Christmas gifts (last one!) - Mini book

I love this mini-book - it is so cute and can actually fit quite a few pictures with the fun fold-out pages! This was the last of the homemade Christmas gifts I made this year. It was Close To My Heart's September special last year. The kit came with the pages for three books (three different background colours), a stamp set, a sheet of diecuts to stamp on and punch out, small ink pads and instructions. I had plans to make up the mini-books back in the summer but it never happened. It was a perfect Christmas gift though to mail to a friend. Now my friend can fill the book with whatever pictures she would like and pop it in her purse! I should make one for myself now and put my own pictures in it :)

Sunday thoughts - "Homeward Bound" part 2

In "Homeward Bound" Edward A. Hartman looks at some of the Puritan writings on family and family worship. One part that struck me was:

"The observance of the Lord's Day provides us with a regular opportunity to join with our families in fixing our attention on eternity. If we are to prepare to die well, and if we are to lead our families to prepare to die well, then we must be diligent to seize every opportunity to remind ourselves of the unseen, eternal realities that surround and await us. 'So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen in eternal' (2 Cor. 4:18) ... Few understand the purpose of the Lord's Day from this perspective. Most assume that if the day is to be observed at all the emphasis belongs on what things are not permissible on that day, that are perfectly acceptable on others. A day, for example, on which I can't mow the lawn or work on the car...The lack of freedom to do these things is not the point of observance of the Lord's Day....This points us to the second purpose for which the Puritans held to the observance of the Lord's Day: to take as much undistracted pleasure in the Creator and Redeemer of God's people as this earthly life allows." (p. 120-121)

What a blessing God has given us in a day that can be used to take pleasure in him through meeting together with other Christians (music, preaching, fellowship)!!! I pray that I will be able to use this day to worship and enjoy God and be "fueled" for the week ahead.

In addition to taking a day to worship God, he also challenges families to have daily family worship time where Bible reading & devotion, prayer and singing are all aspects.

If you want to be challenged to live with an eternal perspective and think about ways to practically do this with your family then I highly recommend reading "Homeward Bound".

Christmas gifts - Star ornament

I bought these Making Memories chipboard star ornaments a few years ago with grand plans to make them as Christmas gifts. Well, this year I finally did! Noelle wanted to help so she made two and I made two. Each star is made up of two chipboard pieces - the back one being solid and the one we attached the star too. We sponged the front and the back piece with ink, used clear embossing ink to stamp CTMH snowflake stamps in a design around the middle circle, and heat embossed with white or silver embossing powder. We glued them together with liquid glass and we were done. Noelle thought that embossing was like magic!

I had to work to find a picture that would fit all three children and shrink down to essentially a 2 inch circle. I printed them at Wal-Mart with the Kodak machine (4 - 2x3 pictures).

Sunday thoughts - "Homeward Bound"

I recently finished reading the book "Homeward Bound: Building an attractive Christ-centered family on eternal principles" by Edward A. Hartman. He challenges parents to live and raise their children with an eternal perspective since earth isn't our true home.

One quote that struck me was: "Trust[ing] God implicitly, and [being] absolutely confident in who he is and what he has promised...doesn't come naturally, neither in our own spiritual development, nor in the spiritual development of the children in our homes. What comes naturally is steady regression and decline. It's been said that to our forefathers our faith was an experience; to our fathers our faith was an inheritance; to us our faith is a convenience; and to our children, our faith is a nuisance. This will be the natural regression if we are not diligently working toward building the spiritual walls around our homes, encouraging a confidence in God within the lives of our children, and in so doing, preparing them to die well in the end." p. 141 (emphasis added)

My challenge then is for my faith to be an experience and not a convenience and then teach and train my children in who God is and what he has done so they too can have a relationship with the Saviour - and never let faith be just a convenience or a nuisance. Praise be to God that the Holy Spirit works in people (in me) to do his will - not I, but God alone can accomplish this!

Christmas gifts - mini calendars

I made four of these mini-calendars this Christmas. I covered white chipboard 4x4 coasters on the front with patterned paper and cardstock using ModPodge. Then I attached them with hinges, covered the back with cardstock (to cover the brads), and put the calendars on the front. I got the calendar template from the CTMH bulletin board a few years (I don't remember who to give the credit to but I appreciated the idea!) Daniel then edited the file for 2011. If you would like a copy just let me know! (All supplies CTMH)

Christmas gifts - Chipboard letters

We are back from our Christmas holidays and are now into the second week of school so I am starting to get back into routine and catch my breath! We had a great time visiting our families in Alberta for 16 days  - the kids loved being on the farms and helping with chores, tobogganing behind the quad and Nathan and Daniel even went snowboarding/skiing one day with aunts and uncles!

I thought I'd post a short series highlighting some of the Christmas gifts I made this year - I remembered to take pictures before I gave the gifts! I didn't start early enough to make anything big or too detailed but I think they were appreciated anyways.

I covered these two 8 inch tall chipboard letters for my two newest nieces for Christmas. I have made ones for my three kids plus all the other cousins but hadn't gotten around to making Kaytrianna (one year old)  and Renee (9 months old) their own letter to hang on their door or in their room yet! The hardest part of this project is finding the letters! They are discontinued by Making Memories and I can only find them through eBay or some online scrapbook stores that still have them in stock. 

I trace and trim the paper, cutting it a little bigger than the shape. I use Mod Podge to adhere the paper and then trim and sand the edges smooth. I sponge the edges with ink, tie on the ribbon and add their name!

 

Products: CTMH paper, ribbon, brads and alphabet stamp"The Works"

Products: CTMH Cherry-O paper, ribbon, brads, and Making Memories rub-ons