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Wordless Wednesday - Nose to Nose

A New Era

I'm putting down the juggling pins, from 9am-4pm school days, anyway.

My youngest went off to kindergarten this week. I was a little sad, of course, but also excited about the new era. My days are no longer a juggling act the way they've been for the past eight years while I freelanced and stayed home with my boys.

I had originally worried about this time away from my kids. It has been 8 years, after all! I do miss them, but I don't miss hearing them fight behind my closed office door while I'm on the phone with a client. I don't miss saying, "I have to work this morning, so we can't go to the park." And I certainly don't miss sitting down at my computer at 8:30pm after an already busy day.

I now have uninterrupted, quiet work time during the day. And when the chaos and noise begin at 4:00, I'm ready for it. I look forward to it. And I can dedicate all of me to my kids and husband when they get home.

I look back on some of my busier times when the kids were younger, and think, I don't know how I did it. Somehow I guess we moms rise to the occasion. To all of you women out there doing the juggling act, I feel for you. But the time will fly, and you may just look back and wonder how you did it, too.

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday: Ahhhh....childhood

The Family Road Trip

Growing up in Minnesota, the summer tradition in my family was to take an annual camping trip. Mom and Dad loaded up the station wagon (and later the conversion van) with everything we could possibly need for a two week jaunt across the country. We always pulled the pop-up camper. We always tried to find every state license plate. My brother and I always fought about who got to sit where and which songs to listen to. But it was always an adventure, and nearly every summer, we headed West.

From the Black Hills to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, to Glacier National Park, to the Grand Canyon, to the Colorado Rockies and Banff, we covered most of the Western U.S. and Canada. As a kid and adolescent, I can honestly say I did not realize how important those trips were in influencing me. It wasn’t until I got to college - when wildfires destroyed a large portion of Yellowstone Park - that I finally started to understand the impact of all those vacations, and called my parents to say “thank you.”

Now, I won’t say that my parents instilled a love of camping in me, but a love of the West, they certainly did. The wide open spaces of Montana and Wyoming, the stunning peaks of the Colorado and Canadian Rockies, the amazing canyons and rock formations in Utah and Arizona, just the smell of the pines and mountain air...I could go on and on.

My first trip West as an adult was a two month road trip adventure that my best friend, Amy and I took in our early 20’s. We returned to many of those places I’d seen but didn’t appreciate as a kid. It was amazing and unforgettable. (The Trip, as it’s infamously known among family and friends deserves its own blog post another day!)

My husband and I have also returned to Colorado and Utah a couple of times, and this year we cautiously, but excitedly, decided it was time to expose our kids (8 and 5 1/2 yrs old) to the traditional family road trip West. So, we too packed up our minivan last week and took off for 10 days. It was hotels this time for us, but we road tripped it just the same. We collected state license plates, visited all the big tourist attractions from Minneapolis to Yellowstone and back, swam in every pool we found and generally had an awesome time. There were the occasional meltdowns (by both kids and parents) but we made it, and I celebrated my milestone birthday just the way I wanted to ~ by reliving my childhood.

About midway through the trip, we went to Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. As I walked around it for the 3rd time in my life, and watched my boys bound ahead of me on the rocks, I thought, This is It. This is what I always imagined myself doing, and I’m doing it. How lucky I am. A smile spread across my face and I thought, I need to call Mom and Dad to thank them again. I hope someday my kids will call me, too.

UPDATE:

On our last day at Yellowstone, my 8 year old son said,
“This trip has changed my life.”

No future phone call necessary.

Wordless Wednesday: Yellowstone NP

Wordless Wednesday: Badlands, SD

Hot Chocolate in July?

We’ve got some resourceful kids in the neighborhood. 60 degrees at best today, and a lemonade stand is quickly transformed into a hot chocolate stand. The drink was excellent, complete with marshmallows, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Brilliant.

The Best Kind of Handmade

I went to Ikea yesterday because I had been told by a friend that their frames are the best for kids’ art. She wasn’t kidding. I’ve been meaning to frame these masterpieces by my son for awhile, and I think they look so good, I'm planning my kitchen redesign around them.

Summer Vacation

Okay, I'm going to admit it. I've been seriously neglecting my Etsy shop and my blog for the last month or so. Why? It's summer in Minnesota. And it's a glorious one. 70's-80's, sunny, low humidity. I can't get enough. And my kids can't either...parks, pools, soccer, golf, cabin trips and just hanging out in the neighborhood. Fortunately for all of us, our best friends are teacher families, so it's just one big party over here! (My husband might be a little jealous, though.)

