April 2014 - Page 5 of 6 - Yearning to Create

Long Wooden Signs

I like long wooden signs!!! I find them an easy way to have inspirational message in my home because they fit so nicely in often unused places – like over a door or window, or above and below pictures.

If they’re going to specific people, I often ask for a phrase preference and colour preference. Then I paint and plan it out on paper to make sure the spacing works.

These were some my sister’s requested . . .

Isn’t “Did You Think to Pray?” a great one to have over your bedroom door (it’s okay, one of my sisters actually has a red and gold bedroom!)

“Live Without Regret” is one of my favourite quotes from Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley.

The wonky buttons actually match my sister’s area rug!!!

Another sis has six sons and a daughter and thinks of her home as a “Missionary Training Center”.

And I attached a Future Missionary tag with burlap.

The ladies I Visit Teach got these “Joy to the World” signs this Christmas.

Notice the green one (how could you not?) That’s my one – I made it many years ago and it’s reversible – looks the same as the others on the other side. It was perfect for a ledge in my house that was visible from both sides.

Just a close up of the etchings on the wood. The letters are just done with an alphabet stencil from Michaels.

And a few more . . .

“There is Beauty all Around” was the most sung Family Home Evening song in my guys home. So now this little sign hangs above his parents dining room window.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart” is just a great scripture for us all to remember all the time.

I mod podged a picture of the Lord onto a heart.

And finally, “Family is Everything” because, it really is!!!

I had fun making signs this past Christmas (kinda helped to have that precut pile of wood piled up in the workshop!!!).

What message would you put on a sign?

2012 Primary Birthdays

The theme for Primary this year is Choose the Right.

With so many choices facing our youth daily, we wanted to give them something for their birthdays that could be a visual reminder to help them remember to choose the right.

Our Primary second counsellor found these bottlecap zipper pulls somewhere and ordered them for us. Then she printed out all the CTR logos in so many cute colours, and cut them all out by hand and assembled them!!! (I hope she had a good movie to watch!)

I think the zipper pulls is a brilliant idea! The children can put them on their coats or backpacks or anywhere else, for that little reminder to always Choose the Right.

Still haven’t decided which colour I’m going to give myself when my birthday comes around (being the secretary has some perks!)

I enlisted some help from my Jen and we made little birthday gift bags for the children. Even did some housekeeping of stuff that was already in the Primary cupboard from years past – the picture of Christ with the children with the Articles of Faith on the back.

I was searching for clear bags but they were sold out. Good thing because I think the red, yellow and blue bags turned out exactly perfect for Primary!

This stash of 45 should last until the fall, and then we’ll do a recount and make some more.

This year we’re also trying something new – we recognize and sing to the birthday child in Primary, and give them a little coupon. They take their coupon to the Bishop after church and he gives them their special birthday bag and is able to have a little chat with them. The Bishop loves it, the children love it, and there are no distracting birthday things in Primary!

Forget-Me-Not Craft

When Pres. Deiter F. Uchtdorf gave his magnificent talk at the 2011 Relief Society Broadcast (you can read it here), I knew I needed to make myself a visual reminder of the things he said. I wanted to “Forget Not” his inspiring words!!!

And this is what I ended up with!

And I LOVE it!!!

I started with this really rough piece of 2×6 (I wanted a rough look!) and some 2×4’s. I sanded and spray painted and sanded a bit more. Made myself a forget-me-not flower template and printed my words out on the computer.

I’ve never tried the carbon paper method before but it worked really well. I just put a piece of carbon paper between my computer printed words and the wood, and traced around the letters. It left me a nice little outline of my letters on the wood. Now I just had to hand paint in the lines.

I only hand-painted my big words – the others were just printed on the computer and then distressed and mod podged onto the blocks of wood along with scrapbook paper.

I stained my blocks before I added any paper though – I’ve had bad luck with stain and mod podged paper before, so I always stain first, and it always turns out!!!

Isn’t it cute? I used burnt umber oil paint to colour my leaves and add a little more distressing.

And the blocks can be arranged many different ways, much to the children’s delight!

A close-up of the Forget-Me-Not flower (at least, my version of it – I googled it and there are tons of varieties of this little flower!!!) and the etchings.

And now it sits on my dresser and I see it whenever I leave my bedroom, reminding me daily of what I need to “Forget Not”.

Just four days ago, my guy grabbed the bottom piece – the one that says “The difference between good and foolish sacrifices” and brought it to me in bed. I was still in sleep mode at 8:20am – on the last Saturday of Christmas holidays! He suggest that my foolish sacrifice was lounging around in bed when I should be getting up and going to support my daughter at her basketball game. And he was right! I got ready in ten minutes and ate my breakfast in the car as we drove the half hour drive. We got seated just in time for the opening jump ball.

