Let me introduce you to the talented Evie S…..for some of you I am sure she needs no introduction. Evie is fully of lovely ideas.

For instance how lovely is this collage of her first pregnancy?

On her blog you can also find lovely interviews with talented artists…full of more great ideas than my mind could ever process

It’s hard to find great boy clothes that you can make yourself…she has DIY tutorials for some of her creative designs. This shirt for her son being another great idea.

Picking up a paintbrush again…another lovely idea.

She also has a wedding business and sells the most lovely ring pillows…not the kind you find at most stores. Lovely idea.

Postcards for Christmas….lovely family, lovely idea.

She repurposed an old sweater into this gorgeous cardigan. Fashionable idea.

Beyond all that talent that oozes from her and on her blog is A Beautiful Idea.

Here is what Evie says about A Beautiful Idea, “As an artist, I have struggled with the “why” behind the creative urges I have – to be used for something more than myself or for profits. I have longed for a greater purpose. I know I am not the only artist that feels this way. That’s why I created A Beautiful Idea.”

A Beautiful Idea is a network of artist, creators, crafters, etc. that make, sell and donate profits for a greater cause. If you are interested in more information you can visit A Beautiful Idea website. If you get involved, let me know!

Thanks Evie for sharing such a beautiful idea.

]]> http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2010/02/23/a-beautiful-idea-evie-s-things-of-beauty/feed/ 8 http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2010/02/15/diy-notebooks-crayons-to-haiti-with-love/ http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2010/02/15/diy-notebooks-crayons-to-haiti-with-love/#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:30:53 +0000 AshleyAnn http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/?p=3692 When Chris travels the hardest part for me is being the one to stay and not the one to go. His trip to Haiti was no exception – I wanted to go. Since ‘going’ wasn’t the option I had, I wanted to make the most of the opportunity with my kids in regards to them feeling a part of the trip. We have talked daily with the oldest two about what has happened in Haiti and what continues to happen. They have seen pictures. They have heard stories. They wanted to do something too. Since Chris didn’t have much room in his bags to take anything other than medical supplies we had to keep our items small and few. The boys wanted kids in Haiti to be able to color and draw….which I think is also a wonderful way for children to cope amid devastation. So we made little notebooks with crayons attached. Here’s how we did it:

Our supplies – notebooks, crayons, scrapbooking paper, glue stick, 1/4 inch elastic

Step 1: Cover the front of the notebooks. You could leave them as is, but I wouldn’t ever do that for a gift here so I wasn’t about to do it for a gift to be sent….I wanted them to be cute!

Step 2: The boys colored and wrote notes on the first page of each notebook. Biggest Brother wrote, “I love you.” on all of his.

Step 3: Make an elastic band to wrap around the notebook. I cut 2 pieces of elastic (one shorter, one longer). On the longer piece I marked it with a pencil every 1/2 inch, on the shorter piece I marked it every 3/4 inch. Then I sewed the elastic together at the marked spots (shorter piece on top). Finally I sewed the ends of the long piece – forming a band. I know that is not very technical, but I winged it and this is about as good as my instructions can get. Just play with your’s until it fits right!

Step 4: Slide in your crayons. The boys did this and picked what colors to go with each notebook.

Since ours were going to Haiti we wrapped each one in a plastic baggie. The rainy season will soon hit Haiti, hopefully these will help the kids keep their notebooks dry.  I also chose crayons since they don’t have to be sharpened and unlike markers they won’t grow dry.

About a week before Chris left Biggest Brother came home with a 100 Day hat from school. I guess each day of school they put a sticker on their hat, then on the 100th day of school they had a big party. Biggest Brother told me not to throw it away (b/c I throw everything away) and that he wanted to keep it forever. Well the day before Chris left Biggest Brother came to me and said, “Mommy I want daddy to take my hat to Haiti to give it to a boy there. I think that would make another boy really happy.” So the hat went to Haiti….and I cried seeing this picture.

When Chris first posted it on his Twitter I called Biggest Brother to come see it. I thought he’d get real excited about it, but he just stood staring at the computer. Then after about 45 seconds he got a sheepish grin and said, “Mommy, it feels really good to give stuff away.”

In the course of  500 posts, I have learned a few things from blogging. Here’s a few:

1. You truly can meet incredible people online. I now have a circle friends that I feel like I know, despite I’ve never met them in person. I know their voice, just haven’t heard it audibly. My life is more full as a result of their influence and growing friendships.

