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| Grant's StackO's |
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| Wild Wooden Animals |
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| Evan's Toolbelt and Tools |
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| Spoon Handles |
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| Christmas tree orniments from branch rounds |
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| Santa Sacks for the Kids |
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| Repurposed "Sweater" Stockings |
yesterdays gone, never forgotten have made me who I am today
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Our Hand(s)made
A few of our favorite projects from 2011.......
The Stockings were hung..........
And the sweaters repurposed!!!
The first year we were married, just 16 days before Christmas and just two weeks after my Husband returned from his two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ( I know it seems soon but a girl can only wait so long and two years is soooooo long :) Needless to say we didn't have much time to prepair for Christmas. We went and bought some stockings, they were just the .99 cent type and a FEW other little things. The next year our twins were born, just 14 days before Christmas and we had been so consumed with anticipation of their birth that we again had not prepaired. To our surprise my sweet Sister-in-Law went out and bought us two matching stockings for the twins and I personalized them with a little monogram on the front. Well here we are these seven years later and we have since had another little girl and two little boys (no not twins again, one at a time....wheeewh) and we are expecting our sixth sweet spirit in February, and I have still not done anything more permanent or personal for our stockings, in fact I haven't even finished monograming the last three stockings, so this year I decided to change that and make stockings from recycled sweaters. I had seen this done on a few sites and loved the results and of course the idea of repurposing and recycling always appeal to me. So I thought I would post about our homemade stockings out of upcycled sweaters . Well here they are! I think they turned out beautifully and we couldn't have enjoyed them more.
As we prepared for this Christmas we reminisced about our childhood Christmas's, I recalled how every year we went to a Christmas party at our church and the "Santa" there would give each child a brown bag of goodies, namely: candy canes, assorted seasonal candies, peanuts, an orange, and a tiny dim store toy....there were probably a few other things in there too but that is not important. What does matter is that my fondest and most vivid memories of Christmas are always accompanied, and dare I say, preceded by a memory of the smells of that brown goody bag. I know it sounds a little odd, but somehow that combination of smells became the scent of Christmas too me. So as we discussed what to put in the kids stockings, if anything, I remembered that Brown bag. My Husband is so quick, he suggested that we fill (I.E a hand full) their stockings with Christmas candies and......an Orange. Of course I LOVED the idea!!! They didn't smell just the same, I don't think they even make those assorted Christmas candies anymore., but it was so much fun that the smells that we're absent in reality we're there in my mind. I think this is a great start to a family tradition I will truly enjoy!!! Merry Christmas Everyone!
My Husband adds, "and the kids loved it"!
The first year we were married, just 16 days before Christmas and just two weeks after my Husband returned from his two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ( I know it seems soon but a girl can only wait so long and two years is soooooo long :) Needless to say we didn't have much time to prepair for Christmas. We went and bought some stockings, they were just the .99 cent type and a FEW other little things. The next year our twins were born, just 14 days before Christmas and we had been so consumed with anticipation of their birth that we again had not prepaired. To our surprise my sweet Sister-in-Law went out and bought us two matching stockings for the twins and I personalized them with a little monogram on the front. Well here we are these seven years later and we have since had another little girl and two little boys (no not twins again, one at a time....wheeewh) and we are expecting our sixth sweet spirit in February, and I have still not done anything more permanent or personal for our stockings, in fact I haven't even finished monograming the last three stockings, so this year I decided to change that and make stockings from recycled sweaters. I had seen this done on a few sites and loved the results and of course the idea of repurposing and recycling always appeal to me. So I thought I would post about our homemade stockings out of upcycled sweaters . Well here they are! I think they turned out beautifully and we couldn't have enjoyed them more.
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My Husband adds, "and the kids loved it"!
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| ..by the chiminy with care..... |
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| Evan's |
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| Daddy's |
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| Jessica's |
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| Kayla's |
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| Mommy's |
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| Michelle's |
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| Grant's |
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Christmas is a circus at our house this year!
