Moving Day Birthday's

{via} on my Pinterest Board!

Here we are on the eve of our move to Houston, Texas. My daughter is going to be 3 on Sunday, and it has become somewhat of a tradition that we move on her birthday weekend.

The proof is in the pudding:
-One day after Emj's birth, my husband moved us into an apartment. My Mom and Mother in law stayed in the hospital with me and kept me company... mostly to kept EmJ company as I was completely whacked out on morphine (thank you unexpected C-section!)

That's my mom holding EmJ. I wouldn't trust me either in that crazed morphine state!

1 day old EmJ. Happy 1st moving day!

-Her first b-day we didn't move! But we did move when she was 6 months (out to Los Angeles to work with YWAM)... and then again when she was 1 and a half (out to Phoenix, AZ cause our time with YWAM had ended).

EmJ's 1st b-day!

-On her second birthday we moved into a condo. We stopped unpacking breifly to have cupcakes and open a few presents.

-This year we are moving to Texas on her b-day weekend.

We are those crazy gypsy people.

{via}

We have moved so much that I feel like I'm a pro at it. I get rid of TONS of stuff by way of garage sale and Goodwill. The rest of it gets boxed up and loaded into the U-Haul.

I am hoping to end this moving trend! 5 big moves in 3 short years! Here's to staying in one place!
And happy birthday to my sweet girl! 3 years old already, you are so smart and bright. You bring joy to all who meet you! I love you!!!!!!!!!!

{via} my Pinterest Board!

Turkey Christmas Santa Comics

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love this time of year! I get to cozy up with my family and laugh and joke and remissness about the year and previous years! My brother and his girlfriend have just flown in to visit for Thanksgiving. I'm so happy to have loved ones around! EmJ was so excited for her Uncle Nick to come and visit that she stayed up till midnight! And she kept saying "all my friends are home". Just melts my heart!

My brain starts to wander to Christmas already, but I have to remind myself to stay in the moment, enjoy and be thankful for today!

{via} and also on Pinterest

{via} and also on Pinterest

Happy Thanksgiving!
Love,
Bri

Pinterest Advent Calendar - Inspirations

So now that I've got an Advent Calendar for EmJ, the one I made last year (found here)
I've decided that I want one of my own. I'm all for the cheesy cheese of holiday prints and festive greens and reds, but I also really love the updated versions. And who says you can't have 2 Advent Calendars in your home!!???!! I'd like to meet that person and give them a piece of my Christmas! (Ok I'll calm down)

So here is some Pinterest inspiration for my next Advent Calendar!

{via} also on my Pinterest Board

I love this one, there are so many possibilities and it still looks so clean and pretty! I might do shells or metallics or all my favorite ornaments I have from my childhood. See!!??!?!? The possibilities ARE endless!

{via} also on my Pinterest Board

Another simple yet stunning advent calendar! And this could use up more of my stash of clothespins!!
 

{via} also on my Pinterest Board

This one is a little more cutsie, more for kids, but I love that it's an updated version. And seems easy enough to tie up the presents and pull them off.

{via} also on my Pinterest Board

I like this one, mostly because I'm obsessed with those little tins from Ikea. Also because it's super easy! And I could just hide the date inside to be posted on the outside. Oh who am I kidding!? I'll hide candy in there too! You wouldn't want the numbers to be lonely would you???!!!

Well this has been fun. We'll see which one I decide to copy be inspired by.

Thanks for stopping in!

Advent Calendar DIY

Advent Calendar

Stamping out the tree

Sooo last year I made an Advent Calendar for myself and my sister in law....

As you can see I used my daughters hand and foot prints as my stamps for a Christmas tree.

#1 I bought about a yard of plain muslin, and 2 yards of the christmas fabric.
#2 Purchased the little ornaments that are meant for the pint sized mini-trees. 25 of em.
#3 Lots and LOTS of iron tape. (I don't sew!! I wish I could)
#4 Green yarn
#5 Two different colors of Green, and 1 brown.
#6 The little clasp fasteners "Hook and Eyes"
#7 Some green-ish thread for stitching on the previous item.
#8 Green felt - for the top star.
#9 Wooden Dowel and round ends.
#10 Ribbon that I already had to hang the calendar onto the dowel.

This took me forever and since I made two I did each one a little different.
First I made the one for my sister in law

I took this picture only so that she'd see how it was meant to work. (I mailed this to India, where she was living and working, with the paints included for her to stamp her sons hands and feet with. So that's why the tree is blank.)

On mine I went ahead and puffy painted the numbers on. It was MUCH faster and easier to read.

Here is how I did it:


A) Iron tape the green and blue pieces together (these would be your festive fabrics) all around the edges.  Be sure to place your loops of ribbon in that sticky iron on tape too! This will hold onto the dowel at the end for easier hanging later.

B) Iron tape the three rectangles to the lower portion of your Advent Calendar. Only iron tape the two sides and the bottom. You want to leave to top open for your ornaments later.

C) Take Your Muslin fabric (which will become the triangle) and stamp your child's hands and feet in the shape of a Christmas tree. I put cardboard under mine so that the paint didn't ruin my floors!

D) Carefully cut around their tree leaving about an inch of extra muslin.

E) Stitch on the tree to your Advent Calendar using the green yarn. Also sew "pockets" for separation of your ornaments and days. 

The lines above are not exact. And as you can see from my pics, neither one was the same. 

F) Stitch on the "hook and eyes" to the calendar and the ornaments you've purchased. I sewed the "Eye" portion onto my tree and the "Hook" portions onto my ornaments. Some were sewn into the ornaments, hot glued, and even knotted onto them. Depending on which method worked the best. 