It was the right thing to do!!!

Board Games

I made my guy a Sequence game for Christmas this year. We had good memories of playing it with friends in our pre-children days, so I thought it would be fun to have our own game in the house. And I knew I could make it for way cheaper than I could buy it! It was funny when he opened the gift because I had wrapped it in two parts. The first part he opened was a bag of playing cards and poker chips. His only comment was “Odd!” I think he thought I wanted him to take up gambling or something!!!

Sequence is the game where you try to be first to get two rows of five chips (see the blue chips above have one row). Fun and easy to learn, and you can play with 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 or 12 players – either as singles or teams. All you need to buy are two decks of cards and a bunch of poker chips in three different colours.

I Googled Sequence and it showed me exactly how the cards are to be placed on the board and what all the rules of the game were. Notice there are no Jacks on the board. The Jacks all go into the playing deck and they are the wild cards: one-eyed Jacks remove a chip and two-eyed Jacks place a chip. My board is a 19″ x 19″ square with the cards mod podged on it. You could even do it on cardboard. The size doesn’t really matter as long as the squares on the board are big enough to hold your poker chip – you just need to be able to see the number and suit. You chop your cards in half and use each half of the card on the board. The Joker cards in the corners are free spaces.

This game sits out on the coffee table all the time, but usually the Sequence side is down and the . . .

. . . checkerboard side is up because it’s much prettier!!! I painted on the light squares and then stained the board to make the dark parts. I love these playing pieces!!! Of course the poker chips would work just fine for checkers, but my oldest daughter who has since left home made these for me when she was about twelve. She chopped a wooden dowel on the chop saw – I love all the different widths of the pieces!!! And then she painted each side red or blue so they’re great to play – what’s that game called? Othello? – where you flip your pieces over to get the board in your colour. Love that game!

And if you get bored playing board games, you could always . . .

. . . stick poker chips in your eyes!!!

My “Word” for 2012

A few years ago I started choosing a “word” for the year.

Making New Year’s resolutions is a wonderful idea, but I found that I was never able to stick with them – probably because we’re still on holidays when the new year begins, and who wants to start exercising or dieting or whatever, when it’s still holidays? Not me.

So choosing a word to live by for the year seems to work for me.

After some thought, but not too much (the words just seem to pop into my head!), I decided that my word for 2012 would be . . .

. . . Courage!

When my daughter saw me making my word block, she commented that courage was a good word for 2012 – you know, for if the world ends!!!

Anyway, the scripture I chose is found in Joshua 1:9

“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.”

I chose “courage” for a few reasons, but I wasn’t really sure how to put it into words. And some were private and personal reasons that I just wasn’t ready to share on my blog! Anyway, last night I opened up the January Ensign and read the First Presidency Message. And WOW!!! President Monson summed up for me exactly why I choose “courage”.

Let me share a little (or you can read the whole short article by following the link above).

“Ralph Waldo Emerson said: ‘Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide on, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.’

Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one’s coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve.

Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, “I’ll try again tomorrow.”

And that’s why I chose “Courage”!

Ready for a quick recap of my other words? This is the third year I’ve chosen a word at New Years.

2011 had the word . . .

. . . Delight!

“Let thy soul delight . . .” (Doctrine & Covenants 25:14)

And in 2010, my word was . . .

. . . Patience!

“Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten His people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.”

(Mosiah 23:21)

My little word block sits beside my bed as a constant reminder to me of my current and past words (yes, those past words still need work!!!)

I used browns and teal this year to match my king size bedding!

Notice that book under my scriptures? That is the first word I ever chose . . .

. . . SIMPLIFY . . .

and it will always be my word. My mom gave me this book a few years back and it sits by my bed because I refer to it often. I have this word (Simplify) hanging in a few other spots in my house too.

simplify – a guide to caring for the soul

A Word for the year really works for me!

What’s your Word this year?

Christmas Jello

This is a pretty jello to have on the table at Christmas time. And it would be even prettier in something other than a casserole dish!!!

The recipe:

1 small box green jello

1 can crushed pineapple

White marshmallows (you decide how much!)

1 small box red jello

1 can cherry pie filling

Whipped cream for top (optional)

Prepare green jello, but only use 1 cup of water. Stir in the whole can of crushed pineapple (that means that you don’t drain it!). Chill.

When it was still a bit soft, I added the marshmallows. Spread them evenly on top of the green layer. You can make this layer as thick or thin as you want – might depend on the size of your dish!

Prepare the red jello – again only using 1 cup of water. Stir in the whole can of cherry pie filling. When your green layer and marshmallows are completely set, add the red layer. Chill until firm.

If you have room in your dish, you can add whipped cream on top.

I find this jello to be plenty tasty and rich enough without the cream.

