"Established" Sign

This was from my sister to my Mom for Mother's Day. My parents celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary this April.

Very Special Sign

Anyone else LOVE adoption stories??? I do. A lot. A lot, a lot. I am so thankful to know that God loves and practices adoption. I think I cried at least five times making this sign.

A friend of mine is adopting a little girl and her shower is today. I tore through at least an hour trying to find the perfect scripture for her. Proverbs 16:9 is fantastic for her story...

but finally settled on 1 Peter 3:3-4:

Let your beauty be not just the outward adorning of braiding the hair, and of wearing jewels of gold, or of putting on fine clothing; but in the hidden person of the heart, in the incorruptible adornment of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God very precious.

I think it's timely for the world she'll grow up in, but also such a sweet reminder for our daughters (and us!) to seek after what is precious to God, not man.

Congrats to my friend! I can't wait to meet her!

More for Mother's Day!

Here are two more. The "Grandparents" one is an example of what it would look like with two grandchildren (size 8x16" and is $25). The other is an 8x8" ($15) square with a fleur de lis:

Happy Mother's Day! *Updated*

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!! We love you!



This sign measures 12x24" and is $45. The can be hung or rested on a mantle/shelf. This is a great Mother's day gift! Unfortunately, at this time, I'm only doing local orders. Sorry! Reach my via Facebook or my email (it is enabled on my profile on blogger). Thanks!

Bridal Shower Sign

My cousin is getting married soon. Their house is black and white (according to their registry) so I made this sign for her bridal shower:

If you would like a sign of your own, please comment or find me on Facebook. This sign measures 8x24" and is $25.

More to come!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Am I still living? That's a really good question. I've been soooo busy. So, so, sooooo busy. Family and Bible study come first and now...shoot me in the head, but I've taken to working out. Ever heard of Insanity? It's INSANE. But I love it. LOVE IT! So...I've been pretty much...well...not online. But here's what I've been up to!

My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary!!! My sister came over to help with the decorating of the cake. We had a lot of fun and she ate a ton of fondant!!! This is just a glimpse of the mess we made:
But here's the cake:
We made them a platter with the grandkids fingerprints on it. The girls made flowers and the boys made worms and beetles. Hence, the cake design.

I also made this new sign in an effort to speed along the rain and cold:
Ok...I have to go rope my kids and wrangle them into the car. Early release day. Love/hate. But mostly hate. Just sayin'.

A little bit of Easter

in a BIG way.




It is all quotes from different people during the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus. All the quotes from Jesus are in red. It's really hard to read in the pictures, but under the crosses, in the brown, it says, "Surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

I told you so...

ONE more Valentine's Day project...I promise!

I saw these somewhere in blogland (sorry, can't remember where!) and loved the idea. I want to give my kids cards and candy and then have them write one thing down that they love about each other and stick it in each other's bag.

SO....here are the bags they'll be putting them in!


I thought I wouldn't make Valentine's Day a big deal for my kids. So much for that, huh?

The Names of God

Here is my latest project:



Yup. I loves it. It's hard to read the red writing in the picture, but they say "Redeemer", "Savior", and "Everlasting."

It's going on that empty wall by my dining room table. I think I just got warm-fuzzies from the thought of covering that wall because it has been the bane of my existence trying to figure out what I'm going to do with that wall. Alright, not really, but I'm still glad to cover it up.

But really? The Daniel Bible Study has the title of "My Bane."

Seriously. Oh Lord, help me.

The Last Valentine's Day Project

Maybe. We'll see. All right? Yeah, probably not.

All I did was stalk a blog...find this lady...I said, "Hey, that's a great idea!" and then I said the words that my husband has a love/hate relationship with "I can do that!"

Oh boy.

While I was trying to remember if I had ANY frames left in my "stash" in the garage that my husband calls 'junk' in an effort to throw it out and that I call 'craft supplies for future use' (just how far away that future is...who knows?) I remembered that I had bought some 16x20 canvases on sale at Joann's. Score.

Paint, stencil, paint, dry, done. Love.


Well, whether it's my first, which it's not, or my last, which remains to be seen, it did inspire me for the big dining room project I've been putting off.

PROJECT!!!

My husband is over-joyed.

Oh yes! Mercury candlesticks are my friend.

What do you get when you combine a mercury candlestick, a glass pillar hurricane, and hot glue?

This.
LOOOOVE. And I love my fake snow. Hey, Christmas maybe over, but it's still winter, people! Wanna know how I got it? Wanna, wanna???

Oh, alright!

Take a disposable diaper and cut the thin film open on the inside. See that cotton stuff? Pull it out and put it in a bowl, and add water. Knead it...like meatloaf. Add more water until it has a light fluffy consistency. And its safe! (Hello, it touches your baby's bottom, it better be safe!) But, look it up, you'll see.
Purty!

