WE HAVE MOVED!!!

I have moved this blog to wordpress.com.  Please update your subscriptions to the new blog.  Not only did I move the blog, but I gave it an updated look and an updated name.  It is now called One Creative Mom.

Without further ado.....

http://www.onecreativemom.wordpress.com/

Please visit and subscribe to receive e-mail updates of new posts.  Let us know if you like it by leaving comments.

Thank you,

Tricia
One Creative Mom

Its time for change!!!

For a while, I have been toying with an idea of moving my One Crafty Mom blog to wordpress.com.  They have a more interactive way to view the stats of the blog.  It makes is easier for me to see how many people come and read my blog.   So far, in the past few months, I only have two visits. 

Now, moving to wordpress not only makes it easier for me to see how many people read my blog, but it also puts my blog out there making it easier for people to find my blog.  That is the main reason why I am moving.  I will still be blogging about the all things crafty that I do or deal with, but it will be on the new wordpress.com blog.

So, I will post the new address here.  I hope to see my readers that are subscribed switch their subscription to the wordpress blog.

Thank you,

Patricia

I'm Back!!!

Well, I have been doing well on my other blog http://www.mygenealogyobsession.wordpress.com/ but I must admit that I missed this blog and posting about craft stuff.  So, I have decided that I am going to do both blogs.  For now, my One Crafty Mom blog will stay here at Blogger while the other will stay at Wordpress.  I do like wordpress better when it comes to creative freedom but for now I will keep it this way. 

I have still been crafting and have set up my scrapbooking area really nice for the limited area I have.  I will be posting my latest projects and pictures of my scrapbooking area soon.  I just wanted to post and say that I will be posting more often and that this blog is not dead.

Happy crafting everyone!

Change is in the air!!!

For a while, I have been toying with the idea of putting my family tree online for my family to view.  There are several issues that I have to contend with, the main one being privacy.  It is not right to put the information of my living relatives online as that will put them in harms way with identity thieves.  There are also technical issues that I have to contend with as well. 

Well last week I found a genealogy program that allows me to create my family history without listing the living relatives.  I originally wanted a website that will allow the public to see the family history without the living relatives AND allow the family to login and see the family history with the living relatives, but that is too expensive and requires more technical knowledge that I do not have.  So, for now, I will no longer be blogging  on my One Crafty Mom blog about my family history or my search for my family history.  I will be posting about my search of my family history at my new blog, http://mygenealogyobsession.wordpress.com/.  If you want to be updated on when the new blog will be up and running, click on the link and subscribe.  It should be up and running hopefully by the end of January, but at the latest, the end of February.

If MyGenalogyObsession blog works out and is easy to maintain, I will eventually switch my OneCraftyMom blog to wordpress.  It allows me to be more creative with my blog and so far, seems easy to use.  Only time will tell.

Have a great day everyone!!

New Year...New You, or so they say!

New Year....new you.  Well that seems to be the slogan this year, but it made me think, do I really want a new me???

Not really, I kinda like the me I am.  Are there things I could change, of course.  However, I don't want to lose who I am.  I want to essentially stay me, just enhance me a bit better.  So here I have listed my goals for the year.  Yes, I said goals.  I don't like resolutions because it sounds like it must absolutely be done by the end of the year.  I like goals because it is easier to accomplish and it can be changed easily as time dictates.  One should always be open to change.  So here is my list.

