Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas to you and yours from our family. May you be blessed today and in the New Year to come. Thank you for being a part my life this past year. I am truly blessed!



Luke 2:1-20

New International Version (NIV

 1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.





Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Bleach Pen Shirt - Quick Last Minute Gift



If you are looking for almost instant gratification and a very quick last minute gift, here's another Pinterest inspired project I tackled last week. I had a favorite blue shirt that got a bleach stain on it. (That happens far too often around here!) Rather than relegate it to the painting shirt pile, I decided to try the bleach pen to make a design. I love, love, love how it turned out!  You could buy some cheap t-shirts and make them look really special.

Here is my inspiration:


And here is my shirt. Using the top left shirt above as a my idea, I freehanded the design onto my shirt.  I placed a piece of cardboard inside the shirt first.



 Here's the spot where the original bleach stain was.  Can you spot it?

It worked very quickly and as soon as the last bit that I drew bleached out, I quickly rinsed it in the sink, then put it in the washer immediately by itself.  I wanted to make sure no further bleaching would take place, or that any runoff would not bleach other areas of the shirt. Now I like the shirt even more!  Hmmm...wonder what I should splash bleach on next...might make cleaning toilets a whole new adventure!






This post linked to the following blog parties:  




Beyond The Picket Fence




shabby creek cottage




sew many ways




RomanceOnADime.com


HouseofHepworths

Monday, December 12, 2011

Glass Christmas Tree


I apologize for not posting lately, but I've been busy with lots of projects and Christmas preparations. I've got a nice fat file of projects I want to share with you though. Some will have to wait until after Santa comes because snooping eyes might be lurking!

One thing I can share is this glass marble Christmas tree. I can't take the credit for the idea though. That goes to Sarah at Alderberry Hill.  She used a "stacked" Christmas tree.  Of course no such animal exists in this neck of the woods, so I used a plain cone from the dollar tree.  I did find one on Amazon though and it is winging it's way to me now!

I still like the way mine turned out.  Because of the flat top, I had to finish mine off a little differently, hence the star on top. I don't know why it looks like there's a white spot under the star.  It may be a reflection from the flash.  No matter how many pictures I took it was there even though there is no white spot on the tree.  Here's a quick picture tutorial of how I did mine.

I didn't end up using the white glitter shown here.



Toothpick sandwiched between two punched chipboard stars, hot glued together.






Christmas with my family is this weekend.  We are going to pick up our daughter from college Thursday.  She will be home for around 3 weeks...Yipee!  I may not have much time to post until after Christmas, but I do have lots of projects coming up.  Stay tuned!

Have a very merry Christmas!




This post linked to these wonderful parties:

shabby creek cottage

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Christmas Decor for Our Church


Most years I help decorate the church for Christmas. This year was no different. There is a half wall around the stairs to the basement. I placed poinsettias atop wired ribbon along the ledge, but it was missing something. So off to the dollar store I went to find that missing something to place between the pots of poinsettias.

Here's what I came up with. Easy and cheap. Five chunky square vases and 3 tubes of mini bulbs (15 per tube). Total cost $8.00.






Now I don't want to part with them.  Good thing I bought 3 more for me ;)





This post is linked to these fabulous parties:


vif187

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Stamped Paper Covered Books


Tied book bundles are all the rage right now. I'm sorry, but I just can't get into it. Not that it isn't cute, but I've been taught, and have taught my chidren, to treat books with respect. It just goes against my grain to tear the covers off of books and put them in bondage tie them up.  If my kids saw me tearing up a book it just might scar them for life.  Although there are many books that I would burn before I allowed them in this house!

Now that all the book tier-uppers are up in arms (ducking), I'll show you what I did with some of my favorite cookbooks. They were looking pretty shabby after years of use, and I just couldn't bring myself to set them on my freshly painted bookshelves.  So I made covers for them.  (No books were harmed in the making of these covers). 


I used blank newsprint because I always have some on hand.  Our local newspaper sells end rolls for a couple bucks each.  You could also use butcher's  paper or brown packing paper.  The newsprint is very thin, so I folded it several times to strengthen it.  Here's how I went about it.

Lay your book sideways on the roll of paper to make sure it will fit with several inches left on each side.  If it is too large lay the book the other direction and cut paper off the roll. 

Measure the book from top to bottom

Make a 1"-2" fold on the edge of the roll.

Fold the paper the exact amount of the measurement of the book.  Fold up twice (for thin paper) to give it extra strength.  Cut paper off the roll leaving an extra two inches.  

Fold that extra two inches down for a nice clean edge at the top and bottom of the book.  

Lay your book on the paper again to check for size.  You may have to make some adjustment to your folds.  I kept measuring at each fold to try to avoid this.

I used Stampabilities "Le London Script" background stamp and black pigment ink.  

Press the ink pad onto the stamp, pressing harder in some areas than others.

You want it to look faded out in some areas.

Flip the book cover over so the outside is up.  Line up each stamp as best you can and fill the cover.  It won't matter if you're off a little.  It just adds to the charm.  I used the stamp twice before reloading with more ink.


When finished stamping, flip it back over and center the book on the cover.

Fold one edge in and tape it down.  I used packing tape for a tight hold.  If I ever remove the cover, I will use an exacto knife to slit the tape rather than peeling it off to avoid damaging the book.

Close the book and wrap the cover around it tightly.   Tuck the excess under the cover.  I wanted it nice and tight so that didn't catch and tear easily.  Tape the second flap. 

I used a Calligraphy pen to write the title on the spine after it was on the book.  You could do this before taping it, but knowing me I wouldn't get it straight!

I added a bird stamp to the cover of this one (can't remember the company), and used  Stampabilities "Fleur de Lis" on the spine.  I also used a leaf stamp on one spine (company unknown).  The bird looks a little lonely.  I think I will write the title on the cover of the book too.

That's it.  Very easy.  I may cover it with clear contact paper if I can find a matte one.  I think they look a lot better on my new shelves than my mismatched, tatty old books.  Even a new book got a cover,  because I didn't want any bright clashing color. 







This post linked to these fabulous parties:








Photobucket



vif187


The Shabby Nest




Funky Junk's Sat Nite Special

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails