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Just a quick note for all the tens of longtime NTB readers. One of these days I will return to actual writing on NTB. I love Real Women of Pinterest and Pinterest-ing, but every week when I realize that I haven't posted anything at all since the last RWOP, I feel kind of sad. I just can't ever get caught up these days.

Moving along though. I made some pretty cute thank you notes for my son's birthday that involved a group photo and THANK YOU ! spelled in cool and colorful letters, printed on full sheet labels (my very favorite office supply) and then cut and stuck to cards (the blank kind you can buy at craft stores like Michaels). But all of those are sealed in envelopes. No photo evidence -- oops! The project was aided by this awesome collection of letters on Flickr that I was alerted to by several pinners. Check out the collection. Endless possibilities for what you can do with these little letters: custom name stationery, quotations, name tags, place cards, any kind of word art you can imagine. I will say that the quality of some of the images does not hold up when they are large, but there are hundreds of choices for each letter so you could probably find the right letter for any project you're envisioning. Promise you'll be a rule follower though and respect the wishes of Leo Reynolds, the person behind this Flickr collection, who asks that you not "favorite" the images or use them for commercial projects.

I can't share the real final product since it's now in the hands of the USPS, but I took a photo of two full sheet labels of letters. The top sheet was the layout I used for cutting, but I rejected that particular sheet because I tried to use "fast draft" on my printing settings and the quality suffered. I biffed on the sizing on the bottom sheet (look at the awesome quality!), but I'm sure I'll find something to do with those thank yous one day.
This next photo captures some cardstock notecards with a simple "thanks." Easy peasy.
Apologies for not making these photos horizontal, but I just didn't have it in me.

My sister LAP has stepped in once again to share a RWOP project. One of the first things I pinned in the early, heady days of Pinteresting was this link for melting your own heart-shaped, rainbow crayons. Though I continue to hoard old and broken crayons, I've never attempted the project. Some vague thoughts of hot wax and big mess seem to be stopping me. But LAP nailed it! Check out her final results ...
Her tips: Soak the crayons in warm water for several minutes before attempting to peel the labels off. When you take the crayons out of the oven, they will seem all melty and you will fear that you messed up. You haven't! Carefully, oh so carefully, take your tray of crayon molds and pop them in the freezer for about ten minutes to harden. [Note to self: make room in freezer for the molds ahead of time.]

Cheers to my sister, always spreading love!

Okay then, bloggers, please link up your Pinterest-esque projects (art, food, decor, etc.). Real Women of Pinterest everywhere who don't blog? Send me your pics so I can share them: mep AT nottobrag DOT net.

Please visit the links below for more RWOP inspiration.

RWOP: Do you need anybody?

Hello, is this thing on? Real Women of Pinterest, can you hear me? Truth is I don't have any of my own Pinteresting to share this week. We're still getting back in the swing of things after the holiday "break," and I'm not sure how much Pinteresting I can justify when I still haven't managed to get our tree taken down. Thanks to hubby traveling and a DVR filled with the premiere of the new season of Downton Abbey, I have started wrapping up our ornaments, but there's still a ways to go. Plus, I need to help JJ, our Elf on the Shelf, returning to the North Pole this evening, to craft a letter explaining why he hung around an extra two weeks in the same spot where he was spotted Christmas morning and reminding the kids to listen to their mom and dad, say their prayers, and be kind.

Lucky for me, I have awesome people who answered my call to share their Pinterest-inspired projects. Check them out!
First we have a fun, kid-friendly art project. The Pinteresting mom, my sister LAP who is a valued NTB contributor, wrote, "The J, N, and B are on display on the window ledge in our stairwell. ... I used painters tape to make their first letter (I was not ambitious enough nor did I have large enough canvases to do their full names). The girls painted and once the canvases dried, we peeled off the tape. Voila...masterpieces! (or something like that)." I can see this project being used with a large shape as well -- a heart for Valentine's Day, a bird because I dig them, a shamrock ...

