In my last post, I talked about dealing with blog insecurity.  I told you how I felt insecure about my blog while down in Nashville and the Blissdom conference.

I wanted to make something very clear.

My struggle with my insecurities was NOT a result of how other home bloggers made me feel.

It was quite the opposite.

The precious home bloggers that I hung out with or even met for the first time while at Blissdom were encouraging, uplifting, loving, inspiring, and purely amazing!

They made me feel special.

I am my worst critic and it was ME who was beating myself up at night.  Just wanted to make that clear.

I was so fortunate to be able to hang out with some of my favorite bloggers one afternoon in Nashville.

There is no way to explain how incredible it feels to hang out with other bloggers who “get” me.

We talked about decor, thrifting, family, and much more.  And we laughed.

A LOT.

These girls are funny!

Before we went thrifting, we decided to stop at the Cracker Barrel for lunch.

(from left to right around the table: Ashley, Rhoda, Myra, Beth, Chris, Sarah, Shauna, Me, and Layla. Kate took the picture.)

We took a few pictures before we left.  Here are the fabulous Kate and Beth.

Layla video taped some of the fun and looks gaw-geous in this picture.  Ashley is such a doll (left), and very young.  :)  I felt a little old in this crowd at times.

Shauna was our driver and Chris was giving her support from the front seat as we tried to keep up with Rhoda in front of us.  Let’s just say there may have been one or two (or ten) uturns during our trip to the antique stores.

Our first stop was the Goodlettsville Antique Mall.

Kate was very taken by this set of china and was demonstrating how to sip tea with style.

Shauna took a quick break to take a call.

If you don’t know already, I am a HUGE coca-cola fan.  This drink cooler needs to be in my home.

Sarah shares the same passion for this bottle of goodness, except her beverage of choice is Pepsi.

But I still love her.

She and I share the same dream of one day owning a fountain drink machine in our own homes.  How wonderful would that be?

(I will say that I am proud of Sarah for drastically reducing her cola intake.  I’m just not there yet.)  :)

Look at these beauties…Chris, Rhoda, and Sarah.  I cannot tell you how much love we all have for Rhoda.  She is the most genuine person.  Her spirit is sweet and her heart is gold.

Chris is so kind and funny.  She was such a joy to meet in real life.

And Sarah…well, we had to be sisters in another life.  We are so much alike that it freaks my freak.  I love her.

Layla, Kate, Myra, Ashley, and Shauna found some treasures they couldn’t do without.

And the sweet man that worked there volunteered to take a picture of us all.  Such a great memory!

We visited another antique mall that had a lot of great treasures.  I loved the “old books” sign in this picture.

We also visited a thrift store where Myra got some steals!  I can’t wait to see what she does with her treasures.

Myra loaded them up in Rhoda’s car for the trip back to the hotel.

(Check out Beth and Chris in the background of this picture!  They crack me up!)

I am so glad I got to spend some extra time with these ladies just hanging out doing what we love to do!

It was just too much fun.  :)

I hope we get to do it again real soon. (hint.hint.)

As a side note, I am guest posting over at Giggles, Glitz, and Glam today.

I would love for you to come over and visit me!

Have a blessed day,

Traci

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A couple of weeks ago, I was in Nashville for the Blissdom Conference.  It was an amazing experience!

I had so much fun hanging out with my favorite bloggers and learning more ways to grow my blog.

We laughed, and hugged, and talked and talked and talked.  My kind of conference!

But I have to be honest and tell you that I struggled with something while I was there.

Insecurity.

Have you ever struggled with it?

It comes from a place when we do not feel “secure” in who we are.

And we usually do not feel secure when we try and compare ourselves to others.

“I wish my home was as big as….”

“Her kids always look so perfect, and my kids have stains on their shirts.”

“I wish I had money to spend on my hair and clothes, like so and so.”

“Why do I have so many wrinkles at my age?”

“I need to loose weight, so I can look like…”

“I’m not a good wife.”

“I wish I had more patience with my kids.  I yell too much.  I’m a horrible mom.”

I have thought all of these things at one time or another.

Well, at Blissdom, I guess you could say I was struggling with Blog Insecurity.

Each night as I went back to my room,  my insecurities would begin to surface.

Negative little whispers in my head.

“What are you doing here, Traci?”

