A New View...

I am married to an amazing man. This past fall, I ended up in the Emergency Room because of the eczema on my hands. It was so bad, making my hands so swollen, they had to cut off my wedding rings. I. Was. Devastated.  Being the wonderful husband he is, he promised we would get them fixed. I took them to one of the larger jewelers in Lincoln, and was told they could not be repaired. My mom loaned me a ring to wear until we figured out what we wanted to do.

I had heard good things about Michael Tish Jewelers, so we decided to go and visit him to see if there was anything he could do. He was fantastic to work with and gave us options to design a new ring, or he could FIX them!!! My mom had told me we could use the gold from the loaner ring to help if we wanted {isn't she amazing}. While we were looking around at Michael Tish, I found a jacket for my ring. My hubby, being the amazing man he is, agreed to it!

Isn't it Gorgeous?!?!  I am the luckiest girl in the world!

{ignore the crappy nail polish ~ I obviously need a manicure!}

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I will!!

Let's Go Camping!

A year and a half ago my hubby indulged me and we bought a camper. Not the big enclosed kind (we are working our way up there) but a little ol' pop-up that we could easily pay cash for. I had been searching and searching like crazy for a camper that would fit our family and our budget. After a purchase fell through (the guy sold it before we got there) I quickly got on Craigslist and searched again. The first ad that popped up was for our {soon to be} new camper.

My poor hubby didn't even have time to walk in the house after work. I had him get in the car so we could go over there. This is what we found when we got there ~

 {Isn't it Cute!!!}

A {Vintage} 1968 camper. Everything was in PERFECT {& original} condition! We paid for it right away and while we were getting the tutorial from the previous owner on how everything worked for set up, take down, and storing, several more people came to purchase it! I was so happy it was OURS!

Here it is ~ all folded down and home.

We have really enjoyed having it the last few summers ~ and I am anxious to get it out again! Unfortunately it's February and there is snow covering it. We have taken it to the lake a few times each summer and left it set up in the driveway and camped at home. A even wanted to have his birthday party in there so we had supper, ate cake, and let him open presents (all while camped out in the driveway). 

Right now I have got Spring Fever and am planning camping trips and the garden. What do you like to do when warmer weather strikes?

Crayon Art

This is one of those projects I did before I started my blog. There aren't a lot of pictures, but I LOVE how they turned out! We gave these to A's preschool teachers in 2010.

Overall, this project was not a very expensive one. I had a few leftover boxes of crayons from back to school shopping (when they were like $0.10 or $0.25 each) and the canvas was on sale at Hobby Lobby.

I'm sorry, there aren't a lot of pictures (I was only thinking finished project, not a step-by-step at the time). We did 2 different designs - one vertical, and one horizontal. It was a super simple project (because I love quick and easy and cute things)!

1. Hot Glue crayons to canvas (I used a cool-temp glue to not melt the crayon first). It works best to put the glue directly on the crayon paper then put on the canvas. The glue kind of squished out in between, but it worked out ok since the crayons were pushed together (it also helped "hold" them together).

2. Once all crayons are attached & dried onto the canvas, break out your hair dryer! We started with a high heat, low force setting to prevent splatter and get the "pool" effect. Once we got the "pool" big enough, we switched the dryer to a high force setting to make it splatter.

3. For the second canvas, we used a high heat, high force setting right away. The result was less pooling, more splatter.

** Side note: beware of splatter!! This is what my toilet looked like after the project! Very colorful!

I think A's teachers enjoyed their art work gifts. They would make great end of the year presents too!

Makes me Giggle

While shopping at our local bookstore before Christmas, I snapped this picture because it made me laugh. E is 13 and this kind of "marketing" even made her stop and go "what?!?!" The Teen Non-Fiction actually starts on the very bottom shelf with a total of 2 titles...

{Sorry the picture is so bad ~ it was taken with my cell phone.}

Have you ever looked at something and went WHAT?!?!

Feed Me Friday: Chili & Corn Bread

This week I wasn't feeling the greatest, but for some reason chili & cornbread sounded good! One of my customers turned me on to Stonewall Kitchen's line of products. Oh. My. Goodness. YUM!!! Their products taste *AMAZING*! And are SUPER easy to use as well. If it helps me put a good meal on the table quickly without sacrificing flavor - I am ALL for it!

{sorry for the crappy pics - I can not, for the life of me, find my camera cord...}

All I had to add was 1 egg, oil, and milk: mix it up and bake it in a 9x9 (box says 8x8 but all I could find was the 9x9).

It was super yummy!! Just the thing on a cold night!

Notes

I am a paper person. I like lists and making myself a note helps me remember what needs done, whether it's at home or work.

I wanted to make something to keep by my bed to jot the last minute stuff down on to help clear my brain before sleep. I might make one for my desk at work too!

I used some scrapbook paper from my endless supply, a clip, clear acrylic frame, and a pack of post it notes. Everything used for this project I already had on hand.

I LOVE easy projects! This was super simple to put together and turned out really cute. Just cut the paper to fit the frame, slide in, then stick the post its to the frame and add the clip. Put a pen along with it and that's it!

I joined the weekend wrap up!

Stop over at Tatertots and Jello to check it out!

http://tatertotsandjello.com/

Happy New Year!

A new year means new goals! One of my goals this year is to pay a little more attention to my blog. Another is to cut through some more clutter and "stuff" in the house and simplify. Always on my list is making my family a priority.

One of the tools I am going to use for this is this fantastic weekly calendar E made for me as a 4-H project.

She took a multi-picture frame that we found on clearance at Hobby Lobby (it was pretty scratched up and missing 1 glass pane). All other materials (paint, paper, cork, and stickers) were things we had in my stash of crafting supplies.



Here is how she completed the project:

1. Remove glass panes from frame. Paint frame.

2. While paint is drying, wash glass. Choose paper to go under glass and cut to fit backing. For the piece that did not have glass, she cut a piece of cork to fit.

3. Add second coat of paint & touch-ups when dry.

4. Replace glass and backings (with paper) into all openings.

5. Add Day of the Week stickers (she found these in my massive stack of scrapbooking supplies).

The glass can be used as a dry erase board and the cork will allow me to hang any notes/papers I need to help me complete the goals (along with birthday invites for the kids or other planning things). I can write down which day I plan on doing what (for example on Tuesday evening, I can organize the bath closet). She didn't use Saturday/Sunday because the hope is that we will be having fun on the weekends rather than working all of the time!

Happy New Year!!