As in: “Lucky he got finished.”

If this hadn’t been a baby shower gift for someone I really like, I don’t know that I would have had the patience to finish this one!

  
The pattern was well written, but the actual execution was tedious.  I made it in multiple baby-steps over many days.

He’s so cute though!!

I had forgotten about this little guy until we were up at Corey’s office yesterday.

I made Corey this Baby Groot amigurumi a while back.  (Not sure what’s up with that squirrel in the background, but he knows what he did…)

This pattern was really easy to follow with good results.  I used Vanna’s Choice tweed in the Barley color.

  
Now if I could just enchant it so he would dance…  😀😀😀

  
I’m going to try making dandelion-infused oil to add to a lotion recipe!  

The girls helped me pick the flowers, and now they need to dry out for a day or two on a screen.  From there, they just soak in oil for 4-6 weeks, then we strain and use! So simple!  So easy!  We shall see…

I made some more stamps!

 ((One of these things is not like the others…))

I used them to make hand towels for my cousin Rusty’s wedding gift.  I really wanted a cool block-printed look, but didn’t think it through and they didn’t work so well.  Stamping with a paint/textile-medium combo doesn’t work!!  The stamped images didn’t come out very clearly and I had to hand paint over them to get the color saturation I wanted.  Womp womp.  Oh well…

I was also up against the clock to finish and get them packed for our trip, so this is the only pic I got.  I actually had to make their hot pads while we were traveling because they didn’t get done before we left. 😵 I always have such good intentions… 

  
  
I love this mandala-inspired crochet pattern.  It can be done with so many color combinations, and even the same colors can be rearranged for a completely different look.  I tried to use semi-manly colors for these two, but they’re still a bit precious. 😀

Rusty and Tyler had a beautiful wedding.  I hope they have an equally beautiful life together! ❤️

We just got back from a long trip visiting family, so I am spending my birthday relaxing, reading, snuggling babies and napping.  Really awesome stuff that I don’t usually allow myself to do without feeling guilty…

I’ve really tried to figure out why I have such a hard time letting myself relax, and it just all boils down to fear of not being “good enough.”  I’ve worked hard this past year to break some of those old beliefs and fight those old demons, so that this year I can focus on just being present, doing what I love, and feeling good!

Here’s to a year of creativity, fun, happiness, and living this beautiful life I’ve created!

I seriously thought I posted this over a week ago, but hey, it’s here now…

Remember this guy?  

Well, it turned into a full-on hippied-out wall hanging!

  
I probably won’t do something this intricate and time-consuming again, but I was a nice relaxing project.

  
And then there’s this goof:

  
🙂 🙂 🙂

I am an unapologetic fangirl of Liz Gilbert.  Here is a great article from her about why it’s important to keep traveling the world.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Life-changing Story from Indonesia

“I want to live in a society filled with people who are curious and concerned about each other rather than afraid of each other.

I want to live in a world full of brave people who are willing to risk not only adventure but emotional intimacy. 

I want to live in a world full of explorers and generous souls rather than people who have voluntarily become prisoners of their own fortresses. 

I want to live in a world full of people who look into each other’s faces along the path of life and ask, Who are you, my friend, and how can we serve each other?”

Fearless