MICI Magazine

A friend just sent me a link to an oh-so-pretty magazine.  It's apparently been around for a little while, but next year, they are launching a printed edition.  I'm in love and planning on taking up a subscription.

Did I mention that it's pretty?  And Christian? And they give away free things? And it has interesting articles?  And there's a really cute craft idea?  And, oh, I'm not sure if already said that it's pretty?

Mici Magazine

#1 (36 to 36)

Number One on my list is now complete!  Very excited to tick this one off:

Get the cross stitch I did for Little Spring (that I started before she was even born) finally framed.

 On the way home from work, I picked this up from the framers:

 

The framers did an absolutely amazing job.  I am so, so pleased with the result!  It's such a good feeling to FINALLY get it completely finished and hanging up on the wall!

While I was getting the Pooh cross stitch done, I decided to finally get the gorgeous little picture below framed as well, which has also been patiently waiting to be framed.

I got this quaint little cross stitch from my beautiful cousin, Tammy (from the States).  The framers were wonderful in helping find the perfect frame, being an off-white, distressed one to make it appear like you were looking out of a country cottage window.  We were both totally on the same page and I'm very happy with it.

The framer ended up using "museum" glass in this piece - he had an off cut left over from another project so put it in this frame... so, Tammy, your cross stitch is fit for a museum... ready to showcase your talent!

First Orders

How exciting... after my post regarding my Weekly Activity List, I had 3 friends request their own!  Here are my first 2 completed orders:

My third order is just waiting on confirmation of their personalised details and then I'll be able to complete another one!

I've been so excited about this project and the interest it's generated, that I've made up some "Forever Springtime" stationery to send out with the orders - a covering letter and some labels to pretty up the envelope the kit is being sent in.

It has actually been very interesting making Weekly Activity Lists for other people.  I feel that I've been privileged enough to get an inside look to my friends' lives that I might not have otherwise known.  Getting a list of all their activities for the week gave me an insight to how they organise their week, or perhaps how they wish to see their week unfold.  It showed me what their priorities are and got me thinking about mine and how their calendars were the same and different from mine.  I didn't expect to feel this way, but I do really feel privileged to receive this information and to hopefully play a part in helping them feel more organised, if not get them more organised!

If you'd like one of these for yourself, please email me and I'll let you know what information I need from you to complete your personalised Weekly Activity List!

A New Week

Tomorrow is Monday.  And I'll be starting my weekly planner (activity list).  I'm excited!  It means a 6am start but it also means an exercise plan, healthy eating, better time management and hopefully a more fulfilling week.  A lot to ask of a little planner, but I'm sure it's up to the challenge!

Time to head to bed and write a few more cards (#12 on my list) and spend some time listening to God through my devotion (#8 on my list).  Better get moving... it's an early start in the morning!

#35 (36 to 36)

I've been a busy beaver today and managed to complete a task that I can cross off my 36 to 36 list. Number 35 already:

Create a weekly planner.  I already have my diary for 'appointments' and know all the regular things I need to do each week, but I want to plan my week better, so I can better manage my time. (i.e. have a set blogging day/time and a strict time of when I work on my Avon business etc.) and hopefully have more quality time with Little Spring during the day, more quality time with Big Spring in the evenings and earlier nights (so I can achieve #8, #18, #20 and #25).

Instead of just doing a basic paper one that I write on each week and then throw out when the week's finished, I decided to go all out and print up something pretty and laminate it, with matching laminated cards for the tasks.  I was going to use Velcro to attach the tasks to the calendar, but went with blue tack instead.  I think the Velcro would be too fiddly and I realised that if it was stuck on the calendar, you couldn't write on it if you wanted (using a whiteboard marker, you could add any additional notes or the non-regular appointments/tasks you had in that particular week).

I'm not usually one to blow my own horn so boldly, but I must say, I'm pretty proud of how it looks, I think because it turned out a lot better than I'd expected (especially with dramas I'd been having with my colour printer).  I designed the calendar and cards myself, printed them off, laminated them, cut out the task cards and voila - see for yourself:

 The Calendar - Slightly smaller than A3 when placed together (2 A4 calendars put together to make one)

The Task Cards - colour coordinated depending on the type of task

 The finished look! Based on my calendar for when we return from our trip down south in the coming weeks

If you are interested in having one of these Weekly Activity List for yourself, I'd be happy to customise one just for you and send it off.  Just let me know and I'll work out how much it will cost.  I can customise the colour of the calendar, the words to go on the task cards and the colours used to colour code the type of tasks.

So, 1 task down, 35 to go!

Giveaway: The Experiment

As I've mentioned on "The Experiment" page, everyone who participates in this Experiment with me, will go into the draw to win a handmade (by me!) vintage apron.  Winners are not restricted to Australia. 

Here is what participants will be going in the draw to win:

To ensure you are in the draw, make sure you've done one of the following:

1. If you are a blogger, let your readers know about this experiment via a blog post and link up with me the Experiment Page, with a link to your blog post (not your blog); or
2. Leave a comment at the bottom of the Experiment Page; or
3. Send an email to chattonell (at) gmail (dot) com.

If you are one of the people who would like to participate, but can't in the week I've set and haven't already let me know, please advise when you'll be trying the Experiment so I can keep in contact.

To be eligible to win the apron, you'll need to provide feedback after the Experiment is finished as well.

Happy cooking everyone, and good luck!

