November 30th - Small Business Saturday

I have made a huge leap of faith today. I am offering up a few select items for sale on my Facebook (my personal one) to celebrate Small Business Saturday on November 30th.

If you haven't heard of it, Small Business Saturday is a day devoted to buying from your small local businesses. It's a great way to help support the local economy, and make a lot of extra smiles. As you probably know, Sunshine Stars has had a very hard time getting off the ground because I have a day job and not enough spare cash to start building a stock or even supplies. I could probably start a piggy bank, but I admit to being a bit discouraged, so I haven't made much effort yet. I'm hoping in March when I get my bonus from work I can use it to get started. But I digress.

In an effort to give it a shot again, I am offering fleece ear hats and scarves, plus scoodies (hooded scarves). These are all things I am familiar with making and comfortable to do quickly and without much expense. It's also a good way to cut my teeth on the business side of owning a handmade business. I admit that numbers and such are not my forte, but it's something I need to learn if I ever want to do this for real. And I really, really do.


Fleece Fun's version and pattern.


My version I made for Micah. He wears it all the time to play pretend that he's a cat.

I won't lie. I am scared half to death that I am going to fall flat on my face. But the only way to learn is by doing! I have one sale already in progress, and the best part is that it is out of state. So I can learn the best way to ship, too!


A Simplicity pattern I picked up in both adult and kid sizes just before Halloween when they had patterns 5 for $5.

I think I'm going to pass out now. Please excuse me.

Must we talk about Maria Kang?

In case you aren't as much of an internet fiend as I am, go take a look at this article about Maria Kang.

I had never heard of her before the recent explosion over a photograph of her posing with her three (adorable) children while dressed in a sports bra and running shorts appeared all over the place. She is rather beautiful, and her body definitely shows the amount of work she has put into it to look the way she does. Flat abs, strong arms and legs.

I think the problem begins with the caption she added to the photo. Without the caption, the photo is not only lovely, but inspirational. My first thought was, "WOW, that's dedication!" It's hard enough for me to find time to workout with one child, much less THREE. That's brilliant.

However, she also added text to it. "What's your excuse?"

The text soured it a bit for me. I don't think she is taking a stab at heavy people, or lazy people, or even people in general. The phrase is popular and common in the fitness world. Many photos are out there with the same caption, and they are meant to inspire. For the type of people that like having drills shouted into their faces by their trainers during workouts, this phrase does what it is intended to do - it makes them get up and work, and work hard.

For those of us that prefer a different approach - softer, if you will - the phrase is jarring and borderline rude. A trainer shouting in my face about how fat I am and to work harder would succeed only in making me cry and leave. I would never pay anyone to berate me, I do enough of that to myself, thank you very much. And that, I think, is where the problem lies. Many people took the message personally when it wasn't intended to be as such. They took it as a personal stab at women, mothers in particular, as if it said, "What's your excuse for not working out and looking as amazing as I do?"

I honestly don't know anything about Maria Kang. I know she has an online following and she is fairly popular in fitness circles, with many Likes on her Facebook page. And the only reason I know any of that is because of the sudden explosion of interest in her due to this one photo.

So I am certainly not an expert on Maria Kang. I don't know if she is normally a nice person, or rude, or conceited. All I know is that she is in fantastic shape for having had three children. (Though I am bit jealous of her lack of stretch marks. I have ONE child, and enough stretch marks to reach around the Earth if I lined them all up. So unfair.) I suppose my opinion is that I really wish she had no captioned her photo. I think it took something away from it that would have otherwise been wonderful for those that wanted to see it. I have no doubts that people still would have ripped her a new one simply for having the photo taken, and that is likely because they are cruising for an argument. Trolls, if you will. Whiners, certainly. And lots and lots of jealous ladies.

But had she not...I would have posted it on my Instagram in amazement and used her as a goal. Not necessarily to look like her, but as a way to tell myself, "Hey, if she can do it, so can I!"

But otherwise, I have no opinion either way. Go, Maria Kang. Do your thing.

Selfish Sewing Week

I entered a contest awhile back (I forget what it was even for - it's been awhile), and one of the entries included Liking a page on Facebook. That is how I found imagine gnats. Is that not the cutest blog name ever?

imagine gnats is about to start Selfish Sewing Week.

I think it's really easy to get stuck in a rut sewing for your children instead of yourself, because they are smaller, quicker, easier to fit, and so cute you can't stand it. I know that's pretty much what always happens to me. Plus it's more expensive to sew for myself because I need three times as much material for even the simplest of items because I am just bigger and taller. (Not for long - when I hold Micah his feet touch my knees. Seriously. He's enormous.)

A little over a week ago I bought a couple yards of some truly beautiful satin though. Literally the most gorgeous fabric I have ever owned. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it...but it's currently sitting in a puddle on my dining room table because I haven't had the time to get to it. This week has been full of pattern testing and pajamas for Micah, both of which take precedence because I have no restraint when it comes to stuff for him.



Thanks to Selfish Sewing Week, I now have a good excuse to set other things aside, and have some fun for myself. I will be back after the weekend with a completed outfit unless something crazy happens. Fingers crossed.

