Tag Archives: Martha Stewart

Teenagers & last minute DIY’s

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Lately, I have noticed a Facebook post being shared over and over.  The basic gist of the post cautions about teenagers coming to your home Trick-or-Treating.

Before I go any farther, let’s get one thing straight.  If Halloween isn’t your thing, that is okay.  We all have our things and I won’t judge you for yours, and please don’t judge me for mine. And if you must know, I don’t do ketchup on hot dogs. Miracle Whip is like my Kryptonite. And when I ask for extra, extra ice in my drink in the drive-thru, I am expecting the straw to hit a cube on the way in. Like, I said, we’ve all got our thing.

Okay, back to the point. On Halloween, some teens are greeted with a “Aren’t you a little old to be doing this?” The author of that post, whomever you are, I applaud you, because I agree what else would you rather they be doing?  I love when teens dress up and stop by for three reasons:

  • They still have a sense of imagination and wonder. If they aren’t “too cool” to Trick-or-Treat, then they are just about perfect in my book, especially if they are bringing younger children out and about.
  • Like the author purports, there are about a million other things that they could be doing in the dark and they aren’t. We should celebrate this. They are choosing to dress up and still participate in childhood (which I seriously think is becoming an endangered species in this country).  And for this choice – Good. For. Them.
  • And maybe I am a bit selfish on this last reason, but it is always some quiet teenager that pulls me aside and whispers, “I really like what you did with the shoes”.

That last one melts my heart every time.  I am much older than the costumed guest, but a secret little corner of my heart screams, “You get me!  You are my kind of people.  Thank you for noticing.”  Only the last line of that ever gets uttered aloud.

The shoes.  Oh, the shoes! They are so much fun and a very quick and easy DIY.

shoes

Here is what you need to wow the teenagers in your neighborhood and transport your heart back to Kansas teenage-dom.

Supplies needed:

1 pair of ladies pumps (I purchased these for $3 at the thrift store.  They were originally tan and I didn’t think to take a before picture. Haven’t quite released my inner Martha Stewart yet.)

1 bottle of Modge Podge

1 paint brush

1 jar of red glitter (I am warning you I have a love-hate relationship with glitter.  I love all things bling, but that stuff is the bane of my existence.  I once did a glitter project with my 2nd graders and I swear that Pompeii’s eruption was less painful.  Every day for a month after that, I looked like I had a nose piercing.  Bane. Of. My. Existence, unless of course, you need a little shimmer. Not nose ring shimmer, but you get the point.)

1 pair of striped socks (Tights would work well here too. I used long socks.)

Some newspaper.

Creation Station:  (Okay, I took a little liberty there.  I used the center island in my kitchen but dubbed it a fancy name for the moment. Hey some days it is a science center because the people around here do not know how to rinse oatmeal out of a bowl.  Yeah. Oatmeal sticks to your ribs and I have proof because it becomes like cement in your unrinsed bowl.)

The steps to this DIY are considerably simpler than removing that oatmeal.

Use the paint brush to brush on liberal amounts of Modge Podge in small sections of the shoes.  I placed the shoes in a rimmed cookie sheet to contain some of that glitter eruption.  Sprinkle glitter over the areas coated with Modge Podge and continue until all the areas are covered.  The shoes I mean.  Yes, I know this will also mean the counter and you, but try, for the love of all zucchini, try to keep it contained.

shoes-2

Allow the blinged shoes dry.  While they are drying, stuff newspaper into the striped socks.  Oh who am I kidding?  Take this time to check your e-mails or social media and enjoy a nice beverage.  Mine was sweet tea until I discovered . . . oh yes, you got it, GLITTER.

Now the last step is fairly easy but does require a little finesse.  Stuff your newspaper filled socks into your shoes and situate the socks and shoes so that your garage door (when shut) appears to have fallen on the Wicked Witch.

DIY – done.  Simply.

Now if teenagers show up to your house, be kind and remember they are still kids.  And just give them the candy, unless of course, you are stocking up for a Netflix binge.  No judgment here – we’ve all got our thing.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 21: That one Christmas

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Yesterday I had the very wonderful opportunity of attending my annual birthday “party” given to me by my children’s adopted grandmother. It is always such a blessing of a time! She is an amazing cook, but an even more wonderful hostess. Our tradition of making kringla and enjoying lunch with birthday cake is a refreshing blessing to me.

