Mark My Words

Crafting summer continues!

This project is easy, cheap, and practical--at least around this house.

Can't beat that!

I spotted this multi-page bookmark on Pinterest, but I admit I just eyeballed it, so my instructions might be different from the original link.

You will need:

embroidery thread, twine, yarn, or ribbon

coordinating beads

washer

1. Measure out a length of thread and fold it in half.  If you can, use the book that needs this marker as a guide; your folded piece should be a few inches longer.

 (You want some extra length so that your bookmark can stretch from Genesis to Revelation and still have beads hanging from the bottom.)

2. Cut as many lengths as you need to give yourself the number of page markers you want.  I cut two lengths, giving me four page markers.

3. Take your folded strands and thread the loop through the hole in the washer and pull the ends of your twine, etc. through the loop, creating a slipknot.

4. Now just tie your beads onto the bottom of each strand.

It's more complicated to write this down than it is to do it.

I love my bookmark for my Bible; I can have one strand in James for Tuesday night and use the other strands to mark passages for Saturday's talk.

These would also be great for your favorite college student, teacher, or family of bibliophiles who are all reading The Hunger Games at one time. (Just remember which bead is your spot.) 

Happy reading--and crafting!

Be blessed today,

Ginger

Link ups here, here,and here.

Hello Monday

Hello, Monday!

Hello, hot weather!  We were enjoying your cooler, wetter cousin so much; I was kind of hoping you wouldn't show up until, oh, say, late August. (Ha.)

Hello, black and blue heart.  The book of James is beating you up in the very best way.  Right now it hurts, but you'll never change without this.

Hello, cabbage.  There's a lot of you, isn't there?  What shall we do with you tonight?

Hello, raspberries!  If you show up in droves, I'll be so grateful!

Hello, dust!  I've ignored you, but your thick presence under the couch was stealing my concentration during pilates this morning; consider yourself warned.

Hello,Ladies' Gathering!  You're coming up this weekend, and I'm praying for you!

Hello, answered prayer about some other things.  Lord, I'm beyond grateful.  You are good, and all Your ways are good.

What are you saying hello to this Monday?

Be blessed,

Ginger

Linking up here.

Thoughts on Thursday

Confession:

It's crunch time for getting all the thoughts swirling in my head on paper for our Ladies' Gathering, so this post is the cream-puff collection of what's been in my head this week.

1. Heard an anguished "Ahhhhhh!" from the basement.  

Investigated. 

Found Big Red in the middle of septic tank overflow that invaded the basement.

No pictures, you'rewelcome.

Incidentally, my handy husband has figured out that he can save us thousands by fixing the problem himself. 

 My.husband.rocks.

Which leads us to

2. Sunday: Celebrated this cutie-who-can-do-anything-including-repairing-septic-tanks

and a special 13th birthday on the same day.

Note the ghetto-fabulous wrapping of these gifts.

 

Exhibits A and B of why this is just a wanna-be crafting blog.

3. Monday: Made a batch of chow-chow,

 leaving me with *just* eight more cabbages from our garden to use/give away in the next week.

4. Tuesday: Picked up this:

Couldn't resist modeling this shot after the 80,000,000 car ads I've viewed since the beginning of June.  They make me think of this

source

 every.single.time.

5. Wednesday: Admiring the flower awesomeness on our deck.

 The rockin' handyman hubs also has a green thumb.

6. Thursday: Getting serious with all this.

  You might not hear from me tomorrow.;)

What's up at your house?

Be blessed,

Ginger

Stuck Like Glue

Want to know what I did on my glue-fest?

I made scripture memory books.

As part of Mercy Triumphs, Beth Moore challenges us to memorize the book of James.

So I'm going to try.  

Anybody want to do it with me and keep me accountable?

For the record, I didn't start out thinking of cute ways to get these together.  

I did  know that a laminated sheet of white paper wasn't going to work for me.

