Mandi Ehman's Blog, page 149

How to Make a Glass Pendant Out of Repurposed Paper

The following post is from Micaela of Mindful Momma:

source: Micaela Preston

The Inspiration

I’m a sucker for pretty paper. When I see something I love, whether it is a paper cut design on a calendar, a screen printed gift card, or some artsy wrapping paper,  I have a hard time resisting. And because I hate to waste, I often turn paper items I am finished with into something new, like handmade thank you cards or gift tags, for instance.  When I found this pretty piece of Japanese chiyogami paper in my Yuzen Box (one of those monthly goodie boxes filled with natural and organic products),  I knew immediately that I had to do something fun with it. No way was it going in the recycle bin!

A glass pendant necklace was just the ticket! I had purchased something similar from an Etsy shop years ago but figured that they couldn’t be hard to make. After a trip to my local jewelry supply store, I had everything I needed to whip up a few paper backed glass pendants.

The pendants made wonderful holiday gifts for my two sisters. And of course, I kept one for myself too!

source: Micaela Preston

Supplies:

glass tile (typically available in round, oval or square shapes)
bail (the metal piece that connects the pendant to the chain or cord)
necklace chain or cord
decorative paper
scissors
paint brush
Diamond Glaze or Ice Resin adhesive
E6000 glue

Note: I purchased all of my supplies at a local jewelry making store but you can also find most of them at the Candytiles Studio Etsy shop.

Directions:

Wash tiles with warm, soapy water and dry carefully. Touch glass by edges only from now on to avoid fingerprints.

Cut a square of paper, leaving it at least a 1/4 inch larger than the tile.

source: Micaela Preston

Apply a few drops of adhesive (either Diamond Glaze or Ice Resin) onto your glass tile (I used 3 or 4 drops). Carefully flip the tile onto your paper, positioning it right where you want it. Press down on the tile with your fingers to squish out any extra adhesive. Use a paint brush to remove any excess adhesive from the sides of the tile. Let the tile dry for at least 2 hours (I waited overnight). Once the tile is completely dry, use a scissors to remove the extra paper around the edge of the tile.

Apply a dime sized dollop of adhesive to the back of the tile. Use a paint brush to evenly distribute it over the whole back of the tile.  Allow tile to dry completely (I waited overnight).

source: Micaela Preston

Apply a small dollop of E600 glue to the backside of the tile. Center the bail on the top of the tile. Press down on the bail to make sure it is set in place. Allow to dry overnight.

String the chain or cord through the bail. Now, your pendant is ready to wear!

Have you made any fun eco-crafts lately?

Micaela Preston is a green lifestyle writer and marketing consultant with a passion for sustainable products and brands. Her award winning blog, Mindful Momma, focuses on living a green and healthy lifestyle while balancing the realities of life with young children. Micaela lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two boys. When she is not writing, she is busy whipping up a healthy meal or the eco-craft du jour.

How to Make a Glass Pendant Out of Repurposed Paper is a post from Life Your Way

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Personalize Your Productivity: How to Create Your Best Productive Self

The following post is from Prerna of The Mom Writes :

source: pixabay

I know. Personalize productivity? Seriously?

But hear me out.

As someone who’s played with, worked with and experimented with several productivity solutions and techniques, I can safely say that my sense of productivity is uniquely mine.

I am my best productive self by adapting techniques and solutions, products and systems that suit me and my life’s season the best.

It is this personalization of productive solutions and tools that lets me achieve the maximum with minimum effort and keeps me sane.

How can YOU get started at creating your own personalized productivity solutions?

In just 2 simple steps:

1. Understand that productivity tools and solutions are just that – tools and solutions.

First of all, understand that all those planners, diaries, journals, calendars, apps, timers, routines, schedules, are just tools and solutions. They won’t magically infuse your days with productive work. You will have to use them. Sometimes, you will have to play or experiment with a number of them to find one that is PERFECT for your life and it’s season.

Don’t buy the latest planner because your best friend swears by it. Buy it only if your current one isn’t fitting your needs and only if YOU are sure that your life will be balanced and more productive by using it. Don’t download my free productivity toolkit because it’s free. Get it only if you intend using it!

2. Understand your working style and then, work it.

“Quit multi-tasking.”

“Batch your tasks”

“Shut off distractions”

“Use the time before breakfast to kickstart your day”

All of these and more are some of the productivity tips offered by yours truly and other productivity experts. However, none of these are of any use to you if they don’t suit your personal working style. For instance, when I was in college, my best friend was someone whose desk was always a mess and it seemed as if she had a lot of stuff going on simultaneously but she managed to finish all her assignments on time, scored well and had fun too. You see, her personal working style thrived in distraction and messes and she worked it well.

