Etsy Shop Launch

Normally I do not post on Sundays (sticking with that sabbath rule even in the blogging world), but this announcement is an exception. Guess I can check one thing off the New Years Resolution List.

I am proud to say that the Pinch of Lyss Etsy shop is open!

In my shop I am specializing in hand poured scented soy wax candles, hand knitted products, as well as hand thrown stoneware and porcelain pottery. I decided to open by selling some of my teacup candles and will be working to add products within the next few months. 

I am not one to boast, but I am truly so proud of myself. Proud that I did not allow my perfectionist/type A personality get in the way of starting this shop. I am proud to be starting off small and slowly growing. 

It is ok to be proud.

Get excited for more products to come your way!

Alyssa

Weekly Wishes #1: The New Year

The reality that 2013 is coming to a close astounds me. I am actually in denial that this year is over. Through the good and the bad, I can honestly say I have grown abundantly this year in more ways than I could have ever expected. I found rekindled loves of so many things (Ceramics, Communications, knitting and design just to name a few). My friends shifted and changed, and hey I got the most incredible boyfriend in the process. I went to Nepal and came back completely changed. I felt so busy this semester that I broke down crying and turned to God once again for support. 2013 has been a semester of ups and down. Yet through it all, I am so confident God was at the center of it all.

Now to focus on 2014. Let the fun begin!

Weekly Yearly Wishes 2014:

1. Enjoy the simple things
I am feeling this is turning into my motto for the year. Stay tuned into how that turns out.

2. Exercise more
Yeah yeah yeah I know that this is on everyone in the nation's New Years resolution's list. Here is the thing, I worked out pretty consistently for a while and then just let life get in the way. I just love the way it makes me feel. I feel energized, powerful, confident and just strong. I want to go into 2014 not exercising to lose weight or alter my body, but to feel strong.

3. Blog regularly
I am so excited I have caught the blogging bug once again! I want to create a regular schedule. Put my DSLR to work.

4. Open an Etsy shop
I have wanted to open an Etsy shop for the longest time. My Mom and I are both crafty and I would be so content creating products and working on that. Here is the thing: I am a perfectionist in the sense I feel like I have to have everything in perfect order to launch the shop. I need the confidence to just launch it and see where it goes!

5. Work on my anxiety
For those of you who do not know, I have some pretty bad anxiety. I am type A through and through. Often I will feel anxious in stressful situations (hello college), when driving in the dark, if a plan suddenly changes or when I begin to think about the future. Now do not be alarmed. This anxiety I promise is not as awful as I make it sound. I am often easygoing when plans change, but every once in a while something will trigger anxiety Alyssa. My goal is for the anxiety to be lessened. To not overwhelm myself and learn to take a couple deep breaths and persevere.

6. Kill School
Academics are not always my strong suit. Most days, I would rather blog or be doing something for my major then worrying about studying for a Chemistry test the next day. However, I want to strive for greatness in every single one of my classes. Honor God with hard work.

6. Take trips (and document them all!)
Now that I have a DSLR, I have no excuse but to document all of my adventures. I plan on having plenty of them.

Well there you have it folks. New Years Resolutions all documented for the world to see. Let us just see if I can carry them out into 2015.

Have a blessed New Year.

Alyssa

Declutter for 2014

Image via, Editing done by me

I was reading The Nectar Collective's post on 8 Natural Ways to Boost Your Happiness and found myself so drawn to #5: De-clutter. The new year is coming. Yet I look around and often feel so burdened by stuff.

I had this same feeling when I came back from my missions trip in Nepal. De-cluttering was how I dealt with the reverse culture shock of being back in the US. I came back to a house full of beautiful expensive things, yet I just left a village where the Pastor's family gave up their own food, beds and were willing to buy a goat for us. Those small gestures seem like nothing, but to them it meant everything. 

I came back from my trip as well as my conference and felt so burdened. So heartbroken for the Nepali people and their country. The hopelessness that so many people deal with. The lack of Christ in so many of those people. So to cope with my new found heart break, I cleaned.

I went through possibly every valuable I owned, packed up 5 huge boxes for Goodwill and felt a huge burden lifted. 

I felt rejuvenated. Renewed. A sense of peace overcame me. 

De-cluttering is good. 

It creates a sense of peace. It eases the mind. It makes you feel productive. It is like a cleanse of your belongings. It helps you live simply. 

With the new year quickly approaching, I encourage you to look around. Get rid of a few things. Clean through those computer files. Organize your bookshelf. Just purge yourself of all the extra stuff, hence purging your mind.

My Tips:

1. Start off small.
Even a 15 minute cleaning project is better than no project

2. Ladies, work on that closet.
That is where I find the majority of my extra stuff accumulating. No one needs 5 pairs of black flats or 4 white T-Shirts. Work on finding your key staple pieces and going from there. Realize you have very few key staples? Get rid of 5 useless items and I believe you have just given yourself the excuse to invest in one of those staple items.

3. Go through one cabinet in your Kitchen.
Trust me, there are some gadgets that could use a better home there. For me it is mugs. I have piles of mugs that could use a better home on a goodwill shelf.

4. Go in with an open heart.
Be willing to realistically look at the things you own and say "do I use this? Will I use this?" Sometimes de-cluttering is hard. We are all burdened with materialism. It is ok to find it hard to let go of your stuff. Just remind yourself your identity is not in that pile of National Geographic's you cannot bring yourself to scrap.

5. You cannot give up everything.
There are some things you just cannot give up quite yet. For me its my endless amount of scrap booking supplies. Just organize it and accept that you will hold on to it for while.

6. Make Goals
You cannot go into any task without goals. Strive to pack up at least 1 box for Goodwill this weekend. Get rid of the first 10 things you see that you do not need. Be realistic with your goals, but do create them.

Use this time as a chance to start out fresh. Allow yourself to feel renewed. Take the time to purge.

Strive to live simply in 2014.

"Live simply so others may simply live" - Gandhi

Alyssa