The Ohl's at the Mountains

Father's Day weekend, the Ohl's decided to meet in Potter County, PA for what I like to call a "wilderness weekend". Over 70 acres of land with a double wide trailer that have been in the family for years. It's a whole lotta land, trees, trails, hunting memorabilia, and nature. Lots of nature. Green as far as the eye could see with blue skies overhead. The weather was a mix of hot and cold. Literally, that drastic. But we had a fire going to keep us warm (and smokey). 

The most fun had to be riding 4-whelers. I'm glad my husband is such a good driver because I was holding on to him for dear life! Steep trails up hills and flying along roads in shaded woods was beautiful - and crazy. We all had our share of 4-wheeling fun! 

I was in my glory when I saw HORSES in the neighboring field. 13 of them. We made friends with two in particular. I visited them a couple times a day and managed to sneak them some carrots and apples. They let us pet their noses and admire them. Next time I'll definitely ask the owners for a ride. I just love horses. 

We were extremely proud of Marilyn, my mother in law, for roughing it at the trailer AND for making the trip with injured feet and ankles. Not to mention the fact that Laura, Sydney and Morgan drove through the night to get there! We even got to see David and Elsa and celebrate David's birthday AND Father's Day together. It was a fun and memorable weekend at Bryant Hollow. 

I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Thank you, Laura, for sharing some of your photos, too!

Till next time...

Upcycled Jar Vases

I find myself saving jars. Pickle jars. Sauce jars. Pesto jars. Hot pepper jars. Glass jars of all shapes and sizes. Mason jars. I just like glass. I can't explain it. It's so easy to clean and re-purpose. 
 
Once such use, is turning them into flower vases to gift or decorate a table. I recently made a birthday bouquet for my coworker and it was adorable. What made it special was the addition of a strip of decorative contact paper around the middle. So simple! 

You can pick fresh flowers from your garden or pick up an inexpensive mixed bouquet at the grocery store.

Empty, clean and remove the label from your choice of jar. 

Measure and cut a strip of adhesive backed paper. I got a 2 pack of rolls from Marshall's.

Carefully stick contact paper around the middle of the jar. Be mindful of curves which will cause wrinkles. 

Cut the stems and arrange your flowers. Add some ribbon, raffia or a tag and you have a perfectly lovely flower arrangement for not a lot of money! 

Even a simple string with a little message will brighten someones day. 

Isn't that sweet? 

Who needs a fancy vase? Save those jars! Pickle jars work especially well because they are a little larger. Jars are perfect center pieces for bridal or baby showers, or even a rustic wedding. Think twice before throwing them into the recycling bin.  

Felt Baby Shoes

I made the cutest little pair baby shoes out of felt and embroidery string. Aren't they darling? They look like mini moccasins. I found a great step-by-step tutorial with a template here. They are hand stitched and are pretty quick to make, once you get the hang of it. The trickiest part was adding a small strip of elastic on the inside, to help keep them on little feet. 

I added a ribbon for putting them on and buttons on the back. 

You could make any color combination, for a boy or girl. 

I made these for sweet little Oliver. I died when Hilary sent me this photo of Oliver wearing them for the first time. Too. Cute. They may be a little big, but he has time to grow into them. 

Now Chancho wants a pair. Make that two pairs. 

Beach Wedding Invitation

I had the honor of designing my cousin Marsha's wedding invitations. She and her husband, Jonathan, got married on the beach in Florida. They asked for a seaside themed invitation with a natural and organic feel to reflect their special day. Almost as if the invitation had been kissed by the ocean and left in the sun to dry.

Here's how they looked, printed on ivory paper. It was really fun to use a watercolor texture and nautical elements - especially a pair of lobsters, which were Marsha's special request. 

Photo by Brad's Creative Images Photography 

What a beautiful couple! I wish we could have been there to celebrate with them. It looked like an absolutely beautiful day. 

 Photo by Brad's Creative Images Photography 

Isn't Marsha a stunning bride? I just love her rosette headpiece veil. The new Mr. and Mrs. Jones are approaching their 2 month anniversary. Congratulations! Thank you for letting me share a small part of your wedding. Love you!

Beautiful Things

I've had the song "Beautiful Things" by Gungor on repeat. It's become part of my life's soundtrack lately. The lyrics are so simple, yet powerful. I mainly like the chorus and find my self humming, "You make me new, You are making me new" all throughout the day. 

It reminds me of  2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

I designed the above quote desktop/screensaver. Feel free to download and use as your own beautiful reminder. I took this photo last summer while driving past a field that caused me to pull over just to capture the beauty of it all. 

My heart has been heavy for those going through difficult times. Sickness. Divorce. Death. Loss. Broken relationships. Life is hard. It's also beautiful. It's only by the grace of God that we get to experience both. 

A reoccurring truth that's been so impressed upon me lately is that He is still my Jesus, no matter what's going on in this life. It sounds so elementary. Through the good and the bad, He is God. In blessings and in pain, He is faithful. When my heart is overflowing with joy and when I can't hold back the tears, He is the same. Yesterday, today and forever. His love never fails. Never. Not once. 

We may not see or understand it, but His plans are always beautiful and always good. "All around hope is springing up from this old ground. Out of chaos life is being found in You."

Beautiful Things - Gungor

All this pain
I wonder if I'll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in you

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things

You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new

You make me new, You are making me new

It's May

Somehow, it's already the Month of May. I somewhat, unintentionally, took over a month off from blogging. I'm sorry friends! I'm still here. Life is moving right along. The days seem to be passing fast, yet slow, if that makes any sense. My schedule has been a bit busy lately. And I've been taking some time just to "be". 

I've been happy to be working on a few wedding invitations. I'm also a volunteer on our Church's graphics team, which is fun. I get to use my design skills in a different capacity and feel like I'm making a difference in our church community. I recently helped design the backdrop theme for a Sunday sermon, which was new for me and pretty exciting. 

Last week, I completed my first 5-day clean eating challenge. All my meals and snacks were planned out, along with LOTS of water drinking and exercising 25 minutes a day. At the end of it, I felt great, and I've adapted some new healthy habits. I haven't had dessert in 9 days! What?! I've turned down cookies, brownies, ice cream and the like. Mostly to see if I could do it and to break my need for sweets on a regular basis. I feel better about what I'm eating, I actually have more energy and I'm sleeping better at night. I'm hoping to keep it up (with some cheat days, of course). I'm not about to swear off sweets permanently, or anything like that. You should be worried if I said I was. Everything in moderation. 

We've reached the other side of a looooong winter and a not-so-spring-like spring. I was thankful that the sun was shining today, even if there still was a very cool breeze. I picked a few flowers from my yard and admired them on my kitchen windowsill. The buds are blossoming on the trees - at last! Warmer days are on the way, I can feel it. 

We went to Pennsylvania for Easter and got to spend time with family, which is always nice. On a side note, my hair is getting really long again. I think I'm about due for a summer trim to spruce things up a bit - nothing too drastic though. I'm still loving the peek-a-boo highlights I got in November. 

Besides the business of life, my blogging has taken a bit of a backseat simply because I haven't had a ton to share lately and I haven't felt very inspired. I think it's definitely good to take a break now and then. I want my posts to be meaningful, useful or interesting. Sometimes, I've got nothin'. Plain as that. Plus, I often wonder if anyone is really reading this or if it's just a creative outlet for me. 

I do want to say a sincere thank you to those of you, faithful readers (you know who you are!), who loyally follow my blog, and miss it enough to tell me. That means a lot to me! I treasure your support and kind words.

xoxo
Sarah