Monday, November 25, 2013

~harvest garland~

 Hello long lost blogging friends.
Hopefully you've all not given up on me. 
My lack of blog posts hasn't been due to 
lack of projects completed. 
It's been entirely due to lack of computer time. 
I'll spare you the details and excuses.

I kept my Thanksgiving deco this year real simple.
I had a bag full of big, beautiful, vibrant leafs 
that I gathered in my Aunt's yard that I knew I
wanted to use for something. I decided
to make a simple harvest garland with them.
I added some pine cones and called it good. 

If I get around to it you'll be seeing more 
of the leafs and pine cones on my 
Thanksgiving table setting. 
 
I'm thinking I'll be using the pine cones for 
Christmas decorating too.....
keeping it simple.
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Monday, August 26, 2013

~Netflix lovin~


We don't have cable or satellite or whatever
it's called nowadays. 
Instead-we have Netflix.
What did we ever do without it? 
I tend to like the gritty, crazy, 
"Did that really just happen?" type of shows. 
My two favorite as of this month:
Love this show. 
This is NOT for the faint of heart. 
It's twisted and just gross sometimes but
the twists and turns the storyline and characters
have taken throughout the series is
genius. 

My latest obsession on Netflix:
 LOVE THIS!
Again....NOT for the faint of heart.
The language and content is quite gnarly 
at times but the storyline and character
development is amazing.  
This one is a Netflix original so I don't know 
if you're able to watch it anywhere but Netflix.

As embarrassing as it is to admit,
I've also been watching these:

 Hey...we've all got our guilty pleasures!
Give me some slack here.
In case you're dying to know.....
Khloe is my favorite. 

What are you watching these days?

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Friday, August 23, 2013

~glorified bobbi pins~

Has it really been that long since I 
posted anything on here?
Busy summer.
Hence the reason, this project I'm about 
to show you is SUPER EASY!
Like, the easiest I've ever done. 
 
BEHOLD.....
the glorified bobbi pin!
  
This is how I did it.....
bobbi pins.
nail polish.
It's just that easy!
 
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Saturday, July 13, 2013

~Kids target game with swim noodles~

 I wish I had pinned the idea when I saw
it so I could give credit where it's due......
but I didn't. So-let me just get it out there
that this wasn't my idea-I saw it on Pinterest
at the beginning of the summer and made it
for my kids the following week.

Materials needed:
7 swim noodles
clear packing tape
re-bar or shepherds hooks to hold it up
water balloons or a ball

This was all done by taping the noodles 
together with clear packing tape and then
attaching them to our hooks in the grass
with tape. We used water balloons and made 
this part of an obstacle course.
The kids LOVED it!
Total cost of project:
$8
A very cheap afternoon of fun with the kids.
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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

~recycled hair pretties~

 I pull my hair up. A lot.
Like...almost everyday.
Especially in the summer.
It's just too hot to wear it down most days. 
I love a little bling in my hair and
I got this bright idea to refashion a couple 
of REALLY old barrettes that I haven't worn
for a long time. I haven't got rid of them because
I like the size....one is real big and the other is real small.
They were very plain and boring...which is why 
I rarely used them. Honestly-I'm shocked I've
kept them this long.

I took this:
 ...and turned it into this:

 My little guy took the pics and was so proud of himself.
"Ooh...this is a good one Mom."

The small barrette I didn't get a before picture of.
It was just a little, clear barrette. 
This is what it looks like now:

I wear this A LOT now.
I actually didn't have to use the E-6000 glue
for these. The embellishments already had an
adhesive on them and they stuck really well
to the barrettes. I found these embellishments
in the scrapbook section at Michael's.
They are scrapbook stickers! 
Who would have thought?

This is about the easiest refashion I have 
EVER done. And I figure all the hairspray
I use will just help to permanently affix 
these do-dads onto the barrette. 


