PinkCherryMama

{flying by... at turbo speed}

i won't even try to catch up on all that has gone on over the past few months but i'll share the highlights :)... one thing is for sure, i am a total failure at being consistent with this bloggity blog :/

the year seems like it is just flying by at turbo speed... am i the only one?!?!? everything seems to be happening so quickly; faster than usual even....

i am totally blessed to be keeping busy with the shop: 

(how do you like my little notes to self under my work?)

little buddy turned 7:

he is playing baseball again and big daddy is coaching (which he LOVES). life is trucking along as usual :)

something i thought i'd never say, i have almost completely stopped using my DSLR, in exchange for my iphone camera now. i actually feel less stressed and i am able to enjoy myself more without that thing strapped to my neck all the time! with life going by so fast, it's just more convenient to use my iphone and share on the go. and i have totally become an insta-addict, by the way! (instagram user name: pinkcherrymama of course!)

in march, we had a little mini  get-a-way to santa cruz and went to the monterey bay aquarium as well, to celebrate little buddys birthday... it's our favorite place to be... like a second home:

 

hmm, what else? our oldest daughter went on a mission trip to mexico with almost 1,000 people! don't have any photos, but super cool! and, in lighter news, i have developed a slight obsession with jasmine tea and almond cookies. i blame the tea gardens in SF for this :)

i finally got my little guest room/ craft room pretty much done. just need to paint so that it doesn't look like a nursery anymore! i am finding myself hanging out in there a few minutes a day just to get some "creative mama time" in, which is honestly really helping me with my "creative frustration". it was big daddy's idea for me to try it, and he was right... as usual... but don't tell him that!  i am so blessed to be able to do what i love as a business, but sometimes, it does get.. blah. i am totally enjoying having a space to create  and make whatever i want... it's super rad :). this is what i am currently up to in there:

my girls think i'm such a dork with my "project life" scrapbook stuff, but i don't care :) they'll be glad i did it when they are 60 years old!

i am also still going strong with my little lamp restoration projects. my mom had an old "tramp art" lamp that my great-grandfather had made her years ago. i had it tucked away in a box in the garage for ever and finally broke it out to finish repairing it. i'll show finished photos soon :)

ok, last thing i'll share for today... our good friends got married and big daddy was the best man :) i made the cake...

 if you happen to stop by this little blog of mine, leave me a comment. i'd love to know who actually reads this thing ;P

have a great week!

{my memory organizing quest}

as i've said before, i am HORRIBLE at finishing things. almost any project i start, never gets finished. i was ok accepted this fact for most of my adult life and just rolled with it. it's just who i am. well, the past few months, i have really started to get irritated at myself about all of these unfinished projects. it will be a long journey to get them all organized and finished. i'll share most of them along the way, mostly as therapy for myself!

the biggest of these projects for me is photo memories and my children's school "stuff". i am sure that i have become more intent on finishing these since  my 2 oldest daughters have recently moved  out of the house and my mommy guilt is heavy. as the years went by, i did a few scrapbook pages, filled a few photo albums and gatherd a TON of stuff that i couldn't bare to part with. the piles are starting to get organized and i have found a good groove that works for me to get caught up and start getting all of these memories into albums so that our family can enjoy looking back.

so this is my basic process in getting my photos ready to be put into albums {remember, i have a TON of photos and memorablia to get through..no really, a TON}

PRINTED PHOTOS:

- most of my printed photos and very old family photos are already in acid free envelopes and dated and labeled. i still have a few of those aweful magnetic albums, yellowing photo developing envelopes and multi-pocket sleeve albums with pictures in them which i am steadily getting organized.

- APS FILM - i always note APS film # on the envelope if applicable (i have so much of this horrible format it just kills me)  and i also separate the APS film from the envelope to save space.

- once i have dated and labeled everything, i sort them into two categories:

        NEED DIGITAL FILES  {if APS, i can easily find the corresponding film roll # to get made into CD}

        HAVE DIGITAL FILES {APS roll or envelope gets a check mark}

*i keep all of these organized photos in a chest of drawers labeled with sticky notes... very nice looking.

 

DIGITAL PHOTOS:

- when downloading digital photos, they all get added to one large folder for that year; i.e., "2013".

- i have my downloader set up to automatically download my photos into separate folders for each day within each month of that year. it makes alot of folders, but it works for me because i can look up anything by month and specific day.  i also have my downloader automatically rename all of my photos to the date they were taken plus a random number.

 

PRINTING DIGITAL PHOTOS:

* i am still trying to find what works best for me with printing. right now, i am really liking persnickity prints. they are an online printing service with awesome results, BUT, since they are mail order, there is a bit of wait time. i also will print on my epson artisan 50 if needed or just head on down to walgreens or walmart if i need a lot of photos fast.

