tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17561541595699494072024-02-24T04:32:30.667-07:00Naphtali's MelodyAmandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-46649067833818419352016-01-06T13:02:00.001-07:002016-01-06T13:02:45.265-07:002015 Reading Challenges When it came to reading, 2015 was a crazy year for me. At the beginning of the year I decided to do a reading challenge that I had stumbled upon on Pinterest. I've been doing reading challenges on Goodreads for the past few years, but they simply ask you to set a goal of how many books you want to read throughout the year. I still did this challenge, increasing my goal from 30 books to 35. For those who have never visited <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>, it is free to sign up and is a great way to discover new books and keep track of what you've read. As you finish books during the year you get to see if you're on track for your goal. There are even tons of book giveaways in nearly every genre. Go check it out if you haven't already.<br />
What I did different this year is I decided to do an added challenge that, as stated above, I found on Pinterest. The link on Pinterest redirected me to Popsugar. <a href="http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-Challenge-2015-36071458" target="_blank">Here's the link to the challenge I did</a>. This challenge is a list of 50 different things to read. Some of them are very specific, such as reading a book by an author with the same initials as you (I had trouble finding one for this). Others were a bit broader, such as reading a book from your childhood.<br />
Now, I knew from the start that I would not be able to read 50 books in one year. So I would count a book for multiple items on the list if I could. Yeah, I know this is technically cheating, but I just didn't have the time for 50 books!<br />
So, do you want to see what I read? Well, here we go!<br />
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<b>1. A book with more than 500 pages</b></h4>
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The first book I read that had more than 500 pages this year was <u>Reached</u> by Ally Condie. This is the final book in the Matched trilogy. If you like dystopian stories with love triangles than this series is for you.<br />
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Other books I read with more than 500 pages include <u>City of Glass</u> (The Mortal Instruments #3) by Cassandra Clare and <u>City of Lost Souls</u> (The Mortal Instruments #5) by Cassandra Clare. I also read <u>Unbroken</u> by Laura Hillenbrand coming in with 500 pages even.<br />
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<b>2. A classic romance</b></h4>
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Ok, I'm cheating big time on this one. I technically didn't read a book that would fall into this category. I ran out of time and couldn't get a book read for this so I cheated. I read a book of fairy tales that had condensed versions of stories such as Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Snow White. I'm counting it as a classic romance because, well, who doesn't love these stories? And they all end up with their prince so there's romance, right? Yep, big time cheating.<br />
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<b>3. A book that became a movie</b></h4>
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<u>Unbroken</u> by Laura Hillenbrand was the first book of the year that fell under this category. The story follows Louis Zamperini from childhood, through his career as an Olympic runner, a short stint in the movies and on to his military career that ended as a POW in Japan. Hillenbrand was able to insert enough funny moments from Zamperini's life to balance out the horrible circumstances he was in while a POW.<br />
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The movie, directed by Angelina Jolie, actually does a decent job of following the book and Zamperini's life. There will always be differences but it was, in my opinion, close to the real events.<br />
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Other books I read in 2015 that became movies include <u>Treasure Island</u> by Robert Louis Stevenson, <u>Tuck Everlasting</u> by Natalie Babbitt, <u>City of Bones</u> by Cassandra Clare, <u>The Outsiders</u> by S. E. Hinton and <u>To Kill A Mockingbird</u> by Harper Lee.<br />
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<b>4. A book published this year</b></h4>
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I read two books published this year. The first was <u>The Heir</u> by Kiera Cass. This is the fourth book in The Selection series. I like to describe this series as the bachelor/bachelorette with royalty set in a dystopian future. Love triangles abound while teenagers fight a rebellion they don't understand. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cannot wait for the next in the series.<br />
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<u>The Cottage in the Woods</u> by Katherine Coville was picked by a lady in my book group. It is a re-imagined Goldilocks and the Three Bears told from the point of view of the Bears private tutor for their young cub. Coville sneaks bits and pieces from numerous fairy tales into this enchanting story. I highly recommend this book for kids and pre-teens who don't want to let go of those magical fairy tales.<br />
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<b>5. A book with a number in the title</b></h4>
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Again, I read two books for this category. The first was <u>Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line</u> by Rob Thomas. I was a huge Veronica Mars fan when the show was on T.V. for the three seasons it lasted and was thrilled when I found out Rob Thomas had written a book to continue the story. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.<br />
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I also read <u>Thousand Pieces of Gold</u> by Ruthanne Lum McCunn. I will talk more about this book a little later.<br />
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<b>6. A book written by someone under 30</b></h4>
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I didn't go and research every single author whose book I read, but there are two that I know of for this category. First <u>The Diary of a Young Girl</u> by Anne Frank. Anne started her diary as a new teenager and, as most of us know, died in a German concentration camp at the age of 16. I also discovered while reading <u>The Outsiders</u> by S. E. Hinton that Hinton was only 16 when she wrote the book.<br />
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<b>7. A book with nonhuman characters</b></h4>
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This one can go two ways. We can say it has to be a book with no or few human characters. We can also decide that the book can be mainly human characters but has to have at least one or two nonhuman ones as well. I chose the later. Here are the books I read in 2015 that contained at least one nonhuman character. <u>The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel</u> (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan. <u>City of Bones</u> by Cassandra Clare along with <u>City of Ashes</u>, <u>City of Glass</u>, <u>City of Fallen Angels</u>, and <u>City of Lost Souls</u> all part of The Mortal Instruments Series. <u>Favorite Fairy Tales</u> by Logan Marshall. <u>The Hero and the Crown</u> by Robin Mckinley. <u>Everblue</u>, <u>Evergreen</u>, and <u>Everlost </u>(Mer Tales books 1, 2 and 3) by Brenda Pandos. And also <u>Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol</u> by Tom Mula.<br />
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In case there was any doubt, yes, I love fantasy books. That would be why there are so many with nonhuman characters.<br />
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<b>8. A funny book</b></h4>
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Kelly Oram's books <u>V is for Virgin</u> and <u>A is for Abstinence</u> had me laughing out loud. The first is about Val, a girl who is accused by her ex-boyfriend of "being easy". The rummer is started by her ex when he is frustrated that Val is waiting to have sex until marriage, an ideal I wholeheartedly agree with, but causes him to break up with her. Val announces to the cafeteria that she is, indeed, still a virgin and the proceeds to start a campaign to get high school students to wait to have physical relationships. During this first book, Val meets the sexy and famous Kyle who tries to get Val to break her no sex before marriage rule. This leads us into the second book told from Kyle's point of view as he abstains from sex in order to win Val's heart. It was refreshing to read a book where the main character holds firm to a belief that in today's world seems old fashioned. I hope that many young people read this and learn that they should wait until they are ready before jumping into a physical relationship. Peer pressure on today's youth to have sex is much too intense.<br />
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<b>9. A book by a female author</b></h4>
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I'm just going to list these, as there are too may to go into detail.<br />
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<u>Fangirl</u> by Rainbow Rowell<br />
<u>Crossed</u> and <u>Reached</u> by Ally Condie<br />
<u>Notes to Self</u> by Avery Sawyer (real name Laura Schaefer)<br />
<u>Before Midnight</u> by Cameron Dokey<br />
<u>V is for Virgin</u> and <u>A is for Abstinence</u> by Kelly Oram<br />
<u>Ever</u> by Gail Carson Levine<br />
<u>Unbroken</u> by Laura Hillenbrand<br />
<u>Dying for a Living</u> by Kory M. Shrum<br />
<u>The Heir</u> by Kiera Cass<br />
<u>Tuck Everlasting</u> by Natalie Babbit<br />
Books 1 through 5 of The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare<br />
<u>Atlantia</u> by Ally Condie<br />
<u>The Cottage in the Woods</u> by Katherine Coville<br />
<u>The Diary of a Young Girl</u> by Anne Frank<br />
<u>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</u> by Laurie R. King<br />
<u>Thousand Pieces of Gold</u> by Ruthanne Lum McCunn<br />
<u>The Hero and the Crown</u> by Robin Mckinley<br />
Books 1 through 3 of the Mer Tales series by Brenda Pandos<br />
<u>The Outsiders</u> by S. E. Hinton<br />
and finally <u>To Kill A Mockingbird</u> by Harper Lee<br />
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<b>10. A mystery or thriller</b></h4>
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I don't really care for thrillers so these are going to lean toward the mystery side of the category.<br />
<u>Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line</u> by Rob Thomas.<br />
<u>Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer</u> by John Grisham<br />
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<u>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</u> by Laurie R. King<br />
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If you are a fan of Sherlock Holmes then get ready for this book. Sherlock is retired, or at least he is trying to be retired and just study his bees. Mary is an intelligent young woman who, quite literally, runs into Sherlock. Holmes takes Miss Russell under his wing and together they solve crimes. Lives are at stake when Sherlock's past catches up to him in this fantastic detective novel.<br />
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<b>11. A book with a one-word title</b></h4>
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<u>Fangirl</u> by Rainbow Rowell--I would have enjoyed this book more if the author hadn't felt the need to use countless swear words. That's my only complaint. Bad language is not necessary. Ever.<br />
<u>Crossed</u> and <u>Reached</u> by Ally Condie<br />
<u>Ever</u> by Gail Carson Levine (author of <u>Ella Enchanted</u>)<br />
<u>Unbroken</u> by Laura Hillenbrand<br />
<u>Atlantia</u> by Ally Condie<br />
<u>Everblue</u>, <u>Evergreen</u> and <u>Everlost</u> by Brenda Pandos<br />
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<b>12. A book of short stories</b></h4>
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<u>Favorite Fairy Tales</u> by Logan Marshall<br />
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These fairy tales have been super condensed. There are only 196 pages in this book. Eighteen fairy tales are covered in this book.<br />
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This would be great for some quick bedtime stories. Although you must keep in mind that some of the original fairy tales have some gruesome aspects in them. Such as in Cinderella--the stepsisters cut parts of their feet off to try and fit them into the slipper.<br />
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<b>13. A book set in a different country</b></h4>
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I'm going for ones that actually tell you what country they are set in. Some fairy tales and fantasy books could easily take place anywhere.<br />
<u>Ever</u> by Gail Carson Levine takes place in Mesopotamia (basically ancient India)<br />
<u>Unbroken</u> by Laura Hillenbrand takes place in both the United States and Japan<br />
<u>The Diary of a Young Girl</u> by Anne Frank takes place in Amsterdam<br />
<u>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</u> by Laurie R. King takes place in England<br />
<u>Thousand Pieces of Gold</u> by Ruthanne Lum McCunn takes place in China and the United States<br />
<u>Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol</u> by Tom Mula takes place in England<br />
<u>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</u> by Ransom Riggs takes place in the United States and England<br />
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<b>14. A nonfiction book</b></h4>
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<u>The Diary of a Young Girl</u> by Anne Frank and <u>Unbroken</u> by Laura Hillenbrand<br />
Also <u>The Heart of Everything That Is</u> by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin<br />
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<b>15. A popular author's first book</b></h4>
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that <u>City of Bones</u> is Cassandra Clare's first novel. Her works have taken off and she is being hailed as the new Queen of Fantasy.<br />
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I've enjoyed this series for the most part. I'm currently reading the sixth and final book. I did get the feeling that she could have ended the series more than once before now and am finding that I'm loosing steam reading the last book.<br />
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<b>16. A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet</b></h4>
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<u>The Heir</u> by Kiera Cass<br />
<u>Atlantia</u> by Ally Condie<br />
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<b>17.A book a friend recommended</b></h4>
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I started reading Cassandra Clare's <u>City of Bones</u> after a close friend had me over to watch the movie. When she found out I hadn't read the book, well, she kind of freaked and told me to read the series.<br />
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<b>18. A Pulitzer Prize-winning book</b></h4>
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<u>To Kill A Mockingbird</u> by Harper Lee won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961. This was my first time reading the classic and, once I wrapped my mind around the era it takes place in and the language of the time, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel.<br />
