Not Buying It Update 6: Going on Hiatus

Posted by Crystal Pepperdine, Founder and Executive Director of Flint Handmade

Well, life has been insanely busy since I last posted a Not Buying It Update in June.

As you may know, I am now engaged and my fiancé has moved in with me while we take our time building our "forever" house on 10 acres of farmland.

Also, I am currently implementing a grant of almost $5,000 from the Ruth Mott Foundation to offer SkillShare Workshops for Flint Handmade.

And, after a long and arduous appliation process that I have been working on since January, Flint Handmade received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, so we can now accept tax deductible donations AND apply for even larger grants!

With all of these exciting (and time-consuming) life events going on, I just did not make time to track my expenses carefully these past few months. :(

But, I promise that I rarely purchased anything unnecessary.  Most my spending has been on groceries, gas, medical expenses, canning supplies, home maintenence/repair and yard/garden supplies.  Unfortunately, we also had a few emergencies (e.g. flat tire, broken window, etc.) that required larger outlays of money.

Anyway, with all of these major life changes, I have decided to put Not Buying It on haitus for the time being.

Once Russ and I have established our joint household income/expenses and recordkeeping systems, we plan to reinstate many aspects of Not Buying It in 2012.  It's already become part of our lives and we're excited to see how it develops now that we live together!

In the meantime, I do plan to continue posting photos of my completed projects whenever possible.  :) 

See below for project photos from July, August and September!

JULY RESULTS
Projects Completed: 3

I completed more than 3 projects in July, but these are the only pictures I have. 

1) INSTALLED ELEVATED GARDEN WATERING SYSTEM

2) FIXED DRYER

3) SEWED 12 FOOT TABLECLOTH (Shown Folded in Half)

AUGUST RESULTS

Projects Completed: 2

August was very heavy with visiting family and travelling.

My paternal grandmother from Chicago came to visit for a week. Then, Russ and I went to Chicago for two days on a mini-vacation.

But, I still managed to complete 2 crafty projects.

1) MADE 6 COMMISSIONED STAINED GLASS PENDANTS

2) MADE FIRST SET OF CLOTH NAPKINS

SEPTEMBER RESULTS
Projects Completed: 2

Again, many more projects were completed in September (including a major cleaning/organization of my basement), but these pictures will have to do!

1) CANNED 4 JARS OF STRAWBERRY JAM

2) CANNED 3 JARS OF TOMATO BASIL SAUCE

The recipes for above canned goods are in one of my new favorite books called Homemade Living: Canning & Preserving with Ashley English.  Ashley's blog, small measure, is also fantastic!