Enjoying Winter

I had to share this photo. Love my huge puppy. What a goof!

It has been a wonderful winter and I have been spoiled with plenty of snow. I'm not gonna even complain about it. I LOVE THE SNOW! I've been looking toward a winter like this for years. Bring on the slippers, extra sweaters, candles, cuddles and even an unplowed driveway (We are lucky to live in staff housing and don't have to drive to work ;). I look forward to days where we just stop and "survive" together. Lets take a chill and enjoy each others company, and just stop going and doing things. Spring will be here before we know it, so for now, I'll enjoy these moments.

I just love these old duple characters. 

 While being snowed in we played with LOTS of legos. The kids even learned to collaborate and build things together which was a huge bonus. Since rearranging their room and giving them adequate storage for their belongings I've found they focus more on the toys/ activities they have out and really enjoy them for longer periods of time. I think they have even discovered toys they didn't know they had. By rearranging things it had given us a chance to figure out what would be good to donate, save, or throw away (if broken). It's almost sad how they don't play with the little baby toys now. hmmm to save or not to save ;)

I've been embroidering more. Small things, but still time consuming. I usually favor projects I can complete in a day or two, but lately I've been thinking "bigger" or more complicated.  I've shared two embroideries that were fairly simple but there is more to them. The peace sign was made with a gazillion french and colonial knots. A sort of therapeutic piece I worked on while catching up on some of my favorite shows on hulu. I'm hoping to turn it into a patch. It was stitched onto a fabric recycled from a bank bag. It's super thick and just lovely to touch.

This super small embroidery of a beet is going to be part of a veggie series I'm working on. I have a carrot to add, but it's not photographed yet.
I'm thinking of a nicer framed project, cut out the mini embroideries in rectangles and mount them on a coordinating fabric or paper and frame in a shallow shadow box. Those are my thoughts now, but we will see if they change as I get further into the project.

As I was inspired by all these veggies in my art I came to realize my body was really craving more too. Do you ever get that? For instance my body was aching for raw carrots. My fix was carrot juice with a few minimal add ins. My go to recipe is always dark leafy greens and a few other randoms. The current favorite go to (and what's photographed above) is a remix of my classic green drink.

inch of ginger

half a lemon

3 yellow beets (greens included)

half bunch of kale

 half bunch parsley 

one or two apples

one mega carrot (or about five normal sized ones)

quarter bunch mint <- my secret weapon

1/4 teaspoon spirulina 

I basically tweak my green recipe to accommodate whats in my fridge and amounts I'd like to save for future juicing. I don't like to make large batches because to me fresh is best. After drinking this I tend to feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually. Something about taking in all kinda of veggies and fruit really grounds me and helps start my day. Some days I can just stare at the beautiful colored foam (although somedays it isn't very pretty if you add the rainbow of veggies).

Overall I've fallen in love with my juicer, but I think it is time to move on. This was a good starter machine, but I've grown and I would like to get a masticating juicer next. :) Yey tax refund! 

And I just couldn't resist sharing a photo of my stuck up kitty. She's grown beautifully and is a sweetheart... when she wants to be. 

Winter has been good to me this season. For many reasons I couldn't hardly explain. Like others crave sunshine, I crave frost. I'm soaking it in and letting every part of my being enjoy.  

New Skabootn's

Since my last post about Skabootn's my collection has nearly doubled in size! It is almost like I'm on a constant scavenger hunt. Everywhere I go I'm looking around to see how many mini items I can find. My husband and I love to walk around antique stores and the hunt to add onto my collection makes us pause a little more in each booth and we end up noticing so many more unique items on display. This miniature lighter was found by my sister on the way out of the antique shop. We nearly missed it hidden in the corner of a glass display case. I'd never seen a lighter so small I had to make it part of my collection. I love that it's a functional Skabootn's!

A gift from Rachel and Dylan for my birthday. The little details like the net are awesome!

I inherited some vintage dice and Dylan noticed that one is made of bone.  I only noticed the off center dots but knowing it's made of bone makes it so much more interesting.

I have only seen this white dog once before, but I'm not sure what it is from. Monopoly piece maybe? 

The purple dragon was a suprise! I found in sitting in my collection while I was adding new items. I later found out it was from my mother. Purple dragons remind me of stories my husband used to make up while we were dating. He used to always create the most random characters and a lot of times they were colorful dragons. It's goofy and it makes me smile. Thanks Mom!

Mini whistles. I've seen them around, but I'm not sure if they were sold separately or with something originally. Anyone know?

A fun vintage metal pocket game.

