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Into the Light | A Personal Reflection

February 5, 2012 By Laura 10 Comments

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When we need to clear our mind, and break the unhealthy circle of thoughts we are entertaining, we often find that going outdoors is almost like magic. Have you ever noticed that? The fresh air, the warmth of the sun, the sight of a bird soaring overhead, or the sounds of children laughing and playing nearby; all of the life around us, tend to give us a new sense of life inside of ourselves.  We may feel rejuvenated, more positive, hopeful, and stronger.  For awhile, anyway.

There are many tools in life, that are like power tools, for me.  Although they do not have electrical cords, or build physical objects, they build a sense of joy for me. For awhile. Power tools, such as listening and singing along to awesome music, reading well written books, having a loaded paintbrush in hand, sinking into great fits of laughter with my children, accepting a long hug from my husband, and being truly present at church on a Sunday morning. These power tools, they have the ability to change my mood from blue to happy.  My tone from sharp, to loving.  My expectations from discouraged, to hopeful.  Power tools. We all need a tool box to keep them in, and remember to open it and retrieve them for use often, to find more moments of enjoyment in our day to day life.  I try to just leave mine lying around out in the open, because when I need them, I need them fast! And because seeing them remind me, I have moments of indulgence, to look forward to.

We’re all looking for a quick-fix, anytime we can get one. Aren’t we? We live in a world, that serves up many instant distractions and irrelevant entertainment, to avoid the things we should most be looking at, thinking about, doing, using.  What about the big picture?  The truth of our lives?  When disappointments come our way, or tragedy strikes so unexpectedly.  When the darkest shadows of our lives take such a choke-hold of us, that we aren’t even able to bring ourselves to even care about our tool box – what then?  Where is the most potent source, of all of our greatest needs?  Comfort, when we feel such despair and loss.  Hope, when we see or feel none, and carry such a sense of overwhelming.  Joy, when the sadness, anger, or self-pity are overflowing.  Love, when we feel alone, with no one to understand, or care, enough. Understanding, when we truly just cannot….understand, the hand of cards we got dealt with.

     I know where.  GOD.  He is the source of all we really need.  Jesus’ Word, is our map, a light for our path, and our complete answer book.  His Word, His love and ever-presence…the Truth,….it’s  the Daddy-Mack tool box, of all tool boxes, filled with more than just quick daily mood fixes. But a whole wardrobe to redress our souls, and arm us with all we ever need, as we face the challenges of our earthly daily lives.  To heal, repair and renew those things nothing in our tool box, can really fix. What’s more, if we can listen to His Word, and study it enough, ponder it long enough, we have the hope and promise of eternal life with Him.  Where comfort, hope, joy, understanding, and love, are no longer needs or desires, but all we have.  All pure goodness. Can you imagine?

     Anyone who knows my family in real life, know that we have a strong faith in God. We pray alone, we pray together, we give thanks to Him, for our obvious blessings. Always. We do our best to live a life, that reflects our love for Him, to Him.  Not for anyone else. I am aware, of the peace He brings, deep within. I know of His mighty works, for we have seen it many times, first hand. We hold fast to His promises, because we believe in them. We have felt the indescribable, pure peace and joy of being filled with the Holy Spirit. I personally revel in that. It’s a high like no other.

  But it is also true, that those who know me in real life, know that I am a lot more rough around the edges, than you would ever gather reading our blog.  It’s not at all that I have ever been fake, by any means. As if trying to make others believe I am someone I am not, through this blog. But I have….held back. Too careful, not to offend anyone.  Too selfish, not wanting to minimize our reading audience.  Too protected, with the walls I build, to not let anyone too close. Too sure, no one needs to read about others small battles or challenges in life.  Especially when we are clearly so blessed, with the things that are most valuable in life.  We know we are blessed, and we are thankful to God for it all.  And blessings…..joys……those are the things I have always wanted to focus on most.

     But I don’t always.  We have our problems and struggles, too. I have my days, where my attitude sucks, despite all I have that is good and joyful. When I resent someone enough, that I don’t want to think about them, much less pray for them.  When I don’t feel well, and I lack patience and energy, and have a sharp and sarcastic tongue with my children, and then wallow because I feel bad for messing up.  I can be a bad example, and I can put walls up between myself and anyone I want to.  And oh how I want to all too often! (I am SO good with wall-building. Like, a professional.)    Because people can really bug the hell out of me, quite frankly.  Because sometimes, it’s just easier.  I can be too busy. Too distracted.  Too selfish.  Too lost in the shadows, and too far from the Light.  On those days, I feel small, and weak, and tired. Eventually, when I finally find my humble-state and strength, just as I teach my children, I must apologize to those I may have hurt or offended, and promise to try harder, and do better.

     All the while, I know better in the first place. All the while, even on our best and most joyful days, that really are the majority, I expect more of me. I fall short of my own high standards on many levels, and more importantly, I know God expects more of me as well. While I know our tools are on one hand meant as the simple joys God has given us, that they seem to be, I also know there is a greater meaning to it all. Our day to day activities. The things we love to do. The reason we do anything at all. What does it all mean? What is the greater purpose? What are we to learn from it all?  I know I don’t know, nearly all there is to know. But I do know I hear Him calling me closer, and I want to go. I know His love for me, for us all, is immeasurable.  I want to grow, more, in Him. I want to love, like that.  I want His Light to fill every shadow that is to come our way, and know how to find Him, and His abundant gifts of peace, love, joy, grace, and knowing. I want to have a deeper and clearer understanding of His Word, Jesus’ teachings, the Scripture, and what they mean for me, for my family, for you, for us all.  That would be the greatest power tool of all!

