Birthday Month and All the Good Things

 

 

 

Hey Y'all how are you doing today?  I pray you can say all is well and you're busy creating wonderful and awesome projects.  So I've been getting small Acts of Kindness for my upcoming birthday so on our way home from my Dr.'s appointment my friend took me to Michaels and blessed me with these little goodies (insert big smile, happy dance and squeal)  

 

from top L - R Cream cardstock, Crayola paper pad for my grandson Kaiden, American Crafts Faith stamp set, The Happy Planner 365 Create Stickers, Washi tape set from The Happy Planner and those cutsie little flowers 

 

 

 Here's my layout for this week #beforethepen I used various printables from Mindful Planner I love her printables because they are so cute and feminine.  I also used stickers from Planner Chick Designs

 

In this picture you can see my TODAY dashboard and my cute Mint green/black Coleto pen.

 

 

Here's the whole week  and as you can see I have my birthday sticker on Sunday.  So far I don't have any plans but I will just be thankful for being alive and doing as well as I am so far in my life. 

 

 

 

Here's me and Toy my best friend since the 5th grade.  I was so happy to be able to see her and spend time celebrating her Moms 70th birthday.

 

 

 

this is us with the Birthday girl and Toy's grandson

 

 

 I had to share this layout from last week because It's all GOLD and I'm so in love with it!!!!  Thanks to MAMBI The Happy Planner Create 365 Sticker Set for thinking of me when they created this.  Honestly, I never really was blingy but since I got back into using a paper Planner layouts such as this one have been necessary for adding some spice to my weeks.  :)  So tell me do you ever just have to Bling OUT???

 

 I posted a few post back about getting the Illustrated Faith Set Created to Create from Daysprings if you're anything like me when you get some new craft products you have to go ahead and give them a try.  So here's my first entry of the Created to Create Kit.  Check out this post for specifics of the kit.

 

 

Well this is it for now I'm laying on the couch keeping my legs elevated Dr.'s orders until we figure out if I have DVT's  deep vein thrombosis.  Please say a prayer for me and I will see you guys soon.  Drop me a line if you have any questions or want to chime in. 

 

 

UPDATE

 

I don't have

DVT's in either leg Thank God!!!! So I did get my first injection in my Lumbar area and within a few days all of my leg swelling and pain has dissipated and some of the other issues I've been struggling with have also started working right.  I feel so blessed right now but I need to find out how to get and keep these results.  Keep praying for me because this has been very trying and physically exhausting.

  

Be Blessed and stay Creative 

Yes, I Guess You Can Say I've Been a Bit Busy

 

Tis the season for showers, birthdays and all the other celebrations that this time of the year brings. I'm sharing my contribution to some deserving souls. 

I was able to complete my first C2C pattern as a Baby shower gift to one of the young ladies at my church.  It has been all over my Facebook Crochet groups and it looked so nice in every different type of yarns.

 

So sorry for the lighting this is my completed C2C baby blanket.  I used Lions Brand Homespun 

  

 

then I had to create something to give to a wonderful young lady and her future hubby-to-be I was browsing through her FB page and found this quote it was perfect as the core of this gift.  So I got a canvas and went to work. First I found a font that I liked printed them out, taped and traced onto the canvas

 

Here's the finished project I drew the heart vines

 

  Both events were a hit and my small part was definitely appreciated. Now I'm able to make something for Me which rarely happens. I'm doing the C2C that's Corner to Corner blanket. I'm finding it to be challenging due to severe numbness and pain, but it will get done. Stay tuned I hope to have it done by my birthday on the 24 of this month.

 

I just stated my birthday is this month so why not celebrate and enjoy every act of kindness that comes my way.  So I saw the Stamp by Recollections on IG and I just had to have it!!!! Will after my Dr's appointment we went to Michaels armed with the IG picture in hand well I spotted that roll of Washi that I've been eyeing for months all over Social media. And the MAMBI sticker book just was the icing on the cake.

Oh yeah, l created this card and envelope set for the surprise birthday I attended. 

