Music Paper Easter Eggs & Mod Podge Yarn Nest

I've been seeing variations on this theme all over the blogosphere, so I was curious to get my hands gooey and see what I could do...

First, I gathered my supplies: Mod Podge, a disposable bowl, brown yarn, a plastic bowl (chosen only for its shape), and an old music book. And plastic eggs!!! Why are they not in the photo? I think my son was trying to swipe them at the time...well, whatever the reason do NOT forget your plastic easter eggs!

Next, I channeled my inner birdie and made a nest. I cut the yarn into LOTS of pieces of varying length, then dipped the pieces into my Mod Podge (which I had poured into my disposable bowl). Then I randomly placed the pieces across the bottom of this bowl, overlapping them, going for a nest-y look. I left the bowl to dry overnight (it takes a LONG time to dry!). Looks like a very peculiar cake.

Then, on to the eggs!

I started by tearing my music paper into strips. Incidentally, I discovered that thin strips are better than thick ones. They wrap around the eggs more easily. I dipped each strip into the Mod Podge...

...then got my little fingers all ooey gooey smooshing the paper all over the eggs.

Smoosh smoosh.

Then I set up the eggs to dry on my special homemade Mod Podged Egg Drying Contraption (aka, another styrofoam bowl upside down with toothpicks stuck in it). I'm clever, I tell ya.

And by the next day, I was able to pry my little nest off its bowl (wait until the Mod Podge looks clear!) and, while it was a little more flexible than I had anticipated, it still looks kinda cool with my eggs!

Soo....if I were to do this again, I'd probably try paper mache instead, because I think that might give me a slightly stiffer result. I think I'd do a few more layers on the nest as well- maybe do 2-3 thin layers and allow each layer to dry in between so it wouldn't take forever to dry. But all in all, it was a fun, ooey-gooey project, and I especially love my musical eggs!! :-)

This week I'm linking up to:

Paper Issues!

Spiritual Sundays- coming later this week!

CORRECTION: This is coming NEXT week, April 12th!! :-)

[I am itching to post a Spiritual Sundays post (because for those of you who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you know it was a spiritual Sunday for sure!) but I am going to have to wait, because this week I am very excited to be participating in an LDS Writers Blogfest! On Tuesday we will all be joining together to post about our favorite talks from General Conference on our blogs (and if you don't know what General Conference is, be sure to come back Tuesday!!). I will have my own post along with links to everyone else's. So great!

Soo....I'll see you later for a Spiritual Tuesday! :-)]

Recycled Magazine Paper Bracelet

Lately I have been spending waaaay too much time browsing jewelry on etsy. I love the fun look of all the "upcycled" fashion accessories, so when I saw this idea for recycled magazine paper beads in the Family Fun magazine, I just had to try it!

Luckily, I had a few home decorating magazines sitting around which were chock full of gorgeous colors and textures, so with Starlet's help, I went through them choosing several colorful pages to use to create my beads.

Here is a page after I had cut it into fourths with my paper cutter. The great thing about this is that you'll only see one tiny part of the page- in this case, the bottom 1/2" or so of this piece. So even if something has words on it, it's not a big deal- you can use whatever part of the page you want. I even ended up with one of my beads having the word "harmony" on it, which I loved!

I started off by putting glue on the right side of the opposite end of the page- that way it would stick as soon as I started rolling it around the pencil.

Once I had my "initial stick" then I held it in place while I glued the rest of the sheet (wrong side).

After that, I just rolled it up using my pencil.

And there's the finished bead, which I cut in half to make two separate beads.

Here's Starlet stringing a bracelet for herself. I tied the end of the string onto a pencil to prevent her beads from sliding off the end.

And here's Little Boo. She wanted to be with us so I set her up in her high chair with paper and a pencil and some crayons. She had a blast.

Here's Starlet modeling her finished creations!

And here is my chic, upcycled/recycled magazine paper bracelet!! It's kinda gorgeous, if I do say so myself.

I would explain how I did the parallel beading, but I kind of just made it up as I went along. I'm sure there are probably tutorials out there somewhere!

Here's a few tips if you decide you'd like to make your own magazine bracelet:

- We tried patterned scrapbook paper, but it was a little too thick- the beads kept wanting to unroll.

- Use caution when cutting a larger bead into smaller pieces. They have a tendency to go flying across the room.

- Make all your beads before you start stringing them. I got excited and started stringing right away, before I had enough beads. I made more, but they were different colors than the first beads (because they came from different pages) so half of my bracelet looked kind of different from the other half. I think it's better to have the colors completely integrated for a cohesive look.

- Don't plan on wearing this if there's a possibility you may sweat (or have your hand/arm come in contact with moisture- like washing dishes, etc.). I had mine on tonight while I was out, and I had my coat on inside a place and I got a little warm- barely noticeable, but I started getting some very strange markings on my hand from my bracelet... I'm thinking if I do more of these I might look for some kind of clear coat paper sealant. :-)

This was a super fun project, and it's great for kids AND moms! And of course, my favorite part was that it was FREE!! I'm thinking I might make another one or two of these just for fun!

