Clipboard Redo

The missionaries in our church are 19-21 year-old men, that being said, I help them get fed by members of our congregation. (For the record, there are also female missionaries in our church but not in our current congregation.) Anyway, I pass a calendar on a clipboard around to the women in our congregation and people sign up to feed the poor boys.

The clipboard had seen better days so I decided to make a few upgrades.

I Mod Podged paper to the front and back. I chose a black for the inside and added silverware and a library card holder that I cut out using TMJ's Silhouette. I put reminder cards in the library card holder.

I picked a very cute necktie print for the back, and I used my Cricut to cut out the words, "Missionary Meals." I glued it all down and Mod Podged it on! While I was at it, I used a new ribbon to attach the pen.

Now we have a great shiny new clipboard!

I'm so excited, and I jut can't hide it!

Two posts in one day? Wha?
That's right.

Krystal from Sassy Sanctuary has been at it again. She added a new social media icon to my blog. You knew it had to happen eventually right?

Introducing...My Pinterest button.

Isn't she pretty?

So join in the Pin Party and follow me on Pinterest. I'd love to know who else is out there pinning away!
Thanks Krystal!

T-Shirt Quilt

Many of you have probably heard of the idea to use old t-shirts to make a quilt. This way you can hold on to your sentimental keepsakes without taking up precious storage space with useless things. My friend, Britni, wanted to get some sewing practice and use up her shirts at the same time. She came over to my place at 11 am and by 7 pm she had finished a quilt from start to finish, and that includes a trip to JoAnn's!!

Here she is cutting her shirts into 12x12 squares with my trusty rotary cutter.

We set all her shirts on my bed so she could get them in the order she wanted. It also enabled us to get an idea for the fabric that we would use as the border.

We went to the store and found a great cotton for the border, fleece for the back, and fusible interfacing.

We ironed the fusible interfacing to the shirt squares. This gave it more strength and stability and made it MUCH easier to sew.

We cut the cotton into strips that were 4"x12". We then sewed those strips to the top of every shirt square using a 1/2" seam allowance. Britni did all the sewing herself. I was so impressed.

After we had them all topped we sewed them into columns. We then sewed strips to the right side of every column. Then we sewed the columns together. Finally, we sewed the front of the quilt to the back, which was a large piece of fleece.

After we finished all the sewing we tied in every corner to keep the two layers together.

The finished project!

Good job Britni!

Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure

My last post was really ME-Centric, but there is so much more to tell about the race. You know, like Brian Regan's "ME Monster"?

My day started at 6:30. I woke up and got ready. I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't want to eat too much, there was no point in wearing make-up, I was so nervous! I wasn't the only person to get up early though. Chance, Bryan, Tervlon, and TMJ all came down to the race route to support me.

Plus, I was on a team with a great bunch of DC-Area crafty bloggers: Andi the Jane of All Crafts, Cassie from Primitive and Proper, Kate from Twenty-Six to Life (along with her awesome hubby), and Sarah The Thriftress. I'm so sad that we didn't get a team picture! I had hoped that Chance would find us before the race since I didn't bring a camera, but alas...

At any rate, there were all SO nice! I actually found out about the 5K on Andi's blog. I wouldn't have gotten the courage to sign up for this on my own. I'm so grateful to have been on a team with these great ladies.

Cassie and Andi were totally legit runners and finished in like half my time. Kate, Sarah, and I decided to start at the back of the pack of runners but they both bested me as well. I was totally unprepared for how much different it would be to run on the road. My bad leg started hurting really early on so I ended up walking within the first quarter mile. I watched as old ladies passed me  I walked for the rest of the first mile. During the second mile I worked up to running and walking at intervals. I continued that pattern through the first half of the third mile. Amazingly, I found the strength to run that last bit. It was then that I saw Chance and the gang. Lady Luck smiled down on me to make sure that they all saw me when I was running.

After the race I got an opportunity to wander around collecting SWAG (Stuff We All Get). I got pink flip-flops from Old Navy, Key Lime yogurt from Yoplait, a sweat band, a key chain, and some breakfast! I also earned a SGK Reusable shopping bag for raising more than $50. Thank you to all who helped me reach that goal.

I hope to be able to run with these ladies again next year. Maybe I'll keep pace with Cassie and Andi?

For your convenience here are links to the rest of the team member's blog posts about the event:

Andi
Cassie
Kate
Sarah (No post quite yet. Stay tuned!)

My Very Own Before and After

In April 2009 I was in a very serious car accident in which my tibia and fibula (both bones in my lower leg) were broken; my surgeon informed us that I could have easily lost my leg. Luckily, he was a brilliant spinal surgeon and he put me back together again. I spent two and a half weeks in the hospital and then another 4 months working to walk again.

Here I am in the hospital. After two weeks in I finally had the energy to put on make up and do my hair.

The next picture shows my leg post-op. You can see stitches and it might be a little much for you if you can't handle wounds. There is only one though! I had a surgery prior to this one that would have provided more weird pictures, but I decided to spare you!

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I have worked really hard over the last two years to lose weight and start exercising. It hasn't always been easy. I have had to push myself to overcome physical and emotional barriers and fears that would have kept me from trying new things. A couple of months ago I did a Rape Aggression Defense class that helped me overcome the irrational fear of hurting myself (specifically my leg). After that I decided to run a 5k.

So here is a picture from two days ago. It's me running in the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure.

Crossing the finish line.

And the true "before and after" portion of the post: my leg, new running shoes, and timer.

This is, quite honestly, something I never thought I would do. You might notice that there are a lot of people around me who are walking. That's because I found this race to be more difficult than I imagined, so I, too, ended up walking some of it. A lot of it actually. :) But I finished! Not only that, but I finished in under an hour. 47 minutes if you're curious. I can't wait to sign up for another one so I can improve my time and my skills. 

Looking at the two pictures of my leg I find myself thinking of a quote by Arthur C. Clarke, "The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible."

Tulip Lemonade?

I saw an idea for a fun bouquet on 1-800-Flowers.com and I thought to myself, "I can do that for WAY cheaper!" 

I hunted for a clear, glass pitcher for over a month. Target had one but it was $12.99 and I just wasn't ready to pay that. I searched the local Goodwill about once a week. I was about to lose hope when I found just what I was looking for. She is beautiful, petite, and only $3.49!!

I spent $3.99 on faux lemon slices from JoAnn's. I would have used a coupon but I couldn't find them before I left for the store and I already had the flowers in the pitcher. 

Finally, I bought yellow tulips because they are Chance's favorite flower, and conveniently on sale for $5.99 for a 10-stem bouquet.

So here is my rendition of a fun spring bouquet. I tied a ribbon around the pitcher just for another little splash of yellow. I spent roughly $13 and I will be able to reuse everything but the tulips. 

Mine isn't quite as lemony because I chose flowers with a lot of green due to the leaves. Their bouquet is full of flowers with no visible leaves. I love it nonetheless.