I’ve long known that my love language is crafting. As in, I love loving people by making things for them. I like being the “crafty friend.”

I would estimate that I spend about 75% of my craft time making some specifically requested item for someone, or helping someone with an everyday type mending project. And for those of you who are in amazement of my lack of Etsy shop – I don’t have time to make all my friends things and make items to sell.

Truly, right now, I wouldn’t have it any other way. My friends are my inspiration. They come up with these crazy ideas of things they want and I get to explore forward and create a new project! I love it. Seriously. And I love the happiness I’m able to bring the people I love by making them a one-of-a-kind gift or by helping them learn to sew or knit or by helping with a household project that requires some crafty ingenuity and know-how.

However, there is another, more secret reason I haven’t made the jump from friend-making to stranger-making. It’s the pressure. And the worry. And the wanting it to be perfect. Because when you make things for your friends, they are THRILLED and AMAZED. No matter what. Even if a hem is a little crooked. Even if there is a little snag in the fabric.

Maybe I just have the BEST, most AWESOME friends (I do). Seriously, friends, thanks for providing me with so much inspiration. And thanks for letting me practice on you.

I don’t know how to end this post. Because I’m honestly still in mid-thought about it. Should I let my fear of rejection conquer me? Probably not. Do I really want to go for this whole “selling my wears” thing? I don’t know. But it’s crossing my mind on a more regular basis, so that’s something.

 

Now that all the physical copies of this letter have gone out, I wanted to make sure I posted our Christmas letter on the blog.  Last years was really darn good if I do say so myself, so this year I had to lower everyone’s expectations a little.  It was a little more normal, but hopefully still a pleasure to read – which is always my goal. Enjoy!

It seems my stroke of inspiration for writing our annual Christmas letter comes later and later each year.  I may have had my address list updated in mid-November, but this Christmas letter will most likely get to you after Christmas this year.  I apologize for the tardiness, but you’re very welcome for the treasure that is this letter.  I have to say I’ve been a bit distracted this season as I’m attempting to hand make all of our Christmas gifts this year.  Don’t worry, I probably only have a mild case of carpal tunnel from all the feverish knitting I’ve been doing.

I’ll start this Christmas Letter off with an announcement: we became adults this year.

[Blog Add-In: how many readers were hoping the announcement was that I was pregnant?  (I’m not)  I know at least one…] 

We really made quite the adult move across the country for new job opportunities.  I mean, who moves for “job opportunities?!”  Adults, that’s who.  We’re just two adults living in the Greater Seattle Area now (and by greater, I mean GREATER…we’re about 22 miles south of the city, which basically means 40 minutes away with traffic).  Speaking of traffic, goodness gracious, TRAFFIC!  Who deals with traffic on a daily basis?!  Bryan and I both have an actual commute to work.  Every day.  I didn’t believe in commuting until I became an adult.

That’s right friends, we’re officially in our mid-twenties and the crankiness and gray hairs are upon us.  We live for routine and week nights and dessert binges.  I’m not lying to you (because adults don’t lie) when I confess that I listen to NPR on my commute now.  And I’m also not lying to you when I tell you that Bryan joined a gym.  That’s correct; we actually pay real dollars so that Bryan can stay fit.  Who says “stay fit?!”  Adults, that’s who.

Have you noticed the double spacing between sentences yet?  Yeah, I just learned that is a thing.  Adulthood, I tell you.

Bryan has a great start to his career here in the Seattle area; he’s able to service clients while working to build his own book of business.  Did you understand any of that?!  Was it too adult-y for you?  Yeah, I know – but seriously, it’s all real!  Bryan has a career!  And “building a book of business” is a real phrase!!!  I’m not even pulling your leg.  Get this, I am not allowed to wear jeans to work.  That’s how fancy my job is.  I’m now the proud owner of clothing items such as, “work dresses,” “hosiery” and “designer slacks.”  Who even says “slacks?!”  You guessed it – Adults.

Our TV is mounted to our wall, we now own a Keurig, we shop at Costco, and we wear white shirts.  Yep, it’s a pretty sure thing that we’re adults.

All in all, this year has been a happy, crazy year for us.  It has been a year full of adult decisions and plans.  It’s been a year of settling into a brand new place and making new friends and finding our way.  It’s been a fun adventure!  God has richly blessed me and Bryan and we continue to walk in His grace.  May you take time this season to reflect on the awesomeness that is Jesus coming to earth – He came for you and for me to wipe our sins away!  You don’t have to be an adult to understand that, or to get ridiculously excited about it.   Enjoy the season!   We are so blessed to have you in our lives, our friends and family near and far.

The Merriest of Christmases to you,

 

Bryan & Lisagrace

I don’t have any New Year’s Resolutions this year.

I’m really good with that.

I’m really good right here, and I’m really good with the idea of moving forward, pushing myself, being better.

I love the fresh start of the New Year – starting over, clean slate, new budget sheets, new calendars.  It’s always kind of nice to push the last year behind you, shut it doors, and open the new year.  The New Year naturally causes me to reflect on the old one.  I spend a lot of time meditating on the things I’ve slowly and painstakingly learned in the last year.  These are the things that I usually don’t know I’m learning until after the fact.

The most profound thing I learned in 2013 was about time.  I really learned that I only have so much time to accomplish things I love, or things I want or things I need.  It’s kind of like when you always have more money than you need, you don’t fully understand budgeting.  You can pay your bills, buy whatever you need and then some.  That’s how my life has aligned with Time until this last year.  I just…always had enough.

