Cork Monogram

I needed to do some homework for Pinstrosity today and ended up making a cork monogram for our wall.

I used this as my Pinspiration:

http://winerefrigeratornow.com/blog/wine-cork-letter/

And this is what I came up with:

I won't post up all the details here of how I made it, but you can see the whole process on Pinstrosity. 

Organizing Scrap Fabric

On Pinstrosity we've challenged everyone to actually do the pins they have pinned and then post them and link them up to our challenge. I'm a firm believer in not asking someone else to do something that you yourself are not willing to do (this works great with the youth I work with at church). I'll link this up in the Pinstrosity post, but if any of my posts are drawn out when we draw the random winner, we'll redraw a name (I can't win my own competition, that'd be weird). Now that my grandfather's funeral is past and life is starting to get back to normal, I have started getting my pins done. I had started this one back in December:

My Pinspiration:

I couldn't actually find the original source for this. Well..sorta. I find what it says is the orignal source (a blog called I Like Orange Too) but it opens up a different site when you try to go to that blog. The closest I found to a real site with this photo was this: http://recycledcrafts.craftgossip.com/how-to-make-recycled-jar-fabric-scrap-organizers/2011/06/24/ (but they give credit to I Like Orange Too as well). 

...but I didn't get all my scraps sorted and the jars done until just this past week. I loved that idea though when I saw it. How handy is that to have your scraps sorted by color so you don't have to dig through the whole scrap bag to find what you're looking for! 

This has already come in handy too! I'm working on a curtain project with the scraps and this made it so easy to find what I needed. Hurrah for great Pinterest ideas that actually work!

Under the Stars Dance

If you follow Pinstrosity, you get a preview of a part of Tuesday's post...

Our ward was in charge of the stake youth dance last night. We decided to do a dress-up/formal dance and to have the theme be under the stars. We wanted the kids to really be under the stars, so we strung lights across the cultural hall, and hung 200+ stars from the strands. Luckily my friend Jani has a Cricut and a Silhouette machine and we were able to churn out all the white stars in about 2-3 hours (using an entire pack of cardstock in the process). We then hung metallic stars (I love the after Christmas sales on wrapping paper) all on the walls. The Christmas lights gave enough light that we didn't have to turn on any other lights in the room. It gave such a fun effect. We found a disco ball in one of the closets, but we didn't have a latter tall enough to hang it from the ceiling, so we just hung it on the stage. Chris in our ward made homemade rootbeer and had chips and veggies and cookies for the kids to eat. All in all it was a pretty good success (when we could finally get the kids to start dancing...they are all so afraid of looking dumb that they won't let themselves have fun). 

Orange Lamp Revamp

I'm slowly putting together our spare bedroom and getting it decorated. It's not high on my priority list and I don't want to make a whole lot for it as we don't know if we're staying here or if we'll be moving somewhere for school (and consequently moving back into a small apartment). But it is fun to spiff it up a little bit. I had an idea yesterday to add a little more color and spunk to the room and I already had everything I needed (I love it when that happens). 

I took one of the cream colored lamps we have...

 washed it up and taped a bag over the top...

and then spray painted the base orange and the lamp shade white!

I love how cheery it is and how it adds to our orange and blue (not coral and aqua...orange and blue). 

Pinstrosity Banner

I just gave the Pinstrosity blog a slight makeover. I guess it wasn't really a make over as I gave it an up do...either way...here's the new banner:

http://pinstrosity.blogspot.com/

101 Things in 2012 || Review

Welp...here's how it went:

