National Scrapbooking Day 2013

Today is National Scrapbooking Day!

I'm away at a conference this weekend so I got started a little early.  I decided to incorporate my NSD post with Mother's Day.  So today you'll get a sneak preview and then I'll unveil the finished product later this week, in my Mother's Day post.

I decided to try my hand at making pieces with clay.  This project is centered around air-dry clay (the Scrapbooking piece will come later with the finished product).

I purchased some of Martha Stewart molds a few months ago.  They are really easy to use.  I made all of this with one pack of clay.  A little goes a long way.

                

Take a close look at the detail.  The pieces are so realistic.

Stay tuned to see what I do with them!

Strawberry Lemonade Cake in a Jar

My creative juices began to overflow this week.  I'm working on a few projects for Mother's Day and found myself experimenting in the kitchen.  I bought some mason jars back in the Fall and haven't down anything with them yet.  I've seen a few pins on Pinterest of people doing all sorts of things with mason jars, including baking in them.  So I decided to give it a try.

Spring is a perfect opportunity to bake a strawberry lemonade cake……yummy!

After adding and mixing all of the ingredients and poured the batter into the jars until they were about 2/3 full.  Next time, I'm going to go 1/2 full because I didn't have enough room left in the jar to decorate them like I wanted to.

I baked the cakes and let them cool, then used an apple corer to create a hole in the center of each cake:

 

the two small ones are cupcakes made from the extra batter.

I cut some fresh strawberries and inserted them into the center of each cake and then added a layer on top.  Then I added some creamy vanilla icing and a big juicy strawberry on top!

  

 The family loved them and they were absolutely delicious!

Have a great day!

Happy Easter

A few weeks ago, I stopped by my local Archivers store and they were doing a free make and take for Easter.  It was so adorable that I decided to make about 50 of these cute little bunny boxes.

I started with 12X12 decorative paper and cut it down into 6X6 squares.

• Score the paper on the plain side (or inside of box side if using 2-sided paper) at 2" and 4".
• rotate the paper 90^o and score again at 2" and 4".
  
• now turn the paper over and score diagonally from corner to corner.

Now fold the creases in and shape like this.  This is a stack of scored papers.  When I make several of something, I make everything in steps and then assemble.

I used a Paper Blossoms Leaf Punch to create the bunny ears (one large and one small)

I bagged them separately because each bunny needed one of each.  They are so close in size that it's easy to get them mixed up.

I used Pearlescent Chalk to dust the bunny ears and add a soft pink highlight to the cheeks and paws of the bunnies.  

I then added a few embellishments and ……

They were loved by everyone!  I hope that you enjoyed your Easter and found a creative way to celebrate.  I'd love to see how you put your crafting skills to use!

St. Patrick's Day

For St. Patrick's Day, we normally wear a touch of green and that's about it.  This year, I decided to impart some fun leading up to and on this Irish Holiday.

I've come to enjoy Pinterest and came across a neat idea for teacher gifts - here.  I put a twist on them and made them for my son's class.

This Sizzix Suitcase Die works nicely with my Cuttlebug.

For the 4 leaf clovers, I used my MS Four Leaf Clover punch and punch a few plant leaves.

Inside the suitcase….some tasty pop rocks!

Spring Ahead

To me, the time change is the first sign of Spring!  I'm anxious to create and find more time to do more of the timings that I enjoy.

Recently, a fellow Basketball Mom tore her ACL - OUCH!  She is such an outgoing person and really gets into the games even more that I do.  So it is really a set bak back for her to be down for the next couple of months.

I asked the parents of the team to help me in filling a "sweet treat" box for her.  I had to top it off with a quick card inspired by the emergence of Spring.

How are you welcoming Spring?

In the midst of life....I found time to create!

This weekend was jam-packed for me!  

My son's team played a spectacular football game on Saturday.  We shut down the opposing team 19-0. As if that wasn't exciting enough, he played against three of his friends.  All of the boys were great sports about it and even took a cool picture together after the game.




Their win got my crafting wheels turning and I came up with this idea to make a little celebratory gift for the guys.....



