Clothespin Refashion

After I made my super awesome Clothespin Mirror, I had some clothespins left over that I decided needed to be utilized somehow.  I saw this tutorial for Paper Embellished Clothes Pins over at DIY or Don't! and knew it was the perfect way to display some of my pics and stuff on my wall without destroying the wall with nail holes.

The only problem is that I get a lot of my creative juices flowing at the most inopportune time - late in the evening - and such was the case with this craft.  And this project required Mod Podge - one of the most awesome craft mediums created.  If you aren't familiar with Mod Podge, you probably have more brain cells remaining than I do because the stuff is incredibly fume-ish.  Therefore, using the stuff inside a small room at night time is not an option.  And when I found the tutorial, I was way too impatient to wait for the next day to make these things.  

So I did the ghetto-rigged version.  I simply cut the paper like she says to do and hot glued them onto my clothespins.  I realize this won't last forever, but neither the clothespins nor the paper was expensive.  So I don't mind if they get messed up.  

Anyway, these clothespins now hold pics and whatnot on a ribbon hanging on my wall:

Turned out pretty nifty, don't you think?!

Anniversaries, Spiritual Gifts, & Nostalgia

Happy Monday!  I can't believe June is almost over already.  Time is just flying away. 

This particular week is an interesting one, to say the least.  Kids camp is this week, which means Chewie's gone.  And my small group host family, which makes up about half of my small group, is in Michigan this week because their daughter/sister is getting married on Saturday.  Therefore, most of my friends are gone.  :(  On a good note, however, one of my good friends from small group is still in town, and I suspect much girl time to be had.  :)

Chewie and I will be celebrating our 3 year (dating) anniversary this Saturday.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  It's so hard to believe we've been together that long.  I'm thinking about making a special dinner for him.  If you know me, you know this is a big deal because I don't cook.  In fact, it's usually Chewie who does the cooking for us.  But I have a few ideas in my back pocket that I'm thinking about trying for our anni.  Oh, and don't worry about him reading this and finding out - he doesn't have internet access at camp and, therefore, will not be able to read this until after he gets back on Saturday (the day of our anni)!

I'm still looking for a job - story of my life, it seems.  I get asked all the time how the job search is going and if I've heard anything back from anyone.  And I have heard back - my inbox is full of rejection emails.  Haha.  Ordinarily, I think this would disappoint and discourage me, but, for whatever reason, I'm not sweating it.  I know that God has a plan.  

Which leads me to something I've been thinking about recently.  Our church puts out a weekly Bible reading plan that I read every morning.  And one of the recent readings in 1 Cor 12 was about spiritual gifts and using them in the Church.  It got me thinking about my spiritual gifts and how the Lord has confirmed to me time and time again that these are the things he's given me for ministry.  There are two that I know I have for sure: administration & faith.  I can definitely see how I can use my gift of administration in the Church.  However, I'm struggling with how I can use my gift of faith.  Is it a gift that is to be used in more of an oral capacity?  Like speaking about faith to others?  I'm not entirely sure, and I've been praying through it for some guidance.  

I also finished "Lies Women Believe" and really enjoyed it.  I think I might post a more comprehensive review of it on here soon.  Since I finished that book, I started reading "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby.  And I'm finding it's one of those books that says simple things that I already know but somehow really convicts me anyway.  It has really challenged me to get back to the basics of what I believe and build on that foundation.  Then I'm reading one other book about fasting that has been an interesting read, to say the least.  It's a subject that doesn't receive a whole lot of attention, and this book is more of a study about fasting than a way to apply it, if that makes sense.  I've learned a lot about fasting from a historical and biblical perspective.  Definitely look forward to a review of that one.

One last thing before I go - my pastor is leaving for vacation soon, and we have a guest preacher for the month of July (as well as this last Sunday in June).  He is a college professor and is doing a series on the book of Colossians.  When he started to preach yesterday morning, I thought I was going to burst with excitement because it was as if I stepped back into one of my college religion classes.  He preaches very much like my religion professors taught, and it was so exciting to hear a sermon/lesson like that again.  Don't get me wrong, I love the way our pastor preaches - his style is definitely easy to love.  But yesterday's sermon was almost nostalgic for me.  It made me miss the days of my Prophets class or Biblical Interpretation classes.  It brought joy to my heart!

Hope you are all having a great start to your week!

Tutorial: Origami Flower Mirror

One of the websites I browse frequently - as in, more than once a day - is Craftgawker.  The whole premise of the website is inspiration for crafters.  I check it out to get ideas and try some of the tutorials that are posted.  Or just to put myself in a better mood.  :)

Anyway, I ran across a tutorial at Nifty Thrifty Things for an origami flower while browsing Craftgawker one day and decided to make some out of some of the millions of magazines I have floating around my room.  This is what I ended up with:

I got so excited about them that I decided to make a bunch of them one night while I watched Hotel Rwanda with one of my roommates - amazing movie, btw.  As I was making them, I discovered that I could cut off the back pointy end so that it would sit flat without messing it up.  Genius, I know.

I originally planned to arrange mine around a round picture frame but couldn't find one.  So I opted for the mirror instead.

So here's how you make the mirror (one day I'll remember to actually take pictures as I'm making this stuff):

• Buy a mirror.  I'm pretty sure the one I have is a 10 in.  I got mine at Michael's for $4 or $5. I'm sure I could have found it cheaper somewhere else, but I had a gift card.  

• Make eight of the origami flowers using the tutorial in the link above.  You might need more or less based on how big you make yours.  I made mine out of magazine pages.  I didn't measure the squares of magazine paper, but they were probably about 4 in x 4 in. 