SCHOOL PAPERS, ART, ETC.

for a lot of my children's school things, i am either scanning or photographing the items and then tossing them :/ i know, it sounds horrible, but there is just too much of it. the nicer art pieces, i have always framed and hung on the wall. i am organizing them by child first, then by grade. i thought about trying to date them more specifically, but it is just too much to handle.

 

MY PLAN FOR GETTING MEMORIES INTO ALBUMS (and not going crazy) :

since i am basically starting from scratch with a few scrapbook pages here and there and many years to organize, i have given myself a realistic goal for each week.

- document current week (or recent week since i have to wait for prints)

- document same week of prior year (helps me to not get confused)

- document 1 MONTH of past years beginning with my oldest child at birth. once i get past this, i will go back to high school and my childhood and older family photos as well.

*most of the time, i get everything into 2 pages, but i am not going to limit myself on that. the earlier years, i did not take many photos so it is easy to get a lot of time into 1 0r 2 pages.

SUPPLIES:

my supplies are pretty simple. i am using project life page protectors and kits as well as using up all of the papers and things i have collected over the years. i am trying not to buy much in terms of new items but i know i will still be getting some new things along the way.

so that's that. i am open to any suggestions on how you organize! 

{look at me! i'm so handy...}

i am having such a productive week, yay for me! my etsy shop is chugging along with orders and i have had some extra time to get lots of little things done around the house that i have been meaning to do forever. most of you who read are friends or family and know what a scatter-brain, too-many-projects-at-once, can't-focus-on-one-thing-for-too-long type of girl i am. so i'm sure it puts your mind at ease now, knowing that i have actually finished something for once. kidding. anywho.. this is just one project i was up to yesterday:

a few years ago, my lovely mama {knowing how i love a good challenge} found two beat up, old, milk glass lamps at a garage sale. the wiring on them was OLD and very rusty.  i LOVED them...but never got around to doing anything with them. until yesterday. i know, i know. another "re-wiring an old lamp" tutorial. it's up there with tissue paper pompoms and scrabble tile necklaces... but, i am doing it anyway just because i love my little ole' lamps so much :)

as you can see, they were pretty grungy and gross. i just used an old toothbrsh and cleaned them up before i started. i went down to my local hardware store and got this nifty little kit:

i didn't need any of the adapters or anything. i used the same little thingy-ma-bob that is attached to the neck to hold the socket so that i wouldn't ruin any of the cool, rusty parts. it has nothing to do with the electrical, so it is safe.

all i used was the cord and the socket assembly, which is actually two pieces but i forgot to take it apart before i took the photo. so let's get on with it....

 

first: READ THE DIRECTIONS THAT COME WITH YOUR KIT!!! now you can't sue me if something goes wrong ;)

1} take a look at the bottom of your lamp and see if there is a screw or anything fastening the cord in. if there is, just unscrew it and your good....or, as in my case, it will disintegrate into a million little pieces as soon as you try to loosen it :)

2} cut the plug off of the bottom of the cord with some wire cutters.

3} pull out the entire socket piece, pulling the cord with it.

4} get the new cord, which should be split in two with the end wires exposed. push it up through the original hole in the bottom of the lamp and pull up a few inches so you have some length to work with.

*pull up more than shown or you'll never be able to finish!

5} next you'll need to tie an underwriter's knot. you can go here to see a short video on how to do this. it seriously took me like 20 seconds to learn.

6} now you're going to push the metal socket out of the cardboard housing and attach the wires to the socket by wrapping and then tightening the screws around them. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!! they will tell you which wires to attach where. in my case they were differentiated by smooth and ribbed, but some kits may have colored wires.

basically, you're done! all you need to do is push the wires and socket back into the cardboard housing...

then push the entire piece down into the base until it snaps.

i am sure my hubs and my dad {and my more sarcastic friends, you know who you are!} are just cringing at the fact that i am so proud of this easy task... but i just love my little lamps :) 

i hope you are all having a productive, satisfying week! no matter how simple or difficult  your job or task is, be proud. most of us don't have a ton of time to waste, so make it worth it, make it meaningful... whatever you are doing.

{PinkCherryMama cupcake toppers featured!}

so excited to see my snowflake cupcake toppers were featured in this 1st birthday party on project nursery :) the party was styled by emily. she is AMAZING. you can see more of the events she has planned here, as well as find vendor names, etc.

have a great super bowl sunday!

