A Change is Coming... a new Camera = Better Photos!

Hi all,

Just a short post today. Too excited to sit and write. I want to go and play. I received a wonderful gift today, something I really wanted, and needed but with a kid in college now, wasn't going to get ( at least not soon). I have spent a lot of time trying to improve the quality of the photos here on the blog. Along the way, I've learned that so much more goes into good pictures than I ever imagined. Even with an older brother who is a photographer, I just didn't know. Well, I've learned a lot and hope my pics are getting better. I knew that the camera you used made a difference, but everything I wanted was just too expensive. 

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And then today, I received a wonderful surprise from my friend. He saw me getting frustrated with my camera a couple of weeks ago and, ta -da. I have a new camera.

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Yep, that's it, I got a Canon EOS Rebel t5i. I know you could read it for yourself, but I just wanted to type it!!LOL

I actually got more than just the camera. I got a "bundle". The camera, an additional lens, a camera bag, and a 32MB SD card

I know what you're thinking, I was thinking the same thing. That's a lot of camera and a lot of features. I plan to find a photography class real soon. I also plan to practice,  a lot. I have already launched a search on Pinterest and there are a ton of tips and tutorials on Canon cameras. So much to learn...

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But wait, there's more.!!

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I also checked out a great blog, www.abeautifullmess.com , full of quick tips....including 10 Things Not To Do

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Get ready, there's a change a coming...

Wallternatives - Dorm Room Decals To the Rescue

Hi all,
Last week I shared with you that I had taken my daughter off to college. Well, like so many other parents, especially those home decor crazed moms we "fixed" up her room. Decorating dorm rooms and apartments have come a long way. There's so much more you can do with your walls besides hanging  a couple of movie or concert posters.

It was perfect timing for me that I discovered Wallternatives at the Haven Conference this past July. They have an amazing line of peel and stick wall decals."Wallternatives™ ARE the easy, artful alternative to decorating. We help you create a world that is more colorful, and more designed around “you”! They even have a line of vinyl wall decals  under their Dorm Room Decal section.  Well, I had a dorm room to decorate, oops, I mean, Cassie had a dorm room to decorate so I jumped at the chance to try this new product.

After much consideration, we decided to try the Mini Dots and a great quote by Marilyn Monroe.
We were super excited when the decals arrived and couldn't wait to try them.

As soon as we finished reconstructing the bed by lowering it, Cass would have had to take a flying leap to get in it every night, I wanted to start on the decals.

I was so eager to get them up that I didn't even go to the website to read the directions for putting the vinyl decals on the wall.  But, no worries it was pretty easy, peel and stick!

First , we started with the Mini Dots and this was just plain old fun.

We actually used the Mini dots in two colors that worked well with her decor.

                                 I think her smile says how much she likes her mini dots!!

Next we put up the Marilyn Monroe Smart Girl quote on an adjacent wall.

Again I was in a hurry, ( there were trips to Walmart in my future) so I didn't read up on how to apply this decal either. It took about a minute to figure out that because of the size ( the large is 22"w x 36" H), I was going to have to take it slow.

This decal took way more attention to put on the wall. Not hard, but I had to really smooth it out so there wouldn't be in air holes of puckers. It looked great when I finished. And, I even got it on the wall straight, the first time!

                          We added the remaining dots to kinda tie the two walls together!!

Overall, we both really liked the Wallternative decals.  I would totally recommend them to anyone looking for ways to decorate their walls.



While Wallternatives did provide me with the product complimentary, the opinions and review of the product are my own personal opinions.

Just a Thought...

This weekend, I like thousands of other moms, dads, grandparents, etc. took our child/children off to college. Many did this with a smile on their face, some had a tear in their eye. Still others had no outward show of emotion but as I think of all the families in transition to adulthood (mine included), it was just a thought...

 

and personally for my daughter , keep this in you mind....

                                                        and this in your heart....

College Bound!! Dorm Room Textiles - Orange and Grey

Hey all,

I know I'm a day late but it's been hectic around here. On the heels of working so hard on my mom's kitchen comes getting my daughter Cass ready to go off to college. Now, we've all seen the back to school displays in Target, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, but that's just not me . I mean not us!! While Cass was on vacation I spotted a really cool comforter set that she also liked and we had our color scheme. Orange ( different shades) , grey with a touch of turquoise! What can I say, yes I love turquoise but, it goes so well with just about everything! Anyway, as we started to pack , I took pictures of the textiles that we have for her room. The sewing machine, serger, and even the embroidery machine have been turned off. We are done. I wrote a post on her embroidered pjs  (here)earlier. Yes there's a lot of embroidered stuff, but when your mom has an embroidery company, you get lot's of embroidered stuff!!

