Give It All You've Got!

Hi friends and family,

Hope all is well. Sorry I have been MIA for some time now. I have been so busy. I am so excited to finally say why I have been so busy.

An amazing, old, great friend (since 3rd grade) read my blog a little over a month ago, when I started doing this. She immediately called me after she read it and we got to talking. She read on my blog that I was crafty and she asked me if she could be my first customer, for her wedding day. That meant so much to me that she put so much trust in me to do something for such a big day. That conversation with her that day changed my life. She originally gave me one thing to make for her and then it turned into three. As we talked about the crafts I was going to be making for her, I got so excited. It was an indescribable feeling. I knew this is what I am supposed to be doing right now for a second job, to help with our Dave Ramsey plan.But i have to admit, as cheesy as this sounds, that at the end of all the projects for her, the thing that made me the happiest was how happy my beautiful bride was with the final products. Knowing how much she loved and appreciated everything I did for her was an incredible, unforgettable feeling. She gave me the push I needed to start doing what I have always wanted to be doing. And for that I can never thank her enough! (Thank you my Melis!)

And so I begin my quest at starting my own side business and I am so so so so excited for this!! I am looking into getting my company name bought, but until then, I will use my tag line for my company, "My Crafts, Your Way." Basically, what I am offering are crafts for any occasion: birthdays, weddings, showers, holidays, etc. and you tell me what you want and I create it, your way. Everything that I will do for you will be completely customizable to fit exactly what you are looking for. Colors, embellishments, materials, everything is up to you. I would like to share some pieces that I have done so far with you. Let me know your thoughts! :)

The Card Box

This is a card box. This is the simple more basic version. This could be the base for any event. With the correct embellishments it could be used for things like a graduation party or a sweet 16 for example. In this case it was used for a wedding. It can be in any color and as many tiers as you would like. This could also be used as a decoration rather than a card box. Simple or decorated, there are many options for this.

For this card box in particular, I added rhinestones to each pin tuck on the second tier.

I can add flowers to the top to add just a little more.

I can do the flowers on the top with just an additional accent on the side.

Or I can continue the flowers all the way down the side and cross over the front. In this case we went with the ombre effect, but there are many options for this.

These are pictures of the card box on display at the wedding.

The Centerpiece

This is an option for centerpieces. This could be a centerpiece for any occasion with the correct embellishments. In this case, it was for a country, rustic themed wedding. This could be done on any jar/vase/container that you would like.

These are pictures of the centerpieces from the front view on display at the wedding.

The Favor

This is an example of a wedding favor. In this case it was a CD with all the couples country songs for each other. A note was added in the window of each CD and an insert of all the songs was included as well.

This is a close up of the wording of the note in the window as well as the insert of the CD.

The Invitation

This is an example of a more formal invitation, in this case it is a wedding invitation. Of course, I can make it less formal for a birthday or shower for example.

This is an example of what the invitation could look like on the inside.

Labels

These are labels that were created for a milk and cookie bar at a wedding. Tags like this could be used for any occasion though. Like a candy bar at a birthday. The labels could be in any color and the ribbon could be in the color of your choice as well. You could also have just the tag without ribbon or have standing tags to use at any dessert, salad, brunch, mimosa, any other type of fun bar.

This is a close up of the cookie labels.

Table Name Cards

These are examples of very simple, basic guest seating name cards. There could be any embellishment you would like. In this case, these were for a wedding and the two different color flowers in the corners showed the two different entree options of the guests.

The Program

 This is an example of a wedding program. This of course could be customized to any way you would like. As a traditional program, as a fan program, whatever you would like. 

Rose Petal Cones

This is the final product of the rose petal cones. These were used for a wedding. The florist filled the cones with rose petals and they were hung on the guests chairs and the petals inside were to be tossed once the couple was announced. These cones can also be used as favors for a party. The note could be substituted for a picture or number for the birthday and filled with all sorts of different things, based on the theme or event.

This is an example of the cone without the ribbon to hang. In this case, you could put the cones in a basket/box and have them for the guests to grab as they go to take a seat.

An example with the note and ribbon.

