Flying Jonah Photos

Have you seen those really cool sleeping baby photos by Adele Enerson?

I love them.  I think she did a great job capturing her baby's "dreamland".  I wanted to try to do one of these photos for Jonah's three month pictures while he was asleep.  Well...I don't know how Adele does it!  He woke up as soon as I transferred him to the floor.  I bet if I let him fall asleep on the floor, it might work, but big brother Levi probably won't let him lay there without trying to walk on him, kiss him, and point to all his facial features while yelling out their name, "Jonah's nose!"  Maybe I will come up with some way to do this.  I have some really cool ideas, Jonah.  I just need you to sleep!

First, I went to the thrift store and got a lot of props, as in old shower curtains, sheets, pillow cases, string, etc...  It wasn't that expensive at all.  I got home and washed all of it immediately in case you were wondering!  Yeah, I think it would be gross to use all that without washing it.

Here is the first little scene I came up with.  Maybe I can recreate it and actually have a sleeping baby.  It's kind of cute with him awake though. 

 This is what I started with.  Now, how do I get the sleeping baby in the swing onto the floor without waking him up?

Have you ever done one of these types of photos of your baby?  It was actually really fun, and made me happy to get to use the right side of my brain when coming up with ideas.  I love playing around with different fabrics, too.  It didn't take a lot of effort to get the fabric cut and set up for the pictures.  Here is how I made the felt flowers.

This is kind of a preliminary post for the real thing.  More to come soon I hope!  I may just end up doing the whole series of photos with him being awake.  It's much easier!

Linked up with:
The Frugal Girls
Thirty Handmade Days

Blogging: Let's Be Honest

There are three adjectives that I’d hope would describe me in general and as a blogger, although I can’t say that they completely do at this point:

Transparent

Authentic

Loving

I think lots of bloggers hope to be TRANSPARENT, then wind up picturing their readers disapproving and become afraid of what their mothers in law, high school acquaintances, and total strangers would think if they truly described how they were feeling and their inadequacies. 

I need to be honest:  I started this blog to make money.  I can also say that I definitely do have a passion for the things I blog about, so making money would be a perk to being able to share the awesome things I love.  I have made zero dollars since I started the blog over a year ago.  That’s okay.  It’s my own dang fault for not marketing and advertising as well as I could.  Now, it’s nearly impossible to find the time to do so with two kiddos under two.  That time will return sooner or later.  Anyhow, this blog has been rewarding in so many ways, but now that I have less time to create posts, I have begun to question who I’m blogging for and am I being AUTHENTIC? 

I think the answer is no. 

Not only did I want to make money when I started the blog, but I also had full intentions of catering to my long-suffering desire to write.  I love writing, and I love it even more when I do it from a real place, not a shallow, cookie-cutter, afraid-of-what-others-will-think, be careful not to share too much place.  I also imagined being silly and including illustrations to go with some of my posts.  That hasn’t really happened.  I want people to “like” my page, to follow it on Google, to follow me on twitter, but why?  …to know that I’m reaching people, and that I’m entertaining, teaching, or relating with others in a genuine way.  I believe what I have been blogging about is fine and dandy, but it’s also completely safe.  There is so much more that I’d like to do on here.  That’s why I named the site The Creative Bubble, so that I’d have a name that would give me the freedom to write about whatever I wanted, and to connect with others in doing so. 

Lastly, and most importantly, I want to LOVE my readers (and everyone for that matter) in a very selfless way.  You can like or not like the content I produce, and it won’t matter as long as I am loving you.  It’s really not about who does and doesn’t approve of my blog.  As long as I am being genuine and transparent, maybe I can relate with people out there doing and going through the same things that I am.  To share my shortcomings is loving.  Not every “deep thoughts” entry will include all of my shortcomings, but I’m sure I will include some of them when the post beckons me to do so.   To make myself vulnerable in an effort to be relatable, that is my goal. 

I find that I enjoy honest blogs and articles most.  You may have even noticed a shift in the voices of many bloggers toward this transparent, authentic, and sometimes very raw style of writing.  I don't think they are doing it to be trendy.  I think many bloggers are veering in that direction in an effort to shatter the picture perfect lives we believe everyone else lives.  I think it is a loving act, because it has let me know that I'm not "failing" as a wife, mom, woman, friend, etc.  I appreciate the vulnerability of others. 

"It’s time to get real, Katie!"  Don’t worry; I won’t overload you with lots of sappy feelings.  I actually do enjoy all the tutorials I post, so those aren't going away!  They will now be accompanied by the types of entries I intended to include from day one. 

Butternut Squash Casserole

Have you ever wondered what the heck to do with the butternut squash that's been sitting on the counter all week?  I always find myself looking up recipes for it, but have never fallen in love with one.  Tonight, I made a casserole using butternut squash, onions, broccoli, and bacon.  I was literally licking the serving spoon and dish clean!

I would say this recipe should be able to feed four people as a side item, but I'm not too sure about that.  It's so good that it only took my one year old son, my husband, and myself to finish it off.  Levi even ate his broccoli, no questions asked!  Woohoo!  In all actuality, it should feed a family of four as a side.  There probably won't be any leftovers, mind you. 

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash
1.5 cups of broccoli florets
1 small onion-diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
4 pieces of cooked bacon-chopped
1 egg
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 400°.  Slice the butternut squash in half length-wise and scrape out the seeds. Roast in the oven face down for 40-45 minutes.
-Peel the skin off of the squash once it's cool enough to handle.  Slice into cubes and place them into a medium sized casserole dish, then set it aside.  A 9x9 would be perfect, but slightly smaller or larger will work as well.   

-Set the oven temperature to 350°.
-Place the broccoli, minced garlic, onion, and butter/oil in a saute pan on med-high heat.  Cook until the onions are semi-translucent.  Add to the casserole dish with the squash.
-Add the chopped, cooked bacon to the casserole dish as well.
-In a small bowl, whisk the egg.  Then, stir the heavy cream, salt, and pepper into the same bowl. 
Add this mixture to the casserole dish.
-Grate the Parmesan cheese over the casserole, then stir to combine all of the ingredients.  You may want to save some of the cheese to add to the top of the dish as well. 
-Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes. 

I hope that you enjoy this dish as much as we did.  I welcome your comments, and would love to hear if you try this!  Thanks for reading.

Linked up with:
The Frugal Girls

Make Your Own Project Table

From the moment I saw one, I fell in love with the idea of owning my own project table.  I spent a lot of time searching for one online that I could afford.  That never happened.  They usually range in price from $399-$600.  So, I decided to make my own!

I tried to make this project as simple as possible, but still structurally sound, inexpensive, and eye-catching.  I'm going to explain how you can make one, too!

It only cost me $185.00 to make my table.  Including the storage bins, it was a grand total of  $227.  Not only that, but you do not need to use a hammer or nails.  It may not even cost you this much to make the table, because you may have some of the needed items on hand already, and you may be able to find items at better prices than I did.  For instance, I know that you are able to buy the storage bins online for less than I bought them for at Home Depot.   

Upcycled Baby Food Jars

With my first son, I ended up buying quite a few jars of baby food.  I thought I'd keep some to try to find cool uses for them, and have discovered that the possibilities are endless!  I will likely be adding more pictures and ideas to this post as time goes on, because I feel like I'm constantly finding other great ideas for the jars.