a Gazillion Congrats later …

Hey there, I promise that since we have openly announced our good news this blog will not be flooded with a whole bunch of baby stuff…. well… it will be, but not your normal baby stuff. Most of you now know that Brand and I had had a plan when we were going to have a baby for quite a while…. we just didn’t tell a lot of people, or really anyone. In the summer Krystle and I worked on a couple of super secret projects, and here is what they were. Krystle was working on her wedding memories book, and I was working on a baby book. Now that we have a legit baby…..I can share the book with you.  :)

 

I started out with the cardboard paper out of a pack of white cardstock, you know, the piece you always throw away….  Found the center(s) and created the inside seam by folding on the lines.

Then I covered it with some FABULOUS Christmas wrapping paper that my BFF wrapped my presents in. (the inside)

Got out as many bubbles as I could. (the outside)

TA-DA … the cover is ready. (ignore the dying houseplant in the background…hehehe)

Found some cutie pie babies in pea pods paper for the inside cover…

Ready to glue the book to the cover…

I completely forgot to take pictures of a couple of steps, as in how I got all the paper together to look like a book …. if you really wanna know that info, email me. 

Finished project

Anywho, I will have to start writing in that ASAP.

~mandy~

Hello!

I’ve got a ton of activities I’ve got to get done today, so I will not have time to post much. I did want to throw out some NEWS………

 

What Have I Been Up To???

What have I NOT been up to – is the more appropriate question. The Deiterings have been SO busy, we have barely had time to say ‘Hey, do I know you? You’re living in my house…”  hehehehee. I am still in the middle of a TON of things but, I wanted to give an update in pics! They are cute pics so it will be worth the scroll down…..   :)

 

The week before Thanksgiving week we started decorating at CPC:Benton. This is Tree #1 – I didn’t get a pic of tree #2 or tree #3… weird. All of them are tall and big and they scratched up my arms… ugh.

 

 

Today we went to CPC:Conway and decorated the 9ft tree #4…..

 

 

After we got back from Conway, BFF Jess and I BEASTED the Christmas Tree #5 in the Kingdom Kids area. Literally we decorated it in 45 minutes….wow.

I made this tree skirt a couple of weeks ago for the tree – hoping and praying that it would look good with everything….

It is AMAZINGLY cute under the tree!!! I still have to put up my tree at home (#6) and I have to finish the one in KOT:Conway (#7)….. yeah… Hopefully I will finish before Christmas time…  :)

 

 

This little guy was helping with the Christmas Décor at Benton, I had to catch him and let him go outside…. 

 

 

A couple of weeks ago Krystle and Josh were ready to take their engagement pics….. we had a plan, a day, a house to get ready in, a make-up/hair team, and a beautiful day. I can’t share them because they make me laugh SOOOOOO much. They were not your typical engagement pics, and I loved it.

 

 

I have been crafting A LOT in the past couple of weeks and I think my fat cat decided she had had enough and wanted some attention….

 

 

GOODWILL finds: My girls and I have had AMAZING luck at Goodwill recently. Look at this bedspread I found for under $20. (I can’t give you an exact amount, because I don’t remember, but I would not have paid more than $20)

All this fabric was $1 each … what??? yes!!!

 

 

We had a LOT of rain right before Thanksgiving…this is our backyard…it was a swamp. I always say I am going to go around and take pics of the flooding, because it is SO crazy, but I never do….one day, one day…..

 

 

November 20th was my little brothers birthday (and crazy uncle Eddie)!!!!! This was us in the Dominican.

I happened to look down at my phone at 11:20 on 11-20… hehehhehheee

 

 

I made a tree skirt for my tree at home…….It will look amazing once I get the tree up…… heheheheee

 

 

OOOOOOO – Hello Ladies made this AWESOME button picture frame, we are SO in love with it….AND it’s also for sale…..if interested……

 

Well there has been a whole lot more, but my eyes are crossing….. I promise more great PiC posts soon!  :)

~mandy~

I have not forgotten……

I promise I will be back ASAP!! We’ve hit the Christmas Decorating season at CPC and so I am trying to get that taken care of before I post all my goodies I have made for the Kingdom Kids tree! Great stuff!!!!! Stay with me and keep checking back!  :)

~mandy~

Christmas Presents….

A couple of years ago I decided to make Christmas Presents for my nieces and nephews on Brand’s side of the family. It was a crazy thought because at that point I owned a sewing machine, needle and thread, but I had not sewn anything more than a button on a shirt…… So I started out and my nephew wasn’t born yet so I set out to make 5 cats. I tried to find the pattern on Flickr, but alas I could not find it. ANYWHO…. I suffered through, the pattern didn’t tell me how to attach the head of the cat to the body, the pieces didn’t match up super well, but dad gum it, I made them and the kids LOVED them. The next year I designed cute little square guys with arms and legs and cute button eyes …. they were cute.

I don’t know why I stopped doing it, but I was recently told my one of my sisters’ in law that her daughter really liked when I made them and has both of her presents and keeps them safe in a box. SO that inspired me to start the tradition back up. The kiddos are a bit older, the new ones are in the 3 year range and the older ones are 16…. and I have to make a BUNCH! SO I looked on Etsy and Flickr to find a pattern to make. Here are the finalists…..Since this post I have made my choice, but see i f you can pick out which one I picked.  :)

 

Singing Squirrel Pattern

Platypus Pattern

Bunnies Pattern

Monster Pattern

Owl & Baby Softie

Girl Doll Patterns

Scotty Dog Pattern

Prince Charming Softie

 

Wish me Luck!

~mandy~

Exciting Christmas News!

Today I stopped by Pastor Kathi’s office and asked her if I could decorate the Kingdom Kids (birth – 5years old) area this year for Christmas. She said “YES” and we spent the better part of an hour talking about neat ideas we had seen and cool craft projects we could make happen to keep the cost down. We were both on the same page about the theme!!! How awesome this that??? I don’t have the “full vision” yet, but here are some pics that are going up on my inspiration board at work this week……

How cute is this gonna be. I’ve also got to get some ideas for the children’s church in Conway!!! I will be decorating in like 5 places this year… YAY!!!

~mandy~

Getting a Special CPC post together…

A couple of months ago I posted a link to a new website called “Impress Your Kids”. This is the same website where I have been getting my CPC: CONWAY - ABC sermon ideas from. 25 days ago Amanda (the author) started this series called “31 Days to Impress Your Kids.” She shares some practical things to help you imprint the Word of God on your children’s heart forever. I have not had a chance to go through the days yet, but that is my plan this after noon and I am excited to share the post with you!!! As a step parent I am constantly trying to find ways to teach the girls about life and God on a level they can understand and they can remember, I believe I have found the website series to help me with that. SOOOOO, get ready, I am excited, you should get excited!

~mandy~