Come and join the fun!

Flickr group
Selfish Sewing Week Flickr group

The mama diet

Starting today, my husband and I are starting a new lifestyle. And no, it isn't the fun kind.

I have a friend that had a baby six months ago, and since then has been on the Paleo diet. Not terribly strict, either, but she lost 95 pounds. She is built very similarly to me, and is the same height as me, so I thought, "Hey, maybe that's what I need to do!" I got really gung-ho about it...until I saw the diet itself. While it isn't full of food I don't like - quite the opposite, in fact - my problem is that I live in the desert. We don't get a ton of fresh fruits and veggies year round here, though we get a decent amount in the summer if you stalk the farmer's markets. Since we are not in harvest weather yet, I had to go frozen, and it was still a really big grocery bill. Painfully big, actually, and all of it was for Micah and me - none for my husband! He's going to be the hardest to feed, for sure. He hates everything that is good for you, except chicken, and he will get rickets if I let him. He likes corn and peas but corn has a ton of carbs.

Oh, the BUTS. But it has carbs, but it has sugar, but it has FLAVOR.

Here's my issue with diets. They all, every last one, cut out the things that I love the most. And I don't eat bad as it is, but I do eat pasta, and I do eat potatoes. Not even that much, but I eat them, and they are my favorite things to eat. It's frustrating that I have to basically deny myself one of life's pleasures just to look good and be healthy. I love veggies and chicken, but I never feel like I have eaten unless there is meat and carbs. So I am constantly cranky because I am hungry! And a cranky mama = an unhappy house. So I am trying to find a balance. I am also eating a lot more often, every three hours or so, so that I won't bottom out and get that hungry feeling. Like today:

6am - Chobani raspberry yogurt (yummy, and it's actually staying with me)
9am - Snap peas, carrots (carbs, arg) and tomatoes
11:30am - Lunch (which is turkey with sweet potatoes and brown rice today)
2:30pm - Something snacky at my parents when I pick up Micah (not sure about this yet)
5:30pm - Dinner with my husband (likely grilled chicken and veggies today)

I heard about the "every three hours" trick from a body-builder friend so I know it works. Plus it keeps me happier, less cranky. I am also doing a circuit at work once an hour to keep myself awake (I tend to get sleepy) and get my heart rate up. Down the stairs on the west side of my building, across to the east side, then up the three flights back to my floor, and across to my desk. Our building is huge, so while that sounds small, it's a good place for my inner sloth to start. And it's rather embarrassing at this stage, how out of breath I get.

We all have to start somewhere! Have you made a lifestyle change recently? How's it going?

Sunshine Stars in the works!

From the moment I laid my eyes on my first sewing machine, I knew I wanted to make things for my son. And once I had a few successful projects, I knew I wanted to start making them for other people, too. There was no one I admired more than Dana from MADE and Ashley of Lil Blue Boo. I read their blogs for months before I even started sewing, and every time one of them posted a new project, my creative little heart went pitter-patter. They were my new heroes, and they both ran their own business from home on the internet. That's what I wanted to do.

I've made a handful of things, all but one project (the unfortunate little boy suit) turned out well enough that I have become fairly confident. I have had enough people request things from me or suggest that I open an Etsy shop that I figured my work must be decent. After a stint on Etsy in the past trying to sell my photography prints - which was a rather dismal failure - I've decided it's time to give it another shot. Except this time, I am giving baby clothes a try.

After a long time of wishing that I had the funds/the gumption/the time, I decided to just jump in. I contacted a few friends with baby girls and arranged for them to model the clothes for me, and now I will be spending the next few weeks whipping up the initial pieces for photographing and formulating prices. I have quite a to-do list, and hopefully this weekend I can get most of it out of the way.

I'm not hoping to be the Next Big Thing - in the saturated blog market, that would be folly - but I would enjoy being able to do something I liked to do in my free time and make a few dollars while I'm at it. I think it sounds like an adventure, and I can't wait to get started!

Next up - Sunshine Stars begins!

50 things every girl should do in her lifetime

One thing I dislike about Facebook is that if you comment on someone's post, it will show up on your feed and as a result, on the feeds of your friends. (occasionally, I guess, because I can't find a method to the madness). This includes comments made on posts of people you are not friends with. Example - my husbands aunt commented on one of her friends posts, someone I don't know in any shape or form, and it showed up in my feed.

Usually, this is annoying and privacy-invading. But today I saw one that inspired a post from me. The woman said she had read a list of 50 things every woman should do in her lifetime, and one of the items on the list was "kiss a stranger." It kind of made me laugh, and then I wondered where she had found the list, so I did a quick Google search and came up with this one. It isn't exactly mind-blowing, but it has some really fun things on it that I happen to agree with. Every woman should ride a roller coaster!

I decide to bold the ones I've personally experienced. How many of these have you done?

