"Stenciled" Dresser

In an effort to consolidate our stuff, I bought a new dresser. Might sound backward but we had the "his and her" dressers and I thought that we should have only one. But I wanted to find a dresser that was "big" enough to hold both of our stuff..so something along a 6-8 drawer one but not one that was this huge item in our room. I also wanted to make the room look bigger.

So on Kijiji, I found a 8-drawer dresser for $20! It was that dark brown veneer color that someone heavily painted on. But for the price, and the fact that it was a bit smaller, I bought it.

And I went red with it!

Initially, I was going to do a blue and red theme. And something crafty for the top. But this is what my creative mind came up with.

And it has an eco-friendly, upcycled vein in its body. For the stencil, is actually a plastic bag.

I cut out the flower and just Elmer-glued it on. The stencil went on very nicely. I had the thought that it would look so obviously bad -- like I had cut a plastic bag and just glued it on. Go figure, right?

For the drawer handles, I found some fabric in my stash and glued it on. It was a dark blue and white French toile pattern.

Pretty happy with it. And the best part is that my husband likes it as well. At first, when I said a) I was going to get rid of his 5-drawer dresser and b) now he had to share an 8-drawer with me c) that I was going to paint the dresser RED and stencil on a flower....obviously he wasn't all that enthusiastic but he was pleased at the end of the day.


Linked to:
Raising Homemakers
Between Naps on the Porch
Making the World Cuter
DIY Showoff
The Girl Creative
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Made By You
Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Designs
Fireflies and JellyBeans
Tales from Bloggeritaville
Somewhat Simple
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond the Picket Fence
Sweet Little Gals
remodelaholic
finding fabulous
romantic home
fingerprints on the fridge
kojo designs
Sugar Bee Crafts
Topsy Turvy
Funky Polkadot Crafts
Let Birds Fly
Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons
Tea Rose Home
Domestically Speaking

My entry into Domestically Speaking’s Power of Paint Party is sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines.

Diva Planter

With my 5 month old, Jed, nursing more frequently again, I can't stop eating. So my thinking is: "I'm up (again, munching on something). Might as well, do some crafting".
Makes complete and total sense, right? :)

I recently purchased an aloe plant in planter from some friends who were selling everything for their upcoming missions trip.

I really liked how the aloe plant was sitting on its side. But as with most things that cross my path, I have to make it stand out somewhat.

It turned out to be a quick craft. I gave it a base coat (just in case there was show-through) and then hot glued on my green, blue and white glass beads. I forgot to count how may beads I used, so we can't play *that* game :)

Yes, I gave it a quick blow-dry afterwards (to melt all the hot glue strands, silly) and yes, I burned my fingers plenty.of.times.
But it's all for the better decor good.

What do you think? I kind of feel it needs something more....

**hah, I just realized the irony of me burning my fingers for a craft on an aloe plant.....get it? People usually have an aloe plant as a home remedy for BURNS....

Linked to:
Raising Homemakers
Between Naps on the Porch
Making the World Cuter
DIY Showoff
The Girl Creative
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Made By You
Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Designs
Fireflies and JellyBeans
Tales from Bloggeritaville
Somewhat Simple
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond the Picket Fence
Sweet Little Gals
remodelahoilic
finding fabulous
romantic home
fingerprints on the fridge
kojo designs
Sugar Bee Crafts
Topsy Turvy
Funky Polkadot Crafts
Let Birds Fly
Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons
Tea Rose Home

My entry into Strut your Stuff sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines

Respectable

I thought this post "Respectable" from Large Family Mothering was just so well written and so important that I am reposting it here. I definitely think society has biblical roles and feminism upside down!

Happy reading!

Respectable
My prince has come!
Classic television is enlightening. It reveals a little of our cultural values of the past.

The Man From U.N.C.L.E was a series my husband enjoyed as a boy. He endured the show that came before, "Please Don't Eat the Daisies", just because he knew Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin would soon appear on the screen.

We bought a portion of this series to enjoy with our own children. During one of the episodes, Napoleon asks the villain, "Is this the way you show your respect of women?". Later in the same episode the villain says of women, "They are noble creatures; they will give everything to preserve the ones they love". Later the villain asserts, "I told you never to lay a hand on a woman!"

Funny, but these lines were written before the women's movement became widely accepted, before respect was being demanded.

Flash forward to our current age, and just watch a little bit of TV on any given evening.

Women are not respected in our culture because they are not respectable. On the small screen, they are hard, capable, shameless and mean. They leave nothing to the imagination, and they sleep around like the horrid males women complained about in the 60's. They are no longer "noble", because they are all for one--"self" is more important than baby or husband or anyone else.

