Happy Mail!!!

I just got a package that was a great surprise. Months before my art gathering, I wrote to Shanna from Illustrated Faith and asked if she might have a little printable that she would like to send for the ladies at my event. I thought even a little "hello" would be nice. Well, today I received a large package with the "Bloom" devotional by Stephanie Ackerman (Documented Faith founder) and stickers and pocket scripture cards!

Thank you so much, Shanna!

Checking In

Phew! What a crazy month April (and into early May) turned out to be. Let's get to it...

• April is my favourite month to throw a party! My birthday is as good of a reason as anything else, right? I knew that I wanted to have another My Favourite Things party and when I asked a few people what they thought, the resounding answer was "YES!" It's such a great party and it almost throws itself. You can read about the last party here and here. How it worked is I had everyone bring 4 of their same favourite item/s (under $10) and every one went home with four others' favourite items. My favourite items this year were a carton of Tazo Chai Latte mix, fun socks, a pen, a soap sample, straws, an essential oil sample and a couple of dishcloths (Compliments - microfibre - seriously the best dishcloth EVER). I had so much fun with this! By the way, if you didn't get invited, please don't be upset. I wanted to invite so many more of you, but my place can only hold so many. In my heart, you are all welcome!

My favourite things package

• Here's a list of what everyone brought.... Soy candles, journals, Starbucks gift card, jellybeans, pens, mugs, hairspray, lip balm, cuticle cutters, jar mugs, drink tumbler, napkins, chocolates (store bought and homemade), soaps, homemade laundry detergent, collapsible bins, zipper storage bags, a pansy plant, various stationary items, mesh laundry bag, socks and candy. I think that's everything. It was so great to hear things about the gals that I didn't know as each person had to answer a random question about something that was a favourite. I also had everyone bring a favourite drink or food to share and once again - the BEST party food!

London Fog cupcakes from my friend, Sugar Momma and her truffles, too!

• I chose to set up an Italian Soda Bar as my favourite beverage to share. David and I enjoyed testing these and David made the strawberry, orange and butter rum flavour syrups. I'm a big fan of "help yourself" so I doodled instructions and let everyone do just that.

Italian Soda Bar

• I could've easily spent a month on the plans and preparations for a party, but thankfully I didn't need to because I spent the month sewing and crafting for my first craft sale. Our church hosted a craft sale fundraiser for some missionaries who will be going out with Wycliffe. David and I spent every spare evening and weekend working on growth charts, (David did the bulk of the work on those. I just lettered them) scrap buntings, mini scrap buntings and cake toppers. I had a goal of 12 growth charts and 40 each of the other items. We spent many evenings late into the night making. It was fun and tiring and my poor house got pretty neglected. I met my goals! David's amazing growth charts sold really well. I came home with three and they're now all spoken for, too. I have most of the rest of the products still. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I'm so relieved to have it all finished that I'm okay to just put it aside for now. Sadly, there wasn't a whole lot of customer traffic at the sale, but we recovered our costs and were able to make a small donation to the missionaries. 

Buntings!

Craft Sale Booth

• Michaels Arts and Crafts are moving into my neighbourhood! It's going to be nice not needing to drive across town to shop!

• Mothers' Day was a quiet and relaxing day finished off with my favourite family "date". We call it Pajama Van. It's usually a Saturday evening tradition, but I'm glad we saved it for last night it was perfect. (pajama van is where we load the littles up in the van in their pjs, put on a movie for them to watch, grab tea and timbits from Tim Hortons and go for a nice long drive).
• I got quite spoiled with mail lately! I love my dear pen friends!

Top pictures are my birthday package from dear Annemarie and the bottom two from dear Donna!

• I was crazy spoiled for my birthday, too.

L-R ink and pens from David's family, essential oils from my family (card signed by my Daddy - a big deal for a partial quadriplegic) flowers from friends and a drawing book from my David.

• And in case you needed a reminder of how adorable my David is...

 

Checking In

Ugh! Cold and flu season. It seems like it's just keeps going around and around, but the good news is that we have been hooked up with Young Living Essential Oils and even though these sicknesses are awful, I feel like the quality of living with the oils is a definite improvement. This won't be a sales pitch don't worry... just sayin'.
      Let's get to it.

• Cold days mean I don't want to go anywhere, so lots of creative time. My Documented Faith has been a lot of journaling, so I haven't shared but here's an overview look from the last two weeks. 

• Malachi got invited to his first birthday party, so I made this cape and mask duo (it's become my go-to gift for boys).

Malachi models it for me

• My girlfriend got an NIV Notetaker's Bible for her birthday and so I had the privilege of making a cover for her. 

• We are not the only "oil-ers" in our circle of friends and family and so, I've been working out a to-go oil carrying case. I've made five and I think I finally have the pattern figured out. My mom and my sister got a couple of my prototypes and in my distracted-ness I only put one row of pockets in it instead of two. In order to remedy the situation, I whipped up little divider pockets that could be slipped in the pouch. I think it'll do in a pinch. I will be sewing up a few more complete pouches this week.

