I have cleared my customs list and have been order-free (I said order, not odor!) for nearly 3 weeks. It's been wonderful, don't get me wrong, but I really miss sewing! If you are looking for custom sewing, send me an email, I may just take you up on it. Once school starts in May, I'm going to be busy with class but until then, I have some free time.
What is Project: Life?
Project: Life is for that girl. You know the one. Maybe that girl comes from a broken home. Maybe she's that girl who's lacking attention due to a busy family life. Maybe that girl is your next door neighbor. Whoever she is, she will one day be a woman. Maybe even a wife, a mother, a homemaker and she needs to be prepared. For many young girls, these titles come sooner than anticipated and without any preparation or training. Project: Life is an opportunity for them to learn. To go into their world, ready for the future---or at least capable of hemming their pants and cooking for themselves.
Project: Life is all education, establishing confidence and self worth, while participating in a time of fun and fellowship. Sort of a 'Girls Only' youth group with a bit of a catch (we'll come back to that). It seems the life of a domestic diva has lost its appeal. Many families are so busy nowadays, they don't have time to focus on training up a daughter--- cooking (yes, it can be fun!), sewing, crafting, et cetera. And sadly, a lot of families don't see the importance. Project: Life wants to renew that interest in our girls and teach them how exciting life as a woman can be!
Outreach + Outreach = Impact
Motivation. Snacks, music, girly stuff (think spa treatments!) should be enough to make these young ladies want to learn, right? Probably not. So to turn this outreach program into something more we'll need a little motivator. To teach these girls to sew and cook and craft would be excellent, but to enable to reach out via their new skills would make an impact in our own community and abroad. I'm certain the local shut-ins would love a hot meal put together by the girls. Meals on Wheels would appreciate another source of home-cooked items for their ministry. And Project Linus (http://www.projectlinus.org/) can always use more blankets. I would love to see dresses and wrap skirts sewn and sent to the girls and women of Guatemala, where many of our own have already seen a need.
Where to Begin:
Project: Life begins in our own neighborhood. There are girls in our community, our neighborhood, who have nothing to look forward to. There are girls who have wonderful home lives but enjoy a sense of purpose. There are those who need this program---who need us. Life Church needs to take this opportunity and run with it. To be there once a week, with open doors (and open arms) could be all these young women need.
My immediate vision for Project: Life includes two major goals. We are meeting on Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm. We're using this time to teach basic sewing skills to our group of young girls and women (these women will be mentors as we grow together!). We've been working on small projects to allow the girls to get a feel for their machines and gain some confidence. We will continue meeting on Wednesday nights to sew and cook but will be meeting a couple Sundays a month to do Impact Sewing. The girls had a lot of fun sewing hat/scarf sets for the Coat Drive and we'll definitely be making more for that cause. It has been a wonderful way to get an idea of how the girls respond to giving of themselves. The love it!
Our next goal is for Summer '09. We're planning a Dress Drive at Life Community. We would like to sew a couple hundred dresses and have them available for the community to come in and take what they need. Every little girl loves something new, something just for them that makes them feel beautiful. And maybe, just maybe, when they walk out that door with their new dresses, they'll see more than just a dress, they'll see the love of God working a in a practical way. Impact.
Where We're Going:
Project: Life has the potential to grow into a powerful, nationwide program. In the future, I'd love to have our sewing patterns and program overview available on the web for other faith communities to utilize. All of our patterns are free of copyright and drafted by me for use by our program. If other churches can use this type of program in their own neighorhoods to reach out, it's possible that we can win our girls back and watch them become the beautiful women of God they were intended to be.
REACH - - up - -out - - around ------------------------------------------this is life
“How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong, because someday in your life, you will have been all of these.”
After doing some thinking, we've decided to continue with the sale of wool interlock products and bamboo flats and doublers. Unfortunately, we will no longer stock fitted diapers or custom fitted diaper slots. Newborn diapers may be the exception. There's just something about seeing a newborn in jjbb. We will be working through our waiting list and stocking the shop as much as possible during the fall months, hopefully getting Track Pants to all who want them. Watch for random surprise stockings at jjbb.
I leave you with this adorable photo of Genevieve, all decked out in jjbb goodness:
I have decided to implement a system to organize my requests for custom work. I will continue to stock occasional custom spots at JJBB and Orchid Place but the majority of my custom will come from this list. If for some reason the list isn't working out the way envision it, I will have to drop it and carry on with HC stockings only. Check it out here: http://at-home.typepad.com/at_home/wait-list.html
I wanted to let you all know about a few changes in the way I run my Customs List. As most of you know, I have three beautiful children: 4, 2, and 1. They're my number one priority, my family before my business. In order to achieve the fine balance between work and play, I've decided to set a regular schedule. I have broken my Customs List down by work weeks. I will do my best to complete each week's work on schedule and have it shipped out by Monday of the following week. I know this might slow things down a little bit, but I think it will better for you, my customers, in the long run. I'll be able to give you a better estimate on turn around time and not feel the rush I feel now, sewing between meals, in the middle of the night, et cetera, therefore allowing more time for your order. This is a sort of middle ground. I have considered closing .jjbb. inevitably but I do feel this is my place right now, where I'm supposed to be. In order to make that work with my family life, I need balance. I hope these adjustments provide that.
We appreciate your continued support.
Stephanie + family
This has been a lot of fun for me and I hope you're all enjoying it as well. I'm finished with this round of Surprise Me Slots! and I can't wait to start the next group.
$50 Slot
$60 Set:
$75 Slot
$75 Slot (For some reason I thought it was a $100 slot so she got an extra):
$100 Set:
$100 Slot
$100 Slot:
In all honesty, this blog has become a place for me to track my orders (the customs list in the upper right corner). I jot down my orders there and keep them so people can track progress, giving some finality with a photo, uploaded to my album. I know it wasn't my original intention but it works well so I'll continue to utilize it.
I'll get back to this in a proper way, soon. Until then.
You know how husbands can do that thing. That thing most women dread. "Oh honey, this is just like Mom used to make." I just despise it. I'm not your mother...and if you wanted to marry your mother, you're some kind of fruitjob. That said, I made the most delightful cinnamon rolls this morning. Or last night. Just like Mom used to make. Because this is not my secret family recipe, and I don't know that it's supposed to be a secret, I'm sharing it here. Actually, I wasn't given a recipe, I was given a lecture. And this is what I took from it.
Saturday mornings have never tasted better. This is a tradition worth keeping.
