LDS Keepsake Ornaments

So, next in the "I'm sooo busy I forget to breathe" category is...

It's a long story so I'll try to make it short as possible...

Every Christmas I always buy a new ornament for each of my kids. I try to find ones that go along with what they are doing in their lives. Like, for example, Matt is at BYU Hawaii and he bought a surfboard and learned to surf. So I found a cute surfboard ornament for him. I have done this each year since they were born and put them on the "kid" tree in the family room. Someday when they get married I will give them all their own ornaments and hopefully they will continue the tradition with their kids. Of course, this will never happen if they DON'T HURRY UP AND GET MARRIED!!! Okay... I'm getting sidetracked... So since I've had sons out serving missions for the last 5 Christmases I wanted to find a missionary ornament! And do you think I could find one searching all the millions of Mormon websites out there??? Not one decent one out there! So as I'm at the mall looking at ornaments, there is one that has a boy in shorts on a bike...hmmm... I think to myself... with a change of clothes to a white shirt and tie and dark pants and a black name tag, he would look like a missionary! So for several months I sketched several missionary designs and searched for an ornament company that would be willing to work with me to produce these custom polyresin (clay-looking) ornaments. I contracted with a company in Massachusetts and the process began. I worked with the owner of the company and her son... I started with 5 missionary designs and after further inspiration decided to add several Temple marriage designs... couldn't find any of those kind of ornaments either which is amazing considering there is almost 14 million of us Mormons out there! Now the other little obstacle I had to overcome was the fact that the people helping me make the designs and molds had barely ever even heard of a Mormon! So I directed them to our church website and helped them become a little more familiar with what a temple is and what a missionary does and looks like.

So after months of collaborating and working on the marketing, the ornaments are being mass produced in a factory in China and should be arriving in the next couple of weeks! I hope! Deseret Book is going to sell them in their stores and online!! (That's another whole story in itself.) A local store in Mesa will carry them. And if I ever get around to getting a website done, they'll be available there, too. I was hoping they would arrive in time for my boutique, but alas, no...

They are being featured in LDS Living Magazine (November edition) in the Gift Guide Section. Facebook friends have already seen the previews... but I think they are much cuter and better looking in person. They will come in boxes and will be personalizable (is that a word??). So buy them for your missionaries that are out or have even come home! Or for future farewell gifts. The temple marriage ones are nice for wedding gifts or gift toppers... and one of the hearts is a picture frame... Valentine gifts, too!

I have about a dozen more designs in various stages of production that will be out next year including "Babies are a Blessing" and family ones. So cherish the milestones in life with an LDS Keepsake Ornament!!

Greatest Power for Good is a MOM

Here's what's next on the list of my busy life...

I was nominated and chosen to serve on the executive board of directors for the Arizona American Mothers Association. I will be installed at the State Convention on November 14th. I feel very honored and humbled to be a part of this great organization. The national organization was founded 75 years ago and they own and sponsor Mothers Day. Their main goal is to strengthen the moral and spiritual foundations of the family. My responsibilities (I'm Vice President of Honoring Mothers) will be to find, and with the help of my committee, select the Mother and Young Mother of the Year for Arizona, and organize community events around Mothers Day including the 5th grade essay contest ("Why my mom is special") that the schools do each year. If you want to read more about American Mothers and how you can join a chapter in your area, go to the American Mothers, Inc. website for Arizona or any state or the National one. I truly believe that "Moms are the greatest power for good in the world."

Some REAL Housewives from the Holiday Magic Boutique...

Life has been crazy the last few weeks... or maybe it's been months... it sure feels that way! I feel like I need to come up for air! And speaking of air... the nice cool mornings and evenings sure feel great and do wonders for our a/c bill!

So what has keep me soooo busy?? Well, for starters, I'm working on my 3rd annual HOLIDAY MAGIC BOUTIQUE... It's coming up next week (Friday, November 6th and Saturday November 7th) here at my home. I have about 30 vendors signed up selling homemade and resale items. Christmas gifts for everyone on your list! Lots of baby stuff, jewelry, purses, candles, hair accessories, aprons, crystal nail files, pictures, yard art, gourment food storage, tamales, cinnamon rolls, and tons more. I advertise all over, find vendors, answer 1000s of emails, get okays from the HOA, make signs, and get the house ready, etc. Many hours a day for the last couple of months. Every year I say I'm not doing it again and then somehow the bug hits me and I get talked into it. I guess cuz I love boutiques and browsing all the cute and creative things that people make. It gets my creative juices flowing...

My boutique is also being featured in Go Gilbert Magazine! One of the editors found out about it and put it in the calender section of the magazine. She also asked about doing a feature on the boutique, why I do it each year, and who some of the Gilbert moms are that participate. She also had heard about my "REAL Housewives of Gilbert" blog that I posted in May of this year. And so, we wrote a human interest/feature article for the magazine and had some pictures taken. It's a spoof on the Real Housewives shows (New York and Orange County) on Bravo TV. Unfortunately the feature won't make it out before the boutique happens, but maybe it will be great publicity for next year! Oh wait! Didn't I say I won't do it ever again?? Yeah, I say that every year! So at least we're in the calendar and that has already gone out to over 25,000 households in Gilbert and Chandler!

So come experience the magic of the holidays and see what some of the REAL Housewives of Gilbert have up their sleeves!!