change is on the wind

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like so many others this time of year, my thoughts turn inward. what do i want this new year to bring me? to be filled with? what ever shall i do with myself? no matter where my mind drifts, it always comes back to one word: change.

oldies will recall that change & i do not do well together; i am a creature of habit. in fact, there was talk of crowning me queen of habitton. or was that hobbiton? i can never recall which. at any rate, i know that as difficult as change is for me, it is something that i want. something that i need. it is the what that has me stumped.

i do know some of what i want to change. last year was one of health woes; both body & mind. i am determined that twenty-thirteen will see me well. no. not just well - i want to thrive. much easier to type than do, but as thirteen is my lucky number, this is the year for it.

the rest is fuzzy. i know that i want to move across town, but that requires more money than we currently have on hand. so how to earn that money?

i want to write. i want to re-open kats in the belfry. i want to finally open the hogwarts homeschool shop. i want to design & sew vintage-styled clothing. i want to learn photography. i want to get my farm back on track. i want, i want, i want, & there are only so many hours in a day that is already filled with a teen & a toddler, both of whom homeschool, & only one me.

ye olde blogge needs a change, most definitely. i want to write more in this space, to really write. the other day i was searching for something, & came across a post that i wrote shortly after my mother died. reading that post made me cry. not just for the loss of my mother, but because somewhere along the way i forgot that i was a writer. do not mistake me, i enjoy sharing photos, & babbling about my day, but it is not who i am. rather, not only who i am. for now i think i shall post less, & write more. or not. honestly, i do not know. sigh.

until i do better know what i most want to change, & how, i am concentrating on what is easily managed without much thought. like moving my vintage camera collection, i shall move me about & see what looks best. change is on the wind, my one & only reader. but to where will it blow?

~peace.

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happy new year!

~peace.

you light up my life

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look what santa gave me! it is a solar lid light, for a mason jar. i am utterly in love with it.

the lid has a solar panel in the center, along with a tiny light sensor. you set it in the sun to charge, then when the room darkens, the light comes on. when the sun comes up, or a light goes on, the lid shuts off.

 i charged the lid once, & it took a few days before requiring another session in the sun.

one of the best things is that it will fit any mason jar, except wide-mouthed. i only had this boring new jar on hand, but i am now determined to find a gorgeous vintage one to replace it.

the lid gives off enough light to read by, but not enough to disturb the sleep of others. manlyman will tell you otherwise, but a streetlamp eleventy blocks away will wake my dainty one, so ignore him. 

i want this jar, you know, in case you were shopping for my birthday.

~peace.

a wee crown to make

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last week thehobbit complained repeatedly mentioned that once again we did not have a topper for our tree. we do own one; a gorgeous woven twig star; but it is meant for a full size tree, & we switched to little potted ones many years back.

the day before we had been at soap's house, where i found what looked like a wee crown on the floor of her kitchen. it turns out it was the remnants of a craft - the edge of a toilet paper tube, that had been cut by zig-zag scissors. i remembered how much i adored it, so decided a wee crown was just the thing for our tree.

i altered our crown by using half of a tube, & cutting a handful of deep points. a certain pesky elfling was not in the mood to allow me much crafting time, so i had to settle for quick embellishing. i dabbed dots of glittery nail polish all around; with the dots getting slightly further apart towards the bottom.

it isn't the most fancy of wee crowns, but i love it! so much so, that i am going to make a bunch of them for our new year's eve gathering. i have a package of elastic string that i can use for straps.

after oohing & ahhing over the cleverness of me, i searched for cardboard crowns on pinterest. many gorgeous creations were to be found - including toilet tube crowns just like mine! how ever did those people copy my idea before i had it? 

this one is sweet.

& you must see these wee creations of lace!

i would love to make a few of the lace ones, but i am trying to limit my crafting to things which use only what i have on hand. what about you? are there wee crowns that you adore?

~peace.