This year’s celebration was simply a little more special as we remembered a precious Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa only shared one advent season with Reed before he passed away. Their “adoption” into our family occurred in the spring. But we celebrated one annual Christmas sleepover together with all of us.

Best carrot cake ever!

Best carrot cake ever!

While enjoying bites of the most divine carrot cake ever made, our conversation settled upon quilts, like the ones I am making for gifts. Grandma asked if I had ever seen the beautiful quilt made for them by the local church. I had indeed. Then we both remembered my sweetie and I have used it at our family Christmas gathering. As my mind raced through the thoughts of that first Noel shared together, I remembered how under that quilt we were supposed to have a soft and cuddly fleece blanket. Grandma raced around the house looking for it to no avail. Eventually, we discovered a young redhead had snuck off to bed and was wrapped snuggly inside it. We survived, but were a little jealous of Reed’s snuggly blanket.

As we were cleaning up the table, I lovingly touched the cake stand. At my first birthday party Grandma did not own one, but wished she did. Her smile told the whole story when she unwrapped one that first Christmas. We all still laugh (and sometimes say in unison) Reed’s clarification of the significance of this gift. Upon opening, he blurted out, “That’s not just any cake stand! It’s a Martha Stewart!” For our little family, that little line is recited as precious way to breathe Reed’s memory into our presence.

Yet, the most special memory to me was the one Grandma had forgotten. One the drive home after our first year, Reed quietly said, “You know guys, I think Grandpa P is the real Santa Claus.”   After a little bit of questioning about this observation, he explained, “Didn’t you see how his eyes twinkle?”

That’s my boy! Keeping the magic of Christmas alive for us all – especially his younger siblings – while always loving Jesus more than most knew possible for twelve years old.

A scene from Grandparent's day - notice Grandpa with the twinkling eyes! Magic or mischief . . . we'll never tell. photo courtesy of Karen Berg

A scene from Grandparent’s day – notice Grandpa with the twinkling eyes! Magic or mischief . . . we’ll never tell. photo courtesy of Karen Berg

May you all have a moment as wonderful and special this Christmas!

The fitted sheet dilemma

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This summer, our lives have settled into a different routine than we had been dreaming about during our hygge moments of the long winter. One of the by-products of having an athlete injured is all your have-to’s and want-to’s were changed in an instant. Instead, our summer has turned into a pretty freeing one (although wrapped around doctor appointments and therapy) where each new day holds its own adventure. We wake up and decide what new and fun thing we are going to accomplish today. I just wish our carefree days were completely free of cares. But as I have alluded to before, we tackle Mt. St. Laundry each week.

Thankfully, though another by-product of being limited in choices of activities has been my children deciding there are certain chores that they prefer over others. As long as we aren’t looking like a pigsty, I don’t mind who does a job as long as the job gets done.

My knee brace-wearing girl has decided laundry is her thing. She has developed a Zen-like attitude about the whole process. She enjoys the washing and drying, but she has proven to be a true All-Star when it comes to folding. At times, she has even recruited her siblings in supporting roles, especially when needing to return folded items to their proper location. She has also learned about the thorn in my side when it comes to folding laundry. Our ninety-seven pound golden retriever thinks he is four-legged iron, laying on top of any item and pressing it flat with all his furry-ness.

At times, my basement family room appears to be a Gap store (more on that in a moment) with stacks of items arranged for a quick sale. I really should consider this a proud moment; however, more than once, I have encountered this scene in my travels up and down the basement steps.

fitted sheet

Notice the beautifully folded and stacked clothes and towels. Did you also notice the wadded up pile of bed sheets. I decided to use this as a teachable moment. What follows next is the true conversation:

Me: Do you see anything wrong with this picture? (Imagine me doing my best Vanna White interpretation gesticulating my hands over the room.)

Oldest Daughter: Not really.

Me: How many times have I shown you all how to fold sheets?