1. Eat healthier - No I am not listing losing weight because losing weight is not the source of my weight problem, eating badly is.  So I want to make a longer lasting, lifestyle change and that is done by changing the way I eat.  Changing the way I eat will not only naturally lead to weight loss but to also lowering my A1C level which is how my doctor determines my level of diabetes.  So the lower the A1C, the better.
2. Keep my genealogy research organized.  Many times last year, I would go online and conduct genealogy research and when I would look through my research notebook for information, I would find that I have the same information in several different places and in different files.  It was very frustrating.  So last October, I re-organized my research and hope that I have found the system that works for me.  So far, so good but we will see how this year works out.
3. Start writing my entry for the NGS Family History Contest.  The best entry to the NGS Family History Contest will win an expense paid trip to the next NGS Annual Conference which is held in a different state each year.  I am waiting for when the conference will be held in a state that is relevant to my research like Tennessee, Missouri, Michigan, Connecticut, and New York.  I would love it if the conference were held here in California, but I have found out that it is too expensive for them to have it here.  The last time it was in Cali was, I believe, back in the mid to late '80s.  The family history I will write about will consist of Mr. Teddybear's family.  I have linked them back to one of the Pilgrims who came off the Mayflower and founded this country.  So I have taken the first step and decided on the three generations that I must write about.  I still have to gather all of my proof (certificates(birth, death & marriage) and any other records they have available) and prove the lineage.  It will not be easy nor will it take a short time.  I am estimating that it could take up to a year or a year and a half to gather all of the information and write the story.  I am hoping that the conference in 2013 will be in one of the states I need.
4. Join National Genealogy Society and the Southern California Genealogical Society.  Membership in the NGS is required in order for me to enter the writing contest, but I feel that being members to both societies will be helpful in my research and help to expand my knowledge in genealogy and in doing professional research.

This list is an ever-changing list and will change throughout the year.  I believe one should be open to change whether we change or not.  The choice of embracing that change is up to each of us.

Happy New Year!!!

FINALLY!!!

I know...my bad.  I have had the professional pictures for quite a while now and haven't posted my favorites.

But here they are!!!  I love the way they came out!  Tonya and Steve are really talented and really captured the special relationship that Mr. Teddybear and I have and the relationships we have with others.  I would highly recommend Tonya from Moments to Embrace for anyone getting married!

 My baby girl getting ready!

My mommy and I.

Whispering sweet nothings into my ear!  :-)

 One of my favorites!

 My DIY Programs!!

 My DIY CD Holder!

 My rings

 My DIY Table Numbers!

 My absolute favorite of Mr. Teddybear!!

 My girls and I!

 Mr. Teddybear and his bestman

 Yes, they are this goofy at regular family events! 

My other favorite of Mr. Teddybear and I.

As you can see from these pictures, Tonya and Steve were able to take beautiful pictures and it was a joy to work with them.   They worked with us on our budget and they are really cool people!  I highly recommend them to anyone getting married!

I know...I know.

I know I posted sometime ago that I would be posting my professional wedding photos.  I do plan on posting them, but I have over 1600 photos to go through.  I have to find my favorites, then resize them so that I can post them here. 

I am hoping to have it done on Thursday. 

Thank you for being patient.

Till then, have an awesome day!!!

The creative juices are flowing!!!!

As I posted a few days ago, I will be getting back into scrapbooking.  I am so excited about this that I signed up for two swaps.  For those of you who don't know what a swap is, a swap is where you sign up to make a predetermined amount of one thing.  You send what you made to the hostess and she swaps your items to the other members of your group and you will get one from those members as well.  The swaps I signed up for are for 12x12 scrapbook pages.  I signed up under three catagories, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  I have to make 3+1 for each catagory.  The total I have to make is 12 pages for each swap.  That's right folks, that is a grand total of 24 pages!  The two swaps are the same and I signed up for the same catagories (I want to have pleanty of pages in each catagory) the only difference in these two swaps is the deadline date.  The first one is due Nov. 30th and the second one is due January 15th. 

I have already sketched two designs and I have one layout that I made several years ago that I plan on copying.  When I finish the pages, I will upload the original sketch and the finish product and review each page. 

Now when I go home, I need to take account of my current inventory and make a shopping list so that I can go to the scrapbook store on Friday.  I can't wait!  I haven't stepped foot in a scrapbooking store for a long time! 

Till next time I blog, have a great day!

What to do now???

Well, it has been three weeks since Mr. Teddybear and I were married.  I'm having a bit of a hard time because I no longer have a wedding to plan so I have free time on my hands.  Well several things have come up to help fill up my time.

