do what matters most.

This year I am learning to use my talents to help others. I like to say that I love knitting sweet little things for people and then making the package look pretty. But I wasn't doing it as often as I would have liked. God has been showing me in many ways to let go of perfection and to do more for others and not to focus so much on myself. To write this is hard, but to live this is even harder. Honestly it is hard to not think of myself as much and focus on others more. 

This week God put on my heart to give the baby booties that I was planning on selling to the pregnancy center, in my old hometown in Colorado. A few years ago, I donated a bunch of baby booties there and they were so appreciative. I knew I wanted to do it again, but never thought I had time to do it. 

When I started getting my supplies together, I realized that I love doing this. Organizing and knitting the baby booties and making the package look pretty makes me so happy. I realized that this is what I was made to do. 

A quote from my favorite author that is a reminder for me says, “The key is for you to discover what you love to do, what you were created to do, and then do it for the people around you with love. That is the abundant life, dear girl, no matter where in the world you live.” Robin Jones Gunn from the book Finally & Forever. 

The bags I created are one of my favorite things to make. They are fun to make, because you get to use paint, stamps, and my favorite that floral ribbon. Whenever I make these bags I think, “what would you like the bag to look like?” or “would this brighten your day?” My hope and dream for all of the knitted gifts/pretty packaging is it would make the receiver smile and know that they are loved. 

I would also like to know if you all know another place where I can send hats, booties, and blankets too? Please let me know in the comments! 

To view other bags I have made click here and here. I also found the tutorial on this blog.  

For the supplies, I used 8x10 muslin bags, Dear Lizzy ribbon, Dear Lizzy Daydreamer stamps, Magic Carpet kit, emerald paint, Americana paint Innocence, Dear Lizzy heart puffy stickers, Heavy Body acrylic paint, pink Berroco Comfort yarn, and Bernat blue yarn. 

because giving is better than receiving.

A few weeks ago, I was reading a knitting blog called Our Little Piece of Heaven the author Anke, mentioned that her friend had cancer. She wanted to make a hat for her and was wondering if anyone else would like too. It was perfect timing, because I just finished my blanket and was ready for a new project.

I decided to put the knitted gift into these handmade bags and embellish them with an ice-cream note. This gave me a perfect excuse to buy some more craft supplies! Around the time I read about Anke's friend, I heard about a Christian music artist named Amanda who has stage 4 colon cancer. I knew that I wanted to make something for her too. 

Honestly these are crafts that I love to do. So it was so much fun to make these bags and notes praying that it would brighten their day. I knew if I had cancer or was sick, I would have enjoyed getting some happy mail! It was an rewarding experience for me, because it made me remember that giving is better than receiving and the Lord loves a cheerful giver. 

The tutorials for the bags and ice-cream notes can be found here and here. Next week, I'll be sharing pictures of the knitted gifts! 

For the supplies, I used cotton muslin bags, Dear Lizzy ribbon, Daydreamer stamps, Daydreamer paper, sprinkles, Daydreamer cards, adhesive badges, red thickers, Brighton Pier paper, pink paint, emerald city paint, and  Heavy Body acrylic paint. 

Cute Embellished Bags.

I love making crafts! Before I started doing Project Life, mini books, and art journals I made various crafts projects. Most of them were pretty basic but fun to make! However the project turned out, I enjoyed the process and the feeling of making something with your two hands. It's feels so good to start crafting something other than a scrapbook (even though I love making scrapbooks) this is something different. 

For the supplies, I used gold paint, pearl white paint, and beach glass paint from Martha Stewart. The bags I used are similar to these. The rest of the embellishments are from Dear Lizzy and American Crafts. 

On the large bag I panted a white heart and used gold paint to trace around the heart. For the background I used Tim Holtz Spun Sugar Distress Paint. I then wrote with sharpie you are mine. One of my favorite things about this bag is the pink tassel! I loved following this tutorial by Ann-Marie Loves. 

For the last bag, I painted beach glass paint and stamped a with all my heart stamp. I then used various embellishments to decorate the bag. It was so much fun creating these bags and I also loved following this tutorial. 

DIY Lace Paper

This DIY Lace Paper was so much fun to make! In the past, I have made ruffled paper and I decided to try making lace paper. It didn't take me that long to make this paper, which was great since the ruffled paper was a long and tedious process. 

For the supplies, all you need is a pair of scisors, a glue stick, and I used Martha Stewart's Lace. 

First you cut a piece of card stock into a desired length. Then cut a piece of lace but making sure that it's the same length as the card stock. Lastly glue the white band (which is the top part of the lace) on the cardstock. 

Glue the 2nd piece below the 1st piece of lace which gives it a ruffled look. You can use this lace paper in your scrapbook alums or Project Life. The possibilities and ideas are endless! 

We've Moved Cards.

 

Since we traveled around the US in our camper,  I would send postcards to friends and family. I wanted to let them know that we settled down in Long Island. I was debating about sending a New York postcard or making a card. Finally I came up with a homemade postcard, but it has an envelope.

How I made the card, was I cut a 4x6 piece of blue paper and rounded the corners. Then I used a hello there stamp and wrote about that we settled down. In the front of the card, I traced the state of NY on a piece of white paper and glued it on the card. Lastly I cut a piece of Maggie Holmes paper and pasted it on the bottom. 

Finally, I taped Special Delivery tape on the back of the card. It turned out to be better then I expected!

DIY Ruffled Paper

I have seen ruffled paper on scrapbook.com and I thought it was a creative idea. So instead of buying one, I decided why not DIY it! This was my first attempt on making ruffled paper so it's not completely perfect but I hope to try it again soon. I will try my best on explaining how to make this super fun project. 

For the supplies, I used Hallmark Wrap it Tissue Paper, scissors, Studio g glue stick, and 1 sheet of card stock. 

Lay one sheet of tissue paper on a clean surface. As you can see there are creases in the tissue paper. Place your scissor on the crease and cut until you have one long strip. 

Now cut the strip into 3 different parts. Note that your strips don't have to be perfect it adds to the charm!

Using one of the small strips, cut slits into the paper making it look ruffled. Do steps 1-3 for the light pink paper also. At the end you should have 6 hot pink ruffles & 6 light pink ruffles. This paper is perfect for any scrapbook project you want to create. If you want you could cut the paper into 3x4 or 4x6 so you can stick them into Project Life inserts. The possibilities are endless with this ruffled paper. I hope you enjoyed the tutorial if you have any other questions please email me or leave a comment in the comment box.