life: forgiveness

*i hestitate to post this... but i figure i've always been honest with what's in my head & on my heart.. why stop now?*

i should be washing dishes & finishing laundry right now. the hubs has been pulling uniforms from the dryer all week. both bathrooms need to be cleaned, the dude's especially since it seems as if he threw himself a little water park party last night while taking a bath. i have a 'to do list' a mile long, and things are hardly getting crossed off this week. i'm lacking the physical motivation to get things done...

what i am doing is still reading sookie books. it feels like an escape for me, though nothing in my life right now warrants any sort of need for mental escape. i know i've slightly abandoned my blog this week, but i have tried to keep the debbie downer in me to myself.

i've got a sea of thoughts i am swimming in every time i put my book down. i feel like my mind is elsewhere, floating in a pool of constant reflection. i had a long, long talk with my mom last night. it started out as a lighthearted conversation about my aunt's upcoming wedding & turned to something not so lighthearted. it has only added more turbulence in that ocean of contemplation today.

i've decided that even though i do my best to put myself in other shoes, to see their side of things... i find that there are some things that i have a hard time letting go of.... i have a hard time forgiving someone & letting go. i also have a hard time biting my tongue when it comes to people delibrately hurting other people.  (i'm sure i'm not alone in that one) i wish that time was more efficient at removing the anger of the past. most days it is, but sometimes, something will sneak it's way back into my memory & it makes me angry all over again.

i'm a pretty smart girl. i figure i'm fairly intuitive when it comes to people. i'm a pretty good judge of character.. i'm pretty sure that's a trait i picked up from my mama. but for the life of me, i can't figure out why some people act the way the do. i don't get selfishness. i don't get being materialistic. i truly don't understand the point of vengeance & being vindictive. my brother & i had our share of ups & downs as kids, but as adults, i certainly don't get sibling rivalry. my mom drives me insane sometimes & i lose my patience & lash out at her. i'm a smart mouth... always have been. i'm human. but unlike my teenage pain in the ass self, i quickly realize i'm in the wrong & apologize. it's so uncalled for. i don't get anger. or hatred.

i feel overwhelmed with sadness. people can amaze me with their kindness, & then swiftly blow me away with their sheer malice. my heart feels heavy under the weight of such hatred.

*warning.. this next part is not nice. as in.. i can't believe the horrible things people are capable of not nice*

along with everything else my head is consumed with these days... i read a story about a 15 year old boy in my hometown this morning. it was not a good story. not at all. i actually sat back in the computer chair, filled with shock & started crying. in sheer disbelief that i was actually reading what i was reading. this 15 year old boy was lured by two teenage girls into a house where there were two teenage boys laying in wait to kill him. KILL HIM. they apparently hated this boy so much they sat down & hashed out a plan to kill him. these two teenage boys beat him, then shot him, put him in a bathtub & broke both kneecaps, then when they saw he wasn't dead, shot him again. proceeded to hog tie him, stuff him in a sleeping bag & burn him. then they shoveled his remains into empty paint cans & cleaned the crime scene with bleach. afterward the stepfather of one of the boys, knowing what happened, took the boy out of the county for fear he would be captured.

i can't help but feel like something, at some point, went horribly wrong in all of their lives & the hatred is just cycling back again & again. that is so not an excuse,  just an observation. people do horrible things to other people.

there is a meanness & deceitfulness in people that i can't comprehend.

i have absolutely no idea what the point of this post was or is. forgive me for burdening you with it. forgive someone who hurt you instead of holding that hatred in your heart. hatred is a horrible thing that can twist your heart into something unrecognizable. i may have a hard time forgiving, but thankfully i have been able to let go of the hatred in my heart. i wouldn't say letting go is blissful, but turning away has made my heart lighter.

i hope you find forgiveness where you seek it & give it where it is needed.

xo-k

life: time out

it's..... 2:45am.

it's been a long weekend.. long but mostly good.

i'll include friday in the weekend.. just because i can.

i'm feeling extremely blessed again...for no particular reason.

after watching harry potter & the deathly hallows part 1 friday night..

i went into put some uniforms in the wash for the hubs at about midnight..

only to find that our deep freezer was completely defrosted & with about $70 worth of ruined meat inside..

add to that the frozen RED punch that had leaked all in the freezer seeping out onto the garage floor.

ya, cleaning that up at 1am was so not ideal.

but i just accepted it for what it was instead of worrying over the fact we just lost all that food.  