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<b>19. A book based on a true story</b></h4>
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Refer to number 14 as they are the same books.<br />
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<b>20. A book at the bottom of your to-read list</b></h4>
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Natalie Babbitt's <u>Tuck Everlasting</u> has been sitting on my bookshelf for more years than I can tell you. There were always other books that seemed more appealing to me sitting on my bedside table. I enjoyed this cute story that questions if immortality is really all it's cracked up to be.<br />
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<b>21. A book your mom loves</b></h4>
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There are probably a few other books that I read in 2015 that my mom loves, but I know for sure that she loves <u>Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol</u> by Tom Mula.<br />
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<b>22. A book that scares you</b></h4>
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<u>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</u> by Ransom Riggs isn't really a scary book, but there were parts that totally gave me the creeps. I don't enjoy being scared and have no intention of making myself scared. When I asked some friends about books they had read that were a little scary or creepy this one came up. It is an interesting read with fantastic old photos to help the story along.<br />
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<b>23. A book more than 100 years old</b></h4>
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<u>Treasure Island</u> by Robert Louis Stevenson was published in 1883<br />
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<b>24. A book based entirely on its cover</b></h4>
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The simple, yet beautiful cover of <u>Atlantia</u> by Ally Condie caught my eye one day in the grocery store. I enjoyed Condie's Matched trilogy so much that I thought I would buy this and check it out. An intriguing story about an underworld society and the struggles they face as their world starts to fall apart.<br />
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<b>25. A book you were supposed to read in school but didn't</b></h4>
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<b>26. A memoir</b></h4>
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I'm putting these two together as I read the same book to cover both categories. <u>The Diary of a Young Girl</u> by Anne Frank was assigned reading my eighth grade year, but I only read the first couple of diary entries.<br />
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<b>27. A book you can finish in a day</b></h4>
<b> </b>I read <u>A Day in Dogtown</u> by Mark J. Asher in just a matter of hours. The book is only 157 pages long and is told from the point of view of a young girl. I'll talk more about this book a little farther down.<br />
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Another book I could have finished in a day if it hadn't been for the craziness of the Holiday season was <u>Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol</u> by Tom Mula. This book is only 116 pages long and is in a bit larger print than most books.<br />
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28. A book with antonyms in the title</h4>
I struggled with this one for the longest time. As you most likely know, an antonym is a word that has an opposite. For example, the antonym for good would be evil. Part of the reason I struggled with this one was that I wasn't quite sure what they meant by reading a book with an antonym in the title. Did they mean that it just had to have a word that has an opposite, even if the opposite isn't in the title? I finally came to the conclusion that they wanted both the word and its antonym in the title. Then came the struggle to find such a book. In November of 2015 I was still trying to find such a book when I went onto Goodreads website to look at how my challenge on there was going. One of the good things about the Goodreads website is that you can easily see all the books you have read during the year. I was looking back at those books and realized that I had already read a book that fulfilled this category. <u>Dying for a Living</u> by Kory M. Shrum was an interesting book. I really liked the idea behind the story, a girl who can die for other people and then she regenerates and can come back to life. There are numerous people in the world who have this ability and they work for an organization that uses them to take the place of their clients when they should be dying. I had issue with the language used in the book and also some sex scenes. Also, this was a kindle book and the editing got worse the farther I got into the book.<br />
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<b>29. A book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit</b></h4>
I have long wanted to visit England. I was able to take a trip to Europe when I was 18, but England was not part of the trip. <u>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</u> by Laurie R. King takes place in England, bouncing back and forth between the country and city.<br />
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<b> </b>30. A book that came out the year you were born</h4>
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This was another one that I struggled with. Apparently there were a lot of sequels published in 1984. I refused to read a sequel without having first read the books leading up to it. Also, finding a book that appealed to me took some time, but I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. Robin Mckinley, author of such books as <u>Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast</u> and <u>Dragonhaven</u> wrote a fantastic adventure published in 1984 that won the Newberry Medal called <u>The Hero and the Crown</u>. The lone child of the King, and a daughter no less, struggles to fit into her role. She secretly becomes a dragon slayer and sets out to save the kingdom.<br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">31. A book with bad reviews</span></b></h4>
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<u>The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend</u> by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin<br />
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Please remember that this is my own opinion. I honestly don't know how this book ended up on the New York Time's Bestseller list. I struggled through this mess of a book. The first half jumped around on the timeline of America history so much that I couldn't keep up with what time period the authors were talking about. Also, it seems as though the authors took turns writing and one of them, I'm not sure which, is very pretentious. Again, remember this is my opinion. I also don't see how this is the "untold story of Red Cloud" when all of the stories told are cited as being from other books. There were also numerous times in the book when the authors put in opinions from not only themselves but also historical journal entries, and the authors put these opinions in as if they were facts. They also spent a good deal of print telling, in detail, the mutilations to human bodies done by the Native Americans. I understand that these atrocities happened, but I really don't need to hear the details every time the army would stumble upon a mutilated body (and this happens quite often in the book).<br />
It took me five months to finish reading this book of 432 pages. I almost stopped reading it somewhere near the middle but my stubborn streak kicked in. I started to look at the reviews on Goodreads at that point and noticed that all of the good reviews were from everyday people. I looked a little deeper and started finding reviews from professors and anthropologists who have made Native American History their field of study. Their reviews called into question many errors within this book.<br />
All in all, I did not care for this book and suggest that if you would like to learn about Red Cloud, go find something else to read. Red Cloud seemed like a distant character throughout the majority of the book.<br />
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32. A trilogy</h4>
I'm going to cheat again, although just a little this time. I technically didn't read a trilogy in 2015. I read the second and third books in the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie, but I had read the first book in 2014. I'm going to say that I fulfilled this item on the challenge though as I read 5 of the 6 books in The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Seeing as that is more than a trilogy, I'm counting it. I also read the first 3 books in the Mer Tales series by Brenda Pandos (there are 4 books in total).<br />
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33. A book from your childhood</h4>
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<u>The Outsiders</u> by S.E. Hinton follows a young teen named Ponyboy Curtis through the trials of a Greaser in the late 50's or early 60's. From fist fights to switchblades, Ponyboy and his friends find themselves in big trouble. I read this book when I was twelve and all I could remember about it was having to learn the difference between "tuff" and "tough" in reading class. Reading this book again as an adult was much more meaningful. If you read this during your childhood and can't remember why your teacher put this on the reading list, then I encourage you to read it again.<br />
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34. A book with a love triangle</h4>
<u>Crossed</u> by Ally Condie, <u>The Heir</u> by Kiera Cass, and <u>Everlost</u> by Brenda Pandos all contain love triangles.<br />
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35. A book set in the future</h4>
<u>Crossed</u> and <u>Reached</u> by Ally Condie<br />
<u>The Heir</u> by Kiera Cass<br />
<u>Atlantia</u> by Ally Condie<br />
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36. A book set in high school</h4>
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<u>Notes to Self</u> by Avery Sawyer is about a teenage girl who, at the beginning of the book, suffers a terrible accident leaving her with damaged and/or missing memories. The story follows along as she struggles to find herself while enduring her peers who think she pushed her friend off the amusement park ride they were climbing. At the suggestion of her therapist, she makes notes to herself to remind her of things she likes and needs to remember while she comes to terms with what happened to her and her friend who has remained in a coma.<br />
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<u>V is for Virgin</u> by Kelly Oram, <u>Everblue</u> and <u>Evergreen</u> both by Brenda Pandos also take place during the character's high school years.<br />
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37. A book with a color in the title</h4>
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<u>Everblue</u> by Brenda Pandos is the first book in the Mer Tales series. I've never read a book about mermaids and, honestly, never really thought about them. I was skeptical that I would like this. I was wrong. I enjoyed it so much that I immediately downloaded <u>Evergreen</u>, the second book, once I was done so I could continue the story.<br />
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I suppose that <u>Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line</u> by Rob Thomas and <u>Thousand Pieces of Gold</u> by Ruthanne Lum McCunn both have colors in their titles as well.<br />
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38. A book that made you cry</h4>
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<u>A Day in Dogtown</u> by Mark J. Asher<br />
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If you are a dog lover, make sure you have some tissues with you while you read. I have a chocolate lab myself, so the cover picture kept making me think of her as I read the book. A young girl finds out that her family must move and dogs aren't allowed at their new home. While taking the old loving dog to be put down, he escapes from the car and runs away. The young girl ditches school and attempts to find her dog. Along the way, tired out from walking, she falls asleep and visits a wonderful place where dogs have treat dispensers and sniffing tubes. There are mechanical squirrels to chase and ponds to play in. I won't say more because I don't want to spoil the book, but I think you can see where this is going.<br />
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39. A book with magic</h4>
Books with magic are my favorite. My all time favorite book series is Harry Potter (have you seen my blog? Lots of Harry Potter posts!).<br />
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<u>Before Midnight</u> by Cameron Dokey<br />
<u>Ever</u> by Gail Carson Levine<br />
<u>Tuck Everlasting</u> by Natalie Babbitt<br />
The Mortal Instruments books 1 through 5 by Cassandra Clare<br />
<u>Favorite Fary Tales</u> by Logan Marshall<br />
<u>The Hero and the Crown</u> by Robin Mckinley<br />
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40. A graphic novel</h4>
Until this challenge I had never read a graphic novel or comic book. Being the gigantic nerd that I am this is kind of shocking. My book group was reading <u>Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief</u> by Rick Riordan and since I had already read it, I decide to read the graphic novel version. <u>The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel</u> (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan was a great review for me. Reading a graphic novel that is based on a book is like taking a super condensed refresher course. It got me back up to speed on what had happened in the book so I could get in on the discussion at out book group meeting. Will I ever read a graphic novel again? Probably not. It's just not my cup of tea.<br />
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41. A book by an author you've never read before</h4>
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I had never read any of Cameron Dokey's books before but I am glad that I came across <u>Before Midnight</u>. It is a retelling of the Cinderella story. Dokey focuses more on sisterly love though. The prince doesn't even come into play until the last couple of chapters. Instead she learns to love her stepsisters and stepmother.<br />
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I enjoyed Dokey's retelling so much that I purchased some of her other fairy tail books and will hopefully read them this year.<br />
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Other books by authors I had never read before include:<br />
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<u>Fangirl</u> by Rainbow Rowell<br />
<u>Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line</u> by Rob Thomas<br />
<u>Notes to Self</u> by Avery Sawyer<br />
<u>V is for Virgin</u> by Kelly Oram<br />
<u>Unbroken</u> by Laura Hillenbrand<br />
<u>Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer</u> by John Grisham (yep, I hadn't read any Grisham before this)<br />
<u>Treasure Island</u> by Robert Louis Stevenson<br />
<u>Dying for a Living</u> by Kory M. Shrum<br />
<u>A Day in Dogtown</u> by Mark J. Asher<br />
