He Did It!

My husband has been training for a half marathon that took place really early this morning in Nashville. I am so proud of him! Here are a few pictures of him with his medal.

Awww..look at my dog. She looks so old....and kind of like an alien.

Saturday

I started working on some new leather items to put in my store the other day. I just finished two of them today.

First is a leather tooled bracelet. It's HUGE and Colorful! I made one very similar a long while ago and I have been wanting to make another ever since. The leather piece I used for this is so smooth. Smoother than usual. It just feels really nice to run your fingers over it.

I have used tooled peacock feathers before on bags and even a cuff. I decided to draw one for a pendant. It's also a larger-ish piece. I am going to put this one in my store but I plan on making one for myself. I picture it with a summer bohemian flowy type dress or even just a plain colored t-shirt or tank top. Necklaces like this really bring some fun style to plain boring clothes. Most of my clothes are plain and boring so I think that is why I am drawn to make this type of jewelry. haha...

I will be placing these in my Etsy store shortly.

Have a great weekend!

Good Day!

It's strange how one day can be such a downer and the next so satisfying.
Today I woke up to find the sweetest message in my etsy mailbox. A girl named Heather let me know that she loved my work and wanted to purchase several things.She later did and I was just so happy to be sending off items I made with my own hands to someone who appreciated them so much. We ended up chatting through a few more emails and I came away so encouraged. Please take a look at her etsy store. Her and her mom make the items and I just love the fun crocheted items as well as the jewelry and wreaths.

After I dropped Heather's package off at the post office I headed to one of my favorite peoples houses-my friend Sarah.We had a good chat about life and our etsy stores. You can find her store here.(someday I may write more about her cause she is worth writing about)

I finished the evening off with dinner out with the hubby and another etsy sale! Another!!!!! Totally crazy! It's been such a slow time in the shop and today I sold 4 items. thank you God!

I should be heading to bed soon but I just had to let everyone know that I am just so thankful for good friends, encouraging words, meaningful conversations, and etsy sales.

New Necklaces

The past couple of days I have been working on these two new necklaces. I like how they turned out. Lots and lots of tooling and stamping. My hands were sort of aching after it was all over. It's always fun though striking my mallet and playing around with dyes and paint. I hope you like them!

Spring

The weather was so glorious today! I grabbed my camera and took my dog on a walk. I snapped some pictures of our walk as well as the pretty flowers and plants around my house.

Did you see the bird nest with the tiny eggs! I love when I find nests. They are little hidden treasures. I check on the nest almost every day to see the progress.

I hope everyone is enjoying Spring where ever you may live.

Rose

A new necklace.

I have been wanting to tool a rose for a long time now, but it wasn't until about a week ago that I took the time to draw one out. It was fun painting this one and I sealed it with an acrylic spray. I really like how it turned out. Perfect accessory for Spring/Summer.

I will add it to my Etsy shop tomorrow.  :)

I also felt like doing something really simple and came up with this wide stamped leather bracelet. Dyed a dark warm brown color. Unfortunately my computer won't allow me to show you a picture. Maybe tomorrow...

Buck

Last night my husband treated me to a documentary showing at the Nashville Film Festival. We saw Buck. See the trailer here. It's a story about Buck Brannaman. Buck trains horses and even though I know NOTHING about horses it was amazing to watch how gentle he was and how easily he could train a horse. Think the Dog Whisperer but for horses. The film was so well made and even if you aren't into horses it's still something you should see. Learn more about Buck at his website here.
(picture came from Buck's website)

Food

I have always been interested in nutrition, but never really had the discipline to put a lot of those principles into practice. For years I have known that I could be eating healthier. I have always loved fruits and vegetables and all things "healthy" but I also have a massive sweet tooth. MASSIVE! I have considered going vegetarian, considered trying a raw diet, considered giving up sugar but I just haven't. It was never the right time or I told myself that I would do it after this vacation or that event. Excuses excuses!

I knew it was time and somehow my timing matched up with a friends timing as well. My friend asked if I would consider doing The Daniel Fast. Have you heard of it? It's basically eating only fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, and whole grains. No sugars other than the fruit. Not even honey or agave! No dairy of any kind either. The "fast" is supposed to last 3 weeks. I agreed and we set a date. The day before I started I bought one last Gigi's cupcake. If you really know me you would know that I LOVE or maybe I should say am obsessed with Gigi's cupcakes. They are completely tasty, but completely one of those treats that could probably give you a heart attack right there on the spot. I ate all the icing (I'm talking like a cup full of icing!) and left most of the cake behind like usual and said goodbye to sugar right there. It was depressing but I knew I needed to allow myself a vacation from it.

I have now eaten this way for a week and 2 days. It's been surprisingly easy in a sense and terribly hard in another. I never ate a lot of meat in the first place and it hasn't been to difficult to give up. I have craved a hamburger since day one though which is really weird since I don't even eat them very often. I also crave something creamy and usually it's ice cream. Overall the cravings are pretty un-intense and in those moments I just eat an apple or have a rice cake with natural peanut butter and it quickly goes away. The terrible part about this for me is that I feel like I am eating the same things over and over. I can't tell you how many times I have had brown rice with beans and cooked vegetables for lunch or dinner. Also, you really have to do a lot of cooking unless you just want to eat raw stuff all the time. This week I am planning out my meals a little better to get some more variety.

Overall it's been a really good experience. I see that I can make it through a day without a sweet treat and I feel more clear on the inside. It's hard to explain really, but it feels good. Below is what I eat pretty much every morning. I love it!

My favorite breakfast recipe:
one sliced banana
raisins
dried coconut ( no sugar added)
pecans
frozen blueberries
cinnamon (a shake or two)
almond milk (enough to get things wet)

It makes me feel like I am eating cereal. It is also really tasty and keeps me full for a long time.

Art

Yesterday I pulled a plain wooden bangle out and just squirted out all kinds of colors on my pallet and just started to paint. I didn't really know what would come, but with Spring on my mind I started this landscape scene.

I don't consider myself a very good artist anymore, but it's something I want to focus more time on. On a recent trip to Knoxville to visit my mom and step dad my mom took me to this awesome book store where I found 4 books on drawing in the free bin. I use to draw all the time, but somehow getting older and going through the motions of life I have lost the passion I once had. Getting out my paints yesterday with no plan was somewhat freeing. I didn't really care what the end result would be. I wanted to give myself the freedom to just create and if it ends up ugly it was still worth the effort. I have met a lot of artists, many my friends, and I have noticed how hard it is for the artist to see the value in their own work. It's so easy to look at someone elses work you admire and wish you were "as good" as them. I am learning in this season of life to try and appreciate the talents and skills I do have and not try to worry about the what ifs and could haves. Art should be an outlet where you walk away inspired and refreshed. A little bit more connected with yourself. I need to remind myself that.

Give-a-way!

Brittany over at Love Stitched blog has reviewed my shop and is giving away one of my necklaces. She is super sweet and her blog is really nice with fun reviews on all kinds of accessories and do-dads. For details on how to enter the giveaway head on over to her blog.
:)