Listers Gotta List: Days 15-21

Hi all :)

I must start with a confession... I have fallen behind with this challenge. *insert shame face now*  But, I have been a busy little bee and caught up on all the missed ones! Hurray!  Feast your eyes upon my craftiness ^.^

(15) If I could have only 5 things on a deserted island.

(16) Three major goals for 2015 & (17) Things I never thought I would do

(18) Things I want to try & (19) My planner essentials

(20) Ways I de-stress

(21) Things I have learned

That's all for this week :) Oh and so sorry for the sub-par cell phone photos... I wanted to get this post up before I got to far into the next week.

Cherie's Wedding Waistbeads

Hi there!

Years ago, in college, I had a bad break-up and to get through it I started making waistbeads.  The meticulous stringing of the seed beads definitely helped take my mind off the negativity.  It helped me redirect my energy and I loved deciding on an emotion or theme to convey in each set.  Every color choice ws intentional and each gemstone was used for specific properties or meanings.  All the thought gave me a sense of control and peace that I really needed.  After I'd been making them for a while, one of my friends told me she'd like me to make her a set for whenever she gets married.  For some reason, after like 8 years later, I remembered her request. :)

Her wedding was a couple weeks ago, and I was able to make her that wedding waistbead set.  In true Caleisha form, the finished strand was chock full of symbolism.  From their birthstones to beads representing God's love.  I gave them to her the night before her wedding and I'm glad that she really liked them.

Cherie's Waistbead Meaning:
Light Green & Clear in sets of 7:  Peridot (her birthstone) & Diamond (his birthstone)
Sets of 7: the number of completion
Pink: Love
Sets of 3: the Holy Trinity
The cord: They are strung onto a 3-strand cord. One strand is blue (something blue).  A 3-strand cord is not easily torn apart.

I pray Cherie & Kwame have a wonderful married life.  I hope they experience many good times and learn to weather the tough times.  I want God's love and presence to permeate their home and overflow onto all their family and friends.  Much love guys & congrats again!

Their First Dance ^.^

These Nerds... changing facebook statuses :) How cute.

Garden Update: Cucumber Teachers

Hey there!

The hardest part, so far, about gardening is perseverance.  For instance, yes my cucumber plants have grown... they have big leaves and everything... they look good I suppose, but they're not flowering.  So I find myself wanting to go to the store and buy new seedlings to just start over because they MUST be dying.  I'm feeling discouraged and I want to throw in the towel on these current plants.

My 2 cucumber plants are having a struggle & need to be replanted.

But, I know that I can't just give up on them just because they're not flowering or producing the cucumbers when I want them to.  I have to be patient and let nature take its course.  I can't rush it.  I can't make them grow faster.  I can't make the cucumbers appear on the vine.  I have to suck it up and wait.

In their new home. Hopefully, this will work better for them.

So I guess that's what I'm learning from the garden experience right now.  Perseverance... seeing it through to the end... and patience to wait and see how they will develop as I try to problem solve.

This is a bit of the reason I'm feeling discouraged. Discolored leaves showing a nutrient deficiency.

Oh... and I'm also learning the importance of prior research.  Had I been knowledgeable about various plants and their needs, I would've known that fertilizer is really needed for container gardens. *shrug* You live and learn.  Onward and upward!

 

Listers Gotta List: Days 8-14

Yello there!

Here are my finished pages for the second week of the Listers Gotta List challenge.  I am really having fun with this challenge.  It gives me a quiet moment to sit and be artsy.  And that artsy time is very relaxing.

(8) Favorite Stickers, (9) Favorite Breakfast Stickers [then & now]

(10) My Strengths, (11) Best Things About Being A... Creative!

(12) Favorite Words

(13) Current Shopping List, (14) Things I Need to Improve

It is Good

"God saw all that He had made, and it was very good."
Genesis 1:31 NIV

Some nights I get caught up in one creative endeavor or another, and end up not going to bed until after 3 am...  I find my mind gets full of ideas and I just have to get them out.

The most recent "midnight crafting" session started with me working on the daily Listers Gotta List prompt.  When I finished all the decorating and whatnot, I sat looking at the notebook I was using.  I thought "I can totally make this..."  So I set out to make a pocket size saddle stitched notebook and spent the next hour or so planning and executing a design. 

