The Fabulous Fennyl Pays It Forward

Holiday gift baskets

Two years ago, I took a challenge on Facebook. You’ve probably seen it. It’s based on the movie, Pay It Forward. The goal was to pay it forward at some point in the year (2013 was my first year)   via a small gift (a card, handmade gift, etc.). I was already scrapbooking and making cards so I said to myself- “what the hay! I’ll do it!” Well, I didn’t. I failed and didn’t send a thing to any of the people who liked my post and agreed to participate. The next year however, I tried this again and did pretty good (sent or gave something to 2/3 of the group) and I plan to reach 100% this year. One great thing happened as a result of my endeavor. I was already making by hand a myriad of things including greeting cards, hair products (which I sell) and lip balms. I began selling the hair product and also giving the cards and other things away as birthday and Christmas gifts. The first year I handed out my handmade gifts to my friends at church brought far more joy to me than to them. Giving does a thing for the heart! So, I repeated my gesture in 2014 but this time added a sugar scrub and a conditioner bar to my arsenal. I decided on this after visiting the Lush store at our local mall. I absolutely love that store but knew that I could make many of the items they sell for a fraction of the cost. Although I created them to give as gifts, I found the entire process therapeutic! I was entirely relaxed throughout the process and the house smelled delicious! I posted the pics to my Instagram accounts (@poeticlyspkng and @thefabfenny). They were a big hit to the recipients and others. I actually sold some to a few friends who just happened to see the posts. This turned my hobby into something a little more tangible.

All of these things were 100% handmade with awesome, natural ingredients like granulated sugar, shea and cocoa butters, olive, avocado and essential oils. You’ll be happy to know that these ingredients are so lovely and safe that your dog can eat it. How do I know? Because my precious pup Bandi grabbed my vanilla-scented lotion bar off the couch, ate it and lived to tell the story. How awesome is that? 😀

P.S. All of these items will soon be available via my Etsy account. You can find it at the link below:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheFabFennyl

Card Inspiration

A paisley happy birthday card

What Inspires You?

The card above was created for one of my buddies. Every year he has expected a homemade card from me and I always oblige. I thought a lot about what kind of card to make for him this year as I scrolled thru the many papers I own. He is a musician so I knew I wanted to use some Washi tape with music notes but I just wanted to make sure that it was as personal as possible. With that in mind, I realized I had this awesome paisley paper that was similar to a shirt I see him wear from time to time. Eureka! The only other thing I needed was a couple pops of color. I went with a lime green and yellow, a birthday stamp and some embossing powder. I added some personal text inside (a poem about sucky brothers lol) and sent it off. Inspiration can come in the most interesting places and ways. Where do you find yours?

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Making Time for Project Life

It’s already beyond the midpoint in January and just like last year, I’ve gotten behind in my quest to fully participate in Project Life! Of course, it’s on my own terms and I don’t have any cute kids to document but I do have LIFE. My daily life is a project! My regular activities include work, fitness, singing, cardmaking, dating my husband and still being a mother hen to my son! Yep- those are ALL projects! The trick is figuring out how to make it all fit in AND document it afterward! I feel exhausted just thinking about it!

I ran into a former co-worker at Archiver’s the other day (Sidebar: I’m sure going to miss that place). She told me that even when she works a late shift, she goes home and scraps with a glass of wine for ½ hour or more. My first reaction was- WHAAAAAT! Then I cheered her on- YOU GO GIRL (yeah, I still say that) lol)! But the next day, I realized that it could made perfect sense in my own life. So I tried it for a few days and learned some lessons.  It’s a great way to unwind and prep the mind for the next day. My stress levels were reduced after only a couple days. It certainly beat staring at the tv at nothing which does little to help me unwind! The process helped me see that even when I’m not  in the mood to journal, I CAN do that. So, folks- here we go! With this idea, I managed to complete WEEK 1 in January. I’m excited, felt good about it and am already working on week 2! Do you use scrapbooking or paper crafting to unwind? Share with me your process!

A couple of half hour sessions equal a complete first week!