at the cool embellishments here.
i think these would be so much fun to make by running newsprint (or maybe a text patterned paper so it's more sturdy) and felt through the die cut machine and then adding cute buttons. or you could cut out the base shapes - hearts, circles, flowers - with a pair of scissors.
and make your own custom embellishment packs! as in...ones with fall colors. yes. i think so.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
on clouds.
i've had this thing for clouds recently.
all clouds.
the big white fluffy clouds that float in a vibrantly blue sky and seem filled with sunshine.
the layered blankets of clouds that press in on darker days, the soft gray edges of the lowest puffs silhouetted against the stormy sheets above.
the light, wispy clouds tinted by the light of a sunrise.
none of them are the same. each is perfectly hand-crafted and beautiful. made lovely in the ways that they reflect the light.
i keep watch of them, imagining what wonder i will see next.
(also? rollip.com makes some pretty cool polaroid look-alikes from your photographs.)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
comfort.
a list checked off.
candle flickering.
quiet.
"may the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing (through the experience of your faith) that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope." -romans 15:13, amp
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Chain Reaction
Do you know what a difference just a tiny bit of thoughtfulness from a stranger can make? It's uncanny that the simple act of a Starbucks drive-through attendant can make me take a breath and smile just a little bit more deeply. But it can.
I mean, seriously - I didn't ask why they couldn't give me their special deal on a latte + coffee cake with the pumpkin spice flavor. And I was very nice about paying five-and-a-half instead of three-and-a-half dollars for my special, once-a-semester treat. But the fact that when I pulled up to pay he took the time and courtesy to explain that they couldn't include pumpkin spice in the deal because they add a "sauce" to the coffee - not just a "syrup" - made me feel like a real person and not just the 167th car that had already been through the drive-through this morning.
So I passed it on, with a few smiles and "good morning"s as I walked passed other students on my way to class. This isn't that abnormal for me this semester at school, but it was a little more conscious this morning. And I chatted with my seat mates who I don't "really" know - really heard how they were. I took the time to actually see a few people, as I had been seen for just a moment. Little things, really.
But the little things can start a chain reaction.
I mean, seriously - I didn't ask why they couldn't give me their special deal on a latte + coffee cake with the pumpkin spice flavor. And I was very nice about paying five-and-a-half instead of three-and-a-half dollars for my special, once-a-semester treat. But the fact that when I pulled up to pay he took the time and courtesy to explain that they couldn't include pumpkin spice in the deal because they add a "sauce" to the coffee - not just a "syrup" - made me feel like a real person and not just the 167th car that had already been through the drive-through this morning.
So I passed it on, with a few smiles and "good morning"s as I walked passed other students on my way to class. This isn't that abnormal for me this semester at school, but it was a little more conscious this morning. And I chatted with my seat mates who I don't "really" know - really heard how they were. I took the time to actually see a few people, as I had been seen for just a moment. Little things, really.
But the little things can start a chain reaction.
Friday, September 11, 2009
happy::five (more) things
}sunshine. i'm sitting in the living room which is filled with sunlight during autumn and winter afternoons. the sun has been making that shift, and i'm soaking it up. (oooh, and clouds are pretty amazing, too. i love studying them over the wide fields on my long drives to and from school. they are so cool. and that definitely includes the light, wispy morning clouds that light up with the sunrise while i take my bright-and-early run.)
}smiles. and lots of great, heartwarming, and sometimes hilarious quotes on the subject. go read them - you can't help but smile when you do. (imagine that! *grin*)
}popcorn. i'm just saying. it's the perfect snack. given the fact that i decided just a minute ago i was going to get myself some popcorn to snack on, i have no idea why i'm still sitting here writing. (ok. i have a few ideas. #1, the fact that i prefer to finish one thing before beginning another whenever possible, #2 the fact that my urge for a snack really hasn't overcome my avoidance of getting up yet, and #3 the fact that i'm just sort of in a mood to write! see, just a few reasons...)
}ok...number 4...now that i have my popcorn! (yes, i did voluntarily stop in the middle of something; yes, i did get up from the delightfully comfy spot on the couch; and, yes...my "writing mood" is still alive and well. but we were here to talk about #4. not some random ramble.) humor makes me happy. maybe that's why writing this has plastered a grin on my face. i sincerely doubt it will have that affect on many other people, but i find myself mightily amusing at the moment! and to (truly) amuse me is to make me happy. i just can't be down when i'm having a real laugh at something honest and hearty. (can you?!)
