Folded Book Photo Display

A few weekends ago, my sister and I went "treasure hunting"...also known as shopping in antique stores and home decor places.  We bought a few things and gathered lots of ideas. Its the best place to find inspiration and ignite my creativity.



Beside the cash register at one of these stores was the cutest little folded book where business cards were adorably displayed.

As soon as I saw it, my mind started thinking of how I could recreate it.


This morning, I grabbed one of my favorite books to re-purpose...I love the colorful cover that I will use for another project. I love that the pages are a little discolored, thanks to their age. I love the size. And I love that it came from the free box at a local used book store. Give me all the Readers Digest Condensed Books. ha.

But any book with this same thickness will do.

It doesn't even need to be a hard backed book, because the first step is to remove the cover.

Then, I started folding. I folded each page in half. (Perfect movie-watching activity)

And if I came across a page that had an illustration, I just adjusted which way I folded the page to hide the picture. In the end, it didn't matter which way each page was folded.

Instead of business cards, mine will display photos or cards received. (Snail Mail Forever!!)

I've been wanting to host another Crafternoon...this may just be a featured project. It was easy, cheap and the end result was rewarding.

Who would be interested in a future Crafternoon...I'll come up with the projects, you'll pay a small supply fee, and we will all craft together!

Better Together

Our last meeting for my moms group ended up being a Tea & Testimony.

The tables were set with care. Each place held a different thrifted plate. And above each place setting was a card which read...

Those dishes were from all different places. Different homes. Different families. If only they could tell us their stories -- what dinners they have held. What celebrations they were used for. Were they pulled out nightly for regular family dinners? Some maybe only ever sat on display. Some may have been used for special holidays. Some forgotten. Some hidden in attics. Others passed down to granddaughters. But I told the moms, where these plates went from here was up to them. 

I challenged them to think about their stories. What brought them to this place in motherhood. Think of who they are. How did they get to this point in their relationship with the Lord? Where had they been?

In 2 Timothy 1:3-7, Paul reminded Timothy of the spiritual heritage they both had. 

Beth Moore, in her Entrusted study said, "Let's take personal ownership of our spiritual lineage -- both in what we receive and what we pass down...You're a creative blend of all your main influencers mixed in with your own God-given uniqueness."

We can usually trace back a generation or two of our family tree without a thought. This is my grandmother... this is my dad...

But what about your spiritual lineage? Who has been your "main influencers"? I challenged the moms to write out five names. My list included my parents, Sunday school teachers who challenged me to memorize large portions of Scripture, college mentors who showed me the importance of ministering to women, friends who suggest books and podcasts, and even authors I have never met face-to-face have impacted my spiritual walk. 

We have to keep that spiritual lineage going. It's time to get excited about influencing the next generation. 

Psalm 78:6-7 says, "So the next generation might know them (the commands of the Lord) -- even the children not yet born -- and they in turn will teach their own children. So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands."  

" They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God's works, but keep His commandments." - Beth Moore

As I think about this group of moms, I love that one of our main goals is to encourage each other to be Jesus to our kids. Next year, we are calling our group MOMs - focusing on the Ministry of Motherhood. 

Since I became a mom, I understand my relationship with my Heavenly Father so much better. I understand more about how God relates to His Son too. It's relational, The love is unconditional. 

I love that the parenting relationship was part of God's plan all along. Through it, we understand Him better. 

At times, the "Ministry of Motherhood" sees daunting. I start to think about all the ways I could mess things up. I doubt my influence. I worry my kids are too small. Or I just feel too tired.

But when my son asks questions and responds on his own to Bible verses we are learning, I reminded that the Holy Spirit is at work and the Word of God will always accomplish what the Lord wants it to accomplish.

What a privilege it is to be the FIRST person to tell our kids about Jesus. We get to help start their spiritual lineage. God gave that to parents! And I can't tell you how excited and privileged I feel about that. 

When those doubts surface, I need to remember 2 Timothy 1:8.  It's His strength - not mine! 

It all starts with just letting these kids see that you love Jesus. Let them see you read the Bible. Let them hear you pray. (Even letting my children hear me confess my sins allows them to understand this life-long struggle of walking in the Spirit.)

And remember the plates... you're not alone. We are better together. 

I had these moms each take home their plates as a reminder of these truths of God's Word and the support of this group. And here's a few ideas of what they could do with these plates.

Or you can always bake another mom some cookies and tell her to keep the plate! Because she might need the reminder that we are repurposed for the Lord's use.

We are better together.

