Guestpost: Lindsey Madison

Hello everyone! =D I am Lindsey from Sprinkles of My Life. I’m a new blogger, and I’m really excited to be guest-posting for Holly today!! When I saw that she needed guest-posters, I jumped at the opportunity! =) So today, I’ll just talk about me and my new blog.

I’m the type of girl who…

{1} follows her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ<3

{2} sings with a passion and performs with excitement

{3} licks her lips at cheesy mac ‘n cheese and ice cream sundaes with brownies

{4} LOVES making friends

{5} has a letter writing obsession

Yes, I love writing letters!!!<3 It’s so much fun to sit down with a blank piece of paper and colorful pens and sharpies, and just write for a friend to my heart’s content. Even though the best part of having penpals is writing THEM a letter, it is always super exciting to receive a letter in the mail. :D So if you like writing letters as much as I do and want to be my penpal… then just go to my blog and contact me!(; Don’t hesitate to email me! I love to make new friends and get new penpals.J hehe.

And here is a picture of me. J Is it just me, or are there others who like to see a picture of the person who’s guestposting?!

Here are some more photos I have recently taken! Did I forget to mention my love for photography? =)

This...is my Golden Retriever <3 Adorable, huh?!

I made this. I want this. I <3 cupcake parties with my sisters. :D

This was on the wall in Cold Stone. I just had to take a picture of it <3

I spend a lot of time on this thing... ;)

The raindroplets on my window adds an extra cool look to this photo!

Well I hope you enjoyed this guestpost! What do you think? Now that you’re done reading it, come on over to my blog and follow me real quick! Blogging is SO much more fun when I know I have lots of followers reading my posts. :D Thanks again, Holly, for this opportunity!

~Lindsey Madison~

Cupcakes {guest post by cathy}

I love baking. A few weeks ago I made these cupcakes(photo)I was a bit skeptical about whether my family would like them or not but they were a huge hit they were absolutely delicious This is the recipe for these delicious cupcakes.  

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) European-style unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup  cocoa powder, sifted (or another good-quality cocoa powder)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180  degrees C. Line a standard cupcake pan with 12 baking cups, and a second pan with 6 baking cups.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until fluffy. Stop to add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.

Combine the vanilla extract and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.

Reduce the speed to low. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add one-third of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.

Add the cocoa powder, beating (on low speed) just until incorporated.

Use a standard-size ice cream scoop to fill each cupcake paper with batter, so that the wells are two-thirds full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes (start checking at 15 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frost with Icing of Choice and Enjoy

Hi I'm Cathy I blog at Pink Lemonade and I love Chocolate, Jesus, Blogging, Photography and Cooking. Find me Here

The Importance of the Perfect Card: Inside and Out {guest post by annie}

Cardmaking. It's not just the act of sticking paper on paper and scrawling an inscription on the front. I believe cardmaking to be an art, a way of producing works made with skill and imagination. 

Whether it be some tacky bit of dollar store junk from the aunty who's never seen and only ever whispered about, or a handmade treasure from someone you love, everyone enjoys opening a card and seeing the message inside or the ten dollar note fall out. That's why I think it is important to make the outside just as special as the inside.

 Now this, if I may say so myself, is an awesome card. It has depth, creativity, and a LOT of colour. It would be perfect for the fun, enthusiastic type of girl, but probably not for the guy. However, turn the pinks into orange or red and the purples to green or blue and voila!

  The card took me about an hour to finish, and around 20% of that was taken up on this part alone, the spiky circle, as I can but lamely put it. But try imagining this card without the spiky edged circle and instead with a smooth edge. It takes away from the card significantly, as it loses the spice. Some things are definitely worth the time and effort.

So there you have it. Remember, however cliched this may sound, the important thing about cardmaking is to have fun! Not every card you make is going to be super impressive, but I guarantee it will be an experience, a lesson and a pleasure.




About The Author

Hello! My name is Anwyn, but please, call me Annie.
I am a lover of cardmaking, mochas, sunny days, surfing,
Christmas, movies, friends, guitar and Jesus. Come check
out my blog @ A Cardmaker's Diary: Snippets and Scraps.

My Room {a guest post by bethy}

"Bedrooms were made to sleep in-"
"Oh, and dream in too, and its much easier to dream in a room full of pretty things"
-Anne of Green Gables

About The Author
I'm a creative and often crazy teenage girl.
I paint, I write, I talk, I sing and I photogragh.
Please visit me @ Bethiquette

Tips for Photography: a Guest Post

Hi there!  My name is Natalia, and I'm a photographer.  This does not mean I have nice equipment, fancy props or a large portfolio of perfect images.  It simply means I take pictures and I enjoy it.

