Heart

What a bumpy past couple of days it has been for this Wide Eyed Little Lady...

Last Thursday around 10:30 I received a startling phone call from the Husband. He proceeded to tell me that his father had been admitted to the hospital late last night with chest pain. (I being the early to bed, early to rise person that I am missed all the commotion). After being at the hospital for nearly 12 hours the hospital deemed that Brad (father-in-law extraordinaire) was having a heart attach (second one within 14 months). The reason this is so startling is because Nathan's grandpa, at the ripe age of 63, died from heart failure after his 3rd heart attach. 

Nathan so unsettled by the news had to have his mother inform me that his dad was finally going under. My eyes began to swell with tears and my voice cracking as she handed the phone to Brad so I could say "I love you". As we get off the phone I immediately drop to my knees and bow my head to pray. I could barely organize my thoughts to start off my prayer, but as I continued I felt more at ease and felt such a strong presence there with me. 

I rushed off to the hospital, not forgetting to stop off at Nielson's Frozen Custard to pick up some Carmel Cashew. I arrived just as Brad was getting out. While waiting for the doctor, Brad still a little groggy from surgery he still managed to crack a couple of jokes about his condition. His sense of humor is awful but I am so grateful for it. After a couple of hours the doctor comes in and explains that he had a tear/crack in the previous stent that they had put in his artery and it caused another blockage. To remedy the situation they ended up putting another stent on top of the first one! The doctor also informed us that from the time he was omitted to the time he went in for surgery he had 4 "mini infarctions"!

It is a week later and I am glad to see that my father-in-law is heeding the doctors advice and taking things slow. Brad is such a determined man and I know that he won't let this stop him. I am so thankful for the example he sets and am hoping to have him around for many more years to come. Please keep him in your hearts as we pray for a clean bill of health.

Until next time...
xxoo

Up-Cycling

Summer is here and I couldn't be more excited! The Sun, the pool, camping, bonfires, carnivals, and so much more are in store for this wide eye'd little lady. 

With the new change of season comes a new set of decorations for my little home. Consequently changing my decorations every month isn't too friendly on my wallet, so we must resort to getting a little crafty... or as I would say time to up-cycle.

What is Up-Cycling??? Up-Cycling is to reuse an item to create a different product or create value to an item. 

And VOILA taking us from...

To....

Instructions:

• Start of with any pair of pants; I've used jeans, khaki, and slacks to make various different banners. I typically just use a "ruined" pair from friends or family. 
• Next you will want to cut up the pant leg like so... (try to stay as close to the seams to maximize the material)

• After you have cut both side of the pant leg discard of any trim pieces left on the sides. This will leave you with two strips.
• Now choose the desired length and width for your flag pieces. I typically go with a 3 or 4 in' width and a 5 or 6 in' length.

• Cut out all necessary pieces, trimming as you go to match length and width.
• Choose a style of flag. For this banner I chose to do a traditional two point. You can also do triangles, multi-point, or just a rectangle/square, even mix it up (the possibilities are endless)
• The quickest way I have found to get the double point is to simply fold in half and cut at the desired angle

                   


                 {{Now it is time to start adorning your flags}}

• I started with a simple tag (paper left over from a previous project at work), I used my Cricut for these and let me tell you if you don't have one you need one. I simply hot glued these on but you can use fabric glue as well.

• After you've glued on your tags you'll want to do your letters. I first glued them straight on to the tag but didn't like how it looked so I used foam blocks to build them up

• Time for the fun part: lets fancy these up. I chose to use bows, buttons, and ribbon. You can also use gemstones, glitter, feathers, or what ever your heart desires!

• Last but not least you will want to secure your banner and hang it. You can find this Jute Twine at your local Walmart, I like it because it gives it a natural look. 
• First you will measure the area where you want your banner. Make sure that both sides are even (I typically tie a ribbon in the center, it is very handy). Evenly space your flags through out the length of the string
• Next you will want to hot glue the back of your flag and press onto your string. Be careful not to glue the flag to your floor.

and... Tada 

Happy Up-Cycling!!!