100th Post........

WOW! I can't believe i have made it to my 100th post! Hurray! Today is Saturday...i usually don't post on the weekend BUT i'm going to be M.I.A. for at least a week. So i thought i would get on here and post a few things. This week i have done alot of cleaning and organizing and SELLING!! That is right...i have been selling away and making some MOOOOOLLLLAAA!!! hehe! First off i started cleaning out my daughters closet and pulled out some dresses that i could bring myself to part with and posted them on Craigslist...i so Heart Craigslist. Cause it is Free-O-La to do so. I sold all the clothes that i could part with and made some bucks to put in her piggy bank for a rainy day and for the next spring consignment sale. :) I did take her to Costco yesterday after i made a sale and let her pick out something. Got the cutest Baby Lulu outfit and a Card Matching set by Paul Frank. She loves it.
I have also been sewing and painting and crafting quite a bit....i will post some pics of what i have been up to later. The house is coming along. :) So i'm busy decorating. My favorite part of it all. I have alot on my list of things to sew for it. Curtains is #1 on the list. Can't wait to pick out all the fabric. :)

Family Rules..........

I found a tutorial for a Family Rules Canvas HERE. It is so lovely...i can't wait to make my own.

1. Obey Your Parents

2. Be kind always

3. Sing silly, dance crazy, hug often, snuggle much, say I love you

4. Forgiveness is mandatory

5. Have fun, ask first, no fussing, no whining

6. Always tell the truth

7. Encourage your siblings…share in their joy

8. Husband hug your wife daily & wife always be on his side

9. Never follow an apology with a but…

10. Keep your promises

11. Use your manners – yes, please, thank you

12. Always give to others first

13. Too much TV is bad…too much reading is good

14. Use nice words…ignore dirty ones

15. Bless your food, be grateful, eat together, clean up after yourself

16. There is no such thing as “mine” in this house…it is all God’s

17. Say your prayers…thank God for this family

1. get a huge canvas. nicole's was 30" x 40". mine is a little smaller, but not much. get it on sale please. Paint the canvas (you see the paint on the border and on the sides). its best if the canvas is wrapped all around the edges rather than the exposed wood. just paint it sloppily - no need to be perfect, just make sure all the edges are covered.

2. Spend a whole lot of time at the paper store picking out paper you cannot resist. nicole felt some of her papers, although she loves them, were maybe a bit to dark or had too much contrast in them for the final writing to come out really clear. so remember: less contrast, not too dark. got it?

3. Write your rules. Be careful of what you put. My kids often refer to the canvas. My favorite is…”Daddy, hug mommy”. A rule is a rule, ya know? I should have put HUSBAND- MASSAGE YOUR WIFE’S BACK DAILY. check out the links above to the blogs. they also have a few suggestions for rules. i think i will steal most of mine, but add in things like, "tummy to the table".

4. Now, cut that beautiful paper into strips. I varied the widths, used “torn” scissors, scalloped scissors, and so on. Use glue, mod podge, or spray adhesive to lay it out on the canvas. i would definitely recommend mod podge the most on this.

5. I then went on to the computer and typed all the rules in different fonts. I am a font junky thanks to lindsey’s sister, Jennifer, showing us how to download free fonts. Do it…get hooked! It is easy and wonderful! just google "free fonts" and you'll get more than you'll ever need.

6. I printed them and “eyed” or copied them onto my papers with black and white paint pens.
and here's where all the questions come in: "the canvas is obviously wider than standard 12 x 12 paper. how did she fit this in the printer/get the words on?" she cut her paper in half - it's not actually one long strip. you can kind of see it in the pic below where it says "forgiveness is mandatory". maybe she taped them together in the middle? i've done that a bunch, and if you are really careful it will work and you can still carefully take the tape off when you're done. just make sure to change the settings on your computer for your page layout before you print to allow for a larger paper size. when she says she "eyed" them, she did just that. she'd print out the rule in a font she wanted on plain paper, then look at it and copy it with a paint pen directly onto her fancy paper. most of us can't do that. she's just good. but i would still print it on one long strip of paper and go over it again with a paint pen just to thicken up the font's lines. just a thought - i think that's what she did.

***edited to add!!!: do a layer of mod podge on your canvas, add paper, smooth out, then let dry. then add another layer of mod podge on top to seal. let dry, then add another. it will still probably be a little bubbly.****

7. Cover that baby in mod podge and make your man hang it! do a couple few layers of mod podge. did you know there are different sheens of mod podge? i think nicole prefers matte, but there are also ones with more gloss to them.

ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH

HAVE FUN, BE KIND, ASK FIRST, NO FUSSING, NO WHINING

BE CREATIVE AT ALL TIMES

ENCOURAGE YOUR SIBLINGS...SHARE IN THEIR JOY

HUSBAND-HUG YOUR WIFE DAILY & WIFE- ALWAYS BE ON HIS SIDE

OBEY YOUR PARENTS

NEVER LEAVE ANGRY

SING SILLY, DANCE CRAZY, HUG OFTEN, SNUGGLE OFTEN, SAY I LOVE YOU

KEEP YOUR PROMISES

USE YOUR MANNERS- YES, PLEASE...NO, THANK YOU

ALWAYS GIVE TO OTHERS FIRST

TOO MUCH TV IS BAD...TOO MUCH READING IS GOOD

USE NICE WORDS...IGNORE DIRTY WORDS

BLESS YOUR FOOD, BE GRATEFUL, EAT TOGETHER, CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF

SHARE EVERYTHING EXCEPT BAD IDEAS

SAY YOUR PRAYERS...THANK GOD FOR THIS FAMILY

Isn't this just the sweetest thing.........

I mostly copy and pasted the tutorial.....word for word. Just wanted to put that out there since i hate it when people try to say they made something when they just copied other people. I try to let everyone know when i copy something.

Can't wait to make my own....and when i do i will be sure to post! :)

M.I.A.

I know that i have been M.I.A. for awhile now. Well over a month...almost 2 months. I took a break from the computer all together to focus on my family. My new son...he is such a blessing! What a joy it is to have him in our life. His sister loves him so. Every morning for the past week she gets up and comes in the room he is in and waives at him and says "Hi Brother"...and gives him a kiss. My heart melts!

I have also been getting ready for christmas. Shopping for gifts, wrapping paper and new ornaments. Hobby Lobby has the best wrapping paper this year! Of course i bought mine when it was 50% off. I not only found cute christmas paper...i found this black and white Damask print paper for other gifts through out the year. CUTE!! Can't wait to start wrapping.

I have also been working on sewing projects/gifts for various family members. Can't wait to have those completed. Lots of work and love is going into those.

And I have also been working on the house. Still lots to do. But yesterday i finally picked out paint color for the kids rooms. I knew what color....but picking out the right shade of those colors was difficult for me. Baby girl got a new bedroom suite...and pink walls. :) So very girly! I love it. Baby boy's room is on the vintage side. I made his bedding and now i'm in the market for vintage airplanes to finish his room.

I can't believe the Holidays are here. I can't wait to see baby girl dive in a rip open her gifts this year. She is old enough now to really get into it. On Santa's List: Play Kitchen, Pots and Pans, Dolls and an Inch worm riding toy. And lets just say mommy bought way to much other things...hehe!!! I just couldn't help myself this year.

Don't have the tree up yet....but that will happen hopefully VERY soon.

All Moved In......

All moved in but not all unpacked. We are still in the process of remodeling our new home. Right now it feels as if we are playing musical rooms. HA! TV is in the dinning Room, Baby girl is in what will be baby boy's room, the hubby and i are in what will be baby girls room while the master is being worked on. So many projects going on at one time....it is CRAZY! Oh and by the way whoever invented wall paper....i'm not to happy with at the moment. We have finally found something that "kinda" works on taking it all down but it still is a pain. We tried the steamer...big mistake! We have now moved on to trying the chemical stuff and it is working some better. But still not doing a great job.....slow it goes. We are hoping to be done with the master by this weekend. I can't wait to paint it and put our furniture in it.

On to baby news. I'm having a baby shower soon. Can't wait... :) I don't have many more weeks to go. I can't wait to see my little boy. And i can't wait to see how little girl is going to act when he gets here...haha! I have his bedding all sewn up and i can't wait to get his room all decorated.

My Handy Man.......

Good thing my hubby is so very talented and handy and VERY understanding of me being hugely pregnant and unable to do anything or help out with any project in our new house. He is doing it all! By the way.....remodeling a house....tons of work and labor. But totally worth the money you save on having someone else do it. Only draw back....it takes for EVER!!! I keep telling myself....it is going to be great once it is all done....hehe!! Right now we have a time line...as long as the Kitchen is done by the holidays i will be a happy camper. :)