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This is a necklace that Maridette Cochola designed- She just tied each end of the blingage to the satin grey ribbon and voila..instant necklace. Maridette's BLOG
I feel inspired. Nothing like taking your crafting supplies to a new level.
I'm officially DONE with all the kits for my visit to EVER AFTER. It took a LONG time this round. I put in A LOT ...I mean A LOT into my class kits. I am shipping TEN huge boxes for the two workshops that I will be teaching. I always like to put "non scrapbooking FAVE items into my kits" and then I have to try to find them again. WHY do I do this? ha- This time I had 50 really ornate cool buttons but I had to go to 8 stores to find them again. I ordered the photos for the workshops- 2,030 prints. Yes, I do 4x6 photos of every single page. There is one of me and I know that having the visuals is vital for a good class when we have so many students. It's worth it to me to be able to teach a workshop that is all about being "creative" and not being stressed.
I even have a ENTIRE PINK suitcase of random products that I will have out during class as a "bonus" creative center. I have so many products that I thought it would be fun to try this out. I am going to bring an entire suitcase for the students to get to use whatever they want. What is not used by the end of Saturdays workshop- I will donate to a local charity. IF you are in the workshops please know that I will be giving away all of the products that I am bringing. If you coming to the workshops PLEASE bring a box or tote to take your product home with you.
Okay... I am having a VERY tender mommy day. I am overflowing with LOVE and HAPPINESS tonight. I have always felt my "life" calling is to be a mommy. I LOVE being a mother. It brings me the most happiness and when I create it's EVEN MORE wonderful because I am doing it for my family too. I love preserving the memories. This week DRILL TEAM competitions begin. McKay is in 12th grade and this is her LAST YEAR! This week, I have to help do the drill team dinner on Thursday, Decorate the girls lockers, make breakfast for 19 girls on Saturday morning by 7:30 am when the buses leave for UVU, and decorate the MHS display case for the drill team. Hmmm.... I love how crazy busy I am AND that I am able to do this for McKay and her friends. I am crazy busy but I just take it day by day. I went to their practice tonight to pick up McKay's photos for the drill team this year. Truth be told, McKay did not like the photos. She choose her clothes and well, she wore a dress and shirt that wasn't flattering (or so she thinks!). I put them on FACEBOOK and looked at all the photos. I am so thankful for these photos. I wish she could see HERSELF the way I do. I see her kindness in her eyes, I see her potential in life, I see a little girl who I will love forever. I wish she wasn't so hard on herself. I know someday she will CHERISH these photos with her darling friends. Here are a few of my favorites:
McKay age 17-
Okay... I love the B & W version and the color version. I like the color version because you can see how beautiful her light blue eyes are.
2011-2012 Murray High School Drill Team
A group shot of the Captains this year-
That's my baby... oh, yes... she is my youngest daughter and she will forever be my baby. ha! I love being her mother. This week we are working to get all the college applications in by December 1st. It's a happy and sad thought to know she is going to college next year. I'm so happy for her, but we will miss her so much.
I wanted to mention the photographer of the photos. If you are in UTAH- he is amazing! Michael Scott Sandberg www.michaelscott03.wordpress.com email: michaelscott03@gmail.com
Phone: 801-419-8645
You know it's simply the BEST when your surrounded by those that you love so much- your family!!!! We had some fun times over the Thanksgiving holiday. ALL of our kids were able to come to our house this year. I think the best part was the constant laughter that was heard. I ate WAY too much and enjoyed Grandma, Kayla's and Taylor's desserts. Yes, I tried them all! Calories on Thanksgiving do not count- right?
(Matt and Tyler)
The house was decorated with the focus of being GRATEFUL!
Thank you Brie for making this stand for me. I love it. I used Giving Thanks to have a gratitude message displayed.
The table was simple- GRATITUDE (made with TC Cricut Sophisticated Cartridge and cut out of my 12x12 black flocked paper!).
I had labels for the entire family to write their gratitude thoughts on and to hang on the tree.
Most of the thoughts were meaningful, but of course, the kids got a little silly and wrote things like... I am grateful for "Justin Bieber." That was Gentry and that is what I love that we have silly times to go along with our more serious times. I love it when Grandma Collins (Ty's mother) can be with us. She is full of wisdom and she is so strong in her beliefs. I gain so much from her. PS Matt is always smiling. He was playing with my Crop o dile and then he broke it. Yes, he tried to punch a hole in a penny and it broke one side of my tool. It was funny even though I am sad that one of my fave tools is now broken.
