March 2012
  

Conference Weekend & Sharing Time

We're excited about General Conference this weekend!

Come listen to living prophets

Click here if you're looking for the Sharing Time Link Up.

Feature Friday (Kristen Duke Photography)





1. My middle name is Joy, I like to share it with others
2. I married a California man and somehow convinced him to come to Texas to raise our family
3. I rode a camel through the pyraminds in Egypt
4. I like to sing loudly to the radio
5. I love to accesorize–headbands, bracelets, necklaces





I started out my blog sharing images that I took for my photography business, but now I like to share our home decor diy projects, crafts, recipes, thoughts on motherhood, what I wear wednesdays, anything that's on my mind!




Our Homemade Bed


Decorating with Portraits & Our Vintage Frames


Sliding Barn Door TV Cover


Mary Had a Little Lambe Party


Streamlining Snacking


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How/Why did you start blogging?

I started by sharing sneak peeks with my clients from their portrait sessions.

Has your reason for blogging changed? If so, why?

When I took the family portraits for my friend Amy from The Idea Room blog, she asked me if I wanted to share weekly photography tips on her blog. I did that for nearly a year, and found that her readers would come to my blog to read what I was sharing, which turned into other loves, I also enjoyed blogging about crafts, recipes, and home diy projects. I loved sharing the tips on her blog, but I got overwhelmed with coming up with something each week, so it eventually ended.

Tell us about your Books & Workshops!

I have written 2 books for the beginner photographer. One, called Say NO to Auto which is the very basics and 2nd, Get Focused, which is the intermediate level who is comfortable off of auto settings. I have sold nearly 3000 copies, and love the feedback I hear from others that my books have helped them! My books and info on them can be found here: http://kristendukephotography.com/?page_id=7602

I also travel some and do workshops for Say NO to Auto.

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Would you like to see your blog featured here? I'll be doing a "Feature Friday" post, featuring one blogger & their blog on Fridays throughout 2012. If you have a blog that you'd like to see featured, please send me an email to raisingmemories at gmail dot com to submit your blog.

Lysol Mission for Health

Life as a mom isn't very glamorous.
In fact it's messy, and sometimes pretty germy!

We've had some beautiful weather lately and my kids have been outside enjoying it. They've also been getting nice and messy. Talia's been coming off of the bus from school with some pretty interesting trinkets that I know are not very clean, and it's amazing how dirty Katrina's fingernails can get!

So, I'm joining the Lysol Healthy Families Ambassador Program. Lysol's Mission for Health is not just about making better products to help moms protect their families, but also about contributing to the health of the communities we live in. Lysol has started a new moms program, a healthy habits initiative in schools, a cold and flu prevention program and disaster relief efforts. 


So, I'm excited to tell you about the LYSOL® No–TouchTM Systems- there's a regular soap one and a special kitchen one that I particularly love because the soap can be used for hands, dishes, and surfaces! (Plus how fun is it to have an automatic, no-touch soap dispenser right in your own kitchen? :)



If you're looking for one of these in the stores, here's what it looks like all packaged up:


Do you have a favourite cleaning product in your home?
One that actually brings you joy when you use it?

(I'm telling you, I think this soap dispenser is fun! ;)

Disclosure: I am part of the Lysol Healthy Families Ambassador Program by Mom Central. I received compensation as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Easy DIY Churros!




Wanna learn a really easy way to make your own Churros?
Head over to HowDoesShe where I'm sharing a tutorial! :)
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Have you visited our sponsor, Barnwood4U yet?
They've got the neatest rustic barnwood furniture, bookcases, barnwood frames and barnwood shelves. Go, take a look!

click here to go to the page for the tables above

Sharing Time (March 2012)

Features for the February Sharing Time were posted on Friday, March 9th!





Giveaways Open Now:

3-2-1 Stop! Ebook Giveaway (3 Winners!)

Giveaway Winners:

Kelli (SneakPeeq Winner)
Laura P (Halftee Winner)

Apple Marshmallow Smiles

Ever tried making this treat?

All you need are mini marshmallows, peanut butter (or something like it) and red apples.