I grew up in a culture on the cusp of great "change". I was told that what came before didn't matter; that things were always bad, that we shouldn't hope for anything better, that it wasn't possible. Nuclear war was inevitable, old-fashioned methodologies and values were passe', there was something new coming, something better. I didn't know any different; I was a child and looked up to those at school and in the main-stream media. The generations before had somehow lost the ability to articulate, inculcate and transfer the values that made our society free and great, so my parents and grandparents did not retain the reasons for and benefits of keeping these mores and were regretfully among those who decided to scrap the whole thing and start all over.

Hemlines went up, necklines went down. P*rnography went main-stream and there was even a special variety produced exclusively for women. The pill made it possible for women to fornicate without having to worry about getting pregnant--and so it was the beginning of the end for propriety, virtue and common decency at least within the culture at large.

But what the feminist movement promised, that women would be more "respected" and have better and happier lives, has yet to manifest itself.

From where I sit, women have become more slaves to more demands than ever. Duped into believing we can "have it all", we sign up for government education loans by the millions. Then, after the sheepskin is obtained, we realize our fore-mothers traded in one ball-and-chain for another, and a much less-fulfilling one, for that matter.

And men do not care for women or defend, protect and provide for them as they did in former times. Men don't mind that women are "liberated"; it keeps them from having to grow up. Men have become "Peter-Pans". They don't have to get married in order to have their physical needs met, and even if they do marry, they can sit back and enjoy staying juveniles, with their wives as the responsible "mothers", for the rest of their lives. Therefore, children have become a noisy, messy, and costly nuisance to them.

After you, my dear.
Instead of men stepping up to the bar to take care of an expectant mother and her baby, men and women alike cry, "Why didn't she use protection?" Everyone expects that women will sleep around, in and out of marriage. This is not considered irresponsible, unless she does not use contraception, and only then does she experience social sanctioning. Marriage is no longer the holy union meant to last a lifetime where two unique people become "one-flesh" together.

But in the heart of every man there is a yearning for virtue, a yearning to find a woman "spotless and unblemished". In fact, I believe there is an unmet need for virtuous womanhood among men at large, but they have lost hope of ever finding their noble and highly regarded life-companion.

Women have become notorious for complaining there are no "heroes" left, but heroes need to have damsels in order to display their knightly characteristics. If the damsels are all out slaying their own dragons, the knights would just as soon return to the castle and down a few frothy beers. If the damsels are just as filthy, unkempt and uncaring as the local scoundrel, why do they merit saving?

My husband informs me that a lot of older men miss those days and resist the temptation to forgo these more romantic and polite ways of ministering to women.

Alas, it seems forever gone are the days when a man would open a door or relieve a woman of her burden in order to serve and cherish her.

Guest Blogger: Switzerland or Wales..?

Today, a special treat.....a guest blogger from across the world!
And my first guest blogger!
Meet Rachel from Three Years and One Stone Then Home. In her post, she gives a little glimpse of her current home, Switzerland and her heart-home, Wales. Aren't the pictures gorgeous? Stop by her blog and say hi! Find out what her son's first word was.. :)

Life Inside a Snow Globe

Of all the countries that I have passed-through, visited or lived in, Switzerland is the one that is most definitely ready for its close-up, Mr. DeMille. So picture-perfect, so clean, so safe, so harmoniously run, it’s the on-earth contender for Avatar’s Pandora. One of the richest countries in the world with its largest city, Zurich, regularly featuring in ‘top 10 places to live’ and ‘top 10 quality of living’ surveys, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s a place conjured up by the best of Hollywood’s scriptwriters. But it’s not. It’s a place where I live. And it’s a place that, try though I might, I can’t call home.

On paper, Switzerland, Zurich specifically, has everything a family could want. Parks, museums, amazing healthcare, excellent schools, a safe haven for children to play outdoors and walk to school by themselves (from the age of 6 would you believe). Mountains on hand for winter sports, a lake so clean you can drink from it, for summer sports. Public transport that runs frequently and on time and a train station that you actually want to spend time in – it’s breathtakingly beautiful. Have I convinced you to move out here yet?

Call me crazy, call me insane, but my heart belongs to Wales. I want to go home. And here’s where the problem lies. The most difficult toss of a coin that I’ve come up against. Weighing up the pros and cons of bringing my son up in surroundings and circumstances that dreams are made of versus being close to family and friends and everything familiar.

