Silhouette Saturday

Day 25 of NaBloPoMo and I am so over blogging everyday. It would be different if something important was happening everyday... but really, it's not. I feel like I am dragging myself to write on some days. Others, I have a lot to say. I need to find my voice here. It will come.

So, I have been a crazy Silhouette-machine-making maniac. Which is driving The Boys crazy because the dining room has been covered with cardstock and vinyl and contact paper and canvas and paint. You get the idea. I would love to have a craft room.

First up was the sign I made for Mason's birthday. This is an 8x10 frame that I change out every few weeks with a new Silhouette-made sign. This is very busy with too many pieces to it. I had a problem editing things out. I used the "Happy Birthday" font from this shape. I then added "Mason" using the Blackjack font and welding it together on the Silhouette Studio software. I really should have taken pictures of that step. Sorry. Next time. The whole idea of doing that was to make "Mason" all in one piece. I picked the Blackjack font because the "As" matched up pretty well with the "Happy Birthday" on that piece. However, I needed an "O" that could be attached to the "N," which it wasn't. So, I switched the "O" in "Mason" to the Brushscript font. I moved it around a bit and everything connected perfectly. Unless you are looking closely, I don't think you could tell it's not all from the same font.

The rest of the pieces are from Silhouette's Party Set. I used neon colors of blue, green, orange, and yellow on a black background. This is the first time that I have used the Silhouette for a multi-colored piece. It was fun. Maybe that's why I couldn't edit out all of the pieces.

I have been making a ton of banners. For Valentine's Day, I made one for a dear friend and then this one for Mason's birthday. I plan on keeping it and using it every year. This was huge. Over ten feet, I would say. And it was hung at 1:00am and weighed quite a lot. Thankfully, I had hung a cute banner I made for Valentine's Day on the opposite side of this half-wall, and had left the 3M hangers up. Anyway, I used the same Banner template that I used for my friend's Valentine's Day banner. I only used the two basic shapes and changed the font. The swirlies at the end? From the Party Set I used above!

Lastly, I am in charge of Staff Appreciation at Mason's school (their colors are blue, green, and white). This six weeks, the principal asked that we make a snack for the staff. Since the PTA had so much fun dipping things into chocolate for our Hot Cocoa Bar in December, we decided to make chocolate-covered strawberries (and I should mention that we were originally going to do this around Valentine's Day, but moved it because of an early release/staff meetings this week). Again, I used the same banner from the Valentine's Day banner and then used the same font. That font is kind of hard to read. This time, I used all of the pieces from the banner.

I also used the Menu Placard 3d shape (bottom middle picture). This is a cute shape that I'm sure I'll use a lot. I made a few which we used to make gluten-free brownies and other signs. This would be cute used for a birthday or any buffet, don't you think?

Finally, I used a simple frame shape to make a sign to please take a pencil bouquet (the PTA ordered these pencils to give the staff "bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils" like from You've Got Mail -- and my Mom and I sharpened all but 300 of them, and tied them together, added a tag -- our arms were so sore!). The best thing about this frame? It was one of the free shapes that came with the Silhouette, so it didn't cost me anything!
So, those are some of the creations I have made with my Silhouette this week. I am really getting my money's worth, I think. I am loving the Silhouette. Each shape you buy from the Silhouette store is from $0.50-2.99. However, I signed up for a neat $15/month membership that gives me $50 of downloaded shapes each month. Once I purchase more than $50, the shapes become discounted. This is a GREAT deal, considering that most Cricut cartridges cost between $35-85. Plus, Silhouette offers one free shape each week and discounts a bunch of shapes each week.

I absolutely love this machine!!

Exhausted, but Fulfilled

Day #21 of NaBloPoMo has almost come to an end, but I am writing this just in the nick of time.

I have been busy all day. ALL. DAY.

Mom, Mason, and I got to school at 8:30. Some of the LMS PTA Board members showed up and we prepared for tomorrow's Staff Appreciation Snack. When we finished around 12, a group of us went to a new, local cafe for lunch. It was amazing, with fresh ingredients and great atmosphere. And, like I discussed yesterday, I got to enjoy the almost 80 degree sunny weather while we dined al fresco. Hello Vitamin D. And dare I say, I think I may have even got some extra sun on my face?

Mom and I returned to the school to sharpen almost 3000 pencils. Yes. THREE THOUSAND PENCILS. You know what happens when you sharpen that many pencils? The electric sharpeners become overheated. We had to quit after three of the pencil sharpeners died on us because they were too hot. Ooops. Don't worry -- they aren't broken, just needed a rest!

I was a bad mom and pulled Mason out of school a few minutes early. We were ready to go and after practically spending the entire day at the school, we wanted to leave. I gave him the option of leaving early and riding home with us or riding the bus. We decided since we had some time, we would hit up Sonic Happy Hour. Score!

As soon as we got home, Mason walked the Wondermutt while Mark and I went out to buy The Boy's Birthday presents. Well, some of them. Some of the others aren't available until tomorrow. Once home, I became a pencil-decorating-banner-making-picture-gluing crazy lady. We just stopped three minutes ago so that I could write this entry. Once I finish, I promised Mom we would finally watch Dance Moms (our guilty pleasure on Tuesdays. Don't judge!).

