Decorating with Sea Glass

We LOVE to collect sea glass! Whenever we head to the beach, we're always on the lookout.

We found this glass bottle ages ago and thought it to be perfect home for our treasures. It's topped with a leaded-glass-look cross. Since we don't live on the coast, hunting for sea glass is not a daily or weekly opportunity for us. Still, we are frequently in California, often when it's too cold to really swim, so walking and playing in the sand allows us the time to find the rocky places where sea glass likes to rest.

Not too long ago we were blessed to find ourselves on the west coast of Italy. Walking along the sea from Rapallo to Portofino past many rocky beaches, we couldn't resist to stop for sea glass. In a matter of minutes we had found more and larger pieces than in the previous five years of gathering on our west coast! [I don't know if that is the case always or it was due to heavy rains that had churned up the coast prior to our arrival.] Regardless, the kids especially were giddy with excitement at the overabundance of treasure at our fingertips! We laughed as we tossed the "tiny" specimens back – only selecting the grandest for keepsakes – but how those "tiny" pieces might have been considered precious and large back in CA.  :-)

Our original collection being enjoyed in my daughter's bedroom.

Kids Junior Olympics Party Games - part 2

Today I'll share more about our Junior Olympics Party we held last week in our backyard.

We had 21 kids – most of them between ages 5 and 11.

We had to start our games with an Olympic torch relay, of course! :-)

We ran around the cul-de-sac, set our torch in it's cauldron and started right off with Track and Field. Kids were paired up for a 3-legged race:

Shot put found 8 kids at a time rolling bocce balls, striving for closest to the golf ball target.

Our littlest ones got to try from up close:

Hurdles was all about the numbers – the colored bars of this lawn game are 1, 2, 3 top down:

Discus was a frisbee toss into concentric circles on the grass. For some of the games, we adjusted for the age differences by having the younger children stand a little closer than the older kids. Similarly we used a ring target for a child's lawn 'dart' game, counting points for the win.

We also had a badminton individual competition – how many vertical hits each child can get in a row.

In gymnastics we competed in a test of balance – standing on one leg for as long as possible:

Into the pool we went to cool off on this blistering hot August afternoon. We started with individuals competing against the clock two at a time, down and back the length of the pool. This should have been  an age-adjusted race, 5-7 competing and the 8-10s competing. We also did kick board races and relays with teams of 4 kids of assorted age and ability.

After each group of events we held a medals ceremony beside the pool, in front of a large U.S. flag.

It was so sweet to see all the kids up on the 'podium' receiving their medals with pride.

I went with simple felt circles and assorted red, white and blue ribbons:

 Of course, with the actual 2012 Olympics going on, I had plenty of tv time to work on a stash of medals. A little fabric glue and you can see the back side with just a little overlap:

I learned so much from this party, we'll have to do it again next summer and it'll be really smooth! Ha! The game ideas are really limitless, so have fun being creative with your events! We don't really get snow here, so I'm not sure we can do a Winter games, but that would be equally fun! See my first post for more about our Junior Olympics Party!

Kids' Junior Olympics Party Ideas

My kids and I just hosted 21 kids here for a backyard Junior Olympics Party. 

They had so much fun! We've been enjoying all the events on tv and it's totally inspired my kids to get out and compete! This is the first Olympics they can understand, so each night as we watch the array of sports it's a real education.

Water bottles with the athletes' names keeps things simple and organized. 

Girls in red, boys in blue along with "Junior Olympics 2012" and the iconic Olympic rings:

Our Olympic Torch was a sparkly silver party hat turned upside down. Orange paper and pink tissue paper create our "flames." An old jar candle holder becomes our Olympic cauldron centerpiece:

The party 'favors' and cheering accessories were ribbon wands:

Both Michael's and Lowes had 5/16 inch wood dowels. This was a good diameter in which to screw little eye hooks in one end. I believe they were 3 feet long and we sawed them in half.

I used leftover jewelry supplies  – two silver connecting rings on which to safety pin three assorted ribbons in our red, white and blue. I'm not even sure the rings are that necessary if you want to keep things simple. 

Ribbons flowed about two feet and were arranged in a bucket until our first medal ceremony:

The kids' ages ranged from about two to 11, not counting one precious newborn. :-) Our party was scheduled to go 4 hours – from 1 to 5pm. Half way through our competitions we retreated to the Olympic Village commissary for snacks:

The olympic rings' colors and design formed our food theme. We offered plain and blueberry bagels covered in cream cheese and colored cake decorating gel. Nutella colored our black 'ring.' The kids had their fill of bagels and bowls of similarly-colored fruit, thankfully brought by the moms.

One lovely friend used her pastry skills to treat us all with these scrumptious creme-filled cupcakes!

Go Team U.S.A!! 'Til next time when we look at the medals and games!

Help Others With Your Stories!

Introducing ...

www.mentorsaurus.com! 

A brand new online mentoring site!!

Mentorsaurus is all about giving others the benefit of our hindsight. Encouraging others who are now traveling some of the paths of life we've taken. It's a community-built website full of stories by real people – sharing real advice, encouragement and tips.

I've been a part of building the site, so am especially excited about its launch! I, and others you may know, have contributed our stories – will you join us? If you're not a blogger, this is a place you can pop on to share your thoughts here and there to help others as you wish. If you have a blog or website, you can enjoy the benefit of a linkback to your own endeavors – expand your reach and grow your audience.

What do you think? Check it out and let me know your thoughts! Read the Writing Guidelines for ideas and the About Mentorsaurus page to learn more! You don't have to be a writer to contribute – you just need a desire to help people... something I know all of my readers have! You're the best!!

