by lynn krestel

christmas passed...

  2010 christmas week passed in a flurry (thankfully not snow flurries) and is now a sweet memory!! we travelled over 800 miles, slept in borrowed beds, ate entirely too much wonderfully decadent treats and too-labor intensive meals, played a few pranks! and laughed with family and friends!! we are so blessed!!

i just wanted to post a few glimpses of a few of my favorite things...i don't have pictures of every happening - as i chose willfully to enjoy the moment and quit worry about getting the perfect shot of each moment (and sometimes just plain forgot to grab my camera as we headed out!!)!

my mantle manger scene - from my mom - truly the reason we celebrate this season!

 

cookie baking and giving!! - maybe one of my favorite christmas traditions!

 

some fav santas and elves:

sammy clause!!

 

one of set of 5 vintage santa ornaments

 

three set of elves - from my great grandmother and newly acquired (this year!) 1911 elf  postcard!

 

the christmas cook! cant remember if he was jingle dancing because dishes were done or that was the call to dinner!!

 

i love my $14.99 target bought, retro-inspired ornament wreath!!

 

shimmy!! shimmy!! lovin' the red cashmere!!

 

 
now who gets this?? a little stocking stuffing quandary!!

 

ready and waiting for present opening!

 

whats not to love about a tokidoki hair dryer!!

 sadly - i did not get any pics of our time w/ fam at celebration lane...we had great fun and starbucks after  with aunts, uncle and cousins!! and then an ice skating adventure... i dont think i've been on skates for ten years! we all agreed the most success was that no adults crashed and burned!!

so as 2010 winds down and i have already- and you probably have too - begun  year end contemplation and goal setting for 2011,  i'll sign off wishing you a happy new year and wishes for a productive, joy filled january!!

at a late hour...

at a late hour while my family slumbers....i gather the threads of my day, loose and sometimes tangled. some late nights i think i just tie them in knots - just to hold in place those things undone and carried over to the next day... but tonight, as in some nights, i feel that i have woven the threads, finished the process, completed the tasks.

and yes i am weary, my eyes burn with sleep, but my soul is satisfied with accomplishment and progress. building an indie life - with your own hands, takes determination. organization. a certain amount of discipline. yielding a small fledgling business. dreams. happiness!!

so i shuffle off to a soft place. warmth. deserved rest! tomorrow. a new list of to do's.  but for now, finished!

looking up!!

 

 august is going to be my month of reflection. organization. preparation. always these dreams of having my own little business have spurred me. overwhelmed and consumed me.... well,now its beginning to take root and grow! and even as i say that, i know nothing is for sure and running an online business will have its great challenges and uncertainties - but it does bring a sense of satisfaction and pride - and occasional feeling of  hurling ones self off the side of a cliff!!!  

living ina small space in the city requires organization! not optional if need b productive!~ well, i'm not organized! yes, i admit it! so that is my goal - my must do! for this warm summer month of august!! so for now - i feel kindof like i'm feeling my way around!! but i am hopeful!! l am looking up!!

a bit of a break..

 

just checking in!! i am on a bit of a summertime break - a bit forced, but nonetheless, needed!!

i am trying to get caught up on filling orders, making samples, submitting some class proposals and project submissions. whew!! now that i see it in print - i guess i'm not on a bit of a break!! that's just on the business end...

personally, i am trying to get my house organized for the busyness of the fall season -  and we have to get our oldest daughter ready and off to california for her first year of college!!

here's a few pictures of our visit to granville island- such fun!!

 

 

 

happy summer!!

a wedding...

getting started! always the hardest part.... time is always my enemy. i don't like to start to soon - and risk wilting... but wait to late and then rushing to get done!! getting my hands to create what is in my heart as well as create something a bride has dreamed of - talk about stress!!

this was a simple wedding. the bride loves clean, modern lines. and how can you go wrong with hydrangeas!!

jayme snapped most of these pictures...i was in the zone - didn't even know there was a camera clicking away!! 

 

hand wrapped bouquet - 16 vendela roses, small white mums, 2 white hydrangea blooms...

 

the bridesmaids bouquets - only babys breath!! and a few strips of bear grass... never made a bouquet from only babys breath...actually a bit harder than i imagined, getting it to look rounded but not trimmed!! they were actually very sweet!