“Has anyone figured out yet that you are not that talented?”

“Well, you can do some good things on your blog, but you will never be as good as (insert name).”

“You’ve got big dreams for your blog, Traci, but don’t be naive.  It will never happen.”

Those whispers would roll around and around in my head each night as I tried to sleep.

And I began to doubt my abilities and my worth.

I was so thankful to be able to attend a Thursday morning prayer breakfast while at Blissdom.

I woke up that morning heavy hearted, and I knew that talking to Jesus about it would give me peace.

It’s that peace that I saw displayed so strongly in my mom as she faced death.

A peace that passes all understanding.

“My peace I give to you. My peace I leave with you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.”  John 14:27

As I held hands with other believers that morning and prayed, my burdens were lifted, and I felt God’s love pierce my insecure heart.

What a peace I find in knowing that God loves me no matter what…

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,

abounding in love and faithfulness (Psalm 86:15).

That he has a perfect plan for me and my life…

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

(Jeremiah 29:11-13)

.

And that nothing can separate me from the love of Christ…

For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

(Romans 8:38-39)

Knowing these promises wipes away my insecurities because I know that I am SECURE in Christ.

I will never be the perfect mom or wife.  My blog will never be the biggest or the best.  Wrinkles will come and so will the pounds.

But life is more than those things.

Life is about knowing and loving Jesus Christ.

As I was at Blissdom, an old Amy Grant song kept coming up in my head.  (I was a huge Amy Grant fan in middle and high school.  Her music deepened my faith as a young girl full of insecurities.)

The words of the song that kept coming to my mind were, “All I ever have to be, is what You’ve made in me.”

That’s the bottom line.

All I ever have to be, is what God made me.  I am full of sin, but He is full of forgiveness.  I can trust Him to show me the way through this crazy life.

If you haven’t heard this song before, here it is.

The reason I shared these thoughts is because I know that I am not the only one who struggles with insecurities.  I never want to appear on my blog as someone who has it all together.  I do not.

My prayer for you today is that you would know how great God’s love is for you and that you would find your security in Him.

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Today, I want to share with you how I made the shelf in our laundry room.

I was wanting a shelf above the washer and dryer, so I decided to make one similar to the ones I had made for our kitchen. I made these after being inspired by the ones I saw in Ballard Designs catalog.

You can see the tutorial for these shelves, HERE.

The shelf I was going to make for my laundry room would be a little bit bigger, and I wanted to paint it white to match the board and batten.

Here are the supplies I used:

1. Two corbels from Home Depot (on clearance for $4.00 a piece!)

Home Depot has the best supply of corbels anywhere, btw!

2. A piece of wood for the shelf. (I bought a solid pine panel at Lowe’s for $9.50.)

3. Trim for the edges of the shelf. I bought some at Lowe’s for about $6.00. You can pick whatever type of trim you like.

First, I had to cut the trim in 45 degree angles for the corners of my shelf.

I used my husbands power saw, but you can use a simple miter box instead. There are around $5.00 at Lowe’s.

It would look something like this when cutting with a miter box…

I marked where I needed the trim to stop on the back of my shelf.

Then I cut the trim for the back of my shelf using a straight cut.

After cutting my trim pieces, I nailed them to the wood shelf.

When you nail the trim on, it will leave little nail holes in your wood.

Just fill them up with some wood filler..

And it will look something like this…

Allow the wood filler to dry, then sand and paint.

The back of the corbels look like this…

I screwed two wood screws into my board and batten and attached the corbels.

Then I used a little bit of elbow grease to pound down on the corbels until they were attached. :)

Next, I used screws to attach the shelf to the corbels. (You can use nails if you want to.)

Notice the notches in the wood shelf? My hubby had to do those to make the shelf fit flatly against the wall.

All I had left to do was paint it white!

I was able to make this shelf for less than $25.00. Not bad!

This last picture was taken with the lights off. It gives a truer picture of the color of our walls.

I am so happy with my shelf!  You could definitely make one of these too!  If you try it, let me know.

Have a blessed day!

Traci

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Hey, ladies!

I am so excited to tell you about this great giveaway!

One of my new sponsors, Crystal from Thirty-One, is treating my readers to a wonderful giveaway!

Have you heard of Thirty-One?

If you haven’t, you are going to be so happy I am telling you about them.