• Once you've made the flowers, cut off the back end in such a way that it sits flat.  It's not hard to do.  Just be brave and snip it.  If you made them correctly, they shouldn't fall apart.  

• I put a dab of hot glue on the back side where I made the cut just to make sure it doesn't fall apart.  

• Once the hot glue dries, arrange them - evenly spaced - along your mirror's edge, and hot glue each one in place. 

• Add a loop to the back so you can hang it on the wall.

And you're done!  Pretty easy and definitely cheap!  I especially love that it has a certain tropic feel to it that rings in the summer.  Happy crafting!

Clothespin Mirror Tutorial

I recently saw a project on several different blogs using clothespins to accentuate a mirror or other object for a laundry room decoration.  I instantly loved it and thought it would be perfect for my barren bedroom walls.  So I made this:

I pretty much LOVE it.  It has a sort of vintage feel to it that I really like.  Plus, Chewie mentioned that it looks like a sunflower, and who doesn't love sunflowers?!

It was surprisingly simple to make.  I'll break it down (sorry I don't have pics to go along with this):

• I cut a circle the same size as my mirror out of cardboard.  Retrospectively, however, I'd probably make it just a little bit smaller.
• Arrange the clothespins around the cardboard circle the way you want them.
• Hot glue each one in place - tedious, but worth it.
• Put some hot glue around the outer edge of the back of the mirror and center it - quickly - in the middle of the clothespins.  
• I hot glued a loop onto the back of the cardboard to hang it on the wall, but you can use whatever you like to mount it.

And, voila!  A new wall accent.  Hope you enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed mine!

"Love" in bead form

At my last job, we had these fuse beads that were a HUGE hit with the middle school group.  And they're so nostalgic for me.  It's crazy to think that they're still popular.

Anyway, we broke them out a while back, and I made this:

It hangs from the rearview mirror in my little old Honda and makes me so happy every time I see it.  It's so whimsical and fun.  I thought I'd share it with you, if for nothing else but to make you smile.  :)

♫ "Summer's Here" ♫

I thought I'd give an update about the goings-on in my life...

I woke up this morning with James Taylor's "Summer's Here" stuck in my head - go ahead, give it a listen (you know you want to...).  Sing along with me:

♫ "Summer's here, I'm for that, 

Got my rubber sandals got my straw hat...

It's my favorite time of the year, and I'm glad that it's here" ♫

You did pretty well!  Haha.  Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), it was a good morning.  :)

It's a long story, but I'm looking for a job.  So far so good.  I have a few interviews in the next week, and I just got back from a temp agency in hopes of finding something to hold me over for a while.  I'm feeling good about it though.  The Lord has me in high spirits.

I've been recently going through a book called "Lies Women Believe" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, and I've really been confronted by some things in my life because of it.  God has taught me so much about what I believe and what the evidence of my beliefs is.  And I've also learned a ton about what it means to be a woman of God and a wife and mom, even though I'm neither of the latter two yet.  There are so many things that I've thought and believed about my own life as a woman that so do not line up with what God's Word says.  I have to say that I haven't agreed with some of the things she said, particularly the chapter about children, but overall it's been a nice journey.  I've been using it as part of my morning devo, and I feel like my whole spirit is refreshed.  It's nice replacing the lies with the Truth and no longer living in bondage because I am free in Christ!

Okay.  I just had to get that out of my system!  I've decided from now on, in this blog, to call my boyfriend "Chewie."  It's not his real name, in case you were wondering.  Just a nickname.  But in reading other blogs I've found that, for legal disclosure policy-ish reasons, it's better not to use his real name but a nickname instead.  So, yeah.

Anyway, Chewie has a big-time interview next week, and we are praying that Jesus gives him that job!  The pay is decent, and he'll have pretty decent benefits, as well.  Plus, don't you think a guy this cheesy deserves a great job???  :D

My small group, that we fondly call "Quarterlifers," is going so so so well.  I love this group.  They have become my best friends, my accountability, somewhere I go for wisdom and encouragement, and so much more.  I am so thankful that Jesus put this group of people in my life.  And I'm so excited about how the Holy Spirit is moving amongst us.  One of the things we are praying for right now is revival in the hearts of those in our group and in our church.  Our church has been through some t.o.u.g.h. stuff in the past 6 months, and I believe we're ready for some major Jesus-movement.

Also, the Quarterlifers have been challenged by the youth group to weekly Sunday morning events, like relay races and basketball games.  If we win, they have to wash our cars.  Holler!  And if they win - Jesus, help us - we have to host a lock-in for them.  Now, I'm not sure if you're familiar with youth lock-ins (and, believe me, you should be grateful for that), but I definitely am familiar with them.  Therefore, I am praying - hard - that we will beat their tushies (sp???)!  All-in-all, though, it should be really fun, and I am really excited.

There are so many good things stirring right now that I can't help but to be dizzy with excitement.  I feel a new adventure coming on with my career, as well as Chewie's, and God is definitely working in and around my life right now.  He is so good.  I just can't say it enough.

Popsicle Stick Bracelet

The other day I found this tutorial over at "Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom" and thought it would be PERFECT to try.

I'm not going to post the whole tutorial - go ahead and check it out at the link above for the full thing.  However, I did do it slightly differently.  I found that my bracelets wouldn't stay on my wrist after they dried.  :(  So I used a little ingenuity - case in point:

I realized that I could hot glue two of them together to make a bangle bracelet!  Please, please.  No applause necessary.  ;)  

So I hot glued the two together like in the pictured and wrapped mine with some pretty gold yarn we had at work, and VOILA!!!

I was really impressed with myself (even though my picture taking skills aren't too great...).  This was such an E.A.S.Y. project, and it's perfect to do with older kids and/or middle schoolers and up.  And a great way to add some faux vintage jewelry to your collection!