Crafty-ness (part 2)

As promised (albeit a little late) are some pictures of my jewelry crafty-ness. After doing this I realized that I haven't taken enough pictures of my jewelry. For the record I am NOT an LSU fan but I made a ton for my friends to sell at a game and took a nice picture but I have no pictures of my UT Longhorn pendants of which I AM a fan. I also made OU, A&M, Texas Tech and many others but alas, no proof. The picture with the two pendants shows a Scrabble Tile Pendant on the right. I made a TON of these and this is my only picture (sad).

I would like to thank my awesome, smart, crafty, gun totin' (biceps and triceps) friend Erica from Haphazard Happenstances for introducing me to Picasa and showing me how to make my pics AWESOME! I love it! It was so easy to install, it was fast, free and it uploads all your pictures in lighting fast speed.

I'll be sure to take pictures as I make more pendants and other jewelry. Take a look at my next project....I can't wait!

Crafty-ness (part 1)

Thought I'd show some of the pretties I've made in the past. I get excited about a lot of little crafts that I want to try. Once I prove to myself that I can do it, it turns into a memory and nothing more. The longest "craft" I did was cake baking/decorating....take a look

Can you tell which one was one of my first? I really did like making these creations but they were so time consuming and I'm such a perfectionist that it took longer than it really should have not to mention the mess it left behind in my kitchen. Unfortunately the smell of butter cream icing turns my stomach now :(

I've also tried various forms of card making and stamping. I still do this craft on occasion. It really is fun and relaxing. I just wish I had more time to design and create them.

Of course being in Texas and all....mum making

That's all for now. I'll be back later this week to post some pictures of my jewelry "crafty-ness" and maybe some other crafts I've dabbled in.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!!!

Here is what I did for the girls' classmates this year. I love finding new craft ideas to use and I fell in love with this one the moment I saw it! Thank you to La*T*Da for the idea.

It is a waffle cone with a ball of cotton candy! Isn't it adorable? I got so lucky with this one. Two Mondays ago we had a huge ladies event at my church. Our guest speaker was Lisa Bevere, whom I love, by the way, and an awesome Pink After Party wherein everything in the room was PINK! We have a member who makes wonderful cotton candy and I happen to run into him while he was making this wonderful concoction and just happen to ask how much he would charge me for a few bags of PINK cotton candy, which he blessed me with at no charge, by the way. I had most of the supplies needed to make this cute little treat (see below)




I also bought the Charm's Cotton Candy from the Dollar Tree just in case I didn't have enough and was surprised by the taste...it was actually pretty good. First I "balled" up the cotton candy and topped it on the waffle cone then I placed it in the triangle cello bag (found at Hobby Lobby in the party section) I then typed up a cute little saying in a very "valentiny" font from FontSpace

Punched the sayings out with the round punch and as you can see on the 1st batch I just left it round and on the 2nd batch I did use the scalloped scissors for a different look. Once that was done I punched a whole thru each tag, pulled a Valentine ribbon through and tied a simple tie and viola!



My girls loved them and couldn't wait to pass them out to their classmates...which makes me REALLY happy.

Is "would you like" better than "do you need"?

This past week I encountered something that made me realize that I need to learn how to rephrase my comments and/or questions. Let me set the scene for you....

It had been cold and rainy all week. Our morning started off the same...breakfast, ironing of clothes, lunches and hurrying to get out the door. We have a good 30-40 minute commute every morning and even longer on bad weather days.

1st out the car is my son....kisses and reminders as he is grabbing his bags and rushing to get to class on time.

Next Ava and and I get off together. I love walking my kindergartner to class every morning...and giving her hugs and kisses before she walks into her classroom....I realize that this is mainly for my comfort so let's leave it at that. This particular morning my youngest stayed home with her daddy so after leaving Ava off in class I was ready for my commute back north but 1st I make a stop at the ladies room.

