Owl Bookends

While browsing through some of my favorite blogs (which I haven't done in ages), I came across this cute tutorial on making your own owl bookeneds.  It is found here. 

Just last week I saw the ceramic owls from the dollar store and did not grab them (although I'm a big owl fan) because they were kinda cute, not cute cute.  But now that I see what this can be transformed into, I'm willing to give it a shot.  Stay tuned!

Sunburst Mirror REDO!

A while ago I made a couple of sunburst mirrors.  The first one sits by my computer desk.  The second hangs in my foyer.  After months of hanging in my foyer though, it looked to be lacking a little something.  I saw a sunburst mirror at Kohl's that I liked and wanted to create something like it.

So I decided to add some mirrored embellishments.  I purchased small square mirror tiles (Michael's) and glue them on with my trusty glue gun.  And here's the result.  I think it looks much more polished  and has a little more bling.  Love it!

Here's the old one....pretty plain.  Love the newly embellished mirror!



May 9!

I know I've been off blogland for a while but didn't realize how long it's been!  Wow!  My last post was on May 9th!  Well, I'm back, I'm happy to say.  It's been a great summer with my boy with lots of new adventures and lots of fun new things that we hadn't done before.  And now we've started school and it's back to work, so to speak.

In previous posts, I've mentioned the loss of my baby in March.  It's still a long, healing process.  Unless I'm focused on something and distracted from thinking about my baby, the tears still come easily.  September would have been his birthday.  Yet, I know that he is the loving arms of my beautiful Savior.  And I can't wait to meet him and see his face.  In the meantime, I have a beautiful son and my loving husband who is always encouraging me and so patient with me.

So.........I am very much looking forward to Fall!

Stay tuned for some fun fall crafts that I can't wait to try!

I Will Carry You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLuaGiu73jc&feature=related

I will carry you (Selah)

There were photographs I wanted to take

Things I wanted to show you

Sing sweet lullabies, wipe your teary eyes

Who could love you like this?

People say that I am brave but I’m not

Truth is I’m barely hanging on

But there’s a greater story

Written long before me

Because He loves you like this

So I will carry you

While your heart beats here

Long beyond the empty cradle

Through the coming years

I will carry you

All my life

And I will praise the One Who’s chosen me

To carry you

Such a short time

Such a long road

All this madness

But I know

That the silence

Has brought me to His voice

And He says…
I’ve shown her photographs of time beginning

Walked her through the parted seas

Angel lullabies, no more teary eyes

Who could love her like this?
I will carry you

While your heart beats here

Long beyond the empty cradle

Through the coming years

I will carry you

All your life

And I will praise the One Who’s chosen Me

To carry you

Jewelry-making Bug

Years ago I used to make jewelry.  A co-worker introduced me to it and I've been hooked on it ever since.  I've sold quite a few of my jewelry at the office and it has since dwindled down in recent years.  I've even sold a few pieces at a boutique shop.  Then recently, like in the past week, I've been having the desire to make more jewelry.  I think it started with making my owl-pendant necklace seen below.

I went to Michael's today and found some elastic cording (less than $3) which I've stayed away from, until now.  I grabbed one.  I then made a few bracelets using the gems/beads I had. 

This bracelet has smoky quartz and Swarovski crystals.

This one also with Swarovski crystals and metal findings.

This bracelet has quartz, moonstone, carnelian and freshwater pearls.

I really had fun with this.  And now totally have the bug!



Pain and suffering

I had a sweet visit with an old friend of mine recently.  She is a dear sister in Christ, a mentor to me in my life and such an amazing example of what a woman of God should be like.  Having recently gone through a miscarriage, she shared with me a story she heard on Focus on the Family.  It was a story about David and Nancy Guthrie who suffered the loss of two of their three children.  You can check out her website here.  They had one child who was healthy and normal.  Their second child was diagnosed with a rare genetic abnormality where the child does not live longer than six months.  They chose to have this child and loved and celebrated this child every single day of her life.  She lived 199 days.  After the painful loss and suffering they endured, they knew they didn't want to go through it again and made sure surgically that pregnancy would not happen.  Only one and a half years later, Nancy found out that she was pregnant.  Tests again showed that this child also carried that same genetic abnormality.  Their son lived 183 days and like their daughter, they loved and celebrated his days on earth as much as they could.  How can a couple who has gone through losing two of their children move on.  Only the Lord Jesus Christ can help us with that pain and with that suffering.  They used it as a way to minister to other couples who have lost children. They have what is called Respite Retreats for couples who have suffered losses, they have written books, their story was shared worldwide even in secular magazines.  The pain is there yet they are still putting their trust in the Lord and continue to put their trust in Him and use their experience to minister to others.  What an amazing story.

Tiered dessert stand!

I was looking for a cake stand/dessert stand at the stores and although they were reasonable in price, I just didn't want to spend the money for it.  So, I decided to DIY it.  I found these inspirations from Pinterest.

I got two plates from the dollar store in different sizes plus a candle holder, attached them with Gorilla Glue and here's the result.