11 Ideas for Pretty Pumpkins 

We all know that when it comes to fall decorating, pumpkins are our go-to project idea for bringing that autumn feel to any room, porch or  garden. But it doesn’t have to be that same old jack o’lantern, and it doesn’t have to be just about Halloween. Pumpkins are a part of the harvest,  and should be celebrated as part of the fall bounty in our homes. With that in mind, we searched the blogosphere for some pretty pumpkin ideas for decorating! Whether these ideas and tutorials use natural pumpkins, or those great carve-able craft pumpkins that allow you to reuse them from year to year, we know you will think these pumpkins are pretty enough for the whole season, right through Thanksgiving!
From ‘The Butlers’, this monogram pumpkin tutorial can be used with either a real pumpkin or a faux one… Easy tutorial, classy project!

These lace patterned pumpkins from ‘Martha’ are a little time consuming, but have you ever seen anything so amazingly charming? What a perfect centerpiece for a party!


LOVE this tinker bell pumpkin carving, complete with pixie dust! Full instructions on ‘Instructables’!


‘Confessions of a Plate Addict’ created these DIY decoupage pumpkins from a ‘Country Living’ tutorial… These are made with Mod Podge and fabric… and since she used faux craft pumpkins, they last!


This DIY pumpkin centerpiece by ‘One Charming Party’ has quick and easy instructions… She used a real pumpkin, which I love because it’s just so organic and, well, fall like… but I don’t see any reason you couldn’t use a craft pumpkin.


We love this blinged out pumpkin from ‘Chaos Served Daily’, mostly because it takes 5 minutes, but also ’cause it’s so pretty!


Find out how to paint pretty pumpkins from ‘Perfectly Imperfect’! Complete step by step, including what products they used to get these wonderful finishes… Also done on foam pumpkins, so they can be brought out every year.


Make a stenciled pumpkin, from ‘BHG’… quick and easy craft!


Another pumpkin with glitz from ‘Life on Lakeshore Drive’…

I had to throw in these last couple just for inspiration…. From ‘Seeing Ink Spots‘, these trick or treat pumpkins remind us that we can have some fun too!

Journal Writing and Journal Entry Ideas  

I have been trying to be happier. It takes work, but everyone needs to be happier. The happier I am, the happier everyone around me is. Or maybe that’s just because I’m the Mom. Writing in a journal helps me stay positive sometimes and helps me look back at how I was positive before and it reminds me that I can stay positive again.
I have a few rules for myself when journaling. The first rule for myself is to keep everything positive. There is enough negativity as it is, and I don’t need to hold onto it for the future. Sometimes I need to rant about negativity and doing it on paper helps. I just make sure to do it in a cheap notebook and throw it out immediately after it is written.
Another rule I try to follow is to date my entries. It makes it so much better for if you ever want to look back at them.
I also keep most journal entries very short. I usually don’t have time for much and I won’t write at all if it takes too long so a short list or small quip about something is usually perfect. The one main exception to that is when I wrote down my son’s birth story. I realized I was already forgetting some of the small details a few weeks after he was born so as I nursed I wrote every detail I could remember. It was pages and pages and it took me days but it is worth it to me and it might be to him later on.
One last thing I try not to do while writing in my journal is to back track. Unless it is a big event (like my son’s birth) I won’t let myself feel guilty that I haven’t written in a few days, months, years, etc. And I won’t try to remember what happened for yesterday or for the last three years that I didn’t write a thing. I just put down today’s date and move on.
Here are a few ideas to get you started writing in your journal:
Things Accomplished Today List
Top 5 Good Things About the Day
My Favorite Things (in my house, kitchen, from my vacation, foods, clothes, anything)
Reasons I am Happy with My Life (or My Children, or My House, or my Neighborhood or anything else you can think of)
Reasons I Love My Spouse (or Child, Friend, Co-worker, Pet, whoever!) {See My  Reasons I Love My Husband Post Here} {And My Reasons to Love My Dog Here}
Reasons I Love Myself (what personality traits or quirks do you love about yourself?)
Reasons I’m Happy to Be Home (or on vacation, or any change you are experiencing. Think of why you are happy to be there. Another I have done is Reasons I’m Happy to  Not Be Pregnant)
My Bucket List (Keep a few blank pages after it and you can add to it at any time) {See Mine Here}
A Quick Story From My Day (Or week, month, vacation, etc!)
I’m Feeling: (positive emotions! and why)
What I Did For Exercise This Week
Child Updates (Check out this post at I Can Grow People for a great layout of it!)
Memories of a Lost Loved One (See my latest post here for more ideas)
I recently made some beautiful printable bookmarks with a shortened version of this list- to make it easier to remember and have these tips in your journal or near it whenever you need them. The bookmarks can be downloaded for free, please click here to view them and then scroll to the bottom to download them. Thank you!
Other Ways to Work on Happiness:
Resolve for No New Year’s Resolutions
How to Stop Shopping
Happy Wive’s Club: 21 Days to a Happier You
This vs That
My New Workout Plan

Project Life 2012: In the Beginning...

