A blank sheet of paper and a pencil.
Oh the possibilities!
Am I strange, or does anyone else feel the inspiration when buying a new notebook, or turning to a fresh sheet of paper, just waiting to be filled.
Unfortunately, the only thing I seem to write lately is the grocery list! :)
Ever since I was young, I've loved to write, draw, and doodle while taking notes in class!  School supply shopping was almost as exciting as Christmas! Ok, I better stop or you'll start to think I'm REALLY odd!
Anyways... I have a brother who loves to draw.
He turned 11 last month and I wanted to give him some of that motivating freshness that I love.  ;)
So when I ran across the idea of homemade sketchpads, I had to try it.

It was simple really.
All you need is some thin cardboard or think card-stock paper.
I used the pages from one of last years' calendars.
Covering those in fun patterned paper, I created the front and back covers.

I taped them together with clear mailing tape, leaving it lay open.
I then cut regular printer paper to size, and used a stapler to fasten them to the tape and into the cover pages.

So simple.
So versatile.
Kids would love these for doodle books for car rides, church (if that sort of thing is allowed), or to create their own story books.
The rest of us could use them for grocery lists, handy purse/by the phone notebooks, and so on.
My brother, Damen, got a whole stack of them just waiting to be filled.
Happy 11th Birthday Damen!

(of course, I couldn't resist keeping a few for myself!)
:)

Magazine Racks!!

Another Pinterest find...neat idea hey!? 
Let me know if you want to join my Pinterest fun!
Thanks for stopping

3 Years ago today, I made this commitment...

I take you to be my wedded husband. To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish 'till death do us part. And hereto I pledge you my faithfulness.

Lord, thank you for the last three years.
The blessings you have given are incredible.
Help us to stand true to our promises and continue
in our love for the rest of our lives.
amen.

Remembering that special day

I'd like to make one of these for our home...

That would be another pinterest find :)

Yes. 
I said those words.
Ever since I was preggo with my first bundle of love, I have considered going the cloth diaper route.
I've compared prices...
read chat forums...
researched...
asked friends their opinions...
and so on.

I have found that...
there are LOADS of different types of Cloth Diapers...
there are SO many aspects to consider in price...
 and convenience...
you'll get as many opinions as people you ask!!

SO I've been too chicken to just go all out and try it, but I did get a couple of these...

That is my little guy in a gDiaper.
Basically it is a cloth liner with a thin plastic 'shell' that you can use either (spendy) disposable inserts, or cloth inserts in.  You just change the insert every time you change the diaper.  They are quite easy, and not even that inconvenient.  And it's not nasty and gross like the ones in the old days were. But they still kinda scare me.
I've gone a week or so using them, but don't have a large enough supply of either the diapers or inserts to keep up for too long.
And I'm still going back and forth on if it's worth it or not! :)

Have you ever used Cloth Diapers?
What is your opinion?
(you know...so I can get a few more people's ideas...lol)
WOULD you ever try them?
Why or why not?

I'd love to hear from you!

It's the new thing!
(or maybe I'm just way behind.)
And SO fun!
And SO addicting!
And SO useful!
Introducing you to...PINTEREST!!!

Basically, it's a brilliant way to organize all your favorites; from recipes, to clothes, to websites, to photos. 
Pretty much, you have 'bulletin boards' that you categorize, then you can 'pin' anything and everything onto any of your bulletin boards for future reference from any computer.  The pin saves the website info from where the photo originally was found, so you can go back and visit that site just by clicking on that photo.

Pinning a photo is super simple.
Once you get a pinterest account, you drag the "Pin It" button (shown above) to your favorites toolbar.  Every time you're on a site or see a photo you want to remember, just click that button.  A chart of every picture on that page will appear and you just choose which board you'd like that photo to go on.
Check out the About Pinterest Page for more info
All boards are public (somewhat of a bummer, but I'm hoping there is the option of having private boards in the future, as they are still updating and changing the site).  So another fun (and addicting) thing is to check out other people's boards (you can 'follow' each other) that have similar interests as yourself.  For example: 'future home' is a popular category and oh so fun to browse!
I'm not even sure where I ran across this site, but I know others have blogged about it, so maybe that is where I got it. 
I've gotten so many ideas and found so many neat things on Pinterest, and I love the organized way of keeping track of things online.  
Here are a few things I have pinned lately...

Aren't they sweet!?! :)  I'm sure Skyler would love to have these for breakfast some day!

This is one of my favorite desserts...layer upon layer of it!! I'm gonna have to try this recipe someday! Sooner than later I hope!

Talk about darling nursery idea! Especially for a smaller house that didn't have the extra room for the littlest little.

S'more Cookies!? Really! Yes!!

There are SO many crafty ideas and tutorials as well!

And organization!? Endless!

Dream home... I think YES!

Isn't it just fun!?
All of the photos above I "repinned' from others' boards, I didn't even have to go to oodles of different websites to get these neato ideas! 
To join Pinterest, you must have an invitation from someone who already has an account.  If you're wanting to join the excitement, send me an email and I'll return it with an invite!  Then I'd love to see what kind of ideas you come up with on your boards!

WARNING: This site can take up more time than any other site there is! You know how on Facebook and one picture leads to the next comment which leads to...you know. And blogs... they just keep coming! This. Is. Worse.

I plan on sharing some of the neat things I pin on a regular basis in the future.  Happy Pinning!

A few months ago (yes, I'm a bit behind in my blogging, so bear with me!),  I needed to find something fun for Skyler to do on those rainy winter days. 
I'm SO excited to have those behind us (?!?!)... maybe not, this IS the Pacific Northwest after all!
Anyways, Skyler wasn't quite two yet, so I wasn't sure how he would do with it, but he loved it!  He is still a bit young to know how to make things, but he likes to just dig in with various kitchen utensils. 

