Who Wrote the Book of Love

Unfortunately, I am SOOO very behind on blog posting.  I realize it's only been a week since I last posted, but I have not posted any exciting life updates in a LONG time!  I have no excuse!  Other then I just haven't had time.  And while I don't have great amounts of time now, I do want to update y'all on some of the life happenings.  A few things, I'm probably not going to post all of them as Blog updates on Facebook.  So if you want to know our news, you'll have to either remember to come visit the blog or sign up for the nifty email reminders that are on the right side.  I don't get a list of people that have signed up, so if you want to sign up and not let me know about it, go right ahead!  I have no clue who signs up, and if Google tells me, I have no clue how to find out.  So sign up if it's easier for you.  I'm just giving you fair warning that the self promoting on Facebook is coming to a close unless there are many protesters in the comment section on here (to which I might reconsider) or I have a really neat craft that I want to showcase.  So check back often, sign up to be a follower, bookmark the blog, or sign up for email notifications!  You don't want to miss out on our May recapped in June!

So to start off, I'm going to tell y'all about the most recent thing that happened in the Adams household. However, be sure to note, I am going to go back and RECAP the month of May.  On May 26th, my sister-in-law Danielle Adams graduated from High School.  Cue Pomp and Circumstance as you view these photos!

Danielle's big day was held in the evening at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis.  And since my husband and I never get dressed up anymore or remember to take a photo, we made sure to do it before the festivities started!

Collierville has a coat of arms.  I don't think Brandon had that!

Here they come.  Danielle was number 4 to walk in.  Since the three before her were guys, she was the first girl.  How intimidating!

Danielle about to walk on the stage.  They graduated 420 students in 55 minutes.  Start to finish.  Mississippi State should take note!

I gave up on getting a photo of her walking across.  So I just took a photo of the screen.  She's shaking someone's hand here.  I'm sure they are important.

And again shaking someone's hand.  All smiles! :)

YAY!  You did it!

And I couldn't be happier to announce that there will be another Adams headed to Starkville in the fall.  David likes to tell people there has been one at MSU since fall 2004...in other words exactly how long I've been at MSU!  Haha!  He's actually referring to himself, his brother, and now Danielle.  Pretty cool to think about the fact that from 2004 to approx 2015, an Adams sibling will have been at MSU.  I think only the Wiley's can come close to that!  Couldn't be more excited to share such a rich tradition with Danielle!  Since David and I gave her a cowbell last August before she "officially" decided to come to MSU, we will take all most some of the credit for her decision. :)

I want to share with y'all a special present we gave to Danielle in honor of her graduation.  Now, I will admit that a lot of the time I showcase projects on here so that you guys can ooh and ahh over them.  It makes me feel like I have a little talent and like I'm not crazy for thinking it's beautiful.  HOWEVER, and this is a big However.  However, that is not the case with this project I intend to share with you.  We gave Danielle this as a reminder of how much she is loved.  And I hope that you will recreate it for someone you love, whether they are graduating or going on to a new chapter in their life.  And for those of you who don't think you can make it, allow me to share a little about how I first came up with this idea.

When I graduated from high school, my wonderful mom decided to put together a book of letters for me.  She asked my dad to write a letter to all of the people who had been a part of my life in some shape, form, or fashion.  Now, I'm not dissing my mom when I say this, but my mom couldn't make an elaborate scrapbook if you paid her a million bucks to do it.  And she knows it.  And she'll admit it to anyone that asks.  However, she put together my most favorite scrapbook that I have ever had in my possession.  And that includes the ones I have made and love.  The reason?  Because it was full of letters that told me how special I was.  They told me funny memories.  And they reminded me to stand strong in my faith and in what I believed.  My parents gave it to me as a 18th birthday present.  I think an "Oh thanks mom and dad" came out of my mouth that day.  It was only as a homesick freshman in college when this letter book came to mean more to me.  However, I will admit that when we moved to Memphis and unpacked this book, I sat down and reread some of the letters.  There are letters from friends, Sunday School teachers, family friends, little kids I mentored, old bosses, family members, now living and deceased people, etc.  As the years have gone on, I know exactly which letter to turn to depending on what I'm feeling.  Fear. Anxiety. Lost. Alone. Like I don't matter. When I need a laugh.  And those are just to name a few.

