Feed the Birdies: hello dear

Showing posts with label hello dear. Show all posts

Monday, April 7, 2014

My Details: A Class, A Blog Hop, and a Giveaway!!

Hello, dear! I bet you've hopped over from Whitney's blog, Modern Whit, and I'm glad you are here! Hasn't this hop already been so much fun?

Some of my most treasured friends have come from social media including this little blog, my Instagram account, and Twitter, and sometimes when I really just need to be quiet, I can still socialize just by typing and reading. It gets even better when you participate by sharing projects, glean inspiration, and swap ideas over common interests, and two ladies that I've built friendships with have asked me to participate in their new class, My Details!

Sometimes we forget about ourselves when we post on Facebook, share a tweet, take a photo, or finish a journal page, right? We can share about others all day long but when it comes to the little details about ourselves, they sit on the back burner until they are pretty darn crispy. Kristin and Megan have designed a class just for us...to share about ourselves...My Details.

When Megan and Kristin asked me to participate in the blog hop and told me the prompt was "Thinking," my first thought (no pun intended) was, Oh, no. I think about the most random crap all the time and here's where it's going to be a big mess of words about whatever is in my head at any given time.
If you've been a reader here for a while, you know that's true.

I found my old Smash book that I have worked on just as randomly as I gather my thoughts, and decided that was a good place to start. I found a pre-printed page about thinking, and figured I'd just start there...but, wait...I kept thumbing through the pages and found an old page from 30 Lists about fashion and realized I had never written one word there. And I started thinking.

(here's the page that got the wheels turning...)

Clothes can either make or break your day, right? And you might love one style and dress another. And, dang if you don't find that gorgeous pair of heels (that you might wear a time or two for thirty minutes), on sale, and at the cash register, all wrapped up in a pretty bag and on their way home with you.

So, without further ado, here are my thoughts on my fashion (I know, I know...I thought I was going into super deep thought mode here, too, but, SQUIRREL!!!).

(..and who knew I could write so much about my clothes??)

Now, here's more fun! These ladies have all come up with other projects for you to see and try, so if you've started here, continue on...

And, last but not least, leave a comment about what you are thinking of now (haha, did I just ask that?), and you will be entered in a drawing to win FREE registration to the class! Oh, my goodness, what fun we are about to have!

Hurry...drawing will be held on Friday, April 11th. If you can't wait, click the link (I'm an affiliate) in the sidebar and get $2 off your registration with the code, BIRDIESDETAILS.

Can't wait to hear your details! See you in class!

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Letters to my sisters

Hello, Dear,

There are two sweet girls that I have been able to call "Dear" for quite some time now, and I am very lucky to also call them "sister." I've been writing lots of letters as of late, and as Valentine's Day is coming closer, it's only perfect that I write to two pieces of my heart. Their names are Marie and Victoria.

My sisters and I live about 3 1/2 hours apart. Thank goodness for social media and text messaging; it seems like we talk almost every day. Sometimes the front will be quiet for a bit, but then one of us will send a thought and we pick back up again. It's funny how you can miss some time together, but there's always an unspoken connection that keeps you with each other anyway. And it's funny how, even though we are miles apart, our spirits are quite similar and our hearts are cut from the same cloth. And if you just catch a glimpse of of our faces, our dark eyebrows and frequently present smiles are a dead giveaway...we are sisters.

I miss them much and wish I could spend Sunday lunches and weeknight shopping trips with them, just like sisters would do. Instead, we make up for that time when we are together and then text and Facebook like mad until we see each other again. Sometimes "again" is far too long.

There are many years between my age and theirs, but it doesn't matter one bit, and I can't wait to be the sister at their weddings and their cheerleader when they become mothers. For that means we still have many of life's little challenges to stroll through together. I'm the lucky one.

Hug your sister today if you have one, whether you can walk down the hall to her or send her a squeeze in a letter. Until next time.

XOXO,
Trina

(Supplies: "Hello, Dear" stamp from Michael's several years ago, envelopes from Lang, vintage labels by Dennison (estate sales), "Special" notepad (estate sale), quail stamp by Stampin' UP!, wheel stamp from Studio Calico kit, floral washi tape from Dollar Tree, glitter hearts from Dollar Tree)

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

On Finding Lost Family and Writing Letters

(photo from weheartit)

My family is going through some tough times right now. My dad is really sick and will probably be leaving us in a day or two. It's sad and we are coping and we have each other and time is good with my sisters and brothers. We lost touch some years ago, but have lately been close and have a relationship again, which is beautiful and wonderful and so many things I can't explain. I love them dearly and they will always be a treasure.

It's so sad how we lose connections and lose touch with people we love and people we used to spend so much time with. I know all kinds of things can shut down a friendship or relationship and some aren't pretty and they sure do linger for much longer than they should. And a lot of times it's not even something you did, but something that was passed down over the generations. A lot of those things don't even matter anymore; why carry that junk in your backpack? It's too heavy. And it doesn't make a bit of difference in the grand scheme of things that could be today.

I still have many friends and family members that I would love to see again. I've decided that it's time to find them and see what happens; you never know. A letter can break ice just as well as a friend request; probably even better.

We've all got connections through the saturated social media sites, but I think most of us would agree that it's still fun and very heart-warming to get a letter in the mail from a friend, a family member, or even an assigned pen pal from a writing challenge. Lately, I've found some really neat ladies of letter writing on Instagram, like @paperedthoughts and @bisforbrookemail , and I'm inspired to encourage and challenge you (and myself) to write more and balance snail mail with online socialization...maybe even tip that see-saw the other way. So I'm giving my Hello, Dear, series a new life and a new purpose

I'm going to list one challenge each Wednesday for writing letters on the blog, and post my own letter/happy mail on Instagram. I want to share pretty vintage papers and ideas to light up the face of someone somewhere.

Pretty vintage letter paper ephemera packs in my shop here.

Alright. Are you ready? The first challenge is to write to a family member you haven't seen in a while. Feel free to change that to a friend if you wish. Then include something personal with the envelope. It could be a picture you have of the two of you or of something you experienced together, some kind of ephemera you have saved from an event you attended together, just something that is meaningful to the both of you. Get the idea?

I'd love to see your letters before they are sent on their way...tag me on Instagram or Twitter @feedthebirdies. Who are you writing to this time around? What neat paper are you writing on? And what will you send with your letter? I think all kinds of cool things are about to happen.

P.S. Want to write to me? I'll write back. Contact me at feedthebirdies@gmail.com .