�� Wow! Easter already?!

It seems like this Easter came so quickly and passed just as fast and we were back to school. Over the break, the kids and I went bowling with a neighbor, the movies with two neighbors, and I spring cleaned. As if that wasn't enough, I also cut out and painted 70+ stars for my daughters 8th grade dance. I'm sure you also saw the post of my grout that I sealed as well. Well, finally on Easter Sunday we dyed our eggs! I felt so behind the game! But, here are some pictures of our eggs.

Finally Found a Way to Make My Grout Look Like New!!!

Okay! As I was surfing Pinterest the other day I came across a blurb about cleaning grout. For the Floridians here that have a lot if tile it seems like there is a constant battle of keeping our grout clean. I have been known to either let it go( which doesn't make me or the hubby happy), pay a lot of money to clean it ( and be dirty from two kids and two dogs a day later), or be on my hands and knees for a week scrubbing to be dirty again by the time I finish an area! Well, after checking out many reviews I decided to try this stuff called Polyblend Grout Renew. I found it at my local Home Depot and it comes in many colors. For mine I tried Antique White. I'll be honest... When I started it was such a drastic change it looked like I was just painting over it, but as I finished, it looked amazing! It was like a brand new floor! Here are some pictures of the process. See for yourself and I quote my daughters reaction.."so when are you going to do the rest of the house?!?"

Here is a video to show how I applied it....

Going Green for St. Patty's Day!

Well, my pinky finger was released from the dr. and therapy last week. It seemed like a long time for it to heal! I guess that's how it goes when you get older.��
I've ventured slowly back into quilling and thought I would make another card using shades of greens. Here it is and also a look at my pinky since I broke it the day after Christmas.

L'Oréal Paris Magic BB Cream

I was given the chance to try L'Oréal's Paris Magic BB Cream.  I was thrilled, because I am always on the lookout for a light makeup that won't trigger my acne.  I am in my (ahem.....) forties and have to deal with acne.  If I wear very heavy makeup it covers it, but often times makes it worse because here in Florida it is frequently hot and humid.   If I wear lighter makeup, it's like putting up a sign....OOH SPOTS and REDNESS.  It just doesn't camouflage it.  Well, SheSpeaks picked me to sample it!  
I washed my face with my usual acne cleanser and then followed the directions by putting it on lightly with my fingers.  I wanted to see what the cream did because the self-adjusting beads were supposed to blend into my skin tone.  After applying it, my skin felt much softer and it does help moisturize my dried out skin due to the acne medication.  However, it did not cover up my acne as much as I wanted.  I did let my daughter try it and it made her skin look so much smoother and even toned.  Needless to say, she took it over and has been wearing it daily!  
I thoroughly recommend it for general use especially if you don't have acne or severe sun spots.  It makes your face feel young and supple!  It did even out my daughters skin tone and it made her look like she was wearing a light makeup that was natural and not caked on!
http://www.lorealparisusa.com/en/Products/Makeup/Face.aspx
www.facebook.com/shespeaksup

Disclaimer:  I was provided a sample of this through Loreal and SheSpeaks, but it is of my opinions that this review is based and I was not paid.

Quilling on hold!!

Who knew that you could break a pinky finger and have this much of an ordeal? I was trying to catch my neighbors dog when it got loose and I grabbed its collar. I thought I just broke a nail until I realized it was actually my finger! Needless to say, quilling will be on hold for a while! Hope everyone else's New Year is off to a better start! :)

♫ ♪ Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree ♪♫

 

Here you can see how the paper is crimped...


 

So all these images keep coming to mind on what kind of quilling-inside-an-ornament I can fathom up now.  Hmmmm.....done this, what about this kind of thing!  Well, I'm having a lot of fun trying out different projects and seeing what and how I can fit things inside those tiny little openings on the DIY ornaments.  This time I was thinking hard about a Christmas tree and how I could put it together inside the ornament and how I could decorate it.  Well, here are some pictures of my thought process and how it came about.  Sincere thanks again to Charlotte Canup of The Art of Quilling of whom I purchased the pattern to make a snowflake inside an ornament.  She inspired me to go crazy with the desire to see what else I could try!

Here I am rolling it with the quilling tool.
 

Here I've shaped them into squares...

 

It really is put together inside this flat plastic ornament!!! This is not made with an ornament that is made of two halves...

