Starry, Starry Night

I'm blogging over at Lily Bee today with a small tutorial on how to make these little autumnal stars! Enjoy! 

Lily Bee supplies:

Patterned Paper:
Peach Crisp-Harvest Market
Black Licorice-Harvest Market
Turtleneck-Harvest Market
Hayride- Harvest Market

Pumpkin Seeds- Harvest Market

Squash- Harvest Market

Other:
cardstock, scissors, twine, burlap, black ink

*ETA: I just was looking at the pictures and realized I would love this even more if I'd hung the stars from a branch... so here it is!! :)

When the rain makes your internet go out...

what do you do?

Well, you read good books. 

 You light yummy candles. (I love that Bath & Body Works has the 3 for $5 small sample sized candles! They are perfect for trying out new scents.)

You scrapbook.

Created for NoelMignon using the sold out Study Hall kit. 

Created for Lily Bee Design using Picket Fence, This & That, and Stationery. 

 You organize your closet.

Before:

After:

 All my tops are rolled and sorted by color in the bins; greens & blues, pinks & purples, blacks & neutrals, browns and yellows. 

 (We have a super small closet, and we're lucky to even have one! Our house was built before closets were popular. Crazy, huh? This hanging down shoe organizer is something I should have bought a long time ago. My closet is so much more tidy now. I love it.)

And that's what you do when the internet goes out! :) Maybe it should happen more often? Ha! May it never be!

I am thinking about taking a day each week to be "disconnected." Do any of you do it? What day do you pick- one that you know you'll already be busy on and you won't miss it as much, or another day where it's more noticeable?

This week...

I went to a baby shower for my sweet friend Rachel. She's having a baby girl at the end of the month, and it gave me a great excuse to try out this idea I saw on Pinterest. "Cupcakes" made out of receiving blankets and onesies! I love it!

I also made a banner for my friend, which you can check out today on the blog at NoelMignon.com.

I shared a beach album using the Picket Fence line from Lily Bee Designs earlier this week on their blog. You can see all the insides of it, PLUS a companion layout, right here. I think this mini album is one of my favorites! I'm planning on giving it to Emerson to keep when she gets a little older.

Sabriel, Ariana, and I started back at Mom's Day Out this week! I'm teaching my own class this year, and am having lots of fun with it. The two little girls are each in their own class and are loving it already!

One of the things I'm doing in my class is a sensory box. This is a new concept to me, but it is quickly becoming a favorite. I got the idea from here. We are going to change our classroom box out once a month. This month we are just in the learning stage of how to keep the beans in the box and to share. I'm amazed at how long it keeps them entertained! I've also made my kids a box of their own because they loved my classroom one.

And it was all yellow...

Last week we had our VBS, Camp Cornerstone, at our church. And I was in charge of crafts. And it whipped my tail.

I'm finally recuperated, and I have a couple of Lily Bee Designs layouts to share with y'all. :)

Today we have a focus on "yellow" at the Lily Bee blog, and this was my contribution. Totally made me happy!

Piggytails by Virginia Tillery
Lily Bee supplies:

Domestic Bliss- Kitchen Confidential patterned paper, Chipboard Stickers

Happily Lost- Sun Soaked patterned paper

This & That- ABC stickers

Hello Sunshine- Posies patterned paper, Chipboard Stickers, Die Cut frames

Last week, I also posted another Lily Bee layout... this one of the dude!

Lily Bee Products Used:

Stationery- Butter & Tangerine Patterned Paper

Happily Lost- Good Book & Villa Patterned Paper

Picket Fence- Fresh Air Patterned

ABC Cardstock Stickers

I hope you guys are busting through your stash of Lily Bee to make room for the new lines. They've received rave reviews and I can't wait to play with them! :)

I'll be back in the next few days with some of my crafts from Camp Cornerstone, along with some of my Authentique projects for CHA.

Summer Kids Crafts

I'm trying to make a conscious effort to do at least one or two crafts/art projects with my kids each week this summer. They love doing it, and although sometimes it's a big hassle, I think it's worth it.

The kids are actually calling me to come get out their watercolor paints right now, so I must go! But if you are wanting to see what we made last week, come by the Lily Bee blog to see a few fun crafts from us (and a couple of the other design team gals)!

Maybe you and your kiddos can get your craft on today. :)

Lily Bee Challenge!

I'm hosting the Lily Bee blog today with a little challenge.... come check it out!

Is there an easy way....

to go from tornadoes to every day life?

