Bieber fever turned cold

So what?

I've been a very naughty blogger.  Where have I been you ask?
Let me answer that question with a little ditty.  Once there was a girl.  This girl had a beautiful family and liked to take pictures of them.  Over the years she collected many, many photos. These photos ended up in a big box.  We're talking big box. Often the girl would attempt to "scrap book" said photos.  She would sit there with other ladies chatting and "scrap booking" for a couple hours and end up with one page done.  Who has that kind of time and patience?  This lovely girl decided that each page didn't need to be embellished with stickers and cut outs and such. She would let the pictures speak for themselves.  She decided to buy some nice leather photo albums.  10 in fact.  She would just slide the photos inside the waiting slots.  But...first she would have to organize the pictures that she had taken over the years in chronological order.  Sigh.


I've been around.  I've done stuff.  I've had a good time.  But I'm going to resist back tracking and just start anew.  I've got that big box to worry about and stuff.  That's enough for me.

Made with love and suckers!

Valentines for 25 1st graders.  Check!
 

(sorry about the poor picture quality)

Got the idea from HERE

xoxo

The renovation begins!

So My 40th Birthday is coming up.

 

 

In 51/2 weeks to be exact.

How did this happen?

Although thankfully a little wiser, I feel like that same girl at 17.  

Where did the time go?

All the other birthdays easily passed without any problems.  30 was a breeze.  I've never been one to care enough about my age to lie or worry about getting wrinkles early.

Why does this one feel different?  It seems that the closer it gets the more obsessed about it I get.  

Have I done everything I wanted to do "in my 30's"?  I know life doesn't end at 40 and I know that I've got maybe 1 or 2 (tee hee hee) good years left on this earth, but am I who I wanted to be yet? 

Am I on the path? 

I know I don't want to be fat and 40. 

(no offense to all my pleasantly plump and happy about it sistas)

I dreamed of being a "fit" young mom at 40.  Well "fit" I aint.  Fit left me at about 34.  Can I get it back?  Is there still time?  

What can I do with 5 1/2 weeks?

Well today was the first day of my  

"40 and fabulous" renovation. 

I'm exercising.

I'm eating well.

I'm reading.

I'm creating.

I'm trying to serve others.

I'm laughing.

I'm organizing.

I'm cleaning.

I'll keep you posted on my progress!

By the way.....big blowout bash or quiet get together with those I'm closest to?  Whatdaya think?

xoxo

Love all around!

So what does one do with a 2x6 piece of wood?  I'll tell ya!

This!

and this

Besides a 2x6 board that I got at Lowes, here were my supplies:


Sandpaper
paint
mod podge
fabric
ribbon
wooden letters
hot glue
distressing ink

 

I first cut the wood to the desired length depending on how big your wooden letters or your pictures are.

I sanded the wood down a bit to get rid of any jagged edges.

For the "xo" blocks:

I painted the blocks red and the letters white and used some of the distressing ink on the edges.

I slightly sanded the painted blocks.

I cut some fabric a little smaller and mod podged it onto the front of the block.

When it was dry, I glued the letters onto the blocks with hot glue.

I tied a sweet bow and hot glued that onto the top of the block.

For the picture block:

I painted the block a layer of green paint and then a layer of black.  (I like the affect of the green showing through a little when I sand the blocks after painting)

I slightly sand the painted block.

I mod podged my picture of choice onto the block and added a layer of mod podge around the whole block.

When it was dry, I added a decorative handle and tied a ribbon on one side of the handle.

Cuteness right?

The picture of Christ I used was a photo that I had taken of a print I have from artist Liz Lemon Swindle

but you could use any picture you like.  I think I'll do a family photo next.

         I linked up HERE   

                

 

           XOXO

Valentine Topiaries

Saw THIS and decided to get some felt of my own and make these.

 

 Puts me in the mood for romance crafting!

Crumbs and the like

Ya know when you start cleaning and then you see dust and grime everywhere and you just cant stop?

 Yeah. Me too.  I'm stuck in a horrible grimey bubble and I can't seem to clean my way out.  I think I might be going crazy. 

I want some organization in this home.  I NEED IT!  Badly.  

It all started with the "cleaning out" of the pantry. I oh so innocently went to grab my store bought bread crumbs and couldn't find the darn things.  Look, I'm all for making my own but...why?  I knew I had them.  I looked on every shelf, behind every half open bag of chocolate chips and outdated bottle of dressing.  Something had to be done.  Darn it. I was gonna have to take every last item out and clean and then...put...everything.....back.  Ick. 

Here's the mess before I began.

It doesn't help that everything in the kitchen winds up in the pantry.  With 2 teenage boys constantly rummaging through there it's bound to be a mess.  Right?

Let me add that I just realized that a girl's pantry is pretty personal.  You can tell a lot about of family by their food stuffs.  Take for instance my pantry.   Someone might be trying to drop a few pounds by the look of all the slimfast products.  You might notice that we enjoy cuddling up by a fire with all the hot cocoa around.  The canned items might suggest that convenience is important to me.  All the cereal might tell you there are kids in the vicinity.  Hmmm.....interesting no?

Finished.  All Tidy. 

....For now.

 

What does your pantry say about you?

p.s.  Here is what I'm working on next.

Oh no you di 'nt!

xoxo