Things my Momma taught me....

My momma has taught me many-a things in my life. But there's one thing that's always stuck with me (beside the difference between your & you're and there, their & they're). I remember one Mother's Day, many moons ago, or was it her Birthday? Maybe it was Christmas? I guess it doesn't really matter, all I know is it was a time when I would be getting my momma a gift. I had had the gift in plenty of time before the day I was to give it to her, but it wasn't wrapped.  I think I went out with my friends the night before, woke up the next morning, probably late, and needing to get to mom's. But shit, the gift wasn't wrapped! I threw open the craft closet, pulled out the first roll of wrapping paper I found, and wrapped that sucker like a 4 year old.

When I got it to mom's, I put it on the gift table, and went on about my business visiting with family and friends. When it was time to open gifts, my gift to mom was falling apart. Tape was coming unstuck, and the end of the box was showing. I didn't think anything of it, I mean, it's what's in the box that counts right? But when it was time for my gift to be opened, mom noticed. She noticed that I took the time to pick the perfect gift for her, but didn't take the time to wrap it perfectly. 

Then she quietly told me, "Missy, never give a gift that isn't beautifully wrapped."

I'll never in my life forget those words.

I think of her every time I'm wrapping a gift.  Every time I'm half hazardly slopping a gift together before a birthday party and every time I'm making my own tissue & wrapping paper for a gift I'm giving.

She told me I just spent my time and energy picking out the perfect gift, or my creative ability to make something the "giftee" would love, so why would I just throw some Sunday Funnies on it?

Now, the gifts I wrap for loved ones come fancied out in homemade tissue paper and personalized gift wrap. There's usually fun embellishments attached to the top. I can see the look on my loved ones face when they get a gift from me. They know I took my time to make it something they'll love.  Thanks mom, for those words you spoke forever long ago.

Today is mom's birthday. I've spent weeks choosing the perfect gift. Things she'll love. Things that remind me of her. I've been challenging my creative mind to think of the best thing ever.

So I wanted to make sure the tape wouldn't unstick itself this year.

Happy Birthday Momma.  I love you with every fiber of my being.  Thank you for always being there, for always pulling me off the ground, for teaching me, for loving me.  You are a wonderful, beautiful, inspiring momma.  May God bless your next year of life, and may I grow up to be just like you. I love you!

Pin-spire me baby!

If you are new to Earth, and haven't heard of Pinterest, go check it out here. It's a devil of a website, tricking you into believing your Martha Damn Stewart.  Suddenly, what normal people believe is a plain brown entertainment center, you know is actually a fancy, tricked out, hot pink play kitchen center for your kids.  You now look at every t-shirt you ever owned, and mentally picture a cute tank top.  Quarters that most people would throw in the change jar are now uber cool rings.  You find wedding photos that make you want to divorce your husband, and marry him all over again just to carry out all your "Pinterest Wedding Dreams".  You throw Great Aunt Gertrude's Apple Pie recipe out with the bath water (that's infused with coconut oil, cuz, you know, Pinterest told you it'd give you baby soft skin), to try the 413,235,143 recipes you have pinned.  You now have a to-do list that includes organizing your cupboards, linen closet, pantry, medicine cabinet, desk, laundry room, and garage.  You have next season's wardrobe all planned out on your "My Style" board. 

But I digress, I've succumbed to the herding of the sheep.  Pinterest rocks. my. world!  (As i type, I'm soaking a Smuckers Jelly Jar lid in acetone to take the writing off the lid...who knew!?!)  I probably make at least one thing off Pinterest a week.  And when I pinned this quote a couple weeks ago, I knew I was so making this bad boy!

The pin-spiration......

I mean, c'mon...perfect, right?  So true, too!  So I gathered my supplies.  Thank fully I had all I needed right in my handy dandy completely destroyed craft closet.  I will admit though, a completely destroyed craft closet comes in handy with this Pinterest crap.  All that shit you've been saving for a rainy day??  Yea, it totally has a purpose now. 

Anywho...I found a canvas and some paint.  I then drew it out on a piece of paper first, so I kinda sorta knew the look I was going for.

Then I painted the canvas a solid blue.  Obviously, you can use what ever color you choose.  I actually chose the blue we used in our bedroom, but under normal circumstances, I would have used a basic tempra paint. 

I paint on canvas all the time, and pretty much consider myself an old pro.  Okay, not a pro per say, but I do know what I'm doing.  After I painted the base coat and let it dry, I went to go draw in pencil the design I wanted to paint.  But since I didn't use tempra paint, I used laytex paint, the pencil wasn't showing up.  So I had to use a pen. 

I was so excited to get this project done and tell those annoying Security Alarm Door-to-Door Salesmen to shove it, I forgot to snap a shot before I stared painting.

You can see where I wrote out what I wanted to paint.  Again, if you use a tempra paint, a pencil should do the trick.  That way when you make a mistake, or don't center something correctly (cuz you will mess up!) you can just erase, GENTLY, the mistake and keep right on-a-goin'.  I had to use pen, made a mistake, had to bust out the blue paint again, paint over my mistake, wait for it to dry, then keep right on-a-goin'.  Pain. in. the. ass.

A project like this will often times need 2 coats over the wording.  Not all the time, but usually.  And since I had to use pen, the pen bled through the first coat.  As you can see here...

I waited for the first coat of lettering to dry, which was about 30 minutes, then went over it again with another coat.  You can still see the bleed of the pen just a bit, but it really isn't that bad at all.  Only really if you'rethisclosetoit can you see the bleed.  From a distance no one's the wiser.

Finished product.  Ready to tell those pesky salesmen to get lost!



If you'd like to join the cult they call Pinterest, don't forget to follow me.  You can find me here.

I'm ready for school to start...

...but probably not for the reason you're thinking a mom of 6 is ready for her kids to go back to school.

I love having my kids home with me. I love the lazy days, the ability to go to the park at noon if we want to, the camping with them, the late night chats, beach days together, and the loud crazy-ness of a day with 6 kids. And, okay, I'll admit it...it's also nice to always have someone to take the garbage out at 9:00 am if I don't feel like it! Don't get me wrong...there have, for sure, been some days that I'd love to ship them off to military school for the rest of their dog gone life. But, overall, I love the kids being home in the summer.

The reason I'm ready for the kids to go back to school is....honestly I miss my friends!! All my mommy friends that I'm used to seeing every day! I miss weekly coffee at some one's house, I miss the daily morning chats we all have in the hallways. I miss convincing one of them to come shopping with me for the day. I miss all of it. Yea, I have friends outside of the "mommy network" at school, and yea, we do hang out. In fact, us mommies have hung out together this summer.  But it's just not the same as seeing them every morning for a little chat. And we haven't been able to ALL get together. Oh we have good intentions, and we talk all summer, but it's just to dang hard to get us all in one spot over the summer.

So I'm ready. I'm ready for my mommy friends to remind me I'm normal...even though I show up to drop kids off in Jammie pants, mascara running down my face, hair in some sort of weird ponytail I put up the night before bed, and a sour look on my face from the salt I inadvertently used in my coffee that morning but am still drinking it because, seriously, it's 7:45am. They know. They know I'm normal. And they know to just smile, put their arm around my shoulder, guide me to their soccer mom van, and drive me to the nearest Biggby. Cream & sugar, please. Hold the salt.