Small Memo Holders

When thinking of an idea for some small gifts for groups of ladies at my Church, I remembered making some memo holders with brown tag board and covering with patterned paper and embellishments.

Since I was out of Scor-tape and don't live close to a craft store I began re-working this idea.  They say Necessity if the Mother of all Inventions...  Well, it actually helped make this gift process much easier!

 

Memo Holders for Gifts

Begin with 8x8 patterned cardstock

Measure and cut at 5 1/2".  Then cut the larger section in half. 

This leaves a 2 1/2" strip which you will also cut in half.  

Will make 2 pieces of 4x5 1/2" cardstock bases

and 2 pieces of 2 1/2 x 4" bases.  That's 2 large holders and 2 small holders!

For larger holders:  add post-it notes or

cut large index cards in half.

For smaller holders:  cut post-it notes in half which is 1 1/2" or 

cut large index cards in half then in half again.  This makes 4 blocks 2" each.

Add a colorful clip, which I found 12 pieces for a dollar at my local Dollar Tree.

Add some embellishments and ribbon at the top for a cute memo holder.

A magnet could be added to the back to be used on the refrigerator.

This is a great way to use leftover stickers, pieces of ribbon, etc.

and allow you to make lot's of these for ladies groups, etc. 

with just a bit of little supplies and it creates a fun small gift!

Christmas Cards

Christmas is my favorite time of the year because of celebrating the birth of Christ.

I love sending Christmas cards and since I began making cards about a year ago 

I wanted to make my own Christmas cards this year.

  

Since I send around 90-100, I wanted to use basic white cardstock and 

another color that I could buy easily in bulk. 

There is detail on Jesus and manger and
the reds do match, but the camera didn't pick it  up.

It is a simple card with the focus on baby Jesus.

Card Recipe

Embossing:  Cuttlebug Snowflake folder

White Medallion:  Cricut Storybook 3"

Red Inner Medalltion:  Cricut Storybook 2 1/2"

Manger:  Winter Frolic 2"

Baby Jesus & Star:  Winter Frolic 1 3/4"

Ribbon:  Adhered to red cardstock to show better

Acrylic Jewel added to Star 

Merry Christmas!

Blog Candy Contest

Cabio's Craft Corner is having a blog candy contest. 
Beautiful things and a very generous giver!  Thanks for the chance to win!


Happy Crafting Everyone!

A Frontier Christmas

Old Washington, Kentucky begins Winter
with a Frontier Christmas and the first snowfall of the season.

 

 

 

The old Post Office is still operational.

 

A demonstrator shows how to spin wool.

 

Live music with dulcimer's, fiddles, banjos and guitars.

 

Strolling down the snow covered lane playing the bagpipes. 

It certainly set the mood for a Christmas of old.

 

Historical homes remind us of those who came before us.

 

Albert Sydney Johnston wooden bust

 

Historical ledgers from Civil War ear.

Live music in the old Church.

  

Today I experienced a frontier Christmas and became mesmerized by the way they lived and celebrated long ago.  A stroll down cobblestone paths took me back in history to a simple time.  May the traditions we hold today pave the way for those in the future to look back and see that we honored God, loved family and celebrated the birth of Christ in simple ways that stood the test of time leaving a lasting legacy.

Top 10 Thankful List

Thanksgiving is sometimes called the forgotten holiday.  There is so much anticipation leading up to Christmas that we can hurry past Thanksgiving to other festivities.  If we were to construct a top 10 thankful list what would we include?  It's humbling to think about the most precious gifts in life that we are thankful for.  Most of us would not list our car, 3 story house or our jewelry, but the things that mean the most to us, which impact our lives greatly. 

Let me encourage you to make Thanksgiving season last a little longer before jumping into Christmas preparations and make a top 10 list of the things/people you are most thankful for.  Carry this spirit of thanksgiving into your Christmas season.

Top 10 Thankful List

1.  God loving me and wanting a relationship with me. 

2.  Jesus' death on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for my wrong doings, making a way to know a holy God.

3.  The gift of forgiveness and salvation when I accepted Jesus in my heart.

4.  Allowing me to find a wonderful Godly husband to serve God alongside and share my life with.

5.  A precious Son who makes life full of joy and excitement.

6.  Loving family & friends who help me to be a better person by simply being with them.

7.  Directing me to the right Doctors to help my body to function through my illness.

8.  God constantly working in my life...continually pursing a relationship with me.  He never gives up on me.

9.  Life itself.

10.Bright spots along the day that make even the hardest days more pleasant & bearable.  Encouragement.

What are you thankful for?

Tired and Worn Out?

