Live: Healthy Food Series Starts Now...

Every Monday for the next several weeks, I'll be posting something about healthy food.  Some will be recipes etc, but today I want to start off with a video.  I will warn you it is a long video, but it is WELL worth watching.  This video is a lecture (in no way a boring lecture) by Pediactric Endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco called Sugar: The Bitter Truth.  He trains future pediatricians and what he has to say about sugars of all kinds is very important (and often goes unsaid!) for the health and well being of grown-ups and kids everywhere.

We have removed as many sugars as possible from our family's diet with an exception for a small amount of sugar in a high-fiber bread and some whole-fruits and veggies.  We occasionally add a fiber supplement to our diet and did not go with the whole raw thing. Coupled with a little excercise, my husband and I are seeing pounds fly off our bodies and our clothes fitting much better.  We try to keep sweet treats reserved only for an occasional birthday or holiday and our taste for what needs to be sweetened has diminished quite a bit and so has our kids'.  My 4-year old son recently commented on how sweet peanut butter is... without any jelly or honey. We only buy the kind without added sugar.  We weren't very over-weight to begin with, but the benefits of what he says are quick (within reason) and substantial.  So, please watch the video.

I'd love to hear your comments...

Keep it Healthy!
Kristin

Surprise! Recent Treasury Features for Love in Bloom Boutique

My shop was recently featured in the following two treasuries!  Special thanks to Little Owl's Nest and  Hi Mamma  for the beautiful T's.

Bloom: Lessons in Grace...

I had the honor and privelege of being chosen to team interpret the Independence Day celebration at my church on the 3rd of July.  It was a challenge, because I have recently re-entered the Deaf world after about 5 years.  I was involved in the Deaf Community in San Diego before I had my kids, but when I got pregnant with the first one, I slowly and steadily started losing my ability to understand signers and produce understandible signs to the point that I just had to step away because I couldn't communicate at all and it was very embarassing. 

Image Courtesy: Little Sapling Toys

Anyway, as I look back on this experience, there are a couple of things that stand out that I wanted to share with you all:      
     1)  God's grace is sufficient for me (and you).  This is a pretty elementary concept, if you have spent any time in a good church, but I was reminded again of it because I was so nervous and though I prepared thouroughly and did try very hard, there are definately signs I was a little unsure about and things I had glossed earlier that didn't flow off my hands quite the way I had planned.  But in the end, I received several compliments from people in the community and I knew that what I had done was enough.  In years past, I would have been stressed out about it after the fact, but I was able to have peace about it because I understand that God turned my effort into something that honored Him and really, that was my goal to begin with.
     2) Nothing any of us do will ever truely be perfect, because we aren't perfect... none of us(!)  We can be really, really, really good at something, even really, really good at many things, but until we can walk on water of our own accord and have it hold us up... all we can do is to do our best and forget the rest. (Thank you P90X man, whatever your name is). 
  
I hope this will be a comfort to someone out there who struggles with perfectionism... because I know it can be pretty demanding and devaluing.  But there is one who is perfect and He wants to clothe us with His perfection and hold us close like a dady holds his precious child.  Will we let him?

Keep it thought-provoking!
Kristin

    

Foundation row single crochet...

     One of my best friends, Karly of Just Dandy Creations, taught me how to crochet a few stitches a couple of months ago, and I instantly fell in love with crocheting.  It is such a soothing and quick (depending on what you are making) craft that I try to get a few stitches in every day.  There is, however one thing in crochet that I loathe... the process of making a row of any type of stitch onto a chained row using the traditional method because it is painstakingly SLOW! Because of this, I never tried to crochet a scarf or start a blanket or any real clothing.  
     One day at nap time, I was looking on You Tube for some different things to add to my crochet repertoire and I found a video on doing the foundation row single crochet.  I won't name names, but the video was enough to get me in trouble, and not enough to do anything meaningful with. I followed the instructions exactly (at least, I think I did) and it unraveled completely.  I was pretty bummed, because I had gotten my hopes up that I might actually want to make a scarf one day. 