<u>Tuck Everlasting</u> by Natalie Babbitt<br />
<u>City of Bones</u> by Cassandra Clare<br />
<u>The Cottage in the Woods</u> by Katherine Coville<br />
<u>The Beekeeper's Apprentice</u> by Laurie R. King<br />
<u>Favorite Fairy Tales</u> by Logan Marshal<br />
<u>The Heart of Everything That Is</u> by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin<br />
<u>The Hero and the Crown</u> by Robin Mckinley<br />
<u>Everblue</u> by Brenda Pandos<br />
<u>Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol</u> by Tom Mula<br />
<u>Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</u> by Ransom Riggs<br />
<u>To Kill A Mockingbird</u> by Harper Lee<br />
<u>Only the Brave</u> by Gerald Lund <br />
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Lots of new authors for me this past year.<br />
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42. A book you own but have never read</h4>
I'm assuming they meant a book you have owned for quite a while, but haven't yet read. I own 99% of the books I read. I live in a rural mountain area and it's hard to find time to make my way to a public library to lend books. This means that I have lots of books laying around that I haven't read yet. The only book that I read last year that had been sitting around for a long time (we're talking more than 2 years) is <u>Tuck Everlasting</u> by Natalie Babbitt.<br />
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43. A book that takes place in your hometown</h4>
I feel validated in my cheating this time. I technically don't live within any city limits. My zip code says Boise, Idaho but I'm about 30 miles from Boise. The nearest town at only 5 miles away is Idaho City, Idaho. I tried to find a book that took place in Idaho City, but they were all history books. I'm not talking, lets tell the story of the Chinese miners in Idaho City type books. No, they were all full on history books that you would study out of in a high school class.<br />
So I looked towards Boise. I grew up in Boise so I could call it my hometown. I found a book that supposedly takes place in Boise, but after reading the first chapter I could tell it would be horrible. The language, sexual innuendos and editing were atrocious. And this was just the first chapter.<br />
Well, I couldn't find anything else set in Boise that seemed appealing, so I settled for a book that took place in Idaho. <u>Thousand Pieces of Gold</u> by Ruthanne Lum McCunn is about a Chinese girl whose father sells her to bandits in order to save the rest of the family from starvation. She is then sold to a Chinese brothel and illegally brought into America. She is sold at auction and shipped to Lewiston, Idaho. She then has to make her way on foot to what is now Wallace, Idaho. The man who bought her is a Chinese man who owns a saloon in the mining town.<br />
Polly, as she has been named, does not know that it is illegal to own another human in America and works for Hong King (saloon owner), secretly steeling gold dust that has fallen to the floor in the hopes of buying her freedom. She falls in love with an American who owns the other saloon in town. The story continues to follow Polly through her life until her death in the early 1900's.<br />
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44. A book that was originally written in a different language</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1w-2C3LSR4_oFKCj2XFlRpAQuRsLRwxzswZrnK0TKuwZeqyPvVC80qJ9LXt6UYNcVvthjzrq3l2v_Pws6tG9MZayDn1niXXVNga68NLp3zN1dw7GcD72sprK6nGCmQYkdh4YZ_M7T9Eo/s1600/519HKX9M69L._SY344_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1w-2C3LSR4_oFKCj2XFlRpAQuRsLRwxzswZrnK0TKuwZeqyPvVC80qJ9LXt6UYNcVvthjzrq3l2v_Pws6tG9MZayDn1niXXVNga68NLp3zN1dw7GcD72sprK6nGCmQYkdh4YZ_M7T9Eo/s200/519HKX9M69L._SY344_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg" width="120" /></a></div>
Originally written in Dutch, <u>The Diary of a Young Girl</u> by Anne Frank has been translated into more than 60 languages.<br />
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45. A book set during Christmas</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpex78py4YXLujgLlK9uPqTbfIfZWDnAtotph6dVcfhkdGac82vpnu3rCNEm2kLxGuZCKJqiiRGKWA5toCFa6qq3ZGzOnPgfrOdNDo0ybLWi4K8R7_OfN4MMhCXnB_JajA5E_629E0yjE/s1600/13046775._UY200_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpex78py4YXLujgLlK9uPqTbfIfZWDnAtotph6dVcfhkdGac82vpnu3rCNEm2kLxGuZCKJqiiRGKWA5toCFa6qq3ZGzOnPgfrOdNDo0ybLWi4K8R7_OfN4MMhCXnB_JajA5E_629E0yjE/s200/13046775._UY200_.jpg" width="145" /></a></div>
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<u>Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol</u> by Tom Mula is a fun twist on the original <u>A Christmas Carol</u> by Charles Dickens. It starts out the same: "Marley was dead..." but instead of following Scrooge, we stick with Marley. Marley goes to the afterlife and finds out what his reward is for how he lived his life. His reward is Hell. He has the opportunity to change his fate by redeeming Scrooge. A daunting task, one he nearly gives up on, but eventually he conquers. A fast read with only 116 pages and some delightful artwork.<br />
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46. A book written by an author with your same initials</h4>
<u>The Diary of a Young Girl</u> by Anne Frank<br />
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This was another challenge. Trying to do internet searches for authors with the initials A.F. isn't as easy as it would seem.<br />
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47. A play</h4>
This is the last time I'm going to cheat. I promise! I didn't technically read the play version of Anne Frank, but I'm going to count reading her diary entries for this category. If I would have had more time I might have found a play to read.<br />
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48. A banned book</h4>
Even though it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and has been called classic literature, the book, <u>To Kill A Mockingbird</u> by Harper Lee still remains on the banned booklist. The profanity (which is minimal), racial content, and rape references have led people to challenge this book and remove the novel from all classrooms and school libraries.<br />
<u>The Diary of a Young Girl</u> by Anne Frank was banned by a school in Alabama for being "a real downer." This book has appeared on may banned booklists throughout the world.<br />
Did you know that "Where's Waldo?" was put on banned booklists in more than one state in the U.S.? How about <u>The Complete Fairy Tales of The Brothers Grimm</u> by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm? Did you know the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling appears on numerous banned lists? Mark Twain's <u>The Adventures of Tom Sawyer</u> has been banned from some libraries. Nothing could go wrong with a Judy Blume book, right? Wrong. <u>Forever</u> was published in 1975 and was quickly banned and is still being challenged in school libraries today because the story is about a girl and her boyfriend who decide to have premarital sex.<br />
When it comes to banned books, my advice would be to look at why it was banned and make your own judgment call. There is also a wonderful website called <a href="http://ratedreads.com/" target="_blank">Rated Reads</a>, free to use, that will tell give books rating like movies have. They review the book and tell you exactly why they gave it that rating. They rate newer books and tend to leave the classics alone. If you can't find a newer book on their site, you can request that they read and review it for you.<br />
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49. A book based on or turned into a TV show</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAFYib87qyshbK1i2qBPHjA-9R65-PAr58orqpSw6J7a-0Y2A2-UhUX5dgTmMyqtKpPapVNDmqt0ysLIUNVKTX-jfRwRxLr9gMwYSxug0DXk1hd8EkrD4AMCw-xfh94b59fWbKaoiQ-I/s1600/veronica_mars__130313195939-275x348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAFYib87qyshbK1i2qBPHjA-9R65-PAr58orqpSw6J7a-0Y2A2-UhUX5dgTmMyqtKpPapVNDmqt0ysLIUNVKTX-jfRwRxLr9gMwYSxug0DXk1hd8EkrD4AMCw-xfh94b59fWbKaoiQ-I/s200/veronica_mars__130313195939-275x348.jpg" width="157" /></a></div>
<i>Veronica Mars</i>, created by screenwriter Rob Thomas, made its series debut on September 22, 2004. The show lasted three years. A kickstarter campaign earned enough money for a Veronica Mars movie to be made which came out in 2014. Kristen Bell, who plays Veronica Mars, was a major part of getting the movie funded.<br />
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Veronica is a highly intelligent teenager who moonlights as a private detective. She solves small cases for classmates and friends while working a bigger case each year, starting with the murder of her best friend.<br />
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The series is witty and dramatic with amazing stars such as Francis Capra, Amanda Seyfried and Enrico Colantoni who plays Veronica's dad.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLyZxLPbzEZgpJTU0XcB2NaTOJuD1CdOqzwyhdMUw-1im4f2XnM3wGrFSRwZesx9aYh07gy2LvKCXh7lahLyZi6iBX5o3X0u0FQJmkcxRWIulqW7rXy6GU5PhZqAXC2HZwgm3cmMDnYo/s1600/18209454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgLyZxLPbzEZgpJTU0XcB2NaTOJuD1CdOqzwyhdMUw-1im4f2XnM3wGrFSRwZesx9aYh07gy2LvKCXh7lahLyZi6iBX5o3X0u0FQJmkcxRWIulqW7rXy6GU5PhZqAXC2HZwgm3cmMDnYo/s200/18209454.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
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The book, <u>Veronica Mars: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line</u> by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Grahm, picks up where the kickstarter funded movie leaves off. Veronica is back in California and working as a private detective. The case involves Veronica's mom, who ran out on her when she was 16.<br />
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It was fun to revisit Veronica's world and I look forward to reading the next book.<br />
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50. A book you started but never finished</h4>
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Robert Louis Stevenson's <u>Treasure Island</u> was one of the three free books that came already loaded onto my cell phone. I started to read this in April of 2014 and just couldn't get it finished. I had a hard time reading on my cell because the screen only fit about a paragraph at a time. Well, I finished it in 2015 and so was able to count it for this category.<br />
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That's it! I read 38 book total, exceeding my Goodreads challenge by 3 books. I mentioned all of the books at least once, but you can see what I meant about using the same book to cover multiple categories. I won't be doing this challenge again this year, but I did enjoy breaking out of my reading comfort zone a bit and trying some new stuff.<br />
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If you've read something great that you think I might like, let me know in the comments!<br />
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Happy reading!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-29845469755405701942015-01-16T08:45:00.000-07:002015-01-16T08:45:21.255-07:00Movie StorageI loooove movies! I also happen to live in a mountain area, in a little pocket that, for some reason, doesn't get reception. I'm talking no cell phone reception, no TV reception, and the mountain behind our house blocks us from the satellites. We can't get high speed internet either, only a 26k dial up connection that isn't worth the money we would have to pay for it. So what do I do? I watch movies and do crafts. And while I do crafts, I watch movies. This means that I have what most people would consider an extensive movie collection. We're talking closing in on 600 movies and TV shows on disc and my collection is still growing. Hey, I have to pass the time somehow during the winter when I can't go outside and it's a 45 minute drive into town.<br />
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I'm sure some of you have figured out the downside to having so many movies. Where in the world do you put them all? I had bookshelves full of movies. It seemed like my room was being over run with them! We have a small house with little to no storage room. My sister keeps her movies out in the living room, and so to keep our collections separate I have mine in my bedroom. Well, I finally got fed up with not having room for my craft supplies (I'm sure you can see where that's going to go, too!) so I found an alternative solution to storing my movies.<br />
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I went onto <a href="http://amazon.com/">amazon.com</a> (a dangerous site for some of us) and ordered some CD sleeves and a double wide CD box (shown below). I took all of my single disc movies and put them into the CD sleeves. I'm a little OCD and so my movies are in alphabetical order. To make them easier to find in the CD box, I made dividers out of card stock and these wonderful little paperclip flags I found.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmttSNqhgSgFLnNaAH2MATsu3ScO28ISqxwWGWAMpoTlN7C-L6BP3Zp-wYgKaP3DKbEvGkWZmTjrXYR_NQGGuI-xb-erZtk1wDzfJgZI7x434DNOpvep0x64QraK0QOX4KiaZ5biOUlU/s1600/IMG_7862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXmttSNqhgSgFLnNaAH2MATsu3ScO28ISqxwWGWAMpoTlN7C-L6BP3Zp-wYgKaP3DKbEvGkWZmTjrXYR_NQGGuI-xb-erZtk1wDzfJgZI7x434DNOpvep0x64QraK0QOX4KiaZ5biOUlU/s1600/IMG_7862.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2G0ZAYq0rrROhbCmFscsroaeN8GEci8-qgUASE6Lhcj9N3OxAVccf0IJgdX-yg3p76wNs7fgwK0AbvxheveBJhnzHMM0d1u_ewHRpBuCVH_0N3DPnOiFdm0AzmdI4szPnIVaUQd7CT8/s1600/IMG_7878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW2G0ZAYq0rrROhbCmFscsroaeN8GEci8-qgUASE6Lhcj9N3OxAVccf0IJgdX-yg3p76wNs7fgwK0AbvxheveBJhnzHMM0d1u_ewHRpBuCVH_0N3DPnOiFdm0AzmdI4szPnIVaUQd7CT8/s1600/IMG_7878.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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I labeled them as #, A-S, THE, and T-Z with letters P Q, U V, and X Y Z together on flags. The box would hold about 175 movies on each side for a total of 350 movies!<br />
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As I stated before, I put all my single disc movies into the CD box. All of the other movies that are multiple disc sets such as TV shows or blu-ray/DVD combos I left in their cases. I freed up so much space with the single disc movies that I don't feel overwhelmed with what is left on my shelves.<br />
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For the most part, you can see the movie title through the clear window in the CD sleeve. Every now and then you get a disc that doesn't have a name or picture on it. For these I simply wrote the name of the movie on the outside of the CD sleeve.<br />
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To make for easy movie searches, I printed out my movie list. What I've done is created an excel worksheet that lists the name of the movie, genre, leading actors/actresses, rating, and format (DVD or blu-ray). I even have a column for if the movie has been borrowed and who has it. I highlighted all the TV shows which are in one bookcase and then highlighted in another color the movies with multiple discs which are kept in a DVD stand. It's easy to peruse the movies in this list then be able to quickly find them where they are stored.<br />
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When a movie is being watched, I put a small post-it note in the space where the movie belongs so I don't have to search through that alpha section to put the movie away.<br />