 
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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

~summer reading suggestions~

Reading is a passion of mine and on a 
good week I read about 2 books.
In the summertime my favorite reading
spot moves from the bathtub to the 
lounge chair on my shaded deck.
Pure bliss.
Throw in an iced coffee and I'm in heaven.
 
If you like to read and want a couple
good book suggestions then read on.
You can click on any of the pictures to
be directed to Amazon.
 
The first one is "Hitmaker" 
by Tommy Mottola
 I really enjoy reading biographies, historical
pieces and memoirs. This book falls into all
those categories. For you music lovers out there
I highly recommend this book. Tommy Mottola is
the man behind many successful musicians
including; Hall & Oates, Bruce Springsteen,
Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan,
J-Lo.....the list goes on and on.
This is his story and point of view to how
he helped build SONY records into the mega hit
company it is. Along the way you get to read
fun stories behind some of the greatest hit songs
and the artists who performed them. What I 
found most interesting about this book
was the progression of the music industry and
how it has changed since the 1970's because
of technology. It's obvious reading it that
the author has a large ego but I don't think
his success would have been possible without
that ego and mindset. Regardless of your
feelings toward the author, the book is a 
great piece of historical documentation about
the music industry. 
 
The next book is "The Silver Linings Playbook"
by Matthew Quick
 I bought this book on my Nook because I 
recalled the movie was recently nominated
and even received Oscars. I had no
idea whatsoever as to what the storyline was about.
 
In a nutshell....it's about mental illness;
A fictional story told from the view point of
a man who has just returned home from a 
mental hospital. He has no memory of how
long he was there or why he was there. 
The story is a journey into his finding the 
future thru remembering his past. 
Along the way he is helped by a woman 
who also suffers from mental illness.
Although the story doesn't plunge into the 
dark abyss that the topic of mental illness often 
guides us to....it still teeters on the heavy
and dark side. For those of you who
prefer to read heavier stuff.....this is for you.

The next one is "The Healing"
by Jonathan Odell.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story;
A fictional story about a baby who is ripped from her
slave mother's arms in order to be raised
 by the emotionally stricken lady of the house after her own daughter tragically dies. 
I love stories that cover more than one generation
and show us the unseen connections 
from generation to generation.
This book does specifically that. 
It starts off with the main character as an 
old woman. She is what many would term a "witch Dr." or "natural healer". A young child that needs 
healing comes into her life tragically and suddenly.
From there, she starts telling the child the
story of her life, as a way to help the child heal
her hurting heart. While telling her stories,
the main character (wish I could remember her name) 
helps to heal her own hurts and discovers 
her roots and how this child's roots are
intertwined with her own.

This was an exceptional story and is now
in my top ten favorite books. I highly 
recommend this book.

The next book is "Until I Say Goodbye"
by Susan Spencer-Wendel
A beautiful memoir of Susan's determination
to live her life with joy after receiving 
the terminal diagnosis of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).
This book jumped out at me when I was shopping
for a book on my Nook because my dear
Grandma died of ALS 9 years ago. 
Reading about her struggle as the symptoms 
got worse brought up many memories
for me about my Grandma as her symptoms 
progressed. 
 
Despite the subject matter of 
this book, it manages to not get too heavy
and emotionally sappy. It's the perfect 
combination of heartfelt, funny, profound and simple.
I was highlighting and noting phrases in this 
book like crazy.  Susan is a journalist who
was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 42.
For those of you not familiar with ALS,
it is a terminal disease. A disease in which 
you eventually lose any function in your body
that requires muscle. It works it's way up from your 
toes and eventually paralyzes your ability to
move, swallow, chew, talk and eventually breath. 
It's a sad progressive disease and it's 
devastating to watch it happen to a person.
 
In spite of all this, she commits to live a life
with joy by planning vacations specifically for
each person in her life that she loves....
each of her 3 kids, her husband, her best friend,
her sister, etc. She does this in the hopes that
she can plant a seed in each of her children 
that will remind them to live with joy
even if she is not with them physically.
She is a beautiful writer and has such an easy
style of writing. The story is packed with 
so many profound and beautiful analogies 
about life. It's also filled with many
laughs. This is another book I 
highly recommend.
 
