Archive for June, 2010
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
I’ve always had a little piece of my heart in Finland. I didn’t know too much about the country or its residents. I could locate it on a map and spot the Finnish flag in a heartbeat. I heard the language is one of the most difficult to learn. The Winters are quite cold and long and dark. Lots of blonde hair and blue eyes. Stuff like that.
Even with little knowledge, I’ve been fond of Finland all my life and this is because my dad spent 2.5 years of his young adult life living there. I always knew he loved Finland. And because he loved it, I wanted to love it too.
And now I can confirm: I love Finland.
David and I just returned from an incredible experience there. (My blog posts from the past couple weeks were scheduled to post so I didn’t completely disappear.) We visited my parents who are currently there serving a church mission. We experienced Finland in so many ways. I have thoughts, ideas, tips, and of course photos to share. But first — I have lots of other important things to do: mainly love on my kiddos and catch up on laundry.
In the meantime, check out this bag.
So cute, right? It had me at hello. And I thought maybe one of you would like it too. So I bought two in Lahti, Finland. One for me and one for … could it be you? There’s only one way to find out. Leave your first name, city, and state in the comments. It’s a homecoming giveaway! Woo-hoo for cute bags and just-because giveaways. : )
U.S. shipping address only. I will choose someone at random and announce the winner on Friday.
Tags: bag, Finland, finnish flag, purse
Posted in style & design, travel | 1,593 Comments »
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
When you think of taking birthday party pictures, you think of taking pictures of the party, right? Sure! Makes sense. Absolutely.
But what about adding some different angles to shake things up a bit? What else is there at the party? The cake, dirty dishes, wrapping paper thrown about. (Of course this goes beyond birthday parties.) Think outside the box with your angles behind the lens.
Here’s the tip: Take your “normal” picture of … whatever you’re taking a picture of. And then … step back. And maybe step back even farther. Take a picture of surroundings. What would be the traditional “subject” is now in the background and slightly out of focus. Bam!
Absolutely get a traditional shot of the bride and groom at the wedding. But also try backing up and see what else is going on, like a dozen other friends and family members trying to get a picture too.
Capture kids doing whatever it is that they do, but try capturing it from the kids’ perspective instead of just standing in the corner of the room.
Tags: birthday, candles, party
Posted in photography | 20 Comments »
Saturday, June 19th, 2010
For the record, I do think this frame in its original form is quite lovely. But with all the color in our home, it was out of place — the color, that is. I think I got this frame at WalMart years ago. Can’t remember for sure, but I think it’s a really terrific frame and I wasn’t about to get rid of it.
Instead, I gave it a simple facelift. I went for pink on this and I love it. The name of the color is Berry Pink (Rust-Oleum brand; got it at Home Depot).
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Folks, that’s a wrap on spray-painting inspiration for now. If you want more ideas, keep scrolling down. If you missed Monday’s post, definitely get my free download (handout) that has spray-painting tips, techniques, and tid-bits. Go here.
Now go on. Find something that is ready for a little color makeover and have fun!
Tags: berry pink, frame, spray paint
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 16 Comments »
Friday, June 18th, 2010
Yesterday was June 17th. An “ordinary” summer day. No holiday or major event or giant task. Lots of little to-do’s. But woke up feeling like it was going to be a good day. So I decided that it would indeed be … a good day.
And it was. Because every day just is.
Today, I encourage you to pay closer attention to the little reasons why it’s a good day for you. And then – of course – record it. Whether in words or pictures. Whether in a journal or on a blog or telling a loved one over the phone. I believe that when we record our blessings, we’re just become that much more aware of them. And therefore … happier.
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There are a million reasons why yesterday was a good day in my little world. Here are ten.
1. Good old-fashioned hose-down. You go, Claire. Take ‘em down sister. Note #1: This was very impromptu; hence the fully-clothed boys. Note #2: I assure you I do comb my daughter’s hair.
2. Daily drawings continue. Today Porter drew a custom space boy for everyone. So grateful for such good friends in our community. Good families. Good kids. Good people.
3. I caught up on four loads of laundry. Very good indeed.
4. I got to do a little unexpected spray-painting to help a friend with a little project. For sure good! Spray-painting is always a good thing. Helping someone in a pinch is even better.
5. Crew stood up in the bath and very intentionally – with a smirk on his face – body-slammed into the water, creating a tidal wave effect that covered my bathroom floor. The little stink. But my sense of humor won over my frustration in that moment and I’m grateful. We all had a good laugh over that one. Unfortunately this encouraged Crew to want to repeat the act.
