The Little's Rooms Got Some Love

Last week I was thinking about how much creating I do for custom orders or for volunteer jobs. I spend a lot of creative energy on people outside of my family and so I suggested to David that it would nice to spend some creative energy on the littles. I had some ideas brewing and when he gave me the thumbs up, I went into full design mode. We settled on a gallery wall for each room plus curtains, hooks for their towels, shelves for each bedside and an art hanger for each little. I made a list of elements I wanted to include in each room.

1. something sewn/fabric element
2. woodcut element
3. string art
4. monograms
5. photograph
6. printable art/quote
7. scripture verse

Then I narrowed down to specifics as to what that looked like. So for the girls' room it ended up like:

1. kite
2. heart (inspired by HEart by CC)
3. crown
4. cut out of foam board
5. siblings picture
6. "Dream Big" (source)
7. I will add a verse to the heart woodcut at a later time

The boys room:

1. deer head
2. arrow
3. sword
4. cut out of foam board
5. siblings picture
6. fox
7. I will add a verse to their arrow art later

David shopped, cut and stained wood during the daytime. He was in charge of the woodcuts, string art, shelves, towel hooks and art hangers. I painted the clothes pins (for the art hangers) and the frames plus rough cut out the fabric elements during the day. The rest of the projects were done in the evenings after the littles went to bed. That meant late bleary eyed nights, but I'm really happy with the results. Last night I planned the gallery walls, but putting them on the floor. I took pictures to give to David for hanging and while I took the children out on a playdate, David re-arranged the girls' room and hung all the elements we crafted. What a thrill it was to reveal it all to the littles!

The deer head was made from a pattern found here. I found the wood plaque at the thrift store and a with a bit of paint it made a great mount.

David cut this based on a few pictures I showed him on Pinterest. I didn't want to tell him exactly what to make, but I knew I wanted an arrow. It turned out great. His favourite piece.

Again, I asked for the sword, but I left David to do the style he wanted. He found a sword image on google, added a cross in the middle and enlarged it to make the template. Screws were an easier choice and he just went with it. I like it a lot!

The monogram "M"s I printed out on the computer, taped to foam board and cut out. I painted them and that's it! Super easy and a great and cheap monogram! We enlarged a photograph from our last family pictures in 2014. The same picture for both bedrooms. 

I thrifted and painted this cute frame and got the printable from here. 

Here's Malachi's art hanger in action (sorry for the dark picture). Just clothespins painted and glued to a board. Each little has one, though we haven't hung Hannah's yet. We are saving it until she is a bit older.

Michaels had these cutlery clothespins in a bin and I simply glued them onto this little board, also from Michaels. Cheap and funny, considering the boys are always thinking about food. This wasn't planned for, but added on a whim.

I found this wood pineapple at the thrift store. It was varnished and worn, but I saw its potential and snapped it up. I painted it and glued an oversized clothespin on it and it's adorable! My favourite piece in the girls' room!

David did the crown the same way as the sword and he did a great job!

The girls' monograms were done the same as the boys. I found the birdhouse and bird at Michaels and threw it in. 

The kite I made up as I went. I drew a pattern and did a basic quilting pattern on it. Then simply tied jersey bows onto a ribbon tail.

Each little got a shelf on their bed. They all needed a place to put water bottles and treasures etc. Here's Abby's in action. David made simply with two boards, painted white and attached right to the bed frames.

David made this based on a picture I showed him. Abby thinks it looks like a minecraft heart.

I used flat sheets from two of the littles' bed sets to make quick curtains. Not too difficult as I cut them in half, finished the two cut edges and voila! Curtains! I hate sewing curtains, but this wasn't too bad. We are exhausted, but happy with the results!

A Glance Back Through 2015

I used to write newsletters at Christmas time. I liked the opportunity to look back at the year. I blog instead. Let's see if I can do this in a reasonable sized post.

January: I chose the word FIGHT for the year. Fight for what is right, fight towards the Lord, fight for Abigail. We settled into routines of a new year. I began Documented Faith! We started to ride a roller coaster of highs and lows with our Abigail. I began a year long string of unsolicited commissioned sewing work (so honored and blessed by your support!).

February: Our church went through "Forty Days of Faith" - I really enjoyed the daily devotionals that went along with that! We decided that we couldn't help Abigail on our own and began seeing a family psychologist. Our faith in God's provision was tested heavily as many of our physical things were breaking down. Of course, He proved Himself to be faithful and generous! We had a fun family Valentines with a dance party and little treats. We trudged through cold and flu season, but with the addition of essential oils (thanks to my mom and sister) our quality of life during sickness was much improved.

March: For the first time since moving to Winnipeg, we walked on the frozen river and explored the Forks in the winter. I remember thinking "this is by far the coolest thing about our city!". We are looking forward to more river exploration this winter! We attended our second family retreat weekend at which David and I hosted couple's game night. It was such a great weekend but slightly touched with frustration and sadness with Abigail and her anger our family.

