So in light of this New Year 'thing'... I have DETERMINED to 'spring' clean my house from top to bottom!!   And to motivate myself, I have decided that I MUST finish THAT before I work on THIS (more products that is).

  This cleaning goal was actually intended to be completed BEFORE Christmas…but you know how that goes!   I guess the story begins when we moved in.  We officially moved 3 days before I went in labor with Sky.  Maybe I’ll fill you in on THAT story some other day (OR maybe not!).  So with him being brand new, I didn’t do as much with the house as I would have liked to, not that I was at all worried about it at that point!  NOW I’m starting to look for ways to improve it a little, both in organization and decoration. 

   I’m also hoping from a little input from you!! So I took pictures of most of the rooms in our house (though I AM a little embarrassed to even put them up in comparison to other homes I’ve seen in blogs like this!).  What I need is to win one of those home make-over shows!! But if I can get any ideas from you that would be sweet!

These photos are the bare naked (un-edited) real stuff of my little home.   It is a rental… so in all reality I can’t complain at all!! It is a very cozy little place… I’d just love to make it even more so!   That is the dining area... and also the entry.  The front door comes right in at the left…which tends to make this room a little chaotic at times!! The curtains were in the house, as well as all the paint colors.  I believe I could paint if I wanted to, but for now the motivation just isn’t there! 

   That is the other side of the room with the main entry area and hall to the main bathroom and laundry room.  Boy… pictures make it look even barer than I thought it was!! That’s the other thing.  Re-decorating really isn’t listed on the 2010 Budget.  SOoo… I’m looking for cheap (like dollar store cheap) or FREE ways to improve this place! 

   That is Sky enjoying his time while I scrubbed.  A cracker really keeps a guy his age occupied!  This is also the reason for America being obese (according to my mom!)  Unfortunately he has been about as happy with my cleaning project as he is about crafts, blogging, or reading books (Mommy reading books that is).  I HAVE discovered that letting him take a bath while you clean the bathroom is a good trick to keep him entertained  AND clean (both him and the rest of the house!). Kind of like nursing him while I blog! *winks*

  The main bathroom,  One good thing about cleaning right now is that it’s giving me a chance to focus on each area of our house and see if I can come up with ways to improve them!

  The laundry room… caught it on a SEMI clean day. It’s usually the catch all place in the house and quite the disaster!

    Both sides of the living area. Yes that is a huge wood stove that takes up loads of space but kicks of lots of cozy heat!!  We covered our windows in plastic to hold a little of that nice heat in (if you didn’t notice the slightly warped look to outside!)  Actually all in all they work pretty well, even if they don’t look super hot.  We are being tight- (I mean frugal) this year so maybe this will help!  Not like it’s THAT cold in the Pacific Northwest in the first place, considering both myself and Fro are from the wintery Midwest, where they are currently getting loads of snow and cold!   :P 

 Part of the ‘Master Bedroom’. Unfortunately I don’t feel like there is much ‘master’ about it! It has been thoroughly neglected!  Your obviously not getting all the angles, so ideas may be hard to come by… but are still welcome.  I chose not to photograph the closet and master bath! 

    This is the guess bedroom.  Stop in sometime. ; )  The paint colors that were in here just happened to match the bedspreads that I had on hand.  Notice the two mattresses stacked on top each other (I mean-second bed set) on the left side. Ha

  This is the horror of all horrors… the Office/Craft Room/Toy Room/2nd Guest Room.  Currently a disaster area (if you can’t tell), but I am hopeful to get this place organized soon.  This room is at the top of my list of ‘Need to be Organized’!

   I skipped the nursery/Sky’s bedroom because I actually HAVE been doing something with that room!  I hope to do a post about that sometime soon with photos of the handmade room décor that I created.

    So PLEASE give me some ideas all you creative/ décor savvy people out there!! I realize it’s hard to do from pictures but I’d love some input! Even just some ideas for cheap (I mean frugal) ways to decorate.  So I hope you enjoyed the tour-I mean explanation-of why there haven’t been new products on Whispers of Joy lately!  Keep checking!

               MJ

So after the success we had at the first bazaar... we were quite disappointed after the day was over since this last one. :(  We headed to set up on Friday night and were quite excited as (even though we got the last table) we had an awesome location, there were tons of vendors, and it was in a main traffic area of town.  We expected our business to exceed the last.  So we set up another adorable booth with even more products (that we had slaved late into the night the previous week to do) and hoped for the best! :)

Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side this weekend!  The days before didn't bode well as the weather-man predicted freezing rain and winter weather advisories were set throughout the area.  This, along with the possibility of not enough advertising, kept everyone at home for the day!  We had very few shoppers and all the vendors were disappointed!  Most of the buying/trading was going on between sellers.  I think it would have been a great sale if the weather would have been better, but it doesn't always go as we hope! Thanks Shanna for helping out and keeping me company throughout the day!

Just thought I'd share a few pictures with you as I progress...

Mass Perfect Pacis!
Ok... well for me anyways! I'VE never made so many...
 and I bet YOU'VE never seen this many!

The Sort-n-Stash Pocket collection is growing too! 
I'm having fun packaging, ribbon-ing, zip-ping, and creating!

Ecclesiastes 3:1
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven

I think it's about time to rest...
well...
maybe after Saturday!  :)

PS.  I'd recommend reading the rest of that passage! Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and on through the rest of the chapter.  It is so reassuring that there really is a time meant for everything, both good and bad. 

You're invited!

What:
Artisan Fair -Craft Show Event

When:
Saturday, December 5th  - 9am-4pm

Where:
 Firm Foundation Christian School
19919 NE 107th Ave - Battle Ground, WA 98604

Why:
To check out all the great stuff at the
 Whispers of Joy/Sweet Pea Boutiques craft booth!

How:
Whatever way you can get there!

I'm doing this event with a friend of mine from www.sweetpeaboutiques.com.  We will have my products, the Frame that Name orders, the Perfect Paci sets, and the Sort-n-Stash Pocket sets, along with her blankets and nursing covers.  And you never know what other surprises will be there including other products, drawings, and more! Join us this Saturday!

Just wanted to make sure you all caught the latest freebie!
At The Treasure Chest be sure to sign up for the newsletter to enter to win a
FREE
Sort-n-Stash Pocket Set!
Also, enter multiple times by telling others and having them enter your name and email in the comment box... you can be entered as many times as you can get people to add your name! :)

   So I've been looking for ways to make my site better. Any ideas? I'm welcoming anything you can come up with!  One thing I know everyone loves are freebies! Am I right?? Not many of those in the world these days, hey? Well Whispers of Joy is going to have them! Yay! :)
    One thing I plan to do is have sweepstakes drawings, early bird discounts, and seasonal sales.  So make sure you sign up for the newsletter, as much of the information on these bonuses will come through email.
   Another thing I plan to start doing is having specialty items.  Gift baskets, single quantity products, regular merchandise made unique, or one-of-a-kind treats will be posted on the Limited Specialty Items page. Many of these will also be made known through the newsletter.  Check up on this page often, as there will be lots of fun stuff posted, but many times limited availability.  I look forward to coming up with different ideas for this new page!

  Well here I am, working on the products and behind the scenes 'things' to make this site be great! There's a lot to do and think about before I feel like I'm totally on my feet, but it's a work in progress!!  I am praying for success in this endeavor, but if not, a learning experience lies ahead. Either way, I will be thankful. Things are falling together and I look forward to getting farther along and beginning. I've been having a blast so far, and fitting my work into my days has worked out at this point. Thanks, Skyler, for cooperating with Mommy! :)