The Humbert House

Dino Exhibit Dress | Sewing for Girls

By Holly - 4/17/2016 08:17:00 AM

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Trinkets | Tell Me a Story

By Holly - 4/08/2016 05:00:00 AM

At my job, I spend a lot of time working on spreadsheets. This means that my eyes and hands are moving data from one source to another, or I am organizing that data. This over and over, makes my brain bored. So while I work on those mundane tasks, I have started listening to podcasts. I hopped on the Serial train about 3 episodes in, but there are only a couple of other podcasts I listen to and most of them are an hour long. That leaves me with a lot of spreadsheet hours without something to listen to.

Then I rediscovered Paperclipping Roundtable. Those in the scrapbooking industry are probably familiar with this podcast. I have heard about it, but never listened to it. In search of new listening material, I played a few episodes. That's where this story comes in. Stacy Julian was on episode #265 and told a story about her son and daughter that made me tear up. It spoke to my heart and reminded me why I love this hobby so much, it's all about the stories.

That podcast and her story are what bring me to tell this story. It's small and insignificant but has been a part of my daily life for over 10 years, and I feel like now is a good time to share it.

This key chain has been on my key ring for

10 years...

4 months...

and a few days...

Ever since my friend Sarah, gave it to me.

I had just started working with Sarah and I never shut up about this totally-amazing-hunky guy I was dating. Sarah had gone on a weekend trip and bought this for me at a gas station I believe. She kind of bought as a joke, or a job at the fact that we had only been dating a little while and already I was enamored. A few days after she gave it to me, he broke up with me. We broke up a few more times in between that and the engagement. But, this key chain stayed with me. It's pretty rough around the edges but I've had it so long, I stop noticing it....until Zoe started reading.

When she read it the first time she started crying. Her feelings were hurt because her name was not on it. I lovingly tried to explain that it was given to me before she was born, before we were even married, but her little heart broke. She asked me through tears, "Do you love me as much as you love Daddy?"

It was then that we had a conversation about different kinds of love, and I reassured her that my romantic heart was taken, but she had all of my mommy heart.

Stories are what compel me to scrapbook and to take pictures. I love that feeling of looking back at photos or scrapbook pages and remembering all those feelings that I had on that day. I love remembering all the funny things Zoe said, or TV shows we used to quote. All of those things, while not vital, are treasured.

If you are not currently memory keeping, I encourage you to start. Scrapbooking, Project Life, Photo a Day, even just a journal, Facebook or Instagram - I plead with you to do something. I have done my best to catalog a lot of my own childhood memories, but there are some things that I wish my parents had documented.

This is your reminder to start now. Don't worry about going back, but set a goal to do it from now on. I promise, your future self with thank you!

XOXO,

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American Crafts

Greatest Adventure | Random Photos

By Holly - 4/06/2016 05:00:00 AM

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creativity

Mustang Sally | Cotton + Steel

By Holly - 4/04/2016 05:00:00 AM

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diy

Peeps and Eggs | Applique Easter Hand Towel

By Holly - 3/26/2016 02:58:00 PM

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American Crafts

Summer Adventures | Benefits of a Stash

By Holly - 2/23/2016 04:26:00 PM

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American Crafts

Back to the Beach | Remembering the Moments

By Holly - 2/12/2016 07:52:00 PM

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American Crafts

Shining Star | Awards and Certificates

By Holly - 2/08/2016 12:51:00 PM

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everyday

Hello, Love | February

By Holly - 2/01/2016 06:19:00 PM

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everyday

Summer Vibes | Gold Accents

By Holly - 1/23/2016 01:46:00 PM

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creativity

2015 Creative Goals Revisited | Honest Thoughts

By Holly - 12/31/2015 05:39:00 PM

I'm about to get real, messy honest. Because guess what? Life is messy. My life is messy and as much as sometimes I wish it was Pinterest worthy all the time, that's not reality.

At the beginning of the year, I set come creative goals. I started out 2015, battling depression as a result of dealing with infertility and I needed some plan to help me, help myself. Making has always been a really good way for me to manage my depression and anxiety symptoms, but when you suffer from depression, sometimes, you don't feel like doing anything. I had gotten to the point where I had lots of supplies but no desire to create anymore.

After lots of crying and urging from my sweet husband, a few weeks into the year, I sought professional counseling. Working with the therapist and working on my own to heal, has proved to change everything for me. I'm starting to feel like myself again. Creating is no longer hard for me. I have ideas flowing constantly. Pictures don't make me sad anymore and I'm able to enjoy documenting my life. I'm tackling new projects and mediums, I wouldn't dare do before.

I spent 2/3 of this year completing taking online classes. (One more semester to go!) School is such a time suck, and even though it's online, I took some difficult classes that required more effort than I thought. This definitely didn't help contribute to making stuff, but did contribute to my mental health. It always feels good to accomplish something and see progression.

So back to the creative goals. Did I accomplish them all? Nope, but I am 100% okay with that. Mentally and emotionally, I am in such a better place and these goals helped me get there.

Let's Review:

Sewing

Complete 6 quilts - I completed 4 quilts for myself and 1 for Fort Worth Fabric Studio.
I have one more quilt that just needs a binding......so this was *almost* completed.

Sew 6 garments for Zoe - none.
Sew 6 garments for Myself - I made myself a top and a skirt.
Both aren't a perfect fit, so they have only been a worn a couple times.

Scrapbooking

Make 52 pages in 2015 - 7/52. I haven't even blogged all the pages that I created.
I'm bummed that this number isn't high because I definitely have plenty of pictures to scrap.

Sort and Purge supplies - I did this! Twice! We moved right before Thankgiving into a house!
This house just happens to have enough bedrooms that I get my very own office/craft room.
But, upon moving, that meant I had to pare down my supplies.

Photography

Take a picture with my SLR every week - Fail.
However, I pulled it out more than I did last year.
Find 3 new places to take pictures - I did this! I found an awesome painted red brick wall,
a beautiful field of wildflowers by the lake and a golf course that is tucked away.

2015 was far from perfect, but I'm headed back towards a person I recognize and it feels so much better. I have BIG plans for 2016, but I'll save those goals for another post!

XOXO,

Holly & Co.