5 Little-Known Ways to Relax

Ugh! Life can be overwhelming & stressful. Add in responsibilities... job, wife, mother, dishes, food... and it can be too much sometimes.

Everyone has heard of meditation, hot showers, petting zoos and more to relax. Today I'd like to share 5 Little-Known Ways to Relax. They work for me, and I know they will work for you too.

DIY Bohemian Kimono

Lately, I've been trying to bust through my fabric stash. I do have a bunch of small pieces, but I also had a handful of large pieces. A lot of the fabric is meant for clothing... silks, polyester, and chiffons.
What's even crazier is that some of the pieces I bought on a whim... years ago and I still hadn't figured out what to do with them.
I had this beautiful velvet burnout fabric with a rose pattern on it. I knew it would make a lovely blouse or something, but I kept putting it off. Finally, I saw an excellent idea on Pinterest for a kimono. This burnout fabric is perfect for a kimono due to its silky nature. I also decided to add some decorative trim to make a more bohemian look (which is very trendy right now).

Here's what you'll need to DIY your own Bohemian Kimono:

• 1.5 yards of chiffon/lightweight fabric (check this out!)
• 3 yards or more of decorative trim (this is lovely)
• coordinating thread
• sewing machine
• ruler
• marking chalk

20 Facts About Me

Don't you just love randomness? I know I do. So here is a list of 20 random facts about me. If I had to do a list of 40, I'd probably bore you to death. Enjoy!

1. My birth name is Michelle. And a lot of people do call me Michelle. But a lot of people also call me by my nickname, Mara. Mara is a play on my first initial and last name (and I came up with it myself when I was hanging out with a group of people that had more than one Michelle in the group). Throughout this blog, I'll go by Mara.
2. I am the oldest of 9 kids. But it’s because my parents split up after having me and they went their separate ways and had other children with different partners. But… I’m still the oldest of them all.
3. I’m not a cat person. I try and I do love to pet them, but generally, I prefer the adoration that comes from dogs. Scratch that… now that I think about it… I love all animals! I don’t necessarily want to keep all of them in my home, but if I had space, the means and the help (especially the help), I’d probably rescue animals and give them lots of love.
4. I love carbs. I really do. The bad ones, especially. “Cake,” you say? I’ll be right over for a plate!
5. Just recently, because of our tight budget, I’ve discovered what color my natural hair is. Before, I had no clue! I’ve been dying it for so, so many years that I forgot. Turns out, it’s light, dirty brown (which explains why I wanted to color it in the first place).
6. I really love all colors, but my favorite is orange.
7. The first thing I ever sewed were clothes for my barbie doll. They weren’t great in any way, but I was so excited to create with my own hands. I’m sure this is where my lifelong love for crafting started.
8. At one point in my life, I didn’t want any kids. Then I met my husband and I suddenly wanted three. Now, I’d take any that are put in my arms because they are such wonderful creatures. We have even talked about fostering in the future.
9. As a couple, we have never owned a home. We’ve always rented. We’ve moved so much that it just didn’t make sense for us to buy. But we are seriously talking about doing it now that we live in New York because it’s great here (and the prices are good).
10. I am an introvert. But I try to not let it hold me back. Some people can’t even tell that I’m an introvert. I may be nervous about trying new things or meeting new people, but I still do it. However, my introverted self still avoids crowds.

Craft Room Unpacking - Organization

I'm super lazy. And I just now (three weeks after moving) started emptying boxes. Well, that's a slight lie... when I was in a frenzy looking for something that I hadn't seen since before we moved, then I would open a box (or three) and throw junk to the side. So if that counts as "emptying" then I guess I'm not that damn lazy.

Anyhow...

My first big project is my craft room... craft space. A little back story; I used to have a whole craft room to myself, but in this new house we decided to use one of three bedrooms as a guest room (just in case). So the other spare room will be split in half... my craft space on the left and my husband's office space on the right. Let this prove that I am nice and I can share!

So... only having space and not a whole room adds some challenges to my project. You don't know how much stuff I have, but you will soon see!!

This is post No. 1... I will probably post one more final look, but this one will focus mainly on organizing solutions I've come up with. 

So, without further ado... the BEFORE shot!

BEFORE! A damn mess in my craft space!

