02-07-2013

currently loving

1. moccasins 2. power yoga {lost 3 pounds last week!} 3. carmel macchiatos 4. shoot the moon polish from Sally Hansen

I’ve been spending a lot of time organizing and working on new product styles for the shop, getting the boys resettled into a good school routine, and clearing out clutter. I’ve also been doing a lot more contract work in the scrapbooking arena, and that’s been fun! Oh, and can’t forget working with a designer on a new branding and website! Yay!

Speaking of clearing out clutter – I’ve been going through things and have found 2 of these kits left over from a super fun mini book workshop that I did this past summer at The Scrapbooking Studio! I think I’ll be posting a giveaway this weekend. Here’s a peek:

I seriously loved this mini. It’s so chunky and packed with stuff. The kits themselves even come with a printed handout that includes large, full color photos of each page, to make it easy to assemble.

Anyway! I’ll be sure to get that post up for everyone to comment on and share for the giveaway this weekend! Hope your week is going fabulous!

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Filed Under: bluebird chic, life around here

01-30-2013

do it anyway.

Becky Higgins shared this on her blog the other day. Let’s just say it was exactly what I needed this week. I’ve been hurt, tired, and among other things, unmotivated. I have a ton of ideas, but I’ve let others’ response to some things in my life get me down.

Can I share that even though my husband and our boys are tremendously supportive of my efforts, not everyone else is? And the people/family who are, are not close by.

That means that as a family unit, we go it alone. A lot. It means the boys have chores, and we take turns making lunches. Laundry is done tag team, with everyone chipping in. When hubby is having a rough day, we bring him coffee - and when mom’s having a rough day, dad brings home dinner. It has made us a strong, cohesive unit. And I will never regret that.

But some days I’m tired. And just want to pull the covers over my head and stay in bed. Being strong takes courage. And some days I don’t feel like I have it.

So thank you for posting this Becky. It may be my new life mantra. I’ve heard bits and pieces, but never all of it together.

“Apparently this is a poem that was found written on the wall in Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta or something. I haven’t done the research to know more about the details, but it doesn’t really matter. The message is powerful and a great reminder to all of us.

Anyway

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway. “

Do it anyway.

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Filed Under: confessions, handmade business, life around here

01-23-2013

new year

It has been an amazing year. Looking back, I don’t think I can even begin to understand just HOW amazing. I wish I had the time to stop by here more often to update, but sadly, with everything going on, this seems to be the one thing that gets pushed aside. I’m hoping to change that in the upcoming year, though!

A bit of an update:

LOTS of new products coming to the shop very soon. I’ve been working on new camera strap covers, and lots of other fun ideas.

New products will be highlighted in the newsletter as they go up, and I’ll post here as well!

And this is a peek as something really special that I’m starting on after chatting with my sister about being able to find chic, stylish, and comfy clothing that has a classic, yet trendy feel for women.

And I’ve contracted with 17th Avenue Designs for a blog/website/logo makeover – which I’m SUPER excited about. So look for something fresh in the new year as well!

So, here’s to a new year, and moving forward!

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Filed Under: bluebird chic, life around here

11-20-2012

yay for holidays!

I’ve been spending all of my spare moments planning for our special holiday meals in the upcoming week. I’m so excited to share this special time of the year with my husband and our boys. Meal planning is especially important when you’ve got food allergies in the family – and there are two of us around here.

I love this silvery twig bunch that I found at Target this year for our table decor. I spotted it months ago amongst the Halloween/Autumn decor and just waited, hoping to be able to catch it on clearance. And sure enough – the Saturday after Halloween, I snagged this and the matching wreath, which will be lovely for the holidays.

Lots of packages are being shipped.

And I made time to make a trip to IKEA to add another expedit shelf to our collection. It always amazes me how much can fit in these! This one is now housing the chaos of all of my fabrics. It has made a HUGE difference in my organization and productivity. Always a good thing.

Shop news:

~ I’ll have a couple more sets of Christmas flair to add to the papercrafting shop, hopefully this week. After I list them, I’ll pull a winner from the post where I asked for ideas!

