Kelsie's Graduation!!

Kelsie, our youngest daughter, graduated Friday night. The weather was perfect and the ceremony was beautiful.

Here they are proceeding in...Kelsie is the last of these 3 girls on the right.

She was very excited. Her smile couldn't get any bigger.

Woo Hoo!!!

Here she is with Courtland, our oldest daughter Courtney's boyfriend.

Too cute.
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This has to be my favorite picture of the 2 girls.

We're so proud of her!

Then right after the ceremony everyone changed clothes and we were bused to the All Night (and I mean ALL NIGHT) Graduation Party.

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First an all you can eat Luau...

dancing to the DJ.

Then real Luau dancers...

Fire show.

Then on to Paint Ball (sorry no pictures of that) and a huge tent with a DJ and a foam machine and more all you can eat food.

The foam just poured out of the ceiling for 2 straight hours!

This was the kid's favorite!

Then an unbelievable show with an illusionist/mind bender. He did the most amazing tricks. The kids were stunned. This man was wonderful...he had to be. He needed to keep all of us awake. At this point it was 3:00 am. They were passing out bags of candy for the show. I guess we needed a sugar rush.

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Next was a huge carnival with a pizza bar, ice cream, popcorn, games, prizes, moon bouncers, basketball, dodge ball etc.

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and then onto the swimming pool. I don't know how they did it. They were wide awake at 4:30 am.

Last was a bowling party with more food, Karaoke, balloon maker, fortune teller etc. By this time it was about 5:30 and they were pooped.

This was a wonderful night. There were over 180 kids and we did not have to speak to anyone or have any issues the whole night. They were so great. We were all exhausted the next day, but we'll have those memories forever. The most important thing was they were all together in a very safe environment!

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Thanks for letting me share these with you,

~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...isew

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I want to thank everyone for all your kind words of congratulations for Kelsie's graduation. It was a beautiful night on Friday. The All Night Graduation Party went well too. The kids had a wonderful time and all the parents survived staying up all night. Although, I don't remember a thing of what I did Saturday...it was kind of a blur. I slept, I think I had a bowl of cereal and I think I watched the Peeble Beach golf tournament, but not so sure. When I was younger I would be fine when I pulled all nighters sewing, but this is for the birds now. My body can't take it!!

Now onto Tool Time Tuesday. My motto for Tuesdays is to "always think outside the box". However, look what was in my fortune cookie. This is so me. When I opened it at the restaurant, the family yelled out Tool Time.


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So how ordinary is an ipod / cell phone holder.



This one is called icup.

It's made from a rubber foam like material and it fits in your cup holder in your car.

It has spots for your ipod, cell phone, pens and coins. Boring, right?

Well, here's the "beauty in the ordinary".

Isn't this the cutest sewing kit for traveling in the car?

The ipod spot will hold your thread. The place for the pens are great for a thimble, seam ripper and small scissors.

The slots where your coins would go are perfect for a package of needles. These are from my friend Naoko in Japan. She sent these to me when we were in a swap together. Hi, Naoko!!!
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The foam material of the cup holder is also great for sticking your pins into.

The other cell phone spot is great for my reading glasses or chocolate, which ever you need more.

This works out so well in the car. Can you see I added more chocolate truffles. One dark chocolate, one milk and one white...all set to go now!

and it works well with it's other Tool Time friend...the itunes gift card note pad. It's that note pad clipped up there to the air vent. See that tutorial here.

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Works in any cup holder in the car.

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If you don't have cup holders on the interior of your car, you can always use a hanging holder that clips to your door.

Fits perfectly.

and look...I still haven't eaten the 3 chocolate truffles. All in the name of blogging.

I think I found this cup holder in Walmart for between $2-$4.00. Look around in automotive stores, the music areas where ipods are sold, but some are very expensive. I found this link with the exact same code that was on my label. I don't know anything about this site, but the price is great.
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I'm sure there are so many different styles out there, it doesn't have to be the same. Find one that works the best for you and your sewing needs.

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I'll be back on Wednesday with some pictures from this weekend.

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Don't forget my Sharing On Sunday...with a wonderful give away from Robin.
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See you soon,

~Karen~

Sharing on Sunday Give Away #4...Extra Special Guest

Welcome everyone to the 4th week of Sharing on Sunday. I started this Sunday Give Away to say thank you to all my blogging friends for always being there and for always sharing your world with me...your thoughts, your words and your inspirations.

There is part of a quote from Norman MacEwan that says...

"We make a living by what we get,

but we make a life by what we give."

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I absolutely love this quote about giving and sharing...it just says so much.

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Well, this week I want to "share" a wonderful new blogging friend with you. Her name is Robin and she has an amazing blog called Fonville Farm. She is talented in so many ways...

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She sews...

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she made this dress and the matching tie for her husband. Are they not Cute with a capital "C"?

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she gardens...
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she won 1st place in her first flower show with her beautiful daylily.
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she cooks...
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ok, she makes homemade hamburger buns. I think I can smell the fresh bread through my computer.
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and last, but certainly not least...she crafts.
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she hand stamps and makes these beautiful garden markers. These are just beautiful.



and these adorable embroidered flour sack towels.

These last 2 pictures are just a small sample of what Robin has in her wonderful Etsy Shop. Why am I showing you all this? Well, Robin has offered one item from her etsy shop for this week's Sharing on Sunday.

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Can you believe it...any one item of the winner's choice. She is so generous and I can't thank her enough for "Sharing"!

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But that's not all. She is also offering free shipping in the USA until the end of July if any one would like to purchase something from her store. Just mention you came from Sew Many Ways and the shipping is free. Woo Hoo!

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If you live in another country and would like to order something from her store, she will take 10% off the purchase.

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So please go visit Robin at her blog and read her touching story and then visit her Etsy Store to pick your favorite item that you could win next Sunday.

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Just leave a comment on this post to be entered to win next Sunday!!

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See you soon,

~Karen~

Sharing On Sunday Martha Winner...

Sometimes things just happen for all the right reasons. Random Number Generator couldn't have picked a better number this week.

It's number 5 and the winner of this week's Sharing on Sunday...Martha Stewart's Organizing book is....

The Overloaded Mommy

and by her post yesterday, I think she needs a little pick me up. Thanks Random Number Generator...you picked a good one this week!

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Go for a visit to her blog, it's filled with great recipes and wonderful DIY projects for her upcoming wedding!! So go over and say Hi!

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Overloaded Mommy, I just need you to email me your snail mail address so I can send you the book this week.

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I'll be back in a bit with an extra special Sharing on Sunday give away for this week,

~Karen~