Friday Favorites - Hobbies and Why I Blog

      Have a hobby? What is it, and why do you do it? Obviously, mine is sewing and blogging...and reading blogs. For me, I have Uncle Sam to thank for starting me on this crazy obsession with sewing and blogging. A little piece of paper showed up at our house called "orders". That left me to wave goodbye to my mister, and return to an empty house and a nine month old. Knowing that the clock can click awfully slow when you have over half a year to wait, I figured I had better find something for myself to do. I did something really simple, I asked God to help me find something purposeful to do. Don't ever think little things like that don't matter to God, they most certainly do! Long story short, sewing was what that purposeful thing became. When the baby went down for naps and bed, I watched how-to videos on u-tube, read blogs, and taught myself about this thing called sewing.

      When my days dragged, I'd take a trip to the fabric store, and come home and sew, and sew, and sew. And let me just tell you, some of it was pretty ugly looking stuff! It was my way to apply my mind to something other than the negatives. It was something to go do besides check the news and worry, check my email for the billionth time, or stare at the phone. Just as a side, in the off chance there's a military wife reading this...two pieces of advice for deployments: Find yourself a good church to go to, and find yourself something to do. I've gone through three deployments, and I know for a fact you'll need both. Blogging sort of just followed on its own. Other people had taught me so much through their blogs, that I felt like I could give back a little by making my own blog. If it helps someone just trying to learn like I was, than its worth it. Trust me when I say, starting a blog was outside of my comfort zone. I don't like computers, and I don't like being conspicuous in anyway. Blogging is a stretch for me, but what fun!

Urban Times

     If you want to do something, you had better just knock the "I don't have time for that" excuse out of your vocabulary. Not too many people have extra time laying around. I have a three year old, and a nine month old, and they need as much attention as any kid does. Time management is a whole different topic, but I can tell you I have to be super strict on myself if I want to get extra's done, like blogging and sewing. Time is there if you budget for it.

     I hear people say all the time, well "I wish I could _____". I say it too! I wish I could do a lot of things! Wishing alone just doesn't make things happen though, hard work does! Yes, natural ability and inclination does help, but you'll never learn something until you apply yourself to do it. Three years ago, I had never made a single wearable garment. Now, most of the clothes in my closet are my own work, and I've got an Etsy shop to sell them! Point being, if you want to do it, just do it. Whatever "it" is to you...sewing, painting, furniture fixing, cooking, whatever. Yes, it will take hours and hours of work, and mess ups, and possibly lots of chocolate and coffee. But, chances are, you'll benefit so much from the effort you put into it.  I doubt you'll be seeing my label coming soon to a Neimen Marcus store near you anytime soon. That's not the point, the point is to take every little bit of life and ability that God has allowed me to have and use it all 100%. I'm not saying I do that, but it's the goal anyway.

     There is nothing like that satisfied feeling when you've accomplished something you never have done before. So, here's me encouraging you to get outside your box of what you know, and learn something new! You can do it!

   

     (Pictures used via Pinterest.) By the way, has anyone besides me noticed it's getting harder and harder to find the original sources for pictures on Pinterest? It makes me sad not to be able to give the hard worker behind the picture full credit.

Romans 8:39   Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Friday Favorites - My top list of online resources

       Guess what? It is Friday! That makes me very, very happy. Seeing as how we have a lovely weekend ahead of us, I thought I'd share some good reading material for you to amuse yourself with this weekend. I put together a list of my most referred to, absolute favorite, blogs and websites. Some of these you will no doubt be very familiar with. I hope some are new to you, and will be as helpful to you as they are to me.

 Home Decor:

• This site has tons of good tips on how to put a room together, and how to decorate within your style. It was one of the first blogs I ever started reading, and I have learned so much from it!

The Inspired Room

• I don't think this one needs any explanation, if you've not seen Donna's work over at Funky Junk Interiors, you need to! She is one hundred percent original, and that is what appeals to me the most. She also has great photography, blog, and business tips too!

