Scouting Sunday: New Year, New You!!!

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Welcome to this New Year's edition of Scouting Sunday, where we scout out the best items, websites and more following a particular theme.  The theme for this week fits with the times - 

Scouting Sunday - New Year, New You!!!

We have scouted the internet to bring you the best items around to help you with your New Year's resolutions!  We started by looking at the top New Year's resolutions and then tried to find things that would help you keep to those resolutions.  We hope you enjoy this list!!!


  

New Year's Resolution- Drink More Water, with this Water Bottle

 

One of the top New Year's resolutions every year, year over year is to drink more water!  Why not try a new trick to get your water consumption in?  With this special water bottle, you'll be motivated every few hours, and reminded to drink that water!  With one handed operation and a leak proof top, what more do you need???



New Year, Save More Money with this ATM Savings Bank



Another top New Year's Resolution year over year is to save more money.  A lot of you probably have savings accounts and penny jars, but why not try something a little more fun to inspire you into saving money!  With this little mini ATM, you'll feel like you have your very own bank at your house!







Get in some Exercise, with this Exercise set



Another top New Year's resolution that everyone likes to make is to get fit.  Unfortunately, this is also one of the most commonly broken New Year's resolutions too!  This year, try an in home activity that doesn't require much commitment to get yourself eased into a new routine.  Something like this ball and resistance bands would be a great start - simple activities that you can do whenever you have time.  Set a small goal, like 10 minutes every day and once you get in the habit, start increasing it.  Also, bonus if you put it somewhere that you will spend a lot of time - out of sight also tends to be out of mind, so by putting it where you have to look at it will increase your motivation to complete your goal for the day.





Eat better with this portion control plate



Much of the problem with the way we eat today is our portion sizes.  Ever gone to a restaurant and been served so much food you could probably make three meals out of it, but then you eat it and feel miserable??  Here's a quick trick for that - ask the waiter to bring you a to-go container WITH your meal.  When it arrives, split up the meal and put half of it away for you to take home.  If you're at home, try this sleek portion control plate - the vegetables go in the largest spot and meat and starches go in the other two (refer to the calories/fats in each before deciding which goes where).  This not only helps you consume more of the good healthy greens, but keeps you from loading up on too much of those not so healthy options.




Learn a new hobby, calligraphy


Oddly enough, research shows that people who are bored are more likely to succumb to things like heart disease.  Don't let that be you and try a new hobby this year!  There are many local stores or community colleges that allow you to try things like painting, ceramics, woodworking and more.  If classes aren't your thing, you can easily find kits like this Calligraphy set on the internet to give it a go!  Of course, you can also just peruse this blog to find more crafts and fun stuff to try. :)






Meditate and center yourself with this headband...

The benefits of meditation are many, such as better sleep, less stress and more focus.  However, this can be hard for many of us in this digital age.  We are constantly distracted by stimulus.  However, there is this headband that helps guide your through your meditation practice and keep you focused.  Time to use that technology to help make you healthier!!!





Sanitize your phone more often!

Start sanitizing your phone, at least weekly.  Consider this - your phone generally goes everywhere with you, including the bathroom!!!  It only makes sense to clean it, but how often do you, really?  Find some electronic safe disinfectant wipes, bleach free, and consider yourself just a little bit healthier. 
 

To help lower your stress, Grow some houseplants

Research has shown that people who have live plants inside of their home have lower stress levels.  They are natural humidifiers, boost creativity, aid in concentration, help reduce allergies and clean the air!  Bring a little nature in to your home today!









Try a new dish each week, with this cookbook:




Everyone gets stuck in the rut of eating the same things over and over again - so this year, try a new tactic!  Pick one new meal to try each week, and try to eat some more new, diverse foods!




New Year, New You, With This Planner System:

Be a better you by planning out your life, your way!!!  With this printable planner, you're able to make mistakes, tear it out, add a new page, mix and match and only choose the pages that work for you!  Your purchase comes with A4 and A5 size files so you can also put them in whatever containment format you choose!  I use mine as a discbound planner, so it makes swapping pages in and out super easy!!!

