My new Custom Boutique Website!

My husband has done a great job designing the functionality of my site.  I did all the graphics and of course I design and make all the clothes!

Look and see:

http://www.thoughtponds.com/

Plum Polka Dot Perfection

I just listed a new custom outfit on ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360248082719

Thanks for looking!

Recent Studio Photo Shoot

Prayers for Layla Grace

http://laylagrace.org/

Such a sad but touching story, prayers for her and her family...

Fun Characters With Your Computer Keyboard

This should work in any Windows word processor, text editor, browser or email client.




1. Make sure your keyboard is in NumLock mode.

2. Hold down the ALT key and enter the number on the numeric keypad. (Note that many laptops have a blue FN key that changes a set of keys, also with blue numbers on them and usually in the 7-8-9-U-I-O area, into a numeric keypad.)



for ☺ 1

for ☻ 2

for ♥ 3 <===

for ♦ 4

for ♣ 5

for ♠ 6

for • 7

for ◘ 8

for ○ 9

for ◙ 10

for ♂ 11

for ♀ 12

for ♪ 13

for ♫ 14

for ☼ 15

for ► 16

for ◄ 17

for ↕ 18

for ‼ 19

for ¶ 20

for § 21

for ▬ 22

for ↨ 23

for ↑ 24

for ↓ 25

for → 26

for ← 27

for ∟ 28

for ↔ 29

for ▲ 30

for ▼ 31

Mod Podge Suncatchers

I love getting ideas for fun and easy kids crafts from other bloggers. 

One of my favorite mediums to work with is decoupage aka Mod Podge.  I found a great blog for decoupage projects and the the first one we tried was the suncatcher. 

Find it here on Mod Podge Rocks!

We started out by glueing together our "petals".  The kids did this in whatever shape they wanted.  You need to make sure they are level so the Mod Podge doesn't leak out too much when you pour it in the petals.

For this entire project we used items that we already had on hand...basically making it FREE!!

I had purple, blue, and white tissue paper.  No one wanted white so we used the other two colors, purple for girly and blue for the boys!

We cut the tissue down to size and then placed it on a plastic bag.  I wanted to make sure that the suncatcher didn't get stuck on whatever it was laying on to dry.  The plastic bag made sense because it could be peeled off later.  I also had the kids do this on cookie sheets so they could be easily moved from the table for drying...which took about 3 days.

We mainly used beads in the design with a bit of sparkly ribbon that I cut up to make little bitty pieces.  You could easily use sequins and glitter but we were sticking to the free method!  :)

Notice the small amount of leakage around the edges...this is why it's important to get it level when glueing.  Also it's good to have two sets of hands when pouring the Mod Podge in.  One person can hold down on the design while the other slowly poors.

Here are the finished products!!

and each artist with their creation:

We used these as teachers gifts!  We paired it up with some delicious chocolate, afordable and thoughtful!

Next time we will make some to keep.  I am thinking we will use some of the seashells we found on our beach vacation this past summer!

Melted Snowman Cookies

I saw this awesome idea for melted snowman cookies on Stacey's Sweet Shop blog and decided to try it myself!

The kids helped....here's pickle...

and Lyly...

J baby will be helping next week when we make them again for his Christmas party at school...he was out playing today!

Santa's Letters

Check out an awesome idea for your little ones... Santa's Letters !!  Right now you can even enter to win a giveaway...post a comment and help spread the word!

Bless you little Carter!!

Turkey Cookies...

These pics were taken way back at Thanksgiving...better late than never...

Kids made Turkey Cookies out of oreos, frosting, and candy corn!

National Bankrupcy Day....Again....

More information and links about how you can help in this article....

http://www.boutiquecafe.com/home/2008/12/17/1943/

National Bankrupcy Day

This is very near and dear to my heart since I do make handmade items for sale...

"February 10, 2009 has been dubbed "national bankruptcy day" because of a new law that will take effect that day. It will require ALL businesses to do lead testing on EVERYTHING that is made for children 12 and under -- even small, artisan businesses.

If you buy or sell handmade toys, clothing, cloth diapers, or babycarriers the following is really important information for you. As of February 10th, 2009 ALL items sold in the US that are meant for children 12 years and younger will be required to have third-party lead testing done by the manufacturer. This sounds great in theory since we all want to protect our children, right? This law will only force small businesses to close (or operate illegally) when the problem lies with large companies making cheap items in foreign countries.

DO YOU MAKE OR SELL THESE ITEMS? If you own a small home based business crafting these items, these requirements fall on YOU. You will be required to test each and every component of your items for sale and label them with a batch# and date of manufacture. If you do not comply you will be in violation of federal law and could be subject to fines up to $5,000 . Anything children's items made before this date that are not tested and cerified lead-free are considered banned hazardous waste and cannot be sold after February 10th, 2009. Even if you use materials such as fabric that were tested by their manufacturer not to contain lead, you must still have third party testing done. This is obviously not an option for most artisan businesses! Please call or write your representatives regarding the new CPSIA legislation that has already passed and will be put into effect in February without any thought for the `little guys'.

DO YOU BUY THESE ITEMS, OR VALUE THE ABILITY TO BUY THEM? Then you need email or write your representatives today as well. If this legislation is not changed to offer some sort of clarification regarding handcrafting businesses in the US, then many if not most of the items I've discussed will no longer be available. No more wood cars crafted by a retired grandpa, no more children's handmade clothing and cloth diapers on Hyena Cart, Etsy and sites that encourage us to buy handmade. I don't know if you feel the same but if I had to choose between a handmade item made by a work at home mom vsa "certified lead-free" item made in China and sold at Target, I'd choose the former.

