Busy Busy Busy

I want to sincerely apologize for taking forever to post again... life is getting more busy than usual and I am still trying to balance everything out. Last week I was working night and day (well, in the free time that I had) towards getting a collage book finished. I am only half way done and have taken a break, other things are requesting my time right now but once I get a free moment again I will pick it back up. I am hoping to have it done within the next week or two so I will desperately be looking for free moments. I will upload pictures and post them later to show you guys my work so far. They may not look like it but each page does take some time to finish.Anyway, I wanted to check in for now and let you know I have not completely abandoned this blog, I am just having a hard time finding free time right now.

A Little Too Long..

So it has now been 5 days since my last post. Well, at least when I do finally post I usually do it in bulk. Unfortunately however, this is not one of those times. I am working on a Valentines project right now which will be revealed in time for Valentines day but it requires a lot of reading, note taking, typing, disecting, putting notes together, etc etc etc. Right now I am in the typing process, soon to be followed by disecting and putting notes together. My time before now has been occupied by spending time with my son, reading a book (finally finished it about 10min ago!), exercising and just trying to find "balance" in all of this. The Valentines gift I am working on will soon be a collage book... this is what is looks like now (with blank pages inside, of course) but I am in the process of filling it up! 2 more weeks left and I will be done!

Oh, and here's a picture I took last night, a little "inspiration" for the upcoming baby shower.

My brother is the youth pastor of our church and they have a youth event called Focus coming up in February. Some of the kids cannot afford to pay their way so my sister-in-law organized a bake sale for today to help raise money. Last night we were at the church helping her wrap all of the goodies and organize whatever she needed us to. My mom made her delectable chocolate cake and chocolate cupcakes for the sale, you can catch a glimpse of the cake in the picture above.

Anyway, the picture above is pecan cupcakes. They were tied with light brown "ribbon" and I just loved the look... it reminded me of a nest for some reason. I thought it would be a perfect favor for the baby shower. I have been throwing thoughts around, one was to get glass baby food jars, fill them with bird seed and top with a paper or fabric flower but these cupcakes... too cute! On top of that, although I didn't try one, there were those who have either already had them in the past or tried them that night and they were very well pleased.

Chalk Board... Another Project in the Making

I was almost done with this but am not sure if I am going to use it for the event I was originally creating it for so if not, I want to somewhat change my direction but if I do end up using it for that event then there will be more birds cut out and attached to it.

 

Sketchbook Challenge: Song of Solomon

So, as I mentioned in the last post, I went to a ladies retreat this past weekend. While we were there Vicky told us her story about her sketch book and challenged us to take the journey as well. She made her sketch book based on the theme "In Flight" and God directed her to the Song of Solomon... the Song of all Songs.
I am now sharing what I have created and will share the notes I took just so it kind of makes sense, key word being kind of.

My Sketchbook/Journal Cover

         - We need to really grasp that God really sees us.

         - There is a difference between being seen and being watched.

         - Remember the first time I realized God saw me

         - We see Him because He first saw us

         - Remember to live in the moment, not the next step ahead

Dark but Lovely. Song of Solomon 1:5

- Imperfect in love but perfectly loved

- Song of Solomon 1:5 "Daughters of Jerusalem, I am dark like the tents of Kedar, yet lovely like the curtains of Solomon."

- Just like a jigsaw puzzle, the ugly dark pieces are necessary

- The behavior may be correct but if the motivation is not right God will reveal it to us when we are mature enough to deal with it.

- Dark but lovely

- He wants to be in relationship with us and constantly pursues us.

- Even when I feel ugly and unlovely He desires me and calls me His.

Into His Chambers. Song of Solomon 1:4

- Song of Solomon 1:4 "Her: Take me with you- let us hurry. Oh, that the king would bring me to His chambers. Friends: We will rejoice and be glad for you; we will praise your love more than wine"

- Life. Together. Now

- The King has brought me into His chambers

- We don't have to wait until we die, life with Him is now.