     That is one of the main purposes, for this fresh new space for our blog, for us, and for you.  It is the fresh new space, as a reminder, that we want to daily broaden our direction, to a holier and more complete life.  A space that honors God more, as we do in our family life. To focus more on Him, and learn, every day, in every way, all of the time. While we indulge in our power tool box, or while we face the challenges and fears of the dark shadows of our life, it is our journey to turn to Him in all that we do, and allow Him to cast His Light over it all. And to reflect that here, as it comes. To face life, with all of it’s day to day struggles, and all of our stumbling and flaws, and look to Jesus’ messages for perspective and strength. We’d like this blog to be a place to encourage each other, to be more….all that He has created us to be….to try again….to better fulfill our vocations.  I know we have places that could use some healing. We will fall down, or lose our way. But we can dust off, and begin again. God is always there, never leaving us. He will always forgive us, again and again, and never stop loving us, with a kind of love we can’t even fathom. We want to listen harder to His message, to strive harder to follow His Word, to accept His grace and forgiveness, and rely on the strength we can only truly gain from Him, and His love.

     I think I’ll be shining all the more authentically around here, because I need to.  God willing, you will see me grow, too.  Because at 40-something, I am going through a growth spurt!  It’s painful at times, but it’s all-so-good. Life is good. God is infinitely good.  It’s a new and brighter journey, for us all, if we let Him shine in the shadows that life casts upon us all, too.  We hope you feel encouraged to do the same.  And we encourage you to keep your own tool boxes open and accessible at all times!  Because there is always something that comes along in life, that could use a little just fixing.

– Laura (and family)

* * * * * *

 “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:14)




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Filed Under: Faith, Faith/ Catholic, Into the Light; The Series, Life In General, The Big Picture Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, encouragement, Faith, light, reflections

New Light, New HOUSE. (We’ve Moved!)

January 16, 2012 By Laura 19 Comments

WELCOME, to the ALL NEW, OUR HOUSE OF JOYFUL NOISE! OH, have I been dying to spill, about all of this!  You may have noticed, we’ve barely been posting on the blog, and THIS is why! We have MOVED the blog, switched up our name a little, and started an all new Facebook Page! Generally speaking, we have really just opened up the windows all over the place, and there is a whole lot of freshness coming in!

JANUARY. The name of this month, comes from the Roman god named Janus – /Jay-ness/, the god of doors and gates. The patron of beginnings and endings, and especially of the important events of a person’s life. This roman god has been represented with 2 faces; one which looks back to the past, and one that looks ahead to the future.

I never knew of this roman god, and when I learned of where the name of January derives from recently, here at the beginning of this new year, and particularly at this point in my life, really resonated with me. Because it spoke to me, personally. The imaginary vision of this door of light, for me, beautifully depicts not only the leaving behind of the year behind me and the one ahead, but all of the changes I am making in my life, and with our blog here, at the start of this year.

WHAT CHANGES, YOU ASK?

Well that’s what I’m about to tell you about. But where to start?

 

BIG CHANGE IN BUSINESS, FOR ME.

    • This was a huge decision for me. But after 13 years, I have decided to put my business, Laura Lee Richard Photography, on serious and indefinite hiatus. I have felt this desire to do this, coming, for awhile. Last year, I limited the clients I took. In doing that, it made me realize what I really needed and wanted to do. And that is, to just let it go for now. I have many reasons, but here are some, in order of importance:
  • I want to put even more, into raising and homeschooling my awesome kids, and be completely available for all of their various schedules, commitments, lessons, games, activities and fun. I love, love, love homeschooling them! Still! Plus, I am prepping our oldest for college now, and that’s serious business! I love this life style of ours. I love these years with my kids growing up, so very much, and I don’t want to miss any of it!
  • I know I am known as a professional photographer, and I’ll always still be one. (Just not in business right now.) But, did you know, I was once known as an illustrator? I really, really have a deep longing, to get back to my creative roots. I want to draw more, paint more, for me and with my kids! Just get back to more of my hand-skill art, and enjoying that process again. I truly have many, many creative outlets that I want to indulge in, actually, as time allows. Including some graphic designing, which you could very well benefit from, on occasion. ; ) I have an art education in these things, as well as photography. There is no pressure on me, to create art for anyone but me now. So it will come as it does. But I do look forward to sharing it all, with you, right here on the blog, along the way.
  • Throughout my years in photography, I have seen the photography industry gradually change. More than ever, it is really going down paths I am not interested in battling. As much as I have loved doing all of the portrait photography I have done for my clients over the past 13 years, I have a real drive to really nurture other business endeavors, that I can sanely and happily do on my time. While focusing on the things that bring me such joy. Such as my family, and of course…..

THIS BLOG!!!

IT LOOKS DIFFERENT. BUT WHAT ELSE WILL BE NEW HERE?

Yes, it does look very different! So how do you like the new place? I really went through the gamut, deciding on a design for the new header. I wanted a logo icon out of it, but I wanted it to express so much more. I was all over the place with this one, literally lying awake most nights, brainstorming, and sketching out thoughts during the day. Then I had too many ideas. I prayed on it, and finally I came up with and designed this, myself. It conveys everything, I wanted it too. I love the clean and simplicity of it.  Window = House. Window = New Experiences. Window=LIGHT=Truth=God. Windows especially represent light, for me. I do, and have always loved natural light! Light is a necessity, for me. Because 1) I am an artist. 2) I am a photographer, always working it. 3) I used to struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder (before I filled my house with windows!), and 4) Because God is the light of our life, and our rock! I love colors too, as they represent all of life and creativity, that we can only truly see, with light. ; ) The header/logo flat out makes me happy when I see it. We hope you love the new digs too!

