BITA- Basking In The Ambience

In October of 2008, only 8 weeks pregnant with Maddy, I was introduced to a zany group of 9th graders. Our first adventure together was Tacos and a Movie- a name they still make fun of. But, I thought it was creative. They watched me shovel in two plates of taco salad, making fun of me for that too, and then we watched Ella Enchanted. I didn't know their stories, I barely knew their names...but they were funny and smart and uniquely beautiful.

Today, we have a co-leader, Katie, who is a perfect partner in crime and ministry! I know those sound mutually exclusive...but as we always say: we may be the worst small group leaders ever. Not really...but we do like to have fun. Our main goal with this group of girls? Love them and point them to Christ. It is a simple mission with many parts and big consequences.

So these are the girls at our latest adventure out at the field at CMC. Being goofy and fun as usual. We are missing two (C and K), though. We will do another photo session soon! I promise!

Basically, I get to hang out with these amazing women. And they like to tell me they love me and send me funny texts and dance with me....but mostly they just change my life and my heart a little bit everyday...and in the end, I will be better for loving them!

I know Katie feels the same way. So, BITA- here are the things we want you to remember:

You are the daughters of a King- rejoice in your own royalty and act like princesses.

You are unique and special and that means you may not always fit in. That's okay. Katie and I didn't always fit in either...and you guys still think we are cool. :)

God expects a lot from you. He wants you to be brave, smart, and holy in your daily choices and actions. He also knows you will fail, and that is when you get to experience His precious grace.

You are responsible for loving others...and loving them with purpose. Give your time and energy to those who need to know God....they will see Him in you.

You rock. Plain and simple. You are all amazing and gorgeous and funny and talented and Katie and I are priviledged to be on this journey with you.

Where my BITAs at?

A Day Late, A Diecut Short

Okay, so shoot me. I haven't been a consistent blogger this past week.

I have been busy- just not busy crafting. I did get one easy project done.

A simple spring garland, made from scraps.

I used scrapbook paper, felt, multicolored plastic buttons in different sizes and styles, and a little yarn.

I will use a circle diecut next time to make this more consistent, but here is basically what I did.

Measure the length of yarn or twine that you will need.

Pick a color pallette. Mine was mostly pink, brown, and green...but the buttons are all colors.

Cut circles from your paper and felt in varying sizes, making sure there are at least 6 of each pattern/color per size to match up.

Begin at one end of the yarn. Pick two pieces of felt and glue them back to back with the yarn in between. I just put a dot of glue on one piece, stuck the yarn into the glue, then pressed the other piece of felt onto the glue until set.

Follow the same steps for your scrapbooking circles and buttons.

I didn't follow a pattern, but just alternated- felt, paper, buttons, paper, felt, buttons, etc.

Then I just hung it on the mantle!

                      

I had a lot of scraps left over so I made this little confetti garland.

 

Same story here. I just cut the yarn into varying lengths.

This was a dry run. Like I said, I will use a diecut next time to make better circles. I hand cut all of these and it was a mess! I will try another one for Summer with more vivid colors also!

See? I took the time to do one little craft. I am in the middle of another- the yarn wreaths. More to come on that later!

A photo collage of my day!

Finding a blessing in a messy house is not easy. I found one- the ability to watch chaos turn into comfort.

And yes, coffee is in here twice. Trust me, I needed it!

Stuff for the Bird-day Party- part one.

I used these instructions thanks to April Bagwell with my own spin to make two small heart wreaths for Maddy's upcoming bird-day party in April.

The idea is simple...cut out tons of felt circles and pin them to a foam wreath form. I truly made this a 30 minute project. I wanted to use pink and brown felt for Maddy's color theme. I cut these circles quickly. I started with pink and cut about 25 circles then started to pin them around the exterior of the form and continued to cut and pin until I was done with pink. Then I did the same with the brown felt and filled in the middle of the heart form.






Then I pinned a green polka dot ribbon to the back. DONE! Easy Peesy.

Here is the final project.

Next project is Yarn Wreaths for the doors at the party. Still working on the prototype....looking forward to sharing with you!

eryn

Homemade Magnet Tutorial

I made these cute glass magnets for Christmas gifts this year and they were a hit. I was able to customize each set to the color pallette that I knew each gift recipient would love. I have to give props to Samarah Hays again for the idea- she is full of them!!

I went through a few items in a trial and error period and this is what I found works best:

Round craft magnets
Various scrapbooking papers- I used adhesive and non-adhesive types
Scrapbooking alphabet stickers
Small round glass beads
Glass and bead glue
Round metal tins with lids (if you plan to give them as gifts)
-You can also use old Altoid cans instead
Scissors
Pencil

1. Trace the magnet- not the glass- to allow the paper to be magnified by the glass bead and not hang over the edges of the magnet. I tried tracing the glass and it looked messy.

2. Cut out the circles you have made and glue each one to a magnet using your bead glue. Squeeze one dot in the middle of the magnet and press the paper circle down on top of it, spreading the glue out from the middle.

4. Now you pick out your beads. Some of them will be dusty, scratched, chipped, or cracked. Pick through until you find the ones you like. Place a dot of glue in the midde, and then press the bead down firmly onto the paper-covered magnet- again spreading the glue out to the sides, creating a seal.

5. You can also customize each one using the alphabet stickers. I used a cute "a" for Austin- and these magnets are staying on my fridge!

Finally, after you have allowed them to properly dry- about 2 hours or so, you can put them nicely into a tin and voila! Done!

I must say that these little magnets make my day when I see them holding up coupons, photos, and (ahem) even bills on the refrigerator! I hope you have as much fun with these quick little gifts as I have! Send me photos if you make them!

A fever is nothing to cry about!

Okay, yes Maddy had a fever basically all week. She still played and laughed and snuggled and yelled as usual, though. I am not assuming that it is merely teething and nothing for me to freak out about..

Earlier this week, I thought that her fever and her general clinginess would keep me from getting my to-do list done. (Not that I care one bit. When she clings- I am clung to happily!) I needed to blog, which I did but never published for some reason...so this is the recap, and I needed to get my items for my first-ever consignment sale together and ready to go.

Believe it or not, I did get it all done. AND I actually attended my first-ever consignment sale where I purchased this bin full of greatness!!!

Okay, first of all, it was a blast. Second of all, Maddy has more cute Gap clothes than we could ever afford. Third, I feel so proud of the money I saved!!!

I am already bagging things that I want to consign at my next sale and am looking forward to getting my first check this Sunday- no matter what the amount, I love trying and enjoying something new. A little extra money in the pocket is always nice too!

The Greatness of Creative Minds

Sometimes I am just blown away by the unique creativity that people possess. In my new blogging venture, I have come across so many amazing creators, innovators, and thinkers. I find it challenging, inspiring, and encouraging to be learning so much from these other women.

You have seen it all over my facebook page and on here, but this is an inspiring blog and this is a great giveaway- Lisa Leonard's Beautiful Jewelry!

I am hoping to win a gift certificate for myself but I encourage you all to follow these ladies and find more blogs to follow and admire. To make it easy- sign up with Google Reader or Bloglines and you can add your favorite blogs to your account to keep up with any updates. I live off of my daily blog reading!

Have fun and go win that jewelry!