Attaining Your Goals: FREEBIE

At church, I have the responsiblity to help plan & execute meetings to help the women in our congreation.  I have a few creations from the recent future that I want to share with you.  It's up to us what we want to talk about & this month we decided to focus on GOALS.  It always seems to be the topic of choice for this time of year.

I researched & researched because I really didn't feel like blowing it in front of a group of women whom I respect & revere.  So, I found LOTS & LOTS of information & attempted to gather it into one coeasive book & a couple goal-making worksheets.

We wanted the women to realize making & keeping goals is really easy (okay... who's still reading?) as long as you keep them SMART.  Resource {HERE}.  So, I made a booklet gathering all of the sticking points of the SMART system & combined it with quotes I found from some of our Church Leaders, & highlights I kept on seeing when researching.  I also used AMAZING printables I pinned on my {quotes pinterest board} for extra words of motivation.

Click {HERE} to download the book.  Remember to print it like a book. (not speaking from experience at all... when the book appeared upside-down on one side... yikes).

After you know WHAT kind of goals to make... then you make them!  Write them down using these FREE to download creations--- all I ask is to follow Mule 'n Nag, get us known, please!

Yearly Goals: break down goals into these four catagories and put this somewhere you will see it ALL THE TIME. FYI:  it's meant to be a 5x7 (or 4x6--- can't remember) size, so remember than when printing out. ;)

Monthly Goals:  THEN break down the yearly goals into easy to reach monthly goals (you don't have to work on all four yearly goals every month--- that's why you have all of the months in front of you--- to plan it).

Goals Breakdown:  I got this design/concept/idea from {Buttoned Up}.  I absolutely LOVED how it was laid out, however, I wanted something with a little personal flair & less words on the top.  Break your monthy goals into weekly tasks--- so you can check them off even more.

Even if you don't reach your goals--- you tried--- the journey is worth taking!  Tara over at Tales of a Trophy Wife is spending this whole year doing a {40 by 40} list, she's inspired me so much that I am going to write (and post-- and update) a 30 by 30 list.  I may not get all of it done, but I'm so excited for the challenge!

I link up {HERE}. 

FREEBIE: Forever Family Printable

FYI: There are a couple typos in the advent calendar--- it's hard to find ALL of the footnotes at midnight! I got them & re-uploaded (if that's even a word) them. Sorry!

Need a last minute Christmas gift?

It's so hard to believe how FAST December has gone by, my in-laws are coming in town in two days, so I've been working my tail off to get prepared. (It's also the first time anyone is coming to visit OUR house for Christmas, so I'm trying to not freak out too much).

Anyway, I, like a lot of you, have been doing a bunch of gift-making. One of the gifts was inspired by something I found on {pinterest}-- serious addicted to that site-- sheesh!

I loved this & knew I could recreate it with my computer skills for simple Christmas gift.

It's sized for 8x10. Print it out anyway you want & grab a frame to go with it. And you're done!

Merry week-of Christmas! Enjoy it all!

Guest over at Tales of a Trophy Wife

I'm posting over at {Tales of a Trophy Wife} today as part of her {The Best Thing I Ever Blogged} series. You can even see a couple things I haven't blogged about yet!

Trophy Wife is incredible & I'm stoked she wanted me to participate on her blog! Thanks, Tara!

Stories of Jesus: Advent Calendar (Freebie)

I'm a stickler for advent calendars. I made {two} a couple years ago. I love watching my kids get so excited to pull another activity down or move Joseph & Mary closer to Bethlehem.

Updating the title on the second one was the first thing I did with my Silhouette last Christmas.
Last year, a woman from church shared with us the advent her family likes to use, click {HERE}. It basically gives a scripture story from the life of {Jesus Christ} tells you to find the corresponding pictures with the story.

I REALLY liked the idea of having a scripture advent, so I printed off the provided diagram. Upon printing, I discover two things: 1. I couldn't read the print out, 2. Since the publication of this calendar, the numbers for the pictures have changed, so I couldn't find the pictures. Then & there I vowed to make the advent into a book before the following Christmas. A book that would contain the scriptures & pictures for each day all in one place.

It is now the following December, and I made my deadline. Barely. :)

The picture on the cover is called, Gentle Christ by {Del Parson}. LOVE it.

I absolutely LOVE it. For the month of December, this will be our family scripture study. Now, since it's Christmas & I'm so excited about making this, I'm sharing it with y'all. Consider it an early Christmas gift. Just, do us a favor, and follow us. ;)

Since I can't redistribute the pictures, I just included the background of those pages. I used {THIS} page & {THIS} to find most of my pictures. The only story that I couldn't find a picture for was the Three Wise Men page, so I googled it & found one I liked.

Gather It:

• Created documents-- {scriptures} {picture backgrounds}
• Scissors
• Laminator (or your nearest copy center)

Create It:

1. Print. Don't forget to find the pictures!
2. Cut off the white trim---optional
3. Laminate. Use your own or go to your nearest copy center (FedExKinkos, Office Max, Office Depot, etc.) & have them do it. IMPORTANT: When you put the pages together, make sure the scripture & picture are on the same page. Then you can read it like a tradition book or fold it over so the whole family can see the picture while the reader reads the story.
4. Bind it. While you're at the copy center, get it bound together, so your family can use for years to come. Be sure to get a spiral.

This is my favorite page:Oone of my favorite scriptures about Christ with my favorite picture of Christ; it's called Christ's Love, also by Del Parson. I love the happiness in His eye's and the gentleness of His smile. I hope He gives me this look one day.

Enjoy.

