Little Dresses For Africa

While I was in Haiti one of my favorite parts was the little girl's orphanage. I loved painting their nails, playing with bubbles, running around and most of all being able to give them a little something to let them know that they are loved. One special thing that we were able to leave with them was handmade dresses from a group of women at our church! It was really neat to see the way that they were showing these little girls God's love even though they were thousands of miles away! These women never even touched Haitian soil and yet they made a difference!

Now it's my turn! My big hearted friend Brittany is leaving for Africa in a little over a month. She'll be serving the Lord their for several months, and I must admit that I am jealous! I would much rather be serving the Lord and his beloved people in one of his beautiful countries than in a stuffy classroom. So I am going to serve in the same way that the women of my church served along side of us in Haiti!


I found this adorable website called "Little Dresses for Africa." It has the directions on how to make the cute and simple pillow case dresses (and then if you follow their directions you ship them to a woman who will get them to little girls in Africa who need them). But I'm sending mine a different way! Miss Brittany will take the cute little dresses and give them to the little girls she meets while she's over there.

While I believe that everyone is called to serve, service looks different at different times. Making dresses is just as important as taking them across the world. No matter what you are doing, it's big and it will make an impact on someone's life. If it's a bottle of nail polish or painting a little girls nails for the first time,  or making a little dress or giving a little girl a brand new dress that she can be proud of, all of this to show that she is a beautiful daughter of God and that she is fiercely loved!

*Joy of the day: Praying over each of these dresses and for the little girls that will wear them!

Sonflower Joy

This weekend was a true sip of joy! I got to gather with my small group from school (the Sonflowers) to celebrate the wedding of one of our amazing leaders. It was a weekend full of road trips, sleepovers, smiles and memories. This was one of those weekends that I will always look back on with such fondness!

Sky on the drive down after the storms

There is something about being confined in a car for hours on end that brings about deep conversation. We were able to catch up with one another; a lot can happen in four short weeks! And simply talk about things that were on our hearts, both big and small. Matthew 18:20 says that "wherever two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." And that verse wonderfully summed up our road trip!

The Sonflowers with the beautiful bride!

Tourists!

Our leader and her now husband, have always been such a wonderful example of what God intended when he created man and woman for marriage. And on Saturday you could see the joy that God has given them through the smiles that never left their faces.

*Joy of the day: Reflecting on these wonderful women that God placed in my life two years ago, and realizing how incredibly blessed I am!

The Candy Cane

I finally unpacked! Well at least a few things because my class starts soon and I need my backpack, a notebook, and the other basic school needs. I began to  unpack my backpack, gleefully throwing out old papers that I no longer needed, when I came across a candy cane. I began to feel all warm inside, and a little teary.

Now if you didn't think I was crazy before, now I'm crying over a candy cane. But this isn't any old candy cane, this one is special and it's been through a lot! I got it during Christmas times and didn't want it, so I offered it to my suitemate Kelly who didn't want it either. Naturally I decided to hide it so I wouldn't have to deal with it! It started off in a pretty obvious spot, attached to the whiteboard on Kelly's door. Kelly retaliated by hiding it in my room, and it became a game!

The candy cane was hidden in a variety of places! Some creative, some silly, and some ridiculous. In the fridge, a box of tea, under her pillow, in my laptop case (it fell out during class making me look like a nut!), backpack, wallet, shoes, make-up bag, hanging on a hanger with clothes, and many others. We got creative. It was fun to know that I had a little surprise to find, and it was always a little victory when I stumbled upon it.

Kelly and I are now states apart, and we won't be living together next year but I got one last little surprise from her. A candy cane, that seemed so silly and insignificant at the time but now reminds me of what a sweet friend I will always have! Who knew all that could come from a candy cane?

*Joy of the day: Finally getting to hang up my pictures, making my room feel a little more like home!

