A Make It! Monday Follow-Up

So after I posted the Office Survival Kit last week, I thought of a few more things you might want to consider adding to your kit:
 - a travel-sized lin roller (particularly if you have pets that shed)
 - a travel-sized can of Static Guard
 - a stain remover pen like Tide-To-Go
 - a microwaveable bowl and plate
 - instant oatmeal packets (nothing beats a bowl of hot oatmeal on a cold winter's morning)
 - an extra pair of pantyhose (it never fails - the only day your nylons run is the day you're going out with the girls after work; this way you have a back-up available!)
 - an extra cell-phone charger

I've got some great Halloween-themed ideas for the next two Make It! Mondays that you'll want to come check out! Plus, watch for my review of my evening at the dinner theater with my partners-in-crime from work.

Until next time,
J.

Make It! Monday: The Office Survival Kit

Yes, yes...I know it's Wednesday.  I've been sick with the flu for the last couple of days.  But on the plus side, it gace me extra time to prepare this week's Make It! Monday post LOL!

Today, my gift to you is the "Office Survival Kit" (I call mine my "Box o' Wonders").  I got this idea from my mom when I started my second job.  My first job was right downtown, so if I suddenly needed something, I was minutes away from a large shopping center with everything you could want.  My second job was in an industrial area and wasn't as conveniently located.  My wise mama suggested I should put this together for any small emergencies I may encounter.  It's really easy to put together, and really inexpensive as well! Who doesn't love that? All you need is a large, plastic food storage container, like a Ziploc container.  Then, you fill it with things that will make your work life more comfortable.  The list below is by no means all-inclusive - there may things that aren't here that you want to add.  It's also tailored towards the ladies, but by leaving out a few things you could easily make one of these for the special man in your life.

Items for your survival kit:
Health:
 - Tylenol/aspirin/ibuprofen
 - Midol/Pamprin
 - allergy pills
 - cough drops
 - antacids
 - pocket-sized hand sanitizer
 - band-aids

Hygiene:
 - toothbrush/toothpaste
 - pocket/purse-sized hairbrush or comb
 - deodorant (this comes in very handy when you're going out after work)
 - trial-sized perfume (see above)
 - small manicure set
 - feminine hygiene products

Miscellaneous:
 - set of inexpensive utensils (great for those days when you forget to bring a spoon for your Chunky soup)
 - can opener
 - change for the vending machine (for your "Gimme chocolate before I hurt someone" moments)
 - small sewing kit

If you have additional space to store supplies, you may want to consider the following items as well:
 - tea bags and/or instant coffee (especially if your office has coffee like mine LOL!)
 - snacks for the afternoon munchies (granola bars, cereal bars, individually packaged crackers and snacks, etc.)
 - jar of peanut butter (saves you having to bring small portions of it for your bagel)
 - box of crackers (add this to the above item and you have an instant lunch, especially if you forgot the one you made last night - yes, I have done this)
 - cleaning supplies (I have a canister of cleaning wipes, a swiffer and a dustcloth - I work in a very dry, dusty office and these things come in very handy)

Take my advice: make yourself one of these kits, and you'll be prepared for anything life throws at you! Or at least, some of it!

Until next time,
J.

Ever wonder what happens...

...when artists get bored at work? The results may look something like this:

This is an 8"x8"  digital layout I did using the words of the Lady Antebellum song "I Was Here" (you can find it on the "Act of Valor" soundtrack or iTunes).  I'd been listening to the song a LOT and when I thought about the words I just kept seeing a sign somewhere that read "I was here".  I did an online seach in Microsoft Word and I found this picture, and it was perfect!  Once I had my picture all I had to do was add the title to the sign and put in a text box for the lyrics.  The hardest part was finding a font colour that would show up well against all the different background colours.

I love the message in this song about leaving something of yourself behind so that future generations will know who you were that you were here.  That's the very reason that I scrapbook!

Until next time,
J.

Welcome to Make It! Monday!

I'm going to *try* to make this a regular weekly feature here at This Beautiful Life.  I'll be sharing recipes and directions to make some of my favourite foods, crafts and activities

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, today's activity is "The Blessing Tree".  I often do this with my Sunday School classes to help illustrate just how much we have to thank God for.  The best part is, all of the materials are things you probably already have around your home, and if there's anything you do need to buy, they're inexpensive items.  Here's what you'll need:
 - a large dead branch with no leaves - try to find one with lots of smaller branches and twigs on it
 - a large bucket or pot filled with dirt
 - construction paper
 - large apple or leaf paper punches (you can also draw and cut these by hand if you choose - since I'm basically lazy and can't draw to save my life, I use the punches)
 - pens/pencils/markers/coloured pencils/crayons
 - scissors
 - hole punch
 - yarn or string

1.  Punch out apples and/or leaves from construction paper.  Punch holes in the top of each one and thread a short piece of yarn/string through and hole.  Knot the end to make a hanging loop.
2.  Give your kids some writing implements and encourage them to think of as many things as they can that they can be thankful for.  Encourage them to be creative! Nothing is too small or insignificant to be thankful for.
3.  While they're doing that,  "plant" your branch in your pot or bucket.  Then make some apples and leaves of your own!
4.  Hang your apples and leaves on the tree. 