I woke up yesterday in a "good" bad mood....... Let me explane, there are "bad" bad moods , where you just feel lousy and in seems to show uncontrolably and things seem to go from bad to worse all day! And there's "good" bad days when you let your frusteration fuel your ambitions! I had a "GOOD" bad day yesterday, I did school with ALL the kids, I washed every load of laundry but one (which was loaded but too late to run because I knew I would forget it and it would sour over night), I washed the dishes, picked up the house and got something done for Christmas gifts. The later of which is why I am posting today and the very reason (in a round about way) for my "good" bad mood. Whice brings us full circle, I woke up this morning feeling pretty chipper until I thought about the fact that Christmas is Sunday and we have a few tiny stocking stuffers and that is it. Don't get me wrong, I am not concerned that my children will miss out on the me, me, me, mines of Christmas, I just know there are some fun things I've been crazy to make for them and they are simple and fun gifts that won't cost us a penny to make, just my time, and I think that is my idea of Christmas this year, "Gifts from the heart". So to get on with it, I decided to make them some cut little wooden animals after purchasing a cute little elephant at a yard sale this year. I finally sat down with my trusty scroll saw and cut out all the pieces last night. I used the elephants body shape to trace for the others and then I designed, transfered and cut the other animals. This morning I had to go to the Dr.s for a 3 hour glucose testing because I failed the 1 hour test last week, I knew those super yummy blueberry pancakes I ate before my apt. with syrup and homemade eggnog would catch up to me, just not so soon! Any how, after I got home this morning afternoon I went straight to work sanding, gluing and painting them. Each one is appproximately 4-5+ in. from tip to tail, by 3 in. wide, by 4 in. tall.
I am overall very pleased with the outcome, what do you think?!?!
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| The Gang |
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| Panda |
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| Lion |
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| Koala |
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| ZEBRA |
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| MONKEY |
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| HIPPO |
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| ELEPHANT |
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| READY FOR THE CIRCUS! |
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Our simple Christmas
I have always done the bright red and green Christmas ever since I was a child. The past two - three years have been a really difficult time for my little family and this year we wanted something that conveys the true meaning of Christmas and the simplistic feelings we now have towards Christmas and life in general.
So while browsing the Internets vast gallery of beautiful Christmas decor with our new simple cottage chic style in mind I stumbled across an idea similar to my end results that came from from Donna over @ Funky Junk Interiors. I couldn't find the exact page but Here is a link to her home page. You should check her out if you like diy and rustic, cottage, primitive, she is so clever and has made some beautiful home decor out of things others would consider junk. I am a huge fan!!!
Back to business, I had my dear sweet Husband cut me a branch from one of our trees in the back and then cut it into rounds and I simply wrote either Peace, Joy, Love or Christ on each of them in pencil and wood burned the words into the rounds. (note to self: use the end rear tip of the wood burner to write with greater accuracy) I loved them....but, and there's always a but, I am afraid they didn't make it through drying out (sniff) So out into the cold I sent my dear dear sweet Husband (Thank You Honey!) for a new/ old petrified oak branch. The new/old rounds are darker, not as bright and cheery as the fresh wood but they do match the humble, simple look I was going for (and even they have cracked a tiny bit). In the end we love the result of the natural woody look and the lights. We still feel there may be one more element need to finish the tree but when you are pregnant,remodeling, working from your home, pregnant, homeschooling and raising 5 children, and did I mention pregnant (hehe) you learn to appreciate the moment for what it is and take joy in the small steps. I'm sure next year we will add to our holiday collection (not too much though) and that is the fun of it. Until then I will enjoy our tree this year as it reminds me to be practical, humble and meek, as the savior would have me be.
Sorry no tutorial but I thought it was fairly self-explanatory. Have a great holiday, Julie
So while browsing the Internets vast gallery of beautiful Christmas decor with our new simple cottage chic style in mind I stumbled across an idea similar to my end results that came from from Donna over @ Funky Junk Interiors. I couldn't find the exact page but Here is a link to her home page. You should check her out if you like diy and rustic, cottage, primitive, she is so clever and has made some beautiful home decor out of things others would consider junk. I am a huge fan!!!
Back to business, I had my dear sweet Husband cut me a branch from one of our trees in the back and then cut it into rounds and I simply wrote either Peace, Joy, Love or Christ on each of them in pencil and wood burned the words into the rounds. (note to self: use the end rear tip of the wood burner to write with greater accuracy) I loved them....but, and there's always a but, I am afraid they didn't make it through drying out (sniff) So out into the cold I sent my dear dear sweet Husband (Thank You Honey!) for a new/ old petrified oak branch. The new/old rounds are darker, not as bright and cheery as the fresh wood but they do match the humble, simple look I was going for (and even they have cracked a tiny bit). In the end we love the result of the natural woody look and the lights. We still feel there may be one more element need to finish the tree but when you are pregnant,remodeling, working from your home, pregnant, homeschooling and raising 5 children, and did I mention pregnant (hehe) you learn to appreciate the moment for what it is and take joy in the small steps. I'm sure next year we will add to our holiday collection (not too much though) and that is the fun of it. Until then I will enjoy our tree this year as it reminds me to be practical, humble and meek, as the savior would have me be.
