Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Guest Posting ~ A Pinterest Christmas!

Hey everyone!  Happy Tuesday!

Come on over to Holly's blog: "A Little Bit of Life" and check out how I made this:







I'm linking with Stephanie and Nicole again for this project too!



AND Linking with Lil' Luna!

lil luna link party button

AND Linking with Sew Woodsy!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Weekend ReCap

This weekend just flew right on by! 

This past Saturday I got a lot done!  And I was able to get it done all on my own time. 

No rushing...  ahhhh....  love it when I don't have to rush...

I got most of my Christmas decorations out...  The tree still needs some ornaments, but we'll get that done tonight. 




I made cake pops for the Petra Choir!  More specifically for one Petra Choir member: Emily.  Her birthday is on the 30th. 

The Sunday before one of the kid's birthdays, I like to make them something special to celebrate. 

Normally, I make cupcakes but I ran out of the individual cup cake boxes and Walmart ran out too. 
The closest Hobby Lobby or Michaels is about 45min away...  so.... 

I made cake pops!

For the first time!


(oh, and if you get the .96 box that is "perfect" for cake pops..  be warned that it will make just 12 pops. 
So if you need more, I suggest getting a bigger box...  or at least TWO boxes)

And I forgot to get a picture of the after...  sorry...

We CAN pretend they turned out like this:

(picture and pin can be found HERE)

And to be honest, they kinda looked like that...  just with multi-colored sprinkles... 

oh, I didn't get the chocolate/vanilla candy to cover the WHOLE pop... 

But that's cool because:

They were a hit!  So I do believe I will add that to my rotation of birthday treats. 



I got to spend some quality time with the cutest 3yr old in the world!

Cam is a trip!!

He loves any and all things that GO!  Oh, and he loves anything that will "hook" onto anything else. 

When he found out my Dad drives a backhoe for his job, he started calling him "Backhoe Danny".  I.love.it. 



Here he's saying: "Take a PEEKture of my trucks.  Wait, lemmee get in it"



Make sure to come back tomorrow.  I'm guest posting for Holly over at "A Little Bit of Life". 
I'm going to show you a great tutorial for some cute Christmas Art. YAY!!  :o)

Go check her out today!  I'm sure she'll be posting about something funny and cool.  :o)


Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!

What kind of fun did you get into? 

Did you brave the Black Friday Sales?? 

Or did you do like me and shop online??


Oh, and speaking of shopping online...  I purchased a one of a kind, hand stamped piece of awesomeness from Nic's Sweet Tea Shoppe on Etsy for Christen.  You have GOT to go check her store out.  Not only is Nic THE sweetest person EVA, her jewelry is so pretty and custom and awesome. 

I can't wait to see the necklace for Christen. 


Happy Monday Everyone!  Can't wait to read all about your weekends!  :o)

And don't forget to join me tomorrow over at "A Little Bit of Life" blog! 
Can't wait to show you my Chrsitmas craft!


61. Nativity Sets...  love mine
62. artificial Christmas trees
63. sweet kids who appreciate what you do
64. Christmas bunting
65. prayers answered

Friday, November 25, 2011

InstaFriday! Doggie & Thanksgiving Edition

It's FRIDAY!!  BLACK Friday to be more specific.  And you can bet I'm not out and about today getting trampled by crazy shoppers.  If you're one of those crazy shoppers, I humbly apologize.  I'm sure you're really not THAT crazy...... 

Hopefully everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving!  Also hope you all ate a delicious meal (or meals) and I'm not even gonna say/type: "Hope you didn't eat too much!! ha-ha!!"  Because, really, isn't Thanksgiving all about eating too much??  Well, aside from the being "thankful" part that is. 

So, I hope you ate A LOT and took your tums or pepcid or prilosec so you're not feeling too bad today. 

And in all seriousness, I pray you got to spend some quality time with your family and that you were truly thankful for your many blessings. 

And now, please join me as I link up with Jeanette again at Life Rearranged for InstaFriday! 
It's where you share your life for the week via camera phone pics. 