- With Him we truly become alive

What I Wrote: the definition of radiance... 

    "noun - the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light."

Our Bed Is Green. Song of Solomon 1:16

- When we truly rest in Him everything else becomes easy

- Rest always preceeds power

- Song of Solomon 1:16 ""How handsom are you, my love. How delightful! Our bed is lush with foliage"

- Rest. Provision. Protection.

 

Lily Among the Thorns. Song of Solomon 2:1-2

- God pulls us aside for privacy, for promotion

- Pure white lily, could be the proudest of flower but it hangs its head down. Example of humility.

- We are called to bloom for His eyes alone

- We are constantly having to say no to the worldly things around us (the thorns we're surrounded by)

- We just have to be His, not what others expect us to be

- Being a lily is a lifestyle.

 

Apple Tree Among the Forest. Song of Solomon 2:3

- God is fruitful, anything we need we can get from Him.

         - love, protection, provision, acceptance, rest, etc

- Take of His very nature, eat it and become more like him

- Transformation

Song of Solomon 2:10. "My love calls to me, "Arise my darling. Come away, my beautiful one."

- Come outside from everything that keeps me from being truly His.

- He gently calls us, gazing at us with love, waiting for us to step out of our house and through the gate into his courts.

- Our soul life can keep us inprisoned.

- The life of the Spirit calls us to soar up above and not under our circumstances.

- Don't be left behind, be where He is.

- Rise up my love, my fair one and come away with me.

 

Love Sick.    Song of Solomon 5:8

- I am love sick

- "Young women of Jerusalem, swear to me that if you find my beloved you will tell him I am hopelessly lovesick." SS 5:8

- Hunger after God, an unquenchable hunger.

- Anguished because you cannot get enough of Him.

- As we're desperate for Him, we push our boundaries back and they don't go back, like stretched out elastic.

What I Wrote on the Page:

- "Show me your ways, oh lover of my soul. I hunger for you, for your touch, for your love that consumes me like fire to my spirit. Your ways, oh love, are unlike mine yet I yearn to be more like you. My soul thirsts for you, my soul longs for you."

- "He Loves Me" - on the petal

- "I long to see your face"

- See. Write. Love.

- Love. Love. Grace. Grace. Grace.

- Taste and see that He is good

- His intention is Life Together Now, right this minute

- Endure. Press. Press In.

- Obey, walk out what we heard.

What I Wrote

On the tag it says, "I Will Go"

 

- He invites me in the midnight hour to just be with Him

- His absence is a silent and distinct call to follow.

What I Wrote: definition of follow

   "verb - to travel behind, go after, come after."

 

The Wilderness - Song of Solomon 8:5

- The Song - I am my Beloveds and He is mine.

- Song of Solomon 8:5, "Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on the one she loves?"

- You do not have to earn His love, you just have to receive it

- He has brought us out of the wilderness

- Lean on Him, you are one

 

This picture is actually not part of my sketch book but it is inspired by the Song of Solomon.

It was too big so I framed it. The picture spoke to me because of the intimate moment between the groom and his bride plus my "secret place" with God is dancing on the water in front of the light house. The fact that the light house was in the back was very special to me. We are dancing on the water and because He is dancing with me, He is the reason I am not sinking.

What I Wrote.

"Behold you have come, my Beloved you have captured my heart. Dance with me lover of my soul to the song of all songs. With you I will go, you are my love, you are my fair one." - Dance with Me by Jesus Culture

"I live only to see your face" - Light of Your Face by Jesus Culture

He Calls Me Into His Secret Place...

