September 2016 Photo Challenge|Day 1 SELFIE

Hey everyone!

I have always wanted to participate in a monthly photo challenge. I would usually forget all about it until I was halfway through any given month. I decided that I would pin a bunch of monthly photo challenges on my Pinterest boards and I separated them by the month. The only problem I had was selecting one challenge to use. I don't really have the time to do more than one challenge, so I decided to make my own! I used a few of the photo challenge ideas that I found online, but came up with a few unique ones of my own.

I want my daughter to participate in this challenge, if she wants to. I think it would be really fun for us to do the challenge together and share the photos on our blogs. Then I thought it would be even more fun if I share my photo challenge with all of you! So, if you want to participate in the September Photo Challenge 2016, please jump right in! Be sure to let me know that you are doing the challenge so I can check out your blog, too! You can also post on Twitter. I do not have Facebook or Instagram so I cannot check out those platforms but I would love to see your photos!

So, here is the challenge:

Here is my first photo:

I really hate to have my picture taken. I am not very photogenic and I would rather be the photographer. But I wanted to include "selfie" on the list because I want to get out of my comfort zone this year. So, hopefully you guys will join me! I would love to see your pictures. Be sure to let me know where to find them! Thanks for hanging out with me today! Hope to see your photos soon!

Hugs.

$5 Goodwill Challenge: Fall Edition

Hey, everyone!

I was asked to participate in the $5 Goodwill Challenge: Fall Edition from Hillary at My So-Called Home on YouTube. I was beyond excited to join the challenge; however, I was very sick and did not get the chance to post on time. I figured a little late was better than missing the challenge so I went thrifting and was able to find amazing deals and come up with a really sweet fall set up!

The $5 Goodwill Challenge was created by Hillary. She started the challenge last Christmas and then she issued the challenge in the spring and the summer. I participated in those challenges and I will link to those videos here:

$5 Goodwill Challenge: Spring Edition

$5 Goodwill Challenge: Summer Edition

So the way the challenge works is you have a budget of $5 and you are to go to your local Goodwill store, thrift store, rummage sale, etc. and try to find something you can add to your home decor for that particular theme. It can be a real treasure hunt sometimes to find something, but it is such a FUN challenge to do.

You can purchase an item as-is, or a "fixer-upper" for the challenge. There are MANY YouTubers who take this challenge and I watch all of their videos and am so AMAZED at what a lot can come up with. Sometimes they really take something from trash to treasure with a little love and effort. I am always inspired by what I see.

So here is my video and be sure to read to the end for my challenge to all of you!


Thanks for watching my video. I hope you hit the thumbs up button if you liked it. If you are new to my YouTube channel, please feel free to subscribe and then you'll receive notices when I post a new video. I have several playlists so I hope you'll find something that you like. My channel is always growing and changing so I hope you will enjoy the journey with me.

My challenge to all of you (if you have gotten this far on this post) is to take Hillary's $5 Goodwill Challenge: Fall Edition. Even if you do not have a blog or a YouTube channel. Just take $5 and go to your local thrift store to see what you can find. I hope this video has inspired you to decorate for fall on the cheap! I'd love to hear back from you in the comments below. If you have joined the challenge and want to send me photos you can link your blog below and I would LOVE to check it out. If you share a video response I will definitely watch it! If you don't have a blog or YouTube channel, you can email me a photo at bridgettowens78@gmail.com and I would love to see it! I read all of your comments so please feel free to leave me a comment below.

Definitely check out Hillary's channel and all of her amazing videos. She has so many incredible things to share! Thanks for hanging out today!

Hugs,

Fall Fun!

Hey, everyone!

As this year speeds closer and closer to the end, I think my life is speeding up, too. I feel like I cannot get everything done in one day that I really had intended to. Instead of slowing down and enjoying the fall season, it's been a whirlwind of to-do lists and appointments, errands and running and I didn't take any photos of the colorful leaves as they changed or of my children playing in the leaves, but I did stop to enjoy them! The sun would shine on the golden leaves in our front yard and it instantly made me smile. My gift from God...right outside my window! The wind would blow the leaves around the yard and my son would jibber to it, stretching as far as he could to see them and scream with excitement! The weather was so warm that I even let him walk through the leaves with no shoes or socks on and he loved it! I laughed so hard when he would deliberately scoot the leaves along to hear the rustling noise it makes. My daughter would point out the various colors on trees as we would drive down the road and so often I would have missed the beauty of God's creation if it weren't for her teaching her mama to slooooow down a little!

If you couldn't guess...yes, fall is my favorite season! I love the colors, the weather change, the crisp air, homemade caramel apples (my mother-in-law makes the best!), pumpkins...and well, everything! So, you can imagine how delighted I was when I went to my class and saw what our project was going to be! Yes, I took a class for a change! LOL It was fun being the student! Anita at Memory Lane Scrapbooking store taught me how to use my Zutter Bind-It-All machine and it was so much fun and a LOT easier than I thought! (See, there I was letting myself be intimidated by a new and different product....) The project we worked on is awesome and I love it! Anita made hers so that it would sit horizontally on a table and it's double sided so you could see it from either side. I made mine vertically and after I got home punched 2 holes in the top with my Crop-A-Dile and was able to run some ribbon through it so it can hang on my wall. Mine is double sided, too, as far as paper goes but if you were making yours to hang, you wouldn't need to do that. So here is my fun FALL project using my Bind-It-All!! I hope you like it!

Just a reminder, we now carry the new version of the Bind-It-All. There's a photo below and you can see it is pink, but the color isn't the only difference! During our Double Dips promotion would be a great time to get it for 50% off. If you are interested in doing that, let me know and I'll tell you how.

My daughter was eager to make a project with my BIA since she saw my class project! She loved it and see even a little girl can use it! LOL She made a notebook and wanted me to give you all a little message that she wrote out for me to share with you:

Hi!

I made a book out of the Cheez-It box. It was fun. I love my mom.

Kadesia

Isn't she so sweet? Here is a photo of her and her finished project!

Be sure to leave her a comment and I will help her read them! Below is the small notebook I made myself. It's out of the same box and some scrap papers inside. It is tall and skinny...great for a grocery list to tuck in my bag!

I was inspired by this Froot Loops notebook here.

Well that's all for now! Be sure to come back tomorrow when I give a very special announcement (you'll love it), share some more links to some great stuff, and I'll be giving some blog awards away! You won't want to miss it!!!

Hugs,