LAP had another offering as well: "The 'est 2002' was a trial for the Popular Pinterest pin that says 'use glue and paint over using any solid color.' I just used regular old Elmer's brand, but my suggestion is perhaps doing two layers of glue? I feel like mine is a little hard to read, but I still have it hanging out on my bathroom sink next to my soap and lotion (because I know you were wondering.)" I like the idea of trying this project with an inspirational word, perhaps "enough" since that is one of my themes for the year.
A dear friend of my family has a preschooler who requested "dolls of her teachers" for Christmas. Since such dolls aren't readily available at Toys 'R Us and the like, I am so excited to share her totally awesome creative solution: photos on magnets that can be moved around on a cookie sheet. I've been jonesing to try the much-pinned cookie sheet magnet board project, but I think this project takes that to the next level. It would be fun to think about what sorts of kids activities/games could be made with magnets and cookie sheets. There are probably multiple pins of such already. Maybe next week.
Last, but surely not least, is some Pinteresting from a high school friend who is a talented photographer and a pop culture guru. Inspired by a Pinterest pin (she sent it to me, but I'm too tired for any more links right now), she crafted alphabet printables (like the one above) as holiday gifts.

By next week, I promise, the tree will be down and I'll have something cool of my own to share.

If you've done any Pinteresting, please link up below or send me pics of your projects: mep AT nottobrag DOT net.

I get by with a little help from my friends.

Enough Already, Already Enough

So I'm tearing myself away from the BCS Championship game to jump back into blogging. Such a sacrifice -- HA!

A New Year's Resolution post is a tradition here at NTB. If you fancy, you can check out my resolutions for 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Or, you can just read one of those previous resolution posts and get the gist of them all. Let's not say that I fall short of my resolutions so much as that I recognize that I am a work in progress. I'm okay with that.

Okay, I just looked up last year's post so I could do the links above and found this very quote: "I'm a work in progress, and I'm okay with that." How's that for being a broken record or, better thought, how's that for knowing myself? Last year's post (which is kind of a good one, NTB) also includes mention of Gretchen Rubin and her Happiness Project. And, well, wouldn't you know it, this year's resolutions are inspired by a quotation that came my way, thanks to Gretchen Rubin.

I'm signed up for daily Happiness Project Moment of Happiness emails. Each morning in my inbox, I have a thought about happiness waiting for me. The one I woke up to the day after Christmas really resonated with me:

"Enough is abundance to the wise." --Euripides

Perhaps a thought I would have been wise to ponder earlier in the month before I began the yearly attempt to try to buy, wrap, do, cook, bake, give, and enjoy it all. And, yes, sure, I have enough stuff and, thankfully, always have had. Without knowing the original context of this passage from Euripides, I'd also like to reflect upon enough as abundance in other ways as well.

As a reforming perfectionist, anxiety addict, and guilt junkie, I spent many years being hard on myself, focusing a bit too much on what else I could do, had not done yet, or could have done better. Having children has probably forced the change in me more than anything, but I am learning to believe that I'm already good enough. I'm doing the best I can and that's enough and more than enough.

I'm not talking about settling or lowering expectations or dreaming smaller so much as I am about just living ... doing what I can for now -- hoping for tomorrow and the next day while enjoying this one as much as I can. I suspect that enough is abundance for those who can appreciate their lives exactly as they are.

I can honestly say that I am happier and more content than I have been in years. I love my husband and he is truly my partner, teammate, and supporter. We have three healthy and (mostly) happy kids. After a long two years of trying and failing to sell our home (we have responsible renters in there now), we were able to move into a new home. We are slowly making it our own and are truly falling in love with the neighborhood and community that surrounds us. There is something very comforting about knowing that we are going to be right here for the foreseeable future.

This life is good. It's enough and more than enough for this moment, and I'm confident that it will expand and change as I need it to.

I wanted to make resolutions that were sort of concrete and also ones that honored the spirit of enough as abundance. And in that spirit, I am still easing into most of these.

* There's a whole house here to organize, decorate, and clean. Resolved for now: try to keep the island clear and make my bed most days. These are two tasks that I think could be a foundation for a larger "outer order leads to inner calm" plan.

* There are about fifteen or twenty pounds to be lost. Resolved for now: weigh myself every morning and record the number. Go from there.

* Try twenty new recipes this year (noted: the old MEP would have resolved something unreasonable like "try two new recipes a week" or "eliminate all carbs except whole grains" and then beat herself up/chucked the whole thing when that goal was not met).

* Feed Pinterest addiction. So, I have my notebook but Pinterest just takes it all to the next level. I think for several years I kind of forgot how much I love to make stuff. Large and small creative projects just make me happy. Toward that end, I'm going to continue with the Real Women of Pinterest posts on this blog. Stay tuned.

* Stop going on iphone Solitaire benders. Enough already in the traditional, non-abundant sense. Just sort of sad or, in the words of my moody-these-days kindergartener, just "lame."

