A to Z with a little J

In my last post I showed an adorable little picture of my crochet monster for Jameson's 2nd Birthday party.  Well, this is what I get for getting an early start to my party planning.  Jameson is obsessed with trains now!  So what does a good mommy do (or at least this mommy)?  Scraps all her hard work and starts over.  So here I am, starting from scratch.  This time I started with the invitation.  All the cute decorations will follow. I had the idea to make the invitation into an activity.  So I spent hours searching online trying to find just the right idea.  Finally I found the folding train idea and I customized it to fit my needs.  It turned out so much better than I ever expected.  The inside of the card is the folding train and if you bring it with you you get a prize. I am beyond happy with how it turned out!  So what do you think?

I have decided for Jameson's 2nd birthday to do a Monster theme.  I know, I know, you are thinking I am crazy because his birthday is still a few months away but I may as well get an early start.  Hopefully by getting an early start I won't be rushing around and stressed out come January. Onto my first project...crochet monster beanie babies for a bean bag toss game.  I made my first one this weekend and it turned out pretty well.  I will be making a few changes to the next one but it will be mostly the same. I got the idea from another  blog  and am modifying it to fit my needs.

I have been asked several times in the last couple years exactly how I created Jameson's mural wall in his bedroom.  It was actually much simpler than it looks.  Unfortunately I don't have step by step pictures from when I did it but I have recreated a few of the steps for you to see. I took my inspiration from his bedding, you can see the quilt hanging over the front of the crib.  I matched the paint colors using a paint deck but you can easily take your inspiration colors to a paint store and they can custom match the colors for you. After selecting paint colors I painted 3 walls green and the mural wall brown.  I used Sherwin Williams Low VOC paint with a Satin Sheen, since I was 7-8 months pregnant.  The circles come next... What you need: Paint Polycrylic String T-Pin Pencil Paint Brush Tape Measure 1. Using a tape measure find the center of each circle and mark it on the wall using the pencil. 2. Create a large compass using the T-Pin,...

Today is day 12 of my 21 day blogging challenge !  When I started I thought it would be a lot more difficult to come up with something for a daily post but have found it pretty simple.  After my 21 days is up I think it will be easy for me to keep up the good habit.  The HabitForge website has really helped me along the way, making me check in daily. It is fascinating to watch the stats for the blog, nearly 1,700 hits, over 100 on my Bold Lips post and people from all over the world are reading what I wrote: China, Singapore, Canada, Australia, UK, Russia, India, Iran and Belarus (which I have never heard of).  I have even gained 9 new followers!  It's not huge compared to a lot of blogs but I am happy with the progress! I know there have been a lot of random posts but it is what is on my mind at the time.  I would love feedback from you about my blog.  Things you have liked, disliked, or would like to see.  Either...

Why has the perception of beauty and the ideal of perfectionism become so important that we can't see the real beauty within ourselves?  Why would a mother not give the love and support to her child because in her twisted mind that child isn't perfect enough?  Isn't being a child and being your child make that child perfect?  What has gone wrong? Over the past couple years I have been privileged to be part of a group of women from across the world.  Although thousands of miles separate us and our backgrounds are as diverse as can be, the love of a mother for her child brought us together.  In getting to know these women there seems to be an overwhelming amount of childhood stories of neglect and emotional abuse by their own mothers.  These women that are beyond beautiful in every way cannot see how amazing they truly are because their mother's voice is in their head tells them otherwise.  I just want to grab hold ...

Products Used: Step 1: Apply a cream eyeshadow base #1 with your finger over entire lid from lash line to brow.  Eyeshadow base helps keep eyeshadow in place longer and allows for bolder color application. Step 2: Apply eyeshadow #2 to lid from lash to just under brow bone. Step 3: Apply Eyeshadow #2 along upper and lower lash line, feathering at the outer corner. Step 4: Apply Eyeshadow #3 on brow bone from the crease up to the brow.  Blending with Eyeshadow #2 using upward strokes. Step 5: Apply Eyeshadow #4 just under brow bone where Eyeshadow #2 and #3 meet.  Start stroke from the inner corner to the outer corner. Step 6: Apply Eyeshadow # 3 just under the eyebrow as a highlighter. Step 7: Apply Slate Eyeliner from corner to corner of upper and lower lash line.  Making it thicker at the outer corner tapering to a fine line at the inner corner.  Drag a Q-Tip along the line towards the center to help smooth out and achieve the desired taper. ...