Life has a way of wearing us out.  I can't remember who, but I heard someone say that Life is What Happens When We are Making Other Plans.  Things can get so crazy very fast.  Here's a little story to brighten your day.  When my Son was around 3 years old he became frustrated very easily.  If you've been around any 2-3 year old's you can understand.  

One day he was sitting up his toy animals on the large picture window sill.  Since the animals are cheap plastic, they don't always sit up perfectly.  Well, my son didn't understand this.  When an animal would topple over, he would pick it back up and tell it to stay.  This worked until the animal decided to fall again.  Time and again he sit them back up and demanded them to stay.  When they repeatedly fell, he became at the end of his rope.  I heard him loud and clear say, "That's it.  I've had it!  This is ridiculous!" and all the animals hit the floor. 

Of course in a 3 yr. old language ridiculous came out hilarious and I couldn't hold back the laughter.  Aren't there days that we as adults feel like we've had it.  Have you had situations in your life where you can't make it work and time and again you try and still it just falls apart.  Often I have felt like screaming...that's it I've had it, because life can be down right ridiculous sometimes.  Don't you agree? 

Let me share some encouragement for those days.  "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  Philippians 4:13.  When we've had it...God can help us.  When we see a ridiculous situation, He came make all things right.  When we are ready to throw in the towel, He can pick up the towel and minister to us like He did His disciples.  When we are ready to give up, we simply need to look up! 

Beautiful Autumn

Thought for the Day:  Autumn Leaves- God Doesn't

 

 

As Autumn leaves and Winter begins we see the changing of the seasons

and can be reminded that although change happens in our lives,
there is one who never changes and never leaves us. 

God is always working in our lives and wants us to turn to Him

and allow Him to guide us.  He never leaves us!

Fall Scrapbook Pages

Simple Fall Layout

Paper:  My Mind's Eye

Flowers:  Prima

Cricut Cartridge:  Lyrical Letters

 

Paper:  My Mind's Eye

Cardstock:  Bazzill

Cricut Cartridges:  Doodlecharms & Lyrical Letters

Assorted Die Cuts & Buttons

It's all a Matter of Perspective

On a particularly beautiful Fall day, I had my front door open and was waiting for a friend to come visit.  When I went to the door to look out I noticed what a wonderful frame the Fall wreath made on my door.  It was like looking through a looking glass.  The bright colors of leaves changing was just mesmerizing.  I sat for a while looking through the wreath at the beauty around me.  The frame of the wreath gave the perfect perspective on the beauty around.  I began to think about life and how we look at things is all a matter of perspective.

When we are given hard circumstances such as loss of jobs, loved ones, illness and devastating life changes, we don't have a choice of whether we will go through this or not, but we do have a choice of our perspective when we are going through it.  Our perspective means we choose to look for the good and allow God to use the bad circumstance to bring honor to Himself and bring us closer to Him.  He is constantly working on our behalf to give us little bright spots and hope in the bad times.  

Our perspective can be one of hope, peace and assurance that
God is with us and will bring us through what lies ahead in our path. 

 

I decided to scrapbook this memory and journal about the

perspective that God has given me and how He has helped me
with different circumstances in my life.

Preserving Memories

As I think back to childhood stories a smile is always the first thing that happens.  Reminiscing about the good old days even if they were hard old days is a pleasure for most of us.  I recently found a new way to preserve these family memories.  

My Mother loves to write and has recently began a blog in which she writes about family memories in the days past, her love of God and also about antiques and how they were used during their time period.  This breath of fresh air to our families' heritage has urged me to collect these writings.  Since she is writing them nearly daily, it will be a journal written by her that I can collect and preserve for myself and future generations, passing down not only our family memories but also her legacy of faith and insight.

Check out her blog at http://www.apronstringsandfavoritethings.blogspot.com

Since most blog articles are brief I used an 8x8 album by American Crafts which matches my 12x12 Scrapbook albums.  (I found this 8x8 album at Big Lot's for $3.00.)  Such an amazing deal!  Now I just need a great picture to add to the front album window.

I knew that I could dress up the pages and create a more scrapbook type of journal with page protectors and decorations, but I wanted something that I would keep up to date and could simply print the blog article, trim to 8x8, punch holes and put in the book.  We scrapbookers know how hard it can be to keep current with all the pictures and such.  I made a cardboard template of where my holes should be punched and used it with the pages to punch holes since my 3 hole punch didn't have the right spacing between holes.

If you have someone in your family who writes a blog or if you share stories yourself, think of preserving those family memories and leave a lasting legacy for all to enjoy!

