Quote of the Week: Photography

"Photography is created not by the camera but by the vision and the eye behind the camera." 

- Unknown

You are my Sunshine/Momma

One of the songs I have always sung to Noah over the years is the children's classic, You are my Sunshine. At some point, I started changing the word sunshine to "Noah." And then at some point, he started saying "Momma" when you should say "sunshine." It's the closest I'll probably ever get to really hearing Noah sing and my heart melts every time we get to his "part and he says "Momma."  Recently I was telling some friends about our rendition of this song and they urged me to video it, so I did.

It's a little hard to hear Noah although he does get louder as the song goes on. Note to self: next time get closer to Noah and make sure you sing a little softer since you are holding the camera.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Pillow Talk

For the past 14 years, Noah has not really ever slept on or used a pillow. I have tried to get him to do so countless times and he'd just always end up throwing it knocking it off on to the floor and just sleeping flat.

Well, in the past 3-4 months he has started sleeping on a (Clemson) pillow. While he isn't actually sleeping in these pictures, he is laying on it while watching a video. 

Linked to 5 Minutes for Special Needs

and 5 Minutes for Moms

Thrifty Paper Storage

One of my biggest dilemmas in organizing my creative studio was how to store my scrapbook paper. Paper crafting is one of my favorite crafting mediums (although freezer paper stenciling now runs a close second) so I have LOTS of scrapbook paper. 


I'm almost embarrassed to show you this but this was my old method of storing scrapbook paper in a large plastic box.....

And as you can probably see, it just wasn't working anymore. The paper was not sorted and it would take me forever to find a piece of paper that I was looking for and worst of all - the paper was sometimes getting bent! 


So, I new I needed a new method and started searching for new ideas. I knew that I didn't want to shell out a lot of money for a fancy storage unit, I wanted to DIY it. So, I googled, I asked friends, I looked on Pinterest, and finally I stumbled upon this you tube video and the wheels started turning in my little head. 


So I took a couple of these boxes

mixed in with a few other supplies. 


And now, my paper is stored like this.....

Ahhhhh! Love it! Best part?? This storage system was under 10 dollars to create!!


Wanna know how I did it?  


What You will Need:
Large boxes - I used old priority mail boxes that are 14 1/2 by 13 1/2 inches. 
Ziploc bags
Post it tabs
X-acto knife
Paint color of your choice and foam paint brush
Hot glue and glue gun
Ribbon
Labels for outside of boxes


How to make the boxes:


1. Cut your box to size you want using the X-acto knife. I cut mine so that it was about 12 1/2 inches tall.
2. Put your box together and secure with tape. 
3. Now paint your box! My box needed 3 coats in order to completely cover all the writing on the box.
4. Once your boxes are completely dry, glue on your ribbon using your glue gun. I did this because I'm not the best at using an X-acto knife so my edges are a little choppy in places so the ribbon covers up un-clean edges perfectly! 
5. Create labels for your boxes and glue them on. I made my labels in my Silhouette software and then cut them out of white cardstock. I just used glue dots to adhere them to the boxes. 


Now let's talk about the different labels and how to store the paper.....
I ended up with 5 different boxes for the following main categories: Colored Cardstock (I have two colored card stock boxes), Holidays and Themes, Patterned Paper, and Paper Packs. Each box then has sub categories. For example, in the holidays and themes box, the paper is divided into subcategories like winter, Christmas, summer, cooking, etc...  At some point, I'll probably add a box for scraps and most likely end up with the holiday paper and themed paper each in its own box. 


When I was sorting the paper, my living room floor looked like this for a little bit....

Holy Paper Batman!


Once I had it all separated, each subcategory  is stored in one of these jumbo ziplock bags......

 

I got them at Walmart and there are 12 in a package for about 2 dollars. I didn't want the zip top on them so I simply cut them off at about an inch from the top.

Then I used these post it tabs to write the name of each category on....

I also got those at Walmart and there are 24 of them in a package for about 3 dollars.I just wrote the name of each category on a label using a Sharpie and then stuck it on the top of the bag. 