So, if you are someone who can multi-task without getting stressed or doing things wrong, go ahead, give it a shot. Don’t let me or someone else tell you not to do it.

Personalizing your productivity is all about finding ways to make time work for you and not the other way round. It is about understanding that there is no one solution that fits all of us.

Are you ready to personalize your productivity?

Are you ready to personalize your productivity? How will YOU start? 

Prerna Malik is a mom, a wife, a writer and woman who believes in being postively productive, parenting with love and creating a home that invites you to put your feet up and relax. Find her sharing her journey and experiences with productivity and parenting at The Mom Writes.

Personalize Your Productivity: How to Create Your Best Productive Self is a post from Life Your Way

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Weekly Reads {1/21/13}

Well, I’m sad to say that this week I only read two books instead of the four I’d read in previous weeks. I knew it was bound to happen, but it would be nice to make time for that much reading each and every week. That said, I’ve decided to stick with my pattern of reading one nonfiction book per week. It’s helping me find a balance between fiction and nonfiction that I haven’t had in year’s past!

Head here to see Katie’s post for this week. We also want to know what you’re reading! Add your blog post to the linky below or leave a comment with your favorite reads from this week.

(See the full 2013 list here.)

This Week’s Reads

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

I’ve been hearing the buzz about this book since it first came out, and I love Gretchen’s blog, but I just never felt like it was the book for me. Then a friend recommended it on Facebook and pointed out that Gretchen herself felt pretty happy before beginning her year-long project and the book is really about being more intentional in our pursuit of happiness. As it turns out, my friend was right, and I love this book and am looking forward to reading Happier at Home as well.

As a blogger, blog-reader and someone who pursues intentional living, Gretchen’s insights aren’t necessarily new to me, but there is something to be said for reading all of her tidbits, quotes and exercises in one volume rather than across a thousand different blog posts over a year. I also identify a lot with her personality and tendencies, and this book makes some of my idiosyncrasies feel normal. As I read, I find myself highlighting quote after quote, reading things  to my husband and thinking about how they apply to my life.

I’m not sure I’ll take on my own happiness project, at least not right now, but this book is helping me be more intentional about evaluating my own happiness, my response to various people and situations and the ways that I can create a happier atmosphere for our family.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

As a fan of dystopian fiction, I am not overly sensitive to dark themes. What I love about books like Hunger Games and Divergent is that in the midst of horrific, unimaginable circumstances, the hero’s character shines through as they work to overcome the evil around them. While The Maze Runner seemed to have all of those elements, I found this one to be over the top. It’s a dark and disturbing book, and I only finished reading it because I was truly disturbed by the story and needed answers about the Maze, but even the answers and triumphs are unsatisfying (trying not to give anything away), which I found depressing. In fact, I left the last few pages unread because I knew they would just open up more questions that would keep me reading the rest of the series, and I really just wanted to be done once I had questions answered about the first part.

{As a side note, I found the use of fake swear words throughout this book distracting and immature. I mean, “shuck it”…really?}

Serendipity Series by Stephen Cosgrove

I fell in love with this series after wearing out my own copy of Memily as a child, and I’d love to one day have the whole collection for my children and grandchildren. These books are great because their whimsical stories and illustrations hold even our littlest’s attention, but they’re packed full of vocab words that hold my older girls’ attentions as well. And much like Aesop’s Fables, each of these stories contains a moral or a lesson. It’s been a while since we’ve read these books together, but I’ve started pulling them off the shelf to read to the girls again, and we’re really enjoying them!

On My Reading List for This Week

The Silver Chair and The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis (still!)


Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller


The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart


I came across this audiobook while I was browsing audible, and I have a feeling the girls would love it, so I’m planning to pre-read it this week just to be sure it’s appropriate!

Audiobooks

There are two kinds of audiobooks we get from Audible — the inexpensive classics (which you can also download from sites like Librivox for FREE, but I pay the $1-2 just for the simplicity of having them on all of our devices with Audible) or collections which feature multiple stories for just a single credit. We get 2 credits per month with our plan, and I just can’t bring myself to use one on an $8 audiobook that only lasts an hour, so I hunt for collections that are 4-10 hours long to get the most bang for our buck!

Sarah, Plain and Tall Collection

From Dylan (6): “Sarah goes to the prairie and marries Anna and Caleb’s dad, and this story tells you about their life in the prairie.”

