Goals for 2010...

I've been seeing a lot of posts with goals for 2010 on other people's blogs. Maybe I should set some goals for myself, but where to start?

1. De-clutter and Organize the House

Our house seems to get cluttered easily. It must be because we come home and relax after work. So, the magazines pile up, the mail sits on the table, things sit on the counter, and we don't do much about it. Well, this is the year that things are going to change!
Solution: I'm going to make sure that we get ourselves into a good habit of putting everything away when we're finished with it, and finding homes for things that don't have one yet. If that means buying more Rubbermaid totes, I will...and maybe I should buy some Rubbermaid stock shares, while I'm at it. I probably keep that company in business!

2. Keep a Clean House
This sort of goes with the first one, but is separate at the same time. I don't dust, vacuum, or clean the rest of the house often enough. I get home from both jobs and I'm absolutely exhausted. Once I sit down, I'm finished for the evening...I don't care if anything gets done. Terrible, I know, but imagine if you worked for 8 hours at one job, then went to another one for 4 or 5 hours, then had to come home and cook dinner, vacuum, dust, wash the dishes, do laundry, and clean the rest of the house after that. Maybe some of you do that already, or maybe you have husbands that actually help with that stuff, but that's not how my life works. I do it all on my own!
Solution: Pick one or two tasks to do a day and do them as soon as I get home.

3. Cook More/Eat Healthier
I don't cook dinner very often. Usually, I forget to put something out the night before, and then it's 6 and I don't know what to do, so I find something in the freezer(premade frozen meatballs) that's easy to cook, pop it in the microwave and make some pasta to go with it. Or, we both just reheat something that we find in the fridge. Half the time, I want something he doesn't, so we just make ourselves dinner...and that's usually at 7:30-8:00 at night. Sad, isn't it?? So, I'm going to start meal planning, whether Bobby likes it or not, and see how it works for me.
Solution: Menu plan for the week ideally on Sunday Night for the whole week. Be sure to include more fruit and veggies in our meals.

4. Work out more
I think I may have told you this already, but Bobby's parents got us a Wii and a Wii Fit, along with the Biggest Loser game, for Christmas. Well, we have it all set up in the living room, and we've been using it, but not regularly. With Noelle's wedding coming up in 5 months I can't put on any more weight, especially since my dress is already here! It would be great to have to have it taken in! Also, I would love to lose some more weight so that if and when I get pregnant, I'm not GINORMOUS! I don't want to be one of those women who you can't tell if they're pregnant or just plain fat. Hahaha
Solution: Work out a minimum of 3 days a week for 30 minutes using the Wii Fit or Biggest Loser game.

5. Save Money
I'm not too bad at this, really...but sometimes I walk into Michael's and go CRAZY! I'll buy more stuff to make jewelry, or other craft things, and I spend way more than I should. This usually happens when we go to WalMart, too. We go with a list, and then come home with way more than we intended and we spend a ton more than we should, for sure!
Solution: Go to Michael's only when necessary(That is, when I run out of something). Buy only the things we need while grocery shopping, and don't put anything extra in the cart. Oh, and we need to put a little bit of each pay check into our savings accounts. That might be harder for Bobby to do than me, but I'm going to make him!

6. Participate in a Craft Show
I have been selling a lot of jewelry as of lately, and making a lot of it for gifts, too. I would like to continue doing this, and try to get some stuff made so that I can participate in craft show this year. Penns Manor has one in November, and that's quite a long way from now, but I would really like to do it this year. Maybe I can find another one to do before that, so I can get the feel of it.
Solution: Make a couple of pieces of jewelry a month to reserve for a craft show. Get info on the craft show asap and save money to buy a stand. If I can't do the craft show, I'll have to sell them to friends or create an Etsy store.

7. Spend More Time With Family and Friends
This one is easy, but after 2009, I've realized how important this goal really is. I can always use more quality time with the important people in my life :)
Solution: Same as my goal...spend more time with my family and friends. haha.

Annnnd, my last goal:
8. UPDATE MY BLOG MORE OFTEN!
I know I haven't been so consistent with updating this thing...I'm either busy, or my day hasn't been that exciting to share with you.
Solution: Update at least twice a week, whether things have been exciting or not, so I can keep all of my readers (even though I don't think there are too many of them) happy :)

I think those are all realistic goals. Let's see how I do as the year progresses. Wish me luck!