The tree is now full of sentiments. * I forgot to take a photo of it filled up!
Maxson was just the sweetest. Yes, that is a FAKE mustache on him. McKay had a few from a drill team gift and the kids wore them. Maxson wore his for a long time. What a crack up!
The girls LOVE playing with Maxson. He is into BALLS, Mickey Mouse, and CARS (the movie!). The girls love him so much. I love watching the girls take care of him! Kayla is VERY pregnant and will have the baby next weekend by induction. I knew she was not wanting to be in any photos, since she is so close to having her baby.
Matt, Zach and Ty playing basketball. Ty is wearing the mask because he was so cold (yes, even though he is wearing SHORTS in the Winter!) Love to watch the boys together.
McKay had her wisdom teeth out the day before Thanksgiving, but she was not in any pain and was able to eat most everything. So grateful that she recovered so FAST!
Ty made the BEST Turkey this year. It was the best that we have ever had. It was SUPER MOIST. He put apple, oranges, and celery inside the turkey and cooked it on 240 degrees for 7 hours. We have lots left for SOUP and Zach takes his lunch every day to school.
Then McKay opened up the FAKE mustaches for the kids to play with. We all laughed some good laughs!
I am thinking this could be our new family photo and Christmas card! ha-
I love my family and am thankful that when we are together we know how to laugh at each other and be silly. This year, my gratitude is OVERFLOWING with feelings of appreciation for EVERYTHING that God has given me. I hope that you were able to have a special holiday surrounded by those that you love and who love you!
My daughter Gentry called me Saturday morning. She said, " Mom, do you have FIVE minutes to listen to my talk that I am giving at church tomorrow?" Of course, I stopped what I was doing and listened as she read the following talk to me. I was crying as she read her thoughts and feelings. I knew that that she had a great understanding at a young age of appreciation. For this, as her mother...I am THANKFUL. I felt so touched that I called Gentry and asked her to email her talk to me. I read it again. Then last night, I called her again. I asked her permission to share it today on my blog. Here is what she said in her talk:
Gratitude 11/19/11- talk given by Gentry:
*Gentry on right with her roommate-
With Thanksgiving being this next week I have been asked to speak on Gratitude. One thing that is important to remember though is that although this season is centered around gratitude it is important to live with gratitude every day of our lives. President David O. Mckay said “Gratitude is deeper than thanks. Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” Somebody once said that “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
Gratitude is something that should be expressed daily through prayer. One of my favorite quotes is “what if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday?” One idea to help you do this could be that once a week you have one prayer dedicated to being grateful to the Lord. Express your thanks in every prayer, but during this prayer only tell the Lord how grateful you are for the many things in your life.
While there may be times in your life that you don’t feel gratitude, there is always something to be grateful for and we need to express that gratitude to the Lord. Gratitude is a habit that can be cultivated. If we work at being grateful and expressing our gratitude daily, eventually we will be in a habit living with a grateful disposition.
In the March 2010 Ensign Vaughn E Worthen lists some more things that we can do to cultivate gratitude in ourselves and others. First, he states that we can keep a gratitude journal. He says to record three to five blessings or tender mercies in our lives. It could be lessons learned, improvements, a positive relationship with someone, or an experience you had. Write your thoughts on them instead of merely listing them because the purpose is to relive them and want to have those feeling again. Next he says we can make a gratitude visit. Think of somebody that has done something kind to you that you have never thanked. It could be a teacher, grandparent, friend, employer, coworker, or parent. Write that person a letter about what they did for you and how it made you feel and then deliver it to them.
In a talk by President Thomas S. Monson he tells of expressing Gratitude. He states: “The United States Post Office dead-letter department receives annually thousands and thousands of children’s pre-Christmas letters addressed to Santa Claus asking for things. After it was all over one year, a single, solitary letter thanking Santa Claus was received. Could this be one of the problems of this troubled world; that people think only of getting—not giving? Of receiving—and not even expressing their gratitude for that which they do receive?”
Next we need to eliminate ungrateful thoughts. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles counseled, “No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse.” He suggests to make a list of your misfortunes and then replace them with things that you are grateful for. Next he says to train yourselves to use gratitude language. Practice saying thank you more often to those around you. Finally he says to enjoy the journey. While we make goals about where we want to get in life, it may not be a fast process. We need to remind ourselves of our progress.