 

NEW NAME.

Just a slight change there. It was just easier. We’ll leave it at that.

 

ONE FEED!

This one is one of the big deciding factors, for an all new blog. For those of you who have been following us, with the crazy aggregate feeds and changes, you know what I am talking about, People! No more!! One feed for all, and all for one! BUT THIS MEANS YOU PROBABLY NEED TO RE-SUBSCRIBE TO THIS BLOG! But no crazy explanations or directions. Just subscribe as you normally do, and perhaps remove our former blog feed (the one with the word OUR in it) from your subscriptions. (No more posts will be coming to you through that.) You’ll really want to re-subscribe, subscribe for the first time, or follow us on our all new Facebook Page! (See the pretty social buttons at the top of the page! 🙂 While subscribing will notify you of our new posts, liking our new Facebook Page will add a whole new element of fun for you! We’ll be sharing what we are working on, all kinds of little things, be able to better interact with you, share great links to other blogger’s projects and ideas we think you’d love, as well as some things we’ve shared before that you may have missed. And….my random thoughts, which can be rather interesting all by themselves sometimes! That, and so much more. The activity on our all new Facebook Page is going to be really kicked up a notch! So if you are on Facebook, LIKE us today, and join the fun with us! We’d hate for you to miss out on all of that, and it’s such a great place to connect, with YOU!

 

WHY? WHAT IS COMING UP AT THE NEW HOUSE?

Well, a lot of the same kind content we’ve been sharing, with lots of photos as always. But more of it! Perhaps some different presentation, and style to my blogging. We will be all over the social networks now, and we’re sure you’re going to love all that is coming:

  • Tasty recipes for you and your family to try.
  • Farmhouse / Home decor that may inspire you.
  • Our unique home improvements and furniture projects that make farmhouse-style house a home!
  • What’s being created in our art studio!
  • New fun crafts with step by step directions, for you or your kids.
  • Homeschooling chit-chat.
  • Chickens!
  • Our occasional personal celebrations and fun.
  • Thoughts on parenting, self, life & faith.
    . . . . . . and more.

All in all, we are planning on a whole lot of content that we invite you to just enjoy reading about, sharing, or using as an inspirational spring-board, for yourself!

And don’t forget! We have nearly 4 years of archives on all of these topics, to look back through as well!

BUT WAIT!! THERE’S MORE!!
(I always wanted to say that. lol)

I have really been on a journey of personal growth. It has been a challenging experience at times, but also such beautiful thing.  For all of the joy we have felt in our life, I feel it all blossoming even more. God is never done with us, is He? I am growing, and seeking growth, in many ways. And while this is in many areas of my life, I am positive it will all carry over and be reflected in our blog. I am also positive, you will all help me along, with your words of wisdom, and encouragement, that I am certain you will share. In fact, I am counting on it! Because, although I am still contemplating how I want to go about this, I believe I’ll be venturing into new territories, in some topic content.  A series, so t0 speak, with deeper personal topics, that I am sure many out there will be able to relate to, in some way. Not too heavy.  It’ll be a good thing. I don’t want to say too much, because I am still a little scared! It’s QUITE out of my personal comfort zone. But, I am thinking it through, praying on it, and I hope you’ll stick around to encourage me, if I dip my toe in the water! ; )

 

ONE THING IS FOR SURE, FRIENDS! . . . . . .

It’s going to be a ride at the HOUSE!! You are going to see things changing and growing, all of the time! And we sincerely invite you all, to come along with us! Share in it with us, and bring your own special touches with you! Invite your friends, to the HOUSE too! YOU are why we have grown so much! YOU are why we have felt so encouraged to keep making (Our) House Of Joyful Noise be all that it can be! So be sure to stay with us, or join us starting today!! Please go hit those pretty buttons at the top in the header of the blog, and subscribe to this all new blog, and/or follow us on our all new Facebook Page! It’s a new blog here, so most of those subscribed before must subscribe again, to stay with us! It depends on how you subscribe, but why take the chance to miss us? ; ) We’ll see you around!  But before you go, please say hello and let us know how you like the new House Of Joyful Noise!  (We’d love your honest feedback!)

-Laura & our the Richard Family!)

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Filed Under: Crafts & Creations, Faith, Faith/ Catholic, Homeschooling, Life In General, Photography & Lettering, Recipes, The Big Picture, The Homestead Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, creative-blogs, farmhouse-style-blogs, homeschooling-blogs, recipe-blogs

Tips, Tricks and How-To’s to Our Halloween Decor – Crafts

October 16, 2011 By Laura 2 Comments

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I hope you all had the chance to join us, for our Halloween Decor Tour, in which we shared with you all of the festive touches I made, to put a little Halloween in the air, indoors and outdoors!  The post tour naturally consists of a ton of photos, or else how else could I show you all?  That, and my small chit-chat, made the post plenty long enough.  So I promised to share how I made some of the decor, in a separate post in the Crafts & Creations section soon. And here we are.