This is a never ending battle in my home: I love things in the jello!!!

But usually my guy and my kids prefer the jello plain. So as we’re eating our Christmas jello on Christmas day, I’m watching some of my kids not eat the green layer because of the pineapple. And I’m watching some of my kids pick all their cherries out of the red layer and leave them laying around on their plates looking squished, sad and rejected.

So I made a decision!!! Next year I’ll make the pretty Christmas jello without any fruit in the layers!

I’ll use the full water measurements, and maybe even do a few layers with marshmallows in between each layer – that would look pretty sweet. My kids and my guy will eat it all, and I’ll be about $5 richer.

Now I need to keep my eyes open for a trifle bowl – we’ll let the casserole dish hold something else next year!!!

Sure is a pretty jello though! Maybe someday I’ll get to eat it again with fruit in it!

Special Message Blocks

My daughter Min made these blocks to display at her very first Young Women in Excellence evening (she’s now a second year Laurel working on her Honor Bee). She’d been twelve for a month and needed a project right away. Since we always have wood around, we decided on a 2×4 project. She picked a favourite phrase and then stamped it onto painted 2×4’s, and did some sanding and staining.

The neat thing about these blocks is that they’re reversible!

She chose a scripture for the other side:

Psalms 66:1 “Make a joyful noise unto God”

I like this scripture – it doesn’t say we have to be in tune or have perfect pitch – it just says to be joyful as we praise our Heavenly Father.

And I enjoyed seeing this in Min’s room while she was practicing her flute over and over and over and over and . . .

This fun stamp set came from Stampin’ Up – it’s one of my favourite alphabets! There are letters on each side of the blocks, and another set of matching numbers.

Now it’s time to get creative with the blocks and see what other phrases we can come up with . . .

Haha! Okay, maybe not!

This one’s much better . . .

. . . a beautiful reminder especially at Thanksgiving.

We all have so much to be truly grateful for.

Thanks for sharing your blocks Min!!!

Conference Project Update

Ahhh, there were lots of inspiring talks at Conference!!! Can’t wait to attack my copy of the Ensign with a highlighter, looking for special quotes that touch my heart that I can turn into a craft!!!

And yes, I got lots of cross-stitching time in! Took breaks only to stand up and sing the rest hymn and to nurse my baby. Here’s how it looked at the end of conference . . .

Getting lots of background done – it goes so much faster as lots of it is only a half-stitch.

Can you remember how much was done before the weekend? I can’t!!!

Oh wow – I got lots done!!! Good for me!

Look at all those stitches!!! It’ll be even more clear when I outline it someday with a dark backstitch.

And now I might dig it out and stitch a little for a day or two, but mostly it will sit until the next conference in six months. And just think – then I’ll be doing it in my new house!!!

Christmas Service Star

I think Christmas has more traditions for me than the rest of the year put together!!! Righteous traditions are wonderful and necessary things for our families. The Service Star is a tradition we start on the first day of December. We actually have two of these little wooden stars with our Family Motto (another tradition!) printed on it. One stays on our Nativity Tree (another tradition!) and the other star is put into action.

So we draw names or do rock, paper, scissors etc. to see who will activate the Service Star. That person has 24 hours to do a service for someone in the house and leave the star at the place where the service happened. So dad emptied the dishwasher for Lee and left the star in the dishwasher for Lee to find when she came to do her morning chore. Lee walked the dog for Jo and left the star with the leash. Jo found it and made Jen’s bed and left the star on the bed for Jen to find, and so on, and so on . . . We added a new twist this year: if you haven’t done a service within the 24 hours, you get to give everyone a back-scratch! Unfortunately, we didn’t get any back-scratches!!!

This is just a view of some of the ornaments on the Nativity Tree. In order to be on the Nativity Tree, the ornament must remind us of Christ somehow. I love this gold one and it’s tag that says Keep Christ in your Christmas.

My Words

I read about this idea somewhere just before New Years 2010. The idea is to choose a word for the year and let that be your theme word and your motivation. I loved the idea – so much more likely to succeed than New Year’s Resolutions!

So my word for 2010 was . . .

. . . PATIENCE. And yes, I’m still working on it and probably always will be!!! I need reminders, so I decorated this little wooden block with my word, the year, and a scripture. It sits with Mason on my bedside table, reminding me every day of the year about PATIENCE.

My word for 2011 is . . .

. . . DELIGHT. The scripture says “Let thy soul delight . . .” and that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do this year. I’m finding it quite DELIGHTful as I look more for the positive in things and what causes me DELIGHT in this journey through life.

My word is just printed off the computer and then mod podged along with scrapbook paper onto the block. I’ll be able to fit four years worth of words on every block. What a collection I’ll have at the end of my life – by then I should be absolutely perfect at everything!!!