School Daze

Forever Twenty-One

Time Flies

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen!

So finals are over and it's almost Christmas! This time of year is so incredibly stressful, but PRAISE GOD I'm at a place where everything I needed to complete is completed! Obviously I am done studying for exams, writing papers, and creating Power Points. I am also done with buying Christmas presents. This year was easier for me than others because within our family we did a secret-Santa kind of thing. (Don't tell, but I got Allyson! I bought her a sketch book and a artist's pencil kit, plus a book about how to draw realistic faces that was written by a woman who used to work as a police sketch artist.) I also bought a present for Harley and some of his family members but that was pretty much all the presents I had to come up with.

Since I had extra time (or so I thought, but I worked everything out) and money, I picked 4 names off of an Angel Tree at PSU and bought presents for them. There was a 6 year old girl, a 12 year old boy, a 15 year old boy, and a 17 year old boy. I really enjoyed shopping for them and trying to find all the things they put on their wishlists. I had to turn them in a couple weeks ago but I've been trying to remember them all in prayer.

I also finished my snowflakes for the Ornament Swap and mailed them. I came up with several different variations and I feel really good about all of them. I hope the ladies like them! I had fun making them but I am glad that they're done and mailed away. It's so much fun to have another ornament come in every couple days :] My mom also did the swap so we have our own little tree to put the handmade ornaments on. Maybe I will take a picture of it and put it on here.

There is more I could say but instead I'll say "That's all for now!" God bless you and merry Christmas.

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November...

Happy Guy Fawkes Day! And happy almost Thanksgiving :] I adore Thanksgiving, I might even call it my favorite holiday. Of course I say that about many holidays. But aren't holidays and celebrations in general just wonderful? I decorated the front table all Thanksgivingy now that November is here.

I'm certainly no professional photographer (I use the camera on my phone for these pictures) but you get the idea. It looks pretty nice, if I do say so myself. I got the fabric leaves (a bag of 150 of them!) and both frames at the Plymouth Dollar Tree (yahoo!) The pictures in the frames I found at the Graphics Fairy and printed from the nice color printer in the AV room at the PSU library (oooh glossy.) The lamps were already on the table (my Mom's) and the pinecones are souvenirs from a family trip we took in 2003 to the Sequoia National Park in California. Last but not least (in fact their my favorite pieces,) I'm not sure what to call them but those champagne flute-looking things were a yard sale gift from Harley. The shorter one is filled with acorns and the taller turkey down feathers (both of which were collected at the Larter's farm.) This fantastic display brought to you for the low low price of 3 dollars and probably 15 cents off my print quota!

In other news, I think I may have figured out how to personalize this sheet music ornament idea. Here's the ornament I made today:

Whaddaya think? A little more snowflakey, I must say. I like both ornaments very much, but I like that this one feels more like my baby. But even the one that is more heavily based on Miss Mustard Seed's sheet music ornaments isn't identical to her's so I love them both. Plus I used Christmas carol sheet music for both which makes them unique and completely adorable.

And I wanted to put some pictures up of the quilted coasters I'm making for my Grandmother but, unfortunately, their still in the "being made" phase. I somehow tangled the bobbin in my sewing machine and I need my Mommy to help me before I can move on. Here's the fabric I'm using at least:

Ooh, so cute. I hope my Grandma likes the patterns because I love them! I considered that possibility that we have different tastes and now I'm a little worried that she'll think they don't match enough. But which of us by worrying can add one cubit to our stature? Exactly. So I'm done thinking about it!

I'm going to have a sleepover downstairs with Molly tonight. Oof and tomorrow morning I have to wake up bright and early to catch a ride with Mommy dear to Plymouth. She's working 7 to 7 at the hospital and I have stuff to do from 8:30 to 5 so I figured it was worth saving the gas. I will have to hang around a little but maybe I can make some more ornaments! From 8:30 to 12 I'm helping Dr. Lindberg out with the children's auditions for Peter Pan :] :] :] I'm excited, as I've never been involved in something like this. I wish I was a better actress, I love theatrical stuff! Then at 1 I have to head over to the Child Development Center where I'm working with a team to rearrange the preschool room. I can't imagine it will take 4 hours but that's what I was told to plan for. Oof again! I'll have to make some relaxing plans to look forward to for the evening.

And then we get an extra hour of sleep for daylight savings! Oh, how I love fall back. And I hate spring forward. But all the more reason to enjoy the extra hour this time around.

Goodnight and God bless you, reader!

1 down, 7-9 to go...

I'm feeling very cozy this evening. When I got home I found 3 members of my family relaxing by the wood stove in the sitting room. Two of my favorite things! (family and warm snoozy fires)

So I plunked myself down on the ground and got to work on the ol' to-do list. I am happy to say that I got everything done, and was able to enjoy the company of my mother and siblings! I sometimes buy into this weird school of thought that says I need to shut myself in my room to get work done. How sad is that?

Get a load of this: not only did I finish up all the school work I needed to, I also cut the batting and the fabric for the quilted coasters I'm making for my grandmother (late birthday/early Christmas/thanks for buying me a fabulous sewing machine! gift) and I completed the first of 8-10 handmade Christmas ornaments for the freshlyblended 5th Annual Holiday Ornament Swap! Nicoliolio got me into it and now I've started making ornaments before I even know who I'm sending them to!

It is a Christmas carol sheet music snowflake (if you couldn't tell.) I was inspired by the kazillion sheet music wreaths out and about on the interwebs, but especially Miss Mustard Seed's. Okay, okay. I completely copied her. But, in my defense, her's is meant to be more of a wreath whereas mine is obviously a snowflake.

Unlike Miss Mustard Seed, I don't have much antique sheet music lying around so I went online and found this site and took the pages from a hymnal called Carols Old and Carols New. I didn't want a big giant wreath so I printed out teeny tiny miniature pages and rolled them accordingly. And the rest is pretty basic: I glued them to a small white cardstock circle, punched a hole in the top and tied a loop of white embroidery thread through it. It didn't take me long at all and I think it's darling.

I'm trying to think of a way to make it my own it a little more... I'd like to send out ornaments that are truly unique. I'm not even going to find out who's getting them until November 15th, and after that I don't have to send them out until sometime in early December. So I have time to think about it.

And now I'm off to bed! God bless you, everyone!

Do the Hustle!

November second! What a great day to start a blog. I love nice looking dates. 11/02/2010 :] yum!

Yesterday I taught in the on-campus Child Development and Family Center at my college. We've been doing a lot with colors in the preschool room so I introduced some American Sign Language signs for different colors.

I love this picture! It makes me happy.