Snow Globes

Snow globes

What you need:

Glass container with lid that screws on

Epoxy

Glitter

Glycerin

Distilled water

Miniature christmas trees or other decorations that will hold up to water

As I was trying to come up with Christmas gifts for the grandparents, this seemed like the perfect handmade gift that would last for a long time and be meaningful to them. I wish I had time to get really creative with what went inside of the snow globe, but Christmas snuck up on me so I kept it simple with the Christmas trees

Glue your Christmas tree with the epoxy to the inside lid of the glass container that you are going to use (this could be anything from a mason jar, liquor bottle, or any cool find at the local thrift store). Let dry over night.  

Fill the glass container with distilled water, adding in a splash of glycerin. Too much glycerin will make the glitter stick to the top of the container. Then add in a generous amount of glitter.

Glue the inside of the container lid with epoxy, and immediately put it on your glass container and let it sit upside down so that the glue has time to dry without water leaking out. Once it is dry you have a beautiful, unique snow globe all made by you!

Fire Starters

Fire Starters

What you need:

Lent (collected from the dryer... or your husbands belly button)

Paper (recycled paper grocery bags work great for this) or sawdust (which you could get for free at your local Home Depot)

Wax (you can find this at any local craft store, or use old candles)

Wax paper

An old pot, or empty tin can

Cardboard egg carton 

My parents have a great fire place, which I LOVE to snuggle in front of whenever I am over there. We have even turned on the A/C in order to have a fire going. It is very sad to me that they are some of the only people I know that still have a fire place that burns wood and isn't electric! Nothing beats sitting in front of the fire with a cup of coffee and hearing the wood pop, while the scent absorbing into your clothes. So I decided to make my dad fire starters because he uses them so frequently! These are also great for when you go camping! 

Take your egg carton and fill it first with your recycled paper or saw dust.

 Then stuff the egg carton full of lent. Put a few sheets of wax paper under the egg carton so wax doesn't leak out onto the surface it is sitting on.

Melt your wax in an old pot, or boil water and put an old can in the water with wax inside of it. Once all of the wax is melted, pour it into the egg carton until all of the lent is covered. It may sizzle when you pour it, but that is only because it is hot! 

Let it cool. It is hilarious watching people open the carton and try to figure out what it is! They catch fire great, and this is a cheap, easy, and useful gift for any man in your life.

Miniature Christmas Trees

This year I strived to make, instead of buy, as many Christmas presents for my family as possible. The kicker is coming up with things that you can make and the recipient will use and appreciate. So I came up with 3 projects: decorative christmas trees for my mother-in-law, fire starters for my dad, and snow globes for the grandparents. 

Christmas Trees

What you need:

Paper

Spray paint

Wooden sticks (You can use a stick from a tree, or go to Hobby Lobby and find something in their craft section)

Wooden stand that the wooden sticks will fit into

Cardboard

Glue

I got this idea from some paper trees I saw at Anthroplogie. My sister got me some BEAUTIFUL handmade paper from India when she lived there last summer, so it was the perfect way for me to use that. You cut out all the sizes you will need, starting with big pieces for the bottom of the tree and ending with small pieces for the top. Then cut out small pieces of cardboard to put between your paper in order to give it more of a stacked look

Cut your wooden stick to the size that you want your trees to be, then take the wooden stick and wooden stand and spray paint them (I used gold). If you would like a pointed top on your tree you can carve it out easily with a knife. You could also decorate the top with yarn, an ornament, or even a succulent would be cute and unique! Glue the stick inside of the stand.

Cut holes in the middle of your paper, and shimmy down the spray painted stick going from the biggest pieces to the smallest, putting cardboard every few pieces.

I made this for my mother-in-law and she really enjoyed them! They make cute Christmas decorations, and you could do a whole fleet of them for the fire place mantel or counter and it would look awesome! 

Soupe Sopa Soup!

I love soup. What is more comforting then walking in from the cold weather after a long day to a home that smells of savory liquid goodness? Well, blast some Christmas music, grab a margarita, and put on an apron because I have a recipe for a KILLER vegetable and cheese chowder. And it is super easy. Win win

This recipe is pretty much a kitchen sink recipe for any vegetables you have in the fridge.  Also, I made this for my husband and I and we had so many leftovers we ended up freezing some, so its yields enough for at least 4 people.