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I hope this helps and happy organizing!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-88235952380295781872015-01-16T08:36:00.000-07:002015-01-16T08:36:11.059-07:00DIY Ink Pad Storage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH45QrAMISx5Bgz5FNSKhdarhGDLGK1f0ycQ23XS7g8LqFz4Z0XYnCxWGdLJtw9jt6IhFMcYAsBZm92icxWC4f5hZTK1WY-pJCBQtYr7jRdZE8QlSaUeVViSjx5atNlaBmElW7bjLVt-s/s1600/IMG_7885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH45QrAMISx5Bgz5FNSKhdarhGDLGK1f0ycQ23XS7g8LqFz4Z0XYnCxWGdLJtw9jt6IhFMcYAsBZm92icxWC4f5hZTK1WY-pJCBQtYr7jRdZE8QlSaUeVViSjx5atNlaBmElW7bjLVt-s/s1600/IMG_7885.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
I'm always looking for new ways to store and organize my craft supplies. One day while trying to figure out if I could do something with the two bamboo place mats I've had sitting around for years, thinking I would just end up throwing them out, I thought, "You know, if I just had some elastic I could thread it through the bamboo and make some kind of holder out of these." So, the next day I headed off to the craft store and got some elastic. This is the result.<br />
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Supplies:<br />
1/2" elastic in the color of your choice<br />
bamboo place mat(s)<br />
needle and thread to match the color of elastic<br />
ink pads you will be storing (or markers, paint, etc.)<br />
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Start by figuring out the spacing you will need for your ink pads. You don't want the elastic too loose or the ink will fall right out. You also don't want it too tight or you will have problems getting the ink in or out. This is the hardest part. Once you have figured out the spacing, take one end of the elastic and loop it through the end of the place mat and sew the end together. Start threading the elastic through the bamboo. Sew the other end on. Repeat as needed across the place mat. I did two rows, but if you have smaller ink pads (like the square distress ink pads from Ranger) you may get three rows on a mat. <br />
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Put in your ink pads and viola! Your done! I stuck a binder clip on mine and hung it from a command hook attached to the side of the bookcase that hold my craft supplies. I also found that the mat will fold nicely, as shown below, and can be stored on a shelf in this manner.<br />
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Please note that the elastic will loosen when you remove an ink pad. I haven't had problems with my ink pads falling out when I've removed just one from a side, but if you remove too many they may start to fall out.<br />
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Happy crafting!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-62003963093249713862013-03-13T18:23:00.000-06:002013-03-13T18:23:27.189-06:00St. Patrick's Day WreathI just love making holiday wreaths to hang at work! I'm starting to get quite the collection of them!<br />
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Supplies needed for this wreath:<br />
<ul>
<li>12" wreath form</li>
<li>pot of gold, gold coins, shamrocks, etc. for decoration</li>
<li>ribbon--preferably St. Patrick's Day theamed</li>
<li>Tulle or netting (I used heavy scrubbie mesh/tulle) in the following colors: </li>
</ul>
red--------4 strips<br />
orange----4 strips<br />
yellow----4 strips<br />
green------about 35 strips<br />
blue-------4 strips<br />
purple----4 strips <br />
Strips should be 1.5" by about 28"<br />
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To apply the tulle strips, fold the strip in half. Place folded strip under wreath form with fold on the inside of the wreath. Pull the loose ends of strip over the wreath and through the fold's loop. Pull tight. Continue applying strips, overlapping some, until wreath is full.<br />
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<b>*Note:</b> if your mesh/tulle has large holes, you will be able to see the color of the wreath form underneath. Also, it should be a stiff mesh/tulle so that the ends stick out well.<br />
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Trim the edge of the mesh/tulle to desired length. Add embellishments with a hot glue gun. Wrap a ribbon around the top and you're done!<br />
<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-23324460715875927212013-01-18T09:10:00.000-07:002013-01-18T09:10:00.633-07:00Yes, my dog is my childOn December 18th, exactly one week before Christmas, my day was a normal day. I got up, went to work, and drove home. Everything changed when I arrived at my house. I live on a highway, right on the highway, in the mountains of Idaho. We have animals. When I approached the house and saw a car on the other side of the highway with its hazards on, I wasn't worried. I thought they had just had car problems. Then I see a man in the middle of the road waving his arms above his head to get my attention. Now I'm starting to worry.<br />
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I pull into the driveway and see my nephew running up the walkway from the house. I roll down my car window and all I hear is "Tali got hit by a car." Thankfully I didn't go into panic mode. This isn't to say that I calmly walked into the house. No, I ran into the house, not even taking the time to grab my purse out of the car, I'm just saying that I was able to keep my wits about me.<br />
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As my nephew and I are running to the house he tells me that it looks like her leg is broken. I'm worried deeply about her but am relieved that she isn't dead. I get in the house and run to her. After examining her leg it looks like it's dislocated. I could also see a laceration on her back leg and cuts around one of her eyes. I'm worried about internal bleeding. The man who hit her came to the door and talked to my nephew while I examined Tali. He said that she went under his car (a small SUV).<br />
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We live an hour away from town, and there was no getting her to a vet that night. I put her in her crate so she wouldn't be able to move and didn't let her eat dinner.<br />
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I took her down to the vet first thing in the morning. I had to drop her off so I could get to work. I anxiously waited for the vet to call me. They confirmed that she dislocated her elbow on her right leg, had a laceration on her right knee, and thankfully no internal bleeding. Unfortunately they were unable to re-locate her elbow and referred me to the emergency vet in our area (which is twice as expensive as a normal vet).<br />
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She had to have surgery and cost me $2,100.00, but at least she's still with me. I was a little shocked when I went to pick her up and saw this bright pink bandage holding her splint on.<br />
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They had to put 5 staples in her knee to help close the laceration.<br />
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She had three different medications she was taking, one of which had to be dissolved in water and shot into her mouth in a syringe. She hated that one and fought with us as we would try to open her mouth. We also had to keep her bandages dry. Dry?! We live in the mountains, it's winter, and they want me to keep her bandages dry!? Let me tell you, it was a challenge that involved a lot of Glad press and seal. <br />
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She now has staples and bandages out/off and thinks she can run and jump. She is supposed to have restricted movement for another week, three weeks in total. She also has multiple physical therapy exercises she gets to do for a total of six weeks.<br />
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I hope she's learned a lesson about running into the road, but I highly doubt it.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-53330251587693901362012-12-18T18:18:00.000-07:002012-12-18T18:18:20.728-07:00Santa WreathI'm sure I saw this on Pinterest, but I apparently didn't pin it because I can find it on any of my boards! Good thing I remembered how to make it!<br />
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To make this Santa wreath you will need red and white feather boas (I had to use 3 6ft white boas and 2 6 ft red boas; go figure), wooden letters, black and gold/yellow felt, and a hot flue gun. Oh, and a wreath form.<br />
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Start by wrapping the wreath form with the boas, half white and half red. I cut the black felt into 2 inch strips. It took three strips to make it all the way around the wreath. Hot glue the ends of the strips so that it fits snugly around the wreath. For the buckle, cut the yellow felt into a 2 1/2 inch square, a 2 inch black square, and a 1/2x1 1/2 inch rectangle of yellow. Hot glue pieces together and glue to belt.<br />
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Paint your wooden letters; I choose silver. I hot glued these on. You may find it necessary to secure them with thread that is the same color as your letters. Hang it with some ribbon and you're done!<br />
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-75108945651122652202012-12-13T08:26:00.000-07:002012-12-13T08:26:10.351-07:00Riddles In The DarkSo, as mentioned in my last post, we had a scavenger hunt at our Middle Earth party based on the Riddles in the Dark. I noticed as I was preparing the images for this post that two of the riddles got run together and I only carved one stamp. Oops!<br />
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Here is the riddle sheet they were given. Once they figured out the riddle, they could then look for where the stamp might be. For instance: "wind" was behind a fan in the kitchen and "teeth" were in the bathroom. Two of the stamps required the guest to give the answer to Carma in order to get a clue to find the stamp. This brought our love of letterboxing into the mix.<br />
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Here is the sheet again with the answers filled in and the stamps inked on the page.<br />
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We were having a problem trying to figure out where to put the fish. Out of nowhere, as fun ideas usually come, I thought: "We should put a bowl of candy fish out for the guests with a sign that says Smeagol's Food and put the stamp behind it!" Needless to say, once people found the stamp, the bowl of candy disappeared fast.<br />
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I also carved an additional two stamps to put on salt dough and clay tags/ornaments. The salt dough was too porous to stamp an image on well but the clay tags were perfect. The images are of J.R.R. Tolkien's symbol and the White Tree of Gondor.<br />
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I hope you've all enjoyed what we did for our party! Hopefully I've given some ideas for anyone planning a party of their own!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-15620431610491093972012-12-07T13:47:00.001-07:002012-12-07T13:49:29.667-07:00A Middle Earth PartyWell, the party came and went and I'm still exhausted! I still have pretty much everything to put away from the party! It's always well worth it when everyone has a good time. I'm going to just get right down to what we did!<br />
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I had two wonderful co-hosts, Carma and Amy. Amy made some great signs for around the house (thank you Mom and Dad for letting us use your house!), and she also made made a wonderful backdrop for photos. I'm sad to say we didn't get around to taking photos in front of it, but it made for excellent decoration.<br />
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Amy also had a large map of Middle Earth printed up, which we did use for photos.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRHy34mNQglj0IozlmjPpu-kSDRhxHDZN44zHGWkuguFGmhZdMBeCaLke9TcuFdf1MvGz6EEF-Ws9u6kwBsv8IGD0z1u0Xaw-3zx1Zdsazv91bnvAmM2-29m8zzvV5taik3vgMqXDCQw/s1600/002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbRHy34mNQglj0IozlmjPpu-kSDRhxHDZN44zHGWkuguFGmhZdMBeCaLke9TcuFdf1MvGz6EEF-Ws9u6kwBsv8IGD0z1u0Xaw-3zx1Zdsazv91bnvAmM2-29m8zzvV5taik3vgMqXDCQw/s640/002.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Becca Robins Photography</td></tr>
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I'm sure dwarves wore bandanas, right? <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrfpQjQzHcBcPUxAyjszY3DWjBwVBOLE0M8rjYvJc_A03JTONrYiWKeqTQPJvFTOzZllJ10gQ4KRk0JcQBIhKsWqr7N2MAFr3sJuBRHrO8k5mxihrUD2hhPCbBEUveNYV6wRjN5arB-o/s1600/005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrfpQjQzHcBcPUxAyjszY3DWjBwVBOLE0M8rjYvJc_A03JTONrYiWKeqTQPJvFTOzZllJ10gQ4KRk0JcQBIhKsWqr7N2MAFr3sJuBRHrO8k5mxihrUD2hhPCbBEUveNYV6wRjN5arB-o/s640/005.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Becca Robins Photography</td></tr>
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I had made some dwarf beards for props. We also utilized the invisibility cloak from our Harry Potter party so that it could be an elven cloak. My nephew was kind enough to let us use his bow as well for photos.<br />
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<h4>
The Crafts:</h4>
I prepared four crafts to be done. I had them make an arrow, which turned out to be the hardest craft to make. The guests definitely have a good idea of how hard it was to make arrows and they understand why they would retrieve as many as they could after hunting or a battle.<br />
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I found a tutorial for the arrows on <a href="http://entropyhouse.com/penwiper/costumes/arrowtutorial.html" target="_blank">Entropy House</a>. The only thing I did differently was the tip. I had my amazing father cut the notches in the dowels for me. I had him cut a notch in the end for the tip about 1/2 in deep. Instead of using foam, I found some wooden hearts that we painted silver and then hot glued them into the one end.<br />
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The hardest part was getting the feathers glued on strait. I had prepared the feathers per the tutorial so all the guests had to do was glue them on then wrap the thread around, but the feathers were slightly curved. It ended up taking one person to hold the dowel and one person to glue the feather on. I somehow managed to do mine myself and my feathers ended up strait!<br />
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Another of the crafts was making leather stamped bracelets. I had a list of Tolkien quotes that they could choose from.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Not all who wander are lost." -J.R.R. Tolkien</td></tr>
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The third craft was to make magnets. I printed out maps of Middle Earth and had them place flat backed marbles over the names of places. They traced the marbles and cut out the areas they had selected. They used their finger to wipe E6000 (glue) onto the back of the marble and place the marble on the cut-out of the map. I had round, flat magnets there that they then wiped glue on and put the marble on that.<br />
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I could not get a clear picture of the magnets. I tried different angels and surfaces, but this is the best I could get. They're the four round ones in the center. <br />
