Blog With Friends: November 2014

Gobble Group 2014!!

Hello friends! Welcome to November's edition of "Blog With Friends!" We are 7 bloggers who've joined together to bring you some Turkey Day-love.

Some projects are tasty, some are crafty and some are techie; all are a lot of fun. After my project, click on each blog post project title you'd like to visit. When you get to each blog, say, "Gobble Gobble!"or "hello!' Just let them know you're there. Everyone loves visitors.

My November project: Make a Thankful tree.

"Thankful Tree" Tutorial

Materials:

• Large Branch
• Clear Vase (large enough to hold the branch)
• Vase filler: acorns, small pumpkins, rocks, etc.  I used glass and paper acorns.
• Leaves: I used glitter leaves from Michael's and die cut leaves from my friend. (Thanks, Char!) You can use real leaves (short term) or cut out your own paper ones.
• Clips for hanging leaves. I used IKEA clips, but any kind will do.
• Thread (for hanging smaller leaves)/ hole punch
• Sharpies
• Scissors

Add ons:

• Bulbs
• Twine

Warnings:

• You're using a branch. Don't poke your eye out.
• Sharpies can bleed through the leaves. Use paper underneath to protect your surfaces.

1. Grab a branch. Or pick a branch and have your son some one cut it down for you.

2. Find enough filler items for the vase to hold up the branch.

3. Make sure the vase won't tip.

4. Using a Sharpie, have your family fill out things they are thankful for. I used clips on the bottom of the large leaves, and thread for the lighter leaves.

 When you ask the man to help out, he will write that he's thankful for the dogs and for the Internet.

5. Hang them on your "tree".

6. I had fall-colored bulbs on hand. On each one, we wrote the name of family/friends that have passed away. It was a good time to reflect on how grateful we were to have had them in our lives. We tied the "remember ties" with twine, then hung them on the tree.

Here's a close-up of a bulb dedicated to my grandma.

7. Keep a basket near of extra leaves, clips, bulbs and sharpies. Family and guests can add to the tree whenever they want. Enjoy!

***

Be sure to check out the other cool-kids participating today:

Karen@ Baking in a Tornado has whipped up a Fried Walnut-Crusted Spice Cake with Caramel Sauce. This is a special holiday dessert taken to a whole new level.

Stacy@ Stacy Sews and Schools shows us how to make a Fun and Reversible Holiday Centerpiece Decor for your holiday table!

Melissa@Home on Deranged has some Tech Tips for Turkey Day. Her tips will show us how to let technology helping have a festive Thanksgiving!

Robin@ Someone Else's Genius gives us a tutorial for making her adorable Autumn Wreath.

Christy from Uplifting Families shows us how to create DIY Thanksgiving Textured Leaf Cards!

Lydia from Cluttered Genius has created a "Kid Friendly and Fancy Thanksgiving". These are Kid-friendly (and created) ideas for decorating your 'fancy' Thanksgiving table. 

Looking for these projects and more? Check out:

An InLinkz Link-up

Gobble 'til you wobble, friends,
-Michele

Use Your Words: Pattern Stories #4

Today’s post is a writing challenge created by Karen @ Baking in A Tornado. This is how it works: 12 participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, but there's a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who received their words or in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.

At the end of this post you’ll find links to the other blogs featured in this challenge. Check them all out, see what words they were given and how they used them. 

My words are: 

hold off ~ particular ~ learning ~ incredible ~ object ~ unable

They were submitted by: the lovely and talented Karen@ Baking in a Tornado 

Pattern Stories #4

                                     Photo Property of Butterick Pattern Service, 1972

"I knew I loved Jeanie the first time I laid eyes on her.  She was working behind a Woolworth's soda fountain, serving at least 12 people at once without missing a beat. I remember the shop being packed, because everyone was celebrating our school's basketball championship win. I would love to say I was part of the celebration, but I'm unable to. It simply wasn't true. I was instead alone, trying to hide in a corner. 

While everyone was adorned in our school's colors, I was dressed head-to-toe in a ridiculous denim outfit. My mother, who sewed for a living, begged me to wear the clothing she made for a sewing expo that had come to our town. She was learning all kinds of new embroidery patterns and wanted to try them out; all at once. I felt ridiculous. I was trying to hold-off from being seen by hiding behind a plastic menu. That's when I first felt Jeanie's hand on my shoulder. I'm not sure if she wanted to laugh at me for the way I looked among the room of "cool-kids", but she didn't. She simply smiled. It was the most incredible smile I'd ever seen. 

I'd come to see her everyday after that; wearing my normal clothes, of course. I'd constantly order food so she wouldn't get into trouble. We'd talk about everything and nothing in particular on her breaks. She'd smile at me like I was the only one in the place. One night as she was getting off of work, she had asked me if I'd wait for her. I recall that it seemed like she was in the back for a really long time. Just as I was about to see if she was okay, Jeanie emerged from the room wearing a long raincoat and her infamous smile. 

Now, I know what today's kids would think was under that raincoat. My mind never went there. Still, when she unbuttoned it and revealed what was underneath, I couldn't believe it. My Jeanie stood there, an object of perfection, wearing a matching denim outfit to the one I was wearing when we first met. I can't tell you the laugh we had over it. And, yes. I call her "My Jeanie" because that's what she was from that day forward.

If I close my eyes now and stay very still, I can smell the sweet honeysuckle from her golden hair. The scent always hung in the air each time she'd move. I still try to take it all in; the sight of her, the smell... The way she'd hold her small hands over her mouth if she thought she was laughing too hard. I never tire thinking about her...about us."

-Jeff Gunderson, CEO of Embroidery Empires, speaking about his wife of 40 years.

Love- even when you look silly doing it, friends. :)

-Michele

Check out all the cool kids participating this week:

Baking in a Tornado                             

Spatulas on Parade                          

Stacy Sews and Schools                      

Follow Me Home                   

Battered Hope                            

Someone Else's Genius                   

The Bergham's Life Chronicles              

Eileen's Perpetually Busy         

Confessions of a part-time working mom             

Evil Joy Speaks              

Crumpets and Bollocks                        

Sparkly Poetic Weirdo                                                                                                       

Funny Friday!- October 2014

Hello friends!

October Funny Friday

Today’s post is October’s Funny Friday,, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture. Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.

Here’s today’s picture. It was submitted by The Bergham’s Life Chronicles (http://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com/).

1. "All the king's horses and all the king's men have their work cut out for them."

2. "I may have over-flipped that pancake."

3. "Scrambled egg party at my house...in about twenty minutes."

4. Humpty: "The giant catapult may have worked too well..."

5. Humpty: "Breathe in a little Helium they said. It will only make your voice sound funny they said. All the cool kids are doing it. Yadda Yadda Yadda."

Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:

Sanity Waiting to Happen

Cluttered Genius

Stacy Sews and Schools

The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

Follow Me Home

Baking In A Tornado

Someone Else’s Genius

Confessions of a part-time working mom

The Momisodes