outnumbered5to1.com

Audio

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:51:07 -0500

Always one of my very favorites.

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:11:22 -0500

Always one of my very favorites.

continues to be one of my very favorites…

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:25:21 -0600

continues to be one of my very favorites…

one little word.

Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:12:00 -0600

My One Little Word for 2013.

Clear: clean, pure, capable of discernment, free from guilt, unhampered by limitation, empty of contents, free from haze. (via Webster’s dictionary.)

1 Peter 4: 7-8 | … So keep a CLEAR mind. Control yourselves. Then you can pray. ⁸… love one another deeply. Love erases many sins by forgiving them.

This is my prayer for this year.

That God will show me how to keep my mind clear.
To let go and be present.
To learn from yesterday so that today might be better example of who God is.
To create more, worry less.
To learn.
To give forgive and accept forgiveness.
To become clear.

(You can read more about One Little Word here.)

Holiday Cards By the Dozen

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 22:32:44 -0500

In this class we will create 12 fantastic holiday cards (three each of four designs). Not only will you use fun and festive products but you will be learning new techniques. Make all the cards the same or mix and match different sentiments. You will leave with a dozen cards ready to send to family and friends this holiday season. $25

To reserve your spot today, email me at: hopegustafson@gmail.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL NOVEMBER CALENDAR.

It’s back! #clubfx — don’t miss it...

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 19:20:47 -0500

It’s back! #clubfx — don’t miss it @firsthattiesburg 9:30 & 11:00 tomorrow! (Taken with Instagram at Club FX)

wehavethemunchies: How To Make Vietnamese Coffee (x) I love...

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:55:05 -0500

wehavethemunchies:

How To Make Vietnamese Coffee (x)

I love coffee. I love artfully things that are artfully done. This satisfies both of those.

Enjoy.

baby A

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 07:54:00 -0500

And here is my take on another one of Heidi Swapp’s memory file creations.

This one belongs to Matthias — baby A, my other first born.

I feel the same about the pictures I chose here as I do about the ones in Graham’s album — I might not have used them. I definitely wouldn’t have used them all together. I just how they tell the story of who Matthias is — and each of them are needed to make it complete. All 35 of them.

In the picture below there is a red arrow — it’s pointing to the fact that is is actually pushing his brother to get a good start in the Fun Run. He says it’s much more fun if you actually do well. Ha.

And there you have it - baby A - there’s no nutshell for him. You can’t confine this child. My all out, confident, competitive, physical touch, adventurous, empathetic, lover of new things boy.

I tell myself that someday — when I’m not here to tell them anymore — they will be able to read what I’ve written and know how dearly they are loved.

* linking up over at The Southern Institute: Creative Me Linky Party

baby B

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:28:00 -0500

With four sons running around it can be easy for me to get distracted and think of them as a whole instead of individually. Creating this file was time I needed to focus on the traits of just one. The twins get lumped together so much more than they should so I chose to do an album for each of them. I let them pick the folder and papers I would use — it’s funny, they chose the the same folder and completely different papers. That sums Graham & Matthias up in a nutshell. They’ve SO loved looking at them. And I confess — a bit of the journaling brought tears to my eyes. This has me striving to slow down and be more conscious of each child as an individual.

warning: lots of pictures. lots.

Look! I even broke out the sewing machine.

This another one of the projects from the Heidi Swapp class that I took. I love all the little pockets and mini albums within the project. And wait for it ——- 33 pictures! Yes. You read right. THIRTY-THREE! And truth be told, probably all pictures I may not have scrapped alone because I am so behind. I chose pictures of him that I love for different reasons, ones that totally tell the story of who Graham is. This memory file makes my heart sing!

I love this metal word — it’s a bookmark from Hallmark’s old Product (Red) line.

And so the story of my sweet baby B is told — my laid back, attention to detail, striving to be different, quality time, easy to love boy.

File #2 coming soon ….

The view from here. #joysofboys (Taken with Instagram at...

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 17:49:49 -0500

The view from here. #joysofboys (Taken with Instagram at football practice)

Officially Back to School.

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 17:08:40 -0500

We survived our first two weeks of school — whoa Nelly. There’s no denying it now - summer is over and school is in full swing.

The mister is back to working longer hours and Friday nights — high school football is here and someone has to cover those games (the sports editor can’t be everywhere.) Student Council, PTO, BETA Club, Yearbook, football, youth group, growth groups, and the list goes on. In the middle of getting used to all that we call “normal” we’ve had painters in our house and men on the roof — so this week I was blessed to be stuck in the house during the day while the boys were at school. That meant a couple things: 1. laundry is caught up and the house is pretty clean and 2. I had time to complete back to school layouts for each of the boys. Now if I can just schedule in time for them to fill in the blanks.

These boys of mine are becoming such individuals. It amazes me how they can grow up in the same house, with the same surroundings and become so completely different. I can’t wait to see the answers they write in.

I always love digging through bits and baubles to embellish my pages. Finding all these different little pieces to add to my pages always makes me smile. Here are a few details from the pages.