When I first started using my dad's dSLR I had no clue what I was doing.  But I found some great tips from amazing photographers, took the advice of my wonderful blog friends, and learned a lot from just using it.  I'm certainly no professional, but I thought I'd share some tips and illustrate with photos from a recent photo shoot with my sister.

First off, get to know the camera you're using.  If there's a manual, read through it.  If there are buttons, push them.  Trial and error, my friends. Just keep at it.

There are actually settings that can really help, so if you can figure those out, tweak them until your picture looks right. Depending on the type of camera, there may be different settings.  A point and shoot might be able to have an adjusted ISO.  DSLRs will probably have settings like the aperture, ISO, shutter speed and white balance.  For me, there are three things I try to work with to make my pictures look good:  ISO, aperture, shutter speed.



ISO = Pronounced Eye-so, this setting will determine how much light is let in.  The ISO on your camera might have numbers that range anywhere from 100 to 6400.  Start with the lowest ISO possible for clear, sharp images.  If it's really dark, go up from there. Try 200, then 400, then 800, 1600... but the higher you go, the grainier the image becomes.  Unless you want tons of grain, try not to go over 800.

Aperture:  This is tough to explain, so I'm not really going to try to.  If you would like some links to the technical stuff, I'd be happy to give them to you.  But I'm going to cheat and basically tell you the basics.
So, here's the deal.  Aperture determines how wide the hole in your camera is to let in light.  So the lower the aperture (technically it's a higher aperture... I think of it as lower, to help me, though) the wider the hole is and the more light is let in.  So, an aperture of 1.8 would let in more light than 5.0  .
I usually keep it between 1.8 and 4.0 but any will work -- just higher you go, the darker it gets.
Also, the lower the number, the shallower the depth of field is.  So with an aperture of 1.8, the background will be pretty blurred, but can look really nice if the subject is in focus.

Shutter speed = how fast the camera takes the picture.  So, if it's a shutter speed of 1/80 it will take a second, collect light, take picture.  If you have lots of light, bump it up to around 1/300.  If you're taking pictures of someone, tell them to jump.  Now, snap away.  Since a shutter speed of 1/300 will make it go off really fast, it will freeze the subject and make the image sharper.  I usually try to shoot with a high shutter speed for nice images -- the downside is you need lots of light.  If you're inside, I try to keep it around 1/125.  The photo above was taken with a shutter speed around 1/250 :)

PHEW.  Now that we've gotten that out of the way, have fun! Once you've uploaded your images, edit them!  There are lots of downloadable photo editing softwares out there, and there are also online ones, like picnik.com.  Play around with edits, see what fits you.

Most of all, have fun.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again! :)

Hey! :)
I'm Natalia, and no... I don't really have a mustache.  ;)
Big sister to four little siblings, homeschool student, amateur blogger and aspiring photographer.
Chatterbox, daughter of Jesus Christ, chai drinker, vera bradley lover, girly girl.  I'm not photogenic and I love to stay up late reading Newbery books.
I blog over at The Journal of Natalia Rose.  I write run on sentences, talk about fantabulous events in my life, host giveaways, post pictures.  You're welcome anytime.


{nisfornatalia.com}

guest posting : the {official} blog of elisha! (:

hey allll!!!! this is Elisha from "The {Official} Blog of Elisha!" (: im so so so excited to be here today!! When Holly contacted me, and asked me to guest post i was SHOCKED. ME!? REALLY!? :D i was thrillled. i mean.. REALLY.

after only {almost} 2 months of blogging.. i already have 72 followers( love yaall!!<3), anddddd people asking me to guest post?! UNREAL!! :P Now this is my very FIRST guest post ever, so if I bore you to death.. im sorry ;P im a newbie at this.
Holly told me I could talk about anything.. so i decided to tell you wonderful people, about me & my blog.

this is me. Elisha Brooke -------(for safety reasons i wont post my last name :P ). im a life-loving, vintage obsessed, girly-girl, mint chocolate chip & brownies addict, bestfriend loving, long letter writing, missions trip-per, pink loving, gets-excited-when-recieves-a-letter-in-the-mail kinda girlll, who loves the blogging world!! here are random things about me, that i often post about on my blog! maybe we'll find something in common? (:

this is my favvorite male singer. Michael Buble. (:

this is my all-time favorite female singer. Adele :)

this is my bestfriend debbie. :) {on the left}.

this is what i live by! a railroad.. yeaahh that comes in handy for phtoshoots.. :)

this is my favorite place on earth.

