Blogmas | Christmas Tree Ornaments

Howdy!

Before I start on this, I am leaving my previous Blogmas post about my Christmas tree because if you haven’t read it yet or this is your first time on here, you can get caught up on why I have adopted a very interesting way to do my tree this year.

For today though, I am discussing my process of both the ornaments and the way I took the pictures, because that in itself was a big production that some people might find enjoyable! Fun fact: I am one of those people! 

  The Ornaments  

I feel the need to mention that the day I finished writing my previous post about my tree, my whole original theme of white lights, purple bulbs, and a star on top, kind of went out the window since my mom could not find anything to match that scheme. However, my dad did say something about going to Dollar General and getting things there. So, one morning I went on the DG website and looked over their very limited holiday decorations and found two that I actually loved, and they were: a pair of angel wings that came in two colors on the site, gold and red. I really fell in love with the red ones. The other one I just couldn’t get over was the crown. If you know me well, you know I need anything royalty and I thought for this reason would be no different!

Later that day, my mom went to the store and came home with an interesting sort of things for me. She got me a box of array silver ornaments. There are the normal shiny ones but my favorites are really the glittery and matte bulbs the most. Unfortunately, they didn’t have their hooks on them already so that was a bummer, but I managed to put two of them on the tree myself before letting mom take over! Now, you’re probably wondering about the two I found online. Did we have any luck in that department? Well, I’m happy to say, she found both of them! There was a setback though, she found the wings only in silver.

This wasn’t what freaked us out though. When I saw them online, they looked pretty smell, almost the same size of the other ones she got me. No… The wings and crown are huge! We couldn’t believe it! Honestly the crown is the perfect size but the wings just look obnoxious! This wasn’t the funny thing though, because both of my parents thought it would look great as the topper, but every time I look at it, I think it looks like a vagina! I literally thought of the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, when Marie takes an art class and the sculpture she presents to her family, looks just like a vagina. The wings are basically in the same shape but with a bigger opening in the middle, so when my mom placed it at the top of my tree, it just looked very wrong. I mean, I’m all for my Christmas tree being non-traditional, but I have to draw the line somewhere!

I managed to talk my mom into putting the wings lower on the tree, but as much as I had my heart on a star on the top, I kind of thought the crown would look better there instead. It took some convincing on my part because my mom was very adamant about the vagina–I mean, the wings on top–but it does fit on there nicely. As far as decorations on my tree, this is about it. My mom did find me some lights too, but the cord was white and since the tree isn’t as full like others, it looked a bit chaotic but all is not lost, because my mom came up with another idea for them. I don’t even know what prompt this, but she just started wrapping them around my curtain rod on both sides and it actually looks amazing with my sunflower curtain! Thankfully, the lights don’t generate too much heat that I can actually leave them on all day and night. They make my room look really cozy!

  The Process Of The Pictures  

Now that we have that part out of the way, I can talk to you about how I managed to take the photos for this blog post. I will say, it was not easy, but honestly any post that requires a lot of pictures is usually pretty difficult anyways! Between the fact that I am always adjusting myself to get the ‘perfect’ shot and basically trying not to pop out of my wheelchair and land butt (or worse, back) first on the hardwood floor, isn’t the best thing in the world. Thankfully, I can say I did not hurt myself too awful that day – I did sleep like a baby that night so I took that as a good sign!

For the first round of photos, I used my Kodak digital camera I got last Christmas. I thought the pictures turned out really good the last time so I tried it out for this part, but since I was working with higher angles, I was having a lot of difficulty keeping the camera steady enough. I was able to get a few of the ornaments in their places, so that was nice, but for the rest I switched to my tablet.

Now, I will say that I would only use this as a last resort, because they weren’t in the best quality. I think the culprit for this was because it was too dark in my room. I have become dependent on the flash and since I didn’t have enough lighting, they might not look the greatest but I honestly loved how they turned out for some odd reason. Besides this, I used something else to help make everything easier for me. My nana and papaw had this foot stool that they inherited from the aunts, and I use this to prop up my tablet to color and read. However, I hadn’t thought about using it as a tripod until that day. It took me a good hour and a half to arrange it in certain ways to get the shots I wanted, because when it comes to blog photography, I am incredibly picky! We were successful though, or at least I’ll found out if any of you send me comments about them after reading this post.