The ladies room is right around the corner from where the doors are that lead to the parking lot. The school has been trying to fix these doors the last few days. There are 2 handicap buttons that open the doors, one from the inside and one from the outside. Now, it's an unspoken understanding that whenever kids are around the adults don't open the doors because it is the highlight of almost all the kids to push these buttons for all to walk through. Well, these buttons were out of service and only 1 door would open manually for almost a week. So, as I turn the corner I notice a silver haired lady bending over putting several things down on the ground and I rushed over to open the door for her and I, a well brought up southern girl, proceed to ask "Do you need any help?" in which she RUDELY snapped "NO! I don't NEED any help!". Well, of course I was taken aback and somewhat startled by not just her words but mainly by her tone. After realizing what she had said I began walking to my car. I will admit though that her words did hurt me in the feelings a little bit.

Now I didn't give it much thought that day but I did start thinking about it a few times these last couple of days and it finally hit me last night. Maybe I should have worded it differently. Maybe I should have asked "WOULD you like any help?" or "Can I help you?" not "do you NEED any help". It didn't matter to me that she was an older/elderly woman, I would have asked to help if it was a teenage kid. I didn't by any means think she was incapable of completing her task I was just offering to help. I know I really shouldn't care about this and just chalk it up to her having a bad morning, the lack of sun putting her in a bad mood, maybe SHE didn't want to go to school that day or maybe she thought I was being sarcastic, who knows? It could have been any number of things.

The point is I NEED to change my approach. I NEED to be more mindful of who I am speaking to and what I am saying and/or asking. They may be simple words to me but the receiving party may take them a differently. So, the next time I see someone, ANYONE, that looks like they could use a hand...I will commence with "Would you like some help?"

Can You Say "B-U-S-Y"?

Wow! So, 2009 is over and we are almost through the 1st quarter of 2010 and I haven't posted anything since last November! All I can say is I've been BUSY nothing else just....busy.


I have been looking for some really cute ideas for Valentine's Day. Trying to find something unique and fun for my girls to give to their classmates. Here's what I did last year and had a blast doing it.

I know my girls couldn't wait to pass them out. I've found some really cute and cheap ideas out in the blog world I plan on giving a try. I spend so much time clicking and reading all the blogs out there that I end up not "doing" anything....hence the "well-traveled mind" (smile)

Until the next time...Happy Traveling!

Gotta Have A 'Girl's Night Out'!

Okay, I have to say that I truly enjoyed my 'GNO' on Friday. About 9 of us ladies headed out to see New Moon then to dinner. The movie was GREAT but the company was AWESOME! Some of the ladies that went I work with 5 days a week and even serve together on Sundays or other church events. The other ladies I work with but I don't "work" with them daily. It was really nice to spend time together enjoying a common "addiction".

But speaking of GNO, I hadn't been out with friends in a really long time. My husband and I go out every now and then and usually hang out with one of 3 different couples. I LOVE going out with my hubby but there is something about going out with a bunch of ladies that gives you a different kind of excitement. I'm sure the anticipation of the movie was one thing but I really do feel that knowing that we all had a "date" together was part of all the fun too.

I know I schedule play dates for my kiddos and I'm realizing that scheduling "play dates" for myself are all well and good. Sometimes you just need some "girl" time whether it's watching a movie together or just hanging out with a cup of coffee and catching up. It's good to get together and just be girls.

I Love Reconnecting

This has been an amazing year so far. Of course it has gone by in a FLASH but it has been awesome none the less. What makes it even better or more amazing is that I am reconnecting with friends after years and years all thanks to Facebook!

I have to admit that I was very hesitant about doing it in the beginning and after I opened an account I didn't post anything or even put a picture up. But then out of nowhere I started getting requests for friends that I had lost touch with and now I'm all over FB. I have reconnected with friends that I lost touch with but never forgot. People that popped in my head from time to time, just wondering how they were doing, how their kids were doing etc. Now I know everyone is super busy these days and with kids it's not going to lighten up it's only gonna get busier and busier and that's okay because that's the way life is. With that said it is hard to keep in touch with everyone, unless you are superwoman and just has everything under control and has the time to call and write notes and cards on people's birthdays, has the time to call and just say "what's up" on top of being a mom, a wife, and for some a co-worker.

For those of us who aren't superwoman there is Facebook. It reminds you when it's a friend's birthday, you get to see pictures of your friend's families, you get a small glimpse into their lives (via their posts), you get to "chat" online and you can send "notes" to each other.

I know people either hate it (my hubby being one) or love it. Whatever the case may be I have to admit that I'm one of those that love it and I love that I'm back in my friend's lives and they in mine.