The last book is "Sarah's Key"
by Tatiana DeRosnay
A friend recommended this to me and I 
was able to purchase it on my Nook for
a good price. I would call this historical fiction. 
 
It's a story that takes place in modern day France
about a reporter who is writing an article about
the roundup of French Jews back in 1942.
Through her research, she soon discovers her
life is intertwined with a young French girl's
who was a victim to this injustice.  
The girl's name was Sarah.
Back in 1942 when the French police raided
her home to take them away, she hid her 
4 year old brother in a secret cupboard, 
thinking she would be back later that day
to let him out. Sarah carries the key to this cupboard 
with her for her entire life. As the story is told you
find out the fate of Sarah and her family
and realize the connection this story has
with the journalist.
 For those of you who enjoy historical fiction.....
this is top notch!
 
I hope you enjoy your summer reading
as much as I do. If you have any good books
to recommend let me know. I'm always up
for a good read. 
 
 
 

Monday, June 10, 2013

~end of year memory book for teacher~

 I'm finally going to share a project with you that
has ended up being one of my favorites.
I made a book for my son's teacher with all the pics
I've been taking throughout the year. I was the 
room parent so I was able to take pictures at 
all of their parties and celebrations.
I made it thru Shutterfly because I had a code
for 40% off a photo book. Throughout the book
I included text from "Oh! The Places You'll Go" 
by Dr. Seuss......have a look:
pretend the kids don't all look like ghost children
with their faces blurred out. 

 
 I took individual pics of each student and had them 
sign their name above their picture. This really 
gave it a nice personal touch and made each and every
child feel involved in the process.






 The blank pages I added to the end were for the
graduation pics. Graduation and field day 
wasn't until the day before the last day of school 
(now that's a mouthful isn't it?) so I had to have those
printed at the one hour photo joint and stick
them onto the blank pages.



 I also included some blank pages for all the parents
to write a little note for her. The card above is from me.
I'm long winded and couldn't contain my 
note to just a few sentences.
 At the graduation I was secretly able to have every parent
(except 2) sign the book. This was the most special
touch to the book I thought :)


Above is the back of the book.
Below is the spine....obviously.
 My little guy was soooo excited to give it to her.


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She loved it and I have no doubt it will be 
something she keeps forever....just like 
my lil guy will keep her in his heart forever.
He LOVES his teacher and SOBBED
in my arms when he got home from school
on the last day. It's hard to show teachers
how important they are to us for loving 
and nurturing our kids. 
I felt like this book really did a good job
showing her how much we 
appreciate her. She sent me a very 
heartfelt text later that day telling
me how much it meant to her....
and made her shed a few tears.
Thank God for wonderful teachers.
 
With the 40% off coupon, the book
cost me about $32. Well worth it.
It took about 8 hours to make.
I didn't do it all in one sitting.....
a little here. a little there.
I'm printing one up for my lil guy with 
the graduation and field day pictures included.
I had the teacher write him a little note that
I can stick on the last page of his book
after I get it printed.  
He's going to love it.

Happy Summer Vacation Everyone!

Monday, May 13, 2013

~easy studded earrings~

 I've been looking for pronged studs for a DIY 
project for a couple months. I'm not having 
any luck at my local craft/fabric stores and I 
think I'll have to break down and order them online.
In the search I did come across some cute 
studded shapes......in the scrap-booking department
at Michael's. The only problem is they are stickers.
Despite the fact that they're stickers, 
they are actually really sturdy.
They won't work with what I was hoping for
but they will work for a bunch of other fun projects.
Like this:
       I made these fun little stud earrings by
gluing an earring back to the back of it with
a dab of E-6000. 

It took 1 minute. They've become a 
fun little staple in my accessories collection. 

Now that I have these fun studs, I have a few projects
lined up that need a lil bit of be-dazzle!      

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