 You could also have these as the hanging option without the note.

Hanging cone with note.

These are pictures of the cones on display at the wedding.

Seating Tags

This is an example of a tag that was made for a wedding. This tag told the guests which table they were sitting at. This of course is a simple, more basic version and could be embellished any way you would like and in any color.

The seating tags on display at the wedding.

Table Name/Number Cards

This is an example of a table name/number card. In this case, this was the table name. It was a country themed wedding and the bride and groom selected country singers last names and put Ranch after it. They additionally put their favorite song by that artist below the name. This of course could be changed to any theme or any idea you may have. These cards do not have to be framed, they could go on easels for example or just be standing cards on the tables.

Wishing Tree Tags

This is a simple tag. This could be used for multiple things and in any color or embellishments of your choice. In this case, these were used for wishing tree tags. You could leave the tag blank.

 Or you could add the bride and grooms names.

 This is the front of the final product. A light pink ribbon was tied to the tags to hang from the wishing tree. Each tag was also embellished with rhinestones in the corners.

 This is the final product of the back of the tags.



A direction note was also created to direct guests of what to do with the tags. 

 This is a close up of the wishing tree tag directions.

This is the final product on display at the wedding.

These are the tags hanging from their wishing tree.

So, what do you think? Thank you so much for taking the time to look over the things I have done so far. I know it is not a huge selection, so if you have something that you really want made and you do not see it on here, just leave a comment on the blog with your email and I will contact you and we can work together to make your dreams come true.

No matter what the event may be, the things you are looking for, together we can make it happen!

Today I found an amazing quote:

You only get three choices in life: give up, give in, or give it all you've got.

I am so ready to give this business and you all everything I've got!

 

Stay tuned...

 

Our first official month of the Dave Ramsey plan is coming to an end. We are so looking forward to putting all our money towards our debt and being able to get an even better estimate of when we will be debt free!

 

Take Care all!

 

XOXO

Renee 

Your True Friends Will Stick Around

Hi!

I have really missed writing this past week and miss you all! But it is crazy how busy life gets huh? 

Friday, Grant was given his official raise and with the raise was a small promotion. I am so proud of my hubby! It was much deserved and it will definitely help us on our debt free adventure! So, of course, we wanted to celebrate.

Grant had received a rebate from a purchase awhile back that we completely forgot was coming. It came to him in a visa card. What we should have done is used that to pay for groceries or a target trip or something like that, but together, we decided to celebrate his success. So, we took that visa card and made a trip to our local Total Wine and More. Such an amazing place. I love wine and margaritas and my husband loves beer! He is in fact quite a beer snob! He loves those $10 or more bottles of beer. So we are browsing through the store trying to figure out what to get. We realize that even though we have this gift card we still are on a budget, as we cannot put any of the money we have into this trip. He stops in the bulk beer section. He debates for awhile. Then decides that he can get more beer if he buys less expensive beer. He chooses a big pack of Budweiser. Keep in mind that this beer would fall pretty low on the list of his favorites. So he got a 36 pack of this and then had a coupon for $2 off any 6 pack of $6.99 or less. So he also got 2 six packs of “somewhat decent” beer according to him. We had already put in my margarita stuff and now we had a budget for the wine. Luckily at Total Wine and More there are a lot of good cabernets(my favorite) for pretty inexpensive. So, we walked away with a lot, and still shopped thrifty and didn’t splurge too much, in fact we had $5 left to use towards our groceries that night. Obviously this wasn’t exactly what we should have done. But I am so glad we celebrated his success the way we did. Plus now we are stalked up!

After that experience, it was off to the grocery store. We had to shop for Friday to Friday. We did what has now become habit. We weighed, we compared brands, we worked hard to keep under our $100 budget. By the time we had made the rounds and were at our last stop, we kept remembering things we forgot. That is where it got tricky. We were really pushing $100 by now. We did what we did last time and had a few items at the back of the belt in case we went over. And luckily, we were just a little under $100. Sprouts, our local farmers market store, confuses me with their taxing. I always account for tax on the store run, but sometimes there will only be a couple dollars of total tax. I don’t see item by item tax as it scans. Does anyone know what their policy is? Is almost everything pre-taxed?

