Telling Stories

Memorial Day in Estes Park

This weekend, I had an edit to do on my second novel, A Sweethaven Homecoming. It's releasing in early August, and I'm thrilled I got to revisit these women, their scrapbooks and explore their stories a little bit more. 

But by Sunday night, I was near meltdown state and Adam knew exactly what I needed: to get out of the house and away from my computer. 

Let's face it, writer friends...sometimes we need someone to hold us hostage to make us quit working. 

One of the things I have loved about living here in Colorado is that we have access to so much beauty. This is the view at the main intersection near our house: 

 
Gorgeous, right?

But beyond that, we're less than an hour from both Boulder and Estes Park with Denver just a little bit farther away. Now that we're moving, we've started our "before we move" list...things we have to do before we head back to Illinois. 

Something about it is a little bittersweet. 

Anyway. Yesterday, we made the drive up to Estes Park. Spotted this guy (and three friends) along the way:

Whenever there are cars pulled over on the side of the road, you know there's an elk or a big horn sheep or something equally as cool hanging out in the woods. 

Driving into Estes is pure magic:

I mean, it really is breath-taking. 

And yes, it gets my writerly mind racing. Most stories I write start with two simple words... "What if...?" The next sentence is often met with a scowly look from my better half, at which time I continue to search for MORE "what ifs..." just so I can set a story in such a remarkable spot. 

Yesterday, we had the good fortune of being in town for Memorial Day:

It was beyond cool. 

Perhaps you'll remember about my dad being a war hero (something I didn't really even know until about a year ago...he doesn't like to brag.) 

Maybe Memorial Day means a little more to me now. Maybe I can be especially grateful that we aren't remembering him, but thanking him. 

Memorial Day in Estes Park meant an Art show in the park, lots of tourists and a ton of fun. 

And my borderline agoraphobic self didn't even have a meltdown. Go figure. 

We ate at an overpriced restaurant...

(where the food, sadly, wasn't even really that good...) 

And talked about this new adventure we're on...

And I realized how thankful I am that I got to spend two whole years living in a place that allowed me to breathe again. 

So, what about you? What do you do when you need a change of scenery? 

 

Scrapbooking Your Faith Weekly Prompts {Week Five}

 

(why can't youtube give me decent thumbnail choices? I mean, really.) 

 Here is the layout I made for this week...

 

This week's prompt: Create a layout to remind yourself what God says about you as opposed to what people say about you. Use verses or quotes, but take the focus off of any negativity that's been spoken over you and focus instead on the truth of God's words. 

I really wanted to break a layout down for you, but that meant photographing in my office at night. If you can't bear with the horrible lighting, click the red X in the upper right-hand corner of your screen now. 

Usually when I start a page, I have a vague idea of what I want to do...but it's really vague. I grab my supplies:

I tend to pull everything that might possibly work on a layout out onto my desk. Makes for fun clean-up. In this case, I am using the "It's the Little Things" line from Fancy Pants, which I absolutely love.  

Step One: Use the product packaging to cut handmade scallops to go underneath your photo:

I'm a huge fan of using packaging because you get a "stripe" of all the different patterns. I cut from both ends to give a little variety. 

Step Two: Cut solid black scallops to "break up" the pattern so it doesn't get lost. In this picture, you can see I was planning to use this die cut flower on the upper right of my photo. 

Step Three: Use the leftover piece of the product packaging to cut out letters for your title. In this case, I left the "O" out because I saw a sticker heart I knew I wanted to use. Once I finished the title, I realized the die cut flower wouldn't fit where I'd planned. I also adhered my scallops down to help me keep my photo placement. 

Step Four: If there's a good amount of white space in your photo, you can use it to add a bit of decoration. Here, I used my baker's twine (From Divine Twine), tied it around my photo and then used Foam Squares to pop the whole thing up off the layout:

Step Five: The photo still needed more, so I found these paper flowers and layered them with Foam Squares, using a flower shaped sticker for the center. 

Step Six: I still loved that die cut flower, so I decided to cut it in half and use it in the blank upper right of my page. Using that as the foundation, I layered a few other cut elements, including die cuts and stickers, incorporating a bit of dimension underneath just a couple things:

Step Seven: Next, I finished my title by adding the heart and then adhering my hand-cut letters with small Foam Squares. These letters and the scallops really gave me the handmade look I wanted for this page. I also used a few mini letter stickers to create the "I Am" part of the title:

Step Eight: I stood back and looked at my page. It was still a little bare. So, I used the other half of my die cut flower, popped up a little rainbow die cut and used a coordinating paper flower and button to create a cluster of embellishments in the lower left-hand corner of my photo:

Step Ten: Still, I thought my page needed one more thing. A border to bring it all together. But I didn't want a straight border, I wanted a rounded rectangle. So, I used a scratch piece of cardstock, rounded the corners and traced around it with a pencil. I used a ruler on the straight lines: 

This worked like a charm. 

