August 2017 – the striped plaid

Random post #1….

August 30, 2017August 30, 2017Photography, Random Posts20 Comments

Hello everyone! Welcome to a very random post!

So anyway first I wanted to tell you all about Samantha’s Back to School Giveaway!

Also, recently my grandma got me a Wizard of Oz adult coloring book! It is like SUPER DUPER LOOOONG!

Here is what I have done so far!

Next or should I say third, I almost have 50 followers, I am going to do a really neat giveaway when I get 50! #so excited!

4th, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has signed up for my email list! You know who you are and you are all so awesome!

I also wanted to show you some flower pictures I took awhile ago!

Most of them were pictures of flowers from my trip!

1 more thing, here is my blogging notebook!

Well that’s it did you like it?

I hope you enjoyed this post! Have a great Wednesday!

aaa

Paint and Pens #3

August 28, 2017Inspiration16 Comments

Hello everyone! Welcome to Paint and Pens #3!

Today we will work with some watercolor paint to make 2 really beautiful ATC’s!

Continue reading ➞ Paint and Pens #3

Email Lists!

August 27, 2017August 27, 2017Random Posts, Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday! I got the idea from Charis about starting an email list!

Continue reading ➞ Email Lists!

The Music tag and the Liebster Award!

August 25, 2017August 25, 2017Inspiration7 Comments

Hello everyone! Recently I received 1 award and 1 tag (I combined them in this post)

Let’s start with the Music Tag!

musictag

A big thank you to Rebecca for nominating me for this tag!

The Rules:

Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link to there blog
Link back to Michele’s blog
Display the Music Tag image
You can add questions that you think would be fun to answer!
Nominate as many people as you would like!

The Questions I was asked:

What is your favorite song, and why? Hmm, I really like Contemporary Christian Music, so probably Garden by Kari Jobe, or something from Lauren Daigle!

Who is your favorite historical composer and why? Mozart probably, I really like his music.

Who is your favorite modern composer? Probably Kari Jobe or Lauren Daigle!

What type of music is your favorite? Contemporary Christian!

What it the song that you last played on your instrument, if you do play one? Well I play piano, so I last played, hmm, well that would have been yesterday. I think that I last played something called William Tell Overture. It is a final achievement piece for my second book.

What is the last song you were singing/playing in your head? I do this ALL THE TIME! I was just humming First by Lauren Daigle, as I was typing her name up there!

When is your favorite time to listen to music? Probably when I am mad, it helps me to relax!

The questions I am asking you!

Do you play an instrument, if so which one?
Have you ever taken music or voice lessons?
What is your favorite type of music, why do you like it?
If you could play any instrument what would it be?
Who is your favorite historical composer?
What is you favorite song?

I Nominate………

Gracie

Rebekah

Enni

Next up The Liebster Award!

Note: I had already done a different Liebster Award awhile ago but decided to do it again!

Liebster Award#2

I was nominated by Kristina for this award!

The Rules:

Recognize the blogger who nominated you.
Answer the 11 questions you were asked.
Tag 5-11 other bloggers
Create 11 new questions for your nominees.

The questions I was asked:

Where are you from? I live in a small town in Ohio.

If you could move anywhere where would it be? I like where I live now!

Favorite Childhood memory? A few years ago I went to New York City with my dad, and had a lot of fun there!

What is your strangest fear? Probably going downstairs in the middle of the night!

What is your all time favorite movie? I like Dolphin Tale 2, especially because I got to see it in theater!

Why did you start a blog? I had to do it for school, but, then I just kept it gong I guess!

What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time? Read, Craft and take pictures of things outside!

What is your dream vacation? Going to Paris for a few weeks!

What is at the top of your bucket list? White water rafting!

What are your goals before 2017 ends? For blogging: To create better quality posts, and to gain 100 followers!

What is your favorite food? Chocolate! Hands down!

My questions!

Why did you start a blog?
What is your favorite thing to take pictures of?
Outside or inside?
Ice cream or Cupcake?
Have you ever been to the ocean?
Favorite color?
Favorite Candy?
Do you like to read?
Do you make goals or not?
Have you ever been skiing?
Do you play a sport?

I nominate…

I am going to nominate anyone who would like to be nominated!

Have a great day, and happy Friday!

Sign off

I am changing my blog design!