So I’ll start with the fact that, all of the signage design work that you see in this post (and the tour), that is similar in style and all ties together so beautifully, is part of the Halloween Party Complete Collection, which I purchased from Frosting & Ink Social Designery’s Etsy Shop.  Please note that everything that I printed out, I did so on textured white card stock. That really adds a nice touch. I also was sure that my printer printed the actual colors, being sure my settings did not allow the printer to choose the colors. (Yes, I am a color snob. I demand accuracy. )

 

001_halloween-parking-sign

One of the features I was most excited to show, was indeed the biggest hit with our readers!  That would be my Witch Parking Sign.  ; )

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To start, I printed out the sign from my Halloween Party Complete Collection on a piece of 8.5″ x 11″ textured white card stock.  The actual design was 7.5″ x 10″, so there was an inch of white paper to trim off, all the way around. For anything rectangle or square, I want a perfectly clean straight edge.  So I always use this….

011_fiskar-trimmer

….my Fiskar Trimmer for cutting paper or card stock. But using scissors, or an x-acto blade and a metal ruler on a mat, would also work.

Now for the sake of saving you from having to keep scrolling up, I am going to show you the photo of this sign again. (Because I’m thoughtful like that. : )  You need to be able to refer to it and see it as I talk here.

001_halloween-parking-sign

I wanted to mount my paper sign on a piece of old looking wood, so I asked Michael to please cut a piece of thin plywood about 10.5″ x 13″, and to try and make the edges look jaggedy, like old broken wood. To get that effect that you can see above, he used a saber saw.  Then he stained it dark grey.

Now I needed to mount the paper sign, onto the wood sign.  I had every intention of really using the sign, right at the head of my parking space outside.  So it needed to not only be applied permanently, but the whole sign needed to be weather-proofed, sealed and protected, as well.

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03_modge-podge-outdoor

To do both the job of applying the paper sign to the wood, and sealing and protecting the whole thing I used Outdoor Modge Podge!   I applied a layer of glue to the back of my paper, as well as a coat on the front of the wood sign.  Then I placed them together with the design perfectly in place, smoothed it all out being sure there were no bubbles, and let it all dry overnight.   When it wasn’t so tacky to the touch anymore, I applied another coat over the whole sign (front and back), and let dry completely, again.   When that dried, I applied one more coat, and let it all dry again.  I paid special attention to be sure I was sealing the edge of the paper, to the wood sign. Any moisture getting in between when outdoors, would ruin it.

*Note – With a past project quite similar to this one, where I was applying paper to wood, and then adding final coats, I did not allow the coats to dry enough in between applications.  I didn’t want to, you know… wait. It didn’t turn out well, People. The paper was bubbling here and there because it wasn’t dry enough in the first place, making the paper soggy and rolling up, and it was just a mess. So leaving it to dry even 24 hours or so between coats sometimes, is necessary. Having patience, or not, shows in the final piece.  Rushing things, and hoping for the best, may not end well. Don’t do it.

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004_halloween-bottle-accent I had this bottle displayed on my garden potting bench already. It was a cool indigo blue, but had faded in the sun.  So I decided to spray paint it matte black, and make a little Halloween necklace for it, by stringing buttons in colors that together, say Halloween to me: orange, black, green, and purple.  Different button sizes, and no pattern, rhyme or reason. Just string them on. I’ve made these little wrap necklaces for bottles and vases before, using beads and other elements as well. In doing so, I have used different materials to string on. But one thing I have found especially handy to use, is stretchy fishing line.  It works nice for small necks of things especially, that you may want to wrap around more than once, because if it barely is going to fit, it stretches some to prevent the string from breaking. It’s easy to work with. Of course, for a different look for indoor pieces, you may choose to use raffia, suede string, ribbon, etc.  I put a dead stick in it, and it was perfect!  It’s a small thing, but I really had fun with it, and I like how it came out.
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05_halloween-front-door-decor-bats

I think the swarming bats around the front doors around Halloween time, was an idea first featured in Country Living Magazine (?) last year, and lots of crafty home-owners all over the country were all over the idea, including me!  I just didn’t get to it until this year. There are bat templates you can download from the internet, if you do a search, and I would guess that others looked and found some to use, as I did.  They can be cut out and used to trace with white chalk onto black material, over and over. Then you simply cut them out.  I looked around for bats that looked right to me, a lot. So in the end, I can’t remember where I actually found one I liked. (Or I’d tell you.) But anyway, I did resize it to have 3 different sizes of bats.

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I made the bats out of stiffened felt. I think I got about 15 sheets or so, and got as may bats as I could out of them.  Instead of cutting the bats out of the paper and tracing them, I went about things a different way – because I could, and it just seemed easier.  Michael (my husband) has this perforation wheel, to create a pattern of holes through paper, and then you pounce that pattern onto another material, using chalk dust. So we just perforated the bat patterns on the paper, and then used our school chalk board erasers with chalk dust on them, to pounce the patterns onto the felt.

Scissors + Kids = Bats

Just so you know, my kids love cutting things out, and ask to help. I’m not into child labor. ; )

We stuck all of the bats on the house and door, using duct tape on the back.  Yes, one or 2 do blow or fall off now and then. Maybe there is a better way to adhere them, but duct tape works good enough for me. I don’t even notice if or when any are missing.  Michael does though. He tends to be the bat chaser I guess. LOL. But generally, they stay put pretty well.

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07_halloween-wreath

This funky black feather wreath itself was wicked easy!
I simply bought it as is, at Michael’s Arts & Crafts! (Where I bought all of the materials I needed, but didn’t have on hand.)

