Simple Joy Sunday on Monday

Yesterday, I was just plain dead tired.  I was lucky that I got Day 5 of 30 Days of Creativity done, although barely.  It's a day late, but here are my simple joys from last week...

Spent a fun Memorial Day with Scott going to see Thor and eating at a Mongolian barbecue.  Thor wound up being a really fun movie despite mixed reviews from the critics.  Can't wait for Captain America, Harry Potter, and Green Lantern this summer.  It's going to be a decent summer for movies.

I went swimming in the pool a couple times this week!  Last summer, when I was training for the 3 Day, I didn't use our pool at all.  After spending the morning outside walking for miles in the sun & heat, all I wanted to do was get out of the sun, into air conditioning, and showered.  I've always loved the water, so I really missed it!

I discovered the yummimess of Greek yogurt this week.  I love how tangy it is!  Plus, it's so good for you; better than the traditionally sweet yogurt, actually.  Yum, yum, yum.

It's been a while since I was exercising regularly & that needs to change.  I'm not happy with how I look and feel, so I need to do something about it.  I started with Pilates and Yoga this week and felt amazing afterward.  The other thing I need to do: stop snacking on sugary and fatty treats so much.  Seriously, it's gotten a little out of control recently.  I'm making a commitment to my health; not to mention that whole swimming thing, so it will help with the bathing suit wearing.

30 Days of Creativity started this week & I'm loving it!!  The first project that I did (the sugar scrub) was inspired by a friend and it was so much fun to do (both making the project and blogging about it).  The homemade dishwasher detergent project was born out of necessity but I actually find researching how to do things like that a lot of fun.  The next couple of days, I worked on some projects for the shop.  Playing with the stamping seals was definitely a learning experience.  Working on my labels was also very much a learning experience, extremely frustrating at times, fun to learn how to make a transparent background in Gimp, and satisfying at the end when I finally had a finished product.  I was really thrilled with the amount of traffic that my blog got on that first day of the challenge and then really bummed when it didn't keep up.  Thing is, that's not the point.  It would be awesome if this project brings more traffic here, but the point is making being creative every single day a priority.  And that's happening.  And I love it.

My horoscope this month includes a quote that I love:

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Carl Sandburg

This is not the first time that I've heard this quote and know that hearing it again is no coincidence.  My dreams used to be very clear cut, but I've been in a transition for the past few months.  I think it's time to get focused and start living my dreams.  

What were some of your simple joys this week?  Share below or write your own blog post (we can exchange links!).  I'd love to hear!

30 Days of Creativity - Day 5: Twizzler Bow Ring

This is all I had in me for today.  I didn't sleep last night.  I was up at 4am which is ungodly early.  I had to be at work at 7am.  I was actually pretty creative at work.  But I'm trying to be creative on my own time for this project.  Sorry to say, though, I'm wiped and this is it for today.

30 Days of Creativity - Day 4: Athena's Armoury & Apothecary Product Label Work In Progress

Creativity today was a bit of a challenge, but not without trying.  I attempted to work on three different projects and couldn't finish any of them because I'm missing parts.  A trip to the hardware store after work tomorrow & I should have everything I need to keep me creatively busy for the next few days!

So, I moved onto another project that I've needed to do for a while now and must admit, I've been putting off.  I am NOT a graphic designer.  I can't even pretend to be.  But I need labels.  I've been promising to get my sore muscle salve into the shop for longer than I care to admit for people that are actually asking for it.  When I ran out of other projects today, I figured I should start working on it.  Well, let's just say that it's been a challenging afternoon.  I got Avery labels and figured that it would be easy enough to download their template and play around.  They only have templates for Microsoft Word & I use Open Office on my main computer.  Open Office can usually open any Word documents, but I'm guessing that opening a template is a little different.  Even when I found templates for Open Office, they weren't for the right Avery labels that I'm using.  So... I attempted to use the Avery Design Online software.  Needless to say, it's a little limiting.  Actually, it's very limiting.  It only uses specific file formats, so the picture that I originally wanted to use wasn't working.  I couldn't use my font of choice.  There was a crazy circle around the labels I couldn't get rid of...  GAH!!

At one point of great frustration, I just had to walk away from the computer for a few minutes.  I went outside and hung up a couple cute sun catchers (one of which, I realize, you can't see very well in this shot) and a really pretty chime.

After spending a few minutes outside, I came back & started from scratch and figured a few things out.  The good news is that I learned how to make a transparent background on pictures and I finally have a work in progress label.  It's certainly not perfect (yet) but it's a start at least.  Here's a little glimpse of what I'm working on:

Here's to the possibility of new labels at some point this evening and frustration free creativity for the next few days!!


By the way, I tried the homemade dishwasher detergent that I made on Day 2 last night & it worked prettty well!!


Psst: I just finished working on the Warrior Salve labels & should have it listed in the shop within the next few days!!!

30 Days of Creativity - Day 3: Making Seals with Glue Sticks & DIY Embossing Ink

Now that I've started adding the Apothecary to the Armoury with soap, I'm really eager to start adding my other herbal items (first on the list is my Sore Muscle Salve).  One of the things I'd like to incorporate into the packaging is a wax seal for a little historical flavor.

I read that you can simply use a glue gun with colored glue sticks and a metal stamp and thought that would be brilliant.  Of course I love the look of wax and the fact that it's much more historically correct, but I'm also thinking about ease of use and trying to keep things economical.  So, I went out and ordered me a metal stamp with the letter "A" on it.  I didn't realize that getting glue sticks in colors would be that hard to do... my friendly local craft store had clear and glitter.  So, I opted for the glitter (ooooh, sparkly!) and hoped for the best.

One minor little detail that I missed out on was that the metal stamp actually should be coated in clear embossing ink before pressing it into the wax/glue.  Damn.  I didn't let that deter me from playing with my project today!  This *is* part of the 30 Days of Creativity, after all!  So, I did a little research and found out that clear embossing ink is primarily glycerin.  Well, I have that!  I did a little more reading and made up my own version of clear embossing ink with what I had on hand.

I squirted out a little glycerin into a bowl and then put in a teeny tiny amount of rubbing alcohol for fast drying and another teeny tiny amount of vegetable oil for easy removal of the metal stamp.  Mixed all together and I was ready to go!

1. Metal Stamp Sealing & DIY Embossing Ink, 2. Metal Stamp Sealing & DIY Embossing Ink, 3. Metal Stamp Sealing & DIY Embossing Ink, 4. Metal Stamp Sealing & DIY Embossing Ink

I found that a couple pulls of the glue gun trigger was plenty of a pool for my size stamp.  After a dip in the homemade embossing ink, I used the spoon to get any excess off the stamp.  I played with different size pools, different glue temperatures, different pressures, different amounts of time before peeling off the stamp, etc.

Ultimately, I think my little homemade solution works, but it makes the glue look matte.  I wonder if that's too much oil?  I'll have to play with different amounts later.  I also realize that although the sparkly glitter is pretty, the stamp doesn't really show up that well in it.

Well, it was fun, I learned something, and I'm another step closer to fun packaging for my shop!