Project Life 2012: In the Beginning... 

I've been promising and promising that I would share my Project Life pages. I am finally coming clean on that promise. It only took me two months. I'm breaking it up into pieces since the posts will otherwise be crazy long, but we're getting started today. I mean it!

I will tell you though, it was not without some serious stressing on my part. The first problem came with the fact that I forgot to request the pocket page protectors when I made my Christmas list. When I went out to get myself some (on the day after Christmas, mind you) they were sold out! The nerve. I had to wait and wait and finally got them two weeks ago. In the meantime, I've been using the pocket protectors from We R Memory Keepers. A very good substitute and they have added more variety to my scrapbook - something I always like. The second issue was the photography. I couldn't get them to properly scan due to the height of the pages. I love my scanner, but apparently that extra 1/2" is just too much for it. So...I tried regular photography. Fail. Flash blobs everywhere and I couldn't go without flash because (as we all know) I tend to procrastinate and do my blogging late at night. Attempt #3...the light box. This may end up working find for regular pages, but again, the pocket protectors posed problems and...well...I just got pissed and gave up.

This week I decided it was time to suck it up and just go with it. So...I found the best light I could in my apparently dark and shadowy house and took photos of the pages...in...their...binder. The horror. I'll admit, not my proudest moment, but too stinking bad. This is what we're going with. You can no longer call me a liar...at least with this project. We won't talk about the Christmas projects I still haven't made tutorials for. (Pretend you didn't read that last sentence.)

My stash...the turquoise kit with binder and POCKET PAGE PROTECTORS.

For those of you not familiar, Project Life is an ingenious product created by the wonderful Becky Higgins. Everything you need comes in her little kit (if you remember to buy the pocket pages. BUY THE POCKET PAGES!). You just add photos and journal. It all gets compartmentalized into cute little pockets. Easy. I'm finding that I really like it. I will still continue to do my regular scrapbooking, but this works fantastically for creating our family album for the year. I'm planning to continue to do one for each year.

Initially I was afraid that I wouldn't have enough photos...I'm doing a 2 page spread for each week and I was worried that most of my pockets would remain empty. I'm finding that this isn't the case. For the most part they fill up quickly and I end up with extra photos.

This is where I confess...I might be a little OCD. Just a tad. I decided that I couldn't do this without some sort of organizational system. I needed something to keep track of what happened when because I am a serious procrastinator when it comes to journaling. Like a lot. So I jumped onto Publisher and made myself a Project Life Planner. And since I'm so nice...I'm going to share it with you...

Here it is:

I'm a little nuts. I admit it. Ok...so this is how it works.

The left side page has diagrams of all of the page protectors. Once I know which pages I'll be using, I indicate them on the page. I write into each piece as I know what I want there. Sometimes this takes a little rearranging...like when I have a horizontal 4x6" space, but a vertical 4x6" picture. But it definitely helps.

The right hand page is - for all intents and purposes - my daily journal. I track the day/date and what each one of us did, the highlights of the day or recipes that we tried. In the far right column I keep track of the pictures I have taken or want to take and the items I want to add to that week's pages.

This all helps take off the stress of putting the book together. If I don't have time to work on it one week, then I just jot down the daily activities and I'm good to go for later. I like it much better that way.

If you want to use these pages for yourself, feel free...here are the links...but if you mention them on your own blog, please give me credit and/or link back to this post.

Project Life Layout Plan

Project Life Planner

Finally...I'm going to go ahead and show you my title pages for 2012. Hey...it's a start. And...as always...clicking on the photos will blow them up larger for you.

The title line took me forever to decide how to do. When I first started, I had cut out the title in brown cardstock using my Pazzle. It just ended up looking too drab. So...I traced around it thinking that would make it pop more. Meh. It was okay. I ended up pulling the cardstock off completely and coloring in the outline using my white Uniball Signo. (I love that pen.)

The opening photo is our annual photo from The Farmstead, a local pumpkin patch. This one was taken in October of 2011.

 

I have always been a huge fan of rub-ons. I loved being able to capitalize on the presence of this circle. The quote seems fitting enough.

I am also a big fan of Ali Edwards. Ali supports a campaign she created called One Little Word. She challenges scrappers to base their family scrapbooking for the year around one word. Mine seems simple enough. To me, the biggest importance of our family is being together. So that was it...together is my word for 2012.

Some scrappers move right into the week by week pages after their title. With my One Little Word approach, I decided that I needed to explain the theme a little before I moved into weekly photos. So I added this extra spread.

The left side page spewed out of me. I just sat down and started typing. This was actually before I had officially chosen my 2012 word, but it became pretty obvious as I wrote that together was going to have to be the word I used. (For those of you wondering, the font I'm primarily using for the year is another Ali creation, it's CK_Alis_Hand_Official. I love it!)

For the right had page I further set up our family togetherness by using photos of us from 2009 and 2010. While looking for these photos I also realized that I need to start making sure we get more photos of the three of us together through the year. We have very few.