Late that night we had some old friends in from out of town. We were so excited to have them stay with us. To be honest though, I was nervous because we didnt have any spending money for anything to do with them. But we told them all about the plan we were on and it was so nice to share the details of what we are doing with other people! We loved it! And luckily, they are awesome people and did not care about going out and doing anything expensive.

The next day, from staying under budget with our groceries, Grant was able to go and get lunch with them, on a budget of course. But later, we ended up having an amazing night. When Grant and I went shopping the day before, we planned for a BBQ Saturday night. We were able to get enough meat, buns and toppings, plus corn and potatoes for our BBQ plus all our other groceries for the week, staying under budget. We had a group of great friends come over (7 people total). We all had drinks from our rebate visa trip at Total Wine and everyone brought their own drinks and it was a blast! It was nice to know that we can still have great times like that weekend, without having to break the bank. :)

 

So, yesterday, I was thinking about everything and I realized, I haven't swiped my debit card since the 1st of August. With the envelope system every dollar is accounted for, so I never need it. It is so crazy how different a lifestyle this is already. In my college years, I used a similar, but less accounted for system. I would cash my paychecks and whatever money was in that envelope is what i had to spend until i got paid again. A good friend used to call it my Granny wallet. :) Now of course there are multiple envelops going to multiple things and literally every dollar is accounted for. But it really works!!

A good friend told me after I talked to her about what we were doing and going through and it gave me a sense of relief and happiness. She said, "Your true friends will stick around". I guess that has been a weight on my mind since it started. I didnt even say much about losing friends and she just knew it was on my mind and it made me happy and she is right. Because of this plan, we can't go on trips or go to happy hours, or even go out to dinner with friends. Like I said every dollar is accounted for and extra things like that are not in our budget. But this weekend made me realize our true friends will be the ones that are okay with not doing anything fancy, just hanging out and having good times and conversations. Ones that will appreciate the homemade gifts from me instead of expensive purchases. Ones that I can call when I am struggling through the rough times of this process. And the more I think about it, the more I want that. I am at a different stage in my life than I have ever been, or ever imagined. This chapter of our life is not temporary. The way we think and act with money will forever be changed. The Dave Ramsey habits will live on in the years to come and be passed down to our children. As Dave says, "You will change your family tree". And now more than ever, I really do believe that our true friends will walk beside us through this lifestyle change.

So far on our journey, I feel love and support from our friends and family. I have gotten amazing text messages and phone calls with such great words of encouragement and ideas. And we appreciate every single one of you that have done that for us. Thank you for being there for us with open arms. It is the family and friends like that, that make me realize we can do this. 

This coming weekend, we are going to go over all our finances and see how much money we have so far for August to put toward our debt! I can't wait until the end of the month rolls along so I can evaluate our first month's success. I actually am excited!!!

 

Thanks for stopping by!! Have a great rest of the week! Ill write soon! :)

XOXO

 

Double Check Your Work

Hi!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

So, our adventure continues...

We had a huge bummer come out over the weekend about our progress. We have a running calendar up at our place that shows our starting debt for the month and our ending debt for the month. Basically, just to keep us motivated and remind us to keep on trucking. My dad saw our calendar one day, the torn off page from July, and was so surprised at the number that we had paid off. So, we decided to review our our remaining debt again. According to our calendar, and excel worksheet we created, we had paid off $3,085.72 at the end of July! That did not add up. We only paid off my David's Bridal Credit Card ($300), his parents ($417) and his Best Buy credit card ($801), without even having to do the math, obviously that does not add up to $3,085.72. It adds up to only $1,518.00. Ugh! It is such a bummer! We had credited an excel spreadsheet and were subtracting each debt from the total as it got paid off. Turns out, there was an error in our formula that we inputted into excel.

