Bee yourself ♥

"Bee" yourself.  It's the only way to bee.

Happy Crafting!

New year faith renewal...and a little craft tutorial

I think we all could use a little spiritual motivation and faith renewal no matter what time of year, but it seems to be fairly prevalent with every coming new year.  Resolutions that motivate us to "stay strong", "be healthy", "put more happy in our life" are all very common but unique to each individual making them.  Each resolution is special and a reflection of the person's past experience and hopes for the future.  

In thinking about my resolution (and I have the hardest time keeping one), I wonder what motivation I need to keep that resolution.  What it boils down for me is faith--faith in knowing that everything will be okay because we believe God is holding our hands and guiding each of our steps.  When we fall, He picks us up and when we succeed, it's all because of Him...so we dance...like no one is watching...and sing....like we're on American Idol.  We stay HAPPY in all that we do and thankful for this life.

Now the tutorial....which is completely related.  =)

To help us keep our thoughts in place and where they should be, I wanted to put up motivational sayings in our home as a constant reminder of God's blessings to us each and every day.  Pretty Print Shop is a fabulous Etsy shop that specializes in digital prints that serve to motivate and inspire.  Hannah, the owner of the shop, designs each and every print--such a talented person and I'm blessed to have met her at the Penelope Lane Holiday Boutique last November.  She has these beautiful designs below, all printed on high quality photo paper--everything so bright and cheery.

I decided to decoupage these prints on canvas (those ones that artists use to paint on).  I wasn't sure how they would turn out because I didn't know if the paper type (glossy photo paper) made a difference with the Mod Podge.  Using a sponge brush, I applied more than a thin layer of Mod Podge on the canvas and then lay a print on it.  

It worked out well and I was very happy.  

I waited a few hours for the Mod Podge to dry completely and then applied another thin layer to the top of the prints to seal them and add a bit of glossy sheen to them.  I really liked how they turned out especially with the texturing of the gloss resembling the texture of the canvas.

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I will hang these up in a spot in our home where we will see these every day as daily reminders of God's blessings. Such an easy little craft with lots of meaning--right up my alley!

Happy Crafting!

Ephesians 4:1-3

I work in an environment where I feel blessed to have a tiny pinky of influence (sometimes a full out hand!) in how individuals navigate their education, career, and life goals.  As is always the case, these things are not done or experienced in a vacuum.  Many factors come in to decisions whether they be relatively life changing or miniscule.  One thing I know for sure is that this is where God has called me to be, to use the gifts He has given me to help others on their journey through life as they navigate their way through our education system.

You've heard that saying, "It's a two way street."  Yes, indeed it is.  There is a lot to be learned from those we meet, those we help.  Our assistance to these folks may be concrete, self-evident, obvious.  But in the same light, they also help us grow in immeasurable ways.  In my particular instance--teaching me understanding through their experiences and patience as they navigate a path that may be unfamiliar.  I value these very much to the core of my being. 

God has His way of putting us in situations to help us realize and oftentimes reaffirm that yes, this is what we're called to do, no matter how difficult or tiring some days may become. He's quick you know.  He gets me when I feel like I'm losing steam and then *boom*--He wakes me up!

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Ephesians 4:1-3 

Amen to that.  Whether it be at work, at home, at school, with friends, with family, at Michael's or Joann's navigating the sale items (had to throw in the crafty reference), this is true in all aspects of my life.  I do my best, I make my  mistakes, but I strive daily to pray with a fervor that reflects humility, gentleness, patience, love, and most of all, faith in God's calling for me and my family.  

Happy Blessed Day!

 

 

DIY: Sweet Little Ruffle Pillow

My sister is about to enter her 3rd year of med school in  Washintgon, DC.  (I miss her--she's my shopping/crafting/coffee & tea drinking buddy.)  While I was chatting with her the other night, I got the sense she was kind of homesick so I wanted to send her a little care package from home to help her get through the long days of rotations and sleepless nights.

 I found an old pretty pillowcase at my mom's house that she has had forever.  I thought it would be nice to send my sister something that really came from home.  Enter in this sweet little ruffle pillow.

Granted, I've never made a pillow before, but I thought I'd give it a shot. The pillowcase was pretty long (must have been for a body pillow or something) and so I just trimmed it to make it more like a mini pillowcase, but a pillow...made from a pillowcase....you'll see below! =)
(Disclaimer: My sewing technique is not very good, but I think I did alright!  Please comment below if you have any questions on my "technique" LOL!)

Supplies:
pillowcase (you'll trim this down to the size pillow you want); ruffle trim (enough for all 4 edges of the pillow); poly-fill; scissors; Fabric-Tac & pins (not pictured)

Had to get in a shot of my handy dandy sewing machine. =)

Lay your pillowcase flat and cut it to size (cutting through both layers).  I cut mine to about 14" x 16".

Cut all around until you've trimmed any excess fabric.

Turn your two pieces inside out making sure all sides match up as much as possible and then pin the corners.  This helps keep the pieces in place for sewing.

Sew the two longest sides together and one short side together, leaving about a 1/2 inch edge.  Remember to keep one short side open.

Turn your fabric outside in so that the "right" side is out.

