ONE || ATC

My daughter and I are finally joining in the Homeschoolers ATC {artist trading card} group this month after being a member for over a year. I keep wanting to do this so bad and then things happen and we never get around to participating. But we are totally doing it this month and I'm really excited. She is doing four and I am doing four.

An ATC is a card you make from heavy cardstock like paper measuring 2.5 x 3.5 inches. And you create a fun piece of artwork on it and then trade it with others and you collect other people's cards in a binder and keep just for fun! Being an artist, I thought this would be really great to do something artistic this month since I haven't had much motivation lately with a few unforeseen circumstances life has hit us with lately. 

The group is given a theme each month. So for January, the themes that were chosen were "Blue" and "Winter" ...... While my daughter has finished hers, I am still playing catch up. I started my first one for the winter theme. It is coming along nicely. I am using colored pencil on bristol board for this one. I decided to do a "penguin" theme since they are my favorite animal and perfect for winter. Here is what I have done so far. I still have a ways to go on it but i do like the outcome that is happening. I had to share it on my Instagram because you know, I {heart} IG

TWO || JEWELRY IN CANDLES

Last week or the week before my dad shocked with me with the news that now that he has retired, he wants something fun to do on the side and asked if I wanted to join in with him. I was like SURE! That sounds great. So he decided we should become business partners and open up our own Jewelry In Candles shop which actually excites me because I've been wanting to do this for a while and he was able to start it for me.

So I guess you can say I am officially a sales rep for them which I find really fun since I love their products. I know so many people have bought these candles and so I am one of the guilty. I love them. So many really fun and cool scents. I am totally obsessed with candles. But these candles have one small {or big} surprise to them. They have a hidden piece of jewelry in them that can be worth anywhere from $10 to a few thousand dollars. 

It's so fun to reveal and find out what's inside. I love with them that you get to choose whether you want a necklace, a pair of earrings, or a ring for a man or a woman in the size you choose. Not only do they sell candles, but wax melt tarts and lotion as well. All with jewelry inside. 

Here are just two from my own personal reveals. I've also gotten a pair of earrings as well but failed to take a photo of them with the candle before it was gone.

THREE || CHANGES

Like I mentioned above, there have been some unforeseen circumstances that have happened within the last week here that has turned our lives around. And it's all I can think about and has been on my mind. We found out my husband's job is laying off a lot of people and he is one of them on the list to go. Which really sucks since he is the sole provider right now for our family,

I have been stressed out to the max about how are we going to afford to keep our place, how are we going to provide food for our children to eat, how are we going to live in the middle of winter with snow if something really bad happens? I have been applying to about twenty jobs a day everyday now... sadly, I've been turned down from a lot of them. Which I find funny since I am more than qualified for the positions asked. But you know, it's how the cookie crumbles. Sometimes, the odds aren't in our favor.

And that has really made me upset. But after I had a completely nervous breakdown on Monday. Yes, I was crying so hard, so upset, so stressed out that I was cooking dinner and totally fainted on the floor in front of the kids. I blacked out. I then started throwing up when I woke up from just the amount of stress. This is not good. Not at all. And on top of that, that same day my mom and dad and I had a huge fall out which resulted into more stress that I couldn't take. My husband was talking about leaving me as well... and all this just really hit me so super hard...I can't even begin to tell you how I felt. We all have been working it out and things are getting better.

So I really hope if anyone out there can just say a few kind words in their prayers for my family that my husband or I find a job to keep our family safe and warm, I would truly appreciate it. Because this sucks big time and I feel like a total mess. So I'm trying everything I can to make a little money here and there to help out as much as I possibly can. So no matter what happens, our family will be going through a lot of changes in the next couple of weeks.