Handy Hints

A friend of mine forwarded me an email with some amazingly handy hints. I haven't yet tried them, but thought I'd share them with you on my blog. If you do try any of the hints, please let me know!

Hull strawberries easily with a straw:

Rubbing a walnut over scratches in your furniture will disguise dings and scrapes:

Remove crayon masterpieces from your TV or computer screen with WD40:

(personal note - another great item for getting crayon marks out is baby wipes - they seem to work on all surfaces! Also, I highly recommend Crayola products as they are made for easy removal - even paint out of clothes!)


Stop cut apples browning in your child's lunchbox by securing with a rubber band:

Overhaul your linen cupboard, store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will no more hunting through piles for a match:

Pump up the volume by placing your iPod or iPhone in a bowl. The concave shape amplifies the music:

Re-use a wet-wipes container to store plastic bags:

Baby powder gets sand off your skin easily - who knew!?:

Add a velcro strip to the wall to store soft toys:
(personal note - I'm not too sure about this one. I like the idea, kind of, but I'd be a bit worried that the velcro would damage the 'hair' on the toy when pulling it off the wall.)


Use wire to make a space to store gift wrap rolls against the ceiling, rather than cluttering up the floor:

Find tiny, lost items, like earrings, by putting a stocking over the vacuum hose:

Make an instance cup cake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid:

How to perfectly fold a fitted sheet:

Use magnetic strips to store bobby pins, tweezers and clippers, behind a vanity door:

Store shoes inside a shower cap to stop dirty soles rubbing on your clothes. And you can find them in just about every hotel:

A muffin pan becomes a crafty caddy. Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip resistant:

Bread tags make the perfect cord labels:

Bake cup cakes directly in ice cream cones:

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper bag.

Instal a tension rod to hang your spray bottles:

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie dough over the top and you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice cream:

Freeze aloe vera in ice cubes for soothing sunburn relief:

Create a window-box veggie patch by using guttering:

Use egg cartons to separate and store your Christmas decorations:

(image credits - unfortunately I don't have image credits for any of these photos as they were forwarded to me via email. I apologise for any copyright issues!)

Life in Alphabet - E

is for easel. We gave Little Spring an easel for Christmas and I'm absolutely amazed at how much she loves it! She really love painting and constantly asks if she can do painting. She certainly thinks outside of the square when it comes to choosing her canvases though... she does use the paper, every once in a while (!) but she finds many other creative ways to paint... on the windows, on the floor, on her body. Her latest canvas/victim is her doll....

Setting Little Spring up with her paints at her easel keeps her occupied for a long time. I really love that she enjoys it so much - I'm really not a creative person, so it's good that she's content painting by herself, while I'm nearby, but not needing to be with her, painting as well!

Instead of making her wear a smock (which she doesn't like wearing), we just strip her down to her nappy and she can paint to her heart's content, without us worrying about her clothes (although with the Crayola paint we're currently using, it comes off in the wash anyway, which we thankfully discovered after she did get paint on her clothes!

New Year "My Memories" GIVEAWAY!

Happy New Year everyone! Yep, you read write in the title, I'm hosting a "My Memories" giveaway! Stay tuned for details later in this post!

I've only just gotten into scrap booking in the last couple of months and have been enjoying it. However, I LOVE designing things on the computer so when I received an email from My Memories, asking me to trial their software, I jumped at the chance and am so glad I did. My Memories is a digital software program that you can use to either create your own scrap booking page from scratch, or use one of their many, many templates to capture your photo memories. And My Memories Suite isn't limited to just scrap booking... you can create cards, calendars, photo books, even videos!

My first project I experimented with using the My Memories Software was something fitting for wrapping up the year:

I created this from scratch, just playing around with many of the options available. It was very quickly done, but I wanted to make something I could use to show you an example of what can be done. You can imagine how much more can be done if you spend much more time on your creation!

Below is what I did with one of the templates, which of course was even quicker because all I had to do was slot in the photos and add the writing and not muck around with designs. I would have created a collage of Christmas 2011, but we didn't take many photos, so used photos from Christmas 2010, definitely a favourite Christmas memory while we spent time with my family in the States.

So, as I said, I'm hosting a My Memories giveaway. The prize is the My Memories Suite (full version) which one lucky winner will receive, completely free of charge (worth $39.97 US)!

To enter the My Memories Suite software giveaway, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Good Luck!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 22

A picture of something you wish you were better at
Cake decorating: I love baking and decorating cakes, but I'd really love to learn some techniques. I know I could do much better. I've learned a few hints and tips through a couple of birthday cake books, but have never done a hands on course. It would be so much fun and very useful!

For those of you who know me, I'm a bit of a perfectionist in many areas of my life, but cake decorating is one area that lets me down (or, I let myself down!).

Finally!

Hello faithful followers! It's been a while since I've blogged... sorry it's been a little quiet around here of late. With visitors and sickness happening in our household, many things had been put on hold for a few weeks.

Since May, I've been meaning to blog to let you know that I've FINALLY finished Little Spring's "Winnie the Pooh" cross stitch that I started when I was pregnant with her... I'd been hoping to have it finished for when she was born, and just have to add the details of her birth, but that wasn't to happen. Actually, I'd started another cross stitch for her, but long story short, that turned out to be a bit complicated and after finding another pattern through a friend, I started on another... so the cross stitch hasn't technically taken this long, just the project/initial idea!

So, here is the great unveiling! (I finished it in May, but it's taken this long for me to actually iron it!)...