Tender Mercies

Earlier this summer I was going through my memory box and getting rid of things that didn't excite me anymore. During this cleaning out, I came across my baggie of foreign coins that I had collected from my Dad's travels abroad as well as my living in Japan. Coins are fun to look at, but why just stick them in a box and forget about them? I would rather put them to good use and for me this was to turn them into a piece of art that I could enjoy on a daily basis.  Our home is decorated with nearly all homemade items. I'm not one who buys a lot of decorations so making something fun to put in the baby's room was exactly what I needed to do.   I painted the back of the board that came with the frame and then hot-glued the coins around the edge. The paper bills were glued on with an acid-free glue stick. My sweet friend cut out some vinyl lettering for me to stick on top of everything and we were ready to go. It's fun when projects turn out the way you had ...

Why send out thank you cards when you can do postcards? They require cheaper postage AND they don't need envelopes. That's a win-win. I decided to make and send thank you postcards for all those who have been so loving in giving us baby items because I had a slew of scrapbook supplies that were just sitting there waiting to be used for something. I am no perfectionist when it comes to scrapbooking, so these postcards aren't amazing, but I think they turned out alright! It may have taken me a good full day to complete nearly 50 of them, but I didn't spend any money on them except for postage and I was able to make sure everyone felt like they made a difference to us, because they did. Supplies Needed: Ruler Colored cardstock Assortment of stickers  Assortment of scrapbook paper Packaging tape (to put over the front before mailing--it helps keep the stickers in place) Postcard stamps Scissors or a straight edge paper cutter for more precision ...

One night as we were brushing our teeth, my husband took out a white board marker from our bathroom drawer and started to draw on the mirror. It was his idea for a baby mobile that he wanted to make for our baby girl. My first thought was, "that's ridiculous. We will never make something that is worth putting up and looking at." His drawing was creative and I liked the idea, I just figured it was a random idea that would never see the light of day. I secretly hoped he would forget about his drawing, but one week before the semester started, he mentioned needing to go to Hobby Lobby and get materials. So it began.  What I love about this imperfectly adorable mobile is that we did it together. He came up with the idea, I drew out the patterns, and we both sewed the pieces together. I am always surprised when I see my husband excelling in random talents such as sewing. His example teaches me that I shouldn't be afraid to try anything new! We chose a fish b...