OD: Not enough, I guess.

Me: It really isn’t that hard. Let me show you.

OD: (With as much enthusiasm as if I asked her to trim my toenails) Okay. But for the record, it only bothers you.

Me: I don’t think I am going to enjoy going to your houses in the future. All your sheets will be wadded up messes.

Oldest Daughter: Well, we don’t plan on washing our sheets like you.

Me: Whatever do you mean?

OD: We will wash the sheets. Dry the sheets. And then replace the sheet sets right back on the bed; thus eliminating the need to fold them.

Me: But you have flannel and cotton sets now. How do you plan on dealing with that?

OD: Maybe our spouses will know how to fold fitted sheets or maybe you can just bring your own set when you come to visit.

Argh! I have one leaving for college a year from now, and I am probably going to have to add lack of ability to fold fitted sheets to my letter of apology to the college roommates. I have tried. I have really tried. I use the fist method of folding fitted sheets, as in each fist in a corner . Then fist over fist until the whole works is folded into a quarter of the original size. A little smoothing out, a final couple folds, and Voila! You have a nice bundle that matches your flat sheet; both of which are placed inside the pillowcase for organized (read: not a crumpled mess) storage.

How can I reframe this utter disinterest for finely folded bed linens? My solution to this perplexing dilemma is to have a tutorial. If you think I am kidding, talk to my kids. The summer before their 7th, 5th, and 3rd grade years, the big kids watched the how to “fold a t-shirt Gap style video” one afternoon, per their mother’s insistence. Then we practiced folding shirts like it was some necessary skill needed to return to school. That little tidbit came in handy in a folding contest against a football coach at a camp. Wasn’t such a big waste of time after all, was it?

So who could I turn to for assistance in my disheveled dilemma? The guru of all fine homemaking skills herself has a delightfully entertaining video on this very issue. But seriously, even I struggled with that tutorial.

This one is much more my speed. Not nearly as funny as the first one, I think we can follow Jill’s instructions in the second one. Although, I almost sprayed iced tea on the screen, the moment I saw the crumpled mess example. She gets me. . . she really gets me.

Guess we know what we will be working as we start collecting school supplies over the next few weeks. Because, I really do not want to wave the white flag sheet too soon. I still have hope that these young pupils are moldable and impressionable.

Of course, we will probably end up in as much giggles as the audience of the first video because you can never take yourself too seriously.

In all honesty, who do I think I’m kidding?  I cried the day Reed finished 6th grade because I wasn’t ready for him to grow up.  How small that worry seems today.  So even if their sheets aren’t folded, I will still visit their future homes someday, just to be with them . . . wishing for the days when we previously used the sheets to build forts instead.

Hug your kids every day and let the laundry worry about itself!

 

Sweet Grace: hope-filled

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Note: While we are working on our website, the monthly newsletter will be found on the blog.  Once we have it finalized, the newsletter will be available by subscription only.  Graciously, we have some guest posts in this newsletter as we welcome submissions from our friends for the newsletter. Our lives have been enriched by the friends that God has put in our paths, and we would love for you to get to know them a little bit as well.

~ Real women ~ Real lives ~ Sweet Grace ~

As a little girl, Easter was always my favorite holiday.  I enjoyed Christmas, but Easter always made my heart just jump for joy.  I loved picking out the perfect Easter dress, bonnet, shoes, and those oh so adorable white gloves.  I still love gloves today. There is just something so genteel about little white gloves.  Growing up down South, we had egg hunts outside and sunrise services where we didn’t freeze to death.  When Easter morning arrived, I could hardly contain my excitement.  The items in my basket were always good, but for me the pure joy came when we stepped through the doors of our white church.  He is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Those hope-filled phrases were used in place of hello, and they echoed from every corner of the sanctuary.Lil' Sprout Memories   Christmas is wonderful, but it if you want to see joyful Christians come to church early on Easter morning.  I like contemporary Christian music, but I was raised on good old Southern gospel hymns. Each Easter, joy and hope exuded from every pore as we sang “Because He Lives” and “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”.  Even today, I still get goose bumps when I hear the organ roll leading into the chorus of “Up from the Grave He Arose”.