Aztec Dreams Core Pack

Aztec Dreams Planner

Orange Dots Core Pack

Orange Dots Planner

Teal Chevron Core Pack

Tidal Wave Core Pack
Cool Vines Core Pack

Seasonal Booster Pack


Here is wishing everyone a wonderful and Happy New Year!!!!
~L

We bought a HOUSE!!!

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Hey all!
For those of you who don't know, we bought a house!!!  This is probably the most exciting, terrifying, and adultiest thing I've ever done in my entire life!  Needless to say, I haven't had a lot of time between packing and painting and cleaning, but now we're in, my computer is up and the office is about halfway set up so I can at least get to writing about things.

First, HOUSE!!
I can't tell you all how long I've been looking forward to getting a house.  It is so exciting to finally be in four walls of our own.  Of course, now that we've had the house for a while, I'm finding all sorts of things that I want to do while we're here.  I'll talk about those as I start to address them, and I'll cover each room and our decorating adventures as we get things all up to speed.  Here are a few pictures from right after we moved in:






Second, New PATTERN alert!!  I just dropped a new series of graph patterns that I've been working really hard on!  These were not easy, but I love the way that they turned out!


State Graph Patterns Bundle




State Graph Patterns by Individual State




Third,  I am super excited to share with you a whole new line of products that I have introduced to my shop!  I had originally intended on opening a whole new shop with these items, but even keeping up with one blog, one shop and one facebook page is overwhelming to me.   Soooo, all my new items are going up in my existing shop, and I can't wait to share them with you!!!

Introducing, the My Perfect Planner "Bliss" Series!!!!

After many years of fighting with store bought planners trying to find an option that worked well for me, I decided to create my own. After using it and tweaking it, adding and removing pages, changing designs and scrapping some entirely, I have created a planner that will certainly help you keep organized, no matter who you are!! The files include options for you to customize this planner to fit your needs! If you prefer to have loads of room to write on your monthly calendar, use the two page spread. If that's not your style and you prefer to keep it small and neat, use the one page month file! Mix and match your files to find the best fit for your busy lifestyle!

Aztec Dreams Core Pack

Aztec Dreams Planner

Orange Dots Core Pack

Orange Dots Planner

Teal Chevron Core Pack

Tidal Wave Core Pack
Cool Vines Core Pack

Seasonal Booster Pack


Lastly, I want to thank all of you who keep coming back even after years of my inactivity!    I am trying to work on balancing a full time job, 2 children and a house to manage all on top of trying to do what I love, which is to make wonderful things.   As I always do, when I tried to get back into the swing of things I'm going to try and promise to bring you new material, new craft projects, patterns, and probably some things I haven't thought up yet.

I would love to hear from anyone who reads this:
What would you like to see me create next??

Nerdy Jewelry
More printables (what kinds?)
More planners (what kinds?)
Party Planners (what kinds?)
Dice (yes!  Dice is on my list of stuff to make!)
Tutorial videos- resin, molding, paints and more

Later!
L

Busy week with Star Wars, Dalmations, Christmas printables and a big announcement!!!

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So I have been a busy girl the past two weeks, trying to put the finishing touches on some new listings, working on custom orders and trying to fix up the blog.  So today, I bring you a whole lot of fun information all wrapped up in one post!

First and foremost, because I'm so happy with this, I want to talk about the new listings that are live in my Etsy shop!  You can visit me here:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/LiluStudios

I have added several new graph patterns, which can be used for a multitude of crafts!  I personally use them for crochet, however you can also knit or cross stitch these charts, use unique stitches like c2c and probably many other things I haven't thought of yet.





Dalmations graph chart set:
Inspired by a custom request, I now have a listing for FIVE(!) dalmation themed charts that I think you'll love!  They are sized at 84x84 stitches, which is ideal for c2c as well as smaller projects in sc, knit or cross-stitch!









Dream big, Sparkle more, Shine bright
This graph is perfect for a snuggly blanket!  I think it would look great in any kids room on into adulthood!











In a galaxy far, far, away...
This is a particularly special project for me.  I designed this blanket and made it for my nephew.  It consists of 17 graphs that make up this stunning blanket.  You can choose the colors and customize the border for a look unique to you!




In addition, I have another 9 patterns I'm working on getting listed and another 12 or so that are in progress and will be coming in the next month or so!  I'll share more when they've gone live!

