Christmas in July

I FINALLY got to throw a little party for Christmas in July this year...it was a small, intimate crowd of my sister and two of my oldest and dearest friends. Not only did we make a few fun holiday crafts and decorate sugar cookies, but mostly it was wonderful because I got to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a REALLY long time! If only anyone had taken me up on the Christmas karaoke...now THAT would've been a party! ;)


Anywho, here are some pics from the big night:

DECORATING SUGAR COOKIES:

POINSETTIA DOLLS (LOOK CLOSELY!):

MAKING CHRISTMAS PLACEMATS:

It was a really fun night for me, and it gave me some great ideas about things to try next year! And YOU'RE invited! :)

Karma

"Let's see how YOU like it in there, buddy!"

More on flower dolls...

I am so ridiculously in love with these things...but I'm thinking I should take a break because I'm enjoying them a little TOO much...maybe...

Anywho, I made some angels and brides out of calla lilies. I seriously wish I had any sewing skills whatsoever...I'd design a whole line of dresses based on the natural shape of different flowers. Here's the one for myself and my wedding colors that I made as an example:

And here's one I made for one of my visiting teachers as a thank-you for taking care of my crazy dog while we were in Utah:

Just because I can and I have nothing else worth blogging about, here are some other things I made today:

A yarn-and-sequins Christmas tree that I'm thinking of having as our Christmas-in-July party craft on Saturday...(it's still drying, or you wouldn't see all the glue...)

A black-and-white photo cube puzzle for my sister-in-law with pictures of her and all her favorite people.

Also, orange-tinged brownies...yum! Visiting teachers, laundry, dishes, and cleaning the whole house (except my craft corner, which is a disaster now!).

Life is good. :)

A Sneak Peak...

A sneak peak into not only how I spent my day, but the giveaway in only a matter of days:

Hanging out with Obsidian...who has been sitting in this exact position pretty much all day...

...yummy, yummy veggie wraps for lunch...

...and working on flower girl dolls.

I also cleaned a little and watched some Lois and Clark, but no pictures of that. :)

Almost to post 200!

I've decided that since I've been on a crafty kick lately and since I've almost reached post 200, I'm going to have a GIVEAWAY for one lucky reader as my 200th post! Details to follow. Get excited!

Snippets of a Storm

Right outside our patio door...
...a few felled trees and the "pond" by our mailboxes...

...and a little of what it looked like once the storm died down a bit...

I thought having our power out for 7 hours was bad, but it turns out compared to a lot of our neighbors and ward members we came out pretty lucky...maybe $15 in groceries we lost, but all the tree limbs fell NOT on our house or our trucks and nothing flooded INDOORS and no roads to our house were closed because of fallen trees and power lines. Also, that pond is completely cleared up because it's 90 degrees outside and the earth was a little thirsty. About two hours after the storm, all the sidewalks around here were already dry, that's how parched the ground has been. Not anymore! Gotta love the crazy Indiana weather!

And...here's a super short video for those of you that missed it (sorry, it's super choppy but I was sitting with my puppy behind the couches so if the windows blew in we'd still be okay):

I'm certified! (or is it certifiable?...)

I am now officially certified by the American Red Cross for basic first aid and CPR/AED on adults, children, and infants. GO ME! Now I can help save a life, too...but hopefully I'll never have to call on my mad skillz! :)

ALSO, everyone should own an AED. Seriously. It tells you what to do, so you don't have to think...which, in an emergency, seems logical to me...

Questions

How do you deal with anger? Especially if that anger is directed at a person?

Sometimes I get really upset with people, and sometimes it's genuinely warranted and sometimes it's just me being human and petty and easily provoked. But either way, whether the person deserves it or not, I RARELY speak my mind, because of a million reasons that don't need to be brought up in public at the moment. Generally speaking, though, I think 75% of my frustrations should be kept to myself rather than brought up and starting an unnecessary fight (think "choose your battles" more than passive-aggressive, though I'm sure there's a bit of that, too). Yet knowing that, and holding it all in, certainly doesn't get rid of it. In fact, it seems to do the opposite. I know you know what I mean.

