Fabric Wreaths

A few years ago, a friend of mine taught me how to make fabric wreaths. I've made a bunch of these, and even taught my MOPS (Moms of PreSchoolers) moms how to make them. In preparation for the meeting, I think I cut about 35-40 yards of fabric!! My hand was in "scissor mode" for a few days after that. :)



A closeup of the fabric. The fabric is in squares and cut with pinking shears, so they have a nice diagonal border along the edges. The wreath above is a 10" wreath, and the one below is 14".

A comparison of the wreaths. I really enjoy making these. Yes, they take a lot of time. But I get such a joy out of seeing them and giving a homemade gift to people. In fact, the one on the right is a gift for a family member...but I'm not saying who, in case she reads this. :) It took a LOT longer to make, since my psycho wonderful dog managed to get ahold of it sometime during the night last weekend and ripped half of the fabric out and took chunks out of the actual wreath. Thanks to a bunch of mod podge, I managed to salvage it without any noticeable scars. :)

And this beautiful ribbon is my next project!! I found an awesome tutorial on Pinterest that explains how to make ribbon wreaths. I've been drooling over them for months and finally took the plunge at Hobby Lobby over the weekend. 50% off ribbon helped the cause.

Other projects I have planned include making Christmas bath salts for my son's preschool teachers and assistants, making awesome personalized notepads for his teachers as well, and doing some acrylic painting on some totally adorable snowmen and other things I found at Michael's this year.

I should also mention that I have done almost NO Christmas shopping yet. We also don't have any decorations up yet. I don't know what my deal is this year, but I'm sorta scrooge-ish right now. Part of the reason I'm not putting up my tree is because our psycho wonderful dog will undoubtedly destroy it...and it cost too much to justify a destruction zone. So we'll see how things go this week. A friend recommended I attempt to hang the tree from the ceiling, but I figure that would just mean the dog would try to jump up to get it. I'd come around the corner and see him just hanging there, mouth gripping a defenseless branch. Or he would have electrocuted himself. Whichever comes first. :)

Women of Faith was AWESOME!!!

I tried to think of a better post title than that...but I just don't think I could get the point across better than just saying it was AWESOME. Like seriously awesome. Life-changing awesome. I feel so blessed I had an opportunity to go. Not only did I go, but my friend Jennifer and I scored awesome seats in the VIP section right next to the "porch", which was where all the ladies hung out when they weren't speaking. I was literally 10 feet away from Lisa Whelchel...aka, Blair from "The Facts of Life". I could have reached out and grabbed Mandisa's hand at one point. Amy Grant looked straight at me during a song. Oh yeah!!!!

So let me step back and start from the beginning. About a month or so ago, someone I follow on Facebook posted that her husband had a way to get some free tickets to various WOF events (thank you soooo much Jessica & Matthew Turner!!!!). I contacted him, and he put me into contact with Lindsey Talerico, a Social Media Specialist with World Vision. Women of Faith has partnered with World Vision for many years (look below, I have some information on World Vision at the bottom of the post). Lindsey was able to score two tickets for me, which was thrilling! I knew my friend Jennifer would really love to go, as she's on a new/rejuvenated path in Christianity and this would be a wonderful opportunity for her to grow more on her journey.

So I've been patiently waiting for WOF for about a month. Wouldn't you know it, two days before the conference started, I come down with a wicked head cold. I figured I'd just tote enough DayQuil and Kleenex with me to keep me generally satisfied as to not bother the people around me. It also worked out because I never realized how much I would CRY at this conference!! Blame the head cold cloud of misjudgement. Jeez, I cry at church. I cry at cute commercials, I can cry if my son gives the dog a cuddle. Why it never occurred to me to bring extra Kleenex to a Women of Faith conference is beyond me.

Jennifer and I decided to make it a fun girls-only weekend, getting a hotel and leaving the husbands and kids at home. We lucked out that the first day of the conference fell on Veteran's Day, and both of our husbands had the day off. My husband is a Tech Sergeant with the United States Air Force, so he deserved the day off. Maybe it wasn't the nicest thing to leave him on Veteran's Day with our three-year-old son...but I considered it quality father-son bonding time. It turns out that our son was also sick with some sort of stomach bug...and I found out a bit later the first day of the conference that he had given it to me as well. So I had a head cold plus the stomach bug at WOF. I felt like I should have been sitting in a Lysol bubble. At one point, one of the speakers told us to stand up and shake the hand of two people near us, and I screamed, "I'm sick, don't touch me!!". Really amazing personable skills, don't you think?

