Project 52 Weeks: Page 8 & 9

"It's your life--but only if you make it so."
-Eleanor Roosevelt

We've been in a good rhythm for the last couple of weeks, and that goodness is reflected in the SMASHbook pages from the last two weeks.

Week 8. This is the good life!!

Supplies used: Paper from Basic Grey's Urban Prairie collection, vintage dictionary pages, graph paper, white thread, circle punches, date stamp.

Journaling reads:

• Feb 14. We celebrated low-key for V-Day, in hopes that we'd have a bigger celebration later in the week.
• Feb 16. We got word that our house in Buford finally closed. We were so relieved to end this chapter of our lives. We celebrated at Applebee's.
• Feb 17. Callie and I worked all week (remotely!) to write a proposal for a curriculum writer position at A.S.P. We're super stoked, and hope that they choose us for the project!
• Feb 18. I joined Rob as his cheerleader for the 1st bike race of the season. Turns out he needed SAG support as well. Luckily only the bike was hurt!
• Feb 18. We drove up to Charlotte for the afternoon--we browsed bike shops and scouted out IKEA.

Week 9. Currently [Feb 25, 2012].

Supplies used: Random orange/yellow scraps (including a shiny, metallic sheet that I've saved for years), graph paper, date stamp. Fonts: Pacifico and Andale Mono.

Journaling reads: [Inspired by Life.Love.Paper's "Currents" series.]

• time: 12:35 pm
• location: sitting in the car at the Donaldson Center parking lot, waiting on Rob to finish his bike route
• drinking: a 32 oz Coke from Spinx... it took little convincing
• doing: cleaning out Rob's car while I wait
• loathing: the blustery wind that keeps blowing the trash out of the car
• hoping: that Rob's racing confidence comes back
• anticipating: our date night tonight... we're going to see a special screening of a cycling documentary at the BMW Zentrum
• wondering: what we'll do with the rest of our afternoon
• creating: projects in my head for our new house
• loving: REI because they were able to exchange my shoes
• thinking: what a wonderful day this is

Good thoughts...

“Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.”
-Langston Hughes

As you probably know, I've always been a quote collector. But, recently I've been collecting quotes for a special project I'm working on. Only quotes that personally resonate with me right now. That inspire me today. That mean something to me in this moment.

It was impossible not to share this one...

Quote seen attributed to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Art by Jana Brunken.

Being unemployed gives me lots of time (and reasons!) to dream. Sometimes it's hard to embrace the scary dreams, but I've got to hope that some of the big dreams will come true one day.

Weekend happenings...

"Every day you are alive is a special occasion.  Every minute, every breath, is a gift from God."
-Mary Manin Morrissey

It was a good weekend. It had a rough patch or two, but as the saying goes, "that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger" and more grateful for the wonderful life I have.

Friday night we couldn't decide where to eat, and ended up at Long John Silver's... gross! But we sure did laugh a lot as we ate our meal.

Saturday morning we went down to Greenville for Rob to get some miles and some cycling practice. While he went around and around the 7-mile loop battling the wind, I went to REI to exchange the shoes I won back in November. I was tickled to get a new pair of running shoes and a new skirt!

Saturday evening we went on a real date to the BMW Zentrum for a special screening of the cycling documentary, Chasing Legends. It was awesome and totally provided a unique perspective of the Tour de France... all of the training, all of the behind-the-scenes people, all of the personalities, all of the suffering. Totally recommend it!!

Sunday morning was Race Day, and I was proud to be the supportive bike wife. (It was only the second time he's asked me to be there!) We got there early enough for Rob to get some track time to warm up. He was feeling good, and in the first few laps, he moved from the back of the pack up to the group that was going to break away from the peloton. (Look at me using cycling lingo!)

But, again this weekend, it just wasn't meant to be. Someone right in front of him went down and he couldn't avoid them, so he went over, too. From a distance, I was hoping that he would hop back up and take the free lap, but luckily he checked his helmet before going again, and unluckily it was cracked (the boy hit the pavement hard!!).

