Pray for Oklahoma

As I was sitting in London, enjoying a Diet Coke with my husband last night... across the TV screen scrolled Massive Tornado hits Oklahoma City suburb. We immediately logged onto our Facebook accounts and started looking for reports from our friends on where it was and if everyone was safe. The news footage started pouring in on the BBC and it was heartbreaking. The devastation is unbelievable and we are praying for all of those who have lost everything and loved ones.

This is a photo taken by a neighbor from our back yards. We have lived through many close calls and tornadoes near our homes, but this is unbelievable. The kind of tornado that you have nightmares about.

As we went for a walk around London today, we picked up the London Evening Standard to see our local town and the devastation.  

Before the sad news, I had planned to share some very pretty photos of the sights in London, but I don't think that now is the time... here is one shot of Big Ben. More to come in a few days...  

If you would like to donate to the relief effort, you can go to the Red Cross or the state of Oklahoma website for more information. The people of Oklahoma are amazingly resilient and are always willing to help their neighbors with open arms and hearts. Hug your babies and remember to say thank you to those who help you out in your life...  It is so precious.

Have Passport & Pretty Little Luggage Tags... ready to travel :)

In just a few days, I get to meet up for a last hoorah before baby #3 with my husband in Europe.  So excited and can't wait to see him and enjoy a few days of calm and photo taking :)

I don't know about everyone else... but I am always standing at the airline ticket counter scribbling my name on one of those tiny paper tags they provide... as the ticket agent glares at me for my unpreparedness!!  I'm organized with my camera bag, carry-on and expertly packed ziploc full of liquids.  I just can't seem to ever remember the luggage tags.  You would think that I would have designed something amazing and have it proudly displayed on all of my bags.... not to mention the amount of stuff that I would cry over if my bags were forever lost.

My bags have a way of ending up lost, even with the paper airline tag.  My bags have missed flights and mistakenly gone to countries like Paris... just how does a bag go from Oklahoma to Paris when it's owner only got a flight to Florida????  I had a talk with it when it finally showed up a couple days later, shame on the bag ;)

I've learned that I need to have all of the essentials with me in my carry-on.  And by essentials I mean makeup, toiletries and undies.  Everything else can be purchased, but you can't mess with a girls makeup or hair product.... cause no matter what men believe the $1.25 Wal-mart stand in is NOT the same as your favorite brands.  No offense boys, but a girl has to feel beautiful... so I'm not taking any chances!!

soooo...  in honor of the big trip across the pond I made a few cute luggage tags.  One perfect for your camera bag and three others with cute little quotes that you will love, love, love!

What You'll Need:

• Printer
• Printer Paper: I prefer thicker presentation thickness paper approx 26lb and a brightness of 96 +
• Scissors or Paper Cutter
• Luggage Tag Laminating Kit: There are self-sealing sets and heat sealing sets.  You will want the self-sealing set if you do not have a heating machine to melt the sticky goodness inside the pouch.
• Ribbon... optional for an extra pretty touch

Instructions:
This is an extremely simple project.  First, click on the photos below and download the PDF file for the tags.

After Watching "The Incredibles" about 485,999 times with my son.  I absolutely love Edna Mode!!

Next print the pages that you want to use.  I would set the printer to a setting other than Fast.  My preferred setting says Fine Printing on Plain Paper.  Just look around on your print window and you will find the best setting.

Now take your laminating pouches that are pre-cut and check the size of your pouch to your luggage tag.  If for any reason the printed tags are too big, you can re-print them and reduce the size by 10% or whatever gives you the correct dimensions.  But these should be good for most universal kits.

Cut out your tags (with either scissors or a paper cutter) lengthwise so that they end up looking like this:
My finished cut out size was 7 5/8" x 2 1/4"

Now fold the tag in the center so that it now looks like this:

Fill out the appropriate information for your name, address, phone and email.  Then place the folded tag inside your laminated pouch and seal.

if you run it through a heat sealing machine I do it twice through, just in case.

Now you need to either use the supplied plastic thingy (it's a thingy cause I can't remember the name for some reason).  You can also use a pretty ribbon if that makes you happier.  I am going to stick with the plastic thingies for this trip so that I can pull it really snug around my luggage.  I don't want them accidentally falling off.

You are all done and now have the prettiest camera bag tag and luggage tags to show off to the other passengers.  I hope that you enjoy and take these somewhere amazing and wonderful on your next trip!

Don't forget to print off  your packing list and itinerary so you don't forget any super important items!
Go HERE or click on the photo to download...

now I'm off to sew a Star Wars cape for the band concert tonight...  Enjoy <3

Adorable Mini-Book Tutorial

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I had a great day with the family; breakfast in bed and my husband and kiddos cleaned out Mom's car...  what a dream come true!  I hope that you were treated like a princess as well.