I found the recipe here, but didn't follow it 100%.
It was super easy and took probably ten minutes to make.  It makes quite a lot too, so if you want, you could divide it and make a few colors out of one batch.  I knew they'd all just get mixed up and turn that nasty brown color if Skyler got a hold of them, so I just did green.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups flour
• 2-4 tbs Cream of Tartar (because I made three batches, I only had enough for 2 tbs in each and it worked fine)
• 2 tbs oil
• 1 cup salt
• optional – 10-20 drops food colouring (depends on the colour you want to achieve)
• optional – 1/2 – 1 tsp of fragrant or essential oils (you may want to skip this part if you are worried about kids eating it, but it’s a really nice touch. I used watermelon for the pink, bubblegum for the blue and lemon for the yellow.)
• optional - body safe sparkles
• 2 cups boiling water

DIRECTIONS:

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl and blend. Add fragrance and colour. Pour boiling water over dry ingredients and stir with a big spoon. I’m sure you can do this in a stand mixer, but I didn’t think of it at the time. If you are making several batches at once, add the boiling water to all of hem, then stir each one, taking turns. The mixture is really hot at this point, so it’s not safe for little helpers yet. Leave the lumpy mass to cool for a little bit, and don’t worry if the color isn’t at all mixed in yet. When it is cool enough to handle, knead until it makes a soft, smooth dough and all the color is mixed in.

I would give this recipe 5 stars in texture, speed (to make), and fun for kids!
Go try it for your littles, and thanks for popping in at Whispers of Joy!

I had to try them :)

Skyler turned two in April and I decided to do cake pops for his cake this year.  They are SO yummy and quite easy once you get going.

After looking at a few recipes and tips on various sites, I got started.  I learned quite a few things in the process:
-Dip the sticks in the melted chocolate/candy melts before sticking them into the cake ball.  This helps keep them secure while dipping them later.  My mom and I made some more cake pops for my brother's birthday a month later and this was a must!
-Don't add too much frosting to the cake, it will make them soft and hard to dip! Also learned this the 2nd time around!
-Don't add ANYTHING to the melts! I used almond bark and tried to add food coloring...does NOT work and ruins it completely!  If you want color, get candy melts instead.
-Keep the cake balls in the fridge and only pull a few out at a time.  Otherwise, they start to get too soft and fall apart.
-Test your base first and put all the holes in before you make the cake pops.  I tried pushing mine in as I went and ended up bumping them into each other and making a mess. Plus, the foam I was using was very tough and I couldn't make holes very well using just the sticks from the cake pops.
-Keep your melted dipping 'stuff' (almond bark, chocolate, candy melts) in a warm water bath, and stir often to keep soft.

I wrapped the foam in wrapping paper and then created a road to put cars on when the cake pops were all in.  Notice 'Cake Boss' in the background...for inspiration of course! :)

I ended up with plain white for the outside (because of the failed food coloring), so I dipped them in different sprinkles, or added M&Ms or Red Hots to the top. Nothing to professional, but it was a fun learning process and I would for sure do them again!  They are very addicting to eat, so beware!

Happy Birthday Skyler!  I thank God for the two great years we've had together, and look forward to many more! You light up my life with your smiles and giggles!

                            A hat made for a friend...modeled by Rystin
      Enjoying making all these hats...they make great gifts for others too!

A few pictures of a blanket I made out of recycled clothes (yes...again!)

The back was a solid navy with a neat car embellishment added on for fun.  I struggled a bit on the binding of this blanket since it was the first time I've tried it with knits.

The front side is layered with grey, white, and red knits.  It's sewn on with very rough edges so it has an almost ruffly look (boy version of course!)

This blanket is huge so it is great for swaddling, car seats, for a playmat, and so on.  I've loved it, imperfections and all! :)

I've also JUST started a new thing (probably a new addiction to say the least!).  Check out www.pinterest.com. It will make keeping track of all the neat ideas you find and bookmarks SO much easier!!! SUCH a neat idea!

Thanks for stopping by!

I think this is one of my favorite hats for Rystin.
Unfortunately I must not have been thinking straight because I didn't get a picture of him wearing this one either and now he's grown out of it :(
I'm going to have to do better in the future!

I've had quite a few people asking about if I am going to sell hats on my site.  I'm not going to promise anything at this point, but I DO plan to give it a try eventually. Right now I'm enjoying practicing on my boys and my patient friends who don't mind a few minor imperfections.  I do not claim to be a professional sewer by any stretch, but I do like to have lots of practice at something before I sell it. 
This is both a good and bad thing, because there are SO many things I would like to do.  For example:
-sew more hats
-try new recipes
-exercise more
-come up with activities for my kids
-crochet another blanket
-sew clothes for myself
-and my boys
-get together with friends more
-repurpose furniture
-scrapbook
-sew things for my house
-repaint
and on and on it goes!  And when you have so many interests  in such different areas (and two little boys!!), it's hard to stick to one specific thing or make time to really just learn it.  And with my hats... I tend to change them up and do something a little different every time! One of these days I'll hit it hard and make a bunch to sell!  So keep your eye out!
I've definitely been a bit obsessive with this repurposing old clothes though!  I've been going through closets, buying things from garage sales, and even looking at clothes I buy thinking 'how can I use this once it has a hole or stain?!'  :)  It's so fun and much cheaper than buying lots of different fabric, plus you can make such unique things with all the different colors and fabrics.  So keep coming back to check out the things I've come up with (I have two more things to post soon)! 
Thanks for stopping!