~ I’m also trying to list several new patterns/fabric combos of camera strap covers in the handmade shop, so look for a brief newsletter toward the end of the week. If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter, you can here.

Hope you’re enjoying a lovely week so far!

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Filed Under: bluebird chic, life around here

07-24-2012

bowser’s castle happy birthday – tips to create a castle cake

The boys celebrated their birthdays last week, and being 6 and 10, they are HUGE Mario brothers fans. I’d love to be able to say that they don’t get into anything commercial, but it can’t be helped. The good news is that it’s limited and balanced.

Here’s a close up of the cake. It’s far from perfect. And the perfectionist in me screams a bit when I look at it. Then I shush it with the fact that it made our boys SO happy. And I’m not trying to win Cake Wars or anything. Sheesh.

I wanted to offer a few tips for putting a cake like this together – just in case you have boys {or a princess} of your own!

Supplies you’ll need:

2- 9″ round cake pans

2- 6″ round cake pans

2- cake mixes

double batch of buttercream frosting

For the decorating:

paste food colorings in black, yellow, orange, and red

2- bamboo skewers

black and white baker’s twine

chipboard banners and letters

cardstock and letter stickers

Mario action figures {our boys already had these, so we just gave them a good washing}

round cardboard cake board

Mix up the cake mixes according to the box directions. Our boys chose marble, so I bought a chocolate and a vanilla, and it worked out perfectly. I then poured the batter into all greased and floured four pans, filling each roughly 2/3 full. Pop them into the oven to bake – the smaller ones usually only take 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven.

Cool the cakes according to instructions, and remove them from their pans. I decorated them the next day, so after they cooled, I loosened them from the pan, and then put them back in for storage. You have to loosen them, though, or they’ll be stuck.

Mix up the buttercream according to the recipe instructions. Place the bottom layer on your stand, add a layer of buttercream and then the second bottom layer.

Cut a cake board to fit your top layers, and then stack then in the same manner. Gently set it on top of the bottom layers. I took a gamble and didn’t prop my bottom layer with dowels, because my cake was both heavy enough, and small enough that I didn’t think I needed it.

Apply a “crumb coat”. It’s basically a light coat of frosting to catch all of the loose crumbs so that they’re not in the pretty frosting on the outside.

Scoop out a bowl of frosting {about 2 cups?} to save for the orange and yellow colors, and then color the rest of the icing grey using the black paste food coloring. You can find the pastes at your local crafting store that carries wilton supplies.

Smooth on a layer of grey, and let it dry for just a couple of minutes. Then add the brick marks using a knife. Color the leftover grey darker to black to make the door. I just smoothed it on and shaped it with a knife. I then took the leftovers and put them in a bag that I cut the tip from to add an outline. I had decorator bags on hand, but you could use a ziploc.

Color about 2/3 c. of the leftover frosting yellow, and smooth it on around the bottom with a knife in a wave pattern. Color the rest of your icing orange, then streak with a bit of red to make it look like lava. Smooth it on over the yellow, leaving just a bit peeking through.

Add the action figures. Create the banner by tying the twine to the bamboo skewers adding the banner pieces with letters attached to spell happy, and create the sign by sticking down letters onto a piece of black cardstock.

I feel like this makes it sound complicated, but I had the whole thing together in around an hour. Including the time that it took to make the frosting. I just have a tendency to offer a lot of instructions! Anyway, we had two VERY hapy boys, and that’s what it’s about, right? And did I mention that it tasted heavenly?

Happy creating!

~ Leah

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Filed Under: DIY, life around here

06-27-2012

summertime

Summer is definitely in full swing around here, and I love it!

This past week I grabbed strawberries for jam. I made some last year, and I don’t think my guys would let me get away without replenishing our stash this year. If you follow my instagram you may have seen my comments and photos on Sunday.