The last thing I would like to do, is find this large bag of classic Christmas heirlooms my nana gave me a couple of years ago. I think they would look awesome surrounding the tree. It would complete the whole thing I think. If we find them, I’ll update you about it on Instagram and Facebook!

What was the meaning for your Christmas tree theme? Do you have any funny ornament stories you would like to share with me? For anybody with a disability, does it normally take you a while to get everything just right? What do you use to make things easier?

DIY: Last Minute Pumpkin Ideas!

Hello!

We are two weeks out before Halloween (a week for those of you who will be celebrating 27th and on!) and after Monday’s post, I was really inspired to compile all of my favorite pumpkin crafts for you! I think crafting with pumpkins is a fun thing to do both as an adult and if you’re parent with young children! It’s like the seasonal coloring book you never thought you needed until later on.

For the most part, every post has a list of what you’d need and I have even done step-by-step photographs in case you get lost in my words which has happened before! I try to be very helpful in guiding you through all of the projects, some might be a little confusing and I do apologize for that. Sometimes we just made up the rules as we went along and that can be pretty fun too! You are welcome to interpret what you see into anything your heart desires as long as you enjoy what you’re doing and don’t stress about your mistakes!

• The Pumpkins – I have many versions of how to melt crayons on pumpkins but this one is visually pleasing I think. The pictures turned out beautifully, so that is the main reason why I am sharing this one instead. 
• The “America” Pumpkin – This is a clear example of a last minute pumpkin idea, my nana and I actually worked on this early November and I published the post later that month while we discussed what we were going to do for Christmas! This is probably the simplest one out of the bunch!
• Awareness Glitter Pumpkin – I decided to include this one because October is the month for two very big things: Breast Cancer and Domestic Abuse. My Great Aunt Shirley is a survivor of breast cancer and my sister is a survivor of domestic abuse. So it has a double meaning for me!
• Ophelia Pumpkin – I actually got the idea to do this after seeing it in the magazine Country Living and I guess I loved the idea so much that I ended up just doing it!
• The Punk-y Pumpkin – This one is an older post, when we didn’t have anything for our crafts yet. However we made do with a least used nail polish and a tub of silver glitter! 

I am sorry that these are the only ideas I have on my blog, I actually have more but they don’t have any good photos and I’m pretty sure my writing in general is down right awful so if you want to check the rest out, go to my search box on the top right and put in “pumpkins” and it should give you all of the posts, plus a few other Halloween inspired crafts too!

Hope you have enjoyed this post!

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NOTM: Mermaid

Howdy!

How are you all today! Hope you’ve been enjoying the day! 🙂

Today I am doing my first “Nails Of The Month” post of 2017! I had given my toes a break from the polish for almost two months. I felt they needed a break to breathe and after I started my physical therapy last month within the first week, I couldn’t take it anymore I had to put something on them!

According to my nana, the Wet n Wild polishes are VERY strong (smell wise) and I had to resort to trying out my polishes given by my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Mike, the brand is called Secret Lace and they are in these tiny bottles, you can read the post of all of them here! I thought the blue one was a cute color to use, since it is still winter where I am, despite what the weather and birds seem to think!

“Teal” by Secret Lace:

The color is more of teal because it changes to a green in different lighting. It’s naturally shine-y, considering it came with a matching blue glitter bottle! It’s actually better as a stand alone. It has its own glittery notes too. The first night I had them, I finally figured out what the actual color reminded me of, and it’s been a long time since I’ve watched The Little Mermaid movies but I kept thinking of their fins and most randomly was the children’s book Rainbow Fish, because of the glitter in the bottle!

As you can see from the pictures below, I decided to go all one color this time around. I’m pretty big at having four toes one color and one toe in a different shade, but I couldn’t make up my mind which one so I left it and I actually like it! If I were to use this one again, I’d probably pair it with a bold red, now my nana has two different shades of red. A nice rose-y red and the other is a dark red, but I’d definitely use the ruby red color for this!

So what do you think of my nails for March? Yay or nay?

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Nail Polish Haul

Howdy!

As I mentioned in my last Christmas post, I have so many nail polishes that I got as presents that I ended up putting them in a separate post! I have a total of 17 polishes between the two brands I was given!