(the babe & the bf's daughter crashed out during our shopping trip..)

one of the biggest things i miss about working, is seeing my best friend everyday.

i miss it something fierce. 

we may have not always been working side by side or chatting all day,
but i miss seeing & talking to her everyday
(she is so not a phone person.. but neither am i)

saturday the hubs was working, so the bf & i ventured out to a flea market..

which ended up being totally lame..

as well as a discount warehouse..

totally lame..

then we hit up the mall & stocked up on goodies from bath & body works..

and just hung out.

it was so nice.

eventhough we had three kids in tow.. one of which was a totally whiny 6 year old...
it was just nice to hang out.

my mind has been pretty occupied this weekend, though my body has been busy.

i have a heavy heart.

a girl from where i worked, who is my age.. lost her mom friday.

she is one of the sweetest, most geniune people & my heart is breaking for her.
she is one of those people who never seems to catch a break..

i know her relationship with her mom was not unlike mine with my own mom...

& i can't even begin to comprehend how she is making it through this...

i feel horrible because i know nothing that can be said or done will help...

& all i wish i could do was just take it back for her..

i sobbed a good portion of the day friday for her..

i felt like the only thing i could do was call my loved ones & tell them that i loved them..

because things can go from good to bad just like that.

so i called my dad & my brother... two people who i love very much.. but never actually TELL them.
(my mom.. she knows.. i tell her more frequently)

& i even called my best friend, who is SO not a lovey-dovey touchy-feely kinda person & told her..

in a joking... ha ha.. i'm crazy... i love you...kinda way.

life moves fast & unexpectedly sometimes..
& i just feel like i just have to stop & take a breath right now.

xo-k 

diy: bookmark

i may or may not have mentioned i have a slight obsession with all things vampire.

being born in the month of all things spooky.. it comes naturally i suppose.

a few of my scrapbooking friends convinced me to read twilight a few years ago..

(pre-movie-rob-pattinson craze)

and i fell in love with reading all over again..

i was one of those people who stayed up & skipped meals to read..

uhmm... yep. one of THOSE people.

but once i put down the fourth book, i was kinda like.. NOW WHAT?!

that's when sookie stepped in.

because before there was true blood in my life..

there was sookie stackhouse..

and like a cruel joke...

once i was finished with oh.. the first EIGHT..

i found out i had to wait a month for number nine..

and then a year from then on for the rest!

but the year is almost up...

& #11 in the series will be out 5.03.11!!!

i'm totally excited & although i've been dragging my feet getting through 'alice in wonderland'..

i'm sure i'll be through #11 in less than 24 hours & mad because i have another year to wait.

and because my friends are just as crazy about sookie as i am...

i decided to make them a book mark to go along with the new book.





(why yes.... that is a bottle of truBLOOD... doesn't everyone have one of those?!)

nothing fantastic.

just simple & functional.

easy & personalized.

here's what you need:

-7 gyspies photo turn

-glossy accents

-letter stickers

-embroidery floss, cotton beading cord, hemp, or twine

1. put your alphabet sticker on the inside of your photo turn. (i added blood drops stickers to look like vampire bites, obviously that's not for everyone.. :)

2. next, put your glossy accents on top, filling in the photo turn opening, but not putting in so much that it over flows the lip on the photo turn. it'll be a milky white color, that's normal.

3. if you should get bubbles in your glossy accents, you'll want to get those out before it dries. you can take a sewing needle, or scrap of wire and 'lift' the bubbles out. just stick your pin or wire underneath the bubble and lift until the bubble reaches the surface & pops.

4. once all your bubbles are removed, allow your piece to dry 24 hours.

5. after the photo turn has dried for 24 hours, it's time to add the cord. i measured out the height of my other sookie books & then doubled the measurements & added a few inches to that, so that it would dangle off the spine.

6. take your cord, fold it in half & knot the end.

7. feed the folded end up through the bottom of the hole in the photo turn. pull the knotted end through the loop & pull tight.

there ya have it. relatively quick & simple. the way the cord is made i figure it's easy to store it around your car visor. i used to do a ton of reading in my car during my lunch break & still read in the car line to pick up the dude, so it's a handy place to store it for me.

i've already made another one for the dude. he's gotten into reading a lot lately & i thought it'd be a good little incentive to help him stay on track.

and just in case you were curious... the lack of craftiness around here is in direct correlation to how much time i am spending re-reading my sookie books!

happy friday!

xo-k

linking to:
fingerprints on the fridge
tidy mom
house of hepworths
whipperberry
tatertots & jello

diy: personalized clay eggs

a few weeks ago i saw these totally amazing personalized clay eggs on etsy..