Upon arriving at the venue, the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, we were stoked to see our tickets at Will Call said Floor 1, Row B. We were so excited and couldn't wait to get in there!! Of course, they had a wonderful table of WOF materials right at the entrances. Most of you don't know me, but one of my biggest pitfalls is books. I looove books. I love reading all types: historical, fiction, comedy, spiritual, growth/development, parenting...I lose myself in books and love to think of ways books can change my life. Seeing an entire table of books made me entirely too happy. I came home with a daily devotional, two other devotionals, a CD of worship music, a beautiful WOF bag, and a mug. Jennifer purchased a Christmas present for my son, which was an amazing set of toddler based materials, including a book called "I Thank God For Mommy", a bedtime prayer book for toddlers, and a toddler bible. I am so excited to get into reading these with my son!

 I'm on the left, Jennifer is on the right

Lori Robertson, VP of Creative & Production at WOF, and our host

One of my absolute favorite parts of the conference was each time we were able to worship. Four lovely ladies led the worship songs, all blessed with absolutely amazing voices. It was so wonderful to hear 7,000 Christian women singing their hearts out with love for their God. Ironically on the way to the conference, I told Jennifer that I was NOT the type of person who felt the need to put my hands in the air and reach to God while singing. That I was just that person who sang the songs and probably spent more time focusing on people-watching. I always considered the actual sermon at church to be the only part that I "needed" to be part of. Well, you know what?? This conference totally changed me. I felt an awesome connection during a couple of songs that I've never felt before. I think I'll approach worship differently from now on.

We were so lucky to have a panel of speakers like this!
Andy Andrews
Patsy Clairmont
Lisa Whelchel
Brenda Warner
Sandi Patty
Marilyn Meberg

Two concerts took place as well, with Mandisa and Amy Grant. Deborah Joy Winans did a couple of "drama" bits both days to provide a comedic break, but luckily all of the speakers were capable of comedy throughout their bits. At one point Jennifer and I were trying to decide how to describe Andy Andrews, and Jennifer decided that he is "very enthusiastic through movement"...in other words, he was all over the place!! He was absolutely hysterical, and made amazing points. For example, don't ask if something is wrong. Ask if something is a wise thing to do. Great point!

I thought this picture was funny just because you can tell how much these gals got into the song Mandisa was singing!!



I wasn't that enthralled with seeing Mandisa....until she opened her mouth. Good Lord, she can SING!! Pick up her CD, she has some amazing uplifting songs on there.  

Brenda Warner. In case you were wondering "who" she is, its NFL quarterback Kurt Warner's wife. But she has an amazing story, and is such a great woman of God. And she's pretty funny too. The fact that she has personally given birth to SEVEN kids and looks like this??? Totally not fair. 

Mandisa again. Maybe I was a teeny tiny bit obsessed. 

Amy Grant. One of the best things about her concert was that she totally just winged it. When she suddenly felt the vibe to do something else, that is what she did. Great concert!! 

Andy Andrews. The fact that I got this photo was impressive just because the majority of the time he was on the stage he was running around up there, all the pics were fuzzy! Lots of the time he spent down at the audience level and interacted with people there. He was hysterical, and so heartfelt and full of great information. Wonderful MAN of Faith!!

Throughout both days, I learned how every woman goes through crisis situations. In fact, Andy Andrews pointed out we are all either coming out of a crisis, going into a crisis, or waiting for the inevitable next crisis to come. Its just the way life is. To hear how these remarkable women have faced horrific situations and trusted God really blew me away. It made me reflect upon my life and how I've handled things. When I was pregnant with my son, it was one complication after another. A week after finding out I was pregnant, I was told I was going to miscarry. When that didn't happen, suddenly it was twins. Oh, no, now its just one. Oh, now we are concerned about the location of the placenta. Oh, that's fine now. And lastly, diagnostic tests revealed swelling of of the brain and kidneys. I had to undergo so many ultrasounds and tests to determine what could potentially be wrong with my baby. I vividly remember sitting in the hospital bathroom stall sobbing and repeating over and over again, "I hate you God! Why are you doing this to me?" Now, I don't hate God. I have never hated God. This was just a momentary lapse of my spirit and ability to see clearly. I had been fighting for this baby since the first moment. I couldn't understand why I was on this path and what I was supposed to learn. I now can reflect and look back on things. Maybe this bad thing "happened" to me because it was my opportunity to glorify God. Maybe this was my chance to bring the glory of the Lord to someone else. Or, as I now believe, maybe it was the good swift kick in my own tooshie to get me back on the right track. My son is now three years old, and the most beautiful little angel/hellion on the planet. He makes me laugh and cry in the same minute. As I watch him learn and grow, I am astounded at the fact that I helped create him. He has a genetic disorder that sums up all of the problems he's had since birth, and even some of the issues chronicled during pregnancy. Now that we finally know his diagnosis, we are able to move forward with therapy and get him caught up to his age group. He sees therapists weekly and attends a special needs preschool each day, and his remarkable growth just in the past few weeks never ceases to amaze me.