51 done, 50 undone

Done

1. Go bowling
1. July 16th
2. July 18th
2. Get print of owl made for Grandpa
3. Go camping
1. Girls Camp! June 11-16th
2. July 16th
4. Harvest from our garden
5. Go on a picnic
6. Make and send at least 10 Valentines
1. http://madebymarquette.blogspot.com/2012/02/homemade-valentines.html
7. Go visit my in-laws
1. March 17-19
2. July 8-10
3. August 9-15
8. Use at least 1 thing we canned
1. Tomato Sauce!
9. Throw a party
1. Nacho Party! 8-31
10. Play games at the Grandies 
1. January 31, 2012
11. Start collecting rocks for a “patio”
1. Februrary 8, 2012-We started gathering rocks and got a good little pile going. Still much more to go, but we've got a start. (http://madebymarquette.blogspot.com/p/patio-project.html see Day 2)
12. Make another bouquet
1. Mallory's Wildflower Bouquet (http://madebymarquette.blogspot.com/2012/06/wildflower-bouquet.html)
13. Write an essay
1. Does my talk for Stake Conference count? I'm counting it for now. 
14. Have a couple over for dinner
15. Shoot with a second photographer
1. June 9, 2012-Tori shot as my 2nd photographer for Brittany and Patrick's wedding.
16. Visit Jonathan and Sarah
1. March 24, 2012
17. Go watch the Olympics at Maggie and ArJay’s
18. Start one of my photography projects
1. In progress! http://marquettephoto.blogspot.com/2012/03/casting-call.html
19. Go dancing with Cameron
1. February 10, 2012 at the Institute
2. July 21, 2012 Pioneer Day Celebration
3. Aug 11, 2012 Rae's Wedding
20. Sew a bag
1. Gathered Snap Happy Clutch August 8
21. Read 10 new books
1. The Language of Bees, by Laurie King
2. God of the Hive, by Laurie King
3. Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan
4. Pirate King, by Laurie King
5. The Ruins of Gorlan, by John Flanagan
6. The Burning Bridge, by John Flanagang
7. The Icebound Land, by John Flanagan
8. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
9. Death Comes to Pemberly, by P.D. James
10. Emma, by Anita Stansflied
11. Beekeeping for Beginners, by Laurie King
12. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
13. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
14. Unenchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale), by Chandra Hahn
15. Fairest (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, Book 2) by Chandra Hahn
16. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
17. Containment, by Christian Cantrell
18. Good Wives, by Louisa May Alcott
19. The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan
20. The Thirteenth Child, by Patricia C. Wrede
22. Make something for the pig kitchen
1. Folk Art Pig Painting 8-1-12
23. Get my Personal History Box from Mom and Dad
1. February 20, 2012-I didn't know it was personal history BOXES. Man I'm a pack rat. 
24. Visit Astronomy Labs
1. 4-13-12
25. Plant flowers
1. It's a good thing I didn't put "and then keep them alive". But I did plant them. 
26. Get 1 new piano piece
1. Cameron bought me a piano book for Valentines Day! Yea!
2. If I Had Words...but it wasn't the right version...so I'm back to searching. Does anyone know a really great arrangement of this song for piano? (You know...the Babe Song, based on Symphony No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saens)
3. Rogers and Hammerstein Book
4. Debussy Book
27. Get a print of our anniversary pictures
28. Make 10 things I saw on Pinterest
1. Peanut Butter Eggs, Jan 27
2.  Ribbon Box, Feb 17
3. Wrapping Paper holder in top of closet, Feb 17
4. Lemon Crinkle Cookies, Feb 21
5. Painted Vase, March 14
6. Fabric Flowers, March 15
7. Fabric used as GiftWrap on a box, March 24
8. Crochet Baby Hats, March 24
9. Cathedral Window Belt June 3
10. No Sew Pillow Case, July 23
11. Twine Bottles, October 15
29. Go to Grandpa’s Ranch
1. Family Reunion, July 26-29
2. Labor Day
30. Go on a real date with Cameron.
1. 2-10 We went to dinner and then went dancing. It was a wonderful evening full of delectable food and fun waltzes.
2. 7-16 Camping, bowling, putt-putting and Brave. 
31. Paint with the brothers
32. Have an Astronomy Night 
1. 5-20-12, Solar Eclipse at the In-Laws
33. Take a road trip
1. Went to see Cameron's parents and his brother (& family). 3/17-3/19
2. Lake Valley 7-16
3. Rae's Wedding, Cameron's Family, White Mountains, Tucson
4. Rexburg, ID for Grandpa's Funeral 
34. Start a photo album
1. We finally got prints from our wedding! 
35. Visit Cameron’s Grandparents
1. 9/8-9-14
36. Put a photograph in the county fair
1. Didn't place, but that's okay. 
37. Try 12 new recipes
1. Peanut Butter Eggs, Jan 27b
2. Fondue, Feb 14
3. Apple Pie by Grandma Ople, Feb 17
4. Cookie Dough Brownies, Feb 25
5. Citrus and Rosemary Roast Chicken, Feb 28
6. Hershey Kiss Cupcakes, March 15
7. Cookie Bowls, March 27
8. Man Pleasing Chicken, August 8, 2012
9. Spicy Zucchini Pickles, Sept 3, 2012
10. Burrito Casserole, October 13, 2012
11. Lemon Parmesan Chicken, October 18
12. Healthy Fruit Dip, October 18
13. Prickly Pear Raspberry Smoothie, October 19
14. Rotel Chicken, November 19
15. Flourless Crepes, November 21
38. Go 2 months without even a gulp of soda
1. I did it! October 18th was my 2 month mark. Hooray!!
39. Make something with the prickly pear juice
1. Raspberry Prickly Pear Smoothie, October 19
2. Prickly Pear Marinated Chicken, October 19
40. Attend an EAC concert
1. Fall Sing, October 27
41. Teach a class at work
1. October 23, Pinterest Class
42. Make bread
1. October 29, Parmesan Italian Breadsticks
43. Do a scratch board
1. November 26, Scandinavian Christmas Tree
44. Read my scriptures every day for 2 weeks
45. Make a list of the 50 best fiction books I’ve read completely
1. http://madebymarquette.blogspot.com/p/book-list.html
46. Read 25 books
1. The Language of Bees, by Laurie King
2. God of the Hive, by Laurie King
3. Son of Neptune, by Rick Riordan
4. Pirate King, by Laurie King
5. The Ruins of Gorlan, by John Flanagan
6. The Burning Bridge, by John Flanagan
7. The Icebound Land, by John Flanagan
8. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett 
9. Death Comes to Pemberly, by P.D. James
10. Emma, by Anita Stansflied
11. Beekeeping for Beginners, by Laurie King
12. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
13. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
14. Unenchanted (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale), by Chandra Hahn
15. Fairest (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, Book 2) by Chandra Hahn
16. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
17. Containment, by Christian Cantrell
18. Good Wives, by Louisa May Alcott
19. The Mark of Athena, by Rick Riordan
20. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
21. When Calls the Heart, Janette Oke
22. Once Upon a Summer, Janette Oke
23. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling
24. The Thirteenth Child, by Patricia C. Wrede
25. Across the Great Barrier, by Patricia C. Wrede
47. Do an embroidery project
48. Make a Family Tree
49. Do a calligraphy project.
50. Go on a hike/walk with Cameron at least once a month
1. January, over the hill
2. February, picking up rocks
3. March, Spring Canyon, Rockhound State Park
4. April: Around town
5. May: Down the creek 
6. June: Walk to neighbors to do Gardening
7. July: Upper Gallinas and Lake Valley
8. August: Salt River Canyon
9. September: Over the hill
10. October: Cochise Trail at the Cochise Stronghold
11. November: Lighted Christmas Parade
12. December: Christmas Tree Hunting
51. Visit Chris and Brooklin

