Inspire Me Monday-Monika soon-to-be Patel

So normally my Inspire Me Monday posts are about artists and crafters that inspire me with their work.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my inspiration has come from other places lately...most recently from my dear friend, Monika.

This past month has been my most creative month in a while.  I think I can attribute that to lots of things.  First, I would have to say that I have made more things because I have had more orders than I normally do.  I am grateful for that.  It will keep me busy after school gets out for the summer.  My last day of school this year is May 22.  I don't know who is more excited, me or the students.  I like teaching, and I like my kids, but I am glad that school isn't year-round.  All that to say I am glad I have something to keep me busy this summer besides just my little boy and my hubby...who I am super looking forward to spending more time with really soon.

  :)   This is the longest list of orders I have ever had outside of the holiday season.

1. 4 Mermaid Tail Blanket Wraps-DONE...This is where I can say that inspiration came from a friend.  Blakely, one of my husband's co-workers posted a link to mermaid tail patterns on my Facebook and within a day I had people requesting I make them.  They were really fun to make and I hope I get to make more in the near future.
   
   
   
2. 2 T-shirt Quilts-DONE
   One is not pictured because it is a surprise.
3. Heart Quilt-DONE
   
4. Secret Special Surprise for my LITTLE brother who is graduating from high school in 2 weeks-WIP (work in progress)
   
5. Onezie Quilts for twins-one boy and one girl-WIP
   
6. Crocheted Football Headbands-To-do list
7. Newborn Crocheted Elephant Hat and Diaper Cover-WIP
8. Teddy Bear Quilt-waiting on fabric to arrive from Etsy
   
   
9. T-shirt Quilt Order-waiting on shirts
10. Quilt for my dear friend and her Hubby-to-be!-DONE
    
    

This dear friend of mine, Monika, has been an inspiration to me since we were roommates and teammates on the track and cross-country team at UTC. 

She is a jack-of-all trades, that woman.  I am inspired by her ambition and ability to throw her whole heart into a variety of hobbies and callings and passions and be a rockstar at all of them.  If this tells you anything about her, her wedding is next Saturday and she spent literally all day yesterday preparing for her physical therapy final today.  Next year she will be graduating from PT school.  So yesterday her only break was catching up on life with me over some Crust Pizza.  I felt special.  As I pulled up to her house to park my car, I was greeted by a giant community garden that Monika created herself.  It has brought the people of the community together and is a source of food and fun for the neighborhood.  And she made it on her own.  No one asked her to or paid her to or praised her for it.  She just saw a need in the community and an empty lifeless space owned by a neighborhood church and she asked them if she could give it life.  Look at it now.  It used to be a lot overrun with weeds and now it is a beautiful garden.

I am so excited about the new adventure she is soon embarking on with a great man.  I just pray that her marriage is as much of a treasure and light in her life as mine has been.  I pray they continue to make each-other's hearts happy and inspire each-other to more wonderful things.  I can't wait to see what the Patel team does.  Here is a testament to Monika's awesomeness and Pranav's love for her...proof that these two will do more for the world together than they ever would apart.  This is what Pranav said of Monika on their wedding website.

Why I chose Monika

Her determination, honesty, and humility are magnetic. She maintains an active, yet simple lifestyle, helping others and contributing to our community. She's adaptable and all-accepting.  She has an unconditional giving nature in every act.  She's in sync with nature, reads often, and has not missed a single day of journaling since the age of six, which shows discipline, commitment to one life principle. Mark Twain, one of Monika's favorite authors, made a statement when announcing his engagement, and nothing could ring more true for my feelings toward her:

"I am not worrying about whether you will love my future wife or not—if you know her twenty-four hours & then don’t love her, you will accomplish what nobody else has ever succeeded in doing since she was born. She just naturally drops into everybody’s affections that comes across her."


So I have concluded that if Monika can do it all, I can do it all, too.  I can't wait until her wedding next weekend.  It is going to be a blast.

This was her on my wedding day RAPPING...yes RAPPING a "speech" at my reception.  I won't be rapping but I do plan on returning the favor as creatively as possible. ;)

I can't wait to share in her special day in 6 days! Eek!

