Monday, December 31, 2012

It Took All Day....

 
and now all of my Christmas is packed away!
 
 It makes me a little sad to put it away for 11 months, but I am so ready for a new year!
 
 
I love new beginings and fresh starts.
 
I love a new calendars, lead pencils and a new binder filled with notebook paper, envelopes and pocket dividers to organize my thoughts, budget and schedule. 
There is just nothing better!  
 
Bring on 2013,
 
Happy New Year to you all! 
 
 
 


Sunday, December 30, 2012

What I Got For Christmas....


        "Love your handwriting"
 
     by Heidi Swapp.
 
 
 
 I have always struggled with my own handwriting. Since I began scrapbooking, I have had to force myself to journal, in my own handwriting, on my scrapbook pages. I tried to do my journaling on the computer but for me, the pages just aren't as personal as I want them to be. I want my kids to look back on our family albums and see their mom's handwriting and not a computer print out.
 
Over the years, even when I take my time and really concentrate, my handwriting has been very inconsistent. So I decided I wanted to get serious and do something about it.
 
While searching through some older scrapbooking sites, I found this book by Heidi Swapp. It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. It's not a new item, but it is to me.
 
You can order yours here...
               
      
 
The kit comes with the original book, a workbook (which I love) and a pen, ruler, lead pencil and a really good eraser.
 
I have only been reading and working in the workbook for a very short time but I really believe it has helped.
At a minimum, my handwriting is getting a little neater. I still have a long way to go to, but I have loved how helpful this kit has been so far.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Winterized and Ready for Christmas...

Well, the Camper is winterized, covered and locked up for the winter.
 
This always makes me a little sad.
 
 Now it is time to focus on the Christmas Season. 
 
Our first order of business,getting our Christmas tree....
 
We may not have to traveled far to get our tree,
 but some how we still managed to make it into a family event.
 
Even if it was just to the K-mart parking lot!
 
 Next was the decorating....
 
 
And finally,
 we visited the National Gingerbread Competition in Ashville NC.
 
Can you believe this is made out of  Gingerbread?!
 
It was a great day, but if you plan to go, pack a lunch.
 This one sandwich, coke, bag of chips and gingerbread cookie was $17.

 
 
All in all, we had a great week
 
Even though the Camper is packed up and closed for the winter,
we still are always on the look out for a new campground to try next year.
On the way home from Ashville,  
we saw a sign advertising a campground we had never seen before.
 
 Of course, we had to stop and check it out.
 
We drove to the top of a mountain to find a campground with this view!
 
 
I know where we will be camping at some point in 2013!
 
You can read more about them here....

 
 
 

 

Monday, November 19, 2012

 
 
Not sure how I missed this product, but I must have one!    
 
 
 
click here to watch a video all about it.


 

Monday, November 5, 2012

Music Sheet Wreath

Making these wreaths for christmas.....
 
 
 
I am giving one of them (smaller version) away to one of my followers.
 
Leave a comment to enter to win!
 
Good luck!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

"It's Written on the Wall" Blog

Being the Blogaholic that I am, I must share with you when I find a really good blog.
I just found this blog from Pinterest and I can't wait to search through their old post. 
All I have seen so far has been wonderful.
Check it our for yourselves... 


 
    Enjoy!!
 

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Heidi Swapp Memory Files


I found this video on YouTube today and I can not wait to do this.
 I love the idea of using file folders and file boxes for special event scrapbooking!
 

 
Some events in life are just too big to fit into a two page layout and this would be a wonderful way to document those events!

I did a scrapbook album out of a file folder once, but her ideas go way beyond anything I created! I also love the idea of storing these folders in filing boxes. Just too smart!

I guess I will be heading to the office supply store for my scrapbooking supplys now.

 

Monday, October 22, 2012

Some thoughts on blogging....

Okay, so here goes....
 When I first started this blog, I loved the idea of a challenge!!
I was so excited,
the idea of coming up with new posts, new ideas and
just sharing things that meant something to me with you sounded like something I would really love.
And I do.
 
 I also thought,
"Maybe I'll make a little money". hahaha
 Turns out, that's not so easy to do!
You really have to have the time to devote your whole life (or at least a ton of time) to it.
 I really respect those women who have made it big in the blog world.
They are truly committed!
This is one of the best...
The Nester
 
Also turns out, you have to enjoy writing. I do not.  I am not a writer, I just really enjoy scrapbooking, camping and home decor. Getting my ideas and experiences written in a post is alot harder than I expected it to be.
(Don't get me wrong, I never thought I was a writer, just didn't think it would be that hard)
 
 I still love the challenge of coming up with posts and sharing ideas.
 
