Hemmed in Prayer

 

I've been feeling the need to pray more recently. It's not one thing. It's everything.

I want to hem my day in prayer, from start to finish.

And honestly, I'm usually pretty lazy and undisciplined in my prayer and devotion life.

I decided to make myself a visual reminder. And here it is:

A morning prayer, and an evening prayer.

I printed the words off on my computer, did some direct-to-paper stamping, and then stamped and die cut some matching elements using the Beautiful Branches set from Concord and 9th.

A $12 frame from Walmart, and just like that, I have an art print that I made myself.

I hung this one on the wall next to my night stand. A good way to start and end my days.

Treetops

 

I have a fun card to share with you today. I'm not exactly sure what this technique is called, so I will call it a Fun Fold card.

I used Concord and 9th's Treetops turnabout stamps and dies for this one.

You start with a piece of cardstock that measures 5 1/2 by 6. The center is scored to be three inches, and each side is scored at 3/4, and again at 3/4 in. 

The key in assembly is to make sure that it can still lay relatively flat when one side is pushed to the left or the right. That way, it will fit into an envelope.

I used some fun harvest Simple Stories papers with this design.

Another Fall card using stuff from my stash. Yay!

Good things are coming, café friends. Hold onto hope!

Beauty of Tomorrow

 

I hate losing sleep. I really, really need sleep as I get older.

And last night was not a good night.

Sleep did not come to me until 4 in the morning.

Conversations rattled through my brain. Words were spoken, and then mulled over.

I think this Mom's heart was just worrying about tomorrow. An unknown future.

This sentiment from SU's Beauty of Tomorrow is a good reminder. I can't worry about the future. I can only hold onto the hope that tomorrow brings.

Changing leaves, changing lives. 

Looking for the Beauty of Tomorrow.

How to Banish Boring: Adding Personality and Making Homes Cozy

 

I saw a great podcast recently from a vlogger named Hannah (Real Vintage Dolls House) titled "Why does everything feel so boring now?" In her video, she laments the fact that we live in a homogenous world of white and grey, devoid of color and interest, where clean and minimalist is set before us as the ideal.

And yet, it all feels so cold and sterile.

And then we watch shows like "All Creatures Great and Small" and think "I want my house to look like that!" Warm, slightly cluttered, filled with treasures and useful things.

We think of children's books from Beatrix Potter, or the Brambly Hedge series, and we remember all the minute details that filled those pages. They made us happy!

And still, we are told that clutter is bad. 

Is it? Is it, really?

I'm not talking about hoarding. That's another level. I'm talking about the comforts of home. The knickknacks and piles of books.  

The teacups and the figurines. 

The hand crocheted blankets and hand-stitched quilts.

The musical instruments and things that bring us joy.

I'm reading September by Rosamunde Pilcher, and it's been a wonderful book. I read a passage where she describes the comforts of an old home in Scotland, and it made me want to put on the kettle, brew a pot of tea, and sit in a comfy, well-worn chair.

And so I did.

In a world of chaos, we need more comfy. We need warmth. We need cozy.

We need to look for the beautiful, the lovely, the true.

And it starts in our homes.

Fall Flowers

 

I purchased some $5 pots of mums this weekend, just to give a little fall color and feel to a few spots in the garden.

I consider these varieties to be annuals...enjoy for a while, and then they are finished. They will last for a few months, which is more than I could say for a $5 bouquet from the florist.

I'm not giving them the first class treatment. I'm not potting them with fresh soil in fancy pots. Nope. I'm leaving them in the black containers they come in.

For this pot, I wrapped it in the mesh bag that the mini pumpkins came in, and added a plaid wired ribbon.

And for this pot, I wrapped it in a burlap ribbon and secured with some colored twine. Done!

Here's another fall flower favorite: black-eyed Susans! I love them, but apparently the deer do also. I have a few they haven't completely chewed still blooming. For now, I'll stick with the stamped and colored variety.

Another SU classic. I used inks to watercolor, did a little splatter flicking, and added the bee, also SU.

Country Home

 

Country Home from SU is a great fall set. It doesn't come with die cuts, but it is very easy to fussy cut this one.

I forget to use this set more often. The pitcher and milk can are really similar to the newest Penny Black Flower of the Month stamps and dies that let you put different flowers into the "container". I'm going to have to think outside of the box (or I should say, outside of the stamp set!) and come up with some other combos for this one in the future.

{Today's Brew: Country Home stamp set (SU), leafy diecuts (Concord and 9th), embossing folder (SU), Simple Stories paper, baker's twine (Catherine Pooler), COPIC markers}

I have a vintage milk can on my front porch that will soon be the stand for a pumpkin and some mums. But for now, it was fun to color and adorn this paper milk can instead.

Looking forward to celebrating Sam's birthday tonight with a nice Italian dinner. Blessings on your weekend, café friends!

In The Land of The Living

 

Today, 9/11, is a day that we will long remember. We remember where we were when we heard the terrible news. We remember the sorrow.

This is the 2001 Christmas card that the White House mailed just a few months later. I remember weeping when I heard the Bible verse that was included in this card. 

"I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." Ps. 27:13

Ed and Sam visited the 9/11 Memorial last month. Sam was born two years after the day that changed our country, that changed lives and a city skyline. My labor nurses asked if I wanted Sam to be born on 9/11. I declined. I told them I wanted him to be born the next day, a day that was still tainted with sadness but also with hope.

Ed was moved by this stark memorial, with two pools where the two towers once stood, and with walls carved with the names of those who lost their lives there.

My heart was once again filled with sorrow last night. A life, once again, cut short by evil. 

I found myself turning to this verse. 

The saints are now in the Church Triumphant. But we, in the land of the living, are still in the Church Militant, fighting for the faith. Like any battle-weary soldier, I am tired. There are days like today when I throw my hands up, look to the sky, and say my earnest prayer "Come, Lord Jesus!"

I am looking for the goodness of the LORD today. 

"Wait for the LORD, be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD." Ps. 27:14