{Easy} Adorable Paper Hearts

I love Pinterest. 

{I'm sure we all do.}

I saw this cute idea there the other day and couldn't resist recreating it. These paper hearts are cute, simple, and cost next to nothing to make!

Simply purchase some pretty Valentine-y paper, cut it into strips, fold in half and curl the edges with a pencil. 

I hung some over my table and my piano.

{so cute!}

One day this will be cleared off and there will be a cute centerpiece. Hopefully that day comes before Valentine's. 

It's Been Such a "D"lightful Day: DIY Fabric Monogram

Okay, it really hasn't been that interesting of a day.

I was just trying really hard to tie my title into the post.

{I should at least get points for cleverness.}

I've been wanting to make this craft for a while, but, as usual, it took me a while to get around to it. 

It's a DIY fabric monogram. Since I'm cheap, I just cut the 'D' out of styrofoam, but you could also just buy a cardboard letter. Gather up all your fabric scraps, and hot glue them around the letter.

 I attached it {hot glued it} to a canvas that I bought for half-off at Joann's. 

Awesome.

It goes rather nicely with my green kitchen. 

{surprise}

{not like I did that on purpose or anything.}

And to end, I just wanted to share one more craft. This one was made as a baby gift for my cousin who's having a little girl. It was sorta inspired by Pinterest slash muddled together in my own brain. Meaning I mostly made it up.

It's rather hard to read thanks to the high reflectiveness of the marbles, but it says "Hello Sunshine." 

Super-cute for a little girl's room {or so I think}. 

I used paper ripped into strips for the background, and just modpodged it to the picture glass. Then, I took alphabet stickers and stuck them to a variety of patterned paper to create interesting backgrounds. I used clear silicone to glue glass marbles over the letters for a little dimension. Then, I found some cute, vintage-looking butterfly cut-outs, glued them to corkboard, and added them to the picture. 

Awwww, little girl stuff.

There's a Climber in the House

And boy, is he persistent.

This is him, climbing up a folded chair to get to the clock pendulum. 

He almost managed to bat it once, too. 

I surely do love our cats: They keep my feet warm at night, laze around with me in the mornings when I get to sleep in, and meow their heads off {in a cutely annoying way} until I pick them up when they're in the mood to be carried around. 

They are entertaining as all heck, too.

There was the time Skimble got caught in a plastic bag. 

Don't worry, I only let him run around trying to escape the bag that inexplicably kept following him for about twenty minutes. 

And there's the way I catch him sleeping in the mornings when the sun starts to light up the room.

{no joke he really does this}

Or the way he tunnels under our comforter when we're not around.

And then there's the way Fiyero sleeps.

{anywhere and everywhere--its literally like he just passes out in whatever positions he happens to be in}

And how curious he is.

They're a couple of crazies, and I love them to death. 

Thank you all for tuning in to my old-lady-who-loves-her-cats post. 

My Butt's In Gear {For Now}

I only made two New Year's resolutions. 

1. Remember to pray in the morning. {I am not a morning person, so this small task is surprisingly impossible for me to remember most of the time.}

2. Get in shape. {aka get tonnnnned.} Work out at LEAST 3 times a week. 

So far, I've actually been accomplishing both.*gasp*

And I never truly realized just how much getting your body moving can make you feel better. I have more energy, I feel more motivated, it wakes me up....{and as a side effect, I complain a lot more about sore muscles, but that's more Chris's problem}. Totally worth the sweat. 

So whatever the resolutions were that YOU made, stick to it! We're so in this together. 

You inspire me.

{...and for goodness sake, i only have two...quitting would be embarrassing.}

Jewelry Box Makeover

Oh, I just had a little spare time on my hands--

hence, THIS:

Became THIS:

Just plain ol' white paint.  I added a little black in the corners, distressed the edges, and painted the knobs black. 

Yup, did it myself. 

17,000 Words...And Then Some

Happy Birthday to the Christopher on the 5th! He turned a whopping TWENTY-FIVE.

I got him that schnazzy leather jacket you see above, and we had lots of dinners where lots of strange waitresses sang him Happy Birthday. 

So great.

And because it's a new year, and I like taking pictures, AND I just got a new tripod...

Oh, and in case you're wondering about the title?

I'll give you a hint.

Each picture's worth 1,000 words...

Winky-wink.

#143

Do you know which hymn that is?

It's the one that's been going through my head since this morning.

You still don't know?

Okay. It's "Did You Think To Pray?" 

And when I was humming it this morning, I figured something out {YESSSSS....I can be smart when I want to be}. Do you remember the phrase "Prayer will change the night to day?" Have you ever thought about what that means?

Because it's pretty amazing. 

1. Prayer will turn utter darkness into beautiful light. 

During struggles, during sadness, during pain....when we pray, He's promised us that He will be there. And when we look to our Father, He fills us with His light.

2. Prayer should always be the transition from waking up to starting your day. 

It's a literal connotation: Prayer will change the night to day. Before you begin your day, before you go out and do busy-like things, you should take that moment to acknowledge that your day is starting. Because the only reason you've made it from another night to another day is because He has something for you to do. 

Thank Him for that. 

Don't forget to pray.