Earlier last year I came across some really cute books in Anthropolgie. They were so cute, but just didn't have the right titles for me.... so I decided to make my own. These will work great for teacher gifts, little books for the kids, or to throw in your purse to keep track of ideas, etc. The best part is that I made a tutorial so that you can make your own as well!!  

Happy Monday to you!

Ok, lets get started.  

Supplies:

Paper Cutter

Scoring blade (optional)

Printer

Printer paper (I like a brightness of 92 or higher and I like a little heavier paper ~24lb)

Staples (you can get awesome colored ones as well)

Cute clear baggies or other wrapping supplies (optional)

Downloads
First download the book covers that you want to make.  Just click on the picture and it will take you to the pdf link

 

Cutting/Scoring

Now it is time to cut out your book covers. You will want to trim flush against the edge of the mini-book design.  I use a Cutterbug paper cutter, but you can use any brand.  It is easier to use one made for 12-inch paper.  You can also just use old-fashioned scissors if you cut better than I do.  For some reason, I have gotten worse at using scissors haha!!

Once you have them cut out, it is time to fold them in half.  I like to use a scoring blade. Scoring keeps your paper from feathering and gives a cleaner look.  But you are more than welcome to fold with your hands :) as well.  You can find these blades to go with your paper cutter.  The one for cutterbug is pink instead of green.  

You will score at the 3 1/8" mark. This photo shows you how scoring will make your paper look.  You will score on the inside of the book cover because the paper will bend toward you when using the scoring blade.

Your completed book will measure 3 1/8" x 4".

Next, you will cut the blank pages for the inside of your book.  You will need to cut your inside pages to measure 6 1/4" x 4".  You can cut as many of these as you want.  Just remember that you will have to staple through them all.  You may want to use a thinner copy paper on the inside.  Thinner than what you use for the cover.  Stack them on top of each other and fold them (folding them individually will be easier)

I've also added in a download of a contrasting paper that you can add as your first page... just for some extra bling :)  Just cut it out and fold like your cover.

Download your contrasting pages here.  Just click on the photo.

Now to staple your book together...  we're almost done!!  I found these adorable coordinating staples at Office Depot.  I've seen them at many other office stores.

Just staple as close to the center as you can.  I did two staples, one at the top and one at the bottom

...and Ta-Da!!!  You are done with the cutest little books!!!

I hope that you enjoy your books and have a wonderful week.

My Love for Etsy

One day I will harness all of my craftiness and my designs and get my etsy shop beyond just existing.

But today... I am heading to get my son some dress shoes.  Because he is 11 and in a men's 10.5.  He wears a somewhat dressy uniform to school every day, but we have managed to get by with nicer tennis shoes for I guess everything the past year.... cause people, I picked up his other dress shoes and they are a size 6!!!!!  Lord the kid has grown this past 8 months and he is gonna break the bank today.

But to take my mind off of all of that impending poor status, I took a look on Pinterest and that lead to a look on Etsy and I fell in love with a hat (that I will own as soon as it comes in the mail...  it was only $24.00 and my husband is now reading this and cringing at what else I am going to write).  I took a second and scrolled through the items that I have hearted on there and decided to share some etsy goodness and love with you today.  ohhh and these would be great belated Mother's Day gifts for the ladies in your life.

P.S. Pinterest is much safer for me.  There is no immediate option to buy.  Pinterest makes me think about how to make things... Etsy lets me buy, so I should stick to Pinterest, for the financial health of my marriage :)

And tomorrow I promise to have up a blog post about how to make your own nursing cover/poncho... just as soon as I buy my son some respectable size shoes and an dress shirt and tie for his National Junior Honor Society induction.. ohhh and Khaki pants, cause boy has busted out of them all now from playing basketball at school and growing 15 inches this school year.  :)  I'm a proud mama though.

Now the goodies!!!!

First... I grew up in the South and monograms are very important to us ladies.  So I almost died this morning when I saw this hat (that I later purchased).  I love to wear a baseball cap and I love a beautiful monogram... just heaven in a cute little package.  Go check out Kelly at KBJs Monogram

Next is a bag that I have looked at for a couple of years and have thought about making multiple times... but love this one from Made by Nanna.  There are a ton of beautiful bags to swoon over.

Next is the most amazing tote by Jeanette at Sweet Perversion.  Her cards are a little on the smart tailed side.... but I love that and she is just so cute.  

and finally these pencils... oh how cute they are.  So many options and sayings from Cicely at Mighty Graphite

and what girl doesn't love these from Beethoven's Beloved Letters... aka Big's take me back emails to Carrie :)

I hope that you are having a wonderful day and enjoy browsing around on Etsy.  

