The other week I shared some gem gift tags and printouts and I thought it would be fun to turn those gems into goodies to decorate your photos with! You could even use these for your photo watermarks (personal use only).

To get the full size images of the free gems, click on the images below and right click + save.

Both images are .png images. This means you can change the color easily. Some quick instructions on how to do that in photoshop:

- Open the Free Gems image in Photoshop.

- In the layers section, add a new layer over the Free Gems image.

- Right click + select Create Clipping Mask.

- Add whatever color you’d like to that layer.

- Merge layers (not flatten) to combine the color and gems.

- Use the lasso selection tool to select copy + paste onto your images. Ta dah!

I hope you enjoy!

- Chelsey

The post FREE Gems to decorate your photos! appeared first on The Paper Mama.

Name: The Key Toon aka The Key (as my daughter calls him)

Height: 6 ft. 5 in. of terror

Weight: 2 pounds of foam

Age: 6

Hobbies: Walking really awkward and slow. Smiling. Waving. Scaring the crap out of the childrens.

Ok, maybe just my child (and Mandy’s child). Here we are… hanging out all excited for March of Dimes when The Key sees us. He slowly wobbles our way and I feel a scratching on my leg, followed by a frantic screech/babbling of, “Let’s get outta here! Let’s get outta here!” I look down and my child is trying to claw her way inside of me to hide from Mr. Key. It took me a minute to put it all together, but we had to tell him to head the other way or my kid (and Harper) were going to have little mini heart attacks.

He leaves and I thought that would be the end of it. He’s gone. Out of sight (mostly). Nope. My kiddo is hanging onto me so tight I didn’t even need to hold her. I tried to sit down to talk to her and she pretty much climbed on top of my head, while still mumbling, “Let’s get outta here…”

She got better as we went on our walk, but when we were back to the main event space… the fear all came flooding back to her. She did not want to be anywhere near that place. She was having a little meltdown. We left and Harper and Ruari kept chatting about The Key. We promised them that the key was just a guy in a costume. They still thought he was scary as hell.

As the evening went on… still with The Key! She showed me how he walked (this included a weird wobble and the creepy smile) and kept telling me he was “distracting” her. 4 days later… still. talking. about. the. key. Ha! The story has evolved a bit to, “Well, The Key was distracting me. He wasn’t trying to hurt me, but he’s still creepy. I don’t like him.  He scared all the poopy out of my body. I bet he went home and took his costume off and said, ‘I’m done being creepy, phew’ and he was actually Kim. Kim was the key.” So…. sorry to my friend Kim. She is now the wearer of the key costume (no convincing the kiddo otherwise). Ha!

It broke my heart how scared she was of this key, but now the story sort of makes me smile. I showed her The Key photo today and she just laughed…. then said, “K, turn off The Key photo.” Ooooooh, 3. Gotta love these moments.

- Chelsey

Key image via Costume Specialists

The post It’s what nightmares are made of. Apparently. appeared first on The Paper Mama.

Almost daily I think about having another kiddo. I’d love to just say, “Yeah, let’s do this and create another life.” But, I can’t. I wish there was no risk for me carrying a baby. I wish the only decision we have to make is when to start trying. Unfortunately, that’s not the situation we’re in.

Every time I start doing the research and getting all the information for gestational surrogacy, I get overwhelmed by the cost/time/emotional stuff of it all. My husband and I have been wanting to start our journey to surrogacy for a while, but we recently learned our insurance will not cover this. We will have to cover 100% of the costs. It’s just another bump in the ‘ol road.

I know for a fact we will have another child. Whether it’s by surrogacy, or adoption, we will have a brother or sister for our kiddo. Both are a ton of money. Goodness. Sooooooo, that brings me to my Go Fund Me. It’s a site dedicated to raising money for people/situations/whatever. I set up a page to begin raising money for surrogacy. In addition to the fundraising page, I hope to set up a silent auction and maybe a raffle? All in the near future.

In case you don’t know why I can’t carry another kiddo, here’s a quick catch up…

The backstory:

In December 2009 I was 36 weeks pregnant and ended up in the ER with contractions coming every minute with a lot of pain. After many tests the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong. The baby was fine, and I obviously was not. It was decided that my appendix may have burst. When I was put under and the surgeon started to work, blood poured out of my abdomen. My simple appendectomy turned into cesarean/life saving surgery. I flatlined four times and lost most of my blood. Somehow my daughter was perfectly fine and only needed a resuscitation from me being put under.

It turns out my uterus had ruptured. I have a bicornuate uterus (this means it’s heart shaped) and it tore at the seam. Just a tear the size of a dime, yet my little baby was still getting blood.

