Bright Lights Conference

Recently, my oldest daughter and I attended a Bright Lights Conference.  Many or our friends and cousins attended along with us.  We had 11 guests staying in our home!  

Here is the group or young girls and moms/aunts at the conference - missing Martha and Eunice in the group photo!   

The girls with Sarah Mally, the main speaker.

Let your little light shine!

Sarah Mally's "chalk talk" picture.  This was amazing to watch her draw and then to see the reveal under the black light!  It looked better when the house lights were off.

Some of the group leaders singing "I've been changed".


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

We had a great time, and learned a lot!

Topics included:

• How to be Strong for the Lord in Your Youth

• Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends

• How to Turn Your Heart to Your Parents

• How to Be a Bright Light in the World

• Avoiding Wrong Influences

• Seeking the Lord with All of Your Heart

• How to Boldly Share the Gospel

• Developing a Disciplined Walk with God

I highly recommend it for all girls ages 8 and up!

More info here if you would like to learn more about it.

Bookcase Re-do

I found this bookcase at a garage sale. It was the perfect little size for my daughter's bedroom that I'm currently remodeling. However, it needed an uplift. Yes, that is brown duct tape covering a hole in the back.

After sanding it, I applied Adhesion Primer - just one coat. Then I put on two coats of white paint. The blue paint on the back is the same color as one of her walls in her room. When her room is finished, I'll be sure to post pictures. Hopefully soon!

Template Freebie

I love to use layout templates whenever I begin a new layout. They give me a starting place, even if I end up changing everything around. Occasionally, I make my own templates from layouts I've created from scratch (on those days when my creative juices are over-flowing). Click here or on the picture to download the template for any Photoshop version. Misty Cato has a great tutorial on using templates on her blog here.  Actually, Misty has many great tutorials so check them out and have fun!

Mirror for a Hawkeye fan

My sister-in-law and I found this mirror standing in a closet in an apartment after someone moved out.  The dresser for it was no where to be found.  I mentioned that it was a good mirror if I painted it black.  She looked at me like I was crazy!  

But then when she noticed that I was serious, she said, "Can you put a Hawkeye on it?"  So this mirror is for her apartment (which is full of Hawkeye garb!).  Enjoy it Ruthie!

I primed it with Adhesion Primer, and gave it two coats of black paint with a nylon brush (see this post).  I Googled the Hawkeye symbol, printed it on heavy paper, and cut it out.  I used regular craft paint and a stencil brush to paint it on (two coats).  

My 7-year-old is helping me redecorate her room. Here is a preview of some of the items for her new room!  

Credits-

Papers and flowers: Walkin On Sunshine by TraciReed
Wood letters from Michael's

She chose the papers and designs, and I helped her cut them out and apply them to the letters and switch/outlet plates. She thinks using Mod Podge is fun!  We had a blast doing this!  I'll post more about her room re-do later!

 

Dress-Up Time

My older daughter took this photo of her little sister one afternoon while they were having a fashion show. I loved this photo, but there was a rather distracting pile of coats and junk in the background. Sometimes it's hard to get a perfect photo around my house!  There's always something cluttering up the background - dishes, toys, remodeling stuff, TRASH.  

So I practiced using the selection tools in Photoshop to extract her from the background and then I placed her in fairytale land.  Now this is a more pleasing backdrop don't ya think?  When I showed her this layout, she said "I like the pink castle!"

  Credits-

Storybook Castle Collection by Amanda McGee

ScrapSimple Digi Layout Templates - StorybookCastle by Amanda McGee

Page Frames by Penny Springmann

Quick and Simple Room Re-do

I helped my niece (age 16) redecorate her room on a Saturday afternoon a few months ago.  (Yes, we did this in ONE day!)  We began by choosing new bedding at Kohl's, and visiting the paint store for matching wall colors.  We found some circle stencils and more matching paint at Hobby Lobby.  We also found some little circle mirrors in various sizes.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but some of the circles are actually those mirrors.  We had fun painting together all afternoon, and she was pleased with the result.  

I'm planning on doing this same "circle" theme in my daughter's room soon.  Why not re-use the stencils I purchased?  Stay tuned for those pictures!