Archive for February, 2012

I found this necklace tutorial on Pinterest and thought it would be just perfect to make. (I’m having technical issues with Pinterest right now so I can’t find the link… I’ll try again later.)

Here’s what you need:
~ Necklace with a round charm/pennant (I got mine at the 99 Cent Store and it had a little heart charm on it which made it perfect for Valentines Day which is when I made it… they still have them right now!)
~ Small piece of knit red fabric, mine was about 3×5” (You can buy a tee shirt at the dollar store and have enough fabric for like 100 necklaces)
~ Toothpick
~ Hot glue gun
~ Pen
~ Scissors

1. Use the charm to trace about 8-12 circles on the knit fabric. Cut out the circles on the inside of your tracing line. The circles don’t have to be perfect!
I traced 6 circles then folded my fabric in half so the cutting would take half the time. EASY!

2. Fold the circle around a toothpick to make a nice point for gluing.

3. Use a small dab (is that a word?) on the fabric and glue it near the center of the charm. Work your way from the center to the ends.

4. Shape the pom pom with scissors by cutting off any areas that stick out.

Now wasn’t that simple? I think it turned out just peachy too. This is another fun one to do in a group. Easy, inexpensive and the outcome is super fun! A lot of my friends made them for their daughters for Valentines Day. They would be great to do in green for St Paddy’s Day… maybe even a teacher giftie!

Happy Monday!

I learned how to make this simple fabric strip banner at a Pinterest Party around Christmas time.
I LOVE it!
Making this banner is so darn EASY, I’ve made one for every holiday since. And I find that making them is quite therapeutic.
Seriously.
I’ve still got a bit of the baby blues and I think the cure just may be making these banners, eating chocolate, and HGTV.
Seriously.
Some of the great things about this craft…
You can start and stop this craft without much thought. It’s easy to watch TV, supervise kiddos and plan dinner all while you are knotting away at the banner. You can even use fabric scraps you already have! So it’s totally a green project. Basically if you do this craft you will end world hunger… OK… not that last one.

You’ll need:
~1 yard of fabric total
~1.5 yards of twine
~cutting mat, cutting ruler & rotary cutter (optional)

1. Cut fabric into 1”x9” strips. Layering the fabric and using a rotary cutter makes this step super easy! 
90-ish strips makes perfect for a doorway or single window. 140-ish is perfect for a mantel or double window.

2. Start about a foot from the end of the twine.
Make a loop behind the twine. (center of the fabric at the top of the loop)

3. Pull the tails around the twine and through the loop. (Be sure to wear a polka dot band aide for extra flare)

4. Pull tight to form the knot.

5. Slide the knots together.

6. Hang and enjoy!!

Fun tip:
This is a PERFECT project to do with a group of friends because you can work on the banner while chatting and eating. It’s also a bit cheaper because you need multiple different color fabrics. (In the Valentines banner I used 5 and in the St Patty’s day banner I used 6… but I think 3 or 4 colors will look great too.) Just buy one yard of fabric for each person coming, and divide it up equally. I try to get fabric at about $5 a yard (with a coupon or on sale) so it makes it easy for collecting $$ too!

Have you fallen in love with Henry’s sweet little face like I have??

Yesterday I introduced my vision with our Fedorables and helping families bring their kiddos home.

Now meet our first family.

Henry’s family.

(Written by Gretchen, Henry’s mama)

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My husband and I are both in our 40’s and have two grown children, Ben who is 26 and Vivienne who is 17 so we considered ourselves past adopting at this point in our lives, we just wanted to serve the Lord in the capacity that He had called us to. We minister to the youth at our church and last year, summer 2010, God put it on our hearts to take a team of young adults to China to serve at Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village, an orphanage for special needs children. Two years prior we had taken a team to England and were amazed to see the transformation in the hearts of those who go on these short term missions trips, not to mention the work that the Lord accomplishes there.

