Team Feature Tuesday - PinkLemonadebags

I've decided that on Tuesdays, since those are the days I don't have school and can be home online more, I will post a blog featuring a seller from one of my Etsy teams. I'm starting this off with my Texas Team - ETC (Etsy Team Crafters). You can find our items by searching for teametsytx. And to start off this new weekly blog we have.... (drum roll, or you can read the title of the blog and save yourself the anxiety of anticipation) ....

PinkLemonadeBags

First off, no, I'm not expecting (sorry to disappoint) but when we do start a family, these cute diaper bags are definitely going to be on my wish list.

Chelsea Market Chocolate

This one is my personal favorite, especially if I were pregnant with a girl.

Chocolate Arcadia

Love it! How crazy cute is this?

Figgy Pudding

And if you're like me and would want to coordinate your diaper bag with the best season of all - Christmas, you could use this one. :D Maybe I do want a winter baby... haha.

Pink Chocolate Garden Party

But then again, perhaps brighter, spring colors are more your taste. Ugh, so many choices, do you think "the hubs" would let me buy them ALL?

Spa Trellis

Or if you prefer something besides the quilted, ragged-edge look... THIS is right up your alley.

Alrighty, I hope you enjoyed the first edition of Team feature Tuesday. Check back next Tuesday as I feature a seller from my other team - TeamCAC (Team Christian Artists and Crafters).

love MUCH love

Challenge Time - Please Vote for ME! :D

Hi everyone! I've entered into my very first team challenge and I'm really excited! The theme of the challenge is 'Enchanted' and I submitted my pumpkin jewelry that I made. I just cannot think of pumpkins without thinking of Fall, Harvest, Halloween, Thanksgiving and CINDERELLA! And what's more enchanting thatn Cinderella riding her pumpkin coach to the ball? Not much, I tell you.

Anyway, I would LOVE for you to vote for me. Of course, there are some other really cool entries but YOU CAN ONLY VOTE ONCE, and I would love it if you used that vote for me. :D

Here's the link to the challenge and if you scroll down you'll see all the entries (I think there's only 15 or so) and mine is VERY LAST, look for VIVATREGINA and on the challenge page, below the last entry is a link to the voting page. :D --- ENCHANTED CHALLENGE

Thanks!

Yes You CAN! (A DIY blog)

Okay, so I'm a pretty crafty person. I've been known to stitch a few quilts, make a few curtains, paint a few paintings, scrapbook a few photos, knit a few scarves... you get the picture. I'm crafty. I do come by it honestly though, my mother is a crafter, my Granny was a crafter, it's just in my blood. But one thing I've never done is made my own beads. So... after my friend Amanda visited a while back and was talking about how she wanted to make her own beads, I've been thinking about it in the back corner of my thoughts... you know that area where ideas bounce around for a while before you pull them out of their playpen and let them free? Anyway, I decided to just do it (Thank you Nike for taking that phrase and making me always think of you when I think of it... :/). It really was easy, a little time-consuming, but fairly easy. And just to show you how easy it was, I'm writing this little tutorial blog, and away we go:

1st) Let's review my tools... I used Studio by sculpey oven-bake clay (in Whipped Cream color), a handy little molding tool with a straight, pointy end and a rounded knife like opposite end (I'm sure there's an amazingly simple name for this tool but for now you are stuck with my horrible descriptions, sorry), acrylic paint, sparkly glaze and then a triple think glaze (perfect for jewelry is what it said on the label). All of these items were bought at Hobby Lobby.

2nd) Pull out as much clay as you want, depending on how many pumpkins you want to make and how big you want them. Smush the clay around a bit to loosen it up and then roll it into a big snake. Then take the rounded knike-like end of the tool and chop the clay up in equal increments.

3rd) Roll the clay in between your hands, making it into a ball. When the ball is pretty equal and smoothe, smush the top and bottom of the ball to give it that pumpkin-esque, squatty look. Take the straight pointy in and poke straight down, right in the middle of your pumpkin from top to bottom. This will create the hole for beading later. Then set your pumpkins out for a few hours to dry a bit and harden up. If you don't do this, your pumpkins will be too soft to put the lines on them.

4th) After a few hours, go back to your pumpkins. Using the straight, pointy end of your little magic tool (you're not going to use the sharp end of the tool, just the straight side), start at the top of a pumpkin, and lightly press the the side of your tool into the side of your pumpkin, rounding it out as you go. This should give you the little indented lines on your pumpkin. You may have to go over once or twice to get the desired depth.

5th) When all of your little pumpkins have their lines in them, pop them in the oven -- The oven baking instructions are in the package.