 Wet n Wild:

I guess Blondie wanted me to get into the package without any issues because they were absolutely no plastic on the items when I unwrapped it. They probably did that to be able to lay the DVD on top! The whole set is a bucket with toe dividers and a nail filer! I actually won’t use the dividers because I can spread out my toes on my own, one of the perks of using my toes to grip everything! I also gave the filer to my nana since she tends to use those more than anyone in our family!

The polishes that came inside the bucket are all “solid” colors. She managed to find a set of polishes without any glitter, which seemed lucky because everytime I see these things they always put a couple of glittery ones! Another thing that puzzled me was that they never put a clear polish to help the others set on your nails because I know everybody says that the colors doesn’t chip off so easily once you apply the top coat.

My nana is really into pink and nude shades so these four were right up her alley! I think my favorite of this batch is the first one on the left, it’s called “Wet Cement” and the first thing my nana called it when she pulled it out of the bag was “concrete” which means the same thing, right? It’s a nice gray that isn’t too dark or light, it’s a nice medium. I’m actually planning on using that one with the one right next to it and that is called “Undercover”, it’s a dull pink; not obnoxious or anything, very subtle. The next is what I consider a true “nude” shade, its name is “Private Viewing” and this might be used more by my nana because she tends to be gravitated towards them by some reason! Lastly, we have the lone baby pink called “Sugar Coat” which just sounds cute! My mom thinks this would be good to wear at my sister’s wedding this summer!

These might be used the least between the two of us. Out of all of the polishes though, these three have clever names! I actually love figuring out what companies call each one, because some can fit them like a glove or not.

The purple-ish shade is called “Through the Grapevine” and even though this picture is a bit blurry, it does show the color as a lighter purple, I think it has hints of pink. I wouldn’t consider it as a grape color, because I think they’re darker most of the time but this was actually my dad’s favorite! Next is of course a ruby red, the title on the back is “I Red A Good Book”. I always categorize a deep, almost bloody red as a seductive color! I don’t know why, but I just do! And finally the last in the package is “I Need A Refresh Mint” and this is another one that I feel doesn’t fit its name right, mostly because when I think of mint as a color, it’s always a light green.

According to my nana, these polishes are very smelly! She said that if it wasn’t so cold on the day she painted her nails, she would have needed all of her windows down. So I might have to resort to having one of my parents paint my toes!

Secret Lace:

These were the set of polishes that my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Mike got me for Christmas. They came in a cute, baby pink pouch that zips up in the top and honestly we could stuff the others in it because once I took out the plastic that had them standing in the middle so you could look all around at the different shades, there’s a lot more room to store more of them inside!

Unfortunately, these polishes did not provide names on the back or the label, so I’m forced to describe them to the best of my ability, so forgive me! It also has more than the 7 colors I was given in Blondie’s present.

These are the bold colors, they all tend to look good for fall/winter but they are all genuinely gorgeous! Okay, we’re going to start from left to right again.

This one is a black, I think. It has some glittery notes throughout but it’s not bad. I think we’re going to have to try it out to see what it exactly is for sure! The next is a true royal purple, this might be another favorite of my dad’s if I ever get a chance to wear this year! We both love our purples, but I tend to draw the line at the lavender shades! It looks like a navy blue in this picture but it is definitely a purple! Anyways, next is a yellow shade. My nana already has a nice, bright yellow but this looks has a light mustard-y hue to it.

And next is a “white” shade that has a tint of blue/gray/green inside it. It’s not totally white, there’s something in it giving a different tone altogether we’re just not sure what it is yet! I think everybody’s in agreement that this next polish is the most interesting one, it has a copper and burnt orange effect to it! It could be a good fall shade to wear! The next is a very deep red, I think it would better to consider this one a bloodier shade of red than the previous!

These were the four glittery polishes! Last year, I found a nice gold, glittery polish from Sally Hansen and it has the shiny notes throughout the actual color, it’s not actually glitter speckles sprinkled in the formula like these are, and honestly these are the hardest to remove despite the fact they make your nails look pretty!

I realize now I should have added this first color along the other solid colors but I had a whole system that kind of got messed up whenever I took these pictures, so anyways it’s here with these guys instead! It does have some glittery essence to it, but not like the other three beside it. It is a nice, ocean-y blue that my nana might use throughout the summer! And then we have pink glitter, if you hold it to the light the pink looks like a purple, so it can be confusing on what it actually is! The other two are very easy to figure out. You have a nice gold glitter that might add some pop to the other yellow polish, same goes with the blue glitter as well!