While at Shepherd’s Field we not only fell in love with the children, we fell in love with the entire ministry and its people. Everyone is so selfless and focused on the children’s welfare. Each day a different child won my heart and Charles and I were both amazed at the fact that none were self conscious about their special need. Each are so special that their “special needs” simply fade away.

While spending time with the school aged children we met Henry. He was born with a missing right eye and has limited vision in his left. I was drawn to him each day while doing crafts and playing, constantly amazed at how self-sufficient he was, not to mention how smart and completely funny. We asked about advocating for him financially so that he could have surgery on his left eye so he would not loose his vision completely. By the time we left China our hearts were invested and we started hearing the call to adopt Henry, but the cost and commitment is so tremendous that we could not fathom it being possible.

After we got home, the more we prayed the stronger we felt the Lord was confirming that we bring Henry into our family. Its hard to argue with God…all of our reasons not to adopt seemed so completely selfish and shallow in the light of the reasons to adopt. Its especially hard to argue with God when He has the ability to transform your heart and mind and by the end of the week there are no reasons left. We started looking into adopting in September and have felt the Lord’s hand every step of the way. We are so excited as we walk this path and are amazed as the Lord provides everything we need at just the right time. Henry turned 6 on January 2^nd and we are thrilled that this summer he will have a family….and we will be blessed.

I have been eluding to a surprise.

Mentioned adoption.

And China.

A few of you have guessed that we were adopting from China.

Nope. (Though I’m praying about adoption from somewhere right now…)

Here’s what’s really going on…

Each Fedorable purchase is going to help Bring Henry Home.

Who is Henry? (you ask)

Well, let me tell ya…

I have a friend named Sarah… well more of a friend of a friend… (though I’m hoping wiggle my way into her circle as soon as we move back to South County)… who has adopted 3 children from China. My heart tugged a bit at her story and since I’ve learned that a little heart tugging can actually turn into kinda a big thing, I shot her an email about “somehow helping out in some way with some sort of China adoption thing.”

Really, my email was that vague.

Sarah came up with the best ideas and introduced me to Gretchen from A Well Watered Garden.

Gretchen and her family are in the process of adopting a sweet lil’ guy from China, named Henry.

He’s cute…

They need $26,000 total to bring him home. They are almost there.

We are going to help them with the final bit.

And after they get there, we are going to help another family and another family and another and another and another…

Does that excite you as much as it excites me?!!?!?

Right now I’m committing 10% of our profits for Henry (money goes directly to his agency for his adoption). My vision is to have 25% going to families by the end of the year. And next year… well… I wouldn’t want to ruin any surprises… now would I?!!!

Tomorrow I’ll share Gretchen’s story, but today I’ll share some of the ways you can help:

~Buy a Fedorable, of course! (Super Secret Sale going on now for newsletter subscribers!!)

~Donate directly through paypal! $5, $10, $20 or how about $1,000?? (had to ask)

Go to the right hand side of their blog and click the yellow donate button right under the bring Henry Home button. It looks like this: Every little or BIG bit helps!! Come on… do $5 right now. You won’t even miss it and I promise you will get an extra blessing – the knowledge that you were part of something greater today!!

~Check out Gretchen’s shop on her blog and on etsy (more selection on etsy). She is making quilts to raise money.

How awesome is that???

I’ve had my eye on the Olive Oyl one for Tess since I saw it (remember our Halloween costumes?). I’m saving my allowance to get it… so don’t buy it… unless of course you are getting it for me. Then you can totally buy it!!! And this Scrappy Birds one just makes me smile!!

More tomorrow!

Important Side Note:

We are still donating 10% from our profits of the Snowboarder Lids to Surfers Healing! With the same vision of donating 25% by the end of the year!! Each line will go to something different as we grow grow grow!! Thanks for being a part of this with me!

…a Happy Valentines Day!!

Thank you to all my little models and their families! Each one of you are so inspiring to me, super encouraging about my biz and you make gorgeous babies!