2. Everyone likes an easy craft….so I’ll share one today.

When we opened presents as a family at Christmas we talked to the kids about what gifts God had given them in 2009….then we talked about what kinds of gifts we could give God in 2010. In case you are curious, Big Brother wants to give God lots of Legos in 2010. I wrote down what everyone said and knew I wanted to make a small little notebook to record what was said this year and in the years to come. I also knew I wanted it left out so we could read what was said (I knew I’d forget mine!). It is February and I finally got around to making my book. I had a stash of 5×7 cards that didn’t have envelopes, so I used those to make the book….this is a cute idea with envelopes too (store things in the ‘pages’).

I worked on my book while Big Brother worked on his letters…the whole project took about 15 minutes.

Step 1: I cut one card in half to make a front and end sheet (not necessary)

Step 2: Use tape (I used pretty masking tape) to tape the cards together

Picture 3: All my ‘pages’ taped together

Step 3: Cut paper for the cover. I used double sided cardstock scrapbooking paper. Amy Butler collection (thanks sis)

Step 4: Punch holes in the front and back sides of the cover…on the far left and far right (not top and bottom)

Step 5: Embellish your cover. I used more paper and masking tape.

Step 6: Attach your cover to the pages to using masking tape again

Step 7: Run a ribbon through the holes to tie the book shut

Step 8: I taped tags on each ‘card’ to designate whose page it is…remember I am using my to record things over the course of years.

3. Another thing I have learned is that there is some unreal creative talent and inspiration out there. A while back I came across the cutest little bags/wallets and have been anxiously waiting for the fabric combination that screams “This bag was made for you Ashley!”

Well while I wait….Gussy is giving one away to you!

Visit the Gussy store HERE and the Gussy blog HERE

Contest Details

One Entry per person

Contest ends on Thursday, February 11th at 7:00pm US Central

Prize is a $25.00 store credit to Gussy

In the comment section tell me 4 things (besides your wallet) you will carry in your Gussy if you win.

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Here are a few answers to yesterday’s post: I tried Snapfish & Shutterfly, but was not pleased with the quality. I have considered using a Blurb book – I like the feature of it being able to be larger than 100 pages. Ultimately I went with MyPublisher because of price. The Blurb and MyPublisher books seemed about equal in price until you factor in 50% off or a Buy One Get One Free coupon (which is a big deal when you are ordering around 400 pages total). I always wait to order my albums until I have one of those coupons. They email me one each year around this time. MyPublisher works like Blurb in that you can pull in all the pictures off your computer, but just use the ones you want. I go through and select my pics because I want to tweak the post processing on them before I pull them into the MyPublisher program. I pick the pictures I want based on what I like and what I don’t want to forget. I probably only end up using 25-50% of the pictures I take. (I’d like to use them all, but my wallet would not like that). MyPublisher does allow for different themes…including text. I choose not to add text because I like the ‘pictures only’ look and I would never get the books done if I added text! We keep journals for the kids.

Here is a link to what I do in regards to saving and backing up my pictures.

So the other day I was thinking…

I am 30. I am a mom of four. Maybe it is time to change my wardrobe to something that reflects this stage of life a bit more….

I went to the store and can you believe for $5.00 I found the PERFECT outfit?!

Perfect for two new pillows that is.

The ability to remove pillow covers is VERY important in my house. Messes happen. Messes happen a lot!

I kept the skirt slit on the houndstooth one and added a vintage button…to allow me to remove the pillow cover.

On the white one I added a flap with vintage trim…to allow me to remove the pillow cover. I like mine better than this $39.00 one.

For those wondering why I didn’t do a tutorial on this…I don’t really know how to sew. I make things up as I go and I usually make a lot of mistakes in the process. I should have done a tutorial on what not to do. For instance, when adding a flap to fold over make sure before you sew it that the flap is on the outside not the inside. Otherwise you have to remove a lot of tiny stitches and that is not fun.

Since I didn’t do a tutorial, I did think I’d share a few outtakes from my pillow making process. Looking at the chaos surrounding my projects it makes it seem worth it just to buy stuff sometimes!

I know this is blurry. She was jumping so fast I couldn’t get any of her in focus. She likes to jump.

And even now as I try to write this post I have a little one trying to crawl off my bed. I’m tired…

And for my Friday etsy finds….in honor of Valentine’s Day

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Me: “What do you want to do?”

