Friday's Favourites

Awkward // Awesome Thursday

So Kelsie from Bella Ragazza gave me the idea to start doing awkward and awesome Thursday posts. So without further ado, lets begin.

 

Awkward:

Sitting in the hair cutter's chair, feeling very vulnerable. // Being asked if I'm my little brother's mother. No, I'm not that old! // Emailing someone saying your sending them an attachment, and you forget to send the attachment. Ugh, it happens to me a lot more than it should. // Trying to order an ice tea at McDonald's in the United States. // Going up to a cash register in Target, forgetting that I only have Canadian money. Oh Boy! Am I losing my mind? // Spending Waay to much time on the computer. // Watching American Idols worst auditions ever. So funny! // Finding out that one of my favourite artists visited 10 minutes away from my house, while I'm in Florida. Why did I have to be in Florida? //  Singing along to the radio in a store. // Passing out while going to the washroom.

 

Awesome:

Cuddling with my little brother as I write this. // Being constantly inspired by Pinterest, and etsy. // Watching good movies. // Reading an awesome book (that doesn't happen very often). // Buying Christmas Presents for Family. // Getting a much needed hair cut // Being hired to draw a portrait. // Talking to Friends on the phone. // Spending sunny days at the beach. // Listening to new music, and Christmas songs on the radio. // Large Cold Sweet Teas // Warm Comfy pj's // Drawing Random Doodles // Going to humongous bookstores // Dreams // Adorable Yorkies // My Best friend's Birthday // Randomly dancing like a ballerina around the house. //  TobyMac's Eye on it CD. // Unlimited High Speed internet. // Christmas on it's way! // This amazing giveaway.

 

Thanks for reading guys! and thank you Kelsie for inspiring me to do this! It sure was fun :O)

 

~Emma-lee

Christmas Music

This is probably one of my favourite christmas songs ever! I remember singing it in choir when I was like 10. It brings back so many awesome memories. Enjoy!

<3 Emma-lee

Life Lately..

 

 

just some more photos from where we're at. :o)

The Gift of Life.

This is our Family. We're a big one. We're a happy one. We're a Christian one. We're a homeschooling one. We're a Blessed one. We're a loving one. And We always welcome another one.

I posted about my new little sister Rosie on my other blog, but I just realized that I haven't posted anything about her on this one. So I will.

 

This is Rosie. She is my sweet little sister. I haven't met her yet, and this is the most I will see of her until March. But I already love her with all of my heart. And no matter how many siblings I have, I will always be excited about a new arrival. People often ask me if I'm happy about having another younger sister, or if I'm just used to it. Sure I'm used to it, but I'm so happy. There is nothing as special as walking into the room and seeing your new baby brother or sister for the first time. Your heart is filled with emotion, and you realize what an amazing gift life really is. God's creation is so detailed and perfect, that you can't say it was a mistake, or a coincidence. When you look at pictures like this, and think of how unique this person will be, what gifts she will have, what she will look like, and who she will become, you can't help but be amazed. And it makes me sad to think, that so many people don't value their life. They don't feel they have a purpose, or a meaning. But I believe God gave all of us a purpose, and gifts, right from the start. He gave us dreams, he gave us talents, he gave us feelings. You can't denie that he is a truly amesome God, who gives life. I've watched all of my five younger siblings grow, and I realize how special they are. I can't imagine what my life would be without them. So value your life, and the lives of others. Everything is a gift. Everything has purpose. God's design includes us all. And I hope that we will all come to appreciate everyone for who they are, and what they were meant to do. Because that's what life is for. It's not meant to be destroyed, or desolate. We were all meant to be something. And looking at my little sister's little face and fingers, I have faith that she will follow the plan that the Lord has made for her, and take advantage of her gifts and purpose.

 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

 

I hope this spoke to you in some way. Have a great week!

<3 Emma-lee

Happy Birthday!