Beginnings of a sweet girlie scarf...

     You can imagine my delight when I stumbled onto this awesome tutorial and video on Future Girl's blog.  It is such an easy to follow video tutorial, that I decided to share it with you even though it is a couple of years old.  This method is nice for lots of reasons, but my favorite reason is that it is SO much faster than trying to get the hook into a flimsy little chain without it twisting up like crazy because you are actually making the chain row and the first single crochet row at the same time.  When you get to the end of your row, you have a much more substantial portion of your piece done and it is much easier to work with.  Anyway, here's the picture of the scarf I started using this technique... (Shh! Don't tell my daughter... It's for her!)

Let's Get this Party Started! AND Featured Artist... (Ok, it's me... but I wanted to tell my story too)

Image Courtesy: The Felted Kitten

I was thinking about how we could get this blog a little more exposure, since I'm going to really work at it now.  So, I thought we should play a game:  You get a point for doing each of the things listed below and putting the links to show it in your comment to this post, up to a total of 10 Points... Winner gets a free item of their choice from my shop.

    1) Follow this blog if you aren't already doing so, one point to you if you are already
    2) Blog, Tweet, Facebook or use other social   media to spread the word about this giveaway with a link to this post...
     3) Add my badge to your blog or other website
     4) 'Like' my Facebook page and post a comment there with the name of your favorite item currently in my shop
      5) 'Follow' me on Twitter and post a comment there with a link to your favorite item currently in my shop

Just like in school, you have to show your work... So don't forget to comment on this post with the links to what you did.  Whoever has the most points by Midnight PST on Friday, July 15th wins.  If there is a tie, the winner will be chosen by Random.org.

Good Luck!

Image Courtesy: Love in Bloom Boutique

Hey, so here is the interview I did with myself.  Maybe it's a little schitzo... but oh well!  Mostly, I wanted to tell a little of my story and give people something to check out while they are thinking they may want to be featured on this blog.

     What do you make and what was/is the inspiration for your shop?  I make boutique style hair bows and ribbon flowers and am dabbling in other areas soon (I hope) to be introduced to Love in Bloom Boutique.  I started making accessories, because I had a hard time finding things that weren’t too grown-up or filled with too many other colors to go with my daughter’s school uniforms. I have since ventured into many other colors and love making sweet adornments for girls of all ages.

Tell us how your creativity has woven itself into your life’s journey to make you what you are today. (What instances helped give you the confidence/motivation to pursue this as a career?)  I have always loved playing with color in it’s various forms, from art projects to clothing and makeup choices to light… I love playing with it!  I always wanted to do something creative but just didn't pursue it for lots of reasons.  Anyway, I kept trying to figure out what creative thing I could do for the first five years I was a stay at home mom and finally happened upon this.  I kept getting compliments on what I was making, so I started a little business and here I am.

What is your vision for the future of your business?  Right now I’m just trying to make it through the stage of life where all of my kids aren’t in school yet, so for the short term I’d like to make a couple more good wholesale contacts do a few small shows, and pick up my sales on Etsy and I’d like to branch out by making more types of items (because I like to mix things up a bit). In the more distant future, I'd also one day open up a brick and mortar shop with all kinds of wonderful handmade items.

Tell us about your typical day.  There is always something different happening for me just due to having young children. But in general, I check and briefly respond to any e-mails and convo’s in the morning, work on my blog or making things at nap time and spend three or four nights per week working on designs after the kids go to bed.

Are you trained as an artist?  If yes, what degree(s) or certificates do you hold and where did you earn it/them? If no, how did you learn to make the items you offer in your shop?  I am not trained as an artist. Oh, how I would have changed that if I could re-live my college years!  It’s laughable how little formal art education I have, but I have learned that anything you want to do can pretty much be found in a free tutorial on YouTube or elsewhere on the web.  That being said, I have experimented quite a bit and significantly altered what I learned about making bows (and tutus) with much better results than just following a tutorial verbatim.