Have you ever made a magazine bracelet? If not, think you'll give it a try?

For another fun post on ways to use old magazines, check out My Secret Room.

This week I'm linking up to....

Keeping it Simple's Motivate Me Monday

Spiritual Sundays: Your Highest Destiny

Today in our women's class at church, Relief Society, we talked about the principle of "consecration." Our lesson was based on a talk given by D. Todd Christofferson in the October 2010 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In his talk he said,

"To consecrate is to set apart or dedicate something as sacred, devoted to holy purposes. True success in this life comes in consecrating our lives—that is, our time and choices—to God’s purposes. In so doing, we permit Him to raise us to our highest destiny."

Really, the only thing I want to do after reading that quotation is to jump up and shout, "AAAYYY-MEN!!!" I feel that way because I know this to be so, so, so true. For me personally, I feel that I have been blessed with certain gifts and talents, and I know that when I use those talents to serve God, He blesses me and magnifies my talents to levels higher than I could ever achieve on my own.

Recently, I have struggled with trying to find a balance in my life. There are so many good things that I want to do- spend time with my kids, go running, write on my blog, write in my journal, write...other things! I want to be able to make my home a clean and beautiful sanctuary, I want to study my scriptures, I want to serve my friends, I want to cook wonderful meals, I want to serve in the community, I want to be thrifty through couponing. These are all things that take time, and most days I feel like I'm just running from one thing to the next, frantically giving half of my attention to everything and therefore truly succeeding at nothing! It was turning into a very frustrating cycle.

After the women's conference, I chose to use the following Sunday, a fast Sunday, and dedicate my fast to asking the Lord to help me find balance. I realized that I couldn't do it all, and I shouldn't be trying to do it all- I am not superwoman, and I don't think God expects any of us to do everything all at once. There is a time and a season. My question for the Lord was simply this: What do I really need to be focusing on, and how do I organize my time to accomplish what you desire of me?

Throughout my fast I had a feeling of comfort, and a feeling that God was more than happy to help me with this struggle. It was almost as if He was saying, "Why Kasey, I'm so glad you finally asked. Yes, here is what I would like for us to do together...." I say, "us", because I really felt that He is as invested in my life as I am, and He wants me to succeed, and is ready and willing to give me all the support I could possibly need.

As I prayed, I got the strong impression that my writing ability is a gift, and while this is a busy time in my life, it is the time that the Lord has appointed for me to develop and nurture my gift. Earlier this year I had started work on a poetry project but I had set it aside for lack of time and inspiration. Oddly enough, as soon as I received the answer from Heavenly Father that He wanted me to continue work on it, I suddenly had the inspiration for 5 more poems!

My next step was to ask for guidance in finding time for that which the Lord has directed me to do. I felt impressed to create a flexible schedule, with certain nights each week dedicated to the things I wanted to accomplish. I now have one evening for couponing, one for blogging, and one for writing. The other nights are open for time with my husband and time to catch up on things I didn't get accomplished on the "dedicated" nights. Having a set schedule has allowed me to be disciplined and accomplish things that I might not have otherwise done. For example, a friend sent me a link to an LDS radio show in which various LDS authors were discussing their writing careers and how writing has affected their lives. The show was quite long- about an hour- and I had put it off because I just didn't have the time. I used my first "write night" (hey, I like that!) to listen to the show, and it was very inspiring.

[Side note: I feel that I should say that while writing is my most important "side activity" right now, my main daily focus is on my role as a wife and a mother. That is my first calling, and the one that will- and should- consume the majority of my time. However, I feel that by pursuing my talents and nurturing my creativity with the Lord's help, I will become an even better wife and mother.]

Sometimes consecrating our lives involves simply asking God what He wants of us. From our church lessons and the scriptures and other sources we get an impossibly long to do list. It can feel completely overwhelming. And yes, God does ask us to do it all. But He doesn't ask us to do it all right now. I believe that there is a time and season for everything, and when we consecrate our time and our choices to the Lord, He will direct our paths and in so doing, "raise us to our highest destiny."

I am so thankful to my Father in Heaven for guiding and directing my life each day. I am thankful for the talents He has given me and for His gentle guidance in helping me to use them to bless the lives of others. I pray that I might be an instrument for good in His loving hands.

Do you feel that you have consecrated your life, or certain parts of it, to God? Do you feel that doing so is helping to raise you to your "highest destiny"? I would love to read your thoughts on this!

For more on what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please check out www.mormon.org. :-)

DIY Disinfecting Cleaning Wipes

I have an inner brat who finds every reason possible to avoid cleaning. She's truly obnoxious. Lately, she's been whining that sure she'd clean the bathroom, if only she had some of those handy dandy cleaning wipes that she could just whip out and swipe across the counters. But since she doesn't have them, well...