Here is the company mission statement from their website.

Thirty-One is

The name Thirty-One comes from the verses of Proverbs 31.

They sell beautiful products for women.

And they just came out with their Spring and Summer Catalog!  You can view it by clicking HERE.

They also have a great special going on right now.  For every $31 you spend, you’ll get 31% off any item!

If you are interested in earning a little extra money by becoming a Thirty-One Consultant, you can sign up on Crystal’s webpage, HERE.

Now for the giveaway!

Crystal is giving away the Paparrazi Dot Utility Organizer Tote!

Here’s how to enter this giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me what you would use the Paparazzi Dot Organizing Utility Tote for, and you will be entered.  :)

2.  Click HERE to visit Crystal’s facebook page and click the “join” button for another entry. Just come back and tell me in a separate comment and you will be entered again in this giveaway.

3.  Tweet about this giveaway for another entry and tell me about it in a separate comment.

You can copy and paste this tweet: Enter to win a Thirty-One Organizing Utility Tote @beneathmyheart @_thirtyonegifts http://beneathmyheart.net/?p=2100

This giveaway ends on Thursday, February 10th at midnight EST, and the winner will be announced on Friday, Feb. 11th.

Goodluck!

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Hey ladies!

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching!

If your man is like my man, sometimes we have to give ‘em a few hints for those special occasions.

(Okay. Okay. So I wrote of list of gift ideas for me and stuck it in my hubby’s wallet!  Subtle… I. am. not.)

So here is a post that you can leave up on your computer screen for your husband to see.  Or maybe you can leave a link to this post on your facebook page with a message like..”I love this jewelry!  Wish I had some!”

Or just enter your hubby’s email address in my subscribe button in my sidebar and send it directly to him!  :)

Again…subtle…I. am. not.

This is just my opinion, but I think every girl deserves to own a piece of Lisa Leonard Jewelry!

Can I get an “amen!”

I am the proud owner of several pieces, and I love wearing them everyday.

Lisa is constantly creating new designs, and I keep falling in love with each of them.

Here are a few of my new favorites…

“RAIN OR SHINE (SO GLAD YOUR MINE)”

“MY TREASURE NECKLACE”

“WHOOOO DO YOU LOVE?”

“DAISY CHAIN BRACELET”

(I don’t have a Lisa Leonard bracelet yet…hint…hint…but I sure do love this one!)

Okay, I could seriously show you every piece of jewelry on her site, because I love them that much!

Here’s what I wanted to make sure you know…

You need to order from Lisa

by noon on February 8th

to receive your order by Valentine’s Day!

So hop on over there and pick something out!

Click the button below to start shopping!

Have a blessed weekend!

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I am so excited to be blog swapping with Myra from My Blessed Life today!

Myra is nothing but pure sugary sweetness.  Seriously.  Sugar in a cup, she is!

I got to hang out with Myra at Relevant 10 and again at Blissdom 11, and she is the smiling-est thing I have ever met.  She is genuine and kind.  If you do not follow her blogs, you should.

She has started a brand new blog called The Casabella Project that you have to check out.  She shares a lot of DIY projects as she works on restoring her 1950s home with her husband.  And today I am posting on her blog, My Blessed Life, so check that out too!

So without further ado, here is Myra!

Hey Y’all! I’m Myra from The Casabella Project and My Blessed Life.

I’m so excited to be blog swapping with Traci today! I’ve met her two different times and I just adore both she and her sweet sister Cyndi. They are just precious! {Thank you for having me Traci!}

Today, I’m going to show you how to make Valentine’s Ruffle Hearts! They are easy and inexpensive…and oh, so cute! :)

Supplies You Need:

• Heart shaped wreath forms
• Pink satin {I got 1/4 yard of hot pink satin on sale at Hobby Lobby}
• Scissors
• Sewing machine {you could probably make this work by hand}
• Pink thread
• Glue gun & glue sticks

Cut three 1 1/2″ wide strips {selvage to selvage} of satin.

Then sew them end to end with right sides together so you have one really long strip of satin. Easy peasy!

With your sewing machine on the widest stitch setting {mine’s a 4}, sew all down the middle of the fabric.

Leave extra thread at the end of the strip when you finish sewing. Then start loosely gathering up the fabric. This process takes a little time and patience. Be careful not to pull the thread too hard because if the thread breaks you’ll have to start over with a new seam. {ask me how I know! ha!}

Soon you will have a beautiful, ruffled strip of pink satin.

