An announcement, a tip and a sneak peek

I've been busy.  And obviously, blogging hasn't been a priority!  But I do have a few things to tell you about.

First off, I took a leap and I am now a Stampin' Up demonstrator.  I am really really excited about this.  I'm just getting started, but you can expect a lot more papercrafting ideas around here, as well as spotlights of my favorite products.  And if you are interested in Stampin' Up products, but don't have a demonstrator, I'd be happy to be yours!  Just click over to my website, and you can shop online.  And if you want to find my site any other time, you can click on the new button in my sidebar. :)

Next, for those of you on the brink of going digital with your scrapbooking, Costco has the newly released Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 for $49.99 now through the 27th, I believe.  This is a great deal, so great in fact, that I decided it was time to update (I've been operating with version 6)!

And last but not least, the major project that has been occupying so much of my spare time (which isn't much, when you have a 20 month old drama queen who thinks she needs to spend the whole day on your lap...hence why I've been so unproductive): My new gallery/collage wall!  It's not quite done, so here's a sneak peak to share with you until I finish it (hopefully the end of the week).

 Stay tuned for the grand reveal!

Digging in the dirt.

My son would be jealous.

This soggy barren flowerbed represents an afternoon of hard work, planting 129 bulbs.

I don't think I really like gardening (this IS my first house, remember, so I'm not totally sure).  But I do like flowers.  Hence planting bulbs.  I love the idea that I can plant these babies once, and every spring they will bloom, for years to come.  Genius.  If that doesn't prove divine design, I don't know what does!  (I think I'm so funny.)

Anyway, despite the fact that I was bent over digging in the dirt so my back hurts now, it was a lovely day for it. Overcast, but dry.  Comfortably cool.  I even enjoyed the smell of the dirt...well, at least until I unearthed what looked suspiciously like cat poop on the verge of petrification.  Not quite petrified (though it held its shape remarkably well) since there was a bit of a...smell......

Moving on, there is a reason we ripped out all our shrubs and garden beds and seeded everything.  I don't want to garden.  And looking at my little rectangle, I was kinda thinking that was too much!  But it's done now.  I'll be on the look out for other perennials come spring.  Any recommendations?

Showing off a few more digiscrap pages...

The best of our engagement photos.  We got married at the ripe old age of 22.  We look so young.

P.S...remember how I was going to do that "Getting Started with Digital Scrapbooking" series...?  Oops.  Sorry (Nat, Michelle), I WILL get to it!

I DO have something to share...

I don't know why I didn't think of sharing these before, but one of the big projects I've been working on is a photobook of miscellaneous things from our wedding (yeah, I'm behind).  We had disposable cameras on the tables at our luncheon and reception, plus our engagement photos, the photos in the slideshow we had playing at the reception, and the photos we took on our honeymoon.  I'm on a deadline too, since this is for a Groupon to Picaboo that expires at the end of the month.

Anyway, thought I show you a few of the pages from the slideshow section:
(I know I'm biased, but dang! I think we were cute little kids...must be why my kids are so adorable...)

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck book review

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck: A Novel
Synopsis: "Unlikely romance is sometimes just an inconvenient marriage away.
Charlotte Beck may be entering adulthood, but she can’t seem to keep to her stubborn, independent spirit from bucking social protocol. Fed up with her behavior, Charlotte’s father Daniel pressures her to settle into a nice marriage despite knowing she is set on going to college. Then Daniel sees Charlotte with the handsome but annoying English astronomer Alex Hambly, and everything changes.
Though Alex and Charlotte can barely stand one another, Daniel offers them a deal they can’t refuse: if they agree to marry, he will save Alex’s family from financial ruin and grant Charlotte the freedom to go to college. Reluctantly the couple agrees, but in private they plot to annul the marriage as soon as possible.
But when Alex’s feelings change and he refuses to dissolve their contract, will Charlotte find a way out of her vows? Or will she discover that maybe this marriage isn’t so inconvenient after all?"


Hmmm.  Where to start.  Don't bother.  It's not terrible, but with all the other books out there why waste any time on this one?  The story just felt like it rambled on without control.  And then there was the random insert of "faith."  If you're going to be Christian fiction, fine.  But the three paragraphs towards the end of the book that brought up faith just felt like an after thought.  Like the author had forgotten she needed/wanted/should include some little ditty to make it Christian fiction.  
The story line wasn't completely unbelievable, but again towards the end when Charlotte begins to change her mind and decides she wants "to be a wife" to Alex, it's just so silly.  Apparently in the author's eyes, being a wife just means sex, because that seemed to be all Charlotte and Alex meant by deciding not to annul their marriage.
No thanks.  I usually like the books I get from WaterBrook Multnomah, but this one I just didn't.
I give it 2 out of 5 stars. I did receive this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review.

