The holiday season has officially started, or so it has for me!
We just returned from a beautiful vacation in the Ozarks. I had hoped to be rested and relaxed in preparation for the official kickoff of the holiday craft season, but the last day of vacation resulted in an urgent care visit after I took a fall and fractured my wrist (my left hand which is my dominate hand). In my defense I was overwhelmed with the beauty and all of the water. Since there is so little water here in California I let my excitement get the best of me and rushed to see a waterfall, slipping and falling.
Unfortunately, this means I have to pull out of my first craft fair of the season and will be delayed in getting all of the fun Halloween designs posted to my Etsy shop.
To peak your interest in what’s to come I’ll share a few pictures of the Halloween and Fall fabrics I am working on completing. All cut out and ready to make are some scrappy potholders and coordinating placemats in new napkin designs.
Earlier this year, I decided to turn a hobby into a small business. So, at the end of May, I opened a booth at the El Dorado Hills Farmers’ Market to sell my luxury cloth napkins and unpaper towels every Sunday morning. Initially we had some crazy weather….cold, rain, wind…but that didn’t last long. Then came the heat, lots of heat. It’s been over 100* each of the past few weeks, the heat nearly unbearable, but there are still diehard customers coming out to enjoy the market, and experience northern California’s hospitality.
I got started with an idea and not much else, but I am pleased with how my booth is evolving each week into a boutique style experience. There been many lessons learned as I hone in on my buyers wants and needs, learning how they shop, and what may appeal to them. I even have some repeat customers seeking me out each week!
Since starting the market, I’ve looked at ways to expand my business. I’m using social media to advertise and display my goods, and I’ve even expanded to selling some of my items on Etsy. I hope you’ll stop by and visit my Etsy shop, or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
It is my desire to only source the highest quality cotton fabrics to ensure consistency and durability of my products. I feel it is important for my products to last longer than some cheaper fabrics while continuing to maintain their beauty over time. Some of my most popular creations have been fabrics from Rifle Paper Co. This is a Japanese based company that specializes in a fabric screen printing technique. It seems their patterns have a cult-like following.
Now that I have some experience under my belt, I am happy to announce that I am looking to expand further, and I am booking some fall/winter Arts & Crafts Fairs. My first fairs to book are the Bliss Marketplace Fall Craft Fair and Sacramento Elks Lodge Arts & Craft Fair in October. It’s a popular, well attended fair. Keep up to date on where I’ll be by visiting the Events page of my website.
A few months back I decided I wanted to make myself some new lunch napkins. My good friend had a wonderful business making some fabulous napkins, but wasn’t in business any longer. What to do?????
Well I reached out to some friends to see who might be interested in cloth napkins and off I went to purchase a serger and fabric. Oh yea…I only had a sewing machine which wasn’t going to do for this project. I soon found myself falling in love with this fabric or that fabric, ending up with much more than I or my few friends would need for a few napkins. Before I know it my husband is suggesting I try a business venture.
So the story goes…the idea was born and off I went making napkins before I had a plan. The fabric obsession became real and I realized I better come up with an plan fast, so here we are with the birth of JILL MARIE CREATIONS!
I hope you’ll follow along with me on this journey and check out my little napkins business. I’ve committed to the local farmers market for the season and hope others fall in love with my creations as much as I have.
Check out my inventory page and follow me on Instagram for my latest designs. You can find me at jillmariecreations.
2021 was a year of excitement for us as we welcomed our firstgrandchild!
In hopes of passing along an heirloom quilt from my great aunt, I cracked open my hope chest only to find no quilt. I had forgotten I had passed along said quilt to one of my cousins for the birth of her twins so that she had a family heirloom of her own. Well, no problem! I decided to get crafty and embark on my own quilting journey. Never mind I’d never quilted in my life and had no sewing tools to my name, but I did know how to sew so at least I had that going for me! Thank goodness for Facebook groups and YouTube!
