Craftyminx

The Big Announcement and some changes

Well I let the cat out of the bag a few days ago on twitter...

Mark one off the 30 before 30 list!

 

It really does feel pretty surreal at this point. I didn't think it would happen so quickly. 

 

I thought I'd share with you a bit about what has been going on in my mind lately. Watch out, my mind is a dangerous place to be, but I think many of you could benefit from all the things I have had to work out in the last few months. In fact, the following was written about a month ago when I was ready to shut down all of craftyminx. I knew I was just having one of  my dark days and wasn't going to post it, but here's a little bit of it:

I started this blog ages ago when I wasn't sure what I wanted out of life. I loved crafting and sharing what I was doing with the world (or you know, the 10 people that were reading my blog at the time). I had a day job but it was pretty monotonous and I needed a creative outlet. Through the years a lot of changing and growing has happened. The blog has grown - I've gone from 10 readers to around 5,000 a day. I got my Master's of Library and Information Science. I changed positions in the library system I have worked for since graduating college. Along with all of this my depression and anxiety have gotten out of control. 

I've written about my problems with depression and anxiety before, but I live in more "dark days" as I prefer to call them than anything lately. I cry a lot. I don't want to move from the couch most days. My day job has suffered and I've been unhappy for a very long time. I've come to the point where I finally think I know what I need to do... take a break from all that it means to be craftyminx and re-assess.

For so long I got so much satisfaction from my little alter ego's world. I LOVE crafting, and selling my crafts, and teaching others about crafts but I'm tired of living in both worlds. I can either go full force into craftyminx, or full force into my professional life as a librarian. I can't do both anymore.

So why not quit my job and go 100% into craftyminx? While I enjoy it, it has always been a hobby. I feel like blogging for money and having an awesome crafty empire is just not for me. I would love for it to be for me, but at the end of the day I don't have an entrepreneur's  mind set, and while the thought of being my own boss might be enticing, I prefer (and need) stability. I miss being able to sit down and make something and not think about how I can make it easier for re-producing it for shows or how many new readers I can get from blogging about it. Crafting needs to be what I do for fun, not what I do for money. 

Later that day, I went to lunch with Sheldon. I was super depressed. I had applied for a librarian position, I had thoughts of shutting down craftyminx, but wasn't really sure how I felt about any of it until he asked this... "What will make you happiest?" I'd never thought about this. I had been depressed for so long that I just wanted to be happy, I'd never thought about what would make me happiest. After giving it thought I realized that quitting craftyminx wouldn't help because I need it as an outlet. Quitting my job and doing craftyminx full time wouldn't make me happiest either because I need stability. However, being a librarian would make me happiest. Having a stable income, being able to buy a bigger house, and hopefully starting a family would make me happiest. And sure enough, the minute my mind was made up, I got an interview and posted that I was taking a break from the blog. 

I read (skimmed) a ton of books to help me prepare and to get me back in the "librarian" mind-set. I searched for common interview questions and practiced my reference and reader's advisory skills. The interview was great!! Probably one of the best interviews I've ever had and I left feeling like I had probably nailed it. I tried to keep those thoughts out of my head though because I've had too many friends get interviewed numerous times for librarian jobs and not get them. I didn't want to be super depressed if I didn't get it. 

My interview attire

And then two days later I was told that I got it! It was like every dark cloud that had been hanging over my head had been lifted. Not only is this this a great move for me but it is also my dream job. The position is for the young adult programming librarian at a smaller more community centered library in our system. Oh and I start March 19th. It's quite a drive from our house so I'm not looking forward to the commute but it will be worth it because I'll be working with a great staff in a great environment. I have always wanted to be a young adult librarian so I'm thrilled that I actually got a position that I wanted. 

So what does all of this mean for craftyminx? Like I said in my last post, I'm not 100% sure yet. I don't know what kind of pull this position is going to have on my life. I do know this... I'm taking it easy in the beginning. Posting may be sporadic until I get into a groove. My goal is to at least post a really great content filled post once a week until I get everything under control. I'm going to be reading a lot for the next couple of months to help get in the young adult librarian mindset. Someone wanted to see book reviews on the blog so that might be something that will start appearing, if you all are interested in young adult books. 

A little light reading for the new librarian

The great thing about craftyminx is that it is all me so as I change and evolve the blog will do the same. This is why I don't have blog sponsors or consider myself a top-blogger. In fact, I've never made money from the blog. I probably spend more on it than I should to be completely honest. This is just a hobby and it will always continue to be just a hobby.