Then begin hot gluing and wrapping the ruffles to your heart wreath form. I loosened the gathers as I glued them down, to make sure I would have enough to cover the entire wreath. It worked out perfectly!

Isn’t it glamorous? Romantic? And just perfect for Valentine’s Day?

I also made a smaller, light pink heart.

And a couple of ruffled balls. . .from the same concept!

Aren’t they fun?

I hope this easy home decor craft has inspired you to decorate for Valentine’s Day! I would love for you to stop by and see what Traci’s crafting over on My Blessed Life today and also visit The Casabella Project – my new home decor blog!

Have a fabulous day, y’all!

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Last year, when I went to Blissdom, I had no idea what to expect.

The connections I made with other bloggers blew me out of the water.

This year, I wasn’t a “newbie”, and I wasn’t quite as nervous, but I couldn’t imagine Blissdom getting any better than last year.

Boy, was I pleasantly surprised!!!

Blissdom was beyond my greatest expectations!

One of the main reasons for such an amazing trip was my roommates.

I got to room with my sis, which I always love.

But I also got to room with one of the most precious souls in blogland, Richella, from Imparting Grace.  Here are the three roomies eating dinner with Liberty (In the pink and black flowered shirt) from 16 Balls in the Air. She was so interesting to talk to, and I am so glad I got to meet her.  We might ride together to Relevant 11 this year!

(Cyndi, Me, Liberty, Richella)

(I snagged this picture from someone else, and don’t remember who…oops.)

I will never be able to say enough good things about Richella.  If you have never visited her blog, Imparting Grace, you need too.  It is full of encouragement, love, and Godly wisdom.  We had some major bonding time in our room.  First of all, the first time we ever met in real life (Wednesday morning at the hotel), I had just gotten out of the shower and my hair was wrapped up in a towel on the top of my head, and she still loved me.  She saw me without make-up and crying like a baby one night as we shared our hearts, fears, and dreams until 3 something in the morning, and she still loved me.  I love that kind of friend, don’t you?  Priceless.  Love you, Richella!!!

At the Wednesday Wisdom Workshops, I finally got to meet Marian (aka: Miss Mustard Seed), and Melissa (320 Sycamore).  Those girls are amazing and so genuine.  I got to have dinner with them that same night, and it was a highlight of my trip!  I also got to see my girl, Kate, again.  Love her.  (I also got to meet Melissa’s younger sister who is a doll, but didn’t get a picture with her. She has a great new blog starting up soon, and I will let you know as soon as she gets it up and running.)

Me, Marian, Melissa, Richella, Kate

That night, I got to hang with my fabulous sponsor who I absolutely adore, Dee, from Red Letter Words. Guys…she is the REAL DEAL.  I’m serious.  This was the second time I have met her in real life, and I was once again blown away by her sweet spirit and obvious love for God.  I feel so blessed to know her.

I also got to meet the fabulous (and louder than me) Allison, from House of Hepworths.  This girl has got crazy energy, and I love that about her.  :)

Dee, Allison, Me

(I stole this picture from Allison. Thanks, girl!)

One of the best things about Blissdom this year, was they organized all the bloggers by “tribes”.  I was in the “home tribe”.  We met after one of the sessions to talk about blogging.  It was great to just sit together on the floor at the Opryland Hotel and bounce ideas off of one another.  I don’t have everyone’s names to share, but Melissa, from The Inspired Room, who was our fearless tribe leader along with Nester, has a list of home bloggers in her blog post HERE.  I encourage you to visit her and check each of these fabulous ladies out.

Melissa and Nester led the group and shared their expertise with us.  They are genuinely warm and encouraging.  Thank you, Melissa and Nester!!

One evening, 20-something home bloggers ate dinner at the mexican restaurant at the Opryland hotel.  As you can tell by the pictures below, there were lots of smiles and laughter!

I was so excited this year to hug the neck of a very special blogger to me…Beckie, from Infarrantly Creative.

We were both at Blissdom last year, but didn’t get a chance to get to know each other.

