Sonshine baskets

I'm in a women's Bible study that wanted to bless and encourage some folks who may be struggling. We came across the idea of Sonshine baskets where you put yellow items together and give them away.

Here are the goodies we came up with - notepad, cards, sticky notes and smiley face stickers all bound with yellow ribbon; emoji stress ball; a mug with tea and hot chocolate packets; cup with candy and wrapped with a treat bag; hand soap; hand sanitizer; hand wipes; Lay's chips; and tissues. 

I assembled this sample that we will use for putting the baskets together. We got blue bowls from Dollar Tree. Then I put yellow chevron ribbon and two flowers on each one. 

The bowls are ready to go. 

It took much longer than I thought but it was a fun project. We will also be giving them a card that I designed. 

I've got the pieces all together for the ladies to assemble. This is the sample one. The Bible verse is embossed on a paint chip and the butterflies are cut out of a coordinating paint chip. Really easy and so cute!! 

Thankful for Good Neighbors

We have been blessed with some incredible neighbors! They've helped us with home/yard issues, let us use their pool and just loved on our kids. One neighbor in particular, Jimmy, is absolutely amazing. He has mowed our yard when Chris was busy working. He trimmed our bushes and dug out a bunch of stumps. He helped Chris cut down a tree and chop it into firewood. Jimmy is always willing to answer home project questions, loan us tools and help us with our crazy DIY ideas. Today we wanted to thank him for being a great neighbor and since he & Denise love Pizza Man, a gift card was most fitting along with a thank you card that I made.

Guatemala Thank You Cards

I recently got a special order request for thank you cards that would be used to say thank you to those supporting a mission trip to Guatemala. I had such a great time making them and thinking back on my own mission trip experiences. I'm so excited for these high school kids. It may be a trip that changes their lives. 

On the inside, I added a map and the word "pray" to remind recipients to pray for the team.

So here is the final product - 15 thank you cards with envelopes - they've been prayed over that they will bless the recipients and that the team will be the hands and feet of Jesus as they go. 

Pen pals

My girl child loves to write cards and mail them to people. She's amassed quite a number of pen pals all over the country. Today we made some cards so she could send them out. 

I also worked on some cards. I received a request for 15 thank you cards for a high school kid that is going to Guatemala on a mission trip. He's going to use them to thank his supporters. It's been fun working on them. 

I will be adding a map of Guatemala on the inside of each one as well. It's been a fun project! 

Encouragement

I got to spend some time today making cards. It was great! I need to win the lottery so I can do crafting full time. :)

Flip Flops, Friends, and Faith

Next week our church is having a ladies retreat. The theme is Flip Flops, Friends and Faith. I was bummed to realize that I couldn't go but happy to get a chance to help with the preparations. 

I found a flip flop pattern online. With some modification, I added the theme verse. 

1Corinthiabs 16:13 ~ "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong."

Using foam adhesive and ribbon, I created the 3D flip flop. 

To go along with these flip flops, I picked up some burlap sacks to put chocolate in. And then added a small version of the flip flops to stay with the theme. 

Each lady with be given a flip flop and chocolate bag at the retreat. 

It should be a great weekend. A photo booth, a godly woman to speak words of encouragement and refreshment, lots of good food and of course, tons of laughter and fun! I'm so bummed to have to miss it. 

A mountain of paper

When you are offered this much craft paper for $2, how do you say no??? I love garage sales!!

Don't flip flop on Jesus

We have a women's retreat coming up at my church and I am making some take home treats for the ladies. Our theme is Flip Flops, Friends and Faith. The little bags will have some chocolates in them.