08_halloween-indoor-wreath-decor

The circle sign in the middle, was another design in the collection I bought. Frosting & Ink customizes it with your own last name, before sending you the files! How cool is that?

The middle of the feather wreath was originally empty. Just a hole. So somehow, we needed to find a way to stabilize the sign in the front middle. The feathers were not going to hold it there.  So we simply cut a square out of some leftover stiffened felt, and mounted it on the back with hot glue, covering the wreath hole.  Then we just folded some pieces more stiffened felt and used them as spacers, connecting them with hot glue from the inside of the back support felt piece, to the back of the front design circle.  Simple fix!  It needed to be an indoor wreath, no doubt about that.  But thankfully, we have a glass front door, so we were still able to use it as a front door wreath that shows on the outside, when the brave ones come knocking.  ; )

We hung the wreath by hot gluing a piece of black sheer ribbon to the wreath itself on the back, and then to the top of the door frame. Yes, we did. lol. It comes right off, without damage.

09_cutting-perfect-circles
One might wonder how I cut out all of the circle designs.  There were many circle designs to be cut, and it would surely be no fun having to do so with scissors.  I want my circles perfect, so it was high time I got a good circle cutter. (With a 50% of coupon, of course.)  I got the Martha Stewart Circle Cutter, and I love it!! The blade pops on to the fit-in-your-hand cutter, and the blade swivels, so it makes circle cutting seamless and perfect.

10_halloween-french-doors-home-decor

For all of these little mini-signs (originally cupcake/cake toppers, table signs, etc.), I again used my Martha Stewart Circle Cutter for the round designs, and my Fiskar Trimmer for the square designs. Sticky tabs were used to stick them to the black sheer ribbon strands, that run from the top of the doors to the bottom. Simple and cute!
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Lastly I just wanted to mention how I created little ghosts on my Halloween Fan Pull. The heads themselves are simply formed by t-shirt material cut into squares, and forming it over the round beads. Then I used more clear fishing line to tie off the necks some to create the head better, and the kids drew on faces. This is all done while making the fan pull itself, which I also do using strong test fishing line, doubled. The spider element is at the bottom (center of the line), and then I used a fat needle and the fishing line to quickly string all of the beads on.  When it was time to make a ghost, I simply stuck the needle right through the middle of the square piece of material over the round bead, tied off the head with another piece of fishing line (trimmed down after knotted), and continued to string beads. When all of the beads are on for a fan pull, Michael ties on a little piece of wire and knots it up into a ball, to hook right into the ball chain clasp.  Works like a charm!  >  I hope you comprehend those directions. It’s late now. I was watching  X-Factor (2 hours this night) while doing this post too, on commercials.

I think a good thing to take from this post is, there can a lot of ‘winging it’ with crafting, with just a little fire-thought. Yes, sometimes you find one method works out better than another. But the process is simply figuring out what you are trying to create or do, and what kind of materials you may need or have on hand, to make it all work. (Whatever your project may be.). Just think about how you want something to look, and what you can use in terms of material, to achieve that vision. It’s not about doing everything perfectly, but learning as you go, and picking up a few tricks along the way. As you know by now, I have found fishing line to be pretty handy in my crafting!  There is some pretty strong test line that is durable, and it’s practically invisible, which can be a helpful for some projects too. There are so many tools out there that can make the more tedious parts of crafting (like cutting things out), faster and easier. And then there are lots of things right around your house, that you can use as well. Substitutions and preferences, are all part of the crafting game. If you have fun making what you do, and it makes you and/or others smile (even on the inside) when they see your creations around, then you are a successful crafter!

(Is there anything I missed?  Anything you wanted to know about our Halloween Decor that you had a question about, that I didn’t answer here? Please go ahead and ask, and I’d be happy to do my best to answer.)

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Filed Under: Crafts & Creations, DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Project, Faith/ Catholic, FALL Crafts and Creations, Fan Pulls, Holiday Crafts, Holidays, Seasonal Crafts and Creations, The Big Picture, Tutorial Tagged With: creative-Halloween-decor-ideas, Fiskar-trimmer, Halloween-crafting, Halloween-crafting-tips, Halloween-decorations, holiday-crafting, holiday-decor, home decor, Martha-Stewart-Cutter, Michaels-arts-and-crafts, Modge Podge, Outdoor-Modge-Podge

Our Halloween Decor! (Indoor-Outdoor-Photos Galore!)

October 9, 2011 By Laura 22 Comments

BOO, People!! So excited here, to show you all around! I had a goal this year (2011), to have our whole homestead Halloween decor done (known as the 3-day Hallowtide, to us) by October 1st! That way, we could enjoy it all the whole month of October.  I also wanted it all blogged no more than a few days later. How long can it really take, to photograph, edit, and blog it? Apparently….9+ days.  With my kids busy schedules, I’m in the driver’s seat, in gyms and on fields, more than in my computer chair these days. (Enjoying it, although behind in work to say the least. But my kiddos come first!)

best Halloweeen decor

Now, I have to explain real quick, that I have been trying to ‘find my place’, with Halloween decor, for years.  From a spiritual/Catholic point of view (always where I am at), I don’t like to stray too far from the true meaning or Christian roots of any holiday, including Halloween. This is why we have always extended our focus to Hallowtide = All Hallows Eve, All Souls’ Day, and All Saints’ Day.  (You can see more about that, and how we roll, HERE.)