{starting project life}

so i'm finally getting around to starting "project life" this year. i have to admit, i tried to get started last year (and even got my 19 year old to start), but didn't even get one page finished... bad, i know. it really is important to me to document life for my self as well as my kids and grandkids (someday) (hopefully not too soon). so i am going to try to stick with it this year and make it a habit.

to gather inspiration for my books, i have been lurking around instagram and blogland. one of my favorites is stephaniemakes. she is so organized and love, love, love her style. i also like aliedwards who is just awesome.

for my first page, i did something a little different. big surprise there. i printed some digital files that i got free from studiocalico onto fabric. i haven't finished yet, but here is a photo. i'll post the final product when i'm done. 

stephaniemakes uses a lot of confetti, so i decided to try it :) i had an old punch that a friend gave me years ago and it's called "confetti"...so that's what i used to punch up all of the mistake prints i made and got some pretty cool, you guessed it, confetti.

so i got the dusty sewing machine out again and i'm ready to finish up the first page of the year...late as usual, but that's how i roll.

 

this "project life" thing is really getting me motivated to finally document my family heritage. not just scan the old photos and call it good, but actually tell about each person. this morning, little buddy asked me, "mom, what was grandma's mom like?", and i was a little surprised. not at his questions, but that i had never sat down with him and showed him photos or told him anything about her. i lost all of my grandparents by the time i was 12, so none of my kids ever had the chance to know them. as bad as it sounds, i had never thought to tell him about my grandma. so tonight, mama, grandma rosie and little  buddy will be sitting down with some photos and "meeting grandma lidia".

if you are interested in seeing what "project life" is, you can go here and read about it from the woman who started it :)

have a great night :)

{just a little note}

good morning peeps!

you may have noticed that my blog has been changing...ALOT; the banner, the content, etc. i am in the process of finding my voice and the best look for what i want my space to look like. i had thought about taking it down for a bit while i went through the process, but then i thought, why? this is me... i'm horrible at making up my mind, i pretty much always have a mess of projects going at one time and everything changes for me 100 1,000 times a day. sooooo, i hope you'll put up with me for a bit, while i figure things out :) meanwhile, if you happen to stop by and see a change you like, PLEASE, let me know!

have a wonderful day!

roberta

p.s.

have you signed up for vine yet?!?

{ so long 2012...hello 2013 }

3 weeks into 2013 and i'm finally getting to my first post!

things around here have been quiet for a couple of months...well, in relation to how crazy it usually is, i should say :) the PinkCherryMama Shop has been very quiet, waiting for the wedding rush that comes about this time each year.

a recap of our holidays...

we had a great thanksgiving with just a few family and friends. nice and quiet :) 

we had a major change just after thanksgiving when our little sassy pants decided to move out on her own on her 18th birthday :(  needless to say, mama is having a hard time adjusting to having only one child at home...i'll just move on from that subject now...

 

christmas was really quiet and nice as well. yes, i had 3 christmas trees... "the retro tree", "the hand-made tree" and the "the big tree"...don't judge.

little side projects i did for christmas: removable hanger covers for those ugly hooks some of us use at christmas. {1} cut a shape from felt {2} cut a slit in the center {3} slip it over the hook. so easy i'm embarrassed to be sharing :/

"restoring vintage decorations" - i cleaned them up as best i could then used german silver tinsel to cover up the areas that had started looking too shabby. added new tinsel hangers and they look super cool and retro :)

the new year brought our totally awesome youth group kids back to our home for the night...it was so nice to see all of them back from college and doing well. grandpa celebrated his 76th birthday on the 2nd day of the year and we all stayed warm in the FREEZING cold spell we had! the hubs decided it would be a grand idea to hooky-bob using a boogie  board and the mini-quad...and NOT have the child wear his snow pants...what was HE thinking?

 

and now...back to our routine. getting ready for school, walking to the bus stop, work.....

i don't ever set new year resolutions, but this year i have set a goal to simplify my life and get organized. i am going to try to be more consistent in ever aspect of my life as well: relationships, household, work, faith, physically, mentally, creatively... keeping this dang blog updated!

i've already started "simplify and create" projects all around the house and it has been so freeing! i have thrown away, given away and put away so much STUFF it's amazing...i set up a little spot so that i can do something creative every day (other than my etsy orders) and i've almost finished organizing every space in the house...the photos seem to be the biggest problem :? APS film was the worst idea ever...

the wedding orders have started to come in and i am looking forward to a busy spring season. i'll be posting some new projects and designs soon. if you have a chance, swing by the PinkCherryMama shop and give me any suggestions you may have :)

saying goodbye to 2012 is hard. we had dear, dear family members pass, family and friends move, huge life changes all year. even though there have been struggles and tough times, i am so thankful for EVERYTHING that life brings. in the end God always seems to work it all for good in some way. i truly hope this year brings so many blessings to you all. i am excited to see what the new year brings and what we all accomplish! and don't hesitate to give me a little nudge if you see me falling off the "simplify, organize, be consistent wagon"... i need all the help i can get!

stay warm and be blessed!