I’ve looked back to my own childhood to help make the decision and on the whole, my memories are based entirely on people, never location. In fact, I realized at an early age that you can be bought or buy yourself everything under the sun, travel to the most amazing of places but the best times you’ll ever have are with the people that you love. I don’t need to go further than my mum and dad’s old dining table for most of my favorite moments. Rewind a little further and it’s my grandparents back garden.

So I can bring my son up in this hugely impressive country or instead, choose to bring him up in the middle of an equally impressive collection of family and friends. Which will give him the best start? Which will give him the best memories? And which of those will help to nurture him to be the best and happiest he can possibly be?

This post has been provided by Three Years and One Stone ThenHome as part of the Multi-Coloured Blog Swap carnival.


Hey check out my post for a yummy
Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake over at Glass Half Full

Thanks to Troubled Doubled for hosting this awesome Blog Swap Carnival!

Painting, from a Women' Perspective

Recently, when reading a post from Finding Fabulous, Jane and her husband are at opposite ends on whether to paint the brick/fireplace in a recently spruced and painted room.

Don't we all have that? Shouldn't this debate be covered in Relationship 101 Manuals, right up there with toilet roll placement and toothpaste squeezeability? Why is it that men just get completely cold feet when it comes to painting things like wood or brick? It's not like it takes away from the durability of the item. It's still wood, dude! Just prettier.

Anyhow, my husband and I had this lovely conversation when I wanted to paint our kitchen, from its boring, er, solid oak cabinets. But we ended up painting them --- er, I even got them to be blue lol!

And we had the conversation again, when I wanted to paint the brick over the fireplace. I never did a post on it but here are some pics.

Isn't the white brick so much nicer and lightens up that room? I think it's a much nicer transition to my blue and white kitchen than red brick!

And we will have the conversationagain when I bring up how I now would like to paint that actual fireplace. Thinking a deeper red.....

And oh boy, will we have the conversation, when I mention that I have now been recently very VERY inspired by Design Mom's Painted Piano. That's right, I said PIANO. She went green y'all!

Consider this your heads up, hon :)

I'm partially kidding, as my "crazy sounding" ideas do turn out to be quite fabulous, if I can toot my horn. My husband even liked my turquoise dining table, which he painted for me :)
Again, I need to do a post about that one as well....

My thought is that it's your house, make it your home. Let it reflect who you are. Surround yourself with what you consider happy, calming, beautiful.

Or at the very least, you've got a conversation starter. Or, free passes to Hands-on Couple Conflict Resolution Workshop :)

The Writing on the Wall

It looks like I am getting into the swing of things, juggling a 3 year old and an infant. And with Jed getting a little older, I can actually put him down after nursing and he will stay asleep - allowing me to return to my nighttime crafting routine.
So, I am just ticking off items from my Pinterest or Bookmark list.
And obviously, I am in the wreaths category, for I've done three this week (previous two were the Turquoise Coffee Filter Wreath and the Spring Pinwheels...)

Now on to a bigger one: the Book Paper Wreath.

And I'm sure you've seen these all over, yes?

Well, have you seen any with robin eggs? :)

Now, in my dining room....

some close ups...

can you guess how many pages I used?


Linked to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Making the World Cuter
DIY Showoff
The Girl Creative
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Made By You
Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Designs
Fireflies and JellyBeans
Tales from Bloggeritaville
Somewhat Simple
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond the Picket Fence
Sweet Little Gals
Raising Homemakers
remodelahoilic
finding fabulous
romantic home
fingerprints on the fridge
kojo designs
Sugar Bee Crafts
Topsy Turvy
Funky Polkadot Crafts
Let Birds Fly
Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons
Tea Rose Home

And another wreath...

This is 2 of 3 wreaths that I made...I was on a roll apparently.

This is what I call my "I'm pretending that Spring is more around the corner than what it looks like outside" wreath.

Because I am in Canada.

And it's cold.

And I need some pretty spring looks around here.

Or maybe turn up the thermostat.

Hey, I've got Caribbean blood people :)

Linked to:
Domestically Speaking
Southern Hospitality

2012 Book List

Of my 40 books on my 2012 reading list....
Each book has a link to their listing on amazon.com. I post reviews on some books, but do let me know if you want it on a particular book.

I've read,
1. The Happiness Project
2. The Coming Revolution
3. The Blythes are Quoted
4. Baby Days
5. Amish Values for Your Family
6. Going Green: Growing Vegetables
7. The Mom I Want to Be
8. The Year of Living Biblically
9. Say You're One of Them
10. The Measure of a Man
11. How to Have a New Kid by Friday
12. Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe
13. Middlesex
14. Farm City
15. Real Marriage
16. Hot Apple Cider
17. The Little Red Book of Wisdom
18. Raising a Sensory Smart Child
19. The Help
20. 7, An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess
21. Radical, Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
22. Plain Promise
23. The Out of Sync Child
24. Last Child in the Woods, Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder
25. Plain Perfect
26. Man of His Word
27. Anything
*updated October 25th, 2012

Mama's Got a Wreath

I finally got around to it.