Sometimes I'm amazed by the ideas I'll get and the things I've created.  I honestly believe that creativity is a gift from God because it is truly awesome.  And not awesome like totally cool but awesome like full of awe.

I think that the feeling I get when I see the finished project is some small form of what God felt when He looked at the world and said "it is good." I'm so grateful to God for giving me this gift of creativity.  I love losing myself in the act of making and letting my ideas and hands flow together.  There are very few things that I do these days that allow me to reach that 'everything falls away' level of flow.  So discovering that midnight crafting is the doorway is a welcomed experience.

I love that when I'm submerged in making, I regularly drift into thoughts of how great God is... Has creating become a quiet act of worship?  I think it's on its way there :)

Listers Gotta List: Days 1-7

Hey there :)

Recently, I've been watching plan with me videos on YouTube.  Those videos led me to Cori/TheResetGirl's channel.  Her videos are really fun to watch and you can tell she loves to create and decorate.

Anywho, this past April, she started a challenge called Listers Gotta List.  In it, you're given a daily prompt to write a list about and then you can decorate your pages if you like.  I really enjoyed watching people do the different lists, but I was unsure if it was something I wanted to try.

At the end of April, I found out that she was planning to renew the Listers Gotta List challenge for May, and I have decided to take part! Huzzah!  One thing I really like about doing this challenge is the fact that I'm actually using all the crafty bits I've collected.  So yeah, on to pictures!

I hope you enjoyed my crafty listing :)  I'm having a lot of fun with this challenge so far and I'm kinda treating it as an introduction to scrapbooking.  I think scrapbooking has been calling my name lately... we'll see.  Have a great week!

W.I.P. Wednesday: Bellatrix Baby Blanket

Hellooo there ^.^

I have started yet another baby blanket.  One of Lamar's friends is expecting a little girl in July and he asked me to make a blanket for her.  Of course I obliged :)  I love it whenever I'm asked to make something and I have just about all the necessary colors in my stash.  Or maybe my stash is too big... nah!

This is the color scheme. Monochromatic purple :)

After doodling a bunch of different pattern ideas, I decided to just use the same striped pattern from the gender neutral blanket I recently finished.

I'm loving how the colors are working together.

I've named the pattern Bellatrix and it is the first confirmed product that will be listed in my etsy shop. ^.^ huzzah!  I hope to be finished with it by next week.  Then it's back to the drawing board for new designs and ideas!

A Great Day for a Birthday!

Hi there :)

Today is my bestsisterfriend Amber's birthday!! Huzzah!!!

I cannot express how awesomely blessed I am to have this woman as my friend.  We've been friends for... 17 years. Wow! Writing that out is mind blowing 0.0

Anywho, I've witnessed her grow into an inspiring & strong woman of God who carries herself like Proverbs 31 is her biography.  She's beautiful inside and out.

We've been in each others' corner when battling dark days and we've celebrated milestones.  We've endured loss together and cried tears of joy in one anothers' weddings.

I love this girl and I can't wait to see what else God has in store for her!

Happy Birthday Amber! I pray you keep on being the beautiful shining light for everyone around you that you have always been for me.

PS.  Yesterday I had a conversation with Amber and she said this to me:
I also love you very much!!! Regardless of distance I love who you are and I know that as time progresses and you unfold all that God has blessed you to be to your friends and family down there they will love you too.  It's sometimes hard for us to see that we belong somewhere for others.  Not because it makes us the most comfortable.  You are touching lives there.  So when it hurts and you feel like you can't be yourself remember that your presence there even in your most awkward and uncomfortable state means so much to someone else.  You are beautifully flawed! So much so that your flaws appear to be works of art to God and others :) Your fight inspires!

That right there is why I am so abundantly blessed to call her my friend.  She has a way of slicing through the fluff and debris around me and speaking directly to the root of my melancholies.  She always sees me and I can only pray that I'm as good a friend to her as she is to me.  I love love love you girlie!

Yoga-cise: How I'm Working Out

Hi there!

Lamar is always asking me to work out with him when he's doing P90X... I hate P90X... Like srsly!  It's just not that enjoyable.  I feel like, as a beginner, I've got to enjoy doing the workout in order to be motivated to get it done, you know.

