Show and Tell

Rely on His Unfailing Love

Today is Sunday. Sunday, August 14. The day before the round of doctor appointments and consults and all that sort of stuff begins. My last day of blissful ignorance, I suppose.

So — here is a portion of the Psalm that I read this morning.

Psalm 33:18-22

"But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone."

Could it be any more appropriate? Oh, how I love opening the Word and seeing what it has to say to me each and every day. Of course, I say that... but it's not like it's always been that way... or even (and I hate to say this) that it always will be. We humans are so fickle. We run hot and cold. We get distracted by problems, by joys, or just by ordinary life. Grrrr. Sometimes I get so frustrated with my human-ness. But — here's what I'm thinking. God made me. He knows me top to bottom and inside and out. And I'll keep persevering and pressing on as best I can. Sometimes I'll get it right. And I'll always be thankful that He is so patient and loving and kind. And that He is always there... ready and willing to soothe and comfort me — and sometimes even carry me. What a great God!

So — as I mentioned, this week we will start finding out a little more about what is going on with me medically. I think God blessed me with just the right personality for a time like this. I don't like to look too far into the future — and really am quite successful at not doing so. My philosophy is kind of... if I can't change it or do anything about it, why worry about it? (I know, head in the sand...) But, I guess that tomorrow I'll at least have to begin to wrap my crazy brain around the options and possibilities. Doesn't sound fun. Thanks so much for keeping us in your prayers. 

 

Now, I thought maybe I'd show you one of my pre-wedding projects. I like that a wedding brings two families together, ideally blending them into a unit that will be there to support and encourage the new couple as they begin their life together. So — I wanted to recognize the joining of the Hayes and Freeman families in a visual way... with photographs.

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We ordered a large print of one of Britt & Kenneth's engagement photos and then I procured 5x7s of the parents and 4x6s of each set of grandparents.

I didn't want to spend a bundle of money on getting the photos framed, so my mom and I went to Garden Ridge, purchased an assortment of appropriately sized frames, and then I got to work.

After removing the glass and the back (or covering the back with paper), I primed...

and started layering on the spray paint...

coat...

by coat...

by coat. When they were a nice, solid creamy color they were ready to be moved inside, filled with the photos, bubble-wrapped, and set aside for the car trip to Raleigh.

AND TELL:  OK... just trying to stay with the usual format here... but I don't have all my information upstairs where I'm working so, basically, I went to Lowe's Home Improvement Store... bought some spray primer and some creamy-colored high-gloss spray paint and sprayed away. :)

 

And here is how the display looked during the reception.

The extra-wide window sills were the perfect display space — and we were fortunate that they allowed candles, too, which made the whole vignette a nice little side-trip for those who attended the wedding. And I hope that it also got across a subtle message about the value of dedicated, long-term marriages. Marriages are worth saving!

Now I'm trying to decide how many more days I'm going to draw out this whole pictures from the wedding thing. I'm a bit of a torturer, aren't I?

Well, I think I'll give you a few more of the getting ready process now. 

The venue had a nice room that the maid of honor made even nicer by moving the furniture around

so it made the whole getting dressed process comfortable...

and kind of decorated.

She even attractively displayed the girls' belongings so that when the photographer arrived everything would look photo-ready.

In case you're wondering about the bags, we ordered them from Baggu so that as the bride and bridesmaids changed their clothes they each had a place to put what they were discarding. Each bag was a different shade or color so they were easily identifiable (plus we attached the tags I made with their first initial on them to help...). Baggu also makes smaller bags, so the flower girl had her own little bag... just like the big girls.

And since there are maybe one or two of you out there who would like a closer look at the flowers...

Quite lovely, right?

And that is probably more than enough for today. If you're still hanging in there with me, thanks so much for the visit. I appreciate the contact with you more than you know! 

Water Bottles & The Oregon Coast

Water bottles first. This is the project that I had in mind several days ago when I entitled an entry "Perfection is the Enemy of Good Enough." Since my neighbor Maria & I first began talking details for the baby shower, we weren't planning on doing any fancy beverages — just bottles of water and coffee. Nice and easy. But in my mind, I was going to do labels for the water bottles kind of like I've seen on the Blonde Designs Blog. But then I was running out of time the night before and just went to bed thinking... "no big deal. Who's gonna know?" And then a few hours later I woke up thinking... "plain old water bottles is going to look tacky, like you were too lazy to make punch or something. Just do it." So... I did.

