Romantic Quote Cards

The Blogging A to Z challenge has been a tough one for me to keep up with! I have so many great posts but the weather is so awesome I've been forgetting to finish prepping and posting them! Make sure you check out my original intro post for all the other posts I've done so far, I will be trying to catch up as I have some really lovely things for y'all...but for now, lets get to the letter "Q".

In February I came up with these adorable quote cards. I gave a few to Hubby the week of Valentine's and the rest I am saving up to stick in various places in his suitcase when he will be gone for nearly two weeks in June. 

These quote cards are simple, quick to make, and can be customized for anyone or any holiday!

Mine are based on lurve because I intend to give them to my beloved, but you could easily make some for lunch boxes, or with inspirational quotes for a RAK, or even some to put in your kid(s) backpack for them to find throughout the day (I did this once and my kiddo has it hanging on her wall, melt my heart.)

So, this is what I used to make mine:

• Pencil
• Two types of card stock in coordinating colours
• Stencil from HEMA
• If you are really lucky and have one, you could use a Cricut to cut nice tags, I wish I could have brought mine when we moved to Europe, I used it all the time and have thought of numerous times when I wish I had it. If anyone from Cricut Europe out there wants to send me one, I'm game haha
• Paste or Glue dots
• Gel pen, I used metallic
• Your favorite quotes

1. Trace the stencil onto your paper, make as many as you would like ot cut out.
2. Cut those.
3. Measure and cut squares to mount on to the decorative tag you just cut out. I didn't measure mine exactly, but just made markings and after cutting that one, drew lines to mark out where to cut. (See photo, hard to explain)
4. Mount the square tag on the decorative tag using paste or glue dots.
5. Write your favorite quotes on each of the cards!

The quotes I used on them were as simple as I love you or I love you always to Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite. I just googled and came up with some good ones. My favorite ones though are the song lyrics I used from our first dance song, KC & Jojo's All My Life.

My hubby really enjoys finding things like this in his lunch or backpack. Sometimes on a business trip I will stash one in his pants pocket, jacket pocket, or shirt pocket so each day he finds something different, which is what I am going to do when he leaves to the U.S. for two and a half weeks next month. Can be a nice little pick me up when you are in and out of stressful meetings. 

What is your favorite quote?

Do you do any thing special for you significant other when they travel?

Road Trip Planning Tips

Road trip planning tips are the topic of today's Blogging A to Z post.

Check out the other posts I've done here.

Since moving to Europe almost a year ago I have made quite a few new friends and acquaintences, through our chats one thing has become clear: planning a road trip is hard! Whether you are taking a car or train, getting organized to plan a big trip and see all you want to see along the way can be extremely overwhelming. I'm getting it down pretty well so I wanted to share with y'all some of my tips!

Use google maps. If you are going via car, use google maps, it is fantastic. You can add waypoints along the way, search areas in which you are thinking of stopping for landmarks and whatnot, it is a great resource. If you are going via train, like us, it is easy to map as well since google maps has the transportation feature! In Europe I imagine this is an easier feature to use, but it allows you to see a basic route and what is along the way. Using this feature I know on our way home from Berlin we will be stopping off in Cologne for a few hours since we switch trains there and our tickets are flexible. 

Know your route and stops along the way. If you want to make stops along the way while using a mass transit system make sure you know exactly where you are supposed to change trains. This will often allow you to see some really unique places that will only take an hour or two of your time. If you are in a car, this is important as the teenager remembers once being stuck on a bridge in Louisianna having to pee and once we finally got off the bridge, we were in the middle of nowhere with no peeing stations in sight, so knowing your route is good to prevent emergencies.

Know the terms of your tickets. If you are going by train make sure you know the terms of your tickets. I always get the mid-grade flexi tickets so if we want to hop off and on we can, just be aware of certain time restrictions and whatnot.

Know your train if you are travling by train. Most trains when traveling through Europe I have found do not having a dining car, so know ing your route will help you to know if you need to bring along food and drink. I always recommend having snacks, but we are traveling 6 hours to and from Berlin (12 total hours) this month with no dining car so I know we each need a water bottle, plus one extra bottle each, along with a full lunch and a snack. Usually they have someone walk through on trips 3+ hours with a box like you'd see at a ball game in the US but it is ladened with sugary crappy food that I have no desire to eat. (Plus, if you plan right and you don't have to drive you can bring beer and wine along ;))

Check the weather the day before you pack. I thought this one was something everyone did, but I have talked to 6 different people who have had a horrible vacation because they were so excited to get going, had an assumption about the weather of a place, and it was not at all what they expected! I usually pack just 24 hours in advance. I have a basic outline of what I want to take but the real packing isn't done until 24 hours before, you never know what sort of weather system could come in over night, some places are just that unpredicatable.

Bring as small a bag as you possibly can. This will eliminate over packing and will keep you from dreading making stops along the way. Many train stations have lockers you can rent so if you want to stop off you can toss your small suitcase in and enjoy a few hours sightseeing before catching your next train! For car rides this will allow for more leg room, than if you over packed.

Have a written itinerary. The biggest complaint I hear is they didn't get to see everything they thought they would. This doesn't necessarily have to be a huge written itinerary with walking directions like I made for London, but at least having a written account of landmarks you want to see and what is inside if it is a museum can be really helpful.....as poor time management, not realizing how long some things would take vs. the number of things they want to see is the reason most people are left a little let down. For example, when we went to Paris, we only had a long weekend so when we tackled the Louvre we knew we wanted to see Napoleon's Apartment and then we each picked three works of art we wanted to see, made it to those and then got out of there. We were in there an hour longer than we anticipated, but we still made it to all ther other stuff that day thankfully because we had a plan.