Veggies:

-½ Chopped onion (we just discovered pre-chopped onions, do your eyes a favor and pick some up)

-2 Cup chopped carrots

-Half a carton of mushrooms

-Half of a zucchini

-Half of a squash

-2 Stalks finely chopped celery

-2 Cups chopped broccoli

-2 Large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

Other Ingredients:

-2 Tablespoons butter

-1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic

-2 Cups of chicken soup base

-2 Cups chicken broth

-1 Tablespoon Flour

-1/2 Cup water

-2/3 Cup milk

-2 Heaping cups of cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add in onions, carrots, and celery and sauté over medium heat until tender (and it will smell amazing!). Add the garlic and cook for an additional couple minutes. Add chicken broth, chicken soup base, potatoes, and bring to a boil until the potatoes are tender. Mix the flour with the water, then add to the pot of deliciousness and simmer until the soup has slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until the broccoli is tender. Stir in cheese, allow it to melt, and serve it up!

My husband and I gobbled it down! Its easy, has tons of veggies, and warms you down to your toes. Enjoy!  

Hello friends! 

This is my first blog, and first blog post EVER. Up until recently I was very anti-blogging, just because my life isn't very interesting. Who cares what I have to say? Well, I'm here now, and I plan to use this to keep track of my adventures in crafting, cooking, screen printing, and everything else. I just put my little card shop on Etsy. Its called At This My Heart Pounds, and I am very excited to see what happens with it! I got the inspiration for my card businesses name from Job 37. Yes, I am SO excited when I get to create and make art, but even more than that I want to always remember my Creator who gave me those abilities. My heart pounds more for Him than anything. I love screen printing and thinking of clever and meaningful art to add to the world.

 I am VERY newly married (its been a month!) to an amazing man named Taylor. He is an artist, and he loves Jesus, and he loves me. We are living in Houston for the next year till he finishes up his art degree at Houston Baptist. Then we plan on getting out of Houston, and hopefully America, to love people and tell them about Jesus. Or maybe we will stay here for a little bit and love people and tell them about Jesus? We don't have anything figured out at this point, which I love, and are excited to see what God does with us and through us. I work at a flower shop, and recently quit a job working in the kitchen of a British tea room. I love working with my hands and getting dirty. When we move out of our garage apartment and get a yard I want to grow all of our food and have chickens and cows. Till then, the HEB around the corner will suffice. So thats a little about myself. 

For my first blog I am going to tell you guys about my best friend. Taylor. And a little about our wedding. I am so blessed to have married this man! I wouldn't know anything about screenprinting, or a lot of the art projects that I do, without his help. He is a creative genius! He is SUCH a hard worker, and still a huge servant in our marriage. He is so goofy and makes me laugh so much, but also leads us into an intimate relationship with the Lord. And he is stinkin' HOT. I mean, crack open an egg on him and it sizzles. I am so excited to be married to him! So, here is a little about our wedding! 

We got married in Marble Falls, Texas, which is about 30 minutes outside of Austin. Nessa K was our photographer, and she was fabulous! We were married at Three Points Ranch on top of a hill under 2 dead trees. The ceremony was in a barn and outside under some oak trees. We made literally ALL of decorations, which was so fun! The wedding planning wasn't stressful to me at all, I loved every minute of it! On the tables we used my grandpa's bottles that he had been collecting from the beach since he was a little kid. We also had Petal Pushers do the flowers and add some extra decorations. We had Torchy's Taco's  cater and they brought out their taco truck (they have since opened a location in Houston!) and it was delish! Lisa's Cakery did our cake, which was ameratto and a rainbow cake! I interned with Living Water over the summer and we are both very passionate about the cause. We had a Living Water and Compassion International booth at our wedding, to try and raise awareness about the water crisis as well as children in poverty. Like I said, we made ALL of the decorations, and one of those things included a projection screen. Because we invited a lot families and wanted their kids to have a good time we showed the Princess Bride during the ceremony. It was great and I think the kids, and adults, really enjoyed it. We danced. A lot. And laughed a lot. It was great having all of our friends and family there supporting us. Here are some pictures, and heres to my first blog! In my next blog I will teach you guys how to make some of the decorations we had at the wedding. For the rest of the wedding pictures go here:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150429131707909.366221.641527908&type=3 

and here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150429842387909.366282.641527908&type=3