Just Breathe.

I feel like I've been swimming in ties lately, and my posts have been reflecting that...I promise to post about other things soon, but for now, this is taking over my life!
I just opened shop yesterday and today am filling orders for 8 ties! I think I hope business keeps rolling in, but at the same time, it's a whole new learning curve for me to figure out how to manage it all--and organize my life so that the things that matter the most are not in any way neglected. I went to bed early last night (9:00!) so that I could get up early and get some things done before the rest of the family was into its normal morning bustle, but Dixon had other plans for me as he was awake from 2:30 -3:30. I did manage to get up at 6:00--in time to make breakfast for everyone, which Mike normally does. Here's hoping Dixon figures out soon that Mom's not coming to get him in the middle of the night anymore.

And just as a side note, someone needs to tell the garden to hurry and get itself planted.

Success.

So, I just published my PickleFace Place Facebook page (say that 5 times fast...) and already have fans I don't even know! In fact, I just got my first two orders from non-friends or family today, and I'm over the moon!
Guess I'll go ahead and order that new fabric I've been eying, because it looks like I may need it!

PickleFace Place

I feel like I've been running on all cylinders lately! I finally finished sewing the first batch of ties (60 of them!), and sent some off to my AMAZING photographer just yesterday. I can't wait to see the images she captures of her little models in my ties! I feel like a proud mama. She's also working on a logo for me since I finally settled on a name for this new venture.

PickleFace Place

It may seem a bit unusual, but it's something that brings back some great memories of growing up with my only brother. My Grandma Martindale nicknamed him "Pickleface" when he was just a little boy because he absolutely LOVED to suck on pickles. Funny how little things like that create lasting memories. I thought it made a catchy little name for a shop devoted to decking out our little boys, and it reminded me of the little boy I grew up with.

I'm now in the process of setting up my shop, trying to contact all my family, friends, and acquaintances (just to get the word out), and setting up a Facebook page and a blog as well. It takes a lot more time than I had initially thought (the setup, not the tie-making!), but I'm really enjoying the creative process. It's amazing what our minds can conjure up, isn't it? I'm trying to get it all ready for a tentative Grand Opening of March 15th, but we'll see if I can make that deadline! I have to remind myself that I still have 5 children, a house, and a husband to take care of--all of which have been a little neglected lately.

I'm hoping that after this week of BoxTop submissions (yep, I'm in charge of that for our school, so I've been spending my evening hours counting...), the next two weeks of getting some paperwork done for Mike's new little adventure, and putting all the pieces together for PickleFace Place, I'll finally be able to take a break and let things just happen.
Oh yeah, and clean my house.

A Homemade Christmas

A few years ago, I got really disenchanted with Christmas. We'd bought the girls a bunch of things we thought they'd LOVE. And they did. For about 2 weeks. I was given a few things that didn't fit, and ended up returning my ENTIRE cache of gifts and never getting replacements for ANY of them. I was really troubled and discouraged by this and spent the next few months really questioning the entire Christmas season. Has gift-giving always been this way? Is this what I put so much time and effort into? Do I even remember the gifts I've been given over the years? If so, do I appreciate them and the thought that went into them? How do I make Christmas enjoyable AND memorable? I made a vow to never just go buy "stuff" again, and that has evolved into something truly deep and meaningful for me and for my family.

It began with a trip to the fabric store, where I bought some foam and some fabric. I spent my evenings that December busily sewing three little pillows for my three little girls. I found some beautiful paper and my favorite pen and proceeded to handwrite a letter to each of them. (Mike also writes them a letter.) I told them how much I loved them, what I'd seen them accomplish over the last year, gushed over how wonderful they were, and left them with my testimony of prayer and what it has meant to me in my life. They now use those little "prayer pillows" every night to kneel on as they are learning to communicate with their Heavenly Father.

The next year I chose to make little fabric covered journals and fun, feathery pencils for them. They were to be used only during the sacrament to help them think about the reason we partake of the bread and water. They could either write or draw a picture of something having to do with Christ. One week I asked them to write/draw something that Jesus made. Another week it was write/draw about why we love Jesus. Again, I wrote a letter to each of the girls, telling them how much I loved them, what I'd seen them accomplish over the last year, gushing over how wonderful they were, and leaving them with my testimony of the importance of keeping a journal and recording how we feel about the Savior.

There are a few things that I love about my new direction for Christmas.
1) I'm giving my children something they will use--and use often--so that it doesn't become just another present.
2) It may not matter to them now, but someday, they will cherish the letters they got from Mom & Dad every Christmas.
3) They will always have a record of their parents' testimony of specific principles of the gospel.

I have a renewed love for Christmas now and have decided to pass this on to my children. This year, we're having a "Homemade Christmas" where everything given will have to be made by the giver (with a little help from Mom & Dad, of course). The girls have already decided what they want to make and we've done some shopping for materials already. I think I get asked hourly by at least one of them if they can start on their project yet. I will be documenting the excitement as we go along. It should be an interesting ride! I hope this will make Christmas more memorable for all of us, and help us to focus on the reason we have Christmas in the first place.

The principle I'm focusing on this year will be the Sabbath Day. I plan on making that Sunday Box I mentioned a few months ago and have a really good start on items to go in it already. (Thank you for going out of business at 70% off Ben Franklin!) Since Dixon's a little too small to benefit from the Sunday Box just yet, and trying to keep with my Sabbath Day theme, I scratched my sewing itch and made these oh so adorable little man ties!


I gave the bigger ones away (as payment for Maggie's piano lessons...thanks, Eden! Your boys were so HANDSOME in them today!), but I'm totally excited to make a BUNCH more now that I have a pattern and it takes me only about 20 minutes to whip one up! And yes, I realize that this is supposed to be a Christmas present, but how could I resist??? Now I have an excuse to go buy some darling fabric and make some more!