Earth Week! April 17-22, 2012

A recent book has inspired me to begin blogging for real this time. My ultimate goal with this blog is to inspire creativity. I'm not exactly sure what it will evolve into, so we shall see!

So, since it's Earth Week, I want to encourage you to celebrate the environment with creativity! Check out my pinterest board "Earth Week" for ideas on how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle this week!

http://pinterest.com/nataliejackson/earth-week/

Be the creativity you see in the world,
Natalie

Engagement Photos with Autumne

I love the Botanical Gardens. Not only are we getting married there, but it is also where Tyler proposed and where we had our engagement photos done. My friend Autumn did the session. She has an eye for capturing beautiful shots. Here are some of my favorites.








More to come, but that's all for now folks.

It's been too long since I've posted anything.

Things have been a little busy lately in the mind of Natalie R. Bush (soon-to-be Jackson). So I'm finally getting around to blogging again. There's so much. Where to begin!

Well, I'm planning for the wedding, which is going much faster than expected. I don't really see how people get so stressed out. Granted, we were planning a bit before we actually got engaged. Either way, I'm getting more and more excited about our marraige as the wedding nears. I look forward to what God has in store for us! As far as wedding do-dads go, I'm pretty much handmaking everything, which really makes me feel good about the wedding. It will definitely scream Natalie and Tyler. Don't fret, I will post photos soon.

Apart from wedding things, I've been keeping busy. I think that's my natural state anyways. I'd much rather be productive and efficient with my time than be bored. I do need to take a shower though. I think it's been a few days. That's a lie. It has been a week. Sometimes, there are just more important things than personal hygeine, like the emotional state of a friend in need, or that letter to a crafty penpal that I've been needing to do for a while, or cleaning my perpetually trashed craftroom/bedroom. I think the problem with the cleanliness lies in the fact that my craftroom and bedroom are one. I can't seem to stop crafting or accessorizing, so all of my clothes get mixed in with all sorts of beads, buttons, needles, fabrics, and things. I need a personal organizer to help me when I move. I just can't see myself functioning for very long with this mess of a craftzone. I do know where everything is, though. That is one of the perks. But, there is so much potential in the supplies that are hidden among the piles of colorful skirts or bags of scrap fabric or boxes of randoms, that it saddens me to see that potential go to waste.

Proof that I am special: I went to the Redbox to rent a movie. I was trying to view other movies on the screen, so I slid my finger across the page, thinking that it would scroll to the next page of movies. Unfortunately, the Redbox is not the same as a touch iPad and it was highly unsuccessful. The line behind me thought it quite humorous. I don't think it's that odd. I actually think it a good idea and may write a request to Steve Jobs asking him to merge with Redbox. He'll agree, I'm sure. Alright, it is bedtime. I must rise far before the earliest of the birds to get the worm that is the working world. Goodnight and sweet yearnings.

Craftday

I've made 4 hats. And I've started including mini crochet bows on the back as well, which gives them a little extra Natalie flair. I'm not following a pattern for any of them, which prooves to be pretty entertaining. I don't like being limited by instruction manuals. I feel like it stiffles creativity. I would much rather prefer to figure out my own style of patterns and stitches rather than following someone elses. There is some truth in the accusation that I get a bit bored when reading instructions. I tend to just look at the pictures. Then I proceed to get frustrated if I can't figure it out. I suppose that is my own fault. But I rather do enjoy making prototype after prototype until I have a final product that is solely mine. The messups I either destroy or tuck away somewhere to be revisited later.

I also made a baby blanket, the no-sew fleece kind. Here's a video of how to make it if you're a visual person. I made this one a solid pink, since it's for a baby girl, then added a couple fabric bows on the corner. I wish I could post a photo of it, but I've not access to a camera at the moment. Photos of my crafty things coming soon. Don't get too antsy.

Four Christmases, which if you haven't seen it yet, you definitely should take the time. It may be available on Netflix, since it came out in 2008. But if not, it's worth the rent as well. Just trust me.

2 days 'til Christmas. What about you play Santa Claus, wrap a couple extra gifts and put them on a doorstep of a neighbour?

Agape

Today, I woke up thinking about love. I love love. It's human nature. I rather like the agape sort of love, where love is a choice, an effort, an intentional act. I googled it and came up with a fairly suitable definition:

Agape - means to choose to seek the best for others. This is a love based in the mind. We can chose to show agape love by actively thinking about, and deciding how we act toward other people. Agape love is talking about our behavior towards others, not our feelings.

I took the following pictures a while back, but forgot about them for a bit. I figured it's time to get them printed and framed. Wal-Mart one hour photo, here I come.

In other news, I love numbers. I am always counting and making little goals to reach some number in something, whether it be to increase the amount of water I drink by 8 ounces or to beat my high score in Free cell, I am always counting. Sometimes it can be an obsession. I.E. when I crochet hats. So, I'm on a mission to crochet 22 hats by the end of the break. Not 20, not 21, but 22. Because 10 seemed like not enough and 30, nearly impossible. I've made the first hat this morning. I think I'll put bows or flowers on the crown of each hat as well, because I love bows and flowers. No worries, I'll post the hats soon. On Etsy as a matter of fact. But, you must wait til all of the hats are done. That's another thing with the numbers. Until I've reached my goal, especially if it is making a certain number of somethings, no one can have them. The collection must be complete before it is presentable.

Speaking of collections, I'm a collector to the core. My latest fascination is handmade pottery, especially by Hannah Morrill, artist trading cards (mostly because it's fun to collect talents and artwork in large quantities but in manageable/ Natalie-sized sizes) and salt and pepper shakers. The salt and pepper shakers thing has been going on for years, though. Probably because my mother used to collect them and lined the walls of our dining room with such a variation of salt and pepper shakers and doilies that the room rivaled any salt and pepper shaker store, if one were to exist. Which if one does, don't tell me. That could be a dangerous place for my nearly empty wallet to enter.

Good day and happy counting for my fellow numerists.

First Post

I feel drawn to blogs.

They seem to capture all of the thoughts, humours, and creative ridges and rages of a person. It's almost like a little snapshot of their personhood, would it were that they're the only person in the hood. I admire that freedom and would like to test the waters.

I don't think I'll start my blog by telling you what I'll blog about because that very well may change with such frequency that even I would forget the confines of what I declare in this fated "First Post." So let's just start with a hello. As that is all how relationships tend to start. Though I really shouldn't say "all" because I've had plenty of awkward introductions, accidental bumps, and check out line one-liners that seemed to start some pretty reliable and memorable relationships. However, hello seems to be customary. And I suppose I do follow some measure of custom, or at least culture, since I am blogging.

Speaking of one-liners, here are a few that tickle my fancy:

• We live in a society where pizza gets to your house before the police.
• A bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don't need it.
• When in doubt, mumble.
• I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.
• A bargain is something you don't need at a price you can't resist.
• Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

On another little music note, Christmas is on it's way, so I put together a few ditties on the myspace to bring you a little mellow cheer.

Happy holidays. Tell someone this week that you love them.