Friday, December 16, 2011
The stockings were hung.....
And the sweaters repurposed!!!
The first year we were married, just 16 days before Christmas and just two weeks after my Husband returned from his two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ( I know it seems soon but a girl can only wait so long and two years is soooooo long :) Needless to say we didn't have much time to prepair for Christmas. We went and bought some stockings, they were just the .99 cent type and a FEW other little things. The next year our twins were born, just 14 days before Christmas and we had been so consumed with anticipation of their birth that we again had not prepaired. To our surprise my sweet Sister-in-Law went out and bought us two matching stockings for the twins and I personalized them with a little monogram on the front. Well here we are these seven years later and we have since had another little girl and two little boys (no not twins again, one at a time....wheeewh) and we are expecting our sixth sweet spirit in February, and I have still not done anything more permanent or personal for our stockings, in fact I haven't even finished monograming the last three stockings, so this year I decided to change that and make stockings from recycled sweaters. I had seen this done on a few sites and loved the results and of course the idea of repurposing and recycling always appeal to me. So I thought I would post about our homemade stockings out of upcycled sweaters . Well here they are! I think they turned out beautifully and we couldn't have enjoyed them more.
As we prepared for this Christmas we reminisced about our childhood Christmas's, I recalled how every year we went to a Christmas party at our church and the "Santa" there would give each child a brown bag of goodies, namely: candy canes, assorted seasonal candies, peanuts, an orange, and a tiny dim store toy....there were probably a few other things in there too but that is not important. What does matter is that my fondest and most vivid memories of Christmas are always accompanied, and dare I say, preceded by a memory of the smells of that brown goody bag. I know it sounds a little odd, but somehow that combination of smells became the scent of Christmas too me. So as we discussed what to put in the kids stockings, if anything, I remembered that Brown bag. My Husband is so quick, he suggested that we fill (I.E a hand full) their stockings with Christmas candies and......an Orange. Of course I LOVED the idea!!! They didn't smell just the same, I don't think they even make those assorted Christmas candies anymore., but it was so much fun that the smells that we're absent in reality we're there in my mind. I think this is a great start to a family tradition I will truly enjoy!!! Merry Christmas Everyone!
My Husband adds, "and the kids loved it"!
The first year we were married, just 16 days before Christmas and just two weeks after my Husband returned from his two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ( I know it seems soon but a girl can only wait so long and two years is soooooo long :) Needless to say we didn't have much time to prepair for Christmas. We went and bought some stockings, they were just the .99 cent type and a FEW other little things. The next year our twins were born, just 14 days before Christmas and we had been so consumed with anticipation of their birth that we again had not prepaired. To our surprise my sweet Sister-in-Law went out and bought us two matching stockings for the twins and I personalized them with a little monogram on the front. Well here we are these seven years later and we have since had another little girl and two little boys (no not twins again, one at a time....wheeewh) and we are expecting our sixth sweet spirit in February, and I have still not done anything more permanent or personal for our stockings, in fact I haven't even finished monograming the last three stockings, so this year I decided to change that and make stockings from recycled sweaters. I had seen this done on a few sites and loved the results and of course the idea of repurposing and recycling always appeal to me. So I thought I would post about our homemade stockings out of upcycled sweaters . Well here they are! I think they turned out beautifully and we couldn't have enjoyed them more.
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| Top Left to Bottom Right: Grant's, Jessica's, Daddy's, Michelle's, Mommy's, Kayla's, Evan's and the Tree ( I needed another picture for the collage to work) |
As we prepared for this Christmas we reminisced about our childhood Christmas's, I recalled how every year we went to a Christmas party at our church and the "Santa" there would give each child a brown bag of goodies, namely: candy canes, assorted seasonal candies, peanuts, an orange, and a tiny dim store toy....there were probably a few other things in there too but that is not important. What does matter is that my fondest and most vivid memories of Christmas are always accompanied, and dare I say, preceded by a memory of the smells of that brown goody bag. I know it sounds a little odd, but somehow that combination of smells became the scent of Christmas too me. So as we discussed what to put in the kids stockings, if anything, I remembered that Brown bag. My Husband is so quick, he suggested that we fill (I.E a hand full) their stockings with Christmas candies and......an Orange. Of course I LOVED the idea!!! They didn't smell just the same, I don't think they even make those assorted Christmas candies anymore., but it was so much fun that the smells that we're absent in reality we're there in my mind. I think this is a great start to a family tradition I will truly enjoy!!! Merry Christmas Everyone!
