Beth K. Vogt's Blog, page 67

DIY: How to Create a Nail Polish Bouquet

I’m sharing an extra post this week and — surprise! — it’s a Do It Yourself (DIY) craft post.

Those of you who know that I am craft-challenged have probably fallen on the floor or worse, spewed coffee all over your computer screen. All I can do is apologize and proceed with an explanation.

In my recently released eShort novella, You Made Me Love You, the heroine receives an unusual bouquet made of nail polish bottles. Yes, you read that correctly. Meghan is mad about OPI nail polish so the unusal bouquet is most appropriate.

When I planned the Rafflecopter giveaway to celebrate the release of You Made Me Love You, I knew I had to include a nail polish bouquet. And with the help of my oldest daughters and my BFFs, we created a one-of-a-kind bouquet. Today, I’m going to tell you (and show you) how we did it.

How to Create a Nail Polish Bouquet

 

Supplies:

Nail polish bottles – we used 6 bottles of OPI nail polish
Artificial flowers of your choice – which we disassembled
Additional flowers for filler
Green and/or white floral stem wrapping tape – we only used the green
Bamboo skewers
Glue gun
Scissors
Wire cutters
Vase/ribbon to display your bouquet when done
(Beverage of choice to celebrate when you’re done)

  Time frame: It took us one hour from start to finished bouquet with 3 people and one photographer – and one person who arranged the bouquet to make sure we got it right. We  shopped for supplies earlier.

Purchase your nail polish. Hint: We purchased OPI nail polish on sale. According to their rep, OPI polish lasts for two years if it is unopened and stored in a cool, dark place.
Coordinate your artificial flowers – both the main stems and the fillers – to the nail polish bottles. Hint #1: Dainty flowers won’t work. The flowers must support the weight of the nail polish bottles. Hint #2: Remove the label from the bottom of the bottle and affix it to the top of the lid so the recipient knows what colors she receives. You could also print out a list with the name of the nail polish next to a swipe of the polish.
Remove center of the flower and the stem. This creates a space for the nail polish bottle cap. Once the cap is pushed through the opening, the base of the nail polish bottle becomes the center of the flower.
Once the center is cut out of the flower, allow the flower to slide down the stem, exposing the tip of the stem so that you can tape the nail polish bottle to them stem.
Wrap the bottle cap in green floral stem wrapping tape.  Do one initial wrap around the cap. Then attach the stem of the flower to the cap. And then wrap the stem, attaching it to the cap of the bottle. Start at the base of the cap (near the bottle) and work down toward the top of the cap. Once you reach the top of the cap, go back up to fully secure the stem to the cap.
Push the bottle down so that the colored portion becomes the center of the flower and the wrapped cap, which is attached to the stem, is below the flower petals.
If needed, secure the base with hot glue and additional floral stem wrapping tape. (We didn’t need to do this.)
Arrange your flowers, adding accent flowers/floral picks as desired. We separated two floral picks and then secured them to several bamboo skewers with green floral stem wrapping tape.

 

You can read about Meghan and her nail polish bouquet in You Made Me Love You, which is available for only 99 cents on Amazon Kindle. Want a sneak peek of my upcoming May release, Somebody Like You?  There’s a chapter included with the novella!

How to create a nail polish bouquet Click to Tweet 

DIY: the nail polish bouquet from You Made Me Love You Click to Tweet

 

 

In Others’ Words: Juggling Act

Lately I’ve felt like a juggler.

I’m not a real juggler. Don’t toss me an assortment of fruit and expect me to do some fancy handwork and keep apples and oranges and bananas all circling in midair. Not going to happen.

But when it comes to life — day in, day out, what-did-I-accomplish-today kind of stuff — yes, I’m virtually juggling as fast as I can. And just when I think I’ve got everything handled (no pun intended) someone yells “Here ya go!” and tosses me another item to add to the swirling, twirling mass of labeled “my life.”

Do you ever feel that way? That your life has become nothing more than a juggling act?

What’s helping me master virtual juggling?

I’m accepting juggling is reaility. This is my life right now: more than busy, and not about to slow down anytime soon. Acknowledging this relieves stress because I’m not wrestling against the truth of what is … for now.
I’m figuring out which balls are glass and which are rubber. I abandoned the myth of numbering priorities 1-2-3 a long time ago. Right now, I’m juggling a lot of #1 priorities — and these are the glass balls. Anything else? Rubber.
I’m learning there comes a time to stop juggling and rest. It is unrealistic to expect that I juggle all my demands 24 hours a day, nonstop. At some point I need to set the balls aside and rest. Refuse to take on last look at Facebook or Twitter or my email. Everything I need to do — and probably something new — will be waiting for me tomorrow.

In Your Words: What are you juggling right now? How do you determine which demands in your life are “glass balls” and which ones are “rubber balls”?

Here’s the Trick: Juggling Life Demands Click to Tweet

3 Tips for Juggling the Priorities in Your Life Click to Tweet

 

 

 

In Others’ Words: Correcting the Compass

Discovery — sometimes the process appeals to me.

