Seaside and Long Beach - Summer Adventures

Are you prepared for an adventure? I hope so, because I want to share pictures from our trip to Seaside and Long Beach with you!
My mom and I stayed the night at Seaside, and went to Long Beach the next day as a part of my one week summer vacation. Though it was raining part of the time, we had a lot of fun! Sometimes I almost enjoy going to the beach more when it's stormy or raining, because it makes everything feel so cozy. The low clouds also made everything look awesome!

We also had some great weather while we were there!

I really enjoyed visiting the various shops at Seaside, and walking out on the beach near the seagulls. (Candy from the shops definitely made the experience even better;)

I probably took nearly fifty pictures of the seagulls, because they were constantly in the perfect spot for a picture!

We walked along the beach for quite a while during the first day of our stay, which was nice because I haven't often just walked along the beach.

 I had a great time taking pictures of the various things we saw as we walked!

Since we planned to stay the night at Seaside, we booked a room at a hotel near the beach. We actually switched rooms, because the people in the room next to us were quite loud and obnoxious. I have to admit that I didn't like the idea of being on the first floor of the hotel when we switched rooms, because it seemed so much less private. But, it ended up being a very nice room, and we enjoyed staying there!

After we stayed the night at Seaside, we went back to the shops and beach one more time before we drove to Long Beach.

On the way back from Long Beach, my mom wanted to show me this cool covered bridge, so we drove around there for a while as well!

Everything was so fresh and beautiful.

And, of course we had to stop to use restrooms on the way back home, so we pulled off at some strange area. By this time it was raining and quite stormy, and the bathrooms there were pretty disgusting... but it did make for an interesting experience!

I hope you enjoyed seeing pictures from our trip!

Don't go anywhere... even more blogs about my week of summer vacation are soon to come!

Grist Mill and Randle, WA - Summer Adventures

During the summer, my mom and I went to the Cedar Creek Grist Mill in Woodland and to Randle, Washington. Though it was extremely hot outside, I always enjoy exploring areas that are new to me. It was truly fun seeing the inside of the Grist Mill, along with the beautiful areas that surround it.
My mom and I originally planned this trip because I had decided to take a one week break from school, after my summer courses were complete. I really wanted to take the opportunity and visit as many interesting places as possible, and my mom suggested the Cedar Creek Grist Mill as one of them. I am glad that she thought of going to this area, because it was the perfect trip!
Here are some pictures from the whole trip!

The trip was incredible! And the air was so refreshing. The sun beamed through the branches of the trees, and made everything look so breathtaking. I enjoyed being up so high, because it allowed us to look down at some wonderful pieces of God's creation.
However, one thing I didn't enjoy as much was this gross bug that flew into my hair and wouldn't leave.

We also found this helicopter in the middle of everything, as we continued to drive toward Randle. It was the last thing I expected to see there!

My dog, Tia, seemed to enjoy the trip as well!

Unfortunately, I didn't actually get any pictures of Randle, or of the cute restaurant we ate supper at! But, I still have it in my memory and will always remember the great time that my Mom and I had!

Don't go anywhere... more blogs about my week of summer vacation are soon to come!

Spring Banner

It's dark and cloudy outside, which naturally means that I'm in the mood for crafts. I thought it would be fun to bring the colors of spring into my bedroom with this banner that simply says "Spring".

I started off by printing and cutting out the letters S, P, R, I, N, and G to use as templates, since I didn't have any large letter stencils (because I wanted a larger banner, each letter took up one 8 1/2 x 11 page).
I then found patterned scrapbook paper for the background pages, and cut two inches off of each 12 x 12 paper, so they ended up as 10 x 12 rectangles.
Then, I used a Martha Stewart edge punch on the bottom edge of each background page.
Using the letters I had previously printed and cut out, I traced letters on colorful paper and cut them out. I glued these (closest to the center as possible) on each background page.

After the letters were glued onto the background pages, I used a gray pastel to lightly outline the letters and the edges of the backgrounds. I then smudged the pastel with my finger to soften it.

Once all of this was complete, I traced and cut out bunnies to put on some of the backgrounds, and added some butterfly stickers as well.

Now, my spring banner was almost complete! After this, I simply used a standard hole punch on the top two corners of each background page, and ran a long piece of yarn through every hole.
I placed the banner above my desk with two thumbtacks, and I love the cheerfulness it brings into my bedroom!

Have a great Tuesday!

Paper Heart Chain

Yesterday I was in the mood to do a craft, and made this cute paper heart chain!

The idea for it came from 28 Simple DIY Paper Craft Ideas on Snappy Pixels. I changed it a bit by creating an inner and outer layer of paper, and used a blue pastel on the edges of the outer paper. This is really fast and easy to make, and it can be changed to however you like!
To make this paper heart chain, you really only need a stapler and evenly cut strips of paper (I cut my paper 1 inch wide by 5 inches long), unless you want to color the edges or embellish the hearts. You can also try cutting the strips of paper with decorative edge scissors instead of cutting them straight. Here is a simpler version of the chain with just one layer of paper:

Line up two strips of paper and staple them at one end so it forms a "V" when you separate them.

Bring the separate edges back down toward the stapled end and past it to form a heart.

Then, before stapling the bottom of the heart, add one strip of paper to each side, so it forms a "V" around the heart.

Staple all of it together, and repeat the process to add more hearts to the chain.

When you've added as many hearts as you want, simply staple the bottom of the last heart without adding more strips of paper.

You can also use this process to make one, or several big hearts!
Here, I cut yellow and white strips of paper (2 inches wide by 11 inches long), and used a Martha Stewart decorative edge punch on the yellow strips. If you use two layers of paper, make sure that whatever you want as the outer layer is actually behind what you want as the inner layer, because they will fold outward.

 Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!