Top THIS.

  Today, I worked on making more paper flowers to be used as package toppers. I used mostly scraps from my old paper bucket, and also some sheet music and a few maps. This helps encourage variety, but mainly keeps the cost lower. Hooray. It is two layers - a larger flower with a smaller one on top; then finished off with a carefully chosen button.
  Here are my newest little "babies" - all 18!

The map ones are cool. Others are more colorful.

This one, with sheet music and a striped yellow/white/gray paper is one of my favorites and I am not even sure why. It just seems classic and cheerful to me.

 

    This is the same paper - just flipped to use both sides. If it weren't so pink, it could really be beautiful.

  One of all maps, next to a mixed sheet music/red one. These are about 7.5 inches across. They even have a little sticky tab on the reverse side, so they can more easily be attached to gifts. They could also be peeled off the package and used to decorate a wall or something else.

   Mixing the paper...

  While I really enjoyed making these, I'm not quite sure how much to (try to) charge for them. People spend tons of money on cards and other decorations to make gifts a little nicer, so I would think these would also be popular. I managed to keep the actual cost fairly low, but they did take a bit of time; but I also don't want to be a greedy gal... so, I guess I'll think on it some more.
  What do YOU think?  Would you purchase one at a craft show (or want to order one from me - we'll talk later), or would you just want to make your own?

Colorful Cherry Blossoms... PURPLE is better!

Today, I didn't get to do nearly enough crafting... but it was still a good day.
   At least I squeezed out a little time to play with a colorful "cherry blossom" picture. This time I used Psalm 121:2, "My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth."
  The cherry blossom ones look more realistic, but they have to have pink. Yuck.
  As you can see, I still used a little pink in this one, but of course the purple in this picture is the best. This time I also added buttons in the center of each flower.  These don't remind me of specific flowers, but I still think it's neat.
  What do YOU think?

                   Oh yes, it's simply AS CUTE AS A BUTTON. Tee he he.

 

Some of my latest projects...

  Do you have any of those old-school style sewing/embroidery/cross stitching loops? Do you ever wonder what to do with them? Well, here is one super fun idea... Here are three wall hangings that would be great for a nursery or other child's room:

    I'll probably add a little pink or green ribbon by the hook at the top, though they could easily be hung on just a nail or even a thumb tack. I thought about stringing them together, but I like them as three separate pieces more. The fabric and felt are both from a recent Rummage Sale. (I helped sort items and def. "pre-shopped".) It is supposed to be a hippo, a giraffe, and a Mama with Baby elephants. Sassy and classy.
  I'd also like to try something with OWLS, as they seem to be really popular right now and the cute ones are always a bit loved in my book. However, I didn't think that it quite looked right, so I opted to use three different animals here. Perhaps I'll try owls again another day.
   The other recent project is one I've been contemplating for a few weeks now. I saw a very popular picture on Pinterest with blue crayons. It is a rainy day scene - and the black silhouette is a couple under an umbrella. It's sweet. I wanted to do something with crayons, but I didn't quite know what.
   Then again, Easter has been on my mind, and I keep hearing a fantastic song on the Christian radio station... so, this is what I made today:

    This picture would work nicely for perhaps a teenager's room.
   The song lyrics are from a song called "God's Not Dead" by the Newsboys. This is the chorus.
   The Scripture, "He is not here, for He has risen, as He said." is from the Bible, Matthew 28:6. The lion silhouette is further proof why I am not the "drawing kind" of artist; and the color is "Crayon art", which is a bit more difficult than it looks. Even though I'm usually not a fan of orange (it's the color of that other school; GO GAMECOCKS!), I still really like how this looks, and I expect to do a bit more experimenting. It is difficult, but it's also sort of fun.
   What projects have YOU been making this week?

It was Friday... but SUNDAY HAS COME!

"We were therefore BURIED WITH HIM through BAPTISM into death in order that, just as CHRIST WAS RAISED from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a NEW LIFE." - Romans 6:4


If you haven't heard the incredible song by the Newsboys, check it out. It's a great song for Easter, and a good reminder any day: "My GOD'S not dead, He's surely ALIVE; He's living on the inside, ROARING like a lion..."


Happy Easter joy to you and yours. Remember that somebunny loves YOU; and that Jesus loves you even more. Amongst all the egg hunting and meal preparing and basket filling, take a moment. Just BE STILL and know that HE is GOD. He sent His Son to live, die, and rise - FOR YOU and for me. It's truly amazing grace.


CHRIST IS RISEN! (HE IS RISEN INDEED.) ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA!

