Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 24.

 Goodbye realization that I may be the only parent at school without a SmartPhone.
Goodbye helping a friend finish the last details of a craft project I cannot wait to share with you.
Goodbye best babysitter on the planet. My son loves you so much he recommended hubby and I schedule a date night every two weeks (ha,ha,ha).
Goodbye Michael Buble Christmas special that I sadly missed - boo hoo.
Goodbye fascinating talk on a little history of Cleveland's who's-who with storyteller Dan Ruminski.

Hello last of the gift purchases, but made from the comfort of my home thanks to Amazon.
Hello finishing up the Christmas cards and sending our joys and blessings of the season.
Hello perusing my old stash of Bon Appetit magazines for Christmas dinner inspiration.
Hello rest and spending time reconnecting with the family after a long, exhausting week.
Hello new followers (LOVD Friends button to the right). I'm so glad you could make it and welcome!

This week I learned you have to recognize opportunity. Then, when you recognize it, you have to DO something to make it into something bigger. But, you don't come charging at it. You don't grab at opportunity like kids grab for candy under a newly busted pinata, no. You have to approach opportunity delicately, cradling it gently in your hands and humbly taking that first step to where opportunity leads you; and always being grateful for the blessing in the chance that has been given.

Friends: Quality not Quantity

1. Lunches.

2. Craft projects.

3. Sharing our lives and life's lessons.

4. Exploring new shops.

5. Bouncing ideas off each other.

6. Supporting one another.

7. Celebrating birthdays.

8. Being real with no pretense.

9. Growing together.

10. Sharing a laugh (and sometimes a tear) together.

I may not have tons, but the friends I do have are worth their weight in gold in my heart. I love you all and appreciate our beautiful friendship. I just wanted you to know.

What I Made Wednesday {Nature-Inspired JOY Wreath}

Nature is so inspiring and so giving. Outside the school, along side the carpool line sits a lofty beast of a tree - a Sweet Gum. As it sits there, unassuming, eavesdropping on everyone's conversations and having the best view of school grounds, this particular Sweet Gum tree was doing something very unnoticeable, it was shedding its "spikies". Now, I'm not an arborist, horticulturalist, or anything ending in "-ist" of any kind (wait, does former rocket scientist count?) so the term "spikey" is non-techie vocabulary I'll take as my own (my apologies to those in the know).

The "spikies" are a nuisance. It makes a mess, just the same as a Magnolia tree at the end of its bloom, but what's left behind from a Sweet Gum tree is sheer inspiration, not browned, withered petals. My son (reluctantly) and I did a little cleaning up of the Sweet Gum's mess. My son picked up each "spikey" hoping no one from the school would happen to drive by on this day off, and I, in contrast, delicately cradled each one-of-a-kind "spikey" wondering how anyone could pass each day and not have the same idea in creating these holiday wreaths (really?). I warned you in a post last week that I had a plan for those picked "spikies". I really enjoyed making them and wanted to show you how easy it was to get such a great result. Enjoy!

What You'll Need
3 - 8 inch straw wreaths
Glue gun
Glue sticks (I used about 7 long ones, hi-temp)
Glitter scrapbook paper out of cardstock
Spray can of sealant (not pictured)
Ribbon of varying size, coordinating in color (not pictured)
Pencil
Scissors
Computer
Printer
Collected "spikies", of course


What You'll Do

This is the fun part, and most relaxing! Start gluing your "spikies" all around. If you press down on a "spikey" too hard, it will bite back. Be careful the sharp points don't break skin.

Cover the area atop the wreath and around the sides leaving the inner wreath and backside exposed (no "spikies"). Treat it like a puzzle, choosing large or small "spikies" depending on the space that needs to be filled. Just make sure to cover the straw facing front and side.

Go outside and spray your wreaths with a clear sealant. I used a high gloss and it made the wreaths a deeper color and shinier.

Using your computer, print out the word "JOY". I used the American Typewriter font in a 360 point-size.

Turn over your cardstock and your print out. Take your pencil and trace the outline of your backwards words on to the back side of the cardstock. When you lift the printout, you should see an indentation of the letters in the cardstock. Cut out your letters.

Position your letters and glue them down IF you want. I did not. I positioned my letters when the wreaths were hung and the stems of the "spikies" are just holding them in place naturally.

Give your wreath a trim by only cutting away the "spikies"' stems where the ribbon will be so it sits flatter against the wreath.

Determine the length of your larger ribbon and cut to size. Position the ribbon where the one side is slightly longer than the other so you can glue down the longer side atop the short side. Apply glue to the shorter side.

Fold the longer side over the shorter side and press into glue.

Hang your wreaths. I hung mine on a crossbar in the foyer that holds a tapestry the rest of the year.

Like I said, you don't have to glue down your letters. I just used the stems to hold back the letters and tucked them into the wreath. They haven't fallen out, yet!