FREEBIE: Thanksgiving Subway Art

Happy first of November! I hope everyone had an enjoyable Halloween. We went all out this year and hopefully I can get some pictures up later in the week. I'm in the midst of planning my daugther's Minnie Mouse party for next weekend, so that's why I say 'hopefully.'

My son kept asking me if we can have Halloween again.. yeah, buddy, in 364 days :)

In honor of the grateful season, I come to you with another FREE subway art printable! This time it's Thanksgiving!
It was made to be 8x10 or 5x7. Click on the picture, until you get the largest size, then save it. Print it through your favorite store--- personally, I go with Costco.

If you use it, please let me know. Send people back here, help us get more followers!

Happy Thanksgiving season, everyone!

In case you missed: {Halloween}{Easter}

Linking {HERE}

Welcome, Foolish Mortals!

Before this year, our outdoor Halloween decorations consisted of four skulls to hang in the tree, three blacklights, one Styrofoam tombstone & an 'autopsy room' sign. We revamped the autopsy sign and turned it into {THIS}.

We put up the tombstone, but it kept blowing away. I was so sick of placing and replacing the stinking foam that I wanted to make our own set of stones that simply would not move in the wind. We had a couple scrap pieces of 2x8 and 2x12, so we decided to make our own out of wood.

Since we are BIG fans of all things DISNEY, we modeled ours after {The Haunted Mansion}.


Gather It:

• any size scrap wood you want (we used 3 ft-ish of 2x8 & 2x12 scraps)
• saw
• wooden stakes
• screws & drill
• vinyl & cutter or cardstock to make stencils
• ebony color wood stain & brush
• Grey spray paint (I used Krylon double coat) 2 cans, just to be safe

Create It:

1. Find your Wood: We live in a fairly new neighborhood, so there's always some kind of construction going on. If you're lucky, you can find fairly decent pieces of wood for free in their scraps pile; all you have to do is ask.
2. Cut the Wood: We had three original pieces of wood; I drew the top curve of the stones then the hubs cut them out with his hand saw (the guy could really use a miter saw--- Christmas, maybe?)
3. Stakes & Screws: Using two screws per stake, attach two wooden stakes to the back of each tombstone.
4. Stain: Liberally apply the dark stain to the stones. Follow the directions on the can & get every showing piece of wood.
   
5. Create Stencil: While you're waiting for the stones to dry, it's time to create the stencils. Since I wanted to do stones authentic to the Haunted Mansion, I googled for a list of actual tombstones at the Haunted Mansion {HERE}. FYI--- UR Gone is in the mausoleum.. so it is authentic. Then I created the stencils in Silhouette Studio & cut them out. The HM font is called "haunted mickey." As always, if you have a Silhouette & want to make theses, I will email you the document. Weed & apply the vinyl like you would any other vinyl project. If you don't have a cutter, create your stencil by printing your design on cardstock, then cutting out what was painted then use it the way you'd normally use a stencil.
   
6. Spray Paint & Wait: Lay your stones out on some tarps in a well-ventilated area & then spray them like there's no tomorrow. Cover every little itch, wait for front to dry (according the can) and flip over and paint the back. I used all of one can & barely had to open the second. After the paint is dry, use tweezers or a small hook to gently peel off the vinyl. Under the vinyl stayed the color of the stain creating an engraved wore look. If you got the right kind of spray paint & stain, you don't need to seal it, but if you're paranoid go ahead.
   

Your homemade homage to the home of 999 haunts is now ready to display. They'll be dying to see what you did. :)

Stay tuned for one more homage to a different Halloween classic. :)

I'm linking {HERE}

Skeleton Greeter

Two weeks to Halloween!

I have a confession: I love {Pinterest}. I spend entirely too much time on it, but I end up finding crazy awesome ideas. I saw {THIS} idea about a month ago and knew we must make our own.

It's a Skeleton Wreath made by Meg at {Mega-Crafty} & {Mega-Spooky}.

Here's my version:
My Little Notes:

• You really can buy the bones anywhere. We found our at Target. It was $20 for the bones, and I'm sure we could have found them cheaper somewhere else, but I was way too excited to start this project (and so was my hubby) so we caved and got the bones.
• If you follow any of my advice: Don't buy the styrofoam glue (especially if you're impatient like me). In my experience it did not stick at all, I even waited the time it said to, tried to move it and... you can imagine the rest. My husband, the trusty engineer, said he thinks the glue is just repackaged white glue. It sure acted like it... PLUS it's not water-proof; so, if you plan on making it an outdoor wreath, definitely get the corresponding glue. Before I changed my glue, I kept having visions of my Skeleton creation falling apart in the next rain. Even though I don't usually have to worry about THAT in Texas, it DID rain the week after we made this.
  
• Now I bet you're asking, well how do I stick it together now, Amber? Well, I'll tell you: Gorilla Glue (or as our 2-yr-old says Monkey glue--- she has a thing for monkeys and don't ask me how) and some well placed alummium wire to make the joints even more secure. Think about it, Skeleton man doesn't have any cartlidge to help him stay together... that's what the GG does, adds cartlidge.
• Play around with the bone arrangment. Mine started out as a wreath and I quickly realized that wasn't going to be very effective. So we messed around until the bones were perfect. Then we added a spooky sign for an even creepier touch (the sign was actually one of our first Halloween decorations we bought).
• Work in sections at a time, to give the GG a little more time to dry.
• He's hung up with picture hangers and some string behind his head. The positioning of the string makes it so that he protudes out a little... in the face of anyone who comes to the door.

I'm excited to see the expressions of the Trick-or-Treaters... if we get any ;)

I link {HERE}.