Saving Grace book review

Saving Grace (The Prayer Tree Series #2)by Annie Jones

Synopsis: "Every year on the night of New Bethany's annual Splendor Belle Gala, reclusive Sera Grayson appears on the porch of her aging antebellum home dressed in a tattered ball gown. Legend holds she is reliving the greatest disappointment of her life: waiting endlessly for the man who stood her up more than fifty years ago. Rosemary, Naomi, Gayle, and Lucy, first introduced in Jones's Prayer Tree, together decide to help out the eccentric old woman-partly to strengthen their own special bond, threatened by time and the demands of everyday life. Will their joint project instead tear them apart forever?"


This is not the type of book I would normally pick up and read.  I like Christian fiction, but I usually read it because I got it free for my Kindle or I got it free in exchange for a review.  That being said, I almost always enjoy them.  This book is no different.  It's a book about finding strength when you think your world is falling apart.  We all face times like that, and if we maintain the right perspective, we grow stronger.  And we make it.  Being Christian fiction, that idea is shared in terms of religious belief.  This isn't what I would call a born again book.  Those are harder for me to swallow.  :)  This isn't so in your face, it's just a given accepted part of who the characters are.
The story is interesting.  I have a soft spot for history and legends, and as this book touched on both, it's not surprising I liked it.  The characters overall were believable.  I don't know that Ben or his relationship with Lucy were very well developed, but most of the other characters felt rounded out to me.
I might have known the characters a bit better if I had read the first book in this series, The Prayer Tree (The Prayer Tree Series #1).  Normally, reading a book in a series makes me want to read the others, but I have to admit, that is not so in this case.
Anyway, I give it three out of five stars.
I did receive this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for this review.

You win some, you lose some.

We had our yearly jaunt to our favorite photography studio today.  Lots of thoughts swirl around the planning of apparel.  Something coordinating but not matchy-matchy.  Something that fits our personalities but still has some current style.  I usually find a piece I love, and then build from there.  This year, I found (or rather my husband spotted) an awesome plaid shirt at Old Navy, in the general color scheme we were going for.  And we went from there.  As usual, I ended up making something for my daughter (last year's dress here).  I wanted our pictures this year to be more casual, so I opted for a skirt rather than a dress.

Unfortunately, this is how little princess spent the majority of the session.

What a waste of a great skirt.  Let's try one more shot...

This is after her daddy set her down and she started running towards me to get a fruit snack...the only way we could get her next to her brother without one of us, if only for a millisecond.

The family shots were better... no smiles from her, but at least no tears!

Anyway, who wants to know how to make that skirt?!  (don't all raise your hands at once...)

We have here a bubble skirt with two layers of lace poking out underneath.  This skirt can be made in seven seams (well, eight if you use the machine to stitch the elastic together).

Step one:  Measure your little one around the waist, and from the waist to the knee.  My daughter was 16 inches around the waist, and 8 inches from her waist to her knee.

Step two: Cut out your fabrics.  My cotton fabric was a 33 by 19.5 inch rectangle.  I got that by doubling 16 inches and adding an inch for seam allowances (33 inches), then doubling 8 inches and adding 3.5 inches for seam allowances and elastic casing.

I then cut out a 33 by 10 inch rectangle of lace (make sure the finished edge is along the 33 inch side), and a 33 by 9 inch rectangle of lace (ditto).

Step three: Fold all three of your rectangles in half width-wise (i.e., fold the 33 inches in half to make 16.5 inches), right sides together.

Sew along the 19.5 inch/10 inch/9 inch sides, using a half inch seam allowance.  Press seams open.

Step four: Turn the cotton right side out, and pull the 9 inch lace over it (still inside out) and pin in place along one of the edges (does't matter which at this point).

Now take the 10 inch lace and pull over it and pin into place.

Step five:  Sew all three layers together, half inch seam allowance.  If you have some excess lace or fabric, just sew right over it, it won't matter.

Step six:  Bring the bottom unfinished edge of the cotton up inside, so the wrong sides are facing together.  Zig zag stitch as close to the edge as you can, all the way around.  This edge will be exposed, and you don't want it to fray.

