Free Printable 2014 Calendar - Wishing You a HAPPY New Year

I wanted to say

Merry Christmas

and

HAPPY NEW YEAR

and

Thank You

for reading my blog!

I designed this calendar as a gift for you!

Free Printable 2014 Calendar

DIY Yarn Star Ornaments

I wanted to find a craft for my Bible Study girls to make at our Christmas party.  My requirements:

1. easy

2. not too time consuming

3. inexpensive

4. something cool they would actually use

I don't ask for much! 
I think I found the perfect thing - a yarn-wrapped star ornament (don't think "kindergarten project", think "Pottery Barn, rustic chic").

For this Project, you'll need:

printed star shape (or hand-drawn, if you can)

scissors

cardboard (mine was literally a Crate & Barrel box from a recent order)

hot glue gun/glue sticks

twine

yarn

 

Decide on the size and shape of star you want and print it.  You can find a customizable shape Microsoft Word under Insert<Shapes.

 

Then cut it out and place it on top of your cardboard and trace around it.

 

 

Cut the star out of the cardboard.

 

 

Hot glue a length of twine to the star, to be the ornament hanger.

 

 

Hot glue the starting end of the yarn - then start wrapping - there is no right way to wrap, as long as you cover all the cardboard, you will be successful!  I found it helpful to hot glue the yarn at each of the star points.  When you've finished wrapping, cut the yarn and hot glue the end to the back of the ornament, tucked under. 

The stars can be used as ornaments or as a decorative element on gifts. 

 

Look how great it looks on my tree (bottom right)!

 

All the girls in Bible Study did a great job!

Look how cute Gayle looks while crafting!

I can just picture these stars on a garland or on a rustic-themed tree!!

Since this is my last blog before Christmas,

 

Homemade Christmas Gifts

For the last few years I have given homemade food gifts to my co-workers and friends.  It's become a really fun tradition for my mom and sisters to come over to my place for an annual baking day, then I take them out to dinner for all their help! 

 

The first year was Gourmet Cookies

Second year was hand-dipped pretzels

 

 

Third year was peanut clusters, peanut butter balls and holly clusters.

And this year, I decided on gourmet popcorn.  I searched different recipes on Pinterest and online and decided on:

this Reindeer Crunch recipe by Framed Cooks. 

 

We popped popcorn,

 

made the sauce,

baked it,

 

melted chocolate chips,

 

 

drizzled,

 

 

and packaged!

 

 

It was a lot of work, but it was great!  The recipe turned out AMAZING!  The best part was spending the entire day just hanging out and working in the kitchen with my mom and sister.



Tulle Wreath

For this Project you'll need:

wire wreath form

strips of coordinating fabric or ribbon

2 spools of tulle

feather hair clip

jewel for the center

scissors

hot glue gun/glue

 

Step 1:

Wrap the wire form with your fabric or ribbon.

 

 Step 2: 

Cut the tulle into 8.5-11 inch strips (depending on how full you want the wreath to look.  This one, I used about 9 in. strips) and tie them, all the way around the wreath, with the tie at the outer edge of the wreath. 

 

Step 3:

Add embellishments.  I clipped my feather to the tulle and hot glued a jewel in the center.

 

Step 4:

Hang and enjoy!

 

Writing a Book

I've been working on this particular project for 3 years!  My first book!  I started brainstorming in 2010 after reading a news article about Pluto changing colors - the book is not about Pluto, space or colors - but that article kick-started my imagination!

It's been a great process - brainstorming, outlining, developing characters and plot, revising, making revisions, editing, formatting, proofreading, designing the cover and publishing. 

I wrote this book because:

1. I have a God-given need to express myself though creativity.

2. Personally, I am always looking for Christian fiction to read.  I want to make a deliberate choice to fill my mind with certain things:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

From experience, I can say - the things I allow into my mind make a difference in my everyday life.  If I'm listening to Christian radio or reading Christian fiction - my life, my choices, my thoughts are more Christ-like. 

3. I want to use the gifts God has given me to glorify Him.

Writing a book ends up being a very personal endeavor and when you let other people enter the world you've created - it's nerve-wracking.  I sent it to my family last August and asked for any feedback.  Later that day, my sister Jordan wrote:

"I'm halfway though it!  It's so good!!  What an inspirational quest!!  You have to write sequels,  I love all the characters!!"

 (her response made me cry, in a good way)

Several times through the process, I got tired of writing and thinking and editing and I just quit for  a few months, but I wanted to finish!  (Just like last summer when I walked my first 5k - VERY slowly.  I had huge blisters on my feet and it was pretty excruciating, but I didn't want to stop or take a shortcut - I wanted to finish!)  So I pressed on with my book and it was VERY rewarding to get it finalized and see it on my Kindle.  If you're in the midst of a difficult creative project - I encourage you to press on! 

My book,  The Missing Part, is for sale on Amazon.com in eBook format.  If you decide to read it book, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Legend states that the Lacunan people were created with a missing part and each year, the tribe sends all Eleventh Years on a Quest to find the missing part.

Deep in the Amazon jungle, eleven year old Xander is set to begin The Quest, but Xander has more riding on The Quest than any other. The one who solves the quest opens the door to eternal life…and Xander’s father is dying.

Xander observes the awe-inspiring nature around him as he searches in vain for the missing part. He begins to wonder about the creator of the Earth and then has a miraculous encounter with the Creator.

Xander’s newfound faith is tested when he returns to the tribe to find a new Chief - one aligned with demonic forces.

The Missing Part culminates with a spiritual battle of epic proportions.

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Q:  Can you still read the book if you don't have a Kindle?

A:  Yes!  Amazon offers a free Kindle app for most PCs and devices.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000493771