Didn't Get These Done:

1. Do a seasons photo
1. I forgot about this one until Spring had come and gone. Next year maybe. 
2. Take pictures of Cam's drive area when it greens up (it didn't ever really green up...so this isn't completely my fail). 
3. Put an art project in the county fair
4. Put a canning project in the county fair
5. Set up a table at the art market at least once
6. Stick to the new budget 100% for 3 months
7. Stick to the new budget 100% for 2 months
8. Stick to the new budget 100% for 1 month-jobs and situations changed and we never got an official "new" budget made
9. Plant an herb garden
10. Buy a flash for my camera
11. Do a photographer’s lunch
12. Read my scriptures every day for a month (I always ended up missing a day somewhere in the month)
13. Stick to the cleaning schedule 100% for 1 month
14. Stick to the cleaning schedule 100% for 2 weeks-always missed a day in there somewhere
15. Take a class at the quilt store 
16. Make an advent calendar
17. Finish reading Les Miserables
18. Start Desk & Darkroom with Cameron
19. Start a memory book with items from my Personal History
20. Use the crockpot every day for a week
21. Prepare crockpot meals ahead of time and freeze them
22. Get the Quad together
23. Finish a journal
24. Get the heater looked at
25. Visit a new park with Heber
26. Make my own cards (birthday, Christmas, thank you, etc) for the whole year
1. I ran out of time for Christmas and ended up just ordering cards
27. Turn hammock area into picnic area
1. In progress! Follow the project at:  http://madebymarquette.blogspot.com/p/patio-project.html
28. Stick to the cleaning schedule 100% for 1 week
1. I always missed a day somewhere
29. Do all of cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet
1. Always missed a few days somewhere in here too
30. Take a picture of the lake beds at sunset
31. Hike to see the petroglyphs
32. Make soap
33. Come up with an outline for a book
34. Get to 155 lbs
1. Made it to 161, got close
35. Exchange the guest bed for a futon
36. Host a photography competition or challenge
37. Create an article with Cameron for blog (essay & photograph)
38. Do 5 full pencil drawings
39. Visit the lower Gila Box
40. Get rid of extra furniture
41. Create a new game
42. Send a goofy package to Shaun
43. Take a sunrise picture in town
44. Go to White Sands
45. Make something out of the stack of magazines on the shelf
46. Crochet a baby blanket
1. In progress
47. Do an oil painting
1. In progress: http://madebymarquette.blogspot.com/2012/03/oil-painting-in-progress.html
48. Complete 1 quilt
1. I've got the top done, I just need to quilt it now.
49. Take senior pictures of Brigham
50. Use our pressure cooker