Craft Keeper

This is made from a placemat, ribbons and zip-loc bags.  I think it is so cute.

A friend of mine showed me one she found and she was planning on using it for quilting supplies.  I thought I could use it for crafting supplies.

I started thinking about all the uses for this.  You could use it for traveling (toothpaste, lotions, etc. - if spilled wouldn't get all over your clothes).

You could use it for jewelry (to organize and/or travel).

What kinds of uses can you come up with?

Crochet Dishcloth set

Here is a set of 3 dishcloths (orange trimmed in white, aqua, trimmed in white and an aqua, orange and white striped one).  I topped them off with an aqua flower and used an orange chain stitch to tie them together, so I can give them as a gift.  I loved the colors, it reminds me of a warm summer day.

Like yesterday's post, I got my color inspiration from somewhere else (a summer dress I had a few years ago, not sure where that dress went to - I really liked it).

Where do you get your creative inspiration?

Where do you get the inspiration for your projects? Whether it is sewing, knitting/crochet, etc. I look around at what pleases me and go from there.

Here is a granny square that I crocheted. The colors are white, brown aqua and burgandy/dark red (yes, I know it looks bright red, but trust me - it is not - don't know if it was the camera or the computer).



I got my inspiration from my favorite tote bag.  It has the same color scheme.



Here they are together.



The colors may not be an exact match (fabric and yarn do not always match), but I like the color scheme anyway.

So where do you get your inspiration?

Touching Video

The Most Touching Speech Made by Bride's Father to the Groom from mcsquid86 on GodTube.

21 Days of Gratitude Challenge - Book Review.

I received this book for free from Shelley Hitz with no restrictions or stipulations. I want to tell you about it anyway. Shelley got the idea to write this book when she saw people posting each day on Facebook (during the month of November) things they were thankful for. While she thought that was a good thing to do, why only around Thanksgiving? Why not do it everyday?

It takes 21 days to create/break a habit, so Shelley has set her book up as a 21 day challenge. Each day she tells you what she is thankful for, gives secular quotes and scripture to go along with being grateful or the topic of the day. Shelley gives you 'Application Tips' if you need a jump start or if you are struggling with the challenge. (And you know that even the best people in the world have days that they struggle with being thankful.)

I sat down and read her e-book, from beginning to end. Now I am going back and trying to start a habit of seeing all the blessings that the Lord has placed in my life (instead of grumbling about all the stumbling blocks that Satan has placed there). I am on Day 5 and am really enjoying recording in my journal things that I am grateful for.

You can do an online journal (Shelley gives you links) or you can do a handwritten on (which is my personal favorite). After my mother passed, I realized that I had very few things with her handwriting. Also, my Aunt has my great-grandmother's journals and I love looking back and reading some of those. I feel that I know her better after reading them (especially since she died while I was very young). I hope that my 'Gratitude Journal' will be passed down to my children, grand-children and possibly further. I hope that they learn/know more about me when they read them. I hope I can possibly inspire them to be more thankful also.

If you have an opportunity, I suggest you read Shelley's book. Even if you don't accept her challenge, I think you will enjoy reading her book and be uplifted by it. I think you will get the most out of her book if you join her on her journey and accept her challenge to create a grateful heart.

Shelley's book is a concise book, that is easy to read and understand. I love the scripture that she has sprinkled throughout her book that supports what she is trying to do. I also love quotes (I collect them) and I have shared a few of hers on Facebook myself.

If you ready Shelley's book and accept her challenge, let me know what you think. What you think of the book, if the challenge was easy or hard (and what made it so).

Ask for Help

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with life.  I don't know what to do, which way to go, how to act, I just feel like...I don't know anything.  I just want to cry.

I look at my small son and watch him trying to learn how to tie his shoes.  He struggles.  He fumbles.  He doesn't know what to do, he doesn't know which way the shoe laces go...he begins to cry.

I don't rush in.  I don't take over.  I sit by watching him.  Waiting patiently for him to ask me for help.  I'm sitting right there beside him.  After several minutes and lots of tears.  I gently say...

"Will crying help you tie your shoe?"
My son:  Shakes his head no.
Me:  "What will help you tie your shoe?"
My son:  Shrugs his shoulders.
Me:  "How about asking mommy for help?"
My son:  Looks up, wipes his eyes and says "Will you help me tie my shoes?"
Me:  "I would love to."

His problem to him seems monumental.  Learning to tie his shoe is big to a small child.  Sometimes overwhelming.  It is not that big of a deal to me.  I've done it for years.  I can do it without a second thought.

I wonder...I wonder...I wonder if God is just sitting, waiting patiently for me to ask Him for His help.  My problems which seem so big to me, monumental, overwhelming are probably not that big of a deal to someone that can make the blind to see, the lame to walk, someone who raised the dead, who is the creator of all things great and small, the great physician, the giver of every good and perfect gift.  I wonder if all He wants is an obedient heart to know Him, trust Him, and have faith in Him enough to ask for His help.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
Matthew 7:7-8 ESV

"And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." Luke 11:9 ESV

Calling all Moms and Women

First let me start by saying that I am not paid to endorse or promote i-mom, they do not even know who I am.  I have simply found that they are a great resource and I would like to share.

Have you heard of iMOM?  I first heard of i-mom last year at the MOPS Convention.  When I got home, I decided to check them out and I was amazed!  There are all sorts of resources on their website.  They have parenting ideas (from creative forms of discipline to chore charts - with lots of printables), they have marriage  ideas (from resolving conflict with your spouse to romantic date night ideas), they have organizational hints and tips, cooking & recipe ideas, etc.  It is called iMOM and when you are looking for ideas for your children, they have ideas for children of all ages (pre-school to teens), but with all the organization and recipes ideas, etc. it's not just for moms.

One of my favorite parts of iMOM is the Espresso Minute.  It is a short, get your day started e-mail (you can have it delivered to your inbox or you can check it out on-line).  Today's Espresso Minute was titled Top 10 Habits Your Family Needs to Break.  It really made me think.

iMOM is Christian based so the values that you see on the website are good and wholesome.  It even tells you about children's movies so you can decide before you go to the theater (no surprises).  For example:  it has a rating system on how much sex, language, violence, drugs, nudity, other might be in the movie.  If it is rated with a 1 for language, it will then have a note below giving a little more detail (ex:  childish name calling such as stupid; Holy Crap), so you know what words it uses (Holy Crap) or how words are used (name calling).  It will give you a brief synopsis of the movie and the message that it is trying to convey.  They are not trying to push their values on you, they just tell you how it is so you can make an educated decision based on your values.

If you haven't checked out iMOM before, check it out and tell me your favorite part of their website.  (If you have checked out iMOM before still let me know your favorite part.)