Keep your wallet in your front pocket for men, and women have a cross body bag with zipper in the front. For backpacks, have a lock for the zipper. This is to protect you from pick-pockets. These aren't foolproof but they do help. People can be the suck, especially in large, crowded areas such as the Eiffel Tower, near the Mona Lisa, or in a crowded square in Brussels.

That is all I have for now, later this week I will have some suitcase organizing tips, as well as my travel essentils.

Do you have any tips to add?

Jeans Recycling Project: Tic-tac-toe

For months now I have been hoarding jeans as I mentioned in my earring hanger I posted a few days ago....well, one little project wasn't going to use up all the jeans I had so I decided to try and make another project. I was slightly dismayed when I discovered I was able to make this and the earring holder (and mess up once on the earring holder) from one pair of jeans...I did wind up using a second pair of jeans to make the game board as I wanted contrasting colours...plus hubby's leg is bigger than mine so it made for a more spacious game board! haha

So...here goes..here is what you'll need:

• textile glue
• scissors for cutting the jeans
• 1-2 pairs of jeans
• packing peanuts or stuffing
• Washi tape
• Twine or ribbon

1. First, you will take a piece of the jeans and cut it so it is in a rectangle. I then folded it "hamburger" style and cut it in half, now I have two pieces, on one side of each piece it is sealed with the original seam. 
2. Using the textile glue, glue two of the open sides together, leaving one side open. 
3. Repeat steps one and two until you have 10 game pieces.
4. Once the sides are dry begin stuffing with packing peanuts or stuffing. Once it seems full add some glue to the final seam and glue shut.
   
5. Using some of the scrap pieces put X on five of the pieces and O on the other five. Let dry.
6. Using the full leg of jeans that is left cut off a nice large rectangular section (see photos for ideas). On one seam, cut it down the middle so you can now open the leg and have one large rectangular piece.
7. Using washi tape create the "pound" board in the middle making 9 nice size squares.
   
8. To finish off the board trim with washi tape. Add accents as you wish to make it a little stylish.
   
9. To create a storage bag cut off more of the leg. Turn it inside out, with textile glue make a seam by glue the "right sides" together. Let dry. Turn right side out.
   
10. At the top, fold over by about a quarter to half and in and snip just a tiny cut, repeat all the way around the top of the bag you are creating and lace with twine or ribbon. Put your board and game pieces inside and now you have a cute little travel game.
11. 

This is such a cute little game and has brought us lots of fun on these nice days when we walk or bike to the park and can layout having a little picnic. 

What do you do with your old jeans when they are too worn to wear anymore?

Make sure you check out the other projects I've posted during this A to Z Challenge...and check out the other bloggers too at Blogging A to Z!

D is for....Diary

I know what you are thinking...diary? Diary? Who the heck keeps a diary any more?! Well, I do...

This whole blog, given it's name is a diary of sorts...I am always telling y'all what I'm planning for the week, what sort of projects I'm doing, and where we are goin'! But, I also keep a few other diaries and encourage my teenager to as well.

Writing, can be very therapeutic...it allows you to get out your thoughts and feelings privately. I know for me, I over react about EVERYTHING so keeping a written journal allows me to get out what I am currently feeling and evaluate if I am misinterpreting the situation or if it is indeed something I need to bring up with the offending individual. It also allows me to record exciting events and read back on them later, as time goes on those events may fade in my mind but I am almost always glad I wrote them down. It is also a place when we have a big decision to make I can take a few days and write about it and see where my feelings take me, that usually helps to make decisions.

I also keep a separate dream diary. I keep the separate because believe it or not I have woken up and written in it during the night and not have remembered doing it when I wake up..I don't usually find out until a morning or two or three later when I go to record a dream. It doesn't happen often, but my writing is usually not the neatest as I am usually in a hurry, or not really awake it some cases so I like to keep the separate from my regular diary.

The final diary I keep is a gratitude journal with my husband. We started it over last thanksgiving and still use it. 

I find it helps us to focus on the positive in one another, especially during stressful times when he is working long hours, or I am PMS'ing (haha). I feel like this is a bit of our own romance novel and we get a small peek in to what the other is thinking.

Do you keep a diary of any sort?

A to Z Blogging Challenge!

Lately I have been wanting to take my blogging further. Not sure where to go with it and sometimes feeling a bit lost I sought out different challenges to complete to help me be a better blogger and blog more.

So, this month of April I commit to blogging 26 days! That is Monday through Saturday I will bring you at least one post every single day.

To give this challenge some direction I have themed my posts, they will all be some sort of project, like a craft or organizing project or sometimes a craft to help you organize!

If you have a craft or project you would like to see for a specific letter please let me know, I would be happy to incorporate anything you might like to see! Please, if there is anything you want to see let me know in the comments below :)

I have been working on this for a month now. I have had a lot of fun with it and I hope you enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed putting it together!

Here is the schedule for the challenge:

If you are participating in the A to Z Challenge as well please leave a comment so I can stop by and visit your blog as well! 

A to Z Links

Albums

Breakfast Center

Coffee Center

Diary

Earring Holder

Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Jeans Recycling Project

Keepsake Trophy Display

Packing Tips

Quote Cards

Road Trip Planning Trip