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Well, it’s the last week of the upcycling hack-challenge! The project for this week is an idea that Tim heard of a while back, and we were hoping to get to do at some point in the series, and luckily we found out a couple days ago that we would be able to get our hands on an old metal basin from a washing machine – just in time! 🙂 These metal basins make excellent fire pits because of the holes all over them, which allow in plenty of air and help keep a fire going strong with very little … Read more

I love to travel – and I love to collect postcards from the places I go. They’re small, low-cost and lovely .. perfect to be able to collect some from each destination. However, most of my postcards live in a photo album and for this week’s upcycling hack challenge, I thought it would be fun to come up with some interesting and unique ways to upcycle and display postcards. And you only need one item for all of them: an embroidery hoop! Well … and your postcards, too, of course. Use the screw to loosen the outer band of a … Read more

Well, we’ve reached the end of the 6 weeks for the Creative Business challenge! And for the finale, we’ll be covering the single most asked-about topic from your handmade biz questions: marketing. I left it for last because one of the reasons marketing can be so difficult is because there are other things about your business that have to be in place first to be able to market more easily, and so I wanted to cover those in the first in the series. I hope you found those posts helpful. If you missed them, they lay out groundwork for how … Read more

I simply love re-purposing items! I had lightly touched on these planters I made awhile back, upcycled from old light fixture globes, but I wanted to revist it and let you know how I made them. (Note: I love coming up with ideas – but I’m never going to claim to be the best gardener, so see my disclaimer at the bottom of the post!) I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the best gardener. I tend to get excited about plants … then forget to water them, and then remember, and drown them. Ack! However, I’ve had some … Read more

I wish I was a naturally organized person. The whole “a place for everything and everything in its place” idea is wonderful – but the first problem for me is finding a place for everything! Back before the holidays, orders started flooding in for my art and I felt like all I was doing was packaging and shipping orders – and the packaging was taking f-o-r-e-v-e-r. For one thing, I didn’t have a good inventory storage system. Also, every time I needed to package something, I had to go gather all my supplies together. I don’t have a separate studio, … Read more

We just hit the first day of Spring – and we just had another snowfall. They say March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb, but that transition is not always a straight smooth line. March keeps you on your toes, looking for those signs of Spring just around the corner. And then when you see those first green shoots sprouting up through the ground? Pure joy. Spring, the beautiful secret you get to re-discover every year in March. It was actually March that first inspired this entire Present-Month series. Last March, after a brutal winter, there … Read more

Crumbs or feasting? Well, it depends on the setting. It is so easy in our society to get caught up in the material things. More money, more things, bigger houses, newer stuff. And yet, when we get all that, are we happy? If we put more effort into our house than into our home, our family – will it be a happy place? That is what I love about this verse. It reminds us that it is not what we own that gives us joy and peace and happiness: “Better is a dry morsel with quietness than a house full … Read more

So, we’re continuing on in the “Seek the things above” series for Wednesdays … and actually, this time delving into a verse I mentioned last week, but as one of the comments from that post was mentioning an interest in a printable of this verse, I wanted to dive into it a little more. Luke 9:23 … it’s such a fundamental passage to follow Jesus, and we have heard it so many times. And to us, the cross immediately makes us think of spiritual things. But have you ever thought about the fact that at the time that Jesus said … Read more

We were discussing this verse the other day, and it really struck home. Life is busy, and there are always so many things to capture our attention. And while there is nothing wrong with doing our jobs, fulfilling our responsibilities, or even enjoying the lovely things in this world, if we get so caught up in it that we’re not remembering that this world is not all that there is, then something is wrong. I remember one time hearing someone talk about keeping a proper balance between what is urgent and what is important. Some things are both important and … Read more

Well, I’ll be perfectly honest – I’m going to be stepping on my own toes for this week’s “Seek the things above” post. It’s about want vs. need. I wish I had more of the attitude expressed here in Proverbs 30: give me only what I NEED. I’m more fond of wants and comforts than I wish I was. And, sure, many people in our society wouldn’t look at my life and call it the most luxurious. We don’t make tons of money by US standards. But is that really the standard? Compared to many countries today and throughout history, … Read more