Getting Crafty

   Recently, I have been working to "redo" our office/guest bedroom. I wanted a bulletin board type something to hang on the wall to "catch" my random ideas and gather inspiration. Here is what I made:

  It is a cork board (got it on the cheap) covered with fabric. (I used an old pillowcase to have enough.) Then I criss cross ribbon across it and made it prettier with buttons. Oh, and I put some magnetic sheets underneath on the bottom half, and made some little magnets out of stray buttons. This way I can use push pins, magnets, or the ribbons to hold pictures and notes. VERY fun.
  Of course, we don't have it on the wall yet... but that is a whole different issue. For now, the board is made and it makes me happy. It's a cheerful addition to my work space.
   Speaking of "working" on crafts, you may have seen the earlier post with my cherry blossom stamping. I later added Bible verses to these. This one I made for a friend for her birthday, so it is slightly smaller for mailing purposes. Here I used Philippians 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." Perfect to help celebrate a good friend.

  I also have a nephew who will be turning 6 in May. He loves music, often just walking around the house singing or humming to himself. He says he likes "all colors", so I wanted to make him something musical and colorful. I used Psalm 98:4 as my inspiration to make this:

 Unfortunately, I used the wrong sealant (seems to be my issue lately) and smeared this picture a bit. It will still be fine for him and I can use it as a learning experience, but it still was disappointing. The "song birds" here - I used old sheet music (yay for the Goodwill!) and put water colors on it to make it different colors.
     Now, I've been making hair accessories (barrettes, headbands, etc.) for a few years now. Some very popular ones are always the little lady bugs and the cheerful bumble bees. For a while, I've been wanting to try to make butterflies. Yesterday, I finally figured out how to do it.
   Here are some of my first flutterbys...

That's all 10. Here are a few of them, more up close. The striped ribbon I got for a quarter a few months ago is just perfect for this. Hooray!

In true Hannah fashion, I experimented with the heart ribbon and different colors, as well.

I try to remember to think of my potential customers, so you see some pink and orange here. Of course, I would choose (and perhaps do a bit) tons of purple. Well, okay, sometimes it's not purple. Sometimes it is lavender, or orchid, or plum, or wisteria... Tee he he. The back/underside of these looks nice, too.

  I made these with two loops on the top and two loops on the bottom, but perhaps I'll make a bigger one with 3 or 4 loops. Wow. Look out! It was a little bit of a challenge to figure out how to make these. I think I could use one ribbon to make all 4 loops, but I like doing just 2 and 2. I also dared to use fancy pins for the antennae, but had to be careful so it won't poke any little kiddies when worn.
  Also, just let me take a minute and plug my business here... fyi, YES, I do take orders... hair accessories, wall hanging/pictures, Christmas ornaments, and more! I love to design new variations for custom orders, as well. These make fun ways to decorate your home or unique gifts.
   I know, I know, it's still Lent... but Easter is only a few days away. I am going to use a few of these butterfly clips for gifts with Easter cards.  Butterflies are a beautiful reminder for us. Praise the Lord for Good Friday, followed by Easter Sunday! Be thankful for your Baptism into His death and resurrection.
    "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." -II Corinthians 5:17

Cooking Up Some Fun...

  It's the time of year again... BAKE SALE time! We had a Rummage/Bake Sale at church last Saturday to benefit upcoming Youth mission trips. I spent most of Thursday making homemade biscotti (always a big hit, sorry, no pictures here) and most of Friday baking or making signs. Here are some of the tasty treats I contributed... Beach cupcakes!

  We sold these in sets of 4 or just one alone. I just did "sand/water" with a "beach ball" (candy) and one little umbrella.

  All boxed up, in the only boxes I could find here...

  These can also be done with "sharks" and with blue goo (jello) on the inside; but this time I just did sand and water beach ones. They were plain white cupcakes. Fun!

  Of course, little froggies came along to HOP TO IT... They were a bit of a challenge, as I couldn't find any gum drops on the island and had to cut a gummy candy called "green leaves" to make the eyes.

  Eric even helped me make the lemon meringue cupcakes. Delicious!

 LOTS of cupcakes! I also did a tropical trail mix (usually a favorite, but didn't go over so well at the bake sale, which was odd to me because we are in Hawaii! - however, I gave some away and the people loved it!), and I made three different kinds of muffins. (This is where I especially missed my friend, Rebekah, by the way!) It was a good time and pretty successful, as well. Yay!

Very Nice Wedding Gift

     You may have seen in an earlier post that one good friend made us a cross-stitching of I Corinthians 13:4. She was almost finished in time for our wedding, but our two month engagement just wasn't quite long enough. She showed us, then kept it to finish and mail back to us. Last week, we finally got the frame, and here it is!