Hope you join in! 


I'm not really sorry for all the Brandi & Beckham pictures. 
I can't help that they are super cute. 
It's a must to share!  I can't keep all the cuteness to myself.  That would be selfish. 



I promise they really do more than just sleep...  really they do....

This is my tree I posted about here as part of the Pin-ter-vention I participated in. 
This picture was taken before I put the shimmery pearl paint on. 


My niece has become my "partner-in-crafts". 
Christen will craft sometimes, but mostly she's too busy being 17 and too cool for that. 

I came home Tuesday night and found Christen kicking the soccer ball around. 
Conditioning for HS Soccer starts next week!


I found out Wednesday that I'm about to be the best aunt EVA! 
I won the latest Harry Potter DVD from Amber at Airing My Dirty Laundry, One Sock At A Time
You should really go check out her blog. 
She's hilarious and has two of the cutest kids ever!


My cousin (mother of the cutest 3yr old) made these!  Cam-Cam helped. 
We ate WAY too much on Thanksgiving day.  But that's okay. 
I got to spend time with my Dad and most of the family. 
Very Thankful for them. 

It's officially okay to get your Christmas stuff out today.  YAY!


Oh how I'm gonna miss this when Christen goes off to college next year...




Okay... Your turn... Go link up! I want to see what you've been up to.

What kinds of memories did you capture this week on your camera phone??



life rearranged






56. my family
57. Christmas trees
58. Holly's brown rice
59. green bean casserole
60. bunting of the Christmas style

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Stop Pinning and Start Doing! The Pin-Ter-Vention!!


It's here!!!  I can't wait to show you all what I got busy "doing"!
And I hope you hop over to The McCalls and see all the other fun stuff going on. 
Oh, and I REALLY hope you joined in and "did" something yourself!


I have found out that I love rosettes.  Actually, I love just about any kind of fabric flower... 

I've shared my rosettes here before, so I decided to go a little flat, but pretty too.  I saw the original pin here:

(image from Cluck Cluck Sew)


The blog post that was pinned did not give any instructions, but when I saw it, I kinda figured out how it was done.  And if truth be told, I normally ignore the instructions anyway. 

I'm a glutton for punishment.  

She did give a couple of pointers, one of which I ignored, but it was only because I'm lazy.

Here's pretty much everything you'll need:




I just took a wild guess on the felt.  I figured I would need something a bit sturdy as the base so the flower wouldn't "wilt" as I was wearing it. 

And before you get all proud of me for using the compass thingy to make "perfect" circles, don't be.  I probably could have drawn them better free handed!  ha!

Oh, here's something to be proud of me for.  I don't waste anything.  Like the paper for the circles.  I used some sturdy, scrap, scrapbooking paper and instead of drawing out 7 or 8 circles all over the page, I drew one big circle with little circles inside.  And each time I would trace a circle, I would cut the excess and trace the smaller and so on... 

did I just confuse you? 

Yeah? 

well...  let's move on because I can't explain that ANY better than I just did. 

So basically, you get your fabric, cut about 8-10 circles in varying sizes.  OH, first you'll want to cut your felt.  Make sure it's as big as the biggest circle of fabric you cut.  I think it's okay for the felt to show, but you don't want your flower to wilt. 

And now it's stacking time.  Felt first, then biggest circle to smallest.  (I glued the biggest piece of fabric to my felt piece, just cuz)

Here's where I went rogue.  I didn't use my sewing machine to stitch the fabric together.  I sewed it by hand. 

But it's okay. 

I promise. 



Then I sewed the button on top.  Frayed the edges a bit with my scissors and voila!



I can wear it as a broach OR I may even make it into a bow for baby Sophie.  We shall see.


And if that wasn't enough?? 

I did another craft. 

Here's the orignial pin:

(Picture from Tatertots and Jello Blog)
(oh, and by the by, she's got a Silhouette Cameo GIVEAWAY going on, CHECK IT OUT!!)