Introducing the Crafter Promotion on my shop!

If you purchase a pattern that is marked as "Crafter Promotion Eligible," create it (in any format) and then take a good quality photograph and send it in, you'll be rewarded with 50% off your next standard graph pattern* purchase!  Some of our patterns haven't been created yet (I'm just one crafter!  Most are items I have designed in order to make someday, but I have limited time to crochet, so I share with all of you!) and I would love to see them in all their glory.  Also, sometimes it's good to get feedback about how something worked up.  So we're asking for your help to complete our catalog, and offering awesome rewards in the process.  You also won't be limited to just one coupon either!  If you purchase, complete and submit a photo for one listing, purchase another at 50% off, complete and submit for that listing, you'll get another coupon for 50% off!  You can keep going as long as you want, just as long as the listing you submit for is still crafter promotion eligible!


*Coupon valid only for single graph patterns valued at 4.99 or less.  Only applies to patterns marked as eligible at time of submission.  By submitting a photograph you are agreeing that we can post that photo on the blog or listing.  Submissions will only be considered if they are taken with good lighting, decent resolution and no watermarking or logos, though artist will be credited alongside our logo.


BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

I have decided that due to the directions that my shop have been going that it was worth my time to split off the two obvious themes that have been sticking out at me.  I have one huge portion of my long term shop, Crafted by Life Designs, that is devoted to crochet and graph patterns.  Then, I have a few items that just didn't seem to fit... my printables.  They serve a totally different function and as I start to add more designs in the shop, they just don't seem to fit anymore.  With that, I bring you....

My Nerdy Mom Designs!!!

This will be the new home for all of my printable designs, from greeting cards, party planners, gift tags, decor, website designs, to custom graphic design requests!  I am currently working on the finishing touches for My Nerdy Mom Designs' flagship product - once that is done, I will be taking the whole shop live for your enjoyment!  Stay tuned for more details!






New Listings in the Shop!

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Happy Tuesday everyone!
I'm popping in today to tell you all about five new patterns that have been added to my shop!

I've added the following graph patterns:

Game of Thrones Inspired pattern for crochet, knit and cross stitch:



"After all this time...  Always" graph pattern for crochet, knit or cross stitch:


"Remember to Turn on the Light" graph pattern for crochet, knit or cross stitch:



A two pack of Om and Namaste graph patterns for crochet, knit or cross stitch:



and last but not least, "Home Sweet Home" graph pattern for crochet, knit or cross stitch:


Go check them out!!!  I've got more coming in September, including card packs, gift tags and wall art printables!!



A blink.... and where did the time go?

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Hey everyone!

So is anyone out there like me, and sets goals and makes plans and blinks... and all the time is gone?
I have been feeling like lately there is not enough time or energy in the day to get it all done.  Between my kids and family, work, my business, my blog, dance class, gymnastics, band and cleaning, I just don't have time like I used to.  Working on projects for the blog and my shop seem to take forever.  I used to be able to have new designs ready to post within a week of conception, complete crochet projects in a day and still get to make dinner for the kids.  Now, I'm just happy if I can cook something that doesn't come out of a box! 

I've been trying different things - bullet journals, the Getting Things Done principle, pomodoro timers, planners and more... but I just can't seem to get a handle on everything the way I did when I didn't have a desk job that lasted 40+ hours a week.  I just started a new bullet journal/planner/getting things done combo in a disk bound format (and yes, I mushed together all my previous attempts), which I have high hopes for.  I even put in project pages so  I could track the work that I still needed to do in order to get some work done for my business and in my personal life!

I started working on a couple of new series for the shop about 6 months ago.  Some of them are getting close to completion, and I am hoping that I will be able to post FIVE new listings by the end of this month!  This months new listings will be some graph patterns that I have lovingly created for your crafting desires.  They work for knitting, crocheting or cross stitching and are of varying difficulties.  Next month will bring you some super fun printables for the holidays, including cards, gift tags and art.  Who knows... I might even have a few new graph patterns for the holidays!

I will post again when the next listings go live in the shop!  Until then, leave me a note and let me know what you do to help manage your time and busy schedules!!!