& fell in love.

only problem is.. i couldn't justify buying them.

so i decided to try and make my own.

i couldn't find a tutorial for how to specifically make the stamped eggs..

but i found some tutorials on making clay eggs & on stamping clay & worked from there.

here's what you need:



-polymer clay (i used the cheap michaels brand in light blue)
-aluminum foil
-alphabet stamps
-acrylic paint
-pin
-cardstock
-work surface
-paintbrush
-toothbrush

1. tear off a piece of aluminum foil & crumple it up into the shape of an egg. squish it really good so you get all the air pockets out. the egg needs to be slightly smaller than what you intend your finish project to be.

do this for as many eggs as you intend on making.

2. preheat oven according to your clay's directions. knead your clay approximately 2 minutes.

3. roll out your clay to about 1/4" inch thickness. if you don't have a rolling pin (because i don't) use a smooth sided glass or something similar. make sure you are working on a surface other than your furniture because the clay can discolor your furniture!

4. once your clay is rolled out, wrap it around your foil egg shape, making sure to keep it tight around the form to prevent pockets of air from forming.

5. pinch off the excess clay & begin working the clay to smooth it out & form it into an egg shape.

6. all of the tutorials i read recommended piercing the clay to allow any trapped air to escape, so that's what i did. i figured it'd be covered up by the speckles so i went for it. make sure you only poke around the sides & back of the egg, so you have a smooth surface to stamp on. you can go back & pierce more once you've stamped.

7. using your stamps press down firmly enough to make an impression in the clay, but not so much to change the shape of your egg. if the edges of your stamp make a mark you can smooth back over it with your finger.

8. once all your eggs are finished, accordian fold your piece of cardstock & place it inside a baking pan, putting the eggs in the folds. according to what i read this keeps the egg from getting a flat spot on the bottom as it bakes. bake your clay according to your package directions. mine stated to bake 15 minutes for each 1/4" inch thick. i baked for 20 just to be safe.

9. once your eggs have cooled it's time to speckle them! i mixed a little burnt umber acrylic paint with a smidge of white paint & a little water to thin it out. dip your toothbrush into the paint & holding it with the bristles away from you pull back on the bristles to flick the paint onto your egg.

10. using a small paint brush paint the indentions of your letters. you can put your eggs back into the oven for another 5 minutes to set the paint (i did.) or let them air dry for a few hours.

i cut up two different colors of cardstock into little strips, crumpled them up & put them in a bowl to complete my nest.

they are rustic & hand-hewn looking..
not nearly as perfect looking as the etsy ones..
but i LOVE them! :)

xo-k

linking to:
all thingz related
c.r.a.f.t
the diy showoff
ladybug blessings
my backyard eden
the thrifty home
someday crafts
tea rose home
savvy southern style
whipperberry
house of hepworths
my romantic home
tidy mom
fingerprints on the fridge
decor to adore
tatertots & jello

photography: unsolicited photo advice.

let me say first.

I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL.

i'm hardly worthy of even giving advice...

but i'm going to do it anyways.

i can't really tell you a bunch of stuff about lenses & f-stops & processing.
& i'm certainly not going to preach technical know-how to you.
'cause i honestly don't know much about all that...
but i am someone who has read a ton of books on how to take pictures.

and by that i mean how to get good pictures despite your surroundings.

that, and how to get good pictures of kids.

because let's face it..

we all can't afford studio lights & expensive backgrounds..

nor do we need them!  

i often get compliments on the pictures i take of my boys,

and i'm not lying when i say every compliment makes me feel wonderful.

(it never gets old for sure, i still am shocked people compliment me at all!)  

up until recently i only shot with a nikon d40 & the 18-55mm kit lens that came with it.

if you aren't in the photo world.. just know, it's a pretty bottom of the line camera.

nothing spectacular.

i always shot in automatic, so it was pretty much a no brainer.

i don't even know how to use photoshop, nor do i own it.

what i do know is a little about light,

 a lot about getting creative with my surroundings, 

and that a premium membership to picnik.com is totally worth the $30.   

so because it's no great secret & some one may benefit from it..

i'm going to share what i DO know.

this is my tiny not-very-well-manicured front porch.

(well, honestly i don't think you can even call it a porch, but whatever)

anyway, this is where i took the pictures of the babe in his bunny ears.

not so hot looking right?

empty water bottles waiting to be picked up.

the hub's work truck & neighbors cars in the background.

the mulch that washed out of the flower beds with all the rain we had that week.

and honestly, the chinese burgundy (which i only know the name of because of my mom) that was the background in those photos.. i hate too!

where am i going with this?

right here.

you never saw any of that.

because i put him up on that plastic table in his bumbo & got down on his level.

i got right up in his little face.

in my opinion, which may account for nothing..

the best thing you can do in capturing pictures of your kids is to get down at their level.

there is no way i would have gotten a picture of those two little teeth standing a foot away & up above him.