G) Puffy paint on your numbers.

H) Insert Dowel (and hot glue the round ends on if you want to) and Hang up! 

Tada! 2010 Christmas.

My little girl loves this Calendar! And when she's all grown up we'll marvel at how tiny her hands used to be! 

Time, stop going so fast!

 I love you EmJ, you are the light of my life. 

Thanks for stopping in!

Love,

Bri

Uses for Clothespins

Ok so the dentist wasn't all that bad, I survived!! And I've decided to share some of the projects I've done around the house over the past few months.

Problem: I had TONS of extra clothespins lying around from a Christmas project forgotten. I was going to use them on all my Christmas gift tags last year, sounded awesome, but I never got around to it. So there they were taking up space in my laundry room closet. So I decided to use as many as I could! Here are some of the things I did!

So here is my jar of clothespins... this is the same jar that my husband picks up once a month and says, "Why the heck are you keeping all these?". Well honey... I've made a substantial dent in my collection. Your welcome!

That's some laundry line  rope up on top there

#1: 

I wrapped all of my ribbon scraps around the clothes pins.  I used the end that usually holds the clothes on the line, to pinch the end of the ribbon so that it wouldn't unwind. And now the cute little jar is holding all my ribbon supplies nice and neat!

#2:

I hung the laundry line rope from the hardware that holds up the hammock and started to pin up all of Emily's stuffed animals. And there are tons! She still has more on her bed. Girls are crazy! 

Oh and when Emily saw this, she cried out "Oh, my TOYS???!!!! But I can't get them!" 

 I just wrapped a part of the stuffed animals ear, arm or leg around the rope and pinned it on. Emily is still little enough that she cant reach this to tear it down.... once she grows I'll have to re-evaluate this. But if she grows like me, then I have at least 20 more years!

#3:
When Dave and I were first married I found these great ABC flashcards at Michaels for $2.50!!! And I have finally hung them up in our kids room! This was a craft 8 years in the making! (I did this in January or February when we first moved into our apartment.

I used some felt flowers (not pictured), leftover buttons and hemp twine that I had left over from other crafts.

I hot glued a felt flower onto the clothespin ant the top (where you would pinch it to make it open) and then in the center of the flower I glued a button. Easy Peasy! 

And then some of the clothespins I just painted. Once it was all dry I hung up the twine and pinned on my cards! I used a staple gun to hold the twine on the wall. This way there are only a few small spots to patch when we move!

#4:
I used the rest as magnets! I already had the magnets from another left over craft. I got out my low-heat glue gun (thank you geniuses that created this!!! No more blisters for this girl!) and started to glue magnets onto the center of the clothespin.

Then I stuck it on the fridge with a picture! Super easy!

So I kept myself busy for an evening and organized my life a bit!

Now what to do with the left overs???!!!
I still have about 50 or so! Here's some inspiration from Pinterest
I think I'll need a little more time before I get to this level of craftsmanship.

This light fixture is pretty sweet!

{source}

This is a sweet little mirror/wreath.

{Source}

Alright that's enough from me! Happy Crafting!

Love ya!!!
Bridgette

I'm a Horse with Blinders

What I mean by that is this:

When things get frustrating, tough, or I feel stuck,
this is what I do...

{source}

Instead of doing this...

{source}

Neither one is better than the other, both options avoid or ignore the issues bothering them.
I've realized that I'm the horse with blinders... I just keep plowing ahead, pretending that the stuff I can't see isn't there. Much like burring my head in the sand... except then I wouldn't be able to move.... and I'd much rather have my baggage on wheels, at least then I have the illusion of freedom.

I'm having one of those seasons. One where I am sucking it up and carrying on. I do realize that life isn't always what you want or expect. And how you deal with that is the true test of your character.

{source} also on my board at {Pinterest}

So here's my situation now:
I wish, wish, wish, I could work from home, then I could be with my daughter again. Since we moved to Arizona I haven't been able to work from home. And I really miss it. At the same time I really am so thankful for my job and the opportunity that God has brought me! But it doesn't change the fact that my heart longs to be at home, with my daughter, on my own time, and free to be creative and also provide for my family.

So this is where I become an adult. I do the things that I need to in order to raise a family, because it's better for the good of others. That's called being responsible. At least to me anyway.

I do think it's possible to make the choice to be responsible and NOT wear the blinders. I know I haven't found this balance yet and all to often I find my self without peripheral vision, bull-dozing down the street with fancy wheeled baggage. I guess I just plow along until the scenery changes. But that can't be good either.

{source} also on my board at {Pinterest}

So in light of the question above. I decided to have fun with my daughter and my husband, and to find the good in this season of tough. I'm keeping my chin up, and choosing to keep my peripheral vision intact. I'm thankful for the provision the Lord has brought my way and I'm going to learn to be content. I still have a drive and passion for all things creative, but I will do the responsible parts with a happy heart. That's the difference!!!!

And I seriously love this picture. Chin up and Dance!

{source} also on my board at {Pinterest}

Killing time with Pinterest

So the servers are down at work... which means that I can not do my work... which means that I have EVEN MORE time to kill on Pinterest!!! I love this site! It is seriously amazing! I get so much inspiration from the pictures I see here! And I get to see the fabulous taste of my friends! Since I live so far from all my closest friends, I don't get to see all the cool things they do in their homes, or the sweet little projects they do with thier families. Thank GOD for the internet! Come and hang out with me on Pinterest, lets be friends, and be inspired!
How can you not be inspired with pics like this:

{via}

Or this:

{via}

Or even this:

{via}

Can't wait to meet you and see all that inspires you!