Here are the amazing things I took away from the conference:

• You can say you have Jesus in your life, but are you actually LIVING that way?
• When you're faithful in the little things, the Lord will give you more
• God designed us with a WILL that is stronger than our emotions
• God pursues us until we are on the right path
• Forgiveness is a decision, not an emotion. Forgiveness is about us putting away the past
• Fear is nothing but misuse of the creative imagination God has placed in us
• Mistakes are different from choices: you can apologize for a mistake, but you need to ask for forgiveness for a bad choice

Women of Faith has truly allowed me to take a deep look at my life and think about ways I can change for the better. I feel so blessed I've had the opportunity to attend the conference and I'm already looking forward to next year's conference. I highly suggest anyone take advantage of Women of Faith events if they are in your area. You can check out their website for information on 2012 events at http://www.womenoffaith.com

If you are interested in learning about the awesome things World Vision is doing, or if you wish to learn about how to sponsor a child in nearly 100 countries around the world, visit http://www.worldvision.org for information. There are also other opportunities to donate and help out, as well as information on ways World Vision assists those in needs in the United States.

Goodness!

This summer was one of, if not THE, hottest on record for Oklahoma. Now my toddler couldn't understand that, so we spent many an evening outside sweating our tooshies off. He, of course, blissfully played in his toddler pool, while my husband and I watched each other's faces melt off in 100 degree heat. Because if it gets to 114 degrees during the day, its well past a 2-year-old's bedtime before temps fall below the century mark.

So how is it, then, that the summer literally flew past?!?! Where did the time go?? My beautiful son, fresh in the terrible two's, has just turned three years old. I can no longer refer to him as a baby...well, at least not in public. I still tell him he's my sweet baby each night before I put him to bed. :)

I can understand where September went, as I was busy planning my son's birthday party, getting organized for a family vacation, and dealing with lots of other things with my son (I'll talk about the changes in C's life soon). So my crafting? Virtually non-existent. BUT, I did manage to put some craftiness into his birthday party, and have added photos below. I'm sure you'll figure out the general theme pretty quickly.

These are yarn balloons. Found how to make them on Pinterest, which is a new obsession of mine. I originally thought Pinterest was just for "pining" away for really expensive items, but its actually a great website for everything! I've found awesome recipes, organizational tips, kids crafts and games...and obviously decorations.

Had a slight miscommunication with my sugar cookie dough, which was supposed to mold itself into Elmo and Cookie Monster shapes. So they got colored icing instead, in shapes I obviously have no trouble making. And a big bowl of goldfish crackers were there, since Elmo sure loves his goldfish. :)

Apparently the idea of guessing cookies and goldfish was too scary, I only had one child guess (and he guessed "a zillion" for both...umm, close enough). Of course, the other problem was that guests kept sneaking a cookie or two, so the original number kept dwindling!!

Oh yeah, I drew the Elmo. My husband was impressed. :)

Right after C's birthday, we flew to Ohio for a week. I only get an opportunity to go back to visit my family once a year, which means I only get to see my niece and nephews that much as well. :( It bums me out. In any case, I'm glad we at least have these opportunities, as I know others who can't get back to their families at all.

I have three nephews and one niece on my side of the family, ranging in age from almost 18 down to 5. The 18-year-old was actually on his way to homecoming (eeek! How did he get that old?!?!) so I only got to see him briefly. The 5-year-old took a liking to my son, and sped him around in his motorized car. As you can see, my son was in HEAVEN.

But, as much as my son likes his cousin, he looooves my niece, who is 8. He followed her around everywhere! It was so neat to watch them interact and play. We were blessed with simply breathtaking weather as the leaves are changing.

 

After an exhausting trip back, both my boys collapsed on the second plane back to Oklahoma. We got up at 5:30AM to make our 9:30AM flight, got stuck in traffic because a fuel tanker crashed and leaked oil all over one expressway, and barely made our flight. By the time we got to our layover (only a 30 minute layover as well), we were all exhausted. The best part of this? My son is gripping my husband's finger. How cute is that???

