Pallet Art Girl's Night

The girls in my small group love our night's out. Sometimes we meet at Panera. Other times we have a baby shower. Or trade freezer meals. A few Saturday's ago, we decided on a craft night.

Now that my friend Ashlee knows how to use power tools, there is no project we can't tackle together! She took apart pallets and assembled these wooden signs.

Once we knew who could come, we printed names and wedding years. Using this tracing method, we painted a large colored initial on the board. The scripted last names looked great on top of these large initials.

Some added "Est. 2004" to complete their last name pallet art. It was so fun to see each person's style come to life as they painted their signs.

I always leave these nights feeling encouraged by these sisters in Christ.

Titus 2:1, 3-5, 7-8 says, "..,.Teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God. ...And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching. Teach the truth so that your teaching can't be criticized. Then those who oppose us will be ashamed and have nothing bad to say about us."

I used to think these "older women" that were to be examples referred just to my mom and grandmothers. It is scary to realize that I am now in that role of being the influencer to my children and other young women around me. I still have a lot to learn, but I left this evening feeling challenged to make a difference.

When I looked around at the number of families that were represented that evening in that workshop, it was staggering to think of the influence we ladies could have. Our children...their friends...our friends...our spouses...our co-workers...our grocery store cashiers....the list goes on and on. As we painted the year that our families were established on those signs, it seemed to signify a testimony of the number of years we have been influencing our family.

In 2 Timothy 1:5-6, Paul credits Timothy's spiritual growth to the influence of his mother and grandmother. What do we makes a difference. We are changing lives.

I love these ladies and jump at every chance I get to hang out with them. It is truly a blessing to be surrounded by these like-minded women. Together, we can encourage each other to make a difference. 

Adding Scripture to our Homes

Last night, the girls in my small group had a baby shower/girl's night/craft night/potluck. Since our husbands were nice enough to keep the kids for the evening, we decided to cram as many activities in one night as possible.

I've said it before...and I will say it again...I love these families. I love that we do life together. We support each other in so many ways. Whether it's a baby shower, bringing meals, offering a hug or praying for each other's needs or hurts.

We had a great group last night...but we also missed those who weren't able to attend.

We all contributed to the taco supper and enjoyed yummy desserts.

We then showered the two expecting moms with diapers and baby gifts.

After praying over these two sweet ladies, their babies, and some other needs in our group, we dug into our craft time.

I remember Scripture being on the walls in my home while I was growing up. And that cross-stitch of the Proverb about making sure my words were "sweet like honey comb" convicted me many times. I wanted to incorporate Scripture into my own home as well.

In Jewish homes, you will find a Mezuzah (little box like item with a scrolled rolled up inside) on their doorposts. It serves as a reminder of God's law and presence and is a symbol of their Jewish identity.

Their scroll contains Deuteronomy 6:4-6,9. I was challenged by the entire passage (verse 4-9). And I love that my Bible titled this chapter "A Call for Wholehearted Commitment."

Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 

And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul,

and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these

commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your 

children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the 

road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 

Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 

Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 

Like the Mezuzah, Scripture in our homes can also serve as a reminder of God's law and presence and be a symbol of our Christian identity.

Plus, it's always going to produce good things.

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. 

It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 

Isaiah 55:11, NLT

It helps me to memorize Scripture and encourages both my family and our guests. In Hudson's room I have Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 61:2 in Nora's room and Joshua 24:15 in my kitchen. Little 4x6 prints of Scripture are also sprinkled throughout our home. 

 The girl's all chose ahead of time which canvas they would paint. I brought along all of the supplies. 

My MawMaw's canning rack held all the supplies perfectly. 

We used the technique from this blog post to transfer the words to the canvas.  

Some chose a design that said "Count your Blessings."  (PDF for Count your Blessings)

Let all that I am praise the Lord, may I never forget the good things He does

for me. He forgives all my sings and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from 

death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things.

Psalm 103:2-5, NLT

Others painted "Walk by Faith." (PDF for Walk by Faith)

I will walk by faith, even if I cannot see.

2 Cor. 5:7

And the third option was "Choose Joy."  (PDF for Choose Joy)

...When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an 

opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is 

tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

James 1:2-3, NLT

Whatever they chose to paint, I am excited to see how they choose to incorporate Scripture into their homes.  These canvas boards can easily be framed, hung on the wall with command strips or set on a shelf or hutch. I think I might hang a large frame on the wall and then hang my canvas board with command strips onto the wall inside the frame (leaving the wall showing between the frame and the canvas). 

I wish I would have taken pictures of the finished projects last night. They looked fabulous. I am anxiously awaiting pictures of these verses hanging in their homes. And I love knowing that the Lord will use these Scriptures in mighty ways.

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. 

It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 

Isaiah 55:11, NLT

A Sunday Crafternoon

Last Sunday, I had a few girls over for a Crafternoon. I planned 4 little projects for them to take home.

It was fun to set my table up with all the supplies that they would need.

Each place setting had its own little pile of goodies.

An 11x14 picture frame, a piece of wood, a stack of reference cards from the card catalog, a recipe, a jar of foot scrub, a jar of Mod Podge, a cardboard ring for a wreath and a sponge paint brush.

I had originally planned for us to make the foot scrub that afternoon, but later decided just to give them the recipe and a little jar full. (Original recipe can be found here.)

After painting the lids, my left-over baby food jars were the perfect size. Each girl then decorated her jar with ribbons and stickers.

Our first project had two parts.  The girls had emailed me a digital picture for a wood photo transfer. I found the simplest tutorial video here, and tested out the project the day before. I found the Gel Medium at Hobby Lobby near the paint and model cars/airplanes/etc.

The girls did the first step at my house and then did the second step the next morning. I sent them each a little bit of Mod Podge to seal their final picture. The batch of Mod Podge was home made. (2 parts school glue to one part water)

I was pleased with my results. I think some of the girls decided they would like to try it again with a lighter or different picture.

Eventually, I might paint the word "Family" at the bottom of my picture.

Next, we tackled a memo board. You can see the original tutorial here. I use my board constantly - right now, it holds a list of areas in my house I want to reorganize this month.

Using paint swatches from Lowes, the girls each picked a colorful pattern for their boards.

Some girls even sent me pictures that night of how they had already started their "to-do" lists on their new boards.

As everyone finished up their memo boards, we started the next project - a wreath. After folding twenty to twenty-five 3x5 cards in half, hot glue was used to secure the cards to the cardboard ring. I had cut the rings from cereal boxes prior to the Crafternoon. Three rings of cards made the wreath look full and fun. I loved the vintage look that the card catalog reference cards provided. And yes, I still love my card catalog.

Felt flowers and leaves from coin rolls completed the look.

I loved seeing the individuality and creativity of each girl. Some did button flowers too.

I chose to use some left-over Sham Wow for my flowers. (Read about how it has made many flowers for me here.)

We had such a great time laughing and crafting together.

Hudson had fun meeting new friends.

He and Jeremiah shared snacks and watched football as we made our crafts.

I had a blast - I hope the other girls did too!