I got an e-mail from charity: water today notifying me that the money everyone so graciously donated to my birthday campaign has been sent to the field. Even better news? Charity: water exceeded their $1 million fundraising goal for the holidays by half a million dollars, meaning Ethiopia will soon have over a hundred new wells. Stay tuned for updates within the next eighteen months to find out exactly what our money accomplished. Thank you again for all of your donations!
In 2012, I spent approximately two weeks worth of hours stitching a family tree for my grandmother’s ninetieth birthday. I started in April and didn’t finish until the morning of her party on September 14th. I alluded to this project several times on my blog throughout 2012, but I never quite felt up to posting about it.
It was, hands down, the biggest thing I accomplished last year. (And only my third cross-stich project!) There were many ripped stitches, many tears, and many times that Ian got up for work at five in the morning to discover me still sitting at the dining room table, needle in hand with crazy eyes. I spent months of my life worrying about spills, the oil on my hands, and not being able to finish it in time.
Presenting it to my grandmother on my birthday was a freeing experience. The second she saw it at the restaurant, I let out a huge sigh of relief that I’d been holding in for months. Honestly, had someone spilled a glass of red wine on it after dessert, I would have been okay. Presumably it’s hanging up in her house now. I’m just glad I’m not responsible for it anymore!
Honestly, as crazy as the whole project made me, I’d do it all again. Not only did my grandmother have a fit over it, but I’m sure it will become a family heirloom. Here are some photos that I took while I was stitching to mark my progress:
I made Ian a set of sake cups for Christmas. Margaret and I went to All Fired Up in Atlanta, one of those paint your own pottery places, and we painted for a good two hours. We got to have a laid-back friend date, and we both ended up with Christmas gifts for our husbands. It was a lot of fun. (She had the brilliant idea to look at Pinterest for some inspiration. I got the polka-dot confetti idea from the Anthropologie copycat tumblers over at Radical Possibility.)
Why sake cups? Well, Ian and I usually go out for sushi for my birthday, so they seemed festive and like something he’d enjoy. Also, I could make a cup for each of us for $20 total. Not bad! Once they were fired, Margaret shipped them to me, carefully taped with bubble wrap, and I gift wrapped them with a good bottle of sake and put them under the tree. I think it was Ian’s favorite gift this year, and it’s definitely my favorite (well, second favorite) craft project of 2012.
From All Fired Up in Atlanta…
Earlier this year, I pledged my birthday to charity: water. What does this mean? Well, I’m giving up birthday presents, phone calls, and Facebook gifts and hoping that you’ll donate money to this amazing organization instead.
I’ve set a goal of $550, which is enough to help 27 people have access to clean water. The campaign closes on December 30th, so I need your help to raise all the money by then!
The way charity: water is organized, 100% of public money goes directly to fund water projects, so every dollar you donate makes a difference. My campaign money will be going to a project in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, one of the driest parts of the country, where many people live on less than $1 a day. Even a $5 donation would be a huge help.
Please click on the banner above to be directed to my campaign. I know it’s a time of year when budgets are tight, so if you can’t donate, please consider passing on this post to someone who can!
I’ve been seeing the year of dates gift all over Pinterest lately and I decided I wanted to give it a try. Most of the ones I’ve seen are pretty sparse, presentation-wise. Cute printables exist if you look hard enough, like this one from the Dating Divas. There’s even a girl that will create a custom set of printables for you! But I like to do things the hard way, so I spent the last week wandering around several different stores until I found something perfect.
Here’s what I came up with: Continue reading
