:: Waiting for Daddy ::

In an attempt to find my creative mojo again I started looking through some old photos hoping I would find one that would inspire me.  That's when I came across this one of my Little Diva.  When the kids were little we live in Seattle and we had a long slender window by the front door.  Almost every day the kids would take turns watching and waiting at that window for Daddy to come home.  I would always know when he was home because I could hear their squeals and the little jumps of joys...my Hunky Hubby and I sure do miss those days!

It's been a year...

It's been a year since I blogged anything at all.  It's not that I haven't thought about it but it seemed I just couldn't bring myself to actually sit down and do it.  SO much has happened over this last year...I have a new job, we had to move, my husband went back to school, he is also working hard to get his business up and going, my brother got married, my sister had a baby, my other brother moved out to California...I just haven't seemed to be able to make the time to blog about any of it and my creative mojo seems to have gone on vacation.  I am embarrassed to say that I started a gift for a close friend about this time LAST year and it still remains unfinished...how terrible is that?!  It was supposed to be a birthday gift...hoping I can get off my butt and finish it for her this year.

I recently finished a scrapbook layout which then finally prompted me to get my new craft space organized so that I can use it and try to get some of those creative juices flowing...and maybe blog again a little bit...even if it is just for me and no one else.

SO if there is anyone out there still reading this blog...then cross your fingers for me!  And if not, then I will just cross my fingers for myself! ;)

I am a Soccer Mom

Can I just take a moment and share this video of my Soccer Stud from his middle school soccer game last night? He is hard to miss...he is the goal keeper and the one dressed in bright orange!  Even just watching the video leaves me with my heart in my throat...especially the last play that you see where he is sliding in the middle of all these players coming right at him...it might be a little hard to see in the video but he indeed comes away with the ball.

I am so incredibly proud of him. He makes some truly amazing plays and I find myself in awe of the fact that he is mine. He works so hard to get better with each game and his goal is to play soccer in college. I feel so blessed to be the mother of this amazing kid.


**NOTE:  You will most likely have to click on the video twice...the second time so that you can view it through YouTube.

Thanks for letting me share.

A little more Valentine Love

Just thought I would share a little more of our Valentine decor.  Since we celebrate all month long with our Valentine Mailboxes I figure that means it is okay to show a few more pics...

This is our formal dining area.  I love the little conversation heart pillows -- picked those up from Target last year.  Bought every single color they had!

I love these candles...picked them up at an after Christmas sale at Joann's one year but I think the candy canes look a bit like hearts so I pull them back out for February and the plant is one that I picked up for Christmas and by some sheer miracle it is still alive, so I stuck a couple of hearts on sticks in it and now it is all set for the month of love...

Added a few more printables from around Blogland and more hearts on a stick ;)

Since we don't have a mantle I try to pretend that our family room entertainement center is like a mantle so it periodicaly gets changed out for the holidays...or whenever the spirit moves me.

More Christmas candles repurposed for Valentine's Day...

And then finally is my big mirror turned chalkboard.  The quote reads "Love doesn't make the world go round. Love makes the ride worthwhile"

Had to put out the Winnie the Pooh Hunk Hubby gave me years ago for Valentine's Day -- I think he actually gave me that before we were even married so he is at least 14 years old...still looking cute as ever!

Valentine's Day isn't over...

Valentine's Day isn't over...at least not in our house.  SO, I am using that as my justification for just now getting around to sharing my Valentines decor.  I have been struggling to find my creative mojo and in all honesty, I was just going to skip putting out any decor at all this year but the Hunky Hubby convinced me otherwise.

I never really used to be a fan of Valentine's Day but when my kiddos were younger I wanted to try and make it special for them.  So a few years ago we decided that rather than just celebrating our love for each other and our little family on February 14th, we would make it a month long event.  I put out mailboxes for each of us along with a box of valentine cards and the rule is that everyone has to put a "love note" in each box at least once a week...this has been especially nice as the kids have gotten older and we will periodically hear that someone wishes the other hadn't been born ;)  For now our mailboxes are simple white photo boxes and I made flags for each one.  The banner is a free printable I came across (need to find the link to share).

I have already been gifted 2 chocolate bars, an I {heart} Mickey t-shirt, and lots of sweet notes.  My little Diva made me a book filled with reasons why she loves me -- not gonna lie, brought tears to my eyes.  My favorite valentine this year so far though was the one I saw Little Diva put in her brother's mailbox..."Even though you are mean and annoying sometimes, you are still the best brother in the world"  LMAO!  Awesome!

I do have some wooden mailboxes along with pretty scrapbook paper to decorate them...I just haven't gotten around to actually doing it yet.  Did I mention I have had said wooden mailboxes for 2 years now?  However the pretty scrapbook paper is something I just picked up a couple of weeks ago ;)

Something else I whipped up for our month of love was a little specimen art...

I found a package of felt heart stickers at Joann's and then matted some scrapbook paper...easy peasy!  The blocks I picked up from Target last year and the little subway heart is one of the many found in Blogland.  Of course I had to add a little touch of Disney too.

Will share some more of our decor tomorrow...picked up some magnetic paint today in order to make a few gifts for my Little Diva's friend.  Will share those soon too...hopefully it all turns out as good in real life as it all looks in my head! ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. xoxo

a NEW {attitude}

So, I have been trying to write this post for about a week.  I start, then I stop...start, then stop.  I had this whole long post and when I went back to read it, it was more like a pity party.  UGH.  Suffice it to say, things have been really tough since just after Thanksgiving...I have been struggling with just trying to be thankful for my blessings, despite feeling like everything is falling down around me.  I am going to spare you all the sob story because when it comes down to it, I know there are others who are struggling even more than I am right now.

