Tag Archives: Etsy

Santa Christmas Countdown

Posted on by
14

There’s thirty-six days left until Christmas! We’re getting so close to advent season and counting down to Christmas everyday.

Although we have our normal candy one, this year I thought Mila and I should make another.

Say hello to the Santa Christmas Countdown.

With a square wood piece and a little paint, this Santa Christmas Countdown came to life.

The transformation of this piece is adorable. It started with just paint, then numbers, and each day it’ll be filled with cotton balls.

After filling it up, it becomes Christmas decor for years to come!

I love how easy it is and that Mila loves the idea of filling his beard in. Although I’ll just have her use regular glue for the beard, I’ll go back in and add hot glue so it stays on there.

Didn’t it turn out amazing? I love each step of it, but the cotton balls are my favorite. The added texture just makes it so much warmer and jolly. Just like Saint Nick!

You could DIY this Santa Christmas Countdown OR you could just have me make it for you.

I have a Santa Christmas Countdown listing ready to go on my Etsy shop or you could message me too. Either way, I love this piece so much that I wanted to share it all with you!

Let me know in the comments… Do you have an advent calendar every year? If so, what how do you countdown to Christmas?

Advertisement

Forget-Me-Not

Posted on by
Reply

Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 3.18.50 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 3.18.24 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 3.17.56 PM.png

One of my favorite necklaces I’ve ever purchased. Inside is a pressed forget-me-not flower with Jensen’s handwritten name. It’s the perfect length and I love the antiqued brass finish. The snap is a strong magnet and after a day of moving and jumping around, it stayed perfectly. Thank you Jessica and Melissa!

My new, beautiful necklace on this (almost) Wordless Wednesday.

Created and purchased from BurdenBearingBaskets.

Just Listen & Six Other Ways to Help a Friend After Loss.

Posted on by
1

As I head into the fourth month of love and loss, I’ve learned a lot about how other’s see and understand grief. In this time, I can honestly say, our society doesn’t prepare us to help others after any type loss. Before Jensen was born, I had no idea how to help someone going through any type of loss. Sometimes, even now, I still don’t know what do say or how to help someone.

Grief is messy, unpredictable, and causes colossal pain. No two people experience grief the same exact way, which makes it even harder for friends and family. I recently read an article that said grief, especially after losing a child, lasts a lifetime. Yes, there’s good days and people learn how to live and manage the sadness, but it is always there. A child is gone. It isn’t something you can just get over, ever.

This list consists of things I would have or liked having in the past fifteen weeks. I’m sure the further I journey through the grief the less I’ll need some of these, but I know loss happens everyday. I hope this list can potentially help other mommas navigating this journey.

Continue reading →

Grief Work in a Nutshell.

Posted on by
Reply

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Screen Shot 2016-07-20 at 1.58.15 PM.png

What I need on my rough days: hot tea, Jensen’s name, writing, and support books.

*Personalized stamped spoon from jessicandesigns.

Fifteen Weeks & The Painted Name Project.

Posted on by
1

It feels unreal that another week has came and passed. It’s the fifteenth week since Jensen has been born. One-hundred and five days have passed. On day one-hundred, I felt the biggest pain, triple digits was hard to wrap my mind around. How could it seem like it was yesterday when he was dancing and moving all around? Seriously, I don’t understand how all of this can be possible. But each day I wake up and rediscover my reality.

I feel like I could go on and on and on about all I wanted to do with Jensen or how I feel like my whole entire future was stolen away from me. Today I’m choosing to have a positive day, even though I want to hide in bed. I know he continues to guide me each day and protect me. He dances in the clouds each and every Tuesday, while he celebrates getting bigger in heaven. In my heaven, he grows until I get up there with him. Then we both go back to being twenty-two and him just born. When I reunite with him there, I want him to be screaming as loud as he can be. My heaven does not include silence.

In this world, I don’t want to keep silent either. I will always say Jensen’s name and keep talking about baby and child loss. It’s really unheard of until it happens to you or someone you know. Believe me, there’s a whole community of parents, grandparents, and other families that are effected by losing a child. Stillbirth results in 1 in 160 pregnancies and baby loss ranging from miscarriage to SIDS happens to 1 in 4. I hope to be able to help every single family out there in just a small way and maybe one day I will.

Today, in honor of Jensen’s fifteenth week in heaven, I want to share a beautiful project that my little Jensen helped to inspire.

Screen Shot 2016-07-18 at 10.11.55 PM.png

Continue reading →

A Beautiful Meeting.

Posted on by
Reply

Grief is a lifelong journey and each days brings the good and the bad. Today was hard, but full of good. On the eve of Jensen being gone for six weeks, I felt an immense amount of sadness. It’s also a day I’ve been looking forward to for a little over a week. Today I met two beautiful souls.

The week before last, I happened to come across another WordPress blog which brought me to an Etsy shop: BurdenBearingBaskets. I feel in love with the beautiful writing and this wonderful idea to show others that you’re thinking about them while their grieving. I looked at their items and had to show everyone around me. The idea of sending a person that’s grieving a basket to let them know you’re thinking about them just seemed so perfect. Then I saw the owners of the shop were in North Canton. Being me, I had to reach out. Something was telling me I had to tell these owners Jensen and I’s story. This is how I met Jessica and Melissa.

Thankfully, they didn’t think I was too crazy and responded to my message. They heard Jensen and I’s story and offered to meet in person since we were so close. Of course I was thrilled. I was looking forward to exchanging stories about ourselves and our babies, and to tell them again how amazing I think their Etsy shop is. Today is the day we decided on meeting. I’m so thankful for this day.

Our meeting was filled with stories, tears, laughs, and genuinely a good time. We were able to share so many things and didn’t have to explain what it all meant, we just knew. Their stories touched my heart and it takes people with the biggest hearts to help others. They truly are beautiful souls. I’ll always cherish our conversation. I know we met in the worst circumstances, but I’m blessed we did. It’s times like this where I really believe God sends people to us. He sees our journey through grief and shows us support is always near.

They also surprised me with some gifts from their shop. I’d like to share with all of you because they’re so beautiful. Just seeing Jensen’s name wrote out so perfectly makes me smile. He’ll never be forgotten and I’ll always be so thankful for meeting Jessica and Melissa and the wonderful gifts.

Screen Shot 2016-05-16 at 10.49.33 PM.png

All together.

Screen Shot 2016-05-16 at 10.49.58 PM.png

The most beautiful handkerchief in the whole entire world.

Screen Shot 2016-05-16 at 10.50.36 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-05-16 at 10.50.26 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-05-16 at 10.50.15 PM.png

Screen Shot 2016-05-16 at 10.49.10 PM.png

I’m seriously so in love with every single item. I have them all out in front of me still and tears just keep falling. I see Jensen’s name wrote and know he’s just smiling down. I feel this sense of peace after meeting and talking to Jessica and Melissa. God gets us through these horrible tragedies and sends us beautiful people and signs from above. His love for us is the reason I’m able to have this deep love for Jensen. My little love was such a beautiful gift, he just had to go back a little sooner than I’d ever have anticipated.

Please, please, please go check out Jessica and Melissa’s Etsy shop BurdenBearingBaskets. The items are made with so much love and care, it shines through when you look at them.

I’d also, again, would like to thank Jessica and Melissa so much for everything. You two have touched my heart and made it lighter. I know this journey of grief is hard, but you girls have brought me so much strength, joy, and light today and every time I see these perfect presents.