Follow me on Pinterest and you can keep up with my awesome finds through the week.  

Enjoy

how to NOT end up on tv in your ugly pajamas!!!

Disclaimer:  I am NOT an emergency preparedness expert.  I only know what I have experienced and decided works best for my family.  Please refer to FEMA or the Red Cross for official recommendations.

We all have seen the people that they interview after a tornado or a hurricane... and we all wonder if the news crew just drove around to find the most ridiculous person to interview.  Cause in those moments we unfortunately end up with YouTube songs like the hide your kids, hide your wife one.  I only know about that because of my husband, promise ;)

With a little planning and thinking you can completely avoid looking like a hot mess on CNN after a natural disaster has swept through your neighborhood.  So no more worrying about that ladies and gentleman. You may be laughing, but these are things that I have pondered while sitting in my tornado shelter in the floor of my garage... smack dab in the middle of tornado alley!  That... and was my husband lying when he said a semi could fall on the shelter and we would be ok.  I'm going to blissfully believe that it is true, so don't go busting my bubble on that one :)

As a military family... someone more all knowing than myself has placed our sweet family in the midst of most major natural disasters in the last 15 years.  It started with our first tornado warning in October 2001... just days after we purchased our first house and were expecting our little baby boy at any second.  We survived a couple pretty big tornados the next three years and then headed to Pensacola, FL to live through the crazy Hurricanes and tropical storms in 2005... Katrina that September, again just days before having my darling daughter.  Then we moved to Bremerton, WA where the signs for Tsunami warnings and volcanic Mt. Rainer were enough to make this woman a little on edge.  We came back to Oklahoma and lived through devastating wild fires visible from my front porch, epic ice storms, flooding, and a tornado that damaged multiple houses just past our street.  I can also now say that yes it does sound like a freight train and you will feel the pressure drop in your bones and ears.  It will scare the pants off of you just enough to go "oh Lordy Mercy I have on halloween pj pants and it's May!!  if my house goes, this is not going to look good on CNN"

Just like these fine Old Navy Halloween pj's in the middle of May

While I'm being funny, I do take my tornado preparedness very seriously.  I have my favorite news stations turned on and am tracking right along the meteorologists to make sure we are ready to take shelter when needed and watch out for those hook echoes.  The bad part about storms is they don't always come at a reasonable hour.  They usually start brewing at the hottest part of the day around 3 or 4 and start whipping up and sometimes that siren doesn't go off till after midnight.  And running to the shelter at midnight with sleeping babies doesn't always leave you time to grab your purse, phone and vital items.

With all of that said and since it is "the week" in Oklahoma City for mean and nasty tornados starting up... I thought that I would share with you my tips and lists for packing up a emergency preparedness stash.

Be smart... stay safe
We have an underground shelter in Oklahoma, but you can also rush into the basement or most center part of your house, preferably a closet, bathroom, small utility room, or under a staircase.  You want to put as many studs and pieces of wood between you and the elements.  You will also want to cover your head with something protective, like a mattress or bicycle helmets.  If you find yourself outside, they have said that you should stay in your car.  Do NOT hide under an overpass, get as low to the ground in a ditch and cover your head if possible.  If you have a shelter, many city and county agencies will let you register your shelter. This helps the police and rescue locate you faster in case of a disaster.

What to gather...
I made a checklist for you to use as a guideline when you are making your emergency kit for the house or shelter:

• Tackle box/tool box to store as many items as you can.  I purchased a cheap toolbox from Wal-Mart that has one pull out tray on top and open in the bottom.  I can get just about everything on the left side of the items list in my tool box. My tool box is relatively small and slides under the bench in our shelter.
• Multi-Way tool should have a phillips and straight screwdriver, pliers, scissors,  knife, etc.  Each time that I sit in my shelter and listen to the hail and swirling wind.. I ponder what I would need if I come up and my house is nothing but the foundation.
• Battery powered radio.  There are great battery powered radios that even have manual cranks on them and build in emergency lights and cell phone chargers.  Make sure you have at least a basic one. I also turn on a plugged in radio in our garage when we get in the shelter if there is time.  This helps me to know if the power went out and saves my batteries.
• Small first aid kit.  You can purchase a larger Red Cross emergency medical kit, but it is also a good idea to keep bandaids, etc in your tool box.
• Cash.  Think about if you forget your wallet and you have to leave your area quickly.  You will want to have a few dollars to get a few gallons of gas or a snack.
• Dust masks and work gloves are for it is really bad when you leave your shelter.  Lord willing, it will be fine, but you want to be prepared. Closed-toe shoes is essential for walking on debris.  Keep a pair of cheap keds for each person.
• Flashlights, extra batteries and glow sticks.  Many times the power will go out or it will be midnight when you end up in a shelter.  The glow sticks are a backup to loosing all battery powered flashlights.
• Old cell phone and backup charger for your current one.  While we all hope that we grab our amazing smartphone and take it with us to follow the current radar on our favorite app.  But there are times that there just isn't time and grabbing your babies is more important.  If you have an old cell phone that you can keep charged periodically, you can still make a 911 call from it.
• The root of how to not look like a hot mess on tv.  You will need to think like you are camping and think compact.  You will need baby wipes (as an addition to the toilet paper, but also for a impromptu bath), extra undies, a small set of toiletries (all in one, face-hair-body wash), disposable toothbrushes and essential makeup items (mine would include mascara, concealer, bb tinted cream, and blush).  
• Feminine Items... cause well you don't want to have to steal the baby's diaper
• Copy of your drivers license, utility bill, homeowners policy and a family photo.  This is in case of you having to leave your neighborhood area and need to either gain access back to your house or show proof for Red Cross/Shelter services.  The family photo is in case of a missing loved one that you need to show to authorities.
• Pillows, Blankets, snacks... we always could use more pillows and blankets for some reason.
• The famous poopy bags (find these at Wal-Mart or a camping store), bucket, and toilet paper.  Well my friends... once you tell your kids that there are special bags in your shelter that they can go in, it's all over.  You can be in your shelter for 15 minutes and they will all have to go potty.  But it's way better than the alternative.
• Duct tape.  Because duct tape fixes everything, even whining kids ;)  just kidding!! 

Click on Photo to Download PDF File

I hope that this printable helps you get ready for any emergency and that you never have to use anything on the list :)  Check out all of the Planner Printables thus far HERE 

Capture the Moment

Photography tells a story... what we feel when we see a subject, a landscape, or a life moment. Photography gives the artist the chance to capture the frame how they see it at that exact moment... what it says to them... what it means to them.

I have starred at photos, deep into photos since I can remember... zooming in on expressions and the feelings frozen in time. I remember looking at pictures from WWII and Vietnam... feeling the utter terror and emotion of the subjects photographed.

Our photographs of our childhood become our memories. Long after our relatives and their stories are gone.... we still have photos. So many times we shy away from taking a photo because it isn't the perfect setting or not the image that we want to portray. As hard as it is, it is very important to take the photos... even if there is a mound of dirty laundry 10 feet tall behind your kids being insanely adorable (or up to no good).

My daughter was 4 in this photo and giving me a piece of her mind... cause I was holding her up from her friends for a split second at the zoo.  Getting a perfect and cute smile from children... well at almost any age can be difficult.  I would rather capture their true personality than to have a fake smile. It is these moments that I remember and cherish... 

I can still hear her yelling Mooooom!!!!! 

another "smile please" shot :)

As my son gets older, he is even harder to hold down for a shot, smiling or crazy face.  So I love to get action shots of him when he is playing sports, or photos that tell about his past and things happening around him.

He has become pretty great at basketball and it seems to be most of camera roll pics these days.  Remember to take photos of the things that are important to your children, they will love seeing those when they are older and look back at their childhood.

... and shots that are funny, and tell the story of them

My son is now 11 and almost two inches taller than his mom.  I'm 5'6", so not a super short girl...  He has been way taller his whole life and this photo makes me smile.  The poor kid has always gotten looks from the other parents questioning his age.  These two were the same age, but obviously this was an extreme.  Most of the kids were closer to my son's height.. But by capturing just the two of them in a shot, it made the difference even more dramatic.  

The biggest "aha" moment for me when I first started getting serious about photography and my one real piece of advice...   look at your whole frame when taking the photo.  Once you start to see the whole frame you won't have to spend hours cropping out the icky stuff you didn't want in your shot.  I rarely, if ever, use the cropping tool.  I fill my whole frame up with yummy goodness... even if I have to lay on the ground, climb on something, or wade into the middle of a creek to get to the shot that I like.  Try it and you will start to understand what I mean.

You also don't have to be in the perfect setting or situation to snap a photo.  Many times, I have my Nikon in the car with me and will roll down the window or pull off the side of the road to capture a quick picture.  

Three of these photos were taken from my car...  just roll down the window so you don't have any glare or specks of dirt. :)

So remember...  Whether they are good moments or bad... moments that remind us of happiness or pain... capture the moment! They are your memories, don't wait around for the perfect shot...

Capture Life!!!!

and don't forget to catch yourself in a photo or two as well... even if it's in a pretty old bathroom ;)

All of my photos are shot with a Nikon D7000 or my older Nikon D80.  I typically use a 18-200 lens, but I also love to pull out my 50mm lens when things are a little more predictable. I try to shoot in manual mode, but I'm not fully there and I do flip over to auto or shutter or aperture priority at times.