Saturday, February 16, 2013

Happy Birthday, Noah

Sweet Noah,

You're two years old today. There's almost nothing in the world you love more than things with wheels. Cars, trains and planes. The only movie you've ever sat through is Cars and you would watch every day if you could. Lightning McQueen (or Queen, as you call him) is your favorite. Grandpa is probably on the top of your favorite list as well. If the doorbell rings, you yell "Grandpa!" and ask to see him any time we get in the car.

One of the best parts of my day is going to your room in the morning. I lift you out of bed, carry you to change your diaper and clothes, then let you loose. You always run as fast as you can the second your feet hit the ground. "Off he goes," I whisper.

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You are talking more and more each day and I can't get enough of your sweet voice. You love letting me know what you want to eat and drink, what you hear, what you see.

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You ask, "please?" when you need help and I love when you put your finger on your ear and say "choo train!" when you hear one passing through town.

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Recently, you started asking me to watch you play. "Watch!" and I turn to see you standing on the couch ready to leap or holding an airplane as high as you can before letting it sail to the ground. But I'm watching so much more than that. I watch your eyebrows expressively lift and fall when you're playing and coloring.

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I watch how your little fingers grip as many cars as they can hold. I watch how you copy everything your sister does and says. I watch your face when you're smiling for a flash of your adorable dimple. I watch you rub the silky edges of your blanket when you're tired, and because I'm your mama, I watch you sleep.

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The past year has been the most precious I've ever had. You complete our family and I couldn't imagine a day without you. At night when we're having some quiet time reading books, I tell you that if I could pick any little boy on the earth to be my son, I'd pick you every time.

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Happy Birthday, baby boy.
I love you,
Mommy

Monday, February 4, 2013

Amanda G Designs {my Etsy shop}

About six months ago, I joined many other crafters and artists and opened an Etsy shop. It started after I received several requests for my Luke 2:11 sign from folks all over the world. That sign was the only item in the shop for a while, but now that the Christmas season has passed, I have had the opportunity to add at least one new hand painted design each week.

Here are a few of the Amanda G Designs items in the shop right now.

As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15



A sweet bedtime routine reminder.
Read me a story. Tuck me in tight. Say a sweet prayer. And kiss me goodnight.


I loved you yesterday. I love you still. I always have. I always will.


We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19



There's a boy who stole my HEART. He calls me mommy.


Give Thanks to the Lord for He is good. Psalm 118:1


And of course the Luke 2:11 sign. If you'd like to be added to the 2013 waiting list you can follow this link to leave me a message with your information.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11


In addition to these designs, I've had the pleasure of creating custom pieces for several wonderful people. I have very much enjoyed collaborating with them to create meaningful artwork for their homes. The process from the first email with a simple scripture, to the finished product is thrilling for me. It is indeed a blessing to do something that I love.

If you are thinking about starting up your own shop on Etsy, here are a few basic things I learned in the first month of opening my shop.

1. Take your item to the post office (I use USPS) boxed and ready to ship before listing the item. The items in my shop are large and I knew they would be expensive to mail but it was very beneficial for me to learn the maximum dimensions to avoid "balloon" charges. Ask for the prices to ship across the country and to any other country you are willing to mail to. Also include tracking costs or insurance for the item.

2. Pinterest is one of the best ways to promote your shop. I pin all of my designs to a board titled "Signs {I make}."

3.  Be open to making customizations to your items and consider all custom order requests.

A huge thank you to those who have purchased a sign from my shop. I truly appreciate it! Be sure to follow Growing Up Gardner on facebook for updates on new items and coupon codes!

Come by and visit Amanda G Designs on Etsy!

-Amanda

Sunday, January 20, 2013

First We Had Each Other - Personalized Onesie Silhouette Cameo Heat Transfer Material Project

Our dear friends recently welcomed their baby girl, Olive, to the world. Jeff and Nicole had a co-ed baby shower in San Luis Obispo, CA which was airplane themed and so much fun. For Olive's gift, I purchased a crate from Michael's, stained it, painted it white, distressed it, then used my Cameo to cut out "Olive" in hot pink vinyl. I also added her monogram to the other side of the crate and gave it a coat of weather-proof varnish.