I've seen these wreaths all over and I "reserved" the box of coffee filters and put them aside. Actually, it was more like "hey no one drinks coffee here right, so these are up for grabs...these are mine."...

I had seen the natural color filters and thought I was going to make that one, but having only the white ones, I decided to frugally make do.

But I wasn't really impressed with the way the white ones looked. Maybe it was just me, but they were so darn obvious: Hi, I am a scrunched up coffee filter. Trying to look pretty.

And besides, I wanted to do a completely different color. And I hadn't really seen any turquoise wreaths....so.

No need for a full blown tutorial -- it's pretty much along these lines...
1. Grab a box of coffee filters.
2. In a bucket, mix warm water and a few drops of food coloring. Make the color a little more intense than what you are desiring as it will fade a little when dry.
3. Place filters in colored water and pretend you are a human manual washing machine.
4. Take filters out, squeeze excess water out and lay flat to dry on newspaper.
5. After drying, you may want to repeat Steps 3 and 4 to get the desired color.

When dry,
6. Place filter in palm of left hand and push in middle with available right pointer finger until you get a slightly scrunched flower look. Sort of like what you do to dinner napkins when you put then in the napkin ring holders.
7. Hot glue "stem tip" and place onto desired spot on wreath. Push down with end of unsharpened pencil (so as to not burn those fingers --- you do use a whole box of filters lol).
8. Keep going until wreath is complete.

Some tips:
About halfway, you WILL think it looks like a piece of junk...just keep going. Ignore the "look at me, using stained scrunched COFFEE FILTERS as art" comments dancing in your head.

Also I put the filters in the middle of the wreath and fluffed as I went.I didnt want just the flat/folded look. I also filled in whatever spots showed.

And my biggest tip --- HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON THIS WREATH, as it only cost me $2 bucks....
DON'T buy any wreath, especially from Michaeal's. It's just gonna get all covered up. Instead, I bought a foam board (pk os 2 for $4) and just asked my husband to cut the wreath shape from it. Now, I also have an additional foam piece to do another wreath.

Linked to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Making the World Cuter
DIY Showoff
The Girl Creative
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Made By You
Today's Creative Blog
Blue Cricket Designs
Fireflies and JellyBeans
Tales from Bloggeritaville
Somewhat Simple
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Beyond the Picket Fence
Sweet Little Gals
Raising Homemakers
remodelahoilic
finding fabulous
romantic home
fingerprints on the fridge
kojo designs
Tea Rose Home

Midnight Crafting

Do you remember those commercials, probably back in the 90's, that said: "It's 10pm. Do you know where your children are?".

Well, I have my own version.

It's midnight. Do you know your wife is crafting?

With a 3year old and a newborn, my days are quite busy and often it's just me going back and forth between the children, meeting their needs. And not only am I feeling like I am not really getting anything done -- it's a good day when I can get food on the table --- but I am feeling my creativity is just pent up. I need to do something. Even a small craft project. Though, with me, nothing is ever small, so to even come up with an idea is an ordeal. Just saying, y'all.

So it was on my mind and aim to get something, anything, done. Tonight. So after putting a strong willed preschooler to bed and nursing a newborn,
I went on my mission.

Decided to do a small project. One of those that you always see as "need to get done" because every time you pass it's future location,
the lack of "project doneness" irks you.

Evidence 1. Notice anything about this wall? Something missing?

See the smaller blue frame? I am notorious for putting up frames, without their pictures. Why? Because putting pictures up is a two step process. You find an awesome frame but need to find the right picture to go into it. Or, the reverse and then you got to find the location for this match made in heaven. It's not rocket science.

Though in my case, I usually find an awesome frame first and then have to find that picture. And usually before finding the picture, I put the frame in the desired location, because, honestly, sometimes that determines the picture, right?
You can't have too many lovey-dovey pictures in your kitchen...

So I had this antique-looking robins egg blue and gold frame (from the clearance section, I think in Marshalls) on the wall for a while. Still not coming up with a picture, I thought I would do something a little different. And during this craft lull, happy cheery pinwheels were perfect.

Using the tutorial from The Mother Huddle, I made an antique-ish pinwheel from fabric scraps by gluing a sand colored suede fabric to a cream lace piece. Then I went through my stash of buttons and actually glued two together. I was really happy to have come across the button that said "Embrace Life".....good message to read daily.