Nicaragua, 2011. 

i went on my FIRST missions trip!! life-changing.

so that was a little about ME.. now my blog. before "{Official} Blog of Elisha!" - I had MANY previous blogs about me, fashion, my life...and they all failed. no followers. no comments. so i got depressed by that.. and ended up deleting all 3. . 

I started up "The {Official} Blog of Elisha", in early December, because.. honestly I wanted to write out whats going on with me.. and to try and see if a new blog would be a new start.. a change from the old blogs.. so i started it up, got a friend to design my blog, started following other blogs, and BOOM!! it was amazing. i started getting allll these comments on my posts, & getting new followers from blogs i hadnt even visited!!! overnight i got 13 followers! i was stunned, and EXCITED! :D none of my previous blogs had ever done so well. i was ecstatic. (: so i decided, if i got to 50 followers, i'd have a giveaway! so i did, and my followers went from 34 to 72!! in less than two weeks!! now theres rarely a time, when I dont get any comments on my posts. If your reading this, and you have a blog, that isnt "successful", DONT GIVE UP!! :) write about what YOU like, anything. (: 

if you like what you've read, come on over to my blog, follow me, and we'll have TONSSS OF FUN!!!! andd.... i promise ill follow you back!!! ;) <3 

i've LOVED having the opportunity to post on here! (: i hope i wasnt too boring for you! :P i an be quite confusing tooo.. just getting all the words out right ;P thanks for sticking through this whole post with me!! :) i love you allll!! <3

love, 

elisha. (:

outfits...what might suit you... {a guest post by bri}

Hello! I'm so happy to be posting over here today! Thank you, Holly! I have recently gotten a real 'passion for fashion' (haha sounds cool hey!?) and so I'd like to share with you some of the ideas I have for how to make it work for you.

Let's start with the basics:

1. Work out what jeans best suit your figure. I tend to go for skinny jeans because I love to wear them under boots. Although bell bottoms can be really funky too! :P

Quick tip:

If you chose to wear bell bottom jeans

make sure that you don't wear lose fitting

or flare-out shirts; putting both flare jeans

and flare shirts together an make you

look bigger than you really are.

2. Find out what colours you suit you. I have olive skin and so I love white and light blue or green shirts. If you have a light skin colour you may want to use colours such as pink, purple, watermelon or even black. You can really have fun by experimenting in front of a mirror with a bunch or different coloured shirts! :)

3. Now you have beautiful jeans and a wonderful shirt you ask yourself what about shoes!? Well, what size are you? I have size 9 feet and I love all kinds of shoes!!! Sometimes it can get hard if you have really large or really small feet, I guess you just have to look at your options. :) I like so many different types of shoes it's not funny! :P Boots are probably my favourite and that's why I love winter! :)

Shoes for you:

If you decided on getting skinny or straight jeans your options are pretty big- boots, flats, high-heels... but if you preferred bell bottoms the best are small boots or flats.

Quick tip:

Never wear high heels

with flare jeans or bell bottoms

unless they are long

enough to cover the heel.

Now that you have a basic outfit let's go more into detail.

4. Earrings:

Sometimes a plane outfit such as a t-shirt, jeans and flats can be dressed up with a funky pair of earrings! I find it best to buy only earring that you love and not cheap ones. It's better to have a few that you will actually use rather than hundreds that clutter your jewellery box! :P

5. Belts:

Hmm, belts. They seem to be always changing style! One minute big brown waist belts are in fashion the next it's better to wear skinny ones over the bottom of your shirt... well, that's what i think anyway! So, I've decided not to go-with-the-flow but to find out what I like wearing and if it suits me! Some people have small waist's and like wearing belts there, others prefer to keep it in the jeans holes. It's really up to you and what you like!

6. Nails:

Scrappy nails with old polish never complement your new dress! Make sure that your nails are trimmed and that the polish goes with your outfit. Black nail polish it my favorite. It goes with everything and can still be cool. I have written a nail care post and a nail painting post, if you want to take a look.

7. Op. shops:

Sometimes the best clothes and jewellery are just waiting for you at an op. shop! The only thing bad about these shops are that It is so time consuming. If you have a Saturday afternoon free it can be so much fun to try out these great vintage shops, you never know what you might find! :)

8. Creating new outfits:
It's amazing how many different outfits can be in your cupboard just waiting for you to find them! Layered shirts can look so great. So if you have the time got to cupboard and try mixing and matching diferent tops together and over each other. It can create a new amazing look that you never new you had! :)

Ok, now here are just a few outfits I’ve created to have a look at:

Top: Kmart// Vest: Valley Girl// Skirt: Just Jeans//

Top: Kmart// Black over top: Kmart// Jeans Kmart//

Top: Target// Pants: Just Jeans// Boots: op. shop// bracelets: Diva// Necklace: Diva// Bureau: Target//

Well, I hope you enjoyed my post and if you have any feed back or questions feel free to email me.

a bit more about me:

My name is Briahna, Bri. I'm home schooled and in a family of 6. I love photography and that's why I started blogging. I enjoy many things such as designing new outfits, shopping, editing photo's, and so much more! I would be thrilled if you would stop by my little blog Diamonds and Pearls.

yeah.... i know crazy picture....i think it's cool though...

