Hey guys. So I moved. I had no idea what I was getting into. For the last several weeks all my usual routines, aside from work, were replaced with things like: empty cabinet, fill box, take box to car (repeat x ∞), drive to new house, empty car, attempt to hide boxes in a)living room b)third bedroom or c) basement. Oh, and organize new house.... right.
Pro Tip 1: Think about how much stuff you have, and develop a plan that enables other to help you. DO NOT try to do it all alone. I did not anticipate what I was getting into, or that we would fail to have internet set up until recently. So there is your very belated explanation of where in the universe I have been lately (basically, in my car). Pro Tip 2: Call and have internet set up BEFORE you move in, if at all possible. The last time I moved was 2 years ago when I moved out of college. That doesn't seem very long, but I've been busy since then. Accumulating a full kitchen, gathering all my childhood boxes from home- Oh, and acquiring a husband and all his stuff. When I thought about moving, I thought about packing my dorm room in one day, filling my car a few times, and grabbing some furniture I had in storage. Needless to say, this move had much more than that in store for me. Once solid week of moving every spare moment, and several loads since then (and a couple more to go). Pro Tip 3: Get your critical eye out early, start über Goodwill-ing several months before you move. (although lets be real, at least designate a Goodwill box as you are unpacking) The move will be worth it though, our new space is beautiful, and hopefully some week soon I will have my very own craft corner set up (just need to build a table...). This has totally messed up my crafting rhythm, however I have finally received all the piece to a new project I'll be working in my new craft space. Pro Tip 4: Prioritize your unpacking zones (i.e. craft table first). I feel like I will be organizing and sorting until it is time to move again in a few years, but hopefully we'll be all set up soon. Slowly but surely everything is coming together. Aside from all the busyness and craze of moving, it has been good to touch all of our things again, and for me to recognize how much junk I have. New goal: to be ever so slightly less clingy with stuff. My cheap side says: "Keep it! Then you'll never have to buy it again" but my reason says "you never touch it!" I am trying to listen to my reason as I look for new places to put everything. I hope my experiences help you be prepared for your next move (although I hope more you don't need to move!).
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I have been hand painting cards lately. If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen most of this, but I know you don't all follow so here is what I've been making lately! The envelopes are my designs and hand made by me as well. I'm enjoying the designs I can make with paint. And the control I have doing things by hand.
I hope you all had a lovely week. Lets have an awesome next week. A couple weeks ago I spent time drawing. I ran across a Book of Doing idea, and reinterpreted it. I sketched, and erased, and sketched again (x5). Then eventually I used colored pencils and outlined them with my art pen. Finally, I glued them onto scrapbook paper, cut them out, and laminated them. I left off the popsicle stick, but it is a pretty similar idea. These are not all of my favorite people, but I had to stop somewhere, I was getting really done with trying to draw people with so much care.
Most of these people live in other states, and I don't see or talk to them very often. But they are still large parts of my heart. As I mentioned in my birthday post I want to write more letters this year, so I mailed each of these to their 3D selves, a few of them were included in little packages I had been needing to get to them. I've been waiting to post this until I knew the packages had been received. I was tempted to keep these adorable little people, and use them around the house as bookmarks and fridge magnets. But mailing them was much better. I got conversations, and I made my friends days. Friendship seems more complicated as an adult, but sometimes we just lack the initiation and the confidence. So, I challenge you: Send some mail, make a small gift. Do something unexpected for the people you love. And share it with us! Take a picture, and post it to the Facebook page, or tag @glitteringambiguity on Instagram. Forest Park is the biggest park in Portland, and if my quick google is correct, the 19th largest park within city limits in the U.S. I had never explored it, so for my birthday gathering, we went on a hike. I warned everyone that I had never been there before, never taken the hike we went on, and that I might get us lost. But the trails were marked well enough, and I picked a great guide. With help from my less directionally challenged friend and confidence, we made it without any wrong turns or backtracking. It was a spectacular day. No rain, plenty of sun, and even spots where the sun reached us through the trees. Our hike was 6 miles, the longest I have done in a while, but it wasn't very challenging. We walked and talked, and by the end I was very ready to sit down and take my boots off. The only sketchy part of this hike was walking back to our cars on a shoulder-less road, but that wasn't too bad. Even through all the trees I wanted to chop down, the St. John's bridge was beautiful. I picked this hike mainly because it claimed views of Portland's prettiest bridge.. As it was a clear day, we also got a great view of Mt. St. Helen's on our way back to the cars.
I really enjoyed our Forest Park adventure, it was a great way to spend time with friends, and forget about time for a few hours. The work week is so limiting, or at least often feels so limiting. There is so much pressure to get things done, and remember everything. Perhaps it is just me (it's really not is it?). I want to take more space for adventures, even if its just a walk through the neighborhood. What do you want more space for? I spent too long on pinterest the other day. Sometimes that saps all my creativity and leaves me sad I spent hours looking at projects, instead of doing them. So I decided I HAD to do one of the projects. I chose this fairly simple one, and I had almost everything at hand. All you need is: Thin wire Wire clippers (or scissors, the wire is thin enough) A pencil Tacky glue Nail Polish Patience (not very much) Tip: place a paper or something under your flower as it dries, the glue drips. When I made the rings, I wasn't taking pictures. So I made the above to show you. I did not do the center pictured when I made the rings, but I like it better. To make the rings, all I did was loop the wire around my finger 3 or 4 times, and the wrap the wire around the flower and ring loops (center of flower), and wrap again at the base of the ring (under where you finger will go) to keep all the wire loops together. I also slightly squished the petals of the rings, using my fingers. I also made this larger ring, with thicker wire. However I don't recommend it. It was harder to form, and much harder to get the glue to stretch across. I thought it would make a more durable ring, but the cons aren't worth it to me. If you care about durability, thicker wire is do-able, but more challenging.
So there you go, fairy rings, or just adorable flowers. |
Hello!I'm Sara. I live in Portland, Oregon. I have chickens. I love coffee AND tea, I make stained glass pendants in my basement, and I love adventures and new ways to live. I have an Etsy store as well. Categories
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December 2015
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