Ummm. Has it REALLY been nearly TWO years since I last posted!?

Wow! Everything everyone told me about time flying once you have a kid is absolutely true! Time is completely distorted now. So backing up…. I had a kid! Well, technically I had a baby but he’s totally a kid now- almost 14 months and he’s huge and walking around and getting into everything! This change has obviously affected my business but not in a negative way. I have learned to be very deliberate in how I plan my day. This is huge accomplishment coming from a very unorganized person. I’m always amazed at just how much I can get done in 2 hour increments aka “Clark’s nap times”. Yeah, I don't do the nap thing that everyone recommended (“nap when he naps”). Now, I will be completely honest and let you all know that I was blessed with a VERY easy baby who slept through the night pretty early on and takes two 2 hour naps a day although that might be changing here soon. So, I can survive without napping since I get decent (mind you, not great) sleep at night. I know that that is not the case for many people. Because I have had orders to get out since when we first brought Clark home, I have been very consistent with putting Clark down for a nap at the same times each day (roughly). I can get other tasks accomplished throughout the day as well as long as I am deliberate with my time and make a point to do so. My day starts pretty early with changing Clark and then getting him breakfast. While he’s happily chowing down on his blueberries or strawberries I can usually reply to a few emails or make a social media post or maybe print off a few labels (from the kitchen table where my computer is now located). Then we play until naptime which is when I can work on making pieces for orders. I use the second naptime to package them up and do anything else I may need to do for the day. Some days I have to use my coveted “nap-times” to do other important grown up things like showering and cleaning the house— haha! All that to say, things are going great! Differently, but still great! Thank you so much for being patient with me these past couple years as I have adjusted to this new phase in life. Next year marks 10 years in business and I have some awesome things planned. One of the main things I am focusing on right now is RECONNECTING with all of you through eNews and social media. I feel like I did lose a bit of that connection during this new adjustment phase. I hired someone to help with my newsletter and I have some exciting things planned to share with you! If that sounds good to you, you can sign up here. Looking forward to reconnecting with you!

One Year Photo by “Holden Onto A Moment” Photography

2017 so far...

"Life is full of change". I recall several times when my both my mom and grandma have reminded me of this fact.  They never seems shaken with change. They just take what God deals them and move on.

2017 has been a year of change for us. I only hope I can handle all the change and newness with the same grace that both my mom and grandma demonstrate with each new adjustment in their lives.

 Earlier this year, my husband and I found out that we are expecting our first baby this coming September! I figured if my mom survived two sets of twins while teaching full time, I too can manage to continue working from home while being a mom. Although I do plan to make some adjustments to make this new change a little more manageable! 

I am finally starting to feel better and am gaining back some energy that was lost during the first few months of pregnancy. Boy, did that do a number on me though! I am so behind on work and am currently playing catch-up for time lost.

 In addition to this life changing news, my husband's aunt's cancer came back. We decided to make an unplanned trip to see her before she passed away. While closing up shop was difficult, I am forever grateful that we made the decision to travel to Ohio to see her one last time. She passed away soon after. Four days after her passing, we received the news that my husband's grandmother had also passed away. My husband's family is very close and all live in the same area in Ohio. We headed back to Ohio once again to attend both funerals. We were able to spend time with family and visit with his other grandma who is 93 years old.

Even though it feels like our whole world has been turned upside down and we are uncertain of the future, I am so thankful that God is control and that He has it all figured out.

2017 is going to be completely different than what I had planned prior to discovering that I was pregnant. I have decided not to participate in any shows this year. I'm really going to miss that aspect of the business but plan to attend next year's shows. As far as my little store location goes, I'm still trying to figure that one out! Don't worry, I still plan to keep making my jewelry and sharing it with the world! I'm also excited to share with you my new adventure into parent-hood. It should be quite interesting!

#CreativeSprint Challenge - October 2016

I signed up to participate in the #creativesprint challenge for October!

Day #1

I spent most of the morning working on today's challenge. Had so much fun! Today's challenge was to make something that fit in the palm of your hand using only materials in your immediate surrounding. Lucky for me, I happen to have a lot of supplies and tools laying around 😊 I decided to make a mini book! I didn't have nice paper so I tried dipping copy paper in my coffee but I had too much creamer in it for that to work! 😁 I also utilized my jewelry saw which was good practice. I plan on adding a chain to this piece to wear as a necklace.

Day #2

This one was tough for me. I tend to over analyze things so when the assignment "make something inspired by your name" came, I couldn't decide if I should make something that was inspired by my actual name or something inspired by me. Do I give my name meaning? It was getting way to deep for me and I was driving my husband crazy. He suggested that I tangle up a bunch of wire into a ball and call it "inner angst". Hilarious but also pretty clever 😂 He's more creative than he realizes! Haha! These are jewelry components that were currently on my work bench. I felt that was fitting since making jewelry is a pretty big part of my life.

Day #3

Make something inspired from a children's rhyme. I chose Wynken, Blynken and Nod. I remember reciting this poem as a class when my Mom was a teacher. It's pretty sloppily executed but I realized that I can't afford to spend too long on these challenges. Originally drawn in chalk pastel and then edited on the computer.

Day #4

Create something inspired by the weather.
This one is late. It's not very creative but it sure was fun to play around with Shrinky Dinks again! The weather here is PERFECT!

Day #5

Camouflage something. I dressed to match dog and we took a nice Fall walk through the leaves so I could camouflage his feet...

Then I decided to go ahead and camouflage my cat's feet too. Here are the results:

So, I decided to open a store...

I am sort of one of those people who jumps head long into things and takes chances. Several years ago I took a chance and quit my job and started this business. Recently I decided to jump on an opportunity to have my first brick and mortar location. It's small. I had no idea how much work it would be preparing for it but I know good things happen when you work hard. I just recently celebrated the grand opening with family, friends and several loyal customers that have supported my business from the very beginning! This is a fulfillment of a life long dream of mine. Hopefully it will be a huge success and allow me to grow and move into a larger location eventually. I am already thoroughly enjoying having my own little space and am enjoying planning fun events to bring awareness to my new store. Below are some photos ofmy grand opening event.

Thank you for sharing in my excitement and for your support through the years! It means the world to me!

Love,

Kara

A Breath of Fresh Air- Our Vacation in the Smokies

I just came back from a wonderful week in Tennessee. We started off the week in a cabin with my family. My family has never been on a vacation together so it was especially special for us. It was a short time together but we packed the days with lots of memories. After everyone headed back home, Luke and I stuck around so we could enjoy some much needed time together.

We enjoyed a few days at Dollywood and walking around Gatlinburg but my favorite part was driving through the mountains and stopping to take photos. We even saw bears! The first sighting was a little cub in the distance. The second sighting was a closer view of a mama bear and two cubs! We didn't get a very good picture of either though. Someone else was following the mama bear a little too closely. She growled at him and the cubs went up trees and Luke and I were out of there! Haha!

We are only a few hours away so we will definitely be visiting again. I'd love to go in the Fall!

All photos © Kara Mavar