I made a new play friend!

Happy Sunday! I'm not ready to start a new week but here it is, ready or not! I want to share a new scrapbook with you - I haven't scrapped in a while but this was great fun. It will go to a teen girl that bought all this stuff and never did anything with it. She sent it to me because she knew I scrapped. So I turned it into a book for her and will send it back to her. :)

It was a lot of fun to put this together for her. I was home sick with the stomach bug, which I give to my brother, too, (aren't I nice!?) and knocked this out.

My weekend was a rough one. My heart took a few whacks - ok smacked me sideways - and I'm still pretty sad. God has a reason for everything and hopefully it's lessons learned on all sides. 

But then I also had a wonderful time watching Macy on the mall playground making friends. She walks up to a girl, gives her an awkward hug and says, "I love you!"  And they played chase and slide and hop and just had a great time. As she's running by me and mom she yells, "Look y'all! I made a new play friend!!" There were actually two girls - sisters - and when they left Macy cried that her sisters had gone. Hahaha I had to explain they weren't HER sisters :) Too funny! 

Check out the cake I made for my brother and sister in law. White chocolate pound cake. I didn't really get to taste it (stomach bug) but hopefully her coworkers enjoyed the leftovers.

Ok I'm ready to pack this weekend up and put it away. It's bedtime for me. I'm zonked. Sweet dreams friends. :)

DIY Gifts

I'm cross posting this from Pressed Clovers, my "crafty" blog. It's a few DIY gift ideas that I seriously think you could still do before the holidays are here.  Enjoy!

DIY Gift Ideas

Ya'll know I started this blog as a play to show my scrapbooks for my Etsy company, Pressed Clovers.  But then I started doing other crafty things and putting pics up here, so it's turned into a crafty blog. 

When I started thinking of ideas for homemade gifts, I realized I had quite a few tutorials or ideas already posted on this website! Here are a few reminders and links to things I've posted in the past.

1)  The Christmas Scrapbook.  I make my mom one for her birthday on January 4th and print dozens of photos from Christmas for her to put into it immediately.  This way she hasn't forgotten any of the details and can have it ready for the next holiday season.  Don't forget to include the double sided stickers for the photos! (more photos in the link). Basically, each page has a place for a photo and is already decorated. All she needs to do is put in the pictures and write her memories.

2)  Photo Flower Pots.  While I made these for Mother's Day, I think it would be nice for Christmas, too. There are still flowers in the winter!  This isn't difficult at all and is completely personalized.  Print pictures on plain white copy paper and mod podge them to your flower pot. Easy Peasy!

3)  Monogram is all the rage! Many of us have tons of buttons laying about - buttons in jars, buttons in drawers, or in my case, buttons from a yard sale.  Tons of buttons. A quick run to my local craft store for a burlap canvas and some hot glue can turn buttons into beautiful monograms. Loved this gift idea! So quick, can finish it in an hour. 

4)  Teenagers! What about them? I wondered the same thing. Which started another one of my traditions - a scrapbook for my preteen niece.  With her, however, I buy lots of fun teenagerish stickers for to her decorate the book herself. I provided the book and basic layouts, tons of printed photos which all included her, and the double sided tape squares. She really impresses me with her creative ideas! This year, I'm giving her all the supplies pre-cut (mats for the photos and decorative strips of paper and tape, and stickers, of course) and letting her design the actual pages!

5) Toddler Artwork  This is my most favorite DIY project I've done to date.  Having my baby niece participate by "painting" four canvases and then I hand lettered the word LOVE on top. This is currently hanging in my bedroom.  Not keen on something that large? How about a small canvas or cardstock even, let them add a little paint and you add a monogram with a sticker!  Make it your own creation! :)

6) Baby on the Way.  New mothers or mothers-to-be... even grandmothers! love having these premade scrapbooks for the newborns most stellar moments.  The delivery day, the first day home, the first bath, baby sleeping - this provides a place for all those photos and will become a gift to the baby one day.  While baby boy is featured, just think pink for a girl.


I hope some of these ideas may inspire you to try a handmade gift this Christmas or into the New Year. Share your ideas with me, I'd love to hear them!

Friday's Letters.

Ya'll I am so very blessed. God placed me into an immediate family that is beyond wonderful - words can't describe my parents, siblings, their spouses and families. So thankful for being in this family.  But I also have an outstanding extended family on both sides - mom's and dad's.

