What I Wish I Knew As A Young Mother

I was given the opportunity to share 5 things I Wish I Knew as a young mother along with a few other grandma bloggers! It was a wonderful time to reflect and share those things! If you would like to see my first 5 things as well as some more incredible tips from other grandmas, you can click on the button below to head over!

I would like  to share with you the rest of my thoughts and tips here:

When I was first contacted about this opportunity, I really wanted to share things that would be helpful and valuable lessons I learned. While thinking about this topic, two poems came to mind: The Little Chap Who Follows Me, and The Meanest Mother.

The Little Chap Who Follows Me poem describes the weight parents carry in helping children to grow up to be positive.

I thank God my parents guided me in many ways.

With The Meanest Mother, I knew some things but truly did not understand others.

Here are the rest of my tips and thoughts:

-Be patient: Guide your children to do what you have assigned.  Do not do it yourself because it is easier and you can get it done faster.  Do not take the easy way out.  I can definitely testify that our behavior will set the bar for them. Children are our future; we must teach them.

-Start and keep a Journal: Keep memories; Your children will be better writers and help them in school.  I cannot believe how much I have forgotten about the “old days”. Also have a trash journal, it will help you have a change of heart faster. 

-Take pictures: Keep track of who is in them and why.

 -Have a food/exercise plan. 

-Keep a food journal. Eat to live do not live to eat.

–Plan and stick to menus: You will have much less stress.

-Doing the right thing may not be noticed now “But it is worth it”.   It is the little things like patience and time that will help children grow up to have faith, to meet challenges, to be wise, to know consequences, and to have humor. 

-Remember to pray for help and guidance, pray for your children and with them. Pray often. 

This will most likely be an ongoing list. I hope that you will find a few or all of these tips helpful. 

Thank you for visiting!

Wise Men Still Seek Him Wooden Plate Tutorial

A few weeks ago, my daughter and I attended a blogger event. I instantly fell in love with their warehouse and store front. We were able to make a beautiful Make & Take and then were given $25 to spend in their warehouse on whatever we would like. That is where I got my Aloha sign and all of the supplies I used to make it. 

About a week ago, I received a package in the mail:

 Inside of my package I found:

A Wooden Plate

Adhesive

1 Sheet of Black Vinyl

Gold Vinyl

Red Sparkly Vinyl

Transfer Paper

Poinsettia Paper Flowers

2 sheets of double sided scrapbook paper

A note explaining the challenge. We were to create something using the contents of our package and anything else that we would like to add.

Here's what I came up with:

Or:

 

If you would like to make your own, here is a tutorial of how I created mine:

1. To start off I took an old Christmas card with one of my favorite images on it. If you would like this image for yourself, this is the artists website: http://www.portraitartistnc.com/GWsanta.html

2. I took a sheet of red glittered paper I had at home and had my Cameo cut it into a 9.8 inch circle. If you don't have a Cameo, you could trace a 9.8 inch circle or use a math compass. 

3. I then used the adhesive that was in my package to adhere my glittered sheet of paper to my plate. 

4. I found a doily pattern that I really liked and used the shape on the Cameo to cut out my green sheet of scrapbook paper. You could use a doily that would fit inside of your inner circle or another shape. I distressed the edges of my doily with a little bit of green distressing ink.

5. I cut my picture of Santa kneeling over the baby Jesus into a circle and adhered it to the inside of my doily. I put 2 coats of mod podge  over my picture in order to preserve it. As a finishing touch, I added a little bit of glitter to the trim of Santa's suit.

6. I cut out the letters to the saying: "Wise Men Still Seek Him" (another one of my favorites) in black vinyl and using transfer paper, I placed the vinyl onto my plate. 

7. I then shaped my paper poinsettia flowers and adhered a group of five of them on my plate. 

8. I used my Cameo and cut out 2 flourishes from my gold vinyl, one mirroring the other. 

I hope that you enjoyed my tutorial and that it was easy to follow. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Please remember: All recipes and tutorials are for personal use only. This post was originally posted on