My Natural Hair Journey | Loving & Hating My Natural Hair | Natural Hairstyles Short/Medium

Hey Crafters,

So today's post is to talk about my natural hair journey, so far. I have been a natural hair girl since 2015. I was transitioning to natural for a while before that, then I dyed my hair, was natural for about a year, then I decided to chop off all of the color.

Here's my big chop pic:

This was taken the day of my big chop, September of 2015. I was feeling good about the chop and hopeful for my natural hair journey. I rocked the mess out of the TWA, I was super serious about caring for my hair, and giving it the love it needed.

Now, over the course of the past few years, I have gone through some CHANGES with my hair! LOL. It has definitely been a love/hate relationship.

I have gone through so many phases. Get ready for the montage.

So, you can see that I've gone through TONS of different styles and phases, and truthfully I am completely frustrated by my lack of hair growth. Which leads me to my main point today: I need to change my hair regimen and take better care of my hair.

I'm calling this phase the WTF phase. Seeing how I don't know WTF I want to do with my hair. I'm so confused with life (well, hair anyway). There are so many things I see that  I like. So many things that I think I should try. For instance, I saw that rice water can help with hair growth. Also, hair banding, but I'm worried about the tension that could cause, and I'm already dealing with breakage.

Then, I'm thinking, maybe I should loc my hair. I know I'd love it because I love yarn braids which look like locs.

I just am at a point where I have no idea which way I want to go, I'm just completely underwhelmed with my hair. Do you ever get like that? Where you just have hit a wall with your hair, and don't know how to get past it? Well, that's where I'm at. I need a hair-tervention. (Yes I just made that up)

Come on Crafters, give me some ideas! Share your hair tips, send me links, I need some hair love. I think that the first thing I'm going to do is a deep condition, or perhaps a clay mask. Something to try and restore some life into my hair.

Get Paid for Poetry? Yes, Please.

Hey there, Crafters!

Quick post for today!

So, I've mentioned before that I am currently writing a few different books. One of those is a book of poetry that I have previously written, but not done anything with. Now, of course, some of it is horse fodder, but there are some that are (in my and previous creative writers professors opinion) pretty good. 

One of which, I have submitted to Poets.Media, which is a tier of vocal.media that calls itself a "long-form social publishing platform that helps creators get their voice heard and make money from their content." They also require a few things in order to post, one of which is an image or video to relate to the post. I chose to use Canva as an image creator. I think its perfect for the poem. I could have definitely done this in PS but it's so quick and painless in Canva, so, yeah, winner winner chicken dinner.

Click pic to see my first submission!

Anyway, so, I'm thinking its totally worth the risk of one poem. I don't really want to submit my extremely best work, just in case it doesn't pan out, you know. But, we shall see. They pay based on numbers of views and encourage creators to share on social media, etc. So, I created a Pinterest link, or two, and put it on my FB page, to increase viewers.

I am also in the long and drawn out process of editing and purging poems and short stories, to put into my collection, which will be published through Kindle Direct Publishing. 

As you can see, I am more of a "don't put all your eggs in one basket" kinda gal, so I'm trying to spread the love a little. 😉 I'm hoping both of them end up being great, but you never know! Wish me luck and publicity, Crafters!

That's it for now!

Getting Play Dates: SAHM Life

So, as you all know, I'm a stay at home momma, and I've just come to a realization: I have to talk to other moms in order to get my daughter play dates. Ok, duh right? But its more than that. Imani is such a social butterfly. She hasn't met a child that she doesn't immediately want to "play" with (or hug a lot LOL). The issue is that awkward moment when a class has ended, and your kid has hit it off with another kid, and you're wondering if the other mom would be into a play date. Here's what I have come to learn and do.

No one wants to be a creeper, but both usually want a play date. So, what I have forced myself to do is, ask those probing questions that kinda make you look like a creeper, but shows the other mom that you're trying to open a dialogue.

Like today, before the Musical Mondays in June: at the Euclid Public Library started, another mom and I were chatting and she said the reason she brought her, also 16-month-old daughter, was to socialize with other kiddos. (Like me!)

So, after the program was over, we both kinda hung back and had a chat. I asked if she was coming to the next Monday, she said yes, so I came back with a "Hey, should we let them play together afterward?" She was totally on board, so it was a go.

I'm sure that some of you extroverts are rolling your eyes and saying, yeah yeah so what, but for an introvert, that's a pretty big ask.


I guess the point of this post is to say, if you are kind of an introvert or a person who is slow to warm up to people, it's kind of necessary to move past that in order for your kiddo to get the socialization he or she needs. Especially us stay at home moms (and dads). But know that you are not alone in your awkwardness! LOL.

Well, that's all for now, Crafters!

Side note, Imani had a blast at the Musical Monday. She loves to dance, so I knew it would be a hit, but she really interacted with the other children a lot. Mimicking the bigger kids, and watching the tots her age.

Graduation T-Shirts and Graduation Cap (Nursing Degree)

Hey there Crafters!

So the past couple of weeks have been full of graduations, three of which I attended. With those graduations came crafts. I mean, I love a good craft like the next crafter but MAN it was a lot going on. Not to mention that I am in the process of preparing for a move, so my house is full of boxes and looking bare. Okay, done griping, I promise!

Anywho, this post should have been two separate posts, but I'm combining them in hopes that I'll get the post done quicker. Also, as a "whoops sorry I haven't posted in two weeks" apology I plan on posting something every day this week, so it should be interesting! On to the crafty bits.

First up is the Graduation Cap I made for my cousin graduating from Nursing School. It came out so cute! 
To make it:
I bought a sheet of adhesive rhinestones and the nurse embellishments from Joann's. I also create a bow using my Bowdabra. I used 2.5" white satin, green satin, and a gold mesh ribbon. I sewed a couple of safety pins to the back of the bow, and then stuck it onto the cap that way. 
The letters are Cricut Gold Glitter Iron, which I used in my Cricut Expression 2 to cut the words. I believe they were cut at 2" using the Plantin School Book font cartridge.

Alright, next up are the graduation t-shirts I made for my nephew's high school graduation. I made a shirt for his mom, dad, and little sister.

I created these shirts, also using the Plantin School Book font card and Cricut Iron On Vinyl. What do you think? I think they turned out pretty awesome! I also did a little Recon to my Sister's Shirt by cutting and tying both sides.

There you have it! Graduation creations! Did you do any graduation crafts this season? If so, share in the comments below, I'd love you see what you did.

That's it for now, Crafters!