* Gather ye friends' cell phone numbers. Two phones ago, I did not transfer my numbers when I got a new phone. Thus, even now, my cell phone contact list is woefully incomplete. Reality is that most of my friends are busy with kids, careers, or both and it can be tough to find a time to chat when one/both parties isn't being whined at or pulled toward some mess or emergency. Sending and receiving little text messages brightens my day, and I want to do more of that.

* Launch my book blog. Yes, there's part of me that knows I need another website like I need a hole in my head. But, I've had ideas for booksandcarbs.com (a website devoted to my life's pleasures) percolating for a while now and I'm eager to get started. No timeline yet, but I'll keep reading and eating in the meantime. You can trust me on that one.

Okay then, that's enough for now. I wish you happiness and health this new year and the peace and content that comes with believing you are already enough. Because you are.

Any resolutions for 2012? Please share in the comments. Are you my friend? Email me your cell number because it's probably not programmed into my phone.

RWOP: Behind the Snowball

So, you know the phrase behind the eight ball? I don't know what it actually means, but I often use it when I am trying to convey feeling behind, as if I'm scurrying around, playing catch-up, disorganized, caught unaware, bordering on overwhelmed, etc. Hope that's right. All of December, I've been behind the eight ball or, rather, behind the snowball. Actually, make that a snowflake.

Today's (late) Real Women of Pinterest post is the perfect holiday craft for a rainy day in December (I'm not exactly complaining about these warm temperatures in the Midwest, but I'd take a little snow). This project is another "use what you have, make it up as you go along" endeavor, but I'm finding that to be the best kind of Pinteresting. Especially if the kids are involved, it's the process that matters more than the product. My kids and I are definitely having fun! Here goes ....

Puzzle Piece Snowflake Ornaments

First, you'll need some puzzle pieces. Years ago before Bub was even close to ready, I ordered a pack of color-your-own puzzles from Current. He undid all the pieces, and I've never had the energy to put back a bunch of blank white puzzles, but I did save the pieces because I am hoarder-ish like that. If you don't have white puzzle pieces, you could totally paint puzzle pieces white or be creative and form your colored puzzle pieces into little holiday wreaths or trees.
We were out of Elmers glue (did we ever have any?) so mommy's job was to glue gun the puzzles pieces together to form snowflakes. I found that four to six pieces was the sweet spot for a cute, but not too clunky snowflake.

The boys' department was adornment. My oldest is obsessed with glitter pens so we got those out.
They would squeeze some big glops of glitter. Even the little, middle guy could do that.
Then, they'd spread it around. We had a couple baby wipes on standby for clean-up between snowflakes.
Excuse the blurry smartphone photography, but here's the close-to-final product. Something was missing ... ribbon, of course. I'm obsessed with ribbon.
Hole punch each snowflake. Pull a ribbon through (I used silver on some, brown on others). Before I tied the knot, I stuck in a short piece of teal ribbon and secured it with the long ribbon.

Pretty cute, right?

No, really, pretty cute, right?

Because one of the bonus features of our new home is no working power outside in the yard (until the electrician comes on Monday), we can't do any Christmas lights this year. So, I talked hubby into a second tree to put in the front window. It looks good, but a little bare as most of our ornaments are on the family tree. I have to say that the snowflakes have perked it up.

What about you -- any Pinteresting? Are you behind the eight ball this holiday season?

Bloggers, link up your Pinterest-esque posts below. Others, feel free to email me pics of your creations at mep AT nottobrag DOT net.

Be sure to check out the links below and to visit Small After All and my other bloggy pals for more RWOP.

RWOP: Two Trick Christmas Pony

Welcome back for another week of Real Women of Pinterest.

Do a search for "handprint Christmas tree" on Pinterest and you'll see multiple pins of a couple versions of this holiday creation. I was ready to give it a whirl myself and had even purchased green and red acrylic paint several weeks ago in preparation. But, I forgot to buy a canvas. Because taking my three kids to Michael's is not even a little bit enjoyable, I decided I had to improvise. Take a peek.

Handprint Christmas Wreath

What? You don't have a large canvas? Grab a ceiling tile from the pile the previous owners of your house left in the basement.

Find something in your kitchen to trace a large circle with pencil.

Then, trace again with a smaller circular something.

Squeeze some acrylic paint into some little plastic egg cartons (good idea, right?).

Paint your son's hand green.

Instruct him to press that hand onto the ceiling tile. Don't try to press his hand down to make a stronger imprint because, apparently, those ceiling tiles are a bit scratchy. Repeat the painting of the hand and the pressing several times.

Get your littler guy in on the act as well. Try to stay breezy when he deliberately plants his hand in the no-holly zone in the very middle.

