Best. Give away.EVER!

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I am crafting again!

Saw this little gem on Pinterest and just knew I had to give it a try! This project was easy, affordable, and time consuming:) I really think it was oh-so-worth-it though

Family Movie Night

I'm thinking of planning a family movie night where we all sit in pool loungers in our pool and project the movie on the back of the house! What a great way to stay cool in the Las Vegas summer heat!
Here's a great giveaway you should know about:
http://www.notjustahousewife.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/3mprojector.jpg

I Will Return....I Promise!

I just noticed that the last blog entry I submitted is dated January 3rd! My life went into a tailspin, a whirlwind, etc. the day after that entry. You see, at the time, my husband and I were living in Bluefield, Virginia working for a wonderful college there and also trying to lay the ground work for starting a church. Long story short: the college work was great but, sadly, the funding for the church plant fell through so we were forced to look for work elsewhere. That led us to a wonderful church in Las Vegas, Nevada. My husband joined the staff there at the beginning of February. As I am typing this, we are currently making our way with all of our belongings to our new home in Nevada. All of our wordly goods are on a moving truck, my car is being shipped, and we are flying out tomorrow! Whew....stay tuned:)

Christmas Craft!

I am sooo thrilled at how this craft turned out. It's not all the way complete though. I still need to add white flowers to each of the coke bottles. Haven't been able to find the perfect ones yet. There's always tomorrow :) A complete tutorial will be posted this weekend.

Great Giveaway

http://www.keylimedigitaldesigns.com/

Now This is a GREAT Giveaway

Thanksgiving Pumpkin

A big, heartfelt THANKS is going out to Between Naps on the Porch for this fantastic idea for decorating a pumpkin. I love getting more bang for my buck too :) The same pumpkin that I had used for Halloween, I was able to reuse for Thanksgiving. Love that.
There is a fantastic tutorial for this idea on BNOTP, but I will attempt to sum it up here too.

1. Choose 2 patterns of wired-edge ribbon.
2. Cut 4 strips (approx. 50" each) from each pattern ribbon. You will have a total of 8 strips of ribbon.
3. The original tutorial calls for a fall-looking napkin ring that you will attach to the stem of the pumpkin. I did not have said napkin ring (of course) so I improvised with cutting the stem and leaves off of a spring-looking daisy that I salvaged from an earlier craft. I twisted the ends together to form a make-shift napkin ring.
4. Lay one strip of ribbon on the table and set your pumpkin on the center.
5. Pull the ribbon through the napkin ring on either side of the pumpkin. I could only use 4 ribbons total. My pumpkin must be a lot smaller than the one used in the original tutorial.
6. Once all the ribbon is pulled through, cut off the excess so that what you're left with is appropriate for your size pumpkin.
7. Shape the tail ends of the ribbon.
8. Set out on your porch and admire :)

Halloween 2011

Since we don't have a mantel in our temporary living situation, I used my piano instead. It's black so it was perfect:)

Beautiful Jewelry Giveaway

Check this out
http://www.iheartnaptime.net/

simply fantastic

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fs08ocTDFk

What I've Been Working On....

              

I'm back.....kind of

It has been a long time since I've posted anything on my blog. Our move to Bluefield, Virginia slowed things down somewhat. We are living in temporary housing on the campus of Bluefield College and the internet is not working in our cottage as of yet. Bummer. We are extremely grateful for the housing though. I have crafted some things even though our digs are on the smaller side and I don't have all of my crafting supplies here. If only I could figure out how to upload the pics! Stay tuned.....

love this too

http://creativediva98.blogspot.com/
Fantastic giveaway....I hope I win:)

Heads up for a fantastic giveaway!

http://www.fadedcharmcottage.blogspot.com/

Help.....I'm Moving!

I don;t actually need help with the moving part. I just need help with the "coming to grips with the fact I'm moving" part! You see, after 18 years of serving in the same church in Columbia, Maryland, we are heading to Bluefield, Virginia to start a church on the campus of Bluefield College. Not sure if you know a lot about Columbia, Maryland or Bluefield, Virginia but they are radically different places to live. Columbia is a planned community which means every detail was thought of when this city was started. Bluefield, well.....not so much. It's a beautiful place with beautiful people but not a "planned" community. Enough said. This whole situation reminds me a little  a tremendous amount of the TV show, Green Acres. We will be that fish out of water scenario for sure :) I thought a great way to help me transition, would be to create a new blog, in addition to this craft blog, that would document my occasional  daily comedic episodes of my life in Bluefield. Here's where I need the help. I really want the theme of this new blog to be centered around the fact that what I expect my life to be there doesn't actually match up to reality. I need blog title ideas. Something along the lines of "My life is an Oxymoron" or something like that. I just don't want it to appear that I am slamming Bluefield. Nothing could be further from the truth. I love that town and I can't wait to begin our new lives there. Send me your ideas of new blog titles please:)

Things are really starting to rock and roll!

I just received a second order for necklaces:) I must admit that this is a difficult time of year to be bringing on something of this magnitude. There are 6 weeks of school left which means, as a teacher, I have a zillion things to do and a zillion pieces of paperwork to complete as well! Did I mention that I'm also ending my employment at my current school? Ahhhhh......the plot thickens:) So the cherry on the top is that in the midst of all of that, I am making necklaces to sell so I can raise $ to go on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. And, guess what? I can't think of a better thing to spend my time doing. Thank you to all of those who are placing orders. Your contribution means more than you will ever know.

First order in!

I'm on my way! I have just been asked to make 6 Scrabble tile necklaces for graduation presents. That means that my Dominican Republic mission trip fundraising has officially begun!

Fundraiser Crafts

Dominica Republic.....here I come! I have the exciting opportunity to participate in another mission trip to the D.R. this July. I will be helping to lead seminars for Dominican teachers in public and private schools. This is my third year in teaching these workshops and I'm more excited than ever before! God is up to something good.....I can tell. These pics are my newest Easter/springtime collection of Scrabble tile necklaces that I am selling to raise my support for this trip. If you'd like to participate, the prices are as follows: $10 charm only and $15 for charm + chain. Email me if you're interested!

Send me your ideas!

I once saw a great idea for a graduation party using map inspired scrapbook paper. Of course, true to my Project + 4 style, now that I actually need that idea, I can't find it ANYWHERE! I need help:) Please send any photos, links, etc. that you think might fit this concept.