• In other custom jobs, I have a huge project that I will be picking up my fabric order for this week. This will be (in size, my largest project yet). I'm a bit nervous and will pray my way through it. Measure twice, cut once!!!!
• I'm still having a lot of fun with happy snail mail. I have three regular pen pals, plus I sent a birthday package to my sister and I've just chosen someone on the Documented Faith Happy Mail list to send a little package to. I like working on mail scattered throughout my creative times. If I am working on mixed media items, then I make several similar ones so that I can use them in my journal, my Bible and/or in my letters. 

My sister's bday pkg

• Have you heard of "Pocket Letters"? Well, I stumbled across them on Pinterest and my pen pals will be receiving at least one as you know it... I "had" to try!

• I post almost daily on Instagram, so when my blog activity is low, you can still keep in touch with me there. User name: mrsgingras

a lovely package I received last week

• Bible Journaling is going well. I love it more everyday. I post pretty much every single page on Instagram, but here's a little peek. Our church has been going through the Forty Days of Faith and I'm really enjoying it! A lot of my pages have been inspired from the daily readings. 

• Abby has even joined me in Bible Journaling. On the Illustrated Faith website, April shared how impactful this was with her daughter and I knew I needed to invite Abby to do some journaling in my Bible. You should have seen her face when I said she could journal in my Bible. It was priceless!

#kidsintheword

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Documented Faith Week Four

On Sunday evenings (most Sundays, anyway) I prepare the week ahead with paint and or minor embellishments. As I learned last week, watercolours aren't my best option, but I love acrylics - they work great, are bold and give good coverage. By the end of the week I've added several tip-ins and layers to accommodate everything I want to include. The "Everything Grows with Love" print was in my last letter from my pen pal. It's so fun and cheerful, I knew as soon as I saw it, that I would want to use it.

Opening up the first tip-in reveals the back side with a verse that I'd journaled and studied in my Bible  and another little tip-in with more verses. It was a week filled with intentional fighting and I needed the encouragement of the Word to continue to fight.

Zephaniah 3:17

This is where Illustrated Faith and Documented Faith worked together again this week. I was so humbled by the Lord's words to me when I went to Him for reassurance of His love for me. He exalts over me?! Wow!

Deuteronomy 31:6-8

I wanted to quit fighting this week, several times, in fact. I went to the Word and found this command to not be dismayed (to lose enthusiasm or resolution). It game me the much needed push to keep going.

At the top of the page is our verse of the week from Stephanie Ackerman. Psalm 86:11, simply written in. The little tip-in opens to show my little birdies. I painted these before Christmas and like many of my paintings I'm using them here. 

a close up

A little private journaling is easily contained in a fold out. I like this method and will probably use it a lot. 

It was a busy week. My Abigail's 6th birthday was on Wednesday and I was her parent helper in kindergarten and we brought rainbow cupcakes to share with her classmates. They were a big hit. Our church led us through a week of prayer and fasting and so there were many opportunities to go to the church and/or prayer furnace. It was much needed and worth fighting for (though, if I'm honest, it didn't feel worth it at the time on one of the evenings). I had a very emotional week and I'm glad to move on to a new week.

Checking In

It's been awhile since my last check in post and in some ways it feels like nothing has happened and at the same time, so much. Let's see how this goes.

• The biggest and most notable thing going on is that my dad is sick. I haven't said anything directly about it online as my dad has serious opinions about social media, but my mom has released my sister and I to share. In part so that we can ask for prayer and support. My dad doesn't realize the extent that social media is a part of our lives and just how much prayer and support we receive through our loving friends and family. I probably still won't bare it all here, but I would appreciate your prayers mostly for my Dad's spiritual health, but of course, also his physical health. If you're reading this and you know my dad, send him a note, please. He could use the encouragement. Thank you. UPDATE: We were able to talk to daddy on the phone and he told David that he accepted Jesus and made peach with God. He's ready to be in His presence!!!! This is a huge answer to over 40 collective years of praying. Weeks ago Abby told my dad in a video that he needs to know Jesus so that he could go to heaven when he dies. Dad told mom to tell Abby and to say thank you. We are so happy!
• In happy news, I have a beautiful new niece. Lucy Ellen Woodward was born on Wednesday, November 19, 2014. I've seen a couple of pictures and she is so adorable with a very full head of hair. I can't wait to hold her and smother her with kisses!! Congratulations, Crystal and Matt and welcome, Lucy!
• Bethlehem LIVE! 2014 begins soon. David and I are scheduled to be tour guides together, I just need to work out childcare. All our babysitters participate in BL. I'm a little nervous this year. It's kinda funny, but sometimes I feel more introverted than ever. If you're in the Winnipeg area you need to check it out because it's amazing!

BL 2010 (baby Malachi played the role of Jesus)

• Bible Journaling... who knew?! I am loving this so much and I am excited to possibly fill several Bibles to give to each of my children or maybe grandchildren, someday. I am connecting with God's Word in a new way and I love it. For more details check out Shanna's blog. If you're interested in seeing what's going on in my Bible you can follow me on Instagram.

