Introducing my new Etsy shop....Nest Ink

custom rhinestonte notecards - set of 6 ("three flowerss") - in my etsy shop NestInk

Here's just a taste of some of the notecard sets you can find in my Etsy shop, which is now up and running! Each one is my own design, hand-embellished with one or more rhinestones. Any of these designs can be totally customized - in the color and with the wording of your choice!


 

custom rhinestone notecards - set of 6 ("stately") - NestInk

custom rhinestone notecards - set of 6 ("Victorian monogram") - NestInk

custom rhinestone notecards - set of 6 ("modern flower") - NestInk

There are more designs in the shop, and I'm continuing to add more throughout the day, so please check out my new shop! And special thanks to Julia from Hooked on Houses who originally suggested the name "Nest Ink" for my stationery business...it's just perfect. (Her blog is two years old today - Happy Birthday, Hooked on Houses!) And it's hard to believe, but I asked for input on a name for my stationery business at least a year and a half ago! Better late than never, I suppose. I am so tickled...I'm almost giddy...it's like having a new baby...only a lot more painless!

Since it's a brand-new venture, I'd really love to know what you think. After you check out the shop, will you come back and leave me a comment? All feedback is welcome! And tell your friends. :-)

no more waffling!

Just a quick update to let you know what I've been working on this weekend...setting up my Etsy shop! Finally...after all my waffling...I'm just making it happen. I've been having so much fun working out the details. I'm hoping to have it ready within the next week. The whole process is somewhat time-consuming, but so fun! I'll be selling custom stationery in no time. I do hope to get back into interior redesign very soon as well, but am trying to just take one thing at a time. (Which, by the way, isn't easy for me, since once I get an idea - or three - in my head, I prefer to jump headlong into fulfilling them, rather proceeding at a slow and sedate pace.) So for you faithful (three) readers I have left...you'll be glad to know...I am finally DOING something!

P.S. the photo above is my avatar on Etsy :-)

thanks for the free ticket!

I never win blog giveaways...and I've entered a few hundred or so...but my luck has changed. Did I win the $500 gift card to West Elm? Or gift card to HomeGoods? Or any other cash or frivolous prize? Nope. I won a free ticket to the A Woman Inspired Conference. It's an online conference - which I've never done before - about living an efficient and creative life with God at the center. I love it because (as you can see from my previous post) I'm in a transitional period where I'm quite desperate and more than ready to exercise my creativity again. I'm not entirely sure how it's going to work or what it's going to look like - and I suppose that's where this conference comes in. I'm actually quite excited about it because I feel like it's a little gift, just for me, at an opportune time in my life, so I have great hopes and expectations that I will find a nugget or two of inspiration that will flip my switch and turn on my dusty light bulb (a.k.a. inspiration). So a great big "thank you!" to Sandy over at The Reluctant Entertainer for offering these free tickets!

Just watch as I begin to transform before your very eyes...no longer A Mom Tired....but A Woman Inspired. ;-) I'll let you all know how it goes.

happy new year!

So we're already ten days into the new year and things have been BUSY around my place. Fairies are afoot at my house this month! This is the crazy month of birthdays and birthday parties for BOTH my daughters. This year they chose the SAME birthday theme (can you say REJOICE?) which allows me to recycle some decorations. I can't wait to show you photos of my three-year-old's little fairiy party...but I'm going to be cruel and just tease you...as the photos are not quite finished being uploaded. I'm hoping to post them in the next couple of days.

Other thiings on the horizon for the new year: you know, I don't really have resolutions...just lists. To-do lists. (Can I get a "boring"?!)  For the purpose of my own clarity and also for a little accountabillity, here's what I'm hoping to accomplish:

- Totally re-do my bedroom...Like most moms I know, my bedroom is totally neglected and the bane of my existence. I'm not kidding. I'm talking cleaning, organizing, painting, and new furniture. (Do you think Ikea will accept Monopoly money? Cause unfortunately that's the only kind I've got at the moment. Hmm, note to self...find some money.)

- So, along those lines: find/make some money, preferably doing something I love. I'm really wanting to do a stationery shop on Etsy...it's just a matter of finding the time to sort out the details and get it set up. I'd also love to get back into interior redesign!

- Practice homeschooling. yep, I'm planning to homeschool my oldest next year for kindergarten and we're easing into it by doing some preschool-type activities here at home (I just pulled her out of preschool and now I have to make sure I replace it with some fun stuff.)