Use 2 apple slices, put peanut butter on one side of each, and sandwich the marshmallow "teeth" inbetween them. :)



This is a great way to make snack time more fun :)

Making General Conference Fun for Kids!

Last time we had General Conference, I found this "Conference Squares" Printable:


It definitely kept the girls interested!


We had some good experiences with the girls paying attention to conference last year that were really encouraging. I'm really looking forward to Conference next weekend!

In preparation for Conference with your kids, check out these General Conference Activities for Kids!

Feature Friday (Hungry Happenings)





1. I could spend morning till night creating in the kitchen and often do just that.
2. I don't have kids of my own but am very close to my nieces and nephews and have hosted two Russian exchange students, both of whom I adore.
3. I was a synchronized swimmer until the age of 13 then coached a team in my twenties.
4. I love to travel and have visited Russia, Italy, England, France, Mexico, Canada, and the Bahamas. One day my dream is to visit Australia.
5. My house is black and white with purple accents.





Hungry Happenings showcases themed cuisine for special occasions and holidays. Both sweet and savory recipes are used in making unique edible crafts that are perfect for parties or holiday gatherings.




Conversation Heart Cheesecakes


Crescent Dough Carrots


Pink Fuzzy Slipper Cookies


Dark Chocolate Chalkboard with White Chocolate Chalk


Beach Ball Fruit Pizza


Ravenous Rabbit Cupcakes


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How/Why did you start blogging?

I have been a chocolatier since my twenties and have been passionate about creating clever things out of chocolate, but in recent years, I have found my passion has moved into every aspect of my culinary experimentation. It all began years ago when my husband and I decided to host elaborate Halloween parties and I started making themed food to serve to our guests. Everyone was blown away by my creativity and after several parties they convinced me to compile my recipes in a Halloween cookbook. I published Hungry Halloween featuring Movie Monster Munchies, Bewitched Buffet, and Dead Man's Diner. and started blogging at Hungry Halloween in order to get the word out about the book. I spent the next few months creating more edible crafts and enjoyed it so much that I decided to create Hungry Happenings in order to showcase my recipes for holidays and special occasion throughout the year.

Has your reason for blogging changed? If so, why?

I've had a great first year, but I have to admit that if I weren't so passionate about my creations, and hadn't been having such a wonderful experience getting to know my readers, I might have called it quits by now. Blogging about such detailed recipes that require lots of pictures and step-by-step instructions is an incredible amount of work. Trying to get traffic to my site is even more work. But, every morning I wake up with a new idea and can't wait to get into the kitchen. It's what drives me. As a bonus to having fun in the kitchen, I love knowing that somewhere in the world, someone is being inspired by my creations. When I hear from a reader in South America, Europe, or even Australia, I feel a bit giddy knowing something I've done has touched someone so far away. Two sisters in Canada have used my recipe ideas for several of their family gatherings and that brings me such joy. I even started a Reader's Gallery to showcase Hungry Happenings recipe inspired creations and encourage my reader's to send me pictures of their food. Someday, I hope my blog takes me to the next level. I'd love to write another book, be featured in a magazine, make some money, and have the opportunity to work with a company creating recipes for them. For now, I'm just happy to have an outlet for my creativity.

Beth has a great contest going on at her blog right now, so head over & check it out!

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Would you like to see your blog featured here? I'll be doing a "Feature Friday" post, featuring one blogger & their blog on Fridays throughout 2012. If you have a blog that you'd like to see featured, please send me an email to raisingmemories at gmail dot com to submit your blog.

Thursday Thoughts (A Good Book) & a Review

Have you ever spent a day immersed in a book? Or if you're a stay at home mom, one of those days where you squeeze the reading of a book into every crack inbetween everything else you do that day?

Monday was one of those days for me. I sat on the couch reading when my kids had a snack & watched a movie. I coloured and cut things out with kids and when they didn't need my help, I sat with them reading a few pages. I emptied the dishwasher & started dinner, then I read while it cooked. I may have ignored some laundry and I didn't do any blogging. And when Ken got home, he was shocked to see that my bookmark had moved from the front of the book that morning, to the end of the book.

I was reading Edenbrooke.