A uterine rupture can occur if the pregnant woman had previous surgery on her uterus. Before pregnancy I had NEVER had surgery of any kind, especially not on my uterus. I’ve been told there may have been a weak spot and the combo of my growing baby and movement caused the tear. According to my doctors, they could not find any record of a uterine rupture without past surgery happening, so it’s pretty much a mystery.

I have no guarantee that another pregnancy won’t cause another tear. The doctors just don’t know. What I DO know is I have my daughter, family and myself to live for. The risk is not worth it.

The entire surrogate process is so expensive, and that’s why I set this up. Side note: I definitely don’t expect this Go Fund Me to cover everything, I just hope it helps. We’re also saving money, applying for grants, and doing what we can (without going into extreme debt).

- Chelsey and Mike

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If you have a Wednesday post, please feel free to link it up below. And, feel free to link up to these blogs too… Parenting by Dummies, Project Alicia, Jenni from the Blog, In The Moment With, and Live and Love Outloud.

The post Wednesday Goodies: Well, here goes…. appeared first on The Paper Mama.

Psst… if you want to be in the loop for upcoming events, sign up for our newsletter!

A HUGE thank you to the sponsors of our Spring Event:

The post PNW Spring Blogger Party Recap appeared first on The Paper Mama.

We did it! This past weekend I went to Tacoma to walk for the babies. Our team was an awesome bunch of PNW bloggers and we raised $6,870. Plus also: Ergo Baby was pretty darn neat and sent all the mama’s carrying small babies carriers, plus little carriers for each kiddo. On top of that, the kiddo and I had a great time staying with our friend’s Harper and Mandy.

Thank you to EVERYone that donated to our group. This charity means a lot to me (since my kiddo was early) and many other families that have early babies or lost little ones for coming too soon.

Have a wonderful Monday!

- Chelsey

The post Washington Bloggers for Babies appeared first on The Paper Mama.

I have a lovely new post on Better Homes and Gardens. I LOOve air plants. I pretty much love any plant that I can forget to water… and it’s still alive. ::this reminds me to go spritz my air plants::

These air plant wall hangers are inexpensive and easy to create. If you’d like to see how I made these little hangers, head over to Better Homes and Gardens for the full instructions.

Happy Friday!

- Chelsey

P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to buy raffle tickets for the March of Dimes raffle! Lots of awesome prizes to win and the money goes towards something super awesome.

The post DIY Air Plant Wall Hanger on BHG! appeared first on The Paper Mama.

Remember my little goal to dress up at least 3 times a week? I set this goal in February and I’m happy to say I’ve stuck with it. I get out of my lazy/yoga pants and step into something lovely at LEAST 3 days a week (sometimes it’s four or five). I can tell this small change has helped my self-esteem. It’s just so simple, but getting dressed in a lovely skirt and some pretty tights changes my mood. I can feel my energy level go up, and I just plain feel better. Most days I can only manage to get my kiddo into “real clothes” and I wander out of the house with toothpaste on my face. Yeah… I even forget to look in the mirror. This goal also includes putting a small bit of makeup on, at least 3 times a week.

The majority of the time my makeup routine only consists of putting on mascara. Adding some length and darkness to my lashes makes me believe I’m not as tired as I feel. Ha! When I’m feeling super fancy, maybe on date nights, I’ll add a bit of lipstick.

I have really dry skin, and for that reason I don’t use foundation or cover up that often. Especially all over my face. It enhances the dry spots…  <—– Not my goal. I also love my freckles and never want to cover them, buuuut I do love it under my eyes (and to cover up the occasional blemish). I’ve yet to find something that really works for what I want (and at a price I can handle), but Almay sent me some Smart Shade Mousse to try out. I love it!

It’s pretty neat. It starts off white (as seen on my finger above) and quickly changes to match the shade of my skin, like magic. P.S. A little goes a long way. It’s light and soft, and it smooths out to cover the darkness under my eyes.

I’ve been using it almost nonstop for a week now. Even on the days I choose to wear yoga pants (and maybe have toothpaste on my face). It may be difficult to see a difference looking at my before and after photos in this post, but looking in the mirror at home: totally see it. I’ll be dressing up FOUR times this week. Date night tonight with the husband! Yay! That means cute shoes, a dress, and makeup! No yoga pants this time. Maybe I’ll add some eyeshadow (I’m trying out the Almay intense i-color)?

Check out Almay’s website for more information about their products and don’t forget to like Almay on Facebook!

Tell me, what’s your go-to date night look?

Answer this question below, and each comment will automatically be entered for $100 Visa gift card! Use that treat for your own little date night!

- Chelsey

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You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/16/13-6/16/13.

Be sure to visit the Almay brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

The post Wearing the makeups: Plus a GIVEAWAY! appeared first on The Paper Mama.