Definitely not. I don't think that you should,necessarily, but it's happening anyways.

There's a lot of survivor's guilt right now. I feel weird complaining about the messes in my home, because that voice in my head says, "Wow. Really? But at least you HAVE a home!"

I don't know how to go from tornado fundraisers to posting happy, scrappy stuff. It seems insensitive, or insincere.

I'm struggling with this.

BUT, but, but.... I have been creating things. It's been very therapeutic to work on things... just to put my emotions out on canvas and paper.

To see one of my creations, go check out the Lily Bee Designs blog today to see a layout I made about a dear friend of ours, Mrs. Laura. (There are giveaways going on all week, too!)

This is the moment...

***Update on my little blog support fund: I will be posting things on here tomorrow for sale to go toward Alabama tornado victim relief. I'm sorry for the delay and hope that you guys will be able to help out!

This week, as we approach Mother's Day, moms are in all of our hearts and thoughts. We're thinking about our own moms, we're thinking about the women that have been like mothers to us, we're thinking about being mothers ourselves.

Mothers are especially on my heart this week as we are recovering from widespread massive destruction in Alabama from tornadoes that ripped through our state last week. There are hundreds and hundreds of families with no homes; mothers trying to comfort and deal with the situations they and their children are in. And there are some who sadly lost their mothers this week.

I'm exceedingly humbled by this situation. Blessed to be able to snuggle with my kids this week, safe in our home.

I pulled out this picture of my daughter Sabriel from the fall, my then two and a half year

old, and poured out my heart about that moment.... the moment all mothers can relate to. When your little one has finally fallen asleep, and quiet reigns in the house for a while; it seems as if in that moment, all the things that motherhood does to your heart kind of collides.

Lily Bee Products used:

Lily Bee Patterned Paper-

Picket Fence (Fresh Air, Cottage Garden, Veranda, Al Fresco)

This And That (Pretty Fabric)

Stationery (Pear)

Picket Fence ABC Stickers

This and That Mixed Cardstock Stickers

Domestic Bliss Chipboard Stickers

Journaling reads:

This is the moment.... when I stop to breathe a sigh of relief, when I finally can hear the silence. The crying and whining and busy-ness and chaos and constant battle have all been hushed away by snuggles and lullabies. I stop seeing tears and angry eyes and pouty lips, and instead see the soft cheeks to kiss, the long lashes covering dreaming eyes, and the gently pursed lips. The stress and worry of being the mama of a 2 year old seems far, far away, and all I feel is the joy and warmth of my heart bursting in love for you. (Fall 2010)

(originally post at Lily Bee Design)

Lily Bee Challenge

Hi friends!

I'm hosting a challenge at Lily Bee today, and I'd love it if y'all would join in!

Here's a sneak peek.... come on over to see the rest! :)

Do not grow weary...

I have a friend who opens up her home once a week to the young moms at our church for a crafty day. Since between all of us moms, we have about 52bajillion children, the crafting is kind of touch and go, but I see a lot of gratitude and rest in the faces of the other moms. It's nice to know that there's kind of a haven of community in the midst of the chaos, even if I can only manage to make it there once every few weeks or so.

She quotes this verse often to us, in passing, as she bundles up one of kids or grabs a diaper bag or provides helping hands in moments of overwhelmedness, or most often in my case, as I wearily get ready to discipline after another temper tantrum or battle of wills.

She's had seven kids, so I figure she kind of knows what she's talking about.

I get weary. A lot. And I often question if I am even "doing good." But I have to remind myself that the best doing good that my kids can see in me is a mom that does fall short... that they see that I need Jesus. I fail on a regular basis. It's so easy to get focused on the failure and try to find ways to try harder. I don't need to try harder. I just need Jesus. More of Him, less of me.

Speaking of, I can't wait to read this book ("Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life"). It comes out in September.Even just the book description is convicting and encouraging. :)

Not a whole lot of point to this post... just some of the thoughts bouncing around in my head today. :) Lil' Sabby is sick with another fever virus, and Ariana looks like she's starting to feel crummy, and because of that, the little girls' and I just had a laid back day. Sabs helped me paint a bench (while the Tylenol was in effect), we sung some songs together, and just kind of poked around while enjoying the sunshine.

****

I shared this today on the Lily Bee blog (p.s. did you see the design team call?! ACK! I hope to see some of y'all apply! They are an incredible company to work for!).

It's a mixed media canvas using the Happily Lost line of papers.