So that has been the past few weeks of my life. I'm currently working on a bunch of projects, including prepping for a large stamp camp coming up in November, and a couple of classes I'm planning for late November/early December. I've also been writing a lot, as a few local newspapers have required freelance writing assignments. I'm also **hoping** to attend the Women of Faith conference coming up in Oklahoma City next month and blogging about it for World Vision. I will be so excited if they pick me!!

I'll post some new craft projects coming up soon. Got a lot up my sleeve...its just a matter of finding time to pull it out. :)

Another project we recently did in my stamp club was a small 3D project that is a template available to demonstrators on the Stampin' Up website. It is something you can just print off your computer directly onto your cardstock, then just cut and score where needed. Easy peasy!

I wanted this to be a project that was guy-friendly, and could contain a variety of things inside. This pocket would be perfect for candy (as seen here), a gift card, jewelry, and many other things.

The hardest part was punching the holes for the ribbon to go through. Using a Crop-A-Dile, I explained to my customers that it was easiest to punch through the lid portion first, then use that as a guide to punch through the front portion second. Then you use the ribbon to tie it together. I debated on using brads to close the package, but figured if this was given to a guy, he wouldn't know what to do with a brad. Ribbon, albeit feminine, is easier for men to understand. :)

Ingredients:

Stamp Sets: Word Play, Circle Circus

Paper: Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Whisper White

Ink: Night of Navy, Marina Mist, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Crop-A-Dile, Marina Mist 1/8" taffeta ribbon, Cutter Kit, cellophane bag

I forgot to post this.

I think its funny to look back at my blog post and realize there are a few things I forgot to post. :)

This card was done in May, I believe. It uses Fabulous Florets for the floral images, then the grass/leaves image from Just Believe. I masked the three smaller images before stamping them in Basic Black, then used an Aqua Painter to color the images in with Cherry Cobbler ink. Yep, that is Cherry Cobbler. Turned out nice and soft!


Ingredients:
Stamp Sets: Just Believe, Fabulous Florets, Word Play
Paper: Whisper White
Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black
Accessories: Pearls

My First Medallion

A couple things are "raging" in scrapbooking and card making right now: medallions, pinwheels and pennants. While the latter two are relatively simple, this medallion thing was a heck of a lot harder than it looked. I even watched a VIDEO on someone's blog and still couldn't figure it out perfectly!!

Basically for this type of medallion you take a long piece of cardstock (this one is 12" x 1", I believe) and score it every 1/2". The first time I used my actual scorer on my rinky-dink Fiskars paper cutter, and it almost destroyed the paper because it scored too deeply. So the second time I just did it by hand and winged it. :) So while it may not be perfect...at least it isn't falling apart. Since doing this card, I have acquired a Martha Stewart scoring board, so now I know the card will come together a heck of a lot faster using that.

The main problem I had was figuring out how to keep the doggone thing adhered. I finally decided to use my go-to adhesive, the "nothing is getting out of this sucker" type of stuff. Seriously. Crystal Effects is AWESOME. I use it all the time. Got a piece of jewelry broken? It'll work. Need to super glue something? Nah, just use Crystal Effects. Want to keep your door stops on the wall instead of in your toddler's mouth? Yep, glue those suckers down!!

So once I figured out that Crystal Effects worked, this was relatively easy. I have to admit I CASEd the card and I cannot remember which blog I took it from, or I would send you there! I just fell in love with it. The colors are beautiful together, the entire layout is fantastic...and it taught me how to do the doggone medallion. So thank you, unknown awesome stamper. :)

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Full of Life
Paper: Pacific Point, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, retired DSP
Ink: Early Espresso
Accessories: Itty Bitty Punch set, pearls, Big Shot & dots embossing folder, 3/4" circle punch, Crystal Effects, sponge

Fabulous Floret Bliss

I love the new set Fabulous Florets. I was absolutely ECSTATIC when I saw it was in the new catalog too, meaning I get to inundate my customers with it for an entire year!! These flowers look fantastic in a variety of ways, and I really love the sentiment included.


I wanted to do a piece of paper that would be similar to a patterned paper. Instead of layering a bunch of stamps and making it extremely cluttered and busy, I focused on the one floral image and just turned the stamp multiple times so the flowers were all facing different directions. I then took a different floral image and cut it out, layered it on dimensionals with two leaves and popped it on some ribbon. Easy peasy, but beautiful!

Ingredients:
Stamp set: Fabulous Florets
Paper: Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla
Ink: Certainly Celery, Blush Blossom, Basic Black
Accessories: Blush Blossom ribbon