My Nifty Nail Kit Holders!

Because one of my goals of this Jamberry Adventure to give things away, I am making these cute little holders for manicure application kits. First I made a template of what I thought should go in them. Admittedly, I wasn't sure yet what the silver packet or the white square thing were. I wasn't lying when I said I was new to the pretty nails scene.

Then I bought all this flannel from Joann's in 1/4 yard increments. Next time I'll go for 1/3 a yard I think or not. They are about 1/4 yard wide it's just that leaves no wiggle room.

So each 2 patterns designed to complement each other cost me $1.75 a peice but then 20% off of that because I had a 20% off entire purchase coupon! Yeah me! So $3.50 yields 3 holders. I already had interfacing and fusible web at home but did use all that I had before I finished. So when I replenish that I'll add that cost in. Plus thread and sewing machine but those items are not "used up" by my project. Well a couple spools of thread will be by the time it's over. So you get my drift though the cost is LOW! 

Here's are my pattern combinations so far:

The last two pictures show when it's all stitched and then I'm tying them with a long peice of knit yarn made with my "embellish it" spool knitter and yarn I have lying around. It also gives me great pleasure to use up some of this stuff I have put into my sewing and craft room at my mom's rather than just hoarding more and more. 

I gave one away already with matching bean bag to a participant in my Online Launch Party (on Facebook). Well I still have to mail it but you follow me hopefully.

And I sewed up 5 total tonight. Previously I had finished just two and I gave one of those to my daughter, Rylie and one to my bestie, Jeanna Fearon. 

So production has definitely picked up! I can sew about 5 more then I have to pick up more interfacing and fusible web to finish up all the flannel I bought. Then I'll need more flannel. And so on and so on....

But can't wait until next Knit Club night when I'm giving them all one for Christmas!!!! Yippee!

Wow Long Time No Post!

First it was an amazing year for us Cubs Fans and that was my main focus through end of October. 

This outfit so embarrasses my daughter that I enjoy wearing it entirely too much!

Go Cubs Go!

The players in their PJs. Joe Madden sure knows how to have fun.

Then November started and I got all caught up with Jamberry nails. I love these things. I am always the last to know about new trends so I realize many out there may already have heard of them. But not me. So anyway, I am totally excited because as a doctor, gardener and artist that makes for a lot of handwashing and most manicures could never stand up. BUT Jamberry can and does! So now I get to have pretty nails too!

This is Ombre lotus (the purple ones) and Diamond Dust Sparkle and don't they go well with my PJ's!

And they match my bedspread too! How awesome is that?

Then because whenever I get into something "I go big or go home"... I became a Jamberry Independent Consultant. Because I was so excited I felt I should tell everyone about them and because I planned on wearing them a lot I thought it made economical sense. Then I started to think about it more and more and it just became an even better idea. Here's my thinking. 

I am a physician and obviously that is my main career. I thought at first people might think it was silly for me to get involved in Jamberry since most would think I have enough on my plate. And actually I do in fact have an overflowing plate. But here’s the thing, I am interested in socializing with women outside of my regular office visit and figuring out how do women juggle so many hats and maintain their health? Are there any women out there that are doing it successfully? If so what fields of work are they in? How do they take care of themselves and their family? What can I as a physician do to help myself do that better and help my patients do that better?

Also these nail wraps were inspiring to me. I have always wanted to invent something or create something that serves a need however small or big. Yeah you all think doctor isn’t enough? Isn’t that the American dream though? And do women want that to happen so they can strike it rich? I bet most women it would be so they could get out of the kitchen and laundry duty. Did you know that despite women entering the workforce and most of us working full time that men haven’t picked up 50% of the work at home? Hah! No not even close. I don’t know about you but my mother thinks I should somehow be all things to Rylie and have dinner on the table every night, have a spotless house, be available whenever she needs me (she did do all of these things) BUT she didn’t work full time! She started part-time work when I was in fourth grade.

Many of you have may have already raised families. You may be married, single, divorced or widowed and not be at the time of life I am. Some of you are just starting that stage of life. BUT surely if we as women all pooled our talent, wisdom and sisterhood we could come up with real solutions. I also would like to offer people advice for navigating the complicated world of healthcare now that I see is really going down the tubes fast! So I think we should have Jamberry parties in homes and discuss this stuff. I don’t care if you buy wraps or not. Some will and some won’t but every nugget of information we share will be worth far more than my weight in gold.

However, I also don’t want to cross any ethical boundaries as a physician. I just have always wanted to find a way to sit down with 4-10 women at once and talk and then this fell in my lap. But I’m also believe it or not shy and could never get myself to go to another knitting club for some reason. So I was trying to get input from some of my Launch Party on Facebook and a friend that's also a PhD in Ethics said she had ideas. You can't get better advice than that!!! 

My mom’s experience in the hospital this time was very eye opening for me and also at 89 years of age I’m realizing our time left together is short. Even though her expectations of me are unrealistic, I know they are based on her generation’s experiences and a different kind of America than where we live now. So I work to not take it personal. But for some reason I just really got fed up this week not with her at all but with “the system”. But I don’t want to be a complainer. I want to be a changer. And I think we have to take care of this ourselves. Politicians aren’t going to help. Our husbands unfortunately aren’t helping like we want them too. The healthcare system sorry isn’t going to help. Your insurance isn’t going to help and in fact will fight you every step of the way! So we have to take this into our own hands.

Rylie's hands with mine. 

I guess I'm longing for sisterhood and community.