My Memories review & giveaway

I was contacted by My Memories a couple weeks ago about doing a review and giveaway of their digital scrapbook software on my blog. So I thought I’d try it out. I’ve enjoyed making photo books for trips I’d made and having a way to do it the same no matter what printing service I used appealed to me. I’d tried doing a little in PowerPoint, but that just wasn’t the same. Plus, this scrapbook software also works for many other things like additions to decorating, cards, etc. They also have nice add-on kits to get more paper, embellishments, and texts. I really like that you can change your photos into more than 20 different shapes and apply over 15 different effects for photos from the traditional black & white to more creative ones like Impressionist Painting, I think that would be fun to use as a

Fall/Thanksgiving hutch

I enjoy decorating for fall especially with a Thanksgiving slant, but while doing so, I hope all the while, not to be here on Thanksgiving to see them. You see, my family lives hundreds of miles away, and for years, I’ve preferred to go back home to see them. While I don’t know if it will work out this year or not, I certainly hope so, but I’ll enjoy decorating even if it is just leading up to. I think Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Maybe not always the reality of how it works out, but the idea. Fall is my favorite season and since Thanksgiving is the quintessential fall holiday, that may have something to do with. I mean what’s not to love: cool weather, good food, parades, football, family, memories, laughter, games, etc. Anyways, here’s how the hutch in our kitchen worked out for fall/Thanksgiving this year:

Making templates for decorated envelopes

Well, I’m beginning to understand the fascination mailart holds for some, while I’m not making mail art, at least yet, I’ve found that decorating envelopes is somewhat addictive. When I’m working on the envelopes I think about the people who are receiving the mail seeing it in their mail. I hope it brings a smile to the face of the person receiving it. So here’s another easy way I found recently to jazz up envelopes.

I had seen on a blog (I’m sorry, but I seem to have lost the link) about using a business card to make a border around the address on letters, then embellishing the box. Well, I didn’t really want to free hand it. So, I decided to give the business card itself the decorative edge then use it as a stencil. I wrote the address on the back of the card to check the size, then I cut around it with a pair of patterned scissors (taking a little off one size to

Shutterfly photo books

I’ve enjoyed making photo books over the years mainly to document trips to visit family. For those of you who may have never seen a photo book, they look somewhat like a coffee table book, but with your own photos in it. They can really look professional (and shock those you show it to that you were able to make it), and are a nice, and not too costly way to keep your photos and memories handy. I have used a number of different on-line and in store providers. I used Shutterfly photo books once for a book for my great Aunt M, but have never done one for myself. I was able to check out how it turned out when I was visiting her this summer, and was quite pleased with

Getting extra books on a bookshelf

At least in my family, we tend to have more books than we can fit on the bookshelves we have. When I inherited the 5 bookshelves to put in my room as I wrote about earlier, I thought I might be set and had escaped the overflowing bookshelves. But then as I gathered my books from around the house, I discovered that I still had too many books to fit in organized way to put on normally. So, I had to get creative as to how to fit more books on the shelf.

One way is always to stack books sideways when they aren’t as high as the shelves which I did use as you can see above that doubled for

The beauty of Hospitality

My blog posts are often about trying to make the world more beautiful for those around me, but this post is about the beauty I found on a recent trip. You see, got back from a trip to visit family in Ohio.  I personally think that the Ohio countryside is how to beat for beauty.  I also saw two unique and beautiful moths (including the one pictured here).  I saw amazing fireworks celebrating the beauty of freedom and our country.  I saw amazing and beautiful animals.  But what I’m especially thankful for is the beauty of family and hospitality.  What can really be said about the beauty of a loving family?  It is truly a gift from God.  I think there are few things as beautiful on this earth as the unconditional love and acceptance of a good family and when that includes an extended family that is especially great.  (Well, I’m a long time in getting to the hospitality part, aren’t I?)

Hospitality is something I haven’t really had a chance to practice that much the last few years

Bookshelf update

Well, the bookshelves are almost done.  I hoped to write a whole post about it, but if you read my mom’s blog you know about the storm and attendant problems we had a couple weekends ago, and now I’m headed out on vacation.  So, you’ll have to settle for a photo for now.

Progress…

As you can see, I’m making progress on filling the bookshelves (in time squeezed in around other responsibilities).  My sister is planning to help me over the weekend, so hopefully they’ll be done soon.  It may take a few tries, since I like my books organized, and I’m not sure exactly how many books I have of which types, so I’m not sure if I’ll need decorative fillers on the shelves, or need to put books on the top-I’m guessing the later, but we shall see.

Decorated Envelopes

When I send cards or letters, I like to think that receiving that piece of mail is brings a few moments of joy into the recipient’s life. If possible, I want those moments to start when the second their eye lands on the envelopes. Now, some will recognize my handwriting, and there is always the return address, but I like to have a little more than that. For instance, while the postal service offered them I used the Nature of America Series stamps (you can see a couple of them I used in this photo) kind of as a signature on the envelope. At least I like them to know that they received a personal piece of mail and not a bill or add. Sometimes this is easy as with the bright pink envelopes I recently sent cards in, other times, it’s a little harder. Recently I had to use

Bookshelves

Well, this is my newest project:

My sister decided that she didn’t want these bookshelves anymore, so I’ve “adopted” them.  Now it’s time to find all my books, get them together, and organize them (which I enjoy doing).