Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Blog Break

In an attempt to finish up my Bertram Inn Classes, ship out December Daily and November WIP Kits, I'm going to take a break from blogging for a few days so I can get a grip on things.  Thanks so much for your patience!!  Enjoy your day!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Kit Update

Just a quick update regarding the kits this month. The November Main WIP Kit and the October Main WIP Kits are SOLD OUT. Thanks so much! The December Daily is also SOLD OUT. In the event that there are any leftover kits after the retreat at the Bertram Inn, then I will make them available for sale the day after the retreat (November 12th). If you would like to be put on a wait list for the December Daily, please email Trish at Turay413@gmail.com. Thank so much and enjoy your weekend!!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Halloween Fun!!

Whether you use felt, fabric or burlap, this is a great project that can be completed for any room in less than 10 minutes.  SO CUTE!! 
Enjoy your day!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

November WIP Kit & December Daily Info

November WIP Kit--$30 ($28 for Subscribers)
Contents of this kit include:  4 patterned papers from Pink Paislee, Pink Paislee 4x8 wooden mini album, 3 rings, Pink Paislee embossed divided tab inserts, 8 flair buttons, 4 Pink Paislee mini instaframes, 2 Authentique mini posters, various die cuts (as shown), 8 Martha Stewart labels, 3 grey cardstock inserts, 2 yellow page inserts, and 2 glycine envelopes.

__________________________________
December Daily--Work in Progress Kits--$40
(*If shipped separately, s/h is $10 because of weight.)
 
 
Contents of this kit include:  Pink Paislee embossed mini album, all divided page protectors, and divided tabs, all contents to complete this mini album in time to document all of your December memories.  Papers included in the kit are from Echo Park, October Afternoon, and Kaisercraft.  Embellishments are from various vendors, but include Echo Park and A Flair for Buttons.  Please note, the kit is ready to ship, and that will start Thursday, October 18th.  The instructions for assembling the kit will not be emailed until Monday, November 12th, however.  I do this out of respect and courtesy to the people who attend my annual retreat at the Bertram Inn (Nov. 9-11).  Those on the wait list are offered kits on a first come basis.  Please email Trish at Turay41@gmail.com with any questions.  Thanks so much!
 
Enjoy your day!
  

Monday, October 15, 2012

November Kits & December Daily Sneak

Hey Friends-- I want to be sure I have everything in order before I put it up for sale and show you photos. SO...stay tuned until tomorrow. I think you'll find it will be worth the wait!! Please note, the people who are on the wait list for the December Daily will be notified and given the option to purchase that kit FIRST. Enjoy your day!!

Friday, October 12, 2012

VOTE.

Regardless of your political leanings, I urge you to to inform yourself and VOTE.  I posted this two years ago, and it is worth a re-post.  On behalf of ALL women who have come before me, I am proud to say I am active in the process, and will proudly vote early this year.  Feel free to pass this on...

______________________________

Girl Power.


The following was sent to me via email from my dear cousin, Shelli. I had to share it with you today...



This is the story of our Mothers and Grandmothers who lived only 90 years ago.

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'
(Lucy Burns)
They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.
(Dora Lewis)
They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack.
Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right
to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their
food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.


So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.


(Miss Edith Ainge, of Jamestown , New York )
All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.

My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought
kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'

HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order.

(Conferring over ratification [of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution] at [National Woman's Party] headquarters, Jackson Pl [ace] [ Washington , D.C. ]. L-R Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing, right))

It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.

We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.



(Helena Hill Weed, Norwalk , Conn. Serving 3 day sentence in D.C. prison for carrying banner, 'Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.')

History is being made. Honor these women and VOTE.

(Humbly climbing down from soapbox now.)

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Fall Decor

Finally have gotten around to putting up a few Fall/Halloween decorations up around here...
 I love putting older projects up, and comparing them to how my children look now.  Man, time flies.
 

 
The kids love helping me get the stuff out, and they help with the process now.  I love that they're so into the holidays, just like their mom...
We even do a Halloween countdown! 
 Enjoy your day...
 

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Felt Garlands for Fall

A couple years back, Ali Edwards made an awesome felt garland for her Christmas tree. I loved it so much, I ran out and bought gobs of felt, cut tiny little squares, and strung my own for our Christmas tree. I ended up making over a dozen of them as gifts that year, too.
This is the exact same concept, just different colors of felt.  I also added wooden beads (found at a local craft store), and it added weight and texture.  I LOVE how they adorn our home.
This one hangs along side a garland of acorns.  So fun!!
 