My five cent nativity I found at a thrift store. 

This isn't really part of my collection but I wanted to show it off anyway. I've been asking for one for  a while. My husband finally hand picked a cameo for me for my birthday. The color is great. I'll probably interchange it as a necklace and a pin.

My Skabootn' car collection. Once it gets larger I'll probably move it to the small display I painted when I first started this collection.

And of course, the new display. This was my mother's birthday gift to me this year! I've been eyeballing one of these for a long time now. The small compartments are the perfect size for organizing and displaying my collection! I had it up on my wall within five minutes of me receiving it! I'm not positive what this drawer is from, but we are under the impression it's from some sort of print block storage. Wherever it's from I'm glad it has a new life in our home. As I said before, THANKS MOM! Now to fill in those empty spaces.

- Hannah

Skaboot'ns Collection

While pregnant with my first child I would kind of geek out and make these weird noises when I was referring to something really small and cute like a pair of shoes meant for a newborn baby. Over time I developed a word that I used regularly when mentioning something that was incredibly small - Skaboot'ns. I don't know why. I guess it's just one of those weird things about my personality that I'm not going to try and understand. Now I use this word for anything miniature. I get such a high when I see a Skaboot'ns that I end up speaking like a complete goof ball and it doesn't end until the object is out of sight.

Lucky for my family, the fun will never end! I have officially started my Skaboot'ns collection! A couple months ago I visited Rachel's home for the first time since moving back to Michigan and I immediately fell in love with the variety of collections they have! Cameras, A&W mugs, salt & pepper shakers, vintage toys, and plenty more! When I came home I begged my husband if I could start a collection of my own. After visiting a antique mall I ran into miniature Coke bottles and I made my dorky Skaboot'ns noises and I knew. I didn't end up getting the Coke bottles, but shortly after that day my husband got me a little Kangaroo from the zoo. After all the excitement from getting the first item of my collection I looked through my old treasures as a kid to see if I had anything else to add. I don't have much now, but it's a start!

My mom got a ton of paint samples from Lowes for 25 cents each!
 I picked my favorites and painted up a little display I found for my collection.

Starting from the top left going right is a small heart candle I have had as long as I can remember, the kangaroo with a baby my husband got for me (a Skaboot'ns with a Skaboot'ns!!), a little army man from my son's first arcade experience, very small deer I've seen in terrariums before that I've gathered from here and there, a glass owl my sister and I received from our brother when we were young, a 101 Dalmatian's puppy I used to pretend it was my Barbie's puppy as a child, and a case of the "Smallest Falsies in the World" which is really a miniature set of false teeth. I'm not sure where I got the falsies from, but they make me smile and I'm glad I can add them to my collection.

It may not be an expensive collection and my children will probably think I'm crazy as they get older, but it does make me smile and I'll enjoy adding to it little by little as time goes on.

I'm not the only one who gets a kick out of seeing super small things! Check out some of these items from some Etsy shops. I wouldn't mind having a couple of these guys to add to my collection!

Actual pocket knife. 

I love this simple milk jug.

baby sock monkey

Milk Loves Cookie ceramic miniatures.

Miniature Wizard of Oz book!

- Hannah

Brainstorming and Visualizing

I found these fun shapes in the corner of the antique shop a few weeks ago. I love a good deal on a fun hands on activity. My oldest son, my husband and I were all playing with them last night creating different designs from our own imaginations. I have a feeling I'll be playing with these often.

The colors on these pieces are worn out with a satin shine to them. I think I'll be coming back to these whenever I've hit a block creatively or just want to make something pretty. Eventually I'd like to make something permanent from these shapes. Jewelry? Ornaments? Wall Art? Any ideas? Who knows what we will come up with. I'll make sure to share whatever we do come up with. 

I've had a blast reading Grow Your Handmade Business by Kari Chapin. Today I did a exercise she has included in her book to visualize what your perfect workday would look like. With her instructions to dig deep into the details of the actual day I couldn't help but get so inspired by my own dreams and goals. I think this visualization is a good practice for anyone to do. Sometimes we need to just sit down and really think about what we are doing with our lives and where we want to be in the future. I'm not saying I'm miserable where I am now, but that it's healthy to have goals to motivate myself and our business to grow. 

My husband and I like to visualize our future (both near and far) often and our ideas are bursting at the seams. It always leads to great brainstorming and I get so inspired for a new project right then. Keep an eye out for new stuff we've been working on in our mumre etsy shop. We will be switching up our inventory over the next couple weeks with more seasonal items!

-Hannah