So yes, I indeed have been putting in some time to be creative and caring to others while gaining a sense of achievement for myself while fighting for my new position in life since my health is failing me no it's challenging me to find other ways to stay creative and sharing my gifts with those around me and those who have yet to meet me!!!

Go and Be Great!!!!!

 

Review 18 Scriptures on Grace

 

 

Hey Everyone so happy we're back together and I'm finally done with the Study of Grace. 

I have to confess that I have become even more humbled by what I was introduced to by the Word of God. I now understand that God desires us to have the Gift of Grace but we must desire to and work for it!!!

 

Here are more of my Bible Journaling entries and I walk away from this feeling so humbled in the Love of God towards me.  As I studied these scriptures I thought what if God only sought out the Israelites ONLY?   How would we be in the way of Faith, Salvation, Spiritual relationship and so much more.  Would I be a Muslim, Buddhist or whatever else?   

 

 

 

 

 

In my review of the 18 Scriptures regarding Grace here are the points that stood out to me

• Grace is a gift through the Redemption that is Christ Jesus
• I asked myself this question after reading Acts 6:8 How can I serve in the Grace that God granted me?  Stephen was willing to do whatever it takes to please God.  So should I have that same desire as Stephen to do whatever, however and for whomever I have the chance to serve.
• It's important not to become caught up in the hype of church instead we should follow good teaching and suffering for the Kingdom is how you grow in GRACE
• Praying to God the Father needs to include Our Faith so that we can walk away knowing that God is Going to answer our prayers
• We must remain humble in order to obtain the Gift of Grace. Don't allow ourselves to become high and mighty as God loves a Pure heart.
• God gave us talents and gifts with great knowledge and power But we must make sure that we take all of that and give it back to God in our service of others.

There's so much more to this but what I do want you to know is that it's up to each of us as Believers to serve others with a pure heart and an open mind because at the end of the day we owe God everything. 

If you find my posts on the Study of Grace and would like to study the scriptures I used please let me know.  May you be blessed and stay creative. 

How I found Planner Peace

Hey Ladies and Gents, so I am all over social media and in the various groups for Planners I hear us saying we're striving, looking, trying to figure out if we've in fact found Planner Nirvana.

So let me share my thoughts on the What, When, Why and How did I get there.  

***DISCLAIMER- I am not a paid spokesman***

When- I started paper planning in high school backing in the early '83 after going to Franklin Covey with my Aunt. I used that planner which was an hourly layout for I know the next 8-10 yrs.  By this time technology was moving us to use devices and I went digital. Although I used this method I still managed to forget, not receive alerts and I began writing things down here and there. In October 2011 my daughters, my Aunt and two of my cousins were in a near fatal car accident. 

Why- Because they were in another city and I had so much happening I found a Planner in Target because I now had to keep up with everything for 3 households at once.

What-  I discovered how much I missed writing my life down. It was so much easier to answer questions about what happened, who had what appointment, when to refill meds, therapy, how are they doing and also what's going on with church and the rest of my family.

How- I decided that I wanted to upgrade so I got the one on the R- Melvedy Designs on Etsy.  Once I got this planner it was to small and wasn't formatted to my liking so I gave it to my daughter who loved it.  After about 100+ YouTube videos I ended up buying the Erin Condren Life Planner and I have to say I loved it so much.

 This is the month-at-glance for June 2015 with enough room for several entries per day. 

 Here is how I use my Planner I'm not really big on going all out with decorations I'm more focused on functionality than anything else.  Please don't get me wrong I love a pretty planner

but I need it to work for me as a functional Planner especially with Dr. appts, therapy, tests, specialist and home and church life.

 As you can see from the photos above I have tried to figure out how to better work my Planner.  What do I want to track in it?  Will it be for everything like Appts., Meal Planning, Water Intake, online purchasing, when I mailed out packages, cleaning schedule for my house, church events, family events......the lists could go on and on and on!!

As I became more affiliated with FB and IG planner groups and people I learn I could take my ECLP out of the wire binding I got this Daytimer Binder and I went ahead and tore out my pages and put them inside I even made some dividers. I thought this was my peaceful place.....naw it didn't meet my real expectation.  BUT..............

