52 Lists - List Things You Want to Make

This was a fun list to make!

1-There's a cross stitch designer in Britain I love - Gorjuss. Well, technically I guess it's an artist whose pictures have been turned into cross stitch. Anyway, there is a picture of a girl standing on a stack of books that I would love to stitch. First, I have to find the pattern and get it here somehow (I wish it was a digital one I could download, but so far I haven't found that option). But I want to make it some day.

2-There are several other cross stitch patters that I do have that I want to stitch - a series of dress forms, one of Rupert Grint, and others

3-Awhile back I bought a tray that I want to paint or decorate with paper and then put Lego minifigs on it for display in the library. That is one project I want to do this summer.

4-I also bought small Project Life scrapbooks for the three of us to each do this summer - for my husband and I to record things about ourselves and our childhood and for my son to record a snapshot of his life at this age.

Survival Kit

Once upon a time I worked for a non-profit that was pursuing national accreditation. I was responsible for coordinating everything and everyone across two agencies in different states to make that happen.

As we moved closer to "crunch time," I decided to make a survival kit for each member of our leadership team. I don't remember how many envelopes there were, but there were several and each one had a treat of some sort: a comic, some gum, a note of encouragement, money for a can of soda, something from our reward system, etc. The staff could pull an envelope any time they needed a break or a reward for their work. I'm sure there were some who didn't care and never opened an envelope, but others seemed to enjoy the fun and surprise. I know I did, and I made the thing in the first place.

Recently I have been struggling emotionally. I don't know what it's from - delayed grief/depression, the consequence of two summers full of work (one dealing with Dad's estate and one working at school) without a break, the winter blahs, or some combination - but it's been a daily struggle. And frankly, March is too busy for me this year to deal with a daily struggle to just get out of bed.

This "survival kit" idea came back to me as I was reading a book about creativity. When I put the memory of those long-ago survival kits together with how I was feeling, I started to get excited about creating a countdown to spring break that might make the next few weeks tolerable. So, I made this:

This is my Countdown to Spring Break Survival Kit. I started it this past Monday and I have enough envelopes to open one a day until Good Friday, which is the first official day of Spring Break. 

I made each envelope by cutting down some of my favorite 12x12 scrapbook papers to 8x10 and then folding them to 8x5 and gluing the sides together. I didn't seal the tops, so I can use them again.

Then I took some resume paper and cut them into 4 squares (5.5x4.25) and I wrote a blessing or note of encouragement on each one. The blessings were either scriptural blessings (the "May God..." passages from the New Testament, like Romans 15:13) or blessings from Max Lucado's piece on blessings. 

On the back side of those blessings, I wrote a task. Here are some examples:

• Schedule a one hour date with yourself - take a nap, listen to headphones, write - be alone for awhile and take a break
• Research something you have been wondering about - grad school, vacation spot, etc.
• Read a chapter from a book you have wanted to read for awhile
• Read a chapter from your favorite book
• Write out your to do list. Then tear it up and take the day off.
• Write about your earliest memories for 30 minutes
• Order a treat for yourself from Amazon that will deliver after Spring Break - extend the joy beyond these 26 days

Frankly, I had more ideas of tasks than I used. If I ever want/need to do this again, I could try some different things. I also included some cash to buy myself lunch a couple times and I put a candy bar or a gift card in a couple of the envelopes instead of a task.

I had my husband actually load the envelopes for me and put them in order on his own, except for the final envelope which I planned myself. That way, I have NO IDEA what each envelope holds. 

I am hopeful this will add some joy and fun to the next few weeks of hard work and anticipation of a much needed break.  

Inspired by others - Inking Idaho

Becky Roberts and her blog inspire me! I subscribe to the emails so I get a little dose in my email box every day or so amid the sales flyers and Facebook updates. She makes so many fun and interesting things. It makes me want to shove all of my piles of my crafting table and dig right in. Here are a few things she has made lately.

So, head over to Inking Idaho and be inspired with me!