The Princess {guest post by johanna}

Adelina grew up as a daughter of missionaries from Ireland, around A.D. 700. Both of Adelina's parents died while she was a young maiden. She was left to the care of friends, in what was then called Thuringia, Germany.

One of Thuringia's early rulers – Herzog Gozbert, who was a Christian – died and left his son, Hedan, to reign. Hedan was under the guidance of his pagan mother, Geila. As devout heathens, Geila and Hedan participated in profane sacrificial ceremonies, and persecuting the local Christians.

Hereafter, Hedan was in passage to stop the regional Christians from worshiping God at the Cenoby Hochheim, when he came upon a curious sight indeed. --- A maiden of almost angelic appearance was stooping over a man whose forehead bleeding. 

Herzog Hedan asked the maiden who she was. 
 

“Adelina, daughter of Iberius, a man of God who is dead,” she answered. Hedan was gazing at her in admiration and astonishment for her bravery to be alone in the forest. He pondered aloud why she was alone.

“I am not alone. God is with me, in whose service I came,” Adelina responded. Hedan asked, “Who is this man?” Adelina proceeded to explain that the ailing man (whose name was unknown to her) had tried to set fire to one of the Christian's cabins, so that the whole cenoby would have been engulfed in flames.

“I am surprised that thou wouldst repay virtues to one who wished to do thee evil!” Hedan exclaimed.

“Why should we hate him who hated us? He hates us because he is a poor heathen, thinking thereby to please his gods. But our God has told us to do good to them which hate us and spitefully use us,” Adelina responded.

Soon thereafter, Hedan inquired for Adelina's hand in marriage.

Adelina was reluctant in her response, because Hedan was not a Christian. Hedan threatened that she and the other Christians would be persecuted if she were to say 'no'. Adelina was reminded of the verse that says, “Greater love hath no man than that he lay down his life for his friend.” Adelina then committed herself to be Hedan's faithful wife. Hedan eventually became a Christian due to Adelina's daily witness.

The End

A note from the authoress – You can read more about the true life account of Adelina in Julie Sutter's book, “The Princess Adelina”. All drawings by Johanna Kautt. Thank you, Miss Holly, for allowing me to guest post! 

About the Authoress ~ Johanna Kautt, 13, is a home-educated young lady living in Northern Texas. She enjoys sewing, drawing, reading, writing, taking photos, singing with siblings, playing piano, and being with family and friends. Johanna would love to hear from you at her family's blog: http://webmail.esagelink.com/cgi-common/webmail.cgi?cmd=url&xdata=%7E2-ae1224ff8ea6db663a22a32ceb7e9475f8929ce8d3dbddd1d38fd1d6d200&url=http%213A%212F%212Fwww.texasskies.blogspot.com.

  

Top 5 Family Friendly Pets {A guest post by Big Sister}

Pets are so much fun, aren't they? But sometimes it is hard to know what kind of pet to get, especially if you have young children, or even just if you are very busy. We have six children in our family (like lovely miss Holly here - thanks for letting me guest post again, by the way :P), and we have had a lot of pets through the years. Here is a list of the top 5 family friendly pets, tried and tested by us. Two of them are Mum's particular favorites (easiness wise), and I have listed them as Mum's choice.

My special favorites in the animal world are horses, and I would love to be able to put them on the list, but while horses are amazing and heaps of fun, they also require a lot of hard work and are expensive to feed (I can almost hear the fathers of horse owners cheering "Hear hear!")

Now for the list!

1. Hermit Crabs

*Mum's #1 choice*

I think hermit crabs must be THE easiest pets, and the cheapest! All you need to do is bath them in salt water once a week, and make sure they have food and water. No fuss whatsoever! And unlike fish, you can a hold them, which is {usually} fun :)

DISCLAIMER: Hermit crabs can give a nasty nip if they are annoyed, or if you hold them for too long, so BEWARE!!

Cute Eh?

2. Cats

*Mum's #2 choice*

This may be surprising, but cats are almost as easy as fish! They do not require exercise, and they clean themselves, unlike fish, whose tanks or bowls need regular cleaning. In fact, practically all you have to do is give them food and water, and litter if they are kept indoors.