• I've signed up to join a Documented Faith 2015. Bible Journaling has inspired me to try my hand at incorporating art into more of my daily life. I've never considered myself and artist just thought I was creative. After trying new forms of art in my Bible and for my pen pals, I might be changing my mind. I feel like a whole new creative world has just opened up to me and it's exciting. I've even begun crafting along side my littles and letting them explore more mediums and surprisingly, I'm enjoying it. That's definitely new.
• In October I signed up for a snail mail project swap and the dear lady who got my name sent me the most amazing letter/package and we've agreed to continue to write. The details she puts into my mail  are stunning and I'm so blessed by her creativity and willingness to take the time. I'm also writing a friend who moved up north. It's fun seeing her creative side, I knew it was there but didn't get to see a lot of it outside of her amazing cakes. Donna is a great cook and makes stunning cakes. It's been great fun writing and receiving letters again. 

My first package from Anne Marie (from Netherlands)

Pretty mail from Donna (from the Pas

• I've recently been commissioned for a little sewing job. The results are pretty satisfying.

Disclaimer: there are legal issues with  re-covering a car seat - please do your research.

• I have a long list of sewing projects to do, not to mention some crochet. I am never at a loss as to what to do!
• I know, I've shared this everywhere, but it's sweet. Someone had a birthday (he now shares it with cousin Lucy). Malachi has an announcement.

• I posted this on Facebook, but it's too funny not to share here... it's so true of me.

• Lastly, I picked up a cheap set of 6 watercolour pencils from the dollar store and I'm having so much fun experimenting. I don't know any rules and so I'm just playing around, but eeps! I love it.

watercolour pencil with marker doodles

We are entering a busy season full of great tradition, I'll try to check in again, soon. For more frequent updates, check out my Instagram. 

On my Writing Desk

Well, not literally. I don't actually have a desk, but I have been getting into the swing of letter writing again. In truth, more like letter doodling. I am having fun working on the art side of snail mail. It all began a few weeks ago when a friend from church and Instagram suggested a little swap. I jumped at the opportunity, who doesn't love receiving something fun in the mail?! I kept it fairly simple, but it kinda prompted in me happy memories of past pen pals and the fun letters we swapped. I would spend my allowance on stamps, stickers and stationary. I would ask for special stamps at the post office so that they'd be pretty on the envelope. It might seem a little silly now with technology making things quicker and cheaper, but I wrote a letter this week that made me slow down and think through what I was going to say. I carefully chose what I wanted to represent and how I wanted to introduce myself. It was fun. I think I took a whole week to put together a letter. I took my time with the art and heart of it. I recently signed up for The Snail Mail Project over at the Snail Mail Ideas website. It's a one time sign-up to write to someone somewhere and you receive a letter from someone else from somewhere else. I got a lady's address in Mexico. How fun!

I saw online that Moleskin has put out a mailable notebook and knew I could make one and it wouldn't cost me $9. I grabbed an envelope and used it to make myself a template. I sewed in the paper as my stapler isn't quite long enough. I then treated it kind of like an art journal. I included a paperclip banner and a couple paper embellishments, but mostly it's pen work. This keeps the postage costs down. At least in theory.

paper feather template found here

I had a package of permanent stamps and figured it would take three stamps to cover the cost to Mexico. I'm glad I decided to go into the post office and double check though because I learned some new things  about postage. Internationally, the permanent stamps are not recognized. They must have the cost printed on the stamps to be valid. The lady at the post office helped me to save my stamps and replace them. She helped me to pick out pretty stamps and made sure that everything was the right size etc. Sadly, my letter size board must have a tiny bit of give to it as my letter squeezed through the standard size slot on my board, but not the acrylic one at the post office. After working hard to keep it small, I ended up having to pay for an oversize letter in the end. I guess I could've taken it home and removed the tea bag or paperclip banner and it would've been fine, but I wanted to send it all. I need to be more careful in the future or I won't afford to send many letters at $5.90 a piece. The lady at the post office gave me one other helpful hint, don't use tape over top of your stamps (she was referring to the ones we saved and were now less sticky) or they will be rejected. Use a good sticky glue. Good to know. I like knowing the rules ~ I'm a bit of a risk management geek.

I've dusted off my doodling hobby. It helps to have great fine tip markers. I do lack original inspiration and for that I go to Pinterest. No need to re-invent the wheel. The other day Abby and I sat down at the table and doodled owls. The owl I sent in the letter was my third attempt. I don't really consider myself an artist in the tradition sense, but more of a crafter. I thoroughly enjoyed my side-by-side time with Abby, though.

Thank you for those of you  that signed up for my creative pen pal swap. I hope you have fun with it. Vive la Snail Mail!

bookmark inspired by this picture

free camera printable found here

I have a few people who have agreed to continue to write, so I am looking forward to more snail mail art. Yay! BTW, Canada Post, I'm for door-to-door!