Giveaway update!

Tomorrow is the day that I will announce the winner of my giveaway, so you all have until eleven o'clock tonight to enter. :-) I hope to get the results out relatively early tomorrow. I don't want to keep you in suspense!

I am eager to see who wins... :-D

An easy, fun, needle book!

Miss Emily Rose had a beautiful tutorial on her blog for a stunning needle book!
Now I made one today----not half as lovely as her's----and I am a total beginner when it comes to embroidery!---so I didn't decorate as well as Miss Emily did... but, here's how it turned out!

                                            blanket stitching- I used pink felt for the top,

                                           Several of my supplies,

                                       

                            A cute flower for decoration,

           The bright orange felt on the inside, -I made a button hole so it could close-

                                                    Some happy pins in there new home. ;-)

                                                        Closed,

                                                     Opened,

                                           ...And all together!

                      A fun and easy project finished. This will come in handy-and it is very portable!
                         I might even make another one. :-)   

Head on over to Emily Rose's blog if you'd like to learn how to make one! ;-)

"Approach the Throne of Grace with Confidence"...

Hebrews 4:14-16

14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 

I hope your having a beautiful,  fabulous, Friday...! 

Math

Did you cringe when you read that title?
.
.
.
I love most subjects in my school work, but math is one that I dread....

I've never been a math genius and I try to do a good job and study, but some times it's hard when what your learning just doesn't make much sense. The concepts seem too hard, the work is tedious, the numbers become difficult and you can't seem to make them do what you want... math is not fun.

Do you have any advice to make your worst subjects enjoyable to study and learn? :-)

4 things tag

 Eden tagged me! Thanks Eden. :-)

 4 things found in my school bag:  Well, I don't have a school bag but a couple things that I use in my school work are...

   

1. My math Cd's and textbook

2. The internet. It has a lot to offer. I love wikipedia.

3. My sketching and writing journal 

4. Our piano and my violin... ( Music is one of my favorite subjects.)

4 things found in my purse:

1.My bible.( I have two bibles. One that I use at home and one that I use at church and out in about.) 

2. My wallet 

3. Chap stick

4. Pencil and notebook
 

4 things in my room: My sisters and I share a room so I will try and say four of my things.... :-)

1.  My trundle bed

2. My desk, which is a neat little tea cart. :-D

3. My favorite pen from my friend in Germany.

4.  Clothes all neatly hung up in our closet (HA.) ;-)

 4 things I’m currently in to:

 1. Crocheting

2. Playing violin

3. Sewing

4. And... ( It's hard to do only four!) Organizing... (Yes. Not me usually!)

4 things I bet you didn’t know about me:

1. I have a bad temper

2. I can sing on tune, but I have a terrible voice. :-P

3. About 90% of my clothing is from thrift shops. :-D

4. I am scared of introducing myself to new people. (But I can usually feel comfortable talking to someone new after the first few sentences. :-)

Well, I think I will tag... 

~Abby

~Mattie

~ Annie

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day... :-)

Quilted Tote Bag

Well, I finally finished that purse I was making. I got the fabric that the pattern called for. Double faced pre-quilted fabric. But I realized that the pattern also says to line the bag on the inside! I thought that seemed like a waste of pretty fabric... (Above fabric is what I chose.) So I asked some advice from a lady at church and my grandma.

They both said that a french seam might work, if I didn't want to line. So, I looked up a french seam online to make sure I knew what to do and added about an inch of extra fabric to the fabric pieces. It was hard and easy at the same time... The first actual cuts and snips were a bit scary because I wasn't fully sure I had measured enough. So for a while ( Okay about month.) I didn't do anything with the pattern and fabric. It sat and sat...and sat in my craft basket.

But I took the first initiative on Sunday, worked from there, and now it's finished! Yeah! I was able to hide all the seams and now it looks like a reversible bag.
It had a lot of pockets on the pattern but I only made one. (I didn't want to complicate things.)
                           
Here is the first side of the bag...

                                              I added a flower for decoration.

        Here is the other side...  and the pocket. It could be an inside pocket of a outside pocket.

                                                      The flower in detail...


Well, I am glad that's done. :-D 


Have you been sewing? :-) Made anything exciting?

