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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Fall Decor!!

I saw someone else's blog who had made a cute "JOY" door hanger for the fall season.  I don't remember where I saw it, but here is my version of it...


I don't really like the wood showing in the background, but wasn't quite sure what to do with that part.  I may have some creative moments, but there are always those moments when I'm just not quite sure what to do. 

Now, I had my husband cut a board for me that was 12 inches long.  Then, I covered wooden letters (J and Y) with cutesy scrapbooking paper and modpodged it...LOVE that stuff!!!  I tied a bow around a wreath and have my letters that spell my favorite word...JOY!!  I nailed the J and Y to the board and hung the "O" from a nail.  Then, I drilled holes in the top of the board and used twine to make a nice little hanger thingy.

I really must get in the decorating mood to finish my fall decorating.  I'm just not getting motivated for some reason. 

Try this little project and let me know if you do!!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Tuesday's Tip...fabric stash!

So, do you remember the photo of my "fabric stash"??  Let me remind you...


Now, do you remember?  Ok, and remember the foam boards that I purchased from my favorite craft store?


Yes, those 20 x 30 boards.  Well, I cut them into 10 x 10 squares and 10 x 5 rectangles to hold my fabric, to make little "bolts" of fabric.  Here is how it turned out...





So, you have to turn your head to the left or your computer screen.  For some reason, my photo upload is rotating my photo and I cannot fix it...ugh!!  I am sorry about that.  But, can you see the little bolts of fabric lined on my wire shelves??  I have a couple of stacks with fabric that would not fit on a bolt and a basket of scraps for appliques, etc.  At the bottom, I have some unfinished projects in buckets...hope I get to those little projects at some point!

I love the bolts!  Now, I can see exactly what fabric I have and can try to use that up before purchasing more...probably not gonna happen.

Thanks for stopping by for Tuesday's Tip!  Hope it inspires you to organize your fabric stash.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Little Girl Necklace

It has been a week or so since my last post...sick kids, Women of Faith, crazy schedule, excuses, excuses, excuses!!! 

I want to show you what I have been working on lately.  I have been stamping sterling silver!  Yeah...it is so fun and I just love the finished product.  This particular one has to be one of my favorites so far, so I will share it with you.


It is a 1/2" sterling silver disc that I stamped a 1/4" "M" onto and domed the disc.  I added a cute little green crystal that sits right inside of the domed disc.  This one is for my daughter and is the perfect size for a little girl or for an adult who likes dainty pieces.

I am giving one away on my Facebook page.  It is called "A Little Whimsey".  Check it out!  The winner will be whoever refers the most friends who "like" the page.  You must leave a comment on the page letting me know who referred you, so that I can choose the winner.  Head on over and refer your friends!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Faithful Friday...Good News!!

This week has been a really great week with lots of awesome things happening!  First of all, my husband got a job and started today, sigh of relief.  Yes, God answered that prayer. 

And, one of my SIL's had her 2nd baby yesterday.  Her name is Katherine, after my precious grandmother who I know is smiling down from heaven.  Yes, answer to another prayer.

And, yes there is more, we started a really cool thing at church this week.  Our preacher preached on Sunday morning on Genesis 1:26-27.  As a congregation, we were asked to take those verses, along with the notes from the sermon and a few other verses and study them over the week.  I know that may sound tedious, but it is really neat.  Chris and I would talk about about what we read and what the Holy Spirit was teaching us about the verses.  Well, of course, we were getting totally different things out of the verses...so cool!!  That is the point in this whole process.  We are to study the Word separately and then on Sunday morning, we will gather together in Bible Study to talk about what the Holy Spirit revealed to us individually.  It all ties into one theme, which is what the preacher preached on the previous week.  I have learned so much in just the first week of this and am absolutely loving it.

The Lord is really speaking to me about putting on the "Full Armor of Christ" every single day so that I can take a stand against whatever Satan may throw my way!


This is something that we are doing as a whole church for the next 12 weeks.  It has really challenged everyone to get into the Word and really meditate on what God says.

I challenge you to try this in your spiritual life.  Take whatever verses your preacher preaches on, along with your notes and review them every day throughout the week.  You will have an awesome time with the Lord and I am sure that you will learn something new.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Tutu bag

I have got to share this little bag with you all....


An awesome customer requested a "ballet/dance" bag for her daughter.  I believe that her daughter is about 3 or 4.  She let me get my creative juices flowing to come up with a unique bag just for her.  This what I came up with.  I love the little tulle ruffle to make the bag look like it is wearing a tutu, thus the name "Tutu Bag".

Of course, it had to be personalized and I just adore pink and brown for girls.  The striped bow is removable.  I have attached it with a safety pin, so that Emilee can take the bow off if she wants to.

What are your favorite color combos?

Tuesday's Tip...fabric stash

Wow!  What a mess creative room...yes, this is part of my sewing/craft room.  This particular photo is of my "stash" of fabric.  Notice how it is scattered around the shelving?  Thrown here and there?