Should the zombie apocalypse occur, we shall be set for jam! {Although the way these boys eat – maybe more like just set ’til next summer. Sigh.}

I couldn’t decide which photo I liked better… probably the white. But I like this one, too! I’ve been trying to remind my self to, seriously, just pick up the camera a bit more. I love it so much – but when I looked at my May photo file, it was practically empty. Oops. I’m a project 365 dropout. I tried for a couple of years and couldn’t handle it.

I’m also adding peach cherry jam this year, which I’m making today! I’ll snag a few photos of those fruits, too. YUM.

My grandmother made it when I was growing up, and I remember requesting slices of toast, just so that I could have her jam while I was there…

If you’re a scrapbooker, be sure to check out my post today on the states and capitals mini album that I created! There’s a free printable list of the states and capitals that you can download to create your own project as well!

I have LOTS of news to update on, and I’ll be trying to swing by to post to the blog a bit more regularly as well as getting the newsletter going as soon as possible!

I’m so excited for the newsletter format that I have in mind! So far, I’ve decided that I’d like each newsletter to include a simple DIY or pattern in addition to updates on upcoming workshops, traveling classes, and product updates. I want it to be something that inspires you each time it hits your inbox!

Newsletter subscribers will also get first dibs on new listings for things like the flair buttons that are limited each time they’re released. Which, by the way, I’ll be ordering again, soon – in both color, and a neutral set, which I’m already in love with! I’ve got lots of ideas for new designs that will be introduced soon as well! Yay!

Have a lovely Wednesday!

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Filed Under: bluebird chic, life around here

04-30-2012

my life has been swallowed

by scrapbooking and paper projects lately! I got behind on a few things after the events of earlier this month, and this past week has been a desperate attempt to reclaim some kind of calm from the craziness. I’ve been working with mixed media and tons more mediums lately, like modeling paste, inks and watercolors…

{gandhi – featuring goods from Jenni Bowlin}

Also doing lots of stitching – both machine and by hand, to add texture to things. All in all, staying really busy. Adding in the things I’m doing for the shop, it’s kept me happily working away on the stuff that I really love doing – but left less time to update stuff here on my blog…

Hope you’re enjoying a happy, creative Monday! And don’t forget about the sale in the shop – you can save 15% by using coupon code MOMLOVE at checkout!

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Filed Under: life around here

04-12-2012

dressing room confessions

Confession time. I’m a busy mama that doesn’t often take the time to shop. Is it ok to admit that I actually really, secretly hate shopping? Or would that require that my “woman card” be pulled? LOL

For starters I have two boys. I am not enduring the pain and suffering complaints that erupts when I even drive within 100 yards of the mall. They’re too young to stay home on their own, and since I homeschool, I don’t have a regular spot that they’re spending more than an afternoon. Which means that I have to take time out from one of the precious few days that my husband has fully off and we don’t already have jam packed with activities. Which I’d rather spend with the family.

For seconds, I hate the hit that my self esteem takes when I enter the dressing room and nothing fits. It’s SO much better than it was when I was much bigger. At least I’m happy with the size I am now, and I just have to focus on choosing clothing that’s flattering. But geez. One store I’m barely squeezing into a size ten, and another store I fit a 6 easy?! Come on. They just try to make this hard on us. Seriously. I don’t want to have to drag 5 sizes of the same pants into the dressing room with me.

After pounding the pavement {and dressing rooms} for more hours than I’d like to admit, I finally settled for finding a bunch of the staples that I needed for trousers and several fun tops. Accessories will have to wait for another day. Above you can see a bunch of photos from the dressing room. Yes. I photograph myself. I feel like I get a better idea of how I really look in something. Some of them I even text to my sister. Who is 1500 miles away. Are these too tight? Should I go up a size? What do you think of this color?

One of these days I want to start a series on choosing styles that flatter your figure. I’ve REALLY learned a lot about this over the last couple of years! Finding awesome clothing isn’t about avoiding certain colors – it’s about finding a style that flatters how God has made your body. There are things that I love, but will never be able to wear. I’ll salute all of the models that have permanently given up chocolate cake as they parade up and down the catwalk, and leave those styles for them. I’ve learned instead to find things that I love – that compliment the features I have. And guess what? I tend to look smaller than I really am. And that me makes feel good. Just like chocolate cake.