It's one of those books you just can't put down once you get into it! I really enjoyed it. I love books that are sentimental, that romanticize the beauty of nature, and dwell on the joy within the little moments in life.

Anne of Green Gables is one of my favourites and it was Miss Montgomery that introduced me to the idea of the kindred spirit, so when I opened Edenbrooke & read the words: "To kindred spirits everywhere", I just knew I was going to like this book. I wasn't disappointed.

I found Edenbrooke to be fast paced (it may be a romance, but there's some action and adventure in there, too!), sentimental, and romantic, left with no loose ends.

You might be interested to see this book trailor:


Edenbrooke will be released on March 27th. You can find more information about the book on Deseret Book's website. It's available as a paperback, an MP3 Download, or an audio book on CD.

How do you feel about this kind of "Good Book Day"?
Do you allow yourself a day like this every now & then?

What's the last book that you couldn't put down?


Disclosure: I received this book through Deseret Book, from Shadow Mountain Publishing, free of charge for review purposes. I was not compensated in any other way for this post and the thoughts I'm sharing are my own.

3-2-1 Stop! (Stop Running & Start Living!) Giveaway

For a long time, I've been slowly working away at decluttering my home and getting rid of things we don't need. When Lori from lovingsimpleliving.com contacted me about reading her book, "3-2-1 Stop!", I was excited because it's all about decluttering our lives (physically & figuratively).



I have read the book, and I love how simple and straight forward it is. It takes you through an easy step-by-step way to declutter your home, and life! It's all about creating space, both physical and emotional.

I think you'll like it, but you don't have to take my word for it!
Lori is going to give a book away to 3 of you!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment telling me why you'd like to win!

It would be awesome if you joined me on Google+ (I'm new & lonely over there!) and it would be awesome if you would share the giveaway on social sites, but you don't have to in order to enter. (There is only one entry per person)

The giveaway will be open until April 4th and winners will be chosen randomly.

Here are the links to buy the book: Amazon, Nook, Flatbooks.

Tutorial Tuesday (Paper Butterfly Display Frame) WITH TEMPLATE

Ever seen this project idea floating around the web?


Here's how you make it:



Ken created a printable file for me that showed me where to put the butterflies so that they'd be spaced evenly. If you've got an 8x10 opening too, you can save some time with his template.

Feature Friday (the letter 4)





1. We can hold entire conversations using only movie quotes.
2. We have spitting contests, where one person tries to get the other person to spit out water by saying something funny or crazy.
3. We are full blooded sisters with 4 different hair colors: Auburn, Brown, Blonde, and Janae's bright orange/red hair
4. We've been on The Martha Stewart Show! (Twice! :) )
5. Our heights range from just barely under 6 ft tall (Jamie) to 5'3" (Julianna, who can still shop in the little kid show section)





We are 4 sisters that grew up stealing eachother's clothes, hogging the bathroom, laughing till wee hours of the morning, and doing projects together. We have since grown up and moved away and we started our blog as a project to do together again despite the distance. We have a love for fashion, crafts, recipes, and just making beautiful things.



Muppet Birthday Party

Grocery List Printable

Best Daddy Ever Beans Printable

Martha Stewart & The Letter 4 Sisters

Recipe Magnet Board


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Would you like to see your blog featured here? I'll be doing a "Feature Friday" post, featuring one blogger & their blog on Fridays throughout 2012. If you have a blog that you'd like to see featured, please send me an email to raisingmemories at gmail dot com to submit your blog.

Google+ & Other Social Media Outlets!

So I decided it was time to hop on the Google+ Train ;)

You'll notice I've added a g+ icon to the top, right of the blog along with my RSS, Twitter, email, Pinterest, & Facebook icons. Man, there are a lot of ways to keep in touch!

There's also a cute little Google+ Widget in the sidebar, where you can just click on the "Add to circles" button, to get Raising Memories on your Google+. It looks like this:


(Please join me, I'm lonely over there! ;)

And while we're sharing Social Media connections, here are the rest:



I hope you'll come on over & be my friend/follow me if you're not already!

What is your favourite place on the web?
Do you think we have too many??

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