Pintrest

I've been seeing people posting things on fb via Pintrest and wondering what it's all about.  I know that I am probably late in the game on this, but it is really neat!  Have you checked it out?

This is my favorite find so far:

Pinned by Edris Kim.

Is it not absolutely adorable?!  I am definitely going to need a picture like this after Jr. makes his grand entrance.

It's a great way to see such a wide variety of creativity and get some wonderful ideas.

Here's the link to my boards: MSojourner.

Kind regards,

Scrapbooking

I love to scrapbook and so I am combining my love for scrapbooking with my love for blogging into a new site today.  Come on over and check it out!

You can read a little about how I got started (and re-started) digital scrapbooking, see some cards I have made, and check out the cool 52 Blessings challenge I am participating in.

Kind Regards,

*Linking up with Alicia for Try New Adventures Thursday

Piglet Birthday Party

(Credits: Blythe Evans' "Pink Pigment" Digital Scrapbook Kit.)

I took this adorable picture of my Little Sojourner and then made this invitation and printed it as 4X6 postcard to send out to the guests.

I couldn't find a piglet dress so we went for a pretty pink dress and this cute piglet bib for the party.

One of my best friends is very talented at making cakes and she has often makes the for my Little Sojourner's birthdays.  This particular time she talked me and walked me through making the cake and letting me do as much as possible by myself.  She showed me how to take design how you would like it to come out and then she helped me how to execute it.  She showed me how to plan out and carve the shape, mix the colors and ice the cake as smoothly as possible.

She showed me how to decorative edge the bottom for a nice clean look.  Then I added the writing.

We used pink plates, pink plastic ware, pink cups, pink tablecloth; pink everything!  (That made it super simple.  I like simple.)  Even the inside of the cake was a pink strawberry cake.  Yum!

It was a great way to celebrate my little piglet's 1st birthday!

Thinking cake,

Pioneer Birthday Party

Birthday parties take fun weeks and months of dreaming and planning with me and the Little Sojourners.  We enjoy every minute.  First we brainstorm ideas, then we talk execution possibilities for each idea.  In the process some ideas get thrown out and others form into great ideas.  (Frugality is always a must.)  We narrow it down to the best options.  The birthday girl (if they are old enough) pick their favorite.  It's a science and it happens three times a year at our house. 

Since the time of year for birthdays at our house is approaching, and because The CSI Project challenge this week is about parties, I am going to share some of our past favorites.

In 2007, for Ms. Sojourner's 7th birthday, she picked a Pioneer Birthday (based on Little House on the Prairie; her favorite set of books and TV show).

We went thrifting to find some dresses that would pass for (or could be altered to pass for pioneer dresses) and a few accessories for Ma & Pa too.

We found the above dress at a thrift store for next to nothing (and one for Middle Sojourner too, we then added a strip of fsabric around the bottom of the dresses to give them a ruffled, fuller, and longer look) and a friend had given us the bonnet from a trip to Amish country (which I used as a template to make the other two girls bonnets out of scrap fabric from my sewing stash).  We took the above picture in our front yard with her in her outfit, edited the photo to sepia in PSE and photoshoped in the invite.  We then printed them off, glued them to blank cards, and filled out the information for the party on the inside. 

Pa: old dress pants, work boots, plaid shirt, and the thrift store suspenders.  (The kids seriously loved him getting in character {and so did I!}; what a great Dad!)

Ma: old skirt, apron, thrift store blouse, and bun.  I know I look dorky but I love my kids.

Little Sojourner with a thrift store dress and above mentioned bonnet.  {On a side note: what happened to those chubby little cheeks?!  I miss them.}

Even the guests who came to see my toothless birthday girl got in on the fun of wearing their best pioneer outfit. 

We made button necklaces as a fun little craft and take home gift. 

All it took was a little twine and a bunch of assorted buttons. (Most of which were in my craft stash, though I did get a few extra buttons. You can never have enough buttons, right?)

We played some old-fashioned games like tag.  Always a favorite amongst little ones (and it gets all the energy out which the Mom loves also).

And, a hysterical three-legged race.  A serious must.

The decorations were simple with wooden chairs and rocking chairs on the porch, a simple tablecloth, a blanket for the kids to do the craft on, and small pails to put the utensils in..  Simple but fun.

For lunch we served pinto beans, ham, and homemade biscuits.

A Pioneer cake complete with covered wagon (costing $1, kinda like this one, but this one is cooler!), a chocolate "dirt floor", and a Little People farmer, farm girl (which double as pioneers), and horse.

During the party we took this picture of the guests and used it to make a thank you card for those who came to share the special day.

It is a birthday Ms. Sojourner still talks about almost three years later.  We had a wonderful time.