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The last craft was to make the mallorn leaf wrappers and lembas bread. This tutorial, along with the recipe for the bread, can also be found on <a href="http://www.entropyhouse.com/penwiper/costumes/lembas.html" target="_blank">Entropy House</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making lembas bread</td></tr>
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<h4>
Games</h4>
We didn't want everything to be crafts, so we came up with a scavenger hunt based on the Riddles in the Dark. I will do a separate post next week on this called "Riddles in the Dark."<br />
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We also had a raffle for a $10.00 movie gift card and a replica of the One Ring.<br />
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<h4>
Food</h4>
Our party went through the lunch hour, so we decided to have stew. Our reason behind this? Po-tah-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a <b>stew! </b>So, that's exactly what we did!<br />
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For dessert, we had cupcakes with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Hobbit-Unexpected-Journey-Cupcake/dp/B009ZCJ4K6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354913052&sr=8-2&keywords=hobbit+cupcake+rings" target="_blank">these</a> cute rings in them!<br />
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Everyone had fun and went away with a bag full of crafts. Carma and I will now be planning our next big party: Hunger Games. I warned her that someone would ask us to do a HG themed party, and sure enough, my sister asked!<br />
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Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-87376467232618841092012-11-27T14:03:00.000-07:002012-11-27T15:42:14.249-07:00Letterboxing Address BooksBack in April (this is how far behind I am on blogging my crafts!), I made address books for Carma and Joyce's birthday gifts. Of course I made one for myself as well. I couldn't just use a regular address book, or rather I didn't want to, because in letterboxing you use an alias known as your trailname. We do this for safety reasons because of the internet, and also because it's just fun to have an alias! My trailname, for those who don't know already, is Music Chick. So, back to the address books, because we usually don't know other letterboxer's real names, I wanted to make books that said "trailname" instead of "name".<br />
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The address area has room for the boxer's trailname, real name, address, phone, and an alternate e-mail (we have our own e-mail on Atlas Quest that you can contact other boxers with).<br />
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In the back are two extra areas. I use the first to list out the LTCs that I'm currently working on and what stage I'm in on them. The second I use for keeping track of when the due dates are for different trackers or groups that I'm in so that I can get things mailed out on time.<br />
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It's been really handy to have. Atlas Quest has an area to keep your contacts in, but I really enjoy having something tangible. <br />
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Below is a picture of the front. It's really hard to see because there are sparkles all over it, but it reads "Amanda's Letterbox Contacts".<br />
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<br />Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-38324643359009430502012-09-26T18:12:00.002-06:002012-09-27T08:28:47.116-06:00I got roped in againI told myself after the Harry Potter party that I wouldn't do something on that kind of a scale for a <i>very</i> long time. Guess I lied.<br />
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About a month ago, one of the youth at church asked Carma and I if we would do a Lord of the Rings party to gear up for The Hobbit (in theaters December 14th). My first thought was "no way!", but as you might have guessed from the post title, the party is on!<br />
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This is going to be a Middle Earth Workshop. We'll be making numerous crafts and hopefully playing some games. We also want to enjoy some tasty hobbit foods.<br />
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So here's my plea: Does anyone have any cool Middle Earth related crafts? Any good recipes? Games? All of the Middle Earth/Tolkien parties I've seen on the web have been geared towards children. That's all great, but I'm going to have a wide age range in attendance. I've already got a list of ideas, but don't want to miss out on a really great idea that's floating around out there.<br />
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I look forward to your suggestions!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-70887057012612257792012-07-03T10:40:00.000-06:002012-07-03T10:41:09.067-06:00July 4th Altered Pringles CansI've seen pins on Pinterest where people have altered Pringles cans to look like pencils for teachers gifts and snowmen for Christmas. I decided to make some into fireworks for the Fourth of July.<br />
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Altering Pringles cans can be very simple. I bought scrapbook paper with fireworks on it and cut it to the same height of the Pringles can. I used Mod Podge to apply to the paper.<br />
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I then went two directions with the decorating. I was taking some to church and didn't want to decorate the lids (I thought they would be too much of a distraction for church), so I simply wrapped some patriotic ribbon around the cans. <br />
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The ones I took to work, I went ahead and decorated the lids. I wanted it to look like sparks flying out of the firework. I found a centerpiece that had red, white, and blue wires with stars sticking out of it. I simply took some wire cutters and cut them out of the cement base of the centerpiece. I folded them in half and sewed them onto the lids. Then I just had to spread them out a bit.<br />
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The black tube sticking out of the top is a red, white, and blue glow stick necklace. I cut a hole on the edge of the lid and stuck it through. It worked really well, making it look like the fuse.<br />
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I threw some goodies inside. Twizzlers, <a href="http://cookincowgirl.blogspot.com/2012/05/firecracker-cookies.html" target="_blank">firecracker cookies</a>, and <a href="http://kimskandykreations.blogspot.com/2011/06/firecracker-poop-printable.html" target="_blank">firecracker poop</a>. The recipe for the firecracker cookies calls for an 18.25 oz box of cake mix. I couldn't find that size and so I used the smaller size (15 point some odd oz) and they turned out just fine. <br />
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It's just so great to give to others! I love seeing someone's face light up when they receive a gift. There are few feelings better than that of giving and service.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-17248800036743446232012-06-11T08:52:00.000-06:002012-06-11T14:09:00.676-06:00What is an LTC?I've mentioned before that I'm a <a href="http://www.atlasquest.com/" target="_blank">Letter Boxer</a>. I carve my own stamps as part of the hobby and sometimes make LTC's with the stamps before planting them in the wild. So just what is a LTC? A LTC is the same thing as an ATC, which is to say that it is an Artist Trading Card, or, in Letterboxing terms, a Letterbox Trading Card. The only thing that truly separates a LTC from an ATC is that LTCs <b>must </b>have at least one hand carved stamp used on them. The artist is free to embellish the card however they want. Some cards are very intricate while others very simple.<br />
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I wanted to share a few of the LTCs that I've created with you!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-Ekj2yclCOOMExENFFqZm3GOZS_8JIuxXDp6zjKVBmosXI6vDoAxii6JznFErOEs69qHuxoq0J8KU0fAZtbfjZGFH4E5uL7QtAMQpABbG8mHvytuf5jxCEcHT7sRa04Sazlkr7Yfmqg/s1600/pirates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="443" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-Ekj2yclCOOMExENFFqZm3GOZS_8JIuxXDp6zjKVBmosXI6vDoAxii6JznFErOEs69qHuxoq0J8KU0fAZtbfjZGFH4E5uL7QtAMQpABbG8mHvytuf5jxCEcHT7sRa04Sazlkr7Yfmqg/s640/pirates.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Pirates Ahoy: Captain Jack Sparrow" "Disney Movies: Will Turner"</td></tr>
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The cards shown above where made using the same techniques. I made the background papers using <a href="http://www.creativeplaystamps.com/adirondack-alcohol-inks-c-203.html" target="_blank">alcohol inks</a>. I wanted Jack's background to be gold because, well, he's a pirate! For Will, I wanted it to look like water. I was very pleased with how both backgrounds came out.<br />
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After the paper was made and cut to size (standard LTC size is 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"), I took my hand carved stamps and embossed them onto the paper. I use a VersaMark Watermark stamp pad and detail black embossing powder. You can learn more about embossing techniques with simple searches on youtube, just expect to have to play around a bit to find what paper, ink, and powder work best for you.<br />
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Both of the cards above were made for trackers. Trackers are set up so that people can sign up and share their cards easily with others. Trackers usually have a theme and the owner (whoever set up and is in charge of the tracker) sets guidelines for all who join to follow. Everyone in the group ends up with a card from all the members.<br />
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Below are my Characters of Avonlea cards. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJ1JNxwxYsGI4E8Gy81Y2JrFK_J31_dPxsbPIz1iOd9z6bsAZTWabGWsjjc4yINfz6UHBwhiQ7v8-XWCbukSLCSgG05rnRxPjtvLGT2DXJt3NSmIsRXVFfQg_iPRI47THVWS8H8hsaGk/s1600/avonlea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJ1JNxwxYsGI4E8Gy81Y2JrFK_J31_dPxsbPIz1iOd9z6bsAZTWabGWsjjc4yINfz6UHBwhiQ7v8-XWCbukSLCSgG05rnRxPjtvLGT2DXJt3NSmIsRXVFfQg_iPRI47THVWS8H8hsaGk/s640/avonlea.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gilbert Blythe Anne Shirley Diana Barry</td></tr>
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These cards were not made for a tracker, but for individual trades. All three cards have info on the back about the character. I've always been a fan of Anne of Green Gables and wanted to make some LTCs with the three main characters.<br />
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Each card has three hand carved stamps. The names were carved and then embossed onto the background paper. I carved the picture frame used on each card and cut it out and glued it to the background paper. The characters were carved as well and embossed, colored with copic markers, cut our, then glued onto the frame.<br />
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I was going for a picture on the wall look. I wanted to use background paper that looked like it could be wallpaper.<br />
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I have many more LTCs that I hope to do posts about. I would like to create a LTC gallery on the blog for everyone to see.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-12139788025970090132012-03-16T15:36:00.000-06:002012-03-16T15:36:42.357-06:00March Pinterest Trial # 4: Spring WreathI saw this really cute spring wreath on Pinterest and just had to make one myself! I couldn't find the brand of yarn they used, but did find a suitable substitute using Martha Stewart Crafts Glitter Eyelash Yarn. When wrapped around the wreath it looks like grass. I saw somewhere else that someone used a green boa instead of yarn.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6Si4WExfsOE6AZsQ-EnTzvG_nVFFRHJJX6XpACverXZ6S013jTnklRMu5H8mgjnyK2fNkc7gXcyX5rHl1MjfKEHfOzmJBeDldlCdHX_L9bKbT1sYzPnZaaacYQ_41yLIwOCflvKnR6s/s1600/IMG_7722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6Si4WExfsOE6AZsQ-EnTzvG_nVFFRHJJX6XpACverXZ6S013jTnklRMu5H8mgjnyK2fNkc7gXcyX5rHl1MjfKEHfOzmJBeDldlCdHX_L9bKbT1sYzPnZaaacYQ_41yLIwOCflvKnR6s/s640/IMG_7722.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />
The wreath I saw on Pinterest had white flowers on it, but seeing as green and purple are my favorite colors, I went with little purple flowers! They also had this cute little sign sticking out of the top:<br />
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We ran out of toothpicks a few months ago and haven't bought any more (they aren't exactly something you easily remember to buy when you're grocery shopping). Instead, I stuck a bent out paper clip end into the Styrofoam wreath form. Whatever works, right!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-40173740731141164902012-03-16T15:17:00.001-06:002012-03-16T17:11:36.126-06:00St. Patrick's Day Care GiftsI wanted to make sure everyone in my office was well prepared for St. Patrick's Day. I pulled together tons of goodies for them and had a blast doing it! Here's what I did:<br />
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I found hats for the 2 boys and green pots for the 2 girls. I scrounged up as much St. Patty's Day goodies as I could find and filled in the rest with plenty of green items so no one gets pinched!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHhEicfSNnmA9Uz0XVo1dqsesf1RfS8cULB1xA99ekg24smEvw8sjtzj4ZmNMw_OgGEhPLw2pHiZTTQOEr8XfV3MraPi9FWl9GeOgILa1_GV1AxIjuMJmqc64RblQBXgZby4350ZUihA/s1600/IMG_7713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHhEicfSNnmA9Uz0XVo1dqsesf1RfS8cULB1xA99ekg24smEvw8sjtzj4ZmNMw_OgGEhPLw2pHiZTTQOEr8XfV3MraPi9FWl9GeOgILa1_GV1AxIjuMJmqc64RblQBXgZby4350ZUihA/s640/IMG_7713.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boy's </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSvizN9iBHJmgAiHCaLEYyE4AdlDMQmAPzPa7HxCYs3WZ_pB5dQIrPwZ9ZAZMyfv9XDS6zyQmbwYrwTTaXBWpKGtXfLgAw0LUI0S9JhWCZT9Zjgicy6xOnyCi5ZqhJB0hnRZ-HeZ7myE/s1600/IMG_7714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNSvizN9iBHJmgAiHCaLEYyE4AdlDMQmAPzPa7HxCYs3WZ_pB5dQIrPwZ9ZAZMyfv9XDS6zyQmbwYrwTTaXBWpKGtXfLgAw0LUI0S9JhWCZT9Zjgicy6xOnyCi5ZqhJB0hnRZ-HeZ7myE/s640/IMG_7714.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Girl's</td></tr>
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Some of the goodies were things I had seen on Pinterest. I got the labels <a href="http://stpatricksday.tipjunkie.com/lucky-charms-gift-printables-st-patricks-day-printables/" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.love-the-day.com/lovetheday/wordpress/?p=1227" target="_blank">here</a> for the Lucky Charms, the water bottles, and the straws.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxRoesVx7a_Rw9cp8ZmlO0b7k0l5q7Dm1hGmWgDcOTBXsbJTND5umenYnA1NHvyY7cx4FDRGVrtkFNMIih1m5V0YOrw6LmwrX9kUle9HJCac8VGUUuzZIRQcFUmXUsQrezsSee5W19Z8/s1600/IMG_7704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxRoesVx7a_Rw9cp8ZmlO0b7k0l5q7Dm1hGmWgDcOTBXsbJTND5umenYnA1NHvyY7cx4FDRGVrtkFNMIih1m5V0YOrw6LmwrX9kUle9HJCac8VGUUuzZIRQcFUmXUsQrezsSee5W19Z8/s640/IMG_7704.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XIptRdyk87fdbxn0qPTTv1xo57OLT_55jL7dOBv_BDCywOkfOPlVS5Ct7p0dPjHl2wXmbhwehOY1Pq43nCbVdXersMlsEFmT6xQsccX5Edm1h99MApRBvMst29FKEOqqQP5Guq9n60M/s1600/IMG_7698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XIptRdyk87fdbxn0qPTTv1xo57OLT_55jL7dOBv_BDCywOkfOPlVS5Ct7p0dPjHl2wXmbhwehOY1Pq43nCbVdXersMlsEFmT6xQsccX5Edm1h99MApRBvMst29FKEOqqQP5Guq9n60M/s640/IMG_7698.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><br />