Well, NO more of this!  I am ready to get it all organized.

This particular part of my sewing room is actually under the stairs going to the main level of the house.  My wonderful husband finished our basement about 7 years ago and made me a craft/sewing/hobby room.  We wanted to use every inch of space that we could, so I am using the space under the stairs to hold my fabric.

Not too long ago, I decided to donate a lot of my fabric that I had been holding on to for a long time.  I had about 3 times the amount that you see in the photo.  Crazy, I know.  I am tired of looking at the mess every time that I go into my room to work.  So, my goal for this week is to get the fabric organized.

I went to my local arts and crafts store, you know the one, and purchased these for 50% off.




 "What are those?", you ask.  These are 20 x 30 pieces of foam board.  I will cut them into 10 x 10 pieces for my fabric!  What a neat idea, huh?  My friend, Darlene, taught me this little trick.  And, it is inexpensive.  I purchased 5 boards and will get 30 pieces to hold 30 different fabric pieces.  Each board cost me $.98!  I am so excited.
I have already started, but am not going to show you any more photos right now.  I am going to wait until next Tuesday for the "reveal".  Only because I have to give myself that much time to get it finished.  Gradually, I hope to show you my craft/sewing/hobby room as it gets organized.  I have some other organization tips to share with you along the way.  But, for now, go purchase some foam board, cut it into smaller pieces and wrap your fabric so that you have miniature bolts to store your fabric on.

Stay tuned for more next week!




Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Save, Save, Save!

I'm sorry!  I missed yesterday's post on "Tuesday's Tips".  Please forgive me.  I'll try better next time.

But, I do have an inspiration piece to share with you.  While getting all of my "binders" together and organizing coupons, etc.  I made a keyring!  It is a keyring to hold all of those little "tags" that you get when you sign up to save money from various stores.  You know the ones (wink, wink).  This keyring is special, for several reasons.  One, it is personalized.  Two, it reminds you to "save" money.  And, three, it is handstamped onto sterling silver!

Tada...here it is...


What do you think?  I love it, personally.  I think it is a handy way to keep up with all of those cards instead of having them on the same keyring as my keys.  I keep it in my car with my coupons, so that it is always ready to go.

So, really, this is a tip for Tuesday, except it is on Wednesday. 
Thanks for stopping by!!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Faithful Friday...journaling!

Happy Friday! 

Do you journal?  Do you have a prayer journal?  On Wednesday evenings, I teach a class called Funky Foodz at our church.  This class is for kids and yes, we cook!  We have about 45 minutes, so we cook a recipe, then move to another room to do our lesson.  Missions is our focus, so we incorporate that into our lesson.  We offer several different "tracks" that the children can choose from every 6 weeks.  I always teach Funky Foodz, so every 6 weeks, I have a different group of kids.  It is a blast!!

At the beginning of this session, my co-teacher brought everyone notebooks like this...



We are teaching them how to keep a prayer journal.  To tie in "missions" to the prayer journal, we have given the group photo cards of our local missionaries to add to their journal so that they can pray for those missionaries.  I have noticed that when I am teaching someone how to use a prayer journal, I use mine more.  Which is a good thing! 

Here is a quick glance at mine...



I date my prayer requests so that I can go back and add in either answers or additions to that request.  I also include praises.  I think it is very important to be thankful when we see the answer to a prayer!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says "16 Be joyful always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Am I always joyful?  Do I pray continually?  Do I thank God in all circumstances?  WOW, those are tough questions to answer.  Joyful...I think I am joyful, maybe not always happy, but there is a difference.  Happiness comes from our surroundings and ourselves, JOY comes only from Jesus!  It is very possible to have Joy and not be happy at the same time, I've been there!  I'll share more about that in another post.

Pray continually...what does that mean?  I think it means to always have a prayerful heart.  I told the girls in my class on Wednesday, if the Lord brings someone to your mind, say a quick prayer for them.  God lays people on our hearts for a reason!  I do not think that pray continually means to be on your knees every minute of the day in deep prayer.  However, I do think that it means to pray about things as you think of them throughout your day.  Just quick prayers like, "God be with my husband today as he travels to Columbus for the day".  Then, later on, I may think of another thing to add to that prayer.

Thank God in ALL circumstances...this is a tough one for me!  Notice that it does not say "thank God FOR all circumstances", rather it says "IN all circumstances".  That is a huge difference!  Can we be thankful during difficult times?  Absolutely!  Even if we are not thankful FOR those times, God promises to work all things together for the good of those who are called, according to His purpose.  That means that even in the difficult times, if we have a personal relationship with Him, He promises to work it our for our good.  There will be a blessing out of the difficult time.  I learned from a dear friend, that it is important to look for God's blessings during difficult times.  We may want to wallow in our troubles, but if we look around us, we will see God's hand working wonders!!  Journal those times!

Journaling can be a very fun, exciting, healing, thought-provoking time.  Try it!  Take this verse and use it as a guide to journal your prayers.