So I proposed the idea to David to do the same for Danielle.  He loved it (or at least he pretended to).  So off to work I went.  Let me pause and say that this book NEVER would have been possible without the help of my mother in law, who singlehandedly came up with the list of people to send the letter to.  There is no way on earth I would have known everyone that should write a letter.  And a graduation book was born.  Since you can't see it, I took some pictures for you.

This is the opening page.  Isn't my sis-in-law beautiful?  You can click on it to make the photo bigger:

The next page describing what the book is (again, click photo to make bigger):

Next to the previous page. This is the letter we sent friends and family (click to make bigger):

Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Suess:

And here are some examples of the pages that I put together.  Because I wouldn't really care for you to read all of my letters, I made it where you can't make these pictures bigger.  You can click on them, but it won't make them bigger.  This is just to give you an idea.  From her mama:

Her Senior Softball letter from her parents on Senior Night:

Friend Letters:

Coach Letter:

Friend letters:

Family Friend letters:

Youth Minister:

Sunday School Teacher:

Friends:

David's Letter:

And finally, my letter:

These of course are just some selections.  There were many more letters in the book.  If you are reading this and you a) know Danielle b) forgot to write a letter, please feel free to send it to her.  I left her some extra page protectors to add some if people gave her letters at the last minute.  I know she'd love to have your letter.

I hope I gave you an idea to make for someone.  You definitely don't have to add photos or cute paper.  Just ask my mom!  I mean it when I say it is the most amazing gift I've ever gotten, and I could care less what it looks like!  It's the words and thoughts that matter.

To Danielle:  Your brother and I are so proud of you and the decisions you've made!  You're the only one who hasn't been featured on the blog, and it was high time to tell about the amazing young lady you are. We've told you this a bazillion times, and I'm certain you'll hear it a million more, but we are jealous of you.  We're jealous of the new adventures you're about to embark on.  How we wish it was us in your place first setting foot on campus as a freshman!  We love you and can't wait to see how God uses you on campus to make His name known!  We're cheering for you!

Congrats to all of the graduates everywhere!

I Have an Addiction...

I have an addiction, and it's called art supplies.  Yes, I know you think I'm exaggerating, but I swear to you I'm not!

You see, I've never had a place for my art supplies to call home. They've always been stashed in the closet at the Chi O house, a downstairs closet, or the bottom of the pantry.  They have been crammed together and it was only recently, when we moved, that they were able to claim an entire closet of their own.  Until recently, I've just been buying, collecting, accumulating supplies for projects I thought up.  Well...

After simply cramming my supplies in said closet at our home in Memphis, I decided it was high time that I organize my stash.  So I found a blog that suggested buying a clear over the door shoe organizer from Target for $7.  So I did, and I got to work. I also invested in a new 12 x 12 paper holder (I already had two).  

I really do wish I had taken a before picture, but I didn't.  Trust me when I say it was overwhelming!  The results can be seen below!

In case you can't tell, let me break something down for you.  I discovered two things about myself and craft supplies:

1. I'm an impulse buyer.  If it's cute or I think I might use it, I buy it.
2. If I plan a project, rather than go to my supplies and see what I have, I just buy everything I need.  The results are insane.

I did not count the sheets of 12x12 scrapbook paper I own.  However, you can fit a lot in those drawers.  1 drawer is stuff from the wedding {programs, invites, guest pages}, 1 is stickers, 1 is scrap paper.  So I have 6 drawers full of paper.  Nice.

Below details a list of what is organized in our shoe organizer in my craft room.