What colors do you like out of the 17 polishes I have listed above? Are you Team Bold or Team Glitter?

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DIY: The “Boo!” Sign

Howdy!

Well now we’re getting down to the wire of getting Halloween decorations out for the house, fun costumes for the whole family to wear and candy for the trick-or-treaters, At the end of this week it’ll be Halloween like legit and I’ll probably be tucked up into my room watching Halloweentown eating candy we don’t give away to our neighbor kids.

I haven’t done a DIY post in so long that I thought it wouldn’t happen again until Christmas. This season has been a little different for everybody I think. From late September to the beginning of November, my nana and I usually decorate pumpkins. I’ve been looking forward to glittering up a pumpkin for a while! I’ve explained in my other posts that my mom has bought a couple of pumpkins to use as decorations for our front porch. Now we have six of them and I’m not allowed to glitter them! So I’ve had to find something else to DIY for Halloween! At the beginning of October, I was involved in a blogger chat hosted by Jenn and the theme was Halloween/autumn DIYs and after that chat was over I went on Pinterest and I found so many crafts I wanted to do that I was a bit overwhelmed! After looking through for inspiration the next day I went to Wal-Mart with my folks and I purchased three wooden letters: B-O-O.

Since my Aunt Laurie and Uncle Mike came down the other weekend, my nana and I thought maybe we could get them to agree to do some pumpkins with us or help us with the letters instead. We didn’t get any pumpkins but we did have some fun doing the sign though!

If you want to do what we did, here is what you will need:

• Newspapers
• Paper plates
• Wooden letters
• Glue
• Spongy brushes
• Glitter (black and orange)
• Foam Board (optional)

Now I have to say there were a couple of things different from how my nana and I usually do our DIY projects while we’re both in our wheelchairs. Well, the day we did this she was trying to learn how to work her new laptop, so I got to be on the floor for the first time doing a craft and I felt so comfortable! It’s hard work to support not only upper half of my body in the push wheelchair, but my neck as well! I didn’t have much pain this time around because I didn’t have to worry about the seat moving on me everytime I moved my legs. It’s hard being disabled and using your lower limbs as hands and keeping your posture at the same time. I made it though!

Okay, let’s get done to business! My Aunt Laurie laid out the newspapers out on the floor and helped me with the glue, unfortunately I couldn’t squeeze the container and put it on the sponge brush. I’m pretty sure I would have fallen over if I had done that! I don’t remember whose idea it was to get these sponges but they were a genius! The handle was perfect for me to grip and I used it like a normal paint brush and brushed glue across each letter. Once I got a section covered I put the brush off to the side and Laurie or Mike would give me the bottle of glitter. We had the mini bottles of glitter that came in different colors and at first I left the lid on it but I was having some trouble with covering the area with glue on it before it dried up. Each letter was placed on a paper plate that way if any excess glitter came out we could (try) put it back into the container. After we were finished covering the whole letter we tipped it on its side and let the excess run off. Laurie tried to recover most of the areas that were now naked. After each letter was done we put them on the side of the newspaper to dry.

We couldn’t find any wood boards so Mike purchased a fairly large foam board. I was told that he was going to use a section of it to create a stand for it. At first we didn’t know if it was going to work because the “O’s” didn’t want to stay in their spots especially the first “O” it kept wanting to slide off. Poor Mike had to put his finger on it for almost half an hour. I’m not sure what kind of glue he used because I don’t think it was the same we used with the glitter. The other two letters weren’t too bad so that was good! However, when we put all three on the stand we thought it needed something. I forgot to get an exclamation point, but honestly I don’t remember seeing one with the others! At first we were going to take a small area of the foam board and use a pin to connect it together and glue it into the stand itself, but Mike made a whole exclamation point to glue onto the board . So I glittered it orange to keep up with the Halloween theme! After I finished throwing the glitter on it, I decided that I wanted to try to put the glitter back into the container. I fold the sides to make sure the excess glitter went in the middle of the plate and hoped for the best. Majority of it did make it inside the bottle the rest went out to the sides. I even put the lid back on and locked it.

Not bad for my first try I must say! This was so much fun to do, I think my aunt and uncle enjoyed it too. At least I hope they did! So this is what we did.

What have you created for autumn or Halloween?