My Husband adds, "and the kids loved it"!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
The new wrapping paper
Well ok I may as well go ahead and fix my place as a nutcase ( Definition: Going against the mainstream ways of doing things. : Going back to more simplistic, practical way. : Abandoning the newer, bigger, better for the rustic, charming and old.)
Now that we're done with that we can move on to the fun stuff. I found a blog last year from an Australian woman (sorry I can't remember the name of your blog to give you credit) who had made individual "Santa Sacks" for her children. She said that it is an Ausi tradition, they used to use pillow cases because (if I remember correctly) they were too poor to be able to afford wrapping individual gifts. I loved the idea for so many reasons, namely: 1. No way to com pair sizes. 2. No wasted paper. 3. No commercial bling. 4. Simple, straight forward and adorable.
Well this year we have decided to go with a "back to our roots" look. I know it is getting late to still be doing these things but we had so many people sick that Thanksgiving was delayed so..... Any how, I made all "new" stockings (they actually started this whole cottage/simple movement) from old sweaters from a charity shoppe. I'll post on those coming up, I still have one or two more to make. Then there were the trees decor we made in my last post. Needless to say we're having fun but I am moving too slow. Oh well! lol
Now back to the reason for my post, I have been wanting to make my own version of the Santa sacks since I first saw them but I have not had the time or .....well mostly time. Today I was sick so I decided that now was a good time for some serious sitting/sewing. First I found some rustic looking fabric from my stash and cut out 7 rectangle "bags" @ 16 1.5 in. wide by the width of the fabric folded in half, probably 24 in. Then I found an image of a Christmas tree that I liked online and of course modified it to my liking and painted it onto the bags with basic acrylic craft paint. Then I sewed them together on my new (used) serger that my sweetheart bought me this summer for $50 on Craigslist (woohoo). Next I decide that instead of name tags that would be easily recognizable by my children, (thus making peeking a terrible temptation) I would just do these fun number tags ( made out of frozen juice caps that I hammered flat and tossed into the fireplace for a minute or two patina them ( hehehe yeah it's piro but it's fun too) and then painted them with no.1, no.2, no.3, no.4, no.5 . I tied them on with jute and stuffed them with little pillows for now. I don't know what you think (hahaha this is the worst I've ever talked to myself before) but I like them.
Now that we're done with that we can move on to the fun stuff. I found a blog last year from an Australian woman (sorry I can't remember the name of your blog to give you credit) who had made individual "Santa Sacks" for her children. She said that it is an Ausi tradition, they used to use pillow cases because (if I remember correctly) they were too poor to be able to afford wrapping individual gifts. I loved the idea for so many reasons, namely: 1. No way to com pair sizes. 2. No wasted paper. 3. No commercial bling. 4. Simple, straight forward and adorable.
Well this year we have decided to go with a "back to our roots" look. I know it is getting late to still be doing these things but we had so many people sick that Thanksgiving was delayed so..... Any how, I made all "new" stockings (they actually started this whole cottage/simple movement) from old sweaters from a charity shoppe. I'll post on those coming up, I still have one or two more to make. Then there were the trees decor we made in my last post. Needless to say we're having fun but I am moving too slow. Oh well! lol
Now back to the reason for my post, I have been wanting to make my own version of the Santa sacks since I first saw them but I have not had the time or .....well mostly time. Today I was sick so I decided that now was a good time for some serious sitting/sewing. First I found some rustic looking fabric from my stash and cut out 7 rectangle "bags" @ 16 1.5 in. wide by the width of the fabric folded in half, probably 24 in. Then I found an image of a Christmas tree that I liked online and of course modified it to my liking and painted it onto the bags with basic acrylic craft paint. Then I sewed them together on my new (used) serger that my sweetheart bought me this summer for $50 on Craigslist (woohoo). Next I decide that instead of name tags that would be easily recognizable by my children, (thus making peeking a terrible temptation) I would just do these fun number tags ( made out of frozen juice caps that I hammered flat and tossed into the fireplace for a minute or two patina them ( hehehe yeah it's piro but it's fun too) and then painted them with no.1, no.2, no.3, no.4, no.5 . I tied them on with jute and stuffed them with little pillows for now. I don't know what you think (hahaha this is the worst I've ever talked to myself before) but I like them.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree...s
I can't believe that in seven years of Christmas's that we have accumulated so little in the way of Holiday decor. I have been pondering on that for a few days and though I am not into the modern view of Christmas, (I can't stand Black Friday and all it represents! ) Christmas is a time to be celebrated for sure. Christmas is about Christ and celebrating his life, love and sacrifice. That said I too adore the mood and look that Christmas decor brings, I just really want it to be simplistic and meaningful.