  

 

although i've really 'retired' from my days in flower design, its fun to get back to creating... but after two days of choosing, trimming, standing...talking, drinking coffee(lots) and driving -probably over 200 miles- its back to normal! whew!!...

now i'm tired...lots of emails to catch up on,  a few orders to get in the mail, and two grad dinners for beth at the end of the week!! more on that later....

happy monday!!

musings on time...

i thought i would get so much done. create. take pictures. revamp my shop. update my little blog. organize my studio space. hah!! not to be. my sweet daughters arrive tomorrow - and i dabbled here and there in my goals, but other 'priorities' surfaced - and my time is gone! the week is over....

i think this might be the most difficult part of self employment/working from home. most think you can spare the time, or even possible aren't even busy.. i struggle with saying 'no'.. i must master that impulse to help any and everyone! and i must be more disciplined on my schedule...

i love what i do. i am able to bring in some income and yet be a 'stay home' mom and fit my schedule to theirs.... but i'n going to have to get tougher - on myself! 

memories and milestones

i'm a big reminiscer (is that a word??) certain dates, times of year, occasions....and i relive the happenings.

two years ago this week, i was summoned into my doctors office and given the sobering news that my test results came back positive for cancer. thyroid cancer. now some people - of which i've had my fair share - will ignorantly say that if there is cancer to get it, it is thyroid cancer....

however when you sit across from your doctor who somberly tells you that you have the medullary cancer, looks like its spread to the lymph nodes and we could be looking at a 3 -5 year survival rate - its not sounding like the good cancer.... we (my husband and i) were sent to the waiting room to fill out admitting forms so they could book me into the next available surgery opening and i couldn't wrap my mind around the words that i had just heard...

tears began to slide down my cheeks, my husbands in the car..... how would we tell our girls, my sisters, his sister ( who had just lost he husband to cancer the month before)...our families.... i don't remember feeling 'why me' - i know that 1 in 3 of us are going to hear these words spoken to us in our lifetime. i just began to think - 'what is ahead and how can we fight it.....'?

fast forward two years... a successful surgery, a clearer diagnosis, and contained tumor removed - nothing had spread. it has changed my perspective - for sure - things don't 'bother' me like they used to. my family is dearer and i think i prioritize better.

i would hope that i am more compassionate and caring to others going through hard times - but i'm not always...its so easy to get bogged down in my busy little life - i forget to be aware... i've got to try a little harder!!

but anniversaries - of this sort - are good...just a fortunate reminder of how blessed we really are! i believe in God's healing - i'm sure He helped me and my family through. i've struggled at times with the 'why' did i get better and others don't... but i can't dwell on that. i just need to make the most of what i have now - and be thankful for each day...

on a lighter note!! i joined up with some etsy sellers and will be part of the etsy spring fling show in march here in vancouver...so trying to start to get ready for that. want to showcase the memento line but also need to have enough stock ready for same day purchases...

i'll post the details closer to date - will be on March 21 at main and 16th area of vancouver!! i would love to meet some of you local blog followers and etsy buyers - please make sure you stop by to see me - i think i'll try to have a special gift ready for you!!

it must be monday!

mondays are not usually my productive days...i tend to be more tired after a weekend of busyness with the girls and kniz...church on sunday, meeting up with friends... but today i woke up raring to go! i had plans to organize my work space, take photos for a new tutorial, package orders and attempt some new designs that have been rolling around in my head!!

instead, i got tangled up in bureaucracy. an application sent over 6 months ago has been lost - however the application fee check promptly cashed! arghh..i think i am feeling charlie brownish...you know - someone keeps moving the football!

still not resolved - i am trying not to worry - its not the worst thing to happen - my husband is a solid rock..we prayed for help to choose the correct path for resolution - and for peace to accept detours and to learn what we can...

  so i'll share a photo i took this morning before the drama began and shuffle off to dream good dreams and look forward to monday gone for another week!! 

so here's to a happy tuesday!!! 

i follow the blog of an artist/jeweler at hazelnut cottage. she is super talented but also, i love how she wears her heart on her sleeve. she shares - selflessly - her worries, dreams, angst at juggling her business, family, creative time. i guess  (i know) i feel like she is braver than me for putting it all out there...

her post today is moving. the video is not for the faint of heart - but africa keeps calling... the reminders keep coming. i am blessed because i've been able to meet, and help, and know three refugee families these past months.  yet i say i get to help - but honestly i and my family are the ones who have been helped...our perspectives have changed, our lives are different. ...here's my jayme with dalphine on saturday.  

i am challenged again to do something to make a difference.. its so easy to be consumed in our little lives... i need to do more, for sure... thanks jan!!

trunk show update

last weekend was my whirlwind trip to vancouver island to a small gallery that carries my jewellery. the trunk show ran friday afternoon and saturday morning. we also hosted a jewellery class for 10 on friday night.

davida owns the business, along with her parents david and lorraine. they also run a bed and breakfast, and were such gracious hosts to us!! thank you!!  it was a wonderful, action packed, exhausting weekend.