I also saw these cute pot of gold and rainbow treats on Pinterest. I didn't have time to make the tags for them, but it said "You're my pot of gold at the end of the rainbow". It was found on <a href="http://bethproudfoot.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a> blog, but there wasn't a printable/download for the tag.<br />
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So, instead of listing everything I put in the packages, I took pictures of it! Here they are:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SYzjaTFt3OgOLVuxvVmAr5xhPiZOW_EazDJs0JAxqJaIYPROgWnEDq0TtazONicB5-OwytQpLZrgTuFCVvLQWytvE2lrsrFUrqWM055QfVQTj3hKPJ_zkMq3y8vbbWx5Q89V5ba5Xa0/s1600/IMG_7712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4SYzjaTFt3OgOLVuxvVmAr5xhPiZOW_EazDJs0JAxqJaIYPROgWnEDq0TtazONicB5-OwytQpLZrgTuFCVvLQWytvE2lrsrFUrqWM055QfVQTj3hKPJ_zkMq3y8vbbWx5Q89V5ba5Xa0/s640/IMG_7712.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filler in the pots and hats</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswlIBBLvMo1c04Zftucjtapcc19eM2XmIwEnN-Sj12CScrDxztr1kVc6n1EWzTIxKSEmKwng9FmM6fDc9E7Myop_OZNIXsz7VmPMPTq2mMClcVJ9qY0GDyU1O2ZSLTnkgCNkiISWr1lY/s1600/IMG_7711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswlIBBLvMo1c04Zftucjtapcc19eM2XmIwEnN-Sj12CScrDxztr1kVc6n1EWzTIxKSEmKwng9FmM6fDc9E7Myop_OZNIXsz7VmPMPTq2mMClcVJ9qY0GDyU1O2ZSLTnkgCNkiISWr1lY/s640/IMG_7711.JPG" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone got this in their package</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fkkLBVx-ErXmrqb9thXPVT15vBqZuHkfGjtcZTyk47I29fxkoEEbrAa1EwAh0Zt5MMOKcxIc8UMI8wXL8aEvaWe4i8oLIIGW51ssyC-_8w8O1l78ex3_PHs67oxNXK_pIIcbSPek2vI/s1600/GEDV0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fkkLBVx-ErXmrqb9thXPVT15vBqZuHkfGjtcZTyk47I29fxkoEEbrAa1EwAh0Zt5MMOKcxIc8UMI8wXL8aEvaWe4i8oLIIGW51ssyC-_8w8O1l78ex3_PHs67oxNXK_pIIcbSPek2vI/s640/GEDV0015.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bow ties for the boys along with the hat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-ORa7hFzH8SQquKzqgTyLHMD0wLwV_k8EaU9LRyNxQUprJaxzXjBNgmDcvXAwRbsRgXABm013vO4YJX9hrNlL45nUFXW5ofDk8OAB80X28ezLR6myrYwRkGf7ssl-94D7fPZwz8euPU/s1600/GEDV0013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-ORa7hFzH8SQquKzqgTyLHMD0wLwV_k8EaU9LRyNxQUprJaxzXjBNgmDcvXAwRbsRgXABm013vO4YJX9hrNlL45nUFXW5ofDk8OAB80X28ezLR6myrYwRkGf7ssl-94D7fPZwz8euPU/s640/GEDV0013.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girl's stuff</td></tr>
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It was so much easier to find green stuff for the girls! I felt a little bad about not getting a ton of neat stuff for the boys, but they didn't seem to mind.<br />
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Also, in our office, we like to do the puzzles in the paper everyday, so we always seem to get holiday pencils for each other. Everyone got the single pencil with the shamrock eraser in their package, the other pencils shown are for my primary kids on Sunday!<br />
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I had so much fun finding everything and putting the packages together! Sometimes it's nice to have a small office so that things like this are possible.<br />
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Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-33278911422723873482012-03-14T16:37:00.002-06:002012-03-16T15:37:05.801-06:00March Pinterest Trial # 3: NailsI wanted to try something off of the "My Style" board that I have on Pinterest. Since St. Patrick's Day is on Saturday, I decided to make sure I had some green on and did my nails.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjKfQV-WQMkFw4e1W4s_gcMG4-CAwvrSD2qvHtqWAxuelkGZJug0g-bRYFp0jlXvmKFElrnSiPAToIfO-wIANdFQGYI6nZI08w_OcRZ1xmRYhBKRfd7Sq4FCJgdJg1m9z48_EKiFG-64/s1600/IMG_7678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixjKfQV-WQMkFw4e1W4s_gcMG4-CAwvrSD2qvHtqWAxuelkGZJug0g-bRYFp0jlXvmKFElrnSiPAToIfO-wIANdFQGYI6nZI08w_OcRZ1xmRYhBKRfd7Sq4FCJgdJg1m9z48_EKiFG-64/s640/IMG_7678.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>This was so easy to do.<br />
<br />
The supplies:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTqI5nVUPWfLxVbA7ivkVZ-hN_Wzcf1iE4ocWXjdyrTCZuE6YjHRRyrH8o9y8giVL8OoYUD_AeNXvhmWkNHkgRJPWLs0jjqp8InxWlr2paAJM3CkRvCuTAAdP6owjlqjBjotHDe1bugA/s1600/IMG_7672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTqI5nVUPWfLxVbA7ivkVZ-hN_Wzcf1iE4ocWXjdyrTCZuE6YjHRRyrH8o9y8giVL8OoYUD_AeNXvhmWkNHkgRJPWLs0jjqp8InxWlr2paAJM3CkRvCuTAAdP6owjlqjBjotHDe1bugA/s640/IMG_7672.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Two different colors of nail polish, a top coat, scrapbook fun edged scissors, and tape. I did find that the best tape to use is the off-brand, doesn't really stick to things well, type of tape. I tried it first with regular scotch tape and had some problems.<br />
<br />
Put your bottom color on using however many coats desired.<br />
Put on a layer of top coat.<br />
Rip off a piece of tape long enough to cover your nail and cut with the scissors to create your edge.<br />
Place on your nail in the desired spot. I did half and half with my colors, but you may only want your second color to take up 1/3 of your nail.<br />
Brush on your second color and carefully remove the tape.<br />
Put on another layer of top coat.<br />
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That's all! Next time, I think I might do it across the top of my nail so the tip is a different color.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-40440401311256698562012-03-14T16:27:00.002-06:002012-03-16T15:37:30.845-06:00March Pinterest Trial # 2: Primary HandoutI am the chorister for the primary in my ward. For those of you who don't know what that means, I get to teach church songs to the 3-11 year old kids for 20 minuets every Sunday. Every year, we have a set theme and about 8 songs that the kids need to learn for a program in the fall. The song that they just finished learning is the hymn for this year, "Choose the Right". Since they did such an amazing job on learning this, I wanted to give them something.<br />
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I found this idea on Pinterest and thought it would be perfect.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWeFE5pY8s3LjGL0ppW0YMPyUUaPsF6vrF85Mxo88CL1bkwDEYuw4xLXgzs4nDv_Qm_dV8TYtHG93VPMUuwFN2p3iaej7e7YX08OWRFrhEeyMSX2K2Vrki-3kgcawsAHUBJ76dkpkHxM/s1600/IMG_7688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWeFE5pY8s3LjGL0ppW0YMPyUUaPsF6vrF85Mxo88CL1bkwDEYuw4xLXgzs4nDv_Qm_dV8TYtHG93VPMUuwFN2p3iaej7e7YX08OWRFrhEeyMSX2K2Vrki-3kgcawsAHUBJ76dkpkHxM/s640/IMG_7688.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>I made these in a hurry, and my laptop wasn't plugged into my printer, so while I was waiting for singing time at church I quickly put the labels on each of these. They enjoyed getting some gumballs (they are constantly asking me for gum after church) and I was happy to find a suitable reward for their hard work.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-42987646924980069092012-03-14T16:19:00.002-06:002012-03-16T15:37:48.594-06:00March Pinterest Trial # 1: Music BraceletI saw this bracelet on Pinterest that was pinned off of Etsy. I'm a music lover and play a couple instruments myself, so of course I wanted it. I have this problem when it comes to buying jewelry: If I can make it myself for cheaper, why should I buy it? So, naturally, I went to work on making it myself.<br />
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I'm not going to give instructions on how to make this, but will let you know that the beads are made from scrapbook paper. Here's the finished bracelet:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBz1NA-CQz9c9jSDRZdJ3pZQ2XxJq8JJAMA5dItM7COIePCfLmIXQREfntfhoHsARMF2ulgzsPL2IWXrMyDrcVzh488u8tgxdg4gZc_U0hNA2FSzugwCp3yE0N046UfPMOei1QaTMPrA/s1600/IMG_7652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSBz1NA-CQz9c9jSDRZdJ3pZQ2XxJq8JJAMA5dItM7COIePCfLmIXQREfntfhoHsARMF2ulgzsPL2IWXrMyDrcVzh488u8tgxdg4gZc_U0hNA2FSzugwCp3yE0N046UfPMOei1QaTMPrA/s640/IMG_7652.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-59724137930626659092012-02-29T12:40:00.002-07:002012-03-16T15:38:05.781-06:00February Pinterest Trial #2: Popsicle Stick BraceletsI tried something from my craft board this time. I made bracelets out of large popsicle sticks! It was so easy! Here's what you need:<br />
<br />
Popsicle sticks<br />
rubber bands<br />
a jar, vase, cup, or other round object that is about the same size as your wrist.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPZmOWwM0_Mh6bFLRcJ4syJlpTq0_XgEc6_NsGUzijZkMidlp7s6AdrV7JmoxXcOwF6fgRt5VWzcmk3XO99HNU0ULGTrvwpo8lsL_YSHLHPbcazd2iHip96r7qjleWwavtYIvT1Od6p-4/s1600/IMG_7511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPZmOWwM0_Mh6bFLRcJ4syJlpTq0_XgEc6_NsGUzijZkMidlp7s6AdrV7JmoxXcOwF6fgRt5VWzcmk3XO99HNU0ULGTrvwpo8lsL_YSHLHPbcazd2iHip96r7qjleWwavtYIvT1Od6p-4/s400/IMG_7511.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><br />
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Here's what you do:<br />
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Step 1: Boil sticks for 15 minutes<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-4Rzr4XFbqleCm9iqZ514Bbm5GkWoV3ldV3_tNbc5Cx-uEYFh5CVrfeANb2KTH-XTNToXagJO0q_jzNHACZoPOi313f6BEPkvvzFG6VIhwR2o9_OFnQ5LbJqZXli7cA5qPQ3XzwIflk/s1600/IMG_7518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-4Rzr4XFbqleCm9iqZ514Bbm5GkWoV3ldV3_tNbc5Cx-uEYFh5CVrfeANb2KTH-XTNToXagJO0q_jzNHACZoPOi313f6BEPkvvzFG6VIhwR2o9_OFnQ5LbJqZXli7cA5qPQ3XzwIflk/s400/IMG_7518.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Step 2: Gently start bending the sticks with your hands. I tried curving 7 sticks and one snapped. The instructions I followed said about 1 in 5 will snap, so I was lucky. By the way, it doesn't hurt when they snap so you don't have to flinch.<br />
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Step 3:Depending on the size of your wrist, and the size of your jar, vase, etc., either wrap the stick on the outside of the glass and secure with rubber bands, or put it inside the glass and just let it sit there.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b4MeFQISucu8g3mI0_PogGuQZoBv1varqXjMQ8zOE0TF3QR-WQXg6ecNeLmoEf2B1liwO7-R1QjsriNxWZ1SJFvPMheyOewLjreZCPA32i4OdYx6EQKYHHfoOp4O-FisLHe0EcVIuXk/s1600/IMG_7519.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b4MeFQISucu8g3mI0_PogGuQZoBv1varqXjMQ8zOE0TF3QR-WQXg6ecNeLmoEf2B1liwO7-R1QjsriNxWZ1SJFvPMheyOewLjreZCPA32i4OdYx6EQKYHHfoOp4O-FisLHe0EcVIuXk/s400/IMG_7519.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8Z30zU7gyKbsNk7UsQSCzw-8tCZH6gJoT1CDdmWfITjXYCPTYh3FYYmJ1lN__0g8kjXnIFJPar5rQHOxYUhjJ-sHceH750Yt8QIJN1Sk1f8ZpGokc_5LZDYpgBhu3pZPKhWHNcaumgc/s1600/IMG_7528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8Z30zU7gyKbsNk7UsQSCzw-8tCZH6gJoT1CDdmWfITjXYCPTYh3FYYmJ1lN__0g8kjXnIFJPar5rQHOxYUhjJ-sHceH750Yt8QIJN1Sk1f8ZpGokc_5LZDYpgBhu3pZPKhWHNcaumgc/s640/IMG_7528.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>Step 4: Okay, don't stress yourself with this one, wait for the sticks to dry. This took 4 days for me, but can take anywhere from 3-7 days. If you think they're dry, but aren't sure, pull one off and if it keeps it's form than it is most likely dry. You'll end up with wooden bracelets!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-Ke7pY8sA_YtLwFjLrHH0GuiyFGgyRRuKD3rv83oeXwVCf2voey1obmaq0WygrG3SbLpBkt_mjFCHbN7UdyDHJBOQaQYD1Iq0eFYVMKrf-qbvARGpDwtTY2o7mKl1fLdB8DkMxLab-Q/s1600/wood+bracelets.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-Ke7pY8sA_YtLwFjLrHH0GuiyFGgyRRuKD3rv83oeXwVCf2voey1obmaq0WygrG3SbLpBkt_mjFCHbN7UdyDHJBOQaQYD1Iq0eFYVMKrf-qbvARGpDwtTY2o7mKl1fLdB8DkMxLab-Q/s400/wood+bracelets.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Step 5: Cover the bracelets with paper, twine, raffia, etc. I used red and straw colored raffia to cover two of mine. If you cover with paper, just use mod podge! I would suggest using a strait stick as a guide to cut your paper. And you're done! So easy!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrP76c4fAyZtbaSwqPJ4d8n8hlbZC9yUU26TU03Rvd7zlzhTyDGzOjlAmGybVq8Hvcw03tz0HbjDYbdfD584KH7-MvGq8H-e5XKaialK5iDGplgASZS6a4McbO_K-i2AOaIMGwbCAflk/s1600/finished+bracelet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrP76c4fAyZtbaSwqPJ4d8n8hlbZC9yUU26TU03Rvd7zlzhTyDGzOjlAmGybVq8Hvcw03tz0HbjDYbdfD584KH7-MvGq8H-e5XKaialK5iDGplgASZS6a4McbO_K-i2AOaIMGwbCAflk/s400/finished+bracelet.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-41302427178913548172012-02-14T17:03:00.000-07:002012-02-14T17:03:17.703-07:00Celebrate the Little HolidaysFebruary 4th is Mailman Appreciation Day. We (everyone at the office I work at) like to celebrate those strange, wacky, little holidays. Since the 4th was a Saturday, we celebrated a day early. This is what we had waiting for our wonderful mailman, Dave.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3k5ruf6miwLWkMaFPxC_CO_m21feLjMumedRGUDztmAz7UZAoHRw335L587GTbd81GravnOlavRVwJ9jx0TE2kSV9kMqK13NfkA7I6xi0gFlW4heNxwn-UkagBdVBxK_J6gSSGqIgiE/s1600/0203120932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz3k5ruf6miwLWkMaFPxC_CO_m21feLjMumedRGUDztmAz7UZAoHRw335L587GTbd81GravnOlavRVwJ9jx0TE2kSV9kMqK13NfkA7I6xi0gFlW4heNxwn-UkagBdVBxK_J6gSSGqIgiE/s640/0203120932.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>We all signed the card and left it on the counter with our out-going mail. I had written a little poem at about 11:00 one night when I couldn't sleep that we put on the card. Hope you can read it in the picture below. It was taken with my cell phone camera which isn't very good.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7229ycDljMmCOszcUFv40H3zOcBJ4f1hYOL9onpCUM7NQ_HfzqjwtEJckHUjAmhz5-EAIUJGaMCB0oRQqogm06VDPiR31J0wA9ol70R_Rg6X9CcG0wzp5pj5CiinZEll5_zAyoAwLqA/s1600/0202122055a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7229ycDljMmCOszcUFv40H3zOcBJ4f1hYOL9onpCUM7NQ_HfzqjwtEJckHUjAmhz5-EAIUJGaMCB0oRQqogm06VDPiR31J0wA9ol70R_Rg6X9CcG0wzp5pj5CiinZEll5_zAyoAwLqA/s640/0202122055a.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZKf8j0NQmAf9j0G_H7oKwGxPspgN4aMpL-OWnnbMtV_LmyyXobySb3ynF2noDwMRE-zU161SeEqP69VjGvsyYx_M6cBPekhq-qzJ93T_1ztki1Q4P5Gt48kzgkqN_UgozDqDBlhuLAc/s1600/0202122055a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>He loved his little card and brought us a thank you card the following Monday. We are now on even better terms with this wonderful man!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-64282090313817864012012-02-13T16:28:00.002-07:002012-03-16T15:38:25.284-06:00February Pinterest Trial #1: Valentine's Day WreathHere is the first of what will probably be many Pinterest trials for this month! This one is a Valentine's wreath of argyle style hearts. It was super easy to make.<br />
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Supplies:<br />
wreath form (I used a 12" Styrofoam wreath)<br />
gray yarn<br />
red and pink felt<br />
hot glue gun<br />
pen or marker<br />
heart stencil or pattern<br />
scissors <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuoV7qlO6XtXIqonp8xtDKPhqwM6F6IcERshHRYh1oFTuJb9LW4Xdg5g5chSRftl3uLDRSF75067kPoAnEpqbiq93fS95AEtI1HSBw6buff8wyyB1Zu0oNSvXKG68B6hyAX32itT_bUM/s1600/0125121524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeuoV7qlO6XtXIqonp8xtDKPhqwM6F6IcERshHRYh1oFTuJb9LW4Xdg5g5chSRftl3uLDRSF75067kPoAnEpqbiq93fS95AEtI1HSBw6buff8wyyB1Zu0oNSvXKG68B6hyAX32itT_bUM/s320/0125121524.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