 

Once upon a time my family moved 3 hours away from our house in Milton, to the middle of no where in Peterborough. We left behind our friends, our church, and everything I had known for the past 5 years of my life. It took us a while to finally make new friends and join a new church, and really just adjust to our new way of life. But my parents decided to put me and my sister in a private christian school for half a year. It was hard going into a school, after being homeschooled my entire life, and I didn't know anyone there. So the first week or two, I kept to myself, and didn't really interact with any of the other kids. But I do remember that one gym class in January, when we were all playing hockey outside. I've never been a fan of sports, and I've never been good at playing them either. So I did what I normally do, and just kind of avoided the puck, and randomly walked around, trying not to draw any attention to myself. All of the sudden, one of the boys in my class threw a puck at my head. (yes, it hurt a lot)  Trying to hold back the tears, I asked the Gym teacher if I could sit out. After a little negotiation (and after she called me a spoiled sport), she let me sit on the side of the pavement. At that time there were two other girls sitting out too. I noticed them, but I didn't say anything at first. Then my little eight year old brain, was struck with an amazing idea! At the time, it seemed like all the girls my age, collected littlest pet shops. You know, those little animal figurines, with the Wobbly heads. I loved those things, and so I thought that maybe those two girls sitting beside me, might like them too. I edged a little closer to them, and popped the question, "Do you like littlest pet shops?". I could see both of their faces light up with excitement as they answered "yeah! We collect them!".  I don't really know how to explain my happiness at that moment, when I realized that these two girls could possibly be the new friends I had been waiting for. I mean let's be honest, when your eight, It really doesn't take much to get super excited about something. It's really funny now to look back and think that all I said was "Do you like littlest pet shops?". But, that was my life back then. I never walked into a store without looking for the littlest pet shop section. Anyways, us three girls had a lot of fun bringing our newest Littlest Pet Shops to school everyday to show them off. We would trade, and play, and before we knew it. We became best friends! And then there were Webkinz, (but that's an entirely different story) Groovy girls, and anything else we could collect. We were seriously meant for each other. But somewhere along the way, I kind of lost the friendship with one of those girls. And my very bestest friend on the entire earth became Brooke, the person who has been with me through everything. She has seen me happy, and sad. She's shared the same crazy ideas about our future, and she probably knows almost everything about me. I've stayed awake with her until 4:00 in the morning, talking about everything from embarrassing moments, to genius plans. And today, even though I'm not with her, I'm so excited and happy for the 6 wonderful years of friendship I have shared with her. And the 15 years she's been alive. I'm truly blessed to call her my friend, and I just can't imagine my life without her. I could go on talking about all the funny memories I have of us, but for now I'm just going to stick with a list of the many words that describe her.

Beautiful (inside and out) // Talented // Dedicated // Loyal // Funny // Amazing // Friendly // Likeable // Blessed // Awesome // Photogenic // Patient // Intelligent // Social // Happy // Encouraging // Trustworthy // ....and I'm sure I could think of more, but there aren't enough words to describe her perfectly.

So Thank you for being an amazing friend Brooke! I hope God continues to bless you in the years to come, and  I pray that all your dreams come true :O)

Love,

Emma-lee

PS: Here's a link to her DeviantArt page, it would be awesome if you'd leave her a birthday wish.

and in case you don't remember littlest pet shops, maybe this will help:

                              
 

Guest Post from Kelsie

Hi Everyone! Today I have Kelsie here, from Bella Ragazza. Thank you so so much Kelsie! And I hope all you guys enjoy reading this inspirational article. I have a feeling you'll love it.

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Hello lovely readers of In Real Life! I'm Kelsie I blog over at  Bella Ragazza! I'm honored Emma-Lee asked me to do a guest post for her lovely, lovely blog! Have a lovely Holiday season! 

so we all go through a time where we feel totally unmotivated and uninspired. If it comes to your blog, photography, or just life; sometimes we just feel we lost all creativeness and all motivation! here are a few tips to help regain your motivation and get more inspiration:

1. Take some time off of the internet. the internet is great, but sometimes it can really make us feel...well lame. We tend to compare ourselves too much to others work (guilty!) we see and start to think to ourselves "why doesn't my work look like that?!" or "why can't my blog just look like that?".  But  in  reality we are still in the process of building our own "brand", so we just need to remember we our still discovering our own style and that takes time.

2. read a book. read an old classic maybe, read something funny, intense (i'm on the last Hunger Games book, whew!), crazy, sad, serious, just whatever! reading a good book will help and also help clear your mind with a new adventure of a story you just read! 

