Psalm 46

"God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the Lord has done,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease

to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields with fire.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress."

DIY: Washer & Ribbon Necklace

I've been seeing this necklace on Pinterest a lot lately and it sparked my interest. It only takes two supplies to make; metal washers and grosgrain ribbon, both of which I had already, so I decided to give it a whirl. I wore it yesterday and really loved it! Here's a quick tutorial:

You will need:

20 - 30 1" metal washers (I used 24. Use more or less to make it the length you want.)

5/8" wide grosgrain ribbon, about 1 yard (or more, depending on your desired length of your necklace)

Step 1:

Thread your ribbon up through washer #1, leaving enough ribbon on the end to tie the necklace when it's finished.

Step 2:

Thread the ribbon down through the top of washer #2.

Step 3:

Thread the ribbon back down through washer #1.

Step 4:

Pull the ribbon tight, so washer #2 is laying flat on top of washer #1.

Step 5:

Thread the ribbon back up through washer #2.

Step 6: 

Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each additional washer. Once you've threaded all your washers onto the ribbon, tie the two ends of the ribbon together and trim off the excess. Finished! Easy, right?

Don't forget to check out my handmade jewelry shop on Etsy, Nestled! Here's a peek at my collection:

Frames

I've had a box of picture frames sitting in our laundry room for the past year, and just last week I finally decided it was time they go up somewhere. Funny how the little tasks that take hardly any effort are the ones that always take the longest to get finished. I hung these on an empty wall in our bedroom. It only took about 10 minutes... well, one year and 10 minutes.

I used some of the leftover chalkboard paint I had from this project and made one of the picture frames into a small chalkboard. Chalkboard paint can be used on glass, so this could be done easily with any picture frame.

Instead of using photos in all of the frames, I printed off some graphics from The Graphics Fairy. They have hundreds (maybe thousands?) of vintage art graphics that you can print for free right at home. It's really great!

Now if you'll excuse me, there's some Girl Scout thin mint cookies calling my name. Yes, cookies before 10 a.m. Don't judge.

A little bling on the ring

There's nothing like a sparkly purple manicure to start the week off on the right foot... or should I say finger? :) Today I'm wearing two Essie colors - Bahama Mama as the base color, and A Cut Above on my ring fingers. Happy Monday!

DIY: Beaded Bib Necklace

I recently came across a tutorial for making this necklace on Pinterest and wanted to give it a try. I've never made any kind of jewelry before, but the instructions were fairly simple and easy to follow. The necklace turned out pretty good, so I thought I would share it on here so you can make your own. 

Here's what you will need:

Round beads (if I counted right, I used 118 beads)

Nylon-coated beading wire

Metal crimps

Needle-nose pliers

Ribbon

Step 1: Make Center Piece

Cut an 18-inch length of nylon-coated beading wire. String 12 beads onto the middle of wire, and thread opposite end through last bead to make the bottom circle. For middle circle, string 5 beads onto each end. Add 1 more, and thread opposite end through it. For top circle, string 5 beads onto each end. Add 1 more bead and a metal crimp, and thread opposite end through each. Close crimp with needle-nose pliers; trim ends.

Step 2: Make Right and Left Pieces

 Cut a 55-inch length of wire. String 7 beads onto the middle of wire, then loop in far-right bead of center piece's middle circle. Add 3 more beads to left end, and thread opposite end through last bead to make bottom circle. For second circle, add 5 beads to right end. Add 2 beads to left end, then loop in far-right bead of top-center circle. Add 3 more beads to left end, and thread opposite end through last bead. For third circle, thread 5 beads onto each end. Add 1 more, and thread opposite end through it. Repeat to add more circles to reach nape of neck, and close final circle with a crimp. To make the left piece, follow steps above.

Once you have all the beading completed, simply tie on some ribbon and you're finished! Obviously you don't have to use yellow beads like I did; you can use any color(s) that tickle your fancy.

This project has really wet my appetite for jewelry-making. It's fun and easy, and the possibilities are virtually endless. Be on the look-out for more in the future!

Table For Two

I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day... I sure did!

We had a sweet little Valentine's dinner for two in the comfort of our own home. No crowded restaurants for us!

There was good food,

fresh flowers,

handmade love notes,

and lots of chocolate, of course! Because what's Valentine's Day without a couple extra pounds on the thighs?