So I decided I was tired of her whining, and rather than spend a bunch of money on expensive wipes, I decided it might be fun to try to make my own!

Because I didn't feel like trying to figure out a recipe for these on my own (that would be that inner brat again) I just found some instructions online here at Organized Home. I wasn't too into the idea of hacking a roll of paper towels in half and drilling through plastic containers, so I just used the paper towels individually (cut in half) and folded them such that they would conveniently pull through the opening in an old baby wipes container:

First, make an accordion fold like this:

Then, fit two half-sheets together like this:

Fit all the sheets together like that, then stack them in the container and add the solution (1/4 cup Pine-Sol + 2 1/2 cups water).

Pull the first one through and you're done!

Some hints:

- If you use an old baby wipes container, be SURE to use a permanent marker and clearly identify the box! (we don't want baby's bottom THAT clean!)

- I used Kleenex Viva paper towels because they are soft and strong, but I would probably try something different next time. While they're strong, they're kind of thin, so it makes it awkward when wiping because it kind of sticks to the surface you're trying to clean. They don't break apart, they're just hard to handle.

- I used just a small amount of the "X-tra Pine" cleaner and less than half the roll of paper towels to fill my wipes container, so I have plenty of supplies to make a refill once these run out.

I have found these wipes to be quite convenient and even my inner brat seems satisfied (for now). Have you found any cleaning alternatives to silence your inner brat (or maybe just your inner frugalista)?

Fresh Homemade Bread Is This Easy? Who Knew?

Yes, that is as yummy as it looks.

Why yes, actually I did make it myself. From scratch. No breadmaker.

No, I didn't slave away in the kitchen. It took about 5 minutes of hands-on time.

Flour, salt, yeast, and water.

Nope, nothing else, that's it. 4 little ingredients. Mix, mix. Let rise. Bake. Devour. Quickly, or your family members will get to it before you.

Sure, here's where I learned- Homemade Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day

Seriously, it's really good.

See, even Princess Picky-Pants loves it! (That's her third piece).

If I can do it, then you can definitely do it!! Are you going to try? ;-)

(It's okay if you don't- it's so easy to make I can make extra for you) :-)

Linking up to:

Keeping It Simple's Motivate Me Monday

Spiritual Sundays: Choose to Write!

The volumes of journals I've written over the years

The urge to put pen to paper (or these days, fingers to keyboard) has been with me ever since I discovered that by putting letters together you could express ideas. I was only seven years old when I first started writing in a journal. It's the cute pink one you see below.

And here is my first entry from that day, April 19th, 1989:

I won the journal as a prize for a writing contest, and ever since then I have been a journal-keeper. During those very early years I wrote only a handful of times each year, but once I hit 8th grade my inner thoughts became too much for me to keep in my head and it became more of a regular, several-times-a-week habit.

My reasons for writing have varied over the years- when I was an adolescent and a teenager, I felt that nobody understood me, but when I wrote in my journal I couldn't mess up- there was no one to critique my words or tell me I was wrong. It was freeing for me.

As I grew up and left for college, I used my journals as a place to make sense of the world around me. I was facing new challenges and was often overwhelmed by the choices I had to make. Writing through these experiences helped me to clarify my thoughts and understand the person I was becoming.

Now, as a mother, my journals are a place to reconnect with myself and spend some time with my often-neglected spiritual self. They are also a place to record life events that I know would be lost in the recesses of memory if I did not write them down. There are so many times when I go back to read past journal entries and realize I had completely forgotten a certain event had occurred! I cherish my journals and the perspective they give me on my life.

If you want to start a journal, or even just improve upon your journal-writing, here are a few tips for you.

• Choose a medium that's right for you. I used to use books, but now that my life is so hectic I find it better to journal on the computer. I use LDS Journal, a free site that allows you to keep your journal through their secure server (which is great because if your computer crashes it's still safe and sound), add photos to journal entries, automatically get e-mail reminders to write in your journal, and get your journal printed into an affordable high-quality hardbound book. It's awesome! I love it!

• If you do use a standard journal, include a photo of yourself at the beginning of the book. It's fun to see how you change over the years.

• Every once in awhile, do an entry where you just write down your daily schedule. Wouldn't you like to know what your mother's daily schedule was like when you were a young child and she was raising you? It's those little things that provide such insight into your life that will be invaluable for future generations.

• Just write. Whatever's on your mind, just get it out there. If your mind goes blank when you sit down, then keep a pen and paper handy throughout the day and make notes of things to write about- funny things that happen, etc. Pretend that your journal is your best friend and you're going to call her at the end of the day. What will you talk about?

• Don't stress about it. At this point in my life, I'm only writing about once a month, and while I'd like it to be more, I'm not stressing. (you get more here on my blog than my journal does!

I hope these tips help you to become a better journal writer, not just for yourself but for future generations. Start now and you'll be glad you did. :-)

Do you keep a journal? If so, what are your tips for better journaling?

Leave a comment and share!