The biggest change won't really be something that readers will notice. I'm quitting all of my craftyminx business stuff. This means no more shows and no more making stuff to sell. I don't have time for it. I barely have time to make anything for myself anymore. I will most likely open up an on-line clearance shop to get rid of current stock and some supplies, but after that I'll be done. I can't continue to put all this effort into something that I know I don't want to be my full time job. 

So there you have it - A look in to my head, a professional goal completed, and some changes. Sorry if that was all a little too much for you. It's just something I've been trying to put into words for awhile now. Later tonight or tomorrow I'm going to announce something pretty fun that will give me some more time to work on stuff without letting the blog go and let you all get to work some crafting magic. It's pretty exciting so stay tuned!

Thoughts on... Budgeting

So we did it. We made it past the first month of living on our budget. The first week like with diets is always the easiest and the following weeks were a little harder. 

I've been using the youneedabudget.com (YNAB) method and software. You can read all about it on their website. I hate to say that I chose a budget plan on great website design, but I did. They have a really great site, an easy to follow method, and software that really helps. We're still using the free trial of the software but I think we'll probably buy it since we've been able to stick with everything for a whole month. Another thing I really love about their company is that they give free webinars on budgeting and how to use the software to your best advantage. ( I promise I'm not getting anything from youneedabudget for this, I just have really been impressed with it!)

Getting personal a bit, Sheldon and I have never really lived on a budget. This worked out ok because Sheldon isn't much of a spender. He's the kind of person that can look at his bank account see how much money he has and not be tempted to spend it. He's also the kind of person that gets nervous if his account ever dips below $500 and can constantly keep a running total of how much money he has at all times in his account. I am the spender in our relationship, not only am I a spender but I hate thinking about money. I treat paying bills and looking at our accounts with disdain. If I want something and think we might have enough money to buy it, I buy it. I never know how much money we have in the account and before I merged assets with Sheldon I would be overdrawn all the time! I know those of you that are like Sheldon are probably disgusted with me right now, it's fair. I'm really bad with money. 

So as I said in my New Year's goal post, if we're ever going to save up a nest egg I had to find a system that works for me before we would ever find anything that works for us and this one does. Sheldon and I make the budget together and I keep track of everything in the software. Having control of the software makes me more interested in the whole process and makes me stay on track and having big goals helps with my motivation. 

A few things I have learned:

• Budgeting is hard but it is totally doable! Finding a system that works for you (and your spouse) is the most important thing. 
• Being on a budget isn't the only lifestyle change that happens. We have had to change our entire lifestyle to keep within our budget. I could write a book about how our eating habits and home cleaning schedule has changed as well. We were generally lazy at home and now I can tell that by becoming disciplined in one area, we are becoming disciplined in many other areas of our life. 
• I need to avoid spending traps like the plague. For me, this means Hobby Lobby, Target, and the Outlet Mall. I go to these places and I loose all sense of reality and over spend every single time. I'm the worst at letting overly helpful (read: works on commission) sales people talk me into buying needless stuff. If I do go to these places, I need to only take my budgeted amount of cash and take a list. 
• Budgeting helps our communication. We have to communicate most of our purchases now, which we never really did before. We each have a small allowance every week that is our no questions asked fund (aka Sheldon's beer and cigar allowance and my nail polish allowance). Now if I want to buy something over my fun money allowance I either have to save up for it or we have to discuss it to see if it's something we as a couple want to budget for. 

So there you have it... what I've learned so far. Sorry if all this budget talk is super boring!! It's really the only thing going on in my life right now. Once it becomes second nature I will be oh so happy! I hate having to put my focus on something that I don't enjoy especially when it takes time away from the things I DO enjoy.

30 Before 30

 

Click to enlarge

It has taken me a few days to finish up my list. I'm not sure why, but this year was really hard to nail down what I wanted to put in writing and what I didn't. I'm guessing it's because I want to actually complete everything this year and knowing how I work means if it's put in writing it might not happen haha. 

This list is printed out and will be posted on my mirror in my dressing room so hopefully I'll remember all my lofty goals this year! I'll try to be better about updating this post along the way and doing milestone posts as well.

Do you do a birthday list? What is one of your big goals this year?