When it was finished, I filled the crate with all of my must-have baby items and the most adorable lace outfit and headband on earth (from this Etsy seller). On each gift, I taped a tag which said what the item was for and why I love it. 


Now that Olive is here, and we are going to visit her tomorrow for the first time, I decided to make her a little onesie using my Silhouette Cameo and Smooth Heat Transfer Material. 

I had an idea of what I wanted the onesie to look like. Olive's daddy is an airline pilot (I flew with him back when I was a flight attendant), so I searched for a cute airplane in the Silhouette Store and found this little fella for .99. For the back of the onesie, I created a design with the adorable saying, "First we had each other. Then we had you. Now we have everything." Seriously cute.

When I was satisfied with the design I did the most important step - Mirror the Image! I wasted a good 6 inches of material by forgetting this step on a previous craft - major bummer.


This is how the image looks mirrored. Since you'll be placing the image material side down, it will be right-side up when you iron it on.


After a couple of test cuts, I found this setting to be the most efficient for my machine: Smooth Heat Transfer, Speed 8, Thickness 14, Blade 1. No cutting mat.


Once cut, I slowly peeled the excess material off the plastic sheet to reveal the image.
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I love the handy dandy hook tool and used it to pick the small pieces of extra material off the sheet. Side note - holy crap, the plastic sheet is sticky! And try not to touch the material too much or it will be tough to transfer.
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Then I placed the image on the fabric and fired up the iron. I use the highest cotton setting on my iron. 

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After a minute or two, I removed the protective sheet (which comes in the Heat Transfer box) and ironed directly on the plastic sheet for a few seconds. Also, after I carefully removed the plastic, I quickly pressed the iron over the material to give it a good seal. I'm not sure if this step is effective or not, it just makes sense to do it.

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The curly letters were a bit tricky and wouldn't transfer right away. I allowed the plastic sheet to cool before attempting to peel it away and that worked. If you're working with chunkier letters, it is easier to take the sheet off when it is still warm. 

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Here's the final result!

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I've enjoyed the few times I've been able to use the Heat Transfer material. This morning my sister ran  in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland (along with 12,000 others). I made this EAT MY PIXIE DUST shirt (with Tinkerbell on the front) for her first 13.1mi race. Way to go, sis!


-Amanda

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Target Toy Clearance 70% off 2013

The Big January Toy Clearance happened today (Jan. 17th). I've been lucky enough to shop at this sale for the past 4 years and have scored some great deals but today's trip just might be my favorite. I set my budget at $100 and made a list of must-haves which included:
1. Cars 2 set 2. Squinkies 3. Train set 4. Cars Space Mission set
And I crossed my fingers for a tool bench - which I was stoked to find for $11.98!

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I was able to get all of the large items on the list and found an extra bonus - A Baby Butterscotch Pony! Noelle asked for it for Christmas but this mama wasn't going to spend $100 on one toy. It is regularly $119.99, I snagged it for $35.98!

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WOOHOO!
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Noelle loves strumming on Aaron's guitar. This Princess one should be a fun gift for her 5th birthday and something they can enjoy doing together. It was $11.98, regularly $39.99.

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These Squinkies Crowns ($2.96) will be a huge hit for Noelle and my niece, Emma. There weren't any other Princess Squinkies but I did find Minnie Mouse Squinkies. These make great stocking stuffers!
I chose this Thomas & Friends track because it is smaller than the others, it's motorized, and it had good reviews online. I'm not sure why but Sears is selling it for $112! It was $13.48.

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It is always smart to buy extra tracks when you find them on sale (make sure they match the track that you have). These were $5.66, regularly $18.89.

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Another item on my list for Noah's 2nd birthday next month - $8.38. He absolutely loves cars, planes, and trains.

