Friday Tidbits

It's been a week since we were hit by the flu...I'm not yet 100% but trying to make it through my days...There has been a lot of napping and body aches, sore throats ...But getting rest is first and foremost. I got out a few Autumn things and spruced up our great room. Just small touches here and there. I guess I have a thermos collection? funny...But hey it looks pretty cool grouped together with my old metal trays. I am hoping to find some gumption to make a couple fabric/quilty pumpkins to put up there...Soon I hope. I found some fun stuff thrifting last week too! The vintage patchwork pup was one buck...I have always wanted one and had planned on making one..but there he was waiting for me to snag him up sitting in a pile of stuffed animals! I also found som vintage orange and yellow tupper ware bowls, an old cake pan, an apple basket, vintage lace for sewing projects, and some floral fabric. It was a good thriftscore kind of day.

I found this quilt last month from an Instagram shop for dirt cheap. I thought it would be a great piece for the end of the bed or snuggle blanket watching a movie. nothing fancy but worth the price I paid. 

I also made this adorable Autumn wreath for our front door to cheer things up and bring on the festive fun that comes with Fall. I love love love how it turned out with my 70's calico fabrics. 

Well I'm off to take another rest. I can hardly keep my head up and this tea is tomorrow, 

Happy Friday y'all

Taking A Break

Our daughter finally gets home today from her week long getaway with friends. We have missed her so much. Once we pick her up from the airport we are heading straight for the lake/mountains to stay in a friends cabin for a 5 day long overdue vacation. I planned a time of fun, relaxation and crafting. A little craft retreat.family time decompress kind of vacation. We will venture out a bit and explore some antique shops, maybe a bookstore and go to the lake, take walks, play games, read, journal, watch movies and craft of course.

I put together a fun bag of goodies filled with some crafty goodness for Freckles to add to her crafty stuff. I really wanted this to be a special last HOORAH for the Summer before school starts up.

We will be unplugged.

which will be quite nice just to be us together...To reconnect as a family and enjoy one another without the computers and ipads. When we come back I will be sure to share some pics. of the time we spent and the crafty stuff we worked on.

I planned:

~Painting on canvas

~Creative journaling

~Sharpie mug art

~Painting a Spoon Girl

~Sharpie tie dye shirt

~Crochet Grannie Square 

~Water color postcards

It will be a blast!!!!!

Okay see you soon!

Time to unplug now!!!

Skills

The last couple of weeks I have made an effort to get together with some women from church. I'm so glad I did too! One day I invited a couple ladies over for some paper bead making. It was inspired by one of the ladies necklaces she had that was made in Uganda I believe. The other lady knew how to make them so demonstrated just how simple it is to make yourself.

Just a nice collection of your favorite papers, a toothpick, glue and clear nail polish, you too can make these vibrant funky beads. I was amazed at how easy it was, yet it was time consuming. I was able to make a whopping 8 beads in a couple of hours. it was fun though. I have yet to string them into anything at this time. Maybe I will sit down and make some more with Freckles and turn it into a necklace or something.

I found a nice tutorial if anyone is interesting in trying their hand at this project here:

Papervine

I was also blessed to have a younger Mama come over for a canning lesson. I have so much fruit on my tree this year, I decided to have her over to use some of my bounty. She bought some farmstand strawberries to add to the apricots. I thought it would be good

 to start out with making some simple jam. 

I am so proud of her. She was a good student. She will be coming back for more lessons soon. We talked about probably pickling some stuff...I really hope she gleaned from learning this beloved lost art and pray she will continue to want to CAN for her family. I have taught younger women these skills throughout the years and so very blessed to share the beauty of what God has designed us to use for our good. I am a huge advocate of canning fresh yummies for my family to enjoy. I will never buy store canned fruit again, it's filled with so much sugar, chemicals and words you can't pronounce. Wouldn't you rather feed your family something that you know what is is? The ingredients in this jam is simply strawberry, apricots and some honey. that's it...

No weird chemicals or preservatives and junk.