M516 Photo Shoot

Last week I had the privilege of taking some photos of the lovely ladies of the small group M516! They were such a blessing to work with. They had such energy and showed such love towards one another, and it was a lot of fun to capture a little bit of what God is doing in their lives.

*Joy of the day: last "cheesy Thursday" (school tradition of grilled cheese and tomato soup on Thursdays) of the year with some beautiful friends!

A Week of Crafts

As promised here are all of the projects that I did over my spring break along with the links of where I found the tutorials!

Sunday: I covered a mason jar with scrapbook paper! I took glue and added water to it to create a thinner paste that would allow for the paper to bend to the jar (about a 1:3 ratio of water to glue, just add enough water to glue before it turns runny). Like a modge podge! Afterwards I painted the entire jar with the paste to make sure none of it would fall off.

Monday: I've had my Bible since middle school and it's starting to fall apart so I recovered it! I used hot glue to glue down the base brown fabric, then made another hair pin flower to cover up the closure that was already there. Anyone who knows me knows that I usually have something in my hair; a bow, a flower, a clip or something! So I made some hair pins inspired by some that a friend had made. To make the flowers I tied a knot at the end of the fabric, then twisted the fabric and glued it in a circular motion around the knot. To make them thicker I twisted it less and built it up more instead of out! The bows were squares with a strip of fabric glued together in the middle to pinch it.

Tuesday: I woke up in a baking mood. Since I live in a dorm I can't really cook or bake while I'm at school because it's not convenient or sanitary! I had found a recipe for double chocolate raspberry cupcakes and they looked too good to pass up! However I should have fully read the directions first to realize that they weren't going to be simple to make, but they were oh-so worth it! I also found the cutest blog and made a lace infinity scarf from her tutorial!

Wednesday: On pinterest I had found these wristlets which were simply adorable, so I made two of course! My mom tells me I'm ridiculous and I am completely aware, but I'm okay with that. That day my roommate texted me and asked if I knew how to make these shirts she had seen, or if I could figure it out. So at about 8pm we started our project, and it was super simple! Now we have matching roomie shirts!

Thursday: Skirt day! I finished a skirt from when my friend Brittany came home with me. We were able to finish hers while we were home but got rather confused so we only had enough time for one! While the tutorial took some editing and adjusting to get it to fit, I think it turned out well. I also made another skirt, and this one is completely opposite from the yellow folded mini skirt! It's a lace ruffle skirt to help make those certain dresses a tad bit longer, and my favorite part, a little bit spinnier!

Friday: I decided to be creative today and make my own skirt. Inspired by the folded mini skirt I wanted to do something similar but easier, so I designed my own and it was a blast! This is all you get to see for now and I will have tutorial for you soon!

Saturday: A friend of mine asked me to make a dress for her, for her rehearsal dinner for her wedding in June! So I put that together Saturday, minus a couple of details so that it can be fitted to her later. While this is not her, and her fabric is slightly different here is what the pattern looks like!


And these were my spring break crafts! A week of crafts and a week of bliss. I've missed creating things, and I think I certainly got my fill to last me a while.

*Joy of the day: church and brunch with a lovely friend with a dear heart!

2011 Snapshot

A quick look at my year in photos-

Trouble turned ONE!!!!

Photo shoot with my small group, they're fabulous!

I tried coffee for the very first time!!!!!!!!!

My mommy graduated with her masters! I'm so proud of her!

The fam went to the beach for a vacation!

Adventures with friends over breaks, love them!

Goober turned FOUR!!!!

Friends came from near and far to celebrate my birthday!

I ran my very first (an hopefully not last) half marathon!!!

Mommy and I on vacation at Crater Lake

Suite and Sassy (my suitemates for the new school year!)

The fam came up for a football game! Aren't they cute?!

The girls at our winter formal

Santa brought us matching outfits!

 2011 was filled with joy and tears, a lot happened in those 12 months!

*Joy of the Year: I'm so thankful for the quality time that I got with all of my friends and family, the memories that were made are so precious and remind me how blessed I truly am!