(& even at his level it wasn't easy!)

get close!

so, if you want to improve the pictures you take of your littles..

whether they be babies, kiddos, or furries..

get down on their level & get close.

i promise you won't be disappointed.

(i sure haven't been)

those two tidbits are probably the best photo tips i think i ever picked up. 

made a world of difference in my photos.

hope it helps someone out there too :)

xo-k

life: shenanigans

i'm back (obviously) from my weekend retreat..

refreshed & relaxed..

the hubs survived the day yesterday with the boys..

no catastrophe's or melt downs.

this is a very good thing.

i would show you pictures...

if i.. uh... actually did anything other than socialize.

but i hardly did anything other than socialize.

and i'm okay with that.

i haven't seen these girlies since january & it was nice to catch up..

but remember when i said we stay up late & get a little crazy?!

well.. it didn't take until the wee hours of the night for us to lose it..

nita & mindy & i were laughing very early yesterday at some sound clips from 'sixteen candles'

nothing like the donger saying 'no more yanky my wanky the donger needs food' to get you rolling..

although i think it actually started with mindy exclaiming
'ohhhh sseeexxxxxyyy boyyfriend!' in her best long duck dong voice..

yep. i'm pinning the whole thing on her.

but then my friend steph's teenage son introduced us to a you tube video & it was all over.

let's just say if you are okay with some not so pg humor you can search 'no no square song' on you tube.

no video, no profanity... just the words.

i'm not gonna lie.. i laughed like crazy.

and i may or may not have done a crazy little dance to accompany my singing of the song...

then today her son had me look up this video..

and i'm sorry but it's just too dang funny not to share.

at least in my opinion, which doesn't count for much..

enjoy.. i'm going to go try not to ninje chop the dog.
back tomorrow with something resembling a craft hopefully.

xo-k

ps. apparently this guy has been on jerry springer. i'm sorta sad that my blog now has a connection to jerry springer. actually more like embarassed. oh well. first jerry.. then maybe oprah? ya right.

life: late night scrapbooking makes me do crazy things.

this is what happens to me when i am free from mama & wife duties.

i get a little crazy.

mix it up with the late night giggles, scrapbooking & some of the best girlfriends anyone can ask for..

& i do some stupid stuff for a laugh.

take this particular night, about 2 years ago.

it was probably 1 or 2 am.

there were about 40 of us scrapbooking at a weekend retreat. 

at my table a few of my good friends & i got the giggles.

probably started with a late night trip to steak & shake for cheese fries..

where my friend nita likely almost killed us..

(she ah... kinda drives like a cullen. for real!)

i'm pretty sure there was some talk about definitions on urban dictionary..

& some how i ended up using a rubber stamp to give myself a mustache..

which was followed by making an eye patch out of scrap paper & some tulle.

& talking like a pirate.

no joke.

i'm a real party animal.

but if the worst my husband has to worry about is me accidentally stamping my face with permanent ink while i'm away from my family..

i think we are doing pretty good.

who needs bar hopping & booze when you've got good friends & steak & shake fries?

i'm getting some much needed me-time this weekend..

thanks to my AWESOME WONDERFUL AMAZING husband..

who is coming home after work & letting me take off.

(he's a keeper for other reasons too though!)

there is scrapping & likely some late night shenanigans in my very near future!

i can't wait :)

see ya monday!!

xo-k

housekeeping: color ordered closets

everyone has them..
those crazy little quirks..

my husband can't stand anything sticky on his hands..
the smallest spot of stickiness on his hands will drive him insane!

my dad can't sit down to eat if a kitchen cabinet is open..
we've often gotten a good laugh at his expense by randomly opening a few cabinets...
& then laughing as he mindlessly wanders the kitchen to close them.

my mom makes perfectly shaped triangles in the carpet when she vacuums..
she is FANATICAL about it.

and me.. well i've got a few crazy things i do as well.
i've decided i'm going to start sharing the crazy every once in a while.

first up.. color ordered closets.

every closet in my house has the clothes in it hung in color order...
i realize i may not be the only one out there who does this..
but does everyone get as OCD about exactly what order the clothes in each color are hung?

i do.

in the babe's room, within each color its:
short sleeved shirts
short sleeved button ups
short sleeved polo's
long sleeved shirts
long sleeved button ups
long sleeved polos
short sleeved onesies
short sleeved polo onesies
long sleeved onesies
long sleeved polo onesies
one piece jumpers

convinced i'm nuts yet?