So, first I needed a sewing machine and quilters tools. Instead I went straight for the fabrics before considering what might be needed to actually construct a quilt. Fabric inspiration was needed to get the excitement and creative juices flowing, right? First stop was google for the perfect inspiration fabric. I knew I wanted koalas and kangaroos, but nothing too juvenile for my grandbaby to grow into it. I found a wonderful site that prints custom designs on fabric of your choice. It was love at first site! Pardon the pun. If you are ever searching for something unique I highly suggest Spoonflower.
Next, was the machine and quilting supplies. What the heck did I need? Since I wasn’t sure if this little project would blossom into something more I wanted a basic machine and supplies. First stop was my sewing friends for suggestions on what I should look for in my basic machine. Thank goodness for their guidance as I ended up with an affordably priced Janome MOD-19. It had all the basic needs with a few nice to haves that made sewing life simpler. More to come on this in a future post about not having an overlock stitch for a different project.
Next was the quilters tools…what the heck? This is so much more complicated than basic sewing projects. There is way too much to choose from. Here’s where google once again came in handy for searching for what does a beginner quilter need. I found some great blogs on beginner quilting and as you can see started with 2 rulers, a rotary cutter, fabric scissor, pins, and cutting mat. These all served me sell throughout the project. The only item I didn’t use was the smaller ruler and quickly determined I needed some sort of handle for my larger ruler to avoid movement.
While waiting on shipping of these items I found various quilters groups on Facebook and started asking away about all things quilting. This lead me to some great YouTube videos that guided me step by step along the way.
When everything finally arrived it was off to the fabric store for complementary fabrics for my inspiration. I came across a quilt shop on Etsy that is local. Score! It you are looking for high quality quilt fabric then check out Cali Quilt Co on Etsy and Facebook, or stop by their Website. They sell nationwide and have great Facebook live sales.
Next sewing the quilt….again thank goodness for the YouTubers out there. These videos were my lifeline for figuring out how to sew this quilt together, how to quilt it, how to back it, and finally how to bind it. There were several lessons learned along the way, but the final product was all my husband and I.
Let the construction begin! Thank goodness for my husband as I really struggled with cutting out the fabric. He helped with the math and cutting. I must admit I am not a perfectionist, which is not a plus when it comes to quilting. Once all laid out and happy with our pattern I again called on my friend to make the quilt extra special. My friend has an embroidery machine and was able to add our grandbaby’s name and a message from my husband and I. Such a truly extra special touch!
After embroidery was actually sewing all this fabric together…I was in bed at night watching YouTube videos over and over again, reading Facebook stories of people ripping their quilts apart. I was so nervous! Thankfully I found some YouTube videos that gave me step by step instructions and broke down the quilt construction into easily understood stages. I had decided to do a QAYG (Quilt As You Go) method in hope of making the project more manageable. So many questions…how big of sections do I do, hen do I attach the batting and backing, and how do I do the actual quilting???? I decided I wasn’t going to plan ahead…I just focused on the step at hand and would deal with the next step when I got to it. I’ll have to say this method worked great for me with little difficulties along the way.
All this work led me to make other projects for my grandbaby with the scraps: sensory toy, drool bibs, drool cloths, etc. I found so much joy over this project and started thinking of all the other things I might quilt. I could tear apart the Christmas Stockings I made a few years back and instead quilt them with the used fabric, I could make quilts for others, etc. Well lets say the sewing machine hasn’t made it back onto the project table, but I am confident there will be another grandbaby and more quilts to be made in the future!
Ahhh…what could be more blissful that a crisp warm winter day with hints of spring and a glass of wine.
Views of Sierra’s from Sierra Vista Winery in Placerville, CA
Our long weekend was kicked off in eager anticipation of some great weather, and mother nature did not disappoint! We hopped in the car and headed to El Dorado County with the intention of visiting three wineries. We only made it to one, BUT it was well worth the afternoon spent at Sierra Vista Winery.
A little over a year ago my San Diego girlfriends came up for a girls weekend and we happened upon Sierra Vista Winery. During our visit we met the wine maker, Susan Farrington, general manager, Philip Hughes, and the new owner, Jim Czachorowski, who was moving out from Michigan. What a wonderful little find with some wonderful people! We enjoyed the wines and I looked forward to brining Jim (my husband, not to be confused with the winery owner) back here for a visit to experience the beauty of the property and the delicious wines.
