I'm still alive...

I think. 

This week has been a rough one.  I'm sorry I haven't been posting.  I have a great project in mind to start on this weekend... maybe.  Life is just throwing us some curves right now and I love this blog and crafting, but right now my family comes first.  Thank you for being patient and prayers are very much needed and appreciated.

I'll leave you with some pictures from Easter Sunday.

My handsome nephews hunting eggs.

Aaron playing with his cousin's toy fishing pole while everyone was chowing down.

Aaron and Jayson sporting their new T-shirts and enjoying a ride in their little red wagon!

My Jesus My Savior My Friend

Seeing as today is New Friend Friday, I thought I'd talk about my best friend, Jesus.  Today is the day that he was crucified for my sins.  It's heart breaking to know all the things he went through on this day so many years ago.  I can't imagine the paint he endured and when I do try to imagine it I can't help but cry and open my heart even more to Him.  

I gave my heart to Him in 2006 and I haven't looked back since.  He is the inspiration of the new name for this blog.  Joyful Creations.  I feel that crafting is one of the gifts that he has given to me and I want to do it for His glory.  I can create fun little creations to give to friends and family that will bring them joy and that bring me joy as I make them.  I usually make my items with 2 people in mind; the person the will be receiving it and Jesus.  I hope to share my love and the love of Jesus by giving these items to others.

So, happy New Friend Friday to you and Happy Easter.  

Matthew 6:33: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Hoppy Easter Feature Friday

The Easter Link Party wasn't as successful as I hoped it would be.  I had 2 people link up!  Thank you so much to those that did.  I didn't really expect a huge turn out since this blog is still pretty new.  I hope to have more in the future though.  Gotta love those link parties!

Here are the 2 crafts that were linked up and I think they are both super cool!  Enjoy and Happy Easter everyone.

Oopsy Daisy made this bunny applique shirt for her adorable son!  

You have got to check her blog out.  She's got some of the coolest crafty ideas and I'm sure there's something there to get your mind going!

Le Chateau des fleurs made this yummy bunny cake for her daughter's 2nd birthday which happens to be close to Easter.

Check out her blog also for some cute crafty tutorials!

Thank you ladies, for joining in my Easter Link Party.

Dollar Store Decor

I received my book today!  I have been winning $5 Amazon gift cards through my swagbucks account and I used 1 to purchase this book.  I've already glanced through it at all the awesome ideas and can't wait to get started.  Most of them will have to wait until I can get moved into the new house, but there's a couple I'll have to give a try before that time comes.

If you haven't read this book, you should totally check it out!

Here are some of the things I want to do from the book.

Chopstick Candleholder

Chopstick Trivet

Kitchen Utensil Clock

Salad Bowl Side Table

Yarn Frame Crisscross

Twine Wrapped Lamp Base

Thumbtack Cabinet Door Design

Only a couple more hours before my Easter Crafts Link Party comes to a close.  So far there are 2 entries, I'd love it if I got more entries, but I'll consider that a good start for my first link party.  Hope you join in too.  I know you've got something Easter-y to share!

I learned to sew!

I am so excited that I learned to sew by hand this weekend.  I've made things before that required very little sewing due to the fact I didn't know how to and when I tried to make due I hated the outcome.  I still have a lot to learn and my 1st 2 pieces are no where near perfect, but I'm proud of myself for making them.  

1st we have Aaron's new pair of pants!

These were made out of an old t-shirt of mine.  I didn't cut the top long enough and they don't leave much slack for his bulky diaper.  I learned a lot from this little pair of pants.  I'm still proud of how they turned out.  Sorry no pics of them on him, he wore them today but is in his pjs and asleep right now.  It was a rough/busy weekend for the lil man.

2nd is a skirt for a friends daughter

After I learned what I did on the pair of pants I realized that the fabric I had already cut for this skirt wouldn't make for an appropriate length skirt for a little girl.  So, I added the black fabric to the top which makes for a nice band around the waist.  However, now I think it's an awkward length now.  I was also hoping for a poofy skirt, but I didn't have enough fabric for that.  This was just an old shirt my sis-in-law gave me that I couldn't wear anymore.  I'm still happy with how this turned out over all but will definitely need to see it on her and maybe make some adjustments to the length.  I'll keep you posted on the outcome of that.

I also got started on the gifts for Aaron, my nephews, and my cousin for Easter.  Their branded shirts!

 

 Not my original plan but I wasn't prepared to pay $6 for 3 sheets of iron on printer paper.  Maybe I wasn't looking in the right place for it at Walmart but I was in a bit of a hurry with a fussy child while looking.  So, I just grabbed the letter stencils (which I'll be reusing on MULTIPLE projects), fabric paint, and those spongy paint brushes.  The shirts are from the Dollar Tree.  Aaron's may be a bit big on him as the smallest they had was a 2T (he's wearing 9-12months now), but that's ok.