You can find Ali's original post and tutorial on felt garlands hereLOVE HER.  Thanks, Ali.
 
Enjoy your day!

Monday, October 8, 2012

100 Fun Fall Things to do...and 70 more...

I ran this post a couple years back, and each year, it gets a lot of requests. Thank you, Pinterest, for making it one of the most pinned items I've ever posted...

So here it is again, (for complete links, you have to go to the original post, linked above...)

100 Fun Fall Things To Do
(Scroll over words to find fun links!)
Pick ApplesCarve a PumpkinMake a Halloween CostumeThrow a Fall Craft Party
Bake Pumpkin Bread or
Pumpkin chocolate chip cookiesDecorate your house for fallVolunteer as a screamer at your local haunted houseMake a gingerbread haunted house with your kiddosGo on a hayride
Plant mumsBrew cider
Make chili and invite neighbors over to watch football on TV

Build a tent with blankets and sheets, chairs and chip clips
Make playdoh and play with it!
Build a fire and snuggle

Rake leaves for an elderly neighbor
Roast tomatoes and garlic for an awesome homemade sauce
Make handprint canvases and display them

Finger puppets!
Make a recipe book of your tried and true favorites

Call an old friend
Plant bulbs for spring

Fertilize evergreen trees
Create Halloween Silhouettes using black vinyl and your Cricut (or
Scary Window Silhouettes here)
Get an early start on handmade Christmas gifts
Create a Spooky Tree
Donate old clothing and give it to a charity
Share a ghost story with kids
Bake
soft pretzels
Host an indoor picnic
Have breakfast for dinner

Make a pinecone bird feeder and hang them outside
Make a homemade heating pad on a cold night
Make a collage like this one.
Take a walk and collect leaves.
Wear a poncho
Sign up for Story time at the local library

Swap DVD's with a neighbor and hibernate for a "date night"
Read "How to Eat Fried Worms" with your kids
Learn to crochet, quilt or knit
Embellish a bedspread or quilt

Paint a room
Take a road trip

Take a family photo for Christmas cards
Do some early Christmas shopping
Scrap with your dearest gal pals

Organize a neighborhood bonfire
Make & eat edible eyeballs
Attend your local high school's homecoming game or paradeBake an apple crisp
Clean your junk drawer
Write your parents a letter by hand, expressing your love and appreciation
Try a new recipe that intimidates you
Learn to can tomatoes

Make loaded apples and share
Write or email your favorite teacher and tell them what they meant to you

Make a fall garland and hang it
Have a favorite photo enlarged on canvas

Learn to make homemade pot holders
Cream of Potato soup. Enough said.

Make white trash and send some to school for a favorite teacher
Volunteer at school for an upcoming project
Make S'more Popsicles
Bake these adorable spider cupcakesMake homemade toffee and eat it all by yourselfPrint off games/puzzles online for bored kids
Buy and wear leg warmers
Make a pom pom scarf

Make these adorable cuff bracelets
Decorate the outside of your house with orange lights and hay bales for fallScare someone and LAUGH
Host a trunk or treat at your school as a fundraiser

Spend a whole evening looking at finished scrapbooks
Hang artwork your children created

Take tired fall decor to someone who might appreciate it
Dinner in a pumpkin--totally delish!

Collect pinecones or acorns and display them in a glass dish
Let kids play with sidewalk chalk in the garage on a rainy day

Teach your children to scrapbook and let them create!
Give yourself a spa night in your own tub
Stay in your pajamas all day long--as a family
Bake a lot of mini loaves of bread and freeze some
Learn to play backgammon
Take an online class of some sort
Make Spider Web Balloons
Organize your scrap space
Visit a local recycle center

Make cookies for local firefighters and thank them (police officers, too!)
Give sunflowers to a total stranger

Have a
Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino at Starbucks Create a Countdown to Halloween Calendar or banner
Cowgirl Cookies in a jar

Make Halloween Twinkies
Research your family treeHost a pirate party
Host a pig roast or a clam bake
Make favors for a Halloween party
_________________________

 And as if that weren't enough, this post added 70 more!!