First and formost, I put two shelves above the sewing table. I mainly do sewing, so I want those bits & baubles to be very close!

I put the top shelf VERY high up (where I'll put things I won't access as much) and the one below will hold zippers, trims and machine cleaning tools. The bottom shelf will also hold a wooden dowel that I thread ribbon spools on to it.

Two basic shelves... I noticed later that one of my brackets was a little off.

Shopping time! I bought the shelves at Lowe's a long time ago. The plastic jars are wonderful! They hold my various zipper sizes (6", 9" and 12") and fit at least 20 at a time. I purchased them super-cheap at Oriental Trading (set of 3).

The next item was a little DIY project. You need the following:

Steel Sheet 8"x24" (bought at Lowe's)

Neodymium Magnets - 48

E-6000 Glue - Small Tube

Short Jars - 12 (Plastic 4.5")

Four Screws to Hang It!

Total should be less than $35 (I already had the glue and magnets, so at the time I just needed to buy the jars and the steel).

I had friends in high places, so I took my sheet of steel to a sign shop and had them round the corners and poke holes in each corner. This shouldn't cost you anything at most shops, but at the least prepare to pay a few dollars for their work (which took my shop 5 minutes).

Steel sheet with rounded corners & holes!

Next... you need to take the E-600 and carefully glue four magnets on the bottom of the plastic jars. I have a few tips to make this successful for you!

1. The magnets are very, very, very strong!! So carefully separate one from the stack at a time. See this website for more info. I'm not kidding on the strength... if you're not careful you can hurt yourself! But trust me, you need these magnets and not the usual black ones you see in the world. These need to me strong to hold the weight of what is going in the jars.

2. Make sure you put four per jar! Again, this helps hold the weight of the jar's contents.

3. Just a small pea-sized dab of glue will do per magnet.

4. Let the glue dry for 24-hours.

5. Do all of this in a well-ventilated area... the glue has a very strong smell.

Four magnets per jar... no more, no less. Love my decals?

After you glued the magnets and let dry for a day, attach the sheet to the wall (vertical or horizontal, I've done both) and attach the magnetic jars. I've put some very heavy magnetic snaps in the jars and it holds perfectly!

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All done! And looking fine!!

I prefer putting this near where I seat, so I can grab button and snaps easily! 

Okay... what's next? Oh! Yes, more holes in the wall!

Poor wall.

Next, under the steel sheet, I put up a very tiny shelf with hooks. 

The shelf is only 5"x16" and really can't hold much EXCEPT these little plastic jars (about 3" tall) I got from Oriental Trading. They are perfect for small things like key rings & hooks. 

I will use the hooks underneath for something later (check back).

So small, yet so useful!

Doesn't it look great so far! Except for my crappy labels... I'm gonna redo those!

A big thumbs up for getting these level!

Okay! Two last things.

The item on the left is a plain ol' peg board that I spray painted purple. I use this to hang tall/long things (like yard sticks) and sort tools I don't use too often.

The item on the right is a thread rack. It's meant to sit on a table, but because I'm a rebel, I drilled two holes through the wood and screwed it to the wall. BAM!

Don't worry... I've got plenty of stuff to fill these up!

Alright... I'm done for now. This is the organizing part of my craft space. 

Note how it's ALL on the wall! That's important because floor space is sacred here. 

Yes, there are a ton of holes in the wall now, but those are patchable. I've even considered putting more shelves up above the peg board if the closet sorting doesn't go well (and I need space).

After... for now!! It already looks better.

Next up on the menu, is finding all my damn stuff. I'm not sure where my thread is... or my scissors. So once I find all my stuff I'll show you what this looks like filled up. 

Also, I'm gonna organize the closet in the room for the other craft stuff (I don't just sew, you know). I'll post more details then!

Today I'm Gonna Sew

Today I'm gonna sew... because I finally have my craft room setup!

Yay!

So far, this is the third room that's fully functional. The others are just gonna have to freakin' wait... I've got some sewing to do.

Yep, We're Moving

“It doesn’t matter where you are, you are nowhere compared to where you can go.” -Bob Proctor

It's true... we're moving. We love it in Western North Carolina but my husband is taking a job offer in Northern Florida.