To all of you returning to work and school tomorrow, try not to stress out over it too much, dress warmly, and be careful on those snowy roads! I know I'm not looking forward to it, but we have to do it sometime, right??

Janelle's Star

For Christmas, I made Janelle a Photo-Covered Star. I saw it in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens and I just had to try it! I also saw it on bhg.com in their crafts and gifts section. It wasn't too difficult, I just had to practice a little patience when it came to cutting the pictures and paper.
I've had several people ask me how I made it, so here are the simple directions on how to make it!

Materials you'll need:
1. Tin Star
2. Pictures - Black and White looks best (You'll need 10)
3. Vellum
4. 5 different pieces of Scrap booking paper
5. ModPodge or another decoupage glue. (I bought the Matte finish, but I think the glossy would have looked better)
6. A paint brush of some kind. I would suggest a small sponge brush

1.) Purchase a Tin star. I bought mine at Pat Catan's (discount craft store in Murrysville, PA). Each point was about 9 inches from the center. You can probably find them at a Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, AC Moore, through LTDcommodities, and I know that the Trader Horn in Indiana sells them in many different sizes. I also found them here, in many different colors.
1.5.) (this is a suggestion, and not really a direction, so that's why it's 1.5) BHG.com suggests painting the star black, but I was smart and bought a black one!

2.) Print pictures! I actually printed about 20 pictures so that I could select the right picture to fit on each section. For my star, I used 4x6 pictures. But you may need to use 5x7, or another size depending on the size of your star! It's better to use pictures that aren't too close up on your subject...especially their face! Having a smaller image will make it fit in the section better. That way, you aren't cutting off someone's face. I took almost all of the pictures of Taryne that I used.

A few examples of pictures that worked:

A picture that didn't work:

3.) Trace one point of the star using vellum or tracing paper. I found vellum to be the easiest to use, because it would hold the shape of the point. I used an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of vellum that I bought at Michael's, and I put it over one of the points. I folded it along the center of the point of the star, then I folded it around the rest of the edges. Once I had the shape, I cut it out so that I had my template.

4.) Go through your pictures and see which ones will fit best on each point. Using your template, trace your pictures and cut them out.

5.) As I cut my pictures, I taped each one down to the place on the star that I wanted it to go. That way, I could keep track of each picture (especially because I would have probably lost them!)

6.) After all pictures are cut out, cut your paper pieces to fit onto the point where you've placed your pictures, and tape those on to make sure they fit. This was the worst part for me...because after I used the template to get the shape, I then had to match the angles of the pictures.

7.) Remove pieces from the star, and lay them out on your table just like they were on the star, for easy gluing.

8.) Going from the top point (mine had a hanging wire on the top, so I knew it was the top), put a thin layer of ModPodge down all over the point, and lay your photos and scrapbook paper down, one piece at a time. As you lay each picture down, put a thin layer of ModPodge on top of it. Continue doing this with the paper and the pictures, until you've covered the star.

9.) After all pictures and paper are glued down, allow the whole star to dry.10.) After the star has dried, put on another thin layer of ModPodge over the entire star. This will help hold everything together and put a nice finishing coat over everything.

11.) Allow it to dry one final time. Once dry, either wrap it up for your friend or family member, or...hang it on the wall!

She LOVED it! I think I even made her cry a little. I also promised her one for the new baby after he or she arrives in April!!

Happy Crafting!!! Hope yours turns out as nicely as mine did!

Creative solutions!

First of all, Happy Halloween! We don't really do much of anything for Halloween...without kids, we don't have anyone to dress up! Neither one of us really cares to dress up, and we don't go to parties, so we just stayed in this evening!

I have a TON of jewelry...it's accumulated over the years and I'm running out of room to store it all. My mom is having the same problem, and her birthday was on the 18th. I needed a gift for her and she needed somewhere to put her jewelry! So, I came up with a simple solution. I put some serious thinking into what I wanted to do.

