Spring it up with a moss-covered ball!

If you're like me, you like to have greenery around the house. But if your like me, you may not have the most *ahem* green thumb in the neighborhood. This project might just be perfect.

What you need:

- Wood or Styrofoam balls (mine was wood with a flat bottom, but you could do a full circle too).
- Preserved Moss (mine was from Michael's - on sale too!)
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Step 1: Get out your supplies. :)


Step 2: Start pulling pieces of moss off the sheet. Put down a little glue and press down the moss. Note: For the perfectionists out there, do NOT freak out. There is no magical "right amount, just break off a bit. You'll cover the naked spots in a minute. Press it down tightly.


Step 3: More glue. More moss.


Step 4: This picture is just to show the view from the bottom. I was making this for myself, so I didn't worry about the bottom. If you were going to make one as a gift I would finish it off with a circle of felt.


Step 5: See the little naked spot at the bottom? Cut just a bit of moss with your scissors and glue it in place. Then play with the fibers a bit to hide the "patched" moss.

Step 6: Using your scissors, trim the moss on the bottom so it is nice and neat looking. If you were making a perfectly round ball with no bottom, you could skip this step...obviously.



All done! That was easy! You'll be amazed at how much heft the moss adds. Make sure the balls you purchase are smaller than your desired finished product. Here is the finished ball with an unfinished ball just for comparison.



I still haven't found the perfect place for this cute thing to live, but I'll try to keep you updated.

Sorry for my blogging absence. It has been C-R-A-Z-Y around here!

I owe you an apology

I'm sorry faithful blog followers. I have been negligent with my blog posts. I have many excuses for this bad behavior, but I have decided to not feel guilty. I will be back to my normal posting pace as soon as humanly possible. But never fear! No posts does NOT mean no crafting! I will have plenty of updates to share when I get around to finding a working internet connection...and some free time...and... You get the point!

In the meantime, try making some homemade deodorant along with me! Here is the recipe I'll be using. Much healthier than yucky aluminum!

I Have a Camera!

Look what I got! It is a Canon SX20. While it isn't a digital SLR, it is pretty much the next best thing. I picked this camera by Canon because it has an awesome optical zoom range (20x zoom), good megapixels (12.1mgpx) and a 2.5 in vari-angle display screen. Basically it means it takes awesome pictures and with the vari-angle display, you can take those ever-popular self or couple-portraits with ease!



See!

It is also really easy to just pick up, point and shoot. That is important for my husband who values ease-of-use over just about everything else. :) The next photo was taken by our lovely friend, Jalon. We had a fun dinner out tonight with friends. It was great!





Happy Valentine's Day!

I may be making one of these tomorrow! :)


Image and tutorial from Crap I've Made.

I Got a Blog Award!

I received this award from Bekah at Bekah's Bytes.

The rules for this award are rather simple. All I have to do is answer the following questions with a single word answer and then pass this along to five bloggers.

(1) Your Cell Phone? Blackberry

(2) Your Hair? Wavy

(3) Your Mother? Caring

(4) Your Father? Hilarious

(5) Your Favorite Food? Italian

(6) Your Dream Last Night? Random

(7) Your Favorite Drink? COFFEE

(8) Your Dream/Goal? Motherhood

(9) What Room Are You In? Office

(10) Your Hobby? Creating

(11) Your Fear? Seclusion

(12) Where Do You Want To Be In Six Years? Midwest

(13) Where Were You Last Night? Dianna's

(14) Something That You Aren't? Carefree

(15) Muffins? Chocolate

(16) Wish List Item? Home

(17) Where Did You Grow Up? Midwest

(18) Last Thing You Did? Photoshop

(19) What Are You Wearing? Clothes

(20) Your TV? Stored

(21) Your Pets? Oscar

(22) Friends? Supportive

(23) Your Life? Complicated

(24) Your Mood? Excited

(25) Missing Someone? Family

(26) Vehicle? Impala

(27) Something You Aren't Wearing? Necklace

(28) Your Favorite Store? Anthropologie

(29) Your Favorite Color? Green

(30) When Was The Last Time You Laughed? Today

(31) Last Time You Cried? Today

(32) Your Best Friend? Theresa

(33) One Place You Go To Over And Over Again? Bed

(34) Facebook? Yep

(35) Favorite Place To Eat? Carino's


Without further ado, my awardees (it is a word, I just made it one). As you can tell, I follow a lot of blogs and I love every single one! So I thought I would honor a few of the blogs that make my day. These are all blogs of friends and family who live far away, so thanks for keeping me up to date on your life!