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OK — I know that plain old water bottles would've been good enough and probably no one would have grabbed one to drink and thought, "How tacky can you get?!" But — you have to agree this is way more impressive... and fun.

And it didn't take all that long. The morning of the shower I woke up, hurriedly printed the text from my computer using the same font I had used for the invitation.  I cut the new labels the same width as the brand labels that were on the water bottles, stamped them, and used packing tape to adhere them to the bottles where the real labels had been — following the recommendations here.

Now — I don't recommend doing this the morning of an event. Since I was working quickly the morning of... well, there were a few stray ink marks from the stamping, but I don't think anyone noticed. Just me. :) There was also a bit of a learning curve for getting the labels on without wrinkles — and some were v-e-r-y wrinkly — but about halfway through the process I was getting pretty good at it. So — if you try it, give yourself time. Or keep repeating to yourself, "Perfection is the enemy of good enough..."

AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf) and Stampin' Up (Berry Christmas); ink is SU (Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise); also used regular old computer paper, a cool font, and clear packing tape. 

That is it for the baby shower. And I think that was enough. Remind me the next time I'm hosting an event that I don't have to incorporate everything that I've ever seen and have been wanting to try! Actually, that probably won't do much good. Sometimes I just love to go overboard. This was one of those times, I guess.

Now — I'll share some pictures from another wonderful day in Oregon, back at the beginning of August. {happy sigh} It was a gorgeous sunny Sunday. I went to church with my mom...

at Willamette Community Church which occupies the old Albany High School — where my dad graduated from. It's also where his packed memorial service was held 8-1/2 years ago. Tell me. Do you ever get over losing your dad?

After church my brother, our mom, and myself hopped in the car and headed out...

to the beautiful Oregon coast...

(yes... you're getting some literal "pictures from the road" today)

We drove a bit north up the coast

to our first destination

Tidal Raves restaurant in Depoe Bay. Above is the view from the restaurant. Does it get any better?

Yes, it does.

Seahawk Bread for an appetizer:  baguette toasted with smoked salmon, cream cheese, havarti, shrimp, and onion.

The House Salad with Shrimp:  organic baby greens, curried almonds, dried cranberries, and white balsamic dressing.

The day's special:  Coconut-crusted Halibut with Rice, Grilled Vegetables, and some sort of sweet-spicy sauce. (Should've written it all down. It was yummy, yummy, yummy!)

And, of course, dessert.

Peach Sorbet with Hazelnut Shortbreads served on Raspberry-Citrus Sauce. Mmmm. Heavenly. And the perfect ending to a meal. Also perfectly portioned for the three of us to share.

I have so many more pictures of that day at the coast to share, but I think you'll like it better if I stop here for now. There are 162 pictures in my file of photos taken that beautiful Sunday and I initially narrowed it down to... 43 (!) that I wanted to share with you. Think I better take another look at them — but I know how you like the food pictures, so those had to make the cut! :) Seriously, though, if you ever make it to the Oregon Coast, Tidal Raves is well worth the stop. Stick it on your list of places to go. You won't be sorry.

Now, I better get a few things done around here. We'll be going to the Carolina Panthers' third preseason game tonight... hopefully it'll be better than the last one, which was pretty ugly. I'll be back tomorrow with a card to share. And it has nothing to do with babies or baby showers. Finally, it's time to move on. See you then!

(Sorry for the wacky font size changes in a couple places. I'm having issues and I have no clue as to what's going on... grrr.)

  

Words of Wisdom

Not that I have any... that's just what I ended up calling this little project that I created for our neighbor's baby shower.

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Using small envelopes from Paper Source, cardstock, and a few other supplies, I created little tags on which everyone could write some brief words of wisdom regarding parenting or words of advice or a blessing or encouragement or something funny or whatever. These were given to Teri at the end of the shower, but during the shower, as the guests finished writing, the tags were tied onto a "tree" that helped to decorate the sideboard in the dining room.

Sure could've used more rocks in my container to hold the "tree" upright, but sometimes you just have to work with what you have, right? 
AND TELL:  stamps are from Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf; Boxes, Bags, & Tags); cardstock is PTI (Stampers Select White) and Stampin' Up (Sahara Sand, Tempting Turquoise); ink is SU (Tempting Turquoise) and VersaMark; embossing powder is Stamp Stuff (Detail White); ribbon is from Michael's; twine is PTI (Rustic Jute); also used SU's Merry Details Sizzlit die and 1-1/4" circle punch. 