Even though I haven't been posting as much as I should or even as much as I did when I first started,
 I  still plan to continue on.
This blog stuff has been so much fun!
I may not be here every day or even every week, but when I do post,
 I hope it will be worth your time to read. 
 
My time lately has been consumed by this sweet little beauty...
And right now, I wouldn't have it any other way,
 
 but I do have some things I am working on for future posts,
 so I hope you will be sure to check in every now and then.
 
 

Monday, October 15, 2012

Waxing Leaves...

Okay, I can't take credit for this idea.  I found it on one of my all time favorite blogs,
Memories on Clover Lane
She is always doing something fun.


Today I am
 
Waxing leaves!
 
 
 
Here is how I did it...
 
 First, I started by taking a walk and gathering the prettiest leaves I could find. It was a beautiful  day yesterday so my mom, sister and two of my daughters and I all took a walk and gathered leaves together.
 
 I piled all my leaves on newspaper that I had spread over my kitchen counters.
 
Next, I melted some paraffin wax in an aluminum pan right on the stove top.
 I used Paraffin wax I had left over from my Christmas baking last year.
 Then I just dipped my leaves...
 and placed them on the newspaper to dry.
 
Could not be easier!!!
 I used some brown thread to make a garland and tied them on the thread by the stem.
It's kind of a tedious task but worth it.
They are so simple and beautiful!!

 
 

I Love it!
 
 Happy Fall!


NEW! Tutorials From "Scrapping In The City"



I don't know how I missed this,
but I am so excited to share that Scrapping In The City, My
 favorite scrapbook store, has started making video tutorials!
 
(You can read more about the city chicks Here.)
 
These girls are so creative! I can't wait to see what they will come up with next.  
 
Here is the first video I found.



 
 
Now I will spend the next hour watching the ones I missed!!
 
Hope you enjoy!!!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Pumpkin Bread...Fall on a plate!



I just made this wonderful loaf of Pumkin Bread.
 I decided to combine two recipes to make this bread, and it turned out wonderful!
 
Here is the recipe...
 
3 1/2 cups AP flour
2tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 16oz canned Pumpkin
1 tsp Nutmeg
2 tsp Cinnamon
3cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup oil

Combine sugar, eggs, spices and oil until blended.
Combine flour with baking powder, soda and salt and sift.
Mix all together and pour into greased and floured loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hours, until toothpick comes out clean.

This freezes beautifully too!
 It is a great recipe to make now and freeze, to bring back out at Christmas for gifts and parties!

 



Sunday, September 16, 2012

Lesson I Learned From Planning a Wedding

(warning, long post ahead, but worth the trip)

Let me begin by saying how thankful I am that I am NOT planning a big event this Fall.
 I am so looking forward to enjoying this Fall season without all the pressure.


Last year, about this time, I was running around, half crazy, planning my oldest daughter's wedding.
Now, don't get me wrong,
I loved every minute of it, but I have found new respect for the people who plan weddings for a living!
With that said,  
I learned quite a bit about saving money, making memories, and creating a beautiful setting for my daughter to celebrate marrying the love of her life.
 

To start, I must give credit where it is due...
 I am blessed with a close friend who just exudes "good taste". She is the one I give the most credit  for reminding me of the basics and for helping me to know that I could do this. 


Thank you Tiffany for sharing your gift with me!
Before we get into anything, know this...
Wedding planning is a huge Industry.
You know what that means...

It is expensive and everyone wants to make money on your event!
Since we didn't want to spend a lot of money, we had to get creative.


 

Lesson #1: Enjoy All of It.
 
 Don't over stress in the details. Remember, even though this is a very important day,
 in the big scheme of things it is only one or two hours out of a lifetime.
 Learn to laugh at the things that aren't perfect and appreciate the things that do go as planned.
This will help in every aspect from planning to the actual event.

When we began, I called a friend just to inquire about a venue she had used for her daughter's wedding. This person (who is a very detailed OCD person) went on for about 30 minutes about everything that had gone wrong at her daughter's wedding. As much as I appreciated the warning, it made me realize that she didn't have wonderful sweet memories of her daughter's wedding, just regrets and wishes of perfection.
After hanging up the phone, I made my daughter make a promise... no matter what happened at her wedding, even if the cake fell on the floor, we would laugh about it and have wonderful memories of her special day!
This is a promise we both kept!
(and no, the cake did not fall on the floor)
 
 
Lesson #2: Use what you have
 
 Our church, like most churches, have an abundance of dishware,
 table clothes, and urns that are just sitting in storage waiting to be used.
Take advantage of anything and everything you can find that is free.
 That is exactly what we did.
 I would guess that we saved at least $1000 just by doing this.