What You'll Need to Know to Finish

For an added touch, I took a smaller, coordinating ribbon and tied a double knot above each wreath.

 

Thanks for stopping by! Have you ever used nature's gifts in a craft project?

Last-Minute Christmas Gift Idea: Give LOVD

Yes, let's not dwell on the obvious. It's the holiday season and I still don't have my Etsy shop opened. I know, I know, but, sometimes, the burning desire of eagerness has to be cooled by wisdom. Does it make sense to open an Etsy shop and trial run the whole operation during the holidays? If I want to do this right, I'm not going to wing it during the holidays, right? (formula for failure) So, 2012 is the year the LOVD shop will debut in all its glory!

Buutttt, for those of you that are lucky locals, I just wanted to remind you the LOVD glass pendant necklaces are available at Dazzle in Chagrin Falls, click here for all the details. They've got a great selection and, if you would like to change out the rubber necklace for a metal beaded necklace (as shown), just contact me and I'll send you one for free that matches the bail.

I sure hope you take some time this holiday season and delight in the boutique wares of Dazzle in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It's a treat for all girls, young and "antiqued".

Is your holiday shopping list completely checked off?

Gratitude Journal Monday

This little pepper plant was in a planter outside the school. I took the shot just last night.

It's Monday, it's raining, so much I'm thinking about building an ark, and it's cold. I better get to declaring some gratitude before my circumstances start to dictate my mood! We don't want to be controlled by our feelings and having a Gratitude Journal has really helped me appreciate the big and small in my life where I can get past the perpetual emotional roller coaster. I'd love for you to join me on this journey so I hope you start your own Gratitude Journal. Click here, if you'd like to know more about it.

Nothing is off-limits when it comes to gratitude so thank away!

106. I am so grateful we take the time and expense to introduce our child to orchestra concerts, theaters, and museums - I hope he will do the same for his children one day.

107. For as many times as I dropped the huge jar of mayonnaise on the floor this weekend, I am very grateful for plastic.

108. I am so grateful my parents are nearby and I can visit with them any time, even for a short while.

109. I am grateful for the warmth that surrounds me right now, in my cozy, little abode, as the weather outside turns frightful freezing.

110. I am grateful I can take an alternative (non-highway) route to get to school this morning - it may take an extra 15 minutes, but with rain like this, it'll be the safer choice.

I hope you join me by commenting some gratitude of your own. Have a great Monday!

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 23.

I just wanted to take a moment to send my thoughts and concerns to my bloggy friends in California experiencing the wrath of the Santa Ana winds. I hope the weekend brings some reprieve.

Goodbye November and allowing our hearts to dig deeper in thankfulness.
Goodbye tiny, little snowstorm that treated us to a winter wonderland, if only for a brief moment.
Goodbye start of the Family Tree Advent Calendar; it's going to be a busy, fun month.
Goodbye Studio Ghibli November, declared by my son at his blog, check it out.
Goodbye appreciation to great friends that allow opportunities for kids to follow their dreams - you know who you are and we can't thank you enough for this project.


Hello Nutcracker concert with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Joffrey Ballet - magical.
Hello no rest for Hubby as this is his busiest time of year (I don't know how you function with that little of sleep?).
Hello wonderful wanderings to other blogs and seeing who else is out there and what new styles and ideas catch my eye.
Hello sweet treat in hearing our glee club perform at, yet, another exciting venue (talented kids led by dedicated teachers).
Hello December and keeping consumerism under control while getting all crazy, wild for the real reason for the season.

I finally, after all these years driving, have learned how to merge onto the highway! I can't believe I have driven all these years and not known that the key to merging on the highway is to keep driving until the on-ramp lane merges into the main lane. Gosh!!! I used to be that annoying driver that slowed down while merging to fit myself into an open space. Sheez! Well, I guess this is a positive after affect to doing all this new driving as I take my son back and forth to his new school.


Wishing you a beautiful weekend. Thanks for stopping by today, and everyday!

Introducing to the Mind What the Heart Already Knows

Everyday can be the start of something big. This is a great reminder to gain perspective of what is all around me: all my joys, all my loves, all my hopes. I have only myself to offer, but I offer it fully. With all my might I give myself to all projects, all volunteer activities, everything. I know He is watching, and one day, I'll know my true worth in my head as much as how I already feel it in my heart, where it is alive right now, but not realized fully in the reality of the day to day. One day, my heart will teach my head my true worth. My heart will reveal to my head my hidden potential. I hope my head is listening. 

My heart will unwrap for my head the gifts I have been given to share with the world. We all have been given gifts to share with the world. The gifts we have are not ours to keep for ourselves. Do you know your gift? Can you feel it in your heart?

Is your head, yet, in agreement to what your heart already knows about your hidden potential and gift to the world? What are you doing to share your gift with others?