Heart-stirrings

My heart has been restless these last few weeks.  Something in my creative life is. . . off.  Missing.

I began praying for direction, but my heart wasn't truly open.  I was looking in the wrong direction for my answers. 

But my answer has come, loud and clear.  Actually, the answer was here, all along, and I just didn't see it.  Now things are so clear, and I'm truly joyful and excited about the prospects. . .  they feel exactly right.

above print from one of my favorite shops, the Wheatfield

What does this all mean?  I'll be working on some new, top-secret projects, and I'll share more details with you in the next few months.  At that time, I plan to open a new Etsy shop -- a complete departure from ReFabulous.

ReFabulous isn't going anywhere for now.  ReFabulous has blessed me and my family tremendously, and its time is not yet over.  Besides, I still have an enormous stash to bust.  ;-)

My clean sewing room!  My birthday gift to myself.

So I hope you'll join me on this wonderfully scary journey, and say a prayer or two for me, too.  This should be interesting, to say the least.

A tiny bit of stitching

This is more of a catch-up post, as I forgot to show you these tiny little embroideries -- all the way back from early January!   These were done for another Embroidery Hoopla Swap, on Craftster.  My partner in this round is the lovely savage pixie, who made me this adorably tiny Texas-themed hoop!

Just a mere 4" in diameter, and such beautiful stitching!  And look where the tiny heart is. . . home sweet home.  :)

I made my partner this teensy seahorse in a 3" hoop. . . .

It was my first time stitching on dark fabric, and I loved it.  (And she loved it, too!)   It was one of the quickest pieces I'd ever stitched -- maybe 3 hours? -- and all but the outline were free-handed.  So fun!

Unfortunately, I'll be sitting out of the embroidery swaps for awhile, just for time and sanity's sake.   (Don't worry - the Baby Onesie Swap is still slated for next month!)  But I can't quite keep away from the needle and floss completely. . . .

Another tiny 3" hoop, stitched up while watching an episode of The Office.  This one's a little gift for a very special gal.  I'm so loving the notebook-printed linen, aren't you?  What have you been stitching / sewing/ crafting lately?

Lemony lotion

One thing I quickly learned after moving out here to the desert is that the air is really dry.  Really, really dry.  My skin and sinuses protest daily at this humidity-deprived climate!  I remembered that I had seen a few recipes for homemade lotion, so we decided to try a simple one. 

This is the recipe we used.  And here are a few reflections on this simple recipe:

1. SUPER easy to make.  It took like, oh, 3 minutes to make the lotion.   What took the longest?  Letting the lotion set up overnight.
2. We made it lemonade-scented -- so yummy!  We used lemon EO, coconut fragrance oil and a little vanilla fragrance oil for extra sweetness.
3. It's definitely a light, summer-y lotion. . . not the heavy-duty skin cream that we really needed during this dry winter season.
4. I'll add some cocoa butter to my next batch.
5. We didn't use a preservative, so we store the lotions in the fridge.  I imagine this would be quite refreshing in the summertime!

I hope you'll give it a try!  And please let me know of any tips, suggestions or ideas you have for our next batch... I'd love to hear your ideas!

Why, hello there!

I wish you and yours a very Happy Valentine's Day!

(This yummy biscuit recipe can be found here.)

Goodness, I've missed you guys!  But, honestly, I've also enjoyed my little break from blogging and such.  Now I look forward to jumping back in with more regular posts -- starting later this week!  Enjoy your day, and let's talk again real soon.  :)