6. David had a long day at work so the kids and I packed up a few plates of O’Henrys and surprised a few friends with a “hello” and a hug and these. It’s always good to tell someone you’re thinking of them.
7. One of those recipients is a brand-new friend. Meet Brenda Reed. Adorable, right? She really is. So is her little family. She is local to me. I knew she frequents my blog and follows me on twitter. I knew she has been diligent with Project Life and I’ve seen many of her POTDs (posted on her blog). They’re terrific. I thought it would be a good day to stop by her house and meet her. With O’Henrys in hand. It was indeed a pleasure.
8. When I saw this picture of us I noticed far more wrinkles than I realized I had. Like … a lot more. Sometimes I still think I’m 25?? BUT … I’m okay with that. Because wrinkles are good. Don’t hate me for saying that. I think wrinkles represent evolution and growth and add character to our features.
9. This evening I was properly put in my place. Being humbled is always good, right? Porter wanted to spend his money on this dumb machine at WalMart. We’ve never done it here before, but I’m quite familiar with how these machines work. And so I firmly expressed it.
“Porter, let me tell you something. It’s your money, but I want you to know how strongly I feel that this machine steals people’s mon—-”
Literally right at that moment, the darn grabber thing grabbed a toy. The look on Porter’s face was pure elation. And I knew that moment was golden for him. Because kids need to know that sometimes Mom is wrong. Sometimes Mom needs to have more faith.
Oh, and he immediately gave the toy to Claire. Because he’s that kind of a big brother.
10. Claire told me she loved me more than the marshmallows in her Lucky Charms. If you knew what those marshmallows mean to my four-year-old you would understand why I wanted to melt into a puddle on the spot.
That moment alone made for an instantly good day.
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This is the stuff of life. This is the stuff we put in Project Life. This is why I care so much about Project Life.
(Fine print: Those of you who have been patiently waiting for Project Life to become available again … we’re getting close. Hopefully just a few more weeks. I’ll be sure to announce when those kits arrive at Amazon.)
Tags: before & after, brenda reed, friends, good day, kids' art, love, o'henrys, Project Life, spray paint, summer, trampoline, walmart, wrinkles
Posted in family & children, giving, photography | 27 Comments »
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
Napkins and fruit. Two essential things in our kitchen. This is how I did a quick makeover on a couple of our kitchen accessories. This napkin holder was a part of a set we got at Costco a while back. Thousands of families have the same one in their kitchen. (Oh Costco, we love you.) It was time to bid farewell to the black and give it a fresh coat of green. Key Lime, to be exact.
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I found this at Home Goods recently. It holds our non-refrigerated fruit on top of our kitchen bar. The change is subtle. It was a weathered & worn white and now, after a little love from a metallic spray paint, it is silver.
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You’ll notice I didn’t do any distressing on either one of these pieces. They both have a clean, glossy finish. The end.
For spray-painting tips, techniques, and tid-bits be sure to get the free download in Monday’s post here.
Tags: fruit, kitchen, napkin holder, spray paint
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
I came across this piece on clearance at Roberts (a craft store in Utah) earlier this year. Didn’t love the color but it screamed painting potential! I loved that the frame came with an adjustable stand and I loved the texture.
A few things to note:
1. The name of that reddish-orange color of spray paint is Paprika, purchased at our local Home Depot. It’s such a bold, pretty color.
2. Love the contrast with the stand which is now white.
3. In the before shot, that’s just something random that Porter drew and wanted me to put in a frame. Apparently it’s an asteroid hitting the ocean. Pool little fishies.
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For spray-painting tips, techniques, and tid-bits be sure to get the free download in Monday’s post here.
Tags: frame, paprika, spray paint, stand
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 8 Comments »
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
Today’s spray-painting inspiration features sun yellow which I picked it up at Home Depot. I have no idea where I got this first piece. I’ve had it for years and now I like it all over again. That’s the beauty of spray paint, isn’t it?
I want to point out something important: If you spray-paint something and it looks very … “spray-painted” (read: flat color) it probably calls for a little distressing. This adds depth, dimension, and interest to the piece you’ve painted. You can go really subtle and light so you hardly notice it. You can go crazy and get a very weathered look. Or you can go for something in the middle.
This shows you what the bowl looked like painted before (left) and during (right) the distressing. I just used a little piece of sandpaper. Super easy.