~r

{fall....are you here, or not?}

it seems like the weather just can't decide if it wants to be fall yet or not! last weekend it felt like summer, yesterday it was in the 70's, today it was supposed to be in the 60's {but feels much warmer} and tomorrow they're calling for SNOW!

the orders for thanksgiving have been coming in for a while, but it just doesn't seem like fall...today anyway!

even some Christmas orders are coming in already!

***********************************************

FALL...so far

our entire household ate prunes for about 2 weeks straight due to the overabundance we had on our tree this year!

i grew tomatoes, green tomatillos and purple tomatillos in containers, pulled off a successful 40 day run of devotionals and pondered lines in the sky... which my husband was later told by a random passer by {no joke}, were chemicals that the government is spraying us with...yikes!

we took a lazy day out to see the annual salmon run and festival in tahoe...

...and the next day,

little sassy pants {my 17 year old}, went into the hospital for emergency surgery! it was very scary and she is fine now, but at the time, it was really stressful!

 

the weather here in northern nevada has been CRAAAAASSSSSY...{you must say this in your best nacho libre voice}...to say it mildly. one day it's 80 degrees,the next it could be snowing. regardless, i do love it and we never get bored!

my hubby sent me this photo when he got to work a couple of weeks ago...

and the same time, 40 minutes away, this is what it looked like!

the full moon is always beautiful from here ... little buddy wanted to know "why the moon didn't want to go to sleep" on this particular morning...

we celebrated halloween in a tiny town called genoa this year. it is only 15 minutes from us. it is such a cute old historic town. you can find more info about it here. the town has an old fashioned party with a pot-luck in the town hall and hay rides for the kids. the hay ride takes the kids around town to trick-or-treat., it was so fun! i think it will be a new tradition for us.

and last but not least...

we ALL voted yesterday! no matter what your political views are, i hope that we can all come together and be as positive as possible as a country. my belief is that God is in control, no matter what, and that is what gives me peace.

have a cozy evening!

~r 

{more from PinkCherryMama's shop and my summer highlights...}

 

some of my favorite craftiness and custom items from the shop this past summer:

the blanket i started for my little "sparkle"...

the name badges i made for my 20 year high school reunion! look at that HAIR!

"coasters"... better-known-as, "i can't sit still to save my life so i need something to keep my hands busy" project...

custom initial toppers for a customer wedding...

bright birthday invitations...

"i do" wedding toppers...love the grecian pink ribbon :)

"sweet love" wedding toppers...

cute little banner for a 1 year olds birthday...

custom sachets for a wedding...

summer looked a little like this for our household this year...

emerald bay

pope beach

virginia city

HUME LAKE- life would not be the same without it!

and more beach...

squeezing into cars to save on parking!

 hanging in our backyard...

 

new tattoo...

saying goodbye :(

starting 1st grade...

invisible children...

dangers of late summer in nevada...

so that's it! my life for the past summer, in a VERY condensed version :)

hope you have a great weekend!

~r

 

{catching up on this year!}

PinkCherryMama did great all spring! busy, busy, busy as usual!

i am so, so thankful for my wonderful customers! it is truly a blessing to be able to create from home and be a small part of so many wonderful events.

* it's been a crazy, blessed and trying year personally. we have had so many big life events that i don't even know where to begin. this will be my attempt to fill in any family, friends or passers-by, who care to know :)

~ SPRING ~

spring came and went in a flash as usual..

sometimes i wish the seasons would wait for me to catch up.

my baby girl went to senior prom with her "giant" friend...

and when i say "giant", i am referring not only to his crazy height, but his heart as well :) ...she's wearing 6" heels!

the weather here is so perfect in the spring, so big daddy and little buddy find plenty to keep themselves busy...

so much to love about spring...

my oldest went to prom with one of her oldest friends...well, actually, he is her oldest friend! it was in beautiful pebble beach... oh so shmancy!

too bad these two couldn't take anything seriously to save their life!!!!

and since we were in monterey, we couldn't pass up an couple of hours at the aquarium...

did i mention the lack of seriousness?

powder puff was entertaining... and freezing!

i made some pretty rad cupcakes for little buddy's kindergarten graduation...

and sent my baby girl to her last day of high school...

then she graduated with one of her best buds, jojo potatoe!

we celebrated with a big mardi gras style party...

that got a little out of hand...

and that was it for spring... 

i'll post more PinkCherryMama items tomorrow, along with my  ~SUMMER~ "highlights".

have a most fabulous friday evening!

~r