I made scratch-off cards for each player.  The star is a scratch-off and underneath it says "You are a winner" (of course all of the boys' cards are winners).  








Then they will redeem their card for a prize.  Now, to figure out the prize part....

I took some individual pictures of the boys on picture day knowing that I'd use them for something and an idea came to me as Caden and I traveled to visit my Grandfather, this weekend.

My Grandfather has been in and out of the hospital the past few months and since we had a long weekend I decided to take Caden and visit with him.  He is a huge baseball fan and always looks forward to pictures of Caden playing.  I took some great action shots during the football game and loaded them onto my iPad.  Caden narrated each picture and then my Grandfather said "I wanna see the baseball ones."  Caden smiled and commenced to show him some baseball pictures from the summer.

The visit truly warmed my heart.  Caden talked about his Great-grandfather the entire trip home.  I pray that he never forgets those moments and that he hold them dear.

The tag says "We lathered up, and left 'em clean!"  I think the boys will get a kick out of their prizes.  I love a gift that can be put to good use!

The front:

Mommy Blogging - Niche Mommy 2012, Day 2

Daisy Sutherland (DrMommy) opened Day Two of the Niche Mommy Conference. Her book Letting go of Super Mom is available now (I picked up a copy). She challenged the Moms to begin to think less of themselves as a Super Mom and more like a key influencer in your family's life. You can't be focused if you are overwhelmed. With everything that you do for your children and family remember to honor yourself....you are number one. Busy moms tend to forget that. Look at your influence from a different perspective. Does your family see you as a Super Mom (I can do it all)? Or as a Power Mom (I am focused, firm, driven, balanced, and YES I accept help)?

I am on track to be a Power Mom, thanks Daisy!



Off to my Guest Ambassador duties...

I am having a great time chatting with moms about healthy hair. I've met a few ladies that are currently using Eden Bodyworks. One mom shared with me her story of using the All Natural Peppermint Tea Tree Oil on her body after a long bath last evening. She said that she gave herself a great massage with it. This hair oil is unlike any other! A little goes a long way, it absorbs quickly, and doesnt leave your hair or even skin feeling greasy. The moms were so appreciative of their samples and were even happier to know that they can find it in stores.

Just a few pictures of some of Eden Bodyworks' new followers.

A sat in on a few of the sessions again today:

Jay Thornton from Collective Bias taught me how to build a house! OK, not really.....a website. He simplified things by using simple construction terminology. His website is sexdrugsandkickball.com, pretty cool, right?

Brand leveraging intrigued me so I popped into that session for a bit. It was rather insightful. I am re-committing to my blog and this conference has encouraged me to do just that. I'm going to connect with my 100+ followers (my numbers are growing) and make an effort to not be the blogger with 10's of thousands of followers that they never communicate to. Blogging is about building and connecting and not commanding. There is a difference!

During lunch, the attendees visited and chatted with me again. One lady told me that I had "Awesome Oprah Hair" today......thank you Eden Bodyworks! I applied a little Jajoba & Minoi Hair Milk last night, before bed, and then the Jojoba & Minoi All Natural Hair Oil this morning. In this humid city, my hair has yet to frizz and it feels great.

A cute little baby Hawk came to visit with me and even gave me a "What's up" nod.

He brought a baby gator with him.....

Both animals are from the Audubon Zoo, here in New Orleans.

Later in day, I had the opportunity to attend a session with keynote speaker, Karen Walrond. She is a prolific speaker. Her session was titled "How to be extraordinary" and it was an extraordinary experience. Life is a menu of moments. We have the ability to pick and choose, taste and try, decide what you want one your plate. Keep your plate positive and share it with others.

Points to remember (making a mental note to create memories out of these):

Being joyfull makes you extraordinary. You can not have a joyfull life without gratitude.
Be different without apologizing.
Do things your own way

Check out Karen's website, she is very talented! Chookooloonks.com

I want to give a huge THANK YOU to Niche Mommy and especially to Eden Bodyworks, for allowing me to be a Guest Ambassador for the brand. Nadia and the Niche Mommy team, you have put on a conference to remember. It has been informative, inspiring, and most of all....fun!

Now I'm off to see what's going on in NOLA!