I think this pin was actually due to a guestpost on the Tatertots and Jello Blog, but any ol' ways, it's pretty cool. 



First, start with a magazine you don't mind cutting up.  I'm sure Real Simple is a beloved magazine to many.  It does have a lot of great ideas, stories, etc in it.  But be warned.  Don't EVER purchase a subscription through a school fundraiser. 

That's all I'm going to say about that.   



After you cut and cut and cut, get your canvas and your mod podge ready. 
I like to arrange the scraps on the canvas first just to make sure I have enough before I start gluing.   


Then, when you have every piece in place (make sure it covers the whole canvas) and the mod podge has dried, totally ignore the instructions.   Lay your stencil (that you've so carefully cut out b/c you don't have a Silhouette Cameo) on top and proceed to paint over it, then lift up your stencil to see that the paint had ran and you can't even tell what in the world you were trying to make. 

And then promptly get very aggravated with yourself and start over. 

oh... SORRY!  I meant, those are things you SHOULDN'T do, but I did. 

Carry on...


Oh!  And don't forget to go with a totally different pattern when you start over...  and as your cutting out the NEW stencil, get aggravated AGAIN and just free hand the pattern on top of the dry collage that you really don't like as much as you liked the first one.   Sorry, my Lit teachers would totally give me and F for these instrutions, but it's all good! 

(if all went the way it should, I would have TRACED my stencil on the collage, then paint around it)

And then, it's time to paint about TWENTY! four layers.  For the last layer, I went with a shimmery pearl white. 
I must say, even though this sucker aggravated me, I was very pleased with how it turned out. 


Follow me on Pinterest HERE and now go check out what everyone else is doing here:



I had a lot of fun by getting these crafts going.  I love, love LOVE to pin, but it's so great to stop pinning and start doing!! I'm so thankful Stephanie and Nicole sponsored this Pin-Ter-Vention Party!

Now I'm off to see what everyone else did!  :o)



51. bloggy friends!!
52. mod podge!  that stuff ROCKS
53. Pinterest app on iPhone
54. Dayquil Sinex
55. awesome Dr. office that reschedules for the next day when appts have been missed

Monday, November 21, 2011

My Ma, Happy Birthday in Heaven

I know I've written a little about my Ma here

Well, today is her birthday.  She would have been 92 today. 

I miss her more than I could ever try to convey. 

Let me tell you about my Grandma. 


(the touchups done to the pic, like lipstick and nailpolish are just that..  touchups)

She was kind and she LOVED Jesus.  She read her Bible, front to back, more times than I could count. 

The night she was saved, she vowed to never wear lipstick again.  She said that was a conviction from God and she didn't care if everyone else wore it.  She just never would again and she didn't.  I can't remember how many times she told me about the night she was saved, and I would give anything to hear it again. 

She made THE best afterschool snacks.  And she knew exactly what channel our cartoons came on.  She also made the BEST cinnamon toast.  And I later found out, she hated making it.  But you couldn't tell at the time.  She made it without complaining and would gladly make it upon request. 

She got my brother and I to stop fighting one of two ways: separate us by putting one of us in the "boys" room and the other in "Renees" room or by forcing us to watch Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. 



She was my best friend growing up.  I could tell her ANYTHING.  And I mean ANYTHING and she would have my back. 

She was my daughter's best friend.  Christen could tell her ANYTHING.  And I mean ANYTHING and she would have her back. 

Her place was home.  I had a key (still do) and I didn't EVER have to knock. 

She was not a fan of music and that was her one and only complaint about her church.  Too much singing, she would say.  This is one thing we didn't agree on.  There were no songs during her funeral.  That's how she wanted it and you do what she wants. 

Even though she didn't care for long, drawn out worship time at church, she would love to sing to me while we were in the side yard swing or rocking in the rocking chair: Baby Bunting was my favorite. 



