Every Necklace begins with N

I'm so thrilled to finally write this post about the inaugural activity for the blog. Over the weekend, I was scouring the internet trying to find an event to break up the upcoming week. I searched a few different websites, but landed on Michael's Craft Store. They often have classes you can attend that won't break the bank and will teach a useful new skill. This week they offered Jewelry 101, an introductory course to DIY creations. Can anyone say no to jewelry? I didn't think so.

I decided to test this theory by asking my friend Aislynn if she'd join me after work this week for the class. Without hesitation she said yes- I told you, jewelry is hard to refuse! Here's the best part: the class was FREE (my favorite number), you only needed to purchase the materials.

There was one other person in attendance, which was great; it meant each of us got the instructor's undivided attention. Rebekah had an abundance of knowledge regarding jewelry making as she's been instructing the class for the last seven years! She was extremely helpful in choosing the right beads and other useful items for an affordable price (she didn't even know the premise of the blog). What I enjoyed most was she was an instigator for individual creativity - she made sure she never pushed her opinion onto anyone. Whenever I asked her what she thought of my pairings, she would reply "There is no wrong choice, that's what makes it so fun!" 

As soon as we had our desired beads, pendants and metal colors, we brought them into the classroom to experiment. We each had a preliminary idea of what we wanted our pieces to look like. However, as we started to arrange the items it was abundantly clear how quickly our ideas and designs changed. Below you'll see photos from the experience along with the final products!

This first photo shows the process of stringing the beads onto bronze wire. I cannot tell you how useful that bead landing tray was. I kept having issues with runaway beads but this kept them readily accessible:

The second photo is of my friend Aislynn hard at work stringing the beads for her necklace.

Finally we have the finished product:

Close up shot:

In total, each of us paid under $20 for the materials we used. My grand total came to $19.47 and Aislynn's came to $19 and change (yes I will be putting fifty three cents into my piggy bank). I loved my necklace so much I wore it to work the next day. Now that we've learned the fundamentals, Aislynn and I plan to have jewelry parties on our own to create more pieces.

I thoroughly enjoyed the class, and encourage you to see if there's one scheduled near you. Not only do you get to make yourself new jewelry, but it's a great idea for a gift now that holiday season is upon us.  If you decide to go to the class, please make sure to share your DIY creations in the comments! 

Once Upon a #TBT

We've all done it: looked through old photos to relive some of our finest (or most questionable) moments from college. The years when you could wake up whenever you wanted, when you scheduled your classes around the concept of an ever-present 3 day weekend, and there was always someone to hang out with. Those days seem long gone: sleeping past 8 am has become increasingly difficult, my work schedule is set in stone, and finding time to see friends is challenging with varying schedules. Basically, it became too easy to fall into a seemingly monotonous routine. 

I decided I needed to make a change; living through old photographs wasn't cutting it anymore and neither were "Friends" marathons - sorry Joey! That change started with a plan: try something new once a week. I enjoy a wide-ranging list of activities but gravitate toward cooking, crafting, and exploring my town. I also decided I need people to participate so to make sure I don't omit anyone from my new project I came up with a new caveat: the activities I find must stick to a $20 or less budget per week. 

So here's how this will work: every week I will find a few activities that seem interesting and are within my budget. If I can find activities that fall below $20 those extra funds get put away in a rainy day or vacation fund for later use. If I go above my budget, then I must subtract from the allotted funds the following week. With this goal in mind, I hope to illustrate how easy it is to reintroduce excitement into the everyday routine at a low cost. I hope you find this blog useful and that you'll follow along for the ride!