I have been mulling over the idea of becoming a wedding planner/coordinator.  This has always been in the back of my mind for several years but up until now, I haven't had a real good opportunity to jump start my wedding planning/coordinating business.  Well my neice will be getting married in a year, actually she is getting married the day before Mr. Teddybear and I did, but a year later.  I have offered my services to her for free.  I also plan on taking classes and getting certified by the Association of Bridal Consultants and attending seminars for the wedding profession.  I don't know how it will turn out, but the first seminar I want to take is not until September 2011 in Vegas.  I plan on attending, it will be a working vacation for me and Mr. Teddybear.  If you have any ideas or suggestions that would help make my business better, or would help me offer the best to my clients, please leave a comment and let me know.  I want to make this a success and give my brides and grooms the best that I can offer.

The other item that I have been excited to mull over is getting back into scrapbooking.  I have not been scrapbooking for about 5 years now.  This was due to me going to school mainly but also have personal issues to deal with.  I am excited to get back into it.  I have taken an inventory of my supplies and have decided to get rid of 90% of my stamps at our next yard sale.  This is to purge my old stuff and to get a few new tools as well. I have ideas running through my head and write them down so that I don't forget.  I'm so happy to do this again and can't wait to start working on my wedding album and our family album.

I can't wait for the new year to begin and to start and to get my two new ideas into motion!  2010 was a good year, but 2011 is going to be even better!!!

My wedding in review.

I was hoping to be able to post a blog reviewing my wedding and including professional pictures, but I'm not able to get them for another week.  So, I will do my review and use the non-professional pictures I have received.

THE GOOD

There were several good things that happened at my wedding.  I was really worried that it would go by so fast that it would be a blur to me, but thankfully it didn't.

1.  The weather - On October 3rd, we had wonderful weather for an outside ceremony.  It was perfect weather and the church custodian was able to get all of our chairs in the shade and no one sat in the direct sun.  It was exactly how I envisioned it! 

My daughter giving me away. (photo credit to Maria E.)

2.  The Florist - Orie and Evie, Flowers by Orie, did a wonderful job on our flowers.  They worked within our budget and was able to give us exactly what we wanted.  I love the aisle pomanders and the arch decor and they did a magnificent job on the centerpieces.  I loved my bouquet and my girls bouquets too.

Centerpieces with table numbers.

3.  Church Custodian - Billy is an awesome dude!  He understood the look we were going for with the layout for the ceremony and he did it the exact way we wanted!  He also had everything set up at the reception the way we wanted to as well.

4.  Photographer - Tonya, Moments to Embrace Photography, and her assistant Steve, were fabulous photographers!  Tonya was awesome with me and my girls and Mr. Teddybear raved about how Steve got the craziness of Mr. Teddybear and his bestman.  Mr. Teddybear loved how Steve captured their zaniness and Steve showed me some of the pictures.  They were pretty funny.  Steve took some pictures of me too and I loved how they came out.  I will post my favorite ones once I get the professional pictures back.  I'm excited and can't wait to see them!!!

THE BAD

1.  The caterer - Sal Gallardo, La Fiesta Taco Catering.  What can I say about this company?  They did not live up to their contract.  His employee, the chef, arrived 1 1/2 hour late than what was contracted and this led to a sloppy presentation of the food on the tables and our guests and Mr. Teddybear and I had to wait to eat.  I had planned to have the food served at 3:30pm, not 5pm.  Besides cooking the tacos, we were supposed to also to get quesadillas.  Well the chef never made them.  When Mr. Teddybear confronted him about it, he said that he offered it to everyone in the line.  Well we know for a fact that he never offered it to us, the bride and groom!  I have also asked several of our guests and they have all responded that it was NEVER offered to them either.  I have emailed Sal Gallardo giving him the details of what happen and requested a partial refund, but have yet to hear back from him.  I will also file a complaint about this catering company with the Better Business Bureau.  We will see how that turns out.  I will also be posting negative reviews about this company and their unprofessionalism on other wedding sites.  I would hate to have another bride and groom to go through what we did.  I was very embarrased and unhappy with the service from La Fiesta Taco Catering, their chef and Mr. Sal Gallardo gave us.

