It's Giveaway Time!

I've teamed up with Kate Lubbers (find her here and here) and many other West Michigan crafters and bloggers as part of the Handmade for the Holidays giveaway!
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I'm giving away one zippered pouch and a coordinating tissue holder!Head on over here to Kate's giveaway site to enter!
(giveaway runs now through December 3!)

Cyber Monday

It's Cyber Monday and the entire shop is 25% off all day!
So head on over to the shop and support handmade!

Fresh Start Sunday

And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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Romans 15:12-13 (NIV)

Black Friday @ Cora Anne

The entire shop is on sale for one day!
35 percent off people, now go!
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And in other fun news, you can find me over here today.
Thanks so much Abi!!

Happy Thanksgiving

image found here

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances;
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
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1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
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1. An awesome family getaway to Chicago.
2. Ideal weather making the windy city very pleasant.
3. Waking up and looking out the window to see the Hancock building and others plus the shoreline, so cool!
4. Catching up with our former babysitter who now lives in Chicago, we miss her!
5. Watching my little girl march down the city streets like she owns the place.
6. Eric taking Claire on a horse and carriage ride through the city (and not just because it meant a few hours of shopping Michigan Avenue by myself!)
7. Visiting with out of town friends and seeing how well our girls play together.
8. To Do lists....just about the only thing keeping me sane for the next few weeks!
9. Claire's teachers who must have thrown a really good Thanksgiving party today at school as she was pretty amped up when I picked her up!
10. It's Thanksgiving week! Thanksgiving Day will bring church, time with family, and some great food!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Fresh Start Sunday

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
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Psalm 107:1 (NIV)

More Holiday Tags

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in the shop!

Big Girl Bedroom

We've been working on pulling together Claire's "big girl" bedroom. Her furniture was ordered weeks ago and was delivered this past week. And while the furniture for the room was relatively easy to pick out, I had a terrible time trying to find cute little-girl bedding. I'm not into theme rooms, and some of the girl's stuff out there is just loud and obnoxious-looking. All I really wanted was soft pink, simple bedding.
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I started with this Pink Zinnia quilt and sham from Land of NodIt looked soft pink online, but when it arrived, it was much more of a yucky bubble-gum pink.
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Next I ordered this Organic Floral Matelasse Coverlet from Pottery Barn Kids.This would have worked out except that the coverlet and sham arrived and were two different shades of pink. Without knowing which one was the correct pink, I just sent them both back.
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That's when I gave up on the soft pink and turned to Etsy. I fell in love with this quilt from Golden Gate Quilts and contacted Michelle, the shop owner right away and got to work negotiating a deal on the quilt. The quilt is made using 16 fabrics from the Ginger Blossom line by Heather Bailey and is full of beautiful pinks, blues and greens (a far cry from the soft pink I was originally after!)Michelle was awesome to work with, and when the quilt arrived,
I loved it even more in person.
This rocking chair was in Claire's nursery and we didn't intend for it to go in her big girl room, but she still occasionally wants her daddy to rock with her at night, and he wasn't ready to give that up just yet (can you blame him?!?) A few throw pillows that coordinate with the quilt help the rocking chair tie in just fine.Claire has slept a handful of nights in her big girl bed now and so far so good (minus the up-and-ready-to-go-at-5 am-thing, we're working on that!)
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Now on to some art and accessories and this big girl room is set!

Peace & Noel Gift Tags

Now in the shop!
one set is currently in the shop, more to come!

Baking with Pumpkin

This past week we celebrated a friend's birthday one day, and I hosted a MOPS play date at my house the next. Both events required some baking on my part, so I turned to one of my favorite Fall flavors, pumpkin!Here's what I made for my friend's birthday:

Harvest Pumpkin Spice Cake

Cake Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Frosting Ingredients:
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup walnuts (if desired)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease bottom of 9x11 pan.
Beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until smooth.
Stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger & cloves.
Spread in pan, bake for 30 minutes.
Cool before frosting.

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And here's the pumpkin bread recipe I made for my MOPS play date. Both received rave reviews (which is saying a lot since I'm not necessarily known for my superb baking skills!)

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Happy baking!

HO HO HO!

Just listed in the shop!I have more holiday tags to list this week, so keep checking back!
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(I have to report for jury selection tomorrow....
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my
civil responsibility is a brief one!)