3.visit new places and take pictures! going on an adventure always helps me get inspired, for sure! it makes me thing and look around that the things and the beauty around me!

4.try a new hobby. try something new! something that makes you want to tell your readers (for your blog!), or take pictures of! 

5. take a break from trying to hard. I always find myself just trying to be prefect and do everything just right. this my friends, can be tiring. don't put so much pressure on yourself, it's okay to take a break. live now, blog later. 

there are a few easy tips to help get motivated and inspired!

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Please go check out Kelsie's Blog here. And if there is anyone who is interested in Guest Posting, please leave me a comment with your email, and I'll shoot you an email as soon as possible. Thanks again Kelsie!

<3 Emma-lee

Liebster Award

Howdy Everybody! I was awarded! Yay :o) This time it's the Liebster Award  from Hannah. Thank you so much Hannah!

 So here are the rules: 

 When you receive the award, you post 11 random facts about yourself and answer 11 questions from the person(s) who nominated you. You pass the Award onto 11 other blogs (make sure you tell them you nominated them!) and ask them 11 questions. You’re not allowed to nominate the blog(s) who nominated you!

Hannah's 11 questions I had to answer:

1. If you had a time machine, which time period would you go to? hmm...that's a tough one. I'd probably want to travel back to the 1800's
2. Would you rather have a job as a photographer or a writer? Why? I'd rather be a photographer, because I would just really enjoy it.
3. Who would you like to meet most (dead or alive)? umm...I'd like to meet an angel...if that counts?
4. You're allowed to choose a new subject in school. What do you pick? Web Design? I guess...
5. Which fictional character would you love to play in a movie or theatre production? Most likely someone funny, I'm sorry....but my mind just went blank, and I can't think of anything :b
6. Do you think books are better than movies? Why or why not? I'd much prefer watching a movie, over reading a book. But, I wouldn't say movies are better for everyone, I know a lot of people who would much rather read a book than watch the movie. I just don't do a lot of reading, so yeah....I'm going for the movie!
7. What are your top three favourite songs? Well, at the moment....I really like Halle "We alright", I also like Jimmy Needham's "I will find you" and Capital Kings "I feel so Alive". (It's really hard to choose only 3 though)
8. Would you rather trek across the desert or travel the sub-zero tundra? Desert. Don't ask me why.
9. If you're going to college, what course would you want to take? something along the lines of Graphic Design probably.
10. What makes you awesome? Well, it really is hard to list just one thing, LOL but, I would consider being able to touch my tongue to my nose...pretty awesome. (and just plain weird) :ob
11. If you had one week left to live, what would you do? Yikes! These are pretty deep questions. Umm...I'd probably just want to make sure I told everyone I loved them, and I'd just try to do everything on my bucket list. 

11 random things about me:

1.  I don't like chocolate flavoured stuff, such as Chocolate ice cream, Chocolate cake, etc. Call me crazy! But I just don't like it.
2. Late last night/early this morning, I passed out in the bathroom...and hit my head off the tile floor. Now I've got a bruised face :(
3. I'm afraid of swimming in the ocean.
4. I believe this is the second Liebster award I have received.
5. The last TV episode I watched was Extreme Couponing. (crazy stuff I tell you)
6. I have attempted wakeboarding once in my life, and I failed.
7. I sleep walk.
8. I love the name Jae (for a girl)
9. I desperately want a pair of Oxfords.
10. Today we are celebrating thanksgiving for the second time this year (one thanksgiving was celebrated in Canada, and then we went down to Florida to celebrate the American Thanksgiving)
11. I LOVE perogies! (seriously best food ever!)

11 questions for you to answer:

1. What song did you have stuck in your head last (be truthful)?
2. What is your biggest Fear?
3. How many siblings do you have?
4. What is the best movie you've ever seen?
5. What time of day are you writing this?
6. How tall are you?
7. If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
8. What is your dream job?
9. What's your favourite band/artist?
10. If you had to perform one song at a concert, what would it be?
11. What would you consider to be the funnest place on earth? (on earth. let's just make that clear.)