Over the past year, I have watched her blog grow and have been inspired by her amazing work ethic and genuine spirit.  Even though she is younger than me, Beckie is my “blog mentor”.  I have so much to learn from her, and I appreciate all of her words of wisdom and encouragement.  She is truly a treasure to me!  Thank you, Beckie!

Beckie and Me

It would be the understatement of the year to say I was excited to meet Edie, from Life in Grace. If you have followed her blog for any amount of time, you know how precious she is.  Edie and I are not close friends, we have never spoken to each other before Blissdom this year, and I don’t know if she has ever been to my blog.  But for me, she is one of those people you just have to meet and have to get a picture with.  :)

So I did get to meet her, and we actually got to talk for a little bit.  And I was not the least bit surprised that our conversation flowed so easily.  She just puts you at ease.  I love her even more.

I had a picture taken with her, but it didn’t turn out well.  But I was estatic to see a picture of me and Edie on her blog!!!  You can see her Blissdom collage HERE.

I did, however, have a cute picture of Rhoda, Layla, and Edie…Aren’t they beautiful?

(Rhoda, Layla, Edie)

Rhoda, Layla, and Kate

What can I say about these three girls, but they are absolutely amazing!  I heart them big time!!!

Layla and Me

Layla has become a dear soul to me this past year.  I love you, Layla!!!

(I got this picture from someone’s blog who may have gotten it from someone else’s blog, etc.  Let me know if this is yours!)

Me being a goof with Dee from Red Letter Words.

Dee’s beautiful artwork is starting to be sold in Christian bookstores around the states, so be on the lookout for it!  Go, Dee!

Myra, Chris, Richella, Sarah, Me, and Rhoda

(Picture from Chris)

I got to leave the hotel one afternoon to go thrifting with some of my home girls, so

I will talk more about these lovely ladies in a later post!

Would you look at these ladies!  I seriously love them!  The ooey-gooey kind of love!!

The best part of Blissdom, hands down every year, is connecting with other bloggers that have the same passion as I do.  They GET me.

We basically stand around (or sit on couches in the case of the Blissdom Rebels) and laugh, cry, take pictures, laugh some more, hug, take more pictures, eat, laugh, talk about each others’ cameras, hug some more, laugh a lot more, and most importantly, connect.

Here’s a little video that captures a glimpse of these crazy home bloggers.  We were all taking pictures together in the cafe at the hotel and enjoying each others company!

Enjoy!

Stay tuned for a post about my day out thrifting with some of my favorite Home Girls!

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I am so excited to welcome two new sponsors to my blog!

First off is Amy from Amy Peter’s Studio!

I am thrilled that Amy has decided to advertise with me!  I can tell by just talking to her through her emails that she is a warm and kind person.

Browsing through her website, I discovered her jewelry is absolutely beautiful and unique.

Here are some of my favorites…

And Amy Peter’s Studio is a great place to shop for Valentine’s Day.  I love these his and hers bracelets…

Click HERE to visit Amy at Amy Peter’s Studio!

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My next, new, fabulous sponsor is Crystal from Thirty-One!

Crystal and I use to work at Mom’s Day Out together, and she is a personal friend of mine.  So if you love Thirty-One gifts and you need a consultant…Crystal is your girl!

I love all of their products, especially this organizing utility tote that one of my students gave me for Christmas.  I use it everyday!

Look at these adorable backpacks and lunch totes…

And I love the colors of these brown, red, and blue bags!

The February special at Thirty-One is if you spend $31.00, you get any product for 31% off.

If you spend $62.00, you get TWO products for 31% off, and so on!

That’s a great deal.

Also, you can sign up on Crystal’s website to be a Thirty-One consultant,

(and sell products that basically sell themselves!)  :)

and start your own business for $99.00.

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Lastly, I want to welcome back Rebecca, from Yellow Hope Cards!

Rebecca sells scripture memory cards at her Etsy Shop.  She sent me my own set of cards that I keep in my office, and I love them.  Thank you, Rebecca.

They are beautifully made.

And now she has these adorable pillows for sale in her Etsy shop!  Aren’t they gorgeous?

Click HERE to visit Yellow Hope Cards!

I have such wonderful sponsors!  I am so honored that they sponsor me and my little blog.

If you ever need to purchase something from them, I would love for you to click through my button to reach their sites.  I want them to benefit from sponsoring my blog as well.

You can visit my other sponsors by clicking on the links below:

Have a blessed day!

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