And voila! You now have a visual reminder of all the blessings God has showered upon your family!

Tip: If you have enough different shapes you can use, consider making a different set of shapes for each child.  Alternately, you could use one shape and make it in different colours for each child.

Until next time,
J.

Weekend art fun!

These are a few of the supplies I'm going to be using for my weekend art project.  Just look at all this yummy goodness!

I'm making a mini album around the theme "Things I've Learned".  The covers are from a set of Cram Cards (basically a ring-bound index card stack from Staples) and they'll be backed with white cardstock to show off the patterns.  The pages are made from Bazzill cardstock and index cards that I trimmed down (they aren't the ones that came with the covers).  All the rest of what you see pictured is embellishment.  The journalling is going to be hamdwritten.  Stay tuned for more pictures!

And I found the greatest thing for altered art! There's a store in Southgate Mall called The Science Shop - mostly they sell Playmobil and other toys.  But when I was at the mall the other day I saw something called "Create Your Own Puzzle" in their window.  It's a blank board puzzle (kind of like the ones you buy for little kids when they're first learning how to do puzzles) that comes with a set of pencil crayons to draw your own picture with.  I was just about drooling when I saw these! I've been wanting to make an altered puzzle, but I haven't been able to find just quite what I wanted.  That is, until now!

Until next time,
J.

More medals for Canada, Olympic art and some links

And then there were four! Canadian athletes have captured three more medals today in London in the sports of Judo (men), weightlifting (women) and platform diving (women).  In Beijing, we went for 8 days before winning our first medal, and now just four days in we've won four! The prognosticators are calling for a top 12 finish and 22 medals for Canada, and with the way our athletes are lighting things up we just might do it! Go Canada Go!

And more congratulations need to go out to Michael Phelps, who today became the most decorated Olympic in history - way to go Michael!

This weekend I decided that my Olympic display needed something, so I stitched a garland of plastic canvas flowers inthe Olympic ring colours.  I got the idea for the flower shape from a plastic canvas group that I belong to on Facebook; they're cut from PC stars.  I filled all of the petals in with white, and then did the border stitching in the ring colours.  The next step was to join them together.  It took me a couple of tries before I came up with a method and layout that I actually liked.  The final step was something to hang it up with.  I used gold and silver wired ribbon loops at each end.  Here's the final result:

When I was looking up the lyrics for the three songs I posted on the weekend, the site that I used for "I Believe" and "The Power of the Dream" had videos on them!  Follow the links below to see them.

http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-power-of-the-dream-lyrics-celine-dion.html

http://www.metrolyrics.com/i-believe-lyrics-nikki-yanofsky.html

Until next time,
J.

Do you believe?

The Power of the Dream

Going into the London Olympics, Emilie Heymans had a dream: to be the first Canadian Olympian to medal at four consecutive Olympics Games.  Today, on just day 2 of the Games, Emilie's dream came true.  She and partner Jennifer Abel won bronze for Canada in the 3-metre synchronized diving event.  In addition to being a history-making medal for Emilie, it's also Canada's first medal of this Games.  (In Beijing, we waited until over a week into the competition before any of our athletes won a medal.)  Let's hear it for Girl Power!!

In honour of Emilie's dream-come-true performance today, I have for you this song by Celine Dion.  She performed it at the Opening Cermonies of the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996.  The thing I love about this song is that it's not only applicable to the athletes competing on our behalf; it's aplicable to our own lives as well.  My favourite line is this: "It's the moment that you think you can't you'll discover that you can".  Take a read and see if you don't find something in it that speaks to you.

"The Power of the Dream" - Celine Dion
Deep within each heart, there lies a magic spark
That lights the fire of our imagination.
And since the dawn of man, the strength of just "I can"
Has brought together people of all nations.

There's nothing ordinary in the living of each day;
There's a special part every one of else will play.

Feel the flame forever burn, teaching lessons we must learn,
To bring us closer to the power of the dream.
As the world gives us it best, to stand apart from all the rest,
It is the power of the dream that brings us here.

Your mind will take you far, the rest is just pure heart,
You'll find your fate is all your own creation.
And every boy and girl, as they come into this world,
They bring the gift of hope and inspiration.

Feel the flame forever burn, teaching lessons we must learn,
To bring us closer to the power of the dream.
The world unites in hope and peace, we pray that it will always be,
It is the power of the dream that brings us here.

There's so much strength in all of us, every woman, child and man;
It's the moment that you think you can't you'll discover that you can.

Feel the flame forever burn, teaching lessons we must learn,
To bring us closer to the power of the dream.
The world unites in hope and peace, we pray that it will always be,
It is the power of the dream that brings us here.

Feel the flame forever burn, teaching lessons we must learn,
To bring us closer to the power of the dream.
The world unites in hope and peace, we pray that it will always be,
It is the power of the dream that brings us here.

The power of the dream, the faith in things unseen,
The courage to face your fears.
No matter where you are, reach for your own star,
To realize the power of the dream.
To realize the power of the dream!

Until next time,
J.

Do you believe?