***

Oh, Beau-Beau. You love cooking utensils more than toys, son. Ever since you could sit up by yourself, you’ve been whisking ping-pong balls around in a ceramic bowl.

Nowadays it’s a wrestling match to see which one of us gets to use the good silicon oven mitt (FYI: I usually let you win).

You have your own set of pots and pans. You even have a favorite “pancake flipper” and when it gets washed and accidentally ends up in the canister with the rest of my tools, you are quick to point out that it’s not in YOUR drawer where it belongs.

I can only hope this interest in cooking and helping in the kitchen continues throughout your life. I have no doubt you would be an excellent chef…or at least skilled enough to bless your future wife by giving her a night off.

As your mama, it’s my job to make sure you don’t move out of our house without knowing how to cook more than macaroni and cheese (unless, of course, it’s completely from scratch, in which case makes it fancy!)

At the rate you’re going, you’re learning a LOT and you’re learning it fast! So, what shall we cook next, bubba?

***

Check out some other folks doing Project 52: Lucas & Mahina; Shawna at StyleBerry; Wicked Kate

If you are participating in this year’s Project 52, leave me a comment and let me know…I’d love to link up with you!

It’s always fun when someone hires you to make a book and they trust you enough to just let you run with it. The book below is a perfect example.

Theresa has had me make several books for her over the past few years. Mostly she has ordered gifts for others, but this time, she wanted a prayer journal for herself. And she said I could design it any way I wanted!

I experimented with exposed board for this book. I cut ruby-red bookbinding cloth in a wave shape to cover the spine and connect the covers, and the white part of the cover is raw Davy board, which I shaded with a white Prismacolor pencil.

I then added snowflake brads to the spine for symbolism and to give the book a little embellishment.

Inside the book, I designed the paste pages. I printed the lyrics to the worship song “Nothing But The Blood” and accented that particular line.

I knew Theresa was planning to use this book as a prayer journal, and I wanted to keep this reminder at the forefront of her mind every time she opened her book.

Theresa: Thank you again for being such a loyal customer. I always enjoy designing books for you. I hope the pages of this book are now filled with answered prayers and reminders of God’s provision in your life!

Be blessed!!

***

Boys certainly have their own agenda. If they want it, they are going to get it. If getting it requires too much effort, they just find a way to place themselves in the path of their desired object.

Such is the way with Beau and the toy box lately. I can understand his logic: it IS much easier to put one person inside the box than it is to pull forty-seven toys out of the box. And it’s also cleaner, which helps Mama maintain some of her sanity. Win-win!

***

Check out some other folks doing Project 52: Lucas & Mahina; Shawna at StyleBerry; Wicked Kate

If you are participating in this year’s Project 52, leave me a comment and let me know…I’d love to link up with you!

If there is one thing Teresa loves more than red, it’s glitter! So, in honor of her upcoming birthday {I think she’s going to be 25…something like that, right, T? }, I made her a special sign for her studio:

I found the perfect candy-apple red spray paint and gave the frame a makeover. Then, I used my Silhouette cutter to make a stencil, which I then painted in white acrylic on black matte board.

Sure, I could’ve just cut the letters from white vinyl and been done, but there’s something so authentic and organic and lifelike about seeing brushstrokes within the letters! They just make a work of art seem more like, well, a work of art.

Then, I added the finishing touch: GLITTER. Red glitter. And lots of it!

To say Teresa loved this would be putting it lightly. She immediately shared the above image on Facebook and Instagram and people started demanding to know where she had gotten it.

Though I intended this to be a one-of-a-kind, Teresa has not only given me her blessing to make replicas, she’s downright encouraged it. {I guess when you love glitter like she does, you figure there can never be too much of it in the world!}

So…BIG NEWS!

I will be making more of these in the weeks to come and you can get one of your own!! The color of the frame and glitter can be customized to suit your tastes {everyone has “their” color, right?!}. Each one will be individually handmade and cost $35 plus shipping.

For those who live in the Edmond/OKC area, we can arrange pick-up or delivery {for an extra fee} of your art. For those of you outside OK, I am researching shipping options to keep these as cost-effective for the buyer as possible. I hope to update this post soon with approximate shipping charges.

If you would like to purchase your own, feel free to leave me a comment on this post or email me privately.

I mentioned in this post that I love making books for other artists. Some times, other artists are even willing to trade their art for mine. Win-win!

Abi and I were meeting up to do a photoshoot for BodSchool, my personal training business. She takes incredible photos and I wanted to bring a thank you gift that I could give her until I was able to make her official sketchbook.

In college, I purchased a book that teaches how to bind books without any glue. As you can imagine, that makes the process much quicker, as you don’t have to wait for anything to dry!

I had some burlap scraps another friend had given me and decided that would be the perfect material to try something new.

I chose to make a “quarto” sized book (a fourth of a page) from 8.5 x 11 paper. The final size was roughly 4.25″ wide x 5.5″ tall…a great little book for stuffing in a purse or camera bag!

I burned the edges of the burlap to give it a more finished look (and also in hopes it would keep it from fraying so badly). Have you ever smelled burnt burlap?! Eww.

Since Abi loves green, I chose olive-colored paper for the pages. It also looks really great with the earthy burlap, don’t you think?

The stitching I chose was Long Stitch/Link Stitch. The sections are sewn together so the stitches are exposed on the spine like this:

I really like how you could see the stitches if you knew to look for them, but that the twine also blended in nicely with the burlap.

This was a really fast book the make. The thing that took the longest was learning the new stitch, but even that went quickly once I got the hang of it.