August 23, 2017August 23, 2017Uncategorized15 Comments

Hello everyone! As you saw in the title I am changing my blog design! I am actually pretty much going to update everything to make it more professional looking and easier to use! I really like these blog designs: Rebecca Allison Rebekah

I want a lot of watercolor to be incorporated in it, and I am also hoping to get a button, custom header, and some graphic’s.

The blog design will be completed September 30 2017.

I will still be posting the same and doing everything the same, just a different design~!

Outdoor photoshoot with Grace!

August 23, 2017August 23, 2017Uncategorized7 Comments

Hello everyone! Today I decided to take a photoshoot with Grace! I think it turned out pretty cool!

Continue reading ➞ Outdoor photoshoot with Grace!

Paint and Pens #2

August 21, 2017August 23, 2017Inspiration12 Comments

Hello everyone! Welcome to the second episode of my craft series!

Note: I have decided to call my craft series “Paint and Pens”

Have you ever colored adult coloring books? I have and really like them! Today we are going to make Adult Coloring ATC’s, they are really easy and super fun to make!

For today’s ATC’s you will need an adult coloring book page, pencils or fine tip markers, gel pens (optional but highly recommended)

This is a super easy ATC to make!
Draw 2 1/2″ by 3 1/2″ rectangles onto the adult coloring book page with a pencil.
Note: Make sure to be careful of where you draw out your ATC’s, for example if there is a pretty flower that you want in your ATC make sure not to cut it in half 🙂
Cut out the traced rectangles.
Now time for the fun part!
Color in the ATC’s with markers or pencils.
I like to outline the shapes with gel pens, especially the glitter kind! It adds a pretty shine to them! (thanks to my clever friend Anna for the idea)

Here are some of the Adult coloring book ATC’s that I made!

I love this one! I am going to give it to my friend Isabelle!

This one is my favorite! It might even be my favorite ATC that i have made!

I hope you had fun making ATC’s with me! Watch out for next weeks episode of Paint and Pens!

Sneak peak for next week!

Have a great week!

Sign off

Solar Eclipse Ideas!

August 18, 2017August 18, 2017Random Posts21 Comments

Hello everyone! As you probably know there will be a total solar eclipse over parts of America on Monday! (I unfortunately am not in the path of totality, BUT I am in the 85% range!)

Eclipse

My family decided to have a solar eclipse party! We have invited 3 other homeschool family’s!

So I wanted to show you some of the things that we have been doing to prepare for our party!

How much do you know about solar eclipses Pop Mini Quiz!

Looking up the answers is not allowed!

Answers listed at the end of this post

Why does the sun look bigger then all other stars?
What is the part of the sun that you can see during a total solar eclipse?
Is it safe to look directly at sun during a solar eclipse?
True or False: During a solar eclipse the temperature drops a little bit.
When is the next solar eclipse in America?

Make sure to grab a piece of paper and record your answers, then compare them with the answers at the end of this post!

DIY Solar Eclipse T-shirts!

Don’t these T-shirts just look fabulous! My mom did most of them and I think they look awesome!

Get a solid black T-shirt (we got ours at Walmart)
Cut a piece of thick cardboard and slip it inside your T-shirt, this protects the back in case any paint bleeds through.
Get some fabric spray paint (we used Tulip Gold and Tulip Gold Sparkle, found at Jo-Ann Fabrics)
Trace a plate or other round object onto some cardboard. Cut out carefully. This will be the circle on your T-shirt.
Using a hot glue gun “draw” “2017” onto a piece of parchment paper, make sure all of the numbers are connected. Let the hot glue dry.
Take the circle and center it on the T-shirt (Note: Hold the cardboard circle in place while spraying, if you are young ask someone to hold it for you and help you spray)
Spray lightly around the circle with gold, make sure to leave room for the 2017!
Hold down the 2017 and spray around it with either gold or gold sparkle.
Add some sparkle to your T-shirt if you want!
Here is a T-shirt drying!
Let the shirt dry completely then put it on and watch The Great American Solar Eclipse!

Here is the finished T-shirt

How to safely view a solar eclipse!

Using Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses
Making a pinhole viewfinder (see below)

These are all safe and great ways to view the eclipse. Be sure not to look at the sun without your Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses, as it could damage your eyes.

You CAN look at the sun once it reaches totality but only if you are in one of the areas that will reach totality!

Make a pinhole viewfinder!

This is a really easy craft where you can project the sun and watch the solar eclipse without Solar Eclipse Viewing Glasses

To make the pinhole viewer take a piece of white cardboard and cut it 8″by 8″
Punch a hole with a needle or pin in the center of the cardboard.