Okay, time for red paint and finger tip berries now.

Then, mom uses some more of that Costco ribbon from last week's wreath, ties a bow, and glue guns it onto the wreath. If your ceiling tile has a rough edge, use some ribbons to frame the wreath. Voila!
There you have it. Not the most gorgeous wreath ever, but not bad for using what I had in the house. And, yes, I realize that I have a larger-than-most supply of crafty crap on hand.

Christmas Handprint Trees

Okay, use pretty much the same process above, except pencil a triangle on a sheet of thick paper. Once the trees were dry, I placed them in the frames I used for the autumn fingerprint trees. No photos of the artists as little sister was topless during this project.

Voila!

The kids did the trees and the berries/ornaments. I cut out and glued the stars and tree trunks (why, yes, I did have three different brown scrapbook papers to use here, all purchased a dozen years ago when I had time to do things like scrapbook).

Big Brother's Tree -- "Mine is the best, mom, right? Don't you like mine best?"

Little Middle Guy's tree. No time to reflect or evaluate,
he just throws himself into the project and then walks away.

And Little Sister's tree -- yep, she was most willing to
accept coaching and guidance on hand placement.

Anything Pinteresting in your life this week? Bloggers, link up your Pinterest posts in the comments. Other readers, send me your photos or leave a comment about your Pinteresting.

See you next week, if not before.

RWOP: I wreath I can, I wreath I can

My Real Women of Pinterest offering for today is a bit weak, but you can't win them all!

Excepting the company of a spider web from Walgreens back in October, our front door has been pretty lonely since we moved in. We needed a wreath. Now, I would very much like to order a wreath from the Williams Sonoma catalog, but I can't justify that purchase at this time ... or possibly ever.

Enter Pinterest. I saw a tutorial on making a wreath from strips of fabric. Unable to locate the big bag of fabric I absolutely could not get rid of before the move, I decided I would use a similar technique using some ribbon I did know where to find.

I didn't photograph my process, but here it is:

1. Find an inexpensive and not-too-thick wreath. I found an off-white grapevine-esque wreath at Dollar Tree.

2. Choose some lovely ribbon. I chose a wide, wire-rimmed ribbon that I purchased at Costco (personally think their huge rolls of ribbon there are a good value).

3. Cut pieces of ribbon long enough to tie around the wreath and knot. Do this a bunch of times until the wreath is covered.

4. Fluff and arrange the ribbons as you wish.

I wasn't sure about the project as I was doing it so I think that uncertainty subconsciously made me stingy with the ribbon. I probably should add more, but I think it's okay as it is. Not the most beautiful wreath ever, but I'm not embarrassed to have it keep my door company.

If you've done some Pinteresting or Pinterest-esque stuff of late, please link your posts below! Don't have a blog? Feel free to email me with pictures of your projects so I can share: mep AT nottobrag DOT net.

Please check out and comment on the posts of those who have linked up below. Join in next week for another edition of Real Women of Pinterest.

RWOP: May the Force Be with YOU and you and you too ...

Welcome! It's time for the second week of Real Women of Pinterest. Please visit this blog and It's a Small World After All on Wednesdays to see Pinterest-inspired projects and link-up your own Pinterest-esque posts.

I've got a mountain of laundry to fold and four bags to pack for our Thanksgiving road trip so this post will be brief.

My son is obsessed with Star Wars. He received Star Wars bedding for his birthday back in June. This past weekend, he finally inherited his big brother's twin bed and was thus able to use that bedding.

I thought he could use a lamp. I thought it should be a Star Wars lamp.
We had an old lampshade that was slightly bent/cracked. I took photos of my son's bedding, printed them on full-sheet labels, did some cursory tracing and cutting, pulled the backing of the labels, and affixed to the lampshade.
If I had it to do over, I would have taken the time to cut a pattern out of plain paper before cutting out the labels. Then I could have avoided unsightly layered seams (see below). I also would have printed the labels on an inkjet printer and not a laser one. I think the colors would have been truer.
But, guess what? I can pull these easy-peasy labels off no problem and do it over if I want. I probably won't bother because really, it's pretty awesome, just as it is.

Not sure about the ethics of photographing the bedding, but I'm thinking: we paid for it and are enjoying this lamp in our own home, not trying to sell it or anything.

Let' s look at it one more time.
Link up your own Pinterest-inspired post below! Too busy with turkey day? Join us next Wednesday for the next installment of ... Real Women of Pinterest (RWOP).