggle with productivity in the summer?

Grinding through 2016

Hey guys. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve paid attention to my blog. Life has been consuming me lately, and honestly this just sort of got shoved to the back burner.

True to my “one little word” for 2016, I’ve been “Grind-ing” away. Not just in the studio making lots and lots of monsters (sitting at monster #238 of my 500 monsters in 2016 goal, so just slightly behind on my yearly goal) but also in life. Since my divorce & moving half way across the country in November, some time to reflect, absorb and find myself was expected. I didn’t expect it to be so rough though – or to run into one financial crisis after another, either. Ugh.

But like I said, true to my word of the year, I’ve been grinding. Grinding away each day, chipping away at the rough bits, breaking a little by  little so that in the end, everything is smooth & soft. The first quarter of the year, when I was home sharing with my brother and sister in law who were gracious enough to open their home to me, I was pretty disappointed in myself, I won’t even lie. I went from home ownership and stability to a tiny bedroom shared with my son and dog. I ended up staying months longer than anticipated – and when I finally did move out into my own cute (but tiny, so tiny) home, I was hit with unexpected fees and deposits and ended up seriously strapped financially and no amount of hustle in the studio was equating to the amount of money I needed to make ends meet.

So the first half of this year was spent really getting to know myself, what this new life demands from me, how tough and dedicated I am, how much I value my independence and ability to provide for myself. After lots of self-pep talks, getting a room mate (which made our tiny house even more tiny but we’re making it work!), snagging some baby sitting jobs & lining up some clear goals and action plans for my little monster biz, I’m finally regaining my confidence and really appreciating how difficult it’s been to re-acclimate to life in WNC. I learned a lot about myself the past several months, and I am still so excited about all the amazing changes this year has had in store for me – even if the majority of them so far haven’t been easy, comfortable or even remotely anticipated.

All that aside though? This year is truly shaping up to exactly what I needed from it – rough discovery and soul exploration. Pushing me to my limits, breaking all the rough edges off and revealing the beauty beneath.

And while May was a hugely disappointing month sales wise for me, I know without a doubt June will be the best month yet this year! #optimistprime  Mostly because I have tons of shows lined up (East West Market and West Asheville Art Walk in June, Big Crafty in July!) that will be helping me to get established as a maker here and spread the word about Lu & Ed, while also helping me make some awesome connections and get re-familiarized with the area again! 🙂 So if you are local, mark your calendars and come say hi – I’d love to meet you!

So yeah. That’s my mini update about my radio silence here on the blog and what’s been going on, as well as what I have coming up. I hope to get back to regular posting this month, I have tons of drafts saved on lots of businessy topics, but I also have some cool gift guides I’m working on and other goodness for the blog – stay tuned!

 

#lifegoals

Things I want to do during my life:

Buy a house, make it a cozy home and paint it in rainbow stripes on the outside and rainbow rooms on the inside.

  

Host weekly dinners & game nights with family and friends in said glorious rainbow house.

Adopt a bunch of pibbles (pit bulls) and give them wonderfully ridiculous names like Ramona the Wretched, Fierce Freddy or Daria the Daring.

Foster and adopt children.

Be happy.

 

me & my sweet niece Lena

 
What are your ‪#‎lifegoals‬?

30 Things I’m Thankful For Today

I’m in a weird transitional period after the divorce, moving halfway across the country & adjusting to living in less than 200sf with my son – and so now, more than ever, I need to cling to all the things that I am grateful for & remind myself of them daily (hourly, sometimes every five minutes, even). I’ve struggled with depression, agoraphobia and anxiety for years, and my schedule/living habits/environment changing over the past two weeks has certainly shaken me up a bit. I won’t even sugarcoat it – I’m struggling to adjust & I can feel myself slipping into a depressive, anxious mood.

It is nothing that time won’t heal, but with my 30th birthday just days away & today being Thanksgiving and all, I decided to make a list of thirty things I’m thankful for – because I’ve always felt recounting all the goodness in my life helps me push away the heaviness that settles like a blanket over my brain uninvited sometimes, and despite the anxiety from adjusting to a new living situation, I am very, very happy to be home! Happier than I have been in such a long time.

So! Here’s my thankful thirty:

1. Most importantly, and I tell myself this every day: I am thankful to be alive. I am thankful to have today, and all the days before today. I have no regrets, and I am so grateful to have woken up with air in my lungs, dreams in my mind & stars in my eyes.
2. I’m so very, very thankful to finally be home with my family.
3. I’m especially thankful that I can be here for my parents golden years & help get my ma into a more comfortable living arrangement.
4.  I am so very thankful to my brother & his wife for opening their home to me during this weird period of my life.
5. I’m thankful for having a warm, cozy, colorful space to live.
6. I’m thankful to have food to eat & clean water to drink.
7. I’m thankful to be able to bathe regularly.
8. I’m thankful to be fortunate enough to have warm clothes to wear.
9. I’m thankful my family supports me pursuing my passion.
10. I am thankful for my sweet sister-in-law Leslie, who is always willing to listen to me pour my heart out.
11. I’m thankful Leslie knows how to cook, because I sure don’t.
12. I am so thankful that my son is enjoying this new living arrangement & is adjusting well to our new life.
13. I am thankful my dog gets along with my brother’s dog, or this whole shared home situation would be a lot more chaotic.
14. I’m thankful to finally be present to help out with all my nieces and nephews every day.
15. I’m thankful my siblings don’t mind me using my nieces and nephews as product models.
16. I’m thankful my son loves to learn & discuss big ideas.
17. I am thankful that my is enjoying his new school & he has made friends very quickly.
18. I’m thankful for the opportunity to volunteer at his school & share my love of art with children.
19. I am thankful to be surrounded by the natural beauty & breathtaking splendor of the Smokey Mountains every day.
20. I am thankful for technology & the ability to communicate with my creative community & friends no matter where I live.
21. I’m thankful I am able work from home. Because driving in the mountains in the winter is not for the faint of heart. Or minivan owners. But mostly because I don’t like changing out of my PJs.
22. I am thankful I have a reliable vehicle that gets me where I need to go (& almost fits all my nieces & nephews for family outings. Seriously. I have a lot of them.).
23. I am thankful for all the people who have reached out to me during this time, whether just to say hi or to offer words of encouragement.
24. I am thankful for friends who make an effort to stay in touch, even when their life is wildly chaotic, because they know when I’m in a schlump I shut myself away from the rest of the world and become an anti-social slug.
25. I’m thankful for wifi, because without I couldn’t communicate with anyone since my cell phone doesn’t get reception out here in the boonies.
26. I’m thankful for my good health, my son’s good health and the general good health of my entire extended family at this moment.
27. I am thankful that my divorce was amicable & we were able to part ways without drama. Trace is a great guy & I’m glad I can still call him my friend.
28. I am thankful my baby daddy & I were able to reunite amicably, become friends again, and that my son adores him & welcomes him so willingly into his life.
29. I am thankful that I have as much time as I need to get my crap together.
30. I’m thankful for each and every person who has ever supported my business, or talked about my business, or even just said “Hey, I like what you’re doing!” All of those guys are what fuels my creativity and keeps me going. I love you guys.

Making this list was so cathartic, I decided I needed to make this a daily practice, so that I can return to my habit of beginning each day with a grateful heart and a happy, healthy mindset. I set a notebook by my sewing machine & plan to make a short list of things that I’m grateful for each day.  I encourage you to try it out as well, if you are struggling to find the silver linings in your own grey skies. And if you, like me, struggle with depression and/or anxiety, please feel free to reach out to me at cody@luanded.com to share your the heaviness. ♥ 

Here’s to a day of grateful hearts & thankful minds, but more so, here’s to living an intentional life of gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

Happy Monday!

We had a wildly busy weekend, full of community & goodness! Saturday I hosted a Maker Meet & craft date at my house. Local makers I admire gathered & we shared trade secrets, stories & advice. It was a small but sweet get-together. Brie from Life’s Gems, her sister Tatha from Stitched in Love & Vann from It’s Vann came.

Me sewing monsters shut – photo by Vann!

Vann from It’s Vann crafting away on packaging!

Tatha from Stitched in Love working on a newborn photo prop.

Right after the Maker Meet ended I freshened up & dashed out the door to help prepare for my sister in law’s high school graduation party. It all came together beautifully & was so dreamy, an elegant garden party on the patio with storm clouds rolling in. The rain held off for most of the party, but eventually it brought the event inside. Still a totally magical evening!

My sister in law Jenna helping light the candles.

The graduate herself, Julia, looking absolutely beautiful!

A peek into the dreaminess of the evening.

Sunday was a lazier day, but after I woke up from sleeping late (8am, can you believe it?!) I dove right into monster making! Julia’s actual graduation was today, but I’m still struggling with anxiety brought on by sitting in large crowds, so I opted to stay home & sew. Since our pup, Pip, got hit by a car last Saturday, I didn’t finish all the monsters for last week’s stocking, so at least I got lots of extra work in yesterday, right? I’m working through that pile of half finished cuteness this week (can’t wait to share them with you guys!) so it will up in my next stocking, which will be sometime before the end of the month. To make sure you don’t miss out, sign up for email notifications of new items! I send it out before I promote new listings on social media. 🙂 All the lightheartedness aside, later today we will be going to the nearby memorial of fallen soldiers from our town to pay our respects & leave flowers. My father is a Vietnam vet & so I’ve never viewed today as a reason to celebrate, have a cook out or go shopping. It’s always been a heavy heart kind of day, thinking about how some very brave soldiers literally gave their all for our country & how much respect we owe them, so we can be free to do things like have craft dates & graduation parties & work from home as a monster makers, even. I’m so thankful for my freedoms, grateful for & proud of all who serve or have served. ♥ And on that note, I’m signing off to cram in some more sewing before we head out to buy some flowers. Happy Monday, friends!

How I overcame internet bullying.