On a completely unrelated note, but tying in with the theme, I personally am a big baby, some may say. I do not like scary/gory/terror/evil anything.  My kids laugh at everything they see, and I look away. I freak out inside a little bit, myself. Not to mention (ok, I will….), that I see zero value in all of it. So…. decorating has always been a bit of a reluctance / confusion for me, about what I wanted to do.  But I can say this year, I found my groove, and the game was on!
In that light, I hope you enjoy seeing our homestead, outdoors and indoors, that I have photographed for you all.
LET’S GO!

best Halloweeen decor Off the bat ( <—- <giggle!), I’d like to give huge props and thanks to Emily from Frosting & Ink Social Designery! <—- Click on the link to see her Etsy shop!  I purchased this Halloween Party Collection from Frosting & Ink, and used it for my home decor!  While I can design much of anything myself, I hardly have time these days. And besides, when I saw what Emily created, I was all over it!  So she deserves lots of credit here! I’ll be posting some her beautiful designs, and showing you how I used them throughout these photos. I actually have not used them all yet, but there is always next year!

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Got to warn you:  I handed the Hubs the cobweb stuff, to be in charge of getting that done, and he went crazy with it!  Even {O} giggled watching him and said, “I can tell you’re having fun with that stuff Daddy! You don’t want to stop!”

One more note:  I had fun editing these photos, with some little grunge effects, etc.  My house is not actually this grimy looking, inside or out!  Not that’s it’s perfectly clean either.  If anything, it gets more of the messy & dust-bunny kind of dirty. LOL  ; )

So here is my very favorite Halloween creation, I made with a design from Frosting & Ink….

best Halloweeen decor

My Halloween Parking Sign! That’s right, I’m the witch around here! Heee hee heeee! Some will agree with that, in a heart beat. ; )  Others will argue, “No000 sir.  She is kidding you.  She is the sweetest thing ever!”  Depends who you talk to. LOL. (Or the day? lol).  Just kidding.

best Halloweeen decor

Anyway….I smile every time I pull the car into our driveway, about 20 times a day, and see my sign.  It’s something I made to be able to use every year, for years to come. I saw the whole thing in my head, the second I saw the design.  Michael made the jagged wood board for me, and we painted/distressed it, etc. It is weatherproof.

If you are wondering how, I do plan to do a quick post in the Crafts section, about how I made some of these Halloween decor things, sometime this week.  But this post is just about showing our decorations for now.

best Halloweeen decor I just have to show you the amazing and beautiful detail in Emily’s work!  I always loved that font used for ‘Parking’.  A band I love, Daughtry, uses that letter-style for their logo. It’s called Bleeding Cowboys, I think. It’s a perfect choice for Halloween designing.  Good call, Emily!

best Halloweeen decor

I was soooo on the fence (<—-another pun…giggle!) about getting this skeleton at Michael’s Arts & Crafts!!  I definitely am drawn to skulls and cross-bones and stuff, you know?  I have no idea why. They just ‘look’ cool to me. Yet I don’t really want to like them so much. LOL.  So….this is about my line, as far as decor goes.  See? Call me a wimp.  As long as we placed him humorously, was our/my decision.  I do like seeing him, hanging out there! (As long as it’s not dark out! lol)
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007_halloween-garden-home-decor Here is a wider view of our front-yard-gardens.
The flowers are pretty deadish now, which really kind of makes it all work!  Don’tcha think?
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best Halloweeen decor

Another perspective of our friend.  From Snap Peas to Skeletons!
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best Halloweeen decor I love my newly painted buttoned bottle.

best Halloweeen decor The potting bench.


best Halloweeen decor

Bats swarming our front door.   It was a popular idea last year, that I loved.  But I’m slow. : )
Details of how I did this will be in the Crafts post too.

best Halloweeen decor This chest Michael picked up free somewhere in front of someone’s house.  It’s super interesting inside!  Really old…meant for shipping clothing and goods, etc., I think.  There are all of these compartments inside.  BUT, when opened, there is a heavy mold/mildew odor (which I am immediately allergic to), that we can’t get rid of.  So, we’ll be tossing it, instead of doing anything more with it.  But I thought it would be cool to keep through Halloween out on the front deck, anyway.
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best Halloweeen decor

Through the glass of our front door here, you can see our Halloween wreath I made, with another design from my party pack from Frosting & Ink!

SO……that’s about it for our outdoor Halloween decor.

Would you like to come in??…

best Halloweeen decor When you order for this particular pack from Frosting & Ink, you are supposed to give her your last name, so she can customize this design.  I incorporated it into a wreath.  I’ll share more about how I made this later, in the craft post, too.

best Halloweeen decor The wreath is technically on the inside, because it is not weatherproof, in any way! Just turning it over here, so you can get a better look of it as a whole.  But faces outdoors.

best Halloweeen decor

Our Halloween Tree.  Yep….still have that stick tree there! LOL.

The Halloween lights and black crow were bought at Michael’s Arts and Crafts.

best Halloweeen decor

Some of you may know, I love making inter-changable fan pulls, for our all-season room.  (Anyone?)  I haven’t made one in a long time.  BUT, I did make one for Halloween this year!….

best Halloweeen decor Beads and this spider, from Michael’s Arts and Crafts.

best Halloweeen decor

How cute are the little ghosts??