I needed something that would fit in my purse. 

Not to mention that regular white paper would get sucked into the vortex of my desk over the next five months.

The original plan was a bundle of colorful index cards attached to a jump ring.

Then I spotted some chipboard books in the dollar bins at Michaels.

(I love the dollar bins at Michaels.)

A plan hatched.

For this project you will need:

chipboard books

scrapbook paper

scissors

adhesive 

(I started with this glue runner, but it ran out quickly, so I switched to what I had on hand--Mod Podge.  It worked.)

fine-grit sanding block or sandpaper

distressing ink, optional

I'd never worked with chipboard before, but thanks to Google, I've mastered it--at least the straight-edged kind.;)

 Chipboard for the Inexperienced:

1)Put lots of adhesive on your chipboard

2)Smooth paper on top.

3)Cut closely around the shape.

4)Sand the edges to give them a polished look.

If you use Mod-Podge, make sure your boards are dry before you try the sanding part; otherwise, your paper might tear.

The rest goes fast:

Print out your text; mine is in my favorite font, Traveling Typewriter.

Adhere it to the boards.

Ink it a bit if you like.

You know that verse about not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing?  Well,this is a picture of my left hand trying to photograph what my right hand is doing.  Didn't work out, did it?

 Cover with a coat of Mod-Podge for protection.

Carry them with you wherever you go!

Some of you are probably thinking that my time would have been better spent working on my memorizing than making these books.

You could be right.:)

Yet, the extra effort, time, and beauty of these books convicts me to really use them.

Now I have to memorize James.

Next step: let the Word get in my heart

and stick like glue.

Be blessed  today,

Ginger 

Linking up here

& here

 

**As always, all pictures are property of dwelling in the house.**

A Mini-Post

First...

we have a car!!

Sort of.

The dealership is clearing up an issue we wanted addressed, so let's call it a pending sale.

12 hours of a car shopping, people.

12.

Ask me if I was on the verge of coming unglued.

Good thing we'd just started Mercy Triumphs,

'cause I kept getting nailed by that "Consider it joy when you face trial of many kinds" part.

Big Red and I talked about things to consider with joy:

1.He's still alive and uninjured. (The Big One.)

2.Though we lost some money (of course), we can't say we were treated unfairly by our insurance.

3.We've found a car that has fewer miles, is a couple of years newer, and gets better gas mileage than the one that was crushed.  We have peace that this car represents the best stewardship of what God has provided.

4. The car salesman said we were a "great couple" and was impressed we'd been married over 18 years.  ;)

Today I refuse to leave my house, and instead of coming unglued, I'm going to use some glue.  

Today I shall do crafts.

And not talk about cars.

Be blessed today,

Ginger

Two on a Tuesday: Two Reasons

The intentional summer plan, in spite of everything, seems to be working.

I counted 21 of these on our butterfly bush one day.

The intentional blogging plan...well, it's early yet.

I have finished projects to share, some unfinished un-started projects that need accountability, but I have two very good reasons why there are no posts about them yet.

We interrupt this post with a photo of my out-of-control pansy, which should be wilted and cast aside by now in favor of summer plants.  Apparently it loves our wet and cool-ish June.

1. Still no car.  

I could elaborate on my research-obsessed husband

 (for whose research obsession I am, on the whole, grateful), 

but I'll skip the relative merits of Hondas, Hyundais, and Toyotas in this post.

Lavender in our garden--just because I like this picture.

2. Ladies' Gathering June 30

I'm speaking, and, while it's stayed on topic, it's going a different direction, and it's June 12th.

I've got my nose stuck in Hebrews.

And in Exodus.

And in Psalms.

And in Jesus Calling.

Oh, yeah, and in James--'cause Bible Study meets tonight.

We're needing us some prayer around here.

Amazingly, I am not stressed by all this, really.

It's more that loads of space in my brain are on overdrive, and that's slowing everything else down.

Make sense?

