my next project

things have been CRAZY around here the past couple of weeks between deciding to move, packing, unpacking, trying to keep up with #august30x30 all while experiencing some of the highest stress of my career. there has definitely been zero time for crafting lately so i'm really happy to have rebecca here to talk about an awesome project that i'm pretty sure i NEED to do.

I made a fun dry erase calendar for a wedding gift for a good friend of mine. I thought it would be practical plus I used colors that I felt were neutral for both her and her new husband.

The project was pretty fun to do and didn't take a lot of time at all. I think I will do more of these as gifts and maybe even one for myself as well. Here's how I did this:

What you’ll need: 

• a frame (I bought mine from the dollar store for $1 and it is a 11x14. You can go bigger or smaller though if you'd like.)
• 7 paint samples in colors you choose (I got mine from Walmart in the paint dept. They are free of course.)
• scrapbook paper (I bought the glitter swirls at Micheal's for $1 and had to purchase two to fit the frame size)
• glue
• tape
• dry erase markers (again bought from the dollar store. Four markers for $1)

And let's begin.....

So here were my supplies. The scrapbook paper had already been cut before the photo was taken but this is what I started with.

I then cut the bottom square off of every sample sheet. Remember, you are going to need seven strips of the paint sample sheets {one for each day of the week}

I glued the scrapbook paper to the back of the cardboard that comes with the frame to get the exact size and had to merge the two sheets of scrapbook paper together. Then I cut around that to get the final size and shape to fit into the frame. Then I started to attach the paint sample strips. I first put a strip of tape on both ends and then glue around the middle for a bit of extra support since the glitter was raised on the paper, I wasn't sure if just the glue would keep in place right away.

So after all the color strips were glued, I let them dry for a minute and placed some books on top for that extra push to hold them down.

I placed the entire thing into the frame and placed the glass on it. This is the finished product. I then wrote on the glass with a dry erase marker and viola!

thanks rebecca for sharing this great idea with us. i'm always looking for my next project. i will definitely be trying this one very soon!

august 30x30...days 13-18

if you're new around here, welcome! so happy to have you. sorry for the silence around here the past few days. i up and moved over the weekend which caused a fair amount of chaos. i attempted to post on monday. turns out it's helpful if you use the correct internet password. oops! somehow i managed to keep up 30x30 in the midst of this crazy move. it actually made packing a lot easier since i only had to keep out my 30 items. confession...i did cheat once this week. day 13...work

day 14...one of the perk of training so many new people at work is i often have a photographer

 day 15...outside the house of a family i work wtih

day 16...my new pic spot in my office wasn't as great this time

day 17...moving day. i wore a 30x30 shirt but cheated and wore yoga pants. i wasn't about to move in skinny jeans.

day 18...starting to get the slightest bit settled

even though i'm a little late posting, i am so happy i stuck with the challenge through the move and all the other craziness. come check out what everyone else is wearing.

august 30x30...days 7-12

after i signed up for this round of 30x30, i decided to move. i got a little nervous about doing it in the middle of that mess. it actually makes packing a lot easier. i only have 30 pieces of clothes to even worry about keeping out.  day 7...new pic spot in the office. i went to a super fun blogger meetup (post to come) and should definitely have taken my picture there 

day 8...outside the office. i ran into the PR lady who actually knows how to use a nice camera.

day 9...outside the slurp. friday lunch followed by treats at the slurp (my new fave) 

day 10...zermatt resort at my cousins violin performance. i never would have put this outfit together so 30x30 is working. although, this isn't my fave outfit and for sure not my fave pic this week.

 day 11...visiting a girl from church and trying to avoid the shadows (impossible)

day 12...back in midway at the homestead for our staff retreat. yes, that shirt and cardi have both been worn this week. 30x30=much more frequent laundry

in case you missed the other august 30x30 posts... days 1-6 30 items come see what everyone else is wearing.

weekend happs

this weekend flew right by. they always do, but this one seemed exceptionally fast. 

marathon training equals getting up with the birds to try and beat the heat and not waste the entire day. saturday was one of the most beautiful running days of my life. the weather was AMAZING, and we watched the sun come up over the mountain creating pink clouds. we ended the run by going down the slide into the pool in our clothes. my group has done that before, but I have waited 5 years to actually be there for it. 

i spent most of the rest of the weekend cleaning out stuff to get ready to move. this will be a story for another day, but in the past 10 days I decided to move, rented out my place, found a new place, and move this weekend. because it all happened so fast I kind of forgot about getting boxes. i have stuff everywhere! 