Collin and Candice Bullard - Thanks for keeping me up to date on life in the UK. Miss you!

The Hageys - Thanks for being such amazing friends. I can't wait until we live closer!

The Pattersons - I love you guys so much. Thanks for letting me be a long-distance auntie!

The Locketts - Every time I visit this blog I lament that we didn't get to know one another better while you were in Waco.

Woods Life - Same goes to you, girl! I sure wish we would have spent more time together! Your blog is an inspiration.


Answer the above questions on your blog and pass on this award to five blogs you are "digging" right now.

I would love for each and every one of you to pass on the blog award and continue this "chain letter" phenomenon. So please know that if you do not continue the chain, one or more of the following things may happen.

1. Hair loss
2. Constipation
3. Permanent loss of the ever-elusive "luck factor"
4. Weight gain
5. Nausea
6. Compulsion to purchase Beanie Babies

I don't make this up, people. The facts are the facts.

Quit laughing. I'm serious...

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: A Review

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is the newest book release by author, Donald Miller. You may remember him for his book Blue Like Jazz. In his newest release, Miller invites us on his journey of self exploration and discovering the true meaning of living life well.

Miller's journey begins as he is approached to help write a screenplay for the movie version of his book Blue Like Jazz. The book follows an episode in Miller's life and is entirely non-fiction --more of a memoir or Annie Dillard style musing. Miller decides he would like to help with the project and is confronted with the idea that he must rewrite parts of his story in order to make the movie a smooth journey. Simply put, his story--the one he lived and breathed--wasn't good enough to make a good movie.

As Miller realized this and worked on the screenplay, he gradually learned the elements of a good story--and in the process he also learned what his own real life had been missing.

Miller's book was wonderful. I love his style and his ability to mix true life changing concepts together with his twisted and hilarious sense of humor, wit and sarcasm. He is a breath of fresh air in a world of stale Christian non-fiction. If you are a fan of Annie Dillard or Kathleen Norris, you simply must check out Miller's books. Five out of five stars!

Note for Full Disclosure: While I do not receive any monetary compensation for my book reviews, I am provided with free complimentary copies of each book. That being said, this review is completely my own, and free from the influence of Thomas Nelson Book Publishers.

O Camera Where Art Thou?

I seriously cannot find our camera. We haven't seen it since Christmas. I had great intentions of getting some of my recent projects photographed and posted to this site and my Facebook Fan Page, but alas.

We are hoping to get a new one within the week! Yay for a new camera! We will just hope this one sticks around a little longer. :)

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

In the meantime, here is a fun site I found recently. Check it out and let me know what you think!

http://www.howdoesshe.com/

The Hidden Flame: A Review

The Hidden Flame, a novel by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke, is the second in the Acts of Faith book series. While I never read the first book in the series, it was still very easy to pick up the story. The novel chronicles Abigail, a young Judean woman who is a member of the growing early Church. Abigail is a beautiful woman who easily attracts the attention of several potential suitors within Jerusalem.

Ezra, a wealthy and influential Hebrew merchant, is interested in Abigail because he has young children in need of a mother. Ezra is a cunning business man and will stop at nothing to have Abigail as his own.

Linux, a Roman soldier, also seeks Abigail's hand. However, while infiltrating the sect to learn more about his love interest, Linux encounters more than he bargained for.

With interesting scriptural parallels the story seamlessly weaves the fictional accounts alongside true historical data about the early Church. This story is rich with the passion and fervor of early Christianity.

I did have a few problems with the story. At times, it seemed like there were so many characters being introduced it was hard to keep track of them all. This may have been alleviated if I had first read the first book in the Acts of Faith series.

Overall, I give it four out of five stars. It is definitely a great read.

Note for Full Disclosure: While I do not receive any monetary compensation for my book reviews, I am provided with free complimentary copies of each book. That being said, this review is completely my own, and free from the influence of Bethany House Publishers.