50. Ride on the back of a motorcycle
49. Date someone who has visible tattoos
48. Buy a toolkit and learn how to use the things in it
47. Travel Alone
46. Spend a day at the best spa you can afford
45. Drive fast
44. Date someone older than you
43. Date someone younger than you
42. Live in a foreign country
41. Have a romance with someone from a different country
40. Meet one your role models
39. Do something your friends don't approve of
38. Delve into your personal psychology
37. Be proud of your smile and laugh
36. Live by yourself
35. Learn to say no
34. Give time to a cause you believe in
33. Forgive your parents for whatever they did wrong
32. Have some photos taken of you that you really like
31. Learn to drive a race car
30. Become a better public speaker
29. Understand how fortunate you really are
28. Break your destructive patterns
27. Evolve your look and scare yourself (often!)
26. Take a risk and prove the naysayers wrong
25. Get your fortune told
24. Go to New York and stay at the Hotel Plaza Athenee
23. Learn a foreign language
22. Take dance classes
21. Ride a hot air balloon
20. Go to Paris
19. Attend NY fashion week
18. Go skydiving
17. Get a college degree
16. Throw a huge party and invite every one of your friends
15. Go skinny-dipping
14. Learn how to take a compliment
13. Send your boyfriend a dozen red roses
12. Plant a tree
11. Take charge; ask a guy out on a date
10. Learn how to be a bartender
9. Grow a garden
8. Make a snowman
7. Buy a stock
6. Read at least 5 major works of literature
5. Take your parents to dinner
4. Write the story of your life
3. Sleep under the stars
2. Ride a giant roller coaster
1. Fall devastatingly, helplessly head over heels in love

12 in 2012

I got this idea from Baby Rabies, one of my favorite blogs.

12 things may actually be pushing it for me. I have a toddler that goes to bed between 5 and 6pm every night, but I still find myself parked on the couch instead of doing all things I wish I was able to do all day long when I'm stuck at work. So I am certainly not holding myself to this...but if I do manage it, then I am having a party!

1. Complete at least 5 of the sewing projects I bought material/notions for.
I am so bad about this. I get really excited about a project and then bring the stuff home only to forget about or put it off. SO MUCH STUFF.

2. Make dinner for my family at least 5 times.
This should be obvious, but we tend to graze in the evenings because we have such different schedules. So even if this only happens on the weekend, it needs to happen.

3. Finish my book.
This one is going to be hard. I started a novel last year during NaNoWriMo and never finished it, and have since lost my thread. I have no idea where my plotline is going at this point. But it's certainly worth trying for.

4. "Do" my face more often.
I always say I don't have time for makeup in the mornings, but I love how it looks when I do it, and I love to buy makeup...so what the heck is my excuse? I don't have one. So even if it's only mascara and lip stains, I better get off my butt. I can always do it quickly once I get to work in the morning.

5.Paint and fill my craft closet.
This is a HUGE one. I bought a $50 solid wood TV cabinet with the intentions of painting it and turning it into my craft closet. I originally wanted to put my sewing machine in it, but I think only for storage - the closet is huge but I need more space to see when I sew. Plus I don't want to be installing lights in the cabinet. My hope is that it will eventually look like this:



6.Keep my house in fairly reasonable order, even when no one is coming over.
I am totally a "company is coming!" cleaner. I really need to work on that. Right now it looks terrible because my son has strep (at not even 2 years old, what kind of luck is that?), but usually I just put away his toys and ignore the rest.

7.Print out my Micah 365 project, either in prints or an actual book.
This one should be fairly easy, thanks to Artscow.com! Lots of free photo book offers. I better get on it.

8.Blog more often, about whatever.
I wanted to keep this blog about projects I completed that I found on Pinterest. But now that I have a full time job I find that I have less time to do that (and too many hours spent surfing Pinterest for more projects, hah), so I think I will be a little more loose in my posting ideas.

9.Interact with other bloggers more, especially my favorites that I visit a lot.
I always visit the same blogs every day and wish I could be cool as them, but I rarely comment, mostly because I feel like posting, "You are so awesome!" is not terribly productive or helpful, hah. I'll try harder.

10.Lose 5 pounds.
This seems SO minimal, but I am a couch potato. I have no drive or desire to do physical things most of the time and thanks to having mono at age 5, no energy either. But my son goes 10,000 miles an hour and I really want to be able to do fun things with him without feeling I'm going to die. So 5 pounds is a big deal. And if it ends up being more than that...FABULOUS.

11.Get a shutter release control and take more photos with me in them.
As the family photographer, I find myself behind the camera so often that I rarely get any photos with myself in them. If I had a shutter release, I could change that.

12.Set up my kids bedroom.
This one is pretty ridiculous. When we moved into this house (my in-laws home while they are in Ecuador building a new church), I chose a room for Micah and we filled it with his stuff, still in boxes. And it's still like that, several months later. That particular room has a direct vent to the swamp cooler so it's FREEZING during the winter, and I've pretty much used that as an excuse to keep him from sleeping in there. We could easily seal it up but it's been nice having him in our room for just awhile longer...it's about time I let go and let him sleep in his own room. I'm sure my husband would appreciate it, too. Hah.

What do you have planned for 2012?