Prayer Quilts

I think I've mentioned that I'm a part of a quilting group at my church. We make prayer quilts for those in need. I love the fellowship with the ladies as well as being THRILLED to learn such an awesome craft. I completed my first quilt that went to a gentleman from our church named David who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I'm sure he would love your prayers! I've now started on a new quilt and don't know who the recipient will be but I'm already praying over the quilt and hoping it will bring comfort to someone special.

O is for Owl

Another fun letter of the day from No Time for Flashcards.

B is for Bumble Bee

One of my favorite things to do with Joshua is the letter of the day. I have found so many wonderful websites that give me all the information I need to create a fun letter. No Time for Flash Cards is one of my favorite sites as she provides great letters of the days, book ideas, and even some great songs! The B for Bumble Bee is from her site. Joshua LOVES doing these and these are such a great learning tool.

Milk Carton Easter Basket

Here is a cute little easter basket I made out of a milk carton. The ears are made with card stock paper and hot glued onto the container. You can unwind a cotton ball for the ears and glue one on the back for a tale.

Prayer Quilt

Here is a picture of the prayer quilt I have been making. I'm absolutely LOVING quilting and freezer paper applique particularly. I especially love the fellowship I've been enjoying while making the quilt since I joined a quilting group at our church. We meet twice a month and give our quilts to someone in our church in need...after finishing our quilts we include a prayer block on the back and pray over the quilt. It feels very much like I imagine Mitford would! I hope to have this done in the next month. I'm also working on a dinosaur quilt for Joshua that I hope to give him for his birthday.

A Gift for Joshua

I happened to have a canvas in my garage that I was going to use eventually and so I decided to paint this for Joshua's room. I had so much fun painting it so I hope he likes it. I mimicked the dinosaur after some clip-art.

Turkey Wreath

Joshua and I did this cute little Turkey Wreath pattern craft today. It was lots of fun and super cute!

Seat Cover

I've been in a sewing mood lately...so I decided to upgrade the towel I've been using as a seat cover for Joshua's chair with something a little more formal and Joshua'ish. So I made this seat cover for his chair. There are straps on the back to tie to the back and on the sides to tie together underneath the seat. I used a thick fleece material for the bottom. I love having a cover on his seat since he often spills things and we do lots of crafts there so it saves my fabric seat from that mess too. And of course, this is easy to throw in the wash.

Proverbs 31 Crafts

I have always loved Proverbs 31 and have especially become fond of it as a wife & mother as it speaks to the woman I strive to be. Monica at The Homespun Heart has been doing an amazing craft series focused on Proverbs 31 so I wanted to post a link to it and encourage you to take a look. I haven't had a chance to do any of the crafts yet, but am anxiously looking forward to as they are really great!

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." Proverbs 31:10-31

Baby Blanket

As I mentioned in this post, after making some burp clothes for the little guy growing inside me, I decided to make a baby blanket using this pattern. It turned out really great, is super soft, and was very easy. I made 3 burp clothes and the blanket in 1 hour 15 minutes. I have more material left and am going to attempt to make a diaper/wipee holder next. I would say the 5 burp clothes (I made 2 earlier) and blanket cost me total about $8-10.

Burp Clothes

I've gotten so behind on craft projects so I really enjoyed getting some done recently. I needed to get some gifts made for my brother's baby shower this weekend...so I made some burp clothes and made a few extra for our baby too. I'm also going to make a baby blanket using that cute choo-choo material with this pattern.

Conversation Boxes

For our next MOPS meeting I'm in charge of creating the craft. We are making Conversation Boxes for the dinner table. I found some craft boxes at Oriental Trading company and we will be decopaging them then filling them with questions. I found this great resource for dinner topics and thought I would share. Sorry I don't have a picture.

http://parentsempowered.org/resources/conversation_jar.pdf

Stepping Stone

This is a stepping stone craft I led in our MOPS group today. We needed enough for 20 ladies so we used a 60 lb bag of concrete and mixed it in a bucket but adding water till we got the right consistency. We had 20 plant trays and poured the concrete in each then everyone decorated their own with shells, stones, etc. This craft cost about $40 for all 20 stones but could be much more affordable by using tools from home. We had bought little stamps to letter the stones too but you could easily do it with a knife or stick or something else. This was a fun craft to do and I look forward to doing it at home again to make stepping stones for around my yard or as gifts. In this picture, my stone is still drying.

Celebration Plate!

Remember this post about the celebration plate I was going to make? Well, here is the finished product. I LOVE it!! It will be so much fun to celebrate all the joys in our family with this special plate.

Valentine's Swap

I participated in two valentines swaps which were lots of fun. I received such wonderful stuff. The first one was the Sweet Heart Box swap hosted by Maria at The Junkk Drawer. My wonderful partner Lolly made me the prettiest box and filled it will all sorts of wonderful goodies.

My second swap was Hanging Hearts hosted by Sweet Goodness Swaps. My swap partner Christy made the cutest heart decoration and even sent the sweetest little guy for Joshua.

Thank you so much ladies!!!! I really enjoyed swapping w/ you!

Valentine Banner

After Monica at the Homespun Heart gave everyone this great Christmas banner, I thought it would be nice to use some of her paper to make a Valentine Banner. The scrapbook paper I used was found at Target for $1 for a pack of 12 sheets. The heart/L-O-V-E letters are something I just made really quickly using a fun font. And yes, our nativity scene is still up because Joshua is OBSESSED with Baby Jesus. In fact, any baby pictures with that old timey feel is somehow baby Jesus as well as any baby he sees in a cradle. I guess I'm happy that he took Baby Jesus away from Christmas instead of Santa.

Christmas Dinner Entertainment

This year I have made Christmas Crackers for all my guests. I used a wrapping paper tube and cut into smaller pieces. I glued wrapping paper around each one and tied each end with a ribbon after putting little prizes inside each. I glued name tags on each of the crackers. This will indicate where to sit as well as have a question on the back that my guest must answer before they can open their cracker. Questions might include: What is your favorite Christmas tradition? etc

We will also be playing a few games between dinner & dessert. I found quite a few good ones at THIS site. It should be lots of fun!

Dishcloth Apron

Here is a simple dishcloth apron from Real Simple Magazine. All you do is get a dishcloth, sew two buttons (one on each side) to the top corners and then tie with a ribbon.

Christmas Banner

Look at this fun banner that Monica at The Homespun Heart is giving the pattern away for. This is the one I made this morning - so much fun!!

No Sew Blankets

No-sew blankets are a fast, fun, & easy way to make a blanket. They can be either one or two layers. We have one of each. Joshua being really warm natured sleeps with the one layer one.

To make - simply get 1 yard each of 2 coordinating fleece fabrics (you can use larger pieces for bigger blankets if you prefer). Place together and cut out corners as on pattern. Then cut on lines around the blanket - but both layers at one time. Tie stripes together in a knot. You are done! For a one layer - just knot the individual cuts to make tassles.