6th) After your pumpkins have baked and cooled, you can start painting them. I discovered that holding them on toothpicks really worked. Then you can poke the end of the toothpick into an upside down styrofoam plate while they dry. For me, I painted one coat on each pumpkin and let that dry. Then, I painted a 2nd coat on the pumpkin and while it was still wet, I lightly brushed the entire pumpkin with a bronze finish. Then I took a small brush and painted the same bronze color into the lines of each pumpkin.

7th) After the paint dried, I tool my glitter glaze and glazed the entire pumpkin. When that dried, I took my final glaze and glazed the entire pumpkin. Then I was done! How cute is THAT?!?!

8th) Your pumpkin beads are complete, feel free to use them however you want to. This is what I did with mine. :D

The Pumpkin Patch - for sale in my Shop

Alright loves, that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed it, it was my first blog tutorial so I'm still learning.

love MUCH love

The Fall Decor is Up!

One of the reasons I love fall so much is because I have so many decorations. Or maybe I have so many decorations because I love fall so much. I'm not really sure which came first, the love of fall or the love of decorations....

Anyway, Monday evening after work, I spent some time putting up my fall decorations. And as promised in a previous blog, I'm posting the pictures. :D

The corner of our entry way/front porch area.

I've just now decided to name him Scotty the Scarecrow. He is going to be our "lookout" on the front porch.

One of my favorite decorations, there's also a matching gourd-shaped one. I think they are bee-yoo-tee-full!

All of the decorations on our shelves. This picture also reminds me of the Christmas present that Joey and I plan to give each other. A new flat screen TV. We're hoping to get it this year on Black Friday, but I'm not really sure yet if we'll have the moo-lah for that. Oh well, here's hoping! :D

Well, that's that. I made some pumpkin beads that I'm really excited about! I started on them yesterday and finished them today. I'll write a new blog later tonight or later this week and show them off as well as how I made them. It'll be my first blog tutorial. :D Get excited! haha.

And just some tips for all you other home decorators out there...

1) Buy at the end of the season. My little white table out on my porch was $25 this summer. But I got it on sale at wal-mart for $15. Most of my fall decorations I bought at an end-of-season sale. Yes, my husband doesn't understand, but he does appreciate me saving money after I explain it to him. And don't worry, NO ONE will know that you bought your items on sale, unless you tell them. Like I've just done.

2) Fake is cheaper. There I said it. I would love it if I (or a neighbor) grew pumpkins and gourds (like my Papa used to) and I could pick the perfect one right off the vine and put out on display. But sadly, that is not the case. And sure, I could pick up a nice pumpkin and several sizes, shapes and colors of gourds at any store, BUT the real ones will just attract bugs and they will spoil. And yes, I could buy nice beautiful mums at a store, but they're going to die soon, then what do I do with them? Throw them away. This year, I am thinking more practically, more down-the-road. I spent about $50 on the table and decorations you see out on the table (on the porch). BUT, next year, I'll have every single one of those items again. I won't have to go buy new flowers or new pumpkins and gourds, everything will be ready to go. For free. So plan ahead, and think of it as an investment. That's what I told my husband it was and that seemed to make him less angry at me for spending more money on fall decor when I already have a tub full.

3) I wish I could take a picture of how our house smells right now. Whenever I pack up all of my items at the end of the season, I give them a good spray of whatever fall-inspired Febreze spray I have and then close the lid really quick. It helps lock in the fragrance and this year, when I opened the tub... it smelle wonderfully. So my little scarecrows and leaf garland are helping my living room to smell beautifully. Also, I keep the fall candles open in the tub as well and that seems to help a bit too.

Okay, off to fix dinner, tonight is Sloppy joe night so it should be easy.

love MUCH love

From my heart to yours...

Dear You,

This past weekend, I went on a Ladies Retreat with other ladies from church. It was such a wonderful weekend, getting to spend time with other Godly women, enjoying the cool mountain air of Ruidoso, finding a friend-sister, and re-learning who I am and what I'm worth. One of the songs we sang this past weekend was "Who Am I?" by Casting Crowns. It was so amazing and the words really struck me and I would like to share them with you:

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart?

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You are !

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours.

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
and watch me rise again?
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me?

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
Cause I am Yours.
I am Yours.

I heard someone say something this weekend and it touched me right down to my core... "Even if you were the only person alive, Jesus still would have died for you." That touches me so much because I've let Satan convince me that I'm not worthy. That I'm not valuable. The truth is though, that I am worth everything. I am worth the Bright and Morning Star. And so are you.

Love & God Bless,
Regina

P.S. If you would like to see a video that some group did, click Video. It's not the greatest in the world, but you'll get to hear the song and it's still neat.

