Looking Back & Looking Forward

This post was supposed to be published a week ago, but a quite nasty cold kept me from my computer. So here is a late "Happy New Year!" to you, and my 5 favourite tutorials of 2013 and 5 resolutions for 2014.

First place takes my beach-style bird feeder and my resolution to learn and dare new stuff.

Actually, I kind of started in 2013: Last year I finally opened my first bottle of champagne!
It might seem silly to you, but ever since my mom killed a lamp with a rocket-like cork many years ago, I have been freaking scared of champagne bottles! But I conquered my fear at last - one thing to be proud of about 2013 (well, and I got my law degree :D). So I want to keep it up!



Concerning DIY, I would like to work more with electrical tools - I have the most irrational fear that if I use a jig saw, I will immediatly saw into my leg. I also try to save up some money each year so I can take a cool course - I would love to learn welding or gold work!

Second Place takes my resolution to buy fresh flowers every month.

Sounds strange? Well, I have the tendency to be stingy about buying use-up stuff. At the same time, I know that little makes a home more welcoming than fresh flowers and candles.

So I will try to be very disciplined about it (awww, poor me, having to buy flowers) and set aside a few bucks each month that are to be spend only on flowers. So it pretty much is a resolution to live more in the moment.

Fitting this resolution, I love this knitted vase cover I made - I think it will look lovely with some hyazinths!



 
Third place takes my baroque style dresser and my resolution to buy less new decor and furniture.

I like to shop. Really. But I do live in a small one room apartment with few storage options. And in the end, I would rather invest my money and space in stuff I have crafted or upcycled than something mass produced.

 So I will try very hard to resist buying that shiny new thing!

Fourth place takes this book page fairytale picture and my resolution to sell some of the old stuff I
have been hanging onto for ages.

I am actually pretty good at decluttering - I love this feeling of having created space around me.
But I own some clothes, furniture or sport equipment I have never really used and that I don´t want to throw away because it feels pretty wasteful. So I will look for ways to sell them.

I started selling my old books last year using the online buyers rebuy.de and momox.de, and I got a lot more money than I expected. I hope to find something similar for my other stuff, too.


 

Last but not least, I am so happy I digitalized my families antique photos.

I encountered some I had never seen before (like this awesome one of my great-grandfather), learned a lot about my family history, and made sure the pictures won´t be lost as the old paper crumbles. I could make copies for every family member, and my favourites I enlarged and they decorate my flat wonderfully!

2013 really has brought me back to crafting.
When I started university, there was so much going on, and so much studying to do that I didn´t really get around to crafting. But in the last years I noticed how much I missed creating something with my own hands - I really need that to balance out all the "brain-work" I have to do.

So my resolution for 2014 is - keep on crafting!