020_halloween-fan-pull-spider

best Halloweeen decor

I did this kind of thing on our French doors, for Christmas and spring too.  I used the the little Cupcake Toppers and Party Signs, from the same Frosting & Ink Party Collection,  for what I call ‘Fancy Strands’, down my doors.

best Halloweeen decor

best Halloweeen decor

best Halloweeen decor

025_ A little over the top with the cobwebs, much?  It is a bit of an old family portrait now. Well, only 2-3 years. Time for a new one, although we’ll keep this one up somewhere in the house, too, anyway. But that’s the fam.

Well would you look at the time!….

best Halloweeen decor

It’s late, and I must get to bed.  I am sure we’ll have something more Halloween-ish to share, in the coming weeks.  We do plan to do something with pumpkins!  And as I said, I’ll be showing how I made everything crafty in this post, in a coming post in the Crafts section. So….we do hope you come again. (If you DARE!!  Because we’re wicked scary….right? ; )

ETA:  Here is the link for:  Tips, Tricks and How-To’s to our Halloween Decor  in this post

Please say  “BOO!”….if you enjoyed this peak of our Halloween Homestead!!?

Feel free to share the post, or PIN any photos you’d like, as well!

Isn’t the Halloween season fun??

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Filed Under: Faith/ Catholic, FALL Home Decor, Holidays, Home Decor, Photography, Seasonal Home decor, The Big Picture, The Homestead Tagged With: Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, Catholic-Halloween-decorating, Frosting-and-Ink-Social-Designery, Halloween, Halloween-crafts, Halloween-decor, Halloween-fan-pull, Halloween-home-decor, Halloween-tree, Hallowtide, indoor-Halloween-decorating-decor, Michaels-arts-and-crafts, outdoor-Halloween-decor, really-creative-Halloween-decor

Our Triplets’ Turned 9 | Their Birthday(s) Celebrations

September 26, 2011 By Laura 7 Comments

Yes, our triplets’ turned 9! So hard to believe.

triplets-birthday-6

 This birthday post is a bit late just about every year.  But considering the triplet’s birthday is the last day of August, and then we hit a new busy school year, a belated post is like a tradition with valid excuse, in my mind. I don’t think anyone is really waiting for it anyway.   It’s not a report as much as a record of our celebrations for ourselves, and anyone interested.I hope to scrapbook it all someday too.

Sp here are tons of photos from over the course of a couple of days, and a little story-telling here and there too, if you’d like to hear all about it.

We go to the fair every year, but this year we made it part of their birthday celebrating.  The first thing we did when we got there was go see the arts crafts in the Agricultural Hall. It’s more of a judged show, of quilts, kid’s artwork, etc. And then we got Fried Dough!  We could hardly wait for that. So we didn’t.  ; )  (Well, Alexis waited to get hers right before we left later that night.)

triplets-birthday-1 Tobar the Robot is always around, and it’s hilarious to see him scare the dickens out of fair-goers, when he suddenly moves.  We sat and watched that for awhile, and laughed out loud with food in our mouths. (That would be the Friend Dough.)  The Trio always love going down Super-Slides, every chance they get. I think I’d feel the burn, climbing those stairs over and over.

triplets-birthday-3 Feeding the animals is always a must with them too.  I thought the little nursing goat was the sweetest little thing. I have no idea what plant that tee-pee is, but I have a feeling puts off big blooms at some point? Any guesses or knowledge? You can go inside too. There’ a sitting bench in there.

 

triplets-birthday-5 They still love the Carousel, and always ask to find that. Then they go several times on some of the smaller rides.

 

triplets-birthday-8 The guy running this game was a HOOT! But anyway….Oh my word…..do not let this girl near Foxwoods Casinos! lol.  {A} saw this game, where you can win cash, and it was all she played! She was darn near-tormented by the thing, and was having a hard time walking away. She was playing the window in the top left there, so you can see how much money was right on the ledge there! She was smart with her money, only putting back in what quarters she won, but she was going for those bills, and this guy knew how to joke with you and keep you playing.  He was funny! Look at how he was talking on his cell phone, so he didn’t have to hold it. Anyway, I would have discouraged {A}, as it did feel a bit like gambling, except that I knew she’d do well by any money she won.  Probably something charitable, and then put the rest towards her campaigning funds, or something. ; )

Like most fairs, there was food everywhere!  Oh the aromas in the air!  So many choices one doesn’t get very often, that Michael and I found it hard to decide what we wanted, come dinner time.  But our kids knew just what they wanted, and I could not even believe it!  SALAD! I was like….“Really?  At the fair, you want salad for dinner?” Yes, really, they did.  Alrighty then. We finally found the place they had seen earlier.  HUGE salads, and the scoffed every bit up.  I was so torn over what to have myself, that I ended up just having a a few bites of their salads. It WAS very good. I think it’ll be on my mind next year. lol

triplets-birthday-10 They had a really great time, and it was dark before we finally left.

triplets-birthday This is their special birthday breakfast, that I made, and already shared in the Vittles section.  A little twist on our traditional birthday number pancakes. and the whole fam loved it! Fried French Toast, made as healthily as I could manage. (This shot is pre- butter, confectionery sugar and syrup, of course.)

triplets-birthday-2

triplets-birthday-4 We gave each of them 9 surprise gems for their Gem Jars on their birthday morning.  They were thrilled about that!

triplets-birthday-7 Packages always start arriving the week leading to their birthday, and this one from their Aunt in Arizona, sat on the floor in the sun room in front of the wood stove, waiting….and it intrigued them to no end.  They went over to it every day, wondering if maybe there was a Scorpion in there!  And guess what?  There kind of was! lol.  They each got a bunch of Arizona souvenirs and such, and one of the things was a scorpion encased in acrylic, like a paper-weight.  They loved it all.