I wasn't going to bother with a WORD for 2012 but then one day, after crying to my BFF for a bit and then cruising Pinterest, my word just kind of found me and so my word for 2012 is {ATTITUDE}  And to help myself remember to focus on being positive I printed a couple of items I had pinned, framed them and put them on my bathroom counter to remind me every morning and every night...

I think my favorite is that stubborn looking little girl (art by Mary Engelbriet)...pretty sure if I asked my mom she would say that is exactly what I looked like growing up! ;)

I did manage to do a few Christmas projects...one being an EPIC fail and the others, well I somehow managed to lose all my "before" pictures and so I just never got around to posting anything.  Lame, I know.  Seems kind of late to post any Christmas stuff now though, don't ya think?

2012 is going hold a lot of changes for my family with my little sister having her first baby and my little brother getting married, plus my little family of 4 will be downsizing this summer.  I expect there will be lots of opportunity for being creative which will hopefully help me keep my sanity throughout all of it.

One of my creative projects this year is to participate in the 52 Photos challenge.  I confess, I started it last year but ended up only stickiing with it for a few weeks.  I am determined to complete the challenge this year though.  The first week's theme was NEW and so my picture is of my determination to have a NEW {attitude}.

Anyone else playing along with the 52 Photos...or do you have a WORD for 2012?  Would love see your pics or hear what YOUR word might be.

Have you started your Christmas cards yet?

Merry Montage Christmas

Christmas cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Am I the only one who wasn't up at the crack of dawn...or skipping sleep altogether in order to go out and brave the craziness called Black Friday?  My sister is one who enjoys going out every year but it is just not for me.  Good luck to all of you who were brave enough to go!

We have had a whirl wind few days around here.  My hubby surprised me Monday and called me at work to tell me we were heading out of town...that night!  I was a bit flustered and overwhelmed at first -- I had a whole list of projects planned out and I was so completely taken off guard...wasn't quite sure how we were going to pull it off.  In the end, we managed to get out the door and on the road and really had a great time enjoying some true fall weather at Stone Mountain.

We had a wonderful room at the Stone Mountain Inn complete with a patio and two rocking chairs...pure bliss!  The mountain is such a spectacular sight, the leaves were gorgeous and at night Stone Mountain was decked out in a most awesome display of Christmas lights.  Not even the monsoon of rain that came through could dampen our spirits (okay, if I am keeping it real I will admit that I was initially pouting thinking the rain had ruined out plans but in the end, it all worked out.)

We even caught Santa before he headed off for a hot cocoa break...

If you have never been to Stone Mountain, I highly recommend it.  I think the fall is the perfect time to go to enjoy all the beautiful fall color.  Playing in the leaves was definitely my favorite part!

I am so thankful to my Hunky Hubby for planning our last minute fall getaway.  We all agreed it was a great time and are hoping to go back again and stay even longer.  

We made it back home in time to spend a small, quiet Thanksgiving with my best friend, her hubby and her kiddos.

I hope you all had a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

Making my own Fall color...

Living in Florida, we don't get much in the way of Fall color.  Makes me miss living in Seattle...the beautiful colors of the leaves, trips to the pumpkin patch, the crispness in the air...pure Autumnal Bliss. *sigh*

Things looked so sparse once I got the Halloween goodies packed away so I decided to add just a touch of fall color around the house before Christmas takes over in full force. 

I have some branches on the top of our entertainment center -- normally they are pretty bare but for Halloween we had a few bats making their home among them.  I came across some fabric fall leaves my mom gave me a couple years ago and decided to add a few to my branches so I could enjoy a little fall color. 

I didn't want to attach them permanently so I just grabbed a needle and thread and went about tieing them on the branches wherever I saw fit...

My cute little scarecrows thought it would be a great place to hang out...

So now I can enjoy this view in our family room...for a couple of weeks anyway...

My Diva Princess had a little fun playing in the leftover leaves...

HAPPY FALL YA'LL!

Homemade Corpse Bride

This year, the 3rd Annual Witch's Ball had a "black and white" theme.  All costumes had to be whatEVER your take was on "black and white". 

I decided I wanted to be a corpse bride...

Ideally, I would have loved to have looked like the one from Tim Burton's Corpse Bride movie but since the costumes were either too cheesy,too sleazy, or just too dang expensive, I opted to try and make my own version...plus hers is more blue and I needed to stick with the black and white theme.

I was lucky enough to get a deal on a dress from a thrift store...$20!  The only bummer was the zipper didn't work well, but since I am blessed to have a mother who is a seamstress she took the zipper out and made it so I could just lace the back up with ribbon.

This is what the dress looked like BEFORE...

I grabbed some scissors and went crazy on the hem...

I put some black Rit Dye and hot water in a bucket and stuck the bottom of the dress in and let it soak for awhile.  I added some tulle as well since I knew I was going to attempt to make some sort of veil.

I had also found some fabric spray paint and used it to spray the top of the dress as well.  I couldn't believe it when I saw fabric spray paint...WHO KNEW?!  The magic of spray paint for fabric!!

My mom also had a tiara I could use for my veil so I just handstitched the tulle around it and that was it.

I felt pretty good with how it turned out...and I was especially happy to have my costume done for a total cost of about $25!  What do you think?  Would you wear it?