 

 

So here is my Christmas tree....I even added artificial snow for the ground! Now if I can only settle down and finish my Christmas shopping  :)

Special ornaments for Special People

Sometimes you wonder how people manage to keep going through adversity. So many people have endured so much in these last few weeks and some in their lifetime! I can only imagine that it is faith, family, and hope that drives them to keep going. If you don't have these things then life can get you down. Every day I thank God for my family, friends, and the opportunity to take in another day. Yesterday I stupidly locked my keys and phone in the truck as I filled up with gas. I kept thinking how stupid it was and how could I have done that? Then I also thought that it was so trivial compared to what others have to face on a daily basis. In honor of those who have dealt with breast cancer, I wanted to make them something special to remind them that they are here for another Christmas and they are very much loved! So here is an ornament to be placed on their tree to remind them of the hope of things to come. I used a plastic round ornament and carefully pushed the quilled ribbon inside. I did not put this together inside the ornament in small sections with tweezers like I did with some of the other ornaments.

It's that time of the year....

Here are some pictures of my latest Christmas cards that I've been working on. No matter how hard I try seems like I never can get everything together for Christmas time. I really wanted to have personalized Christmas ornaments and cards for everyone but I just didn't have time...I think this summer while the kids are out of school I will try to get a lot of Christmas done in July!

A Candy Cane Christmas

I decided I wanted to try another quilled ornament and so I chose a candy cane pattern. I quilled the first red and white candy cane as a whole. I then quilled the green and white candy cane into two pieces so that it would fit into the top of my ornament. I put the red candy cane inside first and then glued the two green pieces using tweezers to glue them onto the whole red and white candy cane.. After waiting a while, I then glued the bow on top using the tweezers to gently place it on top of the candy canes inside the ornament. I think I like the contrast of the two colors!

Torani Flavored Syrups...

I am signed up with a company/website called SheSpeaks and they just sent me something awesome to try! You know me, I don't mind trying and giving my opinions! They sent me Torani flavored syrups..Salted Caramel and Peppermint! What perfect timing with the cooler weather! As my hubby was fixing his famous hot chocolates, my daughter said," Why not try them with the new peppermint syrup from Torani?" I quickly measured two teaspoons in a cup of warmed milk and then my husband sprayed whipping cream on top. He then grated Hershey's milk chocolate on top and then put two pieces of chocolate on the topping as well. Oh, my! It was amazing! I was really surprised how yummy it was...I had tried the Pumpkin Spice before but it was no where as delicious! You can see by the pictures how yummy they looked!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

I've been really busy lately with my sons and daughters extra curricular activities, so all my grand spectacular expectations of making lots of quilled ornaments just haven't happened....as of yet. So far, I've made one following a pattern from Charlotte Canup and you can purchase the directions here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/88314486/quilled-snowflake-inside-glass-ornament
That was my first attempt at a quilled ornament, then I proceeded to try another snowflake of my own! The next one I wanted to try something different so I tried a Christmas stocking. I purchased the plastic ornaments at Hobby Lobby and then found some at Walmart as well. They have big and small round ones and even flat big ones! I hope that now I can make a little more time to create some more! What do you think?

Stocking during the day

Stocking on tree with lights



Nightime view with lights

Daytime view




 

This is the snowflake that Charlotte Canup designed and you can purchase the pattern here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/88314486/quilled-snowflake-inside-glass-ornament
 

 

This snowflake
is encased in a
large flat ornament instead of the typical round style...








                                              
 










Dailybreak

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New Duct Tape Pumpkins for Halloween...

Okay, I know sometimes when I get into something I tend to go overboard, but its just too much fun! Do you like to try new things just to see what you can do? Well, I get like that and I just want to see what I can come up with that will be different... I made three new pumpkins for three of my neighbors and the pictures show you three more colors from duct tape brand.

Houndstooth Pumpkin for Halloween

While checking out some blogs the other day, I came across a site at http://www.thevspotblog.com and found an awesome idea for decorating a pumpkin with duct tape. Now being an Alabama fan I couldn't resist trying to make it. Here is her link for making it: Houndstooth Pumpkin Tutorial

I just used fabric paint to put on the logo. Cool, huh?!?!

Sensory Bags for Preschool

While looking on Pinterest one day I found an interesting link for sensory bags for preschool classes. There were several fun ideas such as an ocean theme, alphabet theme, and they filled the bags with hair gel, water, and even shaving cream. We decided to try shaving cream in our bag and we used fun shapes to make stamp imprints and then the kids even had fun using their hand print in the shaving cream. This activity was really fun for those kids to had issues with getting their hands dirty.