Now for the cake. First of all — make no mistake... I do not bake cakes that look like this. Mine are very ordinary. But, my co-host for the shower has a friend that does beautiful cakes (another of her cakes is seen in this post) and we just knew that we needed a Mandie cake to make this occasion extra special. Unfortunately, my picture isn't crystal clear and isn't going to do the cake justice — but here it is anyway and it was just perfect.

Working from a photo of the invitation (here), Mandy duplicated the colors and theme right down to the shape of the bird and the style of the font. She even took the bottom of the Mat Stack 3 focal point and turned it into a diaper shape which you can see part of on the left side of the cake. And that isn't all that's special about this cake. Our neighbor Teri was diagnosed with celiac disease as a child and maintains a gluten-free diet — so the top layer was a gluten-free chocolate cake. It would've been a crime to have a cake this pretty that the guest of honor couldn't taste! The bottom layer was an almond white cake. Mmmm. So, so tasty.

And now, since I'm still trying to get through the Oregon pictures, I thought I'd show you a few from the morning of my third day there. That was high school reunion day. The day started with a tour of our high school.

Now — my high school looked nothing like this when I went to school there. Back in the day it was a one-story stucco building shaped kind of like a squared-off "O" with a courtyard in the center.

It certainly didn't look anything like this inside.

And — it surely didn't take advantage of any views. (I just love looking out a window and seeing the foothills or mountains on the horizon.)

We didn't even have our own football field. We played our games at the stadium on the local college campus.

 
But — while we didn't have lots of the fancy-schmancy amenities that this newly remodeled building has — we did still have fun. And we made some good memories. Like winning the state basketball tournament. Now... that was fun with a capital F-U-N!

So — the tour was a chance to relive some of those memories. To reconnect with old classmates. And even some old teachers. Like the one in the turquoise jacket above. Oh... wait... that's my mom. Actually, she was one of my teachers, too. :)

And here we three are... my mom, me, and my brother.

 
And the guy in the background on the left? That's Armando. He spent two years worth of choir classes trying to teach me to wink from across the room. And I still can't wink. I think I'm hopeless... Oh, just a minute...

;) 

haha. I guess a virtual wink is as good as it'll get from me!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and listening to my rambling. I've still got a couple more baby shower posts to do... and lots more Oregon pictures. Sure hope you're not tired of all that yet, because I plan to be back with more of it tomorrow. See you then!

Baby Banner & Retraction

Let's do the retraction first... really, more of a clarification... so the entire family is not confused... or maybe so they can confirm in their minds that I'm always the confused one. Well, guess what. Yesterday was not my mother-in-law's birthday. In my haste to not be late, I was... you guessed it... early. By a day. Today is her birthday. So — everything else I said yesterday is still true. I love and adore my mother-in-law. Now — maybe by being the first to wish her a happy birthday I've secured the spot as favorite daughter-in-law. Haha. Just kidding. That spot's already secure... I'm the only daughter-in-law. :) So — Happy Birthday again, Mom Hayes!

Now, let's go back to baby shower stuff. Another of my inspirations for shower decorations came from Kelly Lunceford. She makes beautiful banners for her home and I simple followed her tutorial (here) to make one with the baby's name. I hung it between the bookshelves in my living room — over the area where we were putting the gifts.

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It's kind of hard to see here, as it just blends in with the colors on the painting. (Nice of Teri to choose colors for the nursery that match my house so well, wasn't it?) Here's a closer picture.

This was quite fun to make; Kelly's instructions made it so easy. 

And here's an "action shot" from the shower.

What I really can't wait to show you is the cake. But I'm saving it for another day. You won't be disappointed... :)

AND TELL:  patterned papers from my stash; glittery chipboard letters are from K&Company (Twinkle Type 2-1/2"); buttons are from Papertrey Ink (Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate); large eyelets are from Making Memories; ribbon is from Michaels; also used a Martha Stewart bird punch with a scrap of turquoise cardstock.

Now — how about a few more Oregon pictures? Here are some more of my mom's yard. (Click on them if you want to see them bigger.)

I don't know how she keeps it so nice when she's surrounded by wheat and grass fields. Especially when harvest begins...

 
because it is a dusty, dirty business...

And, one more picture — just because I love it... the neighbor's horses in the fields with the Coast Range in the background.