My heart pattern was about 2 1/2" wide. Start by marking the hearts onto the felt and cutting them out. I used 6 hearts from each color of felt, 12 hearts in all. For a larger wreath, try 8 of each color.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5zNVZZ_SZ66YLV0o9yMs3ZbP7A-6q6TvVRp-YRKjf7uNMb-eCpzDsXxhl3T2aoPgp1fFLvn4IMSnbKdPDje8xHz8PoIuk3HzUpBBYMQIigUE_wzFIgCEGi7Tl5TUZXyfso4_trnjoc8/s1600/0125121522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2IX5frR9v6Nkha9zyklIYGow-TNjT194UgLeihK5qdUAgdYPxW6Jkkx50MgrNcL-SfxbiulKvIc8yiQcTA35eeTWsi1CMGQ6Bok7BuyT5KJS3Sx5hWBRFDzrLjpim0y4Ft4sa4yBzXI/s1600/0125121537.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2IX5frR9v6Nkha9zyklIYGow-TNjT194UgLeihK5qdUAgdYPxW6Jkkx50MgrNcL-SfxbiulKvIc8yiQcTA35eeTWsi1CMGQ6Bok7BuyT5KJS3Sx5hWBRFDzrLjpim0y4Ft4sa4yBzXI/s320/0125121537.jpg" width="240" /></a><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV5zNVZZ_SZ66YLV0o9yMs3ZbP7A-6q6TvVRp-YRKjf7uNMb-eCpzDsXxhl3T2aoPgp1fFLvn4IMSnbKdPDje8xHz8PoIuk3HzUpBBYMQIigUE_wzFIgCEGi7Tl5TUZXyfso4_trnjoc8/s320/0125121522.jpg" width="320" /></div><br />
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Next, wrap your wreath form with the yarn. This was the most time consuming part of the project, and it only took me about twenty minutes (I had to stop every now and them to stretch my fingers). Use hot glue to hold the start of the yarn in place as well as the end.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTiM9JgjCrsKqSK0RZ7EeNjwKZ2X6GAbCSlvPdtNM9NchaRlgDCij5cOsKbufxWldcouj2agESZm5Rk27kFf5_w9UpMl1e5ouDhAenrDi38xmB0Wjd75o3MbLh1B19SrVSlkyZamHKJI/s1600/0125121448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTTiM9JgjCrsKqSK0RZ7EeNjwKZ2X6GAbCSlvPdtNM9NchaRlgDCij5cOsKbufxWldcouj2agESZm5Rk27kFf5_w9UpMl1e5ouDhAenrDi38xmB0Wjd75o3MbLh1B19SrVSlkyZamHKJI/s320/0125121448.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32Y-fHJXlbr9UKg-ndGaQ4Vc0lDUIq3V1n_54rtV2H6X6rDNkTP0BAh4DUDDjh7PP6Fv5vUEtj7aUoq6vez9FGTPnM1vqFbb5f8KwOaAPKPt_RNKjqKI2PY9ZQwr1dh7ffsYACs7_9GM/s1600/0125121513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32Y-fHJXlbr9UKg-ndGaQ4Vc0lDUIq3V1n_54rtV2H6X6rDNkTP0BAh4DUDDjh7PP6Fv5vUEtj7aUoq6vez9FGTPnM1vqFbb5f8KwOaAPKPt_RNKjqKI2PY9ZQwr1dh7ffsYACs7_9GM/s400/0125121513.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Now, take your hearts and, alternating colors and direction, space them out on your wreath. Once you have them laid out to your liking, glue them down. Finally, take your yarn again and circle it around the wreath crossing over the heart going counter clockwise and clockwise to create the criss-cross pattern. Use some ribbon (I just used some of the yarn. I didn't have any ribbon on hand.) to hang the wreath up.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-OaHw21tgaWh85q29SKgeUq9Ze1ISRIoZdJJ-8v3wS0VDoGcCmO1MJ5Gt58bW7H9iQ0-h80N9Fudf3DZnNs8Fkz5hgvYGy1IcjROucVRonwOGgFrhoUMg9sLO1lA8DGZMRkTpEw-ki8/s1600/IMG_7618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-OaHw21tgaWh85q29SKgeUq9Ze1ISRIoZdJJ-8v3wS0VDoGcCmO1MJ5Gt58bW7H9iQ0-h80N9Fudf3DZnNs8Fkz5hgvYGy1IcjROucVRonwOGgFrhoUMg9sLO1lA8DGZMRkTpEw-ki8/s640/IMG_7618.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-8326578552362877952012-01-31T12:37:00.013-07:002012-03-16T15:20:21.385-06:00January Pinterest Trial: Blog Planners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I'm an organization freak! I stumbled across <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/210543351299398487/">this</a> on Pinterest. It sent me to a blog, which then credited another blog. Thanks to <a href="http://wildolive.blogspot.com/2011/07/print-blog-planner.html">Sew Tara & Wild Olive</a> who created these wonderful planner pages. You can get to the link for the template by clicking on either of the previous links. My interest in this started out as a birthday present for a blogging friend, Robyn of <a href="http://www.ohthethingsrobyncando.blogspot.com/">Oh The Things I Can Do</a>, who mentioned that she wanted to start blogging almost daily. After making her planner, I had a great desire to make one not only for myself, but also for one of my sisters who has multiple blogs to manage.<br />
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The supplies:<br />
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paper to cover planner & chipboard (you can use the cardboard from a cereal box)<br />
paper cutter, scissors, and glue<br />
bind-it-all, zutter, or other like tool that uses o-wires (I used a Cinch tool)<br />
and of course, the blog planner pages<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEPKiJL2gnGxdKxLF-WCW2lqKsako6S0NqVY3vqqHh6qM9NJ7zRrpV58nO9C2WmXkNYLXoXRB_vJ5f0nDMoYedygsG5y-g58L6oxupE4bfZo-AFz8cm3mfLtfbq8DOn7gahKMX2paKbU/s1600/IMG_7554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEPKiJL2gnGxdKxLF-WCW2lqKsako6S0NqVY3vqqHh6qM9NJ7zRrpV58nO9C2WmXkNYLXoXRB_vJ5f0nDMoYedygsG5y-g58L6oxupE4bfZo-AFz8cm3mfLtfbq8DOn7gahKMX2paKbU/s320/IMG_7554.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjag1x94A3oUUH2U9hddpgvSqwppso6UPDULZvqoC0uJX5cr1GMGo07KxCANx376yctTB79tuHJXHwu3Ehkfzbpvlb-bvuESb6Fj8P5buMnwccGKV5-T-U35MbHPZo6pOvs9J4PYOKY2tk/s1600/IMG_7555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjag1x94A3oUUH2U9hddpgvSqwppso6UPDULZvqoC0uJX5cr1GMGo07KxCANx376yctTB79tuHJXHwu3Ehkfzbpvlb-bvuESb6Fj8P5buMnwccGKV5-T-U35MbHPZo6pOvs9J4PYOKY2tk/s320/IMG_7555.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
I started out by printing out the pages. I printed on both sides of the paper. I made enough for just under a year and a half. I did 35 sheets front and back and 1 sheet just on the front. I then used my paper cutter to cut the pages in half so that they were 8 1/2 by 5 1/2. The reason for the page that I only printed one-sided was so that the planner wouldn't start and end in the middle of a week.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFeuLbN01XyRV-VOlkUhQ5xAg0BYnKtryOTWkvP0cjrWjAqTnUQqbRoNpaF0Ks2S-XKLag2EJTvvdFtnePdJjB23Mwx_4cnxtHbWC46IfqGNKbDC6HZluz9c0qucTyfEXpux1E_s9Ljv4/s1600/IMG_7558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFeuLbN01XyRV-VOlkUhQ5xAg0BYnKtryOTWkvP0cjrWjAqTnUQqbRoNpaF0Ks2S-XKLag2EJTvvdFtnePdJjB23Mwx_4cnxtHbWC46IfqGNKbDC6HZluz9c0qucTyfEXpux1E_s9Ljv4/s200/IMG_7558.JPG" width="133" /></a> Once all the papers are cut, make sure they are all facing the same way. You have to use your binding tool to punch holes along the inside edge. The holes should go along where your cut was made down the center of the page. I like the Cinch tool because you can pull out the punches you don't want to use. It has 12 punches and I needed 16 holes for the planner. In order to achieve that I simply punched the first set of holes on all of my paper, then pulled out all but the fist 4 punches, flipped my paper over, and punched the remaining holes needed. Tip: always try punching on some scratch paper first to make sure your holes will be in the right spot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w3xzeumRIsNmG24xLP_pJarE0ar_ZSZrtT6HRPKYcX3Rg7UqUtsLV_ezSA2-Qxpf1ybYSFzpOJ5WmqQcfbKOPG4C1UZJMjmPMrsADL0a29glHjqDCfJ_P7DBBwFMN_dpQVKr8702CgE/s1600/IMG_7564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w3xzeumRIsNmG24xLP_pJarE0ar_ZSZrtT6HRPKYcX3Rg7UqUtsLV_ezSA2-Qxpf1ybYSFzpOJ5WmqQcfbKOPG4C1UZJMjmPMrsADL0a29glHjqDCfJ_P7DBBwFMN_dpQVKr8702CgE/s640/IMG_7564.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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Now that all of the pages are ready, we need to make the cover. Instead of me trying to explain all the details, I decided to just give you the link to the site where I learned how to make them. <a href="http://www.atlasquest.com/tutorials/logbooks/binditall/">Click here</a> to learn to make your own book covers. I may be wrong, but I think it tells you to make the cover slightly bigger than your paper. I didn't. My covers are the same size as the pages. They give specific sizes for their paper, but just make sure that your cover paper is an inch wider AND taller than your cardboard. Instead of cover the inside covers with an index card, I use matching paper or other paper that corresponds with the cover paper. I cut that paper about a quarter of an inch smaller than the cover in both height and width.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8XRQk3JPwaaPUxM_1uzWUFBIS5OLkS22Ea4j0HPsa9OQbwGM54UzRsK0V_2GqDnITnhGZEXIo63xa_cqhIde3MdOvLdftMMTd0tqzkgHlHN9V9T583j_Ah_409GBioKGp7_qWA9hBX8/s1600/IMG_7561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK8XRQk3JPwaaPUxM_1uzWUFBIS5OLkS22Ea4j0HPsa9OQbwGM54UzRsK0V_2GqDnITnhGZEXIo63xa_cqhIde3MdOvLdftMMTd0tqzkgHlHN9V9T583j_Ah_409GBioKGp7_qWA9hBX8/s320/IMG_7561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Once the covers are made, punch holes in the covers just like with the pages. Use an o-ring to bind your book together as it shows in the tutorial. On Robyn's and mine I cut another piece of paper slightly smaller than the cover to put on the cover as shown below. On my sister's, I had simply printed on the cover paper before gluing it to the cover.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg548XU5hdIDht2_NtDX_-A0mJRNa6cjaW0ge-8FbVS6D71k4hyVtEEsXHoL01nObExH7WX4apYvjIoYSmo_k2ZGSFxHn2O_EUy4ZIzX6rfDxNF5_s-R8Q7OME2r8yBwR8ZwXMg3gEyd9k/s1600/IMG_7568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg548XU5hdIDht2_NtDX_-A0mJRNa6cjaW0ge-8FbVS6D71k4hyVtEEsXHoL01nObExH7WX4apYvjIoYSmo_k2ZGSFxHn2O_EUy4ZIzX6rfDxNF5_s-R8Q7OME2r8yBwR8ZwXMg3gEyd9k/s400/IMG_7568.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robyn's with her blog name printed on it</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcOln3YDo6Xrbq4ZNa6do7cZQUGIp_RP92JANTNYaE2XHX8CBT5jGZu6vQMLrlAW_yUOJuIYIZwnJAvyAjkqW1PBQGYRJ3dPnePJaQQariufsGK-LRLpk3V4FqLmL9BH9MKP084Skjy0/s1600/IMG_7589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcOln3YDo6Xrbq4ZNa6do7cZQUGIp_RP92JANTNYaE2XHX8CBT5jGZu6vQMLrlAW_yUOJuIYIZwnJAvyAjkqW1PBQGYRJ3dPnePJaQQariufsGK-LRLpk3V4FqLmL9BH9MKP084Skjy0/s400/IMG_7589.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister's</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfleikmbICs0V0_5StcBHBQyb3PLuxOdmu1wcDQyATWScPibo4s0gUBoei0xKTg1lLljYWbiDiYouWVwiOsKZZhvwxN_baisvkoeYx5KUNIiF2Z3BFwG72V4rOTXIVnTjNtW6vuTwVhz8/s1600/IMG_7607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfleikmbICs0V0_5StcBHBQyb3PLuxOdmu1wcDQyATWScPibo4s0gUBoei0xKTg1lLljYWbiDiYouWVwiOsKZZhvwxN_baisvkoeYx5KUNIiF2Z3BFwG72V4rOTXIVnTjNtW6vuTwVhz8/s400/IMG_7607.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My planner</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
On the inside of all the planners, I created a corner pocket using extra paper. The insides of mine and Robyn's planners are shown below.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_HRCXxOzCMEwSAdYbgVQR00d-ubVRtZHfTZF0qXR56UEAstMkg890S_KZBRZR971zVmHeb-NAH0GssXacgr8S_b0Hwa28mf3_xGLop1yCp3pq7LTZtezJiXl4a1fvJpMiJQYtRcODxXA/s1600/IMG_7605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_HRCXxOzCMEwSAdYbgVQR00d-ubVRtZHfTZF0qXR56UEAstMkg890S_KZBRZR971zVmHeb-NAH0GssXacgr8S_b0Hwa28mf3_xGLop1yCp3pq7LTZtezJiXl4a1fvJpMiJQYtRcODxXA/s640/IMG_7605.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside of my planner with my blog name on the first page.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinVPxH9L0oBPsTez0EwU9GeHfWB5mMwdrrcNi8Wu9-olYBrDTD6Qwkk-zzF_sBRQYLSnnw_tMgNzIdg6l_V0jSViPHE2xMPJCT7LjMyzZrAulZBa-tv_x749ag_9PA1GW7i5xJRydVCAY/s1600/IMG_7577.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinVPxH9L0oBPsTez0EwU9GeHfWB5mMwdrrcNi8Wu9-olYBrDTD6Qwkk-zzF_sBRQYLSnnw_tMgNzIdg6l_V0jSViPHE2xMPJCT7LjMyzZrAulZBa-tv_x749ag_9PA1GW7i5xJRydVCAY/s640/IMG_7577.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used more extra paper and some stickers to create Robyn's inside page.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>To create the letters on my planner, I used a cricut machine and some extra paper. I then used a sticker maker to easily put the letters on.<br />
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After I had made the first two and just had mine left to make, an idea struck me. It would be so nice to have a ribbon book mark attached to the planner! So, I did just that. Before gluing the inside cover paper onto the back cover I put in a grommet. I simple threaded the ribbon through it and hot glued it to the inside back cover. I then glued the paper for the cover on so that you don't see the excess ribbon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkDDL_9_NwAE_x_fSzE4kRvfUvK1-9zW0saQib9Fwovr6kYvnX1B0GTIpq95n7RiyzdzGO2FHSXMrjNrptbF3Z8TppqtSxE1N5vPe33-gWPeB-O2mUbfxoBclHSBvzK53-l05BSHA4iU/s1600/IMG_7603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVkDDL_9_NwAE_x_fSzE4kRvfUvK1-9zW0saQib9Fwovr6kYvnX1B0GTIpq95n7RiyzdzGO2FHSXMrjNrptbF3Z8TppqtSxE1N5vPe33-gWPeB-O2mUbfxoBclHSBvzK53-l05BSHA4iU/s400/IMG_7603.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_hOI7f93ZkW8Wn9HhiX1faRrCwkuLHkwQr3MD2MHnDKxsnxgUgJRnWcJZjoP79wgNvGJrzfRFbL7lwgLT01NBjQ6ahkwNIty2wseAsLqoVKwaEiZzwi49PpyTmM4ha6NxqxMY_717Ts/s1600/IMG_7604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_hOI7f93ZkW8Wn9HhiX1faRrCwkuLHkwQr3MD2MHnDKxsnxgUgJRnWcJZjoP79wgNvGJrzfRFbL7lwgLT01NBjQ6ahkwNIty2wseAsLqoVKwaEiZzwi49PpyTmM4ha6NxqxMY_717Ts/s400/IMG_7604.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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So, there you have it! How to make your own Blog Planner! I hope this was interesting and educational! I just love the things you can find on Pinterest!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-15772888767040704402012-01-23T17:25:00.002-07:002012-03-16T15:20:55.607-06:00January Pinterest Trial: Owl CupcakesSorry I've been gone so long. Really, there is no excuse, so I'm not going to make one. Please just accept my apology.<br />
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I've become a little addicted to Pinterest and decided that I need to try one of my pins every month. This month I'm trying a pin from my Cooking board. I saw these really cute owl cupcakes and wanted to make them for a friends birthday. Unfortunately I got snowed in and she never got to see them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiW0gj-OBRploCh2zmgvPUIEDGquYqGkLwuON7UEBLaaG9wTZOvsTPguqhWsk76GXOwro4fbZLTCdsmXBh66Jbk5jJCIS4Ktsp8M5bMf8EE1ObVHP5UbXfIPKHbtjy7dDQis1nrR3_Tjk/s1600/IMG_7496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiW0gj-OBRploCh2zmgvPUIEDGquYqGkLwuON7UEBLaaG9wTZOvsTPguqhWsk76GXOwro4fbZLTCdsmXBh66Jbk5jJCIS4Ktsp8M5bMf8EE1ObVHP5UbXfIPKHbtjy7dDQis1nrR3_Tjk/s640/IMG_7496.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our walkway from the driveway to the front door</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasyOCkK72EA9a2iTh5GLMURLwrxAcR6_CEvlHVkYjFJVebMZCDRAhptmwX0FCFrSdWnyWFv6551XTpXswEfPIJ9AlBbRZQjAxozy8jWhgZf4RMQujG5edyZU3NufLCh28d8eLz53DQMM/s1600/IMG_7552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasyOCkK72EA9a2iTh5GLMURLwrxAcR6_CEvlHVkYjFJVebMZCDRAhptmwX0FCFrSdWnyWFv6551XTpXswEfPIJ9AlBbRZQjAxozy8jWhgZf4RMQujG5edyZU3NufLCh28d8eLz53DQMM/s640/IMG_7552.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The path Carma and I dug to get the truck out!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The snow was so bad that we high-centered Carma's truck (yes, her big Dodge Ram truck) trying to get into the driveway. The second photo may not look like it, but the wall where we were throwing the snow is about 4 1/2 feet tall.<br />
