Life Through Frosted Glasses

It's been pretty quiet here on the blog, but I've missed sharing my creative thoughts. Trust me, they haven't stopped. I've just been busy investing in friends and family and exercising my concert junkie tendencies.

I've also been learning hard lessons about love. Like, sometimes the person you choose to love, doesn't choose to love you back. And that's all it is, choices that don't align. If anything, the person who lost is the person who did not accept being loved. This world is caught up in temporary emotions and desires, but love is an eternal action. So let's never stop choosing to love.

Through all this, I've come to realize the value of perseverance. Especially when crafting on a regular basis, this has become a common word in my vocabulary. Projects don't quite turn out how imagined. In fact, I would dare to say none of mine have ever gone as planned. Part of this could be due to my impatience and inclination to jump into projects headfirst. Oops! I originally intended this DIY for frosted wine glasses (to drink from), but food-safe glass sealants are not readily available. This is exactly where perseverance came into play. I wasn't ready to ditch these pretty glasses, so I brainstormed an alternative use... mini succulent garden! Perfect for my Mom's birthday present. So here's how to turn something gone wrong into something gone right.

Materials:

• Frosted glass spray paint
• Rubber bands
• Wine glasses
• Optional Materials: succulents and soil, candles, flower clippings

1. Start stretching the rubber bands around the tops of the wine glasses. 

2. You probably need to put at least 4 or 5 on each, but keep going until you have the design you want.

3. Turn the wine glasses over and spray on a few coats of the frosted paint, so they're fully coated.

4. Let the glasses dry completely. 

5. Remove rubberbands.

6. Unless you mark off space around the lip of the glass, these wine glasses won't be food-safe. I used them as planters for succulents. You could also turn them into candle holders or vases. Wherever your imagination takes you!

My mom loved her birthday present! 

I Promise

With work, planning for my Etsy shop, graduations, birthdays, weddings, and lots of dates and phone conversations with my favorite people, life has been full of distractions. Sometimes your life looks wonderful on paper, but your heart is shattered. Putting those pieces back together is the most beautiful experience though, because you can only start that process when you are completely honest with yourself. It starts with a foundation: promises that I want to define my life and hold true in my heart.

I promise to treat myself with kindness and respect.
I promise to hold myself to realistic expectations and forgive myself if I fail.
I promise to be honest with myself and with others.
I promise to feel my emotions with all their intensity but not to dwell on the negative.
I promise to stay true to my heart and my soul.
I promise to challenge myself even when I don't want to be challenged.
I promise to stop holding back when I need to let go.
I promise to stop trying to control what only God can.
I promise to trust that God has my best interests at heart.
I promise to give the Lord my past, present, and future.
I promise to never stop asking questions.
I promise to never judge.
I promise to always create, imagine, and dream.
I promise to never stop trying new things.
I promise to always have an open heart.
I promise to love others the way Jesus loved and love with my whole heart.
I promise to never cease praying or forget its power.
I promise to never live in a bubble and to never stop exploring.
I promise to never settle for the ordinary.
I promise to stop being scared.
I promise to be content in the present.

What have you promised yourself?

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! If there's one thing in the world I know, it is how special mothers are. There's no one else on this earth who knows you from the very moment you were created. I'm very blessed to have a mom who loves me so unconditionally. I have never felt more accepted, supported, and encouraged than by the words and actions of my mom. I've been through some rough times in this past year and I would never have survived without my phone and a mom who is willing to talk to me whenever I need her, however long I need her. Hope your Sunday was filled with beauty and appreciation of the love in your life.

Here's a little project I worked on for my beautiful mother (and she definitely liked it!):

Instagram Loving

Hi friends!

I know I'm really far behind the times, but I finally have an Instagram account! I can finally indulge in this hipster pleasure and it feels wonderful! I guess they sold out to Facebook, but I'm still enjoying this new (to me) form of media sharing. It's fun to have images to look back on documenting where you've been and what you've been doing and see the same things in other people's lives. So please make my day and follow me at taylorachelle.

Love and sweet dreams.

Be Mine.

Tomorrow is the national day of love, otherwise known as Valentine's Day. While I'm not so into the consumerism that backs this holiday, I whole-heartedly support time to recognize those people who bless my life (although this should happen more than once a year). I will also admit my love for hearts and it is the perfect excuse to overindulge my need to put this shape on everything!
For me, Valentine's day isn't about pointing out singleness or even gushing over a crush. I believe it is simply appreciating the love you have in your life. It's so easy to get caught up in what we don't have or what we need to accomplish, life's day-to-day anxieties. But I have such beautiful hearted people in my life, and I never want to take that for granted. I'm a very lucky girl, so here's a little love note to you all:

I care about you. About who you are and who you will become. I appreciate your quirks. I appreciate the little, as well as the big, things you do for me. Thank you for listening. Thank you for investing in my life. Thank you for laughs and adventures. And most of all, thanks for being you! I hope you feel extra love coming your way, because you deserve every bit of it!

Merry, Merry Christmas!

My homemade Christmas cards. Scraps recycled into Christmas cheer for friends near and far!

Merry Christmas, everyone!
This Christmas season quietly sneaked up on me this year, but now that it's here, I'm soaking it in to the fullest! Wearing my black and gold, sparkly sweater and red skirt, chocolate cranberry bars are baking in the oven, champagne is full in our glasses, and family is here for dinner. Just waiting for my dad to light a fire in the fireplace, and it will be perfectly cozy!
I hope you are enjoying a time of joy and love as we celebrate Jesus' birth. Sometimes Christmas becomes so centered around gifts and obligations, but it truly is the thought and sincerity that makes this season sweet.
Love and peace to you all! <3

Isn't it Romantic?

For all my faithful readers out there (Mom), I know, I know, it's been a long time since my last post. Whenever I let more than a couple days go by without blogging, I suddenly feel this immense pressure to deliver the perfect post, or else why did I let so much time go by? So here I am breaking down this wall by starting with a ramble, definitely not perfect. Also, I'm going to enact these 5 steps for staying inspired to prevent this from happening again! I might not be going back to school, but that doesn't mean I should lose all semblance of discipline and productivity (not that I wasn't the queen of procrastination, ask any of my study partners: I'm the worst distraction.)
If you made it through that paragraph, what I really want to write about is the beautiful event I was blessed to be a part of last weekend, the marriage of my best friend, Whitney Gearhart, to her best friend, Noah Starksen. I won't hide the fact that I was more than a little jealous that he rode away with her at the end and I was left to go back to the hotel without her. But such are weddings right? I shouldn't have been so surprised.

Whitney and I in the prime of our cuteness.

When I think of Whitney a million memories come to mind. Our preschool crushes, our Hanson obsession, petty arguments over who got the name Crystal when we played mermaids, rants about "stupid boys" and planning friend anniversary cruises to Antartica (we can be a little strange), and those froyo dates where we talked about anything and everything. We've been through every stage of our lives together. It is something so unique and special. Seeing her last name change to Starksen causes my heart to smile every time. Whitney and Noah, you are beautiful together. You are strong. You are creative. You  bless those around you with your love and laughter. All the distance you have endured has only brought you closer. You might just be my favorite couple. I hope to find someone who compliments me as well as you compliment each other someday. Lovelovelove you both.

Go here to see some gorgeous pictures from the special day!

Hope you've had a wonderful start to your week!
Taylor