So, today was another wonderful, busy day of volunteering and hanging out with amazing friends. I have another semi-busy day tomorrow when we set up for Staff Appreciation then come home in time to celebrate a very cool Thirteen year old's life.

On Thursday, I will be able to share a lot of the crafties I have been concocting (have too many staff members who read this that I'd like to surprise!)!

Goodnight -- it's time to watch some crazy, screaming women!

Pinterest Project #1

I am a huge Pinterest addict. I pin and repin while I'm watching tv or movies. I pin and repin when I need to be doing other things. I pin and repin a lot. Too much, perhaps, but I keep on pinning and repinning -- loving every project I see and categorizing them into different topics.

If you don't know what Pinterest is, check this out. Click. I'll wait...

Ok. So, as I said... I am addicted. However, only until recently, I haven't really DONE anything with Pinterest, except collect ideas. Until recently. Well... this week actually. So, without further adieu... let me present my first BIG Pinterest project...

The Hot Cocoa Bar

I should first begin with volunteering. I am currently in charge of Hospitality and Event Planning for my son's middle school PTA. Last year, a group of my friends and I got together and created this new parent group of volunteers, wanting to help this amazing school out. These staff members work their booties off and, as a daughter of a teacher, I know their pay isn't the best for all that they do. Being a starter group, we didn't (and don't) have much money to buy wonderful things to spoil them by. So, last year when I was President, I suggested that at the end of every six week grading period, we feed the staff. Each grading period, we would do something different. Well, once we realized we weren't moving, I contacted my friend who is the current President, and said I'd love to continue doing the Staff Appreciation Events (hence, I'm in charge of Event Planning and Hospitality).

Enter Pinterest. I saw a few great ideas for a Hot Cocoa Bar. What a neat idea when the volunteers won't have much time to bake extra cookies, casseroles, etc! After setting out an online donation list (I love our PTA website!), a few of us met yesterday, melted chocolates, and dipped spoons, candy canes, marshmallows, and pretzels. We had leftover cookies (that we froze) from another crazy thing we do at this school (try organizing over 900 cookies being donated? It's crazy!). We bought different Ghiradelli hot cocoas. We crushed candy canes and sprinkled sugar on anything that stood still. Today, we decorated the large staff lounge, blasted some Christmas tunage, and set out our spread. Our trusty volunteers went into the classrooms, relieving teachers for a few minutes so they could grab a mug or cup of hot cocoa (as well as tea and Starbucks coffee!). It was SO much fun and I think the staff enjoyed it! Here are some pictures (taken by one of the teachers!):

Hot Cocoa spread and dipped candy canes

Hot cocoa and dipped pretzels.

Dipped marshmallows and dipped candy canes.

More goodies.

Dipped candy canes and marshmallows,

So, Pinterest Project #1 is finished. Kaput. Fini. Over. And it was a HUGE success!!!

Finding Me

I volunteer. A lot. Mostly, it involves my son's activities, school and swimming.

But, I feel like I should do more. Yes, I also need to be looking for a new job, but I want to volunteer more, too. Something for me.

So, I am doing some soul searching (and job hunting). Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all!

Heart Heavy

I am not a helicopter parent, by any means. Sure, I volunteer A LOT at my son's school. And I am always present when he is active in sports (served on his swimteam board, always go to practices, and meets). However, I usually steer clear from him during these activities. I want him to enjoy his independence, while I keep a watchful eye from the sidelines.

When he was younger, I would always ask his teachers if I could go in to his classroom and speak to the class. I would start off by reading It's Okay To Be Different (by the amazing Todd Parr). It's an awesome book that talks all about diversity and acceptance, while being both serious and silly (it's okay to have two moms vs. it's okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub). After reading the book, I would briefly explain WHY I am in a wheelchair. I would let the kids ask questions (can I drive? Can I go grocery shopping?). And then, the very best part -- I would allow the kiddos to take turns riding around in an old wheelchair down the empty school hallway. They always loved it.

I did it because I wanted them to understand why I was in a wheelchair. But, deep down inside, I had a hidden agenda. I did it because I never, ever wanted Mason to be made fun of for having a mommy in a wheelchair. It always worked well. Especially since I always was at the school -- the kids got to know me and realize that I'm capable of many things.

However, when Mason was in third grade (at a new school), I decided I should stop giving the little "talks" to his peers. He was done with "baby books" and I knew I couldn't hold his hand all of his life, to make things easier. He has a mother that has a spinal cord injury that causes her to be in a wheelchair. Just like some kids have parents who are divorced. It was just part of our family dynamic. WE accepted it.

That being said, at school that year, I was still actively involved. We spent a lot of the summer before at the neighborhood pool, ensuring he met some kids before he started his first day of school. Kids asked why I was in a wheelchair. All kids ask. It's a way of life. I helped with Mason's Destination Imagination group. I was a presence at his school. I didn't need the book. He never was teased because of my disability.

Today, there was an incident. He is almost thirteen years old and in seventh grade. Long gone are the days where picture books can explain things. I don't know how well he handled it. I only found out about it right before he went to bed.

But, it caused my heart to hurt for my little guy. He can't help that I am his mother no more than I can help being in a wheelchair. This is a part of our lives... but that never makes the sting hurt any less.

I just hope there is a day where it really IS okay to be different...