Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Sixteen Candles

Over the weekend, we celebrated Noah's 16th birthday with a very small gathering of family at Noah's restaurant of choice. 

Then we headed back to our house where he first opened presents. 
He was totally spoiled with lots of clothes and art supplies! 


Then we moved on to cake. Noah's awesome Clemson cake was made by our friend Deborah. 


As you can tell by the look on his face, he LOVED it!


And....... for the FIRST TIME in 16 years, HE ATE CAKE! 

It was a good birthday! 

Monday, October 29, 2012

Quote of the Week: Look with Our Heart



"No matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials -  
There is something in each day to embrace and cherish. 
Perhaps we should be looking less with our eyes and more with our hearts."

- D. Uchtdorf

Monday, October 22, 2012

Quote of the Week: Limits

"A limit on what  you can do puts 

a limit on what you will do." 
Anonymous 

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Weekend Wonders: Fall and Halloween Printables


You know I love some good printables and I have seen a lot of great ones in the blogosphere lately so I thought I'd share some of them with you this weekend. 

Fall Bucket List
 Funky Polkadot Giraffe shares this cute and fun fall bucket list printable.

Autumn Owlie Banner
Inspired by Peanut and Bean shares this adorable owl themed autumn banner.

Fall Subway Art
Smile Like You Mean It shares this fun fall themed subway art.

Fall Quote Printable
The Letter Four shares this cute printable featuring a fall themed quote.

Halloween Hershey Kisses Labels
Crystal and Co. shares these adorable printable labels for the bottoms of Hershey Kisses.

Trick or Treat Cuties
Stay at Home Artist shares this adorable trick or treat printable. You could frame it or even use it in a card. Too cute!

Halloween Subway Art
Smile Like You Mean It shares this fun Halloween subway art printable.

Halloween Candle Wrappers
Just print these candle wrappers from Mr. Printables then wrap them around some glass candle holders and you have instant Halloween decor.

Along Came a Spider
The Diary of Dave's Wife shares this cute spider themed printable. 


Friday, October 19, 2012

Crafts from Halloweens Past

I thought I'd do a round up of some of the Halloween crafts I have done the past couple of years. Lots of good stuff! 





Halloween Pencil Treats

Linking up to the parties listed in my side bar


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Not So Scary Houses Display


I am a little behind in posting some of my Halloween things this year since I have been so sick recently but better late than never.

My style of Halloween decorating is more cutesy than scary .

One of my favorite pieces of my Halloween decor are my "not so scary Halloween houses." 


I made the little houses a few years back by decorating wooden bird houses I purchased at Michael's. They sit together on a side table in our living room. 



This year, I added "creepy cloth" that I found at the Dollar Tree to the display and love it. 




Linking to the parties listed in my sidebar

Monday, October 15, 2012

Quote of the Week: Life is Like a Camera


"Life is like a camera - 
just focus on what's important, 
capture the good times, 
develop from the negatives, 
and if things don't turn out, 
just take another shot."

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Mr. Kangaroo

I have been really sick the past few days - like stomach flu sick that required a minor care ER trip. So sick I have been staying in bed sipping on ginger ale since Monday. When Noah left for school on Monday, he knew I was feeling bad and would be going to the doctor. On Monday afternoon when he got home from school, he had a tiny kangaroo in his back pack (from the school store) and J asked him who it was for and he said Momma. So, they brought the little plastic kangaroo, who in my state of sickness I un-originally named Mr. Kangaroo into my room and promptly set him on my bedside table right next to the tissues and there Mr. Kangaroo has sat and watched over me the past few days while Noahie has been at school. He is such a sweet boy.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Walnut Owlie


If you have been reading my blog for long, you know I have an affinity for owls. While visiting back in September my BFF's husband showed me this adorable owl he made out of walnuts. He even has a tutorial on his you tube channel on how to make it. 


Check it out!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Quote of the Week: Next Chapter


"You can't start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last one." 
- Unknown

Friday, October 5, 2012

Knocking the Dirt Off

"When you're up to bat, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have good footing so you have to knock the dirt of your cleats even if there is no dirt on the field or your feet never actually touch the ground! It's an important part of the game. All baseball players know that."
- Noah and Granddad 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Glittery Candles made with Mod Podge


As I previously mentioned, a couple of weeks ago Plaid Crafts sent me a big box full of different Mod Podge goodies to create something for Halloween! Opening the box was a bit like Christmas morning!  After seeing all the goodies, I had so many ideas floating through my head and it was hard to narrow it down to one. Ultimately I decide to make some glittery candles with charms.

Want to know how to make your own glittery candles? Well, let me show you! 

Supplies needed: 


Black glitter
Battery operated pillar candles (I found mine at the Dollar Tree.)
Foam Brush
Mod Podge Acrylic Shapes (I used a circle charm and rectangle charm.)
Scrapbook paper
Letters (I cut mine out of cardstock using my Silhouette but you could always use sticker letters.)
Ribbon

Instructions:

1. Cover your workspace to protect it. This can be a bit messy! You'll also probably want to pour some of the Mod Podge into a container so you don't get black glitter all in your jar of Mod Podge.


2. Brush the sparkle Mod Podge onto your candle. 


3. Roll your candle in the glitter. If any spots are bare, just add a little more Mod Podge to those spots and then roll the candle in the glitter again. Be sure to do the top of the candle too.
4. Let your candles dry and then spray with the Mod Podge clear sealant. This keeps the glitter from falling off. 


5. To make the charms, trace the clear acrylic shapes onto the back of your scrapbook paper and cut them out. Brush Mod Podge onto the shape and then press down the scrapbook paper onto the shape making sure that it is smooth and there are no bubbles. Brush a tiny amount of Mod Podge onto the front of the shape where you want your letters to go.
6. Tie the ribbon around each of the candles threading the charm through as you tie the bow. 



7. Display your beautiful glitter candles!  

For more inspiration and ideas for Mod Podge projects, visit Plaid Crafts on FacebookTwitter, or Pinterest.

Disclosure: This post is part of a paid campaign with Plaid Crafts and Blueprint Social however all opinions in this post are my own.




;

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Noah's Clemson Quilt

Noah received a big surprise in the mail yesterday! 



He received a beautiful quilt from Love Quilts


Love Quilts is a group of cross stitchers who create quilts for children with special needs and life long or life threatening illnesses. Each quilt square is cross stitched by hand by different members of their group from all over the United States. Each quilt has a theme which guides them in what type of squares to create for the quilt. 


When I was asked about a theme for Noah's quilt, I knew that he'd want a Clemson quilt but I wasn't sure if they would know what Clemson was so I suggested football and baseball done in orange and purple with Clemson in parentheses but when I received the email from Noah's Love Quilt contact, she told me she knew all about Clemson, that she too lived in South Carolina and her daughter went to Clemson so she knew of Clemson cross stitch patterns and what not. 

(Collage of close up photos I took of some of the quilt squares)

What resulted is an absolutely beautiful and special baseball and football Clemson themed quilt that Noah LOVES. 



We want to say a very special THANK YOU to all of the lovely ladies from Love Quilts who lovingly made squares for Noah's quilt. It is so special and something Noah (and his parents!) will treasure for years to come. 




Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Mod Podge Goodies

I recently received a box full of Mod Podge goodies from Plaid. I've made a Halloween project with these goodies and will be sharing it here on Thursday but for now, take a peak at the video below and see what all I received!


Monday, October 1, 2012

Quote of the Week: Desire to Create


"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human sole." 
- Elder Uchtdorf