Baby Bump Photo Shoot

My daughter is almost seven months pregnant so we decided to do a photo shoot on the weekend. She was pleased with them so that is the most important thing. Quite a few were blurry from all of the laughing I did. My 3 adult daughters were visiting me for the night so it was a little project. One daughter was the subject,of course, one daughter was my lighting girl (holding a floor lamp) and she was also my "make the subject laugh or smile girl". My oldest daughter laughed and watched it all unfold as she sipped her cocktail. I made a backdrop out of a garment rack, some plastic clamps & some material.

Cheapskate Ambiance

Here is a way to add ambiance to any room & it was dirt cheap. I put epsom salts in the bottom of two mason jars. I already had the jars & the salts. I hot glued some jute around the top (already had the jute too). Just dropped two tea lights in each jar. The mini vase with the 5 circular holders came from Value Village at a price of .99 cents and I added some greenery from outside (free) and some water. The pewter candle holder in the foreground is also from Value Village & I paid $1.99. See - easy and very inexpensive.

Randomy Randomness

Came across some pictures I took last summer. This one is pretty funky...I like it..it's art.

Gratitude & Coffee

I love a great cup of coffee at home (I adore coffee shops too) with my feet up. It's a great way to kick back & and also a great time to reflect on something to be grateful for. I have a lot of things to be grateful for but I am most grateful for the love I feel from my family & friends. I know I am lucky.

Homemade Sugar Cubes

This was a little experiment. I took some sugar, added some sprinkles because I didn't have any food coloring & then a little water. You make the sugar into a consistency of wet sand..not soaking sand...damp sand that you can work with (sand castle type sand). You could either use a cookie cutter or a candy mold to make whatever shape you wanted. I just cut out a cardboard heart and placed it over the sugar & molded it with my fingers. This was because it was an experiment only. I think it would be better with a tiny cookie cutter. Also, I would use food coloring and do little pink hearts for Valentine's Day. You can let the sugar air dry until it's hard or bake in the oven @ 200F for 5 minutes. Take it out, let it cool and you should be left with a sugar cube. Cute for a tea party.

Dark, Stormy Days Make the Best Craft Days (in my opinion)

I love mason jars. Mason jars filled with clothespins, buttons, pickles, candles...you name it. I saw this diy craft on Pinterest and it literally took a little over five minutes to do. You just mark a hole on the spot where you want to put the pump through the lid of the mason jar. You put the ceramic part of the lid face down (this way if it shatters, it won't be face up when it does) & hammer a nail through the lid to make a hole. I just kept making the hole a little bigger by pulling the edges back with needlenose plyers. The hole needs to be just big enough for the tube part of the pump to go through the cap and rest on the top. Just fill with soap and you are done. You can take the pump off of an empty jug you already have or you can purchase pumps on their own from a pharmacy or soap store. You could also use one off of any lotion bottle etc. Anyway, super simple.