  This is a rather large hanging. (see earlier post, pictured with Eric). Emily is amazing!

  See the detail - incredible. She stopped counting after 100 hours of cross stitching. THANK YOU, Em!!! We are thankful both for talented friends and for friends who remind us that "these aren't just words" to hang on a wall...

 
   As a review for us all, "Love is patient, love is kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends." (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Time got away from us a bit, so on actual March 17th, Eric made us green eggs and spam.

Eric, cooking dinner. He had never used green food coloring for scrambled eggs before.

  The next day, I made corn beef in the crock pot with potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and celery. My fav. part of the meal was the cabbage, which I did separately (we could use a bigger crock pot). I don't think I care much for corn beef, but the cabbage will be on our dinner menu again soon. Yummy!

    What did YOU do to celebrate St. Patrick's Day? It was pretty calm here, but I do like to incorporate special food for holidays. Last year, I was in Korea and wrote a Reading about St. Patrick's Day for all my reading classes. I then colored lemonade with green food coloring and all my students thought it was "magic". Fun.
   I know it's April as I post this, but I still want to close with an Irish blessing,
     "May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back.
      May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields.
      And, until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand."

Recent Crafts... Yay!

   If you saw my earlier posts on the brown paper bag flowers, this is a variation of that. I used scraps of scrapbook paper (npi) and added a paper flower in the center. (instead of the button, which I used for the flowers for our wall) These are not quite as easy as the paper bag ones, because you have to cut all the parts. (If you do the paper bag ones, you know what I mean; parts cut themselves as you do the larger parts.) However, I made this one to be a package topper for a friend's birthday gift.

  On the package, it looks like this. A nice alternative to bowing bows.

  My 8-year old nephew likes to write. I also enjoy writing, so I made these journals for my nephews to encourage him. Here is the front, as he now likes RED instead of yellow.

  The inside cover has a Bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11.

    The back inside cover has a Dr. Seuss quote.

   The back cover. He can write or draw or put whatever he wants. This is his book.

  John will be 6 next month. He got this book. Somehow, the "s" on thoughts fell off. I took the picture, then repaired it with a new "s". He can use this to work on his writing.

  John got a Bible verse from Psalms.

  The back cover. I really enjoyed playing with stripes and patterns for his book design.

   His quote is from Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh.

  Nathan was turning four when they were to get these.

  His Bible verse is about God's love, even into our old age.

  His quote is from Dr. Seuss, "A person's a person, no matter how small."

    He likes purple and green right now, and, of course, CARS.

  I was not happy that the sealant I used didn't really work properly, but it's okay. They are little boys, so the books may get torn up a bit anyway. That's okay. Journals are meant to be used. Presents from Auntie are meant to be loved.

Old Pics of Getting Older

  This picture is from Korea, November 2010. This was the first time Eric visited me in Korea. We celebrated my 30th birthday. The day before, we had toured the Bamboo Forest in Damyang. (see earlier posts) Then we had dinner with some friends, and two of my co-teachers. They gave me the brown headband, seen below.  This picture is posed - just after the mini birthday party at work.  My boss gave me the nice warm green scarf, also seen below. Everyone rushed into his office to sing and pull little "poppers" (full of confetti) - then they had me hold the cake (yes, those are crushed strawberries all around it) for a picture; then they quickly clean everything up and box up the cake to send with me- and that's it. Birthdays are a little different in Korea, but you do sort of get used to it.
  Notice that the cake is all fruit and whip cream - they really don't use food coloring.

   This is a more recent picture (as in a few months, oops) - it's from November 14, 2011.  I had been married for 2 days to my wonderful husband, Eric; but he had to work 24 hours. I had gone to dinner with some good friends, and then taken one of them to the airport. One of my best friends, Annita, was still here on the island with her husband, Jake. I met them for dessert. 31 years old. Married. Still love a big, ooey, gooey, chocolatey treat! Yeah, so I maybe thought the BIG spoon was for the birthday girl... but, after the picture, Annita pointed out that perhaps it was the serving spoon. Oops.

              Oh yes, THIS is a dessert! I wasn't in Korea anymore...

   This restaurant also had big fancy candles. They sang an interesting "Happy Birthday" song.  All the waitstaff came out to sing. No, I didn't follow them and sing back. Guess I AM getting older...

 
   Guess I'm a bit behind on these postings, but the memories of kicking off my early thirties are of great friends with good food and even better fellowship.  I am thankful to have friends all around the world to help me celebrate, and I'm happy to be back in America, where we have REAL chocolate. Yummy.