You make Beautiful Things

Based on one of my favorite songs from Gungor, Beautiful Things, I made this for my wall.

It didn't quite turn out the way I was hoping, because the stencils for the letters didn't work towards the end, but I'm realizing thats part of the beauty of it. It isn't perfect, much like us. But God makes us beautiful. He makes our sin, our bad choices, our dirt all beautiful.

Listen to the song:

I have a bible I rip up and use just for crafts. I used it for this project. Michael's was having a GREAT sale on canvas, so I bought a 7 pack for $10. Yes, all you crafters know this is a big deal. Then I ripped up the pages and modge-podged them all together to the canvas. I let it dry overnight and than started by painting the bird stencil on in black. Then I layed out notecards where I wanted the letters for the words to be, painted it, and wa-la!

Crazy weather we're having...

Snow. Ice. Flooding. Emergency weather advisory.

Just a few of the weather headlines I had flash on my tv and come through my e-mails this last week.

http://oregonstate.edu/main/alerts/local-officials-declare-disaster

Happening right in my own town of Corvallis, Oregon. Home of Oregon State University.

It all started on Sunday the 16th. I woke up to a winter wonderland! It was wonderful. Monday was a holiday, so I didn't have classes. It snowed a bit more the next few days, and then it quickly turned to slush by Wednesday the 18th, when it had been pouring like mad on top of snow melt. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there was a campus delay, causing classes to start at 10 am. Thursday, I recieved e-mails from my teachers that classes were going to be canceled, but Oregon State was still open.
http://oregonstate.edu/main/alerts/osu-main-campus-will-be-closed-friday-january-20
Later that evening, after getting e-mails and notifications about schools closing down, my roommate and I decided to venture out of our warm little apartment to explore the flooding in Corvallis.

my roomie, Aubrey and I in the shallow part of the flooded streets

http://oregonstate.edu/main/alerts/update-flooding-and-road-conditions-corvallis-and-benton-county

...and this is where life begins

"I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be."-Douglas Adams

If you told me a year ago that I would be where I am now, I would not have believed you. I didn't like where I was, but I was trying to like it. I was trying to fit in. I was trying to fit a mold that was not me. I was trying to remake my situation into something better. And I really did try, hard even. 

Upon realizing that my situation was not going to get better, I left. I came home, started over, rebuild my life and moved somewhere else. Sometimes in life, you just need a moment to step back and rebuild. And that is exactly what I did.

In a week from today my roomie moves in. I am so excited for this fall to start. To have a roommate who is my friend and roommate. Not just someone I am living with. I'm excited for football weekends. I'm excited for fall colors. I'm excited to have a real college experience. I'm excited to decorate my apartment and have a mesh of both of our styles, not just mine. I'm excited for pumpkin things. I'm excited for my life!

Odds and Ends

I've been collecting all sorts of things to decorate my apartment and I am very excited. Anna movies in at the end of August. I have everything in a pile waiting for her arrival so we can decorate together!

Last weekend, I went to visit my grandparents and helped them pack up a bit and sort through some stuff. My grandparents are moving closer to my aunt in Portland. They have been having a lot of a health problems and the whole family feels they should be closer to a family member in case of another crisis.

My grandma gave me all sorts of things to fill my apartment. I am so excited! The coolest part is that she gave them to ME. I'm going to have a touch of my grandma with me and that warms my heart. One of my favorite things she gave me is a old fashioned yellow kitchen-aide mixer.  I've been eyeing one for a very long time and I am really blessed to have my grandma give it to me.

I also got a lot of kitchen items. I love cooking and lately have been doing it more and more so this warms my heart. I feel like my apartment is really coming along and when Anna moves in it will really start to feel like home! I can't wait to get some things on these awful white walls! My next project is my porch. I do not know what to do with it! Any advice?

I'll definitely be posting pictures of my place as soon as things start coming along. For now, gotta keep you in the dark. I know, I know. It kills you. ;)

DIY

I'm sure this is not the first DIY project I have taken on, but it is the first I have done completely myself and I'm really excited about it! I'm trying to work on my apartment to make it home, and I'm really excited about this.

Before: found for $2 in the TJ Maxx Clearance section.

After: A little paint and some buttons later...

And of course, the finished product with some pictures in it:

It isn't on the wall yet, and I'll show you soon how the rest of my apartment is turning out. I'm really excited about how cute this turned out.