What If I Gave All

Sometimes we are given a glimpse of something very precious.  My Son lost a tooth last night and although he is older and we don't practice the tooth fairy, he still receives a small gift to celebrate.  Last night I didn't have any cash on hand and wasn't prepared for the exiting of the tooth.  

I gave my Son a choice between a gift from Wal-mart on Monday or an IOU.  After he asked what an IOU was, he decided that was the best choice.  I filled out a small slip of paper with every intention of placing it under the pillow when he was asleep, but I forgot.

At Church today we had a speaker from the Gideon's who shared about how God has used the Bibles placed in hotels, hospitals, etc.  There were touching stories after stories and evidence of how God was blessing through this ministry of giving out His Word.  

At the end of the service my Son came to me and asked, "Mom, how much is that IOU?"  I immediately remembered that I did not place it under his pillow and apologized to him.  He said, "Mom, how much is it because I want to give it to the Gideon's."  His IOU was $5.00 and that was exactly the amount needed to purchase one hardbound Bible to be placed in a hospital or hotel.  I quickly wrote out the check and let him give it to the speaker.  He was so happy to do this.

I am reminded about a little boy who gave fish and bread and Andrew brought him to Jesus and Jesus made something wonderful out of his gift.  There is a song called, "What if I Gave All I Had".  It's a powerful reminder of how we each should give.  We can learn much from the genuine faith of a child.

Click below to watch the video and ask God how He would have you to give to His kingdom work.

What if I Gave All I Had

Free Flowers

A person who scrapbook's or makes cards can never get enough embellishments.  We use all sorts of pretties on our handmade items.  I read a tip on punching out the center of the mats you use with pictures.  While making a project I matted over 100 pieces of patterned paper, so I remembered that little tidbit and wanted to give it a try.  

My rectangles measure larger mat 2 1/2" x 4 1/4" and smaller is 2 1/4" x 3 3/4".  These small mats will be incorporated in a secret Christmas project which I'll post later. 

Some time back I picked up some flower punches in 1", 2" & 2 1/2" by Paper Studio.  I found these at Hobby Lobby really really cheap.  ($2-$5)

In the larger mat (which you will be covering) simply place it in the punch in the middle being careful to not get too close to the edges so it won't show once you add your paper to the top and just punch a flower or anything else you might need multiples of. 
I used a 2" punch.

It's so easy and I never really thought about how much of the pretty paper & cardstock
is going to waste and being covered up.

Ladies...this is prime scrapbook real estate. 
Go punch your mats and get some free flowers! 
It feels so great to get something FREE.

100th Post Winner

This and That 100th Post Blog Winner

Thank you Beth for the wonderful prizes. 
They are beautiful treasures!

Visit her blog at: 

http://www.teatotaler-thisandthat.com

Household Tip #4

Kitchen Cabinets

Here's the scene:  you decide you want to bake something special.  You proceed to the kitchen in search of the ingredients you need.  You find almost everything and keep rummaging through the baking supplies, because you know it's in there...somewhere.

Here's a tip that I picked up somewhere that will eliminate the endless searching and frustration in finding supplies in your cabinets.  Small plastic rectangular containers work great to store baking items.  One basket has spices, food coloring and the like.  Another basket has flour, sugar, etc.  You can store your chocolate chips, almond bark and the such in a basket.  When you are ready to bake, just pull out the basket and everything is neatly placed inside.  No more hunting for vanilla flavoring!  Take a peek at how nice the baskets look in the cabinet!

I picked these baskets up at the Dollar Tree for $1.00 and they even have a handle!
Happy Baking!

Verse for the Day

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God,
which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 4:6-7

Do you ever feel anxious?  Could you use a little peace right now?  Each of us face these feelings most of the time on a daily basis.  Life can throw so many things at us that we must know how to counteract all of the stress.  It has never been God's intention for us to live a frazzled fast pace life where we don't know if we are coming or going.  

God said to not be anxious over anything.  We can let Him know what we need in these situations and accept that He is working in our lives.  When we realize that God is working to bring about good for us then we acknowledge that He is ultimately in control.  Surrendering this control to God gives us peace, because we know we aren't the one who has to fix everything.  We can trust that He knows best and will work all things out for our good and His glory.  Peace...sweet peace that you certainly can't buy and often times we learn the hard way about trusting and living in this peace.

Household Tip #3

Organizing Made Easy

How many of us have had overfilled closets that you wouldn't dare let a guest open for fear they would be buried alive with the spillage that would come tumbling out?  The last time I moved, I saw it as an opportunity to really get organized!  I consulted several organizing books and found some very helpful tips.  Marcia Ramsland is an author to several books and they are very insightful to give easy methods for keeping your house the way you want it.  