How are your summer plans progressing?

Be blessed,

Ginger

Today...

Big Red is negotiating a new vehicle. 

 Fun times...

DD#2 and I completed two more of our Pinterest summer projects.

My oldest darling  comes home from her first foreign mission trip!  Yippee!

*Grin*

Be blessed,

Ginger

In the Doghouse

Do you see these innocent looking creatures?

 Look at that face.  You have to love it.

Unless it's the face of a creature that dragged a trash bag from the neighbor's house and ripped it to shreds all over your lawn.

Said garbage was full of cigarette butts, dirty diapers, and coffee grounds.

These faces and I...

we are not BFFS.

Be blessed,

(preferably with cats)

Ginger

Double Dipping

Summer Bible study started last night!

We're going through Beth Moore's study in James, Mercy Triumphs, and I think it's going to grab my heart.

Since snacks were in order, I made dips for us to munch.

I'm trying my best to get off those last few pounds, so these needed to be (mostly) guilt-free.

Skinny Guacamole

(adapted from Skinny Taste)

2 ripe avocados,peeled and mashed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon cumin

dash onion powder or some chopped onion

salt and pepper to taste

Serve with baked tortilla chips.

Women together=time for chocolate.

Nutella Greek Yogurt Dip

Recipe from somewhere on Pinterest; notice the polite, photo-opt-sized serving.  Mulitiple by 10.  Maybe 15.

Ymmm...the name says it all, literally: 

one single-serving size plain non-fat Greek yogurt 

1/4 cup-ish of Nutella (or more, because when it comes to Nutella, more is better.)

Mix.

Serve with strawberries, graham crackers, or just spoons. ;)

Happy Wednesday to you!

Be blessed,

Ginger

Linking up to What's Cooking Wednesdays 
and The Thrifty Home

Summer Mantel

Part of our intentional summer includes  a whole Pinterest board of projects!  

Think we can do it? :)

We started with the mantel.

Here's Project #1 1/2:

Patriotic Rag Wreath made with a pool noodle.

 Start with a $1.88 pool noodle.  I cut about 7-8 inches off of mine to create a circle rather than an oval.  Just bend it until it gets to the shape you want and cut off the excess.  Then duct-tape the daylights out of it.  The clear tape here was just for sizing;  it popped apart seconds later.  Lots of strong tape will hold your form.

 Then cut your fabric strips.  I used about a yard each of the red and white, and maybe 3/4 of a yard of blue.  The strips are just tied on and scrunched tightly together.   Cluster five white and five red strips for each "stripe" section.

 Ta-da!  Thrifty chalkboard+favorite verse+red,white,and blue books= summery mantel goodness.

I love these mason jar candle holders. 

One down, about one million to go.

Be blessed,

Ginger

 

Coming Apart at the Seams

Today has not been the day I expected.

Are they ever, really?

We were in the throes of getting DD#1 off on her first foreign mission trip 

(Hello: teen years are toddler years
 remixed) 

and Big Red off to the wedding of a former wrestler who lives in another state.

Because of the mission trip, I decided that I wouldn't attend the wedding, and DD#2 opted to stay with me.

Big Red and I had coffee and oatmeal, chatted a bit about both trips,
 kissed goodbye.

I got a phone call about 45 minutes later.

Rainy weather.  Big curve.  Oil leak on the road.

Car totaled.

Big Red without. a. scratch.

Y'all, our car has no trunk.

The chassis is bent.

Had DD#2 been in the back seat, I'd be typing this from a hospital room. (Back seat wasn't crushed, but there was lots of glass.)

Had the car skidded the opposite direction, I wouldn't be typing this at all. 

 I'd be facing a funeral.

Big Red is discouraged about the whole money-insurance-etc. aftermath,

 but I haven't gotten over the sight of that car 

and my husband, unharmed,

 on his knees praying beside it.

Be blessed today,

(I am)

Ginger