Here's what it looks like when it is in the bag with the label tab..... 

So I just did that for each subcategory and then put them in the box for each main category. I have both 8 1/2 x 11 paper and 12 x 12 paper in the same bags. I put the 8 /12 x 11 paper in the front of the bags with the 12 x 12 behind it. I have my boxes all lined up on my bookshelf and just love how it looks and how easy it is to just run to the bookshelf and just grab the bag I need and then when I'm finished I just slide the bag back in the right box. 

Here's a couple of more views...... 

close up side view of one box

front view of one box

top view of one box

Linking up to the link parties listed in my sidebar

and

Back to School Counter Downer

I think my child is probably one of the few children on the planet that loves school so much that he is upset when it becomes time for summer break. Sometimes I'm not so sure if it is school that he loves so much or the routine of school. Either way, he has been asking pretty much since the last day of school how many more days until summer break is over and it's time to go back to school.

Now that we are in the home stretch of the first day of school (just three weeks left here) I decided to make him a Back to School Counter Downer. (In one of Noah's videos, Elmo has something that counts down the number of days till Christmas and refers to it as a "Counterdowner" which is why we call it that. Gotta love Elmo.)

So, I was in the Dollar Tree the other day and I saw this yellow felt school bus....

I knew it would be perfect for Noah's back to school counter downer. (Noah adores the school bus almost as much as he adores school!) So I walked around for a few minutes with the bus in my hands wondering exactly what I'd do with it when my friend, Monika, suggested putting poster board behind it. That gave me an idea so I grabbed a piece of black poster board.

When I got home, I used a pencil to trace the school bus onto the black poster board and cut it out. I then traced where the windows would go, grabbed my chalkboard paint, and a foam brush and painted the first window with the chalkboard paint so that we could use chalk to count down the days. When they were dry, I glued the school bus onto the poster board. I used my Silhouette machine to cut the words "days until school starts" out of a scrap of blue vinyl I had left over from another project and put those words in the second and third windows. I tied a piece of ribbon around a piece of chalk and glued that to the back of the bus then I glued some ribbon to make a hanger to the back of the bus as well.

And this is the end result..................

And here is my cutie with his back to school counterdowner!

 Yep, he totally LOVED it! 

And now it hangs on his door!

Linking up to the parties listed in my sidebar

and

Quote of the Week: Full Heart vs. Empty Heart

"In a full heart there is room for everything

and in an empty heart there is room for nothing."

- Antonio Porchia

Weekend Wonders: The One with Cute Shoes

First a little editing note, Friday Favorites is merging into Weekend Wonders since I have started  participating in Five Minute Fridays via Gypsy Mama.

Ok, on to the good stuff......
A short list this week full of all DIY/Crafty Stuff! 

DIY Laptop Sleeve

How cute is this laptop sleeve made from contact paper and permanent markers created by Taylor over at Mary Janes and Galoshes. 

Footstool Makeover

I have been looking for a stool like this for my creative studio. I love this footstool makeover over at Home Plus Something.

101 Pretty Free Printables

Check out this awesome list of 101 FREE printables complied by Everything Etsy.

Scrabble Tile Drink Coasters

I love all the nifty things people seem to do with scrabble tiles and these coasters over at Crafting a Green World are no exception. Cute and fun!

Interchangeable Shoe Bows

How adorable are these interchangeable shoe bows? The shoes were originally pink and then Christie at A Lemon Squeezy Home SPRAY PAINTED gray. The bows attach with velcro and can be changed to coordinate with your outfits. I am not that into wearing gray but I could definitely see me sporting a pair of these in brown!

And me?

 My favorite feature of my own from this week was the reveal of my dresser makeover. 

Five Minute Friday: Full

It’s Friday – the day where I join other bloggers and take five short minutes to just write from the heart. Five Minute Friday is hosted by Gypsy Mama and this week’s prompt is full.

There are where by the end of the day, I'm exhausted and left feeling empty. It's those days where nothing seems to go right that leave me feeling the emptiest; the days when Noah's behavior has been trying my patience all day long, the phone has rung off the hook, the washing machine broke, and I burned dinner. I know you have had those days too.