Scrapbooking Your Faith on Facebook:

So, to help make sharing easier, I'm thinking of starting a Scrapbooking Your Faith Facebook group where we can share pages and prompts, etc. but I refuse to just put people in the group without asking them, so if you're interested, shoot me an email or leave me a comment with your Facebook info and we'll get that started! This will be a GREAT way to stay in touch!

***

OH! And....We have a winner!!!

All four of these books will find a happy home...

IS....

 Jane said...

Hi Courtney, I found your scrapbooking faith challenges this week and love all of the ideas. I want to start an Art journal with this in mind. I came over from Homegrown Stephanie's blog. I have been following along with her since 2007. So glad to find you and all of these wonderful books. God has been speaking to me about gentleness. I have struggles that seem to fire me up. So He's telling me to watch,listen,and use some gentleness in my attitude, behavior and reactions. I look forward to seeing you again next Friday. Thanks!

ReplyMay 18, 2012 at 07:14 PM

Jane, send your address to me at courtneycrops{at}msn{dot}com and we'll get your books out pronto! 

***

So, tell me, are you scrapbooking your faith? Finding it hard to dive in? I'd love to see what you're up to...and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Hair Styling for the Style-Challenged {Or "come laugh at me"...}

Let me just start by saying if you've come looking for any kind of inspiration or actual content, perhaps you've come to the wrong place.

Sit tight. You'll see what I mean. 

I've been sporting short hair for quite awhile now, and recently have taken a shine to the wedge cut. 

As evidenced by this photo:

(Which is even too wedge-y for me...)

The truth is, I like not having to fuss with my hair, and this style makes me feel like I still did something with it. 

It's no secret that I really have no fashion sense. If I wear anything but my everyday jewelry I feel like I should win an award. I shop right off the mannequin. I pin things to "My Style" and giggle as I do, knowing there's just no way I'm going to know how to replicate most of what I see...

So when it comes to my hair, well, let's just say I'm really low maintenance. 

But see, I have this husband. 

And he couldn't care less about my hair (or his), my clothes (or his) or whether or not I even wear makeup. We're just not fussy people when it comes to our appearances. I do realize this isn't necessarily a good thing.  

So when he said to me, "Why don't you grow your hair out?" I think my response was... "Huh?" 

I haven't had long hair in years. And my hair is THICK, so letting it grow means getting through that terrible, awkward, bushy stage. After confirming Adam was serious (multiple times) I thought, "Well, who else do I want to impress? If he wants me to grow it out--even just to eliminate my wedge cut--I guess I should try." 

(For the record...I'm not usually this accommodating. I'm tremendously stubborn in pretty much every way. I'm working on it.) 

So, yesterday, we had to go to Sophia's fifth grade graduation...and I am already in "I have to cut this mop" mode...It's getting awful. I realized I need to learn to style it if I'm going to grow it out...so where do I turn? The internet. More specifically, Pinterest. 

More specifically, Kate's blog. 

Even more specifically, this post. 

And I decided to try a couple of things. I knew there was a good chance I'd end up having to wash/dry my hair all over again because there is so much room for error. I am a girl who can't even figure out how to put a bobby pin in my hair the correct way. 

My first attempt was a bouncy, curled under style. This might actually work for me. 

And I maybe should've stopped there. Because my next attempt was a curled with a curling iron style. 

Let's just say, my results were less than desirable. 

sorry for the bad iPhone photo. I had to take this to make fun of myself, thus the stupid giggle-smile on my face. 

To me, this style was not unlike a pirate's hat in shape:

I know you see the resemblance. 

There's really only one thing missing...

Am I right?

So, of course, after all of this, I had no desire to start over and I was thinking I should've quit with the bouncy, curled under style which seemed doable for someone of me, shall we say, style-inadequacy... so I kept playing with it. I watched the video again and eventually came up with this: 

I know. It still looks a little like I should have a parrot on my shoulder... (my sister told me so) and my mom's reaction was "I don't really know what to say about your hair. Do YOU like it like that?) 

Which made me laugh out loud. 

Truth is, I have NO idea how to assess it and clearly have limited styling skills, so my plan is to either cut it off or keep practicing. 