So this past Monday for FHE I had my dear Husband cut me some blocks of wood and I nailed a slue of nails into them in the basic, albeit goofy shape of a Christmas tree and we wound them up with a green and brown twisted wool yarn and added a dab of paint from our fingertips to the nail heads to create artistic trees that are a fun reminder/example of our individual personalities.
So this past Monday for FHE I had my dear Husband cut me some blocks of wood and I nailed a slue of nails into them in the basic, albeit goofy shape of a Christmas tree and we wound them up with a green and brown twisted wool yarn and added a dab of paint from our fingertips to the nail heads to create artistic trees that are a fun reminder/example of our individual personalities.
It was great fun and now every time I look at them it brings a warm smile to my heart.
Now however I need to figure out how to finish and display them, our home decor is a sort of french country/cottage and I want them to have an aged/rustic apeal. I have been pouring through ideas in my mind and so far I think I would like to hang them in a vertical line using ribbon or something of that nature stapled to the backs. I have also considered attaching them to a piece of old wire fencing in a creative grouping, any creative opinions or ideas are welcome!
Now however I need to figure out how to finish and display them, our home decor is a sort of french country/cottage and I want them to have an aged/rustic apeal. I have been pouring through ideas in my mind and so far I think I would like to hang them in a vertical line using ribbon or something of that nature stapled to the backs. I have also considered attaching them to a piece of old wire fencing in a creative grouping, any creative opinions or ideas are welcome!
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| Michelle's |
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| Kayla's |
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| Huncle Paul's |
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| Mommy's |
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| Jessica's |
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| Evan's |
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| Daddy's |
Monday, December 5, 2011
A spoonful of petina for my stainless steals
So My husband and I took on the task of hosting Thanksgiving dinner at our "cottage" this year. For those of you who know me that is no small undertaking, our house is very much still under renovations and nothing is finished yet since everything requires attention and or requires that another project be finished first. I decided that since it all happens in the kitchen and living room we should focus all our attention there.....we did.... and I love how it turned out, but that is another post. I didn't get before and afters of the transformation but maybe I can take a minute and post pictures soon and discribe what we did. Anywho When we bought our cabinets from a gentelman on Craigslist for $400 a few months back, they had beautiful, trendy, Brushed nickel, $ 4.00 each handles on them.....blekh! (See Above) This past summer while yard selling (MY FAV PASSTIME) I passed up a great set of 40 drawer pulls for $20 (I know, I know but I don't budge our budget) , so while sulking about it one evening in the kitchen I decided to find a alternitive to the norm and then it hit me...SPOONS! Well I didn't really get hit with a spoon but that would have sped things up for sure lol. I got online because I'm a realist and duh someone else has to have done this already, and sure enough they have and I loved it! |
| *LOVE* |
I presented it to my Husband who also thinks outside the box and loves me A LOT, really I'm not sure which reason caused him to allow me to do this, but he agreed and the next day I went to the thrift store and purchased ALL of their smallish cheapest spoons and came triumphantly home to show them off. My Dear Husband got right to work purchasing screws, grinding them down, drilling holes in the spoons and trying to petina them. We tried a few different methods for a petina and nothing worked (stainless steel).
Eventually we just threw one into the hot coals in my fireplace and tadaaaaaa!
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| So hot I couldn't get a clear picture! |
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| After Petina |
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| Before Petina |
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| Before Petina |
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| After Petina |
I'll post better After pictures when I get them all finished.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Yeah for batch watermarking!!!
Finally I can watermark more than one photo at a time with this great site
:<a href="http://www.easysector.com">
Batch Photo Watermarker</a>
:<a href="http://www.easysector.com">
Batch Photo Watermarker</a>
Thursday, November 10, 2011
So I thought i'd give it a try..........
Hey there, my name is Julie and I have long considered this blogging thing but I have always felt I have too little to offer in both time and interesting things to write about. I just realized that 1, I am married, 2. I have five children 6 an under with anoth little one on thw way, 3. I live in a constant state of remodeling and 4. Well I'm obsessed with all things Photography, DIY and Re-purpose, Design and whatever else fits in that.. catagory?. My life is anything but boring! So I finally decided to give it a try.
So welcome to my blog and be advised I am anything but organized in my "creativity" so if organization is your thing........
So welcome to my blog and be advised I am anything but organized in my "creativity" so if organization is your thing........
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