New Article published

 
Are you tired of women's magazines with airbrushed images, celebrity gossip and "99 ways to please a man?"
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When was the last time that you felt good about reading a women's magazine?
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... The Mission of B.L.O.G Magazine™ (Beautiful Ladies of Grace) is to create a positive alternative to mainstream magazines for the development of the mind, body and spirit of today’s women of faith of all ages that seek to live and lead a spiritually balanced life, within the constant challenges of the modern world.

We highlight real articles written by real women from all over the world who journal all of the challenges that life brings them while also maintaining their faith.

I am one of the contributing writers for BLOG, so please read, comment and most importantly share and forward articles that move you via email! In honor of Father's Day, our theme for June will be "Daddy's Girls - The Powerful Influence of Men." We will highlight the impact that their presence has in our lives as well as the impact of their absence.

Spread the Word! #TheBLOGeffect #TakingOverMainstream

Visit us at www.blogmagazine.org
Like our FB Page @ facebook.com/blogmagazine.org
Follow us on Twitter @blogmagazine1

Please read my June Editorial called "Embracing my curly locks"

Learning to Non-Conform to the Trend of Flat-Irons, Extensions and Brazilians Blow-Outs. http://www.blogmagazine.org/2012/05/embracing-my-curly-locks/

XOXO, Sonja

B.L.O.G Magazine

I wanted to tell you guys about this amazing online magazine. B.L.O.G (Beautiful Ladies Of Grace) Magazine.  

The Mission of B.L.O.G Magazine™ is to create a positive alternative to mainstream magazines for the development of the mind, body and spirit of today’s women of faith of all ages that seek to live and lead a spiritually balanced life, within the constant challenges of the modern world.

By focusing on inner beauty, self worth, life skills, and the development of uplifting interpersonal relationships, B.L.O.G. Magazine seeks to empower Women to gracefully embrace what it means to be modest, healthy and pure in a society that condemns such values. B.L.O.G. strives to be an industry leader for spiritual, physical, and emotional development of women nationwide.

B.L.O.G. features articles that appeal to women of all ages, races, and social status, including:

Fashion (modest yet trendy)
Beauty (Natural beauty products)
Business and Finance (Good stewardship)
Purpose (Tips on exploring gifts & talents)
Education (Tips on adult learning)
Health & Fitness
Spirituality
Cooking, Gardening & Baking (Affordable & healthy recipes)
Fitness (Exercise tips of the month & fact vs. myths)
Dating & Relationships (The rewards & challenges of biblical dating)
Marriage (The rewards & challenges of a biblical marriage)      …and many more!

B.L.O.G. Magazine: “Redefining Beauty…From the Inside Out!! ”

I have the priveledge to be a contributing writer for this magazine and have been blessed beyond belief by the amazing women that have come together to encourage, elighten and empower others.

Go check it out, http://www.blogmagazine.org/ and check out the I Am movement on Redefining Beauty... from the inside out, you will be so happy that you did!

XOXO, Sonja

Bedroom Redo update

I have been a busy bee, and these past two weeks have been crazy. I removed all the furniture from our bedroom, except for our bed, it is way too heavy, and we needed someplace to sleep and the floor was not going to work. Then I taped off the room to prepare for the gorgeous grey paint I chose for the walls.

My husband did not really care what color I chose he was just requested it not be a girly color. He painted the walls and I trimmed around the baseboards, the window and the door. The biggest problem with this room was getting the dark brown paint off the wood trim that was painted years ago. I decided I wanted the wood trim to be painted white which I think will look great with this grey paint, plus white, grey and yellow are the colors of the new bedspread I bought. I did not want to just take down the trim and replace it because our house is old and we have original chestnut wood in our room

This was no easy task, let me tell you. While the painters tape was still up, I slathered on a paint thinner and let it sit for about 8-10 minuted then started scraping the majority of the paint off with a putty knife. It came of really easily, but some places were more stubborn. That did not really bother me as I knew I was goint to lightly sand them down once I was finished scraping the paint off.

After the paint was stripped and the wood sanded, I just wiped them down with a damp rag. The wood underneath was beautiful. I may have to rethink painting them white. Next I went to work on the old door I bought at the Asset Recycling Center to make a headboard for our bed. That has been a challenge let me tell you. The door that I chose to use was the best of the three I got and I think the three pannels that are on it will look great as a head board.

I have it sanded down and wiped clean and have filled the door handle hole with wood filler putty and it is drying in the garage. I think it is going to look amazing with the moulding I am adding to the top. Then I will paint the whole thing. I guess I will have to decide weather I am going to paint the wood trim of leave it the way it is because I want the headboard and trim to match.

Here is the Grey Paint I chose for our walls. It is Behr's Premium Interior Satin Enamel Paint and Primer in one and the color is Ashes.

I love it and have seen severl picture online of rooms with this color and they are gorgeous and cannot wait until it is done. We have a way to go yet  but we are getting there. After our room is complete, we am going to tackle the bathroom. My husbands decoration choice of fishes and lures is getting old and I am ready for something new.  

Are you giving any rooms in your house a facelift? Leave me a comment and let me know how it's going.

XOXO, Sonja

Love Old Doors

I love old doors and I recently stumbled across quite a few at my local Asset Recycling Center. I found three that I did not think I could live without and for only $7.00 a door it was a steal. I am constantly rearranging my home, creating new design pieces and trying various ways of making something old

look like something new. 

We bought an amazingly comfortable new bed a few years ago and it came with a bed frame, but not headboard. The bed fits right up against the wall in this little bed nook in our bedroom and we have two large bed pillows that I use as a sort of headboard so it has never really bothered me too much, that is until I started to redecorate our bedroom. I bought new paint, bed sheets and a great new comforter and I told my husband that we definately had to get a headboard. We have been on the lookout for the perfect one for a bout two weeks now and I have not found exactly what I am looking for.

