Introducing my Deluxe Baby Booties and more.

January started off as a good month, but about mid-way through I got all caught up in an idea and became determined to figure out a way to increase my sales on Etsy. Thus, the rest of the house was ignored. Yup, you know what that means. I've got a lot of household chores to catch up on!

Good news is that I think I have developed a great product that in time will be a number one seller! I saw so many booties on Etsy, many of which look so much like so many others, and I just knew that to be successful I needed something to set my product in a different category. I decided to crochet tiny embellishments on each booty, or hand embroider designs on each one to add to their aesthetic qualities and provide something no one else is, that I can see on Etsy.

The first set of booties I listed sold within hours! I hope that is a good sign. Only time will tell. I love feedback, so please check out my products and let me know what you think. Here are some photos:

Aside from that I have been trying to continue decluttering the house, though I am behind on the schedule. I feel like once I get this new booty line up and running I will feel good to get back to getting the house in order. As it is, I have family arriving in a month and I am totally not ready!!

February, I hope, will be a productive month. My plans for this month are to gut my teenage daughter's bedroom and redo it...in a more grown up fashion. Gone will be the fairies and stuffed animals and in will move a mature theme appropriate for a young girl her age. Maybe that will motivate her to keep her room clean....a girl can wish!

So, before I go, here are some great sites on found on embroidery that I hope are going to help guide me through learning this new trade.

Wild Olive:
http://wildolive.blogspot.com/search/label/embroidery%20basics

Sarah's Embroidery:
http://www.embroidery.rocksea.org/

Simplifying my Life - Week One

So, what are your New Year’s Resolutions? Do you have any? Typically I find I can never stick to them, so why bother. But this year I am hoping to change that. This year my resolution is to get my house in order and simplify my life. Lucky me there is someone much smarter and wiser about these things than I and they have an entire blog dedicated to helping others simplify their lives. At www.mysimplerlife.com, the blogger there, Beth, has just posted her 2012 simplify your life calendar with 365 days of simple tasks anyone can do to get things in order around the home.


My hope is that some of you will join me in this journey and that we can encourage each other to push through day by day, week by week, and month by month. I am sure this will not be easy, but I think the end results will be worth the effort. So, what do you say? Are you in? Sign up at http://www.mysimplerlife.com and the link to download the entire 2012 calendar will be emailed to you.


Week 1 of the 2012 Declutter calendar starts in the kitchen, one of my most favorite and most dreaded rooms in my home. Yes, I have a love hate relationship with the kitchen. I love it because of all the yummy goodness I bake there. I love it for the rich brown granite countertops, the black stone sink, and rich red cedar cabinets. I love it for all the fun photos plastered all over my refridge from friends and family. I love it for just the simple homey smells that are created there and then permeate throughout my home.


I hate the kitchen because I have an endless line of dishes that pile up in my sink. I hate the kitchen because no one ever wants to eat leftovers and they are left to go bad on my refrigerator shelves. I hate the kitchen because my floors never seem to stay clean, nor do the counters for that matter. I hate the kitchen because I wish I had twice as much room and cabinets to store my things.


Week 1 in Beth's calendar: dust cabinets, organize spices and go through freezer…those are just a few things on the 2012 calendar for the first week. I think I can do that! And I think by doing that I will be taking big steps toward making my kitchen a more enjoyable place to be.


Beth poses this question to start the year “Think about who you want to be this coming year”. Hmmm….I want to think on that. How about you? Any thoughts?

A Year to Declutter

I don't know how we have managed to collect all the junk we have over the years, but after 15 years together, my husband and I have amassed a house jammed packed full of everything under the sun...in several shapes and sizes! Okay, I just made us sound like hoarders! It's not that bad! But, if we don't get our acts together it might be in a few years! To be honest, I think we are going through what many families are going through at this stage of their lives.


My husband and I have been married for 15 years; we have three children and have been living in the same house for several years. Being settled in one place exacerbates the amassing of junk! Let me tell you! In the beginning of our marriage we moved a lot. Every time we moved we went through everything and tossed junk or unnecessary clutter. Now, not having moved in a while, all that clutter is still in our house…and growing! I am even posting pictures of our mess! Ahh..the agony! I know it's painful to look at, just imagine living with it! But not for long! It's time to clean up!


So that you have a better idea of what I am talking about, let me provide you with a list of areas where we need to de-clutter. I have a walk in closet that we can only ‘walk-in” half way because half of the closet is jammed with several suitcases piled up against the wall. The closet is filled with clothing, some of which hasn’t been worn in years, other items being saved for when I lose weight (come on ladies, you know what I am talking about!! Those size 4 jeans you wore before the kids arrived that you swore you’d get back into! It’s not gonna happen! Toss ‘em!).  I have to be realistic. I am not in my 20's anymore and some of the clothing items I have from my 20's would be indecent on a mother of three!  LOL! I am much more modest these days!


My sewing area looks like a tornado whipped through and tossed everything around into a big heaping mess. I tried to keep it all organized, but when my supplies grew larger than the containers I purchased to hold them, it all just started spilling out over the sides and onto the floor. That means two things to me; one, I need to cut back on spending on craft items and two, I need a better system for organizing what I do have!


I have a laundry basket in the hall filled with socks that have not been matched up with their pair. Who knows where the other sock is, probably paired up with the missing pair to another sock! My son does the laundry and he just won’t pair up the socks! I need to come up with a better system!


My garage is a nightmare! I have a few boxes and large furniture items sitting out there waiting to go to Goodwill or the dump….who ever will take them. I have boxes upon boxes of decorations, keepsakes and other misc. items that I know I could do without. What I really want is a nice clean and organized garage that I would not be embarrassed to let my neighbors see every time I take out the garbage.

My backyard is a mess of moss, barkchips, mud, leaves and cypress tree needles. Nothing I plant will grow under the trees, so I have just given up...and it shows. It is embarrassing! I want a backyard I can enjoy and spend time in when the weather is nice.

Okay, I think you are getting the picture! So, what to do? I recently happened upon a website through a link on Pinterest. It’s Mysimplerlife.com and is an ongoing blog and instructional website on living simply written by a gal named Beth. On her site I found her month by month Declutter and Organization Calendar. There Beth has created a day by day list of tiny tasks you can do to get your house in order in one year. Here is a link: http://www.mysimplerlife.com/2011.htm. This idea struck a chord with me and I knew I needed to get on board and simplify my life!!

Visit My Simpler Life Blog

So, here is the good news; you can follow me and my journey to declutter and simplify life because I am going to blog my journey week by week here. I am doing this with hopes of inspiring others in similar situations as mine that you too can do this! In fact, why not join me, download the calendar and follow along! Comment as you do and let me know how you are doing each week. Maybe together we can motivate one another to keep going all 365 days long! Ahhh, that is a daunting thought! Let’s just take it day by day!

Stay tuned! I will start ramping you up for this after Christmas! Join me!