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Noah will be having a Cars Themed party. These are also for his birthday. The extra Lightning McQueen was an accidental purchase. I let him hold it while I was browsing and I forgot to get it from him before we reached the register. At the rate he loses cars, it might be best to have a spare.
Lightning McQueen $2.08, regularly $6.99

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Cars 2 Set $14.98, regularly $49.99

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I picked up this Squinkies Scepter for my sister (for her daughter) $2.96. I've never heard of Zonks but I know my nephew who likes Super Heros will love them (for an hour at least) $1.48.

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There was one full aisle of toys and two half aisles, plus 3 end caps.

I noticed many Cars 2 toys including single cars, several large Barbie items, a few Princesses (Cinderella, Rapunzel and Tiana), Cookie Monster and Elmo, Train sets, Hot Wheels tracks, and Leapfrog systems.

Total spent - $99.65 (I split the toys up into 2 transactions and used (2) $10 off $50 coupons. I also save 5% with every purchase using my Target Red Card.

I use this sale to stock up for birthdays and Christmas. There is also a 70% off Toy Clearance in July. You can read about previous Toy Clearance trips HERE. Good luck! I hope you find some great deals.


-Amanda

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Valentine's Day Mantle

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Our little guy, Noah, was due on Valentine's Day in 2011. He ended up being born on the 15th but my point is, with a birthday party coming up in a few weeks, I didn't want to go overboard with Valentine's Day decorations. They will be replaced soon enough by a race car themed 2nd birthday party (which I haven't begun to plan - better get on that).

I had an extra canvas in my craft bin and after seeing this adorable DIY project from Craftoholics Anonymous, I decided that it's about time to fire up my Silhouette Cameo and see what it could do.

Turns out, I must be missing the vinyl talent because my version was less than perfect. I followed the directions exactly (and even used the mod podge trick) but when it came time to pull the stickers off I wasn't "left with a great looking love day decoration" as Linda claims. But she's a craft genius so I don't blame her for my unfortunate outcome.

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Not one letter peeled off perfectly. I would normally trash a craft fail like this but I decided to just go ahead and spend a few minutes fixing it up.

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Good from far, but far from good.

The next super easy craft for the mantle involved picking up heart-shaped doilies from the Target dollar section and stringing 5 of them from twine. Not much I could mess up with that. Although, they did come out of the package with a tear on the edge.

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I balanced the mantle out with a seashell-filled vase, vintage books and letter G.

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And called it a day.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Top 5 posts from 2012

A quick recap of the most-viewed posts from 2012. It has been a whirlwind of a year. Noelle turned 4 and Noah had his first birthday. Nothing has brought me more joy than watching my babies grow and play together. Their little personalities have me bursting into laughter every day. I am grateful beyond words to be their momma.


At the end of July, I opened an Etsy shop after receiving many requests for my Luke 2:11 sign. It has been a dream of mine to be able to do exactly this and thanks to my hard-working husband, my dream came true. He does the grunt work, preparing the wood for staining and putting everything together. My dad was also a huge help as I hustled to get the orders shipped. I've had a wonderful time not only doing something I love, but also getting to know many of my customers who have become friends. Keep an eye out in 2013 for many more designs added to the shop. 

Here are the top 5 posts from 2012. 

Our Family Code was a simple project using our birthday's and wedding anniversary. 


I had the pleasure of hosting my dear friend Megan's Bridal Shower in 2012 and coming in 2013, her baby shower! 

My baby is 4! We hosted a dessert party for Noelle's birthday. She and her friends had a blast watching the dry ice smoke around the "poison" apples and creating their own swords and princess crowns. 


I can't look at a red wagon without tearing up now. They remind me of my sweet baby boy who is now nearly two. I wish I could jump into this post and kiss his chubby cheeks! 


Our Christmas decorations this year have taken off on Pinterest. The mantle piece was so easy to make. Just 7 boards and a light stain with a fresh wreath. 


Thank you for following along on our journey. May you have a blessed 2013.

Amanda