We must act soon and get some changes made or February 10th will mean the end of the "Buy Handmade" movement! Stand up for small businesses everywhere as this legislation effects each and every one of us, our businesses, our children and even our economy.

Let your representatives know that as much as we value keeping our children safe by testing items for lead, this is the WRONG way to accomplish that.

You can read more about the CPSIA legislation at:

http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/c...must-be-tested/
http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.html
http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template....;ContentID=6275
http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/

The Pirate Party

After a lot of planning and getting the house ready for a ton of kids we had a blast putting on a pirate birthday party for Jacob!

We had a lot of pirate decorations...

A pirate ship cake made by David...

Pirate cupcakes made by me...

and pirate themed games and crafts for the party guests!

The kids played:

• "Walked The Plank" - I divided them up into two teams for a relay race. I then put a 2x4 down on the floor for each team. Following this was a large box to crawl through...this was "The Cave", then I had tossed out over 100 pieces of pirates gold. The kids had to balance across the planks, crawl through the cave, gather some gold, and go back the way they came and tag the next person on their team! It was a blast!
• "Pin the Flag on the X" - I gave the kids a small piece of paper and explained that pirates always had their own flag with a special design on it. I gave them crayons and they designed their very own pirate flag. Then we used those flags to play a pirate version of pin the tail on the donkey. David had made a pirate map and we hung it on the wall, blindfolded the kids, spun them around, and let them try to hit the X with their flag! We had a huge tie!
• "Canon Ball Stomp" - We had blown up a ton of black ballons and used these as our cannonballs. We tied them on the ankles of each child and then they played a game of tag. The object was to protect your own cannonball while trying to pop everyone else's ball!
• "Treasure hunt" - Before the party started I came up with a list of clues, printed them out on paper, cut them up and placed them all over our yard. We started in the party room and the first clue took them outside. The kids all got their jackets and shoes on and out we went.....to the patio, then the mailbox, then the swingset, then the front porch, the a tree in the back yard, then back inside to the sunroom, then the dining room where they hung there coats back up....then back to the party room where my husband had set up the "treasure".... cake, ice cream, and punch!

We even had shark's blood for our punch! To make this I took a punch bowl and had poured 7-up in it. Then with the kids watching I explained that my fruit punch was really sharks blood and I poured that into the 7-up. The punch swirled around like blood and mixed into the pop and then we served it! The kids thought it was great!

It was such a nice day for late November that we played outside after the food and gifts were opened! This was very helpful because they were all ready to go when their parents arrived and I passed out the treat bags for them to take home!

My birthday boy!

Jacob, my little man!

He's such a cutie!

Gotta have the cool pose!

From the mouths of babes....

Just a cute little story to tell....

The other night we went to The Lodge for my grandma's 85th birthday. It was a wonderful dinner, great food, and good times with the family. After dinner, we went back to my grandma's house for cake and ice cream. At some point during the night it was decided that we wanted to watch the video from my grandparents 40th wedding anniversary party. This video was taken about 20 years ago...maybe closer to 25....I'll have to do the math...but not now.

Anyway, while we were watching I was pointing out to my kids who I was in the video. I was in about 8th grade. My little Emily wanted to know where she was. I said, "Oh honey, this is before you were born. You weren't even thought of yet!"

The next day my mom came over to watch the kids while David and I went to a meeting. Afterwards, I drove her home and she told me that they had been talking about being born first. They were referring to my brother and I and Jacob spoke up and said that he was born first. He then said, "I was thought of and then I was born!"

My mom asked him why he thought that and he said he had just learned it the night before because he heard us talking about it. I just think that is so cute!!

Later, I asked him about it also and he expanded by saying that he was thought of and then God put him in my tummy so he could be born......I love my little ones!

Thanks for letting me share!

Check out my photo editing skills....

Before

After

Waves of Grace

Here is a cute video of the kids singing in church this morning!

Love it!

A Mom Song! Too Funny!

My sweet little pickle!

He is such a little camera ham....

The world just wouldn't be the same without Ellie!

Such a cool little poser!

I've been tagged....Seven Random Facts About Me!

Michelle has tagged me for a MeMe:

Here goes with the list....

1. I worked at a truck stop for 4 years and then later owned my own trucking company.


2. I am 4 classes away from getting my MBA but I just don't wanna finish! Although I am still continuing my education. I am taking programming classes right now.


3. I once worked as a Field Service Office (meter maid).


4. I love watching the Food Network but I don't really like to cook. Now, if I cooked like they do I would love to cook.


5. I very much dislike it when people use there, their, and they're incorrectly.


6. If I could do any job in the world I would be a photographer!


7. I love to listen to Hall and Oates so much that I wore out my greatest hits cd. David if you are reading this, there is a xmas gift idea for you. :)

Halloween Pics....

Everyone got into the Halloween spirit, including daddy! LOL

The kids decided to do a theme this year.

Speed Racer, Racer X, and Trixie!

Racer X (Jacob) at the school parade!

Speed Racer (Caden) at the school parade!

Trixie (Emily) getting ready to trick-or-treat!


The spookster in all his glory!