Just call me Ma,

Fall Decorating

Item # 751 I wish I would have crated to bring to Africa is more seasonal decorations.  I crated a very few for each some of the major holidays and I am thankful that I did at least that.  In the states I really enjoyed changing things up for the different holidays (even if it was just some little changes). Yesterday I was inspired by all the cool projects at the CSI Project to get the small amount of Fall decorations I brought out and begin to look for other creative ways to decorate here.

I started simply with a sign (I think I got at the Dollar Tree a few years ago) on the front door.

I had brought these fake sunflowers and the fall ribbon (that I think I used to make a wreath once upon a time, but didn't bring with us).  My dilemma was that I had not one vase.  (Even if I could find one here it was likely to be super expensive and extremely gaudy.) So I set to looking around my house and decided upon one of my empty sugar canisters.  I took off and stored the lid.  I put ribbon inside the canister to hide the horrible flower stem and added some around the lip of the canister.  Then I printed out Ecclesiastes 3 to go around the canister and cover the "sugar" engraving.  I then put it in the middle of the kitchen table on top of a not-that-pretty but hugely functional yellow vinyl tablecloth.

When you enter our house right now we have the ugliest painted green desk that we bought off someone.  It is in desperate need of a redo, but I haven't figured out how and where to buy paint and supplies yet here, nor have I had the time, so I am procrastinating it.  For now I make sure to always have a tablecloth covering the hideous green monster.  Thankfully one of the Fall items I crated was a beautiful orange tablecloth which perfectly covered up the green monster.  Then I put the fall runner I had purchased at a great sale at Kohl's before we left.  (I really love their seasonal table decor and they usually have some really great sales on it.)  I added some fall produce (to which I am a little unsure exactly what they are I know some kind of pumpkin or gourds) I purchased at one of the many sellers on the side of the road, one of the sunflowers I had brought from the US, a basket I bought here, and lastly (because I knew something was missing) I added the Little Sojourner's Max Lucado book "The Oak inside the Acorn."

I am looking forward to looking around the area we live and trying to be creative with items I can find here in more Fall decorating.  Fall is by far my favorite season and even though they don't really have it here I am going to celebrate it anyways!

Thinking Fall,

*Linking up to Decorating Your Home at It's a Blog Party!

African Harvest: November 2009

Kind regards,

*Linking up to Say "Cheese" Wednesday at It's a Blog Party!

Cute & Crafty Coloring Carry-All

I have been looking forward to sharing something crafty and fun with you and today is the day!  Don't get too excited because it is nothing huge but it is simple, fun, and a little bit crafty!

First, I have to share that there is absolutely no where to get craft supplies in our country (and possibly in all of the surrounding countries as well).  You can find a few things like a limited amount of sewing stuff, African beads, etc. but it is not the same.  I did, however, bring a small amount of craft supplies that I have been hoarding reluctant to use too quickly.  I have decided that I have to begin using some of it for my sanity.

We had a 3-year-old birthday party to go to here of one of our co-workers.  You can get toys here, but they are 3 times the price you would pay in the US and they fall apart in the first moment of play so we opted for something homemade.  A cute and crafty coloring carry-call.  Say that five times fast. :)

To make one you need:
*A Pringles can (or other container)
*Something to cover the container with (scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, tissue paper, newspaper, fabric, etc.)
*Mod Podge or homemade equivalent
*Decorations (stickers, glitter, ribbon, etc.; let your creativity flow!)
*A small coloring book, printed-out coloring sheets, or drawing paper
*Your choice of crayons, markers, colored pencils, etc.

Smear the can with mod podge.  Cover with paper.  Smooth out wrinkles. (I am still learning on this part!)  Put a layer of mod podge on the outside.  Let dry.  Repeat until desired look.

Sunny @ Life in Rehab (one of my favorite sites for upcycling) gave a great tip to put your mod podge brush in a ziplock bag in between coats so that it won't dry out.  That works great here because of how hot and dry it is!

Embellish with decorations.  I used a strip of coordinating paper and fancy scrapbook scissors to make a strip for the top.  I also used coordinating ribbon along the bottom.  I made an "N" for the birthday girl and put it in the center.  I used a glitter pen to go around the "N" (which you can't see in the picture).  Lastly, (which I forgot to take a photo of, but you can see at the bottom finished picture) I added a few foam stickers to give it a little dimension.

Pick what you want to go in the container.  The Little Sojourners picked out coloring pages we thought she would like and we printed them out.  We also chose to use a set of crayons and a small set of colored pencils.  Put it all inside.

Your set to go!  We added some ribbon and a tag since it was a gift.  This was so easy the Little Sojourners did most of it.

Saving the world one Pringles can at a time,

*Linking up to "Show Me How" at It's a Blog Party!

Creativity Unleashed

This is where I hope to share creative projects I have done or am working on.  We will be moving in the next few weeks and I am looking forward to trying some new creative projects!  Check back soon!

Kind regards,