11 people I will tag for this award:

 1. Emma from Living Fully By Faith
 2. Noni from On a String
 3. Victoria from Little Words and Lessons Learned
 4. Nana from By The Way
 5. Anjali from L&P to English Tea
 6. Diana from PaulyPeachum
 7. Emma from Summer Girl
 8. Lauricia from Give it Some Style!
 9. Lydia from For My Own Satisfaction
10. Sarah from Elegant Musings
11. Mikailah from Finding Beauty

Thanks Guys! And Happy American Thanksgiving :o)


     

DIY Photo to Canvas Transfer

Hi everyone! Today I've got a very special treat for you. My friend Anjali from L&P to English Tea, will be guest posting today. Thank you so much Anjali for taking the time to write this for me. I hope you enjoy this fun tutorial.

DIY Photo to Canvas Transfer

 

Hey guys! I’m Anjali from From L&P to English Tea and I’ve got a really easy, simple but fun and cool DIY for you today.

 

You may have seen this idea floating round the Internet lately, like I have, and thought about trying it. I thoroughly suggest it! It’s easy, simple and relatively mess free, but fun and cool at the same time. And it makes you feel good when you’ve finished knowing that you’ve saved money. And that’s always a good thing. Right? Right.

 

So! Here we go!

 

Here’s what you’re going to need for this project:

 

 

What I forgot to photograph was water. You’ll need that too, twice: first just to put a bit in the jar, and later on, when you’ll want it in a spray bottle or alternately you could probably use a water-logged sponge. The photos are just ones that you’ve printed off the computer on normal paper. They can be black and white or in colour, it doesn’t matter.

 I’m from New Zealand, but currently live in England, and in neither country do we have Mod Podge (though, actually, I have a slight feeling you can actually get it here in the UK now…), but I know that you guys over in America and Canada do have it. So if you’ve got that, that’s probably better than PVA glue. And if you do have some, you won’t need the jar. For the rest of us got-no-Mod-Podge-ers, we’re going to make a substitute. Here we go:

 

Step 1: Squeeze some PVA glue in the jar. I made quite a lot because I want to use it for some other projects, but if you just want to use it for this, then don’t make too much otherwise you’ll just end up tipping it down the sink.

 

 

Step 2: Take your jar to the tap and put about 2 time as much water in as your did glue. I apologise for the blurry picture. Only realized it was slightly blurry after it was on my computer.

 

 

Step 3: Shake shake shake! Shake that jar (obviously with the lid tightly on) to mix that glue and the water together.

 

 

 

Step 4: Now you want to grab your paintbrush and brush over a good lot of your home made Mod-Podge over your canvas.

 

 

Step 5: Now take your photo. You want to place it upside down onto the canvas. Make sure it’s upside down. Remember that it’s going to come out like a mirror image of the original photo.

 

 

Step 6: Smooth it over. It should look something like this:

 

 

Step 7: Go and have a cup of tea. This is the waiting step. If you’re impatient, this isn’t going to be fun, and for that, I apologize. I went a did another project while I waited for this, which kept my impatient mind off it. You can always wait over night as well.

 Step 8: Once it’s nice and dry, you want to take your spray bottle or sponge of water. Basically you want to soak that canvas. You heard me correctly – spray or sponge water all over that picture.

 

 

 

Step 9: Once it’s wet, use your finger and gently rub the paper. You’ll find it starts to come off – don’t be alarmed. That’s what you want it to do. Underneath is your photo which has magically attached itself to the canvas.

 Be careful not to rub too much. You may want a really old sort of look, but if you don’t, take it slowly and be careful not to take too much off. As you can see here, I rubbed it a little too hard and that part of the spiral came off too much. But that’s okay!

 

 

 

You’ll also find that there are little bits of paper that are harder to get off. Just ignore those for now. When it’s dryer, you’ll be able to just gently brush those off.

 

Step 10: this step is optional. If you’ve got room around your photo, you can always paint it. I painted the outside border of mine grey and white and black. Then I also added glitter to some parts of the picture, just to make it stand out a little more. But, you can do whatever takes your fancy.

 

 

 And there we have it!!  You can have a lot of fun with this! I think I need to go out and buy some more canvases!!