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Anyways, on to the cupcakes! I used the items below (plus the eggs, water, and oil to make the cakes) for my trial.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvSrce-WpSyfkszyumKaNRel7OEDlaS5HsQQeeNlTzXklGAocdvd2qASNr7g2AkGRkB1_KMxAGlAQmaYdc60-p9eUHMZStJbRa9_ewI2MrjNwm_v38mOsXTSJOlyLilrCyMgc9V_wi6g/s1600/IMG_7508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvSrce-WpSyfkszyumKaNRel7OEDlaS5HsQQeeNlTzXklGAocdvd2qASNr7g2AkGRkB1_KMxAGlAQmaYdc60-p9eUHMZStJbRa9_ewI2MrjNwm_v38mOsXTSJOlyLilrCyMgc9V_wi6g/s640/IMG_7508.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I think they look less like owls and more like Grover the Muppet. I should have pipped the frosting onto the cupcakes to make it look like feathers, but I was tired from shoveling snow!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdGq2b1uhmmHIko-8Q-nilu-yJtLNz_RhyphenhyphenwgWsFeMRkLQ4YszrMKj2ZnjN7YBizcomNAeRzWQc_WT7sIbWmivkWN_zDN2LPIpINN-LQXZCZi2BideT74mv2JU2Q1lafU0Q-pGcPg-WnY/s1600/IMG_7510.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdGq2b1uhmmHIko-8Q-nilu-yJtLNz_RhyphenhyphenwgWsFeMRkLQ4YszrMKj2ZnjN7YBizcomNAeRzWQc_WT7sIbWmivkWN_zDN2LPIpINN-LQXZCZi2BideT74mv2JU2Q1lafU0Q-pGcPg-WnY/s640/IMG_7510.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I think they are pretty cute, even if they don't quite look like owls! The one on the left looks better with the broken Oreos I used as ears. All in all I think this Pinterest trial turned out great! It defiantly got my mind working with ideas to decorate cupcakes!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-79083494866740732212011-10-28T16:34:00.001-06:002011-10-28T16:47:18.475-06:00Harry Potter Style LetterboxingWell, it's done! All of the stamps that I carved for the marathon have now been planted as letterboxes for the letterboxing community to enjoy! In order to do this, I had to create a logbook for each stamp and a pouch for the stamp to go in. It took almost a month to make these! I used Wizarding books and items from the movies and books, tied them into each stamp, and then put a little explanation in each logbook so anyone who isn't some crazy Harry Potter freak (like me :p ) would understand how the logbook related to the stamp. By the way, if you would like to learn about letterboxing, <a href="http://www.atlasquest.com/about/">click here</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcr9BekHDXD-uDxC-cFLd__VkBt_VMtC2zkXaAxoZUw0WLwJ-RgrJ5heL-FsNRo46KAIiKY49VR0hBi3hFO6YMfTZclyBXfvfCqRldmJS8YxnBIAVCRSKv_DdH9qm9hb_Zh6_VSLnpF9A/s1600/IMG_7453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcr9BekHDXD-uDxC-cFLd__VkBt_VMtC2zkXaAxoZUw0WLwJ-RgrJ5heL-FsNRo46KAIiKY49VR0hBi3hFO6YMfTZclyBXfvfCqRldmJS8YxnBIAVCRSKv_DdH9qm9hb_Zh6_VSLnpF9A/s640/IMG_7453.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> I had a fun time learning how to make codex books. Sewing the packs of folded paper together, creating the cover and binding, and gluing it all together was a larger task than I thought it would be, but relatively simple once you know what you're doing.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcohL5btUVoRC28Bf-K4rzp6VPfGEp-t8v3MGS5xb2oqfyhwUYa7WRNSDL_1oVnl3YD9b06EsYzSaOLhaf6WYzZoca_jWuuJqcLdOBNCCbCez_GfirFSAAsHXlOISUXkOhm_HXOgGgTQ/s1600/IMG_7458.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGcohL5btUVoRC28Bf-K4rzp6VPfGEp-t8v3MGS5xb2oqfyhwUYa7WRNSDL_1oVnl3YD9b06EsYzSaOLhaf6WYzZoca_jWuuJqcLdOBNCCbCez_GfirFSAAsHXlOISUXkOhm_HXOgGgTQ/s640/IMG_7458.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron's logbook / Dementor logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryQSQ8vNviDi-Z0GrC8hUo5Kvai4FlaQag2QsdYKbheZ1GmlYcvD2fC8PxE6qhylg4J9PIRduKRzefHsQakfQisGPzFYcK0MwYSIOD7YyWF2HWWFUg5202zsNAuMpKVd0TzChofxqahA/s1600/IMG_7459.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiryQSQ8vNviDi-Z0GrC8hUo5Kvai4FlaQag2QsdYKbheZ1GmlYcvD2fC8PxE6qhylg4J9PIRduKRzefHsQakfQisGPzFYcK0MwYSIOD7YyWF2HWWFUg5202zsNAuMpKVd0TzChofxqahA/s640/IMG_7459.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sorting Hat logbook / Deathly Hallows logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiF1Odtvz-OQOSxy6_DmTjxIqagwHFhSaxlRmLFPSaAz6IbUln6O7ky5tafF9m8vgDijvVWph7IU3WKXKDa7-M86roxrA2sGJ0lY3ODh9WM8SPH1HlJJKWCuTG5k9XuHefza-9TLRt7lQ/s1600/IMG_7460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiF1Odtvz-OQOSxy6_DmTjxIqagwHFhSaxlRmLFPSaAz6IbUln6O7ky5tafF9m8vgDijvVWph7IU3WKXKDa7-M86roxrA2sGJ0lY3ODh9WM8SPH1HlJJKWCuTG5k9XuHefza-9TLRt7lQ/s640/IMG_7460.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ron's Emotional Range bonus box / Weasley is our King logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68UlXjygEK_paAioo1CZ6VoDjVZl4WrdPU5AwT-FwuQozt4QOkAfOwSaTw7hzvbGm7FZayVNjYqtXyQuAToXLSpII0zsFvXjx1BGt24Dkf1xBWKF9tGbM1NRWXsegJc3gTP5PfDebgEY/s1600/IMG_7461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68UlXjygEK_paAioo1CZ6VoDjVZl4WrdPU5AwT-FwuQozt4QOkAfOwSaTw7hzvbGm7FZayVNjYqtXyQuAToXLSpII0zsFvXjx1BGt24Dkf1xBWKF9tGbM1NRWXsegJc3gTP5PfDebgEY/s640/IMG_7461.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slytherin logbook / Grindylow logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfCgqwyqy1UXg61es6LY8xJ3Hp1cD5NOC2vwwbK0NR11bvdDEbfgF1Qeh1gc-_UuIT0IKZvRLkd-E3VPYvM_n88Ofc5jDoWHn8sU2wJryoEAzo4XVua0iHb2gvIs9EnD8DnvfYbgedMw/s1600/IMG_7462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlfCgqwyqy1UXg61es6LY8xJ3Hp1cD5NOC2vwwbK0NR11bvdDEbfgF1Qeh1gc-_UuIT0IKZvRLkd-E3VPYvM_n88Ofc5jDoWHn8sU2wJryoEAzo4XVua0iHb2gvIs9EnD8DnvfYbgedMw/s640/IMG_7462.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ravenclaw logbook / Gryffindor logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEmIUV_JrNDEOzlSbdkQDwLZS6nhJZ-lmuK-8kY8ZJHtWKk8GiG6FuTNii2puqGPvETzJMz1ygFUi58eGUAnCdxN0V569uTnLUBL9emI-8k9GQOb18c6qILLrP3HlHnfmJsmMcQMmEtE/s1600/IMG_7463.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxEmIUV_JrNDEOzlSbdkQDwLZS6nhJZ-lmuK-8kY8ZJHtWKk8GiG6FuTNii2puqGPvETzJMz1ygFUi58eGUAnCdxN0V569uTnLUBL9emI-8k9GQOb18c6qILLrP3HlHnfmJsmMcQMmEtE/s640/IMG_7463.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hogwarts Crest logbook / Hedwig's logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUg9h4uQhyphenhyphen626A8riqI2qHHDN02ueI8q8oKEXN2Mku1pWGqf_bp8TS0MKrVVj1XBz5eyhHS1tzgqEapkEjM8md5eJHK_bVgTu8boho_087pS6E6Luo3Wt8AgvEGtNX61M6AvrRKldjzk/s1600/IMG_7464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUg9h4uQhyphenhyphen626A8riqI2qHHDN02ueI8q8oKEXN2Mku1pWGqf_bp8TS0MKrVVj1XBz5eyhHS1tzgqEapkEjM8md5eJHK_bVgTu8boho_087pS6E6Luo3Wt8AgvEGtNX61M6AvrRKldjzk/s640/IMG_7464.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The front of the Hogwarts Crest logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7Ye6DewBnHBpTSmxr6V94awXvo4wl2T2t6IeGTbqpEzqMqoQR7vEvk_avtbR_qk2pdB9BC2cZZ-zHO1ApZdwT45AK3CWjGggQs_CK_0LlefUKskpMIjMFO78ft1Xepsoe3mo-0s12Fg/s1600/IMG_7466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7Ye6DewBnHBpTSmxr6V94awXvo4wl2T2t6IeGTbqpEzqMqoQR7vEvk_avtbR_qk2pdB9BC2cZZ-zHO1ApZdwT45AK3CWjGggQs_CK_0LlefUKskpMIjMFO78ft1Xepsoe3mo-0s12Fg/s640/IMG_7466.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hufflepuff logbook / The Fallen Heroes logbook (Sirius & Dumbledore)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWq4zOiJ7eDgmlfAtanyp_4PN3g8BuHsdDVJK5eNKRtfH4yMedvv8K71ftC2zGKbcASxdkzU6SlTVV-laKZBuNTEwrrnEZ3WLuJGUpHu9Eg1XR4sWTUNUgxN8HCkqWpmdgpphDxZUuvE/s1600/IMG_7468.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJWq4zOiJ7eDgmlfAtanyp_4PN3g8BuHsdDVJK5eNKRtfH4yMedvv8K71ftC2zGKbcASxdkzU6SlTVV-laKZBuNTEwrrnEZ3WLuJGUpHu9Eg1XR4sWTUNUgxN8HCkqWpmdgpphDxZUuvE/s640/IMG_7468.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cauldron logbook / Harry's logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1wfPx6pK0y6k9I_P2UtgJYwGaz206XuhJhLGUhhIvyOoYg-V_A1lcvfeKqSTgBa83yTXjH0xseq1x78ztSBOgGt6SKmyp5ZPR5ZxXsWDdMLiN5V0HVvyG_KLbBHv5isA7Qke0PQfrJw/s1600/IMG_7469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1wfPx6pK0y6k9I_P2UtgJYwGaz206XuhJhLGUhhIvyOoYg-V_A1lcvfeKqSTgBa83yTXjH0xseq1x78ztSBOgGt6SKmyp5ZPR5ZxXsWDdMLiN5V0HVvyG_KLbBHv5isA7Qke0PQfrJw/s640/IMG_7469.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">logbook for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzCf8xo4dCGUJ3xtQw6m5XZomAXLNtoof-aQ0nqS-3JZPoHvoxp7JG8tztqqqBpxRxmN8H4zstHXQWMaQQYGaeKh-Ymltqt5WtuibwHYByltcYKY1xROI-avbBRulGzCmBWSg0fcCwc0/s1600/IMG_7470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbzCf8xo4dCGUJ3xtQw6m5XZomAXLNtoof-aQ0nqS-3JZPoHvoxp7JG8tztqqqBpxRxmN8H4zstHXQWMaQQYGaeKh-Ymltqt5WtuibwHYByltcYKY1xROI-avbBRulGzCmBWSg0fcCwc0/s640/IMG_7470.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Quidditch equipment logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-l_j4Cex76fDF0zx6gTPDdq2IiFq8XMu1ojbPi5GdAY8lRf_tdUi__9hBQzcl7HUHJaNzsdiaMyb7HyUpZ86SkHKFlSZvshPx7iIj5pl0238ozLscTi6RrbTs1xLLanSZiD1tAC-kCQ/s1600/IMG_7471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-l_j4Cex76fDF0zx6gTPDdq2IiFq8XMu1ojbPi5GdAY8lRf_tdUi__9hBQzcl7HUHJaNzsdiaMyb7HyUpZ86SkHKFlSZvshPx7iIj5pl0238ozLscTi6RrbTs1xLLanSZiD1tAC-kCQ/s640/IMG_7471.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">logbook for the Dark Mark / Hogwarts School logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdhBBMoRSf2aP1OM_MV0ecWx3POfTZeKp2wYKj2S6pa6mAtMc7hK5rW_n2fdylixnFZtDVcwTHmvqz-FkEQKfZ7upyl7lgweqcRovu10y_196PwK8xAGx_W9tm-NaBnHzOOAPNUDL8Us/s1600/IMG_7472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwdhBBMoRSf2aP1OM_MV0ecWx3POfTZeKp2wYKj2S6pa6mAtMc7hK5rW_n2fdylixnFZtDVcwTHmvqz-FkEQKfZ7upyl7lgweqcRovu10y_196PwK8xAGx_W9tm-NaBnHzOOAPNUDL8Us/s640/IMG_7472.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hermione's logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraypQs_9lAGlKPI9cLOIa7ziLCBx5luSO4yekdzSshYb-nzgr6Av45iGZ_MBXdC_tohUV9scN92O3tsFYRZUebKjwWnlLeGABRltmED5CabKoMs5ZCEic5a2R85UpNAPGad3rLpxwpkQ/s1600/IMG_7473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgraypQs_9lAGlKPI9cLOIa7ziLCBx5luSO4yekdzSshYb-nzgr6Av45iGZ_MBXdC_tohUV9scN92O3tsFYRZUebKjwWnlLeGABRltmED5CabKoMs5ZCEic5a2R85UpNAPGad3rLpxwpkQ/s640/IMG_7473.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snape's logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table> This is my favorite logbook that I made. It also took longer than any of the others. You can see why.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgob9VFdG1cKAMoBBOJmhdNz7DGQ44Dn4dr9G563kjWNgTIhEfdVM2HsnGU4AlGrKUqa1OrFxL5Fi5aO1SgJ2khcYpx1zYPpkEyLgZ9Fz8yuHH7OEOByZMkSCFtWOaUwFp7u6GZucPnV-E/s1600/IMG_7474.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgob9VFdG1cKAMoBBOJmhdNz7DGQ44Dn4dr9G563kjWNgTIhEfdVM2HsnGU4AlGrKUqa1OrFxL5Fi5aO1SgJ2khcYpx1zYPpkEyLgZ9Fz8yuHH7OEOByZMkSCFtWOaUwFp7u6GZucPnV-E/s640/IMG_7474.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hagrid's logbook</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9fK5rl5IDFf4LlRwux_G2hy-euIC4mgFeQwqrBNkxAoGvQY5yz7hhaydw9IZGBwAbV8Edu3ZV_WCoQgzaOOGLlTzaXb_RvsKZZFreYPlm3jVbR3ZB4ekd_GYwrPdkur5h3jfsJZY48s/s1600/IMG_7475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9fK5rl5IDFf4LlRwux_G2hy-euIC4mgFeQwqrBNkxAoGvQY5yz7hhaydw9IZGBwAbV8Edu3ZV_WCoQgzaOOGLlTzaXb_RvsKZZFreYPlm3jVbR3ZB4ekd_GYwrPdkur5h3jfsJZY48s/s640/IMG_7475.JPG" width="640" /></a></div> The pouches that were made for each stamp. A big thanks to Carma who helped with this. She sewed them all (I don't touch sewing machines. They tend to break when I touch them.).<br />
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I hope to have the instructions on how to make the Monster Book of Monsters up sometime next week.Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-75954246016619085722011-10-28T16:01:00.001-06:002011-10-28T16:01:46.402-06:00October Road Trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hMUDSIAuzzYiIa7tHNgdMZlQS9x3RsiVaLKC2Ev2dlqa0Gi_gmbuuhfHgfHyMlseTqveA-YjCZIycPoADr7c0Yc_P2CTXXuZH12fPWsO_Cs9ucrGU-3RS7QyPIwrE2_OCBxb0nEAsnw/s1600/IMG_7436.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hMUDSIAuzzYiIa7tHNgdMZlQS9x3RsiVaLKC2Ev2dlqa0Gi_gmbuuhfHgfHyMlseTqveA-YjCZIycPoADr7c0Yc_P2CTXXuZH12fPWsO_Cs9ucrGU-3RS7QyPIwrE2_OCBxb0nEAsnw/s400/IMG_7436.JPG" width="400" /> </a>I'm a little behind on the blog, so I'm going to do a few posts real quick to get up to speed. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was over in Eastern Idaho a couple of weeks ago. Joyce and I went through Yellowstone and on into Jackson Hole before going back to her house. While in Wyoming, we stopped at the most photographed barn to do a little letterboxing. Unfortunately, the box was missing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On our way back to the Boise/Idaho City area, we stopped at Craters of the Moon to do, what else, some letterboxing. I took some pictures outside the cave we went in to get one of the boxes. The caution sign just outside of the cave made me wonder. Does Santa have a hobby of spelunking during his holidays? And if so, does he tend to hit his head a lot?</div><br />
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This is the entrance to the cave we went into. The cave is 300 feet long, and pitch black. Joyce and I both had headlamps on and Joyce had a small flashlight. Even with our lights, we could barely see more than a couple feet in front of us. I have to say that I'm glad there weren't any bats, not because they scare me, but because I was already out of my comfort zone just by going in the cave and I didn't need furry winged things flying around.<br />
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Below is the view of the trail we walked to get to Beauty Cave. The wind was so strong, and kept catching on my pack, that I almost fell over a couple of times.<br />
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I hid my spelunking letterbox behind these rocks! This is halfway down to the entrance of Boy Scout Cave. We didn't go in this one, it's covered in ice all year round and you have to crawl in most places.<br />
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Well, those were the highlights of my short road trip this month!Amandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02301704066554961872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1756154159569949407.post-67174046743658180462011-09-12T09:57:00.001-06:002011-09-12T09:58:21.260-06:00Ten Years Later: Remembering 9/11I was a senior in high school. I had been listening to a CD on my way to school. When I arrived, early (I hate being late), the halls were unnaturally quite. The TVs in all of the classrooms were all on CNN. I found some of my friends, and was shocked to see their worried and tearful faces. A plane has hit one of the World Trade Center towers in New York. I had no idea what the Twin Towers were at that time, but I understood the terribleness of the event that was happening. A second plane has hit the towers. I remember sitting in choir, every eye glued to the TV, when the first tower fell. A collective gasp rang through the room. Then the crying began. Even here in Boise, ID, there were kids, teachers, and friends who had loved ones in New York that they were now fearing for. I remember that day as a day of silence, questions, tears, prayers, and hugs. Every class was spent watching and waiting for more information. I had to work that night at the fast food place I was employed at. We were really slow. A woman came in and said that she worked at the mall. They closed four hours early because nobody wanted to go out into crowded public areas. There was a fear because of the military bases in the area. Would they be a target?<br />
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I saved the papers from that week. There wasn't a single section of the paper that wasn't devoted to reporting the attack. Yesterday, I spent a few hours photographing these papers and putting a slideshow together. I am not a professional photographer, cinematographer, nor am I a computer expert. I know enough to get by in life. For some reason, blogger won't let me load the slide show, so I will just put up a few of the photos. I am sorry for the blurriness of some of the photos. We will never forget.<br />
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