Camelot

How to Tie a Flat Bow

>> Tuesday, July 29, 2014 – Crafts, Tutorials, Video

This may not be rocket science, but knowing how to tie a flat bow can come in handy at times. Flat bows are great for scrapbook pages and homemade cards because they add dimension without too much bulk.

Here is a short video of my hands. Okay, okay, I mean here is a short video of my hands making a flat bow. I hope you enjoy the tutorial!

Ninja at my table

>> Thursday, July 24, 2014 – Family Life, Fun

A little ninja showed up at my table for lunch. He had to pull down his mask in order to eat his sandwich, but otherwise his identity was still protected.

A transformer named Bumble Bee appeared during a recent visit to Grandma's house.

Then Wonder Woman was created from an unraveled cardboard toilet paper tube covered in yellow paper and a red piece of ribbon cut into a star. I think this is promising to be an interesting summer!

I don't mind the super heroes around here. In the end, we all want to be a force for good and help the people around us. It doesn't hurt to have to throw in a few awesome acrobatic moves, either.

Have a great Thursday!

Christmas in July

>> Monday, July 21, 2014 – Christmas, Holiday, Scrapbook pages, Studio J

It is about time I posted some Christmas photos, right? July seemed like a nice time to catch up on my holiday scrapbook pages. I've been making them in Studio J because it is fast and easy, plus I can get multiple copies of each scrapbook layout for each of the kids' memory books.

These are the pages I made from our Easter egg hunt. You can see the blog post here. This paper design was intended for Halloween, but the colors worked with my photos, so I used it anyway.

There were so many pictures from Easter that I put some on a second layout. It was easier to tell the story that way.

Here is the 4th of July layout. Check out the blog post here. I chose this paper design because the red plaid matched my little guy's red shirt.

If you haven't tried scrapbooking with Studio J, then let me recommend it to you. After learning the ropes with your first layout, you will be able to quickly whip out lots of scrapbook pages in a short amount of time, and at a savings compared with traditional paper scrapbooking. Plus you don't have to worry about printing your photos. Just put the digital photos right on the page. So easy.

Here are the 5 steps to finishing a Studio J scrapbook layout:
1. Upload photos
2. Choose a page design (search by the number of photos you want to use)
3. Choose a coordinating paper design
4. Customize by adding a title, journaling, and the cute stuff (digital ribbons, tags, stickers, etc.)
5. Save and purchase (you get a high quality 12x12 print + a free JPEG file)

You can shorten the process by choosing pre-made layouts and just popping in your photos. You can also get fancy and design your own pages. The possibilities are really amazing and you will love the results. Click here to get started. You are going to love how easy it is to get caught up on your own memory books!

A Tiered Rose Birthday Cake

>> Saturday, July 19, 2014 – Family Life

This little sweetheart loves all things glittery, and all things that involve flying unicorns. So it seemed quite logical that she would request a tiered "wedding cake" for her birthday with a flying unicorn cake topper. Wow. Where do kids come up with these ideas?!?

After hearing her request, this is what I came up with. It is actually the first cake I have ever made using icing decorator tips. The boys have always been content with whatever I can make with a butter knife, whipped topping, and a few colored sprinkles, but I think this cake just raised the birthday standard around here. (Translation: more planning and work for the mama.)

"Ooooh, I love it!" she said. "But I thought it would be round."

In my defense, the word "round" had never come up in all the discussions about a tiered wedding-style cake. Obviously at this point, she just had to be happy with it...and she was.

This was my favorite photo from the family birthday party. It was the moment when she called out, "STOP, Daddy! Don't light the candles!!!" It turns out we needed to pause for a restroom break.

After singing Happy Birthday, and then Happy Birthday Cha-cha-cha, and then a Spanish version of Happy Birthday, she finally blew out the candles...which was a good thing because I was beginning to wonder how long it would take before Twilight Sparkle's tail would catch on fire. Fortunately no toy ponies were harmed during this birthday celebration.

Next step: digging in. Happy birthday, Sweetheart!

(Note: Twilight Sparkle and My Little Pony are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.)

Charming necklaces

>> Friday, July 18, 2014 – Crafts

These beautiful custom necklaces are my latest creation. Close To My Heart comes up with the neatest ideas! Choose round or square, choose the background paper, and add charms that coordinate. The whole project takes just a few minutes. Of course Liquid Glass holds it all together.

At our recent family reunion, we split into "Guys & Gals" for a half an hour. The guys played outside with the kids while the ladies made necklaces. It was so much fun! My daughter wanted to make her own necklace. She chose the fun saying "I [heart] me" plus an owl charm and some bling.

Isn't it fun how personality shines through our crafts? Check out the latest in Base & Bling custom necklaces. You know you'll love it!

Happy 4th of July!

>> Friday, July 4, 2014 – Family Life, Fun, Holiday

According to my children, today is the best day ever! They get lots of parade candy, they don't have to do chores, they get to eat hotdogs and melons, plus they get to stay up to watch fireworks. Yep, sounds pretty much like a perfect day!

Here they are, anxiously waiting for the parade to start.

This little guy was all excited about the tractors in the parade.

He gathered a few pieces of candy, but then he just wanted to eat a lollipop and watch all the fun.

The day was warm, and someone was handing out ice-pops instead of tossing candy. What a great idea!

After the parade, we stopped to watch a chainsaw artist. He really did some amazing work. I loved the two-tone look of this particular carving.

Here was an attempt to get a photo by a cool tree that had exposed, mossy roots. We had some red-white-and-blue coordination going on, which was nice.

Sometimes people are surprised at how many photos I take each month. I won't disclose the exact amount (ahem), but it is somewhere in the thousands. With kids, though, it can take tons of tries to get everyone looking, smiling, and in a decent position.

This is a more realistic version of the previous photo. The youngest was making a run for it and inadvertently took out his brother in the meantime. Our oldest was then thrown off balance and, well, it was like watching dominoes as everyone toppled over. Fortunately no one was hurt and our holiday ended with fantastic memories and fireworks.

Happy 4th of July!

Easter Egg Hunt

>> Monday, April 21, 2014 – Family Life, Holiday

"Grab a basket, kids. We're going on an adventure!"

My parents were here visiting, and we decided to do a quick Easter egg hunt in our own yard, just for fun. It was in the evening after school and work, so we had to be quick before daylight disappeared.

And they're off!

Grandma had done a good job of hiding the eggs up in trees, behind rocks, and nestled in the grass.

There were bright colored eggs, of course, but we threw in some camouflage eggs, too, just to make things interesting. The older children needed a challenge.

This little guy insisted on wearing his bright shiny boots for the special occasion.

The children did a good job of sticking together and helping the little ones fill their baskets.

What were they doing here? Comparing their Easter egg haul? Oh no. Not my boys. I found out later that they had been negotiating trades for the camouflage eggs.

Boys will be boys!