Here is my list of 34 Things I want to do before I turn 35!
1. Knit 3 scarves. My grandma taught me to knit and while I still am working on getting it all together I will make at least 3 scarves this year. Might do more, but that is my goal. I have given up knitting for now. I tried it and while I enjoyed it some, it's not something I'm all that interested in. Doesn't mean I will never come back to it, but just not something for me right now.
2. Learn calligraphy. I also want to do more with my handwriting this year. I was always the girl experimenting with my handwriting. Always doodling and changing. I have a few sites marked online and have played around with it some, but never really took the time to learn. I see this being on my next list!
3. Learn more about book binding. I would love to do some different binding with mini books and stuff. Holy cow there is far more to it then I am interested in. I have decided to keep things simple. I might learn some of the basics, but I can find that info online.
4. Have 100 sales in my Etsy shop. I've got 2 so far! As of now I have 65, however some orders have had multiple items in them. I'm happy with how I did. I am working on some new marketing ideas and other ideas for getting my name out there a little more.
5. Have 75 followers on my blog. Working on some fun things for the blog this year. HAHA! I'm not worrying about this anymore. I have no idea how many read in google reader or other rss feeds or just randomly check it so I'm not worrying about this anymore.
6. Maintain 50 items in my Etsy shop. I have so many things I want to make and hopefully it will be hard to have 50 items in my shop all the time because hopefully things will be selling! I had 50 at one point. I am really going to focus on this in the new year, so it will be on the new list.
7. Do more sewing. I want to make doll clothes, clothes for Audrey and lots of stuff to put in the shop. I didn't do as much as I wanted, but I did more than I have in the past so it's an improvement. I really enjoy sewing so it will be something I do more of in the new year.
8. Read Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera
I have had it forever and need to read it. Nope and actually I think I changed this in the middle of the year anyway. 9. Create digital cards. Think the cards you get at Christmas. Great for birth announcements, birthday invitations, Graduation open houses, wedding save the dates and more. I did some for my brother and a few others. I really want to do more with this as I really have fun with it.
10. Declutter. I am tired of all the junk we have. I have started with my scrapbook stuff and actually look forward to creating because I don't get caught up in the stuff. I did good for a few months. I'm working slowly on my craft stuff and the kids stuff.
11. Be proud of me. I have always had a hard time when someone tells me I create beautiful things and I'm talented. Need to learn to accept it. I did okay. Really did better towards the end of the year, so that's amazing. I am learning more everyday about why I struggle with this so much.
12. Do more reading of creative/business books. I have a massive list of them to read. I have several to read and have started a couple.
13. Learn to design elements in Photoshop Elements. I really want to learn to make digital elements for digital cards and stuff. I did a few things, in the process I discovered I really am a simple girl in even this area.
14. Drink 3 bottles of water daily. Mostly to drink less pop each day. I am a huge pop drinker and need to cut back. Had some good days and some bad days, will be trying harder in the new year with my weight getting rid of(you will understand this more when I post my new list).
15. Do more with photo editing. One thing is I want to go back and do some things with my older pics and also there is so much more fun stuff I can do with pictures. I did good for a bit, I still have my sisters wedding pics to finish. I did good when I needed pictures. I want to get good about doing it as soon as I download my pics or within a day or 2.
16. Have 10 custom orders. I would love to have more, but I really want to make more custom items for people. Be it banners, cards or scrapbooks, bring it on. I lost count after 18. YAY!!!!
17. Really learn the ins and outs of PSE. There is so many things I could do that I just haven't taken the time to learn yet. I'm learning by trial and error and that makes me happy. I learned quite a bit this year!
18. Procrastinate less. I have been working hard on this. I am horrible at procrastinating and then doing everything at the last minute. I may not have done as good as I wanted, but I learned a few things about myself when it came to why I procrastinate so much, so I'm happy with that.
19. Learn more about letterpress. I love the look and would love to learn a faux way to do it. Of course I'd love to own the letterpress by Quickutz, but that won't be happening soon. I discovered a few faux tricks.
20. Menu Plan. I HATE going to the store constantly to get stuff for dinner. I also would love to see us eat a little better and know that will help us with that as well. Did great a few weeks, especially toward the end of the year. I HAVE to do better in the new year. Hoping my menu plan Monday post will force me to do better.
21. Read 2 classics. I have a list I want to read and while I'd love to read more, I'm being realistic and thinking 2 might be all I get to this year. Another that I decided just isn't something I'm as interested in as I thought I would be. I LOVE to read for pleasure and so I'm going to stick with what I enjoy. I might still read some of them, but I'm not going to put the pressure on myself.
22. Add photo editing to the business. This one may not happen until later in the year, but I want to figure out how to do this at some point. Didn't really advertise it, did do some editing a few times for people.
23. Clean up my external hard drive. It is a mess. So many things on there that are horrible pictures and on there multiple times. Makes me dread having to look for anything on it. I was doing so good and then hit a spot where I never went back to it. I WILL get it done in the new year.
24. Stay better caught up on pictures, editing and uploading. Upload to Shutterfly, Flickr and other spots. Also be better about backing up. Did great for about 4 months. So many places to try and upload too, so I'm going to really narrow that down. I have been good about backing up!
25. Do more with movie maker. I would love to create slideshows, etc. Other than my brothers slide show for graduation I haven't done anything. Still would love to do more.
26. Cross Stitch 3 projects. I have so many I want to do and also a few projects I need to finish. HAHA!
27. Read 1 fun book a month. I love to read, just have a hard time making time for it. Hopefully this will force me to read more. I have done great on this one. I need to check my good reads account to see how many I did read this year.
28. Scrapbook 4 layouts a month. I can't remember the last time I actually made a layout and want to get back to it. HAHA!
29. Bake more. I love to bake and although my kitchen is TINY!! I want to bake more. I don't think I baked anything more than the cakes for the kids birthdays. I wish I had a bigger kitchen.
30. Send more cards. I really want to do more with giving friends birthday cards and just send cards in general. Imagine how much happier we all would be if in the midst of bills and junk there was a card just to let you know someone is thinking about you. I really wish I could say I did good on this one.
31. Make Dart a Dakota book. He is still struggling a lot with losing his sister and I think a book of his own might help. Another reason to get my hard drive cleaned up. Haven't done it yet, but I'm thinking I'm going to do a digital book through Shutterfly for him.
32. Participate more at Flickr, Etsy groups and Etsyprenuer. HAH! I did a bit at the beginning of the year. Just too many social media spots.
33. Do "A Week in the Life" project. I have always wanted to do this inspired by Ali Edwards, just never taken the time. I may not do it when she does, but I will complete it. Never did this.
34. Do more to encourage Handmade Items!! I don't care if it's jewelry or cards or what, I just really want to do more to encourage buying handmade. One of the things on the list I'm really proud of!
I will be back in the next day or so to share my new list. I will be back today with some pictures from Christmas.