Actually, kind of funny for the message to be Embrace Life, for now, with my completed craft, I'm gonna go and embrace some sleep. :)

There. Now isn't that a happier wall....

On being Set Apart...

Our Memory Scripture last week was from Romans 12...

Therefore, my brothers, in view of God's mercy, present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. And do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be renewed by the transformation of your mind.

I have to say that, for at least the last year, I really have had my eyes and heart opened to "patterns of this world" and the very important need to renew my mind, to transform my mind, to set myself apart.

Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations...

Romans 1:1
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God...

Galatians 1:15
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace...

We've been set apart and called to live a different way of life. And with this, I'm giving you a heads up on a 30 days series in February (I guess, then a 29 days series :P) that I will be launching called
"Being Serious about Being Set Apart".

I think a lot of people, Christian women included, struggle with what a Christian woman "looks/acts" like. And it seems, to me, that we do the things we aren't supposed to do and don't do the things we are supposed to do.

The series will take a look at what "set apart" means in terms of:
our ambitions and desires,
our dress and presentation,
our homes and families,
our beliefs, values and actions.

This will be a great journey of both the mind, heart and spirit. There will also be some great giveaways too!
I can't wait to go on it with you!

Stay tuned February 1st....

Shekinah Glory

At a special evening worship service at our church last night, we sang (and sang and sang) a wonderfully inspiring song....

Shekinah Glory

We wait for You, we wait for You
We wait for You; walk in the room

Here we are, standing in Your presence
Here we are, standing in Your presence
Shekinah glory come down, Shekinah glory come down

Release the fullness of Your Spirit
Shekinah glory come, Shekinah glory come

You move and we want more, You speak and we want more
You move and we want more; we want the fullness

We want more, we want more, we want more, we want more
We want more, we want more, more of Your Spirit

Here is the Cory Asbury video

And if you are wondering what Shekinah Glory is...it's the actual dwelling and presence of God. How wonderful is it to know and feel the presence of God...
...the creator of the world
...your creator

and btw, the WINNER of the About a Bride giveaway is Amy, from AmyBeads. Amy, contact me to choose your design!

Then Sings My Soul...

Another BookSneeze review. This time on "Then Sings My Soul", vol 3.

At church, do you sing the songs, unsure of whether you are singing the right words? Or, do you ever wonder how the song ever came about. Would you love to be able to play the music at home on your own instrument and with your family? That's why I love these series. In it, are over 50 songs and hymns, with the lyrics, the history and the sheet music. What's really neat about Book 3 is that it has a focus on more of the "lesser known" hymns, even some ancient and medieval hymns. The stories are well-written and give an insight into the experiences and lives of the hymn writers.

It's a great way to do family devotions and lessons on Christianity. The book is a definite goldmine, especially for musically inclined families or history buffs.

A followers Challenge (Giveaway)

Thought I would start 2012 with a Giveaway.
One blessed reader will get to choose one of my designs.

You can see more at the About a Bride boutique blog.

To win, tell me what was your favorite Shimmer & Tulle post of 2011....

This Challenge will end next Sunday, the 15th.

Looking forward to it!

How I shimmered in 2011...

With New Years, come New Years Resolutions. But before even going there, I believe in knowing where you've been to know where you're going. And with that, here's my year in review. From personal reconstruction (that involved my marriage and family), to adding another child to a total of 11 creative projects, it's been quite the ride.
Thank you God for blessing me in many, many wonderful ways this year!
I am grateful.

My 2011 in pictures.
(you can click on the caption to read full post).

Jed, my second son, was born in October. This was my biggest highlight.

I read 33 books this year (aimed for 25). This is a personal best.

My blog got a makeover (how do I look?:P) and we traveled to Orlando, Florida and visited Disney. THAT was an amazing (and overstimulating) adventure!
I even designed and created Eliel a Mickey Mouse tshirt for him to wear!

My husband and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. My vision for my family really started to develop and became more concrete. I got more into homesteading and off-grid ideas and found myself in a hot debate on exclusivity in the homeschooling field.

Some creative projects I completed this year were...

belts for Eliel

nursing cover

fall frames

book pumpkins

crib chalkboard which was featured on Roadkill Rescue by the way! :)

picnic blanket

portable giraffe growth chart for my kids

some new designs for my hair accessories business

kitchen curtain and
kitchen apron
I even tried my hand at making a birthday cake with homemade fondant!

and homemade pasta!

I posted twice as much as in 2010 and also gained many more friends and followers.
It's been a fantastic year and I look forward to 2012 and all of its blessings as well!