my cousin Abby went to a music camp all week in midway last week. their final performance was a concert with the piano guys. it was fun to see some family and have a break from this moving disaster. 

how was your weekend? please tell me it was better than packing all weekend long. 

what will baby Cardon bee?

before Michelle even got pregnant she said she wanted to do a gender reveal cake for her next baby, and I have been super excited ever since. fast forward a year or so, and she's having a baby. i was a little afraid she might change her mind, but luckily she and Andrew thought it sounded fun especially since they were convinced it's a boy.

celsey and i have been dying to try the beehive cake again. this time we did a layered cake rather than using the beehive pan. 6 cakes, 4 batches of frosting, and plenty of fun later...

WHAT WILL BABY CARDON BEE?

the finished cake

the cake looks tiny in this picture, but it was actually pretty huge

nettie put together a poll of family members. even though michelle and andrew didn't even consider a girl. a lot of people in the family thought girl.

andrew and michelle and the baby girl cake

drew, andrew, and michelle. their other little boy was missing/too busy playing with cousins

michelle's reaction is the best part of this whole thing. these cakes are so fun! i wish more people would wait and find out the gender with a cake.

august 30x30...days 1-6

week 1 is already over. after may's 30x30 challenge i swore i would do better pictures if i ever did this again. well, 1 week in and that still hasn't happened. since i am so not a fashion blogger i thought i would document a little about what i'm doing as well as my outfits.

day 1...neon cardi, melon stripe, white shorts

working and dinner with a bloggy friend (undocumented)

 day 2...black cardi, black and white strip t, black skirt

working

day 3...purple tank, teal skinnies

bridal shower during the day and work GNO at night

day 4...old navy tank, navy cardi, denim skirt

church and taking my own pic with a tripod and remote. jacquelyn and kelly should be proud.

day 5...navy/silver tank, denim jacket, melon skinnies

work work work

day 6...mint cardi, purple/mint stripe t, black maxi

pic taken after an appointment for work. i usually get just whoever is around to take my pictures. sometimes that works and sometimes that doesn't.

so far the worst part is taking the pictures-no surprise. go see what the others wore this week.

blogging the bah 9.11 {finale and after the final rose}

this season of the bach is over. it's FINALLY over!  i kind of thought it was never going to end, but it also went by too fast to have another viewing party or swap posts. oh well...there's always juan pablo. kimberly and i are here giving you our final thoughts on this season.

my sister sent me a text about a half hour before i started watching to see if i was watching yet. she then told me i was going to want to poke my eyes out. she may have been right. she also said "i hope you like poetry". kill me!

the show starts and i still think brooks probably comes back. obvi he doesn't. chris harrison wants to know if des is ok. are you serious chris? no, she's not ok!

the rose ceremony starts and the awkwardness begins and actually doesn't end until the credits roll 3 freaking hours later. i love the bach...like a lot, but 3 hours is way past my attention limit.

drew gets the first date, and i am beyond nervous for him. i've been saying for weeks he is going to get his heart broken, and i was right. des does to drew what brooks did to des. he says "i just want to be happy", and i am shocked. no really. he must be the only person in the world to think that. to be really honest, i wasn't paying super close attention. this whole season i've taken notes like my life depended on it to write these posts, but i just didn't have it in me this time. i guess that translates into a little more snark and sass than usual.

chris greets des by saying "i'm here" and i really hope it's not in the form of poetry. this season is so awkward i can't even stand it.

des talks about things working out the way they should. i start thinking more serious things including my random rambling post this week. she's right. things really do work out the way they should. i also start thinking about all the blog love i got from that post. blog friends are real and the best! (told you i wasn't paying much attention)

chris gives des the journal with what starts out as a simple sweet note (there's hope) and ends with the poetry (nevermind...hopeless). i just can't on this ...

i am a loyal friend to the death, but if my almost fiancee describes me as a loyal friend, i might die.

des fell in love with chris in the 2 days since brooks left enough to accept a proposal. i'm mormon so i feel justified in making fun of them. that is seriously worse than the mormons. people say when you know you know, but really?!? promise me if i ever come home (or here to the blog) and say i'm getting married after dating less than a few months, take me away for weekend so i can think about it. i might still do it, but i need some time away to think. 

they get engaged after some major awks, and my final thought is well, i guess some people like poetry.

my favorite part of the whole night was the return of the formers...

sean and catherine...please announce the wedding. love sean's continued use of bach talk (journey)

jackie...she must live in LA because we saw her for like .2 seconds on sean's season, but now she's always on. always.

