Happy 4th of July!

 

Happy 4th of July, Friends!  I hope you have a blessed day filled with celebration!  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, friends!  As someone who has never had a Valentine (wow, that sounds so depressing, I don't mean it that way!) I have always tried to make Valentine's Day cards for my family to remind them how much I love them on this day.  My family has blessed me as well with precious Valentine's Day cards over the years.  For many years when my sister and I were young, we looked forward to our annual "Valentine's Day Tea," where we would dress up, make tea using the fancy teapot, make little sandwiches and cookies, and use the nice china.  Last year I had the privilege of making Valentine's Day Cards for my patients in the hospital that day.  Being in the hospital is never really fun, so it was a sweet opportunity to bless others.  For those ladies like myself patiently waiting for a Valentine of our own, I encourage you to not lose hope, and WAIT for the right one!  God's timing is perfect, and if it be His will, I look forward to one day when I will celebrate Valentine's Day in that way.  Until then, I will pray for my future husband.  I will pray that God plants godly influences in His life and that He builds my husband's character.  God already knows exactly who He has set aside for me, and until He reveals to me who that is, I will wait patiently because the right man is worth every moment of waiting. 

Cross-Stitch Nativity Scene Ornament

If you know me, you know I love to cross-stitch!  I happened upon a couple of cross-stitch ornament kits that had never been made while cleaning up.  This sweet one worked up very quickly and I love how it turned out!

The Heart of Thanksgiving

“Thankful” is probably not the first word that comes to mind when we think of 2020. Life as we know it has been turned upside down for the greater part of this year. In a year where it doesn’t seem like there’s much to be thankful for, I’m reminded that Thanksgiving doesn’t depend on our circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic has robbed us of many things, but what it cannot eliminate is an attitude of thankfulness.


We may be closer to the true spirit of Thanksgiving this year than we have for many, many years prior. The first Thanksgiving celebrated in America was rooted in battles with famine, illness, and death. Despite these overwhelming obstacles and heartaches, the pilgrims chose to celebrate the blessings they did have. It’s not our circumstances that determine our gratefulness, but rather our attitude. It’s easy to express gratitude sitting around the table over turkey when the times are good. But will we still persevere and count our blessings when the going gets tough?


The apostle Paul instructs in his first letter to the Thessalonians to be thankful in all circumstances. This is the same Paul who was repeatedly shipwrecked, imprisoned, beaten, stoned, and endured countless hardships and persecution. Again, it’s not the circumstances surrounding us but the temperature of our hearts. So as we approach this Thanksgiving, we can still choose to look for the blessings.


Thanksgiving dinners may be smaller or nonexistent this year. Our favorite Christmas traditions may be canceled. We may mourn the absence of friends and family this holiday season. The painful realities of this broken world sting deeply - there’s no denying it. In spite of all this year’s hardships, we can choose a heart of thanksgiving over troubles, blessings over bitterness, and love over loss.

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV


“Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude.” - Viktor Frankl

Pincushion

As a gift earlier this year, I made this pincushion for my Mom.  It's made with wool yarn, so it's good for the pins to "reside" in.

This is what it looks like from the top without pins.  It has 4 rings altogether, each with alternating colors.

Side view.....  

And this is what it looks like from the bottom. 

Have a great day!

Emily

Tissue Covers....

Lately, I've been working on these cute little tissue covers for a craft sale, and as gifts.  They are super fast and easy, and so festive looking.

Christmas Stockings......

For this Christmas, I made everyone in my family new stockings to use.  In addition to these shown, I made a few more to hang on the railing of our stairs.  They look so festive!

This is the stocking that I made for my sister, Elisabeth.  She picked out the fabrics herself.  They make me think of the Victorian time period.  So delicate and pretty!

This is the stocking I made for my brother, Ethan.  He picked out the fabric for it.  He LOVES animals.

This is the stocking that I made for my Dad.  I think the little snowmen on it are too cute!

This is the stocking I made for my Mom.  The fabrics she picked out for this stocking also remind me of the Victorian era.

This is the stocking for my youngest brother, Ean.  He loves it!

And finally this is the one I made for myself.  I love the fabrics!


Have a great day!
Emily

A Soap Cozy......

I made this soap cozy for a neighbor recently, using light blue cotton yarn, and this pattern.  I have made lots of soap cozies from this pattern over the years to give to friends, family, and neighbors. What's neat about most soap cozies, like this one, is that you leave the bar of soap in it, and take it in the shower/bath with you.  The cotton yarn is soft, but has a little bit of a roughness to it, which serves as an exfoliator.  Very neat!

Have a great day!

Emily

Bookmarks......

This Christmas, I crocheted two of these bookmarks for my Mom.  I used a free pattern I found on Ravelry.  I used size 10 cotton crochet thread, a size 6 steel crochet hook, and some pink scrap ribbon.  They came out really pretty!  They look very delicate and elegant.  I'm thinking about making some for my Bible too!

Here's a picture of both of the bookmarks together.  If interested, you can find the pattern here.  I hope to be posting more pictures of items I made as gifts for Christmas very soon.


Have a great day!
Emily

Happy 4th Of July!!!

Wishing everyone a happy 4th of July!  These pictures were taken from our next-door neighbor's fireworks display.  It was huge!

Have a great day!
Emily

Pop-cicle Stick Reindeer

This morning I was looking through some old pictures and I found one of this reindeer that I made a while ago.


It is a couple of craft sticks glued together, some pieces of paper colored brown to look like antlers, ears, and a tuff of hair. Take the glued together craft sticks and glue the antlers, ears, and tuff of hair on top. Then draw on the eyes and the nose,(if you want it to look like ruldolph make the nose red) and the mouth. Sometimes I glue a piece of yarn onto the top of it to make a hanger. They are lots of fun.





Right now I am knitting a scarf. One is definetely needed here right now. It is cold!!!

Holiday Houses

A few weeks ago my siblings and I built and decorated these holiday houses.

This is the front of the house. I like the wreaths on it; and the step up to the door says, "welcome winter". I think this one is my favorite. Our Aunt Missy sure does a good job picking out craft stuff to send to us.

I took a picture of the side of the house so that you can see the cute snowman better. ( And yes, he does have eyes but you can't see them very well in the picture.)

This is the other holiday house. I love the lights on the front. There was supposed to be a santa claus on top of the roof but we thought the house looked cuter without.

This is the side of the house. I really like the snowdrifts on the roof. Although the candy-canes and snowflake on the window are cute too. Just excuse the snowdrift on the other side that is peeling off. It must sense the warmer weather we have had for the last couple of days. After a lot of cold weather, it is nice to feel some better temps. If only it would stop raining, that would be good.