You may have noticed some new changes to my blog. I've started a new project - making awesome, adorable, and sophisticated magnets! And I'm selling them in my very own Etsy shop, Rock the Fridge. Some of the latest items are shown to the left. Etsy is an online marketplace for crafty people to sell their homemade items. I've fallen in love with the place and just can't get enough!

It all began by trying out a craft project I found on someone else's blog: making glass marble magnets. They turned out so great that I just couldn't stop and I found myself suddenly pondering the flaws of my current fridge and office magnets - tacky, cheesy and definitely weak. A magnet's main purpose in life is: First, and foremost, to hold up a piece of paper! Several of my current magnets were already failing in this one core area. Second, they should enhance the room, be decorative, but not too loud or obnoxious. I'm sorry JP, but the tropical fish magnets' days are numbered. :)

All of the magnets in my Rock the Fridge store are super strong, creative and sophisticated. You'll find natural, polished river rocks, hand-painted wooden words, and even some spooky Halloween magnets! Perfect for your fridge, office or locker! Okay, so have I sold you already? I'm done with my little commercial here. But, seriously, check them out and let me know what you think!

Pampered Chef

I went to a Pampered Chef party last night. This was my first time ever going to one of these things and it was so fun! Their products are actually really cool and are high quality. I was pleasantly surprised! I bought the Corn Butterer ($3.00) and a few other things. JP is on a corn on the cob kick right now and those things are just so hard to butter with a knife!

Any of you into Pampered Chef? Let me know which products are your favorite and what you can't live without. I'm having a hard time deciding which to buy next! :)

Click here for the website of my Pampered Chef Rep, Cindy Sue, so you can see products.

Halloween Decor: Spooky Clay Pots

Ordinary clay pots become spooky Halloween decorations with just a little imagination. Project from Your Family Crafts Guide.
Materials Needed:

• 2 inch Terra Cotta Clay Pot
• 1 1/2 inch Wooden Ball Head
• White Fun Foam
• Paint
• Clear Acrylic Sealer Spray
• Glue (hot glue gun preferred)
  

Instructions:
Wipe down your terra cotta pot with a damp cloth and let dry completely.

Paint the clay pot and the wooden ball head white. Put them aside to dry.

Once the paint is dry, glue the wooden ball onto the bottom of the clay pot (figure 1). Paint a face on the wooden ball (figure 2). Once all your paint is dry, spray it with the clear acrylic sealer.

Cut out two ghost arms out of white fun foam. Something like this:

Glue these to the side of your clay pot! Your ghost is now complete.

Click here for more Clay Pot Decorations, including Clay Pot cats & spiders!

Fridge Flair

(click on photo for closer look)

I made my own flair...for my fridge, that is! I made these magnets which can, technically, be used anywhere, but I like them on my fridge. You can find the step-by-step directions from Armelle's Jewelry Blog. For mine, I used:
- glass marbles that are flat on one side
- a craft punch the same size as the bottom of the marble
- small round magnets, strong enough to actually be useful to hold papers, etc.
- Victoria's Secret and Anthropology magazines for the patterns
- clear craft glue for the magazine cutouts and the magnets
Aren't they cute?!!

"Chic" Ideas

I came across a new favorite website this morning: Crafty Chic. There are so many cute and clever craft ideas. Plus, across the top of the site, there are other sites listed like Style Chic for tips on picking the most flattering clothes and decorating your home for the holidays; Mommy Chic helps you beat the bedtime blues by getting your kids to go (and stay) to bed, homeschooling, marriage tips and birthday party ideas; Recipe Chic with tasty and healthy meals; Deal Diva Chic with loads of tips on spring cleaning, budgeting, and (my favorite) the Sales Calendar which tells you the months when stores typically have sales on stuff you love to buy; and so many other valuable sites and links.

Welcome Home!

Goodness, four days sure seems like a long time when you're home all alone, in a big house, far away from family! JP was gone this past weekend. He was helping his best friend and his wife move to Herriman, Utah. I think that's by Salt Lake City. Anyway, they needed some help driving the HUGE moving van and some extra-srong muscles to pack and unpack the beast of a vehicle. Of course, JP was more than happy to lend his strong back and mighty biceps. :)

Unfortunately, that meant that I would be home alone for four days. And on top of that, I was still recovering from a surgery earlier this month. Needless to say, it was a veeeeeerrrrrrryyyy loooonnnnnnggggg weekend for me. I was so excited on the day that JP was coming home that I made him this sign and baked him a cake!

Cake Disclosure: Yes, I am the daughter of the internationally famous cake designer, Janie Allred. No, I never payed close attention when she tried to teach me a darn thing! The following creation in no way resembles the masterpieces of the Great Janie Allred, which can be seen at her website here.It may not look terribly pretty, but it sure tastes just a good as a "Janie Cake"! Jp loved it. And that's all that matters! :)

Crafty Blog

I just LOVE this blog I came across the other day: Armelle Jewelry. I actually found it through my sister's blog, Spencer & Heidi. Anyway, at Armelle Jewelry Blog she lists all sorts of links to craft website and even shows some jewelry, foods, and crafts of her own and how she made them, plus a ton of just really cute and cool stuff. Like these baby booties you can make from Martha Stewart:
click here for the template (via Martha Stewart.com)

Anyway, this blog is super cool. You should check it out!

Are You Addicted to Blogging?

60%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Mingle² - Dating Site

See how addicted you are by clicking on the above picture.

I may not seem like I am WAY into blogging since I don't post every day, but I think about it several times a day and have a file of topics I'm writing blogs about. Plus, I usually check all my favorite blogs every day. I came across the cutest little baby onesie on the Armelle Jewelry Blog:

It's from the Etsy Rainbow Swirlz Kids store. Now, plenty of you Moms and Dads out there know this is your kid!! :)

Love That Lasts

As I was sitting in church today, missing JP while he's helping some friends move to Utah, I witnessed a touching moment between a husband and wife a few rows in front of me.

They are an elderly couple, both confined to wheelchairs, that aren't always able to come to church due to their health. She has no use of her hands and legs and can barely speak. He can speak more easily, but has the use of only one good hand. I had rarely noticed them before.

The woman's soft, pearl-white cardigan had slipped from the arm of her wheelchair and lay on the floor, outside her ability to reach. Her dear, sweet husband, with painfully slow movement, bent down from where he sat slumped in his own wheelchair and picked up the cardigan. With an effort that obviously required great concentration and patience, using his one shaking hand, he gently draped the cardigan over one of her shoulders, and then the other. This gesture took him almost a full minute. He then spent the next minute sweeping his eyes carefully over his work, making little tucks here and there to ensure it wouldn't slip again. When he was finished, it seemed her loving smile was more than enough compensation for his efforts.

Although this was a seemingly insignificant task that was unnoticed by most, if not all, in the room, it moved me greatly. For reasons I couldn't explain, tears where coming to my eyes. Immediately, I thought, "This is what lasting love looks like." Every childish dream I had been carrying around in my mind about my ideal husband was instantaneously replaced by this one kind act. I was so grateful that I had married the type of man that would live up to this new-found expectation of true love.

And I found myself, for the first time, excited about growing old.