}i could say chilling a bit at the "end" of the day (which is what this is - friday is the shortest day of my week!), or i could say being done with this week of school (in saying that i would aviod mentioning the studying that needs to be done to prepare for next week of school), OR, i could say something extremely odd like "parenthetical remarks" (which i tend to use liberally in my writing when i am "happy" [although maybe a better word would be borderline-hyper?!] - as evidenced by the number of parenthetical remarks used in this post!). i think i'll just let you take your pick between those three for the last happy thing.
now, if you look closely, i've really talked about 9 happy things here. and the discrepancy between that fact and the title of this post might cause one to infer that i *ahem* can't count. you can believe what you like on that front, but let's just say that "five" sounds better in a title than "nine." and besides, i wanted to make sure you were really listening. ;)
}smiles. and lots of great, heartwarming, and sometimes hilarious quotes on the subject. go read them - you can't help but smile when you do. (imagine that! *grin*)
}popcorn. i'm just saying. it's the perfect snack. given the fact that i decided just a minute ago i was going to get myself some popcorn to snack on, i have no idea why i'm still sitting here writing. (ok. i have a few ideas. #1, the fact that i prefer to finish one thing before beginning another whenever possible, #2 the fact that my urge for a snack really hasn't overcome my avoidance of getting up yet, and #3 the fact that i'm just sort of in a mood to write! see, just a few reasons...)
}ok...number 4...now that i have my popcorn! (yes, i did voluntarily stop in the middle of something; yes, i did get up from the delightfully comfy spot on the couch; and, yes...my "writing mood" is still alive and well. but we were here to talk about #4. not some random ramble.) humor makes me happy. maybe that's why writing this has plastered a grin on my face. i sincerely doubt it will have that affect on many other people, but i find myself mightily amusing at the moment! and to (truly) amuse me is to make me happy. i just can't be down when i'm having a real laugh at something honest and hearty. (can you?!)
}i could say chilling a bit at the "end" of the day (which is what this is - friday is the shortest day of my week!), or i could say being done with this week of school (in saying that i would aviod mentioning the studying that needs to be done to prepare for next week of school), OR, i could say something extremely odd like "parenthetical remarks" (which i tend to use liberally in my writing when i am "happy" [although maybe a better word would be borderline-hyper?!] - as evidenced by the number of parenthetical remarks used in this post!). i think i'll just let you take your pick between those three for the last happy thing.
now, if you look closely, i've really talked about 9 happy things here. and the discrepancy between that fact and the title of this post might cause one to infer that i *ahem* can't count. you can believe what you like on that front, but let's just say that "five" sounds better in a title than "nine." and besides, i wanted to make sure you were really listening. ;)
Monday, September 7, 2009
{still}
i just got a shower. it makes me feel all soft and new.
i'm quiet today, in a special way. i feel like i'm holding something warm and glowing, full of life and light, within myself. it's beautiful.
it's easy to miss in the busy-ness even of a "laid-back" day like today. and yet, now that i've glimpsed it and held it and breathed it, i don't think it will be so hard to hold on to, either.
it's a knowing. not in my head, but in my heart. i am His.
i am His, and He is mine. you can be His, and He can be yours. stop and really think about that in your heart.
it makes me quiet, in a special way.
i'm quiet today, in a special way. i feel like i'm holding something warm and glowing, full of life and light, within myself. it's beautiful.
it's easy to miss in the busy-ness even of a "laid-back" day like today. and yet, now that i've glimpsed it and held it and breathed it, i don't think it will be so hard to hold on to, either.
it's a knowing. not in my head, but in my heart. i am His.
i am His, and He is mine. you can be His, and He can be yours. stop and really think about that in your heart.
it makes me quiet, in a special way.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
::brand new::
it's a brand new day. of a brand new month. and on this new day of this new month, i started a brand new online class!
but first, i drove home from school through green alleyways shimmering in the sunlight and wind of absolutely gorgeous end-of-summer weather, with the windows open and my hair waving and my little self singing "come, people of the risen King" at the top of my lungs (and also slightly out of tune because it was a capella). because He's the One who makes all things new.
and then came the class. which will document learning brand new things (or relearning old truths in brand new ways) this month. it felt so good to start a brand new creative project!
but first, i drove home from school through green alleyways shimmering in the sunlight and wind of absolutely gorgeous end-of-summer weather, with the windows open and my hair waving and my little self singing "come, people of the risen King" at the top of my lungs (and also slightly out of tune because it was a capella). because He's the One who makes all things new.
and then came the class. which will document learning brand new things (or relearning old truths in brand new ways) this month. it felt so good to start a brand new creative project!
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