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'll be enjoying my Valentine's Day (evening, actually) at home with my sweetie, a home cooked meal, chocolate fondue, and a movie of my choice. Jesse and I have learned that we prefer to stay at home rather than go out on Valentine's Day. Last time, we drove around all creation looking for a restaurant that didn't have a 53190 hour wait. We ended up having a romantical dinner at Arby's that year. Live and learn. :)

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Somebody loves you,
Here is a clue:
John 3:16

DIY: Oversized Chalkboard

This chalkboard is something I've been wanting to make for a while now, and after seeing this picture on Pinterest, it gave me the motivation I needed to get it done. It was very easy and I love it! Here's how I did it:

I started with a 2' by 4' piece of prefinished plywood. My dad, who builds cabinetry for a living, let me have this piece from his shop and cut it to size for me. If you don't have a handyman in the family like I do, you can have this done at Home Depot or Lowe's.

After sanding my piece of wood, I rolled on three coats of Rust-Oleum's chalkboard paint. I let it dry four hours between coats, and gave the paint three days to cure before writing on the surface.

During those three days (which seemed to drag on forever) Jesse added a wood frame to my chalkboard. He found some scrap wood from my dad's shop that was already stained, cut four thin pieces, and attached them directly to the sides of the plywood with some wood glue and a micro pinner gun. I then added a couple heavy duty picture hangers to the back. I found them at JoAnn Fabrics and they look something like this:

Finally, the chalkboard was ready to use!

First, I had to "season" the chalkboard by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk all over the surface and erasing it. This layer of chalk dust makes writing and erasing a little smoother.

And... done!!

Free shoes are the best kind of shoes.

Shoes: Me Too from DSW

If you're not already of fan of DSW on Facebook, you should be. Every Tuesday, there's this little game called Tuesday Shoesday. They post a shoe-related trivia question and the first 25 people to email in the correct answer are given a $50 gift card. It's a little harder than it sounds; they receive hundreds of emails within the first 30 seconds so you have to be very quick. Well, yours truly and her fast fingers played a couple weeks ago and won! Finally, all that time spent on Mavis Beacon in grade school has paid off... and in shoes, no less. I scored these pretty nude wedges for only 8 dollars after using my gift card. Oh happy day!

I'm feelin' Smokin' Hot today.

At least my nails are feeling that way! This color is called Smokin' Hot by Essie, and it's one of my favorites. Essie just added this color to their permanent collection, so you can buy it at stores like Target and Bed Bath and Beyond. I, however, couldn't wait and bought it off of eBay. Actually, you can often find new unused nail polish on eBay for less than in the store. Just a tip!

An Organized Closet

Welcome to my closet!

It hasn't always looked like this. I used to share this closet with my husband and it was a wreck; everything was packed in so there tightly I practically needed the jaws of life to get dressed in the morning. So recently, we did some re-organizing. Jesse willingly moved all of his clothes to a separate, slightly smaller closet and gave me full custody of the big closet. What a guy! :)

Everything is sorted by color. I've found that it's so much easier to get dressed when my closet is organized like this. Locating a particular item is a breeze and it's easier to put together an outfit in my head when everything is clearly visible.

Boxes and baskets hold my socks, tights, bras and undies,

a linen pinboard for organizing my jewelry,

shelves for shoes,

a cheap tension curtain rod to hang scarves on,

and baskets for belts and sandals.

A neat and tidy closet truly does wonders for my morning routine. With less time spent getting dressed, I have more time for coffee and devotions. It's a win/win!

My weekend, in photos

We woke up Saturday morning to the prettiest scene outside; big, fluffy snowflakes falling ever so gently to the ground. I could have stayed in my pajamas, sipped my coffee, and watched it all day (which I sometimes do anyways), but it eventually stopped and I was forced to put on grown-up clothes and get on with my day.

I played with our dogs,

and snapped some photos around our place.

Oh, and I guess there was some important football game going on yesterday? I sorta watched that, just kind of, well maybe not really at all.

What I'm Wearing

cardigan, ruffled top, jeans: Old Navy; shoes: Steve Madden

It's an unseasonably warm and sunny day here in Ohio, so I decided to trade the usual chunky sweater and boots for something a little brighter and cheerier. I recently bought the green sweater at Old Navy for only $6, not really knowing if I'd ever wear it or not but I thought hey, for only 6 bucks what do I have to lose? Well, other than 6 bucks of course. But it ended up pairing perfectly with my favorite pair of green flats. Yea!

Have a great weekend!

(Linking up with The Pleated Poppy)