12 Days of Christmas Day 2 Custom Ribbon and a Wreath

Today's project is super simple and easy and quick--perfect, right? 

I wanted to create custom ribbon for Christmas projects.

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Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! We have had a lot of winter this fall and we only had a few days, as opposed to the typical two weeks, of brilliant colored cotoneaster leaves before they lost their foliage. The hedge suffered from the early, tough conditions, but the berries that are left on the bushes attract turkeys, chickadees, and other birds that enjoy feeding on them. As I watched turkeys enjoying the fruit, it reminded me that sometimes we go through hard things so that we can bear fruit for others. People are watching us, watching how we handle adversity and trials. And often, before we can even see the life things we are learning in the tough times, others are growing and taking hold of the "fruit" or lessons. God does not waste our pain and difficulties. When we love others, keep the faith and continue to trust God through the challenges, we will bear good fruit.

12 Days of Christmas Day 1 Christmas Card Box

Hello, and welcome to my annual 12 Days of Christmas ideas posts. I look forward to sharing with you 12 different, easy DIY ideas for the holidays. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! When was the last time you let something glorious startle you? We get so accustomed to our everyday lives, to the things we see and experience day in and day out that we often forget to notice and appreciate the beauty in the ordinary. I have learned that the one thing that can turn around a ho-hum day or my bad attitude is when I stop to enjoy and thank God for the routine things that I take for granted. Sunrises and sunsets, hugs and smiles, the sound of laughter, trees changing with the seasons, simple and kind gestures, a good meal--all small things that are extraordinary if we let them be. Let God's everyday wonders startle you and remember to thank him when they do.

Rustic Repurposed Christmas Tobacco Tin

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...really, it is around here. We have already had lots of snow and record breaking cold temperatures. And while I typically start my 12 Days of Christmas Ideas posts on November 1st, I am a tad late due to LIFE.

BUT, even though I am not starting my OFFICIAL 12 Days posts, I do have a quick and easy DIY Christmas project for you. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! We just celebrated senior night for volleyball for my daughter and this is one of my favorite photos from the night. Competitively, it was a tough season--we moved up a class, graduated seven seniors the previous year, and lost two outstanding senior players to knee injuries. Despite the setbacks, the season has been a positive one as the truly important lessons of playing a sport have been practiced. This team has inspired one another, they have lifted each other up, and spurred each other on to be better. They have cried together, laughed together, loved each other, and wrapped their arms tightly around their teammates. They have embodied what this verse is about and what unselfishly loving one another looks like. This week look for someone that you can encourage, that you can wrap your arms around and lift up.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! A few months my husband, daughter and I picked more than a gallon of huckleberries and froze them so that on cold mornings like today we can enjoy huckleberry pancakes. Huckleberry picking takes some patience. First, you have to know where to find the berries and that tends to be highly classified information in Montana. They grow close to the ground so you have to squat or stoop for long periods of time to pick huckleberries one at a time. Bears also enjoy huckleberries so you must remain vigilant with at-hand bear spray while gathering. But, oh, warm huckleberry pancakes on a snowy morning are a small slice of heaven and worth every bit of work and time. There is a saying that we don't eat the fruit the same day we plant the seed. Doing good, taking care of others, praying for something is often a delayed harvest. Like huckleberry picking, we need to be patient when doing good and trust that being kind and compassionate, selfless and altruistic will reap future fruit.

Colorful Rustic Coat Hook and Shelf

Coat hooks are ALWAYS a popular item in my booth. I decided to make a few of them today. The first one I will share started with a couple boards (28" long) that I spied in my scrap bin. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! Fall is my favorite season, but this year it has been different than normal. We have had more winter, snow, single digit temperatures, with a seventy degree day thrown in here and there and I have not been happy about it. Where is the fall that I know and love? Life is ever-changing. It is hard to know what we can count on and find assurance in because the "rules" seem to shift and finding security and stability is challenging. But, this I know: God's Word does not change. I know I am loved unconditionally, always forgiven, Jesus is my strength and will never leave me. When life is uncertain when you feel like you are standing on shifting ground, trust these truths. Repeat them aloud to yourself if needed and rest in Him.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! I recently remembered or was reciting a poem I have known since childhood: "When life goes wrong as it sometimes will, and the road you are trudging seems all uphill..." If you don't know it, the poem goes on to basically say, stuff happens to all of us and when it does it's okay to rest, but never quit. I wasn't having a particularly bad day when I recalled this poem, but its message is good every day, for all of us. The Bible tells us the same thing. Jesus knows things are going to happen, we are going to have bad days, weeks, months. We experience real affliction and trouble--some it self-induced and some not. Sometimes we fall apart, physically and/or mentally. But, through it all, God renews us. His grace tells us to not give up, to never quit. Rest in him and his grace, but keep on keeping on, keep striving and fighting for better things, and never give up.