So, if I learned one thing from that let down, although technology is so AWESOME and I would personally be lost without things like excel, we always need to double check our work on this! If we had used a simple calculator or even looked at the numbers, instead of just assuming that the number that auto populated due to our (incorrect) formula was the correct answer, we would have never hit this bump. I reflected on this a little and released how much I do that. I type in what I need to do and always trust that the right number will apprear. In my personal as well as work life, I am definitely more aware that mistakes can happen, even in this world with the best technology! For this error we made, luckily it was in our first month of the experience and we are still learning our own system and assigning each dollar to something, but nonetheless, bummed us out.

One great thing about us doing this together is having each other to lean on. When that happened we were both a upset, so we just talked it over, fixed the excel spreadsheet and jumped back on track. Things like that would have been so much harder if I did not have him in my life. I feel so blessed that we are able to have support from one an another. Its moments like that, that make me realize that together we can do anything! So, currently we are back on track. We were able to discuss our financial temptations that came up over the weekend and in the end, we both had being debt free on our minds! It has only really been 5 days and it has already been a challenge to us both. But, it makes it so clear to us both that this is only making us stronger as newly husband and wife.

In church on Saturday night, the message was so amazing and so relevant. We must trust in Jesus and not fear what lies ahead. We heard about this whole debt free thing and we both trusted that this was the path we needed and were supposed to be on and we realized we cannot fear the challenges that may be coming, for at the end of the day, we know if we face a challenge and fail, He will be there to pick us up. "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." -Matthew 14:27.

Have a great night all! Thanks for stopping by! Talk to you soon!

XOXO

Renee Farrell

As Of Today, Its The Dave Ramsey Way

Hi Family and Friends,

Thank you all who came to visit my blog for my first entry. Don't worry, it wasn't a one entry, one time, kind of blog. I am looking forward to continuing this blog throughout our two years and our experiences along the way.

Since I was not able to write yesterday, I will recap yesterday and then talk about our first official day on the Dave Ramsey plan!

Yesterday was such an amazing afternoon. We are seriously so blessed. Grant had texted me as he was finishing up work that he had some good news, I text him back that I had good news too. When we finally talked he told me that his work mentioned that he would most likely be getting a raise in his year review this month! How amazing will this be if/when it actually gets implemented. And what perfect timing. So then he asked what my good news was. I got my first customer to do craft work for! It is seriously beyond exciting and such a motivating feeling. I am definitely ready and so pumped for this. And then later last night I saw this quote "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity"How suiting is that to my day! Times are going to be difficult, but I hear a big opportunity knocking! I can't help but think that God wanted us to be on this road and making this journey. It's times like yesterday that I get reassured that everything happens for a reason.

Now on to today. Day one of Dave Ramsey. We had an amazing start so far. One of his tips/rules is to use the envelope system. Basically you take cash instead of a card and you can only use that amount. So today for example, we went grocery shopping. We budgeted for $100 a week. So today we took only the $100 and off we went. Grant had the calculator open on my phone adding up every item we placed in the cart. I can honestly say, I have never done that. I had another first time experience. I can honestly also say that I have never weighed produce items to see how much things would be. So we calculated and we weighed and we checked off every item on our list. Which by the way, making a list was a huge help. With a list it is easier to go in, get what you need and leave so you aren't roaming looking for extra things that you "need". So we calculated, without tax, $93.23. We were a little nervous to be honest. Grant placed a few items that could be put back, in the very back, just in case. I don't think I have ever watched the number as each item was added so closely. As we got closer to the end, we were feeling good. Guess how much our total was? $87.58! We did it! It was such a small victory, but it felt so amazing. But it got better. We get in the car and we are getting a little organized before we leave the store and Grant is reviewing the receipt and at the bottom of the receipt, was a coupon for 10% off our next grocery trip. Seems silly, but I was so excited! It got me to wonder. Before this, every recipt I got would get shoved in my wallet or in my purse and I would not ever look at it before it finally got thrown away. I wonder how many times I have had a coupon attached to my receipt and it went unnoticed.

I think that small victories like this will be able to keep us on track. So far, we are doing well. It may the first day, but it was a real great place to start.

Thanks for coming by!

XOXO
Mrs. Renee Farrell

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all thing right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. (My favorite prayer and currently so relevant)