Journaling...

Last week Freckles and I decided we would start journaling together. We have all kinds of papers, stickers, fun tape, doo dads and more...Why not put it to good use and journal with it. We wanted a fun outlet to be creative while doing something together. We spent hours the other day creating several pages in our journals. I will periodically share some of our pages throughout time.

I also tried my hand at making some origami cranes. Not too long ago I had pinned a bedroom from Pinterest that had colorful cranes hanging above the bed. It was adorable. So we found some papers at our local Daiso Japanese shop and I got to folding.  

I made a bunch, that will end up hanging in Freckles room. I also made a couple mini ones to place in our journals. It was pretty fun and so easy to make them. And I just love all the sweet colors and prints I got in my package of origami paper.

Here is my first page from my journal. More to come!

HOME

It is one thing I am blessed by. The place where I am safe with the ones I love, where we can be silly or messy when we want. Where we learn, share and spend quality time together. Sometimes we are just comfortable hanging out doing our own thing, yet we are under the same roof. It's a place where we invite others into our life and treat them as if they were a part of the family too. It's where we are free to express ourselves, to reflect or just spend quiet moments. It is a place where we pray, where God is with us at all times. 

I have moved around so much in my short lifetime. I can't count on my fingers how many places I have lived. I was always uprooted from state to state, city to city and house to house. I always longed for a home to call a forever home. But moving followed me into my adulthood, we moved around quite a bit in the last 20 years. I have gotten used to it. Yet there is still a yearning inside to just stay settled and rooted somewhere. It's hard to say where God will take us from here. In my Hubby's profession as a Pastor...We may not be in one place for many years. We need to go where we are called to serve. I have also realized over the years that the earthly home is however, temporal. I should focus my yearning on my forever home which will be eternal in Heaven one day. That is very true. For now of course we are here... Home is more than just a house in itself. Home is wherever I am with my family. I can easily make a home sweet home wherever we move to. I like to make a colorful, cheerful, loving, nurturing atmosphere for my family and friends to be able to relax in, and where we glorify the Lord in how we use our home. Being good stewards, loving one another and showing hospitality, opening our home to people for food and fellowship. 

I love that we can use our home in that way. 

Last week I made a colorful wreath to brighten things up after being down in the dumps about my Gramma's passing away. It was really good medicine to create something to use in our home. It has already brought smiles. After making the wreath, I also wrapped some letters in colorful fabrics which spell out HOME. Adding it to our space really brightened it up around here.

 It really represents us and our home.

A HAPPY HOME.

Don't Forget To Laugh....

These last couple weeks have surely been filled with heartache. The loss of my Gramma has not been easy for me. One would never know how they will react to loss of a loved one. I tried to be the brave one when my Gramma passed. I was running on adrenaline the week of her passing as we planned her memorial. After the memorial, it started to really sink in. I knew I had to make the long drive home a couple days after the memorial. I had to make sure I could mentally do the trip without falling apart, with my daughter in the car. Once we arrived home safely, walked in our home and finally reunited with my Dear Mr. Darling...Is when it all came to a head. I could finally release what I have been bottling up inside for days. I needed it to come out. I missed my Gramma and the thought of not being able to see her again left a huge gash in my heart. Mr. Darling brought me back down to reality. The truth of God's word, the fact that I will see her again...one day. It would be something I could look forward to when the Lord takes me home one day. Those are the truths that I must hold onto....And surely my Gramma wouldn't want me to be sorrowful for her all my life. I am pretty sure she would want me to be happy...The comforting words of the Bible and my husband has sunk in... Each day gets a little better. I think of her and always will. I will cherish the times I had with her. I will never forget our special bond. I look forward to being with her again one day. I have been a little bit of a wreck the past couple weeks. It is time for me to get up, get out and find joy in this precious life God has given us. I need to be the wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend I was created to be. I made it out a couple times this last week...Did a little retail therapy as well as crafting therapy for myself. I am one that tends to neglect myself. Today I got dressed, put a little makeup on, went out with my girl and even made something for myself. A reminder to let joy abound, find happiness in the little things, and laugh.... It is known that laughter is good medicine for those who are down, depressed and stressed. 