Him “Play the wii.”

Me: “No, we could make cookies.”

Him: “No, that’s boring.”

Me: “You could make a painting for your room.”

Him: “No, that is boring.”

Me: “We could make playdoh.”

Him: “No, that’s boring.”

Me: “We could melt crayons and make hearts for Valentines.”

Him: “No, that’s boring.”

Me: “Okay, what is not boring?”

Him: “Playing the wii.”

I got out the crayons and decided to start shaving crayons and melting them anyway. This the face sitting across the table from me as I played.

He watched me shave the crayons (with an old cheese grater).

He watched me lay out a towel, then wax paper, then pour the shavings on top, and then cover it with another piece of wax paper and another towel.

He watched me iron it just until the crayons melted.

And his pout turned into a grin and my idea wasn’t so boring anymore.

This is a bit messy of a craft, but fun nonetheless (the towels I used did get stained just fyi). Several people have asked me about how I get my kids to do craft projects. Well, sometimes it is easy. Sometimes it takes me starting it out by myself before they realize how much fun my idea is.

I will say my initial idea was cute hearts in various shades of red. Big Brother wanted to add blue. I’d like to say I agree without hesitation, but I usually hesitate. I told him, “Hearts aren’t blue.” He responded, “Mommy, hearts are whatever color you want to make them.” I could stick to my guns and have cute hearts hanging in the window or I could give in to the blue. I gave in. Encouraging his creativity and imagination are more important than picture book designs.

I cut out hearts to hang in the windows…he cut various shapes, strung them and wanted them hanging in his room.

And on a totally random note…look what I found online!

Yep, my quilt for the Margaret’s Hope Chest Craft Hope Project. It was my first quilt ever and I am pretty proud of it…even if it looks a bit sad and ugly in this photo among all the hard core quilts! Some little guy or girl is warm today. Pretty cool. The next project is making scarves for college students that have aged out of the foster care system. I don’t know how to knit, but hopefully I can figure that out soon to get a scarf there by the Feb. 14th deadline. Check it out here!

My kitchen craft room

A bit scary, huh? Typically I am picking up so fast that everything just gets shoved in and the curtain closed. This is actually a bookcase we bought at a garage sale for $5.00 about 6 years ago. We added molding to the top and I made a curtain out of a vintage tablecloth to hide the disaster on the shelves. I have good intentions of keeping it organized, but obviously that isn’t happening. A creative mess. Someday it will be a cutely organized creative mess. Someday as in when the boys are older.

So half my creative stuff is downstairs in the kitchen. The other half is upstairs in my daughter’s room my sewing room.

My grandpa built me a craft armoire like this one several years ago. To fit it into this space we had to remove the crown molding and take off the doors. A table pulls out for sewing, but to sew I have to move the ladder with the quilts and the crib. The sewing machine is about a foot from the crib which means I can’t sew during naps or at night when she is sleeping. Needless to say that is why I Mod Podge more than I sew! I keep everything fabric related in this area.

Is this an ideal set up…no. Is it convenient….no. Does it work for what I have available right now…yes. I think in most areas of life we make it work for what is really important to us. I’m making it work….and dreaming of having a space like one of these someday. (I am a pretty content gal, but I have to admit there was some major coveting going on seeing these beautiful craft rooms!)

Apartment Therapy’s motherload list of Creative Craft Rooms

Apartment Therapy’s second motherload list of Creative Craft Rooms

Soule Mama’s Studio v.2

Heather Bailey’s Studio

Karen Russell’s Scrapbook Room/Office

Meg’s Craft Room

There are so many more, but I am trying to stay on task with some projects this week, so I better stop. Do a google image search for “craft room” and just look at all the beautiful spaces that come up.

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Last week I gave you a glimpse of a little craft project I had in the works. I wasn’t going to post pictures because this is part of a surprise for a dear friend, but she needs a little pick me up right now. If you have read this blog for very long you know that adoption and orphan care are very important to me. My sweet friend (and her 3 young kids) are in Africa diligently trying to adopt an older sibling set of 3. She has been there since Nov. and had hoped to return home to her husband this week. Plans have changed and we are still all waiting for a super sweet homecoming. While she is away some of us are working on a few surprises. She knows we are decorating the kid’s rooms, but she doesn’t know what all we have up our sleeves. So, sweet friend, here is a peek at some artwork for the girl’s room!