"And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of His return is drawing near."  Hebrews 10:24-25

A Manly Makeover for a Little Wooden Box

There are certain "everyday things" we celebrate in this house. Sometimes it's a clean plate. Other times it's using the potty. Our son wears glasses and we patch one eye for an hour each day.

We celebrate putting the patch on, taking the patch off, and taking care of our glasses.

This little wooden box got a manly makeover today to help Hudson feel that his "eye supplies" have a special place.

I picked it up last Saturday, not really knowing what I would use it for. It was half price at my thrift store, making it a bargain that I could not pass up.

I think that it used to be some type of jewelry box. I like when I don't know exactly what the item was - it lets me be more creative in re-purposing it. Inside the drawer was a yucky velvety surface.

I simply ripped out the "velvet" insides, intending to decoupage something cute in its place. After I removed the fabric portion, I let the box air out in the garage for a day or two. That process usually removes any musty/old smells.

Wrapping paper that looked like old newspaper was the perfect choice for the inside of the drawer.  A quick wash helped the overall appearance of the box. I love to pick up wooden items from thrift stores or yard sales - they can easily be painted or fixed with glue and nails.

We usually place Hudson's glasses on this shelf each night while he sleeps.

As he is getting older, he is learning to do more and more by himself. And I have found that if something has a proper place, he has a better chance of getting that item where it belongs.

It also has been helpful to let him get the patch and open the wrapper himself before I place it on his eye.

Having a fun little drawer to open seemed to make this dreaded part of the day more fun.

After painting the drawer front white, the piece felt more modern.

I needed a drawer pull and had thought about attaching a cute knob, but I wanted the box to look more manly.  I had a leather strap on hand that had once been part of a luggage tag on an old suitcase.

A thumbtack held the leather onto the drawer front quite securely. A few taps from my hammer finished the job. I love that the thumb tack was long enough to hold the leather into place but not so long that it stuck out the other side of the drawer. It made me start thinking about using old belts for dresser drawer pulls. Super simple.

Hudson loves his little box. As we got ready for bed tonight, he asked if he could open the drawer one more time. I love when he gets excited about little things.

The Lord has been good to us and has made the adjustment fairly easy. I am so glad that I can look back at the Lord's faithfulness when future difficulties arise.

I Samuel 7:12 "Up to this point the Lord has helped us."

And I hope that this little wooden box reminds Hudson that we are proud of how well he does with his glasses.

Mom's Makeover: Canvas Deck Chairs

I often mention how my mom loves a project! My parents are awesome at taking something insignificant and making it into something enjoyable. Mom's recent makeover included adding new fabric to some beach chairs/deck chairs.

During my mom's friend's last visit, Carlyn wanted to check out Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, VA.

Black Dog Salvage is the retail/marketplace of the popular DIY Network show "Salvage Dawgs." As they browsed the marketplace, Mom found two deck chairs that just needed a little love.

Tay, from the show, was the one that they first asked about the chair's price. He then asked his dad Mike, who is the main guy on Salvage Dawgs. From then on Mike waited on them and checked out their purchases at the register. Carlyn said she thought it was really cool that even though they have their own tv show, they were just nice, average, normal people running a business in a personal way.

Mom and I usually would rather tackle a project that required painting or hot-gluing. Since this project needed some sewing, mom thought about and searched for the best solution. She purchased a canvas drop cloth like this (like I used for Hudson's curtains here and his pouf here) at a home improvement store. The cloth is durable and versatile.

She then enlisted the help of my creative aunt to help in the sewing and execution. Since Aunt Jo has an embroidery machine, they were able to personalize the chairs too.

If you don't have the ability to embroider, you could probably paint a letter or name using stencils. The embroidery is way more durable, but the paint that I applied to Hudson's curtains is holding up nicely (FYI: I haven't washed his curtains so I can't say how the paint would do in the washer.)

Using a knee pedal electric machine that belonged to my grandmother, my mom finished up one of the chairs at home.

She also added more support to the back in a coordinating fabric.

These classy chairs now sit on my parent's awesome deck.

I love spending time out on their peaceful deck, surrounded by woods. Their recent addition of grapevine and lights to the deck railing makes the space even more inviting.

Just looking at these pictures makes me wish that I could go to my parent's house tonight and ask my dad to grill me a burger or one of his famous grilled pork chops. I've said it many times, but I adore family time. I have a tremendous amount of Covey Pride. I think my family is the best! And I am so thankful that my mom taught me to not be afraid to re-make an item someone else may have discarded.