Back to School

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 09:57:00 -0500

Every year at this time I say something about how I could use a few more weeks of summer. This year is no different. I enjoy our late morning breakfasts, late night movies, days spent at the pool and with friends — I am never ready for that to come to a screeching halt.

Here’s to a wonderful school year - a year full of new friends, good times with old ones, great teachers, PTO activities, class parties, productive homework time, smooth sailing on projects, lots of fun in sports and everything else that comes with a new school year!

It all goes by so quickly — 8th grade, 5th grade and 3rd grade — here we come!

* School starts for my littles an hour before it starts for Bynum — he didn’t see any reason why he should get up just for pictures. I try to humor him when I can — you know, pick my battles. There is a quote: Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. E. Stone. It’s true. I love these boys with everything that is in me.

Birds of a Feather

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 15:46:00 -0500

While searching for some new scrapbook sketches I stumbled across NoelMignon.com — I’m still waiting for forum approval, but from what I gather they host a monthly sketch challenge. And this is the one from July:

It just so happens I’ve had 3 pictures sitting on my desk that I was wanting to put on a page. I liked the simplicity of the sketch and decided to try my hand at it. Here’s what I came up with:

I love a completed layout! If you end up putting your own spin on this sketch I’d love to see it! Or head on over to NoelMignon.com and see what they’ve come up with. There is some great inspiration there.

Product I used on my layout:

paper - Basic Grey

cardstock - Bazzill

bird embellisments - original pieces, I just tried to duplicate the birds on the paper

alpha letters - K & Co

buttons & brads - various

twine - Close to My Heart

NOTE: I’ve SINCE been approved to the community over at NoelMignon — I look forward to browsing around a bit more and learning my way around. Go on over and take a look.

Spinach & Avocado Smoothie

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 11:55:00 -0500

This last couple weeks before school have been a bit of a free-for-all around our house. Boys staying up all hours of the night, random eating of all sorts of snacks and junk through out the day, wardrobes consisting of bathing suits or pajamas — and no one to stop it. Well it’s one week until school starts and time to start getting back into some sort of routine. I like the way I feel when I eat cleaner — I also like the way my boys behave, sleep, concentrate, etc when they are eating cleaner. Time to get things back to normal. We’re kicking things off with this super creamy green smoothie.

When I first started making green smoothies I wouldn’t let my boys see what went in them — you know the whole “I hate spinach” thing — much less get them to eat a raw avocado. However, once I had sold them on the smoothies I’ve started letting them help make them. They swear you can’t taste the veggies. No lie.

To make this little jewel you’ll need:

1/2 ripe avocado
1/2 to 1 whole banana
1 cup baby spinach
3/4 cup frozen mangos and/or peaches (any frozen fruit could easily be used)
3/4 water (although you could use soy/almond/coconut milk)
Throw it in the blender and watch the magic happen.

*I chose to add 1 tbsp of protein powder and 1/4 greek yogurt to add some extra protein for the boys

And here it is — the green creamy goodness! Yum! It really is creamy — almost like a thin pudding. It was filling and I’m pretty sure I could hear our bodies singing songs of happiness for the green goodness.

I have completely fallen in love with Heidi Swapp’s memory...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 21:07:00 -0500

I have completely fallen in love with Heidi Swapp’s memory file system. I love how I can fit so many picture into one small space. This little album has 10 pictures in it with room for several more. ~~Should I ever be able to find them on my external drive.~~ When I get time to print the few I’m missing. The file I used here is one of Heidi Swapp’s color magic folders and has been misted with Arctic Blue Glimmer Mist. That has to be one of the coolest elements in her line right now — the color resist is awesome! You can customize it to whatever your color scheme is. As opposed to having 20 some odd folders that aren’t the color you are looking for. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything. lol.

I simply cut this folder in half and glued the halves together to get the same color and pattern on the inside and out. Easy peasy! And just like that, I have 10 pictures scrapped, and memories documented and out for my family to enjoy! Hooray! Granted, these pictures are from 2008 — but I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to have them out for everyone to look at. My boys have been looking through it talking about the gifts they got that year and about how much they love visiting Oklahoma. I love being able to celebrate all these family memories.

Thanks for stopping by!

Attempting to call upon the Christmas spirit in my soul. This...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 20:59:00 -0500

Attempting to call upon the Christmas spirit in my soul. This should do the trick!

Loving my new digs!

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:07:41 -0500

A cute new blog design surely calls for crafting with cute new things! I can’t wait to have something new to show off. I found this cool little album in Gulf Shores their local scrapbook store (Gigi’s Scrapbookin’). Don’t think for a second I won’t be looking for more of these Bare Books!

I was a little sad to find out iWeb/MobileMe was no longer going to work in the same capacity. 1. I’m comfortable using it. 2. I really liked the design of my blog — but sweet ol’ David assured me it was nothing to get in a tizz about. “You can’t do anything about it — so let’s just move on…” He’s my voice of reason and my technical support team. So he got busy setting me up with this fancy new place and my job is to learn the ropes here. My old blog is archived and can be reached by clicking the link at the top of the page.

Welcome to my new space. I’m pretty excited. Let the crafting begin!

Hope