Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Wordless Wednesday! Remembering theatre...

 Taking a trip down memory lane, here are some favorite pics from my theatre major days at Harding University.
Jess and I in stage combat class where we met

Siren Song: Jess stared, I stage managed

Dresses up for a 50's formal.

Makeup: Disaster drill for the community.

A set I designed

Backstage before a show


Classic goofy cast picture

Miracle Worker cast

Tableau from Miracle Worker



Summer Dinner Theatre
My cast from a show a directed: HUSH





That would be my brother in law dressed as a lamb.

End scene from HUSH
Makeup I did for Beauty And The Beast
Backstage Crew, Beauty and The Beast



Wizard of OZ
Makeup job I did for Wizard of OZ

Jess and I after OZ


Sunday, August 28, 2011

Secrets to Bow Making Success: Review and Giveaway



I have been really excited about bringing this product to my readers attention. Secrets to Bow Making Success is just one of several instructional DVDs brought you by Next Chapter Learning and Jenn Spencer. Many of you are young moms or grandmas with little girls in your life. If you have a crafty side and an hour or two to spare you can use this instructional DVD and manual to learn how to make bows that would make great accessories for the young ladies in your life. This course will teach you all the basics to making bows.

This instructional DVD has more than just hair bows. Right now, we just have little Logan, and while he hopes for a sister one day, needless to say he doesn't wear hair bows. However, the bonus section in this course does show how to make a great pacifier clip for him. There is also a big section on how to make gift bows for presents and more. I have always wanted to have more beautifully wrapped presents under the tree but buying those big poofy bows is out of the question. Some of those bows can be ten dollars or more. Ribbon however can be very inexpensive, even wire ribbon if you shop bargain bins and buy in the off season (i.e. not major holidays). I usually make it a practice to buy new decorations post holidays anyway, you save so much money that way!

I was excited about the possibility of adding bows to my Etsy shop, Two Little Sea Stars, a baby boutique and more. I am a complete novice at bowmaking and I was hoping this video would make it super easy to turn me into an expert on bow making overnight. Not quite. The video is great, but I still have a lot to learn. You can tell the instructor, Emily, is not a beginner so I'm glad to be learning from someone who is great at making bows. I probably watched each section ten times as I made my bows to pick up on all the great tips and tricks to make my loops even, my ribbons straight, etc. When I couldn't quite tell what the instructor was doing on the video I turned to my manual which is 106 pages of color pictures and step by step instructions.


Here is what I made:
A corker bow: This was a lot of fun; who knew you could use your oven to make hair bows? These bows are really cute and look like little pom-poms. I learned how to line a french barrette with ribbon and how to create corked ribbon and bring it all together. You can actually leave it looking like a pom-pom but since I didn't buy quite enough ribbon I used an extra piece to make mine look like a bow tie to cover up the area where I tied my poms. You probably wouldn't have even noticed but I thought this was a fun variation and it shows that with a little imagination you can do way more than just the base bow design.

Alligator clips with flowers:  Learning how to line the clip was super easy but I can see how if I had attempted to do this myself with no instruction I probably would have done too much covering of the clip. There is actually a secret to getting these lined but still making them able to grip hair. I won't give that one away, you'll have to watch the video. There is also a great bonus section on adding all sorts of embellishments which gave me the idea to add these flowers. All the material for these clips I just pulled from my scrapbooking supplies.

Loopy layered bow:  This one was my favorite. I wanted to see what I could do with materials other than ribbon. I lined a french barrette and then layered felt, organza, and a button over a thin loopy bow. The loopy bow took a lot of practice and this is where I was glad I had my manual to look at detailed pictures. It looked so simple when the instructor made it, but even going slow I still didn't quite get my loops even, so I'll have to keep practicing. In my opinion, this bow still looks awesome though!

Win It! LearnHowToMakeBows.com  and Next Chapter Learning are giving away Secrets to Bow Making Success to one of my readers, a $27 value! Enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Also be sure to check out these other great courses offered by Next Chapter Learning:



Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Wordless Wednesday! I Heart You.


 Jess and I celebrated 4 years of marriage on August 11th with a much needed retreat to South Carolina. When we got back, the lawn needed mowed and I guess he felt he didn't say it enough on vacation because he was compelled to write it in grass. I love you too honey, I hope you never stop making such sweet and simple gestures!





Friday, August 19, 2011

About Me: In General

Since this blog is also about the happening of the Hines' home, I thought my readers might like to know a little more about me and my family. I plan on making a few posts over the next few weeks telling you different things about me. This first post is just about me in general.