Stuff your pillow with the poly-fill making it as fat as you'd like.  Use your hand to even out the fill so that your pillow isn't too lumpy.

Pin the open side closed.  This makes it a bit easier to sew.

Sew the open side shut making sure the poly-fill is nice and snug inside the pillow (this is about 13" x 15").

(Optional step: dab a bit of glue along the flaps of the side you just sewed to help them stay flat.  This will help when you add the ruffle trim.)

Using the Fabric-Tac, line your ruffles with a thin line of glue (to about 6 inches to start--don't add glue to your whole piece just yet).

Place your ruffles along the edge of the pillow (along the seams) adding glue and pressing down on the ruffles as you go (glue side down).  Another option is, instead of adding glue to your ruffles, you can also dab the glue along the seams of the pillow and then press your ruffles in to them.  I think this gives you more control over the glue and placement of the ruffles (I'm kind of OCD that way!)

The ruffles should lay like this, covering the seams of the pillow.

When done, the pillow should look something like this (not bad, huh?)

I decided to add a button to the pillow to give it a little bit more character.  I used a button making kit to make the button out of a piece of the ruffle.  I then sewed it through the front of the pillow to the back to give it that "pressed in" look.

Here's the package I sent to my sister: Chuao Chocolate in Rocky Road (soooo good and perfect for National Chocolate Day which was on July 28th), a hoop that I made using crochet flowers (the first hoop I've ever embroidered!), and of course, the sweet little ruffle pillow.

I spoke with my sister tonight right after she opened up the package and she talked in that high-pitched, happy/crying voice of hers when she receives a care package from family.  Needless to say, she loved her package and is probably nestling her head in her pillow while savoring her Rocky Road chocolate as she clutches her hoop to her heart--just kidding about that part, but really, she is probably doing all that as I type this.  Love my sister.

Happy Crafting!

Proverbs 22:6

I have these moments of clarity that come at such opportune, though not surprising, moments when I'm feeling overwhelmed, discouraged, and just downright fatigued.  That moment occurred for me last night as I tucked our children in to bed.   

My littlest little insisted on wearing a toy hard hat on her head as she lay down to sleep.  Though only 18 months old, she has developed a knack for accessories, creative at that.  My 7-year old wanted me to place two pillows and a stuffed Nemo in his shirt.  He has been wanting a sumo suit for the past two weeks so I figured this was him practicing.  

As I stuffed his shirt with two pillows and Nemo, I thought to myself, "I'm a Mom."  

Yes, I've been a mom for the past 7 years, but this time it resonated even more so as I stuffed his shirt.  Sounds silly, I know--but for whatever reason, I felt so "grown up" as I remembered when my own mom would tuck me in to bed.  To be called to be a parent--To encourage our children in their creativity, to support them in their learning, to discipline them with love and understanding, to show them what unconditional love means....it simply made my current day worries and fatigue melt away where in that very moment it was the realization that this wondrous responsibility is what also brings us calm and peace.  

God speaks to us in the most timely of ways to help us refocus our thoughts and priorities.

"Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it."

Proverbs 22:6

Happy Blessed Day!

Yay, March 21st!

....and I woke up at 5:30am this morning picking legos up from the floor thinking, "Uggghhh, this should have been done last night.  It's my birthday." {womp womp womp}  I put my makeup on in the car thinking, "Man, I'm gonna look like crap.  It's my birthday." {insert sad violin music here}

  And then I come in to work, showered by birthday well wishes and goodies from my fabulous family of coworkers...

...and I say "Damn straight!  It is my birthday....happy birthday to me!"  I am super touched by the well wishes of my family and friends.  My core is brimming with joy and thankfulness for all these blessings. 

Legos and crooked eye-liner can't mess up my day!

Happy Birthday to me!

It's Valentine's Day Every Day!

Hubs and I don't "celebrate" Valentine's Day too much.  An exchange of little notes and candies with each other and with our littles is perfect. (With much pride in his voice, my biggest little greeted me this morning with "Happy Valentine's Day, Mommy"  and proceeded to gift me with ONE jellybean.  Yes, ONE jellybean.  Hilarious.  He cracks us up every day.)   A night out is oftentimes a luxury for us, especially with our big little and littlest little.  But, we do find those little everyday moments  to spend time together.  Today, a spur-of-the-moment-lunch was one of them--Chipotle and Starbucks--the perfect lunch time date for us!  Having been together for almost 18 years (9 of those years married), it's a fun challenge for us to reinvent how we celebrate different things.  

Coming back from lunch, I see my little Hello Kitty business card holder (picture above) and am reminded of the #1 thing Hubs and I like to do when we do go out....sit on a bench with coffee in hand and people watch.  We love doing that.  We have our favorite benches around San Diego and so while we talk we watch and talk again.  We've been doing this for as long as I can remember and though our topics of conversation have changed over the years, we still very much enjoy this time together--our "quality" time so to speak.  My little business card holder is such a cute little reminder of good times--plus, aside from the cat-like characteristics, Dear Daniel's spiky hair and Hello Kitty's rose/bow remind me of us.  =)

So, on this Valentine's Day (and every day), I wish you a lovely day filled with lots of kisses and hugs from those you love!

♥  Happy Love Day! ♥