Mad Skills: Janel's Handmade Bags and Purses

Christmas 2007, my wife Janel received her first sewing machine. She's often considered getting one, but for any number of reasons we never pulled the trigger. Since that time, she's been working diligently in her free time to learn how to use it. She plans to take classes, but thought she would fool around a bit to get some basics nailed down first.

Well, she did way more than nail down the basics. In fact, for nearly every weekend she's had free time since Christmas, and on some weekday nights, she's began making purses and over-the-shoulder bags of all shapes, styles, colors, and sizes. From the look of things, you would think she's been sewing all her life. In fact a few weeks back, a group of dear friends organized a purse party for her and she somewhat timidly boxed all her new creations up, hoping they would be well received. Well received they were, and she sold almost every one! Almost 40 bags in total! The purpose of the party was to raise funds for our El Salvador adoption fund.

Take a look at her purses in our Flickr set, or the Pictobrowser gallery I made (above) for this post. To see them bigger, go directly to the Flickr set I just mentioned, or click on the word "Link" in PictoBrowser and it will take you to the Flickr page I have set up. These are literally the first thing she has ever sewn. I am super proud of her. For one, she is really talented. I think her ability to sew so well was as big a surprise to her as it was me. Secondly, she had her mind set on learning how to sew so she could make enough bags to sell. Since selling them all since, she has made another 12 more bags for people who have seen them and asked for their own.

I can't wait to tell our children someday about how driven she was to make these bags. She did it with these children in mind. Children we don't yet know, but one's God has planned for our family. Janel is an amazing wife, and she encourages me by how faithful she is, and how much she already loves her children. The one's we have not yet met.

These bags are a tangible example of Janel's loving nature and her desire to glorify God. I am so proud to be her husband and so looking forward to helping her raise the children God places in our care.

Etsy: Preparing for What's Really Valuable

Behind the scenes over the last several months, I've been researching, and recently finalizing various merchant side web services in order to begin liquidating much of our antiques, collectibles and what I like to call "unexpectables"— in advance of our adoption which is 12-24 months out. My wife and I share the same taste for mid-century modern decorative arts, furniture and furnishings. We're both rather frugal, so all we own is the result of being at the right garage sale or tag sale at the right time. Several times over the years in fact. I've posted about a couple of these finds before both here, here, here and here. Suffice it to say we've found some gems over the years.

A couple weeks ago it really hit home how some of our stuff has got to go, as we sat in a parenting and adoption seminar. Much of what's in our home are items that are either fragile and/or impractical, and likely dangerous to little ones. So after we returned from the seminar, we met a guy at our home who I'd arranged to show up in a truck, and he took a lion's share of my Heywood Wakefield blond wood 50's furniture back to Michigan where he shares in a collectible business. These items consisted of a vanity, side table, and a dinette set–complete with the famed Butterfly table. The Heywood pieces where the first collectibles I ever bought as a single guy right out of college, so a great deal of legacy and history exchanged hands in that transaction.

So as I ponder what's next for my wife and I, and one or two children who we may bring home from El Salvador in the near future, it makes me smile to know we're transitioning from a life of valuable stuff, to a life of true value.

Not to say enjoying what you have is inherantly wrong, but when this stuff becomes a burden, or draws attention away from things of greater importance, it's time to let go.

All that said, I do hope I'll never lose a passion for going to garage sales, and flea markets and antique malls. I've spent hours and hours in my parent's antique booths, going with them to garage sales, and enjoying every minute. I rank these memories among my most cherished. So it was a natural when my wife and I began spending time together doing the same. Time I wouldn't give up for anything. Except a baby. Or two!

Keep an eye out for our Etsy announcement and a few eBay sales soon. Our Etsy store is called "cur8tor." It's empty now, but won't be shortly. If you go there, you can look through my favorite items and sellers to get an idea what the cur8tor vintage store will be like. If you've never been to Etsy, you should check it out. All proceeds of our Etsy and eBay sales will go to our adoption fund. The costs associated with an adoption are mind boggling. But worth it.