And that's it...the setup. Now hopefully I can stay on the ball and regularly post the weekly layouts. Because I'm a total sloth at journaling, I'm going to aim for one 2-page layout every other week. That should give me a sufficient buffer to get my crap together. If I'm doing better than that, well...then I guess you'll get lucky!

DIY a Journal With Instagram Photos 

 

Yes, there are lot’s of sites that will put your Instagram photos on to products like journals, mugs, magnets, and more. But we love the idea of making one yourself. It has a much more personalized quality. 

What You’ll Need

• scissors ( 1 pair )
• paper ( 2 pieces )
• scrapbooking adhesive
• decorative tape
• instagram photos

Ready to make? Find out how onA Beautiful Mess

Lavender Bubbling Bath Salts 

These Bubbling Bath Salts are a fantastic gift to give your friends for holidays or birthdays. Scent them with any essential oil and complimenting body wash. Change the color to match the season or occasion. Make a few jars at a time to have Homemade Gifts on hand.
Ingredients:

• 6 Cups Kosher or Epsom Salt
• ¾ Cup Lavender Scented Body Wash (I used Ivory Lavender Body Wash)
• 1 tbsp Olive, Coconut, or Sweet Almond Oil
• 2-3 Drops Lavender Essential Oil (Optional)
• Purple Food Coloring (Optional)

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine salt and body wash, and mix until well combined.
•  Add in your oil, essential oil and food coloring and mix well.
•  On a lined baking sheet, spread the salt mixture out into a thin layer. Allow to dry for 24 hours.
• Once dry, break up any large clumps, and spoon into a sealable jar.

To Use:

• Add ¼ Cup of Bubbly Bath Salts under running water.

DIY Homemade Fabric Softener for Just Pennies! 

 

Well, I thought it was about time to do a follow-up post on the dryer sheet alternative post that I did a little while ago. A lot of you really loved that little tip for getting rid of static cling without using those store bought dryer sheets that can sometimes be really chemical-y and not so good for you.

A few of you said “Well, that’s all fine and good, but what about making my laundry soft too? Dryer sheets do more than just reduce static cling you know!” I got feedback on that issue for you. Apparently there’s a better way of taking care of the fabric softener too, and of course it’s way simpler than you ever would have thought and right under your nose!
Vinegar!
I decided to test this one out and see what went down. Of course it worked like a charm. Vinegar really is good for almost anything, isn’t it?

If you do a search and see what comes up, you’ll find instructions for adding a 1/2 cup of vinegar to your laundry’s rinse water. I did use the 1/2 cup amount (and it was a big load), but I really couldn’t be bothered to try and catch the rinse cycle. I’m just not that alert when it comes to laundry. What I did is add the vinegar into my machine’s liquid fabric softener dispenser so it would be added at the right time for me.

I did see somewhere that there was a suggestion to add the vinegar to the bleach dispenser, but I would stay away from that. When you mix vinegar and bleach, a toxic chlorine gas is released, so stick to using the fabric softener dispenser instead. I don’t even own a bottle of bleach to be honest because I’m kind of terrified of the stuff, but there may be some residue leftover from the previous owners and I’d be worried that I’m dying from fumes all day after that.
Whatever you do, DO NOT add the vinegar straight in with the clothes at the start of your wash cycle as you may bleach some items and cause damage.
When you add the 1/2 cup to the fabric softener dispenser though, you’ll be amazed at the results! This is definitely one of those “How did I not know about this?” kinda moments.

But what about the smell? Do those clothes smell all vinegary afterwards? You don’t want to be walking around smelling like a dill pickle all day!
It’s kind of amazing. There is no smell at all. No smell. Just purely clean and fresh. Your towels will even come out extra fresh and fluffy because the vinegar helps to clean away all of the build up from different detergents and softeners that can build up over time and cause them to lose absorbency. It’s an all around laundry miracle!
If you do like a little bit of a nice scent to your clothes, try adding a few drops of essential oil (whatever scent you like) to the bottle of vinegar that you’ll be using for your laundry. It’s as easy as that!

So that’s that! I may not be the most meticulous laundry folder, but at least now it’s super clean, soft, fresh-smelling and chemical free! Oh and it’s cheap too.

How to Make Cinnamon-Scented Pinecones

 

Step 1:

Use an old cookie sheet or place aluminum foil on a cookie sheet that you use often. Place as many pine cones on the cookie sheet that will fit in a single layer. Put the cookie sheet on the middle rack in a preheated 200 degree oven for about an hour. The pine cones should open up during this time, if they are still tightly closed. This cooking process also kills any bugs and other bacteria that may be living in the pine cones. Let them completely cool.

Step 2:

Place the cooled pine cones in a large resealable plastic bag. Make sure there is enough room to securely close the bag.

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Step 3:

Put a few drops of the essential oil and just a bit of water in the spray bottle, shake and then generously spray the pine cones. Close the bag and shake it to mix the oil with the pine cones. Open the bag and spray again, once more closing and shaking the bag.

Step 4:

Leave the bag tightly closed for four to six weeks to infuse the pine cones with the scent. Shake the bag every week or so to distribute the oil scent.

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/how_7683297_make-cinnamon-scented-pinecones.html