I was inspired by this DwellStudio painting (thanks Bryn!)

Step 1: Draw the basic design on the canvas (I messed with this picture in Photoshop to make the pencil marks show up…it isn’t really a big gray bubble)

Step 2: Cut out random scrapbooking papers for leaves and the bird (I used Amy Butler paper)

Step 3: Glue down the paper. I applied Mod Podge to the back of the paper and then stuck them on the canvas. Just do a thin layer of glue to prevent bubbling. I also did a thin layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper and around the edges.

Step 4: When gluing the paper down some of my paper bled, so I lightly went over the white areas of the canvas with white craft paint.

Step 5: Paint on your branches

Step 6: Seal the canvas. I just used Mod Podge since it was already on hand.

In the girls’ room these will not be hanging this close together….

While I was working on these, Littlest Brother joined me in the kitchen. At one point he tried to quietly push the chair over to the countertops. He returned, with the chair and turned it where it was facing the opposite direction of where I was. He thought he was being sneaky, but I knew what was on those countertops.

Handful. Can I say it again? HANDFUL!!!!

I made each of the older boys “Wii minute” cards. I also made myself 4. Once the boys use up their minutes for the week, that is it until the next week. However, I have 4 cards to give out at my discretion for whatever reason I want (like a desperate need to be alone with coffee and the sewing machine). Chris asked if he got any minutes to pass out…nope. The whole point is to limit Wii time! To make the cards, I cut out strips of paper, rounded the edges, tied a ribbon to the top, and stamped the initials on the front.

Then I took a clipboard (that I had previously painted in chalkboard paint) and glued paper to it using Mod Podge.

Then I glued 3 envelopes to the clipboard. 1 for each boy and 1 that is “Mom’s” that the used minutes go in. The 4 discretionary minutes are clipped to the top. I also used chalk at the bottom to write the days of the week and check them off…there is no such thing as “wii rollover minutes”. Granted, this is quite girly looking, but the boys could care less. They are more concerned about how many little cards they have left than they are over what paper the cards are made of. I could have done some boyish paper – like balls or transportation – but I want to enjoy looking at it!

As I was making this project I thought of a comment that was recently left on this blog. I deleted it because it was very mean spirited and it is my blog, so I can delete comments if I want! The comment said, “You have GOT to be kidding. Next time you get these urges drink something alcoholic until they pass. That wire basket ceiling fixture is indescribably ugly, and the backsplash should effectively get you laughed off the web, which considering all the other ‘loving hands at home’ projects around, is no small feat. Please don’t ‘craft’ anymore, unless you want to see such comments as mine.”

So here’s to you – mean, grumpy man…another craft by Ashley Ann….next time you get the urge to visit my blog drink some prune juice and wait for the urge to pass.

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Many years later I went to visit Treva at her little house in the country. We had both just had babies (at least I think she had just had her firstborn). Anyway, babies were asleep and we sat down in her sunlit kitchen for a cup of coffee and conversation. Then she pulled out a beautiful cake. It was like a Norman Rockwell morning….great friend, big windows, country kitchen, sleeping babies, good coffee and chocolate cake. It has been my go to recipe ever since. I am not a cook. I don’t pretend to be a cook. BUT when I need to fake it I can whip this up and people think I am great in the kitchen. It is simple. I like simple!

Chocolate Bavarian Torte

Ingredients:

Devil’s food cake mix (not the kind with pudding)

1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese – softened

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 pint heavy whipping cream – whipped

2 T chocolate shavings or mini chocolate chips

Make the cake according to box directions. Cook in 2 round pans.

Make the cream while the cake is cooling

Whip the Heavy Whipping Cream and then set it aside

Combine the SOFTENED cream cheese, brown sugar, salt and vanilla until fluffy

Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture

Cut each cake in half. String or dental floss helps with this. Layer the cake and the cream mixture.

Top with chocolate shavings or mini chocolate chips. Wrap sides in plastic wrap to prevent cake from drying out. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.

If you are a nursing mom and burning crazy amounts of calories a day from feeding your baby – you can cut a piece in the morning, fix a latte and if anyone asks what you had for breakfast tell them “Coffee Cake”.  I, of course, did not do that. Well, yeah I did.

Here’s a pic of Treva and I from my 30th birthday in October. Ignore my lovely hair – I just returned from my Amelia Earhart adventure! We both now have 4 kids. Crazy.

Happy New Year’s

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