Bullying doesn’t stop after high school. If you or someone you know is being bullied, whether it’s online, at the bus stop or at work, say something. Tell someone. Tell everyone. This is my story about struggling through internet bullying & how I moved forward. I told it originally in 2014 but I feel like it’s a story that needs to be retold again & again.

Click to download your free printable

I made this printable last year, after several months of being a victim of an internet bully that left me feeling inferior, sad, depressed even. We ran in the same social circles/online communities & I felt like I couldn’t escape their snarky & hateful remarks. I let all of the bully’s comments & retorts slither under my skin. I let the bully make me feel inferior, like I had no right to be happy, like I had to right to communicate with my friends online. I let the bully squish my joy right out of me. Since then, I’ve dealt with two more instances of being bullied by people who used to be my “friends”. At first being a victim of an internet bully sucked. But then I realized something that changed my mindset. I literally just woke up with the realization that those people don’t know me. I don’t know why they acted the way they did, but I do know I did nothing to deserve it & realizing that those people had no inkling of the real me. They were trying to create an online image in those social circles into a warped version of me, someone who was falsely happy & kind, a fake person who lied about how much I sold (which I have never done) & they made up rumors about my “terrible customer service” (I have never had a complaint & they refused to provide evidence of their claims, having never bought from me & all) & they told people I said stuff about them that I didn’t. They made up a version about me that didn’t exist. But that wasn’t really me. They had no idea what I was really like. So I meditated on what I was really like. What circumstances had shaped me into who I am. And man, I love the person that I am & no bully can ever take that away from me.

My checking account may be small but I give freely from it nonetheless. I have been poor & know what it is like to go without warmth, comfort, even food sometimes. The bullies had no idea that through my own misfortunes, I became kind & generous. Knowing hunger, real hunger, not the hip hangry hunger every one talks about on Instagram, humbles a person. I willingly give my money, food, shelter to anyone who needs it. No fake kindness here, no matter what those bullies tried to say.

I’m not a falsely happy person – I genuinely believe in the goodness of the world & the people in it. I wake up every day just thankful to be alive, because I have been in situations that threatened my very life. No false joy here, just a grateful heart & positive mind. When my son was three, he rolled out of bed and broke his femur. There was six months of full body casts and surgeries. I was out of work for two months immediately following the accident, and I lost my home. During that time, I didn’t cry. I never asked “Why?”. I never worried. I just kept on keeping on. Because I am brave, strong and positive. I was scared but I knew everything would work out. And it did.

Though I don’t have a diploma, I graduated from my homeschooling curriculum (the equivalent of graduating high school, but it was a year before you could receive a GED from completing the course & I just never went through the process after that) when I was fourteen because I am smart. I tested college level in multiple subjects while at middle school ages.

The bullies didn’t know me the way I & people who matter to me knew me, the real me. The bullies didn’t know I am smart, brave, positive, inspiring, kind, strong, and creative. I love these things about myself, and no one can take them from me.  Just because they tried their darnedest to press me down into the dirt & make me feel terrible (and it did work for a while) didn’t mean they were right, that they were better than me, or that I had done anything to wrong them. Whatever problem they had with me was their problem. And when I wrote down all the things I loved about myself on this worksheet, I felt strong. I felt brave & proud of myself. I still do!

I do want to say, I harbor no ill feelings towards these bullies. Going through their torment made me stronger, made me braver,  made me kinder. I just hope they can move past those negative emotions & find their own joy.

What I hope you take away from this post is this: when you reflect on your story, the road that has led you to the person you are today & nurture your positive character traits and strengths, you can only grow better as a person, facing each day peacefully, confidently self-assured, full of positive energy. Pluck out the negative character traits like doubt, worry, pessimism, anger & replace them with better ones. Always be the best version of you. No one can take that away from you.

How to use this worksheet: 

In each bubble, write a word that represents a positive character trait of yours that you admire, that you really love about yourself. Are you brave? Kind? Funny? Or maybe logical, thoughtful, and generous? Really dive into your heart and think about you most value about your true self.

Another idea for this worksheet: 

Have your child fill out one of these worksheets every few weeks and see how their opinion of themselves change as they grow & their interests change. You can help them foster & nurture their positive character traits and weed out any self doubt or self deprecation that may arise, helping them to truly love themselves as they grow. ♥

Finally greeting the new year in this space.

It’s been almost a month since my last blog post, whoops! I’ve been focusing so much on the new direction of Daft Crafts blog that I sort of let this space slip into silence over the holidays & winter break.

Rather than a wordy catch-up, I think I’ll let photographs do most of the talking.

Our winter break & holidays were lovely, peaceful & perfect. My first ever intern & best friend Jessica was even able to come visit over Christmas!

 After the Christmas hustle & bustle I took a few days off but dove back into Mon-stor making right before the New Year. My monster making goal for 2015 is 450 monsters total!

But I have a lofty goal just for January, too! 100 total monsters made in time for my first stocking of the year, the first week of February. So far, 16 down, 84 to go! 🙂

I got a really nice new Canon camera for Christmas & I have been having so much fun playing with it! Expect lots & lots of photos posts soon! 🙂 Happy New Year!