My hubby went through the house and changed all the lightbulbs, and before he could recycle them I said, “Wait, I can use those for this project!” He may have given me that “year, sure” look, but I really had an idea for these little bulbs. I’ve been wanting to create a hanging lightbulb herb vase FORever and now I’ve done it and I love them. I didn’t really want floral vases, I wanted little herb vases. When you pluck a bit of rosemary or sage, the smell is amazing! We have an amazing amount of herbs always available in our yard (our rosemary grows year round) and if we need a bit for cooking, it’s right there. Ready to make one for yourself? Let’s go!

Supplies:

- Old lightbulbs

- Martha Stewart’s Multi-Surface Paint

- Painter’s Tape

- Wire

Directions: 

- First we need to prep the bulbs. Make sure you are wearing protective eyewear and gloves. Prepping the bulbs involves breaking glass, and it seems to fly everywhere! Do this project in a space you’re not worried to find little bits of glass later, cause you will find little bits of glass later. Be safe.

- Use a set of pliers to pry off the little metal disk on the base of the bulb.

- Using pliers or some sort of point, crack apart the glass inside of the bulb. When it’s broken up, pore out the glass. If there are any stuck pieces, use needle nose pliers to pull them out. Break away any extra bits of glass inside the rim. Pour some water in the bulb to swish it around and get any last little teeny bits of glass.

- Wash and completely dry the outside of each bulb. Use your painters tape to set up some fun shapes on the bulb. Tear and adjust the tape to your liking.

- Paint in the spaces you prepped for painting. Let dry completely before removing the tape. TIP: I put a chopstick inside each bulb and propped them up in glasses to dry.

- So, the Martha Stewart paint requires 21 days to cure completely, but I didn’t really wait for that. Since I’m not putting this in a dishwasher, I think it’s probably ok.

- Cut a couple 10 inch sections of wire. Make a “U” shape with one of the wires, and fold up the tips on each end (see photo below) and this will be your handle. Make a rough circle with the other wire piece, loop the tips onto the circle.

- Use some needle nose pliers to twist and tighten the wire on one of the lightbulb ridges and the tips of the “U” handle. Trim the extra bits of wire.

- You’re done! Just needs a bit of wire and some smelltastic herbs.

We hung these lovely vases in our kitchen. I love it.

- Chelsey

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If you have a Wednesday post, please feel free to link it up below. And, feel free to link up to these blogs too… Parenting by Dummies, Project Alicia, Jenni from the Blog, In The Moment With, and Live and Love Outloud.

The post Wednesday Goodies: Hanging Lightbulb Herb Vase appeared first on The Paper Mama.

In May 2011, I decided to get off my buns and get back into shape. When I stopped pumping for my kiddo, I gained a lovely 20ish pounds in about 2 months. I stopped pumping… but kept eating the same amount of calories. Whooops. Before that point I had NEVER worried about gaining weight. Having a kiddo changed EVERYthing. Now I need to watch what I eat, and apparently I have to work out. I bet it also has to do with the fact that I’m 30 and no longer a crazy 25-year-old.

Anywho. I did the 30 Day Shred, by Mizz Jillian Michaels for 60 days. That was the best I had felt in YEEears. Mentally and physically. Then, after about 4 months of working out non-stop… I quit. I was tired of working for it. Slowly my energy level went down and more recently I’ve been feeling super out of shape and bleh. Bloated and bleh. I’m TIRED of it. I want my energy back. I want to not look tired all of the time. That’s why Tuesday is my first day of getting back into shape, and continuing. Changing my lifestyle

On Monday I purchased 2 DVD’s. Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred and Yoga Meltdown. I plan on alternating between these two for 5 – 6 days a week. For now. Maybe I’ll move onto other things later? Who knows. This will be my start.

My goal is NOT to lose weight. It is to get in shape and feel awesome. Wish me luck

- Chelsey

The post Jillian Michaels: I love/hate you appeared first on The Paper Mama.

This last Saturday I sold a bunch of my illustrations/stuffies/brooches at Crafty Wonderland. It was fun and successful! Annnnnd, many of you lovely people had asked if I will sale my stuff somewhere online. I plan to put it in my shop, but I really don’t know when I will for sure. Soooooo, since I’m not 100% sure when they will appear in my shop, I will be doing a quick Instagram sale on Tuesday at 1 pm PST.

All items will be priced to include shipping (shipping prices will be for US only, if you’re out of the country… I’ll calculate a different price).

Plusandalso: I’ll be taking 15% off the original item prices. Yay! So, they will be cheaper than my store prices.

See you tomorrow on Instagram!

- Chelsey

The post Quick Instagram Sale Coming Up! appeared first on The Paper Mama.