I'm curious how you all deal with this particular kind of frustration. Thoughts? Advice? I've tried going out of my way to serve the "offenders" in various ways, but I think I'm doing it expecting that it will change our relationships rather than doing it out of genuine charity, so all I end up feeling is more frustration when the outcome isn't what I want. I've tried prayer, and I'll keep trying it, but I feel like I need to do more. Maybe I just need a good workout, or some other cathartic activity? Should I really just learn to voice my opinions and concerns more assertively and deal with the consequences, even when I know how badly it will turn out? What do you think?

The Cutest Niece and Nephew EVER!

I'm so lucky. :) My little sister has a girl that looks just like her, and my brother has a boy that looks a lot like him...and since my siblings all got the good-looking genes in the family, my niece and nephew are the cutest EVER! Here they are, meeting for the first time:



(They hit it off SO well, as you can see below!)


And here's the lot of us (me, my two sisters, my mom, and the kiddos):

Here's an older picture of Caida, all dolled up (literally) for a dance recital:
And here's Tanner, drooly but one of the HAPPIEST babies I've EVER met!


Finally, here's Cerene and James with the kiddos (I think Tanner made her a little baby hungry!...)


Shortcomings and all, I love my family!

10 Things to Do with 1" Cubes

So, for my Ya-Ya reunion, as you may have previously read, I made 6 of these Disney Princess puzzles for me and my roommates:


And since each puzzle used 9 blocks, that meant I used 54 blocks for this. I ordered 100 from Casey's Wood Products online because, even with shipping, it was cheaper than Ebay and easier than hunting them down all over town. Now I have 46 1" wood cubes to use...

So, between my own thoughts (I've done over half of these and WANT to do the rest) and a little online research, I bring you 10 fun, crafty things to do with 1" wooden cubes. Excited? You should be!

#1 Photo Puzzles: Like the princess puzzles above, only using your own photographs! Gather 9 cubes. Simply crop 6 photos down to 3" squares, then cut each one into 1" squares and modpodge each photo onto the 9 different cubes. Black and white photographs make an extra classy (and challenging) puzzle to solve!

#2 Inchie Art: My friend Clair introduced me to the world of inchie art, and it's pretty much amazing. The possibilities are endless! You can use markers, paper/stickers/modpodge, paint, stamps, etc. to create a tiny 1" masterpiece...well, 6 of them, actually! Super fun, even with kids.

#3 Alphabet Blocks: Gather 26 cubes, and make your own alphabet blocks for your kiddos (or yourself). You can draw or paint your own pictures to go with each sound, or just use stickers or family photos and modpodge (a favorite of mine) for something easier. Either way, personalized blocks could be a great addition to your toyroom!

#4 Modern Art Sculpture: Paint any number of cubes in a scale of monochromatic colors and get in touch with the artist inside! Arrange them in a permanent fashion by gluing, or just leave them for guests to rearrange.

#5 Calendar Cubes: You've seen these in the store...just make your own and find something cute at GoodWill or Dollar Tree to show them off in!

#6 Soma Cubes: I haven't done this (YET), but there are complete instructions here...it looks simple enough!

#7 Texture Blocks: If you have scraps of textured cloths, sandpaper, etc. around, cut them into 1" squares and glue them onto the different sides of the blocks. This could be a fun thing to have around for you or your kids...if you have small kids and want to make this for them, I'd go with bigger cubes, though...maybe the 2 1/2" size?

#8 Funny People: Do you remember those paper flip-books that had different heads, bodies, and feet that you could mix and match? Well, with 3 of these blocks you could make your own! Six different heads, bodies, and feet for each one...again, fun to do with kids. :)

#9 Story Blocks: You can put pictures and/or words on several cubes for kids to mix-and-match and make sentences or build stories. If you're using words, try making different parts of speech different colors (like all nouns are blue or all verbs are red) to make patterns more obvious for school-aged kids.

#10 Multi-Sided Stamps: Use adhesive foam (or just glue it on with craft glue) to make different stamps. Just cut out shapes, letters, designs, and more, then glue them onto the wood (backwards!) on 5 of the 6 sides.



Voila! Have fun, and let me know what you end up trying and liking! I'm going to go try at least two of these today, and I'll post photos when I get 'em! :)



7/13: Here they are! I just love the picture puzzles, so I painted some springtime gerberas in different pastels on different colors for a little springtime decor next year:




Also, WAY fast and simple and a little too much fun for me, the funny mix-and-match people (I discovered that the markers bleed a bit on the wood, so you'll want to use fine-tipped markers and be forgiving to the cube a little.)