Finally something Crafty!!!

I was finally able to sit down and be crafty!! After a week in the hospital with my oldest son, it was much needed!

I love working with Vinyl! I've done signs, wine glasses, and now mirrors! I have a Silhouette Cameo and I absolutely love it! It does anything and everything that I want it to. I use it mostly to cut vinyl and the occasional paper craft for the kids school or personal project. I'm going to walk you through my latest project! MIRRORS!!!! The first thing I did was design what I wanted in Silhouette Studio.

After designing it, I sent it to the Cameo to be cut out of the vinyl. 

When I was done weeding out all the pieces I didn't want on the mirror, the insides of the o's and stuff like that, I taped it onto the mirror where I wanted it.

I placed the transfer paper over the vinyl and pulled back the backing from the vinyl so the quote was stuck to the transfer paper. Then I laid the quote down very carefully, making sure there were no bubbles under the letters.

DONE!

Theses are the mirrors all done! They were so fun to make!
I hope my little tutorial helps you in your craftiness!

How to become a Minimalist! The easy way!

I had a few people ask me how I do it, how do you even start to get rid of everything. Well, that's not really what you are wanting to do. You don't want to get rid of everything, you just want to downsize. There are things that you need, but maybe not as much as you have.

You start with something that you have "extra" of. How many people live in your house? How many cups do you have in your cabinet? Do you really need 10 cups per person? That just means more work for you, more dishes to clean, more cleaning up, more stress. If you downsize to only 2-3 cups per person, you will start to see that you never 'needed' then in the first place.

You don't want to go head first into downsizing. Take it slow and start with something that is risk free, something that you won't need after you get rid of it. If you need some help deciding what is 'risk free' here is a list from www.becomingminimalist.com.

When I started to downsize, I started in the kitchen. I hate doing the dishes and it felt like there were always a ton of dishes to do. How can 5 people use 30 cups a day?? If they only have one cup each, they can't use 10 different cups! So I donated the ones that we didn't need anymore! Same with bowls and plates, silverware, pans and tupperware. After that I moved on to my craft closet. Now, that is one place that stays stocked, but I have stopped collecting stuff for all kinds of crafts. I figured out what I really like to do and now I concentrate on that. It's what makes me happy and relaxed. It's what I love to do!

Most of you know, we got rid of our TV before we even became minimalists! It was a hard thing to do for me and there are times that I really wish we had a TV again. Then I remind myself of why we decided to not have one anymore. My children are my life, and they don't need to be sitting in front of a TV for hours everyday. They need to be outside playing with other kids, getting some sunshine! I think it will be harder when we move and it's not sunny and hot everyday, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it! We have a projector and computers so I'm sure it won't be that hard. Oh and the boys actually just got a little TV for Christmas, with an Xbox, so that will definitely help!

Just remember to take it slow and not to overwhelm yourself with thinking that you have to get it all done in one day! Your family will be your support, and just remember that if it doesn't bring meaning, happiness or value to your life, then it can go!

About Me / Minimalism

To start things out, I'm going to tell you a little bit about myself.
I have 3 kids, all boys, and NO I'm not going to try for a girl. I married the man of my dreams! I met him after I graduated high school and fell in love! We only knew each other for about a month and a half before we got married. (that was 8 years ago!)
I love to craft! Anything crafty, and I love to do it! Sewing, scrapbooking, glitter, vinyl, paper, stickers.....you name it! I also love to bake, and I make some amazing cupcakes! I love trying new recipes and coming up with new flavors to try!

My husband and I recently became minimalists! When he first brought it up, I was 100% against it! Hell NO. You are not getting rid of all my stuff. Then he asked me why, and I realized that I didn't have a good reason to keep the stuff that he wanted to get rid of. He was very patient with me and worked with me when I felt I was ready to go through all of my stuff. The whole process got me thinking about how I wanted my kids to live and how being a minimalist would affect them. We had to much stuff and they were always cleaning their room and I was always cleaning the rest of the house. I wanted to stop picking up and spend time with my family. So I gave in! I started to let things go and now we have downsized so much that I'm not picking up after everyone all day! Everything has a spot, and everything is put away! Not having to clean up all the time, means more time with my family, more ME time and more time to do what we love to do. The kids have more time to be kids, and play outside! OH and not worrying if someone drops by to say "hi" or to drop something off. No more embarrassing messy house! The one question that we asked each other while going through our stuff was "Does it bring meaning, happiness, or value to your life?" If not, it goes! If it does, then you have to find a place for it! It's actually been really stress relieving!

I believe that one song can change your day!

I believe that you can't be truly happy unless you are happy with yourself.

I believe that family comes first.