From Peyton (8): “This collection has lots of fairy tales, and I like Aladdin because it’s really, really long and some of the others are short. I also like it because instead of taking place in Arabia like in the movie, it’s in China. It also includes Jack the Giant Slayer, and Jack slays 8 giants.”

Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know

Share Your Reading List

Adjust as You Go {31 Days to Your Goal}

If you’re just joining us, be sure to start at the beginning of the 31 Days to Your Goal series!

Yesterday we talked about taking time to reflect on your goal and your progress. That’s important not only because it gives you insight into your personality but also because it lets you make adjustments as you go.

Sometimes we hesitate to adjust our goals along the way, feeling like an adjustment represents a failure or a character flaw, but knowing yourself well enough to know when something needs to change is an important life skill.

Think about it, if you’re setting a goal and you find yourself struggling to stay motivated, uninspired or constantly discouraged, chances are you’re going to give up anyway. If — rather than giving in to the temptation to quit — you’re able to adjust your goal so that it’s a better fit for your personality or lifestyle, that’s a win all around.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever stick with the plan when things get tough, though. This is where self-reflection becomes important because as much as I’d like to give you a magic formula, I can’t tell you whether you’re supposed to keep on keepin’ on or adjust your course at any particular moment; only you will know what is right for you.

Have you had to make adjustments to your plan for this month? Do you struggle to admit something isn’t working, or does adjusting as you go come easily for you?

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Adjust as You Go {31 Days to Your Goal} is a post from Life Your Way

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Easy Meals eBook Bundle for Just $7.40 This Week {BundleoftheWeek.com}

I am so excited about this week’s BundleoftheWeek.com bundle and can’t wait to dive in and start adding these easy meals to my meal plan!

Because dinnertime can be stressful and challenging for busy families, we’re offering five ebooks packed full of more than 125 easy recipes that are delicious and satisfying but don’t require a lot of prep time! Get everything from delicious slow cooker meals and main dish salads to crowd-pleasing comfort foods for only $7.40 (a savings of over 70%) for one week only.

With your purchase, you’ll get all five of the following ebooks:

Crock On! by Stacy Myers
20-Minute Meals by Leigh Ann Dutton
Feast in 15 by Tiffany King
Got Dinner? by Susan Heid
Eat This by Renee Tougas

Get yours today!

Even if you’re not interested in this week’s bundle, be sure to sign up for the BundleoftheWeek.com weekly newsletter so you can be the first to know about the latest bundle:

Easy Meals eBook Bundle for Just $7.40 This Week {BundleoftheWeek.com} is a post from Life Your Way

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Take Time to Reflect {31 Days to Your Goal}

If you’re just joining us, be sure to start at the beginning of the 31 Days to Your Goal series!

It’s hard to believe that we’re already two-thirds of the way through January already! Today we’re talking about taking the time to reflect on your goal and your progress, no matter how small or big your goal is.

There’s a reason why so many of our quotes this month talk about the process of setting and working toward goals and not just about achieving those goals: the process really is the most important part.

As you work toward a goal, you develop discipline, learn to overcome obstacles and gain insight into your personality and your vision, and more. But you miss out on that insight if you don’t take the time to reflect as you go!

Here are some things you might want to think about:

On days when you don’t make progress toward your goal, what’s holding you back? Is it truly a time constraint or is it about your priorities?

When do you find yourself most motivated? How about discouraged?

When are you most energetic? What distracts you from your goal?

Asking yourself these questions and taking stock of your feelings and tendencies not only helps you adjust your goals and plans, but also gives you insight into your strengths and weaknesses so you can continue to grow as a person.

Does personal reflection come easy to you, or do you have to make an effort to do this?

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Take Time to Reflect {31 Days to Your Goal} is a post from Life Your Way

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Giveaway: Innovative NeuYear Calendar (4 Winners!)

I get a lot of emails about new, innovative products designed to help you organize, be more productive, etc. I’m pretty selective about which of those I’ll actually review and post about and I was pretty skeptical when I got an email from Jesse at NeuYear, but thankfully I took the time to click over to the site before deleting his email, because this calendar is very cool!

Here’s why:

It’s Big.


The NeuYear calendar shows you the whole year at once. You no longer have to page through a traditional calendar (or on your small computer screen), to see the whole year, and it has big squares for each day of the year so you can write more.

No Gaps Between Months.


Unlike other calendars, this one has no space between months, which helps you plan your weeks even when they span two months. It also helps motivate you as you see weeks passing, deadlines approaching and goals accomplished.

