Dec 31, 2014

New Year, New Tradition

Note:  inspired by my good friend Sarah, I'm making some changes on the blog.  If every time you visit my blog and you see a new background or fonts or designs, just "let it go."  I'm playing around with some different ideas until I find something I'm completely happy with.  Read on. :)

Happy last day of 2014, friends!  This was a heck of a year for the Gaddie Family.  Disney trip, a three year old, kitchen remodeling, basement remodeling, news of a fourth member being added to the Gaddie household.  What a great year!  Leaps and bounds above how I felt about 2012 and 2013.  I was thankful for a year full of (mostly) good news, finally.

So, here I sit.  I can hear the bells of a New Year ringing in the very near future.  My mind, naturally, is on resolutions.  Just for fun, I decided to go back to my post this time last year to see if I actually accomplished anything I set out to do in 2014.  I resolved to be a better Christian, save money, organize my 28th and Hudson business, organize the basement, feel better about myself, to single-handledly bring back snail mail, finish my furniture redos, keep my house picked up, and to keep up with my blogging.  Whew.  I'm exhausted just reading that list.  In an ideal world, this would be the part where I tell you that I did all of these things and more to fulfill my resolutions.  But this is real life and I accomplished some of these things.  I wish I could tell you that I was a better Christian this year.  But a tragedy happened in our community, to a family I barely know, and my faith hasn't really been the same since.  Hopefully I'll get brave in 2015 and talk more about my struggles, but I definitely failed this year.  Marty and I did do better with budgeting our money and saving.  I didn't organize my 28th and Hudson business, because I ended up shutting the business down....for right now.  Talk to me again when I have my own super organized craft room and am able to go to my very own space to craft again.  Our basement is getting organized because we're finishing it, and I'm getting my own craft room, Avery is getting a playroom and Marty is getting a space for all his junk.  Almost as good as the craft room?  We're getting an area for storage.  I'm envisioning walls of shelves for all our stuff.  It's going to be glorious.  I don't feel any better about myself.  Same story, different day.  I did send more snail mail in 2014.  I didn't finish any of the furniture pieces I wanted to.  Keep my house more picked up?  I just laugh at that one.  My house is always a wreck.  Right now, I'm blaming it on being pregnant and miserably sick.  After that?  I don't know what my excuse will be.  Keeping up with blogging.  I started out really great, and ended up taking a two month break from blogging.  That's the way it goes I guess!  Accomplish some things, fail at others, don't beat yourself up for the ones you don't do.

So, in 2015, I resolve to not make any resolutions. 

Of course, I have goals I would like to accomplish in 2015.  But this new year is bringing us a new baby.  There's absolutely no telling what I'm going to have time or energy to get done in the new year.  I can't say that I'm going to start crafting more or be a better housekeeper or read more.  In 2015, with a 3 year old and a newborn, I may be lucky to just keep my head above water. 

Instead of resolutions, the Gaddie family is going to do a "Blessings Jar."


When we make resolutions, they have a way of making us feel bad about ourselves when we look back at our past year and think about all the things that we didn't accomplish.  I'll be honest.  When I looked back at my January 1, 2014 post, I was disappointed at myself for the things I didn't get done.  Ergo, no resolutions.  Instead, we're going to make a "Blessings Jar."  Idea from this awesome post my sister shared on Facebook.  Every time a good thing happens to one of the Gaddie Three (soon to be four, God willing), we will write it on a piece of paper (reality: Mommy will end up writing it on a piece of paper) and stick it in our blessings year. 

When December 31, 2015 rolls around, we'll open up the jar, revist our blessings and marvel at what a wonderful year 2015 was, filled with blessings. 

I smell a new tradition in the making.  Happy New Year, y'all!

Dec 17, 2014

Princesses and First Post in Forever

I know I haven't been posting.  I could give you a hundred reasons why: I'm pregnant, sick, we're redoing our basement, my house is a disaster....but I'll just say this.

I'm sorry.

Sorry I haven't given you any updates, crafts, Avery stories, home tours.  I've just been so overwhelmed and exhausted to even think about blogging.  But I am still here, I do still love blogging very much, and I promise to update you more (plus, for Christmas, I'm getting my very own laptop!! No more having to borrow Marty's work laptop to hurriedly hash out a blog post!).

I thought as an apology, I'd dive back into the blogging world with a craft post!

It's no secret that Avery and I are Disney fanatics.  Marty, I think, is starting to come around.  He mentioned to me about a month ago about when we'd visit Disney World again. Convert?  I hope so!

So, with Christmas coming, I thought that it was a no-brainer for us to have some Disney-inspired Christmas decor in our house!  I had to reach wayyyyy back in my memory and dig up these amazing Disney Princess Dolls from Taija's Drawing Board--a Tumblr account where one woman posts her AH-MAZE-ZING works of Disney art.  I'm obsessed.  I currently have one of her drawings of Ariel as my phone background.  That's beside the point.

These are the beauties I'm talking about today:



I know they're not overly Christmas-y, but if you look close (and my apologies for the terrible picture and all the ones to follow...it's going to be a goal for 2015 to learn how to take better iPhone pictures) Tiana is holding a gift, Pocahontas is holding a snowball.  In our house, however, these aren't going to be used for Christmas decor.  We're hanging these from Avery's bedroom ceiling.  She's close to exploding with excitement.  Want to learn how to make your own?  Well, then I'm so glad you're here!

Materials Needed:


  • string
  • scissors
  • glue or tape
  • cardstock
  • crayons/colored pencils/markers
  • tissue paper
  • string
How to assemble:

1.  Go to Taija's Drawing Board Tumbler page and print off the Princesses.  For me, it was little complicated to do.  When I just right clicked the picture to print it, it was attempting to print the entire Tumblr page.  So, I had to save the JPG image to my computer and then print the picture off.  
You should have 5 pages when you're done, 10 Princesses total. 

2.  Once you have your Princesses printed out, color 'em! 


I printed off 3 copies of each page, two for me to color and one for Avery.  Yes, I'm OCD when it comes to crafts and wanted some of them to look good.  So sue me. 

3.  Once they're colored, cut each Princess out.  You also need to cut a thin rectangle shape out in the middle of the body for the tissue paper to go.  Taija's already made that easy for you and has the lines where you need to cut.


4.  Choose whatever color tissue paper you want for each specific Princess and fold a long piece of tissue paper into an accordion-style.  Make sure you don't have the folds too wide to fit into the rectangle that you cut out of the middle of the Princess. 


5.  Insert the folded tissue paper into the cutout you made in the Princess.


6.  Open each side of the folded paper and tape or glue the ends together.  Add string to the top and you're done! 


The beauty of these little beauties is how versatile they can be.  Hang them from a present for a unique addition to your wrapped box: 


Or make a loop at the top with your string and turn them into ornaments.  Or, do as the Gaddies are doing, and use them as decor in your Princess obsessed child's room.  So many options! 


You can do two colors of tissue paper, cut one in a design and create a layered dress.  Make the dress longer.  Or shorter.....


Add texture to mimic the Princesses real dresses from their actual Disney movie,,,


The possibilities are endless! And the cool thing about the artist that made these is that she has included little tips to the side of each Princess for you to personalize them any way you'd like.  She even teaches you how to make a real paper flower or how to jazz a Princess up with some glitter.  



So, these Princesses are pretty cute, right?  Am I forgiven for not blogging in forever??

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