Under My Umbrella...

...I have cupcake! Okay. Ever since I did a beach themed birthday party at church of one of my girls, I have been meaning to post about this super cute and fun cupcake decor.

Here's what they looked like on the cupcakes:

So, here we go!

You need:

2" circle paper punch
Cardstock or scrapbook paper
White Glue
Toothpick
Glue gun and glue sticks

First thing...plug in your glue gun. This will make your life easier. Then punch out several circles. Then cut each circle on the radius (1/2 way across the circle). Next add a little white glue to the edge of cut and merge the two sides together to make the umbrella tops. Allow to dry. Then add a dab of hot glue to the under side and attach toothpick. Let cool and your ready to have fabulous cupcakes.

Now, you should know that you can use these for so many things. I used the same technique and bamboo skewers to make jumbo umbrellas for a center piece. But, you could use stir sticks instead of the toothpicks and you've got instant fabulousness for drinks, too!

I love taking simple things and making them into something special...

Infinite Hope

This weekend I spent two days with some amazing women. I went to a women's conference, called Time Out For Women, in Atlanta. The theme for the event was infinite hope. It didn't actually occur to me until I was there, but this is exactly what I had been studying and focusing on in my own personal study. Many of the speakers pointed out that it's your thoughts that become your attitude and your attitude becomes your character and in turn it creates your reality.

We were encouraged to write down ALL of our hopes and dreams, no matter how big they are and then believe that God wants you to have all things that will provide you with Joy, Peace and Love. So, I've decided to do just that. I wrote my list. I read it every day. I say it over and over in my mind and I believe and trust that God truly wants me to be a joyful personal full of hope. Something else that I've started doing with this is getting rid of negativity. Any time my emotions are letting me know that my thoughts are dwelling on negative things, ie: I feel stressed, mad, sad, sick..., I just stop what I'm thinking, take a deep breath and begin to think about things that bring me joy and gratitude. I've also learned that being outside helps me to release the negative and grab the positive. Singing and dancing also help me, too.

One of the many highlights of the event was Michael McLean. He's a singer/ song writer who performed on Friday night. He has a new website called Mission To Be Happy, where he writes about finding happiness in his life. It's interesting. At Time Out, he spoke about trying to overcome depression for 30 years and the answers to prayer that he received and how he looks for the little joys in life to hold to and celebrate each day. I was interesting to see him there. I was able to see him perform about three years ago. And comparing his demeanor and enthusiasm was neat to see the change.

But all in all I had fun and I'm working on my own mission to be happy and having infinite hope.

Life and all that is....

I can't believe it's been almost two months since I posted here last! It goes with out saying that I've been busy! But, that just means I have lots to share with you! I'll be posting more as the week goes along. So, here's a few photos to keep you happy.

Shiloh was helping me to do some laundry.