It’s Beautiful.


This calendar is not only functional, but it’s beautiful as well, which means you’ll be excited to hang it and excited to use it!

Choose Between Horizontal and Vertical.


With two calendars in one, you can choose between a horizontal calendar for your wall or a vertical calendar for your door.

Enter to Win

This week, NeuYear is giving FOUR lucky Life Your Way reader each a NeuYear calendar of their own!

To enter, fill out the form below:


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This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on 1/26. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well. Open to U.S. residents 18 years old and above.

Giveaway: Innovative NeuYear Calendar (4 Winners!) is a post from Life Your Way

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Don’t Give in to Discouragement {31 Days to Your Goal}

At some point on the path toward any goal, chances are that you’ll find yourself discouraged. It might be after a failure or when you’re not making progress as quickly as you’d like. No matter when it hits, it’s important to keep on going!

[image error]

Discouragement happens to everybody, and making the decision to give up on a goal or dream when you’re feeling discouraged is not a good idea.

Instead, take time to refocus on your goal — not just the what but the why. When I’m feeling very discouraged, I’ve found that it’s best for me to simply walk away and do something mindless and then come back and reevaluate later, once my head is clear.

Don’t Give in to Discouragement {31 Days to Your Goal} is a post from Life Your Way

© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Life Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

Don’t Give in to Discouragement {31 Days to Your Goal}

If you’re just joining us, be sure to start at the beginning of the 31 Days to Your Goal series!

At some point on the path toward any goal, chances are that you’ll find yourself discouraged. It might be after a failure or when you’re not making progress as quickly as you’d like. No matter when it hits, it’s important to keep on going!

Discouragement happens to everybody, and making the decision to give up on a goal or dream when you’re feeling discouraged is not a good idea.

Instead, take time to refocus on your goal — not just the what but the why. When I’m feeling very discouraged, I’ve found that it’s best for me to simply walk away and do something mindless and then come back and reevaluate later, once my head is clear.

There are obstacles between you and any goal. That doesn’t mean they’re not worth pursuing; it just means you have to practice focusing not on the obstacles but on your own strengths and abilities!

Have you felt discouraged at all this month? How do you overcome discouragement?

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Don’t Give in to Discouragement {31 Days to Your Goal} is a post from Life Your Way

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Weekend Reading: January 19, 2013

source: mandiehman on Instagram

I love to play games — board games, party games, card games — and I always assumed that playing games would be an important part of our family culture. However, trying to schedule a weekly game night has never worked for us, and since we’ve had demanding toddlers in our home for at least the past 5 years, it just hasn’t happened the way I imagined.

Over the past few months, I’ve been really inspired by photos from both Amy (momadvice) and Lisa (lisapennington) on Instagram, showing their families playing various games on random days of the week, and I realized that I don’t have to commit to a specific night; we can just fit it in whenever it works.

So far this year, we’ve been playing games several times a week, usually after dinner or right before bed, and we’re all enjoying this new family routine. Our three-year-old is quickly learning that she has to play by the rules, and we’re learning a lot about winning — and losing — gracefully (which is why I changed the rules of the Busytown game in the picture above so that we were actually competing!).

We have a pretty good collection of games already, but I’m always on the hunt for new ones. What are your favorite family board games?

Have you subscribed to our new weekly newsletter? Check out this week’s issue here and then be sure to subscribeso you don’t miss future issues!

Here are some of my favorite posts from this week. As always, check out what I’m reading to see the other posts that make me stop and think. You’ll find new posts all week long!

Family {The Kind of Mom I Want to Be}

Every Parent Should be a Conservative and a Liberal | Finding Your Soul


Brave Moms Raise Brave Kids | Jen Hatmaker


How to Be a Happy Mom (Even When You Don’t Feel Happy) | Steady Mom

Life {More Isn’t Always Better}

My 2013 Goals – a Year of Ultra Simplicity | Simple Organized Living


Do Less: A Short Guide | ZenHabits



The Simple Joy of One | Becoming Minimalist


Food {Try It; You Might Like It}

Paleo-ish | Mt. Hope Chronicles


Why “Organic” Doesn’t Mean Much to Me | Modern Alternative Mama



Confessions of a Formerly Picky Eater | Keeper of the Home

Have a great weekend!

Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Weekend Reading: January 19, 2013 is a post from Life Your Way

© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved - This feed is provided for the convenience of Life Your Way subscribers. Any reproduction of the content within this feed is strictly prohibited. If you are reading this content elsewhere, please send an email to contact@yourway.net to let us know. Thanks.

 
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