In Arizona we would houseboat and camp on Lake Powell


Where I grew up:  I was born in Arizona but moved to Arkansas when I was 9. We lived by the lake so I grew up water skiing, tubing, and fishing. I went to Springdale high school, home of the bulldogs, where I like to think I was friends with everybody or at least not part of one specific group.  I wasn't particularly popular but hung out with some popular kids and got invited to some cool parties. We had a big high school and I loved showing school spirit at football and basketball games. I took advanced classes so I had my share of smart friends. I went to church, so I had that group of friends as well. I also participated in Forensics and Theater, sharing my love of the speaking arts with other artsy friends. I guess this accounts for why I now have about 950 Facebook friends! My father still lives in Arkansas and mom and brother now live in Oregon. They are both massage therapists so I love when they visit as I can get spoiled with back rubs.

On to college: I was the first person who ever graduated early at my high school. I arranged to take summer college classes before senior year to count for my last English and math credits so I could finish high school early. I then went to college in the spring while the rest of my friends stayed in my hometown and went to our senior prom. I told you I was one of the smart ones, but truth is I did it for a boy I met at church camp who was already in college. He was a big part of my life but it didn't last. God knew what He was doing though because my husband was also at that college.
I went to Harding University, a relatively small private university that is associated with the church of Christ. (Protestant; if you've heard any generalization about my church it is that we don't use instruments, we sing a capella.) I majored in theater which took up ALL my free time although I did manage to work at Payless shoes for a little while and spend some of the summers lifeguarding or working at Sonic. It took me 5 years to finish school. I took a small break after the relationship ended with that boy I followed to college. However, I came back to school, got things together, met my now husband and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Theater.

Some interesting things about where I went to college: We had curfew with extended hours on weekends, and you got fined if you were late so many times. We had no co-ed dorms, guy and girl dorms were on opposite sides of the campus, and each one had official dorm parents. The opposite sex was only allowed in to the dorms on particular dates throughout the year and if your feet did not remain on the floor you'd get pregnant. (Yes, it's ridiculous, that is why it's funny.) Our attendance in daily chapel was required but we got to pick where we sat and who we sat by. It might sound boring to some, but there is nothing like the sound of 3,000+ voices singing a capella praise songs together. I miss it. We had "social clubs" instead of sororities and frats and every spring they put on a musical showcase competition that is one of the largest arts events in the country. Our school lawn had several white wooden swings and another fun saying around campus was "three swings and then a ring" which actually was true for many people including me and my husband. College was a great experience and I enjoyed going to school that felt like a family. Some people call it a bubble but we were not immune to outside influences or crimes in the community. My husband had at least $1,500 worth of property stolen over his years at Harding (hopefully not by students!).

How I met my husband: Jess and I met in stage combat class. He had recently gotten his second degree black belt in Hap Ki Do before college, so the first thing I noticed about him was his athletic build. Some of the other theatre kids had nicknames for him like "G.I. Jess" and "Greek God." Jess wasn't a theatre major like me but had some interest in the arts so we wound up working on a few plays together and started to interact. One of the very first times we talked was when I asked him to pick me up in staged choke hold for class. Pretty soon I was smitten and I've always been pretty forward so I let him know it. You could say I chased him, wrapped my rope around him, and never let him go. A few months into school we had our first kiss and after enjoying college life together for the next year and half he finally proposed and we married in 2007 with one semester left in school.


The past 4 years: After college, Jess and I decided we wanted to be near his parents and followed them to North Carolina. Jess also grew up out west in New Mexico but his folks relocated just before our wedding. Soon Jess found work in Raleigh in the information technology field but there wasn't much in the way of theater work for me. I had thought I wanted to teach but after spending 2 weeks in student teaching, I just didn't have the heart for it. God bless all the teachers out there, especially ones who teach high school, it is some of the hardest work there is! I worked part time in an office and then did some nanny work. We knew we wanted to start a family and just shortly after our third anniversary we had Logan. I am very blessed to be staying home with him and we plan to homeschool. Jess and his siblings were home schooled and it was very important to him that we do so with our kids. I like to joke that he made me sign a contract agreeing to that before he would marry me. Now in my free time (while Logan naps) I have started my blog and my Etsy store. We have a wonderful church family and supportive friends where we live and lots of other young families to play with. We bought our first home the year we had Logan and we are living in the suburbs, loving life and praising God.





Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Wordless Wednesday! The family that rides....




This was hubby's first motorcycle

Jess' folks going for a ride
The 2nd bike
Our Harley Baby


The 3rd and current bike
We enjoy attending various bike fests and events

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