No, I'm not making any new year's resolutions.

... At least that's what I told myself before New Year's Eve (again!). And then the new year started and all of a sudden, I found myself thinking about 2015 and all the things I really, really, really want to improve on (think household), get up and running (think business) or do for myself (think exercise). So wow, the only resolution I made for 2015 - not to make any unrealistic resolutions this time around - vanished into thin air the second 2015 started. Okay, that was a little overly dramatic. Probably it was the next day.


So here's a list of some resolutions I explicitly did not want to make this time, in random order:

• Change some of my daily routines so it'll be easier to keep the house clean without fortnightly cleaning marathons or such. I've actually already started on this, and wow, does that feel good! 
• Make beds first thing in the morning, so I can fall into nice and crisp sheets when I finally go to bed? Check!
• Clean up kitchen stuff right after using it? Check. 
• Free, clean sewing or crafting space on our dining table right after dinner? Check. 
• Make a weekly meal plan and buy and prepare in advance? Ummm, so far so good. Still needs some tweaking, but not too bad for starters. I should really keep in mind that making 5 liters of soup will serve the whole family for more than a day...
• Finally put some more time and effort into my freelance teaching business. This is the one that feels best right now. I'm really longing to get back to teaching. I taught a few workshops last year, and it was so much fun!
• The next one is business-related, but still - shhh - secret ;-)
• Post more to this blog. That's not a bad idea, right?

And to get me started on the last one, here's my first crafty blog post of 2015. Last year I was a little frustrated because of all the "UFOs" I had been keeping forever. Now looking at the list I made last May, I'm proud to say that I did finish quite a few of the projects I had started back then. I will be showing some of them here over the next weeks, at least that's my plan for now ;-)

But beside my wish to share more of my crafts here, I wish I'd finish things more quickly. I'm a perfectionist, always planning and re-planning and thinking through all possible options before even getting started on something. So, to overcome this, I started making some impromptu projects last year. No pattern, no instructions, just me and my sewing supplies. And this is what "happened":

I made a whole set of cute little rag dolls! At my boys' kindergarten, the parents' council (which I'm part of this year) sold all kinds of handcrafted items at the annual advent celebration afternoon - from cookies to Christmas ornaments and from monster bookmarks to fox heating pads. I contributed seven dolls, and am very proud to say that five of them sold (at 7€ each).

It was the first time ever that I've made such a "large" number of items in one batch. I had started out with 11 different dolls, and in the end, finished seven on time. The hair turned out to be the most time-consuming part. But I'll be writing more about the process soon. I took lots of pictures and - who knows - I might even turn them into a tutorial? I promise, these are not very hard to make and a great way to use up scraps.

Anyone wondering where the four dolls went that I didn't finish before the event at the kindergarten? You'll probably guess right - the UFO pile! What a start into a new year... Good that I didn't make any new year's resolutions, right? ;-D



PS: The next Kid's Clothes Week is on in February! Have you seen how beautifully that new button fits in with the color scheme of my blog? Now this time, I'll really finish the projects I'm planning... Erm, what was I talking about before?