Easter is the definition of HOPE. Maybe not according to Webster’s, but it really should be.  Recently, I have been grappling with the reality of Easter.  For any believer who has lost someone, the significance of Easter is a clinging hope. The only hope that makes sense. It is the promise that through Christ’s sacrifice, we will see those loved ones again.  His incredible gift to humanity has made that possible.  When I was a little girl singing with her church family, I would often get choked up on Easter morning.  The chocolate bunnies and Peeps were nice, but even then I realized that someone gave his life for me.  Lately, my conflict has been are we recognizing what Jesus really did? He didn’t just give up extra cream in his latte or get bumped off a flight.  He gave his life in a cruel, brutal and foretold way so that we could know the lavish depth of His Father’s love. If you have ever felt unloved, this is why you shouldn’t.  He loved you enough to go through with the most horrific of deaths.  If you ever feel left out or rejected, please know that he chose me (and you and everyone else) – loved me enough to lay down his life.  But even more significantly, he would have done it even if I was the only one who needed to be saved, and that alone fills my heart with hope.

Family Cooking: Easter Bread Nest

oneperfectbite.blogspot.com

oneperfectbite.blogspot.com

This has been a gift for several years from our friend, Karla Adams.  She is an amazing cook, seamstress, volunteer, and friend.  Actually, I don’t know much she isn’t good at. Kandy’s kiddos have always loved when the Easter “knock” comes and there she is with the gift of this bread.  It always looks beautiful on our Easter table.  Delicious, fun, and something the whole family will love.

Ingredients:

2 Frozen loaves bread

5 raw eggs

Food coloring

Powdered sugar frosting

Dye eggs with food coloring. Add food coloring to 1/2 c water. Dye as desired. DO NOT boil eggs first.

 

When bread is thawed and just starting to rise,  make into ropes of dough. You will have 2 long ropes. Take the ropes and twist them together. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Shape into a circle and pinch the end together to form this circle. Place the dyed eggs into the braided gaps. This will look funny at first. But as the bread rises it will look more like a nest.

Spray dough with cooking spray. Try not to spray eggs. Place a flour sack towel over it. When bread has doubled in size, bake @ 350 for 25– 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool completely. Drizzle with powdered sugar frosting. Leave it white or color it. Sprinkle with Easter colored M&M’s or robin egg candies.

NOTE: Before making the ropes I like to roll out each loaf of bread and add some butter and sugar with cinnamon. This gives it a little extra look and taste.

February Challenges: The February newsletter’s theme was love.  We encouraged our readers to Did you love your neighbors? Did you encourage a young person last month?  If so we would love to hear from you. 

The best laid plans . . . well, we didn’t get the neighborhood soup night accomplished.   The mission/tagline of this ministry ~ Real women ~ Real lives ~ Sweet Grace isn’t just something we say, but it is how we really operate on a daily basis.  We want to be genuine and real, even when we come up short on goals.  Instead of soup night, we cleared snow off of driveways following a recent snow storm.  Our neighbors who were out of town returned home to clean driveways and were able to just relax.  I did accomplish the writing of letters for challenge #2.  I chose six teenagers to write letters of encouragement and told how proud I was of them.  Most importantly, I told them how I was glad they were in my children’s lives.  After I had mailed them, I told my kiddos that I had done it, in case any of the recipients said anything to them.  A few did, and I received a call from one mom.  The best was the one who caught my eye (didn’t say anything), but made sure I noticed her after the school band concert.  It felt really good to do it.   So much so, that I think it is going to become a habit.

fay-prairieMaking hope a habit is the lesson from our guest writer this month.  Our friend, Fay Prairie has blessed us with a great piece on choosing hope.  Fay is a speaker, writer, counselor, wife, mom, and friend.  You can learn more about her at her website http://www.fayprairie.com/ I have enjoyed getting to know her, and she has been a huge encouragement to me as I have decided to follow God’s leading in forming all of this.

Hope Can Advance Your Life

Life is full of uncertainties, disappointments, and moments of despair. However, even when times get difficult and intimidating, as long as we keep hope alive, we can continue to move forward with confidence.