Step seven:  Measure 2.5 inches from the top of the fabric to the top of the three layers sewn together, and pin into place.

Step eight:  Fold raw edge over, and measure 1.5 inches and pin into place.

Sew along the raw edge, using a small seam (1/4 an inch or less), and leaving about 1.5 inches open.

This forms the elastic casing.

Step nine:  I've read somewhere when using elastic as a waistband to take the measurement and take away 3 inches.  I just guessed by pulling it around my daughter's waist.

Anyway, take your elastic and feed it through the opening (I stick a safety pin on the end to help me get it through).

Once you've got both ends, sew them together (but make sure the elastic isn't twisted!).  Push elastic into place inside casing.

Step ten:  Finish the seam on the casing by closing off that open 1.5 inches.

You're done!

And for your viewing pleasure, our silver lining shot of a frustrating photo shoot:

Red eyes, swollen lips, but sweetly snuggling with Daddy.

Link up at : {M} Ask Anna-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Mo Momma {T} Creating a House of Grace-Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Embellishing Life-All Thingz Related {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Eisy Morgan-Bella Before and After-Sew Woodsy -Goodbye City Hello Suburbs-Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims -A Mommy's Life with a touch  of yellow {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Saved by Love Creations-Momnivore's Dilemma  {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Just a Girl-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Young & Crafty-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-A Little Knick Knack-Fingerprints on the Fridge -504 Main-Cookie Nut Creations-Making Lemonade-French Country Cottage {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy-A Law Student's Journey

Painting the town RED

So we've spent a great deal of time fixing up our house.  Mostly on the inside.  We (well, my husband) did do a tremendous amount of work on the front yard, but...the yard is still DEFINITELY not where we want it to be.  Nonetheless, we have some other curb appeal projects just waiting for us to get to them.  Finally, I decided to JUST DO one of them.

I painted our front door.  Red.  (insert big toothy smile here.)  I love red.  It makes me happy.

I also installed a new door handle/lock set (ALL BY MYSELF, as those of you who follow me on Facebook already know), which I think looks pretty sharp.  That was kinda an accident.  We were going to wait until next spring to replace the door hardware, along with acquiring a rather expensive door knocker and doorbell I have my eye on.  And the lighting.  But the tape leaked, so I got red paint on the old lock and knob (shoulda just taken them off), and when I tried using nail polish remover to get it off (bad idea)...I pretty much ruined 'em.  Well, they didn't look much worse than they already did, but still....not something I wanted to put on my beautiful red door.  So I headed off to Lowe's and found an awesome set that regularly was $124...but on clearance for $31.  Yes, over 90 bucks off.  AWESOME.

Anyway, thought I'd show you some photos.

This is our house when it was first put up for sale.  Notice the mounds of mulch covered dirt, the tree directly in front of our front door, lots of shrubs and the very odd patch in the middle of our lawn (strawberries, as it turns out).  Unfortunately, this is not what it looked like by the time we bought it in February.  It had been empty since August, so underneath all the snow was a very overgrown yard.  My husband dug out the little tree, all the shrubs (except those by the tree in the left corner of the photo, they hide a large green electrical box we didn't even know was in our yard until we closed on our house), flattened the mounds as much as possible, dug out the strawberry patch, and seeded the whole she-bang.

So here is what it looked like a few days ago.  Much better for our purposes (the grass is still coming in though).  However, my big tree is blocking the view of the front door.  And the front door is dingy and scuffed.  And plain white.

And this is what it looks like now!!!  Painted red, new hardware, and I got on a ladder with a saw and pruned some branches myself.  Don't know the first thing about pruning trees, and didn't bother Googling it (the source of all knowledge) so hopefully I didn't do any permanent damage!

We still are in the process of building shutters and a windowbox, and we will be painting the trim around the front door, the railing and the garage doors soon.  It will look AWESOME and oh so charming when I'm done.  Stay tuned!

Link up at : {M} Ask Anna-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Mo Momma {T} Creating a House of Grace-Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Embellishing Life-All Thingz Related {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Eisy Morgan-Bella Before and After-Sew Woodsy -Goodbye City Hello Suburbs-Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims -A Mommy's Life with a touch  of yellow {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Saved by Love Creations-Momnivore's Dilemma  {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Just a Girl-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Young & Crafty-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-A Little Knick Knack-Fingerprints on the Fridge -504 Main-Cookie Nut Creations-Making Lemonade-French Country Cottage {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy-A Law Student's Journey

It's amazing what you can make from cardboard and an old sheet

I wish I could take credit for this brilliant idea, but I can't.  I adapted the pattern and tutorial from Choose to Thrive of her Ballard knock-off.