I'm going to make Kate proud, darnit. 

And I'm going to do something with it that elicits a response other than "I kind of like it and kind of not" from Ethan. 

For now, I'll leave you with my new signature "goodbye"...

Arrrrr, Matey. 

 

A Candid Talk About Weenies {with my four-year-old}

Perhaps you remember my very mature post about girl parts and boy parts? While it was probably my favorite blog post ever, I realize there's a level of inappropriateness in discussing such things...and at the risk of being equally as inappropriate, I have another story to share. 

It starts with a child:

A perfectly innocent, sweet, four-year-old child...

This weekend, I began to realize the extreme need for bribery with Sam when it comes to keeping him in his bed at night. He just does not need a lot of sleep, that kid. And it kills me (because I DO!) So, I whipped out my trusty treasure chest and implemented bribery. 

We have to do what works around here (can I get an Amen?) 

The deal was, if he stayed in his bed, he got to pick something out of the treasure chest. Little toys I'd picked up to entice him to stop running all over the house at night while I'm desperately trying to blankly stare at the TV. 

Well, it worked like a charm. That kid must LOVE treats because he stayed in bed and I fell in love with him all over again. (Apparently my love is conditional.)

In the morning, he picked his prize. A balloon. 

Seriously? A balloon? Didn't he see all the cool stuff I bought? A Mario Kart candy toy? A Spongebob stuffed animal? And he chooses a balloon? (It's here I'm wondering why I spent the money on everything else, but it is what it is.) 

Later that day, I sat upstairs watching my mom fold clothes (she's yet to master the art of sitting still. Me? I've got it down) and Ethan and Sam were downstairs playing some weird version of balloon volleyball. 

And that's when it happened. The tattle-fest. Tons of giggles and then...

Ethan :  Mom! Sam drew a weenie on his balloon! 

Me: Ethan, I'm sure it's not a weenie. He's four. 

Ethan: It IS! And he did it with a PERMANENT marker! (he runs up the stairs) 

Me: Ethan, seriously. This is totally inappropriate. 

Ethan stares blankly as if to say "That's why I'm telling you. Do something. You're the mom." 

Me: Sam! 

Sam: What? 

Me: Come up here and bring your balloon. 

He bounds up the stairs and walks over to me, wide-eyed. I take the balloon from him and look at it. I see nothing inappropriate, so I'm thinking I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Me: Sam, what is this? (Thinking all along that Ethan is overreacting and there is no way Sam drew THAT on this balloon.) 

Sam: (matter-of-factly) It's a weenie. 

While I do not, in any way, think it's funny for my children to "tell butt jokes" (Ethan got in trouble for this at school) OR draw weenies on balloons, I cannot for the life of me tell you what came over me. 

Perhaps the word "Weenie" was the culprit. It's no "giant cowboy" but darn, is it funny.

I looked at Sam, who was so up front about his artwork AND obviously VERY proud of it and I lost it.

I.could.not.stop.laughing. 

Sam sort of stared at me, then seemed to shrug it off, dismissing me as a crazy lady. He grabbed the balloon and started hitting it again (paying no mind to the pain he might inflict on the balloon weenie.)

Finally, I regained my composure and started to reprimand him. I said, "Sam. This is serious..." and then I lost it again. 

But, really...can you blame me: 

Huh?? 

My mom said (through tears) "I think he needs an anatomy lesson." 

Is the balloon just head and weenie? I'm confused. Where's the torso? 

Somewhere along the line, I think perhaps I stopped maturing when it comes to talk of such things. I honestly could not have a straight-faced conversation with my four-year-old about weenies if my life depended on it. 

The darn balloon is hilarious. 

Lest you think all of my children are obsessed with inappropriate things, I'll share my video of Sophia singing at her school talent show last week. She's taken to calling herself my "only normal child."

She has a point.

Happy Tuesday! 

  

For those who've been beat down...

It's Monday.

What else do I really need to say? You can deduce all you need to from those two simple words. 

My mom arrived on Wednesday with the intention of helping me pack. I pretty much wanted to go shopping, eat ridiculously good salads and talk about books. 

In the end, we covered all our bases. 

The packing is just too eye-opening. Realizing we're actually doing this again is like realizing you just jabbed yourself in the ear with a fork...but at the same time, I can hardly wait for Adam to move to a job where he gets to do something he loves. I mean, I can hear the excitement in his voice. 

And it's been a long time since I've heard that. 