I don't have anywhere to work... but I'm okay with that (remind me that I said this when I'm wanting a new blouse or makeup from Ulta but I'm living on only my husband's income).
I'm gonna focus on emptying boxes and sewing. And hopefully, we can start TTC again... and I'll have an even more important reason to stay home.

We do have a new home already... it's smaller than our current home, but it's quite charming. There is a huge yard that I'm hoping will be easy to garden. Furthermore, I hope I can start growing some of our food (since we are on the one income). So we'll see how that goes.

I'm excited. My husband is excited. Again, we'll miss our WNC home, but we love a change and we're gonna make the best of this change.

Stay tuned... I'm gonna have more time to blog.

LET'S TALK ABOUT :: m. ranae designs

I'd like to talk about my home business.

I design & sew bags, wallets and other accessories. Other stuff includes pouches, makeup bags, purses, lunch bags and other weird stuff that doesn't fall under the "accessories" title.

I've been working from home (not exclusively yet) since 2008. I sell on Etsy and in person (sometimes at a craft show).

Even though business has been slow this year (mainly because my production has been slow), I still love it and hope I'm making bags well into my 200th year.

I have an m. ranae blog you can visit, but I'm gonna stop posting there and post here exclusively. But you can still find me in a few other places on the web. Follow Me, Like Me and be my friend (even if you're not buying).

My Main Website

My Etsy Shop

Facebook

Twitter

Soon-to-be-former Blog

Boxy Cosmetic Bag - Tutorial Review

I love searching the internet for tutorials on how to make things... blame the Martha Stewart in me... I love glue, scissors and glitter.

So recently I made my mother a cosmetic bag and I decided to try a new tutorial.

This one was from Skip to My Lou. It's a great craft blog with tips, tutorials and other fun stuff. The tutorial was for a boxy cosmetic bag... it's like origami almost and when you're done, it's in a box shape.

Now this was an easy tutorial, but not for a new seamstress/seamster. This is best used by someone who's been around the sewing block. And the renegade in me didn't follow the instructions precisely. The changes I made include:

• I put a layer of interfacing on the outer fabric.
• I put a layer of fleece on the inner fabric.
• I cut all my seams with pinking shears.
• I added a little handle.

Overall, it was fun and created a nice bag. The blog has other fun tutorials (some recipes and others that don't involve sewing). So please check it out... and check back here... I'll be sharing more of my finds.

Ta-Ta for now.

Why Reveal All My Secrets?

Hubby & I moved from Nebraska many years ago and we did it for many reasons. The top three reasons are: we wanted a more exciting place to spend the rest of our lives (nothing against boring ol’ yellow Nebraska); we wanted to live around people that are more open-minded (my insincere apologies to small-town Nebraska); and I was sick of everyone knowing or thinking they know my business (damn gossip-hounds).

Nebraska... in all it's yellow glory.

After moving to North Carolina I became quiet & secretive. I lack a large number of friends... I keep in touch with some back home, but in general, I keep to myself.
And this is a no-brainer, but it’s hard to trust your inner-most thoughts with just anybody.
So I live the life of a loner (and I love it).

I just have to warn you... this next part is sad. It’s depressing. You might cry... I might cry. And you might feel sorry for me. But don’t... please. That always makes it worse. And I sure as hell don’t want you worrying about my mental health. That will just piss me off... and I don’t want to be mad at you.

Carrying on now...

Days became dark. Not because I was alone, but because I was diagnosed with severe infertility. Hubby and I wanted children, but couldn’t have them.

Expensive & failed medical treatments led to depressing thoughts of “what will happen to my legacy when I die?” It became all too real... when I die who will remember me? Who can say they knew me? Did I pass on any information? Who will make my favorite recipes? Who learned how to sew from me? Who was touched by my presence on this earth? Without children, who will carry on my name & heritage?

I only came up with one bleak answer... no one.

Now, listen up, I haven’t completely given up on having kids. I hope it will still happen, but I’ve decided that I’m too cool/awesome/bad-ass to go down in history as “just some lady... nothing to look at here... move along... just some dead lady.”

So why am I revealing all my secrets? Because I gotta tell someone... just in case.

Now stop your sniveling... we’re gonna learn how to make muffins or something.

FAST FACT:
Approximately 6.1 million couples in the United States have difficulty conceiving. That's like... a lot.