She took care of my Pa.  She cooked and cleaned for him.  With a happy heart (most of the time).  The only time I ever knew of her having a job outside the home was before they were married.  She followed him everywhere the Air Force sent him.  Thankfully he didn't have to go overseas during WWII.  He was able to stay in the US being a mechanic for air planes.   



She had 6 children.  One who died shortly after being born.  She never forgot about him.  There were times she would dream about him and wake up asking where her baby was.  Heartbreaking. 

She lost her brother, Lewis Jackson Pike, on the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor.  December 7th would not go by without her calling and reminding me.  The last Dec 7th she was with us, I had to remind her. 

One of her daughter's passed away the year Christen was born.  And even though her daughter was sick and dying from cancer, when Ma found out I was pregnant, she never had a harsh word for me.  She never made me feel bad about myself.  And she never let me think she was disappointed. 

And when Christen came, she always made it a point to tell me what a good mother I was.  Coming from her, it was like being awarded the highest honor. 

She loved Christen, or "Chrissy" as she called her.  She loved her company and I feel blessed they got to know each other. 



Christen was baptized on my Ma's birthday, 7 years ago.  What a special day they will always get to share.  

She loved her family. She prayed for her family. She took care of her family.  

She taught me that we all mess up, none of us are perfect but we have a perfect Jesus and that's what matters.  



I could go on and on and on and may be another day I will write another post.  I believe I could fill a million pages about her. 

Thank you for reading and thank you for allowing me to go on and on in this post. 



Happy Birthday Ma!  We miss you, but we'll see each other again!



Many things to be thankful for today. 


46. memories 
47. a Christian foundation set by wonderful grandfathers and grandmothers
48. a key that still works, so I can go sit in Ma's house whenever I like
49. my nose, that is just like my Ma's nose
50. that Christen has many memories, just as I do, of this amazing woman

Friday, November 18, 2011

InstaFriday!

I'm linking up with Jeanette again from Life Rearranged to show you my week in pictures via my iPhone.

I hope you will too!



I went home for lunch on Friday, and look what Mr. Snowman had waiting for me!  :o)
Even though I'm technically an "AFTER" Thanksgiving person as far as decorating for Christmas,
Mr. Snowman has weathered Spring, Summer and Fall this year. 
He's such a trooper!

And guess who left their keys in the door overnight??
I didn't get onto her.  Goodness knows I've done it before!


In case you couldn't tell, this is what was in the box Mr. Snowman had for me.  I have SO loved having this little notebook. 
This little sucker, along with my iPhone, is keeping me totally organized... 
now if I could just get my house organized...



Brandi is so loving...  most of the time... 


BDay Present for my 3yr old cousin!!  PJs!!  Don't worry, I got him something fun too. 
A cool tball set.  Yes, he loves me.  :o)

And here's the Birthday Boy!  Cam-Cam!! 
His Momma got him that awesome Radio Flyer Tricycle. 
I love Radio Flyer. 

Can't get much cuter than that. 


Rainbow Cupcakes for the Petra Choir.  I didn't get a picture of the finished product. 
I was running super late. 



Down time w/ Da' Beckhams. 

Views of the sky this week... 
the first one as I drove into the HS Parking Lot to attend the Soccer Booster Meeting. 
And the second one taken Thursday morning. 
The clouds finally breaking and the sun powering right through. 


This is what happens when you call Beckham. 
He comes running, full force and he leaps through the air, so happy to be where ever you are. 
This is how it should be when our Father calls us. 
To drop whatever we're doing and run, full force to Him. 
Just to be happy because we are where He is. 
Crazy that such a cute picture will make me think of that. 
Crazy that I should think it's crazy! ha!




Okay... Your turn... Go link up! I want to see what you've been up to.

What kinds of memories did you capture this week on your camera phone??


life rearranged


Oh!  and don't forget to


Get your pin-ter-vention going on this weekend and link up with Stephanie at The McCalls
on Tuesday, November 22 to share what you created...  copied...  whatever!!



41. for a Father who is forgiving and faithful
42. Christen
43. my bestest friend
44. hot coffee with mocha
45. cooler weather