But something changed this year, and I could no longer accomplish everything I wanted and I really felt it.  I wanted to blog more, but I read a lot more instead.  I wanted to cook more, but I crafted more instead.  I wanted to make new friends, but I FaceTimed with old ones instead.  I wanted to spend more time with people, but I worked, slept, crafted more instead.

2013 was the first year in my 25 years that I felt the give and take of time.  I started noticing that I wasn’t getting certain things done because I was actually doing other things – rather than just laziness.

This is a hard lesson to learn, because I don’t know what to do about it.  What can I do?  I’m in a place where no matter what, I have to give up something.  And I don’t want to give up anything. And I want to do more.  It’s interesting, I’ll tell you.

And some how this lesson has led me to having no resolutions for the new year.  I think I’m feeling a little capped out.  But I’m also feeling like resolving a whole year is just not practical for me right now.  I think instead I’ll resolve each day. To make the most of my time, doing things that I love, want and need to do.

God has contented my heart – I’m really content right now.  I’m really good with being right here, right now.  I think I’ll just stick with that.

 

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We are expecting our first visitor this week! I could not be more excited!!!!!!!!!!!! This morning, I woke up like it was the eve of Christmas Eve, when really it’s just two days before September 19th, when one of my dearest friends is coming to me!

Kaylee’s imminent and exciting arrival has sent me into a nesting flurry. If you’re friends with me on facebook, you may have noticed our extremely productive labor day weekend. Our little tiny home is coming together and I’m loving every little piece of the process and our home. (I know, I know, I really promise to post pictures soon!)

This has been my favorite little home of ours so far. We started from scratch after four years of collecting house stuff. Our new apartment here was an empty canvas of sorts, and having absolutely no furniture or decor or anything allowed us to slowly take our time deciding what we valued, what our aesthetic was, and what items/decor were both beautiful and functional to us.

I’m not great at decorating nor do I claim to have an eye for interior design. But I’ve read recently on several different design blogs something to the effect of, “Don’t worry about an item “matching” the rest of your decor, if it’s beautiful to you, it will go with your aesthetic.” Wow, am I right?! That mantra really gave me a lot of freedom and took away a lot of my usual stress about decorating. This idea completely defines how I created each and every space in our home. Some things in our home are beautiful to me because I handmade them, some are beautiful to me because they were $50 instead of $500 and some are beautiful to me because they just are.

The other major factor that defines the decor in our home was that I took my time. I’m notorious for rushing to make important decisions simply because I don’t like making them. But with this home, we didn’t have a couch for a month, or a kitchen table. The piece of plywood that has been sitting in our living room for two months? I just decided what to make of it. And I’ve been so okay with that, because the reality is, in the past two months, I’ve changed my mind three times about that particular art project, and I’m so excited about what I’ve finally decided to do.

I have some friends that are really wonderful at nesting and I’ve always been jealous of them. But I think I’m figuring out their secrets! Knowing myself, and knowing what’s beautiful to me has been the secret of making my apartment into my home. Can’t wait to show you pictures!

I’ve always hated my weird tomato pin cushion…why don’t more people sell/make cuter versions of pin cushions?! And, WHY is there NOT a magnet in every pin cushion so that you can suck up all the pins that didn’t make it back to the cushion when you’re in a sewing frenzy (any one else find pins all over the place after a sewing project?).

So, I’ve had this idea stuck in my head for a while. Sometimes, it takes me a while (or a push like a fun contest) to put my ideas to reality. As a crafter, I often think of ideas that would make my world (in craftland) better/more pretty/more practical. This fits the bill on all counts.  And here’s how to do it!

You’ll need:

• 4 oz. canning jar
• Small piece of cute fabric
• Stuffing (I used some extra needle felting I had from another project)
• Magnet Sheet

STEP ONE:

Use the inside of the canning lid to trace a circle on magnetic sheet.

STEP TWO:

Cut out the circle in the magnetic sheet.

STEP THREE:

The magnetic sheet had adhesive on one side, but I used a little hot glue to secure it in place. Super glue would work too.

STEP FOUR:

Grab a handful of fluff…

Do you best to squish it in ball on top of the center insert of the canning lid.

Then cover with your fabric.

STEP FIVE:

With the fluff and fabric on top, push the canning insert up into the lid, this is a little tricky.

STEP SIX:

Trim off the excess fabric from the bottom of the lid. I used a small pair of scissors to cut off most of it.

And then I used an exacto knife to get the rest until it looked like this.

THE FINAL PRODUCT!

Just screw the lid on the jar, and you have yourself an adorable, practical pin cushion!

And it sucks up all your rogue pins, too!

This week, I’m considering the life of Daniel.  Daniel is one of my all time favorite people written about in the Bible.  I’ve been challenged by his example of someone who had influence in powerful circles and yet he held fast to truth and his trust in God.  He was utterly unashamed of his God.

I love my co-workers.  They are so enjoyable and fun to work with.  They are just great, I feel so privileged to live life with these people.

So, I’ve been praying that I could be a Daniel.  I don’t exactly have influence in powerful circles, but I am an employee and I have a heart for my co-workers (peers and bosses) to know and love Jesus.  And I have influence, in one way or another.  I’m praying that God would make me a “trusted advisor” in my job, like Daniel was, and that His name would be glorified in my workplace.

Who are you inspired by this week?

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