Oh, and here's another purty...in her new "made by Mommy" pillowcase dress, with her name on it. She insisted on the shoes...go figure. (I just noticed Isaac is hilarious in the background!)



Love her!

A Bit of a Beauty Lesson

Hannah is already checking herself out in the mirror. Oh, how the small things women do send a big message to little girls! I have made a conscious effort not to weigh myself in front of her and am desperately trying to curb my negative tongue about my body. And after four kids...wow...I have some complaints!

I've been wanting to do something like this in Hannah's room for a while, but just recently remembered this flower frame I had in my craft stash. I thought it was a fitting Christmas present for her adornment gift and since she's young enough to not care that it came 2.5 weeks before Christmas...I went for it while she watched.

So, I drug out the mirror, had Hannah stand next to the wall so I could see what level to put it at and then drew on her wall. And then painted on the wall. It took all of fifteen minutes and the only thing I could think of was how there went all the lessons about not drawing on the walls for my kids. Oh well. It's for a good cause, right?

After drawing the stems, leaves, other flowers...I put a scripture all the way around the mirror:

It says:
"Your beauty should come from within, the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God." It's a paraphrase of 1 Peter 3:3-4. I conveniently put it below her pegs of hair bows and head bands. Maybe someday she'll understand that the outer adornments are not nearly as important to God as what she chooses to adorn her heart with.

Maybe someday I'll fully understand that the older I get in Christ, the more beautiful I become.

Hhmm.

Christmas Tree Meaning for Pennies

Or...you know...free.

One of my friends gave me some oval frames and I've toyed around in my head what to do with them for a while. Leave it to Christmas and some blog stalking for me to find an idea.

I found the meaning of the Christmas Tree for Christians at a blog (sorry! I can't remember which one!) and copy and pasted it into a word document. I shaped the meaning to be a tree and then cut out the paper, glued it to some burlap (I still have tons left).

Then, I lined it with some ribbon and glued the burlap to the back of the frame with a few dots because I didn't necessarily want this to last forever in these frames (they are gorgeous frames), but if you had frames you knew worked perfectly for this, you could make it more permanent.

Then, I took two smaller frames and made scrapbook paper trees out of three triangles and a rectangle. Slapped them on some burlap and there you go.
I added ribbon (with just a dab of hot glue) to the back of the frames, tied them in a knot at the top...
and hung them by my Christmas tree.
I also framed (with red foil ribbon that you have to uncurl and scrap paper) a Santa Claus quote from Miracle on 34th St. (1994) and hung a Santa hat next to it.

The quote says:
"I'm not just a whimsical figure who wears a charming suit and affects a jolly demeanor. I'm a symbol. I'm a symbol of the human ability to be able to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule a major part of our lives. If you can't believe, if you can't accept anything on faith, then you are doomed for a life dominated by doubt."

Both things, I think, would make cute ideas for hostess gifts for parties this holiday season. Lowe's has gift certificate holders that are Santa's coat and it has a hanger, too, which would be a cute ornament if you put the Santa quote on card stock that would fit where the g/c is supposed to go. It costs all of $3. You could put candy in a Santa hat and have the quote in a small frame. The possibilities are endless, really. You know you've got old frames just hanging out waiting to get a coat of black or red spray paint! Get 'em out! Send 'em out! Make someone happy!

TWOC: Another Christmas Craft

Yeah. I had to do it. My mantel wouldn't have been complete without it. At least that's what I kept telling myself.

And then, when it was done, I was justified. Even hubs likes it. My sister-in-law embarrassed me with her fawning over it. I still stand in front of it and sigh over a craft that actually turned out exactly how I saw it in my head. I also patted myself on the back for not trying to add more to it. Less is more, Carrie, I kept telling myself. Less is MORE.

Oh, how I love you, Mr. Less. You now live on my mantel. In the form of this:

Aaaahhh....

So, here's my thought process towards this...'cause I know it's been your heart's desire to get into my head. *Ahem.*

I have loved all the "Believe" signs, blocks, Christmas frames, etc. But I always wondered...believe in what? Santa? The spirit of the season? And what is the spirit of the season for you? Giving? Getting?

And then, I saw somewhere that the "Believe" signs actually originated as an effort for people to "Believe" in God, His Son, the Savior of the world. Now that was a wagon I could hop on, peeps!

