Pomegranate White Tea

It's a good morning to grab a cup of hot tea, so as much as I didn't want to go inside to make it, I did. I chose Pomegranate White Tea from Trader Joe's. I hope to do this every week from now on because it makes the whole "tea time" theme a little more complete.

Now for highlights & lowlights of the past week, which I've also heard called Roses & Thorns:

A lowlight would be missing my family & friends. It's weird not knowing anyone in this town except people my sister is friends with. I'm not close enough to the people around here who are my age. I wouldn't mind making new friends, but I just like being at home & staying in touch with the friends I already have. Oh, & getting to a terribly sad, frustrating part in Oliver Twist. :(

Highlights include getting back into studying the Bible in Greek even though I'm not going as in-depth as when I was taking the course, substitute teaching homeschool style while my sister was at college, & walking/jogging with my sister 3 evenings in a row at the park. Last night I even went on the merry-go-round, slides, swings, & monkey bars. There's nothing like going on playground equipment to remind you that you used to be a kid. :)

Brown Bag Stationery & Journals

So much for boring Mondays! 

I think it's super awesome that Mailbox Moments started this link-up about the same time that I found their blog AND the same time that I've been making handmade items to send my friends in the mail using only items I already have on hand. I couldn't stop at just sharing one.

So, first up is this stationery which is one of my favorites even though it was the least work. It's made from packaging paper that came with orders from Pampered Chef to keep the items from getting broken.

Next is a journal I made from brown paper grocery bags. I used these scissors to cut the pages:

 I do some cross-stitching, so I used this thread to sew the pages & cover together:

 The cover is thin cardboard that was used to keep my custom stamps from getting bent in the mail. I think this quote from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey is perfect for the cover of a journal:

Sorry it's hard to read in the picture. It says: "Not keep a journal! How are the civilities & compliments of every day to be related as they ought to be, unless noted down every evening in a journal?" :)

The last thing I made is this journal. It took the longest, but I'm not as happy with the results. Maybe it's too colorful to me and so it's not the soothing, peaceful journal I like. My niece said something about it being the coolest journal ever, though. :)

 This is actually my favorite part of the journal, & it makes me wish I'd been able to stitch the quote on the front.

 The ribbon as well as all of the cover paper is from gifts I've received.

 This back cover is from a gift bag that got torn & was therefore no longer useful as a gift bag. :)

 This is the inside cover made from the bottom of the gift bag. I taped it all around a granola bars box. In between this cover & the box is a slit that could be used as a storage pocket for loose papers, ticket stubs, etc. I'm not sure how easy it would be to use or how long this journal will even hold together. :( You could always tape/glue it back, though. :)

 I happened to have this heart-shaped hole punch that I used to tie this journal together like a spiral notebook (sort of) with yarn.

 This quote is from a song my sister wrote, & you can see how messy the tape & stitching (to the right) got. :( Still, I think the experiment helped me learn a few things. :)

Everyone should join in the Mailbox Moments Mondays link-up for next week. It's much simpler than this & gives you lots of options & ideas. If you don't have your own blog, I can try to put your idea up on mine. I can't wait to see what everyone puts! :)

Also, I've been thinking about starting an Etsy Shop for a while now. I guess this finally gave me the shove I needed. I began it yesterday so I only have one item, & you can be one of the first to see it. I'd love to know what you think! I know it's not much yet. :)

Alaska



The actual state bird of Alaska is the Willow Ptarmigan. Sometimes it seems like mosquitoes are the state birds here, too, though. 

This came from my dad's brother who lives in Alaska
during the summer.

I've never been to Alaska, so reading these Fun Facts about Alaska was really fascinating:

Alaska is larger than the next four largest states combined

Alaska contains 17 of the 20 highest peaks in The United States

Alaska is only 50 miles from Russia.

Alaska has 29 volcanoes

Alaska has 33,000 miles of coastline...more than the rest of the lower 48 combined (This includes island shores)

Alaska is the only state to have coastlines on 3 different seas. Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea

There are more than three million lakes in Alaska

LoveNotesByLauryn

I found a new blog that I wanted to share with you for a few reasons:

1. Lauryn makes custom wedding, baby, & graduation announcements which goes along with my blog's theme of letters.

2. She's sweet & funny...at least on her blog.

3. By doing this, I could win some much-needed graphics for this blog.

4. I learned a simple little calligraphy tip from her blog.