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I found this little number at Hobby Lobby. After rolling my kitchen washcloths for a dozen years, I have switched to an old-fashioned stack next to the sink. So I was really pleased to find this shape & size. It just begged for a coat of a happier color.
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We’ve had these topiaries for quite some time. Don’t remember where we got them, but they’ve been feeling pretty drab lately. Until now.
This is how I prepped each topiary before painting: Plastic bag and some tape protected the greenery. I wasn’t worried about paint getting on the moss because it needed to have a little fresh layer added on top anyway.
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For spray-painting tips, techniques, and tid-bits be sure to get the free download in yesterday’s post below.
Tags: kitchen washcloths, spray paint, topiaries, yellow
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 12 Comments »
Monday, June 14th, 2010
I’ve blogged about spray-painting here and here and here. Because I think it’s awesome. And easy. And frugal. And creative. Yet simple. And fun.
If you’ve never tried spray-painting, this just may be the time you give it a try. I’ve put a whole bunch tips & tricks into a document for your convenience. Share it with anyone that might be interested in giving it a try. Get a group of friends together for a spray-painting pow-wow and print copies for everyone. You have my permission to use and distribute this handout. Go for it. Spread the love. : )
Each day this week I’ll be sharing little pieces of inspiration to get the wheels a-spinnin’ in your head.
Note: This handout is 2 pages or print it front/back of a single sheet. When you click on that link, you may have to click on the red “spray-painting tips” again and that will pull up the pdf.
(The fonts I used for this handout are SNF Lollihop (found here) and Gill Sans (which I use all the time … just came on my Mac I think?). And that lamp? That’s part of the DB Good Company collection also found here.)
Tags: free download, how-to, instructions, spray paint
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 27 Comments »
Saturday, June 12th, 2010
Things are always changing in our home. I probably rearrange something, switch a picture out of a frame, move an accent from here to there, paint something … every week. Sometimes daily. It’s my little creative outlet I guess.
This is the latest change to our play room. Found this awesome clock at WalMart, of all places. Already had everything else – the frames and stands, the painted wooden animals (from World Market) and bookcase (from Razmataz). And I left Porter’s handwritten alphabet in the smaller frame from when he was almost 5 years old.
The dinosaur art is new. Porter loves to draw. It’s never the same thing. It’s whatever he sees or feels like that day. Recently it was dinosaurs. One dinosaur per sheet of paper.
I love putting the kids’ art in frames or hanging it on the walls or using it as our desktop wallpaper. Not only because I’m their mother and therefore a total sucker for everything they write and draw … but displaying their art nurtures their creativity and boosts their ego. If you missed my post about Nurturing Creativity in Our Children, you can find that here.
So back to the dinosaur art. This is what I did:
1. I scanned each page (at least 300 dpi).
2. I opened up each file in Photoshop and cropped each piece of art so that each dinosaur (with a little space around it) was 4″ x 3″. I knew the size of my frame and just figured it out so I would have 9 sections for the 9 dinosaurs.
3. In Photoshop, I created a canvas size (fit for my frame) and one by one, I dropped each 4″ x 3″ image onto the canvas.
4. I added a bit of text at the bottom. (Mom taught me to sign and date everything.)
5. I saved the document as a .psd (so all the layers are still there and in case I ever want to make changes) and as a .jpg. The jpg file is what compresses all of the layers and you can upload that to be printed.
Oh, the possibilities! Perhaps this is something you could put to good use with your favorite art that came home from school this year? Maybe you have been hanging on to the art from your own school years. Wouldn’t that be cool to create a grid of your own masterpieces?
Now that the file is created – this collection of dinosaurs – it’s super easy to print 4×6 copies of this and send postcards to friends and cousins. That’s next on the list of summer activities.
Tags: bookcase, clock, dinosaurs, kids' art, photoshop, play room, porter
Posted in DIY, family & children, home, style & design | 19 Comments »
Friday, June 11th, 2010
I realized that I have several 15-minute florals around our home. Actually … a couple of them took more like 2 minutes.
Again — it’s a simple way to add a lovely bit of color and texture into any room. Vases and pots and containers of every kind can be found in so many places. Try something unusual for a whimsical look. Post a comment if you have specific ideas for creative container ideas. I’d love to hear!
My favorite places to find containers? Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Ross, Marshall’s, JoAnn, Michael’s.