Funky Junk Interiors
Furniture Painting:

• Here is another one you most likely are familiar with, the expert on all things furniture. I love to get painting tips and business tips as well from here.

Miss Mustard Seed

• This one taught me all I know about spray painting furniture and glazing. This lady does the most beautiful work with glaze!

 All Things Thrifty

Blog/Business:

• I am so not smart with computers, so this blog has been hugely helpful to me. From blog buttons to changing HTML codes, you can find the info here.

Sneaky Momma Blog Design

•  If you have an Etsy shop or an online shop, this is an endless resource of tips, advice and tutorials. I get a daily email from them and every single one is helpful information.

Handmadeology

•  This one is slightly more technical, but if you are interested in things regarding the clothing industry, this is gold. This lady is very knowledgeable and writes about every facet of the clothing production process.

Fashion Incubator

Inspiration/Ideas:

•  Everything from DIY tutorials, unique products on the market, to business tips, this blog is so fun to wander through. I follow them through Facebook, and totally love all the random things that pop up in their posts!

Design Sponge

•   Hmm. Need I say anything here?? Really?

Pinterest

Home Management/Coupons:

• I do not work outside the home, but I still find this website very helpful. I also don't use coupons as much as I'd like...but I'm working on it! You know, something about that whole organization and preparation thing gets me. This one is great, because you don't have to pay, set up an account, or anything like that to print out coupons. She has tips for organization, shopping, and meal planning too.



Working Mom

Mind/Heart:

• You know, according to my stats, I get about 400 click throughs a day looking at my projects. I can't help but wonder about the "clickers". You, my readers, have lives outside of blogs and projects. None of us have the luxury of problem free lives. We all have bigger issues to deal with than what sort of wood glue we should use to fix our dining room chair. I subscribe to this blog via email, and listen to it every time there is a new post, while I'm doing my daily work. I find the subjects addressed to be very helpful, challenging, and encouraging. Specifically the last two posts. Sometimes life is just plain hard to deal with, and bad things happen that just aren't fair. Have you ever wondered, if God is so loving and good than why do bad things happen? Sickness, job loss, death of loved ones, financial hardship, miscarriages, unjust behaviour of others towards us, are just a few of the things that could cause us to wonder, where is God? Maybe God and you are not really on speaking terms, because of the bad things that have happened to you. Whatever situations you may have faced in the past, or are facing currently, I promise you, you will be helped by listening to these posts. I don't know you, and you matter to me...God created you, you matter to Him far more than you can imagine!

Liberty

     I hope you have fun checking all out all these great sites! Do you have a favorite one you refer back to time and again? Tell me about it in the comments, I want to see too! =)
P.S The Giveaway for FREE digital scrapbooking software is still open, but only until Sunday night!
Click here for your chance to win!!

Isaiah 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

linking to:
Remodelaholic
My Simple Home Life
Tatertots and jello
Funky Junk Interiors
Six Sisters Stuff
The Southern Institute
Kammys Korner
Home Stories A to Z
Chef in Training
Suger Bee Crafts
Not Just a Housewife

A few interesting reads

     There are some interesting topics being addressed right now at a few different blogs. Here are the links in case they apply to you at all and you're interested.

Funky Junk Interiors is doing a thirty one day series on how to turn your blog into a business.

Ameroonie Designs has a couple really helpful articles about selling at craft shows.

All Things Thrifty has a blogger behind the blog series going on. They are full of a lot of helpful information.

      I've really enjoyed reading these and just wanted to pass them along. Happy Thursday!

Psalms 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

blog fun

     Well if you are wondering what I've been working on, you are looking at it. I decided it was about time to make my blog look a little more "me" and a little less "blogger cookie cutter".  I'm the type who would rather poke my eyes with sticks than to figure computer stuff out, so I can't exactly say this was the funnest thing I've ever tried to do. There is still a lot of tweaking that needs to be done, this is a work in progress. I have to tell you though that if you are looking for good tutorials on this kind of thing go to Sneaky Momma's Blog Design. She is very clear and has tips on all kinds of blog related improvements. Go check her out!