 

 Thank-you Emma-Lee for having me!

 

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Thank you so much Anjali! Be sure to go visit her blog. I'm sure you'll love it, like I do.

 

Also check out my feature on Papa is a Preacher

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

Guest Post by Larissa

Today I'd like you to Welcome Larissa! She so very kindly, wrote up a guest post for me. Thank you so much Larissa! I hope all you guys enjoy what she has to say.

 

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Twitter // Facebook // Blog // Pinterest // Instagram

 Hello there In Real Life readers! First of all I'd like to thank Emma-lee for this opportunity to introduce myself to you!

A Bit About Me: My name is Larissa and I blog over at Papa is a Preacher. I'm a Christian and although my blog has no intention of pushing my beliefs down your throat, I do mention Him every once in a while. :) I'm also about a month away from being a homeschool grad! I'm really excited about that and hope to begin university this spring. I'm going for a Communications Major! To get to know more about me and my family, I've written this post here.

A Bit About Where I Write: Papa is a Preacher is about everything really, here a little and there a little. Oftentimes you'll find posts about my family's travels. (Daddy's a Preacher and he sometimes has to travel around the globe. Sometimes we get to go with him. So I get to blog about that. Always fun.) There are DIY posts and more on the way because we're moving into a new house soon! In short there's never a dull moment at Papa is a Preacher, we have link ups and try to have a sense of community with our readers and fellow bloggers. :)
 We'd love it if you passed by got to know us a bit and stayed a while! Here's a more complete introduction if you'd like to get to know the protagonists of Papa is a Preacher better.
Thanks again Emma-lee!

Blessings, Larissa T. ~* 

My Life Lately...

 

Well, I've definitely been enjoying all the warm weather lately. It just seems weird walking along the beach in November. It's a great feeling though. The palm trees, the sunsets, and just enjoying being  in paradise. Floridians, be thankful for what you have. Because you have no idea how cold it gets in the "Great White North" (as you call it). A few days ago, I saw snow in a can. Yes, that's right. "Just Add Water" it said. I thought it was funny, because it really is something you only see in Florida. I'm also loving all the cool plaza/malls here. We went to one called Coconut Point on Saturday, it was absolutely gorgeous! And I even found a pair of oxfords....for $110.00. It was quite the disappointment. But if you're willing to spend that kind of money on Oxfords, Clarks is the place to go I guess. Yesterday we went to a friend's house down here, they live in a gated community type thing, so there was a really nice pool/exercise/party room place we went to. Here are some pictures from lately. Enjoy!

 

 

Loving my new camera earrings!

 

 

Wesley sitting contently in his stroller.

 

 

beautifulness!

 

 

And the most adorable Yorkie ever!!

 

 

me. Enjoying life.

 

 

 

 

I was awarded...

My lovely new friend Larissa from Papa is a Preacher awarded me with the "Addictive Blogger Award".  And it seems as though, I fit the description. I'm very addicted to blogging, I admit. So Thank you Larissa! I will try to do this right.

 

 

So basically what I'm supposed to do, is tell you a little bit about why I started blogging and then tag five other people. Here goes nothing!

 

I started blogging, really just because it was something I had heard about and really wanted to try. I did a lot of research, read a lot of other blogs, and just did a bunch of thinking. I wanted to be sure I knew why I was doing this, and what I was going to write about. I really wanted to make sure I wasn't just making a blog at an impulse, but that I was actually going to be dedicated to it. My very close friend Melanie also had a blog, and she helped me a lot with starting mine. So thanks to her help, in March I started In Real Life (formerly The Handmade Blog) and my motive hasn't changed. I blog because I want to inspire people with what I write and make. I want to share my life and interests with other people. And I love making new blogger friends! just as much as I enjoy Blogging. So thanks to all my followers, who make the blogger's world go round.

 

Today I'm going to award.....

 

1. Valerie from Savouries of Life

2. Alyssa from Solely Alyssa

3. Hannah from Thirsty World Designs

4. Anjali from L&P to English Tea

5. Kate from In Pursuit

 

Thanks guys!

 

 

 

 

DIY Feather Canvas

 

 

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Enjoy!