April: I love April. It was a busy month and not without it's challenges! David and I worked most evenings creating for a craft sale fundraiser in May. Abigail's behavior issues caused every outing to feel like a gamble. I witnessed a domestic violent act and wept and struggled for quite some time over it. We started Theraplay with Abigail at the psychologist appointments and honestly, David and I both struggled with the method of "help" we were getting. I had a great birthday with a family date and a date with my David and a party with my girlfriends! Spoiled!

May: Things escalated with Abigail and we called upon our pastors for help. Something was terribly wrong and we were battle weary and scared for our baby. Our pastor and an elder came over and prayed for and with us. We were so encouraged and relieved because that was a turning point for us all. Abigail was tormented and we prayed for her release. We are still learning and growing, but that was a game changer in our family. The results of which we wouldn't fully recognize until the summer.

June: We began what I call "Happy Abby Days". I took Abigail on a mother daughter weekend along with friends of ours. We went on many mini adventures and started to savor family times together.

July: Summer vacation kicked off with Canada Day (my favourite holiday) and our VANiversary. We went on several outings and began our summer long goal of dating each of our littles.  We got lots of use out of our backyard pool. Abigail got baptized!

August: we went camping with the use of a friend's trailer. We went on day trips and chased storms. David and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. Our church began to focus on how to hear God. I loved this focus and learned a lot. THE BEST summer since moving to Winnipeg!!! David finished building my gorgeous kitchen table.

September: a new school year feels fresh and with two in school on some days we all fell into a nice rhythm. My Dad got to go home from the hospital after almost 11 months time. I celebrated in my heart from afar. My goal for the month was survive the adjustment and it was so much easier than I had anticipated. I ended the month with a doozy of a cold, but we made it!

October: I was struggling with the mundane and repetitive life of domesticity. I cried out to the Lord for an attitude adjustment and a sense of purpose. My moms' group began a study on GRACE. Much needed and difficult to receive. I hosted an art gathering for local artists participating in Documented Faith and Illustrated Faith. Spent a lot of time choosing to TRUST in God and studying what that meant. We had a federal election, the results of which caused a lot of stir. Again, trusting God and His plan.

November: We saw a lot of cloudy days and I struggled with some depression - nothing went wrong, really. Just couldn't shake the heaviness. The world was rocked by terrorist attacks, though my own struggle was the imbalance of reaction based on where the attacks occurred. Terrorism, regardless of location, is tragic. We celebrated Christmas early with our friends and I worked through my large list of projects for Christmas and ministry.

December: We had several events to keep us busy early in the month and with my depression lifted, I began to really enjoy the preparation for Christmas. Our church proceeded with our 10th year of Bethlehem LIVE! and I participated on behalf of our family as a woman at the town well. David was sick through the entire weekend (plus before and after) and sadly missed participating. We carried out several mini traditions as a family that we love. We were intentional to make plans with friends throughout the holidays so as to not feel so lonely away from family. I think we found a nice balance (though, of course, we still missed our families). We were blessed by God's generosity to us through many friends and family and even anonymous givers. We spent New Year's Eve at a prayer meeting and I think that is my favourite way to end the old year and enter into a new one.

It sounds, in some ways, that it was a bad year. I don't remember it that way. We had challenges and triumphs and growth. To me, that's a good year. I'm looking forward to what 2016 holds and pray for the grace to handle each situation as it comes.  Happy New Year, everyone!

Checking In

I have a lot of random things to share, so I'll do it in pictures...

Creative Happenings...

1.Biggest commission project - a sound booth cover 2. a passport holder for a family of nine 3 & 4. Family t-shirts hand painted - freezer paper stencilling 5. family growth chart

Documented Faith weeks 9-14

We attended a family retreat at the end of March it was a great time!

1. Malachi and his friend at the pool 2. David holding Micah during family worship time 3. Hannah has so much fun 4 & 6. Malachi and Abby both riding for the first time 5. Silly group shot

Random family news...

1. We walked the river at the Forks for the first time this winter....so cool! 2. I love my new clock 3. chubbbers!!! 4. My daddy celebrated his 65th birthday! 5. an anonymous zipper challenge has me thrilled and excited (already a month behind ;) 6. pink hair! 7. Bunny's first haircut 8. Girl's date at Cinderella 9. New tradition: socks for Easter

Keeping it simple lately with ink in my Bible....

1. John 13:34 2. Colossians 3:13 3. Daniel 3:18 4. Psalm 121:1 5. 1 Peter 2:17 6. Romans 1:6-7

I have had a whole pile of custom sewing jobs and I've agreed to a craft sale fundraiser next month. My sewing machine and I are being friendly and I'm loving it. I love Instagram and in many cases feel like that's been a better space to stay in touch. Is this blog getting to be an outdated thing? I love this little space, but is it too redundant? What do you think?