Next I want to talk about how gratitude can make us happy in life. Many times when we are going through a trial or things aren’t going as planned it is tempting to murmur. In 1st Nephi 18:16 Nephi states “I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions” Giving thanks to our Lord and expressing our gratitude for helping us endure will help increase our happiness. God has blessed us with so much in our lives and we need to take the time to recognize all that he has given us. The Lords hand is in all things. He does not love it when we suffer. If we realize how much he has blessed us with, we would see that if the Lord blessed us based on our best efforts we would have so much less than we do now.
Gratitude can play a large part in how an experience is perceived. Winter semester of last year my friends and I went to a tumbling gym about a week before finals started. About five minutes after arriving my foot got caught in the trampoline springs as I was jumping and I broke it. That next week I was on campus studying feeling very sorry for myself. Getting around campus was difficult, I couldn’t really do anything for the next month and a half, and why did it have to happen right before finals week. So I was sitting there feeling sorry for myself thinking “why me” when a girl crutched by with only one leg. I think that was God telling me in that moment that I am really blessed in my life. While I might not be able to walk for a while, that girl would never be able to. I needed to start looking at all that I did have in my life instead of all that I was missing. I am not saying that I was happy that I couldn’t walk for the next month, but every time I needed a reminder about all that I had I would look back on that moment and it helped me so much.
I found a quote that states “ Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, and a stranger into a friend.”
In President Monson’s talk “attitude of Gratitude” he lists many things we should be grateful for. The final thing we should be grateful for is Our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ. President Monson states: “His glorious gospel provides answers to life’s greatest questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where does my spirit go when I die? He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to serve. He taught us how to live. His life is a legacy of love. The sick He healed; the downtrodden He lifted; the sinner He saved. Only He stood alone. Some Apostles doubted; one betrayed Him. The Roman soldiers pierced His side. The angry mob took His life. There yet ring from Golgotha’s hill His compassionate words, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” I am so grateful for all that the savior has done for me and blessed me with in my life. Because of all that he has done and still does for us we are able to live happy and fulfilling lives with the promise of eternal happiness if we live righteously. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I am so thankful for Gentry and that she gave this beautiful talk that was a great reminder to me to always count my blessings. She is on her way home now and I am so HAPPY! I love having the entire family home for the next few days. This is indeed something to be GRATEFUL for.
With thanksgiving just around the corner here is a project by Julie Jacob. Thank you so much Julie for this project!
Hi ladies...
I love THANKSGIVING!!!! It is my favorite holiday. I have such a HUGE feeling of appreciation and gratitude in my heart and I am always trying to find ways to express and show it. When I designed the GIVING THANKS collection, it was from a deep desire to design a line that would help others do the same.
This Thanksgiving, I designed some home decor DIY projects with this line. I wanted to show you my table in my family room. I will share with you some of my DIY tips and tricks on how to recreate them in an affordable and creative way!
Let's start with the frames. I have FIVE here. I purchased all of these frames at Hobby Lobby. I am NOT endorsed by HL, but I truly LOVE their frame selections. Also, their frames are constantly on sale. These were purchased at 50% off.
*Giving Thanks paper in large frame.
In each frame you will find three that have quotes that were cut from my gratitude 12x12 tag paper (Giving Thanks collection). One frame has our family photo. The largest frame is a 11x14 cream distressed frame. I simply cut my 12x12 Giving Thanks paper to fit the inside size of the frame. I purchased the bling letters G I V E at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 for each letter. They have an adhesive back, and I adhered them to the OUTSIDE of the glass frame. I wanted the sparkle and shine to not be behind the glass.
This is the upclose view of one of the frames with the quote from the paper. This quote is what inspired my entire line. I thought it was only appropriate that I framed the quote.
The next two DIY frames- again from the sheet of paper- "As I started LOOKING, I found more and more." and the die cut circle LIVE WITH GRATITUDE.
These were simple and quick DIY projects and I think they add meaning to the holiday.
One of my absolute favorite DIY tips is to LOOK at your beautiful scrapbook papers as potential home decor projects. I love that you can create UNIQUE and customized looks by using your creative imagination. Hope you enjoy and have a fabulous Friday. I am going on a date tonight with Ty. It was funny. We have been married for many years and last night we were getting ready for bed and he asked me out on a date for tonight. I giggled and accepted. I love it!