Credits:
Tape Strip - Pugly Pixel
Kitschy Digitals Kits:  Thrift Store Grab Bag, Monotone Fresh Feathers, Granny's Sewing Basket, Fabric Covered Buttons, Woodgrain Papers (I don't think this one is available right now)

29 before 29 Mostly completed :)

1. Complete a 365 Project.

Well I'm still working on this one. Because of crochet school, I took a break on the 365 project but it's going strong once again. If you're new to the blog and you like granny squares, you might enjoy my 365 project A Granny A Day. I have resumed working on it and I'm on 259/365. See them all at once here.

2. Adopt another dog or donate to a local shelter. - We obtained Dash from a friend of the family, but we also gave to our local shelter. Even though we got Dash at a less than optimal time, I was ready for a new dog. And Dash is the best. He's sweet, energetic, super cuddly, and makes us laugh every day. 

3. Buy a pink wig just for fun.

4. Find the perfect peanut butter frosting recipe.

5. Learn something new.

I learned this awesome technique for crocheting without a foundation chain and it has changed my life!

6. Make a full sized afghan.

I made a few:

7.Knit Sheldon a pair of socks.
Yeah... I should have known this one wouldn't happen. I haven't picked up sock needles in 3 years and don't intend to for a little while longer. Poor sheldon may never know the greatness that is hand-knit socks. 

8. Finish the sweater I started for John 3 years ago. 

Let's just say this sweater is probably going to have to be morphed into some other item. See John, I'm being nice and not telling everyone said sweater might not fit you anymore ;)

9. Purge our home/ garage. 

This has been a work in progress all year. However we still have TOO MUCH stuff. I'm at the point that we either get rid of everything, or buy another house and just leave everything in the old one. The garage is the real challenge for us. No one wants to spend a lot of time in a stinky, dusty garage. This year we are going to split the garage into quadrants and work like that. 

10. Make Julia's Boeuf Bourguingnon.

Making this tomorrow for my birthday party!!! 

11. Get my Bella Tattoo.

This is even more important now that Bella is no longer with us, but I keep changing the design that I want. It will happen sometime. I have a new design involving her Bella plant that I think I will be going with instead. I haven't been tattooed in over a year and a half now and I think I have almost forgotten how bad it hurts and am ready to get another :)

12. Make cake pops.

I made them. I have photographic evidence somewhere but I can't seem to find it at the moment. FYI I hated making them and probably never will again. 

13. Carry my camera every day (after getting a case)

I carried it more this year, but I never got that case I wanted, so maybe this year... I have embraced my iPhone camera more which could be a bad thing.

14. Paint the dining room.

Paint is bought! But we're lazy haha. 

15. Acquire and scan old family photos.

Happening slowly. I do have all my old albums but that's about as far as that project has gotten.

16. Make a wedding album.

I started it... But I still have lots of work to do here too. 

17. Build a fence for our backyard.

We're still on the fence about this one (no pun intended). We're not sure if we really want to invest any more money into this property. We really want to move!

18. Finish the coat I started last year.

19. Have our first garage sale.

We just donated a bunch to Goodwill this year. Garage sales take so much effort and usually have little return. 

20. Make a new dress for everyday wear.

I bought about 20 patterns this year and I even bought all the fabric and notions for one dress. Do we see a pattern here? I'm really great at planning for project but not always great at following through mainly because of my time constraints! That's something to work on for this year.

21. Try the Mac & Cheese at Sage

 

22. Have a kick a** booth at Deluxe!

23. Create a new pattern to sell (knit, crochet, or embroidery)

Crochet School was free but I think it fits this goal nicely. And I am still working on the pattern book which will be for sale and will include about 7-9 patterns!

24. Start looking through clothing more often when thrifting.

These are the only photos I have, but I have bought sooo many clothes this year at the thrift store. Some fit me, some don't. I probably have enough to open a vintage online store soon. I even have quite the collection of amazing baby clothes that I've been saving back for our one day baby.

25. Celebrate our anniversary in a tree house.

26. Go to the Great American Beer Festival.

We didn't make it to the Great American Beer Festival this year, but we did go on a huge pub crawl in Denver for our friend's 40th birthday. I think this counts ;)

27. Pay off my car and get the big tune up it needs.

Done and Done! Betty will be with us until she won't run anymore. It is very nice not having a car payment! 

28. Have a tea party with my nieces.

I'm really sad this one didn't happen. Mainly because I completely forgot about it being a goal. I'm definitely going to post my list somewhere more visible this year so I can remember more of my goals throughout the year. 