Abi, thank you again for being willing to trade art! I love making unique things for unique girls like you!

According to my mother-in-law, my husband was born with boots on. When Andrew and I met, he had already finished up his career as a pro-rodeo bareback bronc rider. But the cowboy spirit is still in his blood. I believe it always will be, whether he rides or not.

Both of Andrew’s daughters have grown up doing rodeo, and Beau has been going with us to watch them compete since before he was even born {let me just say that being 9 months pregnant and sitting out in the 100-degree Oklahoma heat for hours is so. fun. But it’s worth it to be able to cheer on our girls.}

Now our son is taking a liking to all things cowboy…the hat, the boots, the animals, the hustle-and-bustle of rodeos. And I’m not sure his smile could be any bigger than it is when he’s riding a horse with Daddy.

Long live cowboys!

***

Check out some other folks doing Project 52: Lucas & Mahina; Shawna at StyleBerry; Wicked Kate

If you are participating in this year’s Project 52, leave me a comment and let me know…I’d love to link up with you!

One of my favorite kind of books to make is a wedding guest book! It’s exciting to be a part of a day that marks a new beginning for a loving couple.

Melanie and Tony asked me to create a one-of-a-kind guest book for them. The Scripture verse “My lover is mine, and I am his” graced the cover.

Their wedding colors were earthy tones, so I mimicked this in their book using soft, brown recycled paper, brown satin tie ribbons, and earth-toned papers for the pages.

A nice, green paisley paper added the finished touches to the inside cover.

And no wedding book would be complete without a little personalization!

Names and a very important date, all surrounded by heart-shaped brads.

Tony and Melanie, thank you for allowing my art to be a detail in your special day. Here’s to many, many years of wedded bliss!

I needed a Christmas gift idea for my 9-year-old step-daughter. Even though she is easy to please, it can be hard to come up with original ideas for her (are tweens just generally hard to buy for, or what?!)

After rummaging through my scrapbook paper and crafting supplies, I decided to make her a set of one-of-a kind charms. They were SO easy and fast to make. I’ve included step-by-step instructions so you can make a set for someone special…or yourself {you ARE someone special, after all!}

I thought I would use basic acrylic tiles, but then I found these amazing charms by Tim Holtz. I bought mine at Hobby Lobby for $9.99 (less 40% thanks to their online coupon!). I already had the paisley paper and the two other necessary supplies…

…Mod Podge:

…and jewelry jump rings:

I chose which tiles I wanted to use for Jo’s gift and traced around them on the scrapbook paper, choosing various designs from within the pattern. I then used a scissors to cut out the swatches.

Each tile got a thin coat of Mod Podge.

And the corresponding paper swatch was attached to the back of the tile.

Repeat for all tiles.

Here’s how they look from the front. So cute, huh?!

Next, I used a bookmaking awl (a large needle would also work) to punch holes in the top of each of the charms.

I recommend punching from the back through to the front. This way, the ‘ragged’ edge around the resulting hole ends up inside the hole of the tile, giving each charm a clean look.

Next, grab a jump ring and place it over the jaws of a needle-nosed pliers. Gently open the jaws to stretch the ring open.

Thread the opened ring through the hole you punched in the last step and use the pliers to squeeze the jump-ring back shut.

Viola!

Now they are ready to go on a chain!

Here’s the set…different shapes, different sizes, all corresponding and ready to be mixed and matched.

A bought a set of ball chains and they were the perfect finishing touch for these tiles.

I had so much fun making these…good thing that package of charms has 48 pieces! Our girl may be getting another set for her birthday!

You could make these for any holiday or occasion. They could be jewelry or key chains or wine glass markers or tags for your kids’ stuffed puppies….the possibilities are endless!

Have some fun with these! I’d love to hear what you create!

–Abbi

***

Since the. day. you learned to crawl, you’ve been pulling up on things. Then came the climbing. We can’t leave you alone for two seconds or you’re on top of something. Sometimes something REALLY TALL, like your sisters’ bunkbeds.

While your sheer fearlessness is awe-inspiring, it is also terrifying {at least for mama}. Daddy thinks if we make it to your second birthday without a trip to the emergency room, it will be nothing short of a miracle.

It’s your nature to explore and discover, and I sure don’t want to limit your curiosity to the things on your eye-level. There’s just too much in this life that deserves exploring.

So instead, I’ll be right by your side, ready with open arms to catch you. And band-aids {just in case}.

***

Check out some other folks doing Project 52: Lucas & Mahina; Shawna at StyleBerry

If you are participating in this year’s Project 52, leave me a comment and let me know…I’d love to link up with you!

Cooking is an art. Loving your kids and keeping them fed, bathed, and entertained is an art. Crunching numbers in a budget is an art. Maintaining a healthy marriage is an art. Masterfully hammering boards together and building something that didn’t used to exist is an art.

Since art is everywhere, sometimes even the people who DO call themselves Artists don’t realize how many artistic passions they’ve left undiscovered.

One of my favorite artists, Miss Abi, is an A-MAZING photographer. And fashionista. And writer. And, and, and…as it turns out, a sketcher!! Who knew?!

Abi and I love to trade art with each other. She took some terrific photos for my new business, and I paid her back by making her an 8.5 x 11 sketchbook.

Her favorite color green in a fun pattern, plus her name and some BLING!

A pen loop (because what good is your sketchbook if you forget a pen?!) was built in as well.

Abi, thank you for being my go-to girl for all things photography (and fashion advice, which I am certain I desperately need more of!).

I love your zest for life and hope this book will be just one of the many places you chronicle all your dreams and adventures this year and beyond! Love you!