Adventures in Volunteerism

Ugh. I finally got this poor little teething baby to finally drift off to dreamland. I feel so bad for her although really, she is not a fussy baby. Today while exploring a new volunteer project she was a perfect angel. Really, an angel. Even the girl showing us around and giving us an orientation remarked how patient and alert she was. It was a proud Mama moment.

So about this volunteering thing. Since having my little squirt I have decided that we need to find ways to explore and enhance our time together. And while I love just being with her even if its just hanging around the house, I do want to get out and show her the world. There are so many things I want to give her. A few that stand out at this moment in time are creativity and imagination and also a sense of volunteerism. I want her to grow up knowing that its a good thing to help others, even in small ways.

So I have been spending time lately doing my research to see how I can volunteer while being able to tote l'enfant along for the ride. I have found some organizations that I have an interest in and am waiting on a call back from a few.

One place that I found I was able to contact was Safari's Animal Sanctuary . We went today for an informal volunteer orientation and tour. What a cool place! This is a little rescue haven for animals barnyard and exotic alike tucked away in Broken Arrow. They have everything from big cats such as lions, tigers and leopards to ducks, pigs and donkeys. The babe and I got to pet a sweet little kangaroo. Guess I better get a pair of sturdy mucking boots so we can get to work feeding, watering and cleaning pens.

With our little family having a small zoo of sorts in our own home (2 dogs and 3 cats), maybe the wee one will end up enjoying this experience.

She might even grow into a tot-size set of muck boots all her own.

A New Plan

Well, I might have set a little bit of an unachievable goal. Or maybe I'm just not making enough effort. Personally, I think I've been pretty busy but not on things for my Etsy shop. Which, when I re-evaluate things, really does not bother me. It's still a goal, but its going to take a lot longer. Oh well, c'est la vie.
I've decided that I still really want to do this blog but I will just make it my own little crafty place. Since I'm nursing my daughter and spend a lot of time surfing the internet while doing so, I've been reading a lot of other people's blogs. I'm mostly interested in ones that are devoted to their crafts or crafty lifestyle. My current fave is http://chezbeeperbebe.blogspot.com/. She's got lots of great craft tutorial downloads and recipes to try. I have already made her granola, homestyle split pea soup and tomorrow will be making banana oatmeal bread and also chicken stock. I love her ideas for the ABC magnets and memory game. Once I start my sewing class I plan to make these.
So, from here on out I will just blog about all the random things I'm doing and making. This should be more fun...

I need a swift kick in the butt.

Well, I haven’t done as much as I’ve wanted as far as production goes. This always happens. I make great plans and then stuff happens. I’m just going to have to not be hard on myself and give myself some credit. It’s been very busy at Chez Chea. We’ve had the holidays and all that goes along with that and well, I’m raising a daughter who’s only 12 weeks old.
But in all fairness, the fact that I’m writing on this blog shows that the dream is not dead. It’s very much alive and little things are getting done. Molly and I went to bed early last night which in turn means that I’m up at 5:00am and she still happily slumbers…which is good.
I have almost completed two pieces to the winter collection. I have a neck corset scarf in the making but I’m procrastinating on sewing on the buttons. I also have a long skinny scarf almost finished. I think I would like to embellish it with some lace or tulle at the ends but we will see. This stuff has to look hip and modern and not frumpy.
I have also had some ideas on some pieces that will be made from recycled/upcycled materials. Some of these may be included in the winter collection as long as they fit into the featured color schemes.
I also have my sewing class drawing near. This should yield some fun items with my newly acquired skill.
So now with the holidays drawing to a close and the “Oklahoma Blizzard of 2009″ behind us, I begin anew. I’m somewhat revived so now to get to work!

-Amanda

Amanda's Wonderland

Hello there. This is Amanda and this is my blog. Everyone seems to have a blog these days so I guess I’ll give it a whirl. I don’t really want to have one to just go on and on about myself. I would like for it to have a purpose. I’ve seen a lot of blogs that are based around someone’s art or craft. I think this would more suit me. Of course I might throw in some random things that I’m either doing or reading or what not. A good book, a tidbit about my family and so forth.

I think I might make this somewhat centered around my New Year’s resolution. We’re headed into 2010 in the next few weeks and so much has happened in the previous year. I became pregnant last January and gave birth to our 1st baby, a daughter, Molly. She is beautiful and delightful and I’m lucky to get to stay at home with her most of the time. I will only be going back to my job part time.

Also, my husband and I turned 30 this year. I think we both feel like we’ve accomplished some things to be proud of but also feel like we are still very much evolving and looking for what we really enjoy doing. He’s going back to school this upcoming year and I am taking a sewing class.

So back to that New Year’s resolution I mentioned before. Basically its that I want to get a small craft business up and running. It doesn’t have to be huge but I would like to produce something out of my creative brain. I really love creating and making things…whatever suits me at the time. I’m somewhat of an ADD crafter/artist. I love so many things but I get distracted easily and switch up what I’m doing frequently. I’m a self-taught knitter. I like to paint. I also like quirky, somewhat kitchy items. I want to learn to sew properly.

So I’ve got a concept in my head (and bits on paper) of what I’d like to do first. I plan to put my items on Etsy.com to sell. It’s a site I’m addicted to and I like what they are doing. I think its also an easy way for me to get started.

I’m going to start with hand-knitted items by yours truly, being as how knitting is something I’m fairly decent at and I think it might sell. But I don’t want to make just ugly old grandma shawls. I want to mainly do a cohesive collection of accessories. Like I said, I want it to be cohesive and have a theme. My goal is to have this collection created and up for sale by the end of January to mid-February.

So far I have almost finished 2 items and have contacted a friend who has agreed to be a model for me. She’s beautiful and very photogenic. She also has promised to promote me wherever she can and the girl’s got connections.

Sooooo, off I go to visit the little crafty, creative wonderland in my head…