And sometimes, well, sometimes it doesn’t.

The whole adventure of discovering me? I’ve alternated between ignoring myself … and chasing after myself demanding, “Stop running away and just tell me who you are!”

I am all for discovering what I do. We’re confronted with that “What do you want to be when you grow up?” question at ridiculously early ages. Let kids pretend … imagine that they can be anything and anybody … because isn’t that what being a child is all about? Imagining anything and everything?

The more important discovery? Discovering ourselves – what we value, what we long for, what beliefs guide us, what truths anchor us when we’re blown off course by disappointments.Values like honesty, generosity, respect, and loyalty.

My son-in-love, Nate, has a tattoo on his arm. (Now bear with me if you don’t care for tattoos. This post isn’t about tattoos. I merely want to make a point and I want to make it using Nate’s tattoo.) Okay … so it’s the drawing of a compass and each point of the compass (north, south, east, and west) points to a cross. Why? Because no matter where Nate’s headed in life, that’s his destination: the cross. He’s anchored himself to God and how Jesus’s sacrificial death changed his life. Nate’s destination reveals who he is and what he values.

Here’s my point: I am thankful I know me — and what I do. I am even more thankful that I’ve discovered who I am — and that I learned, slowly, to be me. To trust me. To stay true to me — and what I value, what I know is true.

In Your Words: What has helped you discover who you are? If you were to alter the points on a compass to reflect you and your values, how would you change them? 

Correcting the Compass: an act of self-discovery Click to Tweet

Discovering Yourself & Trusting Yourself Click to Tweet

 

In Others’ Words: Faith, Hope, and Reality

 

So often we talk of faith … and we overlook the reality of what was wrought in a life offered up as a sacrifice for you, me … every single person ever created.

This is God’s plan … this death, followed by three days of silence and darkness, and then a resurrection that, to this day, has caused men and women to cry out both “I believe!” and “It’s impossible!”

This act of God is a reality that demands faith.

Faith always costs us something. But the reality is … the truth is, God went before us and paid the price for us long before we came looking for answers to our doubts and fears and longings.

May God’s love enfold you today.

May your faith be strengthened.

May your hope increase as you set your sights on what God has done for you.

 

God’s Love: How hope becomes a reality Click to Tweet

The intertwining of faith and reality Click to Tweet

 

 

In Others’ Words: Pardon, My Mistake

 

When I was I was in elementary school, I wrote reports. Remember those? The teacher would assign you to write about a certain country — the food they ate, the clothes they wore … occupations … traditions … whatever.

I would do my research. Collect my facts on those little lined white index cards. And then, I’d begin writing my paper. Nice and neat.

But no matter how carefully I formed my letters and spaced my words and sentences, I always made a mistake somewhere on that paper. I ruined it. And I would want to tear it up. Start all over again.

And that’s when my mom would step in, take the discarded pen in her hand, and turn my misspelled word or my misshaped letter into a flower. Yes, a flower. The mistake? Gone.

Let’s face it: life doesn’t come with a mistake-free guarantee. And there’s no way to shred up words we shouldn’t have said or choices we shouldn’t have made.

But we can transform a mistake.

How? Sometimes by owning up and admitting we said or did something wrong — not in a “let’s put a flower on this and cover it up” kind of way. But honestly. Genuinely.

Sometimes the transformation happens when our words or actions are bathed in God’s lavish grace and we experience forgiveness.

Mistakes happen. But they don’t have to haunt us.

In Your Words: How have you turned a mistake into something good?

Transforming a mistake into something good Click to Tweet

Mistakes happen but they don’t have to haunt us Click to Tweet

 

In Others’ Words: Imagining Change

 

I’ve missed you!

With all the reclining I’ve done the past two weeks, you might think I’ve been on vacation, but that’s not quite the case. On March 27, I had back surgery for a badly herniated disc.

A glimpse of me going to surgery – not literally: As the anesthesiologist was encouraging me to inhale and go to my “happy place,” I debated on where my “happy place” was – beach or mountains? And then, I interrupted my mulling, lifting the mask away from my nose and mouth and announcing: “Wait a minute. If you want me to walk from the gurney and get on the surgical table, I can’t go to my happy place yet!”

The anesthesiologist assured me the OR staff would get me where I needed to be for surgery – and I went to sleep to the sound of everyone laughing.

Post-op with my husband & my granddaughter, who cheered me up!

Just in case you didn’t notice: I’m launching (and celebrating) a whole new look on my website! I’ve planned this redo for more than a year, wanting it to coincide with the upcoming release of my novel, Somebody Like You, which comes out in May. Thanks to the brilliance and hard work of Matt Jones of Jones House Creative, I am over-the-moon thrilled with the new site. Please take a look around. One of my favorite aspects of the website is a little “hidden message” Matt included – something he remembered from when we discussed what I wanted for the website. I was so touched that Matt listened, heard what I said, and incorporated it into the design. See if you can discover a quote – what else? – from our conversation!