 Read this e-zine from start to finish...Make a Seasonal Collage like this one...
Make and these share Creme Broulee Bars...oh my...Take a family picture in the leaves.
Make this darling wreath for a friend.
Make these fake ice cream cone treats for an upcoming birthday partyHelp son's/daughter's classroom write letters to a soldierBake a Gooey Carmel Cake. Anything you say, Paula.Make ghost luminiaries before Begger's Night...
Create a Halloween Countdown Calendar...

Start thinking about the December Daily...it will be here before you know it!
Make some Lost Items from the Lab...
Dry pumpkin seeds
Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls...
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frapp...Divine...
Go on a drive in the country
Make these ear warmers. (hahaha...felt...)
Go Apple PickingTake a brisk walk in the fall air
Finish that quilt...Make Chicken & Dumplings in a slow cooker...Make a Coffee Can Scarecrow
Smell buring leaves
Rice Krispie Pops. How fun!Learn to crochet
Make ghost clings out of hot glue...
Make a chalkboard using a recycled frame...Bake Blueberry Breakfast Bake...and share it...
Make a Bucket List...Or make Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast. I'm getting hungry...
Create some Embroidery Hoop Art for the season...
Make autumnal placements out of you guessed it...felt.
Leave a love note for you spouse on the bathroom mirror. Just because....Or this tablerunner out of faux leather. LOVE.
Put a photo collage on a huge wall like this.
Make Peach Preserves (yum!)
Volunteer in your child's classroom.
Make Slipcovers for pillows.

Make these cute Halloween Treat Bags...
Go on a date night with the hubs...
Make a ton of Safety Pin Braclets for every little girl I know...
Make fake felt food. Love this!
Make Paper Plate Owls with the kids...
Make a Fall Garland. Then make another one for a friend.
Gather neighbors and tailgate in the neighborhood before a game for fun...
Make cards for a teacher
Embellish a plain t-shirt and make it look adorable like this.
Go on a hayride
Make these adorable fabric flowers until my fingers bleed
Pick Pumpkins & glitter them!
Make a She and He book like this one and feel accomplished. So cool.
Get a jump-start on holiday shopping.
Organize video games for kids and make a list of "haves" and "wants". Or join PowerUpRewards.com and do it online (through GameStop)
Make a new dip for applesPlant tulip bulbs (worth the work, and they'll make you smile in the spring, for sure!)
Frost glass on old hurricane lights and turn them into ghostly charms here.
Get a sassy new hair cut
Make this amazing felt flower broach (you know I'm serious about felt...)Plant mums in your favorite fall colors
Fill apothecary jars with nuts and pine cones
Make a Floufy Shirt. You know you want one...
Create Subway Art for Halloween or Fall
Homemade Carmel Corn. WOW.
Make Salt Dough ghosts with the kiddos.
Cut up a book and make a wreath
And if you don't like that one, maybe try this one...
Try these white pumpkins...
Rake a neighbor's leaves
Donate food to a community shelter.
Do a Halloween Photo Shoot with the kiddos...
Revisit these treats...
Enjoy!!
 

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Volleyball

Volleyball has been on the brain, and in our blood here in our house. I wanted to share a few of my favorite Etsy items on the topic here today, for those of you who find it somewhat hard to find things for Volleyball.  Thank goodness for Etsy!!
This headband is too cute!!
 
 
Love these ribbons for ponytails! 
 
These personalized water bottles are AWESOME!!
 
 
And the printable water bottle labels and candy wrappers are over-the-top!!
 
Hope this helps you volleyball moms out there!!
 
Enjoy your day!!
 
 

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Volley for a Cure

Last Thursday evening, I had the privilege of helping out with our local high school's first annual Volley for a Cure event, to raise money for breast cancer awareness.
It was a huge success.  We raised over $1,000 and had FUN being of service.
We had a crazy successful bake sale.  Pink chocolate covered popcorn?  Why, yes!
We celebrated and honored those who fought breast cancer, and those who survived...

And the girls were awesome.  Truly.

The high school football team showed up and were the BEST cheering section EVER.  They prepared special cheers, wore fake bras, pink shirts and panties--you name it.  It was an amazing showing of team spirit and support, and I was touched by their generosity.

Thanks for the coolest pink scarf ever, Mary Ann.  You're the bomb!!
 
I loved working on the decorations for the tables.  It was really fun--and pretty easy!


 
 
Just a reminder--October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Go get your ta-ta's checked, ladies!! 
 
Enjoy your day!!