One tip I want to share today is how to keep the closets, cabinets, etc. clean and neat.  (I can't remember where I picked this tip up.)  Every time you open a door to get something, look quickly around and see if there is one more thing you can pick up and put it where it goes.  For example:  I go to the closet to get a new purse out...I look and see a plaid shirt that I haven't worn...ever.  This shirt quickly goes in the donate bag/box.  After I change my purse out, I go to the refrigerator to get a drink...I see last week's leftover chili, so I empty the container and place it in dishwasher.  When I cook and reach in for a spice, I organize that shelf or check the expiration date on items. 

When you get in the habit of always cleaning out an item or organizing a shelf, etc. then the days of cleaning out closets are limited.  When I put away my son's clothes in the closet, I look around and immediately pull out items that no longer fit or he needs to try on.  It's a simple concept that really works.  

You may think...I don't have time to do this when I looking for something, but in the long run if you make the time, then you spend less time searching for things that you know are in there somewhere!

Household Tip #2

Organizing Tip:

Place a box near the front door in a closet, etc.  Line the box with a garbage bag.  When you come across clothes that don't fit or you don't want then place them in the box immediately.  This allows your closet to always be cleaned out and you never have the chore of going through it.  This works great for kids clothes too!

As you use things in your kitchen or play games with the kids, etc. you will see items that you never use anymore or just don't want...place them in the box immediately.  Once you get the hang of doing this, you will find that your closets, etc. have in them only the things you use & want.  It's a system that I read about years ago and really works.

Once the box is full, remove the garbage bag, place it in your car immediately so you can take it to your favorite charity when you have time.  Place a new garbage bag in the box.  You will be surprised how often you have a bag to give away.

Memo Holders

More Small Gift Ideas:

I saw this idea to make memo holders quite a while ago.  I believe I found it on http://www.bearcubscraproom.blogspot.com/ but not completely sure; however, I
wanted to give credit, since it wasn't my original idea.

This simple gift idea includes:
Cardboard/chipboard cut at 4" x 5 1/2"- cover front with paper
4x6 index cards cut in half to make 2 - 4x3 cards
Stack several cards and add to memo board with colored binder clips
Add trim & decor

Larger version size:
4 1/2" x 6 1/2" and uses regular index cards

*This is a great way to use scrap paper, left over stickers & ribbon.  I came across the colored binder clips at a dollar store $1 and 100 large index cards at Big Lot's $1.  You use very little of the supplies so you could make lot's of these for stocking stuffers, co-worker gifts, etc.

Whatever You Do

Thought for the Day

Whatever you do...do it with all your heart as if you were doing it for God Himself. 
It would certainly make a difference if we carried this attitude with us every day.

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God and the Father by him."  Colossians 3:17

Life's Hassles

But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is
more than these is from the evil one.  Matthew 5:37

Ever picked up the phone to check on the status of a bill or ask about unusual charges and get nowhere fast?  Life is full of situations where simple things become big hassles.  Recently, the phone rang and I  became very confused when I learned a few clerical errors at a company caused a huge bill and lot's of hassles. 

Do you long for the days that you could actually talk to a person, preferably one who was knowledgeable about their company and your situation?  A quick phone call or letter can immediately turn our day into chaos.  I'm sure I'm not alone with the time spent on the phone or sending faxes to clear up simple mistakes that have become big hassles.

When in the middle of this latest hassle, I thought of the verse in Matthew about speaking exactly what you mean.  Let your yes, be yes and if you say no, let it mean no.  The run around that we sometimes face when dealing with companies on the phone with confusing situations is certainly the exact opposite of what this verse is talking about.  When we deal with people in business or relationships, we should strive to be honest and not play a game with our words becoming misleading and deceiving.  Our words should bring honor to God and the way we handle ourselves in conversations should be honest and with the truth as our goal.  Our yes should mean yes and our no should mean no with no hidden intentions.  Sometimes those with this honest quality seem to stand out in our society, because we see so much of the opposite.  May we each strive to make our words a reflection of what is right!

Joy to the World

94 Days Until Christmas!

Making a few Christmas cards each week 

will certainly get me in the mood for Christmas!

Here's a few new Christmas cards 

 Cricut Cartridges:

Storybook & Winter Frolic

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

One time a year we are reminded about

the joy that came to earth when

God sent His son, Jesus to be born.

Just as the song says, "Let every heart prepare him room",
may we prepare room in our hearts for Christ not only
during the Christmas season, but all year long. 
We should carry this joy with us always and
be ready to sing..."Joy to the World"!

Christmas Gift Tags

My nickname with my family is "Christmas Kid", because I have always loved Christmas so much!  Getting a head start on Christmas preparations, I decided to begin making some gift tags to go on presents.  