So, here is where the doors I found come into the picture. I absolutely love this look created by Beckie from http://www.infarrantlycreative.net/ I was pleasently surprised that she created this from an old door she found on the side of the road. With a little sanding, filling in holes and paint, she has created a beautiful headboard.

I just love looking around her site(s) as she has some serious crafting skills! I love her crib find scripture plaque and her jewelry holder as well. 

I am going to attempt to make a headbord this weekend while the paint is drying on my walls in the bedroom and I hope that mine looks half as good as hers when I am finished. I will post pictures of the before and after when the room is complete - Wish me luck! 

XOXO, Sonja

Anniversary

Friday was our 16th wedding anniversary and we usually go away for the weekend of our anniversary as we rarely go anywhere with out our girls, but this year my youngest daughter's youth group was running the service at our church and she had a pretty big role. So we decided to stay home so we would be there to see her pn stage. My husband made a delicious dinner for us to share and we watched a great movie and enjoyed spending quality time together at home. He also surprised me with a beautiful Family Platter. Here is a picture of it below.

I absolutely love it and am just so happy that I have to smile when ever I look at it. I do not know where I want to hang it yet so for now it is sitting on my dining room hutch.

I love getting gifts I did not even know I wnted, such a sweet surprise.

And I did not forget about him, he had recently been telling me how his sunglasses kept falling down into his face on his last fishing trip.  So I decided I was going to get him a new pair. He likes the nemesis brand that comes with a little nylon loop on the ends of the arms, but he doesn't ever wear the loop, but I thought he would for the times he was fishing.

However, I was looking online and I came across these sunglasses that clip onto a ball cap and do not fall off. They were $24.95 retail and I got them on Amazon for $9.95 plus $2.95 shipping and let me tell you, he absolutely loves them he wears them all the time and they fold up under the bill of the ball cap so he does not have to take them on and off, how cool is that! Here is a picture for the website,

All in all, we had a great anniversary, as he told me on facebook " The best portions of my life are the little nameless, unremebered acts of love you show me. I love you my little redhead girl"

I believe that says it all!

XOXO, Sonja

Pink Teddy Bear Baby Shower

Today I will be sharing some pictures for the baby shower I styled for my cousin Brittany who was having a little girl. My mother-in-law offered to host the shower in her home and she asked me to create the decorations. She placed a cute patterned table cloth on her dining room table that was sweet. We chose an adorable teddy bear theme and used lots of pink to make this party all girly.

My aunt was making the cake and had purchased the plates, cups, etc. so I did not have to worry about those; instead I put all my energy into decorations and games.  I used pink and white circle garland that I made using various size circle punches from my craft supplies. I knew the style that the guests were used to so I created the décor around what would make everyone most comfortable.

I purchased a cute printable file on etsy.com by BusyBeeDesign1 and looked to one of my favorite websites,  Kara's Party Ideas, for inspiration. I was so excited by all the adorable baby showers featured there, and my favorite was the pink elephant.  I saw so many ideas I could incorporate into my teddy bear baby shower so I took lots of notes.

With the printable files, all I had to do was print them on cardstock and embellish them to get the look I was going for. Since I already have an abundant supply of cardstock and embellishments, these were easy to make. The file contained a banner, a welcome sign,  cupcake wrappers and toppers, water bottle labels, thanks you cards, favor tags, and bingo cards. I embellished them with matching patterned scrapbook paper, ribbon and glitter and they turned out so adorable and my cousin can hang 

them in the baby’s room later.

Since we were not having cupcakes, I did not intend to use the cupcake wrappers and toppers until I saw a great idea at one of the baby showers on Kara’s Party Ideas website. They took small, clear plastic cups and placed the wrapper inside the cup and added pink popcorn with sprinkles and placed the topper on top of the popcorn. So that is how I used them, except I used iced animal crackers and bunny marshmallows.

We had sherbet punch, pink lemonade and bottled water for drinks. We also had a variety of cookies, candies, mints, and nuts, to snack on. My mother in law made baked spaghetti with garlic bread and salad for everyone to enjoy and it was delicious.

After everyone ate and visited with each other we played some party games. We played the baby game where everyone gets a small plastic clothespin and you cannot say baby, which is always a hit at every baby shower I have ever been too – got to keep the tradition going.  Next we played the “poopie diaper” game. For this game I made small diapers out of card stock using my Cricut Machine and a cartridge with baby shower related items. I used safety pin stickers on the front and on one I placed a brown circle sticker for the poop. The person that got that diaper wins.

After these games were over, she opened her presents and we played the Bingo game were each guest fills out a card with items they think she will receive as gifts, we had prizes for the first three winners. 

It was a huge success and everyone had a great time and Brittany received so many wonderful and useful gifts for baby Selina. Each guest was sent home with a cute little pink box filled with candies and embellished with pink pacifiers on the front and I taped the favor tag from the printable file on the back of each one.

Party planning can be fun, easy and affordable with the right tools and a little time. And party planning websites with beautiful pictures for inspiration doesn’t hurt either.

Blessings, Sonja 

Long time no post....

It has been quite a while since I have posted on here but, I have been excitedly researching, studying, and learning all about blogging, photography, crafting techniques and trends. I started this blog as a creative outlet for myself and to share some of the crafts and creations I have created for my family and friends along the way. I have recently styled two baby showers for family members and a birthday party for my neices daughter's 2nd birthday. ( I will upload pictures soon) I enjoy creating amazing celebrations no matter what the ocasion and I am currently organizing a mother/daughter luncheon for my sisters church. I have so many ideas in my head I can harly wait until the final decisions are made (hopefully this week) and I can get started creating some cute and crafty decor.

Happy Tuesday!