This is what I LOVE about the crafty/DIY blogging world.  The generous sharing of ideas.  I would never have thought of doing this!  I was planning on building a wood file holder to hang on my wall, but not only would it have been incredibly challenging to build, it wouldn't have been big enough to suit my needs.  I needed a lot of pockets to hide my clutter, and one day it came to me.  I could use the idea I saw on another blog, double the size and hang it on the inside of one of my pantry doors (yes, I have two pantries.  Don't hate me.), where no one would see it.  PERFECT.  I hadn't pinned the tutorial, so it took multiple tries Googling to find the post, but I did!  Thanks to Nike for sharing her awesome project.

In addition to adding another column of pockets, I adjusted the spacing to fit my door.  The flaps in the middle share a hole in the cardboard back, so they are RIGHT next to each other (necessary to fit the width of my door).  I DID run into a problem when I went to put it up.  It's called a doorknob.  So I took off the inside knob, gouged out a small hole in the backside (without going all the way through) to accommodate the metal prong sticking out about a half inch.  Then I cut a disc out of an old sour cream lid to put over the knob opening and screwed it into place, to then hold the outside knob on.  Then screwed my cardboard masterpiece to the door.  Cut out labels on my Cricut for the finishing touch.

I love it.  Total cost was $2 for the old sheet I got at the thrift store.  Cardboard, duct tape, spray adhesive and hot glue I already had.  And now my countertops and table are clutter free.  Hip hip hooray!



Link up at : {M} Ask Anna-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Mo Momma {T} Creating a House of Grace-Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Embellishing Life-All Thingz Related {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Eisy Morgan-Bella Before and After-Sew Woodsy -Goodbye City Hello Suburbs-Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims -A Mommy's Life with a touch  of yellow {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Saved by Love Creations-Momnivore's Dilemma  {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Just a Girl-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Young & Crafty-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-A Little Knick Knack-Fingerprints on the Fridge -504 Main-Cookie Nut Creations-Making Lemonade-French Country Cottage {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy-A Law Student's Journey

A Girl Named Zippy book review

A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
From the cover: "When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would run around like a circus monkey, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back in time to when small-town America was still trapped in the amber of the innocent post-war period—people help their neighbors, go to church, keep barnyard animals in their backyards.

To three-year-old Zippy, it makes perfect sense to strike a bargain with her father to keep her baby bottle—never mind that when she does, it's the first time she's ever spoken. The words never stop once Zippy finds her voice, and it is a voice that Kimmel captures perfectly page after page. In her nonplussed family, Zippy has the ideal supporting cast: her beautiful yet dour brother, Danny, a seeker of the true faith; her sweetly sensible sister, Lindy, who wins the local beauty pageant; her mother, Delonda, who dispenses wisdom from the corner of the couch; and her father, Bob Jarvis, who never met a bet he didn't take. The world seen through Zippy's eyes is vivid and occasionally mind-boggling, especially when Zippy grapples with the meaning of time and has to go lie in a "worm hole" to recover.

Whether describing a serious case of chicken love, another episode with the evil old woman across the street, or the night Zippy's dad borrows thirty-six coon dogs and a raccoon to prove to the complaining neighbors just how quiet his two dogs are, Kimmel treats readers to a heroine as appealing, naive, and knowing as Scout Finch as she navigates the quirky adult world surrounding Zippy."

This was such a charming book to me.  I've always longed for small town life, simpler times.  Reading her stories also reminded me of my own childhood.  Not that mine resembled Haven Kimmel's childhood, but rather something more universal about this book resonated with me.  I think A Girl Named Zippy would make anyone feel nostalgic for times long past, whether they grew up in a small town in Indiana or not.
It also offered a reminder to me as a parent the surprising perceptiveness of a child.  And I'm not going to lie, the concluding story of the book left me a little teary-eyed.  
I will say that it was a little hard to get through at times.  It is sweet and nostalgic, not fast-paced and thrilling.  But worth the time, I think.  I'm definitely interested in reading She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana, which is in essence the sequel to A Girl Named Zippy.
Overall, I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.