Jenny Gomes

I challenge you Wildflowers to plan out 4 different creative tasks, one for each week of the month, and execute them for the love of all that is handmade, homemade, and self made. Read on for details!

This is my very first challenge, Wildflowers. Lots of challenges I have seen are focused on getting rid of something (lose 10 pounds in a month, clean out your closet in 21 days…) but this one will be targeted towards gaining something that I’m sure you will be glad you made time for.

 

I want to spend our month with a weekly focus where we tackle a craft, skill, task, project, or other domestic pursuit. It can be something you haven’t ever tried before or something you have started but put on the back burner and haven’t resumed. It can be working with diligence on a big project. For example, I have a huge afghan I started and then I had a baby…two years ago, and that I never worked on again. For one of the weeks during the challenge month, I could set time aside to make encouraging headway. Many times, it is the size of the project that prevents us from getting started, right? The weekly focus could also be completing something that you just haven’t made time for yet. I have a quilt that is almost done except I have to sew on the binding. This has been ready for me to tackle for over 18 months.

 

I also think it is important to get started now, as Spring is underway here in the Northern hemisphere (and conversely, Fall is beginning in the Southern) that was we make other changes naturally in our lives like our wardrobe, cleaning, and eating routines, we incorporate positive creative habits as well.

 

So, we will take several days to plan out your challenge month. Take stock of your sewing cupboard, your knitting bag, your junk drawer, your mending pile, your empty mason jars, your appetite, and your desires. If time allows, challenge yourself to learn or try something completely new each week. Just think, at the end of the month, you will have completed a project, learned a thing or two that was completely new to you, and expanded your knowledge or experience in something you enjoy. Pretty awesome, right?  

Guidelines:

1. It can be a new or acquired skill.
2. It can be working on or completing a project.
3. It can be something you have done before but rarely make time for now.
4. It can be taking a class and implementing what you learn.
5. Try to make each week something different. I could fill a month (A year, even!) with sewing projects but that wouldn’t be very varied nor would it expand my skills. Shoot for a variety of tasks!
6. Let’s say that cleaning-related tasks should only account for one week. This is supposed to be fun, remember? 🙂
7. Share your successes with those you love, your fellow Wildflowers in the Facebook group, on Instagram or Twitter with the tag #adwchallenge ,  in the comment section of this blog post, with the friendly gal at the yarn shop- wherever your heart desires, share it!

 

Prepare the week before: Complete the free PDF guide in our resource library and plan it out! Failure to prepare is preparing to fail, said someone wise, and it is true. If you don’t put it in writing, you are much less likely to complete it. You also need to complete the PDF so you have an idea of the things you need to rustle up to complete your project. If you need matching thread, a haul of produce to ferment, or a specific crochet hook, this is the week to get it. You should encourage an in-person friend to join you if you have similar interests or if you are going to attend a class. Those things are so much more fun in a group.

After you have downloaded your PDF, you are automatically invited to our private Facebook group where we will be sharing our successes, encouraging one another to finish our challenge items, and loving the contagious vibe of creativity. I swear it is true; I worked in a fabric store for 5 years in college and now I know creativity is absolutely contagious in the very best way. Being around others (even in a virtual setting) can be SO inspiring.

 

You will be responsible for tackling the week’s project on a timeline that works for you and for either commenting on this blog post, sharing in the Facebook group, Instagram or Twitter with #adwchallenge . Don’t forget, I’m a teacher by trade and I am pretty good at asking for homework, Wildflowers. I want to see you achieve your goals!

Okay, so are you ready to have a creative, satisfying month? Let’s Spring into creativity, Wildflowers!

Plan out your month, Wildflowers! We will start together on April 4th!

#adwchallenge

PS- if you are already an email subscriber, be a dear and enter your info one more time. I know you won’t get double emails, but I can’t figure out how to enroll you without making you enter it again. I’m sorry! I’m learning all kinds of blogging things every day but the tech stuff remains hazy at times. Thank you!

As an email subscriber, you are already invited to our private facebook group which has already been buzzing with fun project ideas. Hop on and see for yourself! If Pinterest is more your speed, you also can pin with abandon on our group board, and can be a great place to find inspiration if you are stuck on finding a week’s project for this challenge. Both are fun communities and I want everyone to “catch” what I’ve been happily afflicted with for years. Join in!

 

I have created a private facebook group for all the Domestic Wildflower email subscribers and I’m so excited to invite you all to participate!

 

I remember reading a great mini tutorial for the uninitiated about social media platforms. Twitter is a one sentence snapshot of what I’m doing right now, Instagram is a (nicely edited) photo of what I’m doing now, Pinterest is who I plan to be, and Facebook is what I’m doing right now in as many sentences or photos as you’d like.

 

When I was starting to learn to can, I looked high and low for facebook groups that would be sharing recipes, advice, class lists, etc. and found lots of groups that were frequented by people who don’t frequent facebook often. It sounds strange but it makes sense. Facebook’s fastest growing population is those over 55, and those people aren’t online as often. I remember asking a question and the sweet member replied after a week, thoroughly of course and everything was properly spelled and punctuated, which I appreciated, but it wasn’t the kind of community that was thriving and full of people like me. It was full of people who already know how to do all the things I want to learn about and they weren’t online all that often.

 

So in the back of my mind, I have been thinking for a long time now that there was a need for a group for those interested in learning more about canning, sewing, and other fun, old fashioned DIY that I love to share on this blog and beyond.

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