spring crafting? what's the point?

Because it makes me happy!  I often see things in my house and other places that make me think.  "Hmmm... What can THIS become?"  I often find myself reimagining things.  I'm a single Mom with a Daughter in college who I am determined to keep from having a huge debt load when she finishes college.  I work 5 jobs currently so that we can pay bills and pay her college each semester.  God has been good to us and as she has no debt from college thus far.  God has graciously gifted us a car (2018) so she has transportation at school and can get around to do what she needs to do.  She is currently in a dorm room alone and with the help of the Lord, we are hoping to move her into an apartment for her Junior and Senior years.  Noelle thrives on her own and is good at managing her time and is fairly good with managing her finances.  I'm thankful for that.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANYWAY, we've been on our own for 14 years now.  We've never had a lot, but we've always had enough.  I have been creative in doing a lot of things so Noelle wasn't lacking any of the necessities nor was she lacking fun and whimsy in her life. In fact, let's have a quick look at some of the creative things we've done over the years.

Noelle always loved bags.  I made the first one from scraps of what I had laying around the house.  It was such a hit, she kept it for a VERY long time.  When long bags were super popular, I made the second bag.  We were really struggling financially, so I made her first day of school outfit from a denim hoodie (Goodwill) that I cut the hood off of, a tank top ($7) and a skirt I made to match the bag.  I used an old jean skirt to create the bottom part.  We just do what we have to do, right?  I ended up making several bags for Noelle's birthday party. We stuffed them with Dollar Store goodies and they were a hit! 

This poor reindeer was in such bad shape.  He'd been tortured and traumatized.  His lights didn't work.  He was just a rusted wire frame and non-working lights.  I was able to transform him using $7 worth of lights.  I already had the garland and that's it!  He was super cute in our yard for years.

We just take what we have and reuse, repair or repurpose it.  That's how we are able to keep costs low and live well.  God gives us creativity so why not use it?

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Spring 2021

MOVING RIGHT ALONG...
Valentine's Day 2021 has come and gone.  We are currently in the middle of a winter storm as I write this.  I decided to work on Spring projects while I'm stuck in the house.  I'll caption each photo.  I'm loving all of this so much and it's so relaxing.

9 year old shadow box got sanded, painted and filled

used a dollar tree bunny to trace the ears and freehanded the rest

fixed this cross wreath up for Noelle's dorm room door

old dollar store picture frame went from black to white and from empty to this

this was a dollar tree fall sign. sanded painted and worked up. flowers made from ribbon and fabric

Are you curious about how these all went into my home? Well, I'm not totally finished putting my spring together, but here's a sneak peek! It looks adorable with the garland I made a couple of years ago. If you want to know how to make it, find it on my Facebook page HERE. 

I'm currently working on decoupaging eggs for my spring tree.  Can't wait to show you how those turn out.  They're so cute!  Anyway, it's time to nap (at 6:36 in the morning) since the snow plow woke me up at 4a!  

Have an amazing day and be safe!

​G