Adam is the type of guy who has always known what he's good at...and what he's not good at. And he's GREAT at telling you about both. I admire that about him. Women don't get to be so candid. I would never say "this is what I'm really good at. This is how I can make a difference."

Though I would be happy to say "I'm really bad at this...I fail at this every time...don't ask me to do this because it won't go well..."

What's up with that?

You know, if a woman tells you her strengths, we think she's bragging. It's annoying to hear someone go off about how great they are at something.

But men and women are different. Men are supposed to be confident. How would any of us respond to a man who told you he was terrible at everything he did? Who didn't know his strengths? (Come to think of it, how would we respond to a woman with such self-doubt? That's good food for my thought...)

Recently, my dad hired a new mechanic who came in with a big folder of his own accolades. My dad said, "I liked that he sold himself to me." 

That man wanted the job. And he got it. 

But women? We don't understand this male phenomenon of self-confidence. It's been interesting to wrap my brain around it. And disappointing to discover that not everyone accepts self-confidence with grace or integrity. Some people don't want to know a person is good at something because it threatens their own self-worth. 

That threat comes from a place of insecurity--of not being able to see someone else operate in their gifts. My question is why are we so quick to tear other people down? 

Why are we so quick to tear ourselves down? Why is it so easy to say negative things about ourselves and so hard to say "This is the gift God's given me. I'm good at XYorZ." Does that make us cocky? Arrogant? Narcissistic? Because we KNOW what God's called us to do? 

I don't think so. It's revelatory. It's brilliant. To know how to focus your energy and how to not waste your time? Genius. If only we could all be so self-aware. 

Me? I admire this about my husband. I LOVE that he's the kind of person who can get beat down for two years and still come out knowing God has better things in store...areas where he gets to teach and train and encourage and uplift...

Knowing we get to build kids up...that's the thing that draws us back. Not our love of the stage, though we do love it. Not our desire to be flashy or in charge, though those things ARE really fun. But knowing that we get to walk out the gifts God's given us...to take those things we've learned and use them as building blocks to motivate children...that's the sweet spot.

I cannot think of a better way to live my life. Truly. 

And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that moving to Colorado was God's definite plan for us...we learned a lot while we were here. We were quiet and we needed to be. But now...now, God's saying "Enough wallowing. I need you back. Get back in the fight. You still have things to offer...so you must." 

So, this is a little pep talk for anyone who's been beat down. Talked to like they're an idiot. Treated poorly in any capacity especially when it comes to using the gifts God's given you. 

Steward your gifts. No matter what. 

Be confident in all that God's created you to do. Be the person and do the things that HE has ordered you to...and when you meet opposition from small-minded people who don't understand what it's like to have a divine purpose you're so passionate about...press forward.

Know that there is always someone out there waiting to tear you down.

Don't let them. Keep your eyes focused on heaven. There's more at stake here than your pride. 

God wants you to embrace the gifts he's given...it honors him and makes him proud when you don't waste them. As always, it's not the opinions of man that matter, only HIS voice should be whispering in your ear.

Remember this always. 

Scrapbooking Your Faith {Week FOUR} & A Fiction GIVEAWAY!

Week Four already of Scrapbooking Your Faith! Here's a little video about this week's prompt and a cool Pinterst Project I was able to put to good use to finish it off! 

 

I got to share my "I Believe" project on the Creating Keepsakes blog, but I wanted to share it here too because it's really important to me to document this particular topic.

The funny thing is, I've made LOTS of "I Believe" layouts, some are lists, others are just one belief that I can document...and it seems as much as my beliefs stay the same, they're always changing too. 

Anyway. That's the scrapbooking element this week, but I was inspired to take the prompt for this week and do something a little different. A mixed media project I can display as a constant reminder. 

The prompt for this week is: Create a layout or project that focuses on one word or key phrase you know God wants you to focus on. Could be for this season of your life, this week, this month... What is God's plan for you in this moment? 

Also, be sure to check out the video where I talk about the cool Pinterest find on how to make these super simple tissue paper flowers! 

They might be my new favorite thing ever. 

So how about a giveaway?

How was that for a random change of subject?

This week, I am sooo excited because I get to offer the chance to win all three of the books I reviewed this week AND a copy of my book, A Sweethaven Summer. 

I do believe these will all be autographed and ONE  lucky winner will get to add all four to their bookshelves! 

Summer is right around the corner, so how can you resist beautiful stories that tug at your heartstrings and transport you to other worlds?!! 

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I'll announce the winner NEXT Faith Friday! 

Sounds too good to be true. :)