I’m back to my regular blogging schedule starting on Wednesday, the 16th, even while I wait for the surgeon’s okay to get back to normal. That will take a while.

In Your Words: So tell me: What changes have gone on in your life in the past few weeks? I’d love to hear about them!

“True change takes place in the imagination.” Click to Tweet

Experience any changes lately? Click to Tweet

Change is good & so is website redesign! Click to Tweet

 

 

 

 

Winners of the “You Made Me Love You” Rafflecopter Giveaway

 

Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate the release of my eShort novella, You Made Me Love You. It’s exciting to release a new book and it’s even more fun to share the celebration with others.

You Made Me Love You is Seth Rayner’s story — and I had fun discovering if the jilted groom from Wish You Were Here could have a real relationship. I think Seth met his match in a romance of opposites that attract … and combust.

And now … to the winners of the Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Grand Prize Basket: Sharon Klassen

OPI Nail Polish Bouquet: Amy Campbell

ARCs of Somebody Like You:

Linda Hogan
Rebecca Dewey
Jenna Boonzaaijer
Eliza Elliott
Rita Wray
Irene Menge
Diana Montgomery

Stay tuned for another celebration when Somebody Like You releases in May. Until then, You Made Me Love You is a fun romantic read for only 99 cents!

Did you win the You Made Me Love You Rafflecopter Giveaway? Click to Tweet

Winners announced in the You Made Me Love You Rafflecopter Giveaway Click to Tweet 

Winners of the You Made Me Love You Rafflecopter Giveaway

 

Thank you to everyone who helped celebrate the release of my eShort novella, You Made Me Love You. It’s exciting to release a new book and it’s even more fun to share the celebration with others.

You Made Me Love You is Seth Rayner’s story — and I had fun discovering if the jilted groom from Wish You Were Here could have a real relationship. I think Seth met his match in a romance of opposites that attract … and combust.

And now … to the winners of the Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Grand Prize Basket: Sharon Klassen

OPI Nail Polish Bouquet: Amy Campbell

ARCs of Somebody Like You:

Linda Hogan
Rebecca Dewey
Jenna Boonzaaijer
Eliza Elliott
Rita Wray
Irene Menge
Diana Montgomery

Stay tuned for another celebration when Somebody Like You releases in May. Until then, You Made Me Love You is a fun romantic read for only 99 cents!

Did you win the You Made Me Love You Rafflecopter Giveaway? Click to Tweet

Winners announced in the You Made Me Love You Rafflecopter Giveaway Click to Tweet 

In Others’ Words: Trust In … Trusting

We all put our trust in something.

When I was growing up and I had a bad dream, my mother would comfort me and say, “Think nice thoughts.”

As I got older, I learned that thinking even the nicest of nice thoughts only got you so far when it came to both bad dreams and the harsh realities of life.

Sometimes we put our trust in ourselves — being bigger and badder than the bogeyman under our bed or the bully threatening us at school.

And sometimes when we realize we’re not enough — strong enough or brave enough — we put our trust in someone else. Our parents. A teacher. Or even a group of friends to come alongside us and be there for us in our time of need.

I have learned who to trust — and who not to trust. The hardest, and yet the most life changing lesson in my life was learning that God is trustworthy.

Does life always go the way I plan? No.

Is God always trustworthy? Yes.

Is life scary? Yes.

Am I afraid? Well, yes, sometimes I am … but I choose to not be afraid. It’s an act of my will to trust God instead of being afraid.

In Your Words: What or who have you put your trust in? How have you found God to be trustworthy in your life — or do you struggle with trusting him?

Who do you trust when you are afraid?  Click to Tweet

Lesson Learned: Who to trust & who not to trust Click to Tweet

 Just a note: I’m having surgery on Thursday, March 27. I will take a few days off from blogging while I recuperate. I plan to be back to my regular schedule on Monday, April 7. 

In Others’ Words: Something Else

 

I don’t know about you, but there are days when life feels simple … and then there are days when life is nothing but a snarl of complications.

Today I’m going with Leonardo da Vinci’s “Life is simple” view of things. Why not? If a true Renaissance man like da Vinci — a painter, sculptor, inventor, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, and writer — can call life “pretty simple,” I’m intrigued.

Unpacking today’s quote, I like how da Vinci acknowledges how our efforts produce both success and failure. But for him, the most important thing — “the trick” — was in doing something else. 

Doing something else. Never settling. Forward motion. Not quitting — whether you failed or won and could enjoy a round of applause.

That’s the part of the quote that’s caught my attention: the doing something else.

In Your Words: Do you agree with da Vinci? Is life simple or complicated? And when you succeed or fail, do you pursue the doing of something else? 

The Pursuit of Doing Something Else  Click to Tweet

What Do You Do When You Succeed Click to Tweet

Only 2 days left to enter the You Made Me Love You Rafflecopter Giveaway! Click to Tweet