You've Been Assigned This Mountain...

I came across a beautiful quote.  It says, "You've been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved."  It really struck a chord with me.  I have had some significant struggles, and when I finally opened up rather than hiding my pain, I discovered several other women making my same journey.  I was shocked.  I think there is power when we share our trials, and I think if we share our stories we can provide hope to others.

I felt there was another person who could benefit from this idea, and decided I wanted to give a sign as a gift.  I found a wood sign at Hobby Lobby on super clearance.  I brought it home, sanded it until I had a new canvas, then created this design.  I experimented with several colors and in the end I decided I wanted to go bold.  I really love color.

I hope the message inspired that person.  And I hope that maybe it will inspire you.

Christmas Craft Party

It had been a while since I hosted a party for some very special young ladies that I adore.  (I call them my "adopted daughters" and I have been lucky enough to serve them at church for the past 4+ years.)  I found some really nice cursive Christmas words in the Target $1 section and I cleaned them out.  I also found some 3-D wooden Christmas trees with great crafting potential.  Then I pulled out paint, glitter, paper, bells, ribbon, and other embellishments.  I truly loved their Christmas masterpieces.  But note to self, have them do the glitter outside next time!  Lol!

Christmas Tree String Art

I was asked to put together a holiday craft for our monthly Relief Society meeting.  I was given a picture of a Christmas Tree and small ornaments made using string art.  I was asked to duplicate the craft exactly, to which I had to decline.  It didn't take me long to find the source of the picture and it was an item for sale on etsy.  I respect the intellectual property of other crafters, so I asked them to trust me and I would come up with my own design.

This was my first experience with string art and I am pretty happy with out it turned out.  Again, I really enjoy giving people options, so I came up with two tree designs and purchased several shades of green thread.  I also pre-painted approximately 40 wood boards.  That was a ton of work, but still enjoyable.  Based on feedback from the women, about half ended up brown and the other half ended up gray, but each board was unique.

The other fun outcome was that my crafty son got very excited about string art.  He is dreaming up ideas and I can't wait to see his creations.

Thanksgiving Craft Party

This morning I will be hosting a holiday crafting party!  I'm so excited!!  I expect about 10 friends over to make wooden Thanksgiving letters. I have even more coming to make wooden Jingle Bells.  (I have a second date also scheduled so I am not entirely sure how many we will have today.)   I have everything lined up and ready to go- wood, paint, paper, modpodge, paint brushes, vinyl, scissors, ribbon, buttons, and probably the kitchen sink!  Lol.  I love crafting with good friends!!  I have finished my Thanksgiving craft so that the women can look to it for inspiration, but I will also be crafting with them to complete a custom order. 

I've discovered wood signs!

So I learned about a business in Tomball named Junkin Gypsies that helps you create wood slat signs.  I love the look of these signs so I was glad I was able to visit with my neighbor.  We had an absolute blast!!!  I know many do not like to get dirty, but I love working with my hands.  I loved the smell of the wood as I sanded the edges.  I loved hammering the nails.   And I loved painting my creation.  They had so many adorable designs to choose from, but ultimately I opted for  this Christmas tree design.  It definitely took longer than we expected, but I am super happy with how it turned out and I am already looking forward to returning to make another sign or decoration.

Families Are Forever

My heart is breaking.  I lost my dear friend after a long fight with breast cancer.  I will miss her dearly, and I ache for her husband and young children.

While she was fighting I made her two crafts.  My hope was to inspire her, to lift her up, and to give her family some comfort.  I would like to share those crafts.

The first craft I made was an anchor.  I chose this symbol in part because my friend loved the ocean, and a small group of us were lucky enough to take a cruise with her as we "Threw Cancer Overboard."  There are a few phrases you can tie to an anchor.  I ultimately landed on "Refuse to Sink" on one side and "Anchored in Christ" on the other side.  I painted the anchor her favorite navy blue and added fun chevron paper.  I then added some rope to give a 3-D effect.

The other craft I made for my dear friend was a temple.  We are both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  An important tenant of our faith is our belief that there is life after death, and that our families can be together forever.   I decorated the temple in embossed white paper, and then I added white glitter on top.  I was honored when her family displayed it at her funeral.  I miss her dearly but look forward to the day we will have a happy reunion.  Please hug the ones you love today. <3 p="">

I have tagged this post with "craft party" because I was asked to organize and lead this craft later for a Relief Society Super Saturday activity coming up in a few weeks.

Super Saturday

I am currently serving on the activities committee for my ward's Relief Society.  Once a month we try to throw a fun, educational, uplifting activity.  And every few years our group hosts a Super Saturday full of crafting goodness.  I have sort of been designated the crafting guru of the group and will be leading three crafts.

The first craft is a small wooden perpetual calendar.  It is really adorable finished, with ribbon tied around it.  Unfortunately I didn't take a finished photograph before many hands sort of messed up my pristine craft.  I haven't had time to touch it up yet.

 The other two crafts I will be helping with  are Christmas designs on decorative charger plates.  I know simpler would have been easier, but I am all about letting people customize their crafts to fit their home and their tastes.  So I let them choose between a few colors of plates and a few colors of vinyl.  I was cutting so much vinyl between the calendar and the plates!!  But the crafts were well received and I had fun bouncing around helping the women.  I thought the Wise Men design on the red plate was stunning!

Teacher Gift

Oh my goodness I love how this wood craft turned out!  I hope our awesome teacher loves it too!