As a Mom and wife, sometimes it is hard for me to take time out for myself. I get so caught up in making a pretty home, taking care of my son, and my husband that at times I forget to take time out for me. I'm happy to report that I think I have actually gotten better at that over this years and I've learned that when I'm feeling empty, I need to take some time for me to fill up my tank again. I've learned that taking time out for me isn't a sign of weakness like I once thought, it's actually a sign of strength knowing when to say "Enough is enough. I need a break." And usually after a hot bath, blogging or journaling, a cup of tea, talking with my Mom or a  friend, venting to my hubby, getting some snuggles from my little man, praying, crafting, watching a movie, or just taking some "me" time, I start feeling full again.

Like anyone, I too have days where I am left weary but as a whole, when I step back and look at the big picture of my life, I'm blessed to be able to say that it is very full. My life is full of friends and family both near and far. My life is full of love. My life is full of blessings. My heart: it's overflowing it is so full of love for the family and friends I choose to surround myself with.

Wordless Wednesday: Angel Choir Boy Take 2

Last year I shared a post that had multiple pictures of Noah doing a pose that my Mom and I nicknamed "the angel choir boy" pose. Noah will often take both his hands and clasp them together and then put them by his head. His therapists/teachers call it a soothing technique, I call it cute.

See for yourself......

Angel Choir Boy at Baseball

Angel Choir Boy Chilling at Home

Angel Choir Boy Sporting Shades

Angel Choir Boy eating Rice Krispie Treats

Angel Choir Boy Watching the Tigers

Angel Choir Boy in Bed

Linked to 5 Minutes for Special Needs

and 5 Minutes for Moms

Dresser Makeover

I have an old dresser in my creative studio which houses different craft supplies including my Silhouette machine. Once I chose my new color scheme I knew I would need to paint the dresser to match. 


Here's the before picture................

After sanding and priming, I gave her a coat of teal paint. I took the handles off and sprayed them black. But it still needed something else so I decided to cut out different inspirational type words out of black vinyl using my Silhouette machine and added those to each drawer. 


And now it looks like this............

Here's a couple of close ups of the drawers......

I lined the drawers with black and white patterned paper. I just put a light layer on Mod Podge in the drawer, laid the papers down, smoothed out any wrinkles, and added a light layer of Modge Podge so now the inside is pretty too.

I LOVE how it turned out! 

(Linking to the link parties listed in my sidebar)

Coley's Corner on Facebook

After reading multiple articles about blog networking on Facebook, I jumped on the bandwagon and created a Facebook page for Coley's Corner. Thought I'd share it with my readers so you can go check it out and better yet go "like" it! 

Quote of the Week: A Life of Purpose

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."

 - David Bryne

Friday Favorites # 10: The One with the Ruffle Lamp

Yay, it's Friday, which means it is time for another Friday Favorites. Below are some of my latest favorite finds via bloggy land. 

Crafts

Big Books Tote

I love this "I life big books and cannot lie" library tote created by Love Endures All Things. It makes me giggle.

Ruffle Lamp

This ruffley lamp Jen at Craft-O-Maniac made had me at hello. I love the color, the swirls, and the ruffles! 

Family Scrabble Wall Art

How cute is this Scrabble wall art featuring the names of all the family members over at Remodelaholic. 

Paint Chip Card

I love things made from paint chips and this card from Yearning to Create is no different.


Beachy Frame

I love this beachy frame from Pressed Down, Shaken Together. It's absolutely perfect for displaying beach vacation photos.

Recipes

(Mostly) Guilt Free Potato Salad

This is a yummy recipe brought to you by Rambley that would be great to make for summer family gatherings.

Misc.

Date Your Husband: Let me Start the Conversation for You

I love this post by Amy at The Idea Room. She shares some great conversation starters for couples so that on your next date night you talk about something besides the kids!


20 Ways to Improve Your Blog
Great blogging tips from Crystal and Co.


As for me, this week I shared my bulletin board makeover, a craft room round up and some pictures of my boy.