Simply Vintagegirl

Simply Vintage girl is having a giveaway for this set of beautifully made paper dolls and a secret prize, that Miss Emily Rose and her sister are making!

So go enter here! Hurry! It ends the Friday... :-)

Rambles

I can not comprehend that it is the 20th of August; the months fly by so quickly...

The warmth of summer is still in the air, and my mind is not ready cold weather just yet.
Usually when fall rolls around I am ready for it. But at the moment, I am enjoying the warmth. Today it was rainy and a bit dreary for a change.

I have still been reading Do hard things. It's a great book.
I am reading through Psalms, 2 Corinthians, and I read Romans 11. It is definitely food for the mind.

After my giveaway ends, I am planning on taking a blogging break for a week at the least, and most likely longer. :-) I need to focus my time a little more discreetly on literal life for a while. I am trying to get my schedule more planned out and organized. My sisters and I have been very bad as to what time we go to bed over the summer and I think we finally have a decent bed time schedule. We have also been walking every morning for exercise. It's a refreshing and motivating way to start the day.

 I have been crocheting and I have requested yet another crocheting book from the library. :-)

This august has also been the anniversary of one year of playing violin... :-D I am not very professional or very skilled yet but it's exciting. I am practicing Minuet No.1 and No.2 composed by Bach. Of course it's not the original version of both songs but I like to practice songs that I know.

Well, there's my shortish ramble...
Now it's your turn, what have you been up to? :-)

photo credit

Homemade Iced Mint Tea

         
 Lately I have been making my own mint tea, with our home grown mint...It is so easy to make. I got the general recipe from homestead blessings videos. It is an imprecise recipe.

You will need:

~Fresh mint about 15 stems
~A Bowl
~Gallon -or so-of water
~Sweetner (Sugar,honey,etc)
~Cheese cloth, or some kind of fine strainer
~ A container for the tea

Wash your fresh mint before starting...

You need to take out about 7 stalks and pull the leaves off into a bowl.

Put the stems aside. ( I compost mine.) 

Have about a gallon of water measured out...

Pour about a quart of water into your bowl.

 Squeeze, rip, and crunch, the mint leaves into your water. ( Your trying to get all the juice into your water.I usually squeeze with both hands. But I was taking the picture.)

Depending upon how strong you want your mint, squeeze until your water has a brown coloring.

Take a good amount of your mint out of your bowl, and set aside, for the moment.

Choose your container and cover it with a cheese cloth or fine strainer.

Carefully pour the water into the other container trying to keep as many leaves off the top of the cloth as possible.(You may want to have two people at this point.)

Repeat steps above until desired amount of water has been diverted into tea or until gallon of water has been used up. Just add more mint, ( Including what was set aside.) water, squeeze, strain, and it's as easy as that.

You may sweeten to taste.(with sugar, honey, etc) You can refrigerate to cool or use ice cubes.

Yum, a refreshing drink on a hot day!

God bless you...

Giveaways, giveaways!

Click here for Johanna's giveaway!

Click here for another giveaway,  Callie, a sweet young woman from my church, is having!

Click here for Lindsay's giveaway!

... And Click here for mine! ;-)


I hope you all are having a great day!

Christ's blessings....

Hello down there!

Well, I don't know what to say.
I  am shocked.
I am overwhelmed.
I am sad.

Now it might not seem very outrageous to you... but.... my younger sister is taller than ME!!!! Me.... I....the oldest and most grown up, of my siblings, and my sister is taller!!! She is a 1/4 of an inch taller!!! (Maybe more.) How could it get any worse? 

Now... I have a couple years ahead of me to grow, but Abby... (Sniffle) could grow taller too...Gulp.

I know, height's not that important. Being 5'2 is a just a little short to my liking and still not that bad, but being shorter than your younger sister hurts...

It's heart breaking being short... Everyone towers over you. You walk on an earth with giants surrounding you. Your trampled by the tall people. People think your eleven or so when your really fifteen! 

How will I bear it....................(faints on the floor.) Sob, Sob, Sob!

Okay enough with the drama. Control yourself, Leah!

I'll survive! Have no fear!