The Bible even sheds light on that.

A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.

 Proverbs 15:13

As many of you know I love color. I need cheerful colors around me anyway...Since I do have tendencies towards depression. The happy colors brighten up my home, making it cheery. It really does help with my mood. I rarely ever make anything and keep it for myself either. So, I decided to do something for me today. I got out my fabric stash and crafting supplies which have been gathering dust for the last several months and put together a cheerful, colorful wreath...I added in the word "Laugh" to it. To remind me, not to forget to laugh.

I made it a point to smile more today and indeed some laughter came out of my soul. and it was good. I feel better today than I have in a long time. I needed that. So, as to encourage you dear reader, we all have our own struggles, stresses and depression at times. Don't you forget to laugh and smile...Dig down deep, it's there and your gonna feel better once you get it out. I suggest you do something for yourself once in a while too.... I rarely ever do things just for me since I have a servants heart... But even a servant should make time for some TLC... Make prayer a priority in your life, Go to the Lord with all your cares, read His word, make something with your hands... Everyone is creative in some way. Take a nice bubble bath, put on some makeup, get your hair done, buy a new outfit if you can, or even window shop. Take a nice walk and enjoy God's creation, soak it up. re~ arrange your furniture to give a new look, get a manicure/pedicure, a massage, write your thoughts in a journal, paint, garden, see a funny movie, have a game night with family or friends, have a tea party.

Don't forget to

Laugh~Laugh~Laugh

 "Dear God, thank you for your Word so that I can know how to live a healthier and happier life, and in so living greatly enhance my relationships and joy. Please help me God to so live. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." 

A Pan Collar and Felt Flower Brooch

Every once in a while I will actually try things that I have pinned on Pinterest. As many of of you know my daughter Freckles and I have been doing a study of the 1940's era. I had started a Pinterest board with some inspirations and thought I would give a couple things a try. One started with my love for Peter pan collars on vintage clothing. So adorable. As a doll maker I have put many Peter pan collars on my characters, so i thought, heck why not make myself one. I am not too old for that...Am I?
I found a pattern for a collar here and sewed it in less than an hour. Note the pattern says fur collar on it...It doesn't have to be fur...You can use cotton just as I did.


The felt flower brooch was inspired by the 1940's as well. There is plenty of inspiration on felt flowers throughout Pinterest. I did not follow a pattern for the brooch I made however. I was inspired by what I saw on the boards and just winged it as best as I could. I wanted it to match the collar. And quite pleased that it complimented each other very well.

 

I even put my hair up, which I have not done in years. I will definitely be making more colors and brooches to coordinate with other outfits. I even got some sweet compliments from several ladies at church. I was humbled.

I will also be teaching Freckles how to make the felt flower brooch soon.
 Happy pinning to you.
 Hope you find some inspiration there on Pinterest.
I have a little goal to actually trying out the pins I pin.
Heck, why not.
Have a great week ahead.

Retro Inspired Oilcloth Lunch bag

Today I sat down in the sewing room to make Freckles
a retro inspired lunch bag for her home school/ performing arts class on Friday's.
She can use it on park trips & picnics or whenever we are out and about to carry snacks.
I found my inspiration on
 The Long Thread.

I changed a few things.
 #1. I used all vinyl oil cloth #2. I made it 11" wide instead of 10". #3. I finished off the bag differently....I can't even explain what I did....Because I was a rebel and didn't follow her directions. ;)
#4. I was resourceful on the handles by using a bag I had from Joann's Fabric...
{I thought it would look cute on Freckles bag}...
So I cut them off the Joann's bag and used them on the lunch bag.
 So happy with how it turned out.

 

It is insulated with soft quilt batting and I added a pocket
inside the bag to store her red gingham napkin.
And...It was a hit with Freckles...
She loves it.
Yay