A little background about my family:  My mom is one of 12 (yes, you read that right!). 12. She's number 8 in the line up so she was towards the end.  Actually, her oldest sister had children about my mom's age, so she was an aunt to people her age. ha ha! That's how it works out when you have so many kids. There were 9 girls and 3 boys in the family, (only one set of twins), from 1933-1956 (ish...I'm not too sure about the baby's birth year). All were living until this week, when my mom lost her oldest sister - the first born of the family.  It was a difficult weekend with hospice calling it down to a matter of hours.  Then she was gone.

My dad is one of 8, another rural Southern family with a ton of kids.  They had 6 boys and 2 girls - Dad is 5 in the line up and the first to be born in a hospital! Funny story - his birth certificate said, "Baby Boy" on it until he got married and had to legally change his name! Two of my dad's brothers have passed, one last year.  That one was tough because it was sudden and he had such a large personality - it didn't seem like it should have happened that way, with no chance of a goodbye.  This is why we should tell people what they mean to us today, right?

With my aunt, it was easier thanks to a wonderful service, delivered by her granddaughter.  She got choked up a few times, which were about the only times I really got choked up.  But she did a great job of presenting my aunt's personality without embellishing it or making her sound like someone she wasn't.  Because she was tough, straight-shooting, tell-it-like-it-is-whether-you-like-it-or-not, a community leader and a community MOVER.  She got things done.  Her granddaughter did her right.

So there, that's my week.  Getting back into work has been tough and overwhelming.  Not in a bad way - I'm definitely not complaining. It's forcing me to get organized and I like being organized. :)

OK, on to some letters:

Dear Mom and Dad, Happy Anniversary!  44 years is so beautiful and I'm SO GLAD ya'll went away for the weekend.  Go have a wonderful time without kids or grandkids and we'll see you when you get home.  We all love you very much!

Dear Project Life, I have spent hours working on you, trying to catch up the past several years of scrapbooking, only to realize I've left out many events that I wanted included. And it's not easy to go back and add... so I guess I'll be doing that this weekend somehow.  Let's not discuss the 100s and 100s of photos I've purchased thinking I would need them only to have them piled in a shoebox. Hmm...

Dear Big Brother, you aren't that exciting, but I'm still totally addicted. I read your feeds on Twitter every morning and every evening to make sure I'm up to date with your drama. Not that there is a lot of drama... but whatever.  Derrick, you deserve to win but Victoria, it would be hilarious if you took it all!

Dear Work, you are killing me.  It's Friday.  8:00 p.m. I'm still here.  Granted, I'm now blogging, but up until about 15 minutes ago, I was working.  2.5 more months of insanity and hopefully it will slow down.  By the way, work space, I'm loving my new desk and the new partitions that block out some of the noise!! LOVE IT.

Dear McDonalds, no more mocha frappes - I swear it was like my heart was going crazy.  No more.

Dear Neon Colored Paper Clips, you make me very happy.

Dear Far-off Friends, Ok, so I mailed out postcards from the beach today.  Work with me, ok? Don't think I'm psycho, just smile and nod.  Thanks.

Ok people, I'm heading to my HOUSE.  My couch, my twitter updates, my Project Life scrapbook... you get the picture.  Wish I have more excitement to post here, but I'm tired and don't have the energy to chase down pictures. Next week, I promise!  Adios my friends - have a great weekend and hug someone you love today!  :) :)

Photo Challenge Wednesday - 12

What day is it???  HUMP DAY! ... and Wednesday which is Photo Challenge Day! :) Woop Woop!  It's kinda fun and confusing at the same time to post these in the middle of the week, but since the year started on Wednesday, I've kept the weeks in line with that date. 

Let's get started, shall we?

                 

Wednesday, March 19, 2014:  Heading for H.O.M.E with a peaceful sunset.  Ya'll have seen this church several times, I think it's just a cute country church close to home.

                               

                   

                  

Thursday, March 20, 3014:  Wow, I didn't realize how snap-happy I was on Thursday.   :)   We were preparing for a Saturday election all week, with a steady stream of people coming into the office to vote.  I decided to Spring up the place with flowers. Also, it drew attention to our award - the office was voted Outstanding County of the Year by our state association.  :) YAY FOR US!

It was nice to see some Spring blooming - granted since then we've had another freeze so I probably damaged everything.  Pooh.  That night, Donna and I went to her local high school play, Grease, which was fabulous! Those kids do such a great job.  We always enjoy their plays.

       

Friday, March 21, 2014:  Sweet Niece #2 came by to visit while her mama voted absentee.  Katie was actually the last absentee voter! I can't even explain how much work goes on behind the scenes to hold even the smallest election... but it's alot.