AND ... mentorsaurus is on all the social media – will you help spread the word??? You can "like" mentorsaurus on facebook, "follow" them on twitter and sign-up for the newsletter. Share the link via email and post about the site on facebook or your blog. Grab a fun button for your blog or website. Thanks so much!!!!

School's Out Party!!

Happy First Day of Summer Vacation!!

Kids get out of school today!!

Just a half day - yay!!!

We've got a bunch of friends coming over right after school for a lunch & pool party. My son and I set out little footprints leading them in. Just fluorescent green paper cutouts and a quickie sign. We're having crazy wind today, so not sure any patio decorations would make it! Are you celebrating with any special activity for your school-age kids?

Big Big Easter Giveaway: Ichthus & Art

Time for a BIG Easter Giveaway! Thank you to everyone for visiting and leaving such sweet comments all year even tho my posts have become thinner of late!! Please remember to use my 'search' box over on the right to find all my previous Inspiring Ideas for every holiday and event and occasion you can think of! Here are all the Easter Ideas. Lots of resources in here!

Let's get to it!!

Prize #1: Metal Wall Ichthus:I get tons of feedback on this metal piece I designed for DaySpring. They were so gracious to offer this last one to give away to one of my lovely readers!!! Score!!! This iron wall piece features the Ichthus or fish symbol used by those who believed in and followed Jesus after his resurrection – Christians. And as we come up on Easter, it's the perfect time to reflect on that amazing gift of God.

The piece measures 40 x 28 inches, and will make a dramatic statement in your home or office. This art is also reversible so you have 2 color tones to match your decor.Yeah! Of course, one graces my home and I'd love for it to be in yours, too!! Thank you, DaySpring.  One winner will receive 1 Metal Wall Ichthus!

Prize #2: Art Print from my Etsy store:

Choose your favorite print from my Vintage Inspiration collection or my modern Christian art in my Etsy shop.  One winner will receive his/her choice of one 8x10 print from my Etsy store.

Prizes #3 & #4: A copy of my book Inspirational Home:This hardcover book is subtitled "simple ideas for uplifting decor and craft." It is loaded with beautiful full color photos of the kinds of ideas you see me do here. AND there are complete instructions. It's a craft book and a pretty coffee table book - prepare to be inspired! You can read more about it on my Book page. Two winners will receive a signed copy of my book Inspirational Home.

THE GIVEAWAY: FOUR PRIZES, FOUR WINNERS!

Two ways to enter: comment below and "LIKE" my artist Facebook page!! Everyone can have two entries!! Please pop over to Facebook and Like "Jeanne Winters."

Contest is open until midnight MT, March 28th. Winners must have a US address I can ship to. Leave your email or a way to contact you if you win! I'll announce winners shortly thereafter. Ichthus is a gift from DaySpring.com. My links to them are affiliate links.

Vintage Art - Vintage Restorations

If you know my art, then you know my love for vintage. At the Las Vegas Market we saw fabulous restorations of vintage refrigerators, gas pumps and popcorn machines in the Made in the USA booth. Turns out the display was of Rick's Restorations – known as American Restoration on the History Channel – manned by Rick's brother!  He encouraged us to stop by their location just a few blocks from Market Center:

Of course, we couldn't resist, so we popped in the next morning before hitting the show floor.

 We met Rick's team and took the quick tour. Here's Rick in the denim cut-off shirt filming a segment:

They take relics that look completely hopeless with the decay of this world and restore them to such charming, gleaming beauty – they're given a whole. new. life. What a perfect illustration of what Jesus does for us!

While there, we met fellow market attendees, the Staubs from Bellevue, Washington. Here's the lovely Kathryn:

When asked what kind of store they had, Kathryn said to me "The kind you'd love!" And then they showed us pictures of their shop "Common Folk  Co." and YES! She was right! I totally loved it without even stepping foot inside - gorgeous wood floors with vintage tables stylishly displaying jewelry, hats, scarfs, pillows, etc. If you're near Bellevue, definitely worth a stop into Common Folk for "Gifts they'll love you for!"

Love for DaySpring!

Last week I was so blessed to meet up with a few people from DaySpring. As many of you know, DaySpring.com carries several pieces of my art in framed canvases and gallery-wrapped canvases, as well as my book.

We connected at the Las Vegas Gift Market and it was such a treat!

We discussed which NEW paintings of mine they'd like to offer. Yay! :-) And, I got a sneak peek at some of their other beautiful new products coming online soon – a fresh, stylish assortment of things I know you'll LOVE!!!

They are such lovely, genuine people I always enjoy time spent with them! After a day walking the show our tired feet explored a few Vegas sites like "Paris" and many decorations for the Chinese New Year:

And my kids were thrilled with the treats I brought home - like these show badge carriers they went exploring with in the backyard!  :-)

Breathe Kindness

Hi! I've been a tad lax in my posts this month. Hope you are finding what you need around here! Don't forget to use my search box over on the right. You can also click on the topic in the 'tag cloud.' Many are looking for my past Valentine's Day ideas. Please click the link to see tons of festive Valentine holiday ideas!

I have been painting!!!  I had to set aside the mouse to pick up the paintbrush! It feels so good!! I have a few new vintage inspiration prints available in my Etsy shop now.

"Breathe Kindness" based on Galatians 5:22-23 the fruit of the Spirit

and "SOAR on wings like eagles" from Isaiah 40:31.

I also painted two new verses in the same classic letters as my popular "God is Good All The Time" print:

"I Know The Plans I Have For You Says the Lord." Jeremiah 29:11

and "I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me." Philippians 4:13

Wow - I feel better already just reading those short promises from God!! I hope you do, too!! Thanks for coming by!!