• 26 Rolls of Ribbon
• A bag full of left over ribbon
• 2 Bottles Rubber Cement
• 49 Paint Brushes
• 9 Foam Brushes
• 1 bottle glossy Modge Podge
• 1 bottle matte Modge Podge
• 1 fabric glue
• 1 elmers glue
• 1 wood glue
• 26 Paint Pens
• 22 Markers
• 8 Glitter Glue Pens 
• 3 hot glue guns {yes, three--I can pick from blue, white, or pink}
• 2 packs of glue sticks
• 2 packs of Stitch Witch
• 16 magnets 
• A bunch of clear glass beads that most people use for filling vases
• Enough cello bags to last till the end of my life
• 5 sandpaper blocks
• 4 4x6 clear magnetic picture frames
• 4 rubber stamps and 2 stamp pads

And this does not include the 2 BIG boxes that are full of bottles of acrylic paint. My guess would be around 60 bottles are in the top of the closet.  This is ridiculous.

Is there a rehab for a craft supplies addiction?  If so, someone sign me up.  My husband would be grateful!

Kitchen Wall Art

Our kitchen is yellow.  And not a golden color either.  It's baby room yellow!  I realize, I've failed to provide pictures of our home, but I promise one day soon.  Those of you who know me well or have been reading the blog for awhile know that I. Cannot. Stand. Yellow.  Like I don't even tolerate it well.  I think it stems from my mom who never, ever, never dressed me in yellow as a child.  To this day, there is no yellow in my wardrobe.  But, our kitchen is yellow.  Oh, don't worry, I've gotten approval to paint it a nice soft tan or brown.  I just need to go pick out the paint so that our landlord can approve.  And sadly, that hasn't been at the top of my priority list!  Maybe one day, but that day isn't today.  So I'm stuck with yellow.

Every time I walk into my kitchen, I see yellow.  I love to cook, but in yellow?  I know, you think I'm exaggerating, but this girl picked out red and brown for her kitchen.  And believe you me, I stuck to it!  In the hopes that my kitchen walls would be any color OTHER THAN buttercream baby yellow.  

Enough, I know.  But sadly, there is this yellow wall above my stove and oven.  I was dumb and didn't take a before picture, but visualize with me.  There is nothing above my stove, but a yellow wall.  So I improvised.  I had this idea to create something cute above it for very cheap.  Wait till you see what I spent. 

I started with 9 of these.

Not so cute, I know.  But they were 9x7 plaques that I got from the Dollar Tree.  And the best part was, they already had picture hangers on the back.  But seriously, who would buy these and hang these like this?  They say Faith, Family, Friends The Keys to True Happiness.  While I don't disagree, I would never hang something so ugly.  You can tell it was just a dollar.  Total: $9.

I broke out a bunch of my scrapbook paper that I already had.  Now if you want me to count this in cost, I will.  Though I did have it all.  One day I'll show you all of the paper that I have. Until then, you'll have to trust my husband, my friend Kate who lived with me, and my mom. Oh and me...you can trust me.  It's ginormous.  But 9 pieces at $0.25 each because I always only shop when they are on sale. Total: $2.25.  


I cut the pieces to size and Modge Podged them on.  I've always been a fan of glossy Modge Podge until recently.  Now I use Matte finish and I'm in LOVE!  I won't go back to glossy.  And I seriously refuse to include this in the total.  But if I must, I probably used $0.50 worth.  


So total, I spent $11.75ish on these.  And honestly, in my checkbook, it only looks like $9.00.

I love it! I don't notice the yellow NEAR as much!  Thank goodness!  Let me know your thoughts?  It was so easy!  You can do it too. The only thing that is tricky is the Modge Podge.  It always causes the paper to wrinkle on me.  But I have a trick.  If you brush the paper with Modge Podge on the top (like the colored/design part) and let it dry for a little bit, it will make it not bubble.  When the paper is dry, it will probably curl up a bit--that's not a big deal.  Come back and put a thin layer of Modge Podge on the plaque (or whatever you're sticking it to), then slowly roll the paper onto the plaque.  Then finish with a layer of Modge Podge on top of the design again if needed.  It's not always needed, so you decide. 

Hope y'all like it! If you come see me, you can tell me what you think in person.  Otherwise...comment away!  Although, I know you won't.  Come on!  I want to know who is reading my blog....ahem Chelsea! :)