DISCLAIMER: Cats need to be treated for fleas and worms regularly, which is not fun. Also, they tend to eat birds....

Our cat, Angel

3. Fish

Fish are one of the easiest pets and cheapest pets. They are also pretty and relaxing to watch. Care gets a little more pricey if you buy a filter, but not much, and it will make your fish happier and live longer, and the water will stay crystal clean :)

DISCLAIMER: Fish can be just a leetle boring compared to most pets. I don't find mine boring at all, but maybe that is because I have a energetic dog to look after as well...

My fish

4. Guinea pigs

Guinea pigs are super cute, and lots of fun as well. They are also very easy to breed, but unfortunately pet shops don't pay to well for them (trust me, I know all about it, I used to breed them and once had 13 at once!!)

DISCLAIMER: Guinea pigs are very messy, and their cages need to be cleaned out a lot!

Picture via Google Images

5. Dogs

Dogs are one of the most fun animals to get, and they can be very family-friendly indeed. Something very important to consider is what breed you get. Some dogs just don't have a good temperament, and others do.

Dogs can do things that many other pets cannot - you can take them for walks, teach them tricks and heaps more!

DISCLAIMER: Dogs can be rather messy, and do need quite a bit of training (like behaving on the lead, not jumping etc), so I would recommend only getting one if you have someone in your family who is willing (and old enough) to do things like training.

Our dog, Happy, is a Labrador x Golden Retriever

I hope you have enjoyed this post, and if you have any family-friendly pets to recommend, do tell! (in a comment).

*************************************************************************************

About the Author:

I am a daughter of the Almighty God,

and the eldest sister of six home-schooled children. I love being a big sister! I also love animals (especially horses), reading, writing, cooking, drinking tea, photography, blogging, walks in nature and many other things. I especially love the the great outdoors, and can't wait till we move onto our block of land.

To check out the writing blog I contribute to, CLICK HERE!

Having A Servant's Heart {A Guest Post By Alice}

Hello followers of 'Roses & Bluebells'! My name is Alice and I have been asked to guest post on Holly's lovely blog today.

I was inspired by Big Sister's post a couple of months ago about work, and while I was wondering what to post about today, I came up with the idea to follow on from that and write about servanthood.




The Bible speaks a lot of the importance of having a servant's heart and serving others. Ephesians 6:7-8 says,
"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does."
Not only does God call us to serve, but to serve wholeheartedly. Jesus Himself came to serve, as it says in Mark 10:45: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve."

So how do we serve others, you might ask. A great place to start is within your own family. There are so many simple ways to serve each other in day-to-day life! Some examples are:

• Cooking dinner for your family
• Folding a basket of washing
• Washing the dishes
• Reading your younger siblings a story, or I know my little sisters love a tea-party!

The important thing is that we serve wholeheartedly, which means with a cheerful, non-complaining attitude; taking initiative by seeing what needs to be done and doing it. 

Giving your Mum breakfast in bed when she's sick is a great way to serve.

Recently my Mum has been really sick with pregnancy nausea. There's been a lot of extra work to do, and it's been a great opportunity for all of us to serve each other to keep the house functioning, from the oldest to the youngest. It is important to remember that as we are serving others, we are serving Christ!

Now picture this. In the days of Jesus, people wore sandals and walked on dry, dusty roads from town to town. So at the end of the day, their feet would have been very, very dirty. Upon entering a house, servants would come and wash the travellers' dirty, smelly feet, which is a job nobody would have wanted to do. (Well, would you?) Now picture this: the God who created the Universe, the sun, moon and stars, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, humbled himself and washed His disciples' feet, the very thing a servant would have done!

Jesus calls each of His children to live a life for Him and in service of others. Luke 9:29 says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

So, when our Mums or Dads ask us to do simple jobs like sweeping the floor or washing the dishes, be encouraged that we are doing what Jesus did: denying ourselves and serving others. No job is too small in Christ's eyes, and the important thing is that we do it cheerfully, with a servant's heart, knowing that we are serving the Lord Himself!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

      ~Colossians 3:11

I hope you have been encouraged by this post, may the Lord continue to shine through you as you serve others!

                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About The Author

 I am a daughter of the Almighty God, second eldest of soon-to-be 9 kids, and homeschooled by my wonderful parents. Lover of music, photography, friends, sewing, babies, bush-dancing, novels, the country, bonfires and letters.  I love creating things, the beauty of nature, and enjoying life with my family. We live on a gorgeous two acre property by the coast in the Great Land Down Under, Australia! :)

{click here to visit my blog}