Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! I am a shower crooner--honestly, the shower is the only space where this non-singer should be belting out tunes. I sing a variety of songs: Beyonce, Led Zeppelin, Jack Johnson, Bonnie Raitt, twangy country songs. One song I often find myself singing is from my childhood Sunday school days, "this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it". Abraham Lincoln is quoted with saying we are about as happy as we make our minds up to be. I agree that we can choose happiness, choose joy. We can focus on the positive, we can see the small, everyday things as blessings, we can choose to delight in the ordinary, practice gratitude, laugh at the little moments. Please note, I do know that depression is real and for some choosing joy is not as simple as making up our minds that we are going to be happy. If that is you, please seek help. Thankfully, for most of us, it is a choice and switching our mind set can completely change our attitudes and view on life. Today, rejoice and choose happiness.

Rustic Tin Paintings

Hubby was speaking my love language when he brought home a truckload of rusty, corrugated tin the other day (the next day he brought home a truckload of maple flooring scraps!). 

I used a couple of the small pieces this past weekend for a couple paintings. I love painting sunflowers so I painted some on the tin. After blobbing (a technical painting term) some aqua colored paint on the tin, I painted several flowers.

(I do not know what settings I had my camera on, but these are blurry, sorry!)

I framed the tin and used stain over all of it. It is simple and happy and sunny!

I also painted a star (not as easy as it seems with the curves of the tin). I painted yellow first, then red, a little green and finally aqua.

Again, I finished it with a frame and stain. 

They are not perfect, but perfectly rustic and happy.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! As a kid I remember trying to count the rings of tree stumps. I liked looking at the different rings, seeing the tree's story--the years of major growth and the years that the tree went through drought and tough times. If we could look "inside" others, we would see that we all have a story. Every person we meet has been through something, something that has changed them and helped them to become who they are. We need to take the time to see and understand each other's stories. All around us people are living out difficult circumstances. We need to seek out their stories, listen, recognize their pain, take a real and genuine interest in each other. When we know people's stories, we are humbled and we are better able to love each other. Take the time to ask questions, to look inside others and truly see them.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! I love the mountains that surround our home in southwest Montana. Not only are they beautiful, they are constant, always there, and that is comforting to me. The snow levels or the cloud coverage on them may change, but they do not. Life is constantly changing. There are good days and bad days, times when we make the right choices and times when we do not, moments on the mountain tops and times spent in the valleys. But, through it all, God is constant and faithful. God does not change. The same God of the Bible, the one who rescued the lowliest of the low, the God who performed miracles, the Father who loved extravagantly and unconditionally still sits on his throne. When we trust God, live in his faithfulness and let him be a constant in our lives we can weather the changes in our lives.

Rustic Sunflowers

Sunny sunflowers make me happy. They are bright and cheerful and reach for the sun. I decided to paint some.

I call these rustic because they are imperfect and rough. I paint on pieces of plywood that are not smooth, using ONLY wood scraps as my paintbrushes. I started painting a dark blue, then aqua, then white for the background. I leave some spots bare wood so stain will fill those areas.

I then paint, layering colors. I started with black centers and light yellow petals. I then added a deeper yellow and a brown to the centers. I "shaded" and highlighted with whites and browns. I do a little sanding over the whole painting and then add a frame and stain.

These paintings have sold well for me, but better yet, I absolutely love creating them.

Why I Love Little Stools

I don't know if that post title makes anyone else giggle like it does me (maybe you are more mature and poop words don't make you laugh), BUT, I am talking about little wood benches today. I love 'em because they are so darn versatile. 

I recently came across a couple that needed quick makeovers to turn them into perfect little farmhouse pieces.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! You have maybe heard the saying "standing in the gap", but what does that mean and how do we do it? God has always used people to bridge the gap and to help accomplish his purposes. God doesn't need us, but he is moved when we intervene for others. We bridge the obstacles and difficulties for others by praying for them. When people are struggling, when they are hurting and feeling beaten down and helpless, when they feel alone and forgotten, when they feel distant from Jesus or don't have a relationship with him, we can intercede for them. It is no small thing when we say will pray for someone and when we do God's heart is spurred to action. Standing in the gap changes lives.

Happy Fourth of July

Thrift Store Summer Decor Pinwheels

Today I am sharing more summer thrift store decor ideas for you home that including an easy project.

Thrift Store Summer Decor Centerpiece

Do you all have a decor closet or cupboard or box? I have one cupboard in my laundry room devoted to smalls that I like to decorate with throughout the year. It has things like artificial flowers, jars, trays, different orbs (wire, croquet balls, seed balls, etc.), things to use for table runners, candles and candlesticks, and other things that are almost entirely from the thrift store or from garage sales. So when I picked up this great, vintage feedsack from the thrift store,

I knew I could go to my cupboard and put together a summery, fourth of July centerpiece in no time.