Wedding Invitation Memento DIY
Last October my cousin in-law was married. I hung on to her invite to make the newlywed couple a Christmas ornament for their first Christmas tree which would also serve as their wedding invitation memento.I got the idea from this post on Pinterest.It really turned out quite lovely.
To make one of your own you'll need: an invitation, a clear plastic or glass ornament, scissors or paper cutter, a pen. Optional supplies: ribbon, decorative embellishments, spray paint.I purchased a clear fill-able ornament from Michaels. I looked for the glass kind but only found the plastic sort.The wedding invite was in hues of green and ivory. Although the ornament itself was obviously clear the metal part that you hang the bulb from the tree was silver. I used some spray paint in a green patina color to make it match better and to give it the look of stamped metal.Basically all you need to do is cut the invitation, twirl it around something round like a pen and fill the ornament with the curled pieces of the invitation. I used the ribbon that was on the ornament to further decorate it and added in a lace ribbon to hang it from the tree.
Santa Baby...The Singing Bloggers
As things go...I'm usually the last one to know about something. I tend to spend a lot of time in my own little world and so I initially missed this crazy idea Toni from Just Stop Screaming, got when she thought it would be a good idea for a bunch of Bloggers to all sing Santa Baby. Making a complete fool of myself is something I'm not entirely opposed to, and when the opportunity arose for me to fill in for someone I did.So...Um... here we are… a bunch of singing bloggers.
Kia Optima-Hang On Tight Muchacho!
It’s been a while since I’ve driven a fun to drive, car. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to test drive the 2011 Kia Optima SX Turbo for a week. This car was very fun to drive.I know when you think of Kia automobiles you may not immediately think chic, stylish, fun, sporty, or fuel efficient. After driving the Optima whenever I think Kia I can’t help but think about it without having those adjectives on my tongue. That and the perfectly adequate phrase "Hang on tight muchacho." from this commercial, which completely represents how I felt while driving it.
This car is lovely to look at from the exterior to the interior with its leather and woven seat trim. Kia redesigned the 2011 Optima, giving it both an interior and exterior re-vamping and a 200-horsepower engine which made it well worth the make-over because it wasn’t just cosmetic Kia did such a good job the Optima was named Best Car of 2011 by Cars.com.The Optima is also affordably priced. The car I drove, the Kia Optima Turbo has an MSRP of just under $31K. With all the upgrades like a 6-speed Sportmatic Transmission (that means you can switch from automatic to manual), 18” tires with a sporty alloy design and a super cool technology package (that was my favorite).As I mentioned earlier this car was a load of fun to drive, but I still felt safe driving with my boys. Among its safety features, there are: dual front advanced airbags, full length side curtain airbags, LATCH tethers for the safety seats, ABS brakes, and electronic stability control.This car is a sedan and it’s got plenty of room for storage of little things, even a “cool” glove box where I stored a few drinks during a road trip. But unlike most sedans it feels like a sports car and I definitely felt like I was driving one a few times.I have to admit I was a little sad to go back to driving my mini-van.
Love & pretty cars,nicóleI was provided with the Optima by Kia to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
Get Uncomfortable
I'm referring to writing outside your comfort zone.
Yes, I said get UNcomfortable. I'm referring to writing outside your comfort zone. This is something I force myself to do quite regularly. When I first started writing, I focused on middle grade novels. I was sure I wanted to write books for this age group and this age group alone. I also stuck to adventure stories--until a published author told me I was a closet fantasy writer. My first thought was she was crazy. Fantasy? Me? But then I realized I loved to read fantasy, so I figured I had nothing to lose by trying to write it. So I did. And I loved it.
Great! I'm a fantasy writer. Not so fast. I saw a call for submissions for a horror anthology, and for some strange reason a story popped into my mind. But wait, I didn't write horror. I decided to give it a shot, and the story was accepted into the anthology. In fact, the story got the attention of other editors looking for horror pieces. They contacted me and asked me to submit to them. Wow!
So now I'm a fantasy and horror writer. Except... my daughter asked me to write stories for her. She read picture books, but I didn't write picture books. Once again, I stepped outside my comfort zone and tried it. Today I have three picture books published and three more under contract. I guess I do write picture books.
Now I thought picture books and middle grade books were my thing. Only the next ideas I got were young adult novels. Yes, I wrote them. My agent fell in love with one of them and has it out on submission to editors. Does this mean I write everything imaginable? No. I write the stories that I feel I need to tell. But I don't limit myself to what comes naturally or what I'm comfortable writing. The only way to figure out what we can do is by trying. Is failure a possibility? Of course. But so is success.
So I challenge you to step outside your comfort zone and try writing something different. You just might find something you're really good at.
*****
This post comes courtesy of guest blogger Kelly Hashway. Kelly writes books and short stories for children of all ages, from picture books to young adult novels; as if that weren't enough, she also freelances as an editor. She's a mother of a little girl she loves to play with. When she's not writing, or editing she enjoys reading, and running. It's not uncommon to find Kelly with a cup of hot coffee in her hand or savoring something sweet like laffy taffy or ice cream cake.
(Hmmmm cake...) I think she's cool.
Thank you so much to Kelly Hashway for writing this post. You can read all about Kelly and her writings at www.kellyhashway.com or on her blog.
If you are interested in guest blogging on WriteSpell please drop me a note!
image: Kerri Smith
NaNoWriMo 2011 Final Tally
I actually was pretty worried I'd not get to post with the computer issues I was having. On the 30th I was racing as fast as I could to transcribe my hand written pages not sure if I'd even have enough. I could rougly estimate how many words I had, but I wasn't sure I'd reach my goal until I crossed forty-nine thousand words. Once I did I knew it was in the bag!
Well I did it!
Barely....but I did it!
I'm feeling very pleased with myself and I apologize for the chirping crickets here the last few weeks...
I was busy writing, then I had computer issues, which turned into internet issues and now I'm playing catch up.
I wrote this mostly by hand and really enjoyed the process. I found I could focus much better, I wasn't so easily led astray by my email dinging, or Pinterest's lure of pretty things to look at. I think, my epiphany about writing long hand which occurred earlier in the month was a blessing in disguise because I'm not sure I would have made the fifty thousand word goal if I hadn't been writing by hand because of all the p.c. issues I had.
Needless to say my dreams these days (and nights) aren't of sugar-plum kisses, three French hens or miking-maids, neither are yours I imagine; instead my night and day dreams are now made up with visions of Santa leaving me a MacBook and Moleskine notebooks beneath the tree. I'm pretty sure the Moleskine notebooks are a given...the MacBook, not-so-much.
I actually was pretty worried I'd not get to post with the computer issues I was having. On the 30th I was racing as fast as I could to transcribe my hand written pages not sure if I'd even have enough. I could roughly estimate how many words I had, but I wasn't sure I'd reach my goal until I crossed forty-nine thousand words. Once I did I knew it was in the bag!
My final word count was 50,067, I can't promise you that anything beyond the 45K mark is coherent though. I just typed what-ever words I saw then towards then end I included a random scene just for fun so I could finish.
I work much better when I have a fixed deadline and so, I've given myself a monthly deadline of 20,000 written words. Not including those I write here or at PrimThings.Love & Racing Towards the Finish Line,nicóle
A sense of wonder...
NaNoWriMo 2011 - Day 21
I realize it's been forever (that's clearly an exaggeration) since I posted a NaNoWriMo update.
I've been writing longhand-and transcribing. Here is my word count as of today.xo