I remembered being at May Mart this year and someone who was selling jewelry and had an old frame that she had painted and had covered plywood or something similar in fabric. Well...I thought that might be pretty easy, but didn't know where to find an old frame that would be big enough for my project. My friend, Julianne, said she's just using a simple bulletin board and pushpins to hang her jewelry on.

So, I combined the two ideas and created this:

I took the center out of the bulletin board, covered it in simple patterned fabric, bought clear push pins and put little bronze stickers on the ends of them for decoration.

Here's a close up of the top.And the bottom of the board.Now, when mom gets dressed, she'll be able to see all of her jewelry and be able to pick something quickly to go with her outfit! I'll have to make one for myself, now, because I like it so much!

Today, we watched the Penn State/Northwestern game this afternoon. Penn State won 34-13! And then Penguins game came on right after that...they lost to the Minnesota Wild 2-1. Tomorrow there isn't a Steelers game. I heard on DVE yesterday on my way home from school that a bar in Pittsburgh is having a Bye-week blues fest since there won't be a game. Guess we'll have to find something else to do, as well!

We're watching the Ghost Hunters Marathon on Syfy...they're showing the 5 scariest episodes and counting down until they do a live investigation at 1:00 am.

That's about it...pretty boring day! It's nice to stay at home together once in a while. We didn't have any visitors for trick-or-treat since we don't live in town. Hope you all had some visitors!

Ooops!

Wow...I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've posted anything. Sorry about that.

I have been at Penns Manor Elementary all week subbing for the band teacher, who's really sick. It's been a fun week of lessons and rehearsals. I've gotten to spend some time practicing some instruments that I don't often get to play. I can never remember slide positions on the trombone, so the kids have been teaching me! It's great practice for them, because then they really have to think about what they're playing to show me how to do it!

Did you see my new camera? I put a picture of it on facebook last week. Bobby got me a Nikon D60 for a late anniversary/early christmas present. It's faaaaaaantastic! I have been taking it everywhere with me and snapping lots of photos!

Last time I posted, I had mentioned the annual Penns Manor craft show. I thought I was going to be able to make some jewelry and sell it there. Well...it's on November 14th and I CAN'T DO IT!!!! That day we are going DRESS SHOPPING for Noelle's wedding dress and to find dresses for the bridesmaids!!!! I am excited to go dress shopping, but I was really wanting to do the craft show. SOOOOOOO...instead, I'm going to ask if you know anyone that might like some pretty things for Christmas or who might need gifts for their bridesmaids for an upcoming wedding to point them in my direction. I'm looking to try out some new things...

Like these: (all photos from artbeads.com)

pretty every day earrings

something fun and summery!

This one's cute right??? I like the little birds in the center!

See something you like??? Let me know! How?? EMAIL ME, find me on FACEBOOK, or leave me a comment on one of my posts! There are so many great sample designs on artbeads.com! I also have some magazines at home or I can do something original. Remember, Christmas is coming and it's never to early to shop! I do have a couple orders from some friends that I'll be working on this coming week to get them finished. I'll post pictures as soon as I finish them!

More jewelry!

I made another bracelet tonight. Green, black, white, & silver. I don't know if I have anything to wear it with, but I like it!

And I just finished these earrings...maybe 5 minutes ago. I'll hopefully get a chance to make a necklace later this week...depending on what kind of work week I'll have.

Crafty

I love to craft. I especially like to scrapbook, but it's soooooo time consuming. While we were in Arizona, Noelle, Fran and I learned to make jewelry and it's a lot of fun. It's a lot easier than scrapbooking, and is rewarding because it doesn't take nearly as long to complete and you can wear it!

I made my mom a bracelet for Christmas, but it was too hard for her to put on because of the arthritis in her hands, so I changed the clasp. Here it is!Noelle, Fran, and I went to Michaels today and picked up some new stuff. I came home to get the rest of my beads and to get Maverick...but the roads were slick, so I stayed home instead of going back to Fran's. Bobby, Bob, Derek, and a few other guys are on their way home from a gun raffle now, so hopefully we'll get some dinner when he gets here!

Now I'm watching The DaVinci Code. I never saw it before...it started at 5, and I need to pay more attention to it. Maybe I'll make something else tonight...I could use a new bracelet, we'll see.

Subbing again tomorrow, and working at the office after I get back into town.