Tags: fifteen-minute florals, floral design
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 21 Comments »
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
ScrapNFonts has some new fonts that I’ve been enjoying lately. In fact, I chose my five favorites and they bundled them up and put them on sale for just $10 for all five. You can go here for that deal.
You might recognize that I used one of the flowers from DB Floral Infusion as well as the SNF Goody font for Kylie’s birthday invite here.
Also, Brian Tippetts did a short & sweet interview with me and that’s also up on their site. For a quick read, click here.
And … you have to check out what Britta did! Using the digital Project Life and incorporating ScrapNFonts’ fonts & DoodleBats, she is creating an darling, custom Project Life book for her family. Check it out here.
Tags: digital Project Life, fonts, interview, Q&A, ScrapNFonts
Posted in products, style & design | 3 Comments »
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
Here’s a fun way to add a pop of color and texture in any room! ANYone can do this.
If you’d like the look of a little floral touch in your home but making an “arrangement” is either intimidating or time-consuming or expensive or just plain not interesting to you … here’s something you can try.
I’m calling these 15-minute florals because it truly is that quick to put something like this together. Sometimes less. It certainly doesn’t require experience. You just need a vase, pot, jar, or some sort of container. And stems to your liking – silk flowers, dried flowers, berries or whatever you want. Could be that you need 1 or 2 or a few or a dozen … depends on what look you’re going for (full and dense or sparse and simple) and how big the flowers are. The simplest approach is to get them all the same. Then you’re not thinking about which flowers go well together and how many of each kind, etc.
Just cut each stem down, one at a time, and add them to the container. Not complicated.
Tip: The reason I recommend cutting the stems one at a time is so you can have varying heights. It looks more intentional than if you were to just stick a bunch of stems in a vase without trimming them at all.
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If you are creating a piece that calls for a little more stability in your arrangement (you don’t want the flowers to shift around), here are some additional tips. For this arrangement where I knew the sunflowers would stand taller, I didn’t want them to flop over. So I used some styrofoam blocks (check in the floral dept of your local craft store).
Using a knife and a cutting board, trim the block(s) down to fit into your container. It could work out that you have one block or several smaller blocks. It doesn’t matter. And by the way, I don’t recommend using your good kitchen knives. It’s just the one I had handy this time.
Note: This styrofoam does get messy. Do your cutting in an area that is easy to clean up.
Shove the styrofoam in the bottom of your container so it’s snug.
Then start trimming your stems. Again — one at a time so you can stick them in the styrofoam one at a time.
These are the wire cutters I use. You can find a pair in the floral department of your local craft store or at a home improvement store … or you probably already have some. Ask your man if you don’t know where they are. ; )
PS - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Flowers (and floral supplies) frequently go on sale at JoAnn, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s and similar stores. Always buy them on sale. Otherwise they’re just pricy.
Did you know? If you haven’t noticed, most WalMart and Target stores also carry silk flowers. Check them out!
If anyone else has floral-related tips, advice, and great finds … do share!
Tags: fifteen-minute florals
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 16 Comments »
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
I mentioned that I coached from the sidelines as my sister-in-law created her first floral arrangement. And I promised to share. So … Ta-daaaa!
Isn’t it so pretty? I’m so proud of Lauren! I tried to keep it for our home but that didn’t go over well with her. The flowers are mostly from Hobby Lobby. My friend Karolyn and I took Lauren there so we could guide her in choosing just the right combination of colors and textures. Too fun.
The pot is also from Hobby Lobby and this is how we bought it. We liked the shape, size, and texture, and style. But the color? Oh, you know that had to go buh-bye. Nothing of this nature is safe with me. I’m armed with spray paint and I will attack. And so I did attack. With some fresh white. Looks pretty opaque and quite “spray-painted” (go figure) at first.
No worries. I planned on taking advantage of that texture from the beginning. A little sandpaper did the trick and this is after I distressed the piece and added a clear top coat.
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I think this look is my message to all things brown and blah. (Or maybe I don’t know how to be normal in front of a camera when my brother is behind the lens?)
If you still haven’t try spray-painting something, next week is going to be just the inspiration you need. Basic instruction and tips on spray-painting … and of course lots of pictures. Right here on my blog. Stay tuned.
PS – Got some questions about my apron in a recent post. That orange polka dot one and this black and white one were both from Home Goods or Marshall’s or Ross or TJ Maxx. Can’t remember exactly, but that at least helps narrow it down. Those stores almost always have darling aprons!
Tags: floral design, lauren, spray paint
Posted in DIY, home, style & design | 23 Comments »
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