Fast forward from my girls trip through 2020 and we finally made it out this past weekend. We met the owner and general managers again, and had a wonderful day sitting outside enjoying the view as the staff brought out our tastings. Jim and I both agreed on the MOURVEDRE and ELEVATION 2800 red blend being our favorites…so much that we joined the wine club and came home with two bottles of each! We look forward to enjoying many more visits and future events at this wonderful winery!
Our day ended with a beautiful ride through the Sierra foothills and a date night out with dinner at Baccus House back in Folsom for a scrumptious dinner with scallops for me and prime rib for Jim. Looking for a romantic dinner with delicious food, then Baccus House is your place!
As far as my 66 habit challenge, lets say I took a hiatus for the day! This week was met with, well, some challenges. I cheated twice (don’t tell my husband), even though it was only one cookie and a piece of chocolate…hey dark chocolate is ok, isn’t it? Of course, winery and dinner out was also a bit of a cheat, but not too bad. It was back on track on Sunday!
Speaking of back on track…i think I may have found the perfect substitute for pizza! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!
I have to give a shout out to Christy Denney at The Girl Who Ate Everything…the keto pizza was by far the best I’ve had to date. You can guess what Monday’s lunch was…PIZZA! I did some modifications of my own and would probably add to it just a pinch more, but otherwise this recipe works great. This crust stood up on its own and had great taste. If you are interested in her recipe hop on over to the Keto Pizza recipe and give it a try.
I also have to confess that am lacking with my movement goals. Week two was suppose to be getting my butt getting out of the seat and 1) walking the dogs daily, 2) walking for 30 minutes and 3) doing some sort of exercise 2-3 days a week. Now that we are in week 3 I need to get my butt in gear!
While I have done some movement, not nearly what I had set out for myself. I will say that my husband found MADFIT on YouTube and I think her 30 minute stretching is awesome! We’ve done it twice…yes, Jim is stretching with me. It’s a bit comical listening to us trying to perform these stretches and being aghast at how flexible she is and how we are not!
Wish me luck and send me some positive encouragement, or just tell me to get my butt out of the chair and get moving!
Hope your week is blessed and as Spring approaches opens up new growth opportunities for you.
This certainly isn’t the topic I thought I’d be writing about today…sure some other day. What I really wanted to do was share my successes of my first week of the 66 Day Habit Challenge and celebrate my new job I started last week.
Unfortunately with all that continues to go on in the world I find myself putting much of my energy into trying to avoid stressors, which is extremely difficult in today’s world. It seems there is no escape except to detach, which is not really a good plan of action. I tried it in 2020 and it did not work.
So, here I am needing to be transparent about how I am feeling and vent about stress.
It’s very concerning to me as stress and anxiety have been issues for me as far back as I can remember. It is also why I believe I have Type 2 Diabetes, so managing it is pretty important to my overall health.
Stress does nasty things to the body. For one it generates excess cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that your body produces normally, which isn’t a bad thing under normal circumstances, BUT when it runs wild it does terrible things and can lead to many health issues such as weight gain and insomnia. There’s tons of clinical research about cortisol and these health issues.
So, what is my action plan to try and address my stress. I have a plan as part of my 66 Day Habit Challenge and need implement it and to focus on it.
Walk the dogs every day!
Walk 30 minutes every day!
Stretch with You Tube every day!
On a positive note, I’ve done exceptionally well on my Health and Nutrition goals this past week. I’m down nearly 7 pounds, my blood sugar is in a normal range, I’m drinking >64oz of water a day, and I’m staying on plan eating <30g carbs a day. All worth celebrating!
I hope you are finding ways to avoid stress. I’d suggest unplugging and get outside to breathe the fresh air. It does wonders!
Well I am pretty stoked after reviewing my blog statistics. A first time blogger and 70 people viewed my first post. Thank you everyone for your support and interest!
In my first post I mentioned that I am doing a 66 habit challenge. I wanted to share a bit more about this challenge and why it’s so important to me. Yes, I see it as an opportunity to get back on track, but I also am hoping for a new perspective. To be honest 2020 was not good for me, as I am sure many of you can echo the same sentiment; and to be transparent it caused me very bad anxiety and depression. My goal is to grow from where I am today and equip myself with a better arsenal of tools to prevent this again.
