Coffee Cozy

I cut these out on the last craft retreat I went to, and then decided to go home at a decent time on Sunday instead of sewing them up. Last night, Grace helped me match buttons to each one and I sewed them on. Made 100% from materials I already had, I like how they turned out. And of course they are all backed in repurposed jeans. Here are my coffee cozys:

Most people would make something because they had a plan for it. Not me. These are another item I made with no real plan, I just knew I had all the materials to make them, so I did. As I've completed them I've decided they will just be used to bless some people I love. I'll probably include a small coffee shop gift card. Maybe one will be left in a mailbox, another might get mailed. One will probably go for my friend who is doing my hair for the prom on Friday. Another for a friend who is having a challenging time in most areas of her life right now. Now I'm excited to give them away.

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One woman who will get one of these blessed me the other day when she heard God's heart for me.

I was sharing in a class that I help lead and told how I was on the South Beach Diet wagon, and how I'd fallen off the South Beach Diet wagon, and was now trying to get back on. I have lost some weight, but not as much as I hoped, but that I wasn't giving up, I know God is in it wanting to break off my 'need' for sugar. 

Later, she told me to stop being so hard on myself. That as a parent, I should know that God isn't looking at me with disgust. She compared it to having a baby who is learning to walk. When your child takes their first steps, you drop everything and cheer. You don't tell them, "Eh, that was okay, but it was really only a step and then you fell. Next time try harder and I'll be here when you get it right." You keep encouraging them to try over and over again. 

That's what God is doing with me. He loves that I'm stepping out, listening to Him and following Him. He's cheering me on and when I stumble, He stops to see if I need help or if I can get up myself, gaining strength from His presence. He cheers. For me. And I have strength to try again. Soon I'll be running, and He'll still be cheering.

What's with the delay?!?

I don't know why I haven't been blogging lately. Lots going one, but no more than usual. I try to stay away from blogging when I'm overly emotional, but I don't think that's it, either. I've been reading my favorite blogs, but just haven't been inspired to write on mine. In an attempt to get back in the mood (and I know you want me to keep blogging about sex!), here's a picture post with some explanations. 

 

My s-i-l sent me this link from 'dog under my desk' and said I should make some of these.
So (sew?) I did. They are little earbud cases because earbuds make a mess in your purse or gym bag and I am not coordinated enough to untangle them while on an elliptical machine! I also use one for the blue tooth thing for my iphone so it doesn't get lost or lose parts. Since I have a thing for repurposing jeans, I backed most of these, or lined them, with jean and even reused jean zippers. (I also learned that if you have a fairly sturdy fabric to tear something out of, the edge of a rotary cutter makes fast work of it - just be careful!)

A few more projects made while on a craft retreat(L-R):
Monster iTouch case for Grace. It has a loop that goes around one of the button eyes to keep it closed. I really like how the variegated yarn made a fun pattern. I did most of this while watching

"The Help.'

A hair accessory organizer 'thing' for Grace. Her hair things are all over and I'm sick of it! The background is made from (surprise!) repurposed jean, the ribbons are for barrettes and the caribeaners on the sides are to hook on hair ties & scrunchies.

Cute little mouse for ??? just because. (I need to find the link where I found this and the monster case pattern to give credit! If you're just dying for it, check back, I'll find them!) The woman who made this mouse pattern just makes these sweet little mice to give away. I love the idea of finding one of these little cuties somewhere! It's body is about 1.5 inches + the tail.

I decorated jars for each family member and gave them for Valentine's Day with a stack of hearts cut out of scrapping paper. In theory (because I need to be better at this!), we will all find these cute little hearts in surprising places around the house, with little notes of love and appreciation on the back. So far Grace and my husband are the best at this!

We took a trip to the American Girl store in the Mall of America. Happy girl to get rid of the Christmas giftcard that was practically burning a hole in her pocket! Real men have awesome mustaches and are confident enough to carry around a doll in the biggest mall in America.

 Micheal (my secret admirer) sent me a surprise - a FitBit!! we are both trying to make healthier choices including better food and more exercise. The FitBit tracks activity (pedometer, stair-meter), is a sleep monitor, loads wirelessly, and syncs with a bunch of apps. The flower grows when you meet your activity goals for the day. It helps keep me motivated. Between exercise and the South Beach diet, I'm down 21 pounds.

 Totally random stuff:

- Grace with her foot up in the middle of the night, thought it was funny.

- Happy rubber scraper.

- Me, trying on dresses for the adult prom our church is throwing.

- Our version of a peasant bowl, a favorite from a local restaurant.

 - Woman w/a mustache. During a message on evangelism, I'm the only woman on the screen with a mustache?!? How did that happen? (The mustaches were an example of how we are usually happy to talk about things we are excited about, like Mustache March.)

Grace made a fort in the living room and we had to walk around it all week. Finally, I offered to make curtains to put up around the base of her loft so she can have a fort any time she wants. She picked three not so matching materials, but they are pretty cheerful, and she's happy. And I can walk through my living room now so I'm happy, too!

So, now you're caught up! The 'Good Sex' class Micheal and I were teaching is done now, so I'll have some time to post some of what we talked about each week, and our reactions to it. Overall, we think it went well for the first run of the class.

P.S. Micah still lives with us, I even made him an all-jean earbud case, seems like I need to take more pictures of him!