Child's Pose:
It's good if you just need to pause & catch your breath... like a yoga comma ^.^

So, that in mind, last year my friend Cherie introduced me to hot yoga.  I wasn't sure if I would finish, but I did and it was a great experience.  After that I started going regularly to the Yoga 101 classes to learn the basics.  The teacher was awesome at explaining the poses and really friendly.

Downward Facing Dog:
I shot this photo 3 times tweaking little things.  I'm working on getting those heels down.

For some reason, in this year, I've been a total slacker and have not gone to any of the classes.  But in place of the organized class, I've found a YouTube channel that I really like: Yoga with Adrienne.  She has lots of different sequences and also many videos covering the fundamentals.  I also like that her videos are beginner friendly and I never feel like she's doing super crazy advanced things.  But on the chance she does, she always shows alternate ways to do the poses.  Thumbs up, Adrienne! Anywho, I love doing her Energizing Morning Sequence.  It's only like 20 minutes long, but you definitely work up a good sweat and wake up the whole body.

Cat (top) Cow (bottom) Combo:
Please ignore my pigeon toes on the cow pose *.* I also need to get my knees in line with my hips.

When I was taking the 101 classes, I got to learn quite a few yoga poses.  I really enjoy warrior 1 & 2.  Warrior 3 makes me feel like an absolute bawse, but I think my favorite yoga pose is the triangle pose or trikonasana.  It even has a fun to say name ^.^  I love, love, love the deep leg stretch I get.  I also really like doing the cat/cow combination.  It's the perfect do-before-you-get-outta-bed stretch.

Triangle pose:
I love how long I feel in this pose.  Just all legs and arms ^.^ lol

Currently, I haven't been keeping to a strict workout schedule, but I have written one.  The next step is to work some cardio in.  I'm looking to start regularly walking the dogs. (Two of my friends recently told me my littlest dog is getting a wee bit round... so walking is definitely in order lol) So yeah... I'm glad to say I'm enjoying the exercise I've introduced into my life =) 

Finally I'm Finished! The Striped Baby Blanket

Hi there! Happy Friday!!!

At the beginning of the month, I wrote about starting (and REstarting) a gender neutral baby blanket.  I'm glad to say that the color changes where just want the design needed!  I love how the stripes came out. I used the Biscuits & Jam random stripe generator and then repeated the pattern a couple times.  I like that it looks random but organized... if that can be a thing?

Now it will be washed and dried to soften it up.  I think I'm also going to press the corners with an iron to get them just right.  Then it will be boxed, wrapped and sent to our expecting friends.  I really hope they love the blanket.  I'm always super nervous whenever I gift a handmade gift.  Anywho, I love it ^.^ and now I just need to give it a name...

This is my favorite part of the whole blanket. The reverse single crochet edging.  I love the neat edge it creates.  Don't be surprised if I start putting this on everything! lol!

 Have a great day!

Garden Update for Earth Day!

Hi there & Happy Earth Day!

Lovely cucumber little tendril :)

A bit more than a month ago I started my vegetable garden with basil, broccoli, chinese plum, cucumbers, green beans, lavender, rosemary, and spinach.  I also had lemon balm and spearmint with the intention of using them for tea.  It's definitely been a trial of patience waiting for them to sprout and get settled into the pots.

I'm glad that my cucumber, green beans, and basil plants are growing very strong.  The cucumbers have started getting the little climbing tendrils, so they should soon start growing up the trellis.  The broccoli and spinach plants are limping along it seems... they haven't given up yet :)

Look how yummy this basil looks! Strawberry basil lemonade will def be made this summer!

Cucumbers on the left & green beans on the right.  I love their big happy leaves!

Sadly, the rosemary never sprouted and the lavender has been chillin with two teenie tiny leaves for nearly 2 and a half weeks now.  I keep watering it, but I don't think it's going to make it. :(  I also made the decision to get rid of the lemon balm and spearmint plants because the tea they brewed wasn't good and I know I won't drink it.

My only surviving broccoli plant, I'm hoping it pulls through because I love fresh broccoli :)

The spinach looks mighty sad... but it's still green and hasn't given up yet.

I added a Touch-Me-Not plant to the garden shortly after starting all the seeds.  Now that it's big enough to respond to touch, it's the coolest plant I've seen in a while!  I think the only other time I was this excited what in high school when I got a carnivorous plant.

 

Here's a quick video of the Touch-Me-Not awesomess!

I hope you had a pleasant Earth Day! Now go hug a tree ^.^