Merry Christmas

I hope you have a comfy, cozy & wooly Christmas!

Accumulate Experiences, Not Possesions

Back in August my husband & I visited a wonderful church in Branson, MO called Woodland Hills Family Church. Since that visit I have been following their sermons online and this weeks sermon has been my favorite so far. It is so much about what God has been teaching me the past few months about minimizing my things and allowing more time & energy for relationships & experiences that God has in store for us that I just had to share it here.



A Trip Around the Sun (Part 3) - Accumulate Experiences, Not Possesions from Woodland Hills on Vimeo.

fall knitting

You can find me knitting all year but the best is fall knitting. As soon as the temps start to drop the bulky yarns in all the fall shades of colors come out! I'm thinking there is going to be tons of hat knitting this year. The simple act of knitting a basic hat is almost like therapy to me.

small

"Small is my new free." - Emily P. Freeman

choosing to minimize

The past few months or so I have been feeling weighed down by my possessions. A few weeks ago I just felt like I needed to purge some things. I didn't think it would be much. I started in my closet. I took out everything I never wear or even like anymore and put them in a bag. I found that getting dressed in the morning was becoming so much easier!

The sorting started slowly through out the house. The sorting & purging was interrupted when my family took our youth group to Colorado for a youth conference. We camped on the side of the mountain. It was there that I began to see how little I really needed. My son took a total of 2 toys for the week... and he never once got bored! We had no cell service so we spent more time just spending time with each other and getting to know some of our youth better. 

The moment we got home from Colorado I began to look around the house and see what else was unnecessary.  I noticed how jammed the closets were, the amount of toys I was picking up, and how much clutter was accumulating in all corners of the house. 

With lots of motivation from youtube videos I have started to de-clutter and remove things in my home that just aren't serving their purpose anymore, bring little to no joy to our lives or distracting us from what is more important.

This is just the beginning. We have a ways to go still. I don't think I will ever call ourselves minimalist but the freedom I am already starting to feel is too much to ignore. I feel like by getting rid of the excess junk in our lives we will be better able to listen to God. If He ever wants us to do something different, we won't feel bogged down by our things. We will have more time to develop relationships. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for our family!

Colorado (NYR)

We took some of our youth group to Colorado to a youth conference. We camped out on the mountain and the scenery is just breath-taking! Colorado, you are beautiful!

5 Ways I Find Inspiration

There are days where I am just not feeling it. Creating sounds more like a drag than a way to express myself. Some days I try so hard and nothing works out. Those are the days I walk away from what I am working on. Sometimes just a small break can fix it but sometimes I need more than a breather to get myself back into it.

Last week Jen & Danielle of the She Percolates podcast discussed how they like to get themselves past their creative blocks and it got me thinking about the things I do to help myself feel a little more inspired.

1. Pinterest.
This is the obvious & easy answer but it really is an amazing tool! When I need a bit of a visual inspiration I like to open Pinterest and just start pinning images that catch my eye. After awhile of doing that I like to look back at all the things I pinned and see if there is anything in the images that are similar. For example my images may all have a similar color combination or they all convey a feeling. I like to take those things and find a way to incorporate them into my project.

2. Notice the details.
This is basically the same thing that I am doing on Pinterest but in real life. I like to get out of the house when I am feeling in a slump. I like to go on a date with my husband, window shop, or sometimes just being outside in the garden helps jump start that creativity!

 I love the Fall time. When the cooler, crisper days start I like noticing the details of the season: the colors, the scents, the tastes, the way the sun shines, etc. After immersing myself in the details I find myself wanting to use those colors, scents, & other details in my project!

3. Learning something new.
When I learn a new technique or a new craft I love the freedom it gives me. It is like a new tool in the toolbox. So many options open up and that always pushes my creativity farther!

4. Turn off the noise.
Music moves me. I love how music can make me feel a certain way or another but sometimes noise can get distracting. Turn off the TV or that podcast & even your music for awhile! Let your thoughts be heard. It may feel uncomfortable at first but the more you try it the more you may find your own brain has ideas that you never gave a chance to think about!

5. Just start making something.
As a knitter or crocheter it is always a great idea to challenge yourself. Learn new stitches or knit a sweater but I have found that when I am struggling to find inspiration I just crochet. I crochet something simple like a scarf or a hat usually with a simple stitch pattern that I can turn on auto-pilot. The act of creating even if it isn't going to be my next greatest work propels my creativity so much!

This is just 5 ways I have found the most effective for me to help me get back into creating when I am not feeling creative at all. Some of these may not work for you but notice what is going on around you when you are feeling inspired. What are you surrounding yourself with? What is going on around you?

What are some ways you have found that helps you get out of your creative slump?

Garden Day 2015

I look forward to planting our garden every spring! This year we got to include our son in the activities. We took him shopping for plants and let him pick out some take care of himself. When we got home we went straight to the garden and pulled weeds and rocks out of the soil and got ready to plant our new garden! My son loves digging in the dirt! I am not an outdoorsy person but it felt nice to get a little messy in the dirt.

I also bought some succulents for my kitchen. I will be putting them in some cute containers soon!

inspiration: Flora Bowley

Sometimes inspiration strikes in other art forms for me. While I love browsing through the many colorful photos of other spinners' works I also love being inspired by artists who work in entirely different mediums. One artist that inspires me in her use of color is Flora Bowley of braveintuitiveyou.com. Her ability to take colors and create beautiful paintings is so amazing! This video is one I like to go back to when I need a boost of color and inspiration.


Flora Bowley ~ Brave Intuitive Painting from Zipporah on Vimeo.

tune my heart...

CreativeLive's How to Build a Stand-out Business class by Tara Gentile started today. This is a month long "bootcamp" to make your small business stand out from all the others. I have been really looking forward to this class! I am hoping to spend the next month figuring out exactly what I want out of Kizzy Knits and making it a unique business. I want it to reflect who I am and what I stand for. 

One of today's challenges was to choose someone you admire and quote them on a social media platform. I chose the hip hop group Beautiful Eulogy. I really admire their love of God and their mission to bring others to Him. Everything they do is not to bring themselves glory but to give it all to God. I want to make sure that everything I do, including starting this small handmade business is giving glory to God alone. He is the reason I want to do this.