Inspire Me Monday

I wrote this last Monday but forgot to publish it...enjoy!

Hello there, friends!

I've got a bad case of the Mondays.  This is not a complaint.  I am just sharing information.  I am a teacher, and it is the Monday after Spring Break.  Enough said.

My break was fantastic and restful and packed with fun!  My husband and I went to California to see his family and it was very refreshing.  We had a blast.  We started the week with a baseball game that went 13 innnings.  My almost 1 year old stayed up for the WHOLE GAME!!!  About 4 hours past his bedtime.  An avid sports fan like his daddy.

So on to Inspire Me Monday...
I am inspired by Cathe Holden.  She has created her dream arts and crafts studio and is bringing in the public   to create things together.  This is very close to what I am envisioning for Scrap Stash Studio.  The vibe in her studio is along the lines of what I am going for.  It is jam packed with all things crafty and it is bright and cheerful.  I picture my studio being a little bit more of a color explosion than her very color coordinated pretty green room, but I do love it.  I am inspired that she didn't just dream it, she made it happen.  And that is what I am planning to do as well.  Here is what she's got going on.  I am a bit jealous, but I guess I am on my way, too.

http://justsomethingimade.com/2014/03/cathe-holden-inspired-barn-workshop-studio-tour/

Here is her before and after.

And look what happened.  She created this place.  Then people came to create with her.

That is my plan.  And I am in the process of making that happen.  I am still not announcing the location yet, but it looks like everything is finally on track.  Before and after pictures and location announcement coming soon.  Get excited!

In the meantime, all of you Chattanoogans can come visit my booth at the downtown YMCA on Saturday.  I will be there all day selling my fun crocheted goodies.  I would love to see all of your smiley faces.

Inspire Me Monday: What I Be Project

The following came from a website I stumbled on while scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook (go like the studio page...click here). This is called the "What I Be Project." But really it's more of a what I'm not project. It requires you to lay your insecurities, your fears, and your mistakes right there on the table. You literally write them all over your face. Then you are photographed in your most vulnerable state. It forces you to put yourself out there and hope people love you anyways. And guess what, they do. There was not one photo that left me hating a person or thinking they were weird or judging them. It showed me that honesty is more attractive than the masks we often put on before society. I hope that by seeing these you are inspired, as I was, to be content in the skin you are in...inspired to be yourself...inspired to see your weaknesses only make you human...inspire you to see others for who they are...inspired to love them anyways.  Here are a few of my favorites. But don't just check out these. Go to his website and see others. This project amazes me. Www.whatibeproject.com 

She is not her body image.

*I am not my body image either. As a former collegiate runner, I never had to worry about my body image before. I was always confident in the body I trained hard to have. Now, however, my confidence in it has faded. Carrying my now 9 month old baby had its affect on my body...stretch marks, extra pounds, and a bit rounder around the middle. But I need to see it as a body I worked hard to receive too. Because nine months with a person growing inside of you is hard work enough. I AM NOT MY STRETCH MARKS.

She is not her meds.

*I am not my meds either. I will need to stay medicated the rest of my life. I have a seizure disorder. The meds control it for the most part. I don't have the grand mal seizures anymore, or shaking seizures as some people call them. The rare times I have a seizure I just kind of space out. I am there but not there. I can hear and understand. I just can't move or respond. My brain is working but my body isn't listening. It normally doesn't last long. And I almost always know when it's coming. So it doesn't have a huge impact on my everyday life. But every now and then I have misfires in my brain that make me confused or forget names or say counter when I mean chair or forget why I went to the kitchen or the last thing someone asked me to do. It's not a big deal but it is something I am sometimes ashamed of and frustrated by. But I am not my epilepsy.

What are your strengths and weaknesses and fears and insecurities that keep you from being you? Just be you.

On a lighter note...everything is really coming together now. Like really. It looks like I may have a studio starting in February and will be able to start getting ready for all of YOU! Not going to announce the location until papers are signed and keys are in hand but that may be happening very soon. God is good.

The end.