freebie friday....{freedom}

i've been doing some thinking lately.
thinking about who i am, how i  perceive myself and who God intends me to be.
have you ever felt weighted down by all that you feel you aren't?
that's been happening to me these past few days. most days, if i'm being honest.
its like carrying around a heavy chain.
and each time i don't measure up to who i think i should be, it feels like i'm adding yet another chain.

sometimes, the heaviest burden we can carry is the burden we don't even recognize.
it can change our attitude. it can alter how we interact with others. it can take away our hope.
and we don't even know it's there.

chains.....  bondage..........
difficult to grow, difficult to bless and difficult to receive blessings all locked up like that.

who do you say you are?
first and foremost, i say i am a child of God.
and if i ascribe to that first truth - i am a child of God - then i must ascribe to these next truths....
i am fearfully and wonderfully made.
i am made in His image.
His love is unconditional and merciful.
it is His intention to bless me.

we want to do better.
it's good to want to be a better mother, wife, business woman, sister.........fill in your blank.
but i know what happens next.
in our efforts to improve, the slightest set back or failure turns into self-incrimination.
we don't notice the progressive slide - from striving to do better to piling on negativity.
we have to give ourselves grace.
use our mistakes and failures as tools - not to berate ourselves with but to learn from.
our negative feelings about ourselves become chains.
weighing us down. dragging us down.
is that what God wants for us?
no way.

God wants us to be free.
and in Him, we are free.
free to be loved, free to make mistakes, free to grow..........
rest in Him. dwell in Him.
give those chains over to Him.
He will bear our burdens.

i've created this 8x10" printable as a reminder. we are free in Christ.
just click on the picture to download the printable .pdf file.

happy weekend!

real life.....{christmas at our house}

i love sitting in our living room on a quiet morning, soaking in all the Christmas goodness!
listening to carols, breathing in the scents and gazing at the tree...........
i thought i'd invite you in for a little peek :-)

 

i was certain when i took these pictures that they weren't blurry. sigh.......... most definitely time for new glasses!

anyway, i love how the mantle came out this year. i did the frosted candle holders myself.
and see those bell jars (that i'm in love with!!).......
soda bottles. way! check out the tutorial on seeing things!

there's another bell jar!
i inadvertently started a santa collection a few years ago. front and center is the last music box i gave my mom - and the only one left - of her collection.
and for the first time in six years i broke out the village! little man chose a few pieces to add to it.

the location of the tree changed this year (as did it's size to accommodate the smaller space!)

here's a tip: if you have children, you're probably gonna have to let go of your martha stewartish designer tree ideas. that was a hard one for me.

our outdoor decor remains relatively the same every year but this year we anchored our santa train to the railing. we got tired of it blowing over last year ;-)

so what does your home look like at christmas time? do you keep it simple with just a tree? or is decorating for the holidays a three day process? if you have photos on your blog, please share the link - i'd love to see!

craftiness......{holiday card holder}

every year, we receive a pretty good amount of christmas cards and most of them have photos.
i love looking at the pictures throughout the season and usually i hang them along the banister or over the doorway.
this year i wanted to do something different.
a more prominent display, a little whimsical.
and here's what i came up with:

forgive the photo quality - y'all should know by now i take lousy photos *grin*

supplies:

old painting/frame
spray paint
thumbtacks/staple gun
clothes pins
glitter tape

(excuse the hands - i'm in dire need of a manicure!!)

super-easy craft - remove the old painting from the frame (be sure to get the staples, too!). spray paint then attach your chosen ribbon the the back of the frame. add your glitter tape to the clothespins and you're done!

i'm finding that i'm much more crafty around holiday time. how 'bout you?

craftiness.......{bookprint ornament}

i fell in love with this pinterest find last year..............

this year, i finally got around to crafting my own.

supplies:

ornaments
book pages
modge podge
glitter

1. remove a few pages from your book and tear them into small pieces.
2. take the ornament caps off then get your decoupage on with the strips & modge podge.
3. while the ornament is still wet, add your glitter.
4. let them dry then embellish at will...........tags, ribbons....whatever your heart desires :-)

i purchased my ornaments & book at our local dollar store. this could easily be a dollar store craft by subbing out the modge podge for a diy decoupage mixture using dollar store glue & water (50/50 mix).

are you doing any diy ornaments this year? feel free to share your blog posts in the comments!!

craftiness........{tray makeover}

on the weekends, i share an easy diy over on my facebook page

what?!?!? you're not a fan?? go now, i'll wait.....

back now? good.

today i thought i'd share one of my own here on the blog.

the change in seasons always brings out the desire to change something in my house.

i got tired of stepping over this tray that's taking up space (which we have VERY little of) so i thought a redesign might make it useable again.

or it will just get in the way somewhere else. 50/50 shot in this house so we'll see *grin*

once upon a time, i was very fond of the "tuscan" look.

i'm over it. sorta.

anyway.... take one tray, some paint, scrapbook paper & modge podge........

and ya got yourself a new pretty :-)

a few notes:

spraypaint would have covered better without the brush marks but i didn't have any. i never seem to 'craft' prepared!

can you see the bumps & ridges on the papering step?? i can. i made the mistake of using too much glue on the tray and didn't follow up with a top coating until it dried. don't do that.

i distressed the edges a bit with some sandpaper

i added a couple coats of spray polly.

have you got any diys or makeovers to share? i need more stuff to change!

diy.....{candle sleeves}

hey y'all! been super busy with the wild west birthday party - photos and a bit of insight coming to the blog soon - but i wanted to pop in and share with you the diy candle sleeves i promised!

i used this diy in the 40th birthday celebration, you may recall. it's an easy and inexpensive way to add color and carry through the decor theme of any event you host. i got the idea from martha - shocker, right? but her versions weren't quite what i was looking for so............here's my version.

materials:

vellum paper

tape

tall votive candles in glass holders

i purchased my candles from our local dollar tree. if you're lucky enough to have one in your neighborhood, be sure to visit often. yes, some items from 'dollar stores' can be as cheesy & cheap as they sound BUT you can score some decent staple items and holiday specific party decor pieces. and the best news??? you can buy online and have them delivered to your local store just in case you need large quantities. SCORE! :-)

i chose a repeating decorative design from the invitations i created and, staying with the red & purple color scheme, printed them out on the vellum sheets.

you may notice that my printer is not one that does "borderless printing". if you have the same issue, no worries. just trim the excess.

and the next part is super easy. add some tape to the wrong side of you vellum sheet (lengthwise)

then roll into a cylindrical shape, meeting edge to edge and gently press to secure your tape. then slide it over your candle and.........

et voila! an easy, inexpensive yet classy (or cute or rustic - whatever your party theme may be) option to add color and customization to your event! a couple of notes: be sure that your candle wick is well beneath the upper rim of your glass - the vellum is extremely flammable :-) and you may have noticed i had varied heights at the party - just use different size votives and cut your vellum to fit. and be careful when you're rolling your vellum - if you're too rough and it creases, it will show up as a bright, white line on your sheet.

how cool would these be in an off white and distressed, burned edges?? maybe the next party................ :-)