29. Design my tattoo sleeve ideas.

They are getting there. No photos because I don't post ideas for tattoos. I only post photos after I get them. 

 

So the year is over. I turn 29 tomorrow. I have been thinking up my list of 30 before 30 and I think this year will be very exciting indeed! Since this was really my first time doing such a list I don't think I took it as seriously as I could have. I do them for fun, but these are really things I want to accomplish so I should take it more seriously. So maybe I can really accomplish all 30 goals this year! 

Hello 2012 and a look back at 2011

Happy New Year!!

I had prepared to put this post up yesterday and write another post today about my goals but I got too caught up in my recent projects and forgot to post it so I'm just going to add my 2012 goals at the end :)
I think the best way to describe this year is busy, a little stressful, and a whole lot of fun. The older I get, the faster the year passes me by. So here's my obligatory year in review post, which I mainly do for myself because it's easy to forget all of the great things that happened throughout the year. 

 January

 I started two features on the blog Thrifted Thursday and Happiness Is... I really liked doing these, but felt too much pressure from having too many weekly features on the blog. I might sneak them in every once in a while though. I also shared my Birthday goals. I still have a few to finish before the month is over :)

February

We had a really big snow storm! I am anxiously awaiting the first snow of the winter this year. These photos make me so happy. I can't wait to see how Dash reacts to the snow for the first time. I hope he loves it as much as Dewey.

We also flew to Denver to surprise our friend Chuckie for her birthday. I love surprising people. We had a great weekend with our friends. I know there will probably be another Denver trip this year, because we love to travel and we love our friends :)

March

The blog got a much needed update. And it has been that way ever since. There are a couple of things I do want to change this year, but for the most part I'm still really happy with it. 

April

I finished my first full granny square blanket and made my mom cry when I gave it to her for her birthday. 

May

We welcomed our new niece Charlotte into the world! 

And later that month we had a great trip to Renegade in Austin. I love road trips with Sheldon :)

June

Olive turned one!

And I finished two more granny square blankets!

July

We took a family Road trip to Las Vegas!!

And met our niece Charlotte for the first time :)

August

We welcomed this little booger into our family

I love Dash. I really wish he was still this little instead of the 16 pound dog he's turned into haha. He makes our lives a lot more interesting and frustrating but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

September

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in a tree house. It was perfect. And while I enjoy originality and changing things up I would be perfectly fine going here every year. I loved it that much.

October

Crochet School!!! Wow I still can't believe I did all of that. I really had a great time. I felt like I found my true calling in life teaching others how to do a craft. It's what I'm good at and it is fulfilling. Look for more of this in the next year :)

November

November was a lot of me on the couch crocheting for Deluxe. Having a great Thanksgiving with family and the best Friendsgiving ever.

December

I had a great time at Deluxe.

And we had a wonderful Christmas :)

 

2011 was really great and I think 2012 will be even better!

My biggest goal this year is to start (and stick to!) a budget. We have been willy nilly with our money since we've been together and really need to be saving more. I'm the spender in our relationship (surprise, surprise) so I'm finding the method that works best for me and Sheldon is holding me accountable. I found this really great software that I'm trying out for January (www.youneedabudget.com). I spent most of the morning yesterday watching their free webinars and getting really excited about saving money. 

Part of the budget means eating at home more (we were spending way too much money on eating out) and I am really going to work harder to meal plan every week. I've decided to sit aside every sunday morning for reconciling our budget, making the week's meal plan and grocery shopping. Having a set time to work on this "boring" stuff will be a must for me! 

Another big goal this year is for us to see our parents more regularly and to call my mom more often. I feel like we don't see them enough and I really love my parents and my in-laws and want to see them more. 

Like last year, I'll be doing my list of smaller goals for my birthday. This year is my 30 before 30! Wow. 

29 before 29 update

Well I'm a little over half way through the year. Here's a little update on my 29 things list. 

