“Yo yo yo, this is your girl L-Money, comin’ at you live on the microphone with a bliggitty blogging tip to help give your John Hancocks some suga’ and spice. Bricka, bricka, what?! It’s gonna be tight, y’all. You feel me?” Before you all run for the hills, let me explain that intro. I taught 9th grade English for three years when we lived in Ohio, and I would sometimes start my classes in a {read more…}
I am one of those people for whom it is one of life’s big thrills to label things. Yes, I’m a dork type A, an oldest sibling, a perfectionist…all of those personality traits that point straight to label-loving. Yes, I totally own a label maker…you know, one of these: Although I’m not into labeling “tax forms” as this photo would suggest, when I taught English, I did label nearly every single thing in my classroom. Scissors {read more…}
“It is a truth universally acknowledged…” that Lauren is atrocious at remembering birthdays. And when it comes to anniversaries? Fuggetaboutit. They don’t even stand a chance. Even my besties will attest that they’ve received many a belated birthday wish from me…and not just a day late, but in some shameful cases, months late! It’s embarrassing, really. And something just had to be done. I present to you, The Thinking Closet’s edition of a Birthday & Anniversary Calendar: Below, you’ll {read more…}
I hope everyone had a great weekend! We enjoyed a game night with our small group, a birthday party for my niece Clara, and a breezy bike ride around Orlando. The rains finally gave way to some gorgeous weather, which meant I got to rock some brightly-colored spring clothes and my newest d.i.y. creation, color-blocked bobby pins! My bobby pins went from plain-and-simple to bright-n-bold…just the way I like it…and all in the matter of {read more…}
This would be an opportune time to grab a snack, a cozy blanket, and perhaps silence your cell phone. Why? Because it’s story time, folks. Gather ’round for… Once upon a time, there was an old chair. And there was a girl who sat in the old chair. But because it was an old chair, an old folding chair, it was an uncomfortable chair. It made her back hurt and ache. When the girl sat {read more…}
Okay, taking a poll here: does anyone have craft storage that looks a little scary? Like this: If so, welcome to the club. But we don’t have to live like this! I came up with a budget savvy solution to my craft drawer organization, and I’m sharing my tutorial over at Or So She Says today. The best part: I only spent a few bucks and was able to use a lot of items I already had lying {read more…}
In you case you missed my first craft contributor post on Or So She Says, here it is in full for your d.i.y. pleasure! So, I’m eager to share with you all my newest d.i.y. creation: Winter Mason Jar Lanterns. This project combines three of my loves: mason jars, candlelight, and SNOW! Mark and I moved to Florida this past summer, so this is my first “tropical” winter. Although I’m loving the warmer weather, I do {read more…}
Here’s my first completed project in my new series, The Silhouette Challenge: a thank you card a la William Shakespeare. What I love about the shape of this stationery is that it’s designed to fit easily into a legal-sized envelope, which is unexpected for a thank you card. It also suits people like me who tend to be a bit (ahem) verbose. My initial inspiration came from these letter-sized thank you cards by Kolette Hall that I {read more…}
Today, over at Or So She Says, I am kicking off my first craft contributor post with a tutorial on how to make Winter Mason Jar Lanterns: It was an honor to receive Mariel’s invitation to join her team of contributors this year. As a monthly craft contributor, I’ll share a project, tip, or tutorial during the first week of every month. I’ll be sure to give y’all a heads up when I do, so {read more…}
I know, I know…it’s Christmas Eve Eve, and I’m still making things. I promise, this is the last project! After this, it’s church, then time to pack for our trip to New York (icanhardlycontainmyexcitement!). Remember all of those pallets we piled on top of our car? Well, we’ve had great fun using the wood for various projects here and there. I had this idea for a Christmas card & photo display that Mark helped me {read more…}
Needing a new Christmas mix to get you through these last few days until Christmas? How about some last-minute Christmas gifts? I’ve got you covered. Just check out this post that I shared yesterday on my sister’s blog. I sort of take pride in my mix-making abilities. As a wee lass, I used to craft mix tapes from songs on the radio, and later, when things got high-tech, I even burned mixes on CDs. I {read more…}
Here’s my tutorial that was part of Sugar Bee Craft’s guest posting extravaganza last week. Enjoy! I don’t know about you, but it seems like I never have the right wrapping paper on hand – – don’t get me wrong, I have plenty, but it’s either too feminine or too childlike, not the right holiday or not the right size. So, I’ve been experimenting lately with alternatives to store-bought wrapping paper, and I’ve come across {read more…}
Today, I am taking part in the guest posting extravaganza over at Sugar Bee Crafts, sharing my D.I.Y. Wrapping Paper Tutorial. (I know it may seem like I’m going guest-post-crazy, but for those who don’t know, sometimes you write guest posts several weeks before they “go live,” so let me clarify that I am not superwoman doing all of these projects in just a few days. Such feats of crafty strength would be pretty incredible, though.) {read more…}
Hi, everybody! How is your tree trimming coming along? Ours is up… lights are on… tree skirt is made (post on that project later today!)… and I’ve created my first d.i.y. Christmas ornament of the season! I was so honored that Rachel from one of my favorite blogs, Lines Across, invited me to be a part of her guest series on handmade ornaments. (Fun fact: Not only does Rachel also live in Orlando, but she {read more…}
Thanks to all of you who participated in my 100 Followers Giveaway! I appreciate your support! I so enjoyed reading what y’all were thankful for and found myself uttering prayers of thankfulness for the same – – family, friends, spouse/boyfriend, health, employment, God’s protection during Hurricane Sandy. There really is so much that we take for granted that are gifts from above. Thanks for helping to re-center my focus. Without any further ado, the winner {read more…}
Since moving to Florida this summer, Mark and I have taken the initiative to create a bit more structure in our lives…from the food inside our cabinets, to our exercising, and now…to our meals! Menu planning is one thing we both agreed would not only make our lives easier, but so much healthier. We’ve never done it before (chalking it up to busyness), but we’ve gotten into that chips-and-queso-for-dinner scenario one too many times of {read more…}
Here’s how much decorating I’ve done for Thanksgiving. Until now, that is! Last night, when doing my link party thang, I came across these Retro Giving Thanks Prints created by Bev from Flamingo Toes. She has three cutie prints to choose from. All you do is click on the one you want, it opens as a pdf, and bam! You’re printing it off, trimming it up, and slipping it into a 8 x 10 frame {read more…}