Today I wanted to show how to design and hand create your own GRATITUDE TREE.I will be on Good Things Utah Channel 4 TV at 10am this morning. I wanted to create a meaningful project for my home and family.
Looking for the perfect way to display and create meaning to your home for Thanksgiving? There is no better time then to create your own tree. To make it simple you can print your own labels with my free download of gratitude words and labels. This is the perfect way for your family and friends to display what truly means the most to you!
Step 1:
You can get branches from your own yard or visit your local craft store to buy them premade. *project branches purchased from Hobby Lobby Craft store.
Step 2:
To hold your branches, use a wire topiary from your local craft store. You could also use a large planter.
Step 3:
Place the branches inside the wire topiary.
Step 4:
Add glitter branches to add some fun holiday feel.I love the glitter!
My tree is very tall. I love this! However, you could create your tree in any size.
I love the glitter addition to my tree. The tree is festive and sparkly.
Step 5:
Add speciality pieces to add to your home look and décor.
Step 6:
Display in your home in a place that visitors and family will be able to enjoy and see.
I have my GRATITUDE tree in the front room of my house. I want to fill the tree up with tags and expressions of gratitude.
Step 7:
Print out the PDF files and create your own labels. Some are blank so that you can write in your own words the things that you are grateful for! The others ones are preprinted with words.
Teresa Collin's FREE DOWNLOADS- for personal use only:
Download Tcgratitudetreeblank-4
This is a view of the free TC downloads:
Step 9:
This is your way to get your family involved and see what every one is thankful for this year. Punch a hole along top of tags that you print. Hang from tree branches with bakers twine.
Step 10:
This is what it is all about- having your family each write their blessings on the tree. These are the memories that will truly make your Thanksgiving special.
Upclose of my son Ty's tag. PRICELESS!!!!
Next I showed how to take regular candles and make them into a festive THANKSGIVING appropriate home decor display. Simply print out the download that I created here:
You have the letters to do GIVE THANKS. I did GIVE by cutting out each indivdual letter and adhereing each individual letter to a candle. There is some blank frames to write inside for your gratitude tree too. I simply love this and it was less than $12.00 for all four candles.
I will be showing more of the projects I am showing on TV later this week. I used my Giving Thanks paper collection- so if you have the collection, you can recreate what I am showing.
I hope you will feel inspired to create your own GRATITUDE projects just in time for Thanksgiving!
These are FREE for your personal use only- enjoy!!!!
This is NOT cut off when you download. Just had to quickly post it on the blog...going now to tape more MCC episodes.
I hope you enjoy and that you are enjoying my episodes on My Craft Channel!!!!!
I am COLD. Yes, I have this problem in that I am always freezing. It is cold now here. I normally even wear a cold all day in the house. I will workout and about 20 minutes after working out...I am again FREEZING. I have to admit, that I love being home during the winter months because it is colder. I tend to not go out as much after it's dark. I make LOTS of soup! It's my go to lunch and dinner for the family. Another thing...I make hot chocolate EVERY night to warm us up. So as much as I am not a cold weather girl...I love how it brings our family home more. I am so grateful for the change of season.
Today I had a SEOP with Zach. She talked about Zach going into 9th grade next year. She mentioned he will only have FOUR years of school left. My heart is NOT ready. TIME goes by way too fast! Then I took McKay to the oral surgeon. She has been hurting. Her THREE (she is missing the fourth) wisdom teeth are coming in. Due to her school and drill schedule she asked me to schedule the surgery the DAY before Thanksgiving. I told her that I think she is crazy, but she wants to get it over with. We are having Thanksgiving at our home this year. I am excited that Matt, Kayla and Maxson will be with us. I am sad that the girls will be at their dads. Happy- for him of course...but sad to not have them here. I am LUCKY that I have the ENTIRE family here for Christmas though. THIS makes me SO happy!
Tomorrow I will be filming for My CRAFT CHANNEL. Then I will be home and preparing for my GTU Channel 4 Gratitude segment on Wednesday. Tonight I am very tired...so it's time to retire.
I thought I would share some sunshine today- a beautiful project by Stacy Rodgriquez. She is so talented!!!!!!
Carolina Breeze mini album
Gorgeous... love the happy YELLOW!!!!! Hope you do too-