Fall Wish List Part I

Hot chocolate. Cozy fires. Old, comfy house shoes. Cinnamon. Pumpkins. Orange. Spices. Purple. Leaves. Coffee. Brown. Crisp mornings. Red. Cool nights. First Frost. Football. Soup and cornbread. Cuddling.

I know that the first day of Autumn isn't until September 22nd, but I'm just so looking forward to it that I can't wait any longer. I used to argue with myself about what my favorite season is, but I've finally made the firm decision that Autumn is my favorite season. There are many reasons why I love Autumn so much, but that's not what this particular blog post is for. THIS particular blog is for wishing, and hoping, and dreaming... of FALL. *swoon* Here is my First Annual Fall Wish List. I'm dividing it into parts because as I browse around Etsy, I'm finding more and more things I love. So here's part I. Enjoy.

Fall Wish List Part I:

What a lovely way to make your home smell wonderfully Autumn-y!

Buy it here - Pumpkin Candle - for $8.00

A beautiful pillow to make your home friendly for fall!

Buy it here - Fall Pillow - for $35.00

The perfect shoes for Fall. These have sold out but I'm sure you can order some just like them! I sure hope so anyways...

Buy it here - Fall-ish Flats

The PERFECT fall accessories! I'm hoping to sale some of my jewelry so I can buy this set!

Buy it here - Perfect Fall Set - $20 for necklace; $20 for earrings

I'm definitely getting one of these hats, I've just been trying to decide which color. But I think green is going to be my final choice... Totally cute!!

Buy it here - Rasta Hat - $22.00

Alright, I hope you enjoyed that! Come back soon to see what else I'm up to. :D

Too bad this isn't my ninth post...

So, everyone was all in a hubba-baloo about the fact that today is 9/9/9. I think that's cool and all, but tomorrow it will be 9/10/9 and that only happens once as well so what's the big deal? I decided to turn to Google, who rarely lets me down and here are a couple of interesting things I found:

BANGKOK (Sept 9, 2009): The Thai government and people at 9:09 am on the auspicious date of the ninth day of the ninth month of 2009 paid their respects to Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the ninth monarch in the Chakri Dynasty.Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva led his cabinet and hundreds of high-ranking military officers and civil servants Wednesday in singing the royal anthem at Government House, the seat of the administration, to mark the auspicious time and day.The number 999 denotes "going forward" for Thais. Similar ceremonies were held by Thais nationwide. For more go to... BANGKOK

If you're looking for some things to do today... some of them aren't too late... Top 9 Things to do on 9/9/9

And if you just want to know about the number 9 and what it means, check this out... NUMBER 9

Alright, well I hope you enjoyed yourself.

Autumn-ness and the Art Show

Let me just take this little time to say... I love Autumn. It's my favorite season! I really love all seasons, but there's a wonderfully special place in my heart for fall. I LOVE decorating my house with all sorts of autumn-y things. In fact, I think I'll do that this weekend or maybe next. When I do, I'll be sure to post pictures.

I love the quote from You've Got Mail when Joe Fox is talking about fall in New York City --Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms. -- Oh, You've Got Mail. It's one of those movies that no matter how many times I watch it, it still leaves me with warm fuzzies, it still makes my heart happy and I still feel my throat tighten and eyes swell when Kathleen Kelly turns because she hears someone calling out to Brinkley, and then she sees him, and he just gives this little half wave... oh it's just magical. Siiiiiigh..... I would watch that movie right now if I had it. But for some reason, I've lost both copies and have yet to buy a new replacement. Maybe that's what I'll do this weekend....

Anyway, I love that it's fall, except that it also means I'm back in school. I know, I know, I should be done by now. But dad-gum-it, I just like learning okay?!?! And I have an awesome job right now, so why not take advantage of the flexible hours and great pay to take some courses, eh? Being back in school is great for the most part. But on the other hand, I don't have as much time to paint, make jewelry, take photos and list said jewelry, write, blog, or anything... I have very little free time when I'm not expected to do anything. If I want said free time I have to do what I'm doing now - stay up late. Which inevitably will make me want to sleep in later tomorrow and I will be mroe unproductive and will not be able to stay awake later tomorrow night doing the homework that I should be doing tonight... oh what a vicious circle I live in...

Oh, I almost forgot what made me come in here in the first place... I went to the art gallery tonight to hang my art work for the show on Friday. Woo Hoo! This will be my second round as a part of the FFAT. I'm also hoping to soon become a part of the Downtown Art Market, but we'll see how that works out. Anyway, I hope that this Friday goes well and that the gallery is a LOT cooler than last time.

Well, I must get off of here and do something productive like homework, make jewelry or sleep. But goodnight all and I hope you have a WONDERFUL Thursday! :D