Soul Knitting

Many of you are probably familiar with the command in Hebrews 10:24 that we "stimulate one another to love and good deeds." I think we all recognize the importance of encouraging one another and the value in it but are we actually doing it?

A few months back I heard a devotional related to the life of David. The text came from 1 Samuel 18 and and verse one really stood out to me because it reads that "the soul of Jonathon was knit to the soul of David and Jonathon loved him as himself." If we want to encourage one another, we have to genuinely care and love each other. We have to remember to "think souls." If we start viewing those we come in contact with each day as souls and not merely people, maybe we will learn to encourage them, care for them and share the gospel with them. Perhaps we will care enough to share the most valuable substance in this world with them - the blood of Christ. And for our brothers and sisters who are in Christ, maybe we will begin fulfilling Hebrews 10:24 because we love their souls and long to grow in unity and strength of our Savior.

Today I pray that I will see souls and not just people; that I will take a good hard look at myself and honestly answer if my soul is knit to yours. I hope you will do the same. Is your soul knit to mine? Let's work on some soul knitting!

Newspaper Vase

One of my favorite things is entertaining. I love having people in my home. I especially enjoy feeding people in my home - be it a three course meal, a hotdog dinner or simply a plate of cookies. Given the opportunity, I also enjoy decorating for the occasion. These vases are perfect for entertaining because there is nearly no cost involved and they could be matched to whatever color scheme you are using. I actually shared these on Facebook almost two years ago but just found one of the vases as I was packing boxes for the move.

I originally got the idea from an issue of Parents Magazine. Basically, you cut the top off of a water bottle and use a water-glue mixture (Mod Podge would also work) to adhere torn up pieces of newspaper. This would be a fun project to do with the kids - even a toddler would enjoy tearing apart the newspaper! You could even use colored tissue paper for a different look. I put a final coat of the glue mixture over the vase and let it dry. I made several of these vases for a ladies' brunch and lined the table with them and some pink votives.

This time of year they would look lovely with orange tulle and burlap accents for a harvest themed party. Be creative and have fun!

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Another Fort Kit...

One of Ellie's friends recently had a Princess themed birthday party so I modified this super hero fort kit for a "princess fort kit." I included a Disney princess activity pack and made some pink glittery clothespins. The clothespins are my favorite part.

They turned out so cute and would be fun to use for other gifts as well. However, the glitter does seem to find its way onto everything - sorry mother of the birthday girl! ;-)

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Fall Wreath

Even though we are still getting settled from the move, I really have been wanting to get out my fall decor. Unfortunately when I opened my very small fall decor box, this is all I found:

::insert disappointed face here::

Since the tablecloth won't fit my new table (I'll share pictures once everything is in order!), I decided to use it and the brown and orange tulle to make a wreath. I got the idea from my good friend Katie who made this wreath for my baby shower.

All I had to do was grab an old wire hanger, shape it into a circle and tie with fabric and tulle strips - alternating the colors.  {I will admit, shaping a wire hanger is a little difficult. I used pliers and my husband's assistance after nearly taking my eye out three times.} I wanted a more shabby look so I ripped the tablecloth strips so that the edges would fray as opposed to cutting them. When I finished, I hot glued some pumpkins and silk leaves to it. I had enough materials that I was able to make a second wreath for a friend.

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Fall Leaves

Today I took the girls for a walk through our new neighborhood. Ellie was quick to notice the fall and halloween decor so we took our time spotting and pointing out pumpkins and such along the way. Counting pumpkins was a fun way to practice our numbers too. As we walked, I explained to Ellie that it is fall and that the leaves are changing colors. We would watch for trees with changing leaves and stop and pick up different colored fallen leaves. When we got home, we read "Corduroy's Halloween" by B.G. Henessy and created a leaf collage with the collection from our walk.

To make gluing easier, I squirted some in a Crystal Light plastic container and gave Ellie a q-tip as an applicator. Thanks Kim for the great idea to use all those little containers I've collected :-)

And we always display the masterpiece artwork on the fridge :) 

Another boy craft

Not that long ago I attempted to make a jet pack and, once again, a boy craft caught my eye on Pinterest. I love this fabric road because it cost nearly nothing to make, takes up no space and gave a new use to an old pair of jeans that we're being thrown out anyway. Unfortunately, my two and a half year old princess daughter isn't too interested in playing with cars - at least we have nephews :)

The fabric road is just pieces of denim cut into strips. I made one intersection and several straight, curvy, long and short pieces to put together. I used acrylic yellow paint for the dotted line on the road and it didn't show up very well. If you go here, you'll see my Pinterest inspiration and a much better version of this project. I chose not to finish the edges partly because my sewing machine and I don't see eye to eye but mostly because I'm a tad bit lazy ;-)

It was fun to make and I did try to get Ellie to put the pieces together with me and then drive her lone race car around the track. Instead, she ran to get her camera so she could take a picture of it ;-)

Fall Fun from the Past

I hope y'all are enjoying cooler temperatures wherever you may be. As a tribute to the cooler fall weather we are finally having, here is a picture that just makes me smile and I had to share it with you all.

And since my mom's birthday is just around the corner, here is an early birthday message. (Please feel free to disregard my obnoxious laugh in the background. I promise you that I laugh just like that every single time I replay this video. True story.)

And the winner is...

Congrats to Stephannie Berry, the Digging Deep giveaway winner. Thank you all for participating in my first giveaway :) I know we will be blessed through this study.

I have more exciting news...we are all settled in to the new house! I will share pictures later but it has been pretty hectic around here unpacking boxes. Amongst all the craziness, Ellie is still having her "school" time. I found pipe cleaners and colorful beads for a dollar at the Dollar Tree so we have been putting those to use practicing fine motor skills. Ellie has gotten pretty good at stringing the beads on the pipe cleaners so now we are working on identifying color patterns. Did you notice I found another use for parmesan cheese containers? The little holes are perfect for Ellie to pour out a few beads at a time and Mommy likes that :)