 In what other areas of your life (or interests that you have) do you see your creativity shining through? (Gardening, music, performing arts, writing, creative ‘foreign’ language expression etc.)   I love pretty things of all types, so I have a little cottage garden I scratch around in.  I think it’s fun to decide how to mix colors as well as forms, scents and tastes outdoors and often solicit my kids for their ideas.  I also wrote a children’s book that maybe I’ll pluck up enough courage one day to try and have published, but for now I enjoy it with my kids.  I love to cook delicious and healthy things to eat too.  But most of all, I love the beauty and richness of American Sign Language, Deaf culture and the Deaf themselves.  I am regularly involved with interpreting music at the church I belong to and will be starting back to school this fall and working toward the goal of completing the Interpreting Training Program at a local junior college one class at a time.

What is one thing you will be going out of your way to learn more about in the coming year to benefit your business? I’ll be working on managing the work-life balance better for sure.  Long nights in the basement may be fun and productive for the time, but cost much in what I can give my kids the next day.  If any of you have any helpful tips on this, let me know.   ;)

What steps are you taking to ensure your products follow applicable child safety laws? Safety has always been something I have taken seriously.  Because of this, all my items are made from a combination of items that either don’t require lead testing or are certified to comply with lead regulations.  I test items to see if they meet choking hazard regulations and label items for age appropriate use with the idea that parents should be informed enough to make great choices about small parts for their littlest ones.

Where can we find you?                                                                                                                                                                       Http://www.loveinbloomboutique.etsy.com  

Http://www.facebook.com/loveinbloomboutique

Http://twitter.com/#!/loveinbloomshop

And of course, here on Live Love Bloom Craft!

Keep it crafty!

Kristin

Happy Birthday America!!

 Picture by: Jubilee Imagery 

When I was growing up, we celebrated the 4th of July in my Grandparent's small town in Northern California.  We hand cranked our own vanilla ice-cream on the front porch of the old brick house and waited impatiently for the ice-cream and of course, the fireworks.


The fire-chief lived a couple of houses over, and a bunch of families would get together at his place each bringing a bunch of fireworks and something yummy to share. We'd eat and laugh and write our names in the air with our sparklers.  When it was really good and dark, we'd sit on our lawn-chairs cuddling under our blankets while the firemen would take turns setting off the 'big ones'.  I miss the simplicity of those days, when you didn't have to go to a huge public showing of fireworks to enjoy them in person.  I get the fact that there were tons of accidents and things, but the idea that my kids will never get the thrill of being able to write their names against a dark sky makes me a little sad.


That being said, fireworks are themselves, not the 4th of July, nor is the ice-cream, the barbecue or the potato salad.  It's about remembering the people who saw fit to not allow one man to rule over everyone in this land according to whatever whim struck his fancy.  These men, loved their God and tried to put his principles to work in governing the people.  They stood up for what they believed in enough to fight for the right to be free.  So many others have followed in their footsteps, and today I want to honor their efforts by reminding us all of something Ronald Reagan once said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." So let's sing the songs of freedom with our kids, and teach them about the people who have gone before us, and honor our soldiers, and respect our flag, and honor our God, so that when it is their turn to be in charge, they will have an understanding of the great cost of freedom and will take it upon themselves to maintain it for future generations.


Happy Birthday, America... and many more!
Kristin

Plans...

I've been pretty sporadic about posting to my blog, but I'm ready to start getting serious about it now so I came up with a plan.  Here's a sneak peak at what's to come:

Modays - Live
Tuesdays - Love
Wednesdays - Bloom
Thursdays - Craft
Fridays - Surprise!

I will be going back to school in the fall, so this may change as needed to accommodate my crazy good life.

Keep it crafty!
Kristin