When I originally started this blog I knew what I wanted to blog about... my daily devotions with God, my crafts and my life but I didn't really know how they all really related (other than the obvious) until this weekend, until God gave me direction. I went to a community wide ladies retreat this weekend, it happens once every year and is a true blessing, to me it's a honeymoon with the Lord. I get to get away, I am able to leave all the labels I have been given at home... "mother", "daughter", "wife" (although I don't currently know where that one is leading...), "friend" and just focus on being with my Beloved. So many beautiful things happened this weekend but the point of this post is to talk about a certain one. The lady who speaks at the Ladies Retreat is an amazing Godly woman named Vicki Tipps. A great artist, prophet and spiritual mother. I am sure she has so many other gifts that God has given her, but I have personally witnessed those three. She flows freely in the gifts our wonderful God has given her and blesses everyone around her. She is an inspiration to me, especially in her art. It is a way of worship for her, which I feel is the direction God is leading me to with my art as well. As His creation, we have been called to worship Him in all of our ways and in all we do, which would include the gifts He has given us, for me one of my gifts would be the gift of art. So now I understand how my life, my crafting and my daily devotion time all relate to each other... through the God who has given me all of it. I look outside the window at my parents home and I see God there, simply in the beauty of a flower, a tree, the gravel... to the naked eye it is simple but when you are finally able to see the art of the creator, there is a certain Awe, a certain depth of Awe that we cannot find anywhere else. I see my Beloved a lot of places but it seems like since He has given me a new direction, I see Him even more now. He's there, very present in our every day lives, our every breath, all we need to do is be open to Him.  After I came home from the retreat, I was looking in my old journal and came across this picture with a journal entry. It just reaffirmed everything God had been showing me this weekend, not just with my art but with my other every day life things. Oh how He loves us.

Look at the snow on the mountain... He knows just how much snow and perfectly positioned all of it where it is. Look at the trees... He counted out each leaf, each needle and put them there, arranging them perfectly. The branches have been measured, perfectly covered with bark. The mountains... He knew exactly how high and how wide to make them. How many grains of sand and exactly where to put the grass. He knows how to position the clouds every second of the day abd which shape each one will be in. When it rains, he counts out each rain drop, where exactly it will land and when. He knew where the road would be paved... the breaths of each wind and how long it lasts. He positioned everything, counted everything, planted everything, made the perfect soundtrack to go with it and made all of this just for you. Imagine back in the old, little house on the prarie days. Your husband spends countless days, hours, days, nights, weeks and months making the house you wanted. Not for himself but as a gift for you. He'd be happy as long as you're with Him, loving Him, spending time with Him. He made the house just to see a simple smile on your face, that look in your eye and just to show you His love.

Don't be afraid to take a walk with Him, to spend time with Him, to talk to Him. Everything He does He does it for you.

Scrapbook Paper & Paper Bird Cages

Monday I went to my favorite craft store... Hobby Lobby. Let me just say that I do go to Michaels ever so often, I just can't stand their prices! Their 40% off coupons make some things worth it but from my experience Hobby Lobby has way better prices and a better selection. I have yet to step into a JoAnnes but plan to do so soon. Anyway, I went to Hobby Lobby on a mission to buy the scrapbook paper I will be using for baby shower crafts, including the one below from The Brides Cafe.
I have a question though... in the tutorial for the birdcages, it says to use the lids of pint size ice cream containers. My issue is, I never buy any of those and with so many things coming up, do I really have the money to buy pint size ice cream? I mean, I am sure I can budget it but is there another idea to use in place of?

Here are pictures of the scrapbook paper we decided on. All except for one (the one with birds) came from Hobby Lobby's clearance scrapbook paper section. *sigh* Such a wonderful place... instead of spending 79 cents-$1 at Michaels on one piece of paper or 59 cents at Hobby Lobby, when you find what you need in the clearance section you get 6 sheets for $1! Such a blessing.

 
 

 

 

Cute Dresser Decor...

A great idea for those who can't paint a drabby dresser OR for anyone who wants to paint their dresser but add a cute touch to the knobs as well...

I found this in an issue of Real Simple Magazine, I tore it out and put it in my "inspiration" folder which I happened to be going through last night. I do not have a little girl who would go with this (my possibly soon-to-be ex husband has a daughter so I do have an amazingly awesome step daughter but she would NOT go for this)... nor do I have a craft space of my own so until I have a little girl of my own (just a thought), this will have to remain as just a cute idea.