With such a downer morning, we returned home just to relax, watch NCAA basketball, and cuddle on the couch. We did venture out for a quick lunch and a spur-of-the-moment hair cut. Super spontaneous for me... I was deciding what I wanted while I was sitting in the chair. It turned out pretty cute though... even Rob was impressed!!

A neighborhood of cookies...

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?"
-William A. Ward

One of the few blessings of the home sale process (besides finally closing that chapter of our lives!) was meeting and getting to know our real estate agent. His name is Robert Delay, if anyone in the Atlanta area is in need! To thank him for his awesome work (he basically sold our house three times before it was all over!), I put a box of sweet treats in the mail to him today.

I had an idea for sugar cookies in my head, and I spent the last couple of days making it happen... after watching several videos (here's a good one from JoyofBaking.com!) about cookie decorating and making a trip to Hobby Lobby for icing tips.

Of course, a good blogger stops along the way to snap some Instagram shots!

I carefully stacked the cookies in an empty (and decorated!) Pringles can, and then stuffed a bunch of bubble wrap and tissue paper so the tube wouldn't wiggle. Topped it off with a personalized card, and sent it off on its journey. Hopefully Bob enjoys the small token of our appreciation!

If you, too, want to show some gratitude to someone in your life, feel free to use this thank you printable. You can cut out the graphic itself and adhere to kraft paper card like I did, or just cut out on the outer lines and fold in half.

To download the printable, right-click the image below, and click "Save Image As."

Canvas Photo Tutorial

"Love is when you can be your true self with someone, and you only want to be your true self because of them."
-Terri Guillemets

Want to see what my husband's getting for Valentine's Day?? You have to promise to keep it quiet for a couple of more hours until he gets home from work.... pinky swear??

My tradition is to make my Valentine's Day gifts for Rob. And, sometimes that's tricky, given that we're not a super-duper, lovey-dovey, smooshy-mushy couple. Here are a couple of ideas that I've used previously: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.

This year, I spiced up a favorite photo (from our 2010 Washington trip) with a favorite sentiment and then took advantage of a project I had been wanting to try: canvas photo art. There are lots of tutorials out there, but I thought I would show you what worked for me. Despite my initial apprehension, it turned out great. Just need a house with walls to hang it on!

Supplies needed: photo printed to size (I used a 12x12 matte photo from Persnickety Prints), canvas, acrylic paint, Mod Podge, foam brushes.

Step One: Paint the edges of the canvas with dark acrylic paint. Make sure to blend the color over to the front and back edges of the canvas.

Step Two: Trim your photo to size... be careful because canvases are not always exactly the dimensions they say the are. I trimmed enough so that the image was just the slightest bit (I mean, less than a millimeter!) smaller than the canvas. Just enough so that it didn't overlap!

Step Three: Paint an even layer of ModPodge on the back of photo. You want to completely cover then page. Turn over and adhere to the canvas. Lightly rub a clean cloth (or your sleeve!) over the surface to remove any air bubbles.

Step Four: Even after my coat of ModPodge, I found that the edges didn't stick very well, so I peeled up the edges to reinforce the corners. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Step Five:  Carefully paint a thin, even layer of ModPodge over the top of the photo. Make sure to go in the same direction and to avoid globs of glue or little crumbs of dried glue. This is the part that had me scared... it goes on milky white, but I promise it dries almost clear.

Step Six:  I wasn't totally happy with my coverage the first time around, so a couple of days later, I added another coat of ModPodge on top. After this dried, all of my "problem areas" were fixed, so I'm really glad I took that chance with the second coat.


And, a Valentine's Day gift from me to you... the boot photo for your own use. Maybe you use it as your desktop background, print it for a frame, or maybe even make a canvas of your own.

To download the photo, right-click the image below, and click "Save Image As."