Products Used: #1 Eyeshadow Base: Clinique Touch Tint #2 Eyeshadow (light shade): Mark Eyeshadow #3 Eyeshadow (dark shade): Mark Eyeshadow #4 Highlight Eyeshadow: Clinique Eyeshadow/Liner combo Eyeliner: Avon Glimmersticks Mascara: Avon Lash Extender Blush: Clinique Lipliner: Mac Lipstick: Avon Lip Gloss: Mac Step 1:  First take an cream eyeshadow base #1 and apply it with your finger over your entire eyelid, from lash line to brow.  I chose one that has a shimmer but it is not necessary.  A concealer that is approved for use in the eye area would work as well.  The Eyeshadow base helps keep your eyeshadow in place longer and allows for bolder colors. Step 2: Use Eyeshadow #2 and apply it over the same area you just applied the base, from lash to brow. Step 3: Apply Eyeshadow #3 on your lid from lash line to crease concentrating the shadow a little heavier in the inner corner.  Don't worry about blending yet. Step 4: Go back to Eyeshadow #2 and blend the t...

I am not much of a cook.  I love to bake and decorate baked goods but regular cooking isn't my favorite thing to do.  However, I have an amazing recipe to share with you.  I went to a friend's party where she made this soup and it was to die for!  I craved it so much I even made a batch of my own and it turned out fantastic. It was pretty easy to make and it makes a lot so be prepared for left overs!  The most difficult part was peeling the roasted red peppers but apparently you can purchase peppers already roasted from your local grocery store.  Since I am a bit of a cooking virgin I didn't know that and the whole process would have been a lot quicker.  If you want to try roasting your own I used directions from All Recipes for mine. Enjoy and let me know if you love it as much as I do! Roasted Red Pepper Bisque as prepared in DEAN & DELUCA ’s Kansas City kitchen Yield 3 ½ qts Ingredients: ½ stick Butter ½ cup Celery, ...

Dear Employees, When are you going to grow up and realize this is a place of business? Not some place for you to show up when you feel like or expect someone else to clean up your messes. These things have to stop!  To: All…what does your desk look like? Your desk is not a private place for you to wallow in your own trash, dirty dishes and scum. It is open for all to see, including clients. What do you think a client thinks when they walk in and see dirty dishes, laptops sitting on piles of paper, paper thrown on the floor and junk every where? Is that the type of place you would want to do business with? This doesn't mean it needs to be spotless, it just needs to be tidy. It is disrespectful!  To: Coffee drinkers…did you make the coffee? You ground the coffee and you made the coffee but did you clean up your messes? The coffee grounds on the counter or spilled water take two seconds to wipe up. Don’t just leave them, it is disgusting!  To: Coffee drinkers…Did you t...

Among the many hobbies I have picked up over the years is a love for graphic design.  I am by no means a professional nor do I claim to be an expert but I love learning new Photoshop techniques and tricks.  I am 100% self taught on the program and my knowledge base is very limited when it comes to such extensive software but I manage. Want to learn how to do Photoshop too?  The software can be very costly but there are free Photoshop-like programs available on the web.  Two that I am familiar with are Gimp and Paint.net .  Gimp is the more advanced option of the two but I have found that Paint.net may be easier to use if you are unfamiliar with the programs.  Tutorials on different Photoshop techniques are available on YouTube which is where I have learned most of my abilities. If you are interested in basic photo editing I recommend trying Google's free program Picasa combined with Picnik .  Both very easy to use and have fun features to c...