1. Complete a 365 Project.
2. Adopt another dog or donate to a local shelter.
3. Buy a pink wig just for fun.
4. Find the perfect peanut butter frosting recipe.
5. Learn something new.
6. Make a full sized afghan.
7.Knit Sheldon a pair of socks.
8. Finish the sweater I started for John 3 years ago. 
9. Purge our home/ garage. - started but still working on this.
10. Make Julia's Boeuf Bourguingnon.
11. Get my Bella Tattoo.
12. Make cake pops.
13. Carry my camera every day (after getting a case)
14. Paint the dining room.
15. Acquire and scan old family photos.
16. Make a wedding album.
17. Build a fence for our backyard.
18. Finish the coat I started last year.
19. Have our first garage sale.
20. Make a new dress for everyday wear.
21. Try the Mac & Cheese at Sage
22. Have a kick a** booth at Deluxe!
23. Create a new pattern to sell (knit, crochet, or embroidery)
24. Start looking through clothing more often when thrifting.
25. Celebrate our anniversary in a tree house.
26. Go to the Great American Beer Festival. - not going to happen this year. 
27. Pay off my car and get the big tune up it needs.
28. Have a tea party with my nieces.
29. Design my tattoo sleeve ideas.

I really haven't got as many things done as I thought I would!! I need to get in gear :) There are a few of these things that I know aren't going to happen. We weren't nearly as financially stable as I wanted us to be this year. That comes with a wedding I suppose and I can always move those things to next year's list or pretend like they were never on the list to begin with haha. I'm really going to focus on some of the smaller goals the next coupld of months. Maybe I can finish most of those. 

It's my birthday

I'm 28 today! Since the beginning of the year was not a time that I wanted to make big plans, I decided to make my birthday my big goal making day. So here you go, The 29 things I plan on doing before I turn 29.

Click photo to see larger

These are really detailed goals, but I think I can manage them.

The most exciting thing to me is a 365 project! My idea for this project has changed a lot over the last month. My original idea would have been really cool but also really time consuming which I can't do right now. I'd just get stressed out. So I decided to go with something fun and easy : A Granny A Day. I'll be crocheting a granny square a day and making as many blankets out of them as I can. I've created a separate blog just for this project. You can find it here: http://craftyminx.typepad.com/a_granny_a_day/ Don't worry if you don't want to follow another blog, I'll be posting a weekly round up over here on Fridays.

4 Simple Goals

 
Let's face it, for the last few months my life has solely been focused on wedding, wedding, wedding and before that it was finishing my Masters. I need some other goals and what a perfect time to make them! With the wedding only a month away, I'm going to need something else to fill my time with after we get back from our honeymoon. When I saw Elsie's post on 4 Simple Goals, I knew I definintely needed to join in. So here we go! These are my 4 Simple Goals before 2011...

1. Spend more time with my beautiful nieces by having sleepovers or girl dates at least once a month.

I love these girls! Anna has been gone all summer with her dad so we are missing her like crazy. I had the chance to take Rosie on a date after Olive was born and we had so much fun. Spending time with the girls definitely restores me and makes me remember that not everything has to be go, go, go all the time. We can just sit back and watch movies or make cookies and everything is perfect.

2. Have date night once a week.

While Sheldon and I were dating and contemplating moving in together, I read a book called Shacking Up: The Smart Girl's Guide to Living in Sin Without Getting Burned. One thing I read and thought "surely not us," was that we should continue spending time with each other and dating because once you shack up, this usually becomes something of the past. Let me tell you, this is so true. We're lucky if we have date night once a month. I am a homebody. After a day at my day job I usually go work for a couple of hours in the studio. I'm usually tired and have no desire to leave the house. We need to get out more and go to the places we love more often!

3. Create a budget that will work for us and stick to it!

 (source)

Have I ever mentioned that I'm horrible with money? Well I am, big time. Sheldon is really good with money, just not that great at saving. So as we make this transition to marriedom and merge our accounts, we have to find a plan that works. We've been brainstorming and have some ideas, but actually putting everything into action is going to be tough. I will gladly except advice on this. What works for your family?

4. Cut my hair.

I've had the same hairstyle or variations of it for years -- Layered with sideswept bangs (that's my senior picture above from almost 10 years ago).  Now it is the longest it has ever been and I kind of hate it. But I don't want to cut it before the wedding. I'm perfectly fine staying in my comfort zone until after the big day. Maybe I'll get it cut while we're in Toronto. Who knows? I just know I need a change. Cutting off my hair has always been my way of controlling something when my life is out of control, but now, my life is perfectly in control and I just need something different and fun. Shortly after that photo above, I cut all of my hair off. That was the craziest thing I've ever done. You can see a really bad picture of it here.

So that's it. I'll be picking out some goal rewards and blogging as they are achieved. I'm excited!