lesley...love her...the end

by the time we get to after the final rose does anyone even care anymore. i don't. mega note taking definitely stopped. i was more into twitter instead.

we have more awkwardness-much more awkwardness. there's one more final poem (gag), and my final thought on des and chris is they're a perfect awkward fit. i hope they make it. i really do.

one final word count including audience comments (does anyone really care about those? ok didn't think so) and excluding after the final rose (i was done and done by that point)

love...probably the most over used word of the season...67

lucky...might tell you something about the mood of the episode...2

romance...also telling...1

journey...7 including sean's use of the word

fairytale...again i'm getting concerned...1

amazing...7

i probably should have counted the times i said awkward. it was a lot!

this hasn't been my favorite, but blogging with kimberly has been fun. i'm basically dying to know what she thought of the most awkward/boring dramatic season of the bach. i loved it enough i just might be back for juan pablo's season...stay tuned.

in case you missed the other weeks

week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6 week 7 week 8 week 9 week 10

tip tuesday {blogger swap boxes}

a couple of announcements first

1. blogging the bach is delayed by a day. check back tomorrow for all our thoughts on the most boring dramatic season ever.

2. i'm a day late, but i'm over at suzzie's blog talking a little bit about trying new things.

i'm joining forces with justjacq to bring you TIP TUESDAY. this week's topic is blogger swap boxes...one of my favorite things.

i signed up for my first blogger swap last fall. i was NERVOUS and to be really honest felt a little stupid signing up. i thought i was too small to even do something like that, but i did it anyway. best idea ever! i got matched up with a fab partner who is basically my east coast twin. we emailed back and forth a few times, went shopping, sent the packages, and discovered we sent each other almost the exact same things. great minds...

a couple of utah bloggers put together a valentine's day swap. after so much success with the fall swap, i was so excited to sign up for another. not only did i get an awesome package, i made a bloggy friend turned into friend IRL. it's fun to connect with people all over, but it's extra fun when you can meet in person.

i've had great luck with blogger swaps. not only have i gotten some really cool stuff in the mail, i have made some of my very best bloggy friends. if you're considering signing up for a swap, here are a few tips...

1. sign up

2. contact each other as soon as you can

3. stalk each other on social media

4. email back and forth as much as possible

5. follow each other's blogs and other social media

6. shop

7. wrap everything up in cute packaging. i prefer cellophane with a ribbon and tag.

8. add a cute note

9. send in the mail

everyone loves real mail especially packages. if you have a little bit of the first time jitters, just trust me on this one. it's totally worth it and mucho mucho fun.

How It Works:

Tip Tuesday is a linkup party where you will have the chance to share your tips and advice on that week's theme. I will post the themes for the next month towards the middle/end of the previous month so that you have time to get your posts ready. This is a relaxed linkup-- if you have a past post that you're particularly proud of and follows the theme, feel free to use it! I only ask that you still create a new post to link back to this linkup. The following Tuesday I will choose my top 5 favorite tips and share it with you. If you are one of the top 5 chosen, I will email you by Monday letting you know so that you can brag about it to your readers!

Requirements:

Your post has to be a tip or advice related to that week's theme. Be creative! All kinds of tips and advice are needed, from beginner to expert and simple to easy. Wordpress and Blogger blog tips are needed too! Remember, we don't all use the same platform. I do ask that you follow justjacq and the week's cohost in order to link-up. And don't forget to post a link back to justjacq and the cohost so that people can come visit!

Why should you link up?

Who doesn't love finding new blogs to read and forging friendships? It's pretty much why we all blog, am I right? But Tip Tuesday is more than finding new blogs. It's a collective of tips that we all spend time searching the internet for! Imagine all of your favorite and much needed tips collected in one space! Could anything be better?

Need help?

No problem! Always feel free to email me with anything! I remember being very confused the first time I saw a link up and then again the first time I decided to join one!

Grab a button and link up!!

