Organizing Happiness by Mrs. Lorrie Flem: An Excellent Resource for a Beginning Homemaker

I recently had the opportunity to read Mrs. Lorrie Flem's e-book, Organizing Happiness.  What a great resource for training an older daughter in the basics of running an organized home!

Do you know a new homemaker who could use a crash course in the basics?  Organizing Happiness is an excellent tool with great ideas for practical application.

A few great things that stuck with me about Lorrie's e-book included:

• "Just Say No":  Don't you hate that feeling of obligation for saying, "yes" when you know you should have said, "no"?  Think of how much more peaceful our lives, homes, and families would be if we stopped taking on more than we can handle!


• "Progress Not Perfection":  We should strive to get the job done well---not perfectly.  As Lorrie says, we can always go back and do the details later.


• "Never Give Up" on your family.  Trust God that your husband and children are ultimately God's children.  Have faith that the seeds we plant today have great potential for future success!


•  "Visualize the Victory":  having a mental image of our goals can really help in following through with our organizational plans.  When I was a new homemaker, I used to make a chart of how I wanted my living room set up when I was ready to rearrange it.  I didn’t get overwhelmed because I knew just what I was doing.

My favorite part of this blessed little book is her section on Spiritual Weapons for Happiness.  These truths are great to apply to my life as a wife, mom, and homemaker.

It's so easy for you to get your own FREE copy of Organizing Happiness!  Just visit the Eternal Encouragement website and sign up for Lorrie's newsletter, Snippets from Lorrie's Diary.  You'll be sent an email with a link to download the free e-book!

Should you be interested in purchasing a copy for yourself or a friend, you can find Organizing Happiness by following the link to her website as well!

Elmer's Painters Paint Markers Canvas Shoes Project #CBias #SocialFabric

  
Sometimes it's fun to relive our best childhood memories through the eyes of our own kids.  I had that chance today!

This afternoon, Lynzie and I took the opportunity to try out Elmer's Painters Paint Markers. Recently, I was thinking back on when I was about her age and how I'd always love to decorate inexpensive canvas shoes from Payless. (We didn't have a Walmart back in those days!) I'd use puffy paints and buttons and make some really cute creations. They'd often end up being too stiff to actually wear, but the fun was in the creating!

I thought Lynzie would have a good time with them too, so I took her to Walmart this afternoon to pick out her supplies. I had been wanting to try out Elmer's Painters Paint Markers, but when I went to look for them in their usual spot, I found that Walmart was clearancing them out.

Luckily, we found some really cute colors on the clearance rack.  Lynzie chose a pack of pastels and an individual gold marker.

When we got to the shoe aisle, we were a little worried because the kind we needed was just about cleared out!  We did, however, find her size!  After that, we shopped for some shoes for Elisha and birthday presents for Liam.  He'll be 2 on Saturday!

When we got home and got all the presents hidden, Lynzie assembled her supplies and got to work.

She removed the laces to get them out of the way, and I primed all of the markers.  I just needed to press each one down on a piece of paper until the paint flowed freely into the tip.  I explained to Lynzie how easy it was to get the paint flowing again if the tip needed a refill. 

She's so creative that she just began and didn't stop until they were adorable.  She even did the laces!

I was really impressed with how quickly the acrylic paint dried and how it didn't affect the flexibility of the shoes at all.  I just think these are the cutest things!  They remind me of Punky Brewster!

Oh yeah, and Mr. Almost Two asked me to include a picture of his foot as well!  Adorable!

To learn more about Elmer's products, visit:

Elmer's Website
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Elmer's on Facebook

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  #CBias #SocialFabric.  All opinions are honest and are my own.

#ExpressYourself

Food Photography by Sony from SoFabU

I don't know about you, but my most favorite go-to places for recipes are my online friends' blogs.  In fact, my own most visited posts are those in which I've posted recipes and food tutorials.  Our networks of blogging friends are excellent resources for creative meal ideas and kitchen tips.  The biggest hindrance to my posting more recipes is the fact that my photos leave much to be desired!

It is for this reason that I'm so very, very thrilled to tell you about a 6-week course I'm taking through Social Fabric University called Food Photography by Sony.  In this class, I'll be learning and improving my skills in the area of food photography.  Before I found out about this class, I didn't ever consider that there was a specific profession of photographers that focus on food.  Awesome!  

My favorite "food photo" so far!

I'll be learning tips about food presentation and how to get the lighting right.  I'll even get the inside scoop on how professionals use certain tricks when they're taking photos for advertising.  (Like why a Whopper seems to really be a WHOPPER in the photo, but it's just a whopper in the package.)

What I'm really hoping to learn is how to make my food look as good as it tastes!  

Some of my favorite posting themes are those I do with a pretty tea party setting and dainty little treats to nibble on.  I want to learn better angles at which to capture the beauty and peacefulness of the setting.  

How do I capture the prettiness of this setting?  I guess getting the high chair out of the photo would be a good start... :)

One problem I have with my photography now is that I usually get the "hot air balloon view" on everything.  I'd like to learn how to get closeups of the majority of the spread.

A not-so-great view from above!

Very soon, you can all look forward to an improvement to my photos---especially those featuring food---and, therefore, more great recipes!