I am so thankful I work from home so we can enjoy this precious time together. I sneak in work where I can, but overall, the kids run the day, and I've learned to just go with it. My youngest is starting school in the fall. There will be time to build my business then. Right now, I'm going to keep enjoying summer vacation!

Wordless Wednesday

Who’s Your Cheerleader?

For the past week, I've been working on a project to reuse some old children’s books that I’ve had for awhile. I was bound and determined to create a card series using the sweet illustrations from the books. I went around and around with the design, finally setting it aside without resolution on Friday last week.

Since I opened my card shop on Etsy, there have been many friends and family who have supported me. I thank them all greatly for endlessly listening to my ideas, giving me advice, spreading the word about my business, and for their very generous purchases. But I have one friend who has helped me so much, I jokingly refer to her as my “life coach.”

My friend, Liz, came over today. Not only did she revive my interest in the children’s book project, she and I collaborated to create the final product. This isn’t the first time she’s helped me. Every time I’ve been discouraged or frustrated with my business, it’s Liz who can pull me up from my bootstraps and tell me I CAN DO IT. She’s full of ideas and enthusiasm, and anytime I need a pep talk, she’s there. Thank you for being my constant cheerleader, Liz!


This is what we created today. The art is from a reused children’s book. I cut the matte from sturdy reused cardboard, then painted it with chalkboard paint I had leftover from another project. I love the worn, nostalgic look. It’s eco-friendly, editable and one-of-a-kind!

Stepping Out as a New Mrs.

To my Sinatra-singing, marathon-running, hard-working, hard-playing, humor-seeking, loving husband of 11 years, Happy Anniversary!

Wordless Wednesday - My Dad & Me

Freebie Friday! Father's Day Card

ME...YOU....US

This is what my kids are each giving to their dad this year...a personalized Father's Day card with their own drawings. Simply print the below document (as many as you need) and fold where indicated. No cutting required!

Happy Dad's Day to all!
Dad Printable

Thrifty Thursdays

In Minnesota, it's our summers are precious and short. Hence, our garage/yard sale season is packed into a few months as well.

We have to take advantage of every warm weekend, so Thursdays have always been the best garage sale shopping days. It's a frenzy to hit all the good ones, even just within a few miles of my house. My most favorite way to recycle is to treasure someone else’s trash. Some days are better than others, but today I was lucky. Here’s a retro chair I found today for just $5.00. Sweet!

Wordless Wednesday - Part 2

See Part 1

My Old Repurposing Life

From 2005-2007, my friend, Shelly, and I had a little junk antique shop called Retique. We hosted occasional sales out on a farm in a little converted chicken coop. It was my first experience with repurposing and reclaiming old things, and it really changed my life. So much so, that I can't imagine not continuing the recycling effort in my graphics business, hence my eco-friendly stationery shop.

We had such fun scouring garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets and curbs for old "junk" that could be turned into something clever and/or useful. My kids even learned to go along for the ride and to find some treasures of their own.

I converted old cement trowels into candle sconces, bed springs into vases, and a mop wringer into a message pad, to name a few. What I did most of though, was create new uses for old windows. It was creatively fulfilling, but also very stressful to get ready for each sale. So, we mutually decided to hang up our paint brushes and tools a year and a half ago. But I still do some consignment at a darling shop called Betty Lou in Stone Lake, Wisconsin.

Here are a couple of windows I'm sending up there today:

1. Piano bench with hinged window for storage


2. Window wall hanging with shutter shelf


3. Screen door window message board

Deforestation in My Backyard

In our family, and for many Minnesotans, Memorial Day marks the beginning of lake season. We spent the lovely weekend at our family cabin in northern Wisconsin. It was gorgeous weather and a fabulously relaxing time.

The landscape is beautiful, with rolling hills and northern pines filling the heavily wooded forests which surround hundreds of lakes. But now the landscape is changing. Since last summer, a shocking amount of logging has taken place in these forests, and it's truly devastating.

It's a concrete reminder of why I use only 100% post-consumer recycled paper for my stationery products. My parents will never see these forests again. Heck, my kids probably won't see them either. Recycling the paper we use daily and buying recycled paper products are just a couple of easy things we can do to make a difference. I do it, and I encourage you to, too. Our kids deserve it.

Wordless Wednesday Part 1