Why is this so important…well…I want to live and love life, so I will choose 2021 to focus on myself. To do this I created a vision wall, but not just any vision wall, a vision wall with actionable goals that relate back to my 66 day habit challenge. Now, I’ve done vision boards in the past with all of the magazine cutouts of places I’d hoped to visit, or things that I thought would fulfill me, or that may represented how I wanted to feel about myself. This is different…the vision wall I created is about what it was I wanted to achieve, how I wanted to transform, and what my plan would be to get there.
As I mentioned in my first post my goals are Health, Nutrition, Movement and Personal Growth. Why?…well I think you understand the personal growth from my comments regarding my 2020 mental state and how I see this blog as a way to grow (this blog is one of my personal growth action items), but why health, nutrition and movement? Because, genetics have not been good to me and if I want to live and love lifeI have to take better care of myself. How have I been dealt the bad genetics card? Well, I am a Type 2 diabetic with heart disease (as I mentioned in my first post I had a double bypass at 49). Diabetes does not run in my family, but heart disease runs deep among the women on my mom’s side. My grandmother had her first heart attack in her early 50’s and died from her third one in her early 60’s. Although we are in very different places healthwise, I seem to have been gifted her poor genetics and was on the same track. Dealing with these things consume me and I understand that managing them will always be difficult and mentally exhausting, but it is important because…well I want to live and love life!
So, this brings me back to the 66 day habit challenge. #1 is managing my diabetes. Type 2 is the root of all evil! All my goals revolve someway around managing my blood sugar. It’s not about the weight, it’s all about how much carbohydrates I consume and burn a day, and how much stress I have in my life. Stress and Type 2 Diabetes are a topic for another day. So, all my goals tie back to improving my overall management of glucose levels. My vision wall reminds me of those goals and action items I’ve set for myself.
I hope you might find some inspiration in my vision wall. Maybe you choose to do something similar. This post includes a photo of my vision wall. If you have done something similar please share it in the comments. I’d love to hear what you are doing, or have found helpful. If you have questions about mine please reach out. I am happy to help you in your journey.
I welcomed 2021 with much joy and reflection, which is my usual New Years day tradition. Speaking of tradition, I don’t believe in doing anything on New Years day that does not bring me joy or contribute to what I would find joy in doing throughout the year (hence no cleaning, no organizing, no rearranging, no taking down Christmas!).
My reflections this year started the week prior to New Years with a Facebook post about a 66 Day Habit Challenge by an old friend and coworker. I jumped on the chance and was happy to reconnect with a wonderful person on this challenge. It also gave me the motivation I had been severely lacking in 2020 (20 pound weight gain and backsliding into my previous ways before heart surgery…yes I said heart surgery…a double bypass to be exact at the old age of 49..a topic of discussion for another day).
Back to the topic of the 66 Day Habit Challenge…the goals being Health, Nutrition, Movement and Personal Growth. I reflected how to best get myself back on track through this challenge while finding some positive inspiration that was lacking from my 2020 life. The Health, Nutrition and Movement goals were easy enough, but the Personal Growth required some thought. What exactly did I need to do….something that would help to heal my 2020 wounded heart and spirit. The challenge included reading and meditating, but I needed something more, something that would really help me to reconnect with myself. Then I had it…I’d create a blog!
So there you go…my first blog has been dreamed up and is coming to fruition. Who knows where it might lead, but I am looking forward to the journey and hope you might tag along with me.
Please connect with me on Facebook or Instagram to be included in my journey. You never know….it might be part of your journey as well.
-Jill Marie
One day at a time! 🙌🙌 One of the best experiences I’ve had was a women’s healing weekend in Sedona…
Cheers to your 2021, your challenge & your blog! I am looking forward to hearing from you, friend.💗
Hi Jill!! I’m so thrilled that you are starting 2021 with an action plan! Maybe you can motivate some of…
One day at a time! 🙌🙌 One of the best experiences I’ve had was a women’s healing weekend in Sedona…