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One Little Word® 2019 | BREATHE

My One Little Word® for 2019 is BREATHE.

I am joining Ali Edwards and her One Little Word® class for the sixth time this year and like always at the beginning of the new year, I am super excited to learn more about the word I picked. Like I mentioned here in this Instagram post, my year with WILD in 2018 wasn't the best. I didn't really connect with that word. I learned that I tried to force something that I don't really want or need in my life.

My new word came to me back in September. It wasn't that I was actively searching for it but I started to brainstorm a few ideas. I asked myself: What do I need most? The answers were: Yoga. Calmness. No stress. Peace. No pressure (I don't have to do it all!). Taking a break. Moments to pause. Meditation. Take a deep breath. A space for positive things. Mindfulness.

All of this (and even more) is "breathe" for me.

Making my word visible and documenting my journey

(01) To make my word visible in our house I bought a salvaged word from Colleen Attara. If you never received a package from her you are definitely missing out on something. She puts so much love in her packages and it's pure joy to open it.

(02) Another way of making my word visible is to keep a pocket talisman from soulmantras close by. In addition to the heart talisman I also got a five deep breaths key chain. Liz wrote about the "five deep breaths" practice here on her blog and her words really spoke to me. In addition to these two things I also have a Snowflake Obsidian Stone. I reveived this one from her, when I ordered my pocket talisman in 2017. I don't know if I believe in the power of stones or not. But I really like the idea behind having a mantra and an object that represents that mantra.

(03) In the past I always used a minibook (held together with book rings) to document my journey and the answers to the prompts from the class. This year I'll try something new. I have a few of these great notebooks at home which I got from past kits from The Crafter's Box (July Kit and August Kit). The notebook is a mix of watercolor and mixed media paper. I want to remove pressure to create the perfect album and hope that this notebook will do the trick. I want to have a place where I can add all sorts of things related to my word. Magazine clippings, inspiring quotes, answers to the prompts and maybe some sketches. Nothing perfect, just documenting how this word becomes part of my life.

(04) Because I decided to work with a notebook, all embellishments and stuff I add to it have to be very flat. I picked everything from my stash (all items are from Ali Edwards and her past One Little Word® kits) and put them in one of these great pouches from Studio Calico (their kits (used to?) come in these). I don't know yet, what I will use, but to keep everything in one place definitely makes it easier.

 

READ MORE ABOUT MY JOURNEY WITH MY ONE LITTLE WORD® HERE
one little word® 2018: WILD
one little word® 2017: BALANCE
one little word® 2016: LIGHT
one little word® 2015:  QUALITY
one little word® 2014: OPEN

December Daily® 2018 | Complete Album

Allright, today I share my completed December Daily® album with you. It's one of my favorite projects of the year but I'm also always glad when it's over. This year the Christmas feeling wasn't really here. I'm not quite sure what the reason was for that. Maybe the lack of snow (but we never get that much snow in December) or just the busy season I had at work.

For 2018 I decided to use one of Jamaica Makes' 4x6 tree album she sold a few years ago. I got only one kit this year (Jamaica Makes for Kelly Purkey) and some big (like 3x4" big) numbers from Kelly Purkey. The rest came from my stash. And I have a pretty big December Daily® stash (I bought my first December Daily® kit in 2013). In the end I could probably fill about four albums with what I have in my stash. But I'm getting better in not adding too much each year and so eventually I can reduce all the Christmas related stuff.

I went with a very minimalistic approach. I didn't use that many embellishments. The photos and the stories were the main focus. And I really like the end result.

My process in December was this one:

• Take at least one photo each day (and edit it right on my phone - usually with the app colorstory)
• Write down what happened each day (aka the story I want to tell for that day). I use nothing fancy for that part. I just use the notes app that comes with my iPhone
• On Sundays I uploaded all of my photos on my computer and decided which ones to use. For this part I always make a plan so that I know which photos to print in which size. Here is a video I shared on Instagram about my planning process.
• Then I print my photos and my text (at home on my Epson SureColor P400) and start putting together my pages.

And here is an overview of my album.

Finished Summer of Basics Garments

Summer is already almost over. And I'm happy to announce that I finished my three Summer of Basics garments last weekend. This is my second round participating in this project and I really love that it pushes me to actually tackle those more intimdating projects.

Here are my three finished garments:

JAMES SWEATER by Amy Miller

Yarn: Lang Yarns Baby Cotton
Size made: 36
Modifications: To avoid getting a too A-shaped sweater I made less increase rounds to the body.

This sweater is my new favorite sweater! I really see why so many people made this. The fit is perfect and the cotton makes it a super soft garment. I'm already planning another one in a different color.

 

SCOUT TEE by Grainline Studio

Fabric: cotton gauze
Size made: 6
Modifications: I used my favorite rtw shirt as a pattern for the bottom of this tee. I added a round hem and lengthen the shirt.

I hoped to replace a shirt I had in my wardrobe for quite a while but was a bit too small around the bust. I really like the fit of this shirt. The round hem is okay, but not really perfect and I don't like how it sticks out. I will definitely make this pattern again, but next time I'll make the original one with the straight hem.

 

EMERSON CROP PANTS by True Bias

Fabric: Linen mix
Size made: 6
Modifications: none

So, these pants. They are the true star of my three garments. I already wore them several times this summer. The fit is perfect and they are so so comfy. The instructions are very clear and they came together super fast. With a thicker sweater or cardigan I can definitely wear them in fall as well. And I love that I can dress them up or down.

The three garments don't fit together really well, because the shirt is too long and looks odd under the sweater. But the pants and the sweater are a great match.