Quick! Do a project!

I have never claimed to be an artist...I am a big fan of tracing. In fact, I've always wanted to own an overhead projector (yeah, those old things) for future projects. I used to love those coloring books that had tracing pages in them (Remember those?). Tracing makes me feel like I can draw.

I also love decor items that are versatile. I try to fill our home with items I can change or rearrange when I get the "redecorating urge." And that's probably why I have lots of chalkboards and painted thrift store items. When a room's decorations get boring, I can easily repaint or erase.

A while back, I picked up a faux canvas at Walmart. It had been marked down due to a scratch across the picture. Yesterday, 2 minutes and a little chalkboard paint transformed that marred canvas into a message board for our overnight guests. Since Nora's nursery also doubles as our guest room, I wanted to add an element that made our guests feel welcome and less like they were sleeping beside the changing table.

I recently received DIY Type from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. This book is basically just a collection of modern looking stencils.

Each page of stencils can be easily removed from the book by tearing along the perforated lines. I love the handwritten typography trend, but I am too much of a perfectionist to be satisfied with my handwriting.

Using these stencils, I was able to quickly draw a cute message. If I had one of those chalk pens on hand, I could have further embellished my letters. But I was still pleased with the plain typography.

The book contains a few example pages as well as two styles of stencils.  One smaller set of the alphabet and one larger.

I only wish I had more fun stencils like this. I love the look of several fonts.

I used the bigger stencil for a quick fall message.

The stencils are made of a thick glossy cardstock that looks as if they will hold up well. They will work well for many craft projects such as banners, posters, notecards, etc. The book provided inspiring images in the front of possible projects.

Since I am a mom of two kids under two years, these stencils are the perfect addition to my craft tools. I can easily finish a chalkboard message in just a few minutes. I will be on the lookout for more stencils to use on my chalkboards!

Let's have another cup of coffee...

As I write this post, there is a catchy little song running through my head. And I only know two lines of the song.... "Let's have another cup of coffee, and let's have another piece of pie..." (My Encounter friends will probably remember that night in Charlie Tremendous Jones' house as he sang this song to us.)

This post has nothing to do with that evening ...but it is all about some coffee.

House Party offered me a fabulous party pack from Keurig if I would host a little get-together. And I agreed. I only needed to invite ten or more friends to join me for an evening of coffee and conversation. In return, they sent me a Keurig Vue V500 Brewing System along with lots of Vue packs of coffee and tea, cookies, and a few other party necessities.

I quickly invited the ladies from our small group to our home last Saturday evening - we had some yummy snacks and made a fun little craft. Any time I get together with these girls, I am sure to have a good time.

This group of families have been a great encouragement to Jeremiah and I - it's not often that you find a group of Christian families striving to raise their children with the same values and beliefs we have. We thank the Lord for leading us to such a wonderful small group.

Upon receiving my "party pack," I started sampling. An iced cup of Southern Sweet Tea was my first choice. I just filled the reservoir with water, added my V-pack, selected my cup size...

and the magic began...

in no time, I was enjoying a perfectly brewed cup of iced tea.

I searched some ideas on Pinterest for our party. Although I didn't put all these pins to use, I did store them away for future gatherings. (Idea #1, Idea #2, Idea #3)

The night before, I set the table...

I love using wrapping paper as a table runner. Makes for easy clean up, as well.

The night of the event, I decided to make a chicken salad base (chicken, mayo, salt and pepper). I laid out all different kinds of add-ins.

Each guest then made their sandwich according to their preferences.

We had such a great time, sampling coffee, chit-chatting and crafting.

I did copy pinterest, dipping some straws in chocolate to stir in our coffee. I felt the need to warn the guest, though. "Don't chomp down on those...they are not chocolate covered pretzels!" ha!

I also was able to add a few more "leaves" to our guest book tree (see the original post about that here). It's really filling out! We really do love sharing our home with others.

Hudson even had a friend for the evening. And he put his little fingerprint on the tree too!

Thanks, girls, for a fun night!

House Party sent me this great coupon code...if you were interested in purchasing the machine featured, you can get 40% at Keurig.com through 5/11/2013.  Enter the code (QCYDSDG) in the "Promotions and Coupons" box during checkout and hit "Apply" after you have place the Vue V500 Brewing System into your cart.

If you are interesting in applying to hose future parties, check out House Party here.

And stay tuned to see what craft we worked on. It's a favorite of mine!