When you have hope, you believe and have faith that things will get better and you will persevere. Hope is a powerful attitude which opens doors where despair slams them shut.

The Webster definition of hope is the “feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best” or the “feeling that something desired may happen.”

How does hope help us in our life?

1. Hope helps us to feel stronger. When we truly believe things will get better, we are willing to do whatever it takes. With hope we can look to the future with confidence and excitement, and we can begin to do more than we ever imagined.

2. Hope helps us focus on the positive. Whatever we focus on grows. When we maintain our focus on the positives in our life, more positive things come into our life. Hope allows us to look forward to all the wonderful things in life.

3. Hope helps us envision possibilities and solutions There will always be difficulties, but hope helps us to visualize good outcomes. It allows us to expect good things to happen.

4. Hope gives us the desire to learn and grow. Hope helps us regain interest and get involved more fully in life. By growing as a person we will make improvements that lead to greater life-satisfaction and well-being.

5. Hope helps us to take an empowered view toward life. A hopeful attitude helps us see the best, work for the best, and, ultimately, experience the best in life. Hope increases our joy, courage and level of success in life.

No matter what you face in life, always think hopefully, speak hopefully, work hopefully, and act hopefully. Do all you can to make hope a daily habit. Remind yourself that regardless of what happens in your life, you always have the option to choose hope.

Family Traditions

For the last few years, Kandy’s and Brenda’s families have gotten together to dye Easter eggs.  We all look forward to it.  Last year, I think we dyed eight dozen eggs.  We decided the four dozen from the year before just wasn’t enough. Everyone gets involved.  There is a lot of creativity – including planning for the next time we do this. Conversations of I saw this cool idea in Martha Stewart magazine or on Pinterest come up more than once. We dream, we plan, but mostly we laugh.  I don’t think anything tops the laughter from the year we created a mural with the left over dye.  After admiring everyone’s creations, we lamented about how the dye was just going to go to waste.  As a teacher, I am always up for a new experiment.  With a twinkle in my eye, I ran downstairs and grabbed an old white sheet that was destined to become a plant protector when the fall frosts threatened my garden.  We took those coffee cups filled with dye and splatter painted that sheet.  It was amazing.  It was so much fun that it lands up there with catching fireflies, playing in the sprinkler, and running to meet the ice cream truck for this Southern girl.  Of course, the most laughter came after the sheet dried and we noticed the now Easter dyed lawn.  Oh well, a little collateral damage was worth the fun we had.

We would love to hear of your families Easter traditions. Please respond to this post with what Easter traditions you and your family hold dear.  

 Family Easter Garden 

We decided to see repeat a blog from last year because it was such a wonderful activity that our whole family enjoyed. Our littlest one took pride each day in spritzing the garden with water.  As the garden grew, she delighted in trimming the lawn with scissors.

http://kandynolesstevens.com/2012/04/02/easter-countdown-part-1-johnathan-has-a-starring-role/

March Encouragement

Spend a few minutes each day in the next week, praying and asking God to bring to mind one – just one – person that you can bring hope.  Often in life, it is the small things that bring the most hope.  Once you know who that person is do one small thing for them – write a note, send flowers, drop by for a visit, make a call, make a meal, do a chore. Just do something, and leave a message of hope.  If you feel comfortable, you can tell the recipient you were the hope-filled giver.  We would love to hear what you decide to do.

Ministry Update

We are proud to announce that we have partnered with 5j Design LLC to design our logo and website  to help us basically help ourselves (when we are way over our heads technically speaking).  They are assisting us in developing a better way to reach others with the message of God’s grace and love. In the coming months, we should have a new website with a more streamlined method of communicating with our friends and churches.  The story of how we found Jake and Zach is an amazing God story, but just know He is looking out for us.  Based on guidance from our friends at 5J Design, we have made one small change in our ministry.  Watch for the unveiling of that change in the coming days.

We wait with hope for spring filled days where we can sit on the deck, sipping sweet tea and chatting.  Until then, we would love to chat with you.

Kandy & Brenda

Romans 15:13  May the God of hope fill you  with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you  may abound in hope. (NIV)