the dude's closet & our closets follow similiar crazy over-organizing. within each color:

tank tops
short sleeved shirts
short sleeved polo's
short sleeved button ups
long sleeved shirts
long sleeved polo's
long sleeved button ups

how about now... are you thinking... 'this lady is nuts'?
hear me out...

now.. i don't expect everyone to run to their closets & start color-organizing & crazily rearranging..
but it works for me. & it works for helping the dude get dressed on his own.
he'll say he wants to wear blue jeans & i can tell him to pick something orange or green...
then he can run in & grab something..
knowing i won't make him go back & change.
(granted.. by now he's a little more aware of what matches.. but when he was 4 it worked well!)

not only that... but because i can visually see what amount of color is in each closet..
when i'm shopping for new clothes i easily avoid buying tons of stuff in the same color...
(not that that is a concern for anyone other than me who has a mother who monitors the quantity of certain colors in their wardrobe! :)

so now you know one of my crazy quirks. trust there will be more :)

xo-k

life: the truth

(this is what big brother helping looks like.... pretty sure that's not a smile.. )

it seems like monday's find me getting the house back in order after the weekend..

posting is always a somewhat random list of thoughts.

and since honesty has always been my policy in blogging..

i'm going to be honest.

sunday morning i woke up bummed about the less than enthusiastic response my little bunny ears got across the web..

i envisioned scores of people loving them like i did..

but. not so much.

sometimes i have to remind myself that in the end, i'm crafting for myself & family..

& that's all that matters..

i know i'm not alone in falling in love with one of my craft projects..

& then it seeming like no one else was really interested.

(i'm right, right?!... i'm not alone in this?)

it feels wonderful when someone likes something you put your heart in.

it makes my whole day with each & every kind comment.

i needed to get over my self pity sunday morning..

because i LOVED the pictures of the babe in his bunny ears.

(and 6 months or a year from now, i'm the one who'll still have the pictures..)

& there were several kind people who stopped by to comment.

so i decided in all of about 1 minute to make an easter version of my thumbprint hearts.

grabbed the inks & my pen..

cut the paper down..

listened to the hubs grumble about waking up to be put to work.

(ha ha)

& in 15 minutes from the time i started it..

i was done & had it scanned & blogged.

linked it up to a few parties..

and it EXPLODED across the web.

jen from tatertots & jello featured it on her facebook page

& in the time shortly after that i had about 160 page views in 1 hour.

WOW.

since then it has slowly climbed in page views to be my #2 most viewed project.

my little get-me-outta-my-funk craft.

that's big in my small little corner of the web.

not only that, but my subscriber number has climbed as well.

all of this is not to toot my own horn..

or to throw myself a pity party..

i'm trying to be real about the ups & downs i go through..

because, honesty is the best policy.

it feels good to hear something nice from someone.

i know there are a GAZILLION talented women out there blogging about their families & their world.

(all of you reading ARE those women)

and i just wanted to say thank you.

thank you for making this bloggers world a little brighter.

thank you for taking YOUR time & doing something nice for me.

i AM realistic..

i know that not everyone will always like what i make..

and that's totally understandable..

it was just one of those 'need a pick me up' kinda weeks, ya know?

the kind of week where 3 out of 4 projects don't work out AT ALL.

i'm trying to visit each subscribers blog & return replies to comments..

i've found some awesome new blogs i am so happy to add to my reading list!

now i'm off to fold the laundry i threw over for a trip to michaels today.

boorring.

xo-k

diy: thumbprint bunny keepsake

in the spirit of my thumbprint heart keepsake this morning i decided to make this. 

it didn't turn out QUITE as perfect as the hearts.

(not that they were perfect either)

it's a little difficult to get a 7 month old to cooperate when ink & precise digit placement is involved.

but i'm embracing the imperfection of it & moving on.

it's going in the same frame as the thumbrint hearts went into,

& gracing the entrance of our home with a little festive easter spirit.

if you want to make one yourself all you need is:

-a piece of card stock the size & color you'd like

-ink in the color of your choice

-black pen

-willing fingers

ours were made by first pressing down the tip of the thumb for the body

& then just the tip of the pinkie for the ears.

draw on little eyes, a nose & some whiskers & you're done!

i'm thinking that i'd like to make season thumbprints for this frame from now on...

the hubs.. well, i'll have to work on him for the next one.. :)

xo-k

linking to:

whipperberry
i heart naptime
under the table and dreaming
tatertots & jello