Cricut cartridge:  Winter Frolic

Patterned Paper:  KI

Prism Cardstock:  Die Cuts With a View

Ribbon:  White Satin & Patterned is American Crafts

 

Of course I won't be giving anything as special for Christmas as the special gift God gave us when He sent His son Jesus to be born, live a perfect life and die to give us forgiveness of our wrong/sin so we can
have a relationship with God if we accept this gift.

 

This Christmas I will celebrate this precious gift of love!

Simple Things in Life

On my way out the door I noticed a sight that I've seen all Summer, but never really took the time to watch.  A full spiked limb shrub is nested at the side of my house and on this day it housed several bumblebees.  The bees were unaware of anyone watching them and were content on their work.  They purposely worked a flower at a time on the shrub.  I watched them doing what bees do best and thought of how intense their focus was on their task.  

Bees know what their purpose is and they accomplish it despite distractions.  My watching didn't change their busy work, nor did starting my car.  These simple things that we see each day can remind of us a truth that we can hold onto in our lives.  What is your purpose?  Are you working steadily toward that purpose or do distractions pull you away from what is really important?  

Being created by God we each have a purpose to love Him with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength.  We are to love each other the same way as Christ loves us.  Our purpose as we go through each day is to remember who we are and just as the bees were busy doing their work, we should share the love of Christ and not allow life to distract us from this goal.  It's the simple things in life that make the most difference!

Clean Up Aisle Bathroom!

Ever hear those words..."Mom, I don't feel so good"?  That phrase brings one expression to most Mother's face...panic...terror and the oh, no expression.  My first thought after hearing those words is...here we go again!

I've always teased that my bathroom was the cleanest part of my house while my son was young, because I cleaned it everyday and sometimes several times a day in accord to the latest stomach virus or potty training mishap.  Let me just say a little disclaimer here...if you have never taken care of children & their mishaps you may be offended by this next statement; however, there is just not any other way to say this, but to speak plainly.  Puke, poop and other fun events are part of Motherhood at all stages and ages of your child's life.  Most times, when these fun surprises visit the first words uttered are MMMMOOOOMMM!   

After the initial "oh no" look we dive into righting the wrong that has visited our bathroom, that is to say if they made it to the bathroom and if the answer is no, then that is an entirely different animal.  Ha.  The task of cleaning up all the mess hasn't ever bothered me much and the one thing that always melts my heart after the smelly task is done is three words that I hear from little boy...thank you, Mom.  

Thank you, Mom could right most any situation and is certainly worth a little clean up in the bathroom.  While sickness visited our house again recently, I began to think of being thankful even in the middle of the yuckies.  Are we thankful in the middle of the muck in life and do we express it to God when we make a mess of our life and ask Him for forgiveness and He gives it.  He wipes away our wrong doing/sin and makes us clean again, just like cleaning up after being sick.  Do we say, "Thank you Dad" or do we expect Him to clean up our sin and us never express our appreciation? 

My son certainly didn't have to say thank you, Mom, because I would have cleaned up anyway.  Him expressing gratitude just made my role in His life more appreciated.  I enjoyed hearing that He loved me and thanked me for caring for him.  God is the same way and He will forgive us if we are sincere when we ask for forgiveness, but enjoys hearing our thankfulness for the role He plays in our lives.  We should have love and gratitude in our hearts just as our children do and tell Him, "Thank you Dad for your love and forgiveness!"

My Feet...His Hands

Thinking back to when my son was little, I remember the times when he was sick so vividly.  Watching little ones and not being able to make them better just leaves us feeling helpless.  Other than trips to the Dr. and medicines the only comfort I could really give him was love.  I don't remember when I actually started this now tradition, but at some point I began holding his feet and pulling him close to me for comfort.

As he grew, this measure of comfort became a normal part of treating the common cold or flu.  When he grew too big to hold or his feet would drag the ground, he started putting his feet in my lap when I sat down on the couch.  Even now, as a much bigger son I can count on occasionally have feet plop in my lap when I sit down and someone is not feeling so good.  

I began to think about how we need comfort and am reminded about times when our world is turned upside down and we need someone to show us love and hold our feet.  Jesus washed His disciples feet showing His love and servant heart.  What a comfort to them to know that Jesus loved them so much that he would even touch their feet and bring them comfort by washing them.  When we need comfort, God is there and gives us love, understanding and direction through times when we are weary and need Him. 

There is a song that is very precious to me called Your Hands by JJ Heller. 

Click here to listen:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlL8LayF0uw

I feel in my heart this song describes so many hurting people who need God's hands to hold their feet!  He is ready with hands open!