The table, table cloths, chairs, and chargers all belong to our church. We only had to add the clear plastic plates and personalized napkins.
To quote the
  "The Nester"
"It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" 


Lesson #3: Less is more and Natural is always better than fake

In the sanctuary, we let the room stand on it's own. We simply added a few ferns on stage and Hydrangea with ribbon on the pews.
I love that is was a Fall wedding. It made it so much easier for me. 
I think everything in the Fall is beautiful, but we didn't want to go with the usual orange and red color scheme.
We chose burlap, white pumpkins and ferns for our decor.
Simple and clean with lots of texture.
Pair those textures with classic silver platters and servers
 and it gives a very formal feel.
We borrowed most of the silver but did have to rent a few pieces.

I love the garden burlap from Lowe's garden department.
 It was a lot cheaper, and has a larger weave.
 

Sometimes when dealing with a church venue, there are those things that are "church things" that just won't fit in with your decor....Bulletin Boards.
 Most of the time, the church won't allow you to remove them so,
 here is how we handled this problem with minimal cost.
In our church we had several boards, so instead of fabric, we used brown paper and book pages cut in leaf patterns.

Inexpensive and beautiful!

I borrowed this idea from the Nester...

I Just  love her stuff!!

We also incorporated it into the back drop for the cake.

Now, my sister gets full credit for this next one!
In most church fellowship halls there are not Basketball goals,
 but there are in our church.
 We really wanted to cover them, but I didn't have clue how to do it.
Here is what my sister came up with and it
  was pure Genius!
 She covered the two basketball goals in brown paper and burlap.
 She added a fern and there you have it. 
I loved it! 
 
Simple, I know,  but it worked for us and we have wonderful memories of a
 very special day!  
 
 



 

Monday, September 10, 2012

Camping Christmas Cards

 
Who knew???
 
If you are a friend of mine, you might just get one of these from us this Christmas!
I love these!!
 
I found a few of them
 
And this one, with the Fifth Wheel...
I found Here! 

Sunday, September 9, 2012

French Chair Project

On the day our grand-daughter was born, my husband and I stumbled onto a new junk shop on our way home from the hospital. Doesn't everyone go antiquing on their way home from the hospital? I know, we are "a peculiar people".
Anyway,
we had been searching for a rocker for our house because
every grandmother needs one, right?
 
Well, when we walked in,
 there it was....
the perfect rocker for my house!
 
I love it! I can't wait for the many hours I will spend rocking this sweet baby in that rocker.
 
 
While we were looking around this new little store, we found a chair that really spoke to me.
 
I know it looks rough, but I know I can make it into something beautiful.
 
The best part about this story is the deal we were able work on the price. 
We have been watching "American Pickers" a lot lately, and my husband suggested we bundle the two items. I asked the lady at the counter if she would consider a deal, and to my surprise, it worked.
She basicly gave us the chair free for paying full price for the rocker!
Score!
 
I will post pictures when this project is finished!
I can't wait to get started.


Saturday, September 8, 2012

I'm a Honey and Now I Can Make Eggrolls

I am officially a grandmother.
Meet my sweet little grand baby, Aly Grace!
 
To say that I am in love, is an under-statement.
 
I decided that I am too young to be called Granny, Nana, or even grandmother, so, after much thought I decided on "Honey".
Doesn't that just sound like someone you want to spend a lot time with!
That's what I thought too and I plan to spend as much time with this sweet little face as possible.
 
 
Today was her first visit to our house, and this is what she looked like when she arrived.
Are those not the sweetest little toes you have ever seen?
 
 
I can't tell you how excited I was to know she and her momma were going to
spend a whole day with me at my house.
I don't think I quit smiling for the first 5 hours she was here!
 
She is one week old and she is the easiest baby I have ever seen.
We had so much fun just playing baby!
 
Of course I had to give her a bath...
 
I just love baby girls!!
 
 
Don't you just love those days when there is no clear plan or schedule?...
 just lots of time, food to fix, and time with your favorite people in this world.
 
Today, I decided I would try my hand at making eggs rolls.
 I knew we would have to eat something. Since
we would be together all day,
 I thought it would be a good time to try
 something really different and new.
 
 
They were a success, and I am shocked at how easy they were!
If you want the recipe, you can find it
At Everyday Manna with Lisa
 
Lisa Smith is one of my cooking hero's.
I have tried several of her recipes and have never been disappointed!
 
 
 
 
This has been a wonderul day and I am so blessed and thankful!
I just don't think it gets any better than this!