The Crafting Bug

Picture from Ashley Brooke Designs.

Crafting has always been a passion of mine.  It's honestly one of the most relaxing and rewarding things I do.  After college though, I kind of hit a wall when it came to being creative.  I guess after four years of projects, deadlines, and 100s of trips to Hobby Lobby, I got burnt out.  I've tried little projects here and there but nothing has really kept my attention or made me want to be creative, until now!

Ever since I started working at Michaels, the crafting bug has hit me hard!!  I find myself inspired every day to try out new techniques and begin exploring this passion again.  Just the other night I was inspired by an item I saw online and thought, "I could make that!"  which then sparked the idea of opening an Etsy store.  I think it would be fun to get paid to craft; plus it would force me to keep pushing the creative bounds and learn new things!  

The more I thought about opening an Etsy store today, the more excited I got about the possibility.  Not to mention that Michaels has an incredible Martha Stewart craft section, and I want every. single. piece.  Seriously.  I don't know what it is about the Martha Stewart line but I'm loving everything she has, and it's giving me the confidence to try new things; like embossing. It looks pretty cool and from what I've read, it should be fairly easy!  Now I just need to stretch my budget a little further so I can buy the supplies.  Anyone want to gift me a Michaels gift card!?  Haha kidding.  Sort of :)

Once I get a few items made, I'll look into opening the shop.  Any thoughts on what I should name it????  

I'm off to brainstorm more projects!

Leave a comment below with your shop name ideas.  If I pick yours, you'll get 10% off one item once it opens! 

Budgeting Baby Steps

If you've been following my blog this year, then you know one of my main 2014 goals is to get a budgeting system in place.  I want to take control of where my money goes instead of letting it control me.  I've found over the last couple of months that this makes such a huge difference in my day-to-day life.  The stress of wondering if I'll have enough money to fill my tank up next week, or where the funds for big purchases are going to come from has practically gone away.  There are still a few moments here and there where the bills seem higher than the paychecks coming in, but God is faithful and has provided every time that little voice of worry begins to creep in.

As I've looked over my expenses and budgets these last few months, it has become clear that for the last few years money truly has controlled me.  I've never given it much thought, swiping that debit card day after day, but when I sat down and looked at the big picture I was losing the money battle big time!

The hardest slap in the face moment so far was when I calculated and really examined where I had been putting all of my money over the last year. I went through all of my old bank statements to see just how I was spending those funds.  I realized quickly that I spend WAY too much money on going out to eat, way too little on paying off my loans, and way too much on casual shopping trips.  I had to make the hard decision to cut almost all of my favorite spending areas in half (or more!) in order to make my budget successful.  I was living beyond my means, and not using the gifts God had given me in a way that glorified him.

Over the last two months I've worked out a tracking system using the Dave Ramsey snowball/budget method and have seen a vast improvement!  I've noticed I don't miss having less fast food, or smaller shopping trips.  It's almost more exciting when I get to fill up my general fund and know that I get to treat myself that month.  The difference being that I now control how much I spend and where it goes. No more swiping that debit card when I get the munchies on the way home or when a girl friend asks to go shopping.  When my cash envelopes (which hold a designated amount each month) are empty, then they're empty!  Aka no more shopping or eating out that month!  Pretty common sense and basic, but genius at the same time!! If you're at all like me, then you know what I'm talking about.  It's harder to spend cash and see it dwindling away than it is to swipe that debit card one more time. Am I right, or am I right?!?

This little wallet from the Dave Ramsey store has been my favorite tool in this process!  It helps keep everything organized and with your envelopes all in one spot, tracking your finances is even easier!  Thanks to Nancy Ray and her organization series for showing me this wallet!  You can buy one here.

It felt like this would be impossible at first, but it's not!  I'm loving the Dave Ramsey system so far, and am loving the control over my finances even more!  If you're struggling getting in front of debt, or finding yourself each month with less and less money, then I strongly encourage you to read through Dave Ramsey's system and put it to work! The baby steps I've taken the last couple of months during this budgeting adventure have made all the difference.  Try it, it works!!

You're never too old...

…for a slumber party that is :)

In the past couple of years (since college), I've realized that slumber parties, and staying the night with friends, is becoming more and more something of the past.  I had started to accept the fact that we are all simply growing out of that stage, but I'm not quite ready to move on yet ;-)

This past weekend I traveled to Virginia to see one of my best friends from college get married.  It was SO fun seeing my roommates and celebrating this milestone with them!  However, it made me quickly realize how much I miss those crazy nights living together.  While I know being roomies again is not an option right now, I am making it my mission to see them more than once a year from now on!  A year is just waayy too long a time between visits!

I also had the privilege of staying with another friend Monday night; which once again confirmed that slumber parties are a necessity of life.  Maybe we'll call them something different as we get older, but I never want to take those times and memories for granted!  I love getting to catch up, enjoy an evening away, and just have some quality girl time every now and then!

Here's to never growing out of that stage and always making friendships a priority!

And for fun, here are a couple of pictures from the weekend!

Congratulations again Meredith & Jack!

Meet Helga

For those of you who have not met Helga… please allow me to introduce you.

Oh yeah, she's a beauty!! (please sense my sarcasm here)

This little bundle of joy was lovingly named while I was in college.  My roommate Jodi had a gorgeous BMW named Heidi (after Heidi Klum - the supermodel), and we decided it was time to give my piece of junk gold a name.  Since she is oh so temperamental, and lets be honest -- the furthest thing from a supermodel, she lovingly became known as Helga.  A little ugly, with a mind of her own, but my mode of transportation nonetheless.

Over the last few years the list of Helga's quirks has grown, and grown!  Things like:  accelerating on her own, missing hub cap, interior dash peeling up, a gear shift button that likes to fall out and disappear, crazy idle issues, and so on and so forth.

Honestly, I never know what surprise she will reveal next, but she's still kicking!!

Today that surprise was completely worn down, on the verge of blowing, tires.  If I'm being honest this wasn't a complete surprise, but I certainly did not expect the level of destruction taking place. Oops!

After searching for tires all afternoon, she is now sporting a brand new set of shiny black tires! All is good in her world…for now!  She is riding like a gem though, so hey she's not a complete loser :-)

The point here is that while Helga can be quite the piece of work sometimes, she certainly has been reliable. Here's to hoping she keeps kicking for another year or two. And hey!  Now with new tires, she better be riding smooth for a while!