 
Ahhh — I feel peaceful just looking at it.  

Well, that's it for today. I have a few more days worth of baby shower projects and a few more days of Oregon pictures... plus tomorrow is the monthly Papertrey Ink Blog Hop that I'd like to participate in if I get the chance to whip up a paper bag project of some kind (this month's theme). So — thanks so much for stopping by... hope you're having a great day! 

Perfection is the Enemy of Good Enough

That is what kept going through my head all Saturday morning as I was getting ready for the baby shower that my neighbor to the left & I hosted for my neighbor to the right.

I have real perfectionistic tendencies. But I do things at the last minute. But I like things to be perfect. But I don't like to do things over. How in the world can I live with myself? (haha!)

Anyway, the shower turned out really well.  So — instead of a card or other papercraft project today, how would you like to see some party decorations? (Hopefully you're cheering, cuz that's what you're getting!)

I showed you the invitations earlier (here). They were designed with the baby's nursery in mind. It has a chocolate brown accent wall embellished with a white tree decal and turquoise birds. I patterned the whole shower theme around the nursery decor, adding in red for a little pizzazz.

Remember the spray painted items that I showed you in the previous post? Well, one was pretty obviously a frame. Here's what it looked like when I bought it.

And, I didn't actually buy it... I found it on the clearance shelf at Tuesday Morning. It looked just like you see here — no glass, no backing — which was perfect for what I wanted, but it had no price tag on it. I found another frame that wasn't quite what I wanted but was marked down to 99 cents. When I took both to the cash register she charged me the 99 cents for the one frame and then just gave me this one for free — all the while cautioning me that it was on the "last chance" table so I wouldn't be able to bring either frame back for a refund. Like I would drive all the way over there to get $1 back. Not likely. I was pretty happy to get the two wood frames for $1.07!

Unfortunately my picture isn't very good, but after a little sanding, priming, and spray painting, I fashioned a wreath of sorts to hang on my front door on the day of the shower. (Next job may be to spray paint the magnetic hook with black so that it blends in with the door better...)

Since I couldn't seem to get the invitation to hang in the center of the frame (and I didn't have a lot of time to mess with it), I just used my Cricut to cut a flying bird from blue glittery cardstock in an attempt to balance out the design. The bird was adhered with temporary glue dots. After the shower I untied the bow, removed the invitation and the glittery bird, and tucked the frame away until the next party. I'm thinking that for awhile anyway, I'll use it to showcase party invitations on the front door — that way guests will always know they're at the right house!

My other spray painting project involved army men. You see, when the nursery idea was starting to come together, the baby's father was concerned that it was going to be too girl-y for his little boy. So — I decided I should add something that completely says "macho boy" to the party decorations. I wanted a bag of plastic monster trucks or something with big tires since the dad used to participate in some kind of driving thing in vehicles with big tires and 4-wheel drive, but I guess my dollar store doesn't sell those by the bag — so army men were the next best thing. 

Of course, they had to fit the color scheme, though. :) They were a real hit staging battles down the middle of my tables. And the cardstock polka dots were the idea of my California sister-in-law who just so happened to call me as I was in Lowe's pondering spray paint. Great idea, Kris!

In my last post I also showed you a photo of some sorry looking origami paper cranes. I made them out of cheap gift wrap that I had cut myself — um... apparently not quite square. I almost didn't use them, but then decided to string them together and...

I think they look pretty cute suspended between my kitchen and dining room.

Another sneak peak type photo that I showed you was of tissue paper poms. I made these from the directions on Martha Stewart's website (here). My tissue paper did not have the same dimensions as hers (silly me, thinking that tissue paper must be a standard size), so my largest poms need a little more "poof", I think. But they worked fine. Here they are inside, flanking the area where we put the gifts.

And here are some outside, giving further indication that this is — without a doubt — the party house.

 
I have a lot more shower pictures that I'll show you over the next several days. In fact, it may just be baby shower week here on the ol' blog. At least all of that stuff is already made and photographed. Because — I must say, I'm exhausted.

But, I hope that between getting ready for a new school year and conquering some of the messes that I've made over the past week while obsessing about baby shower decorations... well, I hope that I'll have some time to make some new things. Maybe some cards. Maybe I'll even get to do some challenges. That's what I'm hoping for anyway.

And for you, I'm hoping for a week filled with all the things you love to do. Enjoy!