Then I saw this pretty Kikki-K Binder and knew this was the right Binder for me and when she arrived this was the beginning of my Planner Nirvana

As you can see this is so beautiful and What I loved also was the additional pockets and pen loop.  I am beginning to be pleased with my Planner I'm figuring out what works for me and for the first time I know there's enough room to expand/decrease at anytime. 

As I look forward to 2016 I was really debating what Planner do I stay with ECLP or use a Printable, create my own inserts.  My concerns were; will the paper quality be the same, what is the Price Point; so back to YouTube I went and began to see MAMBI's the Happy Planner and based on the reviews and a with a bit of prompting from my Planner buddy Shirlene, I decided to go and touch it . 

Well I made my way to Michaels and as you can see I got my Happy Planner along with a few extra items to sweeten the deal. 

Here's my Month of December 2015 layout and really I love them.  This is by far a great Planner with the quality of a $50+ Planner for half the price.  The Happy Planner drew me in because it lives up to the implication that you will be happy using their planner. 

Here is a weekly layout without much writing but I love this Planner so much and feel that this is the best for having you keep record of things you don't always think about.  In the version I have at the beginning of each month there are prompts of what your focus is for that month, Birthdays, what are you Grateful for and Important Dates

here you have a week layout which to me is great there is a Thoughts Column to the Left which I use mine for To-Do and To Call, I love the boxes which are labeled Morning, Afternoon and Night.  I love this because there is a bit more room than the ECLP.  The paper quality is the same as the ECLP. 

What has brought me to Planner Nirvana isn't what type of Planner I have, what fluff(Stickers, Washi Tape, PL Journaling Cards)  I can use weekly.  Planner Nirvana for me is finding what works for your life no matter what that entails.  I'm happy and can't wait to find my Happy Planner for next year.  MAMBI hats off to you for creating a product that offers more than just writing down dates and times. If you don't believe me or are still looking and not sure.....why don't you come on over to MAMBI and see for yourself.

 Until next time Be Encouraged and Be Creative.

Crochet, Celebrating and other things

Happy Holidays!!!!  I pray that you had a wonderful holiday season.  I'm thankful that I was able to share my holiday with family and friends. 

Well I just wanted to share a few things with you that are really major to me and that's me finishing a crochet item for the first time in at least 6 months.  My daughter asked me if I could make a slouchy hat for my grandson and of course I'm going to give it a try.  So I checked Ravelry and found THIS Slouchy Hat The project turned out so well that after the New Year I made the grey one.  

Read my notes on Ravelry link above to learn more about this Photo Shoot of sorts (inserts smiles and giggles)

So in between Christmas and New Years I was blessed to have a Spinal Cord Stimulator Trial placed and I couldn't tell on day 1 but by day 2 I finally felt a difference.  Now what I haven't shared and you may not be aware of is Chronic pain robs you of a peaceful night of sleep so I haven't had one since the spring of 2012.  Yeah, I know right, that long? I'm so grateful and yet so upset because tomorrow the device will be removed and preparations will be made for my permanent device to be placed. 

 

This is me the first night and the contraption is my remote control.  Please keep me in your prayers that they hurry up with this process and I can get my permanent device installed.  I do have one confession.....My back is taped up because it holds the device and the leads that are stitched in place but OMG it's itching so bad and sponge baths are for the birds....LOL

So because I have restrictions my daughters thought it would be good to get me a Clipboard and a few other crafty Planner goodies for Christmas 

I have some health issues that over the past 3 years have caused me to have trouble writing yes to the point that I can't make a straight line because my hand won't move.  As a girl that loves Social Media I see so many beautiful things and Brush Lettering really caught my attention so of course, I retreated

to Pinterest and found Llama Lettering FREE printables  My youngest daughter is an artist and told me that it might be a good idea to try the Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pens to help me get the hang of Brush Lettering for myself.  To your right you see me trying to figure out the right angles and where the weight needs to be.

Needless to say the Holiday Season has been a blessing to me not for the things that I received BUT for the chance at relief from my Chronic pain.  Please come back and find out what has unfolded for me and also to see how I'm adapting to my Happy Planner