 

 

<div class="Grab button for Tuesdaytip" style="width: 250px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.justjacq.com/tag/tip-tuesday" rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y506/thejustjacq/77077bc3-191e-4ec4-b85b-8fd9eb955104_zps5142177f.jpg" alt="NBD" width="250" height="250" /> </a></div>

 

Now get your tips ready and linkup at the bottom!!

random rambling {trading lives}

kimber, aly, charity, me, jessica

i like a lot of things about my job...the work, the people, the place, the flexibility, etc., but one of the best things is the great friends i have from work. we are definitely missing a few, but several of us got together on saturday night for a super fun girls night. we had dinner at the cheesecake factory, walked around city creek, and ended the night with dessert at kneaders. apparently we like to eat:) i love these girls so much and had the best night talking and talking and talking.

i've thought about this a lot over the years, but kimberly inspired me to write this post the first time we met. i don't talk a lot on this little bloggy blog about being single although i'm sure it's fairly obvious. i have a good life. i really do. i like my life a lot. BUT it really doesn't change the fact that i would rather be married with a family. i don't know how many times i have heard "you're so lucky you're single..." i wish i could say it doesn't bother me, but that's really about the best way to make me mad and fast. it's kind of like me saying "you're so lucky you're preggo sick." i'm so lucky i get to travel, spend my money however i want, buy expensive boots, and eat dinner at 10pm. i recognize i am really lucky. people with children are so lucky they have children, but probably not so lucky about the physical toll it took to get them here.

a lot most of my friends are married, and many of them have kids. i love spending time with them. all of the girls from girls night are married and have kids. a husband and kids can definitely be challenging, but so can being single. there are definite trade offs. wouldn't it be nice if for one day we could trade lives to really see what it's like on the other side? if you could do it, would you? would you give up what you have for what seems like something better? it kind of seems like the grass is always greener type of situation.

i read a blog post recently about having kids on purpose. it made me really happy to know that she really likes her job as a mom and maybe just maybe she would rather be a mom than travel, spend her money how she wants, buy expensive boots, and eat dinner at 10pm. although i often wish life was different than it is, i'm really trying this year to embrace my life and make it the best it can be. so, maybe my answer is no. maybe i wouldn't trade lives if i could. or maybe i would. what about you? let's hear it. and what do you feel so lucky about with your life?

churchy {special lessons and Book of Mormon Blogger}

if you're new around here or even if you aren't, it's the first sunday of the month which means things get a little churchy around here. since there are new people around here, i want to tell you why things get churchy. a group of bloggers (many of whom you probably know well) joined together to create the Book of Mormon Blogger project. want to know more? go here for my post about it.

this video has been on my mind a lot lately. because i work with kids with special needs, this video has extra special meaning for me.

sweet little paxton passed away a few weeks ago. while i didn't have the opportunity to work with him, his life still touched me. when he was in the hospital not doing well, i thought about this talk. at the time i know it brought great comfort to many families i have worked with over the years. as i listened to it again, i realized it really can help us all. i want to follow the advice given at the end to continue to bear my burdens nobly and reach out to those who are suffering. i'm so fortunate to work with many of these special families and to have the opportunity over and over again to learn these special lessons.

check out what the other bloggers are saying markell mandy wendy becky

august 30x30...30 items

#may30x30 was so much fun that i was basically talked into #august30x30 before it even started. kelly is such an awesome host, and i met some really great bloggy friends (including kimberly who i am now friends with IRL). if you have no idea what i'm talking about, head over to modern camelot for all the deets. i really wanted to be more prepared this time, but it just didn't happen. i have gotten as far as picking out my 30 pieces. so here they are...

pants/shorts

1. white banana republic shorts 2. big star cutoffs 3. target cutoffs 4. gap outlet melon skinnies 5. kohls teal skinnies 6. jcpenney (shocking right?!?) jeggings

skirts

7. black skirt from ny&co probably 10 years ago 8. bella bird (walmart) polka dot 9. bella bird denim pencil 10. black maxi made by me 

tops

11. tj maxx nude tank 12. old navy orange tank 13. pink tank 14. j crew white ruffle tank 15. j crew purple tank 16. gap blue/silver tank 17. old navy sparkly 18. gap red/cream stripe 19. target black 20. h&m white/black stripe 21. purple/teal stripe v 22. gap outlet melon stripe 23. gap brown v

 cardis. didn't think through the limited colors i have here.

24. target olive 25. nordstrom navy 26. gap mint 27. nordstrom black 28. gap neon 29. bella bird blue/white stripe 30. inherited denim jacket

picking out my pieces stressed me out a little. what if i picked the wrong thing? what if it suddenly gets cold? what if i don't have enough purple to wear with my new toms wedges? all valid fears i'm sure. also 30x30=no shopping.

since my favorite part of this whole thing (and blogging in general) is connecting with other bloggers, here is our posting schedule and  links to my other 30x30ers.

Aug 1 - Share 30x30 pieces

Aug 8 - Days 1-6

Aug 14 - Days 7-12

Aug 20 - Days 13-18

Aug 26 - Days 19-24

Sep 3rd - Days 25-30