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
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1. A really nice MOPS play date. Six moms + ten kids makes for a busy house!
2. Claire has done pretty well her first few nights in her big girl bed. Once we figure out how to keep her in there past 5 am, we'll be set!
3. A babysitter for 6 hours on Saturday so we could get lots done...and we did!
4. Seeing how much fun Claire has with her sitter.
5. Lots of progress made on handmade Christmas gifts this weekend.
6. Watching Eric and Claire dancing to the Messiah. The Hoppy Hoppy Song (Hallelujah Chorus) is Claire's personal favorite!
7. Watching Claire at her preschool open house, that girl loves her teachers and class.
8. My parents for taking Claire this week while I have jury duty, ugh.
9. The holidays are just around the corner.
10. A family trip to Chicago later this week!!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Fresh Start Sunday

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

~

Psalm 100 (NIV)

Favorite Picture of the Week

Yup, she's picking out her own outfits these days.
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My favorite part is the tube socks with jewel shoes.

Zippered Pouches as Gifts

I just completed another order of zippered pouches for a customer who plans to use them as Christmas gifts. So far, other customers have chosen to give them as gifts for friends, and this customer is using them as gifts for her daycare providers, I love that!The zippered pouches can be the gift themselves, or they can be used to hold gift cards or other small gifts.
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Here's a few pouches that were included in the order that you haven't seen yet...
Here's to checking items off your Christmas shopping list early!!

New Fabric for Me!

It's been quite a while since I've ordered new fabric for myself, and my supply has been looking pretty slim. I prefer ordering my fabrics from Hawthorne Threads. Not only do they have a great selection, but they also offer tiered pricing for their customers.here's what I purchased...how great are these fabrics?!?!
(yes, I'm aware that I may be the last person on the face of the planet to purchase some Nicey Jane fabric by Heather Bailey, but I've got it now!!)
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And...I've already started using some of them for some Christmas gifts!!

First Cricut Creations!

Alright, I'm figuring my Cricut out!
I've got the basics down at least.
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Here's my first two "official" creations...a monogram gift tag on a birthday present
(thinking there's some major possibilities for Christmas here!)a Thanksgiving banner hanging over our back-entryway lockers
(sorry, back entryway with no natural light = dark pictures)
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So while I know I've got a lot of learning to do yet,
I also know I'm going to love having this thing!
Photobucket



Join  us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend     wrap    up           party!

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
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1. Lots of good conversation on our girl's night out last week.
2. Brainstorming new ideas for the women of our church.
3. An awesome night out with neighbors Saturday night.
4. Having a babysitter that Claire loves and gets so excited to play with.
5. An extra hour of sleep Saturday night, I needed it!
6. Sunday afternoon naps for the whole family.
7. Our whole family is healthy again, now let's keep it that way!
8. A weather forecast of high sixties this week, ahh.
9. An upcoming MOPS play date.
10. Blasting Christmas music throughout the house.
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What are you most thankful for today?

Fresh Start Sunday

Show me your ways, LORD,
teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
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Psalm 25:4-5 (NIV)

Good Day Randomness

So one person has officially told me they like my random posts, that's enough to keep them coming, right??
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1. One of Claire's favorite books right now is A Good Day, she can just about "read" it to us word for word, pretty cute.2. It was a MOPS morning. I love my MOPS girls!

3. We did Claire's three year pictures this weekend. I had big plans for 5 over sized helium balloons, but the reality was we had gail force winds and a train wreck of a three year old to work with. My brother-in-law photographer still managed to get us some great pictures though!okay, so maybe us kissing only made her attitude worse...I never thought my biceps could actually be sore from holding balloons...but 5 helium balloons on the windy beach felt like 50 pounds!

4. I've got White Chicken Chili in the crock pot for dinner. My recipe (and I use that word very loosely) is easy peasy. Serious chili-recipe people need not read on.

4 pieces baked chicken, chopped
1 can great northern beans
1 jar salsa
1 bag shredded cheese

Put it all in a crock pot and forget about it until dinnertime.
That's my kind of cooking!

5. I've been eating a.lot. of Halloween candy.
What?? That's not a good thing??

6. I'm going to the Design Design warehouse sale tonight!
7. After the sale, I get to walk a few blocks over for my haircut appointment...I LOVE getting haircuts! I've been going to the same guy since high school, crazy!

8. After my haircut, I'm meeting up with girlfriends at Wealthy Street Bakery for coffee, yum.
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It's a good day!