Easter Crafts - Link Party

I have plans to be away from my computer all day tomorrow so I wanted to go ahead and "Get This Party Started" early.  

Recipes, decor, crafts, anything that you created.

Here's my Easter craft!

Now, this wasn't my idea.  eighteen25 has a free download.  I could've just downloaded theirs, which is totally cute!  But I wanted to make my own since that's right up Custom PIY Design's ally.  These will be gifts for my coworkers this year.

A couple of rules before we begin:
Easter Crafts Only Please
Link to your specific post, and not to the main page of your blog

I don't have a party button created yet, but I would love love love it if you would share this party with your friends.  You can grab my main button if you'd like. 

Help me make my 1st link party a success!

Weekend Plans 3/27 - 3/28

Saturday is going to be a fun filled day with my mother and grandmother.  3 generations of women shopping and crafting.  

Let me tell you, I come from a not so crafty family.  

My mother is crafty in her own untraditional way.  If she has a need she will fill in a make shift way.  One time her water wasn't working and it was raining outside.  She had one of those picnic tents up in her back yard and it was older and the ran had gathered in the "roof" of it and it was going to tear it up if she didn't do something.  So she grabbed a knife and a 10 gallon bucket.  She poked a hole in the "roof" and placed the bucket under the hole to catch the water.  TaDa, she "fixed" her tent and had water to flush the toilet with.  I love my mother and I cherish the relationship I have with her.  She's taught me so much!

My grandmother is the frugal shopper that I wish I was.  She's a bargain hunter, and when she finds a bargain, she'll talk the person into making it an even better bargain.  I don't know how she does it.  She's the most beautiful woman I've ever know, inside and out.  I guess it's her grace and charm that woos the sellers into giving her what she wants... haha.

So, I guess I can't say they aren't crafty, they just aren't your typical crafty people.  Their skills are just very unique.

Anyway, I found this AWESOME tutorial on how to make baby pants which I can't seem to find the blog that I found the tutorial.  I know I commented on her blog, and she commented back to me... or email... or something and I can't find a trace of it.  I thought I followed the blog but can't seem to find it in my list.  If that was you, please, leave me a comment so I can give you credit for this project and to make sure I did follow your blog because I loved it.  I went through my drawers last night and found a pair of jeans (that have been ripped in multiple places), some t-shirts, and some old yoga pants I can't wear anymore.  These will be turned into Aaron's pants!  I can't wait.  I also found a cute tank top that will be turned into a cute little girls skirt for a dear friend's daughter.  We'll see how that turns out.

We'll be getting some supplies to make all 4 boys (my nephews, my cousin, and my son) Easter shirts.  I'm still indecisive on a design I want to do, but I'll be doing some searching very soon for ideas.

We will also be getting all the makings for the Easter Egg hunt.  I want to have some golden eggs as prize eggs, stuff to decorate eggs, and stuff for their Easter baskets.

Oh, I can't wait.

I will also be giving my Grandmother her Easter gifts.  The Easter Wreath.

and the Happy Easter Banner.

So, what's your plans for the weekend?

Finally... My Easter Wreath

Alright, my patience ran short after 3 and half eggs being wrapped in "twine".  I just don't think I could've done enough eggs for an entire wreath, at least not by Easter.  I wanted to complete this wreath for my grandmother.  I had bigger plans for it but I'm still happy with the way it turned out.

I had letters with cute circle borders all printed out that would spell out "He Is Risen" but it wouldn't fit on my wreath.  I was very disappointed in that.  But I think I may have another quick craft to do with those letters, I'll have to do some more thinking.

I cut my wreath form from a piece of cardboard I salvaged from work.  I still have enough left to do my tea wreath as well from this same piece of cardboard.  I wrapped it in pretty blue yarn, hot glued my 3 eggs and fancied them up with the Easter grass.  This part did get messy!

Remember the Pop Flower Gift Tags"?  I edited the flower to be blue and made these.  I think I may add some glitter to spice these up a bit.  Still debating.  What do you think?  The leaves are cut from a book page and I crinkled them up and "distressed" them with a green sharpie marker.  This was my first experience with distressing.

Final touch, my poor, pitiful bow.  LOL!  I saved this ribbon from a gorgeous diaper cake that I received at my baby shower and finally found a use for it and I feel like it was a bit of a waste.  I'll have to get some some cheap ribbon from somewhere and work on my bow making.  Anyway, I tried to make a "puffy bow" from some not so good tutorial online and this is what I got.

Overall, this project holds a lot of "firsts" for me.  I'm so happy that I did it, it was a stress reliever for me tonight to wrap this thing in yarn... that may sound crazy but it really was.  I have been sorta inactive lately due to busy job and busy life in general.  I'm happy with where my life is going though and I'm, overall, happy with this project.  I look forward to making many more wreaths.  Next one, Tea Wreath!