So, I have to be different and specific...so I made it say "Believe in Bethlehem." And then drove the point home with putting my favorite nativity set on my mantel. My mom pain-stakenly painted that nativity set when I was about 6 or 7 and I remember watching her, fascinated by the meticulous care she was giving it. Joseph has black hair-like my dad. Mary has blond hair-like my mom (except when she dyes it) and the baby Jesus has brunette hair, just like all us kids. It was always at a place of honor in our home during Christmastide (I did that just for you, B). When my sister was old enough, she set the figures out and I always secretly would move them where I thought they should go. When my sister moved out, I received the honor of setting it up and would still move the figures when I was bored of where they were, or played out the story in my mind that the wise men maybe were sharing the position closest to Jesus. They were taking turns giving their gifts, see???

Yeah...I told you that you'd be inside my head. Do you like it here? Kind of scary, huh? I know.

So, here's how I did it. Took a $3 picture from Goodwill. Painted the frame black, took the picture out and spray painted it red. Yup. I did. Right over that picture. Sorry artist...whoever you are. Then, I printed out the saying on the computer in my favorite font and made sure I liked how it fit on the, now red, picture. By the way, it took three coats.


I used a number 4B pencil (did you know pencil numbers mean something? The higher the number, the softer the lead...the better and darker the shading when you're drawing). Anyway, I rubbed the pencil over the backside of the writing and then flipped it over to where I wanted it on the red and used a #2 pencil (harder lead, lighter color) to trace over the letters. When I was done, I had "Believe in Bethlehem" in dark gray pencil on the red. Then, I took white paint and a decrepit paint brush (I really need to invest in new ones) and very carefully, painted over the writing. Once. It did not come out very white.

But that's okay because I knew I had a secret weapon (glitter) and that the first time tracing something is the hardest. Once that paint was dry, I took to doing a second, thicker, coat. After each letter, I sprinkled my secret weapon on it and then tapped it onto a paper. Then, I moved on to the next letter. I had to do one letter at a time because I didn't want the acrylic paint to dry before I had the chance to glitter it. The big "B's" I had to do in three steps because of all the swirls.


Then, I put that red picture with "Believe in Bethlehem" back in the now dry frame...and WAH-LAH!

I love it. LUUUUUUUUUUUUUVE it. It's the perfect symbol of our faith during Christmas and a good witness to all that walk into our house that we believe in Bethlehem and that Christ is truly the reason for the season.

I only wish I had about five of those beautiful mercury glass candle holders so I could put some on each side that are taller than what I have there now. I think they'd reflect the lights on the mantel so perfectly and add some height to the sides. But, I'll probably wait until the day after Thanksgiving or after Christmas to get some. They'll be cheaper then, you know.

Oh, yes...remember these balls?
Well, now three of them are snow balls. They look good enough to eat!

And just so you don't think I've completely forgotten about Thanksgiving, I made these cookies for Noah's teacher:
Brooke and I actually made more than these, obviously, but we were doing it for four teachers. See??? I haven't forgotten about Thanksgiving! Completely.

Red Bead Balls

Aaahh. Christmas.

Is it just me, or should we totally by-pass Halloween? Thanksgiving is getting the raw end of the deal. As much as I love Thanksgiving, marketing ploys work on me. The stores say it's Christmas time and I breathe in the smells and agree. They twist my arm. Really, they do.

So, while I was loving those silver bead trees, I was also lovin' these balls.
So, I hit them with a coat of red paint...and red beads...

And put them by the trees...

*sigh* Mercy Me's Christmas Cd is playing....where's my coffee?

TWOC: Homemade Christmas Gifts (2 for 1)

I love these. L.O.V.E. these.

They make great gifts and aren't just limited to hanging on trees. Doors, mirrors, windows, mantels....garland....I have plans for these, my darlings....yes...I do...

First, cut out two pieces of fabric in the letter you want. (Obviously, the longer the word, the more letters you cut out).


Sew it together (right sides out) and leave holes for stuffing.
Fray check the edges when you're done. Trust me.
Use a laaarge needle and ribbon of your choice to string your letters. Be careful to make sure you are spelling your word or words right. It's a pain to take them out. Trust me.
Fray check those holes, too. Don't ask why, just do it.
And then loop the two ends and make a knot. This way, you have a loop on each side to hang it easier. I add jingle balls so it's a little more festive.

The other craft is more for yourself and less of a gift. Eh. It's a gift to yourself, so it totally counts!

Take three different sized cone shapes that you only buy with a coupon at Joann's.
Make some of these do-dads.
Take these mardi gras necklaces (and cut them) that you found for $2 at Joann's. For twelve. (Insert happy dance here.)
Use your glue gun and start wrapping. And wrapping. And gluing. And wrapping. And sticking with a 'u' pin. And wrapping. Wait. This is starting to remind me of something. Oh yes. This craft.
Until you get this. And run out of beads. Yup. Apparently, I needed a third pack to finish the last cone. Who knew?
The picture just doesn't do them justice. I wasn't sure the silver paint was going to matter, but in person, it definitely does. I'm so glad I have glitter to shine behind those silver beads.

On to my next project....