creator

I’d like to think of myself as a creator. A creator of jewelry, of crochet things, of works of art. I want my works of art to show my vison and reflect me and for myself to shine through them. Selfishly I want everyone to know that it was ME that made these things. I pour time, energy, and yes, sometimes even sweat and blood (what can I say, I’m accident prone) into my creations. When people see my works of art I want them to think of me. I want to show off my creations, to show people pictures, to talk about them and to bring others joy through them because I’m proud of them!

I had a realization this morning that this is exactly how God feels about us. He is our Creator and Creation exists to glorify its Creator. He knit each of us together in our mothers’ womb (Psalm 139:13). If you knit or crochet you know that this is a delicate, time-consuming task. When I’m crocheting something, my fingers touch literally every inch of that yarn. When God created us, His hands touched every inch of us. Not one part of us was an accident or happened at random; we are just as He planned. God wants Himself to shine through us and for people to think of HIM when they look at us and for everyone to know that it was HIM that created us. As God’s people, we should bring joy to others because of Him. We are His creation and our lives should shout out about our Creator!

Last year I got a tattoo inspired by 1 Corinthians 10:31 “…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Written across my foot it says “for His glory.” It is a daily reminder that my ultimate goal in life is to glorify God in all that I do. Of course I am far from perfect and I fail daily but I am saved by God’s amazing grace. If I can be proud of my simple creations and love them and find joy in them, how much more can God be proud of us and love us and rejoice in us when we bring Him glory! Creation exists to glorify the Creator. WE exist to glorify GOD!

etsy shop updates!

I’ve been working on making my etsy shop have a more cohesive look with item photos matching the banner and what not. Due to Daylight Savings I now actually have time to do stuff outside in the evenings and have finally began updating the photos on my listings. I also designed a new banner and added some new items… check it out!

winterplace

Today I realized its getting towards the end of February and I haven’t posted anything in almost a month! This past weekend David and I made a trip to Winterplace, WV for a day of snowboarding. We both share a love of snowboarding and have been anxiously awaiting our first trip together since Day 1 of our relationship! We may have taken a little detour on the way to WV due to good conversation while not paying attention to signs. But I reminded David of my motto – if everything went just as planned then we wouldn’t have any good stories to tell.

For example, we would have missed out on seeing this beautiful view.

Even though there hasn’t been much snow this season there was still plenty on the slopes for us to have an awesome time together and even practice some tricks on the terrain park. Only 15 more days until the annual family trip to Snowshoe!!! And the best thing ever – having a great boyfriend who loves snowboarding as much as I do to bring with me on the family ski trip!

Oh, and I made this during our road trip. Now available in my Etsy shop.

a crochet baby blanket

I thought I had posted this months ago but for some reason I didn’t, so here’s a crochet project I worked on last year! After showing off the NC State baby blanket and crochet cardigan I made for Clara, one of my coworkers commissioned me to make a blanket for his daughter with the color scheme I used for Clara’s sweater. The final size of this one was about 36in x 36in and features a cute girly ruffle for the edging. Still loving this one!

more crochet baby boots

I recently finished another pair of crochet baby ankle boots with matching crochet rose headband that David bought as a baby shower gift for one of his coworkers. I’m so lucky to have a great boyfriend who is supportive of my hobbies and my new Etsy store!!! You know that Handmade Ryan Gosling blog I mentioned last month? Well I’m pretty sure David may be even better than than!

I also made a pair of cute pink boots with lace covered buttons, now available in my Etsy shop!

a handmade christmas, continued

Christmas has come and gone so I can share the rest of my handmade gifts without spoiling any surprises. Giving gifts was much more exciting this year with the two new people in my life – baby Clara and David! A baby girl just NEEDS crocheted gifts. And a boyfriend just NEEDS a crocheted wool hat!

handmade ryan gosling

If you know me, you know I love Ryan Gosling. And I’m talking even from back before he was in Crazy Stupid Love and The Notebook. I saw this new website, and I’m kind of obsessed. Basically its hot pictures of Ryan Gosling encouraging/making you laugh about your handmade stuff/blog/etsy store. So yeah, check it out – Handmade Ryan Gosling. Like now!

a handmade christmas

I’ve really been enjoying making things lately, especially things that are gifts for others. Obviously I can’t share all things yet because I wouldn’t want to ruin anyone’s Christmas present, buttttt here are a few things I can share.

nia's birthday present {ok this is not a christmas present, but its still handmade} - hearts sewn around her and austin's honeymoon locations on an antique map from the early 1900s

nia's christmas gift - her and austin's wedding invitation made into a keepsake ornament

paper snowflakes. are making a comeback! maybe i'm a little too excited about these things and topping every wrapped gift with them

the stockings are hung and presents are under the tree, all that's left is some cold weather and snow

where's waldo? reina may be hiding because she heard me talking about bringing out the santa cat hat again

i've worked on a lot of new pieces for my etsy store! and then my family bought most of them haha

PS – thanks Pinterest

its beginning to look a lot like christmas

Once Thanksgiving comes the rest of the year pretty much flies by. Its been a busy few weeks and I’m sure the next few will be as well! Here’s some things that have been going on.

ate lots of good food on Thanksgiving

hung out with the fam in Southern Pines

went to an NC State basketball game in Reynolds

went to an NC State football game

NC State won

babysat Clara

started reading The Hunger Games

made a Pinterest inspired candle

went to a Christmas tree lot

found the one

decorated the tree

and last but certainly not least, went ice skating outdoors

crochet baby boots

This week I made the cutest, most adorable boots for Clara. Jennifer found a picture of some and asked if I could make them and a week later…

A new pair of grey boots with cool brown/black wooden buttons!

Look how stylish she is!