On to the quick peak at the textiles:

Comforter:

Comforter, throw and polka dot box.

Next comes sheets:

We were challenged with our sheet selection because her dorm/apartment has a Full XL mattress. Not Twin XL but Full XL. Very hard to find that size and when we did, the colors were not good and neither were the prices. So we bought all single flat queen sheets, she'll have to learn to make "hospital corners"!!

Coral/orange with grey monogram. I made the pillow cases from a twin sheet. This left me additional fabric to make body pillow cover and liner for clothes hamper!

Grey checkered sheets with orange grosgrain trim, and monogrammed throw.

Towels:

                                              White towels with orange /turquoise monogram.

                                           White towel with orange and grey monogram.

                                Orange/deep coral towels with turquoise and grey monogram.

Shower Wrap:

coral, turquoise and pink ( Target) monogrammed in grey.

Rug:

Rug is from Ikea. Who hasn't seen this and wanted one. Great colors choices and great 

price. I actually got it on sale for $14.99.

I didn't monogram the clothes hamper, or  body pillow cover that I made from fabric I found on clearance earlier this spring:

Laundry hamper folders flat when not being used.

That's it for the textiles being used in her room. We decided to go with solid grey curtains and I'm not putting trim or anything else on them. I'm done! But I must admit I'm pleased with all of it. Can't wait to show you the completed room. Til then, pray with me that this adventure that my baby girl is setting out on will lead her into the life God has planned for her.

Jeremiah 29:11New International Version (NIV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Rustleoum Never Wet for Fabric Product Review

Hi all,

At the Haven Conference this past July I got my hands on a product I have been wanting to try all summer. Rust-Oleum Never Wet for Outdoor  Fabric. I was so excited to get some of this product and for the best price ever, free!! Thanks to Home Depot . It's taken me a few weeks but I finally got a chance to try this stuff.

                                                       

Let me tell you this. This stuff is Great. Of course that is my opinion but I'm sticking with it. I have a large container in my yard that actually will hold all 17 of my outdoor cushions and pillows. But it's still a pain to constantly put them away and take them back out all the time. And I guess you know that most of the time it starts to rain, no one is home to rescue the cushions and put them away. With this product my worries are over.
I sprayed all of my cushions and pillows this week. None of them changed in appearance at all. I was a little concerned about the embroidered pillows, but no worries. They were all just fine. And they stay dry. Or should I say they're Never Wet anymore.

      
These are some of the cushions that I sprayed  with Never Wet.

 

  In this picture you can see how the water I poured on the cushion beaded up, in the upper right corner.

 
  And in this picture you can also see how the water sits on the surface, its doesn't soak in.  It actually rolls right off the cushion when it is tilted.!!

 Same results with these pillows as well.!!

Update!!

After taking these pics, it later rained. I was so busy that I forgot the cushions and pillows were still out. Now to be honest, even after testing the cushions to see how this product worked. I would have still put the pillows away, if I had remembered they were out. But when I did discover them, the water had beaded up on the cushions!! I just stood them up and the water rolled off.

If you are tried of racing out to grab the outdoor cushions up every time it rains, try this product. I don't think you will be disappointed.

While I did receive this product free at the Haven Conference, these opinion are my own. There was no additional compensation.

Just A Thought... Kitchen Makeovers are hard and Mom's Are a Blessing

Hey All,

I was missing from Blog land last week. It's been a long time since I missed a Thursday post. The experts tell me that consistency in posting is important. Well, I was busy working on a project and really couldn't stop to write about it or anything else for that matter.

Last week I  was blessed to step away from my regular routine and travel back to Detroit to start a labor of love.  I started the renovation of my mom's kitchen and breakfast nook. I totally bit off more than I could chew! More about that to come. This was a big, big job for me alone and even bigger for the number of days I had. I will share pics later this week on the beginning of this project. Right now, It Was Just a Thought...

I was stressed by the size of the job til I stopped to realize how Blessed I was to be able to do this for my mom. Every day I read about someone passing away and everyday I feel Blessed  that my mom is still here.
I won't make her mad at me by telling Blog Land how old she is but I will say she is over eighty by a few years.

While out shopping for granite and back splash tile she decided to give Cass a driving lesson. So she got out of the motorized cart and made Cass try her hand at driving. We had a blast. No granite but fun.

Some times we really have to stop and realized how Blessed we are... It's Just A Thought.