How it works:

Stand with your back to the sun and hold the pinhole viewfinder.
Watch the projection of the sun under the viewfinder.
You can easily and safely watch the eclipse like this!

How a solar eclipse works game!

This is a really fun game to play with 3-4 kids! You will need 3 people to hold up the props and perhaps another person to choreograph everything.

Note: We will make the Sun, Moon, and Earth then play the game.

To make the props you will need a very large bowl, a medium bowl, and a smaller bowl. The Sun will be made from the largest bowl, the earth from the medium bowl and the moon from the small bowl.
Trace around the top of your bowl onto a piece of thick white cardboard. Do this for all 3 of your bowls. Cut out the 3 circles.
Using acrylic paint, paint the circles, yellow for the sun, blue and green for earth, and gray for the moon. Let dry.

Time to play!

Gather 3-4 people together and have each person choose a circle.
Line up the people so that the earth and the sun are facing each other.
Have the moon go and cover up the sun, creating a solar eclipse!

If you have very small kids it is a good idea to play this game before the eclipse, when the eclipse comes the kids will know what is going on!

The answers to the pop quiz!

Question in bold Answer in italic

Why does the sun look bigger then all of the other stars? Because the sun is a lot closer then any of the other stars.
What is the part of the sun that you can see during a total solar eclipse? The corona.
Is it safe to look at the sun directly during a Solar Eclipse? No, it is not safe to look at the sun, UNLESS you are in the path of totality and only when the eclipse is in totality. Otherwise you could seriously damage your eyes!
True or False: The temperature drops a little bit during a solar eclipse? True, the temperature will drop a little, you will be able to feel it, but you won’t need a coat!
When is the next solar eclipse in America? April 8th 2024, in 7 years.

I hope you had fun reading this post and doing the activity’s! I sure had fun making this post! Have a great weekend! Happy Friday to all those who have gone back to school this week!

Sign off

P.S. I now have 30 followers! Help me get to 50 and we will have a celebration!

Photography

August 16, 2017August 23, 2017Photography, Random Posts13 Comments

Boy I really need to get some better titles for my posts!

Hello everyone! Today I thought it would be fun to show you something I bought on vacation!

I bought it at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.

They had a gem and rock exhibit that I really enjoyed!

Continue reading ➞ Photography

All about ATC’s and how to make them!

August 14, 2017December 5, 2017Inspiration19 Comments

Hello everyone! Welcome to my first craft series post! These next 6 weeks we will explore all about ATC’s (artist trading cards) how to make them and what to do with them!

First, what are Artist Trading Cards?

These 2 1/2″ by 3 1/2″ little works of art can be gifted, traded or kept, (but NEVER SOLD) Add what you want to them, why you can even draw on them, or dip them in paint! Whatever you want!

How do you make ATC’s?

Start with a 2 1/2″ by 3 1/2″ piece of cardstock. Add what you want! It could be something from nature, a pretty piece of paper, whatever expresses you creativity!

Why make art anyway?

Art makes us feel good about ourselves! It helps us express our creativity with the world!

Lets get started on making ATC’s! Today we will make 3 very basic (but still fun) cards!

(I like to cut out a bunch of the cards at once, then when I want to make an ATC I just pick up a card and start creating, you can also buy precut ATC cards on amazon)

Cut three 2 1/2″ by 3 1/2″ pieces of cardstock and set aside.

First ATC:

I love how modern and neat this simple ATC is!

You are going to begin with the WIFI symbol
Next draw a border
Finally write, “Cuz’ I’m out of WIFI”

Remember to make it your own!

Second ATC:

This ATC almost looks like a heartbeat to me!

Draw squiqly lines all around the card

Use your creativity to find fun colors to use!

Third ATC:

Another fun ATC! I love using markers to add designs!

Begin by drawing curved lines diagonally across the card
Next draw designs in between the lines!

Have fun drawing designs!

I hope you had fun making ATC’s with me! Next week we will go more in-depth and make a really cool ATC! But this week I just wanted to keep it simple!

Also, if you are looking for a place to trade your ATC’s you should really check out Haley’s blog she does safe online ATC trades! She also has some really neat ATC ideas to try! Check it out!!!!!! https://flourishingbyrestfulfalls.wordpress.com

P.S. Do you like my sign-off?

P.P.S. I now have 25 followers! Thank you so much Enni for helping me!