I just need to remember that God made me this way. I am the only me, that's like me.
Short or Tall. I am God's creation and the more I want to be tall, the shorter I'll appear.

Just remember shorties of the world, God made you, you!  ;-)

Thanks for listening to my sob story.

Now I'd like to know...

                  

                   How tall your you? :-)

Story Contest...

                         Tough Farewells

It was the year 1908, and I, Jane Marywell, was getting ready to go to a new young lady's school. I was sixteen and had just moved from East bay, Louisiana to now Rochester, New York City. After he had lost his job several months before, My father had found a new job and we were just settling into our new  home. I kept asking God, why we had needed to move. What was His purpose sending us here?
My mother kept telling me that we would soon get used to the idea of living in the cramped, loud, bustle of this big city. I was not familiar with this place and everything seemed strange and different from my beloved East bay, Louisiana. My seaside house, which I missed so much was now in my dreams and my new surroundings did not seem real to me. My seagulls, my sand, my shells, my ocean was now not mine. My aunt, uncle and three cousins, who I had not seen in a few years, were the only people I knew. They would be very dear to me through this transition. My cousin Libby, sixteen like me, was my dearest companion out of them all and had blond hair and bright blue eyes, like my ocean. I loved looking into them for they gave me comfort and gave me a little piece of home. I envied her rosy cheeks and crisp red lips which always wore a beautiful smile. My complexion and features were much less stunning and lovely. My dark brunette hair had almost a gray coloring and my eyes were a dark musty brown.

On this particularly cold rainy day, Libby and I were on our way to the young lady's school. It was my first day and I was beginning to feel unsure of the fact that I was not the most bright student and would have trouble making friends. But Libby rattled on telling me all about it and the wonderful teachers and other young ladies that I would meet. Her words somewhat comforted me as they distracted me from my fears.
When we finally arrived, my brow was furrowed with new worries and my heart beat fast.
The building was narrow, tall and drab. Black doors, walls, window frames were the scenery.
The sign on the building read. 'Lady's Christian Fine Arts school'
"We'll stop by my favorite teacher first." Libby whispered in my ear excitedly. We entered the building and climbed a set of echoing stairs.
As we got to the first teacher's room, a tall slender woman met my eye. Her face was plain, but she had a sincere smile that brightened her simple features. " Hello Mrs. Smith! This is my cousin Jane Marywell, who I've been talking about." Libby said with enthusiasm. "Welcome Miss Jane! I hope you find our school as fine a one as in Louisiana." Mrs. Smith said. " I teach writing here at our school. What is your favorite subject?" I smiled at the question. I loved music, and acting, but writing was my passion. "I love to write." I answered.

As the day continued my mood become more hopeful. This school was different but a good kind of different.
I reminisced about my day as Libby and I walked briskly home from the icy gusts of wind.
As I ate dinner with my family and cousins, my thoughts wandered to my ocean once more. The sunrises and sunsets that I had looked forward to each day. I decided to make the most of my new home and try and keep my spirits up. I thought I might write a poem about the the joys of New york to keep my thoughts from wandering.

As I finished getting ready for bed that night, my mother and father came in and said prayers with me. My father's deep voice gave me peace as he talked to God, asking for His guidance and protection over us in our new surroundings. I kissed my mother good night and gave my father a big hug. " I know you miss your home Jane, but I feel that God has a plan for us here." My father said to me before he closed my bedroom door. I looked at him and answered with trust. "I know." We smiled. As he closed that door, I felt that God was holding my hand and giving me peace. This new place which I knew little about, was still God's world. And I knew no matter where Christ took me, He was there, holding my hand. As the days and months moved on, I started to enjoy the cold wind that rushed past me each day. Libby and I became the best of friends. I also met new girls at the school and we now had a bible devotion each week at my house. God had given me joy and contentment. The beautiful scenery here in New York had become as beautiful as the seaside. My family and I visited Louisiana several times each year and I would sit on the rocks, breathing in the ocean, watching the sunset and write.



Here is a story that I am entering for Grace's writing contest!


Have a great week!

The artist is Jean Beraud and the title is Walking in Paris. :-)
Yes I know, I changed the country...