- Find more time to be creative. It seems like most of my creativity these days goes towards making my kids happy. That's probably how it should be, but it seems like a happy mom is important too. Must...find...time...to...blog, decorate, design, craft, create. My own creativity tank is pretty empty these days.

- Accomplish all of this while being SuperMom. I don't think that's asking for too much, is it?

more is more...and a merry Christmas :-)

My motto for Christmas decorating: more is more, baby! Here are a few pics of some of my favorite Christmas decorations around the house this year. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this little visual tour! I realized after the fact that I didn't take a single picture of my tree. It's in the dining room, just to the left of the fireplace. The tree you saw at the top of the stairs is our second tree that has all the sentimental, mismatched ornaments on it. The little pink tree you saw is the kids' Advent tree...each day of the advent calendar they find a tiny ornament inside to put on their tree, as well as a Scripture that tells the Nativity story. On the mantel is my collection of blue carnival glass and mercury glass candleholders.

It's funny. I missed out on a lot of blogging over the last year, and while I was away Blogger did some much-needed overhauling on how you upload photos, etc. It's actually easier and more convenient now...but I'm still trying to get used to it...and today it was easier to put a huge block of photos without captions. Now that I'm (slowly) getting back into the swing of things, I'm hoping to get a little better at this whole thing. I guess that's the case with any technology, isn't it...if you're away for even a short time you feel like it's been years! Because the world marches on, with or without you.

Okay I was just re-reading that paragraph and it made me sound much older than I really am! Too funny. Ah well. Some days I FEEL really old. Three little ones will do that to you. :-)

And welcome to those joining me from Julia's Hooked on Houses Holiday Tour!! Welcome!!! Hooked on Houses is one of my favorite blogs, and Julia one of my favorite bloggers. We go way back. I feel I can say I knew her way back when...back before she was famous and being written up by HGTV and people like that. :-)  Check out her blog for lots of fun holiday house tour links!!!



I'm also linked to Rhoda's Holiday House Tours party on her Southern Hospitality blog. She is a sweet and ultra-talented blogger who definitely shares my decorating theme at Christmas of "more is more"! Love it. Check out her party as well.

And last but not least - Melissa's holiday tour party at The Inspired Room. Melissa is always refreshlingly honest and gives me permission to not be perfect! I need that!

Merry Christmas, everybody!

be still my heart...

Just a brief note to indulge my inner stationery nerd. Paper Source has just introduced the first in-home letterpress machine ever! My pulse is racing and I think my pupils are dilated as I begin to imagine all the fabulous invitations, notecards, gift tags, and other things I could create with it! Picture some fabluous linen-textured paper with gold letterpress designs...

It comes with a few plates and there are a few additional plate kits you can purchase that are themed. Aren't they gorgeous?

  

I just love this stuff! Check out Paper Source - they're my favorite resource for stationery and card supplies. I just love paper. If that makes me a nerd, so be it! :-)

it's not just a jar

It's time, my friends, to pay homage to that humble, yet often overlooked piece of glassware known as The Jar. I was looking around my house the other day and realized that glass jars are one of my favorite methods for organizing and storage. I love them because they never wear out...are easily recycled...and they look cute no matter what they're doing. (Just like me...right?)

image: naturemoms

I love the way these ordinary jars were transformed into candleholders that look like etched glass. Just create your own shape with contact paper...stick it on...spray with frosted glass spray paint...then peel of your contact paper shape...and voila! How cute is that? Perfect for Christmas or Fourth of July or anytime! (Note to self: I actually have Frosted Glass spray paint that I've NEVER used...must use it for this idea!) By the way, I found this idea along with a great post at Nature Moms blog that lists ten ways to reuse glass jars...it's worth a read.

baby shower favors: dried papaya and Russian tea mix

image: nesting instincts "Baby Meet Orange"

I have glass jars that I use for cotton balls, Q-tips and bars of soap in the bathroom. I have a small jar in the cupboard that stores extra razors. In the kitchen, I have huge jars for rice and candy (shouldn't everyone have a huge jar for candy?). I have a tall skinny jar for spaghetti and several other sizes for other pastas. We use jars to collect spare change. We burn jar candles. We use jars to hold spare pens and pencils. I've even given away party favors in jars (see above). I recently re-organized my pantry and put lots of things in jars. Oh, it felt good.

How do you like to re-use glass jars? Any thoughts?