                               

Saturday, March 22, 2014:  Election Day! Left the house at 5:45 a.m. and didn't get back until 10:15 p.m. So... it was just by luck I took this photo to send to my sister-in-law.  It's a very crappy photo of my scrapbook, which I was working on during the slower times of the Election.  :)   While I like the concept of Project Life, I've got to learn how to be more creative with it.

                     

                    

Sunday, March 23, 2014:  BOTH SWEET NIECES ARE HOME! WOOP WOOP! I so enjoy having time with both girls, they are just too sweet.  I sent this pic to AH's great-grandmother, in hopes to cheer her up (she lost her sister this past week. I can't imagine having a sister for 80+ years and losing her). Please say a prayer for her.

                             

Monday, March 24, 2014:  Thankfully, Spring is really beginning to show out! I love it! Blooms are on all the trees, the Yellow Belles are covered in blossoms, the rose bushes are pruned (thanks Mom!) and starting to show new growth - the world is waking up again.

           

Tuesday, March 25, 2014:  I know, you've seen this barn before, too, but I can't help it. I'm fascinated by it. I had to pull over on the side of the road and take a quick pic, the wind whipping my hair in a million directions.  Katie thought I was broken down with car trouble, only to realize I was just crazy to take photos in this cold windy weather.  But I finally got the shot I wanted. :)


So now it's Wednesday again and today's photo will show up next week.  I'm debating ordering some magnets of these more scenic photos from Sticky9.com especially since they have a buy 2 get one free deal.  But do I need 27 magnets of random photos?? Hmm... not too sure about that. Anyone have thoughts on this?

Ok, let me run.  Hope your week is going well - drop me a hello so I know you are out there. :)

--- Beth

Adios 2013...

Holy cow, Batman, where did 2013 go?? It's just crazy to think the entire year is G.O.N.E. I mentioned before, I'm not sad to see 2013 go, but there have been some really wonderful moments that I wanted to remember. 

January: Pinned It/Did it - Love canvas.  This was made for my sister from the kids for Valentine's Day.  The baby's feet and the preteen's hands.  :)  I thought it was cute! 

February: I am going to toot my own horn about the racing scrapbook I made for my friend, Paulene.  It was an honor to be part of her racing memories! :)  

March: 500th post!!!   And it just happened on a Muffin Monday. :) 

April:  Friday's Letters in April.  What can I say, I was boring in April.  But here is Sweet Niece and she's adorable. :) 

May:  I blogged roughly "Every Day in May."  - my Favorites and my Struggles. 

June:  Sweet Niece #2 turned ONE and I lost my sidekick - Muffin. :(

July:  The annual Family Beach Trip! WOOP WOOP!  And lots of scrappin'. 

August:  A Monday Muse on a Wednesday with lots of pics pics pics (and one picnic). 

September:  It's My Birthday!! Thanks to everyone who contributed to the USO! 

October:  The NOTEBOOK: It's not what you think, it's better! 

November: Friday's Letters - just a snippet of my life. Love it. 

December:  My column for YC Magazine.  

So there you go! :) A review of 2013!!! Thanks for reading, for being my "imaginary friends," for commenting and caring (because I know some of you do!).  Happy 2014!!! 

Birthday Month Goodness. Share With Me!

September is my birth month.  That's a big deal in my world, because I pretty much celebrate my birthday all month long.

For the past several years (2011 and 2012) I've made a simple birthday wish asking that you send a letter to someone you love, to our troops, or to give to the USO.

This year, I'm stepping it up a notch.  To help celebrate me, please consider a gift to the USO via my USO page at http://www.teamuso.org/create/bethcovington.  Here you'll find an easy way give a donation - any size of donation will mean the world to me and to our troops and their families.

To say thank you for giving, I'm giving away this "Inspire" paper bag scrapbook to one lucky contributor!  For every $5 you give through my page, I'll enter your name in the drawing.  For those who give $25, you'll get 10 entries!

 

It's truly just a "Thank You" because the real gift is knowing a military family is staying in touch while mom or dad is deployed, tired troops are getting a morale boost from Robin Williams, Toby Keith, tor the Dallas Cowgirls, a wounded warrier is being visited by Jessica Simpson - it's just amazing what all the USO provides for our troops. So much more than this.

So I hope you'll consider joining me in helping our troops.  And Celebrate my birthday with me! :)
http://www.teamuso.org/create/bethcovington