 

triplets-birthday-9 They get just as much of a kick, out of their birthday cards.

triplets-birthday-11 Arizona stuff from their Aunt.  The scorpion is in the red thing.

triplets-birthday-12  Also a big package from Grandma.

triplets-birthday-13 Big sister had a gift for each of them, and they also all had one for each other.

All of the photos are not in this blog post.  That would have been ridiculous. But suffice it to say they were very grateful for everyone’s thoughtfulness.  They treasure everything they get, always.

Of course, we had a gift for them too…..


triplets-birthday-15 Wii.

I think they were shocked!  I am not a fan at all, of video-games for my kids, personally. This may explain why they are likely the last ones on earth, to get Wii!  And believe it or not, it was my idea.  They are older now though, and it comes with serious rules and strict time limits, which they are all totally fine with.  It’s not an every day thing, but more once a week.  They have never even asked for Wii, or anything like it, even after they played some a time or two at others home, and had a good time.  It’s just not the kind of thing we ever do much.   But, with the rules and limits we have in place, it’ll be a fun thing when it’s still raining after a week, or the bitter-temp days that come all in a row, come winters, to get some energy out – because it is pretty physical.  They only got the sports related games. Believe you me…..this is not connected to the internet (hell to the no…), and there are certain games/sports that are off limits.

Call me a poor sport. Mama don’t care. ; )

 

triplets-birthday-16 Normally we don’t invest in such high-ticket items–especially for birthdays or holidays. But, Alexis did get that camera for her 13th.  And this gift is split 3 ways. Of course the whole family can use it.

Also, Grandma generously pitched in and helped pay for it. <3

 

triplets-birthday-17 Creating their Mii’s alone, had them laughing hysterically trying the different features. I think they came out really quite resembling them!!

Their cake request……


triplets-birthday-18 It was a unanimous decision, and they wanted one cake:  White cake with chocolate chips, white frosting and coconut flakes.     We were thankful not to be up baking 3 different requests all night. We’ve done that when they have 3 different requests, without complaint. We feel they deserve the kind of cake they each want, like any birthday kid, and shouldn’t have to compromise. But sometimes we luck out.  Buying store bought cake is not an option, with {S}’s peanut allergy. Home made is always better anyway.

triplets-birthday-19  (May all of your wishes come true.)

Here’s a really fun thing we also did:  On the night of their birthday, some family friends of ours were gathering down on the waterfont, for Plymouth Idol, because…..their son was competing!  We were invited, and we wanted to be there to cheer him on.  (You all know I can make some noise! As can our kids. lol)

 

triplets-birthday-20 His name is Mark.  I think 100’s auditioned prior to the event, and he made it into the top 10, which was the public Plymouth Idol we went to watch.

Don’t mind his scrubs, but he barely got to the competition in time!  He’s a nurse, and came from work.  The judge panel was kind enough to wait for him, and he got there just in time to go on stage 10th!

Mark has an amazing voice!!  Not only is his singing beautiful, but it is filled with such emotion.   He’s the kind of performer that when you watch and listen, you get so sucked in, you forget where you are.

Here’s how the competition went: There were 10 contestants who sang, the judging panel cut it down to 5, those 5 sang a song, they cut it down to 3, and then those 3 sang again.  The judges commentated after each performance, just like American Idol.  Mark had a little tough competition.  There was a young opera singer who was certainly gifted. But Mark was the best, and non of us felt were biased. lol.  He had 3 songs picked to sing, should he make it through each round:  1 from Les Miserables, and 2 by Josh Grobin.

And HE WON!!!  We were all so excited!!

triplets-birthday-21 The Trio had a really good time, because their little friends were there too.  I did not seek permission to share their photos on the internet, so I just blurred their identity. But they were so cute all together, having a ball. They were upfront and cheered Mark on like crazy. Despite how it appears in this photo, there was a big crowd there for this event.  It was a beautiful night too, right on the waterfront, with the ocean breeze.  We were really happy for Mark and his family.  What a great evening.

To end our day of celebrating, we went out to dinner to somewhere the kids have always wanted to go:

triplets-birthday The food was great, as was the company. I have another story from there that was pretty amusing, but it could get lengthy, and this post is probably long enough. (You think? ; )  You can ask me for it separately if you’d like. But anyway, the servers were really good to the kids.

triplets-birthday-14 What I really love about their birthday every year, is how they really celebrate having each other. They’ve said many times, in different ways in various conversations, that they are so happy they were born together, and get to celebrate their birthdays together.  I’ve asked them, “Don’t you think it would be nice to have a birthday all of your own, too?”, and they said “No!”.  lol.  They’ve never known anything different, so they probably cannot imagine it.

One thing is for sure; While we did feel like we hit the Baby Jackpot (once we got through all of the fears and worries), we are so thankful, that they came along, regardless.  Whether together, or one at a time, each one of them is a blessing all their own to us, and it’s a beautiful life, to watch them grow up(Alexis Grace. too!), and become who God uniquely made them to be. I do wish it would slow down a bit.

Dear God, thank you, for entrusting them to us.

And to JackMichael, Olivia Faith and Shane Jacob:

Happy Birthday to You, and You, and You!

XOXOXO

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Filed Under: Celebrations, Faith, Faith/ Catholic, The Big Picture, Traditions Tagged With: 9-year-old-triplets, Catholic-blog, Catholic-families, triplets, triplets-9th-birthday

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