How about you + shopping? Love it? Hate it? Do share! ^_^

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Filed Under: confessions, life around here, style

04-10-2012

seeing spring and pursuing my joy

I’ll be honest. I’ve been picking up my camera a lot more again. For me lately, a lot of things have been about rediscovering and pursuing my joy. Just like everyone, my life isn’t perfect. I have ups and downs. Life is filled with good and not so good.

Just this past weekend we got news that a friend of ours passed suddenly. She’s our age. Has a husband and a tiny son. It’s still shocking to think that she isn’t there anymore… Hug your family tightly each night. Seize each moment. Spend your time pursuing your joy.

Our seedlings have sprouted that we planted over the weekend. I can’t believe how much they’re growing – even in the course of just a day. I love the miracle of life.

Our traditional Easter cake. It’s so yummy. And yes, it’s supposed to be cracked like that. It’s a chocolate souffle that drops {of course}, and then is filled with chocolate mousse and topped with cadbury eggs. Served chilled, it’s a light, but rich dessert that’s a perfect finish to the Easter meal. I came across the recipe in Nigella’s Feast – food to Celebrate Life cookbook. She lists the recipe here, but maybe I can post the American conversion with standard measurements sometime this week if anyone’s interested!

My husband lined the eggs up on the deck railing when they were getting ready to hide them, and the row of them sitting there grabbed my eye…

And who wouldn’t like this little guy hiding away, nestled inside this weathered concrete brick?

Picking up my camera sometimes helps me work through my emotions… It also helps me see the joy, even in the smallest things that we have going on in our lives…

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Filed Under: life around here, photography, recipes, urban garden

04-03-2012

on inspiration

Last Sunday I had bunches of running to do – our oldest son is participating in Quiz Team for AWANA at the “Truth & Training” level (yes, it’s a big deal for our local club, since our jr. high and high school teams placed in nationals – and at any level, it’s invite only, since you have to have reached a certain point in your studies for the year.) Anyway, he’s been loving it, but momma is ready for a little break from the running for the extra team practices.

Uh. Where was I? Oh, yeah. In all of that running, I usually have spots of downtime, which I tend to either fill with reading of books, blogs, or running errands for the business. Today I happened to grab the book The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket off of my shelf at home. It’s sat there for a while. I’ll admit. I picked it up because of all of the pretty photos. Flipped through it a bit, but hadn’t actually sat down to read any of it.

The photo above is from the opening pages. I read those words and sat in a moment of gratitude, thinking this is someone who understands. That’s what it’s really about. In a nutshell.

The chapter is titled, “A habit of seeing” and Jane writes:

“I used to assume inspiration was the province of artists and poets, architects and designers, scientists and inventors. Inspiration could surely visit only those with higher purpose in life, with greater sensitivity than the rest of us, with a more refined awareness than the average mortal.

I was wrong. Inspiration is inspiration, whether the end result is a painted masterpiece, a soul-searching sonnet, a richly colored homemade quilt or a batch of freshly baked scones. We shouldn’t diminish our creativity by despising the results of our inspiration, but instread celebrate and exploit the wonderful feeling of elevated energy and enthusiasm we experience when we feel inspired. THat quickening of the senses and the heightening of the imagination are, I’m sure, just the same for the Matisses and Wrens and Brownings as they are for the rest of us.It’s just that they can do different things with their inspired talents.

Inspiration is the opposite of expiration, a drawing in, as opposed to letting out. We can walk through life without seeing, without taking in the details, the words, the colors, the pictures, and miss the whole point of inspiration. Or, we can adopt an approach that allows us to stop a while and look and listen and reflect and enjoy. We can learn to sift through the mass of stimuli we encounter every day and to focus on the inspires us as individuals and in doing so, create a way of seeing, a way of being receptive to inspiration.”

I love it. I’m challenging myself to be receptive to inspiration.

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Filed Under: life around here, mom + business Tagged With: inspiration