 MORE PHOTOS!

Here are more non-professional pictures:

CD Favor/placecard

Cake Topper

Winners of the Bethany 500 going down Marriage Lane!

Cutting our cake.

 

Me and my Dad!

Bridal Group photo!

Elena walking me down the aisle.

Mr. and Mrs. Stanard!!

My Mom, Brother with Mr. Teddybear and I.

Mr. Teddybear and his Grandma.

Mr. Teddybear and his Mom!

Well that's all folks!  As soon as I get my professional pictures, I will post our favorites!

Have a great Monday!!

Its all good!!!

Today has been an awesome day!  We are not only on track with all of the DIY projects I have on my list, but we had a meeting today with the Church staff and everything is falling into place.

It is a very good feeling when you see the vision you created for your wedding day, comes to life and that others around you see your vision as you do!  Nothing beats that feeling of accomplishment!  The meeting we had today was awesome.  The Church wedding coordinator, facility coordinator and custodian all see my dream and are excited to help make it a reality.  This put me in such a good mood that I not only finished the seating chart, but also finished the table numbers, the programs and started printing the photos that we need.

We are all set for our wedding in 7 days!!!  A lot was done today and I am estatic!!!  :-)

Long time no blog...

I'm sorry that it has been a long while since I last posted on my blog.  Things have changed at my work and it has affected my wedding plans.

Mr. Teddybear and I have decided to move our wedding and reception from the Golf Course we originally wanted to our Church.  This was mainly done for financial reasons.  Again, we did not want to cut the guest list because everyone on our list are near and dear to our hearts.

So, several of my DIY projects have been deleted as well due to costs.

• Wishing Tree - The trees are not cheap and it would also take a good amount of time to put together at the reception and I didn't want either Mr. Teddybear or I to be stressed in getting it put together.
• Foam Hearts -  I just couldn't find these foam hearts any where and they were more than I planned on spending to buy them online.  I couldn't justify this project.

What has been done:

• The Invitations - They have been completed and mailed out.  We are starting to get a slow trickle of RSVP's in too.  Here are some of my picts of the invitations.

• My Dress - My dress has been ordered, paid off and I have pictures of me in it.  My first fitting will be next week.

• The Guestbook - Well since we are not able to do the Wishing Tree.  Mr. Teddybear and I decided to go with the traditional guestbook with photos of us in it.  The guests would sign in the space around our photos.  However, this isn't going to be just a book on a table and that's it!  No, we will have the guestbook surrounded by family photos.  We found a great deal at BigLots.  It was a fram that had 3 areas for pictures and on top of these pictures was the word "Family" carved out.  This frame will sit on a gold table-top easel and will be surrounded by other smaller frames with pictures of our family members and extended family members.  We will also have small votive candles on the table as well.  As soon as I can, I will post pictures and hopefully a mock up of the table.

Still to be done:  We have a few DIY projects left to be done.  I am thankful that I have plenty of time to get it done.

• Programs - We haven't had our ceremony finalized by our Pastor.  Once he finalizes our ceremony, we can commit it to paper and get the programs printed.
• Table Numbers/Names  - We have decided to use Mr. Teddybear's favorite Nascar Drivers and their car numbers as our Table Names/Numbers.  I will be working on a mock up of this this weekend as well.
• CD Favors/Tablecards - Well I don't want to make too many CD holders so I have only started cutting for 60 favors and if we get more RSVPs then I will make more.  I just have these cut.  I haven't put them together yet.  I do have a mock up and when I take pictures of it, I will post it here.

Well, it is 5 weeks until our wedding.  Mr. Teddybear and I can hardly wait.  We are both so excited to be marrying each other and are looking forward to our future together. 

Have a great weekend everyone!!