Velvet-Ribbon Belts

I don't know about you, but if I see another black leather belt I'm going to get sick. Okay, maybe not that extreme; however, I'm always looking for ways to look fresh and new, instead of same old:)

These Velvet-Ribbon Belts are fairly inexpensive and you can tailor them to fit anyone. I'm making a couple for myself and giving a few as gifts. Add a luxurious touch to any winter outfit with a belt of velvet ribbon. As always, the added bonus is you can pick your fabric made of natural fibers and not mostly synthetic fabrics, how great!

• Cut 2 1/2 yards of natural-fiber velvet ribbon.
• Slip two D rings slightly wider than the ribbon onto one end, and fold both ends of the ribbon in toward the midpoint, fuzzy side out, keeping the D rings at one folded end.
• Remove backing from a 1 1/4-yard piece of iron-on fuse tape, and sandwich it between the layers; place scrap velvet facedown on top, and iron on the cotton setting to fuse the layers.

Blogging for the coming week includes: Look for more highlights of handmade gifts on my blog throughout the week till Wed. Thursday, I'll be featuring the children's book warehouse sale I'm attending. Friday, I'll be describing our upcoming annual weekend shopping trip with tips on the sales and advice on "What to Never buy on Sale". And sometime through out the week, I'll be giving a quick "get to know" bio of our family and life here in Nebraska.

A big Thank-you to the over 100 people who have visited our blog over the past week!

Handmade Christmas Sneak-Peek......

A Sneak-Peek of tomorrow's Handmade Christmas.......

Take a moment....

If you know anything about me, you know I try to educate myself on this world. People in different countries are still neighbors, and tragedy can not be ignored.

Take a moment to learn something about where you live, what kind of world your children will grow up to know. We can not be so naive to think what happens to others around us does not matter.

Have terrorists attacks happened before in Mumbai, India; absolutely. Have there been at least 6 of these attacks in the last few months; yes. Does that make it less tragic and not worth a moment of thought, not at all.

Learn something today about our world and do what you can this day to make it better......

Thankfully Simplify

Did you know that the first Thanksgiving took place in December 1621, when the Pilgrims held a three-day feast in Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts to celebrate their bountiful harvest?


Did you know that Thanksgiving didn't become an official national holiday until more than 200 years later, when in 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November a national day of thanksgiving.

Did you know that Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving, which is widely touted as the biggest Christmas shopping day in America -- is actually not the biggest shopping day? In fact, the Saturday before Christmas has historically been the largest volume shopping day. Black Thursday ranks anywhere from second to fifth in Christmas shopping days.

I encourage everyone to spend their holiday with the people you love and that love you; remembering that there is a reason we celebrate this day.

This Friday I'll be posting some of my Christmas Gifts I'm making. There a little more modern and fun than what most think of when they hear "handmade Christmas gifts". Every year that I make my gifts by hand, everyone loves them. Hopefully this year will be the same. It's just another way to simplify life without all the of hassle the mall, See ya on Friday!

(note: I do go to the mall frequently....so no judgement)

Beauty, Simplicity, and Joy

I grew up thinking that to look good, you couldn't be sweaty, have a face bare w/o much makeup, no-one looked good in a t-shirt, and you had to have shining hair.

That is until my husband....

He fell more in love with me after I gave birth to our sons (lots of sweating);

he loves my freckles...even the ones on my lip (which means I can't cover them up with makeup);

he says there is nothing better than me in any kind of shirt;

and he likes running his fingers through my hair whether shiny or not.

And while I still think some of those things I first mentioned can make you look pretty at times, I've come to understand the simple beauty that is a mother and her son; the joy that comes from an afternoon of simply playing with a child, and to him, bare skin with freckles is beautiful.

Our Love of Wooden Educational Toys

We love toys that broaden kid's minds, excite creativity, and encourage new thoughts. Some toys can do that more than others. We started buying Melissa and Doug toys about a year ago and now own too many of them to count. Below are some of the ones we have as well as a brief description of the founders of "Melissa and Doug" toys. An added benefit is that they carry several wooden toys that encourage a non-plastic environment, which makes me love them even more.

Melissa and Doug's story:

Twenty years ago, we started our company in the garage of the home where Doug grew up — we had to be careful not to disturb Doug's parents who were still living there! Thanks to your support, we've been able to move into a real office down the road, a building that actually has separate ladies and men's bathrooms! Our philosophy has remained the same over the years–to make each and every customer a happy and permanent member of the Melissa & Doug family, while offering products with tremendous value, quality and design. We've always welcomed customer suggestions, and we continually strive to make improvements to our products. We're honored by the faith you place in us and view it as our responsibility to continue to earn your trust in the years to come!

http://www.melissaanddoug.com/

Perfection

This moment is one I dare not to forget,

one of those afternoons where I lay on my bed,

my two boys miraculously both napping at the same time,

I lay right next to both of them

not caring what some mothers say about co-sleeping

while the trees out my window are rustling in the wind.

This moment is just another reason why I love being a mother.

This moment allows me to get through the tough times.

This is a moment of perfection.

New Blog for a New Perspective

Several weeks ago I decided to change my blog routine. I stopped writing on our old family blog and started thinking about why I blog and what the purpose was. Was it to simply relay info to friends/family? Just to post pictures to people? What was the purpose? And if there isn't a purpose, why keep doing it?

I thought I knew what I wanted our new blog to be but as I kept coming back to it over the past several weeks, I just wasn't sure. I kept changing it around and not really knowing what I wanted the focus to be.

Now, I know. I know the purpose. I know the story I want to tell. I know the reason I want to post. I now understand that I'm the kind of person who finds beauty in everyday. For me, it isn't about the struggles along the way, but the good moments that matter the most in my life. For me, everyday has it's beauty and my hope is to find that beauty and hopefully along the way help those around me to see it as well in their own life. You may not think our life is beautiful, but in the end, we do.

Hope you enjoy it!

Our Family's Blog: Living Beautifully Everyday

Focus: The beautiful things we encouter in our lives, whether that be friends, family, children, God, new ideas, new thoughts, crafts, projects, trips, eco-friendly products, jewerly my sister-in-law sells, pictures, just life.

Reason: Because we feel that their is beauty in everything, everyday, every story, every life path, every decision, every step one takes; and it is our choice to seek out that beauty and pass it on to those around us.